Is this a money grab just as we're approaching the holiday season and the release of Paramount's Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol? Hell yeah! Who cares, though? The M:I flicks are nothing if not splashy, high octane flicks with that may pack a lot of crazy sh*t in them, but they aren't really stupid, either. Ok, maybe John Woo's terrible sequel is, but the rest are fantastic.
The knock against the second drunken outing featuring The Wolfpack, brought to us by comedy heavyweight Todd Phillips, is that it was too similar to the riotous first film. I look at it differently. To me, the sequel fits beautifully alongside it, keeping the laughs going a little but longer like, like if you just kept drinking to avoid the inevitable vomitous hangover. This time it's the seemingly buttoned up Stu(Ed Helms) who is tying the knot, with a wedding reception set in Thailand of all places. Perfect for the crew to get in all sorts of politically incorrect, sexually deviant hijinks.
Every gorgeous frame, every moment of The Help screams authenticity and an unquenchable love for every inch of southern fried Mississippi. Based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, her childhood friend Tate Taylor earnestly adapts her story from the viewpoint of the African-American "help" and the institutionalized racism they face daily while taking care of the homes of rich white women. Emma Stone, in her most successful film of the year(of which she was in many) plays Skeeter, a rebellious, forward thinking wanna journalist who seeks to try and right some of these wrongs by writing a tell all book of the maids' experiences. The beauty of The Help is in it's charm and use of comedy to present serious issues without any easy answers. Also, the ensemble cast including Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jessica Chastain is superb.
Other Notable Releases
Cowboys & Aliens, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford
Mr. Popper's Penguins, starring Jim Carrey
The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington
Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition
Cheaper to Keep Her, starring Vivica Fox and Brian McKnight
Design for Living (Criterion Collection), starring Gary Cooper and Fredric March
