The Slammin' Salmon (2009) Review

If you're ever in the mood for crappy movies, the quickest way to watch one is to switch on your TV, go to Free Movies on Demand and take your pick. Who actually likes watching these films? The majority is Direct to Video rubbish and there's barely a hidden gem in the mix. But when you just made lunch and hang out with your roommates, who knows, maybe you happen to find something good in there that goes well with pizza and chips.

Well, that's what I thought today when we stumbled over The Slammin' Salmon, the latest movie by comedy group Broken Lizard, known mostly for Super Troopers and Beerfest. I remember hearing about the movie back in 2009 when it was released without any press or commercials on TV. It played in empty theaters and made a laughable $60K worldwide. If you don't get it, these are never good signs and normally point to the fact that you're dealing with a total cinematic turd. But we felt lucky so we checked it out.

The film's plot is more or less an excuse to connect all the poorly executed jokes but if you really care, here it comes: A group of waiters in a seafood restaurant compete to see who makes the most money in one night. Sounds like the perfect comedy plot to me, I mean, Broken Lizard's other movies didn't have plots either and were hilarious nonetheless.

Too bad this film is far from being as funny as their other ones. The timing which is the most crucial element in the comedy genre is mostly off and many gags are either absolutely silly and dumb or just so predictable that the whole mess feels like a bad copy of a much better comedy. The only redeeming quality comes in the form of Michael Clarke Duncan who plays the owner of the restaurant, a Mike Tyson style boxing giant and while he's also not consistently funny he at least has the highest gag hit rate of all the actors involved.

I don't really know what else to say about this film, if you've never heard about it then you probably won't care in the future and if you're a fan of Broken Lizard, then do yourself a favor and just skip The Slammin' Salmon, it's not worth your time.

50/50 (2011) Review

How do you make a comedy about something that you shouldn't make fun of? Honestly, how do you pull that off? I for myself don't have any clue but obviously some filmmakers do. Look at La vita e bella by Roberto Benigni. A comedy set in a concentration camp? It works! Look at Life of Brian. A comedy mocking the life of Jesus Christ? Controversial but also laugh-out-loud funny. (Also, thank you Monty Python for one of the most quotable movies ever.)

You get the idea, it's possible to make comedies about tough subjects. And here comes one about cancer. 50/50 is about Adam, a 27 year old radio show writer living in Seattle. He has a best friend who is all about getting some with the ladies and a girlfriend who is just a complete tool. Oh, and he also gets diagnosed with cancer.

Our lead Adam is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and he does a great job. His performance is very understated, he rarely plays it for tears and never goes over the top. He's not always likable but that just adds to the authentic feel of the movie. Seth Rogen as his best friend Kyle is just perfectly cast, he has the funniest lines and shares a good chemistry with Gordon-Levitt. Normally I am not too big of a fan of him, too much of his humor seems to be just unoriginal, annoying stoner talk but here Rogen is just in his element.

The performance that got my closest attention was the one by Anjelica Huston as Adam's overly worried mother. While she doesn't have too many scenes, she's outshining everyone else on screen. I bet she's gonna be snubbed by the Academy but in a just world she'd get nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

What makes this movie ultimately succeed is not just the great acting but also a very authentic and realistic feel. There are so many hilarious scenes in it that are just perfectly balanced with very well written characters that one can't help but go with it. I really want to see this film get the audience it deserves, especially considering that it's gonna be released one week after the crappy Taylor Lautner vehicle Abduction. Just think about it, what would you rather see, a talentless laughingstock starring in an awful Bourne rip-off or a well acted, remarkably funny film that will stick with you long after you've left the theater? Tough call...

Drive (2011) Review

You know what's the worst thing that can happen to a good director? Selling out. Big time. And do you know what's the easiest way to sell out? Going to Hollywood and making a movie for a big studio. Remember Gavin Hood? His Tsotsi won an Academy Award in 2006. Then he went to Hollywood, directed the god-awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine and is now working for TV. And do you remember Oliver Hirschbiegel? He made the excellent Das Experiment and the highly praised Downfall. Then he went to Hollywood, directed the über-flop Invasion with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and is now making movies back in Germany.

That's why it's a good thing to see a European director coming to Hollywood and making a movie that still has his style and doesn't bow down to any studio executive's demands. Enter danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn and his remarkable Drive.

Drive is a crime movie with a minimal approach. The story is simple, a stunt driver played by Ryan Gosling who is also a wheelman gets mixed up in a heist gone wrong and starts going on a rampage against the people who are trying to get rid of him. That's it, nothing more, nothing less.

What makes this movie so much more than just another crime thriller is the atmosphere and the top notch performances. Gosling is the epitomized coolness, a man of few words and gestures. Carey Mulligan is perfectly cast as his doe-eyed love interest and creates a nice chemistry between the two. But it's Albert Brooks who takes the cake. He is Bernie, Gosling's boss and most terrifying screen presence I've seen since Melissa Leo in The Fighter. Academy, here's a sure bet for the upcoming Oscars next February.

While the film just breathes cool with beautiful shots of Los Angeles, a dreamlike score and long-lasting shots it is the sudden bursts of graphic violence that will leave you breathless and shocked. It might be a bit early to call it but Drive ranks up there next to classics such as Bullitt, The French Connection and Vanishing Point. I honestly doubt that there's gonna be another movie this year that is as badass and cool as this one.

So what are you waiting for? Go and watch this awesome movie, give it the audience it deserves!

Casablanca (1942) Review

Don't you hate when you watch a movie that has such a big reputation, won so much acclaim, is beloved by everyone, always pops up on lists of best films of all time and you realize that it's all just much ado about nothing? I watched Casablanca for the first time last night and let me tell you directly, it is a good movie but it's far from being as grand, important, lifechanging and whatnot as it is made up to be.

What we're dealing with here is basically just a love story, albeit an interesting one. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick who owns a night club in World War II Casablanca and he's a tough guy, as cynical a badass as there has ever been one. But when he is confronted with his long lost love Ilsa we realize he's a nice guy inside, he's just been hardened by the heartbreak she caused him.

If you really don't have any idea what Casablanca is about then I'm not gonna spoil the rest for you. This movie has been referenced, spoofed and honored so many times that any cinephile should recognize most of the shots. We get classic lines such as "Here's looking at you, kid" and "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" while Bogart plays his signature role to a tee and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa just shines throughout the film. My favorite character nonetheless is Claude Rains as Captain Renault, a corrupt official who you can't really figure out until the very end.

So one might ask, what is there not to like about this film and frankly, there's not much not to adore but one thing that just kept bugging me and in the end ruined the film for me and brought it down to "just" a good level. As great as Bogart is in his role, I didn't feel much chemistry between him and Ingrid Bergman. She is this beautiful and fragile woman and he is just tough, I felt it just didn't click between them. I bet lots of people would disagree with me on that but hey, this is my blog and my opinion!

Maybe it's better to see films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Godfather and any other classic without bias, just take them for what they are and appreciate what you actually get. Then you might avoid the slight disappointment I experienced with Casablanca.

Cool Runnings (1993) Review

I hate to admit it but here it comes: I am a sucker for cheesy sports movies. I don't know what it is but when some sport gets glorified on screen and decade old clichés get warmed up I just can't help myself but go with it. Without a doubt one of the best cheesy sports films (and most definitely one of my childhood favorites) is Cool Runnings.

The film is about the first Jamaican bobsled team to go to the Olympic Games in 1988. It is loosely based on a true story and plays it safe and family-friendly all the way. The four very different main characters together with their unlikely coach played by John Candy are really well cast and share a great chemistry. Granted, they go through every sport film cliché in the book but hey, do you really care when it's so much fun?

You can bash this film for all the cheesiness it exhales, every 90s style montage it includes, every grand speech it takes pride in. Or you can just relax and take it for what it is, a pitch perfect sports film that doesn't care about its unoriginal underdog story, a family film that even gore fans don't need to be ashamed of liking, a comedy that treats its characters with warmth without mocking them.

I don't know what else to say, this is a great simple film that doesn't try to change the world but charms the audience all the way through. If you are not entertained by Cool Runnings then go and check whether you're still alive.

Frida (2002) Review

Oh my, looks like I haven't watched any movie for about two weeks, unbelievable! So let's not waste any valuable space on ridiculously stretched introductions and dive right into Frida!

If you're not living under a rock chances are that you've probably heard about Frida Kahlo, one of the most influential female painters of all time. If you haven't heard of her although you consider yourself somehow sophisticated then don't worry, there's always gonna be some snob like me who's willing to help you out of your misery.

Frida is the movie adaptation of Kahlo's life as an artist and especially focuses on her relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera. Let's break it down into the parts the movie gets right and the ones where it fails miserably.

The film is directed by Julie Taymor, a strong creative force with a great background in theater and opera work. Mostly thanks to her involvement the film at times rises to be more than just your ordinary conventional biopic and manages to live up to the creativity behind the art genius that was Frida Kahlo. It's like a breath of fresh air to have Taymor play out the New York scenes as if being staged in theater or Frida's imaginations after an accident being acted out by Mexican death dolls.

The casting is perfect, Salma Hayek in the title role and Alfred Molina as her lady-killing husband are extraordinary and share a great chemistry on screen. The minor roles are also prominently cast with roles played by Antonio Banderas, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton and Geoffrey Rush. But here the failure starts.

The movie tries to cram an exceptional life into two hours of screen time and the overwhelming amount of supporting actors and events doesn't give the film enough room to breathe, there's a lack of coherence which becomes more evident towards the end of Frida when the audience realizes how pointless and superfluous many parts were. Geoffrey Rush was wasted as Leon Trotsky and can someone please explain to me what Diego Luna's character was needed for?

Don't get me wrong, Frida is a marvel to look at and has moments when it truly shines but it too often feels patchy or messy or, even worse, just like your conventional biopic. If you're a Kahlo fan, there's no way around this film but everybody else might be disappointed in what can only be seen as a missed opportunity.