Director: Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt, The Good Girl)
Starring: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr.
On Blu-Ray + DVD: June 21, 2011
Cedar Rapids reminded me a lot of The Royal Tenenbaums or Best in Show with its extremely dry humor. To the point where you aren't even really expected to laugh. I did laugh a few times at Rapids, but usually the jokes merely gave me a smirk. This isn't to say that the jokes didn't work; they just aren't made for the sake of laughter.
The story is entertaining and you'll find yourself emotionally invested in Helms's character. Having said that, Helms doesn't put in a noteworthy performance; he basically just emulated his character from The Office, but that's okay. The supporting actors are much more interesting, including Isiah "sheeeiiit" Whitlock as the nerdy black guy, Alia Shawkat as a prostitute (and a sexy one, then again I've always thought she was fine), and John C. Reilly as the douche roommate. Reilly is the real star of the film and brought out every bit of laughter that this movie got from me.
Cedar Rapids is a fun film that will keep you smiling (if not laughing) through its running time. The movie doesn't break any new ground, and you probably won't take anything away from it, but it's still an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes of your life.
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly
On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 3, 2011
Man, this stinker of a movie. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first half of The Dilemma actually isn't too bad. I was enjoying the direction that the film was taking, following Vaughn's character after he finds out that his best friend's wife is cheating on him. He goes through different phases, trying to decide how he should handle this information and whether he should tell his friend.
Then something happened. I guess Ron Howard decided that the film really had no point to exist (you would tell your friend, duh), so he felt compelled to add a bunch of idiotic twists to the second half of the story. All of a sudden, Ryder's character is a manipulative bitch, James is a workaholic, and Vaughn has some random gambling problem. The only character who felt real at the end was Connelly's, who plays Vaughn's girlfriend. She is compassionate and willing to compromise, as people in relationships usually are. If only everyone around her wasn't going insane.
The Dilemma isn't a complete mess. The first half of the movie is entertaining and mostly interesting. However, the second half ruins everything that the first half had going for it with its illogical twists and unintelligible decisions. These are the types of films that really make me wish that Howard had retired after he finished A Beautiful Mind.
Starring: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone
On Blu-Ray + DVD: June 28, 2011
Sucker Punch feels like Snyder took all the negative comments about his filmmaking (weak storytelling, unnecessary slow-mo, mindless action) and intentionally made a movie that included all of these bad parts. I'll get the positive comments out of the way first. The action sequences are completely mindless, but they're also the only good part of the movie. Take out the terrible music that accompany them and you're left with some fun battles, including giant ninjas, zombie Nazis, dragons, and robots. Also, the ending was at the very least interesting and I'll give Snyder credit for trying something new there.
Now I'll get to the bad. First off is that terrible music. Instead of advancing the plot through people actually doing things, Snyder cops out by trying to evoke emotion through background music with lyrics that tie way too heavily into what's happening on screen. I've seen it referred to as a two hour music video, and that's a fair assessment. When the characters actually do talk, they say horrible one-liners and pseudo-philosophical nonsense. The antagonist is one of the flattest characters I've seen in years. Satan is portrayed as more sympathetic than this guy. And even though the action sequences are cool, they rip off so many different sources, including the video games Shadow of the Colossus and Call of Duty.
This is the first movie of the year that has actually annoyed me. From the ripoffs to the music, Sucker Punch kept finding ways to make itself worse. The action sequences are definitely cool, but that's not enough of an excuse for me to recommend this movie to anyone.
Director: Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland
On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 17, 2011
Being a fan of Statham, as well as hitman movies in general, The Mechanic should be good by default to me. In this respect, the film succeeds. However, The Mechanic never dives into its characters at all, and because of this, the film is hollow and ultimately just an okay action movie.
The Mechanic opens on a great scene, with Statham drowning a man and then using his body to sneak past the guards. The film doesn't reach the intensity of this scene again until its very final moments. In between, we are given very brief glimpses into the two main characters. I can't even remember if we are ever even told Statham's character's name. Foster, on the other hand, is looking to avenge his father's murder, and that's about as far into him as we ever get. The movie seems intent on sticking to the superficial; even when Foster tries to get to know Statham better, it doesn't work. Even the sex is mindless: Statham's relationship with a prostitute exists solely to create a sex scene, as it doesn't advance the plot or his character in any way.
Having said all of that, The Mechanic overall is an entertaining film. The assassinations are filled with tension and the action sequences are very exciting. Just don't go into the film expecting a smart thriller like Casino Royale or even Taken, because you won't find that here. Leave your brain at the door, and The Mechanic is an exciting and superficially engaging movie worth checking out.
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