Thursday, April 30, 2009

Adventureland

When I heard about this movie I was hoping against hope that this was a reference to the Altoona, IA amusement park. Either shot there or basis there. Sadly, it was not. Even without my home state namesake I still wanted to see this. Heder and Wiig in support roles. Some dude that looks like Dwight from the Office singing Rush in the trailer(see previous post). Ryan Reynolds. The kid from the AT&T commercials (but they're from September!). I could keep going. The guy behind Superbad. Anyways, it had a lot going for it.

But here is another example of a movie I respect more than I enjoy. It's very real world and grounded. But the lack of a main driving conflict brings the movie to a halt. Or not even a halt, just a scattershot of directions. Is he supposed to be with her? Is she really in love with someone else? Is anyone going to fight? What is going on? Why didn't we refrigerate these corn dogs.

I would say this is the flipside of the coin with Nick & Nora. That movie sucked just enough, Adventureland was just entertaining enough.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
No.

Would you rent it?
No.

Would you buy it?
No.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Observe & Report

Do you love Eastbound & Down? Do you love Seth Rogen? Well, then O&R is right for you. It has absolutely no moral compass. This characters are selfish and egotistical. This black comedy would be more aptly characterized as a "black hole" comedy. No one can escape it's pull.

The trailers really give a lot away, which is dangerous in a comedy but believe me, they left a lot of stuff for theaters. The basic story is crime comes to a mall and the mall cops try to call jurisdiction over the real cops. Delusions of grandeur follow. There are 2 great surprises that I'm not going to share here. I will say that my mouth was gaping whenever I wasn't laughing.


Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Yes (too late).

Would you rent it?
Yes.

Would you buy it?
Probably.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.