Step Brothers

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly come together once again to produce the laugh-out-loud comedy of the summer.  Ferrell and Reilly play Brennan and Dale, two forty year olds who have the maturity level of two 13 year olds.  When Brennan and Dale’s parents get married, their hatred for each other is thick enough to cut with a knife.  That hatred turns to friendship when Brennan’s older brother Derek (Adam Scott) pays a visit to the newly formed family.  Derek is a successful helicopter salesman and an arrogant jerk, and when Dale punches Derek in the face, Brennan and Dale put aside their differences and form a friendship.  This outrageous comedy is a must see, but due to some very poor language and some brief nudity, this film earned an R rating, so you might want to leave the kids at home.  Here are some screen shots from the film, my analysis is below:

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Step Brothers

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Step Brothers

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Step Brothers

Overall I thought Step Brothers was absolutely hilarious.  The film got its fair share of knocks for being a bit juvenile and unsophisticated, but in the same breath, it was hailed as being as funny as films such as Animal House and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.  If you ask me, both of those films were very funny, and Step Brothers continues the trend.  In addition to the great comedic duo of Ferrell and Reilly, I think the concept of the film is very funny in itself.  Brennan and Dale are basically 13-year-olds in 40-year-old bodies, and that makes for some hysterical points throughout the film.  A word of caution if you are considering taking the little ones or even some teenagers, the language in this film is terrible.  Truth be told, I think the language fits the characters, because it does speak to the lack of maturity of the main characters.  If you’re thinking of taking the kids though, I think you’d better see this film before they do.  There’s also a short clip of some nudity that parents might not appreciate their children seeing.  In terms of the film, however, I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Bottom line, it’s hilarious, and a must see.  This certainly gets a nomination for my award for Best Comedy of the Summer.

The Dark Knight

Christian Bale reprises his role as Batman in this summer’s highly anticipated blockbuster, The Dark Knight.  The movie begins with Gotham City in an odd and chaotic state.  The Joker (Heath Ledger) is terrorizing the city, and Batman impersonators are trying to fight back.  All is not lost, however, because the real Batman is still around, and since the end of the first movie, a new Gotham District Attorney named Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) has taken control of the city’s crime problem.  The first part of the movie consists of Batman and Dent chasing the Joker as he leaves a trail of dead bodies in his wake, but that by no means is the entire plot.  The Joker earns the trust of another known Gotham villain, an angry man who had a horrible accident…who goes by the name of Two-Face.

I know what you’re probably thinking.  “Wow, that was a short synopsis.”  The Dark Knight clocks in at two and a half hours, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t give too much away.  Here are some photos from the film, my analysis is below.

Christian Bale and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Christian Bale in The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Promotional Poster for The Dark Knight

I don’t think anyone can say enough about how good this movie actually was.  Heath Ledger’s final performance was as near to perfect as any actor will ever get, and the performances given by Christian Bale and the rest of the cast were right on target as well.  Ledger, however, was on a completely different level.  Oscar-worthy, of course, but he brought a new facet to the Joker that I doubt anyone’s seen before.  Yes, the Joker likes to laugh and joke around and all that, but Ledger finds a way to do that through the Joker’s mannerisms.  Outside of the Joker’s quirky habits, he’s completely crazy.  That’s all I’m going to say about it because truly, you have to see the movie to understand how good of a job Ledger did with the role.  Quite simply, it’s frighteningly, almost eerily good.  I can’t give this film any less than five out of five stars.  My first perfect rating.

DVD Review: Cherry Crush

Post Central Entertainment’s first film Cherry Crush hit the independent film market last year, and has, in my mind, solidified the budding production company as one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming film studios.  Cherry Crush is the story of Jordan Wells (Jonathan Tucker), a rich and very privileged teen who’s passion is photography.  Jordan gets expelled from prep school over some racy photographs he’d taken of his 18 year old female classmates.   He then starts with a clean slate at a public high school, but that clean slate doesn’t stay blank for long.  Soon after starting at a public high school, Jordan meets Shay Bettencourt (Nikki Reed), a girl who is definitely from another social class.  Jordan asks Shay if he can shoot a roll of film of her and Shay agrees, but only if Jordan promises to help her out with a problem she’s having.  Shay is currently having a sexual affair with an older man by the name of Wade Chandling (Frank Whaley), and Shay needs some photos taken of one of their encounters so that she can use the photos as blackmail against Chandling.  Jordan takes the photos, and then shoots a roll of film of Shay.  Jordan’s roll in the blackmail changes, however, when he “formally” meets Chandling at foundation dinner held by his father.  What Jordan doesn’t know is that Shay has trapped Jordan in her own little game.  Shay needs money for college, Chandling has the money, and by taking photos of Shay and Chandling’s encounter, Jordan is now involved.  When Chandling doesn’t hold true to his word with Shay, she sets out to kill him.  Jordan tries to convince Shay that it’s not a good idea, but alas, she meets with Chandling, and with Jordan shooting pictures of them, she tries to set the record straight.  When Chandling tries to physically harm Shay, Jordan steps in and tries to defend her.  Chandling beats Jordan until Shay steps in and beats Chandling to death.  And that’s only half of what when on in the film.  I’d definitely recommend renting this film, if not buying it.  My analysis is below, here are some images from the film:

Jonathan Tucker in Cherry Crush

Nikki Reed in Cherry Crush

Jonathan Tucker and Nikki Reed in Cherry Crush

The DVD cover for Cherry Crush

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Cherry Crush

Cherry Crush just might get the highest rating that I’ve ever given to any film.  In my mind, this movie was an absolute hit.  Nikki Reed and Jonathan Tucker were amazing, but honestly the acting wasn’t the most impressive part.  I really enjoyed the cinematography of the movie.  For instance, when Jordan first sees Shay, he sees her reflection in his camera lens.  The reason why I love those kinds of shots is because you don’t often see that kind of creativity in this type of film, it’s usually used in the big blockbusters.  I also thought the script was extremely tight and well written.  The characters were distinct, and the film really portrays what it’s like when someone gets mixed up with the wrong type of people.  This certainly gets the nod for my award for Best DVD of the Summer.  Overall I give this film a 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Director Guillermo del Toro’s eye for special effects serves him well once again in the second installment of the Hellboy franchise.  In this chapter, an ancient civilization who many thought had long been extinguished, suddenly rears its head and wages war on the human race.   By waging this war, the mythical world breaks a long treaty with the humans, putting mankind in considerable danger.  The mythical people are lead by the evil and greedy Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who is trying to get his hands on the three pieces of an ancient crown, lost along with the civilization.  Once he has his hands on the full crown, Prince Nuada controls an the all powerful golden army, and the only person left standing in his way is Hellboy, (Ron Perlman).  Hellboy’s sidekicks include a hodgepodge team of half-human half-mythical beings by the names of Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), Princess Nuada (Anna Walton), and Johann Krauss (played by James Dodd and voiced by Seth MacFarlane).  Hellboy’s love interest Liz Sherman (Selma Blair, whom you might remember from the horror remake The Fog), is a mutant being who can conjure fire with her thoughts, (think of a telepathic Johnny Blaze).  Here is the films theatrical one-sheet, my analysis is below:

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Going into this movie I was somewhat skeptical about the plot and the believability of the characters.  I was plesantly surprised, however, when the film appeared to have more of a plot than the trailer let on.  I found the romantic relationship between Hellboy and Liz very interesting, especially considering the fact that Liz has a surprise of her own for Hellboy at the end of the film.  I also cannot say enough about the visual effects that Guillermo del Toro incorporated into the film.  Many of del Toro’s characters also reminded me of the characters from his other cinematic masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth.  All in all I give this film 3 out of 5 stars for its surprisingly entertaining plot and stunning visual effects.

Hancock

Will Smith returns to the big screen in this year’s surprise hit, Hancock.  Smith plays John Hancock, a superhero who is homeless and, in all honesty, could not care less about saving the world.  His perspective changes however, after he saves a public relations consultant named Ray, (played by Jason Bateman).  Hancock has a very unorthodox way of saving lives.  He doesn’t seem to care about the destruction of property.  So when the city of Los Angeles tries to put Hancock in jail, Ray tells Hancock to do some hard time.  Ray’s plan is to have the city miss Hancock, therefore giving Hancock an opportunity to spring into action, showing everyone that he’s turned over a new leaf.  When this happens, Hancock is cheered by the masses, but a colossal plot twist is what makes this movie one of the top movies for the summer, and one that I call a must-see.  Here are some photos from the movie, my analysis is below:

Will Smith as the title role in Hancock

Will Smith and Jason Bateman in Hancock

Will Smith in Hancock

This movie is more of a dark horse than I thought it was going to be.  True I thought it was going to be good, just by virtue of the fact that it garnered a summer release, but I didn’t expect it to be great.  Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I give a lot of points to the writers for their sheer originality in the film.  They essentially made up a superhero, and they did it with some style.  I think Marvel Studios is a great film company, but let’s face it, once all of the superheros from comic books have been turned into movies, they’re going to have to make up more superheros if they wish to stay in business.  With that said, this movie gets a nomination for Best Movie of the Summer, as well as Best Actor in a Lead Role, Will Smith is excellent as Hancock.  Oh, and depending on what movie theater you go to, you might even get to see a preview for Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond film, set to hit theaters in November 2008!