One Movie A Day Remix

→ in
Tools    





Movie Forums Stage-Hand
Great job, thanks for posting all of this. As I was going through the thread I noticed that no one commented on the movie Antitrust. While I agree that it wasn't a great movie, I really enjoyed it. I would recommend seeing it.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Day 263: January 18th, 2011

The Dilemma



A stupid premise for an unfunny film.

Vaughn discovers that his best friend's wife, played by Winona Ryder, is having an affair. He tries to tell him, but the stress from a recent job is too much to handle. So instead, he decides tries to catch them in the act. Hijinks ensue and so on....zzzzzzzzz

Simple premise, although stupid in my opinion, to follow, could be a funny comedy. It had the right people involved. Ron Howard back to doing comedies and both Vince Vaughn and Kevin James are funny guys, if given the right material. Yet the end result is an unfunny mess that feels like another paycheck for Vaughn, who seems to be on the decline in recent years.

Kevin James had a successful career in television, his transition to films have been rocky. The success of Paul Blart was largely because of him. He took the place of Chris Farley in Grown Ups, which was a disappointment and his other Sandler flick, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was hit and miss with a lot of the redundant jokes about being gay. The Dilemma is not the film he was hoping for, he takes a huge backseat in terms of screen time and comedy to Vince Vaughn.

Vince Vaughn plays Ronny, the guy who sees the affair. He has an inner struggle to deal with, should he tell his friend? You can expect the usual fast ball comedy with frequent temper tantrums from him here. Queen Latifah has too small a role here, she was good in what little screen time she had. The wives, Winona Ryder and Jennifer Connelly, do nothing. Connelly looks great and she has a few scenes in which she brings some depth to an otherwise cardboard character. Winona has more of a central role, it's her fault this problem has come up. Neither look like they are having fun and they know they have been giving the thankless wife role.

The surprise here is Channing Tatum, a guy who has yet to prove he can act. He was the funniest part of this entire movie. I knew the film was in trouble when the least likable guy in the cast is the funniest. He again, has too few scenes and should have been featured a bit more.

The Dilemma is more focused on the story than the comedy. Sometimes this is a good thing, but in this case we are watching a story unfold that shouldn't have been a problem in the first place. Tell your best friend, that's it. I found myself less and less interested in the problems the characters had because it was his (Vaughns) own stupidity the made it all happen. The comedy should have been stronger and more central with the film. It feels so bland, uninspired and lazy.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Day 264: January 19th, 2011

MegaMind



Plain, average, will entertain enough.

Megamind is a MEGAMIND, meaning he's super smart and has turned to a life of crime because of of Metro Man, a superman like being that protects the city. When Megamind actually manages to kill Metro Man, he finds no purpose to his life anymore, so he creates another superhero. But this new superhero isn't like the hero that was before him and it's up to Megamind to stop his own creation.

Looking at the voice actors involved, Megamind has a lot of comedic talent behind it. Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Ben Stiller, J.K. Simmons. It has the uber celeb Brad Pitt playing the uber hero, Metro Man. Yet if anything has told me in the past, is that even thought there is a talented cast behind the film, it doesn't necessarily make the film that funny. With this being a kids animated film, a lot of the comedians restrain themselves and resort to over the top performances to get the laughs. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Megamind does what a lot of animated films do, the bare minimum. The's colourful, to grab the attention of the young ones. It's got the stars that the parents know and like and it has enough jokes and action bits to make you feel like you've not wasted your time and money. So , yes, Megamind is a decent flick. But that's it. It's only decent. It's not memorable, it's not hilarious, it's not jaw dropping with its animation. It gets in, makes you enjoy your time and leaves. What more can you ask for from a film?

Megamind is a Dreamworks effort, they seem to make their films with what's hot today, cram jokes that are funny today and have no heart in it. It's sad that I'm comparing it to Pixar's output, but they really have raised the bar to the point that anything else never really compares. Sometimes there will be a film that surprises me, How To Train Your Dragon and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs are two entries that I really dug. Megamind has to settle with "enjoyable".




Just finished tagging all the reviews in this thread (that weren't already tagged when cross-posted elsewhere). Awesome stuff, TUS. You're over 500 total tagged now.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Just finished tagging all the reviews in this thread (that weren't already tagged when cross-posted elsewhere). Awesome stuff, TUS. You're over 500 total tagged now.
WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aw s*it I'm never going to catch him now!!!



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Awww, I remember this thread. Death in the family kinda derailed it.

Over 500 eh? Well, that doesn't speak to the quality of them, that I can assure you.



It actually ended up over 600 when I went back and found the first attempt.

There were a handful that were done twice, but the newer ones won out in those cases.