the green hornet

So I watched 2011's "the green hornet", starring one of my comedy favorites Seth Rogen and directed by Michel Gondry. So was it good, well I say it stung me in a good way. So was it great, well no. Was it as bad as the critics and others have made it ought to be I say no way. Look this movie is clearly a spoof of super hero movies, but not one that tries to beat you over the head with the fact that it is a spoof, so I think a lot of people just didn't get it. Seth Rogen plays basically the character he played in pineapple express, which considering he wrote this movie with his writing partner from that movie it makes sense. Michel Gondry directed this film and though he has a very distinct style usually e.g "science of sleep" and "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", we the audience don't see much of his unique visual sense and quirky dialog. However, I found this movie to be very enjoyable and highly underrated. I don't know if comic book fans were put off by the fact that this movie is sort of like the inspector clouseau and cato take on the green hornet character, from the pink panther movies, or if stoners were put off by the not so stoned Seth Rogen in this movie, but it seems most people did not like this movie as much as I did. I researched the green hornet and found that since its inception there have been several different takes on the characters and general story, so the fact that this one was not faithful to the original in every sense should not be a big deal to "purists". This take seems slightly different in that the green hornet wants to be seen not as a hero but as a criminal, so he can infiltrate criminal organizations more easily. This also makes him busting up said organizations look like a grab for power rather than a vigilante exercise. The hornet (Britt Reid) and Kato have no real super powers, although Kato can sort of slow time but not literally. So the character setup is kind of like batman in a lot of ways including the hornet being a trust fund baby. Look, basically I really liked this movie, I thought it was funny and packed with good action sequences, but everyone does not share that view so I recommend it but, I can't say who this movie should appeal to since I was not in the majority on this one.

get low

So I watched 2009's funeral flick "get low", starring two greats Robert Duvall and one of my personal favorites Bill "mother fucking" Murray. So was it good, I say yes indeedy do. This film is a mystery of sorts, so once again I won't be discussing plot. However, I will comment on things like the direction which was very good, especially considering this was Aaron Schneider's first full length feature. The story was very interesting and well written. The story itself is loosely based on the life and I guess death of Felix Bushaloo Breazeale, a hermit acquitted of murder who had his own funeral party. The writers of the movie took this and twisted it and turned into a fine tale much better than the real life story. So now the acting, well as I said you have two greats plus a good supporting cast, so you can't go wrong there. Basically this is an easy to watch sort of indy film with great production value. Which leads us to the next question, is this film for everybody, yeah as I said it is easy to watch, it is comical at times, suspenseful at other times, has a little mystery, really something for everyone. I remember Robert Duvall promoted the shit out of this movie and, it did make a small profit, which considering it is an indy type film is pretty good and so was this movie.

megamind

So I watched 2010's CGI cartoon flick "megamind". Well was it megagood, well for a kids flick I say it was good. Now as a flick just for adults it get's an ehh. However, if I had kids I could sit through this film and enjoy it which I did overall, and I think kids will love this movie. The animation is just standard fare here, nothing special but then again everything CGI to me at this point is wonderful, it just doesn't stand out here like it did in say "rango". The plot is interesting enough, two aliens crash on earth at the same time one destined to be a superhero and one destined to be a super villain, or perhaps not? The acting is solid and comes from some of the industries best Ferrel, Fay, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Stiller, and Pitt (hey my second review today with him). In fact, the character that Ferrel developed for this film was memorable, not Ron Burgundy memorable but good. It was interesting if I had to compare it to say "the incredibles" it is not in the same league, but it is good for a kid's flick. And I said most adults with the exception of my best friend who hates anything that isn't completely obscure should enjoy this "popcorn" flick.

Sleepers

So I watched the star studded film from 1996 called "Sleepers", and directed by academy award winning dude Barry Levinson. Mr. Levinson has given us some really great flicks over the years like "rain man" and "diner", as well as some real stinkers like "Sphere", "envy", and of course "Toys". So which camp does this one fall into well it was good, not great but good. So this movie could have been great I mean what a cast which includes Deniro, Patric, Pitt, and Hoffman. And the list keeps going. This movie is supposedly a real life fictionalized version of events that happened to the author of both the screenplay and the novel this film was based on, writer Lorenzo Carcaterra. The only problem there are zero records to back up this statement something the film disclaims at the end. Well what about the plot, well this is one of those flicks you should just watch, I think I was better for not knowing most of the plot going in and anyone else should be as well. There are some moments in this film that are not for children so just be aware of that before you sit little Billy or Betty down beside you to watch this. Also there is one plot point I will mention, half of this film takes place when the characters are young while the second half takes place when they have all grown up. So what did I not like about this film, well there were flashbacks which were useful, but just were a little too much and just complicated an already complicated story. There was also the narrative, normally I am a fan of narrative but here it didn't work for me. Besides from that this is a highly watchable film, and one that was filmed in the 1990's and takes place between the late 60's and early 80's, and holds up now some 15 years later. So finally is this film for everyone, well it's not very chicky and not lighthearted, its a guys film, but not like say "insert generic action flick or crime flick here", it is slightly cerebral. I recommend it, but it is not in my top Levinson film picks by a long shot.