Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Observe and Report


Let's pretend like we haven't been reading about Seth Rogen's new flick Observe and Report for the past few months... Based on the trailer that's been making rounds on the internet and from various TV spots, we've come to a few conclusions:

1. It's a laugh riot.
2. It 's a laugh riot with Seth Rogen.
3. It's a laugh riot with Seth Rogen as a mall security cop.

Pretty straightforward, eh? Well, it's not quite as cookie cutter as you might think. For one, Observe and Report is not about Rogen chasing down your typical skateboarder mall rats, looking for love in all the wrong places [read: beauticians jocking the cosmetics counter], and catching the usual pervert flashing his junk at unsuspecting women in the mall parking lot. Well, it is, but that's not what makes it such an interesting watch. Instead of just making a more adult- themed Paul Blart family comedy, Jody Hill [writer/director, natch] has finally blindsided the public with a cinematic curve ball we're sure most moviegoers aren't ready for.

Jody Hill 101: In the year 2006, Mr. Hill broke into the comedy scene with the stunning debut that was Foot Fist Way. You may remember it's lead, one Danny "I'm trying to put tiger balm on this jungle's nuts" McBride? The movie was such a cult hit that Will Farrell started circulating the dvd around the Hollywood comedy elite, whom I can only assume has nothing better to do than pass around funny dvds to each other. With Farrell as his new backer, Mr. Hill started writing a little TV show called Eastbound and Down, also starring Danny "maybe your wife's gonna buttfuck someone tonight" McBride. With the help of Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green, the show received a considerable amount of praise and has recently been renewed for a second season on HBO. What can we learn from all of this? Two things: first, Will Farrell is either a fucking genius or has too much time on his hands; second, Jody Hill has begun a mini movie revolution that is just barely making itself known to the greater movie watching population.

As Riley Freeman would put it, "I don't want to dick ride or nuthin," but Jody Hill's cranked out some pretty epic material in the past few years. In a world where I can't go see a funny movie in the theater without it somehow being connected to Judd Apatow, I'm ready for a breath of fresh air.* This pretty much gets us back to Observe and Report and the shifting zeitgeist of movies that aren't written by a Segel, Rogen, Goldberg, or an Apatow. Or all of them at once. Oh wait, that was called Knocked Up. Nevermind.

We wouldn't call Seth Rogen's performance in Observe and Report spectacular, but we will congratulate the man on avoiding a rehash of his previous character type, that of a well-meaning, yet somehow unmotivated twenty something Jewish male who doesn't quit with the funnies. His portrayal of a mentally ungrounded manic depressive is captivating, entertaining, and quite disturbing. Since you won't find a review of this movie without some mention of how it's just like Taxi Driver, we'll join the band wagon too. By the end of the flick, you're gonna see some real shit go down. Hard drug use? Check. Questionable post-tequila shot coital relations? Check. Unnecessary yet completely appreciated gunplay/talk? Double check. This flick has it all, and it's not because Jody Hill is fishing for laughs. He's really trying to fuck with your brain and if you aren't even a little thrown off by the end of Rogen's ridiculous 1 hour, 40 minute downward spiral, then we'd like to shake your hand [note: this is not a direct invitation for you to shake our hands; we're just trying to make a point]. We were left wondering how Jody Hill convinced a major studio to green light this fucker, but hey, we're glad it got a wide release.

Perhaps it's time for the movie watching public to know that there is an alternative out there ready to satiate their comedic desires. Maybe they're ready to have their brains stimulated by original content without foregoing a thoroughly entertaining movie experience. It's possible that the continual Apatow bombardment will end and we'll get something fresher as a result. Or we could be entirely wrong and we just wasted the last few moments of your life. No matter, Observe and Report got a good response out of us. Check it out. You might be surprised. And with that,

1. Is lithium really a good party drug?
2. Can an alcoholic actually keep his/her shit together by switching from hard liquor to beer?
3. Is Aziz Ansari's dick really brown?


* To be clear, I do not consider Observe and Report an Apatow flick for a few reasons. Seth Rogen is the Apatow golden calf, yes, but Jody Hill has done a great job of keeping him reigned in, avoiding all of that improv business Kevin Smith couldn't quite quell in Zack and Miri Make A Porno. Despite McBride's attachment to the Apatow crew in a recent Vanity Fair article, his relations to Jody Hill are closer and his breakthrough was not a direct result of Freaks and Geeks getting cancelled.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Watchmen


All right. Despite the ridiculous push and shove that's expected with big studio legal nightmares [Warner and Fox, we're looking at you...] the day has finally arrived [a few days early for us just because we're always doing it big]: probably the most hyped movie of 2009, Watchmen, hits theaters this weekend across the country causing every fanboy within 10 feet of an ethernet connection to wet himself.

After a quick meal of deep fried chicken and biscuits we grabbed our tickets, found some nice seats mid-left of the theater and waited until the lights went down and the show began, and boy what a show it was. After a quick and modest DC/Watchmen title flash we're thrown into the middle of a dark living room watching television with one of the film's main characters checking out the various talk shows and commercials from an alternate 1985 the movie takes place in. Now, if you've read the graphic novel you know what's about to go down: the front door gets kicked in, a brutal ass beating takes place, and our fellow TV watcher gets thrown out of a 10 story window. Zoom in on a bloody smiley face pin and voila! you've got the first few minutes of Watchmen. The title sequence that follows is very impressive and it gives the viewer a little glimpse of the strange world The Watchmen used to patrol up until a government act outlawed costumed vigilantism. This is pretty much where the rest of the movie picks up, exploring the reason why said TV watcher was given an impromptu flying lesson and what this means for the rest of the world.

We won't go into all the nitty gritty themes/subplots that unfold throughout Watchmen [there's too much to get through and we're too lazy] but we will say this: the movie's a great cinematic experience, even if it is considered a "comic book flick" with funny superheroes walking around talking like Christian "I'm gonna fucking kick your fucking ass" Bale's Batman. What this film does well is throw you a curve ball mucking up what you think a comic book movie should look like. Plus there's tons of explosions, sexy chicks in tight latex, your usual Zack Snyder super slo-mo action sequences, and oh yeah.. Mickey from Seinfeld shows up midway through the film as a disgruntled prison inmate. Oh, that reminds us...

Warning: there are quite a few scenes that'll make even the slightly squeamish run for the loo or the theater next to you that's playing Fired Up. This movie's rated R for a good reason, so don't let your 12 year old convince you that it's all fun and games with Ace and Gary running around fighting crime.

To recap: Zack Snyder's Watchmen is a visual attack on your eyes, but in a good way [fuck you Speed Racer]. The man's devoted a lot of time to make sure this movie doesn't skimp on the special effects and it definitely shows. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of the character development doesn't quite happen and it hurts this film because the reason it's such a big deal is because the characters are what make the story work in the first place. Yes, it's action packed, yes they're trying to prevent the end of the world, but without the human element the entire film suffers. You're left feeling confused about why you should care about the film's characters at all and in the end, there's just a little something missing. Not to say that this ruins Watchmen altogether, it's just what happens when you take one medium and try to transpose one of its most sacred works to film. That and some of the musical choices make you scratch your head for a few seconds.

The film's cast includes Billy "Prefontaine" Crudup, Malin "shotgun anus!" Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jackie "try to get out of this one Macgyver!" Earle Haley, TV extraordinaire Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick "I'm a dumb homeowner" Wilson, and Carla "I hate Ari Gold" Gugino. Directed by Zack Snyder [Dawn of the Dead remake, 300]. And with that,


1. Do multiple Dr. Manhattan's in bed qualify as a menage a trois?
2. What the hell does a tachyon really do?
3. Am I wrong or did Veidt own a goddamn Liger?
4. Is a flash fryer really the best weapon to deter a prison shanking?