There are a lot of movies slated to come out between now and the end of the summer. History tells us that not all of them will be good. Advertisements and trailers will label them the “Best Movie of The Summer”. This will only hold true for a few. I thought it would be a good idea to give a list of movies that I’m looking forward to seeing. Here’s my Top 10
10. Baby Mama (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear) – A single business woman decides to have a child on her own. She soon realizes that she is unable to have children, leaving her with quite a delimit. Still determined, she finds a surrogate mother. Everything is going according to plan until the surrogate shows up at her house with no place to live.
Tina Fey has been doing a wonderful job with 30 Rock. Hopefully she can snowball that success into a hit movie. Amy Poehler and Tina were great together on the SNL’s Weekend Update. The plot seems funny enough, well at least enough to make my #10 on my list. April 25
9. Be Kind Rewind (Jack Black, Mos Def) – After a man becomes magnetized, he erases all the tapes at his friend’s video store. To keep the stores most loyal customer happy, they decide to remake all of the films in the store.
Why hasn’t this been done already? I can see producers sitting around thinking, “why hadn’t I thought of that?” I saw the trailer a few months ago and laughed out loud at some of the scenes. I think this movie will surprise a lot of people. With all the remakes set to come out, an original idea like this is bound to be a hit. February 22
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, David Hyde Pierce) – Hellboy is back! After a truce between humans and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, earth is flooded with all sorts of creatures bent on having hell on earth. It’s up to Hellboy to send these creatures back to where they belong.
I was pleasantly surprised by the first Hellboy. I refused to see it but when I finally watched it, I enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to this sequel. It’ll be more crazy creatures, special effects and comedy from Hellboy. July 11
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Anna Popplewell) – The children find themselves back in Narnia only to realize that a year to them is 1,300 years in Narnia. To their surprise things have changes and Narnia is now being ruled by evil King Miraz.
I read these books as a child and loved them. I thought The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe was excellent. They can pull it off again with Prince Caspian. It will be a great family movie. Every summer needs one of those. May 16
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Paul Rudd, Kristen Bell, Jason Segel) –A man breaks up with his TV star girlfriend and heads to Hawaii for a much needed vacation. When he arrives he realizes that his ex is vacationing at the same resort with her new boyfriend.
The Knocked Up guys are back! Judd Apatow is on a roll with these movies. This movie should be one of the summer’s best and definitely one of the funniest. Anyone who has ever run into an ex at the movies or at a restaurant knows that feeling. It’ll be an easy story to tell. Funny cast plus a funny script equals funny movie. April 18
5. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull (Harrison Ford, Shia Labeouf, Cate Blanchett) – Fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series.
The studios have been very good about not giving away any information on this film. This movie is one of the most anticipated films of the summer. I’m hoping they can restore some of the nostalgia from the first three Indiana Jones moves. Harrison Ford should be able to deliver. This has to be his last one…………….right? May 22
4. Semi–Pro (Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre “3000” Benjamin) – The owner/player/coach of a struggling ABA basketball franchise competes to have the team merge with the NBA. The team must do the impossible, win games.
If you’ve seen the Super Bowl ad or even the new Old Spice ads with Tropics star Jackie Moon, you know this movie is going to be a riot. Ferrell is up to his old antics again in this sports comedy. When I heard that his character has a #1 hit song called “Love Me Sexy” I was sold on the movie. Feb 29
3. Hancock (Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron) – A misguided superhero destroys the city in an attempt to save lives. This hardened superhero doesn’t seem to care what the public thinks of him. One day he saves the life of an executive and realizes he may actually have a soft side.
Will Smith is always puts out great films in the summer. Not to mention that Smith and Sci-Fi go together like The Iron Shiek and the Camel Clutch I can’t think of the last bad movie that Smith has done. Maybe it really is the Willenium. Hancock should be full of action and well worth the price of admission. July 2
2. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr., Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow) – After surviving a kidnapping, billionaire Tony Stark builds a high tech suit of armor. With the suit on Stark becomes Iron Man. He uses his abilities to protect the world from danger.
I wasn’t sold on this movie at first. I thought it was going to be more like Daredevil than like X-Men. That was until I recently watched Dinner For Five on IFC. Iron Man director Jon Favreau discussed having quality actors/actresses in the movie. He wanted the non-action sequences to hold up making this more than just a 100 million action sequence. That was all I needed to hear. Now let’s hope Robert Downy Jr. can pull it off. May 2
1. Batman (Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger) – Batman has teamed up with Lt. Gordon and Harvy Dent to help rid Gotham of crime. Things seem to go south as a new criminal known as the Joker starts his reign of terror on Gotham. It will take everything Batman has to beat him.
I’ve been waiting for this one since the credits started rolling on Batman Begins. The first one was done so well, not to mention all of the great dialogue and action the film had. Rumor has it that the late Heath Ledger did a great job as the Joker. If you’ve seen the 7 minute seen at the IMAX, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Look for Batman to be the biggest, baddest movie of the summer. July 18
Friday, February 15, 2008
A True Hollywood Story
About two years ago I found myself rushing home after work to watch Oprah. Now I’m not a huge fan of The Mighty O, but that day her guest was comedian Dave Chappelle. At this point in Dave’s career he was coming off two very successful seasons of Chappelle Show. His DVD sales were the number one TV show DVD’s of all time, not to mention he just inked a $50 million dollar deal with Comedy Central. It sounded like Dave was living the life all comedians wanted. While filming the third season of his hit show, Dave abruptly left the United States for South Africa. This
The Oprah interview would be the first time that we would hear from Chappelle about why he left his highly successful show. His appearance on Oprah would earn the interview “do not delete” status on my TiVo.
Queen O begins the interview asking Chappelle what most viewers wanted to know, “Why did you walk away from $50 million dollars?” Chappelle replied, “I wasn’t walking away from the money. I was walking away from the circumstances that came with it. I’ve been in show business since I was 14 and it was completely out of my frame of reference what would happen when you break through to the next plateau. I’ve seen the stories and heard the stories. Mariah Carey signs $100 million dollar deal and three months later she goes crazy or Martin breaks through and is found waving a gun on Hollywood blvd screaming.”
He went on to say numerous times in his interview that the environment was “extremely stressful”. If we rewind back to 2004, during a stand-up Chappelle reportedly told a crowd that the show was “ruining his life”. Let me get this right. You have a number one show, number one selling DVD, a $50 million dollar deal in place, and you feel like your life is ruined. Something has to be missing. I decided to do a little research of my own to see what is about Hollywood that is making people crazy.
Martin Lawrence
1996 – After the success of his TV show Martin, Lawrence was starring in A Thin Line Between Love And Hate. He reportedly began having violent outburst on the set and taking drugs. His strange behavior continued after he was seen brandishing a pistol and screaming , “they are trying to kill me” at tourist on Hollywood’s Ventura Boulevard.
Mariah Carey
2001- Carey signs a reported $80 million contract with Virgin Records. A few months later it is reported that she suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. Carey also left very personal messages on her website saying that she was overworked and was ending her relationship with boyfriend Luis Miguel. Carey would later show up on MTV’s TRL in a bath robe handing out popsicles and began what would later be described as a “striptease”. By the end of that month she was checked into a hospital.
2002- Carey is bought out of her contract for $28 million. She would later go on to say that her time at Virgin Records was a “total stress fest”.
You may be wondering why this sounds familiar. That’s because we’ve seen it happen more and more in recent years. Former teen queens Brittney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have taken a turn or the worst. Their stories are so similar that it’s almost scary. Teen stars trying to change their image and be taken seriously, spiral out of control with bizarre behavior, and eventually end up in rehab.
Brittney Spears
2002- Spears very public relationship with fellow pop star Justin Timberlake ends after four years. Timberlake releases his hit song “Cry Me A River”. Most people speculate the song was about Spears being unfaithful since video featured an actress resembling Spears.
2004 – Spears marries childhood friend Jason Alexander at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage ended in annulment three days later. Six month later she announces her engagement to Kevin Federline after dating for three months. The two would be married later on in the year.
2006- Spears appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and announces her second pregnancy. She also conducts an interview for Dateline to discuss rumors of a divorce and motherhood. She stated in the interview, “I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared”. Spears would later file for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. According to reports, the divorce caught Federline by surprise.
2007- Spears checks into a drug rehab facility. She is released the next day and is seen shaving her head bald. A few days later she checks into another rehab facility. This erratic behavior continues as she checks in and out of rehab centers. Her antics came to a peak as she was filmed attacking a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella.
2008- Forbe’s Magazine reports that Brittney Spears has a net worth of $100 million. Police were called to her home after she refused to relinquish custody of her children. Spears was hospitalized after she appeared to be “under the influence”. She was held on involuntary psychiatric hold at UCLA Medical Center.
Lindsay Lohan
2004- Lohan is in three widely publicized car accidents. She suffered minor injuries and was not sued for a any damages related to the accidents
2006 – Lohan tells Allure magazine, “I hate it when people call me a teen queen”. She hoped to be taking seriously as an actress after the success of teen movies Mean Girls and Parent Trap.
2007- Forbes issues a list of Young Hollywood Stars, ranking Lohan #3 at $6 million a year. Lohan would later check herself into the Wonderland Center. She makes the statement that she, “made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health”. A few months later Lohan is in another accident. Police found a “usable” amount of cocaine in her vehicle. She would be arrested for a DUI and later check herself into Promises Treatment Center. In July of 2007, police found Lohan having an argument with a young woman in a parking lot. Lohan refused to take breathalyzer but failed the other sobriety test. While conducting a search police found cocaine in her pocket. She would be booked on felony charges of possession of cocaine and transportation of narcotic.
These stories are all too familiar in today’s Hollywood scene. Recently Eva Mendes checked herself into rehab for “substance abuse”. She admitted needing a drink before filming love scenes for her films Trust The Man, and We Own The Night.
Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers checked himself into a Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA to “get help for a pre-existing sleeping disorder”. He was found reportedly clutching a red bull and stomping on a box of donuts. I have sleep problems too, but I’ve never went Savion Glover on a box of Krispy Kremes.
So what’s making these stars self destruct? Is it the stress? Is it the people around them? Is it the us, the fans? These stars have personal problems like the rest of us. The difference is that their issues are magnified because of who they are. They Lohan’s of the world have to deal with their issues privately and at the same time watch them play out publicly. If you take something as simple as a relationship. If you’ve ever been in a relationship you know how hard it is to maintain them. You couple that with speculations of your boyfriend/girlfriend cheating on the set of their new movie or rumors that your substance abuse is the real reason you aren’t married yet. I don’t know anyone who likes to feel like they are under a microscope.
In Chappelles interview with Oprah he also said, “When you are a person that generates a stream of income, people have a vested interest in controlling you”. Why would anyone want to see someone go through an ordeal like that? If you think about it we’ve seen other stars rebound from bad press. From Robert Downey Jr’s drug issues, Dru Berrymore’s troubled past, to Hugh Grant and his women “issues”. Like the old saying goes, “The only bad press is no press”. My friend pointed out that a Hollywood star may stand to gain from a stint in rehab. I think he’s right! Maybe five years from now we’ll be reading Lindsay Lohan: From Car Accidents to Academy Awards. It’s the American Dream! Fallen star picks him/herself back up and has a successful career. I smell a E! True Hollywood Story coming on.
I think the biggest issue is us, the public/people/fans. We buy all of this crazy behavior and we buy by the boatload..There is a room in my office that is full of People, US Weekly, and In Touch magazines. When you flip through them you get the feeling they build these stars up just to tear them down. It’s as if subconsciously we have some equation in our head that says: tragedy = a good news story. I couldn’t believe that everyone wanted to read about Owen Wilson’s attempt at suicide. It wasn’t as if they were concerned for him, people just wanted to read how crazy he was. Don’t believe me? Websites like TMZ, Concreteloop, and Bossip are becoming increasingly more popular . As long as I can remember there have been tabloid magazines when I check out at the grocery store. Somebody has been buying those magazines because they don’t pay for themselves. The fact that most of these publications are weekly is the most ridiculous part. These writers have to come up with material every week for a 160 page magazine. I wonder what sort of pressure they are under.
We put a lot of pressure on our stars. They know that they are one YouTube clip away from ending their career. Nobody cared to YouTube me falling at the gym the other day. That same clip of Beyonce gets 1,000 views in less than an hour (we’ll at least until her “people” snatch if off the internet). Now we have every cell phone being made with a camera in it. There is really no place for them to hide. Poor Tom Brady couldn’t even bring his girlfriend flowers in peace.
I don’t know if there is an answer to why this is happening. There are a lot of factors to consider and a ton of information to go through. Maybe they are just regular people like you and me, with the same stresses, frustrations, and struggles that we all deal with. Maybe the only real difference is them being household names or having all of their trials play out in weekly gossip magazines and on Entertainment Tonight.
Hopefully things can change for the better. I would hate to see Chris Brown on the cover of People with the headline: Chris Brown – The Real Story of his fall from fame. My niece loves Chris Brown. It would break her 10 year old heart. Let’s pray things change before that happens.
The Oprah interview would be the first time that we would hear from Chappelle about why he left his highly successful show. His appearance on Oprah would earn the interview “do not delete” status on my TiVo.
Queen O begins the interview asking Chappelle what most viewers wanted to know, “Why did you walk away from $50 million dollars?” Chappelle replied, “I wasn’t walking away from the money. I was walking away from the circumstances that came with it. I’ve been in show business since I was 14 and it was completely out of my frame of reference what would happen when you break through to the next plateau. I’ve seen the stories and heard the stories. Mariah Carey signs $100 million dollar deal and three months later she goes crazy or Martin breaks through and is found waving a gun on Hollywood blvd screaming.”
He went on to say numerous times in his interview that the environment was “extremely stressful”. If we rewind back to 2004, during a stand-up Chappelle reportedly told a crowd that the show was “ruining his life”. Let me get this right. You have a number one show, number one selling DVD, a $50 million dollar deal in place, and you feel like your life is ruined. Something has to be missing. I decided to do a little research of my own to see what is about Hollywood that is making people crazy.
Martin Lawrence
1996 – After the success of his TV show Martin, Lawrence was starring in A Thin Line Between Love And Hate. He reportedly began having violent outburst on the set and taking drugs. His strange behavior continued after he was seen brandishing a pistol and screaming , “they are trying to kill me” at tourist on Hollywood’s Ventura Boulevard.
Mariah Carey
2001- Carey signs a reported $80 million contract with Virgin Records. A few months later it is reported that she suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. Carey also left very personal messages on her website saying that she was overworked and was ending her relationship with boyfriend Luis Miguel. Carey would later show up on MTV’s TRL in a bath robe handing out popsicles and began what would later be described as a “striptease”. By the end of that month she was checked into a hospital.
2002- Carey is bought out of her contract for $28 million. She would later go on to say that her time at Virgin Records was a “total stress fest”.
You may be wondering why this sounds familiar. That’s because we’ve seen it happen more and more in recent years. Former teen queens Brittney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have taken a turn or the worst. Their stories are so similar that it’s almost scary. Teen stars trying to change their image and be taken seriously, spiral out of control with bizarre behavior, and eventually end up in rehab.
Brittney Spears
2002- Spears very public relationship with fellow pop star Justin Timberlake ends after four years. Timberlake releases his hit song “Cry Me A River”. Most people speculate the song was about Spears being unfaithful since video featured an actress resembling Spears.
2004 – Spears marries childhood friend Jason Alexander at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage ended in annulment three days later. Six month later she announces her engagement to Kevin Federline after dating for three months. The two would be married later on in the year.
2006- Spears appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and announces her second pregnancy. She also conducts an interview for Dateline to discuss rumors of a divorce and motherhood. She stated in the interview, “I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared”. Spears would later file for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. According to reports, the divorce caught Federline by surprise.
2007- Spears checks into a drug rehab facility. She is released the next day and is seen shaving her head bald. A few days later she checks into another rehab facility. This erratic behavior continues as she checks in and out of rehab centers. Her antics came to a peak as she was filmed attacking a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella.
2008- Forbe’s Magazine reports that Brittney Spears has a net worth of $100 million. Police were called to her home after she refused to relinquish custody of her children. Spears was hospitalized after she appeared to be “under the influence”. She was held on involuntary psychiatric hold at UCLA Medical Center.
Lindsay Lohan
2004- Lohan is in three widely publicized car accidents. She suffered minor injuries and was not sued for a any damages related to the accidents
2006 – Lohan tells Allure magazine, “I hate it when people call me a teen queen”. She hoped to be taking seriously as an actress after the success of teen movies Mean Girls and Parent Trap.
2007- Forbes issues a list of Young Hollywood Stars, ranking Lohan #3 at $6 million a year. Lohan would later check herself into the Wonderland Center. She makes the statement that she, “made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health”. A few months later Lohan is in another accident. Police found a “usable” amount of cocaine in her vehicle. She would be arrested for a DUI and later check herself into Promises Treatment Center. In July of 2007, police found Lohan having an argument with a young woman in a parking lot. Lohan refused to take breathalyzer but failed the other sobriety test. While conducting a search police found cocaine in her pocket. She would be booked on felony charges of possession of cocaine and transportation of narcotic.
These stories are all too familiar in today’s Hollywood scene. Recently Eva Mendes checked herself into rehab for “substance abuse”. She admitted needing a drink before filming love scenes for her films Trust The Man, and We Own The Night.
Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers checked himself into a Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA to “get help for a pre-existing sleeping disorder”. He was found reportedly clutching a red bull and stomping on a box of donuts. I have sleep problems too, but I’ve never went Savion Glover on a box of Krispy Kremes.
So what’s making these stars self destruct? Is it the stress? Is it the people around them? Is it the us, the fans? These stars have personal problems like the rest of us. The difference is that their issues are magnified because of who they are. They Lohan’s of the world have to deal with their issues privately and at the same time watch them play out publicly. If you take something as simple as a relationship. If you’ve ever been in a relationship you know how hard it is to maintain them. You couple that with speculations of your boyfriend/girlfriend cheating on the set of their new movie or rumors that your substance abuse is the real reason you aren’t married yet. I don’t know anyone who likes to feel like they are under a microscope.
In Chappelles interview with Oprah he also said, “When you are a person that generates a stream of income, people have a vested interest in controlling you”. Why would anyone want to see someone go through an ordeal like that? If you think about it we’ve seen other stars rebound from bad press. From Robert Downey Jr’s drug issues, Dru Berrymore’s troubled past, to Hugh Grant and his women “issues”. Like the old saying goes, “The only bad press is no press”. My friend pointed out that a Hollywood star may stand to gain from a stint in rehab. I think he’s right! Maybe five years from now we’ll be reading Lindsay Lohan: From Car Accidents to Academy Awards. It’s the American Dream! Fallen star picks him/herself back up and has a successful career. I smell a E! True Hollywood Story coming on.
I think the biggest issue is us, the public/people/fans. We buy all of this crazy behavior and we buy by the boatload..There is a room in my office that is full of People, US Weekly, and In Touch magazines. When you flip through them you get the feeling they build these stars up just to tear them down. It’s as if subconsciously we have some equation in our head that says: tragedy = a good news story. I couldn’t believe that everyone wanted to read about Owen Wilson’s attempt at suicide. It wasn’t as if they were concerned for him, people just wanted to read how crazy he was. Don’t believe me? Websites like TMZ, Concreteloop, and Bossip are becoming increasingly more popular . As long as I can remember there have been tabloid magazines when I check out at the grocery store. Somebody has been buying those magazines because they don’t pay for themselves. The fact that most of these publications are weekly is the most ridiculous part. These writers have to come up with material every week for a 160 page magazine. I wonder what sort of pressure they are under.
We put a lot of pressure on our stars. They know that they are one YouTube clip away from ending their career. Nobody cared to YouTube me falling at the gym the other day. That same clip of Beyonce gets 1,000 views in less than an hour (we’ll at least until her “people” snatch if off the internet). Now we have every cell phone being made with a camera in it. There is really no place for them to hide. Poor Tom Brady couldn’t even bring his girlfriend flowers in peace.
I don’t know if there is an answer to why this is happening. There are a lot of factors to consider and a ton of information to go through. Maybe they are just regular people like you and me, with the same stresses, frustrations, and struggles that we all deal with. Maybe the only real difference is them being household names or having all of their trials play out in weekly gossip magazines and on Entertainment Tonight.
Hopefully things can change for the better. I would hate to see Chris Brown on the cover of People with the headline: Chris Brown – The Real Story of his fall from fame. My niece loves Chris Brown. It would break her 10 year old heart. Let’s pray things change before that happens.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Last week I was home sick watching some movies on cable. What else am I suppose to do with my sick day? So as I’m scrolling through channels and I land on
Blue Streak starring Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson. The movie also has a small role with a comedian by the name of Dave Chappelle. I realized that I forgot how funny Martin’s movies used to be. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments in that movie. This is film had a okay plot, but Martin’s antics carried the film turning this okay action/comedy into a decent movie.
This weekend I ventured out of my home to see Martin’s latest movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. Martin stars as Roscoe Jenkins, a talk show host who is going home for his parents 50th wedding anniversary. He’s bringing ex survivor contestant/fiancée Bianca (Joy Bryant) along for the trip.
Most of the film revolves around Roscoe’s relationship with his father Papa Jenkins (James Earl Jones) and his competition with cousin Clyde (Cedric The Entertainer) for the love of Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker).
Most of the film just seemed dry. Some of the subplots are underdeveloped and leave you uninterested. There was a lot of physical humor, but if you aren’t into that you may want to sit this one out. I’m not a big fan of physical comedy. It doesn’t take much to make a face like I just smelled something nasty. It was the same old bits from the early 80’s. I just wasn’t amused. As funny as the comedians in the film are, Martin, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique, and Cedric The Entertainer, it felt like they were on a leash and couldn’t really be funny. I’ve seen them all be good in other movies so I wonder where all that funny went
The bright spot of the movie had to be Mike Epps as Roscoe’s cousin Reggie. Some of his one-liners were hilarious and he stole a few scene with just his facial expressions. The movie would have been much better if it had more that comedic freedom. You do get to see a glimpse of that freedom from the other comedians as closing credits roll. That by far was the funniest part of the movie and half of the theater had already left. The funniest moment of the night did not come from the a scene in the movie or the girl with the haircut from Mad Max that I saw at Applebee’s later that night. About halfway through the movie a baby starts crying and a man yells from across the theater, “Oh no! You got to take that out in the hallway”. Reason #184 I love going to the movies.
My suggestion: I’d wait to see it. It’s extremely predictable and doesn’t showcase anything that we haven’t already seen. This could have been a really clean family comedy or a really raunchy R rated comedy. Welcome Home seems to be stuck somewhere in between. With no real identity, this movie doesn’t flow well an may leave you wanting more or just wanting to leave.
Blue Streak starring Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson. The movie also has a small role with a comedian by the name of Dave Chappelle. I realized that I forgot how funny Martin’s movies used to be. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments in that movie. This is film had a okay plot, but Martin’s antics carried the film turning this okay action/comedy into a decent movie.
This weekend I ventured out of my home to see Martin’s latest movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. Martin stars as Roscoe Jenkins, a talk show host who is going home for his parents 50th wedding anniversary. He’s bringing ex survivor contestant/fiancée Bianca (Joy Bryant) along for the trip.
Most of the film revolves around Roscoe’s relationship with his father Papa Jenkins (James Earl Jones) and his competition with cousin Clyde (Cedric The Entertainer) for the love of Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker).
Most of the film just seemed dry. Some of the subplots are underdeveloped and leave you uninterested. There was a lot of physical humor, but if you aren’t into that you may want to sit this one out. I’m not a big fan of physical comedy. It doesn’t take much to make a face like I just smelled something nasty. It was the same old bits from the early 80’s. I just wasn’t amused. As funny as the comedians in the film are, Martin, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique, and Cedric The Entertainer, it felt like they were on a leash and couldn’t really be funny. I’ve seen them all be good in other movies so I wonder where all that funny went
The bright spot of the movie had to be Mike Epps as Roscoe’s cousin Reggie. Some of his one-liners were hilarious and he stole a few scene with just his facial expressions. The movie would have been much better if it had more that comedic freedom. You do get to see a glimpse of that freedom from the other comedians as closing credits roll. That by far was the funniest part of the movie and half of the theater had already left. The funniest moment of the night did not come from the a scene in the movie or the girl with the haircut from Mad Max that I saw at Applebee’s later that night. About halfway through the movie a baby starts crying and a man yells from across the theater, “Oh no! You got to take that out in the hallway”. Reason #184 I love going to the movies.
My suggestion: I’d wait to see it. It’s extremely predictable and doesn’t showcase anything that we haven’t already seen. This could have been a really clean family comedy or a really raunchy R rated comedy. Welcome Home seems to be stuck somewhere in between. With no real identity, this movie doesn’t flow well an may leave you wanting more or just wanting to leave.
Monday, February 4, 2008
My Double-Feature Failure
This weekend I had a weekend double-feature. Disappointment starring Jessica Alba and Disappointing Remake starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (I always wanted two first names. I think it would make me sound cooler). Okay so maybe that’s not what the movies were called, but the titles seem to really fit.
My first major disappointment came early Saturday afternoon. I convinced myself to see The Eye starring Jessica Alba and a few other folks who could easily be replaced. This film is a remake of the Hong Kong hit “Jian Gui”. In the movie Alba plays Sydney Wells, a blind violinist who has been without sight since the age of five. She undergoes an eye transplant that restores her vision and also allows her to see supernatural things. Of course nobody believes her. It was as if people thought “You mean to tell me you’ve been blind all these years and NOW you are suddenly and expert on what you see.” That line would have added some much needed comedy to this movie.
The low point of the film comes when Sydney goes to her psychiatrist Dr. Paul Faulkner played horribly by Allessandro Nivola. She says “I need to find out who’s eyes these are” and he replies “I can’t. I could lose my license.” Not only did I see this line coming from a mile away. It was at that exact point when my stomach started to hurt. I realized this movie wasn’t going to be any good, and there is an 85% chance it’s going to end with me throwing my $4.00 Cherry Coke at the screen.
The high point of the movie has to be Jessica Alba. Not because she’s the movies “eye candy” but she actually does a decent job as a lead in this film. I do worry about her career. She’s dropped two bricks with The Eye and Good Luck Chuck. Hopefully she can rebound from this debacle.
It was almost like the producers didn’t care about the movie. I could see them saying in post-production meetings, “It has Jessica Alba! Guys 15-30 will go see it. We’ll make a ton of money”. Sadly, not even her beautiful looks could save this sinking ship.
So after my disappointing morning I decided to watch The Invasion. Here’s the back-story: I love Invasion of the Body Snatchers. So what if it’s film as old as I am, it is still one of my all-time favorite movies. Mostly because I thought they ended the movie perfect. It really shook me up as a kid. I was afraid to go to sleep. I didn’t want any plants in my room under any circumstances. Seeing that I loved the original, like Kidman and have grown to like Daniel Craig, how could this movie suck? It’s easy. How about we butcher the original, give it some crappy updates and totally disrespect the original film by changing the ending. That should about do it.
The movie opens with a shuttle crash landing on its way back to earth. People in the DC area begin getting sick. The films main character Carroll Bennell (Nicole Kidman), a psychiatrist who discovers that people around her aren’t just getting sick, they are changing. She teams up with boyfriend/doctor Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig). The two of them attempt to save the world, and her son who is trapped with her alien ex husband.
For the remainder of the film Carroll and her boyfriend try to rescue her son as well as get to the “safe zone”. The problem is, with the exception of a few scenes, it just wasn’t entertaining. It was dry for most of the film. As I sat on my couch bored out of my mind, I thought I would still have the great ending as my payoff. That was until I realized during the anti-climatic climax that they had to change the ending. I would have much rather watched the original again.
My suggestion: Both films were pretty bad. I would recommend these movies if you’ve already cleaned your house, re-laced all of your shoes, mowed the lawn, washed the dishes, called all of your out-of-state friends or relatives, and there is absolutely nothing on TV. Maybe I’m being a little rough because I watched both of these Snorefest back-to-back. Save your time and money while you still can. I’m definitely going to be wary about seeing the next remake. Hollywood is running out of ideas so I’m sure that will be sometime next month.
My first major disappointment came early Saturday afternoon. I convinced myself to see The Eye starring Jessica Alba and a few other folks who could easily be replaced. This film is a remake of the Hong Kong hit “Jian Gui”. In the movie Alba plays Sydney Wells, a blind violinist who has been without sight since the age of five. She undergoes an eye transplant that restores her vision and also allows her to see supernatural things. Of course nobody believes her. It was as if people thought “You mean to tell me you’ve been blind all these years and NOW you are suddenly and expert on what you see.” That line would have added some much needed comedy to this movie.
The low point of the film comes when Sydney goes to her psychiatrist Dr. Paul Faulkner played horribly by Allessandro Nivola. She says “I need to find out who’s eyes these are” and he replies “I can’t. I could lose my license.” Not only did I see this line coming from a mile away. It was at that exact point when my stomach started to hurt. I realized this movie wasn’t going to be any good, and there is an 85% chance it’s going to end with me throwing my $4.00 Cherry Coke at the screen.
The high point of the movie has to be Jessica Alba. Not because she’s the movies “eye candy” but she actually does a decent job as a lead in this film. I do worry about her career. She’s dropped two bricks with The Eye and Good Luck Chuck. Hopefully she can rebound from this debacle.
It was almost like the producers didn’t care about the movie. I could see them saying in post-production meetings, “It has Jessica Alba! Guys 15-30 will go see it. We’ll make a ton of money”. Sadly, not even her beautiful looks could save this sinking ship.
So after my disappointing morning I decided to watch The Invasion. Here’s the back-story: I love Invasion of the Body Snatchers. So what if it’s film as old as I am, it is still one of my all-time favorite movies. Mostly because I thought they ended the movie perfect. It really shook me up as a kid. I was afraid to go to sleep. I didn’t want any plants in my room under any circumstances. Seeing that I loved the original, like Kidman and have grown to like Daniel Craig, how could this movie suck? It’s easy. How about we butcher the original, give it some crappy updates and totally disrespect the original film by changing the ending. That should about do it.
The movie opens with a shuttle crash landing on its way back to earth. People in the DC area begin getting sick. The films main character Carroll Bennell (Nicole Kidman), a psychiatrist who discovers that people around her aren’t just getting sick, they are changing. She teams up with boyfriend/doctor Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig). The two of them attempt to save the world, and her son who is trapped with her alien ex husband.
For the remainder of the film Carroll and her boyfriend try to rescue her son as well as get to the “safe zone”. The problem is, with the exception of a few scenes, it just wasn’t entertaining. It was dry for most of the film. As I sat on my couch bored out of my mind, I thought I would still have the great ending as my payoff. That was until I realized during the anti-climatic climax that they had to change the ending. I would have much rather watched the original again.
My suggestion: Both films were pretty bad. I would recommend these movies if you’ve already cleaned your house, re-laced all of your shoes, mowed the lawn, washed the dishes, called all of your out-of-state friends or relatives, and there is absolutely nothing on TV. Maybe I’m being a little rough because I watched both of these Snorefest back-to-back. Save your time and money while you still can. I’m definitely going to be wary about seeing the next remake. Hollywood is running out of ideas so I’m sure that will be sometime next month.
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