There is an old saying that “laughter is the best medicine”. If that is true, then a dose of Get him to the Greek will make you feel really good. The power of a good comedy is on full display with this film. Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) has a good life; he has a girlfriend named Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), and a job he loves as an assistant at a record company called Pinnacle. His boss Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) wants someone to find the next big thing, the next act that will make him money. After a bunch of bad ideas, Aaron brings up Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) and a performance he did at The Greek Theater 10 years ago. Aaron thinks that by having Snow perform a ten year anniversary concert, that it will be the hit Sergio is looking for. Sergio likes the idea and tells Aaron that it is his responsibility to make sure Snow makes it to the concert on time and in one piece. Aaron hops on the next plane to London and heads out to meet one of his favorite singers. Once Aaron arrives in London and meets Snow, instead of going to the airport Snow takes Aaron out on the town. Each place seems like the last stop before the airport, but is only the next step to a night that Aaron won’t forget. Every place Snow and Aaron go, the party and the drinks never seem to stop. All Aaron wants to do is what his boss told him to do, which is do whatever Snow wants him to do, so that he thinks he is in control. After partying all night, Aaron is wakened by Snow, so that they can head to the airport and make it to their Today Show interview. On the flight to the US, the party continues to which there seems to be no end in the drinking and other activities. They barely make the interview and when it comes time for Snow to perform, he forgets the words to the song he is suppose to sing. Aaron saves the day though after suggesting one of Snow’s older hits, in which Snow sings and electrifies the crowd. Everything seems back on track, but Snow has decided that he wants to stop in Vegas and see his father. Jonathan (Colm Meaney).The results of that meeting are a hotel brawl for the ages. Snow and Aaron escape and head out on the road so that they can make it to The Greek before the show starts. Director and Writer Nicholas Stoller bring us one of the funniest movies of the year. The first hour of the movie is non stop in making you laugh and even when the movie takes a serious turn; it still stays true to what the movie is about. Sean Combs steals every scene he is in and shows that there is more to him then his music career. This movie is funny and never loses sight that it is there to make you laugh. Not only does it do that well it entertains you the entire time. So make your way to The Greek for a night you will surely enjoy.
There is an old saying that you can never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes you want to judge a movie by a clip or a preview that you see but the key is to go with an open mind and you just might be surprised. Splice is one of those movies, and it almost turns out better than its previews. Doctors Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) have developed a new species. They have combined the DNA of four or five different animals and made a new organism. They are hoping they can discover a protean that will help livestock. Once they have created two of these new organisms, they take the findings back to the company that is funding them. The company decides that they want to move to the next phase of the experiment. Doctors Nicoli and Kast, have other plans though. They want to combine human DNA with the animal DNA they already have. Knowing that they don’t have a lot of time, they go back to the lab and start their experiment. Everything seems ok, until they come back the next day and notice unusually fast growth in their experiment. The next thing they know that have a new organism born and not what they expected. They lock it up and come back the next day to see that it has grown again. Dr. Nicoli wants to exterminate the organism, but is stopped by Dr. Kast who decides that she wants to learn all that she can from their discovery. The creature continues to grow at an accelerated pace and starts to show the ability to recognize objects and people. The creature soon is able to spell and at that time Dr Kast names her Dren. As she grows, both Dr Nicoli and Kast discover even more things about their experiment. They keep Dren locked away in a basement, so they can keep her existence a secret. When they think that she may be found, they move Dren out to Dr, Kast’s farm and make a home for her in the barn. Dren longs to explore the outside and almost escapes a few times. The relationship between the two doctors and Dren soon starts to become blurry as they decide what to do with their creation. The story written by Vince Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor starts off good. It asks the ethical questions that need to be asked when doing an experiment like this. The problem is that after a strong first half, the movie takes a turn and becomes a typical monster movie. Gone is the smart and enjoyable story, and all we are left with is a confusing movie. Vincenzo Natali shows some flashes of being a good director. The opening credit sequence is original and the tone he sets for the first half is great, If only he had found a way to keep it going for the entire film. This movie could have been good but instead it settles for ordinary.
Every summer the big action movies try and land their target of men. The studios hope that along the way they will bring their girlfriends or wives to see these movies with them. They do at times turn the tables and release a film geared for women hoping that they will bring along their significant other or friends. Sex and the City is one of those movies where the women will grab all of their friends and make a trek to the theater to see it together. Based on the popular HBO series of the same name, the girls are back for a second go around on the big screen. Everything seems right now that Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is married to Mr. Big (Chris North). Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is happy with her family and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is enjoying hers as well. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is still living like she is 25 years younger and the girls all still have their get togethers. Life though only seems prefect and all the girls are having problems of their own. Charlotte thinks she is a bad mother because at times she wants to be away from her kids. Miranda’s new boss doesn’t respect her and her husband is urging her to quit her job at the law firm. Carrie and Mr. Big are settling into marriage, but Big wants to stay at home too often and just watch TV. Carrie on the other hand misses the “sparkle” and wants the life they had before. The only one who seems to have good luck is Samantha, who just landed a big break. It seems that a Sheikh from Abu Dhabi wants her to consider representing him and his hotel, hoping to attract more tourists. Samantha agrees to visit as long as she can bring along her three friends. The Sheikh agrees and gives them an all expense paid trip to Abu Dhabi. Once the girls arrive they live the life of luxury, getting everything they want, whenever they ask. Things really get interesting after Carrie runs into Aidan (John Corbett), an old flame from the past. Not long after that things start to fall apart for Samantha when she is accused of public displays of affection, which is forbidden in Abu Dhabi. Writer and Director Michael Patrick King does his best to offend any Muslims who might actually watch the film. It seems that any chance he gets he makes fun of their customs. The film is too long and could have been cut by an hour and you still would have wasted your time watching this film. I don’t think the characters are done with, I just think that they are better in small doses. Everything just seems tired in this film and it just doesn’t make sense. There are several things you can do with your friends or significant other and seeing this film should not be on that list. So save yourself the time and money and don’t waste it on this film, instead rent an earlier DVD of Sex and the City when it was actually good.
In 2001 a movie came out that set a new bar for animated movies. Like Toy Story before it, Shrek just seemed to get everything right. The story of an ogre that rescues the princes and lives happily ever after was the perfect fairy tale. Fast forward nine years and three movies later and you have Shrek Forever After. Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) have the perfect family life with their three kids and great friends. Everything though starts to get repetitive for Shrek, doing the same things over and over again and never having a moment alone. Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) are both still there and only add to the problem. All Shrek wants are the days when he was feared, something that now seems impossible. It all comes to an eruption during his kid’s first birthday. He storms out and tells Fiona that he wishes that none of this had ever happened, that he wishes he could just be alone in his swamp and enjoy the peace he used to have. Unbeknownst to
Shrek, someone heard him and could make it all happen. His name is Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who just happens to specialize in magical contracts. Rumpelstiltskin draws up a contract that will let Shrek be the ogre he wants to be for a day. In order to make that happen, all he has to do is give up one day, a day from his childhood. Rumpelstiltskin has other plans and is trying to lay claim to Far Far Away. Once the contract is signed Shrek gets his wish and he is transported to a place where ogres are still feared. Everything seems perfect to Shrek , that is until he returns to his home. He finds nothing where his home should be. Instead he is attacked and captured by a group of witches. Shrek is taken to Far Far Away and only then starts to realize what has happened. Rumpelstiltskin is now the ruler of Far Far Away. He took the day Shrek was born and with Shrek not around, Fiona was never rescued from her curse. Shrek escapes and with Donkey finds Fiona, who is leading a resistance group against Rumpelstiltskin. Shrek finds out the one thing that could make things normal again, is true love’s kiss. He just has to convince Fiona that true love does exist. After four movies it seems they have run out of funny things to say. Gone is the originality of the first two films and all that is left is one last attempt to make money off a dying franchise. Writers Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke add nothing new; it seems that they used all of their good jokes in the first two films. This story should have never been told, gone is the newness and we are left only with memories of something that was once good. It’s like the great athlete that keeps playing too long, sometimes it’s hard to know when to quit. Hopefully this is the end of the Shrek stories and we can all just remember how good these movies and characters used to be.
