PAUL
4 out of 5 stars

graeme: “are you going to probe us?”

paul: “WHY does everyone always assume that? what am i doing? am i harvesting farts? how much can i learn from an ass?”

OMG this is a FUNNY FUNNY movie about alien encounters, and nick frost and simon pegg bring us some fresh relief to the sci-fi comedy genre... ;)


nick frost and simon pegg team up yet again as two british nerds: clive gollings, a science fiction/graphic novel writer and graeme willy, the illustrator. they arrive at the san diego comic-con, where they are in awe of EVERYTHING including meeting famous sci-fi authors to checking out nerdy girls in princess leia costumes and comic book characters... haha, they even bring their book with a 3-boobed alien lady!  they decide to end their comic-con trip with a tour of the american desert AKA UFO hotspots. they rent out a RV, and get their nerd on...on the road! but while they’re on the road, a car speeds up ahead of them and essentially crashes... turns out....it’s just PAUL, an alien that escaped from area 51. (voiced by seth rogen) at first, the guys are shocked to be in the presence of a REAL alien, but as it turns out, paul was just waiting for the right moment to head home. and...it turns out, paul is nothing but a crass, rude, friendly, party animal who likes to smoke weed and drink beers with the guys! of course, it’s not a full-on adventure without a chick in the backseat!  christian fundamentalist ruth buggs (kristen wiig) joins in on the adventure when clive and graeme “kidnap” her after she “accidentally” sees paul and faints... chased by govt officials AKA agent zoil (jason bateman), it’s a wild wild ride in the american desert! :P

the character of paul the alien is pretty original, but so is this entire storyline! it’s a fresh comedy about alien life forms and re: taking chances even when you’re not ready... it’s got a funny cast incld. bill hader, jason bateman, and jane lynch! (of all ppl...) there’s even a cameo by a very special lady who starred in alien-related films in the 80s... (don’t want to give it away!) another truly funny movie from the minds of simon pegg and nick frost! definitely give this one a shot...whether you’re a science geek or not. :P

THE DEBT
4 out of 5 stars

an interesting movie about mossad agents in the 1960s on a mission to retrieve a nazi doctor living in hiding. they’re hailed as national heros by the israeli govt, but are they? focus features delivers another great film about the truth vs. the “truth”. ;)

the year is 1966, and rachel singer (jessica chastain), david peretz (sam worthington), and stephan gold (marton csokas) come back home to israel receiving high honors after completing their mission from eastern germany. their mission: to capture and retrieve a former nazi doctor named dieter vogel AKA the surgeon of birkanau, a ruthless nazi officer who performed awful inhumane experiments during the holocaust. they were to bring him back to israel, so he could stand trial for his crimes... the movie actually begins in 1997, where rachel’s daughter sarah has written a book on her mother rachel (helen mirren) and father stephan (tom wilkinson)’s infamous mission, and rachel even reads an excerpt from the book at a celebratory dinner. as it turns out, rachel and the prisoner fought, the prisoner escaped, and rachel reached for the gun and shot the bastard as he was running away... but the looks exchanged between rachel and stephan at dinner prove otherwise? so, what really happened that night? i don’t want to give away the whole plot, but let’s just say that a love triangle + failed mission + a psychologically diabolical prisoner = THRILLER. ;)

the premise of this movie was really good, but for some odd reason, i felt like something was missing... maybe it was b/c of sam worthington’s lack of acting, but i felt like the characters needed some more substance? i.e. what made them join mossad? what made them accept this mission besides the obvious? i thought the ending was BRILLIANT, and thought the storyline was pretty well developed... the color filtering is done really well, and you feel like it's really 1966 east berlin.  it’s definitely a great spy thriller with lots of suspenseful moments esp. the train station vogel extraction scene! this one really gets your heart racing and your brain wondering what’ll happen next. james bond fans will hate, but realists will love... ;)

RIO
4 out of 5 stars

“stop shaking him! he’s not a maraca!” – rafael re: his toucan babies shaking a toucan bird egg

if you like tropical birds, brazil, samba, and all around cuteness, this movie is for you! i mean, with songs like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sl7cLu31rE you can’t help but smile throughout this one... ;)

rio is all about a bird’s tale...tyler “blu” gunderson’s tale. :P blu is the last of his species, and while his life has always been about being linda’s pet bird and companion in moose creek (not rio), minnesota, he feels right at home when linda (voiced by leslie mann) and blu (voiced by jesse eisenberg) travel to exotic rio de janeiro! as it turns out, blu is the last of his species, and dr. tuvio (voiced by rodrigo santoro) wants blu to mate with another blue macaw named jewel. (voiced by anne hathaway) blu and jewel don’t exactly get along...and they’re birdnapped by poachers, assisted by their own evil bird named nigel. blu and jewel escape, but they end up lost in the middle of the brazillian jungle. they’re soon attacked by lil’ toucan babies, but it turns out they’re just the offspring of a very friendly toucan named rafael. (voiced by george lopez) rafael informs them of the awesome parades of carnival, and even offers to help them find luis (tracy morgan), who can help get rid of their chain. (the poachers put a chain on their claws so they wouldn’t fly away...HAH!) backed by will.i.am and jamie foxx in bird form...ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ these birds from being free. ;)

lots of cute moments with lots of color and great animation! even a memorable soundtrack! it doesn’t have the pixar finesse, but it’s still a great movie for both kids and adults. lots of color, lots of brazillian flavor, and of course, lots of rhythm. i mean, look at this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb0P038r6ww&feature=related if that doesn’t get your tail feather shakin’? papi, we’ve got a problem... :P

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT
1 out of 5 stars

GRR... this was sooooo disappointing!!! i just don’t understand why they didn’t just make a “that 70’s show” movie instead. such a waste... topher grace, you not funny anymore... :/

take me home tonight marketed itself as an 80s “coming of age” comedy, but it ends up being...well, stupid and LAME. if you’ve seen “i love you, beth cooper”, skip this one b/c it’s almost the exact same plot. you have your lovestruck loser, matt franklin (topher grace), who has a brainy twin sister named wendy (anna faris) and a dumbass BFF named barry (comedian dan fogler from balls of fury), who’s a horny car salesman. he’s graduated from M.I.T., but since he’s still trying to figure stuff out, he’s working at a suncoast video store at the mall. one day, while he’s working at suncoast, he spots his HS crush, tori frederking (teresa palmer i.e. becky from the sorcerer's apprentice) come into the store! he freaks, but somehow engages in conversation with her, even lying about his job at goldman sachs... from there, he, wendy, barry go to wendy’s BF’s labor day weekend party, where the night gets very eventful... :P (i.e. barry and matt steal a mercedes from barry’s dealership, do some coke b/c hey! it’s the 80s!, barry ends up in a “threesome”, and matt ends up sleeping with tori!)

if this was as crazy and fun as katy perry’s music video “last friday night”, i would have given it some credit... but it’s not and it’s also kind of serious for a comedy. WTF?! only great thing is the character of barry who provides some good comic relief and the awesome 80s soundtrack... other than that, pass on this... :/

THE CONSPIRATOR
4 out of 5 stars

“one bullet may have killed our president, but not one man...”
– the prosecutor

this was the debut film from the american film company (check out their website @: http://www.theamericanfilmcompany.com/), and WOW! i was thoroughly impressed with the outcome. a lot of big stars were attached to this project, and i think it may have had something to do with the fact that robert redford was at the helm as director. VERY well done, and there’s a lot of correlations between 9/11 and terrorist trials and the lincoln assassination... ;)

the year is 1865, and the union is celebrating their victory over the south in washington d.c. 3 union soldiers including civil war hero and attorney by trade, frederick aiken (james mcavoy), attend a party with the secretary of war (kevin kline) and other cabinet members. they’re told that president lincoln has decided to go to the theater with the first lady, so he will not be attending the party... well, as many of us know, john wilkes booth shoots the president, and he dies across the street from the theater. pretty soon, the u.s. government uncovers a conspiracy to kill the president, the vice president andrew johnson, and the secretary of state as well as arrest all involved parties including a woman named mary surratt (robin wright sans makeup). mary claims she is innocent and knew nothing of the assassination, and pleads to her senator, reverdy johnson (tom wilkinson) for proper representation. MD sen. johnson asks frederick aiken to do just that, and he reluctantly takes on the case because he thinks she’s guilty... however, frederick does his best to defend mary, but it’s kind of hard to prove someone’s innocence when the jury is comprised of ALL union generals + a union JAG prosecutor. pretty soon, it’s obvious that mary’s trial is prejudiced from the very get-go and that mary is just bait to get john surratt, her son and booth’s right hand man, to turn himself in... ;)

the american film company states that they try and make accurate films re: our country’s history, and they prove just that with this movie. the costumes, the scenery, the dialogue, the characters are all accurate representations of what might have happened back then. the acting is superb esp. mcavoy, whose character’s belief in the u.s. justice system is questioned after how the government handles mary’s case. but it’s interesting to see how we, as a country, want “somebody” to take responsibility after a devastating event such as an assassination of a president or even an attack on U.S. soil. someone’s head should roll for crimes committed, but is retaliation really the answer? what about disregarding someone’s civil liberties? i guess one could argue that if you’re involved in a plot to kill the president, you probably don’t have any... but then again, is this what president lincoln would have wanted? interesting movie that provokes some political thinking... and, you begin to see that whether it’s 1865 or 1965 or 2005, some things never change... ;)

KILL THE IRISHMAN
2 out of 5 stars

40+ car bombs in one movie and what? :P

based on the true story of a man named danny greene from a little city called cleveland, OH... danny greene (ray stevenson) is a born and bred irish american grain barge worker, and his anger for unfair union wages and unsafe work conditions lead him to run against the present president of his union. the present president threatens him and even sics his polak bodyguard on him, and danny ends up beating the shit/killing the guy... danny greene soon becomes president, making changes to the grain barge union as well as joining the italian mob by letting them fence the expensive shipments coming in from godnoswhere. because leadership positions lead to working for the mob, right? only in 1970s cleveland when the italian mafia ran the city! danny greene ends up moving up the mafia capo ladder, including befriending one of the mafia bosses john nardi (vincent d’onofrio), working for mafia-affiliated loan shark/restaurant owner shondor birns (christopher walken- typical self), and even pissing off the very people he worked for because he refuses to pay back a “loan” for his irish pub. tsk tsk... ;)

it’s amazing how one guy had up to 8 ATTEMPTS on his life! ultimately, the mafia had to call in a “specialist” all the way from los angeles to finally get rid of this “mick”. it’s almost like the plot of smokin’ aces, but i guess this is more realistic? it may be realistic but BORING... you gotta give this movie points for historical “accuracies” i.e. the clothing, the facial hair, the cars, even the housing... but what it’s got in costume and props, it lacks in plot... ehh. :/

THE PERFECT HOST
3 out of 5 stars

what a strange, strange movie... but david hyde pierce EXCELS as the perfect host AKA warwick wilson. ;)

you would think that this is a burglary gone wrong, but it’s a little bit more than that... john taylor (clayne crawford) robs a bank in downtown LA out of $300K, and with a bleeding foot, he tries to find a house to hid out in, and comes across the home of...warwick wilson. (david hyde pierce) john finds a postcard from sydney from a woman named julia, and cons his way into warwick’s home, stating to him that he’s lost his luggage at the airport + got mugged just now... warwick is hesitant about letting a complete stranger into his home, but then feels compelled towards helping this poor guy out. turns out that warwick is planning on hosting a dinner party, as he’s got a duck roasting in the oven, wine bottles out, and even offers john to stay for dinner. john accepts....and boy, WHAT A MISTAKE. john’s plan to rob/kill warwick goes awry when john’s wine is drugged. he wakes up to warwick having a dinner party by HIMSELF, talking to HIMSELF, dancing by HIMSELF, even playing chess by HIMSELF. but in warwick’s mind, he’s got all his guests and is throwing a smashing party... john quickly realizes that warwick is PSYCHO, but when warwick shows him his scrapbook of his past murder victims...john realizes he may not survive the night... :O

i guess this is what they call a black comedy, and the results are alright... i wish they didn’t do the secondary storyline of why john robbed the bank and his realization that he was set up because it took the focus off warwick, who made this movie worthwhile. (otherwise, it’s just another bank robbery gone wrong sort of deal) in fact, it would have been better if we were shown why warwick suffered from his mental condition... THAT would have quite the plot, def... still, it’s not everyday you see DHP doing the conga line with a unconscious person or singing/dancing to 70s disco on top of his dinner table... ;)

ARTHUR
3 out of 5 stars

“wash your winkie...thoroughly.” – hobson

i actually thought this wasn’t half bad! russell brand plays the role of annoying british comedian very well, helen mirren is a spitfire sarcastic/witty british nanny who puts up with all of arthur’s antics, and i even liked arthur’s love interest naomi! it’s a cute rom com about a rich boy who falls in love with a poor girl... ;)

if you haven’t seen the 1981 original feat. dudley moore and liza minnelli, then read further... (although this plot is a little different from the original) filthy rich playboy arthur bach (russell brand as his alchy self) and his butler bitterman (luis guzman) dress up as batman and robin, and decide to crash arthur’s mother’s fundraiser, but bitterman loses control of their vehicle (the batmobile), and they end up crashing into the wall street bull! arthur ends up getting arrested yet again, and his mother, fed up with arthur’s craziness, gives him an ultimatum: either marry susan johnson (jennifer gardner), a successful businesswoman OR lose his inheritance. (= a cool $950 mill) arthur doesn’t want to lose the $, so he reluctantly decides to go with this sham marriage... then, there’s a wrench thrown into arthur’s plan because he runs into a cute girl named naomi, who is giving an illegal tour in grand central station, and he instantly falls in love with her... he loves her spontaneity and free spirit and creativity, and he realizes he’s found his “toad”. (there’s a ref. to the frog and toad story on one of their dates...so cute!) susan, his mother, and even hobson try and persuade him to drop this newfound love interest, but arthur would rather fall in love. ;)

so, the character of hobson and helen mirren’s portrayal of arthur’s adult nanny is just...BRILLIANT. brand is annoying and a total dumbass, but helen mirren steals the show as hobson! she’s hilarious and witty and sarcastic, and it broke my heart to see hobson “leave” arthur’s side... :’( hobson loves arthur more than his own mother, and arthur loves her just as much. it’s a sweet relationship, and it’s totally worth watching brand and mirren paired up together... the hobson and arthur relationship > arthur and naomi. if you’re ever in the mood for a light/fluffy chick flick, you’ll see why. ;)

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK
4 out of 5 stars

neal nichol: “you’re not just the local quack anymore. you’re now america’s quack!”
(re: his friend jack kevorkian making the cover of newsweek magazine)

i had mixed feelings about this one, but the fact that barry levinson directed this + al pacino starring as dr. death himself + it’s a HBO production? i couldn’t help but NOT pass this one up... quadruple plus...al pacino won like 4 major cinematic/acting awards for this role! and boy, he amazes us once again. ;)

the movie focuses on jack mostly in early 90s detroit, starting with jack (al pacino) and his sister/assistant margo studying up on euthanasia in the library...both the medical history of euthanasia as well as the legal complications of actually euthanizing willing patients. as jack realizes his “true calling”, he calls upon his closest friend and lab tech/medical supplier neal nichol (john goodman) to get him some medical supplies, so that he can start working on his assisted suicide apparatuses. (OMG, the scene w/ his first potential is priceless)  he soon befriends a woman named janet good (susan sarandon), who is president of this pro-assisted suicide society in detroit, and with her help, he starts interviewing patients, who need his “help”. janet is a diehard supporter of jack’s work, and she even volunteers her home for dr. kevorkian’s first assisted suicide. (later it turns out that he just did it in his VW van b/c janet’s husband wouldn’t allow it... you blame him?) so, along with the assisted suicides, comes the lawsuits AKA people v. kevorkian. margo decides to hire medical malpractice attorney, geoffrey fieger (a brilliant danny huston!), to represent jack in all legal matters, and he kicks the DA’s ass...everytime! well, as many of you know, the law soon catches up with kevorkian, and the trial concerning the good doc definitely is quite a spectacle to see! ;)

let’s pretend to leave the legal and moral issues of euthanasia behind us, and focus on the acting? AWESOME performances from pacino, danny huston, susan sarandon, even...john goodman. these HBO films are pretty well done, and i feel like because they’re shown on a premium channel, they don’t get enough recognition... EXCELLENT and compelling storyline and style by famed director barry levinson, who usually gives us comedies and occasional dramas (i.e. OMG, sleepers!), but i think this captures jack’s essence and his life’s work very well. it makes you wonder if he truly thought he was doing the right thing...and according to this movie, HE DID. i’m not sure this necessarily paints a positive portrait of him, but it does do the jack kevorkian society justice.  great casting all around... ;) 

LIMITLESS
4 out of 5 stars

a very interesting plot with a very interesting message! was this suppose to be a parable for those who seek to be ambitious in life? if one “enhances” one’s brain in order to succeed, will there always be consequences? i, for one, happen to believe that for every action is a reaction... this movie proves just...THAT. ;)

if offered a drug to enhance one’s brain and the ability to access it all, would you take it? eddie morra (bradley cooper) does, and his life changes overnight! we first see eddie as a gross, greasy-haired, depressed “writer”, who meets with his soon-to-be ex-GF lindy (abbie cornish) because the relationship isn’t going anywhere. he’s hit rock bottom, had no inspiration, and is brooooooke. then, his ex-brother-in-law vernon spots him on the street, and introduces him to this awesome pill called NZT. NZT supposedly helps you access 100% of your brain, making you smarter, more driven, and puts you on a high-energy driven path to success! so, eddie takes the pill, and pretty soon, he’s writing again... he writes the first chapter to his book in a day! his editor is amazed, and so, he hits up vernon again for more NZT. it’s just too bad that vernon is shot dead in his apt, and eddie starts to freak out. well...until he figures out that a drug dealer like vernon ought to have a stash of NZT somewhere, along with some cash... the rest, you need to see what comes of this tale of ambition. ;)

the special effects i.e. lighting and color filtering in this movie make it special because when eddie is on NZT...his world is literally lit up. (like one would experience on a high) when he’s off the drug, he sinks into depression and of course, sickness and darkness... the soundtrack feat. my fave band, the black keys, is PERFECT b/c that rock n’ roll edge is exactly how eddie sees himself when he’s on the drug. (re: he is INVINCIBLE) one flaw is that i didn’t think that the atwood storyline with the guy stabbing everyone was plausible, but i guess one would go towards an extreme to get what they need? also, robert deniro’s character needed a bigger part, IMO... other than that, this one tells eddie’s tale pretty well, and you begin to wonder if eddie is so smart on NZT, why doesn’t he figure out a way to enhance it w/o the “side effects”? only one way to find out... RENT THIS ONE NOW.