Movies I Saw in August, 2008

Again, because of a lack of finances (and my lack of interest for most of the movies that came out in August), I saw only three movies this month. I did miss some classics (Disaster Movie, The House Bunny) and really missed some limited release stuff that looked good (Frozen River). But what's done is done, and I will stick with the three I did see: One HIGHLY underrated, one GHASTLY overrated, and one that was just real fun....but I wouldn't recommend now.

Also, after doing the star/asterisk rating for July, I have decided to stop that and to steal a formula from another pair of famous film critics (whose names will not be mentioned for fear of copyright laws...I don't know how that stuff works) that I think gets the job done. If not, then I may change it again by September....DEAL WITH IT!

Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green) SEE IT! - A stoner (Seth Rogen) witnesses a murder and goes on the run with his pot-dealing buddy (James Franco) in order to try and escape from the murderers (Gary Cole, Rosie Perez) who want to take their lives as well. Franco and Rogen are hilarious together, with Franco giving his first real breakout performance as a comedian. Their days together on the short-lived, hilarious, and pitch-perfect 90's Fox show "Freaks and Geeks" (an Apatow production as well) shines through as their pairing is immediately familiar. Also, Danny McBride and Bill Hader, who are becoming the go-to guys if you are making a modern comedy, are great as usual. FAVORITE SCENE: I loved that Green decided to end the movie with the three guys just talking in a diner after a long night of crime-fighting. The dialogue had to be mostly improv.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - 3D (Eric Brevig) SKIP IT! - Prof. Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) goes on an adventure to find if the writings of Jules Verne are more than just fiction. Let me first explain that I totally enjoyed watching every minute of this movie. It is fast, unbelievable, in-your-face, and...stupid. If it were still in theatres, I would be YELLING at you to see it, and to find it in 3-D. However, I do not think it will translate well to 2-dimensional DVD format since the acting, the CGI, and the story are fairly amateurish. Sorry, Danny. FAVORITE SCENE: Actually, it wasn't the scene itself, but my girlfriend, Janelle, and her reaction to it. Our three "heroes" are riding through on a mine-cart and make an impossible jump from one broken end of the track to another. Janelle: "Psh! Yeah, right." Me: "Janelle, in Brendan Fraser's 3-D adaptation of Journey to the Center of the Earth, you're supposed to check 'Yeah rights' at the door."

Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller) RENT IT! A series of unfortunate events places a group of A-list movie stars (Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.) in the trenches of an actual war zone... The problem is they believe they are still simply shooting a movie about the Vietnam War. Everyone seemed to really love this movie, and its ratings on Rotten Tomatoes were much better than Pineapple Express.... but I didn't get it. The first five to ten minutes of movie trailer spoofing and Downey's spot-on portrayal of Hollywood's obsession with the stereotype of a wise black man were among the very few funny moments in this mostly obnoxious Stiller film. The failed combination of action and comedy serves as a reminder to why 1941 will be Spielberg's least remembered film. Having said that, Tom Cruise as a fat, dancing producer is worth the $1.09 to get it from a RedBox when it's on DVD. Oh, and Danny Mcbride and Bill Hader are in it, of course, which always bumps a film up a few notches in my book. FAVORITE SCENE: It was fun to see all the faces Stiller could get to show up in such an overblown attempt at comedy... I won't give them all away, but a girl in our theatre did keep yelling for Stiller's manager to take his shirt off.