Tropic Thunder

I've never been a huge Ben Stiller fan. I think he tends to overreach at times and it just isn't funny, especially in a feature-length film. There's a bit of that in Tropic Thunder, but not to the Zoolander extent. Fortunately, Stiller was smart enough to surround himself with an amazing (and often hilarious) cast headlined by Robert Downey Jr. Really, he's the one that makes this movie work. It's a shame comedic performances aren't recognized at award time because he'd definitely be in the running for his role as a Russell Crowe-like Australian actor playing the role of an African American platoon sergeant. Jack Black is good too. But there's scores of cameos that really add to the film too. I could name names, but that would ruin some of the surprise performances. Anyway, this is one worth seeing. It works both as a comedy and as a corny action flick. There's some inside-Hollywood stuff thrown in there too, but it never feels as narcissistic or inside jokish as some films treading similar territory. This isn't The Player or State and Main. It's much more accessible, and better off for it.

The Incredible Hulk

Almost everyone I've talked to hasn't seen The Incredible Hulk. When I bring it up, some even think I'm talking about Ang Lee's dreadful film from a few years back. Well believe it or not, there's a new Hulk movie that was released last summer starring Edward Norton...and it's not half bad. While it's not as good as Iron Man, it is certainly better than the last Hulk movie. Still, there's a problem with this character when it comes to translating him to a live action flick. Even today's CGI can't do the Hulk justice. CGI works with Iron Man and Spider Man largely because the artists don't have to render the character's face, effectively bypassing the uncanny valley. But when it's time for the Hulk's close-up, it just doesn't work. For one, he looks nothing like Edward Norton. But most alarming is the unrealistic sheen inherent in most CG work. During these close-ups the Hulk looks more like a resident of Toontown than of the world Bruce Banner and Betty Ross inhabit. It really takes you out of the movie and that's a shame because it's a good story with some great action sequences. But my favorite part is the ending when Tony Stark makes a surprise appearance and hints at the forming of the Avengers. But I think we'll have to see how Thor (2010) and The First Avenger: Captain America (2011) pan out before we see such an epic crossover.

Teeth

It's not surprising that a bold movie like Teeth didn't get wide distribution, opening only in a handful of theaters in the US last winter. It's not exactly the kind of movie that's cineplex-friendly. But it's destined to live on forever as a cult classic instantly earning a spot among revenge classics like I Spit on Your Grave and Last House on the Left. But unlike those darker films, Teeth doesn't take itself too seriously. In fact, it's billed as a horror/dark comedy. It's one of those few films that will make you cringe and laugh out loud at the same time. I could be more specific, but that would only ruin the surprises. The story is based on a myth that I first heard of while in one of the my German film classes during our discussion of Fritz Lang's Metropolis...go figure. The fact that someone had the cojones to make a film about this deserves praise. But what surprised me was the quality of the script and cast, especially given the low budget. What could have been a crude and dirty Troma-like movie actually feels more like a respectable indie flick. After all, it won the special jury prize at Sundance in 2007. Anyway, if the premise sounds intriguing, it's well worth a look. Especially if you hate Matt McNamara from Nip/Tuck.

The X Files: I Want to Believe

For someone who never missed an episode of The X Files during its run on Fox, I was somewhat surprised by my complete disinterest in this film when it came out last Summer. Maybe the magic had worn off? Or maybe there were just better films out at the time? Whatever the reason, I made sure to make a point of watching the latest X Files movie on DVD. Well I just saw it yesterday while waiting out a snow storm and it wasn't bad at all. Though I feel I should have done a little homework beforehand. I couldn't quite remember how the series ended so there were some story elements I was a bit confused about. What happened to William? Other than that, there's very little connection between the movie and the series. It's very much a stand-alone episode, and an above-average one at that. Still, I feel The X Files was best when tackling the mythology story line. The freak-of-the-week stuff wasn't always bad, but still felt like filler. This movie sort of has that feeling. It works well as a crime drama but is far from being an epic watershed moment in the series. If the film had a different title, Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd could have handled this script just fine with minimal reworks. Mulder and Scully's past experience and insights into the paranormal are rather inconsequential during this investigation. Given the film's poor performance, I doubt we'll be seeing another X-Files films any time soon. Which is kind of a shame because I think there's still some territory they could cover.

Beer For My Horses

I'm in Utah right now spending some time with my Dad. It was freezing outside last night and there wasn't much else to do other than watch rented DVDs. So my Dad picked up this gem last night. I thought he was joking at first...I didn't even know Toby Keith made movies. Apparently it was a made-for-TV CMT flick just making its cursed path to DVD. So how could a movie with Toby Keith, Ted Nugent, Tom Skerritt, Gina Gershon, Willie Nelson, and David Allan Coe be bad? In fact, with the exception of Toby Keith, that's a top notch cast any director would be proud of. But my hopes were immediately crushed when I saw Toby Keith was also responsible for this dreadful story and script. It basically plays like a bad episode of Walker Texas Ranger that also serves as a commercial for Ford trucks. A Mexican drug lord kidnaps Toby's girl (played by the once it-girl Claire Forlani) so he gets together his wacky posses for a road trip across the border. As you can imagine, madcap hi jinks ensue complete with Willie Nelson pulling up in an old truck with smoke pouring out the windows. Everybody knows Willie's a pothead. Get it? Isn't that hilarious? While it's supposed to be a comedy, most of the jokes and sight gags are on autopilot, much like the entire script. I found the fim to be rather depressing considering it was marketed to a segment of the American population who probably ate it up and are impatiently awaiting seconds.

Friday the 13th Trailer

Okay, this is one I've been waiting for. There's been a bootleg trailer floating around the Internet since Comic Con, but this is the real deal. Yeah, it's another remake, but this is a franchise in dire need of a reboot. Fortunately the film is being handled by the same Michael Bay-backed team that did the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake...easily my favorite Jessica Biel flick. While I wasn't a huge fan of the TCM remake, I didn't hate it. At least it respected the source material. If this trailer is any indication, it looks like the Platinum Dunes crew got this one right too. There are a few questions I have though. How does Pamela Voorhees play into this? BTW, she's played/voiced by Nana Visitor this time around...an obvious nod to geeks. Also, in the trailer we see Jason break stride, performing a vicious power swing with his trusty machete. Has Jason become faster, much like the undead in recent zombie flicks? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we've ever seen Jason move this fast before. I think it could work.

Adiós Vic Mackey!

After 89 episodes, The Shield finally came to an end last week. I just watched the season finale and it's easily one of the best I've ever seen. It's hard to let a show like this go. The last few episodes have been almost painful to watch. All the characters were just so incredibly fleshed out and amazingly imperfect. When the show premiered it totally ruined all other cop shows for me. Even now, I can't find a single drama that feels as authentic as The Shield...and no I haven't seen The Wire so stop asking; I'm working on it. Law & Order, CSI, and all those other procedural knock-offs just feel so sanitary and old fashioned by comparison. The brilliance of the show was how the writers made the audience empathize with someone like Vic Mackey. Yeah, he wasn't a nice guy, but in the world of The Shield "nice" is a very relative term. For me the high point of the series was the Armenian money train and its aftermath. Each week the strike team just kept digging themselves in deeper and deeper, but somehow they steered clear of all investigations. Anyway, I'll miss the strike team and all the characters from the barn. If you didn't watch the show or only watched a few episodes, I highly recommend you check out the whole series on DVD. You'll be hooked after the first episode.

Twilight

Saw Twilight last week in the aftermath of the turkey holiday. Why? I guess I was mostly interested in what the hype was all about. Plus, it's an unorthodox take on vampires, something I'm always up for. But I realized Twilight was no Vampyros Lesbos, Daughters of Darkness, or The Vampire Lovers beforehand. So I went in with extremely low expectations...and I'm glad I did. It wasn't a bad movie at all, but I can see why some reviewers are disappointed. Given all the hype surrounding the movie it feels like a very small picture; definitely not the epic many anticipated. Almost like a made-for-TV movie. Why? Summit produced this movie on a shoestring budget, and it shows. But the major belly aching surrounding this film is that it isn't a vampire movie and I can sympathize with that point. To me it played more like a super hero movie, and this was just the intro setting the stage for much bigger things...kind of like the first X-Men. But if you can get beyond the limited scope of the production values and some unintentionally hilarious dialogue it's worth a rental. After all, how often do you get to see a game of vampire baseball? Plus, it just might be the most successful stalker movie ever made. There's another vampire movie out there I want to see sometime too called Let the Right One In. It just started playing here (at the Crest) but I think I might wait for video.