Movies Reviews

Umm, yeah, that's a pretty lame title, I know!  But I couldn't think of anything better for this post.  It's pretty self explanatory really, I've been to see a couple of movies recently and I'd like to tell you what I thought of them...

I think I mentioned that Neil and I went to see "The Change-Up" with Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds.  And then the other night I went to see "Horrible Bosses" also with Jason Bateman, but alas, no Ryan Reynolds :-P  But not to worry, Jason Bateman is a perfectly good reason to see a movie, he's incredibly funny and has this charm that I can't quite explain.  But he does much better in an ensemble cast than headlining a movie on his own (see "Extract").  And then there's Ryan Reynolds..... sigh, what can I say about Ryan Reynolds that you don't already know...... he's hot, he's Canadian, he's tall, he's hot, he divorced Scarlet Johanssen (let's not talk about the fact that he had to marry her first), he's hot AND he's Canadian!!!  (I know, I've repeated myself a couple of time, but those things bear repeating, don't you think? ;-)

So anyway, the The Change-Up was pretty good, it was a bit of an old standard... two people leading lives at the opposite ends of a particular spectrum who magically change bodies (think, "Freaky Friday") and are forced to spend a few days/weeks living out one anothers lives and both realize how good they've got it and what they need to do to change their own circumstances for the better.  But somehow, adding incredibly vulgar language, some nudity (not Ryan Reynold's nudity, unfortunately) and alot of poop jokes makes the whole scheme seem brand new!  Leslie Mann (aka Judd Apatow's wife) is stellar as Bateman's busy wife/mother of his 3 children and she never shies away from an ugly crying scene, which is one of the reason's I'm a fan of hers!  Olivia Wilde (most notable for her rolls in sci-fi movies & TV shows) is frickin' gorgeous (and I say that in a completely hetero way, however, I can't say I'd kick her out of bed for eating cookies) and is just funny/seductive/serious enough to be a believable match for Reynolds' character.  You could wait for it to come out on dvd, it's probably no better on the big screen than in the comfort of your own home, but definitely make an effort to see it at some point this year.  You won't regret it! {Overall rating; /5 - Hilarity rating: 4/5}

Okay, Horrible Bosses, very funny, the kind of funny that makes your tummy muscles hurt the next day!  It has a basically original script, at least I can't think of another movie with the same premise.  While it's a stretch to believe that three seemingly normal guys would actually go so far as to have their intolerable bosses killed, it's still something that I think speaks to the general masses.  I mean, really, who out there can honestly say that they haven't wanted to kill at least one of their bosses over the years?  I can think of at least one who I used to pray would get hit by a bus on a regular basis!  As far as performances go, for the most part, everyone did a pretty good job.  Some stood out more than others.  Such as Charlie Day, whose character is being harassed by his sex craved dentist boss (Jennifer Aniston) and is mistakenly on the registered sex offenders list so he can't quit his job (because who else would hire a sex offender but a sexual predator).  This guys had me laughing so hard there were tears streaming down my face and I was clutching my stomach at more than one point.  From his coked out antics to his reaction to a mostly naked Aniston he kept me howling pretty much every time he was onscreen!  Jason Sudekis plays another one of the beleaguered employees whose boss, played by Colin Farrell (love the hair, btw) is a psychotic coke addict who wants only to bleed dry the company which his recently dead father so lovingly cultivated!  Sudekis' character is the least likable of the three leads, he seems genial enough in the beginning of the movie but you soon see his sex starved, desperate personality that Sudekis so frequently plays.  And then, of course, there's Jason Bateman!  Even though he's portraying a character we've seen from him many times he's still funny and sympathetic.  His boss, Kevin Spacey, is a psychotic control freak with some serious issues.  He's the kind of guy that I'd wish would get hit by a bus, if you know what I mean.  Then last, but certainly not least, is the ever surprising Jamie Foxx.  His character's name is (and I'm not joking here) Motherfucker Jones.... seriously, and it's the absolute best story behind a name that you've ever heard!  If you need a good excuse to see this movie it's Jamie Foxx, if for no other reason, rent this movie and fast forward to his scenes!  I swear he'll have you peeing your pants in no time! {Overall rating: 3/5 - Hilarity rating: 5/5}