Ed's Review Dot Com

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Working Title Films

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Jeffrey Tambor

Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are two sci-fi comic book geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. After attending a conference and meeting their hero, they head off on a tour in a camper of famous UFO hot spots. While there, they accidentally meet an alien Paul (Seth Rogan) who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. Paul was held prisoner at Roswell for the past 60 years at a top-secret military base, all the while thinking he was a guest. When he discovers he’s been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town-a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme and Clive. This is the greatest adventure of their lives, a real nerd fiesta, but they are chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap. Graeme and Clive hatch a plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds try their best, their may end up dead, lost, or perhaps intergalactic heroes.

Paul is different that I expected. I can see why Seth Rogan was cast, as Paul really is a smart-ass, and these guys are bumbling fools. But this is a “Revenge of the Nerds” type movie and it’s done in slapstick and low humor. With lots of homages to other sci-fi films, it’s got a lot of humor on that level as well. So it’s really funny, but it’s not heartwarming or touching. It’s more cracking jokes. Jason Bateman and Sigourney Weaver play the feds and are very funny. Jeffrey Tambor plays their comic book writing hero who also has a funny part in the movie. Kristen Wiig plays the one-eyed fanatical Christian non-believer who is kidnapped and becomes part of the chase. These extra characters add a lot of funny parts to the film, and so if you’re a fan of sarcastic humor and satire, you’ll get a kick out of Paul. It’s not a cute kids film though, it’s mostly pratfalls and slapstick. But for that type of movie, it’s really cute.

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Birdsong Pictures, IM Global, Nationlight Productions

Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Michael Peña, Stephen Root, Laura Dern, Glenn Howerton, Shannon Whirry, Jason Spisak

Nick (Will Ferrell) is having a bad day. Nick is a veteran sales guy who is trying to beat a drinking problem who just lost his job. He arrives home to find out his wife is gone, and all his possessions are out in the front lawn. His company car has been repossessed, the locks to his house have been changed, and his bank accounts frozen by a bitter soon to be ex-wife. Nick decides the best way to deal with it is not to deal with it, and moves into the front yard.

This is a pretty cool, relatively unknown Will Ferrell film. It’s a unique look at the perils of modern life. Where are do our rights end and the communities rights begin. Nick learns a lot as he teams up with a married lady from across the street, Samantha (Rebecca Hall), and a latch-key neighbor kid Kenny Loftus (Christopher Jordan Wallace) who help him regain his sanity and pick up the pieces of his broken life. This looks like a typical Jim Carrey film, but obviously they had a good feeling it was not going to warrant the kind of money Jim would charge. But Will does a pretty decent job and it’s kind of a good role for him. It’s the everyman guy who loses everything, and though it’s mostly his fault, still he doesn’t deserve all the crap coming his way. Will plays it deadpan, and the humor is sarcastic. He has a good supporting cast, and it’s a fun experience watching him hit rock bottom and then try to dig himself back out of the hole. The humor is edgy, and the story is pretty fresh. This is not a Hollywood blockbuster by any means, but it’s one of those films that probably fell through the cracks and definitely deserves some attention now that it’s on DVD. If you like sarcastic humor, you’re probably going to enjoy Everything Must Go, and I certainly enjoyed it very much.

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday September 13, 2011

Six Entertainment

Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura, Andreas Leupold, Peter Blankenstein

Two American girls, Lindsay (Ashley C. Williams) and Jenny (Ashlynn Yennie), on a holiday in Germany, are off to a party when they get lost and their car breaks down. They seek help and wind up at a remote villa — and soon find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Dr. Josef Heiter (Dieter Laser) kidnaps them for his demented experiment to create a human “centipede.” The plan includes removing their kneecaps so they must walk on all fours, then surgically connecting them mouth to anus to a Japanese man to create a bizarre human chain.

Often cited as the most disgusting film ever made, I obviously had to see it. Believe it or not, this is a trilogy, and there are rumored to be two more of these coming along. Certainly the concept of the first person feeding the second person and the second person feeding the third person is rather disgusting and may make you want to lose your lunch. But really, it’s not so bad watching this. It is a bizarre concept, and really weirdly performed. The Japanese guy doesn’t speak anything but Japanese, and he’s really pissed at being caught in this web. Meanwhile, the doctor is German, but speaks English all the time (for our benefit, not the girls I guess). It’s not nearly as disgustingly shown as it is described, and is not very graphic, really. But the acting is very amateur and the dialog is crap. Also the executing leaves a LOT to be desired. The police are extremely stupid and the doctor is an ass. All in all it’s like a bunch of high school kids thought up the concept and tried to film it on their Dad’s video camera. Not really scary, and you don’t really care about the dumb dames or the Japanese guy either, so there’s not payoff if they do escape.

Really the only reason to watch this, is the same reason I watched it. Just to say I did when some guy someday asks, “Has anyone ever seen The Human Centepede?” I’ll be able to say, Yeah, it was awful! This is Watch Instantly on Netflix, and if they do lose all the Starz movies, along with Mash, Green Acres, Friends, and Barney episodes, it may be all that’s left to stream in a few months, so you may not have much choice. 🙂

Ok, so I saw it, now what?

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

The Tyler Perry Company

Loretta Devine, Tyler Perry, Bow Wow, David Mann, Cassi Davis, Tamela Mann, Lauren London, Isaiah Mustafa, Rodney Perry, Shannon Kane

Madea (Tyler Perry) learns about her niece Shirley’s (Loretta Divine) health issues, the super-grandma and problem-solver takes over the situation again, On Shirley’s behalf, summoning together her highly fragmented clan in this madcap dramatic comedy all about family values. Shirley wants to have a nice dinner at home to break the sad news to the family, but nothing goes as expected. When it all falls apart, it falls upon Madea, as usual, to crack some skulls and put everybody back on the right track. This, she does, with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Oh, my. I can hardly figure out where to begin to review this film. It’s got great family values, as I said, and teaches good life lessons. It also has some humor, especially African-American humor that is pretty clever. Whether it’s Perry or Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy dressing up in drag and playing a snappy old woman in a fat suit, it’s sure to be somewhat funny. It’s hard to criticize a film that has such good values and such a nice lesson, but can the world handle ANOTHER Tyler Perry movie? It seems we’ve seen it over and over and over again.

Let me say this. If you haven’t seen Tyler Perry’s Madea dozens of times, and you’d like to know what it’s all about, this is a great way to start. It’s a decent film, and there is even a stage play version of the same film available on DVD which would be OK as well. But if you’re sick of Madea, this is just more of the same. Personally I thought long and hard about skipping this installment of the Madea slaps a bunch of bratty kids around movie, but I thought maybe there was something different here. But there wasn’t. A few days ago I did a review of I Will Follow. [CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REVIEW] This is a much better telling of a similar story that is not exactly the same as what we’ve seen over and over. I would recommend that one over this one (although it’s more drama and less slapstick). If you haven’t overdone it with Madea though, then by all means go for it, as it’s a decent film. I’ve just been overdosed on Fat Lady, Man in Drag, movies for a long time. (Hint: The final Maury Povich segment is particularly funny though, I must admit.)

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog