Gavin Grades The Movies |
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| Posts from July 2010 |
Dinner for Schmucks
by Gavin
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posted Nov 2 2011 7:20PM
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 Some time in Hollywood there must have been a gathering of  talented comedic actors like Steve Carell (The Office, 40-Year-Old Virgin), Paul Rudd (Anchorman, I Love You, Man) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Youth in Revolt) who came together to do a script reading for Dinner for Schmucks.  But what's puzzling to me is that not even one of these guys got up and walked away from the table with any doubts that the script needed work or that it wasn't funny at all.  They should have.  Dinner for Schmucks is a remake of a French movie that achieved a level of cult status among fans of foreign cinema.  The French version, I've been told, is very funny and a "must have" among great comedies.  It must be a lot funnier in French because this American version is downright awful.  Even gifted director Jay Roach, who brought us the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents series, didn't do anything to make this project funny.  The premise of the movie is pretty good.  An ambitious corporate executive is invited to a dinner that his career aspirations hinge on.  The catch is he has to bring someone that is a complete moron so they can all laugh at that person and then compete to see who brought the most moronic.  I personally think the idea of that sounds like a good time, but you're not suppose too.  As an audience member, they're hoping that you have more moral fiber than most of us actually do and consider that premise disgusting and cruel.  Biggest problem of the film is that Carell's "schmuck" character is SUCH an insufferable, clueless a**hole, you can't WAIT for him to eviscerated at the dinner.  I didn't care that they were going to make fun of him since I watched him ruin Rudd's life in a series of very unfunny scenes for 90 minutes.  If you think I'm giving anything away about the ending, I'm not.  The movie is as predictable as a traffic light's progression from the opening scene to the end credits roll.  The only funny scene in the whole movie is the actual dinner but by then you're so detached from the movie you just want to run from the theater.  To explain where this movie goes wrong is almost an act of futility.  It was just a lousy idea that was executed with total mediocrity, which is really sad since I was looking forward to seeing Steve Carell and Paul Rudd together in a movie again since their other two were some of the funniest films I've ever seen.  (40-Year-Old Virgin and Anchorman if you're trying to figure out what those two are.)  Carell is too unlikeable and unbelievable to be funny and Rudd is too serious and bland to be funny.  Galifianakis isn't even funny playing a character that should steal the show.  It's like the entire film, minus a few seconds of funny lines, is lost in a translation from French to English and ends up being a movie for schmucks instead.  I'm still a fan of the cast and wish them better luck next time **cough cough Anchorman 2**
Dinner for Schmucks (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: D+ | | | Tags : Social: 107.9 the End, 40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman, Dinner for Schmucks, Gavin, Jay Roach, Movie Reviews, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis
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Interview with Jason Segel
by Gavin
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posted Nov 2 2011 7:20PM
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 Jason Segel called up to chat it up about his new movie Despicable Me, but I used the opportunity to hijack the conversation and interrogate him on the Muppet movie. I got a release date and a little bit of information about the plot. We talked about other stuff too, but let's be honest...The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made is probably the greatest movie news ever made!
Click below to listen to the full interview.
jason segal interview
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Inception
by Gavin
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posted Nov 2 2011 7:20PM
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 So far this year, 2010 has shaped up to be pretty awful for movies. Â There are two films though that have come out this summer that make all that suck totally worth it. Â Toy Story 3 is probably my favorite Pixar film and one of the best kid movies I've seen in 10 years. Â Inception isn't one of the best films I've seen in the last 10 years, but it's one of the best in the last 2 or 3. Â Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) is starting to carve out a reputation for himself as one of the greatest in the new generation of filmmakers. Â Not only does he direct these incredible movies he has to his credit, but he writes them too. Â Inception is masterful and daring on so many levels that it makes me hope the Oscar race starts early with that. Â Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb, a tortured man who is hired by corporations to break into people's minds via their dreams to steal their most intimate secrets. Â The story picks up though when a Japanese businessman, played by the somewhat hard to understand but still impressive Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins, The Last Samurai), who wants him to plant an idea in someone's head via dreams instead of taking one out; a process called "inception." Â DiCaprio creates a team of experts to help him that consists of Joseph Gordon Levitt ((500) Days of Summer), Ellen Page (Juno), Thomas Hardy (Bronson) and Dileep Rao (Drag Me to Hell, Avatar). Â As the team goes deep, deep and then even deeper into their victim's head it creates a world that's like Oceans 11 meets The Matrix. Â But even a description like that undercuts the genius that is Inception. Â The plot is so intricate and complex it warrants a third or fourth watch and I would imagine it will get better with every view. Â Does the film move a little slow at times? Â Just briefly. Â Is it confusing? Â You bet your ass! Â In fact you'll spend the first 20 minutes going "what the hell is going on?" Â But I promise you that by the end of the film, you'll be on the edge of your seat till the final last seconds tick off the clock. Â It's not just that the movie has action visuals that are so dazzling, it conjures how you felt the first time you saw The Matrix that makes it so good. Â It's not just that Inception has one of the most original stories I've seen in a long time that makes me sing its praises. Â It's not just that I was amazed by the climatic 45-minute-long action-packed ending that makes me respect it so much. Â It's also the giant brass balls that Christopher Nolan has in releasing this in the middle of the summer, when most studios save their brainless, popcorn-crunching explosion parties for the drooling out of school kids, that rounds out my love for this. Â Inception is such a complex plot that he almost overestimates the intelligence of most audience members. Â The story moves fast and doesn't wait for you to catch up. Â Don't stop along the way and try to logic the science behind it. Â If you do, you're gonna find yourself five steps behind everyone else and lost in the fantasy. Â If you do that, you'll think the movie is good. Â If you just sit back and enjoy the ride, you'll think the movie's great. Â As for me, I can't wait to see this again...and again...and again. Â Thank you Christopher Nolan for still having faith in us to understand thoughtful stories and having the talent to deliver it in a PG-13 package that never feels watered down even in the July heat. Â You could be the new filmmaker of all our dreams.
Inception (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: A+
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Twilight Saga: Eclipse
by Gavin
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posted Nov 2 2011 7:20PM
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 Every time a Twilight movie comes out, I have to go see it. Â My wife is a HUGE fan. Â So much so that she dragged me to see Eclipse while we were on our honeymoon...even after she already saw it. Â I'm not a fan. Â The first film came out and I thought it was such a poorly made pile of crap that I couldn't stand to watch it. Â However, just like with this third installment of the series, I had to see the second one too. Â The second, New Moon, was better and you could tell they were starting to right the wrongs they made with the first one. Â If Eclipse is an indication of how things are evolving in the series, then the last film should be great. Â The Twilight Saga is getting increasingly better. Â That's not because of the story, although that is strengthening as well; it's because the studio is finally putting some money, time and talent into it. Â It's apparent to me that the mistakes that were made when the first film was are being corrected, such as casting and who they choose to helm the project. Â Last time they added Grade A quality performers in the form of Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds, The Runaways) and Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, 30 Rock). Â This time they replaced a nobody performer named Rachelle Lefevre, who played the villainous Victoria, with a much more recognizable and talented Bryce Dallas Howard (Spiderman 3, Lady in the Water). Â They also seem to be getting better and better directors. Â This time around they went with David Slade. Â Now Twilight is far from horror, but by bringing in a rising star of the genre, it gives the project some much needed fangs. Â Slade directed the gruesome vampire film 30 Days of Night, which wasn't a very good story but was directed very well. Â But what really blew my skirt up was Slade's film Hard Candy. Â It starred Ellen Page as a would-be victim of a pedophile who gets her revenge. Â I consider it one of the scariest horror films I've ever seen and it was all due to his manipulation of the actors and the look of the film. Â Did he bring that same talent to Eclipse? Â Well, not all of it but he did bring some. Â Eclipse does have a darker look and better acting though. Â That's a relief since it contains three fairly untalented actors. Â Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson aren't terrible, but they both could be much better. Â Kristen Stewart is one of the worst working actresses in Hollywood though. Â I have no idea why she is the "IT" girl right now, but thanks to David Slade...she's at least watchable. Â She used to have a stuttering way to her technique that was as irritating as a fork scraped across a plate to me. Â But in Eclipse, she didn't do it...not even once! Â Thank you David Slade! Â There are some things I didn't like. Â The movie builds toward what appears to be an epic battle scene that falls flat in its action. Â But scenes are in it that successfully and finally pull me into the melodrama of the love triangle that Bella is in. Â I find myself choosing a side and wanting her to pick it. Â That's what the point of the series is. Â Will she be with Edward or Jacob? Â Who knows, but it's getting more exciting and intense as it goes on. Â Let's just hope the improvements being made are going to continue that way. Â If they do, we're well on our way to a great finish.
Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: B | | | Tags : Social: Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, David Slade, Eclipse, Gavin, Kristen Stewart, Michael Sheen, Movie Reviews, New Moon, Rachelle Lefevre, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Twilight
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