“We are family….”

The Birdcage is a remake of the French classic, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, and hopefully will be become a comedy classic all its own. Armand and Albert are a gay couple running a night club in Miami, and Armand finds out his son is getting married. It just so happens he is getting married to an ultra-conservative Senator’s daughter. The Senator is in search of some good PR as his political companion was found dead with a minor prostitute. A wholesome family wedding seems to be the Senators answer for the media, and Val, the straight son, is worried about the Senator meeting his gay parents. Hence the attempt at a transformation to be a straight couple, complete with redecorating their home and changing the way they act…and finally the dinner with the parents.

I have heard a few complaints that all the characters are stereotypical and over the top. Yes, they are. But this film works for that very reason. It is not a film that is begging to be taken to seriously. Even though over the top, the characters are well-developed and likable. Robin Williams (Best supporting Actor Good Will Hunting, The Night Listener, One Hour Photo) give s a spot on performance as Armand and Nathan Lane (The Lion King, Nicholas Nickleby) is perfect as Armand’s mate and star of the Birdcage nightly drag queen show, Starina! Gene Hackman (Best Actor The French Connection, Unforgiven) is a nice casting choice for the conservative senator. The final scene with Gene Hackman dressed in drag and attempting to sing We Are Family, is worth the price of a ticket, or a rental in this case. Ok, since we are talking about performances, by the show stealer is Hank Azaria (Run Fatboy Run, Along Came Polly) who plays the very feminine butler Agador. He nails his performance right on the head. If he is in the scene, he is stealing it! Just a wonderfully funny performance!

Overall, I would highly recommend this film. It has many laugh out loud moments and truly priceless scenes. Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War, Closer) does a wonderful job of directing this talented cast and keeps this a very colorful and bright film. Visually and emotionally. If you haven’t seen it, do so! As for me, I’ll watch it again, probably for the 15th time.

Dags för ännu en uppföljare.
Och att spinna vidare på en historia som utspelar sig mestadels nattetid på ett museum där de olika utställningsföremålen får liv måste ju vara en ren önskedröm för ett gäng driftiga manusförfattare!

Den första filmen om, den inte helt i livet framgångsrike, Larry Daley (i Ben Stillers skepnad) hade sina stora och små poänger i all sin överdrivenhet.
Bara idén att låta den fumlige nattvakten försöka hålla koll på allsköns vaxdockor som vaknat till liv inbjuder till en fantasitripp utan dess like.
Natt på museet var rejält rolig och hade begåvats med en lagom dos av både barn- och vuxenhumor.
Stiller är möjligen inte den första man ser framför sig när ordet karaktär ska sättas framför ordet skådespelare, men i filmer av denna kategori har han en naturlig plats. Dessutom har jag alltid gillat Stiller och hans humor.

När hans figur Larry nu återvänder igen i uppföljaren behövs ingen tid spillas på att introducera oss tittare för hur det fungerar med de ostyriga museiföremålen.
Vi kastas rakt in i storyn som den här gången tar en utflykt till ett helt annat museum, The Smithsonian i Washington, dit flera av Larrys “skyddslingar” har flyttats för arkivering.
Larry, som nu avancerat från nördig museivakt till eh…nördig egenföretagare känner förstås ett sting av sorg över detta vid ett litet besök på museet strax innan nedpackning i trälådor förestår.

Ett telefonsamtal senare i manuset är dock Larry på väg i full fart till Washington för att undsätta sina kompisar som är i knipa.
Här växlar nu filmen upp i maxläge och manusförfattarna verkar ha levererat enligt devisen “så mycket som möjligt på så kort tid som möjligt”!
Där den första filmens manus möjligen kunde innehålla något spår av ett mönster i berättandet, flippar Natt på Museet 2 helt ut i en orgie av effekter, humor och våldsamt tempo. Som att sitta i en berg-och-dalbana och hela tiden matas med den ena kurvan värre än den andra.

Men varför ändra på ett vinnande koncept? Filmen återanvänder nästan sin första handling, och gör det oförskämt snyggt. Ut med de flesta av de gamla figurerna (även om Owen Wilsons sköna cowboy är med igen och får lite större spelrum samt Robin Williams korta återkomst som Roosevelt x2) och in med ett par nya karaktärer.
Således får vi stifta bekantskap med en fåfäng general Custer, en sur Al Capone, Ivan den förskräcklige med taskig dialekt och en lättretad Napoleon.
Bäst i gänget som gör allt för att sabotera för vår hjälte Larry är dock Hank Azaria som den läspande (!) skurkfaraon Kamunrah, vilken gör allt för att komma över den magiska tavlan som får dem alla att vakna till liv.
Som Larrys sidekick i denna karuselltur tar den kvinnliga flygaren Amelia Eearhart plats i skådespelerskan Amy Adams fartiga gestalt.

Natt på Museet 2 bjuder inte på några som helst överraskningar eller nyheter, men levererar en snyggt blandad godispåse som inte torde göra någon med fantasin i behåll besviken.
Ett lövtunnt manus vägs upp av skojfriskhet där den vuxna humorn fått ännu lite mer plats, och ett galleri av snygga effekter staplade på varandra. Skådespelarna gör vad de ska med extraplus för Azaria och Adams.

Glöm all eventuell logik och mönster.
Det här är en nöjestur utan ambition att ha något budskap. Vi tittar ju trots allt på museidockor som blir levande…

Och visst är den lilla irriterande apan med igen, i dubbel upplaga!

Normalmente, Simon Pegg é meio caminho andado para uma comédia ser porreira. Neste caso, e uma vez que se trata de uma comédia romântica, nem por isso. O argumento é demasiado típico de comédia romântica, caindo na espiral descendente de filmes boy loves girl-girl dumps boy-boy gets the girl (again). Como curiosidade, isto foi realizado pelo ex-Friend David Schwimmer e conta com Dylan Moran, o lunático Bernard Black da série Black Books, que é provavelmente o melhor do filme.  Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) é um segurança numa loja de roupa de senhoras, que deixou a sua noiva grávida (Thandie Newton) no altar. Cinco anos volvidos, Dennis continua apaixonado pela miúda mas surge o novo noivo perfeito que corre maratonas (Hank Azaria), e portanto a única maneira de reconquistar a miúda é correr uma maratona. A ver apenas em extrema necessidade de fazer a vontade à cara-metade (levem um telemóvel com rádio para ouvir o relato da bola, sempre aproveitam o tempo para alguma coisa útil).

Isso, se não correres depressa a Asylum ainda te apanha.

Mais vale ver o programa do Goucha

If Jack Black and Micheal Cera were my ancestors, I would probably be insane.

Banished from their primitive village after the tribe elders deem them too lazy, Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) leave everything they’ve ever known behind and embark upon an adventure-filled journey through the ancient world.

This is pretty much a remake of History of The World: Part 1, where at least that movie showed it was a bunch of skits, this film tries to weave a story together and ultimately just fails. The story tries to be set around all these biblical figures such as Cain and Abel, or Abraham, and they just come off as dumb and not really making any sense.

Year One is mostly killed from it’s various jokes that seem a little bit too dated. The sex jokes become so obvious and they seem so familiar that I can’t just help to think where have I heard these jokes before. There are parts in this film that just seem destined to be comedic gold for the cast, but then they just end up not turning out the way they could’ve. The film goes from one scene to another acting like the last one didn’t happen, and you just totally forget as well.

The thing that was actually pretty funny about this film was it’s comedy about the Bible, and the Christian faith, that just seemed a little too smart for a PG-13 film. There are many parodies on Biblical history that do sometimes work, but other times seem like it’s just trying too hard to be funny and just ends up being confusing.

Harold Ramis really has got me bummed out here. I really do like a lot of his other films such as Groundhog Day and Caddyshack, but he just doesn’t seem himself at all this movie. His direction is very bad and doesn’t seem inspired at all, and the production values just seem so cheap. I honestly felt like they just filmed this whole movie in the same piece of land throughout the whole filming process.

The one thing about this film that seems to shine is it’s cast. Jack Black and Micheal Cera basically play the same characters they always do in every film and try their hardest with this poor script, but don’t come up very well in the end. The little supporting characters in this film make this good with stars such as Bill Hader, Oliver Platt, and Hank Azaria, they look like their having fun it just doesn’t inspire us to have fun with this movie.

Consensus: Year One has the right factors going for them, but looks cheaply made, is poorly directed, and doesn’t feature many laughs to complete this star-studded cast.

3.5/10=SomeOleBullShittt!!!

Puesta a descubrir series, algo a lo que siempre estoy abierta, me decidí a probar con “Huff”, una de esas series de Showtime que parece que cancelaron antes de tiempo y en las que las palabrotas abundan. ¿Qué me llamó la atención de “Huff”? El reparto de lujo encabezado por Hank Azaria, experimentado doblador en “Los Simpson” (The Simpsons) y visto también en “Friends”; Paget Brewster, la agente especial Emily Prentiss en “Mentes Criminales” (Criminal Minds); Blythe Danner, madre de Gwyneth Paltrow y con muchas películas a sus espaldas; y Oliver Platt, que por donde pasa deja huella, léase “El Ala Oeste” (The West Wing).

Craig Huffstodt (Azaria) es un psiquiatra casado con Beth (Brewster) y con un hijo llamado Byrd (Anton Yelchin, que casualidad apareció en un capítulo de “Mentes Criminales” con Paget Brewster) y que cuya madre (Danner) vive en su casa de invitados.

Un buen día, uno de sus pacientes, un chico de catorce años, se pega un tiro en su consulta y Huff, como le llaman sus allegados, empieza a replantearse su profesión. Casi la deja, pero una paciente le llama dándole las gracias y decide seguir. eso sí, los padres del chico le denuncian y el psiquiatra tendrá que arreglar la situación.

En la serie también se muestra la vida familiar de Huff, donde su mujer y su madre no hacen más que discutir porque se odian mutuamente, y su hijo es una dolescente con los problemas que ello conlleva. También aparece su mejor amigo Russell Tupper (Platt) un abogado con pocos escrúpulos adicto a las mujeres y a las drogas, y su hermano Teddy (Andy Comeau), que aunque está internado en un centro psiquiátrico por sus problemas de alucinaciones y ataques, es quien mejores consejos le da a Huff y quien mejor parece entenderle.

Hasta ahora he visto tres capítulos de este drama estrenado por, como he dicho, Showtime en 2004 (en España la emitió Canal Plus)  y me ha gustado, además no le faltan algunas dósis de ironía y sarcasmo, que para algo es de Showtime.

The outcasts that ban together movie, yeah we have seen that all before but this time its superheros.

Commedia del 2009 con Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson e Ricky Gervais sequel del capitolo uscito nel 2006.
Ci riporta di nuovo alla vita di Larry Daley, divenuto imprenditore-inventore dopo aver lasciato il lavoro di guardiano notturno del Museo di Storia Naturale di New York.
Nei pochi attimi in cui il nostro riesce a staccarsi dal cellulare scopre che i personaggi storici che “tornano in vita” al Museo stanno per essere trasferiti e archiviati nei sotterranei dello Smithsonian a Washington. Tenta di fermare la cosa ma non vi riesce e dopo aver salutato Roosevelt (Robin Williams) torna a casa dal figlio. Nella notte però, il piccolo Jedediah (Owen Wilson) lo chiama da Washington dicendogli che il temibile faraone Kahmunrah tiene in ostaggio i nuovi arrivati e vuole impadronirsi del mondo risvegliando il proprio esercito. Il faraone assolda a questo scopo anche Ivan il Terribile, Napoleone ed Al Capone.
Larry corre a Washington e con ingegno riesce ad entrare negli archivi del museo ove incontra la rediviva e avventurosa Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) che si prodiga nel soccorrerlo.

Riusciranno i nostri a fermare il piano del diabolico faraone? Aiutati da Abe Lincoln, Einstein e altri ameni personaggi il finale è fuori discussione

Ero piuttosto scettico davanti a questo sequel ma devo dire che mantiene ciò che promette: una storia semplice e scorrevole con alcune trovate divertenti, un discreto successore del primo capitolo senza infamia e senza lode. E’ un film che definerei “per bambini” poichè i cattivi sono piuttosto stupidi e caricaturali e tutta la storia è un pretesto per mostrare un po’ di storia storpiandola e rendendola più digeribile e anche per fare ancora un po’ di soldi, chissà. Molto bravo Hank Azaria nei panni del faraone: un attore poco noto da noi ma, famosissimo in patria, soprattutto per le doti vocali che ne fanno un doppiatore bravissimo (è una moltitudine di voci nei Simpson, ad esempio) e forse ve lo ricordate come David, lo spasimante che rischia di far saltare il matrimonio di Phoebe in Friends .

In sostanza questo è un film che si può vedere sgranocchiando vivacemente popcorn e bevendo un bel bicchiere di coca-cola fresca, in spensieratezza.

Voto: 6.5 Quasi Frizzante

Hello, everybody!  Before I get into my review of the movie Year One, I just want to let you know where I’ve been for the last couple months.  I found my way into the World of Warcraft and have been battling the forces of the Scourge and the Bich King to save Azeroth.  I’ve managed to get my main character, a Night Elf Druid named Nagaira to level 59 and my Death Knight named DameNagaira to level 62, but I’ve gotten a bit burned out on it… Azeroth will have to find another hero to save them for a while… lol.  Mags has even gotten into it, but she plays like a girl.  Her idea of playing WoW is to ride boats, trams and flights and to camp out in the inns.   She cries about having to kill the tigers, lions, wolves, killer bunnies… and she doesn’t like to read the quest info, so basically, she never levels and everything can kill her.  So, I made a Death Knight for her that we can share.  I’ll level her, and she can run around where she wants without worry of death and resurrection… and finding her body, which can be a long, painstaking process because she likes to jump off cliffs, boats and buildings I couldn’t figure out how to res with the spirit healer until a couple weeks ago.  

But… I’m back to reading and trying to make up for lost time.  I’ve finished 3 books and am almost done with two more while away.  I’ll get the reviews written up for them soon.

So, now for Year One…

Year One is the result of a question posed by writer and director Harold Ramis:  How would a person with modern-day sensibilities and consciousness get along in a biblical-times society?  Particularly with the post-Christianity questioning and shifting ethics that is prevalent in many urbanites today.  The resulting cultural shock of the “enlightened chosen one,” Zed (played by Jack Black), and his side-kick friend, Oh (played by Michael Cera), as they find themselves thrust out of their caveman-village after Zed eats the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is hilarious.  In the span of 30 minutes or so, Zed and Oh witness the first fratricide when the meet Cain and Abel returning from their sacrifice, meet Lillith, the first lesbian, get sold into slavery, happen upon Abraham (played by Hank Azaria) as he’s about to sacrifice Isaac, get circumcised, travel to Sodom, join the city’s guard… only to end up as slaves, again.  Yet through it all, Zed continues to insist he’s been chosen by God or “the gods” (he’s not sure which, just sure He or they aren’t female,) and Oh rolls his eyes and plays ”Sancho Panza” to Zed’s “Don Quixote.”

This movie has a good mix of a fabulous cast who have great chemistry together, irreverent and iconoclastic humor, smart writing and pop-culture references (at one point, Oh chants, “Yes, we can!” and I nearly fell off my chair with laughter.) 

There were several surprises when I watched the behind-the-scenes segment on the DVD.  I was shocked when I found out that Oliver Platt had played the effeminent, pedophiliac high priest.  I never even recognized him!      I also hadn’t recognized Harold Ramis in the role of Adam, nor had I realized Isaac was played by the same actor who played McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).  In Year One,  Mintz-Plasse has long head-banger-like hair and is sans glasses, and Isaac, his character, is a kinda Heeb-wigger gangsta-wannabe (“I can see why his dad wanted to kill him,” Zed says at one point.)  Also a cast surprise was David Cross as Cain.  The whole time I watched the movie I kept trying to place the actor, and was convinced he was one of the Geico Cavemen, only to find out he played the only part of the Chipmunk movie I liked:  Uncle Ian.  I am still not completely convinced he didn’t play a Caveman.

One of my FAVORITE parts of Year One wasn’t even in the movie.  In the special features section of the DVD is a fantastic little 2 minute video called “Leeroy Jenkins:  The Gates of Sodom.”  It’s a Year One’s take on the now immortalized WoW raid.  They even address the two raging factions (seriously, there ARE people bitter and angry at each other over this!):  At the end of the clip, did Leeroy Jenkins huff “At least I AIN’T chicken” or did he brag ”At least I HAVE chicken?”  (Of course Isaac plays Leeroy… he did a Leeroy move in the movie, too, that got Zed and Oh in trouble while he ran off yelling, “Peace out, SUCKAS!”)

Things I could’ve lived without… they do go a bit far with the poop and pee jokes, but those are the same scenes that my 15 and 17 year olds repeat again and again… and again.  Also, there are sexual references and innuendos throughout the movie (they spend half of it in Sodom, you know, so you might find yourself barraged with uncomfortable questions by younger children… “Why is that girl eating a banana like that?  Why does that boy like watching her?  What does she mean, she likes to have sex with girls?  What is sodomy and why is it the best thing?”) and, at one point, Cain cajoles Oh’s desire to save himself for the girl he loves by saying, “What transpires within the confines of the walls of Sodom, stays within the confines of the walls of Sodom.”

Oh, a little funny side thought here…  Michael Cera played Paulie Bleeker, the hapless, accidental father-to-be to Ellen Page’s Juno in the award-winning 2007 film Juno, and in Year One, his character Oh’s love interest, Eema, is played by British actress Juno Temple.  Just thought that was neat.

Alright, we’re gonna be trying something new here. In the effort to add interesting content and make this blog something readable, I’m adding a column… deal with it. You guessed it, it’s called Character Corner. No, it’s not stupid, you’re stupid… See, doesn’t feel nice, does it?
I want to take a closer look at all those actors whose faces we know so well, but whose names escape us; the character actors. The unsung workhorses of Hollywood, and damn talented people.
So what is a character actor actually? It’s ussually known as an actor that predominately plays secondary or supporting roles. They don’t have the leading man/woman looks (or their salaries), a bit broader acting styles (to accommodate positions like “the comic relief” or “the best friend”), and a relatability that the pretty dramatic leads tend to be missing. As Phil Hartman put it, “[character actors] are the glue that holds the story together.
The interesting thing about the character actor is that they often times work far more than the leading men. Where a leading man may do one film, a character actor can do five. The reason for this is actually their relative anonymity.  If we see a particular leading actor too often, we lose interest and move on to someone else. Since the leading actors bear this burden, the character actors don’t have to. Our focus is not on them, so we don’t get tired of seeing them. For this reason, character actors tend to have far longer and more varied careers than leading men and women. Once their fame builds over years and years, the public finally allows them to take the reigns of a story and drive it forward. So many of our truly great actors started as character actors.
Lets name a few character actors, and see if you’re surprised.
Jeff Goldblum: Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Igby Goes Down
Martin Landau: North by Northwest, Ed Wood, Treasure Island
Hank Azaria: The Simpsons, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Birdcage (He’s only recently gained any sex appeal, I have to add)
Clancy Brown: The Shawshank Redemption, Mortal Combat, Dead Man Walking (trust me, you know him)
Gary Cole (NOT Coleman): Pineapple Express, The Brady Bunch Movie, Office Space
Chris Cooper: October Sky, American Beauty, The Bourne Trilogy

See what I mean? Tune in next friday and see which actor is being profiled this week.

www.stephenmedvidick.com

Michael Cera and Jack Black prepare to get stoned; David Cross (front) is their connection.

(Columbia) Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Vinnie Jones, Juno Temple, Olivia Wilde, June Raphael, Horatio Sanz, Kyle Gass, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Matthew J. Willig, Xander Berkeley. Directed by Harold Ramis.

In the beginning, there was comedy. God saw that it was good, said it was good and it was good. But then came Year One and everything changed.

Zed (Black) is a hunter in a small village where the only career options are hunting and gathering. He sucks at both. He is more apt to sling his spear into a fellow hunter as he is into their prey. He has become the butt of jokes for his village, particularly alpha male hunter Marlak (Willig). His chances at winning his dream girl Maya (Raphael) are slim at best.

Oh (Cera) is a gatherer. Passive to the point of inertness, Oh is Zed’s closest – make that only – friend. He is infatuated with Eema (Temple), Zed’s promiscuous sister but is far too shy and awkward to make any realistic play. Like Zed, he is an object of scorn for the village.

One day Zed gets fed up and walks with Oh far beyond where the villagers are normally allowed to walk, all the way to the Forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil^TM. Oh pleads with him not to eat the fruit of the tree, but Zed, full of bluster and frustration over his lot in life, takes a healthy bite and proclaims that the fruit tastes “knowledgier.”

Unfortunately for the two knuckleheads, the village has employed a stooge to monitor the tree, and they are brought before the village in disgrace, having committed the one cardinal sin that is forbidden to the entire tribe. Incompetence had been one matter but this was completely another and the tribe’s shaman (Hader) informs Zed with some regret that he must leave. Zed calls on members of his tribe to join him in forming a new village but only Oh gets to leave, and he only goes because Zed accidentally burns his hut to the ground.

On their way beyond the horizons of their village, Zed and Oh encounter two brothers in a nearby field – Cain (Cross) and Abel (an uncredited Rudd). The hunter-gatherers manage to instigate a fraternal brawl between the two, and – for those not aware of the Biblical story – Cain murders Abel in a fit of what can only be called psychotic pique.

After fleeing Cain’s village, with the murderous Cain in tow, Cain sells the two hunter-gatherers into slavery and pockets the cash. They are surprised to find the rest of their village in bondage – the fire Zed had set apparently attracting the notice of slave traders. Zed and Oh manage to escape and when the caravan is attacked by ruthless slave traders from Sodom commanded by the unprincipled Sargon (Jones) – who contrary to first glance is not a laundry detergent – and resolve to rescue them.

On the way to Sodom they meet Abraham (Azaria) in the midst of sacrificing Isaac (Mintz-Plasse) and he points them on the way to the city of wickedness although not without a generous offer of circumcision before they leave which they regretfully decline. Then it’s on to Sodom, ruled by a bloodthirsty king (Berkeley), a truly hairy high priest (Platt) and a comely princess (Wilde). How in a city of wickedness will such innocents ever prevail?

Director Ramis is an extremely funny man (you may remember him as Egon in Ghostbusters) and has directed some very funny movies (including Caddyshack and Groundhog Day) but this doesn’t hold up to his better works, alas. Think of it as a spoof of biblical epics as conceived by Judd Apatow and you have an idea of the direction they wanted to go in, but the idea was much funnier in conception than in execution.

That’s too bad, because this is an extremely talented cast who has distinguished themselves in better movies than this. I’ve been a big Jack Black fan since I first saw him in High Fidelity but he has lost much of the freshness that made him so likable and is reduced to self-parodying shtick here. He seems to be sinking into a morass of his over-the-top Tenacious D character; I’ve always found his more restrained performances, as in The Holiday and Shallow Hal to be his more likable roles.

Michael Cera has almost no chemistry with Black. The contrast between his effeminate timidness and Black’s balls-to-the-wall bravado is a bit too wide a gulf to sometimes understand why they hang around each other, except that nobody else will. Cameo performances by a variety of talented comic actors go largely wasted. David Cross makes the most of his time as the treacherous Cain and chews scenery with great gusto – he alone of all the actors in the movie seems to be having a good time.

There are some funny moments here, but there is a sense that you’ve seen this all before. In many ways this feels like the filmmakers are trying way too hard to be like Apatow instead of making a movie in their own voice. Given the success of the Apatow comedies, its understandable why they’d try so hard to mimic the style but in the end it feels forced and contrived. I left the theater feeling like someone who takes a bite of a gigantic, juicy hamburger expecting it to satisfy their appetite; instead, it winds up being mostly bun and lettuce.

WHY RENT THIS: To be fair, there are a few funny moments and David Cross seems to genuinely be having fun. If you liked Jack Black in Tenacious D, you get a whole lot of that here.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Too much of the humor simply doesn’t work and the filmmakers try too hard to recreate what works for Judd Apatow. A lot of the movie feels forced, like sketch writers trying to string a bunch of vignettes together into a 90 minute film.

FAMILY VALUES: Nothing overt here, but a very large amount of sexual innuendo. Those who are devout Christians may be put off by some of the biblical parody.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Ramis has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as Adam early on in the film.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: An audio commentary track with Ramis, Cera and Black that’s funnier than the finished film.

FINAL RATING: 4/10

TOMORROW: Cadillac Records

This is the Smithsonian! This is the big leagues!

– Larry Daley

I reviewed the first Night of the Museum and I liked the movie very much. A kid friendly movie teaches about semblances of history in a clever way. We fast-forward to 2009 with the release of Night of the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the magic of the first film is there, but you have to dig to find it. That’s not a good sign. I’m glad I went to the cheap theater to see this movie.

After his stint as the night watchmen of the Museum of Natural History, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is inexplicably the CEO of his own company, Daley Devices. He left the inhabitants of the museum behind to invent the glow in the dark flashlight.

He goes back to the museum – no reason why – to see that the place is closed for renovations. Most of the exhibit pieces are in boxes en route to the Smithsonian federal archive. Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) tells Larry that the people are not coming to the museum. They want to have new attractions. Larry wants to find a way to have the museum open again.

En route to the Smithsonian, the capuchin monkey, Dexter steals the Table of Ahkmenrah to their new home in the basement. Larry turns into 007 to break into the restricted area. He awakens the inhabitants of the museum like General Custer (Bill Hader) and Amelia Earheart (Amy Adams).

Amelia becomes Larry cohort to help stop Ahkmenrah’s (Rami Malek) older brother, Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) from resurrect the undead army to take over the world with Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat) and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal) on his side.

I was still swept up with the fantastical moments of the movie. Bill Hader, Amy Adams and Mizuo Peck who plays Sacajawea were fantastic in the movie. They were the only enjoyable parts to the movie.

Many elements bothered me, especially the accent of Kahumunrah, the chase scenes in the paintings did nothing for me, and the whole thing with the villains was awful. It can’t say too much without spoiling the movie.

Judgment: A nice movie, but the first movie is much better.

Rating: **1/2

Much an improvement on Eric Idle’s earlier Montalban production — a bunch of ringers performing Rutles material — “An Evening Without Monty Python” answers the unasked question: will audiences accept a series of beloved, almost overly-familiar landmarks of British sketch comedy performed by none of the original cast, and with only one genuine Brit among the performers?

The answer, which should please all the financially-participating Pythons, is: “absolutely.” With only a limited number of performances scheduled in Los Angeles and New York City, my guess is that Idle has bus-and-truck, community and dinner theater productions in mind. Lots of them.

Of course it may be difficult to find farceurs as skilled as this bunch, which may be difficult.

Hank Azaria, originally announced, pulled out of the production for a better gig (the currently-filming “Love and Other Drugs”), a fact unmentioned in Tuesdays lengthy Los Angeles Times feature on the show. That said, it’d be hard to imagine that he’d have done any better than his excellent replacement, Jeff B. Davis.

Jane Leeves, the British actress I first saw as “Blue,” the punk receptionist in the syndicated sitcim “Throb” (what — you don’t remember? Diana Canova? Jonathan Prince?) appears here as a full member of the cast, though of course all the original Pythons were (and remain) male. She fit in very well, even performing in drag for a couple of sketches.

As for the Americans — well, Stateside actors love doing “British” accents almost as much as U.S. television and film producers love casting Brits and Australians to play Americans.

The music seems to be prerecorded, which is something of a cheat, but probably results in a better sound mix than would have been possible with a live band. A couple of totally unnecessary (and, to me, not all that funny) local and timely references were inserted. And there’s a small amount of audience involvement, some more rewarding than the rest on Wednesday night.

Sure, the show was a lot of fun, and yes, it was definitely on the short side — I figure about 1′20″, including a single encore but with no intermission. It moved exceedingly quickly, which I found amazing for what was announced as their first performance in front of an audience (which is to say, Wednesday was a preview). I’d see it again in a minute.

And it’s nice to see Monty Python routines where the laughter doesn’t come from an ancient BBC tape loop.

Almost (and just by a hair) as funny as the Python program is Ricardo Montalban’s prerecorded “turn off your cell phones” announcement. Take your seats early, so’s not to miss it.

Sinopse
Quando Zed (Jack Black) e Oh (Michael Cera), dois caçadores preguiçosos, são banidos de sua aldeia, eles partem para uma jornada épica pelo mundo antigo. (sic)

É uma comédia decepcionante, esperava muito mais do criador de Feitiço do Tempo (Groundhog Day) e A Máfia no Divã (Analyze This).

Em “Year One” ele naufragou, nem Jack Black salvou o filme, embora eu já não tenha gostado da sua atuação em Trovão Tropical, filme este que ainda quero dar uma segunda chance.

Year One me fez lembrar muito os filmes de Mel Brooks (A história do Mundo) e  A vida de Brian do grupo Monty Python, mas foi uma mistura mal feita e chata, o roteiro brinca com as histórias da Bíblia,  mas de forma desordenada, sem saber para onde vai, no meio de situações que são patéticas ao invés de  engraçadas. Michael Cera, cujo o nome não poderia ser melhor, merece uma menção especial, um ator medíocre que, tem sempre a mesma expressão na cara, sem personalidade, e que torna-se mais evidente quando comparado com o Jack Black.

Enfim, o filme é forte candidato a “Bomba do ano”, tem estréia prevista no Brasil para 23/10/09, mas se eu fosse você, não gastaria um ingresso de cinema para assistir ao filme. Ouvi dizer que consegue-se baixar facilmente o filme num tal de www.mininova.org. Agora se você está nadando com garoupas e não liga para o seu dinheiro, vá nessa molecão, mas depois não diga que eu não avisei.

Gabriel Macth, Hank Azaria y Oliver Platt

El Hollywood Reporter dice que Gabriel Macht, Hank Azaria y Oliver Platt están ya en la cinta de “Love and other Drugs” que dirigirá Ed Zwick.

El guión fue hecho por Charles Randolph (The interpreter) y es una adaptación del libro de Jamie Reidy que se llama “Hard Sell: The evolution of a viagra Salesman”.

La trama está un poco revoltosa. De lo que sabemos es que Macht hace el papel de un vendedor de Prozac que se enamora de Maggie (Hathaway) y ella es una mujer que sufre con la enfermedad de Parkinson. El trío amoroso se complementa con un vendedor de Viagra que se llama Jamie (Gyllenhaal).

Azaria sería un doctor con un pasado incierto y cliente de Jamie. Platt sería el jefe, un representante farmacéutico que está desesperado con las ventas de Jamie. La filmación comienza en septiembre.

Written & Directed By: John Hamburg
Cinematography By: Seamus McGarvey
Editor: William Kerr & Nick Moor 

CAST: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Missi Pyle, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown, Judah Friedlander, Jsu Garcia, Cherly Hines, Caroline Aaron,  Kevin Hart

 This movie is very funny in spots. I just feel I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should is because while the supporting cast is good with a shocking pedigree of dramatic actors doing comedy. The two leads make this film seem like you’ve been there done that like a standard sitcom plot you have seen too many times. Honestly how many times have we seen Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston play these type of roles? Ben Stller is just doing his usual schtick as the straight man in increasingly unusual comedic situations.

I am a fan of Director John Hamburg the script is funny and the film while a typical romantic comedy has a energy that I feel with other actors playing the leads could have really pushed the film to it’s full potential instead of how it feels the way it is on normal cruise control. Maybe one of the reasons he cast Ben Stiller is that he needed a big star to get a greenlight for the film but also he is one of Ben Stiller’s writers who usually does punch-up writing work on his films scripts.

It also doesn’t help that the two stars here have no chemistry at all watching this film. I more looked forward to scenes involving Philip Seymour Hoffman, Missi Pyle and Alec Baldwin. Then any scenes with the leads.

The film is about a man who is a insurance adjuster whose wife cheats on him during there honeymoon he leaves her then he runs into a old classmate he always had a crush on and wants to date her. He leads a nice safe normal life and figures out the probability of everything so he takes very few chances he meets polly who is the quirky ex-classmate who walks on the wild side and they begin  a romantic with him trying to hide his protective side. Which when she finds out about and they begin being real with each other they try to help each other change there ways.

It’s entertaining and a satisfying rental but it more or less feels like a time watser. It has so much potential to me that it could be a lot better. Watching the film feels like watching a flawed work of a typically mainstream romantic comedy with a different cast. It’s class wouldn’t have raised but maybe my total enjoyment of it would have. That way I could have given it a stronger endorsement.                                          

GRADE: C+

NOTA : 7

Download subtitrare Year One

Trailer Year One :