You know what's a good movie? (Part 7)

Part 1: Forrest Gump

Connection: Tom Hanks

Part 2: Toy Story

Connection: Pixar

Part 3: The Incredibles

Connection: Superhero Films

Part 4: Batman (1989)

Connection: Jack Nicholson

Part 5: The Departed

Connection: Matt Damon

Part 6: Good Will Hunting

Connection: Robin Williams

Part 7: Mrs. Doubtfire


I still pop this classic in the DVD player at least once a year, and it's still hilarious!  Director Chris Columbus gave us a film for all ages (as he often does).  That film... Mrs. Doubtfire!  Robin Williams stars as a lovable dad who can't hold down a job.  He's married to Sally Field, a very serious career woman who has little time for her kids.  The kids are played by Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson. 

When the parents file for divorce, it becomes harder and harder for Williams to see his kids.  So he comes up with a plan to dress as the kid new nanny, Mrs. Doubtfire.  When Sally Field's character starts dating Pierce Brosnan, hilarity ensues.

The movie is all about heart.  Yes, on the surface, it's a man dressing up like a woman, and being put into all sorts of uncomfortable situations.  But beneath the surface, is a story of a family who has an enormous amount of love for his children.  He loves them so much, he's so desperate to see them everyday, he's dressing up as a woman to do so.  That's what the best films are all about, heart. 

The movie mostly follows Williams, Field, and their children.  Each character has an arc, some growth over the course of the movie.  I think that's important too.  Williams becomes a responsible parent, Field loosens up and enjoys her life, their son gets better grades in school, etc.
Plus there are some great supporting characters, like Williams gay brother, who is played by Harvey Fierstein.  These characters fill out the movie with just great all around performances.

Chris Columbus is one of my favorite directors in Hollywood.  He's done consistently good work.  His choice of cast, setting (San Francisco), score, montage, etc.; everything played into a real life scenario, which had us thinking, 'this is possible'.  Best of all, he knows how to capture people, real people.  This is just a dad wanting to be with his kids, it's so simple, but can open up a world of possibilities with a director like Columbus.

Then there is the star of the show, one of the best situation comedy actors of our time... Robin Williams!  Give the man a spoon and he'll make a funny situation out of it.  In the picture to the right, he made the lids to two pans funny, he's that good. Examples of Williams' genius: The way he's jealous of Brosnan's character and the relationship he's developed with Field, the way he picks up on women while he's in the suit, the way a man picks up on him while he's in the suit; all brilliant acting.

He nailed the accent to Euphegenia Doubtfire, his walk in the fat suit was funny, his reaction to women was funny, everything about Williams' performance was funny.  I loved him in this and can safely say, NO ONE else in Hollywood could have done what he did in this film.

Mrs. Doubtfire went on to gross 441 million dollars worldwide during its theatrical run.  That is an incredible amount of money.  There were a ton of movies before Mrs. Doubtfire that had a man or woman acting in a fat suit.  There are a LOT of movies that came out after Mrs. Doubtfire that tried it as well (i.e. Shallow Hal, and the terrible Big Momma's House).  But no one got it quite right like Columbus and company.  It's a movie with a great message, a ton of laughs, and has endured the test of time.  I absolutely love this film.

RED DVD review

Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Helen Mirren AND John Malkovich are in the same movie?  Sign me up, I don't care what it's about.  Add a bunch of guns, chases, thrills and laughs... what do you get?  RED, which was just released on DVD and Blu-Ray this week.  The acronym, RED, actually stands for Retired: Extremely Dangerous. 

Our cast are all retirees that are being hunted down by someone.  They must work together to uncover what's going on and get to the bottom of the killings.  Great premise right?!  Now I'll tell you what I liked and didn't like about the film.  Let's begin.

What I liked about the film:
The Cast
How can you ignore a cast like this?  Every single actor does a great job in this film.  Willis is the newest retiree and is having trouble adapting to his new life.  He has become friends with Mary Louise Parker, and she's helping him cope with his boredom.  Freeman, Cox, Mirren and Malkovich are also all retired and have known each other for years.  They all contribute to solving the mystery going on around them.


The Action

I always look at action films a little differently than I do any other genre.  It has to be different from anything I've seen before to be really impressed, and this one is.  The camera angles, chases sequences, and best of all... seeing old people shoot guns!  That's comedy in and of itself.  There's a particular shot of Willis walking out of a spinning car, avoids getting it by it, and shoots at his target in stride, AWESOME!

The Story
Simple to follow, but sophisticated enough that we don't go numb.  I liked it.  It was the perfect mix of mystery and mayhem.  I never felt lost during the movie, I knew everything that was going on, despite a half a dozen locations.  I also never felt like director Robert Schwentke was talking down to me either.  Great job in this department.

The Director

Speaking of Mr. Schwentke, I loved what he did in this film.  Before RED, all I had ever seen of Schwentke's work is The Time Traveler's Wife, which I hated!  I also knew he was set to direct Ryan Reynolds (rumored) in the upcoming comic book adaptation, R.I.P.D.  In this film, he takes the audience on a crazy ride; where we can just let go of our problems for two hours and enjoy!  The score was fitting, the wardrobe, the editing, all of which the director has a hand in achieving.  Plus, can you imagine the pressure that guy must of felt?  He's directing living legends, the best at what they do.  He did a great job!

The Cast

Yeah, I KNOW i already put this down as a "like".  But the cast is too big and too good not to mention again.  Freeman is terrific.  Malkovich steals every scene which is off-beat comedy, awesome!  And Karl Urban is a freakin' bad ass in the film.  He plays an up and coming agent who takes his job very seriously.  Watching him and Willis go at it was great.

What I didn't like about the film:
Mary Louise Parker's character

I love Mary Louise Parker.  She is so funny, so talented and very attractive.  She's doing really well for herself.  But her character was in the film for one reason... to simply explain what's going on.  Much like Ellen Page's character in Inception.  I understand it, but don't agree with it.  The writing could have covered what was being relayed to Parker's character.  Still, she's great.

The Verdict:
Original and worthy
The movie is original in what it does and worthy of the cast that was assembled.  Its hard to make action-comedies these days.  What's left to be seen, you know?  But RED was new, fresh AND exciting.  Really really enjoyed it and I look forward to the sequel. 

The two disc special edition Blu-Ray of the film includes Deleted and extended scenes.  Also a 6-part interactive feature that include pop ups with trivia, videos, interviews, etc.  Another feature, CIA Exposed, and an audio commentary with retired CIA Field Officer, Robert Baer.  Enjoy folks!

Love & Other Drugs review... I want 2 hours of my life back!

When your married, or in a committed relationship for that matter, your significant other makes you go see films you otherwise wouldn't be caught dead watching.  This was one of those films.  Jake Gyllenhaal is a womanizing prescription drug salesman.  He's shallow and sleeps around.  Anne Hathaway is a young woman with a rare case of Parkinsons disease.  She wants to keep it casual and so does Gyllenhaal's character... at first.  This is going to be a short review because if the actors and filmmakers weren't going to try their best, neither am I.

What I liked about the film:
Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria
It's a pretty good indicator what a movie is going to be like when the best thing about it is the screen time of two supporting actors.  Oliver Platt is Gyllenhaal's mentor at Pfizer drugs.  Hand Azaria is a doctor who Gyllenhaal tries to sell his prescription drugs to.  Platt is hilarious and is the same character he always plays, but I like it.  Azaria is so diverse I bought he was a womanizing doctor who really cared for his patients.  Great job.


What I didn't like about the film:
Its Stars
Everyone on here knows I dislike Anne Hathaway very much!  Jake Gyllenhaal is not very much behind in my book.  They both phoned in their performances.  Ho, hum, the movie was dumb.

The Writing
Typical "chick flick" fashion.  Predictable, even though they attempted the unpredictable.  So stupid.  Hathaway doesn't want to get involved with anyone because she's worried she'll get attached.  At first Gyllenhaal is in it just for the sex, but later wants more.  As his career improves, his personal life goes down the tank.  Who cares? 

The Director
Edward Zwick should just chalk this one up to a loss.  He's too good a damn director to be involved in crap like this.  He's made such classics as Defiance, Blood Diamon, The Last Samurai, The Seige, and Legends of the Fall.  Wow, that's an amazing resume and hopefully this film can be shrugged off. 

The verdict:
Horrible
There was not a memorable moment in the film.  I left the theater wondering how on Earth I got conned into watching it.  I didn't have an interest in the film whatsoever.  We never covered it on the blog, and rightfully so.  ARRG!  I'm so mad I wasted my time watching this instead of Black Swan!  The timing was just too late for Black Swan and a man's got work in the morning.  Speaking of which, goodnight!

The Virginity Hit DVD review

Have any of our 10 readers even heard of The Virginity Hit?  It's a film starring an unknown cast, but produced by some big players in Hollywood... Will Farrell and Adam McKay.  The movie is about four friends, three of which have lost their virginity.  Matt is the four and final guy to try and lose his virginity in the bunch.  He's been with his girlfriend for 2 years, and he thinks their anniversary will be the day.

What I liked about the film:
Originality
In this day and age, it's all about Facebook and Twitter and YouTube.  In almost every movie featuring teenage characters, they reference these technologies.  TVH (The Virginity Hit) is no different.  It's shot in a very unique way; as a series of home videos/camera phone footage.  It's a unique look that works.  The friends have promised to chronicle Matt's journey to losing his virginity... and posting it to YouTube.  It's definitely in the raunchy comedy genre, but done so differently, it deserves a category all its own.


The Cast

The cast used their real names for their characters to make the film feel more authentic.  I don't recognize anyone in the cast, but they're all terrific.  The actors had a real chemistry between them.  They gave each other a lot of crap but you could see they all genuinely cared about each other.  Great cast!

The Story/Heart

There are so many raunchy comedies out there that don't work, because there's no heart.  They don't make us care about the characters, TVH works.  I cared about Matt and his journey.  I felt bad about his childhood and what he's been through.  The story was well written and the delivery from the actors comes off as improv, which worked in the film.


What I didn't like about the film:
The Absurd
The movie feels real for the most part.  But as soon as it strays away from that and tries to do more, it doesn't work.  There were a few exaggerated scenes that took away from the film more than they added.

The verdict:
Hilarious with heart

It's a film you should see, especially in a group of friends.  It looks different than any movie you've seen; it doesn't have a glossy, polish finish to it.  It's raw footage, that's as real a depiction of this generation as it gets.  Teenagers are doing the things depicted in the movie, period.  Off subject, read here about the controversy surrounding the billboard to the left.  The film gets a thumbs up from me.

I know this is a "DVD review", but the DVD of the film I rented had literally no extras.  Which is too bad.  It was an independent film, but It would have been fun to see the behind the scenes goodies.  Go out and see this movie guys, then let me know what you think!

War Machine will get a solo spin-off from Iron Man

I always thought War Machine was a pretty cool character in the Marvel universe.  But is he cool enough for his own film?  Apparently Marvel thinks so.  Don Cheadle who played the armored hero will reprise his role, FOR NOW!  Remember the Terrance Howard debacle?  Or how about the Edward Norton debacle?  Yeah, no actor is a lock for a sequel with these guys.  For now, here's what Cheadle had to say about the spin-off:

Yeah they’re developing it now, they’re working on that.  I think they’ve hired a writer and so, you know, we’ll see how it goes. It’d be a lot of fun.  I don't think he shows up in ['Avengers'].  I think he's kind of a lone wolf.

That's an interesting comment towards the end of the quote.  I haven't really given The Avengers much thought of late.  Now we know War Machine isn't in the film.  But it makes sense because Marvel needs films to fill the calendar after The Avengers is released.   

One of my "dislikes" on my Iron Man 2 review was Cheadle himself; or the misuse of Cheadle anyway.  He was just a passenger on that poorly made ride.  I think he's a great actor, I just don't really like him for this.  Maybe I'm alone, but I thought Terrance Howard was a more fitting War Machine.

So are you excited to see a War Machine spin-off?  Or do you even care?

Ed Helms' Cedar Rapids trailer and movie poster

Ed Helms is one of the funniest men on TV. His character Andy, is among my favorite aspects of NBC's "The Office".  The Hangover was another example of the funny man's work.  His next film is becoming a Sundance darling.  Cedar Rapids has Helms, an insurance salesman from a small town, heading to an insurance convention.  There he meets a big shot salesman played by none other than John C. Reilly, also an AtD favorite! 

The film also star Anne Heche and is directed by Miguel Arteta.  Arteta directed the Michael Cera film, Youth In Revolt.  He's also directed Reilly before in the Jennifer Aniston/Jake Gyllenhaal, The Good Girl.  Check out the trailer to Cedar Rapids below, enjoy!

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