Tropic Thunder may not be the movie that virally markets the most (that would be The Dark Knight), but it's pretty awesome. To see what I mean click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, its Facebook page, which I recently joined.
Seriously, this viral marketing thing is pretty genius. TDK has about 40 viral sites, which I won't link here. Go on IMDB for that. But I love it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Review: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (***)
Starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, and Jet Li
Directed by Rob Cohen
Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence
113 minutes
Like the first film and sequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has the sort of shameless, B-movie entertainment of 80s movies (most specifically, Indiana Jones). They are tailor-made for the summer season, eye candy for those who don’t want something too deep after thoughtful summer fare like The Dark Knight or The X-Files. I liked it a lot.
Brendan Fraser reprises his role as Rick O’Connell, who is as much a paleontologist as Indy Jones is an archaeologist. This time around, he and Evelyn are retired from the mummy-vanquishing gig, and Evelyn is happily transferring her adventures into best-selling books. All that changes when they are asked to return the Eye of Shangri-La to a museum in Shanghai. Soon, they learn that their son, Alex, has dropped out of school and into a boatload of trouble. This all leads to a plot about a curse placed on an emperor in an ancient land.
It’s just as ridiculous as the new Indiana Jones picture, if about 75% as fun. The action scenes don’t always entertain, but the final one, a massive battle between two undead armies, is every bit as exciting as the car chase in the earlier film. Obviously the visual effects in this picture have improved since 2001, when The Mummy Returns was released, and they are well-used here.
As for the acting, it’s adequate, as it was the earlier films. Coming up strongest, surprisingly, is Jet Li, who gives a slithery good performance in the title role, though, for the record, he’s not just a dragon emperor. Like the Monkey King in The Forbidden Kingdom (a film I enjoyed more than this, I must say), the Dragon Emperor has a tragic past, making him a character in a story, not just a guy to defeat; Li does a good job of capturing this, even when the special effects take over. Brendan Fraser, reprising his role as Rick, Luke Ford as Alex, and Michelle Yeoh as a mystical witch are all very good, but a missing-in-action Rachel Weisz makes way for a terrible performance from the usually good Maria Bello. Stale, awkward, and wooden, Bello never fits into the role of Evelyn, switching between accents and facial expressions without an emotion in sight.
The change in director, from Stephen Sommers to Rob Cohen, might have proved a better choice, actually. Cohen’s previous film, Stealth, was an utter debacle, yes, but he does work well with visual effects, something that a movie like Dragon Emperor needs. Sommers was good, but his editor obviously had the day off, and Cohen is more assured.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is one of the biggest surprises this year, an entertaining, if not terribly original, B movie.
Directed by Rob Cohen
Rated PG-13 for adventure action and violence
113 minutes
Like the first film and sequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has the sort of shameless, B-movie entertainment of 80s movies (most specifically, Indiana Jones). They are tailor-made for the summer season, eye candy for those who don’t want something too deep after thoughtful summer fare like The Dark Knight or The X-Files. I liked it a lot.
Brendan Fraser reprises his role as Rick O’Connell, who is as much a paleontologist as Indy Jones is an archaeologist. This time around, he and Evelyn are retired from the mummy-vanquishing gig, and Evelyn is happily transferring her adventures into best-selling books. All that changes when they are asked to return the Eye of Shangri-La to a museum in Shanghai. Soon, they learn that their son, Alex, has dropped out of school and into a boatload of trouble. This all leads to a plot about a curse placed on an emperor in an ancient land.
It’s just as ridiculous as the new Indiana Jones picture, if about 75% as fun. The action scenes don’t always entertain, but the final one, a massive battle between two undead armies, is every bit as exciting as the car chase in the earlier film. Obviously the visual effects in this picture have improved since 2001, when The Mummy Returns was released, and they are well-used here.
As for the acting, it’s adequate, as it was the earlier films. Coming up strongest, surprisingly, is Jet Li, who gives a slithery good performance in the title role, though, for the record, he’s not just a dragon emperor. Like the Monkey King in The Forbidden Kingdom (a film I enjoyed more than this, I must say), the Dragon Emperor has a tragic past, making him a character in a story, not just a guy to defeat; Li does a good job of capturing this, even when the special effects take over. Brendan Fraser, reprising his role as Rick, Luke Ford as Alex, and Michelle Yeoh as a mystical witch are all very good, but a missing-in-action Rachel Weisz makes way for a terrible performance from the usually good Maria Bello. Stale, awkward, and wooden, Bello never fits into the role of Evelyn, switching between accents and facial expressions without an emotion in sight.
The change in director, from Stephen Sommers to Rob Cohen, might have proved a better choice, actually. Cohen’s previous film, Stealth, was an utter debacle, yes, but he does work well with visual effects, something that a movie like Dragon Emperor needs. Sommers was good, but his editor obviously had the day off, and Cohen is more assured.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is one of the biggest surprises this year, an entertaining, if not terribly original, B movie.
Get Some
Tropic Thunder, in my mind, has the potential to be the greatest comedy of the last 25 years, give or take a couple. Here are six new clips, as well as the awesome trailer and an interview with the actors. My review will be on Wednesday evening (latest Thursday morning).
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Weekly Movie Roundup
Here is my first post in the Weekly Movie Roundup Series
James Berardinelli
Baghead
2/4
"Not clever enough to form the foundation of an 80-minute feature film."
Elegy
3.5/4
"The movie tells the poignant tale of how one man - intelligent, urbane, and witty - represents his own worst enemy when it comes to relationships."
Hell Ride
2/4
"The film is at times enjoyable in a lurid, campy way, although not so consistently that I can recommend it to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan of the genre."
In Search of A Midnight Kiss
3.5/4
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss is wonderfully romantic and romantically bittersweet.
Man on Wire
3/4
"Man on Wire is a fascinating time capsule: a combination of talking-head interviews, actual footage, and re-creations that evokes a kinder, gentler world and provides insight into one of the most audacious stunts of the 20th century."
Pineapple Express
3/4
"The humor in this movie is smart enough that even a moderate level of intoxication or inebriation is not necessary to enjoy it."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
3/4
"The strength of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, like its unnumbered predecessor, lies in the appeal and complexity of the characters."
Roger Ebert
Alexandra
3.5/4
"The color strategy of the movie is part of its effect. It is drab, brown, desaturated."
Bottle Shock
3.5/4
"The director milks great entertainment, if not actual suspense, out of the competition."
Boy A
3.5/4
"...paints an accurate portrait of working-class life in the north of England, the grimness of the streets contrasting with the beauty of the countryside."
Frownland
3.5/4
"It centers on an extraordinary performance that plays like an unceasing panic attack."
Hell Ride
1/4
"The movie was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. Shame on him. He intends it no doubt as another homage to grindhouse pictures, but I've seen a lot of them, and they were nowhere near this bad."
Man on Wire
4/4
"...the documentary, a hybrid of actual and restaged footage, is constructed like a first-rate thriller."
The Pineapple Express
3.5/4
"It's a quality movie even if the material is unworthy of the treatment."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
3/4
"The movie intercuts quickly but not confusingly from one story to another, is dripping with seductive locations, is not shy about romantic cliches and has a lot of heart."
Dustin Putman
Bottle Shock
1.5/4
"A curiously languid, emotionally detached experience. "Bottle Shock" is light on plot, which would be fine if the characters were well-formed and given interesting things to say. They aren't, and they do not."
Hell Ride
1.5/4
"The action is negligible. The wordplay is awkward. The revenge plot is perfunctory since no one seems all that upset about the initial victim. Like a dream that vanishes the moment you awake, the memory of "Hell Ride" is foggy and half-forgotten mere hours after seeing it."
The Pineapple Express
2.5/4
"Begins as a been-there-done-that stoner romp before turning into an outlandishly silly and graphically violent action-thriller. The tone may be schizophrenic, but the sheer, unabashed showmanship of the whole thing warrants praising."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
2.5/4
"A solid if not wholly necessary sequel, but Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget are so pleasant to spend a couple hours with that it hardly matters. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" never talks down to its audience, and that alone is worth more than most female-bonding pictures of this ilk."
Enjoy!
Until this week...
James Berardinelli
Baghead
2/4
"Not clever enough to form the foundation of an 80-minute feature film."
Elegy
3.5/4
"The movie tells the poignant tale of how one man - intelligent, urbane, and witty - represents his own worst enemy when it comes to relationships."
Hell Ride
2/4
"The film is at times enjoyable in a lurid, campy way, although not so consistently that I can recommend it to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan of the genre."
In Search of A Midnight Kiss
3.5/4
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss is wonderfully romantic and romantically bittersweet.
Man on Wire
3/4
"Man on Wire is a fascinating time capsule: a combination of talking-head interviews, actual footage, and re-creations that evokes a kinder, gentler world and provides insight into one of the most audacious stunts of the 20th century."
Pineapple Express
3/4
"The humor in this movie is smart enough that even a moderate level of intoxication or inebriation is not necessary to enjoy it."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
3/4
"The strength of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, like its unnumbered predecessor, lies in the appeal and complexity of the characters."
Roger Ebert
Alexandra
3.5/4
"The color strategy of the movie is part of its effect. It is drab, brown, desaturated."
Bottle Shock
3.5/4
"The director milks great entertainment, if not actual suspense, out of the competition."
Boy A
3.5/4
"...paints an accurate portrait of working-class life in the north of England, the grimness of the streets contrasting with the beauty of the countryside."
Frownland
3.5/4
"It centers on an extraordinary performance that plays like an unceasing panic attack."
Hell Ride
1/4
"The movie was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. Shame on him. He intends it no doubt as another homage to grindhouse pictures, but I've seen a lot of them, and they were nowhere near this bad."
Man on Wire
4/4
"...the documentary, a hybrid of actual and restaged footage, is constructed like a first-rate thriller."
The Pineapple Express
3.5/4
"It's a quality movie even if the material is unworthy of the treatment."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
3/4
"The movie intercuts quickly but not confusingly from one story to another, is dripping with seductive locations, is not shy about romantic cliches and has a lot of heart."
Dustin Putman
Bottle Shock
1.5/4
"A curiously languid, emotionally detached experience. "Bottle Shock" is light on plot, which would be fine if the characters were well-formed and given interesting things to say. They aren't, and they do not."
Hell Ride
1.5/4
"The action is negligible. The wordplay is awkward. The revenge plot is perfunctory since no one seems all that upset about the initial victim. Like a dream that vanishes the moment you awake, the memory of "Hell Ride" is foggy and half-forgotten mere hours after seeing it."
The Pineapple Express
2.5/4
"Begins as a been-there-done-that stoner romp before turning into an outlandishly silly and graphically violent action-thriller. The tone may be schizophrenic, but the sheer, unabashed showmanship of the whole thing warrants praising."
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
2.5/4
"A solid if not wholly necessary sequel, but Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget are so pleasant to spend a couple hours with that it hardly matters. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" never talks down to its audience, and that alone is worth more than most female-bonding pictures of this ilk."
Enjoy!
Until this week...
WMR info
Before I jump into this, I should give y'all some info about, oh say, what it is!
What I will be doing is rounding up the reviews of three different movie critics (James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert, and Dustin Putman) each week.
Until later today...
What I will be doing is rounding up the reviews of three different movie critics (James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert, and Dustin Putman) each week.
Until later today...
Bernie Mac (1958-2008)
I loved the guy. I never really told anyone, but he was genius.
This morning, Bernie Mac, that great comedian, died suddenly of complications with pneumonia. He was 50.
Rest in peace, Mr. Mac.
This morning, Bernie Mac, that great comedian, died suddenly of complications with pneumonia. He was 50.
Rest in peace, Mr. Mac.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sorry for the delay...
...but my review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will come tomorrow (maybe). I won't have the chance to see it today. Keep your eyes open. Also, later today expect a review of the first two films.
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