Get Him to the Greek

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An aspiring music exec (Jonah Hill) has to get a famous rock star (Russell Brand) from London to Los Angeles in three days, without getting side tracked by drugs, sex, or the rock star's insane membrane.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elizabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Colm Meaney, Aziz Anzari, Lars Ulrich, Lino Facioli, Nick Kroll, Dinah Stabb, T.J. Miller, Carla Gallo

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you liked The Hangover, you'll like this drug induced extended party sequence a little less than that one.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Clearly I see too many movies and I'm jaded because everyone else laughed a lot more than I did. Then again, I hardly laughed in The Hangover either. Shhhh. Don't tell.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: You won't, but according to the dialogue, Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica, can cry for 3 hours straight. On a more observational note, I thought it was clever that they had Russell Brand fall in a pool right before the scene where he's supposedly crying, because once his face is covered in water, it's harder to tell, that as an actor, he can't actually cry. I still noticed.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Best product Placement for a New Drug. I wonder how much money the drug dealer's union kicked in for that Jeffery sponsorship?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: My friend Meredith liked Russell Brand more as a bit part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I thought the character was still funny (even though I didn't laugh), and it was nice to see a deeper side to the comic relief character. Jonah Hill, for once not standing next to Michael Cera, gets his chance to play the put-upon innocent whom stuff just happens to, and he's unexpectedly good at it. But he really needs to lose some weight before I'll buy that he can get a girlfriend.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Nick Stoller, who never directed anything before Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is clearly getting more comfortable behind the camera, as he can be seen here experimenting more, especially when it comes to creating that drugged out POV.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: A lot of jokes try to make up for a total lack of substance. Despite the supposed urgency of getting him to the Greek, we never feel that the stakes are very high, because in a worst case scenario, Jonah Hill will lose his job, and at a certain point, we're not so sure that he cares about that anymore.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/get-him-to-the-greek/38930/trailers

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Behind the Burly Q

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Talking head documentary about the birth, life, and death of Burlesque in America.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: A bunch of very old sexy ladies and Alan Alda.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! While the subject matter should be fascinating, the film is so poorly compiled, that you almost had to be there to know who's who. This reduces the demographic to men over 70, and since that's about the age when most people get some form of dementia or Alzheimer's, that reduces the audience to about 3 people.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I found the amount of plastic surgery on these ex-burlesque dancers to be humorous. But don't get me wrong, some of them looked hot!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's a problem for me that it's not emotionally compelling, despite the fact that most of these women tell the devastatingly horrible stories of the childhoods which led them to taking off their clothes for money... Well, I guess some things never change.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I was very impressed with the eyelashes. Obviously they were falsies, but they came in so many different shapes and sizes, that it seemed like women could really express themselves with the eyelashes they chose. Kind of like how we use shoes these days.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Not dissimilarly to today, most of these showgirls were failed actresses, so it's not surprising that they discussed their sordid pasts on camera like it was the most important accomplishment anyone had ever achieved. But actually, it did sound like an interesting life of travel and hard work, if you don't count the part about having to take off your clothes for a bunch of lecherous men who are objectifying you in their minds.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Leslie Zemeckis' ability to acquire archival footage is impressive, but her ability to put it together into a story that makes sense and is easy to follow leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the time, I had no idea who the talking heads were talking about or what the talker's significance was in the burlesque movement. Were the women interviewed the biggest stars? Were they the girls on the sidelines who watched the big stars make it, while they stood in the wings? If I had been told upfront, even just that, I would have become more involved in the whole thing. Most of the time I didn't even know who was talking. It got tiring, and then it started to feel too long.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It does get you thinking about how when you grow old you lose your secret weapon of beauty, and how tough that is for those of us who have learned to rely on our good looks to get what we want. There are also a lot of interesting tidbits about history, but it's just not strong enough to be watched as anything more than a television documentary on the History Channel, and I have no idea how it got theatrical distribution.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=189Zme-Ioh8

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Date Night

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A boring married couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) go out on a date in Manhattan and try to make it special. When they can't get a table at the fancy restaurant they're pretending to care about, they take someone else's reservation, and get caught up in a case of mistaken identity that finds them running from both cops and robbers.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Walberg, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Leighton Meester, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Bill Burr, Ray Liotta, J.B. Smoove, Jonathan Morgan Heit, Savannah Argenti

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Steve Carell and Tina Fey make such a great couple, you'll wish they were married in real life.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Steve Carell and Tina Fey make such a funny couple, you'll wish they were married to you in real life.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Steve Carell and Tina Fey make such a touching couple, you'll wish you were them in real life.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: They'll win Cutest Couple in the 2010 Hollywood Senior Poll. And there is a Senior Poll, because everyone knows that Hollywood is just like high school. Except that in Hollywood, "Senior" obviously means that Steve Carell and Tina Fey are very, very old.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Because she's such a hilarious writer, and because she seems to have fallen into acting completely by accident, I've always had a hard time taking Tina Fey seriously as a performer. But you know what? She's really God damned funny.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: At 88 minutes, I'm always a fan of a film where the director knows to get in, get out, and leaves you wanting more.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Steve Carell and Tina Fey make such a great couple, you'll wish that in real life, people sometimes remembered that the writer came up with most of the cute, loving, and clever dialogue they exchange.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/date-night/37547/trailers

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Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Zack and Miri (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks), who have been best friends since the first grade and are currently roommates, realize that the only way they're going make their rent and get their heat and water turned back on is to make a porno... What they don't realize is that sex is called "F*#cking" because it always f*#ks everything up.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Gerry Bednob, Jeff Anderson, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Traci Lords, Justin Long, Brandon Routh, Tisha Campbell-Martin

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Don't expect a Judd Apatow film, just because it stars Seth Rogen. This is a Kevin Smith film, with Kevin Smith humor-- which can be recognized by the fact that there are just as many swear words, but only half the cleverness. That said, if you like Kevin Smith, this is one of his better movies, and you should see it.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Again, if you like Kevin Smith, you'll laugh a lot. For people with higher standards, there are just enough laughs so you don't leave angry-- which is nice.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but there is a scene which rivals 2 girls 1 cup, so that's gross. But the good news is the scene in this movie loses the challenge.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Title Most Likely to Garner Free Publicity from People Least Likely to see it.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: You always forget how funny Jason Mewes is, because he never does anything besides Kevin Smith films and rehab. Craig Robinson, who has been creating a signature style since Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, officially catapults himself into the comedy elite with this role. And Elizabeth Banks is prettier than she's ever been before-- which is especially strange considering these characters have no money for water to shower or electricity to blow dry, and yet her curls are always perfect.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I have to say, this is the area in which Kevin Smith has shown the most improvement over the years. I used to get annoyed by the fact that he wasn't upgrading his indy-style shooting to match his studio-style paychecks. But this one actually looks like a studio movie, and nothing about the directing annoyed me.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you know the title-- which you do-- it's mostly predictable. The set-up works well and is originally done, but once they get into making the porn there's not much that happens that you didn't see coming. (Pun unintended, and yet perfectly be-fitting.)

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

A: This movie is rated R despite the fact that it's about shooting a porno because they manage to keep it clean... save the full frontal nudity and the scenes about people doing it.

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