What was the last movie you watched?

[SJP]

Agreed about Rob Riggle. He's just one of my all-time favorites.

For some reason, I love the deleted scene of him in Stepbrothers where he keeps telling Will Ferrell that he doesn't like his face.  There's no real reason to find the scene funny, but I just laugh every time he says, "I just...just want to start shredding it."

As for Tintin, I do think it's intentional...just like an old comedy team, he plays the "straight man" role while everyone around him is zany and a goof-off.  Or a villain.  But sometimes that's interchangeable.

While the chase scenes of the movie are a little breathless at times, my only real complaint about the film is they cut out my favorite scene from "The Crab with the Golden Claws" (which is one of the two books they based the movie off of).  That's where they're passed out in the desert, and Tintin dreams Captain Haddock thinks he's a bottle of wine and is about to "uncork" him.  The drawing of Tintin with his head as the bottle of a cork is one of the most surreal and hilarious things I saw as a kid, and I'm sad that the scene had to be dumped.  Not that it's something that HAD to be in there...just a little scene I always liked.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I do have mixed feelings on the villain of the film, since it seemed a very large stretch to tie Red Rackham to present day Haddock.  It makes sense dramatically, but he felt somewhat out of place.  I do think it's funny that the video game adaptation is actually MORE faithful to the books than the movie is, though, with the original villains being the ones you deal with in it.

[mrbasehart]

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you'll know the films I've been watching lately.  Here are a few more, too:

Direct Contact is an action movie starring an incredibly tired looking Dolph Lundgren.  Taking place in Eastern Europe (great for tax benefits) he plays a ex-special forces guy who's been jailed for weapons smuggling (not like that -- he was smuggling weapons OUT of warzones) but given a pardon in exchange for rescuing a kidnapped hot-lady doctor.  The usual twists and turns, with only one real stand-out "whoa!" moment.  Not bad, but nothing to recommend it.

Delta Farce is the second of the "Larry trilogy," comedy movies starring US comedian Larry the Cable Guy.  In this one, he plays a weekend warrior with his two buddies who get called up inot the army proper.  After an accident on the plane over there, the guys find themselves stranded in a desert in what they think is Iraq, but is actually Mexico.  Lots of idiotic behaviour and contrivances lead Larry and buddies to liberate a friendly Mexican village from the nasty thugs that hold it in its thrall.  Clearly not alluding to something else at all.  I wouldn't call it particularly bad - Larry's stupid, but he's not wilfully ignorant and there are a couple of funny moments - all revolving around Danny Trejo's (who plays the main bad guy) love of karaoke.

Witless Protection - The third in the Larry trilogy is the worst.  THE WORST.  He plays a local Sheriff desperate to join the FBI.  Mistaking a witness transport by the FBI for a kidnapping, he kidnaps the witness himself and takes her to Chicago for her to testify against a crime boss (Peter Stormare, with a horrendous English accent).  Borderline offensive on every level, which is weird because up until this entry into the series, Larry's outing have only been patronisingly racist, rather than overt.  Eric Roberts, Yapphet Koto, Jenny McCarthy all appear and look ashamed to be taking part.

[mrbasehart]

Perhaps I'm just projecting onto her what she should be feeling.

[Tripe]

Does she do ashamed with wide eyes and gaping mouth? That seems to be her default expression, not sure how she maps ashamed onto it but she's a pro, I'm sure she can do it.

[mrbasehart]

Despite being on the front cover of the DVD, she barely appears in it.  About 10 minutes at the most.  Eric Roberts has an extended cameo, but Yapphet Koto is the main bad guy.  He's in it throughout and does his best, but...  it's a little embarassing.

[ScottotD]

Eric Roberts, Yapphet Koto, Jenny McCarthy all appear and look ashamed to be taking part.

I didn't know Jenny McCarthy could look ashamed. Interesting.

She definately wasn't vaccinated against it


More Rooftop cinema:

[iv3rdawG]

Mirror Mirror

To help separate itself from other adaptations, Mirror Mirror ends up being extremely light fare. It never takes itself too seriously and it helps the film be better than it would be if it didn’t take on that tone. Sometimes this hurts the overall product though, as many of the laughs that the movie is going for fall flat.

The one shining bright spot throughout the film is the inspired performance by Collins. She plays Snow White perfectly and it’s a nice departure from Ginnifer Goodwin’s portrayal of the character. While both are in different parts of their lives when these stories are being told, Collins is able to exude innocence from the character that is rarely seen.

When portraying a character like Snow White, an actor could easily come off as just too nice where it becomes overbearing. Luckily Collins doesn’t, and she ends up being incredibly likable and easy to root for.

However, the positives that Collins brings to her portrayal of this iconic character can’t be said for Julia Roberts. She simply doesn’t work in the role as the Queen. Her scenes are boring and uninteresting. She never really seems that evil and even when she orders Snow White to be killed, there’s no real impact in large part due to her performance.

Collins’ performance is the highlight of Mirror Mirror, but the supporting cast and non-conventional plot make it more enjoyable than what the advertising campaign portrays it as. While it’s nothing groundbreaking, the chances of Mirror Mirror becoming a family favorite are incredibly likely. Its light and easy tone make it an easy watch and its performances, as well as its catchy closing theme, more than help the overall product.

** ½ / ****

[MontyServo]

Checkered Flag Or Crash

Bizarre film from 1977 about an off-road race in the Philippines.  You would think that a movie starring Joe Don Baker, Susan Sarandon, and Larry Hagman would at least have some campy moments, but the film was mostly just OK.  Watched this on Netflix Streaming and they have some sort of TV edit of the film.  Lots of poor overdubs.  In fact, it looks like the entire movie was looped over in ADR.  The race sequences, which make up at least 80% of the movie, are haphazardly edited and hard to follow.

Even with Joe Don Baker at the height of his '70s awesomeness, I can't find much to recommend about this film.

[Darth Geek]

The Muppets - Watching this again since it was in theaters, I still enjoy it. I do have the same problems with it as I did when I first saw it. The lack of a reason for them to have broken up in the first place robs the movie of any sense of overcoming any real odds. There is also real issues that could have been solved with a rewrite or two. Basic storytelling issues like why doesn't Gonzo pay for at least part of it, since they establish that he is RICH. Ten Million seems a lot for a theater, even in the middle of Los Angeles. Not to mention that the studio is pretty run down and unused, it would have been better if they were really fighting for the Muppet name than just some theater. Kermit is too quick to change 180 from being shocked at their kidnnapping Jack Black, to fully accepting it. The other muppets just sort of appear after a while, after the "montage" that only got a very few of them. They make a point of "nobody has seen Kermit in years" yet he lives in a mansion with Kermit and Miss Piggy faces on the gate, and he has no problem being out when he finds Walter, Gary and Mary. Again, like the rest of the muppets, we have no idea why Kermit and Piggy seperated (which is a bigger issue because they are MARRIED!). And we are to assume Miss Piggy just left him, which makes her very unlikeable (particularly for people like me who didn't like her in the first place).
  Despite all these issues, I still enjoy this movie. The Muppets are awesome, and when the movie works, it really works.

[doggans]

we have no idea why Kermit and Piggy seperated (which is a bigger issue because they are MARRIED!).

I'm pretty sure they weren't actually married in this film's continuity, and "Muppets Take Manhattan" was just a film within a film. Also, considering they never actually got along on The Muppet Show, is it any surprise they broke up at some point?

[ScottotD]

Kermit is too quick to change 180 from being shocked at their kidnnapping Jack Black, to fully accepting it.

Because it's Muppets

[stansimpson]

Kermit is too quick to change 180 from being shocked at their kidnnapping Jack Black, to fully accepting it.

Because it's Muppets

Also, a wizard did it.

[mrbasehart]

Mirror Mirror

To help separate itself from other adaptations, Mirror Mirror ends up being extremely light fare. It never takes itself too seriously and it helps the film be better than it would be if it didn’t take on that tone. Sometimes this hurts the overall product though, as many of the laughs that the movie is going for fall flat.

The one shining bright spot throughout the film is the inspired performance by Collins. She plays Snow White perfectly and it’s a nice departure from Ginnifer Goodwin’s portrayal of the character. While both are in different parts of their lives when these stories are being told, Collins is able to exude innocence from the character that is rarely seen.

When portraying a character like Snow White, an actor could easily come off as just too nice where it becomes overbearing. Luckily Collins doesn’t, and she ends up being incredibly likable and easy to root for.

However, the positives that Collins brings to her portrayal of this iconic character can’t be said for Julia Roberts. She simply doesn’t work in the role as the Queen. Her scenes are boring and uninteresting. She never really seems that evil and even when she orders Snow White to be killed, there’s no real impact in large part due to her performance.

Collins’ performance is the highlight of Mirror Mirror, but the supporting cast and non-conventional plot make it more enjoyable than what the advertising campaign portrays it as. While it’s nothing groundbreaking, the chances of Mirror Mirror becoming a family favorite are incredibly likely. Its light and easy tone make it an easy watch and its performances, as well as its catchy closing theme, more than help the overall product.

** ½ / ****

Really? I thought the film was okay -- incredibly light -- but I didn't mark out Lily Collins as anything special.  She's certainly pretty, but I don't think she had any chemistry with any of the cast.  Even with Armie Hammer, who's arguably as pretty as she is.  Julie Roberts kinda stunk in the film, too.  I don't know what she was going for, some kind of Drag Queen/Joan Crawford thing, but she can't pull it off. 

The best thing in the film were the Dwarves.

[Relaxing Dragon]

Yeah,  I actually found Mirror, Mirror to be rather lame. The costume and location visuals were pretty neat (though everything felt too much like a set, especially the forest), but the story felt really half-baked and none of the characters really worked for me. It wasn't atrocious or anything (which is actually a step up from how the advertising was making it look), but definitely wasn't anything special. Which is a bit of a shame, since Tarsem seems like a really talented and innovative director. But after this and Immortals, he's only two for four and really needs to get some better scripts with a slower, more relaxed production schedule in the future.

[mrbasehart]

I saw Diary of a Mad Black Woman yesterday.  It's a Tyler Perry Medea film - you know, where he dresses up as an old woman and goes bananas - and it's completely, totally insane.  The characters are all over the place, the tone wildly inconsistent, and with an incredibly preachy undertone to everything.  It was awful.  That said, I had a load of fun with it.  There are a bunch of other Perry films on Netflix instant, and I think I know what I'll be doing on my day off tomorrow!