Archive for Comedy

It’s summer, and you want to go out and watch a movie. But which one to watch? These are the newest movies to open in San Francisco this weekend.

1. Thirst

Directed by Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Sympathy For A Vengeance, Mr. Vengeance), Thirst is the story of Sang-hyun, a priest who will do anything to save humanity. He agrees to participate in a secret vaccine development program designed to wipe out a deadly virus. But something goes wrong and he finds out the blood he was injected with was infected, and he turns into a vampire.

2. Shrink

Written by Thomas Moffett and directed by Jonas Pate, Shrink is the story of Henry Carter, played by Kevin Spacey, a shrink who works in Hollywood and treats A-list celebrities that have left him jaded and cynical.

3. The Answer Man

John Hindman, in his directorial debut, brings us The Answer Man. Jeff Daniels plays Arlen Faber, author of Me and God, which has touched the lives of many people. Now on its 20th anniversary, people all over continue to seek him for the answers to their questions, but he’s a recluse and has succeeded in keeping himself away from the public eye.

4. 24 City

24 City is the story of three factory workers and how their lives changed when the China State-owned munitions factory they used to work for falls into ruin and is converted into a high-rise condominium building. 24 City was nominated for Best Cinematographer and Best Composer at the 2009 Asian Film Awards and Golden Palm for the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

5. In The Loop

A British government minister, played by Tom Hollander, makes a mistake in front of a national television audience and tries to fix it.

What do you think? Which movie do you want to watch?

Finally, Will Ferrell is doing a movie where he isn’t playing the same guy just in a different decade or sporting event. Nothing against Will, but he knows how to stick to one thing and stick to it pretty hard. Land of the Lost seems to be a departure from the all-too-familiar roles he’s been playing as of late, be it Anchorman, Step Brothers, even Blades of Glory, Will was a 13 year-old that never grew up.

Land of the Lost looks to be a departure for Will and a breath of fresh air for the rest of us. He was funny in all of his other roles, but they all seemed so formulaic that you could almost set a timer to when the lead character would make the turnaround. At least for this venture he’ll be running from a tyrannosaurus and some funny looking fish guys.

Danny McBride tags along for this adventure. McBride has been catching a lot of face time since he was in last summer’s hit Pineapple Express, and if you didn’t check out this past winter’s HBO series Eastbound and Down, you are missing Danny at his best. It pays to be friends with Will Ferrell, and if you can ride along for a bit, the popularity isn’t so bad either.

Anna Friel, of Pushing Daisies fame, gets to play the love interest to Will’s science nerd. This movie may not be the biggest action thriller of the summer, but it may be the most fun you’ll have if you don’t want to watch robots fight. What would summer be without a new Will Ferrell catchphrase anyway?

Well, don’t forget to shake and bake your way to the theater, and remember to stay classy when you buy your tickets. Land of the Lost hits theaters June 5^th.

That is probably the same question many people ask themselves when they see his un-bearded face flash on the screen. He had a brief role in Anchorman and a supporting part in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and now he is the go-to guy for comedy. Judd Apatow can work miracles.

His image has changed, too, over the course of a few roles. Before he was the generic-looking stoner/nerd/stoner nerd. Now he looks almost clean cut and ready for action. Leaping in to save defenseless women from sexual predators, or so he thinks. Observe and Report is his latest venture and turns out to be some pretty good action and some okay laughs. Think of a mall cop that wants to be Harry Callaghan, but doesn’t every mall cop want to be Dirty Harry?

Rogen seems to do best in awkward moments where a normal person might just let something slide; he always has something witty or stupid to interject. Either way it is good for a few laughs no matter which side you cheer for. Working with Ray Liotta and Anna Faris must have been a fun time too- talk about different ends of the spectrum.

Well, if you can’t get enough of Seth, then keep your eyes out for Apatow’s next movie, Funny People, hitting theaters in the coming months featuring an incredible cast of comedians headed up by Adam Sandler. Thank goodness Seth is back to working with Apatow and company, nothing against Kevin Smith, but Seth seems to be more at home working with people that know how to bring out his funny side rather than just hope it will shine through a dirty window.

After too much anticipation, the trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest movie Bruno finally has been released on the Internet. For those of you who may not remember Mr. Cohen, Borat should jog your memory. Cohen brings another one of his characters to the big screen and once again pulls all the stops to make you squirm and laugh.

Instead of playing an inept news reporter hailing from Kazakhstan, Bruno is a gay, fashion designer from Milan, Italy. From what the trailer leads you to believe it looks like Bruno has been let go from his job in Milan and roams America to cause panic and awkwardness to the masses.

Cohen seems to know how to strike fear in all of America, and it is fascinating to watch him work. For a British comedian he really knows the best places to get people when they aren’t looking. This is actually what makes this movie, and Borat, great: it catches you totally off guard and kind of makes you think about yourself and those around you.

Reality checks like this need to be cached more often. It wasn’t more than 30 years ago Mel Brooks dropped Blazing Saddles, and people found that to be rude and offensive yet obscenely funny. What does Cohen do differently? Chances are if you didn’t like Borat, you probably will hate Bruno. However, if you still have a sense of humor and know a good joke when you see one, get to your theater early on July 10.

It may be the dead of winter, but you can look forward to the spring and some new animated movies from Pixar and Dreamworks.

First, Dreamworks’ Monsters vs. Aliens is a seemingly funny movie about alien forces attacking the planet, and the United States government using monsters to take them down. It contains voice talents from Stephen Colbert, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Hugh Laurie, Rainn Wilson, and Keifer Sutherland. This movie proves to have some serious star power riding behind it, probably due to the fact that Pixar always manages to win awards with less star power and more art than anything else. However, after watching the trailer 6 or so times, this movie does look like it will be pretty hilarious, at least it better be.

Next is Pixar’s Up a story about a 78 year old man tying balloons to his house so he can travel the world. It has vocal talents from Christopher Plummer, Delroy Lindo, John Ratzenberger, Edward Asner, Paul Eiding, and Jordan Nagai. This movie has more elder statesmen than the previous and will rely on artsy design to reel in moviegoers. This film is directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, both of whom have worked on several Pixar pictures, and probably will feel like a mix of Wall-E and Finding Nemo.

You have to hand it to Pixar: they really know how to pull the punches and make a great piece of art for the masses. Dreamworks is always reliable for a funny piece to be lighthearted and filled with solid messages. Both of these groups rightfully have taken over the summer tradition of the Disney Summer Animated Movie. the question remains: which one will be your favorite? By the time we all thaw out, monsters beat aliens might be appealing after all.

Back in 2005, my friends and I enjoyed the original Madagascar. Recently, we went to a movie theater looking for some laughs and saw that Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was playing. We purchased our tickets and entered the room with high hopes but also some worries. The obvious question: Would the sequel live up to its predecessor?

Consider the main characters: Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the Hippo, and Marty the Zebra. Strand them in Madagascar, throw in some penguins, add a pinch of psychotic lemurs and some interesting monkeys, stir well with great animation and a ton of humor, and you’ve got a mix that can’t go wrong…for kids, that is.

Between the two movies, I’d say that the original had more scenes that actually made me laugh out loud, but the sequel did well to keep me chuckling minute by minute. A positive point about this is that in the theater I could hear a distinction between when it was the parents laughing vs. kids laughing. There was plenty of humor aimed at adults, and it did well to fly past the children making it a very safe PG movie. As far as the actual plot goes, the sequel (surprise, surprise) might be better. It picks up where the last movie ended, giving some flashbacks for those that missed out on the first movie. The characters have their own subplots and are more developed in this movie, and there’s a pleasant twist involving some tourists and that crazy old lady from the original.

I agree with most of the consensus stated on rottentomatoes.com:  ”Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor.”

Looking for something sweet and simple? Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is the perfect match. I loved it! But wait, if you’re not a teen like me, this movie might be one you’ll want to overlook. Also, if you’re looking for something with depth, that’s another reason to pass this one off. Still with me?

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is about how Nick (Michael Cera), who makes playlists for the girlfriend he can’t get over, meets Sarah (Kat Dennings), a smart, beautiful girl who seems transparent to everyone else. Their first encounter is awkward, to say the least, but any person with an ounce of sense can guess where the story heads. (Here’s a hint, take a look at the title.)

So, what this movie boils down to is not the story, but the acting. Fortunately, I was impressed by the lead roles. Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), though still considered a newcomer, is starting to pick up a lot of attention among teens as a rising actor in romantic comedies. His presence on the screen is great; I’d describe him as adorably awkward. Kat Denning, an almost mysterious character, does well playing her part. I’m not familiar with her from other movies, but it’s easy to accept her laid-back acting.

How about the rest of the movie? I’d say it falls short. The characters are seemingly children-friendly teens, yet the content is well-rated at PG-13. One of Norah’s best friends spends the entire movie drunk on screen. Granted, it provides laughs but sends the wrong message. These kids are seniors in high school. They live in a big city where they attend different clubs like there’s no tomorrow. If you’re up for some laughs and a cute romance (like I was), I’d suggest giving this movie a shot. Otherwise, you should look for a better target.

The Women didn’t interest me as much as it did for other people, but since I went to the movies with other people who wanted to watch it, I decided to give it a shot.

The Women is a about woman’s relationship with her husband, her family, her friends and her personal life. Meg Ryan is Mary Haines, the wife of a Wall Street honcho who has sacrificed her career to give her husband and daughter the care they need. Annette Benning is her best friend, Sylvie Fowler, a hot-shot editor-in-chief of THE fashion magazine. The story starts when Sylvie finds out, from her manicurist, that Mary’s husband has been cheating on his wife. Together with their other friends, Edie (Debra Messing) and Alex (Jada Pinkett-Smith), they try to hide the truth from Mary. What follows is a story that will test the relationships between family, friends and their own personal lives.

This movie had nothing entertaining to offer me. Going right into the story never gave them a chance to establish and develop the characters of the movie, therefore never giving the viewers a chance to get to know them and have sympathy for them.

And I find it hard to believe that these totally different women even became friends in the first place. Meg Ryan plays a designer who was quite content letting others take the credit. Annette Benning plays a career-driven woman who doesn’t see the need for a family. Debra Messing plays a new age mom who is satisfied with building a bigger family. Jada Pinkett-Smith plays an artist who happens to be a lesbian. They may have had something in common when they met for the first time, but nothing was ever established to make sense of the fact that they are still friends.

Everything was just all over the place and never reached the destination. In fact, I don’t think it ever went on a journey. It jumped from one story to another, and it seemed like none of the stories were quite connected to the other.  It was simply a forgettable movie. Keep that in mind if you do decide to watch this movie.

The movie has been out for a little while, but I thought I would do a review of Sex and the City, having just seen it last week.

To be honest, I wasn’t really a die-hard Sex and the City fan while the show was new. I watched it sometimes because my roommate was in love with the show, but it wasn’t ever really my thing. Because I didn’t want to be lost when I went to the movie, I rented the first few seasons of the show on DVD to re-familiarize myself with the characters.

The good news is this: you don’t have to watch all six seasons of Sex and the City in order to enjoy the movie. You will appreciate the storylines of the movie more if you’ve watched the show, but it isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying the movie.

The bad news is this: dragging your boyfriend/fiancé/spouse to this movie will ensure that you will be required to watch every “manly” movie that comes out for the next few years. During the showing I attended, there were exactly two men in the theater: my fiancé and one other man.

The film itself is very enjoyable and feels like it was made simply because the actresses wanted an excuse to be their characters again (or to do a project together). Sex and the City, the movie, easily could have been stretched out into a seventh season, but it worked just as well as a movie.

There are parts that will make you laugh uproariously, parts that will make you want to cry, and parts that will make you actually cry, and when it is over you’ll feel like there couldn’t have been a more appropriate “ending” to the lives of Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Carrie.