The Muppets

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  When a greedy oil tycoon (Chris Cooper) threatens to take over the old Muppet Show Theater, Kermit the Frog teams up with two human fans (Jason Segal and Amy Adams) to reunite the old Muppet gang and put on a show to save the theater.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Alan Arkin, Jack Black, Jim Parsons, Sarah Silverman, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Gonzo, Beaker, Swedish Chef, Scooter, Miss Poogy
Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It’s a Disney-fied version of the Muppets and if you enjoyed the old Muppet Show there are a few moments in this movie that will remind you of the off-beat wackiness of that show’s best moments. Short of that, this version of The Muppets skews more “kiddie” and simplistic than past Muppet versions. The Toy Story short that screens first will remind you of how well Pixar has created ‘kid films’ that appeal equally to adults. Unfortunately, it makes us acutely aware of how much The Muppets does not walk that line.
Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It’s not bust-out-loud laugh inducing, but there are some good chuckles here and there. I do seem to recall Miss Piggy being funnier than she is in this movie though.
Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I’m pretty sure it wanted to and it tries really hard. But the only thing that effort elicited in me was a discussion with my friend afterwards about past films that have made us cry. (My top #1: Rudy.)
Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I can’t think of a single one unless some union gives them out for puppeteering: The Puppet Union?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I can’t stand Jason Segal so it’s unfortunate he’s the main human driving this story. Amy Adams is normally great in most films she’s in, but sort of wasted here. Thankfully more screen time is given to the Muppets than any human and they all act as well as you remember any Muppet acting. Back to Jason Segal though: one of the best things about the Muppets was their interaction with human guest stars on their show. To that end, I wish they had a more interesting – or funnier – human at the center of this story. Jack Black would have been much better, because all his scenes with the Muppets are way funnier than Jason’s.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I didn’t really notice it much in either a good way or bad, so I guess it disappeared enough and got out of the way enough to be considered… “meh.”

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The general idea of the story is spot on because it calls for the Muppets to reunite and put their show on again. And the Muppet Show was a truly great show. The problem is it takes a little too long to get there and everything leading up to it isn’t very funny. Or, well, not as funny as the actual show. There’s also a big deal made out of the basic plot points, which really dumbs down the movie in a needless way. Lastly, most of the original songs aren’t very good; although a barbershop quartet rendition of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit captures the irreverent brilliance of what the old Muppet Show was like on a weekly basis.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: The Muppets Trailer

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The Trip

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A possible documentary or improvised comedy about a food tour of Northern England that comedian Steve Coogan (Steve Coogan) goes on with comedian Rob Brydon (Rob Brydon), because in this, they're not just comedians, they're also food critics.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley, Rebecca Johnson, Dolya Gavanski, Kerry Shale, with cameos by Paul Popplewell and Ben Stiller

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The dynamics between Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are so pure, that you feel like a fly on the wall of their strange friendship. But it is repetitive and has no story.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I just found out that this movie was based on a British TV series of the same name, with the same actors. That's mostly funny because Steve Coogan, who plays himself, spends most of the movie turning down TV acting jobs because he only wants to do films!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, if you go on an empty stomach, you will cry at the fact that they are on a culinary tour of England's best cuisine, and you are hungry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Most Scallops. They are served platter after delicious looking platter of seared scallops. At first, you become pretty sure that you will go eat some just like that as soon as this movie is over. But by the end, you're so sick of looking at scallops, and you will decide to eat pretty much anything else instead.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: These guys do impressions. Then they do more impressions. As impressive as their impressions are, I really hate impressions.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Michael Winterbottom pulls off the feeling that you are watching a documentary better than any of the other fake documentaries I've seen this week. And I've seen three. Yeah, because something you may not know about me, is that I see about twice as many movies as I write about-- which I realize makes me officially insane, all while proving that I have virtually no life.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: No way! This movie has a script? I'd have to see that to believe it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: The Trip Trailer

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Paul

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A couple of English nerds (Simon Pegg & Nick Frost), who are in America for Comic Con, encounter an Alien named Paul (Seth Rogen), who is on the run from Area 51, and then, the English guys decide that it would be a good idea to help Paul get back home.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Jo Lo Truglio, Sigourney Weaver, John Carroll Lynch, Jane Lynch, Blythe Danner, David Koechner, Jesse Plemons, Jeffrey Tambor, Steven Spielberg (on the phone)

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Don't let the slow start scare you, once it gets going, you won't want it to ever stop.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I went for the Hot Fuzz duo, but I stayed for the funny alien.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but if you have strong religious beliefs, it's probably going to piss you off.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Comedy Central is finally putting together the Comedy Awards, in order to compete with the Tragedy Awards, also known as the Oscars, and so far, Paul is the front-runner to sweep the new show.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Turns out, I'm not sick of Seth Rogen, after all.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Greg Mottola is lucky that he's friends with more talented writers than himself, because when given a good script, his work is not half bad.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Great for nerds because they will be able to pick out references to every sci-fi film and TV series ever made. And great for everybody else because they will be able to laugh at how lame it is to be so nerdy that you can recognize references to every sci-fi film and TV series ever made.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Paul Trailer

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Due Date

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: On the way to his baby's birth, an angry man (Robert Downey Jr.) has the misfortune of crossing paths with a blissfully unaware idiot (Zach Galifianakis), and before they know it, their paths to Los Angeles become inexorably linked.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride, RZA, Matt Walsh, Todd Phillips, and Sunny the Dog in the part of Sonny the Dog.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. While there are enough laughs and emotion to satisfy most comedy fans, the story's forward motion relies on your suspension of disbelief, not once but about 10 times. And sometimes, when you have to suspend disbelief that much, it can snap you right out of the movie.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Enough. But not at the line from the trailer, "Chiggety-check yourself before you wreck yourself," because that stopped being either funny or original circa 1994, when you, I, and everyone we know used it so much that we wore out its welcome.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you're afraid of heights, there's a long scene that will probably make you a little queasy.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: To me this is the Best Zombie Movie of the year, because there are several incidents where the characters could only have come out alive if they were living dead.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: This a-hole character is not flattering to RDJ, and I found myself actively missing Tony Stark. Zach Galifianakis though, actually has a few surprisingly powerful dramatic moments. Based on this performance, I would consider casting him in a serious dramatic role. I'm not joking.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Todd Phillips gave himself a role in this movie, and nailed the tone of the character perfectly. Which is especially impressive when you consider that he didn't really nail the tone of the movie itself. The tone of the movie is trying to be broad-- which would've forgiven the frequent suspension of disbelief moments-- but aside from a few of the jokes, it's not.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The hardest thing about writing a movie in the vein of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, is figuring out how you're going to justify keeping the two characters together, despite the fact that they're not getting along. Some writers come up with solid justifications. These writers did that a few times, and then just got bored with logic... Then again, who needs logic when you can fall back on suspension of disbelief.

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

A: The Soundtrack. I turned to the person next to me at least three times to mention how much I liked a song that was playing. I know what you're thinking, "Shame on you, Monique, for talking during a movie!" And I agree with you. I'm ashamed.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/due-date/38944/trailers

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White Wedding

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A groom (Kenneth Nkosi) and his best man (Rapulana Seiphemo) try to make it from Johannesburg to Cape Town, to be on time for the wedding, but everything seems to be going wrong.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kenneth Nkosi, Rapulana Seiphemo, Jodie Whittaker, Zandile Msutwana, Sylvia Mngxekeza, Mbulelo Grootboom, Marcel Van Heerden, Grant Swanby

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's cute for a South African rom-com, but Americans would have done it better. And they have.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: What it lacks in laugh out loud comedy, it makes up for in charm.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: What's sad about it, is learning that there are still groups of people who mourn the loss of apartheid openly and without shame.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was South Africa's submission for this year's Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Feature category. I can see why they lost.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I watched Rapulana Seiphemo play a bad ass gangster, earlier this year, in Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema, so it was fun to watch him in a comedy role. The rest of the acting is decent, but some of their accents make them sound like they are having a hard time speaking English.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Aside from one nice transition where everyone is washing their faces, Jann Turner's directing is completely banal.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: This is the aspect that I'm talking about, when I say that Americans would've done it better. From Forces of Nature, to Leap Year, to the upcoming Due Date, to the John Hughes film that started it all, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Americans have made this movie a million times, but with stronger comedy and more moving emotional parts. Then again, there's something to be said for the cultural differences that a South African sensibility brings to the party.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/white-wedding/1430268/trailers

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The Yellow Handkerchief

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Three lonely strangers (William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, Eddie Redmayne) end up together on a road trip, each of them searching for the love that isn't where they came from.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, Eddie Redmayne, Maria Bello

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. People are strange when you're a stranger. This pretty much sums it up. But Jim Morrison may have said it with more feeling.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I heard some people in the theater laugh once, and it jolted me out of the movie, like a sound I couldn't recognize in the context of my experience.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's sad that people are so desperate for love that they will take whatever is right in front of them, only because it's less disappointing than whatever had been right in front of them in the past.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Only movie this year named after a color and a decorative body draping that isn't nominated for an Oscar. (I'm contrasting it with The White Ribbon, she said, well aware that if you have to explain your joke, it probably isn't that funny to begin with, but desperately trying to prove that theory wrong... only to further prove it absolutely correct.)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Kristen Stewart is a one trick pony... it's not a terrible trick, but it does get redundant.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Udayan Prasad weaves clearly between the past and the present, as the mystery behind why William Hurt's character started the story in jail is revealed.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The reasoning behind each character's motivations for staying, leaving, running away, and coming back are vague at best. I could read into them and decide for myself what each person was driven by, but I don't relate enough to people this marginal to try to wager a guess... My God, did that sentence make me sound like an elitist snob! I'm sorry, marginal people of the world. Oh, no, I'm only making it worse! That does it, I'm locking my mouth shut... for today.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-yellow-handkerchief/32578/trailers

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