Ed's Review Dot Com

Broadway Video, Michaels-Goldwyn, Relativity Media,

Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Jason Sudeikis

Steve (Owen Wilson) is a bad guy. But he’s tired of the little nickel and dime capers, and thinks it would be great to pull of an armored car heist, but needs someone on the inside. Kelly (Kristen Wiig) has the solution. Kelly work for the Loomis Fargo company for a short while and knows that innocent, but not too bright David Ghantt (Zach Galifinakis) has a crush on her, and has worked for the company for many years. So Kelly flirts with David to convince him that he could pull of the heist, disappear to Mexico where she will shortly join him in a happy and carefree life with tons of money. But they are just playing him for a sucker. David pulls off he heist, heads to Mexico with his share (all he can stuff into his underwear, to Mexico where he finds the Interpo, and a hired killer named Mike McKinney (Jason Sudakeis) is looking for him. Not to mention that stupidly all of these “masterminds” left behind a huge amount of evidence, and the law is closing the noose.

This is a funny film, that does have a good many laugh out loud moments. It’s not as funny as it thinks it is though. Based on the real life 1887 Loomis Fargo robbery, it misses on a lot of the jokes and ends up being more silly than funny. It’s not nearly as good as many of the other films featuring these same actors, and I blame the script and the director for letting it fall into silliness right away. This is produced by Lorne Michaels which explains all the SNL actors in this film, and that also explains a lot of it. SNL has gone a long way towards losing their sense of humor lately as well, and is getting really hard to watch anymore. As a rental flick, this isn’t that bad, and these guys are really good actors, with very thin material to work with, granted, but they do their best. Several of the moments were really good, and I think it’s worth it to give it a go when you don’t have to pay big money to see it in the theater, but all in all, it’s not near as good as it should have been.

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Red Hour Films, Scott Rudin Productions,

Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Benedict Cumberbatch

Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) was one of the worlds to Supermodels known for his infamous “looks” one of which could stop a ninja throwing star with just a stare. Fifteen years have passed and much has changed. Zoolander got married and had a son, and built a building on the edge of a cliff, but dramatically it collapses killing his wife. He struggled as a single Dad, but his son was taken from him he hit rock bottom and moved to live a solitary life. His rival Hansel McDonald (Owen Wilson) and Derek run into each other and are invited to Rome for a chance to redeem himself and try to win his son back. This is the sequel to the original Zoolander from 2001, fifteen years ago.

Zoolander is a mix-up of good ideas that often just don’t pay off. The story is really silly, and the jokes sometimes fall flat, but in the next moment it is really funny and there are tons of infamous cameos by major stars that pop up and surprise us. All in all, the movie is like a car that won’t start half of the time, undependable, but good solid transportation when it works. Same thing here. Sometimes it’s just awfully silly and like a number of Stiller flicks (Dodgeball?) it is overly adolescent humor. On the other hand it’s embarrassingly funny, one of these shameful pleasures that we sometimes enjoy, so I don’t want to right out trash this movie. It is what it is, and it is what you would expect it to be. Like’s Sahsa Baron Cohen’s Borat, it knows it’s being stupid and just doesn’t care. If you like slapstick, tongue in cheek humor that is a big far out there, then what they heck, enjoy it. I really did, even when I didn’t realize it. Of course I like Three Stooges / Peter Sellers kind of humor, so it’s kind of in my wheelhouse in that respect. I certainly didn’t hate it, and it does pile a lot of crap on the pretentious fashion industry which is funny in itself. I did enjoy myself, and though the serious minded folks out there really trashed this thing, I would not be so quick to dismiss it. If you’re really in the mood for something that won’t ask you to think about the plot, and will allow you to just relax and enjoy an hour and half, then why not. There is a PG-13 theatrical version around and a DVD Non-Rated version. I’m not sure about the PG version, but the Non-Rated one I saw was really funny. Owen Wilson did a good job, and Will Ferrell was his usual over the top character in a minor role, although he added a lot to the comedy. If you’re not easily offended, see it. You’ll probably enjoy it too.

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Gilbert Films,

Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Laura Ramsey, Jenna Fischer

Ben Baker (Zach Galifianakis) is a severely bi-polar character who has always been best friends with Steve Dallas (Owen Wilson), a selfish, womanizing, greedy, weatherman who hangs around with Ben, but we get the feeling it’s more about what he can get rather than what he can give. When Ben’s long estranged father dies suddenly, Ben and Steve go on a road trip back to the small town for the funeral because Ben is not able to deal with it himself. But things get rather complicated when Ben’s new step-mother Angela (Laura Ramsey) turns out to be very young and very hot, and willing to stay a while longer with Ben and Steve while they work things out.

This is a character study, and really a comedy more than anything, but a bit more complex than most if this genre. With the cast here, including Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fisher, and Edwin Herrmann and more, there is certainly no shortage of talent here. There are a lot of clinkers on the “Watch Instantly” category on Netflix, but this one was actually a class film. Watching Zach’s complete transformation in the film is unreal, and I don’t think I’ve seen that character before. The story is very well told, and much more impressive than I ever expected. It’s fast moving, and really funny most of the way through with a little heart. There are lots of lessons to be learned without realizing it. When should the friendship be over, or should it continue, and if not, who ought to break it off? Steve is really nearly incapable of functioning and depends on Ben to make his life possible. He lives on Steve’s couch in a rather useless life. But could it be that Ben is really the one who is leaching off Steve? We really learn to dislike the way Ben acts, especially as things get complicated, and it’s a complex issue that will leave you thinking. This was a worthwhile film, and though rated R for mostly the bad language and a few short, but rather raw bedroom scenes, this isn’t a film for kids. It’s truly for people who are able to handle the drug and alcohol abuse and the reckless sexual behavior, but for mature audiences, I felt after all that this was a worthwhile film. I enjoyed it.

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Bold Films, Brothers Dowdle Productions, Living Films,

Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Sterling Jerins, Claire Geare

Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) has lost his company, but found a lucky opportunity to work for a large American Water Company in an Asian developing nation to upgrade their water system. He takes his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two young daughters to an upscale hotel to begin his new job. But they’ve landed right in the middle of a local uprising and Jack has to use all his skills and wits to stay a few steps ahead of the coup that is killing loyalists and foreigners on sight. With the help of an unusual character Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) who knows his way around pretty well, they are trying to find a way to get to a safe place to ride out all the violence.

This is a rapid fire suspense thriller. Owen Wilson was really a good casting decision as he really got to sink his chops into this one. The script is good, and the level of confusion they feel come across to us on screen as the terror builds. This is a situation that feels really accurate as the situation can get out of hand in a few minutes. There we are trapped with them in a foreign country with no idea what anyone is saying and no way to read any of the signs. Finding someone who can speak English is a real help in a horrible situation like this. The script is full of suspense and they literally are never out of grave danger. The audiences are seemingly enjoying this as the theaters are crowded, and I felt it was a really good roller coaster ride through the jungle.

I have to share an epiphany that I had while watching this film. It hit very close to home. In the year 1972 I was serving on a mission in Manila in the Philippines. One morning we had planned an exhibit right in the heart of Quiapo, the main area of the government buildings. Surprisingly no one came to see us, and as Americans we were often mobbed by people, mostly kids, who wanted to see us because we were different with the hairy arms and blue eyes and such. But no one came around and everyone walked with their eyes down without looking left or right. As we gave up and packed it in, we noticed that there were no newspapers anywhere on the street. The driver of the taxi turned on the radio and moved the tuner up and down the dial but there were no stations on.
At 7PM, the TV and Radios came back on, but only on the channels Ferdinand Marcos owned personally. It started with a military style march about Filipino pride, and Marcos came on to explain why he had declared martial law. The situation was very grim, and he had been planning this for many months. In order to pull it off, he had planned a vote on a new form of government using the Parliamentary System and was going to release all the Senators and Congressmen. But unfortunately a man, Ninoy Aquino had released a leaked plan of President Marcos’ plan to stay in power after the end of his term. Like the US, the President is only allowed to run for two terms and his time was ending. Aquino had spilled the beans and forced his hand, so he declared martial law, locked up Aquino and hundreds of other politicians who were against him, and took control for 10 years. Fortunately the population (kind of to my surprise) turned a blind eye, rolled over, and walked quietly around without a whimper. I could have been caught up in the middle of a coup, just like this little family in the movie. It could have been very frightening, but being 20 years old and feeling like nobody would ever mess with an American, we we on day after day as usual. But we learned a lot about how something like this can happen, and how it can change in temperament in a few minutes. It was a weird experience to think of this while watching this film. There is, of course, much much more to my story, probably enough to fill a book, but as to the film, I think I am not the only one who really enjoyed this movie. It’s kicking it in the box office, and rightly so. It’s rated R because of the graphic violence, but if you are not squeamish of that, this is a film you ought to see. I highly recommend this one as one powerful thriller.

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Scott Rudin Productions, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsber

Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori

A young writer (Jude Law) checks into the legendary Grand Budapest Hotel and finds it almost empty. He meets the man running the hotel who invites him to dinner for the story of why the hotel is still open and why he refuses to close it down. He then proceeds to tell the story of legendary owner Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and his chief lobby-boy/personal assistant Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham/Tony Revolori). It’s a grand story of recovering a stolen masterpiece, and the battle over a family inheritance, set against the backdrop of a vastly changing Europe.

Wes Anderson (Director) is known for kind of “off kilter” films. When I watched this film, I think the other film that came to mind that reminded me of this style was “The Royal Tenenbaums”. Sure enough, another Wes Anderson film, as was “Moonrise Kingdom”, “The Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou. and even “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (which was one of my early reviews that got me in big trouble with a lot of people who loved this. I must admit Wes Anderson movies are a bit weird and hard to follow, but I must admit I kind of enjoyed this one a lot. First of all, there is a huge cast, with so many famous actors showing up to bring a lot of interest to the movie. Most of them are smaller parts, but still, they all add to the enjoyment. Then there’s the setting. Wes doesn’t like to do CGI that much, so most of what we see is either green screen, or more often models. The look of this movie is wonderful. The spectacular costuming and set design deserves a wealth of honors. The story if fast moving, and funny, even if many parts are ridiculous. Most of all, though this is based upon recorded history as to the larger events going on in Europe, it’s still a fantasy movie that really feels like we’re in a different magical world. All in all I found this a very interesting and enjoyable experience, and I am glad I watched it. If you can take the oddness of this film, you’ll probably enjoy it as well. If you seen it and have an opinion, feel free to use the comments section on this post, as I would be glad to hear different opinions on this movie. As for me, I liked it.

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