Martin's Musings

If Borat is so wrong, then why does it feel so right?

Alright, maybe that’s not exactly what I want to say about the movie (its actual name is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, but damn, this is simultaneously one of the funniest and one of the most offensive movies I have ever seen.

If you don’t know, Borat is a character played by the British comic Sacha Baron Cohen who is supposed to be a television reporter from Kazakhstan.

Basically, the movie is a mockumentary of Borat’s exploits as he travels across the U.S., first in pursuit of knowledge about America and then in pursuit of Pamela Anderson (really).

And Borat is naive, totally clueless, and without social graces, so this makes for some great comedy. Continue reading →

Movies don’t get much funnier, grosser, painful, oh, and did I mention funnier than Jackass: Number Two. In fact, I think the only movie that may be funnier than this one may actually be the original Jackass movie.

There are skits here that had me tearing up I was laughing so hard, especially a pretty harmless one involving Chris Pontius dressed as the devil. Others I could barely watch they were so gross.

And another skit is so un-P.C. that the fact that one guy is wearing a beard made of, uh, hair from between the guys’ legs is the least offensive part.

Continue reading →

Damn. The Departed is one very good movie.

Start to near-finish, I was on the edge of my seat watching one of the best ensemble acting jobs of the year spinning a story of cops and the mob, a story of conflicting loyalties, and a story of Boston’s underbelly.

I swear, with the exception of Mark Wahlberg, who is just a little too over the top, this is top-notch acting all around. Even DiCaprio, who I don’t generally like, is excellent. It’s like the guy grew up ten years between The Aviator and this movie, and his face shows it. (Leo actually looks like he could be the brother of Eric Dane, who plays “Dr. McSteamy” on Grey’s Anatomy.) Continue reading →

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the early front-runner for this year’s Best Picture: Employee of the Month. Alright, I’m obviously kidding, but believe me when I say that this movie is better and funnier than it has any right to be. And most of the credit for that goes to Dane Cook, whose cool charm carries this comedy from start to finish. Jessica Simpson again shows off her talents, but ahem, not as well as she did in Dukes of Hazzard. And that’s probably all you really want to know about this film, right? It gets a B from me, for better than expected.

Chances are good you’ve never heard of Half Nelson, but it’s the kind of small, independent movie you should seek out as the weather turns cooler and the “better” movies come out.

It’s a film about a guy named Dan (Ryan Gosling, who you might know from The Notebook), who teaches eighth grade in New York City and also has an awful addiction to cocaine. In the classroom, he’s largely in control and the students seem to actually respect him. Out of class, however, he’s a mess. Continue reading →

Sometimes I feel like I see movies so you don’t have to. That’s not to say that School for Scoundrels is soooo bad. But considering it’s directed and co-written by the guy who did Old School and features a cast including Billy Bob Thornton, Sarah Silverman, David Cross, and Jon Heder, it’s a bit of a disappointment that it’s not terribly good. Heder plays Roger, a timid traffic cop who enrolls in a confidence class taught by Dr. P (Thornton). Roger’s attitude changes so much that Dr. P engages Roger in a game of one-upmanship to see who can win the affection of Amanda (Jacinda Barrett — yes, her again), a woman who lives in Roger’s building who he has a crush on. Anyway, the film has a couple good laughs and it’s nice to see Heder playing a person, not a character, but other than that, ehhhhh. School for Scoundrels gets a C. It’s out on September 29. Don’t bother.

Michael, the character Zach Braff plays in The Last Kiss, has a pretty sweet life, and he knows it.

He’s got a good job, great friends, and a beautiful girlfriend named Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) who loves him and who is carrying their child.

But Jenna wants to get married and buy a house, so Michael is getting antsy and nervous about the way his life is not just inching but sprinting toward more responsibility. Wasn’t it just yesterday that he was a twentysomething and didn’t have a care in the world? Now Michael is about to turn 30 and adulthood responsibilities await. Continue reading →

Best news story I heard today:
Rattlers Freed in Snakes on a Plane Theater Prank

PHOENIX (Reuters) — Life imitating art is all very well. Unless, that is, it’s a movie about deadly snakes on the rampage.
Movie chain AMC Entertainment Inc. said pranksters at one of its Phoenix theaters released two live diamondback rattlesnakes during a showing of the film Snakes on a Plane last Friday. No one was injured…. (read the rest here)

A local video report on the story is here.

This is perhaps the only thing that could have made the movie more enjoyable for me. I love this story!

I have to admit, I had one of the best moviegoing experiences of the year when I went to see Snakes on a Plane on Saturday. I mean, sure, the guys in the back row who were hissing all through the movie (including the trailers) and who were trying to do a call-and-response cheer of “Snakes!” “On a Plane!” before it started became a little much, but really, this is a totally fun movie that completely lives up to the hype and is actually worth seeing.

And if you see it with the right kind of crowd, as I did, one that was totally into it (and I, personally, was quite excited to see the movie), you’ll like it even more. Continue reading →