Review: Pitch Perfect (2012)

“John, a change of pace could not come soon enough here for the Barden Bellas. This is not a great way to start their season.”
– Gail

SYNOPSIS: Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school’s all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. – via IMDB

I was roped into watching this years ago and I wasn’t overly impressed with it, but since there are three of these things now and I was out of things to watch and I wanted something that required zero commitment from my side, I decided to give these a shot and see why people love them. Honestly, I still can’t see it.

Granted, I’ll give Fat Amy her due because stopping those twig bitches in their tracks was pretty sharp. Now, aside from that, all I could picture while watching this was Anna Camp as Sarah Newlin, telling Jason Jesus was alright with them boning. That is all that woman is ever going to be to me. The rest of the cast is alright in a totally bland and generic way, except Rebel Wilson who, of course, puts herself right out there – not necessarily with good lines or great jokes, but she just gets so into it you can sort of deal with having her around. Not all of the music in this movie was created equal, and some of it was really not that good. A lot of it was tired.

The humour wasn’t always to my taste, I found it just a bit icky, too, what with body and toilet humour, but I guess you can’t really expect more. There were also too many racist and sexist jokes thrown in here. I was totally let down by the lack of eye candy – for reals, the movie is just okay, but I didn’t even have something to look at and make it halfway okay. The story is completely generic and super bland, bringing nothing new to the table. It is ridiculously cheesy (and not the cool type) and incredibly predictable. Also, then there is Adam DeVine, and I don’t get why people like him. I find him to be annoying as hell.

Anyway, when all is said and done, Pitch Perfect isn’t really my scene and wasn’t that great. Oh well, I tried, and it totally ticked the boxes for me for a brainless, easy watch.

Review: Role Models (2008)

“No, venti is twenty. Large is large. In fact, tall is large and grande is Spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn’t mean large. It’s also the only one that’s Italian. Congratulations, you’re stupid in three languages.”
– Danny

SYNOPSIS: Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program. – via IMDB

You know, I watched this movie when it came out and I have gone back to it a few times over the years and I still thoroughly enjoy it. No, it isn’t a perfect movie or anything like that, but it is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

First and foremost, Paul Rudd is absolutely fantastic in this. I adore the man, so will pretty much watch anything he’s in. I think he’s sweet and hilarious and so dry, which works for me. This is no exception, he is plenty entertaining, and works wonders with Stifler Seann William Scott. Scott provides just the type of role you would expect from him, but he does it well. McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse entertains endlessly as awkward Augie. Another hilariously awkward character is cocaine-crazy Sweeny, and Jane Lynch has a ball with the role. As you can tell, the movie hinged quite heavily on the actors having fun with the material, and it works. 

The humour made me laugh, too. It’s witty, dry, sarcastic and crude at times throughout, and it totally works. The movie also doesn’t drag out the run-time, so it plays it out and does its thing but doesn’t overstay its welcome, which is great. You just have fun, and then it is over, before it wastes away and tries too hard to be something it isn’t. The story, while not new, is handled deftly. There are a lot of crappy movies in this genre, but every now and then there is one that stands out, one that tries to and succeeds to be more. This is one of those. It has a lot of heart and a lot of humour, knows what it is and goes for it, without being apologetic.

I really enjoyed some of the situations the characters found themselves in and I liked how things were handled. There was even character growth to be found throughout here, which is more than I could have asked for. The soundtrack and score worked, not once taking over and becoming the focus, which is just fine.

So, all in all, if you haven’t checked out Role Models before and feel like a good, light comedy with plenty of heart, I can highly recommend this one, it is quite fun. I don’t really know what to say other than I like this one and I find myself returning to it time and time again and enjoying it without fail.

Rapid Review: Fright Night (2011)

“I really hate to be the one to tell you this, but that guy, your neighbor; yeah, he’s a vampire man.”
– “Evil” Ed Thompson

SYNOPSIS: Teenager Charley Brewster guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent, a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry. – via IMDB

I have a soft spot for this movie. I went it for it totally blind the first time I saw it, I didn’t know it was a remake or anything, and I had a total blast. It’s stupidly entertaining and I was interested throughout, and had a good time with the humour. I also really enjoy Yelchin, and his portrayal as Charley was spot on. He really gets that silly, quirky character every time. I always love seeing a grittier vampire film, and this was it. No love story. No softness, nothing. Colin Farrell was a great Jerry, too. He was menacing, he was crazy, and he totally fit the role. Let’s not forget David Tennant, either. What a chop, but oh, so enjoyable. And then McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse. I wish, wish, wish he had gotten more screen time, but he did own whenever he was on. Charley is an awesome character – it is hilarious to watch this high school student desperately try to maintain a relationship, be taken seriously, be a hero, and kill a vampire, all rolled into one. I liked the effects, too, nothing over the top, but not so bad you cringe while watching. I enjoyed the movie’s pacing, too, as it gives enough time to set up and then dives right into the action, too. I really need to get to watching the original, seeing as I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Fright Night is a fun watch that doesn’t require too much investment, and gives us nastier, more creepy vampires again, plenty humour and good effects. I could definitely recommend this movie for a watch.

Rapid Review: Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

“You don’t have to be a bad-ass to be a superhero, Dave. You just have to be brave.”
– Mindy Macready

SYNOPSIS: The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows. – via IMDB

After loving Kick-Ass so much, I was wondering if this was going to reek of sequelitis (thanks Tom). I was surprised. It was by no means as good as the first one for me (though my other half preferred the oodles more action in this one), it was not a flop, either. I had a good time with it. There were plenty laughs, but I found this one to be so much less awkward and embarrassing than the first (something I thought was excellent for it), but more forced at other times. Big Daddy may be gone, but it seems that Colonel Stars and Stripes was there to take up the mantle of father figure. He was by no means as organised or as odd as Big Daddy, but it works on some level. I didn’t like the fact that Evan Peters didn’t come back to play Todd (but I can deal, American Horror Story was way more important), and I found Augustus Prew (his replacement) to be really bland. What I did like, and it had me in stitches for hours after, was McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse putting all that bondage gear on, and not having the boobs to fill out the rack space (bwahahahaha, it looked hilarious). I was really glad that this one scene that could have potentially ended in rape didn’t go there. It would not have gelled with the movie, and would definitely have left a sour taste in my mouth. There was definitely far more action in this one, definitely some more cheese. I had a good time watching John Leguizamo here, he had his head more together than most, though he humoured Chris way too much. The inclusion of so many superheroes didn’t really work all too well, but they had their moments, and the plot was a little all over the show at times. I think I am being significantly less harsh on this than most people (I don’t get the really bad rap this film has), but maybe because I saw these movies directly after one another over two nights, I didn’t have time to forge expectations, and I knew that no matter what, it was going to be lame, silly, over the top and not as good as the first. Maybe that’s why I still had fun.

Rapid Review: Kick-Ass (2010)

“In the world I lived in, heroes only existed in comic books. And I guess that’d be okay, if bad guys were make-believe too, but they’re not.”
– Dave Lizewski

SYNOPSIS: Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training. – via IDMB

So I had never seen this, and I know that a lot of people are quite fond of it. Looking for a bit of a lame laugh the other night, I popped this one in and let me tell you, I got my money’s worth! I was astounded that the chipper lead for this film was none other than Godzilla’s wet rag, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Who knew the dude had some spark in him? I might have to reassess my opinion with some more of his work. We will see.

I loved Kick-Ass. A lot. I didn’t actually have faith that I would, but I did. I can see there are going to be a lot of haters out there, but different strokes and all. Kick-Ass was cringe-worthy more often than not and dead embarrassing at the best of times and had some real lame moments laced through it all, but most importantly, it was fun. I had a few giggles at Nic Cage, who was absolutely ridiculous in this and he knew it. I was beyond thrilled to see McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D’Amico. I think he rocks, he’s too damn sweet, and what a twit. This movie? No exception. I loved it when he was Red Mist and had that ludicrous wig on. I was wondering if he actually had a stylist that teased the hell out of his hair like that and streaked it for his nights on the town. And his Mist Mobile? Hahahaha!

Anyway, this movie didn’t have any right to work, and I was thinking it was something like a spoof, but considering how much love it gets I thought it might not be conventional. Well, it definitely wasn’t! Dave is such an awkward dude, and I was happy to see Evan Peters (you all know I adore the guy) and Clark Duke (who is quite entertaining at times) alongside him. Chloë Grace Moretz worked very well in her role, too, and I think she was super badass. I liked that she wasn’t a sissy and stood her ground and didn’t take nonsense. Upon further reading I saw that a lot of people had issues with her character before the film because she was too young, etc. Thank goodness she was not changed! I know she cussed and killed people and was not conventionally normal, but it worked for her. Mark Strong is still such a great villain, and I enjoyed the dash of cheese that was laced through his character. I actually think the whole cast was right, they all brought something to the screen with them.

This was hilarious at the best of times, and I can see that I am going to go back and watch this a few times. There are no epic back stories and intense losses or anything like that, just a kid who decided he was going to be a superhero because he could. But seriously, dude, that outfit?! What were you thinking?! I can’t explain why this silly movie worked so well for me, but I loved it. It was a breath of fresh air!