Movies Blog : humor, reviews

Sunshine Cleaning

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:24:00 GMT

Rose and Norah were little girls when their little mother died. They both came in from playing in the yard to find their mom dead in the bathroom, an apparent suicide. As the two girls grow up, that day shapes their lives. Rose is a single mother working hard as a house cleaner to raise her son, while having an affair with her married high school sweetheart. Norah is a party girl. She doesn't have a boyfriend, drinks all the time, and can't hold a job. Their father is a quirky man always looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.

After Rose's son is expelled from school and a reunion with her high school friends approaching, Rose convinces Norah to start a crime scene cleaning business with her. Hilarity ensues as the two women struggle to learn the ropes of cleaning up grisly crime scenes, but there is an underlying seriousness as well. With their new business taking off, both Rose and Norah have to come to grips with what happen to their mother all those years ago and figure out what they want out of their own lives.

Fans of Little Miss Sunshine will like this movie with the quirky characters, humor, but a serious storyline as well. I laughed out loud and cried a few times as well. Highly recommended.

"Hot Fuzz" a modern spoof film worth watching

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:20:00 GMT

While channel surfing several weekends ago, I happened upon Naked Gun 33 1/3 airing on Comedy Central. I used to love the Naked Gun series, with Leslie Nielsen portraying a bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin. It made me recall some of the other "classic" (I use that word subjectively) spoof films of the late 80s and early 90s, like Spaceballs, Hot Shots!, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Okay, so none of these movies are all that great, but I still enjoy them to this day. And it's not just from nostalgia-goggles...the lame, in-your-face comedy cracks me up.

I then thought about the current state of the spoof movie...and it's a bit painful. From the Scary Movie's to Meet the Spartans to Superhero/Date/Epic/Disaster Movie, things have come a long way. In my opinion (and on IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes), most of these movies are unwatchable. But someone's watching them, as they all make millions (and Sci-Fi Movie & Scary Movie 5 are in the works).

It was there, in the midst of that frightening darkness, that I recalled a beacon of hope...a 2007 film called Hot Fuzz. I rewatched it to get the bad taste out of my mouth and was amazed...a modern spoof movie that's witty & funny!

Hot Fuzz, in a nutshell, is a spoof on the "buddy cop" movie (i.e. Rush Hour, Bad Boys) from the guys that created Shaun of the Dead (a romantic comedy, with zombies!). Here's the official plot summary, better than what I could come up with:

Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is the finest cop London has to offer, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing - the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford.

Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost). The son of amiable Police Chief Frank Butterman, Danny is a huge action movie fan and believes his new big-city partner might just be a real-life "bad boy," and his chance to experience the life of gunfights and car chases he so longs for. Angel is quick to dismiss this as childish fantasy and Danny's puppy-like enthusiasm only adds to Angel's growing frustration.

However, as a series of grisly accidents rocks the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems and as the intrigue deepens, Danny's dreams of explosive, high-octane, car-chasing, gunfighting, all-out action seem more and more like a reality. It's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice.

This movie is absolutely hysterical! Pegg & Frost always work great together, and Hot Fuzz continues that trend. Their dialogue, characterization, everything is A+! Every "buddy cop" and over-the-top action movie cliche is taken on here. Whether it's the humorously-overdone gore, the hilariously-brilliant plot you won't see coming, the insane gunfight at the end, the FOUR cliffhanger endings, or "firing your gun in the air and yelling 'aaaahhhhh!!!'" (ala Point Break), you will laugh profusely while watching this movie. Unless you have a condition that prevents you from laughing.

Below is a short clip of one of my favorite scenes. If you find yourself laughing, you owe it to yourself to watch the whole movie!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

More Information

Library Catalog: Check the availability of Hot Fuzz on DVD. The EVPL has widescreen and fullscreen versions.
Theatrical Trailer: Check out the theatrical trailer for a glimpse of the humor, guns, & gore.
User Reviews: The movie has an 8.0/10 rating on IMDB and a 90% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Chuck" is about a nerd that becomes a spy...essentially my life story

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:50:00 GMT

In the television show Chuck, Charles "Chuck" Bartowski plays your typical 20-something computer-geek, stuck in a dead-end job at Buy More's Nerd Herd (a less-than-subtle parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad). He lives an uneventful life with his sister Ellie, until one day when he receives an email from his long-lost friend Bryce. Turns out Bryce is a rogue CIA agent, and his email contains an entire government database of top secret info, which embeds itself into Chuck's brain upon viewing.

Both the NSA and CIA want the intelligence returned to them and dispatch agents of their own - Major John Casey and Sarah Walker - to "retrieve" that data. When the original database is destroyed, Chuck has the only copy of that data, so he is forced to become a spy. Chuck's decision to keep his new-found occupation a secret from his family and friends, and to live his life as normally as possible, forces Casey and Walker to establish an uneasy alliance and secret identities (Walker poses as Chuck's girlfriend and takes a cover job at the local restaurant next to the Buy More while Casey gets a job at the Buy More), with the shared goal of protecting Chuck at all costs.

Seeing specific people/things causes Chuck to "flash", subliminally retrieving data about the person/object from the government database in his mind. Chuck uses this ability to help John & Sarah thwart evildoers and save the entire world from impending doom.

Sarah is an incredibly attractive female spy, and as they continue their "fake" relationship Chuck's feelings for her become real. There is lots of romantic tension, often mocked by smart-aleck comments by John (portrayed by Adam Baldwin, of Full Metal Jacket & Firefly/Serentity fame).

This show is brilliant, tied with The Office as my favorite current TV show. The cast is excellent, with real chemistry. The plots, while far-fetched, are extremely well-thought out, always resulting in hilarity and the unexpected. And the emotion evoked by the tension between Chuck & Sarah (not helped by Ellie's constant "I'm so happy you finally found a girlfriend" remarks), his belief that Sarah is way out of his nerd-league, the experiences with his ex-girlfriend (who re-appears in season 2), and his quest for more (a normal life and better job, for starters) creates endearing, genuine characters.

Season 1 was released on DVD & Blu-ray a couple months ago, and season 2 (which is even better than season 1) is currently airing on Monday nights at 7pm on NBC. It's a show you really need to watch in order, so check out the season 1 DVDs, catch up on the previous season 2 episodes at NBC.com, and watch the latest episode every Monday night!

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check on the availability of Chuck: The Complete First Season on DVD at EVPL libraries.
NBC.com: Official website of Chuck. Find out more about the show, and watch full episodes from season 2!
Amazon: Buy Chuck: The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-ray using these links, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase!

"Air Guitar Nation" cranks the make-believe volume up to 11

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:58:00 GMT

How many times has this happened to you...you're listening to music and an epic guitar solo comes on. What do you do?!? You bust out the air guitar, showing onlookers the musical virtuoso you are.

Apparently, air guitar is bigger than I realized. Since 1996, Oulu, Finland has been the home of the Air Guitar World Championships. Essentially the Olympics of air guitar, contestants from all around the world compete to bring this coveted trophy back to their home country. Competitions consist of two rounds: in the first, contestants perform a song of their choosing. The second round is a song picked by the judges, not revealed until the competition, that contestants have to improv. Contestants are judged based on their "airness" and pure rock-ness.

Sadly, the US did not participate on this world stage until 2003. It was then that Americans realized what a travesty this was and the US Air Guitar Championships were founded. After a series of regional competitions, the best performers go to Finland to represent the US.

Air Guitar Nation is a documentary (more along the lines of This is Spinal Tap than a traditional documentary) about the founding of the US Air Guitar Championships, the first competitions in the US, and the journey to the 2003 World Championships (including an air guitar training camp!) in Finland. You'll meet many of the zany US performers, including C. Diddy and Björn Türoque, whose fierce rivalry becomes a central focus of the film.

Air Guitar Nation is extremely entertaining, hilarious, and very well made. How does the US fare in their first outing in the World Championships? Watch the movie and find out for yourself!

Movie Trailer

(Please visit the site to view this media)

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check availability of Air Guitar Nation at EVPL libraries.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie using this link, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase!
AirGuitarNation.com: Official website of the movie.
AirGuitarUSA.com: Official website of the US Air Guitar Championships.
AirGuitarWorldChampionships.com: Official website of the Air Guitar World Championships.

"Run Fatboy, Run" limps to the finish line

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:31:00 GMT

I've always been a fan of Simon Pegg's work. In his previous efforts (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, & Spaced), Pegg & co-star Nick Frost teamed up with absolutely hilarious results!

Run Fatboy, Run is Pegg's latest film...and unfortunately it doesn't live up to its predecessors.

Pegg portrays Dennis, who gets cold feet on his wedding day and leaves his pregnant fiancée, Libby, at the altar.

Five years later... Of course, Dennis has become an out-of-shape loser with a crummy job. Dennis & Libby share custody of their child, and he now realizes the mistake in not going through with the wedding. However, Libby is now dating Whit, who is everything Dennis is not: successful, wealthy, dedicated, etc. After discovering Whit is an athlete and will be running in an upcoming marathon, Dennis decides to run in it as well, proving to Libby that he he has changed and can actually finish something he starts.

Cue the cheesy training montages. Dennis' friend Gordon and his landlord Mr. Goshdashtidar (a stereotypical foreigner) whip him into shape, transforming him from a fat boy into...well...less of a fat boy.

Does Dennis finish the marathon? Is it enough to win back Libby? How ridiculous is this plot?

I understand that most movies require suspension of disbelief (an out-of-shape guy can train for a marathon in less than a month?), but that's not the problem I have with this film. In an attempt to be a family-friendly romantic comedy, the humor has been degraded to the level of a bad Adam Sandler flick; nothing but predictable, juvenile humor. Gone is the gut-busting humor, witty dialog, and endearing characters the viewer actually cares about, all of which were present in Pegg's previous efforts.

If you've never seen Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, or Spaced, you'll probably enjoy Run Fatboy, Run more than I did. Otherwise, you'll be extremely disappointed.

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check availability of Run Fatboy, Run at EVPL libraries.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie using this link, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase!
RottenTomatoes.com: View other opinions and read why it's at 48% on the Tomatometer.
Internet Movie Database: Discover info about the movie at IMDB.

"Spaced" a short-lived, hilarious TV comedy

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:02:00 GMT

I'm a fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In the States, this comedic duo is best known for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (both of which I highly recommend!). They got their start in a British television comedy called Spaced; it ran for two seasons (14 episodes total) during 1999-2001. It finally made its way to the US this past July in a DVD box set of the entire series.

It's a very difficult show to describe...so, ripped from Wikipedia:

Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Jessica Hynes) are two London twenty-somethings who meet by chance in a cafe while both are flat-hunting. Despite barely knowing each other, they conspire to pose as a young professional couple in order to meet the requisites of an advertisement for a relatively cheap flat, in the distinctive building at 23 Meteor Street, Tufnell Park, which is owned by and also houses the landlady, Marsha Klein. Also in the building is Brian Topp, an eccentric conceptual artist who lives and works on his various pieces in the ground floor flat. Frequent visitors are Tim's best friend, Mike Watt (Frost) and Daisy's best friend, Twist Morgan.

The series largely concerns the colorful and surreal adventures of Tim and Daisy as they navigate through life, decide on what they want to do with their lives, come to terms with affairs of the heart, and try to figure out new and largely unproductive ways of killing time. Tim and Daisy repeatedly stress that they aren't a couple to everyone but Marsha, but despite (or because of) this, romantic tension develops between them, particularly during the second series.

The central comedic conceit of the series is that it portrays the rather ordinary lives of Daisy and Tim using overblown Hollywood blockbuster clichés.

Like their forays into Hollywood, Spaced provides non-stop laughs, constant pop-culture parodies, crazy camerawork, a great cast, and a surprising amount of character development.

With 5 stars on Amazon, a 9.8/10 rating on IMDB, and my rave review, Spaced comes highly recommended.

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check the availability of and/or place a hold on Spaced.
Amazon.com: Buy it at Amazon and support the Public Library Friends!
Wikipedia: Find out about the history of the show.

"Pushing Daisies"

MediaPhile@evpl — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:26:00 GMT

The first season of this new ABC series just came out on DVD.

"Pushing Daisies" is a fast-paced, whimsical, and light-hearted comedy -- nothing like the dark humor of "Six Feet Under" that I expected. Bryan Fuller (Heroes, Wonderfalls) and Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) are the driving force behind it, and their artistic talents are evident.

Nothing is quite normal in this series. The characters are all quirky and have odd names. The colors are unnaturally bright and saturated. The stage sets are wildly inventive and almost theatrically stagey. And the story lines have unexpected spins and twists.

The male lead, Ned (Lee Pace), has the amazing ability to bring dead things back to life. The only problem is that the dead can only stay alive for one minute, or someone else will die in his/her/its stead. Also, if Ned ever touches this reborn entity again, the result is immediate and irrevocable death. A detective who solves murder cases for the reward money uncovers Ned's secret and convinces him to be his partner. And a new TV series is born........

Other series regulars are childhood sweetheart Chuck (Anna Friel), gumshoe detective Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), Pie Hole waitress Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth), and Chuck's Aunt Lily (Swoosie Kurtz).

"Pushing Daisies" was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards for its first season, and the second season begins on October 1.

KA-POW!!! "Batman: The Movie" a campy good bat-time!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:26:00 GMT

I must preface this review with the fact that I'm only 25 years old. I did not get to experience Adam West's Batman during its bat-heydey in the 60s. However, I do have fond memories of going to grandma & grandpa's (they had cable!) as a kid, watching reruns on their HUGE 27-inch console TV.

To commemorate its 42nd bat-anniversary, along with cashing in on the bat-success of The Dark Knight, Fox re-released Batman: The Movie on DVD, and for the first time released it in HD on Blu-ray. I recently viewed the Blu-ray version and, having never seen the film, didn't know what to bat-expect.

The story is about as crazy as they come:
The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman team up to highjack Commodore Schmidlapp's yacht containing a superdehydrator. This superdehydrator can extract all moisture from a human, reducing them to a pile of dust. The villians' plan to take over the world by dehydrating the 9 members of the United World Security Council and holding their dusty remains for ransom. It's up to Batman & Robin, with their Batmobile, Batcopter, Batboat, and all their miscellaneous bat-tools (all prefixed with the word "bat-"), to put a stop to this evil bat-menace!!!

Within the first five bat-minutes of the film, you know what you're in for. When an at-sea rescue attempt gets foiled, Batman finds himself dangling on a rope ladder from the Batcopter, being attacked by one of the Penguin's exploding sharks! Thanks to 1960s special effects, the exploding shark is a giant rubber shark attached to West's bat-leg that he beats mercilessly with his bat-fists. Holy sardine, Batman! Robin retrieves the shark repellent bat-spray from the cockpit, gets it to Batman, and with a single spray the shark falls back to the sea, exploding on bat-impact (I'm guessing PETA didn't exist in the 60s).

The movie features lots of campy, laugh-inducing bat-dialog:

Batman: [reading a riddle] What has yellow skin and writes?
Robin: A ball-point banana!
Batman: [reads the second riddle] What people are always in a hurry?
Robin: Rushing people... Russians!
Batman: So this means...
Robin: Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin!

Robin: [pointing toward the sky] That crazy missile! It wrote two more riddles before it blew up!
Batman: [reading a skywritten message] "What goes up white and comes down yellow and white?"
Robin: An egg!
Batman: [reading another skywritten message] "How do you divide seventeen apples among sixteen people?"
Robin: Make apple sauce!
Batman: [thinking out loud] Apples into applesauce - A unification into one smooth mixture. An egg - nature's perfect container. The container of all our hopes for the future.
Robin: A unification and a container of hope? United World Organization!
Batman: Precisely, Robin! And there's a special meeting of the Security Council today. If what I fear is true...
Robin: Wow! Let's commandeer a taxi!
Batman: No, Robin. Not at this time of day. Luckily, we're in tip-top condition. It'll be faster if we run. Let's go!
Robin: [while running] Holy marathon! I'm getting a stitch, Batman!
Batman: Let's hope that it's a stitch in time, Robin, that saves nine - The nine members of the United World Security Council. Come on.

My only bat-complaints...

It's an hour and forty minutes long, which isn't too terribly long, but the campiness does wear a bit thin towards the bat-end. Also, the bat-ending is pretty uneventful.
WHERE IS MR. FREEZE?!?!?!? He was my favorite bat-villain in the TV series, and he could've easily been worked in, making the fearsome-foursome a fearsome-fivesome.

I still recommend this movie, just for the sheer bat-goofiness of it all. It's a fun look at Batman prior to his 80s gone-goth makeover. So check out this bat-DVD, pop some bat-popcorn, relax in your bat-recliner, and enjoy the crazy antics of Batman: The Movie!

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Find out which EVPL libraries have the movie available for checkout.
YouTube: View one of the most infamous scenes from the movie.
Internet Movie Database: Info about & reviews of the movie.
Wikipedia: Production information & history of the movie.
The Dark Knight: A review by Mediaphile@evpl.

"In Bruges"

MediaPhile@evpl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:39:00 GMT

A couple of friends mentioned this flick, so when I saw a copy on the NEW shelf, I grabbed it. I had imagined some dense foreign flick, and wasn't prepared for this wacky British combination of comedy and drama.

Bruges, it turns out, is a town in Belgium that contains one of the most perfectly preserved medieval areas in Europe. So why aren't hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), fresh off a job, delighted to be there? Well, Ken is delighted, but he likes history and art. It is obvious that Ray is going through some sort of meltdown.

"In Bruges" is an intricate dance of a movie that even gets better when hardnosed family-man/mobster Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes) shows up. This is not the romantic Ralph Fiennes of "The English Patient" and "The Constant Gardener" but rather a comically flawed sociopath. His gesticulations and expressions are a wonder to behold, as is his foul-mouthed vocabulary.

Critics praised this movie -- it got an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you like the Coen Brothers you will enjoy "In Bruges." It is laugh out loud funny.