"The Other Guys" Review

Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay have set a pretty high standard for comedies. They've succeeded in every project they've worked on together leading up to The Other Guys. Mark Wahlberg joins them, playing a tough-guy cop forced to a desk after he shoots Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees! Ferrell plays the bumbling idiot who loves sitting behind a desk all day. The comedy is in the two characters' differences, and craziness ensues. Let's get started.

What I liked about the movie:
Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg chemistry
Wahlberg delivers... for 2/3 of the movie. His tough-guy cop character (who secretly loves to dance) is hilarious. Sudden outbursts of anger with Ferrell on the receiving end were great.

Will Ferrell is playing, yet again, the absent minded moron. There are a lot of scenes where Ferrell is the awkward schmuck in the room; his fellow officers get him to shoot his gun off at his desk, making him believe its tradition. Funny stuff.

The Supporting Actors

I have to be honest, as funny as Ferrell and Wahlberg were, their supporting cast stole the show for me. Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson are by far the funniest aspect of the first 15 minutes of the film. Their satirical look at cops and the way they're portrayed in movies is terrific. They play on every stereotype, all the way to their demise.

Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. are their replacements and do great! There is a scene where Riggle's character fights Wahlberg's character during a funeral ceremony. They roll around on the ground fighting, while only whispering as to not disrespect the family of the fallen officer. This was so funny; I was laughing so hard during this scene.

Then there is the immortal Michael Keaton. Keaton plays the captain of the police force, but the force doesn't pay enough to send his bisexual son to college. So Keaton gets another job at Bed, Bath and Beyond to help pay for his son's school. Throughout the movie, Keaton's character uses the titles of TLC songs to explain what he's thinking. The funny thing is that Keaton doesn't know they're TLC songs! He was great.


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Story
The story is pathetic at best. I follow director Adam McKay's tweets on Twitter and he talks a lot about his political views. This is all fine and dandy, but don't make it the plot of your movie just because it's something that interests you. The plot is so dumb, so preposterous, it leaves no reason to care about the characters. It's all about corporate, white-collar crimes. That's great, because it's relevant, but it doesn't make for a good story for a comedy, especially when it reaches the pinnacle of stupidity. The state lotto is about to get taken for 32 billion dollars? Come on. The police department giving up it's entire pension to invest in a scam? Come on!

Characters
The sad thing is, it looks like this is a direct contradiction of the comments I wrote above, but it's not. I told you about Wahlberg being funny 2/3 of the movie. Well, the last 1/3 he was just straight-up annoying. There was no arc to his character, no growth of any kind. Same goes for Ferrell's character. He was a bumbling idiot to start the movie, and he was a bumbling idiot to end it. I was really disappointed in that.

Then there are characters that have absolutely no purpose of being in the film whatsoever. Take, for example, Wahlberg's ex-girlfriend. He visits her at her ballet class, yells at her and her dance partner and then leaves in a fit of rage. We don't see the ex-girlfriend again for the rest of the movie. What the hell is she in the movie for? Same goes for the "villains" of the movie. Anne Heche and Steve Coogan. Both unfunny and really only in the movie to have a villain at all.

Adam McKay/ Genre
I've seen actors and directors alike do this: try a genre for the first time, and it fails. It hurts me to say this, but McKay failed, big time. The action sequences are bad, the pacing was really bad, and the story was really really bad. McKay couldn't decide what genre it was: Comedy? Action? Corporate satire? Political satire? Law enforcement satire? What was it? Also, there were bits that should have never been in the movie, nor dragged out as long as they were. Case in point, the grandma crossing the street bit. You'll see.


The Other Guys wasn't good at all. I left the theater feeling let down more than anything. Maybe McKay and Ferrell's formula for success has already reached its maximum potential. Maybe this was a good movie, but they've set the bar so high, anything less is considered bad? Well, my opinion stands. The movie is bad, underachieves and loses itself amongst too many genres for its own good. It's OK, I have faith McKay and Farrell will bring the goods on their next project together. Hopefully that project is Step Brothers 2!

"Avengers" Assemble... at Comic-Con

Left to Right: Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Liam Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawk Eye, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Director Joss Whedon, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige

Movie stars filled the panels, rumors were laid to rest, and every nerd on the planet was waiting for this moment. The Avengers cast, in one place, at one time. That's the power of Comic-Con. I've talked about it a lot on the blog: everything from Chris Evans casting as the Captain, to Edward Norton's ugly exit, all things Avengers. At Comic-Con in San Diego this year, the entire cast went up on stage, settling three, very talked-about rumors.

First, Joss Whedon WILL direct the film. That's an obvious one, but Marvel never announced it officially before Comic-Con.

Second, Jeremy Renner WILL play Hawk Eye! I love this move by the way.

Third, and I guess most talked about... Mark Ruffalo WILL replace Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/Hulk. This movie can't get any more epic, can it? We'll have to wait and see. There's still those rumors of Nathan Fillion and Eva Longoria joining the cast as Ant-Man and Wasp. We'll let you know what happens. You satisfied with the cast?

Tony: Iron Man 2 review

Not since Avatar hit the big screen has there been a movie with this much hype... OK I guess it hasn't been that long, but still. Was there a doubt that Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. weren't going to deliver in this highly anticipated sequel? Let's get right into it folks, I have a lot to say.


What I liked:
The Writing
The story is better than the first one, but still has issues. There are just too many dang characters for a 2 hour movie. The villains are better, the dialogue is amazing in Iron Man 2. My wife and I could NOT stop laughing at Tony Stark trading barbs back and forth with the supporting cast. There are so many examples of this, I wont try to explain any further, just trust me. The movie is categorically a comedy it's so funny, you'll see.

Pepper Potts played by Gwyneth Paltrow has a great story arc in the movie, as does Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. Paltrow is a true professional, and plays the part with such sincerity. I really enjoyed her in the movie. Johansson kicks some major ass in with what little screen time she has. Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury and had a lot more face time than the trailers indicated. Remember with the first film, he was in the post-credits clip. Speaking of; stay after the credits for a surprise! Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, but I will discuss that in a minute.

The Villains

The biggest complaint about the first Iron Man was the villain, or lack thereof. They didn't do a good enough job developing the fallout between Tony Stark and Obidiah Stone. But in this film, Mickey Rourke shines. If only there were more Rourke in this film. And kudos to Favreau and company for staying true to the look of Whiplash. Based on the photos and trailers released, you wouldn't think so, but wait until the end of the movie where you see a Whiplash that mirrors the comics, great job.

Justin Hammer is a new addition, played by Sam Rockwell (very underrated actor in Hollywood). Hammer is a fixture in the comics and was a perfect compliment to the story. Rockwell has to be funny, yet kind of annoying. We have to hate to love him, and he too nailed it in this movie.

The Action
Wow, there is a lot of action in this movie. You can tell pretty quickly that the Iron Man 2 budget was significantly higher than the first one. Now, I've said this a lot in the past, the action has to be in the movie to help the story along. There was definitely action in the movie for actions sake, but I'll get to that later.


What I didn't like:
Second Act
Wow, the second act drags so much. I told you above that the action is amped up for this movie, but it's important to note that a large chunk in the middle of the movie is story development. Yes, it's necessary, but it would have been nice to see a faster pace during this part where characters were being developed and Tony Stark makes a life changing discovery.

Misused Acting
I told you I loved Mickey Rourke in this, well I wish there was more of Mickey Rourke in this. The character is "underground" for most of the movie, but damn it would have been nice to see a bit more of Whiplash. Instead the story shifts towards droids that Justin Hammer has developed with the help of Whiplash (don't worry I'm not giving anything away). What I will tell you is the droids get a lot more attention than they should have.

Don Cheadle is a complete waste in this movie. As Col. James Rhodes, he has little to zero to work with. Yes, he does don the War Machine suit and kicks some major, major ass, but it's not enough. I hate to say this, I really do, but I wish Terrance Howard returned for this movie. His charm, presence and chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. was way better than Cheadle's.



The Climax
The Droids, I mean come on man! There is a scene where Iron Man and War Machine have to outrun (outfly) a lot of Droids. The scene does NOT end. There are at least 50 explosions in the chase and gets pretty redundant, pretty fast. And the worst part of the movie; the climax. Of course, it's a showdown with Iron Man and War Machine vs. Whiplash and it's LAME! Man, two hours of great story telling only to leave you with a sour taste in your mouth in the last 5 minutes of the movie. The holding hands climax (I don't want to spoil anything, you'll just have to see for yourself) is so bad.

The verdict is simple for me; I liked the movie, a lot. That's important, but it IS a sequel and will naturally be compared to it's predecessor. When comparing it to the first film, it's not as good. The charm and wit is there, but the creativity of the first film was replaced by a boat load of CGI and a lot more characters. The team of Favreau and Downey have struck gold, both figuratively and literally. We've even discussed whether it would beat The Dark Knight's record breaking opening weekend. That remains to be seen. As a movie fan and a comic book fan, I'm very satisfied with the finished product. And after watching the short clip at the end of the credits; I can't wait for more from the Marvel Universe!

Quickie: Avengers movie to start filming next February!

iesb.net broke the news via an interview with Samuel L. Jackson. He gave details into the Avengers movie: it's start date, the new director (Joss Whedon), cameos, etc. Just in time for the 2012 release date.

Jackson mentioned he will NOT be in Thor, but WILL be in The First Avenger: Captain America. Jackson also comments on how the Avengers will be the launch pad for his character of "Nick Fury".

Thus far it's been recorded cameo here and there (Iron Man 1 and 2). Jackson signed a 9 picture deal, so I can see how he's going to be in a bunch of the Marvel Universe. Speaking of the Marvel Universe; do you think they've done a good job keeping all the characters in the same "world"? Let us know what you think.

Unthinkable trailer looks a lot like anther film I know...

Check out this doozy of a trailer. The film is Unthinkable. It stars Michael Sheen as a terrorist who has planted three nuclear bombs in three major cities in America. The FBI has a secret weapon... Samuel L. Jackson. Also starring in the film are Carrie-Anne Moss and Superman himself, Brandon Routh.

I have an issue with this film... it's a carbon copy of one of my favorite Denzel Washington movies.. The Siege. Check out THAT trailer below.

You know what's a good movie? (Part 3)

To recap, Tonedog and I thought it would be a cool idea to try a six degrees of separation type game. We'll talk about a good movie, then find a common actor, director, plot, etc., and then move on to the next movie.

In the last installment of "YKWaGM?" Tonedog talked about Toy Story.
Today, I'm going to tie that in with a few common themes with The Incredibles, number one obviously being animation, and number two, Pixar.

Disney distributed Pixar's The Incredibles in 2004, roughly 10 years after Pixar's smash hit Toy Story. This film is easily one of my favorite animated features of all time, and includes an all-star cast including Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell and Brad Bird.


The concept for the movie originated with Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant on my favorite television series The Simpsons. Bird had also previously directed the excellent animated classic The Iron Giant. Work on The Incredibles started out as a traditionally-animated feature for Warner Bros.' animation studio, but after the studio shut down, Bird took the idea with him and went to Pixar.

Pixar had a lot of work on their hands making the feature. It was planned to be a whole 15 minutes longer than any of their previous films, and had a lot of difficult animation that needed to be perfected, such as long hair, skin and clothing on human characters.

One of the main reasons I appreciate the film so much is because of it's adult tone. While primarily a kids movie, the film had a lot of grown-up issues in it, such as the government ban of superheros, insurance company practices and family and marital problems. There's even [spoiler alert] a character that dies in the end!
The humor in the movie is also just plain genius, and reminiscent of the sarcastic tone found in The Simpsons.

Like that, Pixar once again revolutionized the animated film industry as we knew it, just as they had done a decade before with Toy Story. It's also the first Pixar film to feature an entirely human cast of characters.

The movie eventually opened up to $70,467,623 its opening weekend, averaging about $9,000 per screen, the highest opening weekend for Pixar at the time, and held its # 1 spot the second week. It went on to become the 5th highest grossing film of 2004, and the 3rd highest for Pixar after Finding Nemo and Up.
It is ranked in over 25 professional film critic's Top 10 lists for 2004.
It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won 2 of them, including Best Animated Feature, the 2nd of Pixar's 4.

Till today, I'd have to rank The Incredibles as my favorite animated movie of all time, tied with Disney's most recent hit, and Academy Award nominee for best picture, Up. I hope a sequel will soon be in the works, as they have a lot of different ways to continue this story line.

I hope you can all agree with me when I say that Pixar's The Incredibles is most definitely one of the greatest films of the 2000s.

Check back for our next installment of You Know What's a Good Movie? to see what movie Tonedog will tie-in with this new classic.

New Astro Boy trailer!

New Astro Boy Trailer... just enjoy!

Unbreakable 2?!

Remember M. Night Shyamalan's follow up to the Sixth Sense? It was a personal favorite of mine, Unbreakable. A lot of people... again... A LOT of people disagree with me. But I feel its as though they didn't understand what the movie was meant to be. The movie stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Samuel L. plays a character who is obsessed with comic books. He is so obsessed he believes, he has found a true life superhero in Bruce Willis' character. It is irony at its finest, yin to yang... Bruce Willis a possible superhero and Jackson "the glass man", because he has a condition that makes his bones very fragile.
--- SPOILER ALERT BELOW ---

Shyamalan's theory is this... there are three phases to most superhero movies. 1st, the discovery. The superhero acquires, or realizes his/her power. 2nd, the antagonist is developed. The "bad guy" needs to come about somehow. 3rd, the fight and conclusion. There has to be a battle and some kind of ending. Well, Unbreakable, the entire movie, is just that first phase. Bruce Willis discovering who he is.

The movie followed the Sixth Sense surprise ending with one of its own. But definitely left room for the story to continue. Josh Wigler at MTV interviewed Shayamalan and this is what he had to say:

I don’t know where all the parties are in the world. Sam [Jackson] is like ‘Mr. Comic Book’ now. And Bruce, I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t know where Disney’s at in their head and what kind of movies they’re up for making. But yeah, I love that movie.

The article sites Jackson as being on board and fully supportive. Can Willis say no? I am excited about this one guys, anyone else?!