Ed's Review Dot Com

Michaels-Goldwyn, Relativity Media, Rogue

Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Maya Rudolph, Powers Boothe

Oh my, I was a bit afraid going in, and my worst fears were realized.  It’s an amazingly bad movie.   MacGruber is a one joke spoof that thinks it’s a tribute.  It was really funny when they did it on SNL.  MacGruber, the unflinching super hero who can fix a rocket with a rubber band and a paperclip, and can disarm any bomb using his mind power.  Then repeat it in as many situations that are different locations with the same ending.  MacGruber gets distracted and kaboom.

Well the sketch is starting to wear thin.  They are doing things like putting Betty White in it as MacGruber’s grandmother to distract him while he blows everybody up.  Still funny?  Well, a little bit.   But a sketch does not a movie make?   What can you do?  Make it bigger with bigger explosions, and add back story to try to fill in the blanks.

Well, it doesn’t work.  I love Will Forte, and he’s one of my favorites on SNL for his range of characters and humor.  I’m a bit Wiig’d out (doesn’t it seem like instead of SNL it ought to be called  “The Kristen Wiig Show?), lately by overuse of Kristen in every skit, but she is talented.

So why did this movie FAIL big time?  Well, they took themselves a bit too seriously, and that blew it.  In something like Austin Powers, there were strong characters and it was pure tongue in cheek.   Here, they didn’t go the “Police Squad/The Naked Gun” route with a Frank Drebbin who is a likable screw-up who had a heart of gold.  MacGruber is an ass.  He’s about as unlikeable as they come.  The jokes (?) are rarely even worth a chuckle, and dancing naked with a stalk of celery stuck in your butt cheeks is about as “funny” as it gets here.   There is a certain group out there who really defend this movie to the depths, but I was really disappointed.   There have been a lot of SNL to Feature Movie failures, but this rates up there with the worst of them.  I really think this will be forgotten and filed in the dusty part of the library next to “It’s Pat!”

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Today Tuesday October 19th , 2010

• Oceans
• Please Give
• Agora
• Holy Rollers

Wayfare Entertainment, Irish Film Board, Octagon Films

Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan, Alison Barry, Marion O’Dwyer, Tony Curran, Mary O’Shea, Gemma Reeves, Stephen Rea, Norma Sheahan

Ondine is a fairy tale.  It could be great, but it has a few problems that hold it back.  This is the story of a fisherman who is rasing a little girl with kidney failure who is really sick.  He’s working hard trying to take care of her, but when he pulls in the nets one day, he finds a mysterious woman in his net who is nearly dead.   He saves her life, but she really has no idea how she got there.  Or if she does, she’s not saying.  Is she just a woman, or is she more than that?  Syracuse (Colin Farrell) believes she’s a mermaid, but Annie (Alison Barry) believes she’s a “selkie”, a mythical seal person who can remove her skin and become human for 7 years.

The problem with the DVD is that there are no English subtitles, and the dialect is a West Cork County Irish dialect that is very hard to understand.  To make it worse, much of the dialog is quiet and very hard to follow.  That takes a lot away from the movie, especially for folks like me who don’t hear so well.   (I understand the Blu-Ray version does have English subtitles).  Also the story is kind of slow sometimes, but there is a lot of character development, and it really feels like a trip to Ireland.   Also, the ending happens pretty sudden, and the “twist” leaves a lot of people disappointed.

But it is a good story, with interesting characters.  And it is a fairy tale after all.  I think they did what they set out to do, and it is an enjoyable movie, even if it’s not as great as it could have been.  I cautiously recommend it for someone who is interested in a fantasy story, able to put aside the flaws, and enjoy the tale.

Note:  NetFlix has just announced that this film will be available on “Watch Instantly” on 10/20/2010.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Today Tuesday October 12th , 2010

• How to Train Your Dragon
• I Am Love
• The 12 Biggest Lies

Studio Canal, Canal+, Chez Wam

Bayarjargal, Mari, Hattie, Ponijao

“Babies” is not for everyone.  It stars 4 babies, one boy and 3 girls, and 4 Moms, and a collection of older siblings.  With this documentary, what you get is simply this, the lives of 4 babies in their first year from vastly different cultures.  I’m sure the purpose is to make you think of how their births and lives are different, and how they are the same.  But I’m sure my most prevalent thought was “Who has the time to waste doing this thing?”   It’s like a guy who gets obsessed by building the worlds largest rubber band ball, or something.  Going all over the world to film 4 babies at one year each seems a bit obscessed.  Still, some things are fascinating.  It’s interesting how this filmmaker seems obsessed with cats.  Cats figure prominently throughout.

The film is a true documentary.  It has no narration or dialog other than the natural sounds that occurred.  There is no translation of the foreign languages.  But the music added is very good, and very understated.  Mostly it’s just about the babies.

This is definitely not for everybody.  Of course there are people who sit all day and watch “The Puppy Bowl” on Animal Planet, so I’m sure there’s a market for this for a lot of people.  It’s beautiful, touching, and very human.  But on the other side, if watching babies play is not your cup of tea, you’re going to get bored out of your mind, so be warned.

For those interested, the DVD has a special feature which shows the children as four years old.  Each of the children gets to see the finished film of their birth and first year.  It’s not very long, but it’s quite nice to see the followup to the film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog