Monday, August 20, 2012

The Campaign (or That Movie Where Will Ferrell Punches a Baby)

 

I'd Campaign for it.

 

     When you see as many movies as I do, you tend to see the same trailers over and over again.  Most of the time, I completely forget them when the movie starts, but sometimes, there is that one special trailer that either blows me away or annoys the heck out of me.  Unfortunately, its usually the latter.  In fact, when I did weekly reviews for my college radio station, I had to sit through the Madagascar 3 trailer six weeks in a row.  In it the zebra character dresses up like a clown and sings "Afro Circus" for ten seconds.  Needless to say, it was annoying and I think it made me hate going to the movies for awhile.  But, it did make me remember the movie, so the trailer succeeded there.


I'm not afraid of clowns, but I am afraid of Chris Rock.

 

     The Campaign did something a little different to get me to remember it's trailer.  It wasn't annoying or particularly good (Actually, it was leaning towards kind of bad).  It starts out with the basic plot of the film.  Will Ferrell is a congressman up for reelection when Zach Galifianakis steps up to challenge him.  We see a montage of the two of them going at it through the political race.  Will Ferrell gets attacked by snakes, Zach offends a lot of Jewish people, and the two fight a few times.  Then at the end of the trailer, Will Ferrell punches a baby.  He literally (accidentally) punches a baby in the face.  Now that is something that you don't simply forget and even though it does cut away at the last second, a baby was just punched right in front of me.  I couldn't get over it, and after seeing that trailer five times, it became known as "that movie where Will Ferrell punches a baby" with my friends and we had no choice but to see it.  I guess the trailer did its job in getting me to go see the movie, even though it had to punch a baby to do it.


I would never punch a baby to get you to read my blog.  Just another reason why I am a better person than Will Ferrell.

 

     The movie starts out with slick Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) preparing for his next reelection.  Cam Brady has never had an opponent all five times he ran and thus, wins the seat by default.  However, all of that changes when awkward family man, Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), steps up to challenge him for the spot.  Now the two set off on a campaign that gets more childish and violent by the second and no matter who wins, we all lose.


A photo of Obama/Romney with a caption "Don't they all" is just way too easy of a joke, so instead here is Kevin James and a Gorilla on a roller coaster.

 

      Will Ferrell has always been an hit or miss actor for me.  Every time he makes a movie I love, like Anchorman, he seems to make one I'll hate, such as Kicking & Screaming.  Fortunately, I like him in The Campaign.  He plays the crazy, womanizing, and generally terrible Cam Brady well and the role seems to suite him.  His serious delivery on his strange lines is topnotch and shows everything we love about Ferrell.  However, he isn't perfect in the movie, either.  One of the things I find annoying about Ferrell is when he ab libs his lines.  Many of his movies seem to be written up to allow him room to do this, for example, there is a part in the movie where he is bitten by a snake and he shouts, "Ouch, shove a throwing star up a Chinese monk's ***".  I don't see how that is funny, he is just shouting an absurd line that sounds like he made it completely up.  Ab libing is tricky, it only works when its thought out and when you actually say something funny or relevant to the scene, like Tony Stark's bantering in Iron Man.  It does not work when you shout a bunch of random words and hope you form a joke.


If it were only so, Mr Burgundy.

 

      A big surprise in this movie is Will Ferrell's co-star, Zach Galifianakis.  I wasn't sure how to feel about his character towards the start.  The trailers didn't really do much to get me excited for the character, but he easily steals the show with his portrayal of Marty.  His bubbly, upbeat, and off kilter performance made it easy to side with the pug loving southerner and it makes it all the harder for the viewer to watch when he falls to the dark side of the political game.  His southern accent he puts on is fairly convincing and its impressive to see him maintain it throughout the movie.  There wasn't much to complain about the character and it was a blast watching him.

     The Campaign is easily one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a while (Not saying much looking at my other reviews).  A lot of the jokes worked and this set up is great for a comedy.  We are able to see how the two characters respond to the same situations and its entertaining to watching them trying to one-up the other.  Its a kind of movie that really writes its self.  As I mentioned before, Will Ferrell punches a baby in the face and now here is the context.  The two are just coming out of a heated debate when they spot a baby at the same time.  Its tradition for politicians to kiss baby when campaigning, so the two race to get to the baby first.  Marty is about to make it when Brady comes from behind and raises his fist.  Here it shifts into slow motion, Marty dodges the punch and Brady hits the baby right in the face.  It didn't cut away like in the trailer, you see the fist make contact as the CGI baby's face absorbs the blow.  Now, I'll admit I laughed for  about a second, then stopped and thought, "Is this really alright to laugh at?".  It does seems to be in poor taste, but the whole theater was in stitches from laughing so hard.  I figured it was alright, whether that says something about today's movie going audience is up to you.


They probably would have liked it better in 3D.

 

     For a movie about politics, it surprisingly does not fall pray to making easy jokes or low blows.  The whole thing could have been filled with Obama references or jokes about republicans and other political stereotypes, but the writers instead chose to make the two characters unique.  Their respective parties don't seem to take a role in who the character is, and for the most part, you could switch them and it wouldn't change a thing.  What the movie instead focused on was the issues that affect politics today.  How many politicians seem to mud sling, many of the corrupt aspects in some campaigns, and the fear of big money running the country.  There is a sub-plot, where two rich brothers are funding Marty's platform because they feel like he is stupid enough to control.  The idea of big money funding elections is a relevant concern in today's political landscape and this served as a perfect plot to the film.  It isn't the main focus and this drama does not become preachy in any regard.  It merely points these things out and does not forget that its trying to make you laugh.


Just another reason why The Campaign is a better person than Will Ferrell.

 

Overall:

 

The Campaign is surprisingly better than the trailers made it out to be.  While its no Anchorman, its close.  Its funny, smart, and respectable to portraying both sides of the political spectrum.  If you are looking for something funny to watch, you can easily do worse than The Campaign.




Way worse!!!


Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Watch





You'd better Watch out for this one.


     The Watch is a comedy about four guys who form a neighborhood watch to protect their community while having fun at the same time.  It tells it's story through interesting characters, well timed and thought out jokes, and a well paced plot... however, that's when the aliens attack.


Oh sorry, spoiler alert.

       
     The Watch follows Ben Stiller who plays Evan Trautwig, a man who cares deeply for his home town and forms several community groups as his main way of socializing.  After a friend was murdered, he forms a neighborhood watch in order to protect his community.  However, the only recruits he can manage to get are dysfunctional family man Bob (Vince Vaughn), borderline psychopath Franklin (Jonah Hill), and British guy (This is literally the only way I can describe him) Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade).  While Evan wants to use the group to do some good, the other three use it as an excuse to hang out and get drunk.  Eventually, the four make their first bust on some rowdy teenagers and are on top of the world for actually doing something.  Their good time is cut short when they stumble upon an alien bent of taking over earth and soon find out that he has plenty of friends.  Now the four have to band together to overcome the odds and stop this alien menace with their own "unique" style of crime fighting.


I'm pretty sure Stiller knows how to handle some aliens.

 

     Now The Watch is a lot like visiting your favorite buffet when you are absolutely starving.  You fill up your plate and get ready to have your best meal all week.  Those first couple of bites are going to be amazing.  However, over time, you've had more than you could handle, and you just end up feeling pretty sick.  Around 30 minuets into the movie, I thought I was on track for an enjoyable film.  Watching Ben Stiller gathering the rest of the cast was very funny.  We get introduced to each character and learn what their deal is.  We are treated to some hilarious moments and each of these comedy veterans are able to showcase their comedic style we know them for.  For example, when exposed to an awkward situation, Ben Stiller would go into a wide eye shock and slowly try to comprehend the situation, Vince Vaughn would get irritated and yell about it, and Jonah Hill would most likely try to rationalize the situation out, coming to some stupid conclusion that makes sense only to his character.  This is the first movie I've seen Richard Ayoade in and he seems to use a more traditional deadpan delivery, similar to fellow British comedian, Ricky Gervais.  It was a blast watching these four very different guys coming together.  However, like that never ending Buffet, you'll soon get sick of it.


I'm pretty sure that Stiller could also handle overeating.

 

     The main plot of the movie is also it's main problem.  The alien invasion plot comes out of left field and as soon as it becomes the main focus of the movie, it starts to feel clunky and unfunny.  A movie like this really shouldn't have too much focus on the main plot, but rather a focus of the funny situations that happen along the way.  For example, their first bust was a teenager who threw eggs at them.  It takes four grown men to catch and arrest him.  After they do, the spare no expense in insulting him as the turn him over to the police.  This whole scene last around ten minutes, but it is funny the whole time.  The fact they are parading around for beating a high school kid shows how pathetic this watch is, and this was one of the few highlights of the movie for me.  This is what should have been the focus, these kind of odd situations.  I would have loved to see how Ben Stiller would have handled a burglary or bar fight.  As for a main plot, they could have done something much more down to earth (literally), like the watch having to take down the corrupt police department or them having to deal with the mob.  Honestly, anything would have been better than the aliens.  I would like to say that the alien design and puppetry effects were actually quite good and would have fit right in with a Ridley Scott film.


Robin Hood vs. Aliens, now that I'd watch.

 

     Another problem with this movie is the extreme use of vulgarity.  The Watch is certainly more of a guys film, but that doesn't mean that it should use as much phallic jokes and f-bombs it wants.  It was getting to the point where penis jokes and vulgarity were the only jokes in the movie, as though thats all it needs to appeal to guys like me.  Honestly, that is a little insulting.

     The film also tries to take its self seriously at times.  There is a subplot about Even feeling he failed his wife because he is unable to conceive children and hasn't told her.  This is suppose to say something about his character and he makes the community groups so he can deal with it.  With moments like this, it shows Ben Stiller's character is trying to be taken seriously, but you can't really do that after making a couple dozen penis jokes in your movie.


Then again, could you ever take Ben Stiller Seriously?

 

Overall:

 

The Watch starts off strong, there are some really funny moments and all seems well.  Then it falls flat on its face, tripping over its overuse of profanity and clumsy plot.  If a few things were changed around, this could have been an alright comedy.  If someone were to ask me why The Watch is bad, I would only have to use one word.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Dark Shadows


The dark shadows is where this movie should have stayed.

     
     Dark Shadows is the latest film collaboration between visionary filmmaker, Tim Burton and the "Jack of all trades" actor, Johnny Depp.  This time around Depp plays Barnabas Collins, member of an illustrious family who runs the fishing town of Collinsport (I would have went with Barnabas Bay, but who am I to judge).  After two timing his true love and a witch, Barnabas is transformed into vampire, forced to watch his true love kill herself and to top it all off, is locked up in a coffin for entirety.  Centuries later, Barnabas manages to escape his claustrophobic prison to find himself in Collinsport in the year 1972.  He locates his descendents, who no longer have the fortune the Collins had during his time, and helps to rebuild their name while competing with the town rival, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), who just so happens to be the witch who cursed him.

 

And I thought my ex was bad.

     
    Now the problem with reviewing Dark Shadows is that it is a lot like reviewing water.  Water by its very nature is dull and bland, but you need it.  This movie is dull and bland, but Hollywood simply needs Burton/Depp.  The two have produced some of the most imaginative and conventional films ever to hit the silver screen.  If it weren't for these two, great films like Edward Scissorhands probably would have not gotten the greenlight.  These movies are a testament to what cam be accomplished if Hollywood steps outside of the comfort zone and take risks.  However, this is Dark Shadows first problem, it doesn't take any risks.  It looks, feels, and sounds very much like past Tim Burton movies.  The sets are super dark and spooky and Depp is playing, yet again, another pasty, wired, dude.  While his acting isn't bad, it just feels all too familiar, like a mix between Willy Wonka, Sweeny Todd, and others.


Now a movie with all of them at once, I'd call it...

The Expendepples?

     
     The plot's pacing jerks around a lot, making it hard to fully follow where the story is going.  Many of the scenes seem to go nowhere, with extended dialog exchanges between characters going way too long.  One particular instance of this is when Barnabas returns to the Collin manor after escaping the coffin and claims to be everyone's ancestor.  The head of the house, Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), does not believe him and this leads to a long conversation that ends with him convincing her he is a vampire.  There is nothing memorable about this scene, it takes way too long, and it only serves to tell us what we already know.

     Even though the movie is far from perfect, it still was able to bring some enjoyable moments.  First off, the soundtrack is great.  Its composed of several hits from the 70's and successfully complements the film's style very well.  Depp's character, despite being similar to past roles, is still enjoyable to watch as he interacts with  the strange world of the 1970's.  There is a rather funny scene with Barnabas joining a hippy circle.  It turns out his melodramatic Shakespearean way of talking resonates well with the hippies' far-out way of thinking.  Other that these few moments however, the film still has more cons than pros.

     Tim Burtons' movies became popular because they were so different; they offered us something new and showed us that movies don't necessarily have to play by "the rules" to be accepted.  However, since Willy Wonka, I feel that Burton isn't taking risks like he used to and is just conforming to keep a fan-base happy.  As a friend pointed out to me, Burton should probably stop doing adaptations and return to making original stories like Edward Scissorhands.  I have nothing against adaptions; I just think that we need something brand new to remember what we loved about Burton in the first place, after all, a glass of water can also be refreshing.

 

Especially when that water is served out of this.

 

Overall:

Dark Shadows is probably the worst of the Burton and Depp movies.  It’s not very good, a few enjoyable parts, but not enough for a full move.  Unless you really love Tim Burton, and I mean really love him, as in you know The Nightmare Before Christmas line for line in Spanish, I would just Skip Dark Shadows.

 

Now how should I feel about an adaption of a Tim Burton film directed by Tim Burton?