Hamlet 2 (#6)

In a summer that has been hyped as big for comedy I was under whelmed by two of the biggest hits. Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. Although different in tone, both lacked that quotable, better on repeated viewing, push the boundaries and surprise you with a laugh that sneaks up on you quality that I had expected from both. Where I felt let down by both of those movies, Hamlet 2 delivers.

From Pam Brady and Andy Fleming, two South Park writers, who worked on the tv show, movie, and Team America, Hamlet 2 spotlights a really exceptional Brittish comic named Steve Coogan. Coogan plays a failed actor, turned high school drama teacher, who takes his drama program getting shut down as an opportunity to stage his opus.

The plot is pretty standard, but clever parody on a couple of movie clichés; the teacher inspiring his students to success, the community coming together to make a work of art, a likable loser persevering in the end. It feels like it shouldn’t work, but it really does. Coogan, who I haven’t seen in anything before, but understand he’s a notable comic performer in England, really holds the whole movie together. His performance is a really unique mix of wide-eyed hopefulness, unhinged manic behavior, and quick clever one liners. Think a mix of Steve Carrel from the Office, Will Ferrell, and Stan’s dad Randy on South Park.

The movie is also full of strong supporting comic turns. Catherine Keener plays Coogans unsupportive wife. Amy Poheler plays a feisty ACLU attorney who helps make sure the show goes on. And in a surprising and enjoyable role, Elizabeth Shue, plays Elizabeth Shue, in a wry and self deprecating performance.

Hamlet 2 was really enjoyable. It was silly and clever, with great comedic performances, and some really clever and memorable lines. I'll definitely keep an eye out on more from Steve Coogan or this writing team.

Dear Zachary (#5)

This one made a few best documentary of the year lists, so when I noticed that MSNBC was broadcasting it, I put my DVR to work and saved it. (Turns out MSNBC picked it up as a distributor, and is now showing it fairly often)

Going in all I knew was the basic premise, that the filmmaker was "writing a letter" to his best friends son, following his fathers' murder. I found the film to be ghoulish at times, and more news magazine special then serious documentary. Visually it seemed to borrow a lot from 20/20 type production values which doesn't help to differentiate it. The story has tragic twists and turns, but throughout seems to be confused about the story its telling. What begins as a celebration of his friends life, turns into a graphic account of his murder and it's aftermath, which seemed to undermine it's premise. After a crucial revelation which I won't ruin here, the documentary morphs again to a advocacy argument for victims rights and bail reform. The filmmaker attempts to pull all the threads together by focusing in on his friends parents, but it doesn't quite come together.

Sex and The City: The Movie (#4)

Sex and the City- The Moive-  This movie was 18 hours long. Honestly it was like a miniseries. That said I didn’t hate it. The first half really seemed like a victory lap, hitting on all the familiarities of the series for long time fans, and it wasn’t really until the second half that the plot kicks and you get some character advancement. All in all some funny bits, and solid story albeit with some really obvious foreshadowing, that fans of the show probably enjoyed a lot more then the uninitiated or uninterested.

Milk (#3)

MILK- Directed with a delicate and poetic touch by Gus Van Sant, with strong performances from a deeply talented cast, and anchored by perhaps the best performance of Sean Penn’s career, this may very well be the best movie of the year.  Milk is altogether an incendiary call to stand against injustice, inspiring biopic, history lesson, and inspirational call for hope and meaningful change through political action. Van Sant deftly cuts between documentary footage and photographic images from the media, which gives the story a powerful context that calls to mind not only the complexity of what Milk accomplished , but also how similar the contemporary political debate around gay marriage is. The only misstep, to nit pick a fine movie, was the wheelchair bound gay adolescent who calls Milk out of the blue, seemingly too coincidently, at his, not one, but two lowest moments in the movie. The character clearly is intended to inspire hope to our hero, reminding him why he is making the personal sacrifices he is, so he can inspire others. MILK is too good for such an on the nose moment, that I found distracting and not needed.

As an aside, I ask, is there a better actor working today then Sean Penn?  I’m eagerly awaiting the Spicoli as an adult movie that the world demands.

Valkyrie (#2)

Valkyrie- I was kinda meh on this one right after I saw it, but like it even less now that I’m sitting down to write this. I think it was problematic on a number of levels. I think the deck is staked against a movie like this to begin with. How do build suspense successfully in a movie about the plot to kill Hitler, when you kinda already know how that works out? Despite the intricacies of a plan, that was an assassination and a coup of the Nazi government, not a lot happens. There is a lot of talking, and walking, and then more talking, culminating in some shouting and then running.  Tom Cruise was kind of personality-less, and didn’t really carry the movie well. A range of great charcter actors like Bill Nighy, Terrence Stamp, and Eddie Izzard aren’t given much to do.  Very forgettable.

Kung Fu Panda (#1)

Kung Fu Panda- This was a nice surprise, from the appreciated clever use of the word awesome in the opening credits, to the exceptional character design, and well paced action; it was pretty enjoyable from start to finish. This was a great role for Jack Black, whose Jack Blackness was reigned in, more like School of Rock, then the awful Tropic Thunder performance. One nit pick would be somewhat pointless celebrity voice casting of all the supporting characters that had few, or no lines. Why cast Jackie Chan as a Monkey and then not let him say anything. The only thing that kept this from being a great animated movie was a clarity of theme or “message” in an unforced way.  The whole “there is no secret ingredient”, seemed a little awkward and not as effective as a culminating realization for the hero, should be. Overall though, it was enjoyable for its outstanding visuals, and silliness.