Observe & Report
The Seth Rogen honeymoon is over. Kinda sad considering I've been a huge fan of his ever since the flu episode of Undeclared(which he wrote). Here, Rogen plays bipolar mall cop Ronnie Barnhart, who takes his job just a tad too seriously. When the cosmetics girl(Anna Faris) he's fallen for has her life seemingly threatened by a flasher, Ronnie goes overboard cranks the violence level up to 11. If that sounds eerily similar to Paul Blart, it's because the plot is almost the same. The execution is much darker and somewhat disturbing. This is not your typical comedy. Frankly it's a pretty disgusting film at times, and Ronnie is no hero deserving of our support. In fact, it goes way too far at times, pushing way beyond the boundaries of comedic violence and into some pretty criminal territory(you'll know it as soon as you see it). Observe & Report seems to not know what it wants to be, comedy or black indie drama, and excels at neither. It's still better than the miserable Paul Blart, although Rogen's character isn't nearly as likeable. 5/10
The Great Buck Howard
The story of a past his prime mentalist who used to be big on the late night circuit of the 60's and 70's is full of potential, and John Malkovich does his best to make Buck a compelling flawed character. He's a little self absorbed, ornery, dismissive, and more than a little jealous of those more famous than him, although he'd never admit it. Colin Hanks plays his somewhat conflicted assistant who caters to Buck's every whim. Emily Blunt is the publicist forced to put up with Buck's arrogance, and ultimately finds a kindred spirit with Hanks. Writer/director Sean McGinley based the film off his own experience as a road manager for The Amazing Kreskin, which makes me wonder if he imagines himself as dull and lifeless as Hanks is. The younger Hanks doesn't have a tenth of his father's charisma, which is painfully obvious during one of the two brief appearances Tom makes in the story. Also, if this was McGinley's experience on the road then it must've been pretty damn boring and unfulfilling. A lot of wasted talent and potential here. 5/10
Dragonball Evolution
I knew it'd be bad. That was a given. But rather than just being an awful film, they had to go ahead and try to make it good yet fail so miserably. I'll admit that I was interested in this completely whitebread rendition of the Japanese anime classic for the first few minutes, but gave up once it started taking itself far too seriously. Chow Yun Fat continues his slow descent into film irrelevance, while James Marsters dresses up as walking head of lettuce with a chimp sidekick and Bai Ling replica robot. Oh, that was actually Bai Ling. Whatever. Fans of Dragonball won't recognize anything that made them love the anime, and newbies will have their brains turn to mush trying to sort out why they should give a damn. On the plus side: Emmy Rossum is friggin' hot as Bulma. 4/10
Sunshine Cleaning
I actually saw this almost two weeks ago but never wrote about it. I remember being disappointed in the utter lack of laughs and the poor comparisons it was getting to Little Miss Sunshine. Now having seen it for a second time, I've come to appreciate more the understated performances of Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, who's sisterly bond is the driving force here. Adams plays a former high school prom queen, the type of woman who every girl wanted to be. But as normally happens when school ends and life takes over, things did not quite go as planned. Now, a single mother working as a maid, she jumps at the opportunity to start her own business cleaning up crime scenes alongside her erratic sister. Meanwhile her father, played by Alan Arkin, is a man who continues to struggle to live up to the high expectations he feels his kids(and grandson) have for him. I felt he was channeling a bit too much of his Miss Sunshine character, but in general everyone here is very strong. Especially Clifton Collins, who is consistently one of my favorites in every film he's featured in, as the cleaning supply shopkeeper who takes an interest in their fledgling business. Before I said that this film was "No Little Miss Sunshine", and I meant that in a negative way, but I can honestly say now that it's a good thing. It's not supposed to be that film, it more than stands on it's own, and in some ways is even superior. 7/10
