Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Local celebrity alert: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers) was born in Rocky Mount, NC.

I immediately twittered the following after seeing this film: "Scott Pilgrim: Take KILL BILL (even w/the school-girl killer-Asian chic), mix with music, acid & shrooms & a Nintendo. Me Likey. It was fun."

And it was. I read another review - after seeing the film - that describes it as a daydream of what many a twenty-something slacker wanting to get The Girl might create. And that's an apt description as well. Because this movie is a visual weird-fest and if you are looking for Michael Cera (Superbad, Youth in Revolt) to reprise his Arrested Development-esque or Juno-esque nerdy-every-guy - this isn't it. He's Scott Pilgrim - rock-band ladies-man-jerkwad, that's also kinda a nerdy-wet-noodle.

The high-octane-special effects, well-choreographed battle scenes, beautiful visuals and mostly-spot-on timing of dialogue makes for a truly entertaining film. You don't even have to like it and you will still be entertained.

I subscribe to the notion of symbolism here for what this film is. That symbolism: anytime we date we're kissing the lips that someone else has kissed. That baggage often creates its own drama and eats at insecurities of relationships. To get past that the idea of battling our own Exes and a new love's (and not just boyfriends in this case) and find that happy place of two-people-in-a-relationship is illustrated (to say the least) here.

This is also a visual smorgasbord of actors in-addition-to the comic book RING, BANG, ZOOM and neon colors: (in no particular order) Johnny Simmons (Hotel for Dogs), Thomas Jane (Punisher, Hung), Anna Kendrick (Up In the Air, Eclipse), Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down), Mae Whitman (Hope Floats, Arrested Development), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Erik Knudsen (Jericho, Saw II), Jason Scwartzman (Slackers, The Darjeeling Limited) and Alison Pill (The Awakening of Abigail Harris).

The scene-stealers of this feature are Ellen Wong, the high-school faux-girlfriend of Pilgrim's (recently seen guesting in a episode of Cartoon Network's Unnatural History): Knives Chau. As the groupie of Pilgrim's band Sex A Bom she's infatuated with Pilgrim and he's just looking to spend time with a girl - any girl at all will do - until he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead of Live Free or Die Hard, Sky High and Death Proof). She of the multi-colored-tresses vexes Pilgrim and in order to win her heart - he must battle her Seven Evil Exes. Hence the symbolism from above. Both these ladies do a good job of delivering innocent-kid vs. worldy-weary lover and Scott has to battle through his own inequities to find out who he is - who he wants to be - and how to get the girl. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, up-coming Captain America) does a dutiful turn as a Tony Hawk-turned-Sylvester Stallone Evil-Ex and chews up the screen and goes down - hard.

It doesn't hurt that along the way in Pilgrim's journey he earns Super-Power-Ups, Extra-Lifes, Battle-Points and wields flaming swords-of-love up-to Pilgrim's climatic-battle: a modern-day version of the Legend of Zelda.

This film is based on the graphic novels (it is a comic book people!) from Bryan Lee O'Malley and is adapted by director/writer Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead). It's a visual feast, mind-trip and the music rocks. Kick-Ass was the most recent mash-up of awesomely-appropriate music for-the-moment in a movie and this has more original content.

I give this a 94 out of a 100 - my average A in high-school. Give this a look at Premier Theaters in Rocky Mount - you'll enjoy it.

(I don't think I have ever used so many hyphens in such a small space - ever!)

The Other Guys

So I went to this movie one time, and I walked into the theatre. Then I got a ticket. Then I went to find a seat. I did. It was in the middle of the theater (see how I changed the spelling there - isn't that annoying. Don't you hate it when people to that - on purpose - and think they're funny? Or go off on rant-tangents that have nothing to do with the subject at hand?). My seat was maybe one row below the midway row. There were some local preview/commercials playing as I waited for the movie. It started. Oh, first there was a commercial for some lemonade and some coming soon trailers (By-the-way, who decides what plays before a movie? How does a preview for Eat Pray Love from another studio roll before The Other Guys from Sony Pictures/Columbia? Did they flip a coin? Play quarters over drinks? Spin a bottle or throw darts to see who was the lucky flick? --- was any of that funny? Should I say something different? Is this all running together? Should I stop now?). Then the movie starts and I'm watching something I'd actually like to see: a hardcore cop-n-partner action movie akin to Lethal Weapon... then they died and we got Lenny & Squiggy trying to be seriously solve a mystery.

That was a HEAVY dose of sarcasm. And that negative emotive is not 100% what this movie is - but it still feels that way for a good 45% of the film. After seeing McGruber (expectations low and results lower), Dinner for Schmucks (expectations low - results much higher) and now this Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) directed feature with Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark's GOOD VIBRATIONS, Four Brothers, Rock Star) and the one guy truly on his was to succeeding Chevy Chase in his full career path: Will Farrell (Land of the Lost, Semi-Pro, Elf) ... I went in with an open mind - no expectations and looking to let the movie entertain me.

It did. It was trying so hard to be funny: a Semi-Pro-like script (inane everyday-conversation whip-cracked and forced to be funnier than it is) mixed with a buddy-cop action/procedural. There is a funny cast of supporting actors. Michael Keaton (Batman, Gung-Ho, Night Shift, Toy Story 3) does justice to TLC, Bed-Bath-n-Beyond and every scene he's in. Eva Mendes (Ghost Rider, The Spirit) chews up the screen with her "plain" clothes and below-average "beauty". Listening to her talk dirty is certainly one the highlights of this flick - and I apologize to my wife - but it's like a Richard Gere moment for her. This was a funny movie - but like so many wise-arse flicks of this type - not all the humor that was intended to be, was. And a lot of what wasn't, was.

Mark Wahlberg's character's (Det. Terry Holtz) methods for taunting his prejudices is downright hilarious... he's a typical tough-guy playing against type and it works. Farrell (Det. Allen Gamble) is a former accountant/desk-jockey/previous-SugarDaddyPimp-called-Gator now cop who wants to live safely behind a desk (how he got to be a detective is only briefly explored and not really answered). Gamble latches on a to a permit-violation of a famous investment manager, David Ershon (Steve Coogan of Tropic Thunder) that snowballs into a full-blown corruption and Wall Street scandal, kidnappings and special-forces black-ops security forces.

So, yes I was entertained, and it is funny. There's even a plot. I still squirm uncomfortably watching decent actors say and do the stupidest of things that just AREN'T funny. I'd like to see more Farrell-as-Gator though. That shtick was good.

So I give this an 84.5 - it's a high C or a low B depending on how you had your homework scored in 9th grade.
BTW - for such a comedic film apparently there was intended to be a BIG emphasis on how corrupt Wall Street and all CEO's and anyone with money from a big business is. If you didn't get that message - McKay force-feeds it to you with the credits providing colorful-but-really-just-statistics of Ponzi-scheming, TARP-corrupting, Bail-Out-Busting hate for all things big-business & government-rescued. It's one thing to point out the few degenerate and evil companies that did/do indeed exist. It's another to paint anyone who is a CEO or works at a big-business (and it's that broad - anyone) is evil - while the credits of your movie roll. Stepping off the soap box, now.

Dinner for Schmucks

Uncomfortably funny.

Seat squirmingly laugh-out-loud with shame entertaining.

This is not AMERICAN PIE raunchy-funny. This is DUMB-N-DUMBER done better.

On a high-school grading scale I give it a B (89 outta 100).

IMDB sums up the summary summarily: "Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon."

Paul Rudd (CLUELESS, I COULD NEVER BE YOUR WOMAN) teams up again with Steve Carrell ("The Office", 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN) to make a typical comedy, forumalic film that doesn't feel that way - at all.

Rudd's character, Tim, is trying to impress his girlfriend, Julie (Stephanie Szostak of THE GOOD HEART) enough to marry him - but conniving and doing anything he can (compromising his morals along the way) to be rich-n-successful enough for her. Of course she's not looking for that - she just wants the man and his morals.

Tim gets a chance to impress his boss at a dinner of bring-the-biggest-idjits and meets Carrell's character, Barry. Barry is a simpleton IRS agent who's wife left him for his boss (Zach Galifianakis of THE HANGOVER & YOUTH IN REVOLT) and from there the hijinks ensue culminating in Tim losing his girlfriend and the grand dinner of losers with Barry having a test of wills (a Wonder Womanesque battle no-less) for the trophy.

You will laugh. You will not want to in some cases because the stupiditity of the scene just is outrageous... and there are more than a handful of them. But there are geniunely funny moments worthy of guffaws as well. Carrell here makes his character from "The Office", Michael Scott seem like Carl Sagan in comparison - and pulls it off awesomely with only a pair of false-teeth to set the tone.

So take a friend or spouse and go see a good time with DINNER FOR SCHUMCKS.

Box Office Chatter from Friday, July 23

Part One: "Knight & Day" and "Inception"




Part Two: "Despicable Me"

SALT

Take MRS. SMITH and add a dash of JASON BOURNE, throw in some of DANIEL CRAIG's 007 and mix with a bit of MACHURIAN CANDIDATE and you have SALT.

She's a CIA Agent accused of being a Russian mole to assasinate state leaders and initiate a new war - and bring back glorious industry of super-spies and deadly plottings. That's it. Thank you and goodnite.

Seriously.

Ok, Angelina Jolie (WANTED, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER ) does as good a job as Matt Damon (BOURNE IDENTITY) as an isolated fugitive, Eveline Salt, on her own trying to save herself, the one she loves and the world as we know it. Her emotion for her husband that was intended as cover and turned real was played out very effectively. Do we believe she's carrying an honest emotion to save her husband? Yes. Do you feel for her mission and find yourself questioning what is going on? Yup. That a tribute to good movie making.

Liev Shriever (X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, THE OMEN) plays an interesting role as Salt's boss Ted Winter and the scientist dude from 2012 (Chiwetel Ejiofor) plays the one fella trying to make sense of the whole thing: FBI Agent Peabody.

I do appreciate that the creators of this film, director Phillip Noyce (CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER, THE QUIET AMERICAN) and writer Kurt Wimmer (EQUILIBRIUM, LAW ABIDING CITIZEN) don't treat the audience as idiots - giving us the 'clues' to many of the off-screen developments throughout and not revealing them out-of-left-field. The woman-on-the-run genre of spy-dramas is not very crowded yet this one does it justice. Is it the best James Bond rift ever? No. But it holds it's own.

So what do I rate SALT? I've slept on it for two nights since seeing it as PREMIER THEATER in Rocky Mount and I give it a B+ or 90 out of 100 on a high-school 7-point grading scale.

Box Office Chatter

Every Friday night a new BOX OFFICE CHATTER premiers on WHIG TV and we'll host those chats on here as well.

WHIG TV

So we've been reviewing films on WHIG-TV this summer with our reviews airing regularly during the EARLY LATE SHOW on Friday nights. If you have tuned in, we'll be adding our video reviews here shortly.

But you can always tune into www.whigtv.com to watch anything on - online - especially Friday nights!

Look for more reviews & movies from Rachel, Brittany, Clint, Matt & Ed and let us know what you think of our reviews, what you WANT us to review and more.

Thanks!