ARTHUR: Go with God

A dear friend of mine recently informed me that I see a lot of crap movies, and I’m pretty sure she would put Arthur in that category. I have another friend who refers to movies like this as “guilty pleasures.” Pleasures, yes, but wouldn’t it be great if we could all agree to leave the guilt at home? Take the two hours, see the crap movie of your choice, and make no apologies! Is Scream 4 what you need right now? Go see it! Soul Surfer? See it! Source Code? Sucker Punch? Go with God.

This remake of  1981’s Arthur has been on my list for a long time. I’ve been a fan of Russell Brand since he played the adorable sidekick “Mickey” in Bedtime Stories. I realize that I’m his only fan – everybody deserves at least one, and I’m his. So that’s the first reason I was excited to see the new Arthur. The second reason is simple: Liza Minnelli is not in it. Who in the world thought she and Dudley Moore made a cute couple? Me and Dudley Moore, sure. But not her.

So the presence of Brand and the absence of Minnelli was enough to sell me on Arthur right there. But I was also intrigued by the turnabout of the characters – how Arthur’s mother is calling the shots now as head of the family enterprise, instead of his father. And how the valet played by the late Sir John Gielgud has been replaced by a nanny played by Dame Helen Mirren. There’s a whole hatful of wonderful twists like that in this movie.

Remaking a classic like Arthur is treading on dangerous ground, and it’s true that the movie has generally been panned by the critics. But due to some inexplicable statistical aberration, all four members of my movie-going party thoroughly enjoyed it, and I suspect many of you would too. I loved Dudley Moore (may he rest in peace), but in my opinion, Brand did more than justice to the role. Oh, and he and I would totally make a cute couple!

See the Arthur trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtTVquZ2TFk

For old times’ sake, see the original Arthur trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3tG5t9cN0

Coming soon! Reviews of Rio and Jane Eyre

LIMITLESS: What a trip

The opening sequence of Limitless takes you zooming down the busy streets of New York City – and not just alongside the traffic but through the windows of the cars. This goes on for blocks, as if you’re looking through some kind of super-sonic lens. I don’t know how they filmed it, but the effect was stunning.

From that opening sequence until the closing titles, Limitless is quite a trip. A drug trip, that is. It’s the story of a man who happens upon a wonder pill – the mother of all mother’s little helpers. It gives him unfettered access to 100% of his mental capacity, while everyone else has to make do with only 20%. And what he’s able to do with that extra 80% is pretty amazing.

But the question on my mind was this: After sharing the screen in movie after movie with other big Hollywood names, can Bradley Cooper carry a feature film on his own? The answer is a resounding yes. He has a powerful presence that never lets up, which is saying a lot considering that he’s in practically every scene.

Limitless, which was co-produced by Richard Branson, was a bit of a gamble for both fellows, but it paid off handsomely, so to speak. It was #1 at the box office the week it came out, and after four weeks it had grossed over $64 million – almost 20 million more than its closest four-week competitor, The Lincoln Lawyer.

Of course, as with any miracle drug, there are inevitable downsides. But our hero is too busy living the high life to worry too much about what’s waiting for him at the end of the road. To its credit, Limitless doesn’t try to cover up the ugliness of drug addiction. As amazing as they may be, world-class drugs are still just drugs. We’d all do well to remember that when Novartis starts pitching pills like these to the general public.

See the Limitless preview here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOLqNOfzus4

Coming soon! Reviews of Arthur and Rio

CEDAR RAPIDS: Small movie, big heart

It’s entirely possible you haven’t heard of the movie Cedar Rapids. It’s a small, independent film, which is another way of saying it’s “not coming soon to a theater near you.” It’s currently showing at only one theater in all of Austin, and this week might be the last chance for locals to catch it. But don’t let its limited distribution scare you off. This is not a cheap, dumpy film. It’s a well-made adult comedy with a good-sized heart.

I say “adult comedy” because it is rated R, and some of the humor is pretty raunchy. But unlike most raunchy comedies, Cedar Rapids isn’t out to shock you. The humor makes perfect sense within the context of the characters and the setting, and it’s tempered by an equal measure of sweetness.

Cedar Rapids stars Ed Helms as a charmingly naïve insurance agent named Tim Lippe who is attending his first regional insurance conference in – you guessed it – Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The stakes are high for Tim, whose firm is counting on him to bring home the coveted Two Diamond insurance agency award. But things start to unravel when he meets up with a handful of seasoned pros, played by John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.

Office Space fans will enjoy seeing Stephen Root as Tim’s boss back at the agency. Also waiting for Tim back home is his some-time sweetheart played by Sigourney Weaver. Which really just leaves us with one question: Why you would put together a cast like that, with a screenplay like this, and give it such a limited distribution? I can only assume that the industry execs have been at the actuarial tables again, and somebody screwed up a decimal point.

See the trailer for Cedar Rapids here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJqFUWbITug

Coming soon! Reviews of Limitless and Arthur

HALL PASS: Served its purpose

Perhaps this review is moot – Hall Pass has probably already packed up its tacky bags and headed out of town. But for those of you who were planning to catch it on Netflix in a few months, I’ll go ahead and give you my two cents’ worth.

There are a lot of reasons to see this movie, including Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins, and Stephen Merchant. There’s also that adorable UPS guy from Legally Blonde. His real name is Bruce Thomas, in case that ever comes up in a trivia contest.

By the same token, there are plenty of reasons to take a pass, and it pretty much all hinges on your tolerance for vulgar humor and the relentless objectification of women. You also have to take into account the head schmuck, played by Jason Sudeikis, who is so over-the-top repugnant, it’s actually distracting. You start asking yourself, “How did this guy manage to get married in the first place? How does he have friends? A job? A driver’s license?” Unfortunately, these questions are never answered.

Still, the movie served its purpose. Mr. Webber and I went to see it right after seeing Unknown, to help us get the taste of blood out of our mouths. That it did. It quickly brought my heart rate back to normal, and it even made me laugh, despite my indignation. As the final credits rolled, neither of us were sorry we had seen it. How’s that for a rousing endorsement? Mr. Webber’s nutshell review was that it was “like Couples Retreat, only better.”

It’s fine by me if you want to take a pass on this one, but if for some reason you’re still on the fence, check out what film critic David Edelstein had to say about it on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” After first seeing the trailer, I had told Mr. Webber he was going to have to see Hall Pass by himself. But David’s review changed my mind. And I’m not sorry he did.

See the trailer for Hall Pass here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A5zZakDJno

UNKNOWN: On the edge of my proverbial seat

It’s true, I wasn’t literally on the edge of my seat. That would have made me far too vulnerable! Instead I was clinging to the arm rests for dear life, dodging bullets, knives, and oncoming German luxury cars. Liam Neeson’s life is on the line, people! Who can eat popcorn at a time like this??

It’s been a while since Unknown came out, so let me refresh your memory, so to speak. It’s about a scientist who wakes up from a coma, remembers exactly who he is, and sets out to resume his life, only to find that no one believes he’s the man he says he is! Not even his own wife! It’s good already, right? You take the murder and mayhem of The Bourne Identity, add Liam Neeson, stir in some wild car chases through Berlin, throw in a pinch of medical drama, and voila!

Thrillers aren’t normally my cup of tea, even ones rated PG-13, but the cast for this one made it an easy sell: Liam Neeson, of course, plus January Jones, Aidan Quinn, and Frank Langella. Good guys? Bad guys? They kept me guessing the whole way. Surely there must be a logical explanation for this bizarre turn of events! And of course there is, but I’m sworn to secrecy.

I have only one criticism of the movie, and it’s a plot issue. In the old days, the bad guys were seriously up to no good – they were always attempting to acquire nuclear armaments or otherwise bringing the planet to the brink of total destruction. In this film, not so much. In fact, I think I might have laughed out loud when I found out what the “bad guys” were really up to. But that part came near the end, and I was already in a deeply committed relationship with our beleaguered hero. Despite that flaw, it was a great movie, and both Mr. Webber and I left the theater feeling content.

Incidentally, we saw Unknown as part of a rare Friday night double feature while our kiddo was away on a spring break trip. I was afraid that Unknown was going to give me nightmares, so we followed it up with something fluffy. I still ended up having bad dreams that night, but it wasn’t from Unknown – it was from the Battle: L.A. trailers that I was forced to sit through twice that night! My sincerest apologies, but you won’t be seeing a review for that movie in this blog . . .

See the trailer for Unknown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXUgkCjdBM