From the Streets, Back to School: Our Review of "21 Jump Street" (2012)

Directed By: Phil Lord & Chris Taylor (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube

Rating: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence

Synopsis: Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are a pair of underachieving police officers who went to high school together. After screwing up their first arrest, they're reassigned to the revived 21 Jump Street unit and sent as undercovers officers to a local high school to bring down a growing drug ring. Alas, 7 years after graduating high school themselves, things are not as they remember them.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! It's been almost a week since our last review, and we apologize for that, but I think the wait was worth it because Sarah and I saw 21 Jump Street this afternoon. Starring Jonah Hill (Moneyball) and Channing Tatum (The Vow) and based off the old television show that jump-started a young Johnny Depp's career, we've been waiting a long time for this film, haven't we Sarah?

Sarah: Yea we have! From the first time we saw the trailer we were like, "We gotta see that!" And I don't know about you, but I think it was AWESOME!

A: I know we agree a lot more than we disagree, but I can’t agree with you more here. I also can't stress this enough, readers - 21 Jump Street is the funniest movie I've seen in theatres since The Hangover. And honestly, because of the script, the performances and the organic nature of the humor in this film, I might say it's better.

S: I have to agree with you! The chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum was perfect. The classic "used-to-be-nerdy" guy and the original jock teaming up against the bad guys but in such a great way! I love how they make no bones about the fact that it is a homage to the original TV show. Now, there are a ton of fun moments in this movie that we will not be giving away in this review. It is so clever that you all really have to go see it for yourselves.

A: There are countless things in this movie that had me laughing out loud, and if we were sitting closer to the aisle I might have been rolling in it, that's how funny this film is.

And you're SPOT ON about Hill and Tatum's chemistry. This movie wouldn't have been nearly as good if it weren't the two of them, but they were SO funny playing off of each other. We've known Hill is funny for a while, and he's great in it, but Tatum absolutely kills it. Playing the dumb jock with a heart of gold, his facial expressions and delivery are impeccable.

I also love that they took an original concept and turned it on its head. In the beginning of the movie Hill's the outcast and Tatum is the popular guy, and when they get assigned to the 21 Jump Street squad and are sent undercover into high school again, their roles flip because of their incompetence. And it's a stroke of genius.

S: It really was a stroke of genius. I will say, I wasn't laughing as much as Andrew was. I did feel that they gave away a lot of the funny parts in the trailer, but they play into the movie really well. The set-ups for the jokes are awesome! Definitely going to get some one-liners out of this movie.

And this is really the first time that we are seeing a skinny Jonah Hill hit the big screen and I gotta say, I don't hate it! I don't look at him and go, "oh he's just funny because he's the lovable chunky kid" anymore. He is just continuing to show that he has some serious movie chops.

A: I do think it might be fair to say this film may be funnier for the male crowd simply because of the kind of humor it uses, but I think it's funny all-around as well. It has funny moments were it's a satire (i.e. jokes about modern day things) and moments were it's a parody (like the over-the-top action sequences and the guys' reactions to said sequences, or music that sounds like a Michael Bay movie at points).

It all works. I could gush on and on about this movie but I think we've said more than enough to boil it down and say: just go see it in theatres. Please.

S: Yes, see this movie. It's really fun and I would have to venture a guess that we will be buying this on DVD when it comes out.

A: Oh I guarantee it.

(out of 5)

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (For Friday, March 16th)

Andrew: Hello readers! We've been a little slow on the site this week (beautiful spring weather has kept us preoccupied) but we DID remember that we needed to do our weekly preview of the new films coming out on Friday. (Better late than never, right?)


This week we start to see some of the bigger movies of 2012 hit theatres, and the film coming out tomorrow we are most excited for is, hands-down, 21 Jump Street, starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.


Sarah, why are YOU excited for 21 Jump Street?


Sarah: Well I have to admit, I've never seen the original TV show. I know, I know. I claim to be this huge Johnny Depp fan, but I haven't seen the show! This movie looks hilarious though. Hill and Tatum seem to have such great chemistry and great humor! By re-vamping the old classic with modern day twists, I think the movie makers will successfully bring some of the old humor back to the screen. This will also be one of the first times we see Hill's new skinny look on the big screen so I will be interested to see how that comes across. 


A: You kind of touched on something about the television series that the film is based on that I think needs to be pointed out more: the series starring Johnny Depp actually wasn't really a comedy. I've only seen a few episodes, but I do know that it took it's action and drama a little more seriously.


So that said, I'm looking forward to seeing the film version be a straight-up action-comedy, because I don't think a film that has the same tone as the series would've worked out as well (see: Miami Vice). I agree with you that Hill and Tatum look like they have great chemistry, as you can see in the trailer, and I think that's going to go a long way when we see this film.

Official Trailer for 21 Jump Street

S: Ok, let's move on then. Jeff, Who Lives at Home also comes out this weekend. Now, I love Jason Segel. How I Met Your Mother is one of our favorite television shows ever and this has been a great couple of years so far for Segel in the movie business. What do you think about this one?


A: I'm looking forward to this one as well, primarily because Segel but also because this film has some good actors in it and the trailer looks genuinely funny. Ed Helms (The Office) co-stars as Segel's brother in the film, and even though it looks like he's just playing his Office character, Andy Bernard, I think the two of them could be a good pairing.

Official Trailer for Jeff, Who Lives at Home

I also like that Susan Sarandon plays their mother and Judy Greer plays Helms' wife. It's a good cast on paper, and I'm excited to see how this film plays out.


Another comedy that's coming out this week is Will Ferrell's new film, Casa de mi Padre, which is supposed to be a telenovela satire. I'm looking forward to this one, are you?


S: Ok, I think this one looks absolutely stupid. But, I also must remember how many Will Ferrell movies that we quote and still laugh over so I might have to give it a chance. Why do you want to see this one?


 A: Well you just said one of them - we like Will Ferrell movies, particularly Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Something those movies and Casa de mi Padre have in common besides Ferrell is that they're produced by Adam McKay (who also directed Anchorman and Talladega Nights). So I think the film's pedigree is promising. Oh, and the fact that it's entirely in Spanish - I want to see that.

Official Trailer for Casa de mi Padre

Ok, the last film of note that comes out this weekend is a new Nicolas Cage movie that doesn't look terrible called Seeking Justice. Long story short, it looks like Nic Cage's wife gets assaulted, a mysterious stranger comes to him saying he can help Cage get justice for it and all Cage needs to do is owe him a "favor" in the future, and stuff goes down. Check out the trailer for yourselves, readers.


Sarah, does Seeking Justice do anything for you?

Official Trailer for Seeking Justice

S: I just want to know in what world January Jones marries Nicolas Cage? In what world, Hollywood?! But I digress. It actually doesn't look half bad. It stars another high demand actor over the past couple of years, Guy Pearce. He really is doing some interesting things this year (i.e. Prometheus. See it!) and it is good to see him on many different levels as an actor. Yes, we will get to see Cage do his brooding action hero thing and Jones with that dead-pan look in her eyes that seems to show no soul inside such a beautiful woman, but I think there might be some hidden gems in this movie. But, we will see.


A: Ok! And with that we're conclude our preview of tomorrow's (today's?) new releases with the ranking of which ones we're most likely to see:


1.) 21 Jump Street
2.) Jeff, Who Lives at Home
3.) Casa de mi Padre
4.) Seeking Justice


Thanks for reading ladies and gents, and be on the look out for some new reviews this weekend! We'll probably have one up as soon as tomorrow.

Best Friends + Baby Fever = ?: Our Review of "Friends With Kids" (2011)

Directed By: Jennifer Westfeldt

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Kristin Wiig and Jon Hamm

Rating: R for sexual content and language

Synopsis: Jason and Julie (Scott and Westfeldt) are best friends who begin seeing all their married friends start having children. Deciding that they each want a kid of their own but don't want to deal with the work of a marriage yet, they have a baby and share custody while remaining platonic friends. But can it work?

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Yesterday we brought you our review of Disney's John Carter, and today we went in a bit of a different direction by seeing Friends With Kids - which is primarily a comedy but has good elements of romance and drama as well.

I think our synopsis up above explains the general premise of the movie pretty well, but we should also mention that a fair portion of the film involves Jason and Julie's married friends - Maya Rudolph and Alex O'Dowd as one couple with a relationship that is strong through thick and thin, and Kristin Wiig and Jon Hamm (Westfeldt's real-life husband) as a second couple who go through some marital problems.

Sarah, what are your thoughts on Friends With Kids?

Sarah: I really liked it! It was just a fun movie that had us laughing at all of the married comedy moments and cringing when a husband said something really stupid, like every husband has done before him. It was just an incredibly real movie. The rough moments were so true to what actually happens and the comedy made light of what actually goes on in a marriage. I loved it. What did you think about it?

A: Friends With Kids pleasantly surprised me for all the reasons you just mentioned. I found it to be very genuine for the most part, with only a few notes ringing false (such as some use of foul language in unnecessary places).

I thought that the film was casted incredibly well. Adam Scott gave a great performance that balanced comedy and drama perfectly, Westfeldt was good in a role she wrote herself, and the four other actors that all starred in last year's Bridesmaids were aces. Edward Burns did well as a boyfriend Julie has, and Megan Fox actually did the best work I've seen out of her as a girlfriend Jason has.

What did you think of the actors?

S: Loved the casting. I don't think it was the best use of Kristen Wiig but this movie wasn't all about her. I love Maya Rudolph and am so excited to see her in more roles. She just makes me laugh all the time. If you haven't seen her on NBC’s Up All Night, you are missing out. Hamm does a great job playing kind of a jerk, and we are extremely excited to see him back in his best role as Don Draper on Mad Men in two weeks.

Now while we did really like this movie, it was fairly predictable. If you see the trailer, you pretty much are going to know how it ends. Isn't that what you thought, Andrew?

A: Yeah, when you read the premise of the movie I think it's immediately obvious where the movie will end up. But in that case, it's more about how well the filmmakers get to that point and if they do anything that you haven't seen before. There isn't a whole lot in this film that you probably haven't seen before, but I do think Westfeldt did a great job of showing true depictions of relationships, marriages and what it's like to have kids. There's one scene in particular, where all the main characters go skiing in Vermont, that is incredibly well done by all involved.

S: I agree. The relationships are actually all really well developed. Even the lesser relationships (Fox and Scott; Westfeldt and Burns) were well developed. Each character had their role well defined. That is impressive especially since their characters were not on screen for all that long.

I also felt that the actors, script and directing did a great job making the friendships between all the main characters feel real. I felt like we were watching six real friends who were having these real relationship problems.

A: Completely agreed. I also want to point out that I found the chemistry between Scott and Westfeldt was top-notch, I truly felt that they had been best friends for twenty years. I also liked how genuine the relationship between them and the child actor who played their one-year-old son was. I wonder if that baby was Westfeldt's actual son, but I can't find anything about that online so far.

Ok, so then overall what would our final word on Friends With Kids be?

S: While we loved the movie, we say you can probably just Netflix it!

(Out of Five)

So THIS Is What Mars Looks Like: Our Review of Disney's "John Carter" (2012)

Directed By: Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) 

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action

Synopsis: While prospecting for gold in Arizona following the Civil War, former Confederate soldier John Carter is accidentally transported to Mars. There, he is discovered by a native tribe called the Tharks, meets a princess of another tribe and becomes embroiled in a war between differing factions of the planet all while trying to find his way back to Earth.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! I'm back from my business trip to Indianapolis; and just in time for me and Sarah to check out the new Disney film John Carter. I'm sure a segment of our readership knows that the film is based off the book A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (best known for creating Tarzan), but for those that didn't you do now. Originally published as a pulp magazine serial in 1912, the original story introduced the character of John Carter and was the first of 11 novels in the series. Burroughs' works are essentially the precursor for popular science fiction tales such as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers and George Lucas' Star Wars saga.

So with all of that in mind, Sarah, what did you think of John Carter?

Sarah: Well this was a tough one. I wanted to like it. I wanted to like it REALLY bad, but there were just some things that I couldn't get around. I will give it the positives first, though.

The motion capture with the native species, the Tharks, was incredibly well done. Willem Dafoe did a really good job as the leader of the Tharks and he helped bring the characters to life for the audience. The settings that made up Mars, mainly shot in Utah, were perfect. It really did look like another world. Some of the action really was fun! And it was fun to get little ideas of where the sci-fi movies that we have come to love got some of their ideas. Now, what did you think were some of the positives?

A: The positives I got out of John Carter were:

- The special effects were very well done. 99% of the time the special effects were quite seamless with the action, the CGI that created the Tharks and other animals on the planet was very good compared to most films, and the CGI settings were impressive.

- The directing by Andrew Stanton was impressive in my eyes. The film looked great, a number of scenes were shot in a way that made me go “Wow, that was good,” and overall I think the film looked the way Stanton wanted it to.

- It was entertaining for the most part. It was a story I was unfamiliar with, the action was good, and most of the actors did a good job with their roles.

- The last main positive for me was the score by Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino. He's done fantastic work over the last decade (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Pixar's Up, the television series Lost) and he does a great job of making the music enhance the setting and the action. I really do think this guy is the next John Williams.

All of that said, there are certainly some negatives with this movie. What were some of the ones that stuck out to you?

S: I think the story adaptation was lacking. While I haven't read the books, I can't imagine that they were as disjointed as parts of this movie were. Another part was the dialogue; at times it was just unbearable, cheesy. That's where I saw the influence for Star Wars. (Not really, but there were times when it was just not good.)

Now that I think of it though, I'm not sure if it was the writing or if it was the actors. I really was not a big fan of Taylor Kitsch in this role. He was pretty bland throughout the film. There were times when he was supposed to show some true emotion on his way to becoming John Carter of Mars, and I just didn't really believe it. What did you think?

A: THANK YOU! I completely agree with you that Kitsch was miscast as John Carter. I know that the filmmakers cast Kitsch because other than starring on the television version of Friday Night Lights he's essentially an unknown and hoped that he would BE John Carter, instead of casting a known actor. But I think that was a mistake because while I thought Kitsch looked the part some of the time, he didn't sound the part and couldn't pull off the so-so dialogue.

I kept thinking about how when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were first trying to make Raiders of the Lost Ark they tried to get Tom Selleck and couldn't so they went with Harrison Ford instead even though he was famous for being Han Solo in Star Wars. If an actor is right for the part, he's right for the part. It doesn't matter that he might be known as something else. I truly think that if it weren't for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films, Chris Pine would've been perfect for this film.

Jake Gyllenhaal is another actor that comes to my mind who would have been a good fit for the role, but I think his starring in the Disney flop Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time killed any hope of that.

I also felt that a lot of the dialogue was confusing simply because of the names of the characters and locations and it all just kind of mixed together to me.

S: What I think we need to pound into our reader's mind is that John Carter of Mars was the FIRST of it's kind. All of the science-fiction movies and televisions shows were derived from THIS STORY. That is what makes it kind of a bummer that this movie has taken SO long to come out. People will go see this movie and compare it to every other sci-fi movie or show ever made and that's just not fair to it. So, readers, when you go and see this movie try to go in without thinking about George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and other sci-fi flicks.

A: It IS an entertaining movie as a whole but it’s also uneven, so it could be boring at times for some people. Overall though, we do think John Carter is a movie that you should see in theatres because of the scope of the film, and it's a good way to kill an afternoon. Our final rating for John Carter is:

(out of five)

Movie Weekend Preview

Hello readers! Once again the Mrs is on her own to write the blog, while the Mr is watching some basketball game "claiming" to be working! We'll let that one slide...this time. But, it's time for the movie previews for the weekend! This is probably the first weekend of the year where we actually have some blockbusters!


First, we have John Carter. This big blockbuster from Disney stars, Taylor Kitsch as John Carter along with Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong...yea. It's Disney. There are a lot of Hollywood names in this movie. Disney called; they came a'runnin. Haven't seen the trailer? Been living under a rock for the past 2 months? Well, you're in luck! Here it is!

Yep, it's pretty epic. Andrew and I are going to go see it on Saturday, so get excited for the review!


The next big movie to come out this weekend is Silent House. This is one of those movies that I will send Andrew to go see on his own. This 88 minute, single shot movie looks pretty freaky to me. Silent House stars one of Hollywood's newest "It" girls, Elizabeth Olsen. Yes, the famous Olsen twins' younger sister, and let me tell you, she is fast becoming the actress to go to! Check out the trailer!

Kinda freaky, so we will see how Andrew likes it. 


Now, this next one is Friends with Kids. I'm sure not many of you have heard of but it has an AMAZING all-star cast: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns. This quirky little comedy looks super fun and possibly a great way to kill an afternoon with some laughter! Well, here, see for yourself.

Cute, right? Well, let's hope that it does well because Wiig and Rudolph are on FIRE right now! Keep it up, ladies!


Whew, I told you guys there were a lot of movie opening this weekend!


Next we have an Eddie Murphy movie, A Thousand Words. No, it doesn't look very good. And no, we probably won't see it in theatres, but never the less...Eddie Murphy's character, Jake McCall, talks. A lot. When he goes too far with a guru, the guru tells McCall that he only has a thousand words, and when they're gone, he dies. Yeah...

It might be a fun one for the younger crowds. Like I said, we won't be rushing out to see this one.


This last one might not be coming to a theatre near you anytime soon because it's a foreign movie but I thought it looked cute and maybe one to Netflix one day. The Decoy Bride stars some actors that may look familiar to some of you: Kelly Macdonald, Alice Eve and David Tennant. 

You guys might recognize the guy interest from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 


Ok, I think I have sufficiently tired you guys out over this weekend's releases! So here is the list of movies in order of what we're going to see first (or what I will see first):
1. John Carter
2. Friends with Kids
3. Silent House
4. The Decoy Bride
5. A Thousand Words


P.S. Check out the first look at Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger


Enjoy the movies, everyone!

Wednesday Movie Nibblets

Hello everyone! It's been a little quiet this week with the Mr out of town for work, but don't worry, we will be reviewing some movie this weekend!


So let's move on with some random mid-week movie news!


First of all, we have Halle Berry coming back to the big-screen, bikini-clad...once again. Berry stars in the upcoming movie Dark Tide due out March 30. She plays Kate, a shark expert who lost a fellow diver to an attack. She has to battle self-doubt and fear and go back into one of the most dangerous shark areas in the world, Shark Alley. This newly released clip shows you the kind of feel they were going for with this movie. Check out the original trailer too!

Yeah, let's be honest, this movie doesn't seem too great. Kind of a bummer for the Academy Award winner. But I'm sure many guys will head to the theatre to see this one just to see the bikini.


Alright, moving on to one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, Prometheus. I know Andrew and I are excited. Now, a lot of people are also very confused about what this movie is about too. In this movie, a team of scientists explore the universe to research alien life forms on the ship, Prometheus.  They become stranded on an alien world and soon discover a threat that could threaten all mankind. Prometheus is a prequel-esque film to the classic scary movie, Alien. Since they were directed by the same director, Ridley Scott, we are expecting the same amount of excellence and excitement. Scott has said that it's not a direct prequel but takes place in the world of the original film. Haven't seen the trailer yet? Check it out!

I know, it's a teaser but here's the good news...the official theatrical trailer comes out MARCH 17! Also check out a new picture from the movie here.




This weekend an anticipated movie from Disney will grace the screen. John Carter comes into theatres this Friday, and Willem Dafoe spoke candidly with Lara Spencer this morning on Good Morning America about growing a couple feet for his less than easy role for his motion-capture role. Check out the video here. Actually pretty excited to see this one this weekend. But more on that later!


Well those were just a few nibblets for you on this Wednesday evening. Check back in tomorrow for a look at this weekend's new releases! 

Nothing is Going to Get Better, It's Not: Our Review of "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" (2012)

Directed By: Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda

Starring: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Betty White

Rating: PG for brief mild language

Synopsis: To impress the girl of his dreams, 12-year-old Ted (Efron) must track down The Once-ler – the only person in Thneedville who knows what happened to all the trees. Upon finding him, Ted is told the tale of The Once-ler and The Lorax, the guardian of the trees. Based on the classic tale by Dr. Seuss.

REVIEW

Sarah: Hi readers! So we saw "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" this afternoon. Gotta say, I wasn't impressed. While it was a pretty movie and had some fun voice acting, it just tried to be too much like "Despicable Me." What did you think?

Andrew: If we wanted to summarize our thoughts of “The Lorax” then I think you did an excellent job. It LOOKED great; fantastic animation and it looked very much like a Dr. Seuss movie should. The voice acting done by Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Ed Helms was very good, while the voice acting done by Taylor Swift, Betty White and Rob Riggle was just okay.

Overall, though, “The Lorax” was an uninspiring film to me. It had a VERY political vibe to in that it was all about industrialism, consumerism, pollution, the ecosystem, etc. and all of that was wrapped up in what they tried to make a cute film kids would love. It just didn’t work well for me.

S: So let’s talk about the propaganda. This story has always been about the killing of the trees and the way consumerism will eventually take over the world. It was very good depicting all of that, but it was kinda overkill. For a kid’s movie, it went over all of their heads. There were funny parts, sure, and it was cute at times with all of the little bears and walking fish, but I was still a little disappointed.

Along with all of this propaganda they tried to turn this movie into a Disney musical. What did you think about that?

A: Oh man, I hated it. Right from the start the movie opens with a musical number and it made me cringe. Then there were about four or five more just like it in the rest of the movie. I actually felt bad for Ed Helms because his Once-ler sings most of the songs, and I like Helms and he’s a very talented musician, but these songs were terrible. I’m sure the kids ate it up, and that’s clearly the demographic, but for any adults who will see this just be warned that the songs leave a lot to be desired.

I also think you nailed it on the head earlier when you said “The Lorax” was trying to hard to be like “Despicable Me.” Director Chris Renaud, who was co-director for “Despicable Me” and holds the same position for its sequel, tried too hard to make this just as cute and cuddly and it felt like a rip-off. The bears and fish were too much like the Minions in “Despicable Me” for my taste.

S: I agree. For a kid’s movie, the basics were all there; cute and some music. But for the adults that have to take the kids to see, it might be torturous.

I loved the original story from the book, but they changed a lot for the movie! In the book, The Once-ler is the bad guy, and he’s kinda creepy since all you see are those green arms. But in the movie? The villain part goes to this little man with a complex.

A: It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve seen 1970’s version of “The Lorax” or read the book, but I definitely did realize they changed the antagonist for this film. In this version the main bad guy is a little guy named Mr. O’Hare who’s become the richest man in Thneedville by selling people bottled air to combat the pollution. Somehow he’s taken over Thneedville and wants to keep Efron’s Ted from going out into the real world to talk to The Once-ler.

So with Mr. O’Hare as the bad guy, this film makes The Once-ler into one of the protagonists for the majority of the film despite the fact he’s obviously the one who killed all the trees. It’s not until late in the film do they make The Once-ler into the bad guy he is…and it’s with a musical number. Ugh. Wasn’t a fan of that part of the movie, but oh well.

S: Oh well, it wasn’t what we hoped.

So, for the final rating we will say this, if you have kids it’s a good way to kill an afternoon otherwise, skip it all together.

Our Score

Best. Birthday. Ever.: Our Review of "Project X" (2012)

Directed By: Nima Nourizadeh

Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown

Rated: R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem - all involving teens

Synopsis: Thomas (Mann) is turning 17 and his parents are headed out of town for their anniversary, so naturally he and his best friends Costa (Cooper) and JB (Brown) decide to throw a party to increase their popularity at school. Things quickly get out of hand and Thomas’ birthday party turns into the craziest house party of all-time.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Tonight Sarah and I braved the Friday night middle school crowd at the movie theatre to check out the new teen party flick “Project X.” Produced by Todd Phillips, the director of such new classic comedies as “Old School” and “The Hangover,” and having seen the trailer numerous times, we were fully expecting “Project X” to be an all-out, crazy, raunchy teen movie and I’d have to say we were NOT disappointed.

Sarah: Oh and there definitely WERE middle schoolers in the theatre tonight! But mainly we were surrounded by Abercrombie & Fitch wearing teenage boys, all living vicariously through the characters on the big screen. It was a pretty crazy party, and I’m not gonna lie, I wished that I was actually at the party at times. There were parties at our alma mater that were pretty crazy, but none even close to this!

If you went into the movie thinking that it was going to be a sex and drug fueled crazy time then that’s what you got! What did you think about it?

A: Well it certainly earned it’s R rating. It had it all – drugs (weed, ecstasy), alcohol, sex, language, and there was DEFINITELY reckless behavior and mayhem. All in all it was pretty funny. We certainly laughed at many parts and I couldn’t really ask much more than that.

Did the film have the strongest plot? Of course not. Were the main characters fully fleshed out? Definitely not. But “Project X” is only trying to be what it says on the poster – “The party you’ve only dreamed about” – and in that vein I’d say the movie passed with flying colors.

S: I agree! And this is a great movie to see on the big screen! I will say I wish the music had been louder; and it wasn’t just about the volume in the theatre not being turned up, because the dialogue was fine. When I go to a movie about the party of the century, I want the music to be bumpin’! I was a little bummed that the sound mix was off.

A: Yeah, the sound levels weren’t perfect. Again, this isn’t an Oscar-winning film by any stretch of the imagination, but I did enjoy it. I liked the main leads, especially Costa, who is supposed to be that one friend you have who talks a big game and can’t really back it up. The dialogue they gave the characters felt genuine, which helped with some of the slower parts of the film.

I agree with your sentiment that it’s a great film to see on the big screen, and while this is a movie that would be just as funny on DVD, I would say that if you see it, you SHOULD see it in theatres because of the grand scale of the party. It’s impressive.

S: I want to point out that “Project X” was marketed as a “found-footage” film and it didn’t completely come off that way. It worked at times, but overall it felt like how a movie is normally shot. The way they shot it at times looked TOO perfectly set up. Overall I feel like they could have just filmed this normally, like “Superbad,” and it would have been a stronger movie. There was no need for the “found footage” crutch.

A: That’s actually something I was thinking as we left the theatre. Good job pointing that out, cuz I had totally forgotten that thought!

And with that, dear readers, I suppose I’ll sum up the total of our thoughts and say that “Project X” is exactly what you’ve seen in the trailer and TV spots, so if you like that kind of humor, you should definitely see it in the theatre. Otherwise just Netflix it or skip it entirely!

Our Rating

Next Post: We will be seeing "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" at some point this weekend, so be on the lookout for our review of that as well!

Our Preview of This Week's New Release (Friday, March 2nd)

Andrew: Hello readers! Today we bring you this week's installment of our weekly preview of new films coming out on Friday. Last week was a bit of a weak crop, per usual for February, but with the calendar flipping to March we start to get better films being released in theatres.

Sarah, to kick off this week's preview let's start with the new comedy coming out called "Project X." It's produced by Todd Phillips, the director of the new classic comedies "Old School" and "The Hangover." The trailer (which can be seen below) is pretty straight forward in that it's another "found footage" film, but unlike the awesome "Chronicle," this pic is about a group of normal teenagers just trying to throw an awesome party and things get REALLY out of control.

"Project X" Official Trailer

Sarah: More like a bunch of nerd kids who want to throw a kick-ass party to fit in! I am actually pretty excited to see this. It looks hilarious! We will be seeing it, so be on the look-out for the upcoming review.

Next we have "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax," the new animated movie from Dreamworks. What do you think about this revamp of the original animated movie?

A: Well it's been FOREVER since I've seen the original animated version, and it's probably been longer since I read the book, so I don't remember a whole lot about the story to be frank. Therefore, I'm kind of excited to see it simply because it'll be pretty fresh for me, and it's made by the same team who made "Despicable Me," which was a
pleasant surprise the first time I saw it.

"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" Official Trailer

S: I want to see it. Not excited that Taylor Swift is in it but whatcha gonna do? But it promises to be a cute movie.

Ok, now Robert De Niro has a new movie coming out called "Being Flynn." I don't know much about this movie. What do you think?

A: We saw the trailer for this one a month or so ago, yet I had also forgotten what it's about until I looked up the synopsis and read a good review of it. It stars Paul Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine") as a struggling writer named Nick Flynn, and Robert De Niro plays his estranged father, who is also a writer. Nick's father shows up in his
life again all of a sudden while Nick is volunteering at a homeless shelter, and the film is about the effects his father has on him and how it affects him as a writer.

The trailer looked kind of trippy when we saw it, but I have now a read a couple of pretty good reviews for "Being Flynn" that point out the great performances by Dano and De Niro. I would absolutely like to try and catch this film if it comes out around us.

"Being Flynn" Official Trailer

S: Oh that's right! Ok, yea I remembered seeing that trailer and saying to myself, "That looks like it will be a good film festival movie." If it does end up coming here, we will need to see it.

Now we have another film festival movie simply called "Boy" that comes out this weekend. It probably won't make it near us except in NYC, but tt's a coming of age movie set on the East Coast of New Zealand in 1984 where Michael Jackson is king. It seems like a cute and heartwarming movie. What do you think?

A: I actually had to look up exactly what movie you were talking about, because I've never heard of it. Turns out it's a film from 2010 that has won a bunch of awards at film festivals and played at Sundance. Looks interesting to me, I kinda wonder where it is that you heard about this one.

S: Oh. I have my sources. There are a some more smaller indie films coming out this weekend but that's about it. Kind of a slow start to the month, but we are looking forward to farther on down the road when "John Carter," "Silent House," "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," "21 Jump Street," "Jeff Who Lives At Home," and of course "The Hunger Games" come out! 

A: Spot on, my dear. Spot on.

Ok, so let's list the movies that are coming out tomorrow in order of
how likely we are to see them! I'll let you do the honors.

S: Our list this week goes:

1. "Project X"

2. "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax"

3. "Being Flynn"

4. "Boy"

But get ready people, the month of March promises to have lists much longer!