30 Minutes or Less

Directed by Ruben Fleischer.

2011. Rated R, 83 minutes.

Cast:

Jesse Eisenberg

Danny McBride

Aziz Ansari

Nick Swardson

Dilshad Vadsaria

Michael Peña

Bianca Kajlich

Fred Ward

Brett Gelman

Dwayne (McBride) isn't nearly as smart as he thinks. To boot, he is a slacker at odds with his wealthy dad (Ward). Really, he’s just waiting for the old man to die so he can inherit everything. When he lets this bit of info slip to Juicy (Kajlich), the stripper giving him a lap-dance, she tells him she knows someone who could expedite the process for a hundred grand. Of course, he doesn’t have that kind of money. With his sidekick Travis (Swardson), who happens to be good at making explosives, he decides to kidnap someone and force them to rob a bank for him. This is where Nick (Eisenberg) comes in. He’s a pizza delivery guy with problems of his own. He just had a fight with his best friend Chet (Ansari) and he’s attracted to Chet’s sister Kate (Vadsaria), but won’t tell her. He is also the unlucky chap who makes a delivery to Dwayne and Travis. He is quickly knocked out when he gets there. When he wakes up he finds he has a bomb strapped to his chest and is told he will rob a bank today, or else he’s going to go boom. In case you aren’t quite sure, this is a comedy.

Most of the movie consists of us, along with Dwayne and Chet, following Nick around as he decides what to do and figures out how to go about doing it, with Chet’s help, naturally. On both sides of this coin, we get lots of bickering between two guys. There is less where Dwayne and Travis is concerned as the former is mostly in charge. If you boil down all the yelling they do it equals one guy coming up with an idea and the other calling him stupid. Eventually, a course of action is agreed upon which doesn’t go as planned and the cycle starts over. This repetition lends itself to the theory of diminishing returns. The jokes yield fewer and fewer laughs as the movie goes on because they really haven’t changed since the beginning. The only real variation being how inventive the guys get with their swear words, of which there are more than enough.

To the movie’s credit, the plot hurtles forward with a kinetic energy. It rarely slows down, knowing it has to jam everything into an hour and a half. Those brief occasions are to set up our romance, but that’s about it. Most exposition is taken care of during those shouting matches I referenced. The rest of the film is made up of some form of action. Though they lack any real tension, they are occasionally entertaining.

More than any other genre, whether or not we like a comedy depends on how we feel about its stars. You either find certain people funny or you do not. I like Eisenberg okay, but can’t say I think he’s hilarious. I am also lukewarm on Danny McBride. Generally speaking, Ansari and Swardson both annoy me far more than make me laugh. When you add all that up, you get a movie that I believe has some funny moments, but mostly falls flat. The other aspects, like the story and action, are also rather hit-or-miss. Give it an additional demerit for reducing Michael Peña to a total stereotype. Now rewrite sentences three through six of this paragraph to better reflect how you feel about this movie’s stars.

MY SCORE: 5/10

This is the End

Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen.

2013. Rated R, 107 minutes.

Cast:

Seth Rogen

Jay Baruchel

James Franco

Jonah Hill

Craig Robinson

Danny McBride

Michael Cera

Emma Watson

Channing Tatum

Rihanna

You may know actor Jay Baruchel from such movies as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, She’s Out of My League, and Goon. He finally has some time off so he goes to Los Angeles where he wants nothing more than to kick back at his buddy Seth Rogen’s house while the two smoke some weed and play video games. When Seth informs him there is a party tonight at James Franco’s place, Jay very reluctantly agrees to go. The problem is Jay doesn’t like Franco or any of the other people he is told will be there. Though he’s having a miserable time, things get considerably worse for Jay and everyone else as the apocalypse seems to be upon them, literally. Some people are instantly lifted towards the heavens while the ground opens up and swallows others, including many of Franco’s famous party guests, all playing themselves. Inside the actor’s home seems to be the only safe place for our remaining players: Franco, Baruchel, Rogen, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride.

Early on, the movie gives us ridiculous thing to laugh at. We get things like the drug fueled lunacy of Michael Cera, Craig Robinson leading a group of revelers in a rendition of “Take Yo Panties Off,” and Rihanna being the target of a few sexual advances. There are also many more celebrity cameos, most of which comprise of the stars making fun of their own images. Once we transition into the survival portion of the film we explore the dynamics of the various relationships of our survivors, and of course, a number of power struggles. Weaved into all of this is the debate over whether or not what is going is biblical. With death waiting outside the door in the form of seldom seen, but very deadly creatures, it functions as a monster flick, too.

Comedy is the thread that holds it all together. If you’re familiar with any of these guys, you should know what type of humor to expect. It’s profane, over the top, completely irreverent, homoerotic, and especially when the guys get really thirsty, flat out gross. Thankfully, it works far better here than it has in any of their other recent comedic efforts. The guys settle into their roles quickly, caricatures of themselves, and play it for all it’s worth. Save possibly for Jay, none of the guys are particularly concerned with developing empathy for themselves. Each is just a portion of the joke. They all make their portion work.

Eventually, the movie gets into good vs. evil, and just what it takes to be accepted into the kingdom of Heaven. Don’t expect any deep meditation on the subject. In fact, if you’re serious about your religion you might bristle at the conclusions that are reached. Though, to be fair, it doesn’t question anyone’s beliefs as much as it pokes fun at them. More attention is given to the friendship between Jay and Seth in particular, but we also delve into each guy’s relationship with the other guys, and some of theirs with each other. This is the End becomes a amalgamation of bromances held together by outlandish humor. Therefore, if you just want something fun that’s not afraid to offend or appear stupid, yet still woks as a story, this will suit you quite nicely.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Directed by Jennifer Yuh.

2011. Rated PG, 91 minutes.
Cast:
Jack Black
Angelina Jolie
Dustin Hoffman
Gary Oldman
Jackie Chan
Seth Rogen
Lucy Liu
David Cross
James Hong
Michelle Yeoh
Danny McBride
Dennis Haybert
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Victor Garber

Since becoming the Dragon Warrior, Po (Black) is enjoying life and dispatching the occasional bad guy. Of course, we wouldn’t get a new movie without a newer, greater threat on the horizon. That threat comes in the form of shunned peacock Shen (Oldman). He was banished from the city he calls home long ago for being a very bad boy. Now he’s back with plans to take over all of China, starting with his hometown. Though he’s pretty darn good at martial arts, fighting isn’t his main tactic. Instead, he has created something that seems to symbolize the death of kung fu itself. Not only is it up to Po and the rest of the Furious Five to stop him, but Po is also dealing with an identity crisis. Having never met another panda, he wants to figure out where he came from and what happened to his parents.

Like he was in the original, our hero is still a goofball and very much like most other characters played by Jack Black. By the way, his schtick works better here than in his live-action roles. There are also fun interactions between Po, Master Shifu (Hoffman) and the rest of the Furious Five. In particular, his moments with Tigress (Jolie) provides a huge chunk of the movie’s most tender moments. Another large chunk comes from Po’s time with the only dad he’s known. There is also plenty of action, even more than in the original since we don’t have to spend so much time on Po learning to fight.

Alas, more action does not necessarily make a good movie. This is a good movie because it maintains its predecessor’s most important trait. Aside from the fighting, the plot functions as much like a true martial arts film as it does a kiddie flick. Other than using human beings not many changes, if any, would be needed. It would be right at home amongst a group of Shaw Brothers productions.

It also helps that Gary Oldman gives us a wonderful heel in Shen. He’s more menacing than Tai Lung from the first movie because instead of wanting to be more than he is, Shen embraces his villainy. His one true care is about vengeance. What he has to do to achieve it is not important to him, only that it is done. Oldman conveys this in that just over the top, maniacal bad guy. Even as just a voice actor, he continues to show he is one of the most versatile performers in Hollywood.

When speaking of sequels, I don’t like saying that if you liked the first, you’ll like the second. In this case, that’s a true statement. The follow-up maintains the original’s magic and expands enough to still feel fresh. It pulls the trick of making us feel like we know these characters and that their adventure is bigger because they’ve grown – not just because. I’d be naïve to say it definitely isn’t, but it doesn’t feel like a cash-grab. It feels like the continuation of a saga.

MY SCORE: 8/10

Due Date

Directed by Todd Phillips. 2011. Rated R, 95 minutes. Cast: Robert Downey Jr. Zach Galifianakis Jamie Foxx Michelle Monaghan Danny McBride Juliette Lewis

In Atlanta on business, Peter (Downey) is about to board a plane home to Los Angeles in plenty of time for the birth of his first child. His wife Sarah (Monaghan) is scheduled to have a C-Section in five days. A not-so-lucky chance meeting with an aspiring actor named Ethan (Galifianakis) sends his life spiraling out of control. Because of Ethan, Peter is kicked off the plane. He’s subsequently put on the “no fly” list, doesn’t have his wallet containing all his money and ID and is put into the position of having to ride across the country with the delusional and less than intelligent Ethan.

Downey gives us a perfect straight man. He plays Peter’s mostly humorless personality to the hilt. His job is to build on the humor initiated by others. He does this flawlessly by reacting to things not always as most of us would, but the way most of us would like. It’s over the top, but just enough to keep from becoming totally presposterous. The effect is that the initial joke makes us laugh and Downey’s reaction makes us laugh even more.

The job of getting us laughing in the first place is most often handled by Galifianakis. Much like his work in The Hangover, his character is completely oblivious to the inappropriateness of what he’s doing until after the fact. It’s a tactic that works brilliantly time and again. This is due in large part to the way he plays the role. His antics are outlandish but he plays it as if what he’s doing is completely natural.

From time to time, other are brought in to help create humor onscreen. The cameo by Danny McBride is most successful. Offscreen, director Todd Phillips handles the load with relative ease. With the aforementioned The Hangover as well as Old School and a few others under his belt, he’s proven adept at taking silly premises and making them far funnier than they should be. Many comedies throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. Once again, he seems able to throw the right things.

MY SCORE: 7.5/10