Tower Heist

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  When a group of high-rise employees lose their pension to a Ponzi scheme that one of their tenants got them involved in, they hatch a plan to rob the money back from the white collar criminal.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A:  Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe, Tea Leoni, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nina Arianda, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Juan Carlos Hernandez,

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Go!  It doesn't suck.  And at this point, that's good enough for me!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  It's more of a light-hearted heist movie than a comedy, so don't be surprised if you don't laugh as much as you would in another Ben Stiller comedy.  And by another Ben Stiller comedy, I mean Zoolander, because let's be honest, most of the rest of them aren't all that funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A:  There's one part where Alan Alda explains why he (as a rich man) matters more than they do (as average incomed people).  That's sad because rich people really think this way, and they're wrong.  The only time they matter anymore than the rest of us is when they're giving their money away for a good cause. 

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  No, but speaking of awards, don't you think it's interesting that after the Oscar Awards producer, Brett Ratner, who happens to be the director of this movie made a homophobic slur, that caused him to resign, which caused the host, Eddie Murphy, who happens to be the star of this movie, to drop out, that Brian Grazer, who happens to be the producer of this movie quickly stepped in to replace Brett Ratner as the Producer of the Oscars.  No one has mentioned this, but here's my analysis of why Brian Grazer suddenly decided that he had to take on this thankless job: P.R. emergency.   Grazer, who I'm assuming never really wanted the job of producing the Oscars, is taking a bullet for the team, so that this movie, and his company, Imagine, don't continue to get the bad rap that started when Vince Vaughn had a similar debacle due to what some called a "slur" in the trailer for The Dilemma, and has been followed up with a series of high-profile flops, including Cowboys & Aliens.  Tower Heist is the first Imagine movie in some time to make any money, and Grazer has no choice but to save its face, by tying a positive image to someone involved with the movie (himself).  The happiest news, though, is that he somehow landed the best Oscar host of all time, Billy Crystal.  And by "somehow," I'm sure I mean, "Paying him way more money than anyone has ever been offered to host the Oscars before." (Disclaimer: The above paragraph is all hearsay, made up by me...  But think about it.)

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  Ben Stiller isn't annoying, even one single time.  Eddie Murphy is funny for the first time since Beverly Hills Cop II, and Michael Pena is quickly making his way to the top of my hilarious actors' list.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  Everyone thinks Brett Ratner is a really funny guy, because he bangs all those chicks on Entourage and looks like an older Jonah Hill, but most of his movies are much more serious than you remember (see: The Family Man.)

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  The script had me wondering how they were gonna pull things off, and even sometimes thinking they were clever in the way they did it.  All that, while being simple enough to make screenwriting look easy-- which is one of the hardest things to do when you're writing a script.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Tower Heist Trailer

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Funny People

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A famous actor (Adam Sandler) is diagnosed with a fatal disease, so he goes back to his stand-up comedy roots and hires an aspiring comedian (Seth Rogen) as a joke writer, but we all know that secretly, he's really hired this assistant to be his only friend.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, RZA, Aziz Ansari, Torsten Voges

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This realistic comedy about a serious subject matter is not as funny or broad as Apatow's usual fare, but it's not meant to be. In fact, if it weren't for all the jokes about male genitalia, this might almost pass for a movie by James L. Brooks.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: A lot more than a movie that some people are calling a "drama" should. And strangely, some of the biggest laughs come from easy listening singer, James Taylor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Probably not, but Rogen has a pretty funny crying scene at The Palm restaurant. He ruins The Palm.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If Apatow is truly trying to follow in the footsteps of James L. Brooks-- which I believe he very consciously is-- then Academy Award nominations are definitely in his mind's eye. The only thing standing in his way now is his inner teenager. You know, the one who insists on using every male character to describe all the facets of having a dingaling and every imaginable thing that can be done with it. Audiences like those jokes, but the Academy has a hard time taking them seriously.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Back for seconds, the Apatow sisters, Maude and Iris, once again steal every scene they're in. Everyone else pretty much repeats their usual shtick-- which is a good thing, since we all seem to like it so much. And there's something about Jason Schwatzman in this one that isn't quite so abrasive. You still won't like his character, but it's not as easy as it looks to hate him.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: In the opening scenes, you can tell that Apatow is trying to step up his game and be seen as more than just a comedy guy. But his existing success has put him in a position where the studios can no longer tell him to keep his movies under 2hrs, which is too bad for him, because at 2 1/2 hours, it would have been a better film if someone had forced him to rein it in.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The portrayal of the loneliness of being a rich and famous person is touching and relatable, even to those of us who are not famous. But the extended running time comes from having an indulgent story structure, which tells one story, and just as we think the film is going to wrap up, launches into a whole second story, introducing several important new characters, and going in a direction that is interesting, but not necessary. Had these two stories been intertwined, the film would have been both shorter and stronger.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/funny-people/33221/trailers

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Lymelife

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Set during the late 70s, a fifteen-year-old boy grapples with first love while dealing with a chaotic home life involving his constantly quarreling parents.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, Jill Hennessy, Kieran Culkin, Cynthia Nixon

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is a paint-by-numbers ‘indie’ developed through the Sundance Institute which helps explain its pedigree both in front of and behind the cameras (e.g. Martin Scorsese is a producer on it). You’ve seen variations on it before many times, and since this film is dated, I'm going to allow myself to use a dated joke: I liked this movie the first time I saw it, when it was called The Ice Storm.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The other reviewers make it sound like a yuck-fest from beginning to end-- don’t believe them! It's not a comedy, which isn't to say that you won't chuckle here and there-- if you’re paying attention.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if you’re intimate with the horror that is lyme disease.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Coming out in April…? Despite fine performances, I would guess that the distributors of this film have written off major award consideration.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: It’s a terrific cast and they all give terrific performances. Rory Culkin is in just about every scene – it’s very much his film – and his angular, oddly handsome face perfectly expresses the confusion, anger and bemusement of a 15 year-old boy going through major life-changes. The revelation is Emma Roberts (Julia’s niece) as the precocious love object of Rory’s affections. She goes from sexy to vulnerable – and everything in between – within the heartbeat of a single scene (multiple times) breaking down every stereotype of a 16 year-old teenager that ever existed. The adults are all good too – even Timothy Hutton in a pointless and thankless supporting role.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Apparently this is a pretty low-budget film, but it looks really good – getting the Long Island setting period detail (late 70s) just right. The film is small and intimate, and the direction is given over to letting the performances shine and in that regard it’s more than competent. The tone is also consistent but it’s not as ‘quirky funny’ as the filmmakers probably think it is.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: So about a half-hour into this you start to realize there’s no plot and maybe – unlike myself – you are fine with that because you rarely expect indie films to have plots because supposedly a plot would not make it very ‘indie.’ I miss having plots when they aren’t there regardless of what kind of movie it is. This movie would have been better with a plot, but as ‘coming-of-age’/'slice-of-life’ films go, it’s fine and will most likely hold your interest thanks to Rory Culkin and Emma Robert’s performances.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/lymelife/trailers

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