Paranorman

Get out your ghosts and zombies, we're reviewing Paranorman!

Norman Babcock(Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an outsider at school, in town and even in his own family, all because he can see ghosts.  When a century-old curse threatens the town, he realizes that he's the only one who can stop it. But can he do it alone?

The Expendables 2

Get out your guns and your knives and your explodey things, we're reviewing The Expendables 2!

Barney Ross(Sylvester Stallone) gets his rag-tag team together, including Lee Christmas(Jason Statham), Gunner Jensen(Dolph Lundgren), and Hale Ceaser(Terry Crews), to complete what should be an easy mission.  But things go horribly wrong when an unnamed villain(Jean-Claude Van Damme) shows up, wrecks their mission and kills one of their team members. They have to find him and seek revenge! Do they have enough guns, knives and explosions to do the job? Spoiler: Yes they do.

Quickies: The Campaign, Bourne Legacy, Dead Heads

Hey guys, I've been super busy with the final project for my inking class(pictures soon) and working on my internship, so I decided to have one post of quick reviews of all the movies I've seen.

The Campaign

Cam Brady(Will Ferrell) and Marty Huggins(Zach Galifianakis) are running against each other for the Republican Congressman seat.  If you hate polotics, this movie will be HILARIOUS.  This is the funniest Will Ferrell movie he's had in years.  Though I was expecting a bit more Ferrell, it had the apporpriate amount of Galifianakis, and they play off each other perfectly. It also has a great supporting class including Brian Cox, Jason Sudeikis, John Lithgow and a hilariously terrifying Dylan McDermott.  It's funny and exactly what I'd expect politics to be like. One of the best comedies this year, go check it out, $$$$

The Bourne Legacy

For a Hawkeye prequel, I 'm surprised there wasn't a Black Widow cameo somewhere.  This takes place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum, in which the government is closing down all it's super soldier programs thanks to that pesky Bourne guy, and Aaron Cross(Jeremy Renner) with his doctor(Rachel Weisz) needs to find more super soldier pills and escape with his life.  This was pretty meh overall.  It has a slow start, which wouldn't be bad if it focused on Aaron's story, but it's mostly an hour of bad guys doing boring bureaucratic bad guy stuff. There's a few action scenes, but not as many as I would have liked, and the action isn't as amazing, inventive or groundbreaking as the previous three films. Also, no cameo from Bourne, which I didn't need, but would have liked.  It doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion either.  Aaron Cross doesn't even bother with going after the bad guys!  

It's like Moby's Extreme Ways that they have at the end of every one of these films.  There's a new remix version at the end of Legacy. It's different, and it's still cool, but it's not as good as the original, and you're probably just better off listening to that.  The best part of this is Renner and Weisz.  I've always been fans of theirs, and they both pull their own weight. Renner is a badass, and Reisz is a believable doctor freaking out.  It's an ok action flick, but not great, especially not compared to the previous Bourne films. If there's nothing else actiony out there, it's not bad, but you may want to wait on this one. $$$

DeadHeads

This was a random move I watched on TV, and it's kind of interesting.  It's about two zombies who are still sentient even after dying, even though none of the other zombies are.  It's an intriguing gimmick, but then it turns into a zombie romantic comedy as one of the undead guys wants to travel cross country to tell his girlfriend that he loves her. There's some enjoyable zombie humor to be had, and even some genuinely touching moments that may bring undead tears to your eyes, but it ends up being too sappy for its own good.  I can understand the main guy's motivation, but all these other people are helping him for true love in the zombie apocalypse? Really? That's your biggest concern?  And it ends with no real resolution to their relationship, or answers any of the questions to the why or how of being sentient zombies.  It's overly romantic, but it's still fun and interesting with some heartfelt moments. $$$

Quick Review: Casa de mi Padre

Casa de mi Padre is that Will Ferrell movie completely in spanish that you probably heard of but never got a chance to see in theaters. And now it's out on DVD!  Armando Alvarez(Will Ferrell) is trying to keep his family together while his brother Raul(Diego Luna) and his new fiance(Genesis Rodriguez) threaten to tear it apart, all while battling the evil drug lord Onza. If you've ever seen a spanish telenovela, this is exactly like that, but on purpose.  In a way, it reminds me a lot of Black Dynamite, but instead of being completely ridiculous, it plays it straight, which is why it's so funny. It works straight, as the story is engaging, but then it's filled with fake sets, overly dramatic close-ups, fake animals and mannequins, and unnatural cuts in the film.

Usually a film trying to be both straight and funny at the same time fails at both, but here I think it really pulls it off.  Will Ferrell is a believable dramatic actor while still being hilarious, the action is over the top, the story is maddeningly engrossing, and the soundtrack is amazingly fun.  I can see how some would be turned off by it or think it's boring, as there are lots of long dramatic parts(and a HUGE dig at Americans), but I thought it was pure genius and one of Will Ferrell's better films in recent history.  Plus, Nick Offerman! I give it $$$$. Worth checking out, and enjoyable as long as you know what you're getting into.

Quick Review: Pete Smalls is Dead

Pete Smalls is Dead is a strange indie semi-noir movie staring Peter Dinklage. That one sentence probably tells you whether or not you're interested in seeing it.  It has a huge cast of people you know from other things including Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth and Rosie Perez, and they're all pretty good in their respective roles. It's especially enjoyable if you need a Peter Dinklage fix before the next Game of Thrones season, as he's the troubled yet wise-cracking protagonist and narrator.  It's a fairly interesting and funny noir as K.C.(Peter Dinklage) tries to get his dog back from some gangsters by making a movie and investigating the death of his friend, Pete Smalls. It's short and weird(no pun intended) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. $$$$, especially if you love Dinklage and noir.