There are precisely two redeeming features in Harmony Korine’s latest work, THE BEACH BUM. One, and I don’t care if this is a spoiler or not, the cat is just fine as the end credits roll. Two, Martin Lawrence as the dolphin-loving Captain Whack. He’s so good, in fact, that one hopes for a spin-off… Read More »
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Ah, the timeless tale of a boy and his dragon. As recounted in HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON I and II, it was magical. Even more magical is that the final part of the trilogy, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD is the equal of the first two without being a repeat of either installment.
WAR DOGS
The problem with WAR DOGS is that it refuses to decide what it wants to be. Jittering uncertainly between farce and melodrama, it achieves a few moments of sublime absurdity as it satirizes the business of war by hewing to, and exposing the facts of, said endeavor’s economics. Yet, when it decides to tug at… Read More »
SAUSAGE PARTY
It’s just as well that Seth Rogan’s animated comedy, SAUSAGE FEST, is R-rated. That would be because the most awkward question a parent might have to answer after his or her child has seen this metaphysically dense romp wouldn’t be about the specific mechanics involved in the bonding between Brenda (Kristen Wiig), a bosomy hot… Read More »
HAIL, CAESAR!
If Douglas Sirk had directed a film noir written by Billy Wilder, it might have looked something like HAIL, CAESAR!, the latest thoughtful tangle of philosophy and whimsy from the Coen Brothers. Taking place in a 1951 Hollywood not entirely unlike the one that actually existed, it mixes Cold War paranoia, carefully managed studio PR… Read More »
GET HIM TO THE GREEK
In GET HIM TO THE GREEK, sweet geek and uber-fan Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) gets to live his dream of hanging out with his idol rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). The dream includes getting the notoriously difficult musician to the eponymous Greek Theater from London in 72 hours and its more than a chance… Read More »
THE SITTER
There is in Jonah Hill a palpable undertone of menace. When playing his usual lovable schlub, or especially when playing a character such as the titular CYRUS, who may or may not actually be unhinged, there is always the distinct potential lurking in the piercing gaze when his character stops talking, that the next move… Read More »
21 JUMP STREET
There is a palpable love for the original television series in 21 JUMP STREET. A love that encompasses both the premise and that premises lack of credibility. As in, a group of police officers going undercover in various high schools in to infiltrate the illegal doings there, and bring the perps to justice. It was… Read More »
WATCH, THE
Simultaneously subverting and celebrating several genres of he-man testosterone flicks, from horror to buddy action flick, to, heaven help us, the existential suburban angst of John Updike, THE WATCH does what a good synthesis should. It becomes more than the sum of its parts, inviting the audience in on the joke, and then taking that… Read More »
22 JUMP STREET
Schmidt and Jenko are back, and we should all rejoice. 22 JUMP STREET starts out every bit as funny as 21 JUMP STREET was, and then keeps upping its game. Once more co-written by co-star Jonah Hill (Schmidt), it is an inspired bit of whip-smart silliness that refuses to take itself seriously. On the other… Read More »