This Is The End (2013)

4/5

This Is The End is a raunchy, vulgar, hilarious comedy written and directed by Seth Rogen. It is entirely his show, and he delivers the most over-the-top laughs you can imagine by going way farther than you'd expect. The plot follows two friends (Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen) at James Franco's housewarming party when the apocalypse suddenly strikes. Our unfortunate protagonists are not taken up to heaven in the Rapture. Instead, they must fight hunger, distrust, and well-endowed demons in order to survive.

What makes it more clever than just an average comedy is that all the actors play quasi-real versions of themselves. They look the same and have the same name, but they don't behave the same way they do in real life. The best example is Michael Cera, in the most widely-divergent role of his entire career, playing himself. Even without that twist, it was still a lot of fun seeing a bunch of familiar faces in small cameos.

The cinematic properties are passable but forgettable. And nobody expects to be impressed by those things when they enter a theater to see a Seth Rogen film. Instead, the film stands on its humor, and Rogen is able to deliver side-splitting laughs. His timing is impeccable, whether we are simply witnessing bickering friends or being horrified by extravagant gross-outs and extreme sight gags. (I honestly cannot wrap my head around any reason for there to be so many demon penises on screen in any movie ever.) There were times when I finished laughing and realized I had not inhaled for the previous 30 seconds. Yes, my respiratory rate was literally 2 breaths per minute. This is an amazing movie that I highly recommend for anyone who is a fan of Seth Rogen.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245492/

127 Hours (2010)

3/5

127 Hours tells the true story of Aron Ralston (Franco), an engineer who gets trapped under a boulder while canyon-exploring alone. I think just about everybody knows what he had to do to escape, but I won't ruin it for you if you don't (perhaps because you're the one who's been living under a rock, huzzah!). Knowing how the film ends--you know, from hearing about it on the news in real life--turned out to be a huge detractor from the film's thrill and excitement. Lingering scenes that would normally build tension just feel like unwanted guests in your home that you want to kick out so you can get on with your day. Pacing became critical, as everyone is just waiting for the eventual finale to come. Luckily the movie didn't overstay its welcome too much, thanks to pitch-perfect acting and on-point editing. The directing also helped keep the film interesting, using hallucination scenes and unique POV shots to explore Ralston's internal struggles and emotions. All in all, this is a well-made film about last year's water cooler topic that will likely soon be forgotten.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

4/5

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes. It tells the affecting story of young scientist Will Rodman (Franco), who is researching a novel medication to cure his father (Lithgow) from Alzheimer's. They start testing the brain booster on lab monkeys, but the operation is shut down after one monkey escapes and shows signs of aggression. Rodman is forced to take care of that monkey's baby, Caesar, which he manages to accomplish with the help of veterinarian Aranha (Pinto). As Caesar ages, the newly-formed family grows quite close, in heartwarming, Disney-esque montages. But Caesar quickly learns that not all humans are fond of apes or Disney montages.

The story has considerable range for what I'm sure everybody was expecting to be a simple action flick. The action itself comes in spurts, giving the overall movie a realistically tense and unpredictable atmosphere. The CGI was pretty close to perfect--it was so good that I actually had no idea it was CGI and kept wondering how they filmed the movie. But the picture is not all rosy. The acting was mediocre at best, forgettable at worst. The dialogue was equally bland and unremarkable. The characters were flat archetypes, and Pinto's veterinarian character was the worst offender. She was worthless, serving as nothing more than a pretty face in an otherwise drab, hairy film. But these niggles are minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, especially in the vanishingly rare genre of action movies that are actually good.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/

Eat Pray Love (2010)

2/5

Eat Pray Love is a movie that pretends to be more than it is. It imagines itself as a universally philosophical journey that one woman takes to discover what's important in her life following an impending divorce. It instead plays as a travelogue to Italy (where she eats), India (where she prays), and Bali (where she loves) with a superficial sheen of self-discovery, but lacking any depth or importance. The plot is barebones and unconvincing. Perhaps the book is better, but watching this movie I had no idea why Liz (Roberts) was so fed up with her husband (Crudup) that she needed a divorce. I normally wouldn't have cared except that it was the impetus of her actions and the crux of the movie. Her journey is worthless if we don't understand why she's going on it in the first place. My other big complaint was at the end, where she meets and (apparently) falls in love with Felipe (Bardem). For the life of me, I cannot figure out why. They are together for a few unwitnessed days/weeks and suddenly they are in love? Their romance is assumed instead of shown (no thanks to the overabundant narration). There was more passion with the food in Italy.

Despite my criticisms, I didn't actually hate this movie. In fact, I didn't mind it at all, thanks to the acting, cinematography, and editing. While none of the actors were bad, they were pretty flat and boring. I couldn't tell if it was bad acting or bad writing, but based on the rest of the screenplay, I'm going to assume it's bad writing. However, Roberts and Jenkins were given very interesting characters to play, and they fill each scene they're in with emotion and empathy. While I don't think the cinematography was actually that impressive, the locales themselves are gorgeous. They're captured in exquisite detail, and I felt transported to each city. The editing was surprisingly the best part about the movie. It is extremely well done, cutting across time and space to unite multiple ideas and thoughts. But most people, myself included, can't treasure technical prowess if the storyline is bad or forgettable. And that is this film's fatal flaw. If you were interested in the movie based on the trailer, you might enjoy wasting 2 hours and 15 minutes watching it. But for everyone else, just pretend it never existed.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0879870/

Date Night (2010)

4/5

Date Night is an incredibly fun movie that delivered non-stop laughs with an action twist. The plot follows Phil and Claire Foster (Carell, Fey) as two parents whose marriage is slowly becoming routine and whose children occupy the little free time they have after work. When their friends decide to get a divorce, Phil realizes that he has something special with Claire that he doesn't want to lose and decides to take her out to a special night in Manhattan at an upscale seafood restaurant. After arriving without a reservation, they take another couple's table and are believed to be the couple that stole a flash drive from gangster Joey Miletto (Liotta). They are chased around the city for about an hour and a half and finally end up happy together with their marriage secure. (Whoops, I just ruined the ending.)

The writing in this movie is perfect and the two NBC Thursday night stars pull it off with aplomb. Carell and Fey together are a dream come true; they are my ideal comedy duo and they do not disappoint. They should do everything together. The dialogue is 30 Rock gone mainstream and it flies. The humor was quick and the editing kept pace. There are too many funny scenes to even recount and there is absolutely no dead space in the 90 minute movie. It is literally laugh after laugh after laugh. The movie also has a little bit of heart thrown in there for good measure and, while it's not quite the tearjerker it intended to be, it's certainly got a little sap to separate it from the straight-up comedies we see all the time. I probably would've given this movie a higher rating had some unnecessary scenes been deleted and had the emotional aspect hit home harder. All in all, this is a terrific movie for anyone who loves Steve Carell or Tina Fey. Go watch it as soon as you can.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1279935/

Milk (2008)

4/5

Gus Van Sant's Milk tells the incredibly powerful true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major public office in San Francisco during the 70's. With flawless editing and pacing, Van Sant seamlessly integrates new footage with historical footage to fully engulf you in the feel and mood of the times. The acting is tender, honest, and subdued, fitting in perfectly with the documentary realism of the film. The portrayal of the homosexual community is equally sympathetic and genuine--and enlightening and moving to all who are not members of the community. Thanks to the eloquent writing, I could feel their pain, their struggle, and their elation at every small step towards equality.

Milk is more than a simple movie; it is a cry for help and an argument for social justice. But by entrenching itself so firmly in a specific time and place, and for a specific cause, it loses a bit of its universal appeal. Harvey Milk constantly emphasized that his movement was for homosexuals, not civil rights as a whole. Regardless, gay rights will undoubtedly remain a relevant issue for most of the rest of my life. And for that, I am grateful that I saw this movie. I'm not sure of its replay value, but I highly recommend you see Milk if you haven't already.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013753/

Pineapple Express (2008)

3/5

I have never been a big fan of the stoner genre--I loathed Smiley Face--but I was actually pretty excited about Pineapple Express, mostly because it reunited James Franco with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen from Freaks & Geeks. Judd Apatow was the saving grace behind this otherwise simple stoner comedy. As you can expect from an Apatow-produced pic, the most hilarious moments were when the characters argued with each other, as they are in real life as well. The plot was actually pretty good, considering the genre. It follows potdealer Saul (Franco) and process server Dale (Rogen) after the latter witnesses a murder that results in the unlikely duo as the murderers' next target. The movie was technically proficient, and I expected nothing less from David Gordon Green. It wasn't as poetic as his other films, but nobody was expecting it to be. All in all, it was exactly what I expected it to be, nothing more and nothing less. Feel free to watch it if you want, but you should know what you're getting into.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910936/

In the Valley of Elah (2007)

4/5

Paul Haggis's In the Valley of Elah manages to be touching without the oversentimentality that usually suffocates his films. Based on a true story, the movie follows Tommy Lee Jones as a retired career officer who starts investigating the disappearance of his son after his return from Iraq. From the very beginning, the mystery is paced exceptionally well, continually pulling you in and keeping your brain active the entire time. While not as gripping as A Few Good Men (and ultimately not as good, in my opinion), it is without a doubt more timely and relevant.

The acting was really good, although I think Tommy Lee Jones was better in No Country for Old Men than in this. Much of it was subtle and understated, making it feel richer and more genuine. Paul Haggis used a number of extended shots to give the actors room to act, instead of cutting between shot/countershot close-ups across 30 different takes. He has definitely learned to use the camera to compose interesting shots and movements. (One of my big arguments against Crash is that it had almost zero cinematic qualities; it's good to see that Haggis is finally learning.) If you were interested in this flick when it first came out, I definitely recommend you see it. And if not, perhaps you should consider it anyway.

Note: It was awesome seeing Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, AND Barry Corbin all in this film. It's like all those bad comedies that become so much better because of cameos from side characters on the Office. Except it's cameos from No Country for Old Men!

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478134/