Date Night (2010) Rated PG-13
Starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey
Runtime – 88 minutes

Even if a movie does what it intends to do, certain genres can only be so good. Date Night definitely meets the romantic comedy expectations (though it’s no When Harry Met Sally) and the addition of the action-movie twist makes it a bit better than run of the mill.

The basic premise is that the two main characters are in a rut in their married life and try to do something fun one night. They end up being mistaken for a couple being chased by the mob and the movie gets going.

Fey and Carell are top notch at comedy (see Mean Girls and The Office) but their characters here don’t quite capture their typical humor. They do have good chemistry as a couple, and without the film would fall flat. Not to say there aren’t some funny moments (the car/taxicab crash and chase and the pole dancing scene come to mind) but it isn’t a laugh riot.

Instead, the movie explores the problem of relationships that get stale and what to do about it. Fortunately Carell and Fey are not played like stereotypes, but their lives are pretty real. They actually seem to have a good relationship, so outside of the insane mob/copy scenes, the movie plays pretty down to earth. The film also maintains a very positive outlook on relationships as opposed to more indie fare (or movies like I Love You Man or Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Another thing the movie has going for it are some good cameos by actors such as James Franco and Mark Wahlberg. They add some nice changes of pace and subplots to the film.

All in all it is as advertised – a good date movie. Briskly paced and a short running time of under an hour and a half, it’s not the greatest movie you’ll see this year, but you won’t have wasted your time if you catch it in the theater. Some language but overall avoids the potty humor and content that sometimes sneaks up on people taking a date to a movie, making for an awkward walk back to the car. Check it out in the theater, or grab it as a new release and relax on the couch. But then again that’d be what you always do for date night.

2.7 out of 4 Stars (new rating system)

Movie Trailer

Up in the Air (2009/2010) Rated R
George Clooney
Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, The Office)
Runtime – 1hr. 48 minutes
Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 44 wins & 52 nominations

The old DVD circuit has been pretty dry the past few months with releases that I had missed in the theater, and was glad I did. Up in the Air was one that I had wanted to see in the theater as well, and after watching it on DVD was wishing I had. Fortunately I did decide to catch it on DVD and was extremely pleased – one of my top films of the past year.

Watching the trailer I was uncertain of what the film was exactly about. This type of movie you couldn’t really capture any of the feeling because it is so dialogue-driven and the dramatic humor doesn’t translate well to 5 second clips. The story synopsis is “Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.” That description doesn’t do justice to the layering of topics and reflections that this film delves into.

In one review, the film was described as a Frank Capra-esque movie that captures our anxieties and culture of resilience. The film is very timely, as it takes head-on the economic climate and massive layoffs that are turning lives upside down…and what that all means. There is an extensive cast of great “cameos” by actors who play the parts of those laid off in the film, and the only criteria seemed to be their acting ability. These short scenes are extremely well played.

The film really focuses on two themes – the idea that Bingham (Clooney) lives his entire life in airports with no connections, and separately the people he helps companies fire that find their connections turned on their head. The two sides don’t seem to understand each other’s ability to find happiness in those type of lives.

Clooney (the satisfied disconnected) meets the frequent-flyer woman of his dreams and realizes that having connections – family, kids, settling down, may actually be the answer, though the irony is that he wants it with a woman just like him. In addition, a bad turn of events within his own company forces him to deal with the fact that the lifestyle he’s chosen for his entire adult life may be reaching its end. Much like those he’s paid to help through the end of their careers.

There is much more layer and amazing dialogue (and Clooney is terrific with the supporting cast here) than any review or description can capture. The film doesn’t have a tight plot, but moves the action at all the right times to a new scenario before it ever gets boring. The dialogue was so good that I ended up rewinding multiple times to make sure I caught what they were saying. Normally I don’t care if I miss a few words. I found it awesome in this film that I didn’t want to miss a single one.

Does the film solve the big problems everyone copes with about life, connections, love, and career? I think film reviewer Jake Tomlinson put it best about the film, saying “As a moviegoer, this film provides a satisfying experience where one can take a step back to ponder some of the finer points in our daily lives, but don’t expect to find all the answers here.”

3.5 out of 4 stars

Check out the trailer

Strong Content Warning.

Part 1

Part 2

(500) Days of Summer
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by Marc Webb
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
Nominated for 2010 Golden Globe Best Picture – Comedy or Musical

This semi-indie romantic comedy starts right off with the narrator saying “This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story.” An interesting beginning as we generally assume a romantic comedy is about the events leading to the characters getting together. This one seems to be about the events that lead them apart.

From my perspective you will either really like this movie, or be really bored by it. My opinion is that it depends on what types of relationships you have been in in the past and your feeling on love and fate. For those who have had pretty stable relationships or married their high school sweet heart, there’s a good chance this movie is just about two obnoxious main characters.

But for the rest of us, who never can seem to figure out exactly what it is that makes a relationship work (if anything), this movie was written to speak to you. But then again, with the characters being so different, it may speak to guys and girls differently. It spoke to me and I identified with much of it.

The movie is slightly indie in that it tells the plot out of order. Sometimes this doesn’t work for me, but it works fairly well here. It doesn’t seem to tell it completely backwards, so it gets a bit confusing at a few parts. It also mixes a few random artistic choices, like inserting a singing scene, some hand-drawn art on the screen, and a mini-documentary in the middle of the movie. Again, normally I’m not a big fan of total randomness, but it wasn’t too distracting here.

The film also features a great soundtrack. I couldn’t figure out where to talk about it so I just put it here.

There is no plot per se, but more a series of events telling a simple story. The two main characters do a good job, and the supporting cast was great. I found the lead male to be a well written character who I empathized with, but I found his love interest to be a bit stereotypical and I really didn’t like her as a person. But, again, that’s sometimes how love blinds us and we only see the good but ignore the bad things in people.

If you’ve ever met someone and after one conversation like “I love hiking too!” and thought you were destined to be together forever. Or if you are the opposite, and believe that fate and love doesn’t really exist, and you just do your best with what you’ve got – then there’s something in this movie you can relate to and something you’ll learn.

It’s a romance with little romance, a comedy with little comedy, and an indie that isn’t too indie. Sounds like an underwhelming effort, but for me, it was a pretty good film and got me thinking much more than any romantic comedy I’ve ever seen. The irony is that in the film it discusses how mainstream greeting cards, pop songs, and movies have shaped our perception of love.

Maybe not the best date flick, but then again since most relationships aren’t like the movies, maybe it is the best kind of date flick.

* * * stars out of 4

An interesting news update, the director of this movie was recently chosen to direct the new Spider-Man reboot.

What others are saying

You’re going to hear a lot about 500 Days of Summer over the next few months. All of the good stuff is true. Any bad stuff you hear is not. – Film Threat

Visually witty, flawlessly played romantic comedy. – Chicago Reader

Something seldom seen: an original romantic comedy. – LA Times

For all its rhetorical whimsy and hipster dressings, (500) Days of Summer is a thoroughly conservative affair, as culturally and romantically status quo as any Jennifer Aniston vehicle. – NPR

I thought I’d do some quick reviews of movies that are available on demand for Netflix. The pickins are a little slim, but if you’re like me you forget to mail back the movies you just watched for about 3 weeks. I think I just mailed back a movie that I had gotten when it was a new release – Ghostbusters II.

This week, I watched stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan’s Beyond the Pale on Netflix instant watch. If you’re looking for some decent comedy, it’s solid the whole way through. You’ll recognize Gaffigan but you won’t be able to put your finger on where. He plays side roles in a lot of comedies, TV shows, and late night shows. He was also the guy in Super Troopers that was the recipient of the “meow” game.

Gaffigan’s style of humor is fairly dry, and is astonishingly “clean.” He mostly jokes about food and himself. In fact, about 80% of the routine is about food. Some great stuff, though, including his famous “Hot Pockets” sketch. You’ll be laughing out loud..especially if you’ve lived off Hot Pockets at some time in your life.

He also does this odd thing where he says what the audience is thinking in the middle of his bit and its pretty funny as well.

His routine is filmed in Chicago’s historic Vic Theater and runs a brisk 72 minutes. Though there are only a few true gut busters, there aren’t really any dull moments. There’s something in there for everyone, especially if you find it disturbing what, and how much, we eat as Americans.

If you’re looking for a good laugh any day of the week, you could definitely do worse.

* * * out of 4 stars

Check out a scene from the act below…one of the few not about food.

For almost every holiday or season, I have a movie tradition that sort of kicks it off. One of the few I hadn’t found one for was winter itself. This winter, in particular, I was needing some themed escapism while my face regained feeling. Christmas pretty much takes all the good movies for winter, so what was left?

Somehow I missed it at the time, but the 2001 flick “Out Cold” was the perfect answer.

Out Cold is a goof-ball comedy along the lines of American Pie (but PG-13 raunchy) that has reached cult status over the years (though did little in the theater). It is expected these movies will have no plot, or the same plot as 100 other throwaway comedies. I was happily proven wrong.

You’ll immediately recognize a lot of the cast from today, including the bearded guy from The Hangover, and Pam’s old fiance from The Office. The film, set in Alaska, starts off with a great snowboarding extravaganza and revolves around a small ski lodge getting taken over by an evil corporation. The plot of every movie since 1981, but they handle it nicely.

The rest of the film has a mix of subtle humor with insane antics, surrounded by mountains of snow the entire time. The characters are likable, and the handling of the “love story” is fairly surprising.

For anyone in their late 20s or early 30s, the soundtrack is a straight rip of your CD collection from 8 years ago, featuring Eve 6, Jack Johnson, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Sum 41…and most importantly Wang Chung.

Be sure to check it out this winter, especially with a group of friends if it’s cold outside. Add some Winter Ale and you’re almost guaranteed to have a smashing winter solstice.

Be sure to see the outtakes after the credits, they are one of the best parts of the movie. You didn’t think they landed all those amazing snowboarding scenes on the first try did you?

3 out of 4 stars

Avatar (Rated PG-13)
Directed by James Cameron
Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Runtime – 2 hours 32 minutes

Now on its way past $1 billion dollars worldwide, I finally caught Avatar 3D in a nearly packed theater on a Wednesday night. This is one of the few films that, more than 3 weeks into it, has barely seen a drop in attendance. Which means it’s all word of mouth.

So how was it? Worth the hype? If you’ve waited this long to see it, here’s the key points:

* Yes, you should see it in the theater.
* Don’t even consider not seeing it in 3D or IMAX unless it is unavailable
* It’s long…the plot moves fairly slowly…but it doesn’t seem like a 2.5 hour movie.
* The visuals and special effects alone make whatever the ticket price is fully worth it.
* It’s much better than the trailer implies.
* It’s probably not as good as your friend described it to you that saw it opening weekend. But almost.

I am not really the target for this movie. I rarely see 2+ hour movies in the theater, I don’t like movies with weird alien creatures unless it is called Star Wars, I really hate movies that are mostly CGI, and I don’t really appreciate left-wing “preachy movies.” And I liked it. But how??

Visually speaking, the film must be seen to be believed. The visuals are so amazing that they proved me wrong that CGI mixing with real was the death of movies. But it was obvious that 5 years of intense, and artistically brilliant, work was put into this…something George Lucas has no idea about. CGI causes a wild imagination to destroy a film because there are no boundaries…from Star Wars Episode I to countless others, impossible worlds with clone-like animations of millions of onscreen characters don’t interact with the real people. When a CGI character is onscreen, you know it.

In Avatar, the lush world of Pandora where the movie takes place feels like a real world. You’re excited to see where they go next. The non-human characters (the Na’vi tribe), which are fully CGI, actually pop out of the environment. The strange animals on the planet move like real animals. When there are 10 on screen, each one has depth to it and unique movements that were carefully crated individually..from veins, to muscle, to lighting. It wasn’t a copy and paste job.

What really impressed me was how the film’s 3D wasn’t a gimmick…it was actually necessary to put you into the action and shouldn’t be seen without it. It’s also the first 3D film I’ve ever seen that doesn’t use the “popping out at you” gimmick. While most 3D movies abuse the area closest to your eyes, Avatar uses what’s furthest away to give it depth. When you are soaring hundreds of feet into the air…you feel like you’re going too high. Still images do not do it justice.

But enough of the visuals (which I’ll get back to later) what about that other little thing …characters and plot?

To be quite honest, this unoriginal plot was Dances With Wolves part II almost frame by frame. It also preaches to the audience in no subtle terms about war, colonialism against the indians, the environment, and the evil of capitalism. On top of it, the mediocre characters aren’t developed, written, or acted all that well, the leftist message is very clunky and un-nuanced with a plot moves along fairly slowly.

The basic plot is that the humans are out of gasoline on earth in 2054, so they go to this planet where there’s an endless supply of some new type of fuel. The tribes that live there won’t leave their land, so we set up a base and plan to take it over ourselves. This is accomplished by mentally inserting the humans into “avatars” that look like the tribes so they can live among the native people. They really don’t explain how any of the science works Though I swear I saw an Apple Tablet on the ship.

But the very simple message is pounded without much attention to the complexity of different kinds of war. Is the Iraq war the same as the war against the indians? What about WWII? Terrorism against the Jews? Are all military people that bloodthirsty (according to the film they are)? There is a scene in the movie reminiscent of 9/11….was that on purpose and what were they trying to say? ..and then there’s always the whiteman condescension take.

Fortunately the visuals and a few key scenes at the right times lift the movie past the message into levels of epic adventure, action, and drama. Can a man fall in love with a large blue woman? I now, in fact, believe he can.

Though I can’t properly describe it, the world created on Pandora with CGI takes you there, and by doing that it does something that no movie I’ve seen really has done. By going into that world, you accept that world for 2.5 hours and are fully into it….nonsensical plot points and all. You may find yourself crying frequently, as a matter of fact. It’s that powerful a visual combo.

Is it as good as Titanic? No. Is it as good as The Dark Knight? Also, no. But it IS an experience unlike any other I’ve had at the movies. In the past you go for the plot, special effects, to laugh, or whatever. You base your like of the movie on what it was trying to do. Avatar is trying to give you a new experience unlike anything you’ve had at a theater before…and in that, it does. And it will stick with you for a long time to come.

3 stars out of 4

3 Different Takes from around the web

if you only see one film in a 3-D cinema this year, make it Avatar. - The Sydney Morning Herald

The narrative would be ho-hum without the spectacle. But what spectacle! – New York Movies

A movie whose effects are clearly revolutionary, a spectacle that millions will find adventure in. But it nevertheless feels unsatisfying and somehow lacks the pulse of a truly alive film. – AP Review

Funny People (2009) on DVD/Blu-Ray
Rated R
Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen
Directed by Judd Apatow
2 hours 6 minutes

Funny people, in a vacuum, is a decent movie. But taking into account what they were going for, how much of the film was really good, and who was in it, it ends up falling in mediocre-ville.

Funny People is directed by Judd Apatow, famous for the Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, and he continues to prove that he is the Seinfeld for Generation X. Many of his movies (either directing or writing) are based on his real life experiences and explore the humor of everyday life. This one included, and even stars his actual college roommate Adam Sandler.  Unfortunately, Generation X has proven to be far more self-centered (yes its possible) and vulgar than their Seinfeld predecessors and their lives not nearly as interesting.

But there is genius here, and it’s the first half of the movie. The film is about a comedian far into his movie star prime, Gene Simmons (played by Adam Sandler) who finds out he is dying. The comedian then takes to the stand-up scene and does the typical things movies have people who are dying do (call the ex, etc.). With a great supporting cast and pacing, it truly is interesting and funny for a while. And Gene Simmons is a replica of Adam Sandler, and pokes fun at his off-the-wall style of humor and even how he ended up making lame mainstream movies as time went on. It’s great to see Sandler (one of my favorites as a teenager) and Rogen (in an interesting turn) interact and begin their journey about life and laughter.

But then the second half crashes. I’m not sure if it was the 100 cameos (cameos always break the reality of a film to me, especially with so many that are here so fast) or the stopping of interesting plot lines for one that goes awry, but when a comedy breaks the 2 hour mark it desperately needs a strong second half. Funny People does the first, but not the second.

Not to give anything away, but I will say that Sandler’s character doesn’t learn the lesson from near death that you think he would. In doing so, the morale of the film is one of extreme depression. Not sadness, just cynicism. Though the ending somewhat makes up for it, you start to feel that the whole thing was too contrived and the great beginning is a distant memory.

From a comedy standpoint, there’s some pretty good stuff. It’s not a laugh out loud riot, but there’s some great lines and scenes. Way too many wiener jokes (though they are somewhat making fun of those jokes) and a few poorly used characters, yet some underused ones (you’ll recognize the entire cast from other comedies).

In the end, it is a shame that they weren’t able to pull this off. I generally like Apatow movies (though they are a bit too rauncy even for me) and I always like Sandler movies. The pairing of the two leaned more towards Apatow and lost a lot of Sandler. It’s maybe worth a rental…if you love Sandler or Apatow that’s a probably..but in the end it doesn’t live up to its potential.

It’s not “what I call H20″ if you know what I mean.

* * 1/2 stars out of 5

Since I missed most of them this summer, I’ve been catching up on the big moneymakers on Blu-Ray the past few weeks. So far with Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe, I’ve been questioning that decision.

Fortunately, Star Trek was next on the list and I was very satisfied with the film. In fact, though it’s been a weak year, I’d say it was one of my favorites I’ve seen.

Important to note that I’m more of a Star Wars guy, and I’ve never seen any Star Trek shows or movies and don’t know a thing about the series. So I’m not sure how it plays out for purists. I do know the casting was pretty good and everyone looks similar to their TV series counterparts. For purists, there is definitely plenty of references to the old Star Trek series that I will never get, and most importantly, teleportation.

The movie is relatively confusing at first, with time travel stuff and little explanation of the Star Trek world.. and a lot of characters thrown in quickly. It rapidly rebounds and ends up having solid special effects, great action, and a pretty good story for a sci-fi epic (thanks to the reliable work of J.J. Abrams), fortunately. They even feature the original Spock..and didn’t just throw in a useless cameo. He is central to the storyline.

On the negative front, for some reason these movies always throw in a few goofy monster sequences and one or two coincidences that endanger the believability of the plot. Star Trek does this as well (perhaps it is a requirement to sell toys or make video games, who knows) but it recovers fine.

In the end, I really liked the characters who played Spock and Kirk, and the supporting cast is quite strong. The special effects were top notch as well..I was impressed how true to the old school Star Trek look they kept while blending it with a modern feel seamlessly. There aren’t really any strong female characters, which was sort of odd, but other than that it’s a fast moving plot with good dialogue. Actually, the original Spock ends up being the worst actor. The villain Captain Nero also is a bit weak and sort of wasted, but he’s passable.

Much better than Star Wars in reviving an old space series, and I look forward to the sequels. Check it out of you’re one of the 15 people who haven’t seen it like me. This series will live long and prosper (I can say that since I have no idea what it means).

* * * 1/2  out of Five Stars

Trivia

Check out what might have been, but wasn’t. William Shatner was originally written to cameo in the script….but was axed.

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, who play the odd couple Kirk and Spock, were previously acquainted with each other as they work out at the same gym.

Yes, they did team up/fight each other, no this post isn’t about that. However, combining the star ratings together of these two would actually give it almost a passable score.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (Transformers 2) and G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra graced the screens this summer, and both are available now on DVD. I’m glad I waited because Netflix eases the pain of the price to watch them over the $8.00 tickets at the theater.

In the end, G.I. Joe is somewhat watchable, but Transformers 2 should be avoided at all costs. Even for free. Even if your relationship depends on it. You can’t spend the rest of your life with someone who likes this movie.

Neither movie was very good to their source material, but I’m not the type to necessarily dock points for that. Also, their source material was a children’s television show, so going outside of that may even be a good thing. Both movies were basically a video game on the screen, with CGI worlds galore. Transformers went way overboard, however, in showing the stupidest looking robots doing stupid things in stupid locations. G.I. Joe actually has some pretty neat action scenes, some real sword fighting, and only towards the end does it reach Transformers level of weirdness.

The acting in Transformers 2 and characters are absolutely horrible. If you can figure out what the heck is going on, you’ll probably be even more annoyed by both the robots and the humans. The first Transformers was pretty good in my mind, and had some decent humor, with some fair acting. The new one will just grate at you the entire time. Megan Fox may be enough for some, but you’ll need to turn the volume and closed captioning off.

As for G.I. Joe, the plot is pretty dumb but some of the characters are decent. There is also a lot of backstory that is revealed throughout the film that they do a fair job keeping your interest in. The character Snake Eyes, who doesn’t say a word, is quite fun to watch. The main G.I. Joe characters (including a Wayans brother, and Dennis Quaid) are surprisingly bad choices for their roles. The secondary characters and villains are much more interesting, and for 2/3 of the movie it is pretty decent. The ending falls apart, and the very end is a long setup for a sequel, which hurts the movie a lot since you don’t really understand the whole Cobra vs. Joe thing until the end, and then the credits roll right when it might start to get good. Might.

Didn’t want to go into any additional plot details, not because of spoilers, but because the plots in both are pretty unimportant, and I’m not entirely sure that Transformers 2 had a plot. I will say that G.I. Joe gets right into the action and moves pretty fast, while making general sense, but Transformers 2 starts off slow, and then confounds the whole thing with new characters, resurrected old ones that you arent sure how they are coming back, and new magical objects that you won’t understand.

Skip Transformers 2, it is humiliating how bad it is when it could’ve easily been as good as the first. Check out G.I. Joe when it runs on TBS in a few years as it is watchable and has great special effects, but you won’t be missing anything if you don’t see it.

Rating

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

one star out of five stars

G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra

two stars out of five stars