The Other Guys

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A couple of buddy cops who hate each other (Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg) try to prove that they are not the two most incompetent police officers who ever lived.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Will Ferrel, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendez, Steve Coogan, Rob Riggle, Damon Wayans, Jr., Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Stevenson, Bobby Cannavale, Andy Buckley, Lindsay Sloane, Natalie Zea, Anne Heche, Michael Delaney

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! As far as Will Ferrell movies go, this one actually has a story. And yes, I admit that my expectations for his movies are so low that I may be being more lenient than I normally am.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Prepare for usual stupid, wacky Will Ferrel comedy stylings, which often make no logical sense, and yet seem to catch on like The Macarena.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but when people fall from tall buildings, you actually get to see them hitting the ground... So that's disturbing.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I think it's going to be up for the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for the mind blowing stats and charts during the credit sequence that point out exactly how badly we were screwed by the banks in the financial collapse. What, you didn't know this was a message movie?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: First of all Mark Wahlberg is hilarious in this. His curmudgeonliness reminded me of Mr. Roper from Three's Company, the way he would smile through intense annoyance, unable to hide his insincerity. And Will Ferrell's jokes are always funnier when they come from a character who is sweet, naive, and innocent, as they do in this film, than when they come from that unlikeble cocky, bastard place, as they do in some of his less well developed films. I am always happy to see him in a character that highlights his strength. Sadly, I didn't think Steve Coogan was exploited to the best of his abilities.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Adam McKay, who directs most of Will Ferrell's movies, succeeded in making it look like a Will Ferrell movie.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I was ecstatic to see that there was one, even if it contained several moments, emotions, and jokes that have no basis in reality.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-other-guys/38655/trailers

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Despicable Me

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An evil villain (Steve Carell) attempts to steal the Moon, in a last ditch effort to prove that he's the best bad guy in the world, but his plans start to falter when 3 orphan girls come into his life.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, Jack McBrayer, Jemaine Clement, Danny McBride, Mindy Kaling, and the Minions

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Whatever the story departments in the animation world are doing, live action development people should figure it out and start imitating it as soon as possible. In some of these animated movies, it almost feels like someone cared about the user experience... and these are the movies that are supposed to be for little kids, you know, those small-sized people with completely undeveloped minds.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Most of the cleverness is in the details, so pay very close attention.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It goes so far as to make you say, "Awwww." Out loud.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As enthusiastic as I may seem about this movie, it's not that good.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was impressed with Steve Carell's accent-- not because I could place what country it was supposed to be from, but because it totally made you forget that it was Steve Carell. Same goes for Russell Brand, who really sounds old. But it goes without saying that the best voice comes from Elsie Fisher, a little girl who can't be more than 8-years-old, and should be able to parlay this into being the next Dakota Fanning.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Pretty standard.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The writers do a nice job of creating an antihero with a backstory that makes you sympathize with him. They quickly establish how mean he is, then suddenly show you why, then the plot sets in motion, and emotionally, you understand what a guy like this is getting out of hanging around a bunch of little girls. The girls are also established in such a way that you buy that they would be accepting of this man's strange home and lifestyle.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/despicable-me/36148/trailers

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Amreeka

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Palestinian woman (Nisreen Faour) and her son (Melkar Muallem) move to America to escape the oppression of being held prisoners in their own land, only to encounter a new level of racism in their new country, which has just overthrown Saddam Hussein and declared war on Iraq.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Jenna Kawar, Selena Haddad, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Andrew Sannie, Daniel Boiteau, Brodie Sanderson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's a decent depiction of anti-Arab sentiment in America, and it almost manages to draw you in.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Culture Clash is always a little bit funny... Especially when it involves White Castle Burgers.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: What these people are going through, just based on the color of their skin, is heartbreaking and it should make you cry. But the film never goes for any real tear-jerking moments, and so, it doesn't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which had a lot to do with why I wanted to see it. Now that I have, I understand why it didn't win.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Oh, those people were actors? If it hadn't been for the presence of Maeby from Arrested Development, I never would have known.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Very simple and very fine.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's an interesting story, and it's done very well, but I've seen it done in more gut-wrenching ways.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/amreeka/

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Drag Me to Hell

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A loan officer (Alison Lohman) makes a fatal mistake when she doesn’t approve an old woman for a loan and gets a supernatural curse placed on her that makes her life a living hell.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymar, Reggie Lee

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It’s scary, it’s funny and gross as hell (of the PG-13 variety). And you’re in the talented, masterful hands of a filmmaker who knows this genre inside and out. Grab your bucket of popcorn and 10 gallons of soda and go scream with two-hundred other people and have a great time. This is why we go to the movies, right?

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes. It’ll make you laugh in two ways, 1: Nervous laughter cause you know things are about to go horribly wrong and 2. Genuine laughter because the filmmakers meant for you to laugh.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Does projectile vomiting make you weep? If so, bring Kleenex.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Probably not, but I’d rather see Sam Raimi win something for this than a Spider-Man movie.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush, the gypsy woman who puts a curse on Alison Lohman, is brilliant. She’s all sorts of creepy-scary and her dentures alone will give you nightmares. And just wait till her eyelid gets stapled shut. Awesome! Also, I would be remiss not to mention a goat in this movie that is weirdly expressive and gets some good laughs.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Before becoming a mega-director overseeing the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi made some cool horror movies in his early career and it’s obvious he’s having a great time returning to that genre with this film. If you’ve seen any of his Evil Dead movies, then you’ll have an idea of the tone of this one and what constitutes Sam Raimi Horror. He knows how to keep it suspenseful, scary and funny without the gross-out of severed limbs and tons of blood. Drag Me To Hell offers up a bunch of sequences that will make you want to hurl, but your revulsion will be tempered by how much you’re laughing. A five-minute sequence in a parking garage near the beginning of the film is worth the price of admission alone; it has to be seen to be believed.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There is just enough back-story mumbo jumbo about the curse to make it work, and that’s about all this movie really needs to get you hooked. The humor (mainly from Justin Long) is appreciated and the plot zips along fast enough so that you don’t think too much about any plot holes or if Alison Lohman’s character really deserves the curse she incurs. I wish the twist had been cleverer – it’s not hard to figure out – but it doesn’t detract one bit from a great ending that still comes as a nice surprise. With a title like Drag Me To Hell, don’t expect this movie to wimp out for even one second of its 99 minutes.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/drag-me-to-hell/32362/trailers

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Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A fat, pathetic loser (Kevin James) falls for a girl who's way out of his league, and despite her rejection, puts his life on the line to save her from a robbery in which she is taken hostage. Do girls ever really fall for that old trick?

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Raini Rodriguez, Shirley Knight, Stephen Rannazzisi, Peter Gerety, Bobby Cannavale, Adam Ferrara, Allen Covert, Jamal Mixon, Adhir Kalyan, Erick Avari

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you're the kind of person who laughs at absolutely anything, this movie is for you. If you have standards of any kind, skip it. And separately, if that giant tub of man hadn't done 9 years on TV as the King of Queens, that girl wouldn't give him the time of day, even if he did save her life. She'd say thank you, and ask if they could be friends... Just in case she happened upon an unattractive lonely woman to set him up with.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you find an hour and a half of a guy riding around on a Segway funny, all I can say is... Your mother must be very proud.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I will say this, it is very depressing.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Yes, First Mall Cop Movie to Come Out this Year. (Seth Rogen has one coming soon called Observe and Report, which will undoubtedly be compared to this. Without having seen it, I can guarantee that the Seth Rogen one is better.)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The ninja gymnastics was the best thing the acting had going for it. I don't know who decided that ninja skateboarders, bmx riders, and half-pipe-riding roller skaters would make for a compelling band of robbers, but if you overlook the ridiculousness of it all, you will notice that their stunts are still more interesting than the parts of the acting that involve words.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: In the scene in the Rainforest Cafe, where Blart takes down the grand majority of the bad guys, you have no idea how he got them. Why? Because the director doesn't show us those parts. Why doesn't he? My guess is because they had run out of ideas by that point in the script. After all, it's not so easy to convince an audience that an out of shape Mall Cop could take on 6 athletic ninja villains, who are all coming at him at once, and win.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: While it couldn't be more lowbrow if it had been a straight to DVD movie, it did have a few clever moments in which Paul Blart had to "outsmart" (in quotes) the robbers, in order to take them down. Considering how much money it's made, you probably have a friend who's already seen it, so maybe you can just get the Cliff's Notes from him.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: They somehow forgot to mention in the promos that this was a Christmas movie. Maybe because there's no more relevant time to put out a Christmas movie than 2 weeks after Christmas is over. God I hate January movies.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/paul-blart-mall-cop/31338/trailers

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