Epic (2013)

3/5

For some reason, I had developed an irrationally strong desire to watch Epic when it was first announced, and this compulsion persisted even after all the middling reviews came out. My guess is that it had something to do with Snow Patrol's The Lightning Strike playing over the very first trailer I saw. Regardless, I came in to this movie with high hopes. But the reviews were accurate: it's not as epic as I wanted it to be.

Epic is a perfectly fine movie. It is entertaining and funny and moving just when it needs to be. The animation is crisp and beautiful and the voice-acting is surprisingly adept (although I kept imagining the actors instead of the characters they were supposed to be playing because their voices were so distinct). Aziz Ansari and Chris O'Dowd just about steal the show as the bumbling sidekicks. The romance between Seyfried and Hutcherson--and even between her and her father, played by Sudeikis--strikes just the right balance between innocence and affection. The plot is a little convoluted and it whips along at a pretty good pace, but it doesn't nearly have the thematic depth or complexity I've come to expect from other animated films. All in all, I would describe this movie as sufficient. It pleases enough to justify the time you spent on it, but it's no Pixar movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848537/

Funny People (2009)

3/5

Despite the rating of 3 stars, Judd Apatow's Funny People is not a mediocre movie. It's actually a great movie that suffers from some serious flaws. The plot follows star comedian George Simmons (Sandler) after he is diagnosed with AML. While depressed, he hires young stand-up comic Ira Wright (Rogen) to be his assistant and help write jokes for him. He finally starts accepting his impending death and, because of it, begins rekindling old relationships, including the love of his life, Laura (Mann). He miraculously recovers and, with his new lease on life, decides to pursue Laura and what he hopes is the key to his happiness.

Some of the scenes in this movie are incredibly powerful and moving (for example, when he first finds out about the disease, or when he fears that the drugs are making him sicker, or when he starts opening up to people, or the complicated mess they get into at the end). Some of the scenes, mostly the stand-up routines, are ridiculously hilarious. And I especially loved all the scenes where real-life comedians (Norm MacDonald, Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano) play themselves. But some scenes just muddle the message and some scenes that need to be there just aren't. It's frustrating in a movie that seems so close to greatness fall so short. And it's unsatisfying. Even after 2 hours and 15 minutes, when I realized the credits were about to roll on the final shot, I thought to myself, "That's it? There's nothing more he has to say?"

The humor is actually fairly dissonant; you get the Adam Sandler humor of old mixed with the Seth Rogen/Judd Apatow humor of new and they just don't go together. I often had to force myself to laugh at most of Sandler's comedic lines. I never really found him that funny to start with, and this movie didn't change my opinion. On the bright side, the acting was effective and empathetic, from all parties, and most directorial decisions were spot-on. The cinematography was surprisingly effective at setting mood and evoking emotion with simple point-of-view shots. The editing was good for the most part, although it lagged in some parts as well. All in all, the movie was technically proficient with some very emotional scenes that ultimately leave you unfulfilled and aggravated. If you like Judd Apatow movies, you'll probably like this one, but it's definitely not as good as his other two.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201167/