Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[Houston]

Honestly, I'm shocked.

Although I mostly like the film for the camera work and the awesomely weird cuts. Plot isn't as big of a deal here.

I felt like it was kind of a waste.

I did enjoy the movies light style(at the beginning atleast), but even then it all revolved around the scenery and setting. There wasn't any dialogue that pulled me in.

I know it's not as drastic but imagine if Citizen Kane still had all of the technical advancements that it does, but the story and plot never took themselves seriously. Imagine if there was no "Rosebud" and instead the movie ended in a somewhat jokingly parodic manner.



I know how revolutionary it was for the French at that time, but I can't see it as a timeless film.

[dell71]

Waiting for Guffman
Directed by Christopher Guest.
1996. Rated R, 84 minutes.
Cast:
Christopher Guest
Eugene Levy
Catherine O’Hara
Parker Posey
Fred Willard
Larry Miller
Don Lake
Bob Balaban
Deborah Theaker
David Cross

The 150th anniversary of Blaine, Missouir is fast approaching. To celebrate, the town is putting on a musical dramatizing their history. Corky (Guest) is a transplant from New York who is also an off Broadway director. Make that a way off Broadway director. He is tasked with bringing the production to life. Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary about the trials and tribulations of Blaine’s most ambitious theatric endeavor.

Corky holds auditions amongst the townspeople anxious to show their chops to flesh out the cast. He finally settles on Dr. Pearl (Levy) the town dentist, Libby (Posey) the girl who works at Dairy Queen and local travel agents Mr. and Mrs. Albertson (Willard and O’Hara, respectively) who seem to have been in every play made in their hometown. The director finds a couple other players elsewhere. Together, this ensemble sets out to make Corky’s vision a reality. They uniformly work hard. There are occasionally spats, but ehy eventually become like family. Their bond is further galvanized by news that Mr. Guffman will be at their performance. He is a New York City theater critic who is coming to assess the troupe’s chances of taking their play to Broadway.

WfG is a movie that makes us laugh. It’s funny because through all of the goofiness everyone plays it perfectly straight. We don’t see them as actors going for laughter. We see them as earnest people unaware of just how funny they are. A perfect sample of this revolves around Corky’s sexuality. It’s painfully obvious to us he’s lying whenever he mentions having a wife. By itself this is only mildly amusing, not really worthy of a chuckle. When placed in conjunction with the fact most people in Blaine are completely oblivious to the possibility he might be gay it’s downright hilarious. The thought never crosses their minds. So when the play appears to be falling apart and Corky seems ready to quit, we double over in laughter when Mrs. Albertson speculates he’s having a hard time because he misses his wife whom she’s never met and never seems to be around. There is one character that suspects Corky’s secret. It’s a cameo appearance that eventually changes the course of the movie. Nope, I won’t spoil it.

There are lots of clever moments sprinkled throughout WfG that keep us giggling. The sheer absurdity of it all elevates the humor and a certain plot twist breaks our heart, temporarily. However, it’s also not so absurd that we couldn’t see it happening in real life. This is important because it gives the movie its charm. This is a fun excursion that takes a cerebral approach to comedy instead of slapstick, pratfalls or stringing together an incessant run of four-letter words. That means some may find it boring. Those not in need of such things will find plenty here to enjoy.

MY SCORE: 8/10

[dell71]

The King’s Speech
Directed by Tom Hooper.
2010. Rated R, 118 minutes.
Cast:
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Rush
Helena Bonham Carter
Michael Gambon
Guy Pearce
Claire Bloom
Derek Jacobi
Eve Best
Timothy Spall

The Duke of York has a problem. Bertie (Firth), as he’s called by his family, has stammered all his life. On those occasions when he has to speak publicly he struggles mightily with disasterous results. Over the years, he’s tried numerous speech therapists to no avail. He’s given up hope. His only consolation is that as the younger son of King George V, it’s unlikely he’ll ever rise to the throne. He won’t be called upon to address the nation.

At the urging of his wife (Carter), Bertie tries one more therapist. Lonnie (Rush) was recommended to her by a friend and is known for his unconventional methods. After all the failures in this area of his life, Bertie is understandably reluctant and skeptical of the possibility he could be cured. Lonnie agrees to take the job, but only on his terms. The two men start an uneasy work relationship that over changing times and circumstances develops into a real friendship. Through some unforseen circumstances, Bertie does indeed become king, King George VI whom this movie is based on.

The King’s Speech takes two genres and mashes them together to create a triumphant inspirational film. The plot outline follows the template of a sports movie with our Duke in the underdog role and the therapist, his charismatic coach. This simply replaces the athletics with speech. What plays out amidst the machinations of the plot is pure bromance. The interesting dynamic is how Bertie keeps trying to distance himself from their relationship, yet keeps getting drawn back. It seems Lonnie is the only person he can confide in.

A movie where the title implies the climax will be made up of dialogue and not action has to be well written. This one is. It not only humanizes a member of British royalty, it makes him a sympathetic figure even though he’d much rather have us leave him alone than pity him. Remarkably, nothing feels as if its done for effect, at least for our purposes. For Lonnie’s purpose, most things are ploys designed to help or learn how to better assist his troubled pupil. This is why we root for Lonnie as much, if not more than Bertie. Bertie’s successes and failures are equally Lonnie’s. They will validate or invalidate him.

In these roles, both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are superb. Firth’s performance runs the gamut of emotions. Yet, even at his most regal we sense his fragility. The show he puts on in public is easily seen through by those who know him. Firth lets us know him. He does this whil keeping his stammer from being ridiculous and causing inappropriate laughter. As Lonnie, Rush is a sturdy beam for Bertie to lean on. He’s full of genuine compassion, but also curiosity. He often approaches his student as a riddle to be solved. In a strange, but totally effective way, Lonnie carries himself more like a monarch than Bertie. We sense this quality has something to do with why Bertie is drawn to him.

When we get to the end, we’ve become vested in these men, their friendship and their quest. We’ve watched them struggle with one another over a period lasting many years and gone plenty of growing pains. Eventually Bertie, by now King George VI, finds out that as World War II threatens his nation, he has to make a speech to galvanize it. This is the big game. We want them to win.

MY SCORE: 8.5/10

[Houston]

Dell's Classics Presents...


The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Directed by John Huston.
1948. Not Rated, 126 minutes.
Cast:
Humphrey Bogart
Walter Huston
Tim Holt
Bruce Bennett
Barton MacLane
Alfonso Bedoya

Fred C. Dobbs (Bogart) is an American living in Mexico in 1925. He’s homeless and jobless, making his way through life begging for handouts from any of his countrymen who happen to find themselves in his path. His standard line is “Say buddy, will you stake a fellow American to a meal?” Finally, he bumps into a guy who won’t give him any money, but offers him a job. He and Curtin (Holt), his buddy who is of the same social class, go to work. However, getting paid for their labor proves to be much more difficult than it should. Eventually, they manage to literally wrestle their earnings away, an absolutely fantastic fight scene by the way. With this money, they decide to go prospecting for gold, taking Howard (Huston) along. He’s the old man from the shelter who seems to know a thing or two about it.

Howard is our wise, old sage and something of a narrator. His mouth is moving a mile a minute and is constantly imparting his knowledge of gold digging and warning us of what’s to come. He tells us without blatantly doing so. Still, in “history repeats itself” sort of way, the things he says he’s seen often reoccur.

Someone once told me she didn’t like westerns. Hopefully, I’m not being disrespectful by saying she is of the age to have grown up when they were more popular. Her dad used to watch them all the time, so she’s had plenty of exposure. Her logic is that everything looks dirty, especially the men. She said that they look like they stink. This disgusts her. I don’t know if she’s ever seen The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, or not. If so, it probably turned her stomach. I swear I could smell Bogart and his buddies through the screen. In Bogie’s case, this aids his performance. His sweat glazed face, scraggly beard and tattered clothing complement the crazed look in his eye perfectly. I’ve often said that he’s an overrated actor. Most of his performances are stiff, mechanical even. He drolly delivers his lines while standing still, except for the hand raising a cigarette to his lips. I still feel that way. However, he’s truly mesmerizing in this movie. His character’s descent into madness is completely well played. The way he portrays it, and understanding where he came from, it’s easy to believe that the precious gem clouds his vision a little more each day.

The ending is a bit curious. We know precisely how it turns out for Dobbs and Howard. We’re less certain about what lies ahead for Curtin. His story remains to be written. In that way, he is like us. After experiencing TToSM, we know we’ve been enriched, as he was. However in his case, neither he nor we can decide if it was a success. As we move forward and experience other things, we can revisit it and see how we feel at that moment.

MY SCORE: 10/10

I saw this last night based off of your recommendation in another thread.

:jhenbeatkwon:

I thought Bogart's performance in The African Queen was as high as he could go but this one blows that out of the water(pun intended). One scene I'll remember for awhile is when he's already drenched with sweat and dirt, then he goes and leans down into a puddle to "wash" his face and hair with the extremely dirty water. With other movies and actors it wouldn't stand out, but there's just something about the way he does it here.
One thing I noticed throughout this film film is that a lot of it the background is so obviously green screened that it doesn't warrant any attention. Instead all of your focus is on the actors, especially since a lot of the acting is done with extreme close ups. It's like they're jumping out of the screen. At least in the HD version, can't speak for the original.


I recommend this to the people in this thread earlier who said they were disappointed with There Will Be Blood. Even if I did like There Will Be Blood I wouldn't be fast to recommend it, this on the other hand is a lot more accessible. Can't recall a single scene that didn't move the story forward.

[dell71]

Secretariat
Directed by Randall Wallace.
2010. Rated PG, 123 minutes.
Cast:
Diane Lane
John Malkovich
Margo Martindale
Otto Thorwarth
Nelsan Ellis
James Cromwell
Fred Dalton Thompson
Dylan Walsh
Nestor Serrano
Scott Glenn

Secretariat is a Disney sports movie. That’s probably enough information for you to decide whether or not you should watch it, or not. However, in the interest of pontification I’ll drive on. Oh, alright. I promise I’ll keep this as short as my long-windedness will allow. For the kids who probably have no clue, this is based on the true story of the horse of the same name. For parents, this means you can thank whatever higher power you believe in that the horse doesn’t talk. This isn’t a remake of Racing Stripes.

Mr. Chenery (Glenn) owns a horse farm. His wife has just died and the place is losing money because he’s apparently too senile to run the joint. His daughter Penny (Lane), who is a housewife living in another state, steps in. Pretty soon she discovers that one of her mares is about to have a baby with some serious bloodlines. Shortly after that, she starts banking on that horse to save the family business by doing nothing less than winning horse racing’s Triple Crown (The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont Stakes). No horse had accomplished this feat in over three decades. Along the way, she hires Lucien Laurin (Malkovich), an ornery trainer with no fashion sense and Ronnie Turcotte (Thorwarth), an ornery jockey with extra…um…orner?

The plot bounces from one race to the next and does precisely what it wants to do. It makes us root for a small group of people who’s hopes and dreams are riding on the back of a horse in the most literal sense. It also makes the horse enough of a character for us to root for him also. It does this by sticking to the tried and true Disney formula. These guys are no dummies. No sense in reinventing the wheel when you have dozens of wheels to replicate.

Diane Lane and John Malkovich are fun to watch. The script does a nice job mixing the story about the horse with the one about the humans. There is humor sprinkled throughout and of course, there’s the tear-jerker/stand up and cheer moment. It refuses to break from the mold. Other than that, it really doesn’t do anything wrong, just not original. It’s clean, wholesome fun for the whole family. They’ll probably enjoy it even if they’ve already seen a bunch of movies just like it.

MY SCORE: 6/10

[dell71]

Imitation of Life
Directed by Douglas Sirk.
1959. Not Rated, 125 minutes.
Cast:
Lana Turner
Juanita Moore
Susan Kohner
Sandra Dee
John Gavin
Dan O’Herlihy
Robert Alda
Terry Burnham
Karin Dicker

By chance, Lara (Turner) meets Annie (Moore) and the two women strike up a friendship that would last the rest of their lives. Both women are single moms. Lara’s daughter Suzi (Burnham at age 6, Dee at 16) and Annie’s daughter Sarah Jane (Dicker at age 8, Kohner at 18) are only a couple years apart in age. Lara needs a nanny while Annie offers her services for nothing more than room and board for her and her little girl. It’s a match made in heaven. Of course, there’s still something off-kilter about these fast friends, especially in the era not long before World War II. Lara is white and Annie is black. For those unaware, this is in the days before most people had heard of Martin Luther King Jr. That blacks were second-class citizens in America was not up for debate. It was a blatant reality. On top of this, Annie’s daughter was fathered by a white man. If blacks were second-class citizens, bi-racial children may have been third. Sarah Jane is sensitive to this at an early age. She’s very fair-skinned and desperately puts most of her effort into passing for white even if that means distancing herself from her own mother. Lara and Suzie obviously have very different, but no less relevant issues. Lara dreams of being a Broadway star and works hard to reach that goal. This means many hours, days, weeks and even months away from her daughter. Therefore, Suzie is effectively raised by Annie. We follow these four through the ups and downs of the next decade or so.

The novel Imitation of Life is based on was written in the 1930s by Fannie Hurst. It was originally brought to the big screen in 1934. I have not seen that version, but now I must to satisfy my curiosity of the differences. Made in 1959, this version appears to be a movie ahead of its time. It predates other landmark films dealing with race such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night. Half a century after its release there are still elements relevant to our society. How whites and blacks view each other and themselves in relation to one another is still a hotly contested issue.

Within their home, three of the four ladies try to isolate themselves from such topics. However, Sarah Jane continually drags the ugly world with her into the house. Her entire being is troublesome for her and us. Her yearning to be white and the drastic choices she makes to be accepted as such are torturous. She is clearly an example of the archetype known in American literature as “the tragic mulatto.” That means she cannot be happy simply due to the fact she is of mixed blood. Her storyline is prevalent and provides the movie with its climax. She also makes it difficult to gauge. Is her saga a triumph for her black mother or a cautionary tale for those considering procreation with someone of another race?

Speaking of the black mother, Annie is also problematic. She is a 20th century version of another archetype, “the contented slave”. To oversimplify, the contented slave is more than happy, even grateful to live a life of servitude. In the case of female slaves, this usually meant deriving a special joy from raising the children of their masters. These traits are immediately evident in Annie. As I said, she gleefully offers her services as a live-in nanny and is practically offended when Lara offers to pay her. She refuses to take money for her work and dutifully looks after Lara’s daughter out of the goodness of her heart. Annie and Sarah Jane make us question whether IoL is really ahead of its time or just pretending to be.

On the other hand, this is enthralling melodrama. To go along with the aforementioned mother/daughter spats, there’s Lara’s on again/off again romance with Steve (Gavin), her rise to fame and havoc it wreaks on her relationship with Suzie. There’s Suzie’s first crush and always Sarah Jane is sinking to new lows. Hearing her talk to her mother is absolutely gut-wrenching. All four of our principals turn in excellent performances, though the pitch of Sandra Dee’s voice is somewhat annoying. Without knowledge of the archetypes I spoke of above, it’s probably easier to take at face value, easier to believe it is what it says it is. Even then, there is still much to discuss. All eyes may not see it the same way.

MY SCORE: 7.5/10

[dell71]

Biutiful
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
2010. Rated R, 148 minutes, Spanish.
Cast:
Javier Bardem
Maricel Álvarez
Hanaa Bouchaib
Guillermo Estrella
Edward Fernández
Luo Jin
George Chibuikwem Chukwuma
Lang Sofia Lin
Diaryatou Daff

Early on, we learn that Uxbal (Bardem) is a criminal. With one hand, he helps find employment for a group of Chinese immigrants. Currently, this means they manufacture bootleg merchandise. He then provides that merchandise to a group of African immigrants who sell it on the streets. Both groups are living in Spain illegally. This is not the part of the man we focus on. We focus on the fact that he’s a single dad to two children, a girl and a boy. His business exploits apparently aren’t making him rich. The family stays in an apartment that appears to be coming apart at the seams. They’re all they’ve got.

Uxbal is actually still married to Marambra (Álvarez), the mother of his children. However, they are separated due to some serious issues of hers. Most seriously, she’s bipolar and refuses to take her medication. Then there is her job. She’s a masseuse that does housecalls. Even though its not made explicity clear, it seems safe to assume sex is part of the package she delivers. At least Uxbal seems to think so. When she decides to visit, he rushes her out the door as quickly as possible. It’s like he’s trying to minimize the damage she does to the children.

There are two other strands to the story. Uxbal is very sick. He can also talk to the dead. The former worries him. He’s not really worried about himself. He’s afraid for his children. He grew up without his parents and doesn’t want them to go through the same thing. The latter is something he does on the side. Some believe he’s authentic, some do not.

We follow Uxbal on his daily travels through all the areas of his life. We get to know him pretty thoroughly. Director Iñárritu weaves in and out of each effortlessly. As Uxbal’s world is coming apart we are drawn in. Javier Bardem’s wonderful performance helps in this regard. His is not a mencing portrayal like his role in No Country for Old Men. This is more nuanced and shows a wide range of emotions without being showy or over the top. He strikes each note precisely as he should.

The pace of the movie feels a bit disjointed. There are a few places where it drags and we start to feel the near two and a half hour runtime. There is also one particular aspect that feels like it should’ve been left out. Remember how I mentioned that our hero can talk to the dead? It feels shoe-horned in and completely changes the tone whenever its brought up. At times, an element of horror is introduced that’s totally out of wack with the rest of the film. It’s supposed to justify the opening and closing scenes. However, those scenes would be fine on their own and need no justification. Overall, it’s a good watch with excellent work from its star. Its problems keep it from its full potential, but Bardem deserves to be seen.

MY SCORE: 7/10

[dell71]

The Tourist
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
2010. Rated PG-13, 103 minutes.
Cast:
Angelina Jolie
Johnny Depp
Paul Bettany
Steven Berkoff
Timothy Dalton
Rufus Sewell
Christian De Sica
Alessio Boni

The police are hot on the trail of Elise (Jolie). Everywhere whe goes there are a couple of agents practically within spitting distance. Cameras are constantly trained on her and her every move is reported back to Inspector Acheson (Bettany) in real time. However, they’re not really interested in her. They are after her super reclusive boyfriend Alexander Pierce. They don’t know what he looks like. Still, they’ve managed to surmise that she is leaving Paris to meet him on their way to Venice. To throw the hounds off her scent, Elise throws herself at tourist Frank Tupelo (Depp) on the train, making the cops think he is the man they’re looking for. Why the law is after Pierce isn’t immediately clear. Why someone else is after him is made plain right away. He’s managed to steal over $2 billion from a ruthless gangster who also isn’t sure what he looks like.

Watching Jolie get followed around is mildly interesting. Trying to figure out who’s the mystery man is a tiny bit moreso. Occasionally, we get a chase scene as Frank either flees for his life or gets rescued by Elise. Mostly, these are not spectacular action sequences. They’re just adequate and advance the plot just a bit. It’s all rather bland.

Our two leads were brought in to be anything but bland. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp are both stars. This is without question. Each has considerable presence, demanding we watch them. That is their job and both do it well. Sadly, the rest of the movie fails them. Who the actors are is remarkable. What they are doing is not. As a result, the romantic sparks that may have ignited this affair are missing. The humor that may have carried the day is hit or miss, at best. This means this movie has many of the same problems as a pair of movies of recent vintage: Knight and Day and Killers. Unfortunately, this has less action than either of those to distract us with. This wants to be smarter than those. It is. It’s just not smart enough to mask its flaws and raise itself from mediocrity.

MY SCORE: 5/10

[padman59]

I pretty much agree about Biutiful. The supernatural aspect seemed out of place for how little it was actually brought up.

[dell71]

I pretty much agree about Biutiful. The supernatural aspect seemed out of place for how little it was actually brought up.

Yeah, it made no sense to have it in there. Didn't seem to have a useful purpose.

[dell71]

North Dallas Forty
Directed by Ted Kotcheff.
1979. Rated R, 118 minutes.
Cast:
Nick Nolte
Mac Davis
Charles Durning
Dayle Haddon
Bo Svenson
Dabney Coleman
Steve Forest
G. D. Spradlin
Savannah Smith Boucher

Phil Elliot (Nolte) is a veteran wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls. Everyone seems to agree he has the best hands in the league. Over the years, his body has taken a tremendous beating. He’s in constant pain and seems to subsist on a diet of painkillers, B12 shots, cigarettes and alcohol. Citing what they call his childish attitude, his coaches have taken him out of the starting lineup and are constantly on his case. He pines to get his job back and does whatever it takes to be ready to play.

Doing whatever it takes seems to be the mantra he and his teammates live by. It pushes these men to the extremes in all situations. For them there is only intense pleasure or sharp pain. Though the two often mix, there really isn’t a middle ground. They are emotionally and socially underdeveloped, applying a football mentality to all areas of their lives. The sport encompasses their entire beings. When Phil laments “It’s the only thing I’m good at,” he seems to be speaking for the whole team.

Their shortcomings reveal the sacrifices they’ve made to get as far as they have playing the game they love. The question Phil must wrestle with, the one they will all have to answer at some point, is does the game love them back. His every effort is met by a naysaying head coach who hands down orders to be barked by his drill sergeant of an assistant. The two function remarkably like a ventriloquist act. Regardless, Phil perserveres. We come to admire and pity him simultaneously for what he puts himself through. We become his friend and wonder if he has any others in his own lockerroom. We doubt very seriously whether the one guy who seems to be on his side truly is.

The movie also has shortcomings. The biggest one is that the love story between Phil and Charlotte (Haddon) seems to come out of nowhere. He meets her early on. She disappears from the movie for quite a while until we suddenly see the two waking up in bed together. It also feels a little rushed given that the entire movie spans a time frame of only about 3 weeks.

Still, more than any movie before it, and perhaps since, North Dallas Forty gives us a long realistic look at the inner-workings of professional football. Though the amount of dollars has increased exponentially and the drugs involved have mostly changed the framework seems to still be intact, judging by the recent lockout in the NFL. The ‘us against them’ attitude of both players and owners still feels present. The owners still hold most of the cards, able to cut a player at any point regardless of contract. Players fearing for their livelihood still put their bodies through arguably inhumane treatments to stay on the field. A number of these same players act out immaturely leading to a sport-wide arrest rate seemingly quite a bit higher than that of the public at large. Coaches rely on an endless stream of data to create gameplans and remove emotion from the decision making process. It’s all summed up beautifully by the eloquent words of Jo Bob (Svenson), frustrated, fed up and yelling at one of his coaches: “Everytime I say it’s a game, you say it’s a business. Everytime I say it’s a business, you say it’s a game!”

MY SCORE: 9/10

[Maynard]

glad to see u got around to seeing it.

[tigstah]

north dallas forty was on cable either today or yesterday....damn i shoulda watched it.

[dell71]

Limitless
Directed by Neil Burger.
2011. Rated R, 105 minutes.
Cast:
Bradley Cooper
Robert De Niro
Abbie Cornish
Andrew Howard
Anna Friel
Johnny Whitworth
Tomas Arana
Richard Bekins
Ned Eisenberg

Eddie (Cooper) is down on his luck. He can’t pay his rent, his girlfriend just dumped him and he looks like he doesn’t bathe. The closest thing he has to a job is working on his novel. By working, I mean staring at his laptop for hours trying to get even the first word written before giving up and heading down to the nearest bar. Somehow, he’s received an advance from a publishing company for the supposedly upcoming book. I’m not quite sure how he managed to turn that trick. It’s obvious that managing anything is a monumental challenge for this guy. By chance, he bumps into his ex-wife’s brother. After some small talk and a couple drinks the brother-in-law gives him an interesting looking pill. We’re told that instead of only being able to access about 20% of his brain like normal folks, this pill will allow him to access the full 100%. I’ve always been told normal folks use 10% so I’m feeling like I’ve been shorted all these years, but whatever. After some apparently not-so-deep thought. Eddie pops the pill and suddenly he’s sharp, focused, motivated and can recall any piece of information he’s ever read, heard or seen at a moment’s notice.

Since the effects only last a day, he hunts down the brother-in-law to get some more. The guy promises him more if he runs a few errands for him. Our hero goes out to get the drycleaning and breakfast only to return to his new dealer’s dead body. Miraculously using his own brain power, he manages to find the stash of pills. Shortly after starting his daily regimen of NZT-48, as the pill is called, he takes his newfound powers to the stock market with the help of $100K in startup money he borrows from a local loan shark. In short ordr he turns that into millions. This makes him a media darling and earns him a spot under the wing of financial mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro). Eddie’s battle with drug addiction ensues, more or less.

Watching our hero’s meteoric rise is fascinating. We’ve all wondered what was possible if we really reached our full potential. We really could finish that novel, make tons of money and dazzle anyone we come into contact with using just our knowledge. Like all drugs, NZT has side effects. Those are interesting as well. Because of them, he finds himself in some strange predicaments including being suspected of murder. Visually, it’s also a treat. It starts with Eddie’s unbelievably blue eyes whenever he’s on NZT. From there, the movie doesn’t overwhelm us with special fx, but gives us a series of nice touches that form a beautiful picture.

The problem comes with the choice of obstacles to trip up our hero. There are three options and the movie goes with the one that’s by far the least likely. For lack of a better word, it’s just dumb. Let me put it this way: I may not know you personally or have any idea how smart you are, but I’m confident in saying you would’ve avoided this issue without breaking a sweat. You would’ve done so long before it became an issue. Simply put, how smart can he really be and do something so utterly stupid. What would’ve been better, and what I hoped was coming, is Eddie eventually becoming adversaries with and squaring off against Van Loon. Well, it sorta happens. However, it lasts all of about two minutes so I was severely disappointed. While its fun enough to enoy, its inexcusable for a movie about a person with superior intelligence to have it’s protagonist have so much trouble with something us average folks would not.

MY SCORE: 6.5/10

[dell71]

You Again
Directed by Alan Fickman.
2010. Rated PG, 105 minutes.
Cast:
Kristen Bell
Odette Yustman
Jamie Lee Curtis
Sigourney Weaver
Betty White
James Wolk
Kyle Bornheimer
Billy Unger
Kristin Chenoweth
Victor Garber

Hey, have you seen that romantic comedy that ends in a wedding? Of course you have. Yes, this is yet another one. If you still want to see You Again, read on. If you don’t, read on anyway just to be sure. I mean, it’s got Betty White in the cast. That’s gotta count for something, right?

Okay, so we know how it ends. Like most rom-coms it’s not the ending, but how we get there that determines whether its good or not. The easiest route usually starts with boy meets girl. Kudos to this film for not including that little cliché. In fact, YAis not really about the couple that gets married. It’s actually about the contentious relationship between the soon-to-be bride Joanna (Yustman) and her beau’s sister Marni (Bell). Well, it’s mostly about Marni. She was once the classic Hollywood high school nerd. She wore big glasses, had bad hair and got great grades. As an adult, she’s transformed into a beautiful swan with a very successful career. In high school Joanna, then known as J.J. was her nemesis. J.J. was the head cheerleader which by movie logic means she was without question the most beautiful, popular and meanest person in school. Her most famous moment appears to be having Marni carried out of the building and locked out while the entire student body sings Queen’s “We Are the Champions” in perfect harmony.

Now, years later Joanna is marrying Marni’s brother Will (Wolk). He has no idea about her mean girl past despite going to the same school during her reign of terror. She wants to keep it that way. Marni wants Joanna to tell the truth about everything and make an apology. Over the weekend leading up to the bid day, the zany antics of thes two wild and crazy gals ensue. Oh, almost forgot something. Marni’s mom Gail (Curtis) and Joanna’s aunt Ramona (Weaver) have a similar relationship that’s still volatile despite the two having not seen each other in decades.

Yes, what all of these ladies do can accurately be described as zany. Is it funny? Meh. There are a few moments that are good for a laugh. All of our ladies, including Marni’s grandmother (White), play off each other well enough to generate the occasional chuckle. Then there’s the slapstick and pratfalls aspect so some of you won’t be able to stop giggling. That said, a lot of it is unfunny stuff recycled from other unfunny movies. Even worse, the way the handle the whole bully vs geek thing makes it feel like something that should be airing as a half-hour sitcom on ABC Family. I can totally see Marni as the main character in a series developed over time. In a feature, there isn’t enough of her for us to really latch onto. That’s magnified by her willfully sinking to unbecoming depths to do something she could’ve accomplished by confronting Joanna on the first day after finding out about the wedding. We sympathize with what happened to her in high school, but we don’t like her.

All of the bickering, strutting, scowling, rapping and competitive dancing takes us through the prerequisite ups and downs we’ve come to expect from such movies. It has a formula and sticks to it pretty faithfully. So now you know, and knowing is half…um…nevermind. If you like rom-coms see it. If you don’t, don’t.

MY SCORE: 4/10