Horrible Bosses (2011)

Original Theatrical Release Date: July 8, 2011
Director: Seth Gordon

Three lovable losers all have one thing in common: They have horrible bosses. One is a narcissistic elitist prick. One is a conniving, sexual predator. One is a coke fiend with a penchant for martial arts weapons. Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day) decide to do something about it and enlist a murder consultant named Dean “Mother Fucker” Jones (Jamie Foxx) to help them off their bosses.

When I first heard about this movie, I wasn’t too keen on going to see it. Sure, it seemed like it could be a good time but I’ve been growing increasingly tired of the “three dude bros” comedy formula made popular by movies like The Hangover. Still, my girlfriend and I popped this one in for a movie night with a friend and we enjoyed some genuine laughs, despite the “tried-and-true” movie formula.

First off, what the movie has going for it is mainly star power. Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell – you can’t beat that. Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis are just “okay”. The second thing the movie has going for it is a solid premise. Who doesn’t hate their boss, at least a little bit? This provides instant sympathy when Jason Bateman is berated for being a mere two minutes late on his clock-in. Plus, just look at how the bosses are portrayed on screen – just looking at them, without even seeing the film, you know what kind of characters they are.

Kevin Spacey – not to be trifled with.

Jennifer Aniston – lax on the dress code at work.

Colin Farrell – sleazeball, anyone?

Unfortunately, what this movie doesn’t have going for it is a compelling enough story to keep the interest for as long as the movie is. Seriously, it seemed like it took forever to end. I like my comedies short and sweet. The director could have dumped about a quarter of schlock and jokes that didn’t work and it would have been much more succinct and enjoyable. Add to that the promising premise being washed away in unfulfilling payoffs for the main characters and we have ourselves just a “meh” comedy.

With all the star power these comedians provided, along with the dark/funny premise – this should have been a knockout. As it is, I’m sure it’s fine for a watch or two but I’m guessing that it’s not going to knock your socks off.

JOE Rating: ★★★

Movie Trailer For Horrible Bosses

 

Starship Troopers (1997)

Original Theatrical Release Date: November 7, 1997
Director: Paul Verhoeven

In the distant future, the world is a fascist and militaristic society where a person can only become a citizen by joining the military and its never ending fight against an insectoid alien race looking to destroy humanity. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) is the son of two wealthy non-citizens who is looking to join his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards) in the armed forces in order to be with her and to gain his citizenship. Soon, though, the realities of military life and the hardships of the war separate Johnny, Carmen, and their friends from one another and they must overcome the chitinous tide of the Bugs if they are ever to reunite.

This film is based on the (much better) science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein – adapted to the screen by Edward Neumeier.

It’s been a while since the last time I watched this movie, but my brother gave me the DVD for my birthday this year. I was kind of interested to see how all the special effects and everything held up over the last 17 years. I was not disappointed to find out that most of it still looked pretty decent after all that time. The only thing that seemed dated at times was the retro-futuristic 1950’s-as-interpreted-by-the-late-1990’s hairdos and clothing styles for the characters. Other than that, though, I was transported through the film’s fun tongue-in-cheek narrative style.

I still have no idea where Casper Van Dien went to after the late 1990’s – but as Johnny Rico he was decent (if somewhat unbelievable) as the screaming, gun-firing, tough-guy lead. Denise Richards co-stars with her full and pouty lips as the always-effervescent (but still wooden) pilot Carmen Ibanez. Also, I was shocked to see Neil Patrick Harris in his role as Carl Jenkins – a role I forgot he’d done. (The last thing I remember him in was Harold And Kumar)

The bugs were creepy and not cheesy. The “internet” – style videos interspersed throughout the film add a nice touch, though the internet of the “future” looks pretty dated compared to our own, now. There is a creepy and unbelievable love triangle in the movie, but the real draw is the action sequences – which are peppered liberally throughout the movie. Still, the movie is a bit too long for an action flick.

All in all, not a perfect movie – but a nice flick to come back to every now and then if you want some sci-fi action.

JOE Rating: ★★★★

Movie Trailer For Starship Troopers

Sin City (2005)

Original Theatrical Release Date: April 1, 2005
Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino

Basin City, AKA “Sin” City, is a vile place of corruption, sex, and murder. Marv (Mickey Rourke), Dwight (Clive Owen) and Hartigan (Bruce Willis) are just three hard-boiled characters with intersecting paths who are rays of light standing against the dark. Part comic book, part noir and all thrill – this adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel is very faithful to the source material.

Since the sequel to this film just came out, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, I felt like I needed to bone up on this film franchise once more before seeing the new one.

The narrative layout of the film is interesting. Vignettes showing each “main” character and their interactions with the film’s secondary characters including villains and allies, makes the world of Sin City seem large and real. Most of the shots in the film are lifted right from Frank Miller’s pages of artwork and the casting was all done very wonderfully, particularly with Mickey Rourke as Marv. (Seriously, look at the guy). You also get to see Brittany Murphy in one of her last good roles before she died….and the same with Michael Clarke Duncan as Manute.

The special effects are all very stylized, very slick, but a couple of times they look wonky. Most of that was due to the artwork not translating well to film, because of how stylized Frank Miller’s artwork is. The black and white look of the film kept everything very visually appealing. The dialogue was great noir fare, if you’re into noir – but if you’re not into noir at all it may seem hokey and even terrible in spots.

If Robert Rodriguez and/or Quentin Tarantino were to direct a comic book film, Sin City was the perfect choice for them and you can tell that they had fun directing it, which means if you’re like me – you’ll have fun watching it.

If you’re looking for strong women characters, then this typical noir setting probably isn’t for you. The women of Old Town run their prostitution rings with cold efficiency, keeping the mob and corrupt police officers on the level, but that’s about it. Most of the other women in the film gasp and toss their hands against their foreheads while the men do the real work.

The one drawback to the film is that the three main characters – Marv, Dwight and Hartigan – are all fairly similar, making the story arcs seem pretty repetitive. Clive Owen was underwhelming as Dwight. Mickey Rourke nailed Marv (as I said before) and Bruce Willis was great as Hartigan. Rosario Dawson was kinetic as Gail, and Jessica Alba was decent as Nancy Callahan. Also, Elijah Wood was surprisingly creepy in his role as Kevin and Benicio Del Toro as Jackie Boy. They weren’t in the film for very long but they definitely added very interesting bits to the story.

JOE Rating: ★★★★

Movie Trailer For Sin City