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Funny People (Movie Review)

Rated: R for language and crude sexual humor throughout, and some sexuality.
Release Date: 2009-07-31
Starring: Judd Apatow
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.funnypeoplemovie.com/

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‘Funny People’ does not live up to the Apatow hype. It never even gets close to what his two previous fantastic films achieved in the genre of comedy. Much of its demise is attributed to its story which is told in a choppy and uneven manner. There’s some good material here, but the movie rambles more than the human attention span can tolerate.

The premise is succint. It’s about a famous comedian (Adam Sandler) who has a near-death experience and then goes through a self exploration phase which will make him see the world in a whole different light. Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill and newcomer Aubrey Plaza, of Puerto Rican decent, also star.

I have to admit, by looking at the trailer, I thought ‘Funny People’ was going to be a critically acclaimed film worthy of an Oscar, if it was executed correctly. Regrettably, it never quenched my personal expectations. Is it all bad? Absolutely not. There are some very funny moments, but they are dispersed all over the story like broken glass. It’s refreshing to see Apatow branching out and trying something off the beaten path but, in this case, his sense of ambition may have caused him to lose his way. It’s a brave move that is partially undone by pacing problems and a lack of focus. ‘Funny People’ clocks in at nearly 2 1/2 hours, and that’s too long for any comedy.

 

Most of you might not know of Puerto Rican comedian Aubrey Plaza, but you will after this movie. In her short and underdeveloped role, Aubrey’s shy, witty demeanor made her on-screen presence a memorable one.

If you’re a fan of Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow’s sexually charged joke marathons, there is some of it here for you to enjoy, but overall, the film is no doubt a drama that might turn off hardcore loyalists.

The Ugly Truth (Movie Review)

Rated: R for sexual content and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.theuglytruth-movie.com/

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The Ugly Truth sells a fantasy about placing together two attractive individuals and telling the audience they are falling in love rather than taking the time to develop interesting characters and building up the romance. The only thing that differentiates it from far too many other uninspired rom-coms is that some of the material is funny and there is an occasional edge to the repartee. Beyond that, however, it’s a cookie-cutter movie, and the cookies are pretty stale.

A romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

The two stars, Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, are the next coming of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. They’re both photogenic and their chemistry is hit-and-miss, but I can’t help wonder if this is more symptomatic of problems with the direction of Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) and the weaknesses in the screenplay. When they’re given a full scene in which to interact, there’s something there, but those moments are few and far between.

 

The Ugly Truth is a neatly packaged product that comes with all the consumer friendly safety labels. The comedy, as sophomoric as it often is, relieves some of the boredom of the generic love story. The movie is more like a re-make than something new, but many viewers find comfort in the familiar, and this might be for them. In my opinion, it is a letdown except for a few laugh out loud racy scenes that salvage fromabsolute mediocrity. If I want to re-visit this formula, I’ll head for the DVD shelf, where better interpretations of the same basic story exist. And that my friends is ‘The Ugly Truth.’

Orphan (Movie Review)

Rated: R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: David Johnson, Alex Mace
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://orphan-movie.warnerbros.com/

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Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra begins ‘Orphan’ like your usual thriller, with scare alerts and false alarms, but it then becomes savagely violent and because it’s source is an innocent child, that savagery is heightened to a surreal peak that makes one twitch and uncomfortable. The first hour is a pure frightful delight, but it’s second half discombobulates into a typical, laughable yet unpredictable Hollywood fare.

So you have an idea of the story, some have compared this film to ‘The Good Son’ starring Macaulay Culkin, but the similarities stop at the first half. ‘Orphan’ is the mother load of all evil child movies. It’s sick and beyond anything you’d expect.  The script has parts where it is absurd and ridiculous, but what about ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ movies and we all love it, don’t we? Orphan is actually better than those films. The first half is as good as any suspense movie as I’ve seen since The Strangers, regrettably the rest of the film cannot be defended. What it could have been.

In this premise, the tragic loss of a couples’ (Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard) unborn child has devastated them. It has taken a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt young 10 year old girl. At the local orphanage, both John and Kate find themselves strangely drawn to a young girl named Esther. Almost as soon as they welcome Esther into their home, however, an alarming series of events begins to unfold, leading Kate to believe that there’s something wrong with Esther – this seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be. Concerned for the safety of her family, Kate tries to get John and others to see past Esther’s sweet facade.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra is known in the circles for making the horror remake ‘House of Wax’ co-starring one rich and young Paris Hilton. This is by far a better offering than the aforementioned. The protagonists Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga are well-cast in the role, however,  the manner in which the movie handles the other children, Daniel and Max, are perturbing. The film uses them as pawns in a demented game of danger and peril.

The climax is rather startling, combining the logic of the situation with audacity in exploiting its terror. Yet you have to hand it to ‘Orphan.’ You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one. This film is not for minors and I say this with all frankness, do not take children to see it. You’ll thank me for it later.

G-Force (Movie Review)

Rated: PG for some mild action and rude humor.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/gforce/

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I have to hand it Jerry Bruckheimer, is there anything this man can’t do? I never thought he could pull off a family animation film and he has without a flaw. ‘G-Force,’ Disney’s new animated 3-D movie experience is a wonderful and fun film that kids as well as parents can enjoy. My wife who is in her 40’s loved it and laughed intensely throughout the film, particularly, at Tracey Morgan’s guinea pig character ‘Blaster’.

The story is about a team of specially  trained secret agent guinea pigs that take on a mission for the US government. They’re dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire, who plans to taking over the world with household appliances. A bit ridiculous, right? Yes, but it’s made for infantiles.

The voices here are top notch, except for Penélope Cruz who seemed uncomfortable voicing animation. I always have thought that is a talent very different from being in front of a camera and not everyone will equate their on-screen performances with their off-screen performances. Tracey Morgan was the highlight, but it was Nicolas Cage who surprised everyone by changing his voice for the mole character ‘Speckles’. The voice was unrecognizable. On a interesting note, at a press conference, Cage spoke about how his kids didn’t know he voiced the character, and the same goes for all his work, because he wants to shield them from his celebrity. Essentially, he implied that his children have no idea he’s a big time Hollywood superstar and will do everything from them ever knowing. Interesting, huh?

The 3-D experience was the best I’ve ever seen, and I’m not just saying that. Kids are so lucky that this film was made for them and not adults. The director Hoyt Yeatman, a visual effects guru, personally told me that he finished rendering the film just last week. Are you kidding me?! Not to get too technical, but the reason for such an onerous task is the attention to detail. According to Yeatman, the rendering took years with several hundred people working on it. If this isn’t a labour of love than I don’t know what is, but it shows and we’re all lucky for it.

Overall, I thought the film was funny, visually pleasing, and the pacing was never dull or incongruent. ‘G-Force’ is made for kids, but parents are going to be pleased applauding right into first place at the box office. Funny enough, I asked Jerry Bruckheimer if there was a sequel in the works and he said, “If we fill the seats with happy customers, we’ll do another one”. That’s not going to be a problem.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Movie Review)

Rated: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.
Release Date: 2009-07-15
Starring: Steve Kloves
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.es/

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‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is the sixth film in the J.K Rowling literary series that refers to a ‘prince’ who is revealed in the movie’s final scenes. In a very beautifully shot film by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel    and director David Yates, this sixth entry  is long and not very entertaining, rather dull and slow paced. Its duration of more than 2 hours and 30 minutes felt eternal, never ending. Once my body begins to fidget in my seat, its an evident sign I am not interested in the story.

Yes, about the story… Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is once again thrusted into the world of the dark lord Voldemort who has chosen Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be his killer on Earth. It’s up to Dumbledore to take Harry under his wing and prepare him for what will be his ultimate battle. Betrayal, death and romance is what is established in this film.

Let it be known that the story adapted to the screen is perhaps the movie’s only flaw. The acting is charming and the characters are likable, especially Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), who is at his best here. In what was once its best attribute, the special effects or CGI are beginning to wane. At times, Potter and his friends looked like cutouts from a cereal box. Let’s see what the 2 last installments will look like next year.

This sixth part is just a tease to the final chapter in what we all hope will be the best of the Harry Potter film series. I think it’s a bit too deep for kids, but adults still treat this series as family fare. Action is definitely anticipated in order to revive it from the blandness witnessed from this otherwise gratifying saga.