I’m a little bit behind, I know, but I am proud to announce the second installment of the Quick & Dirty Movie Reviews for the 2^nd Quarter of 08.  Let’s get down n’ dirty. 

Leatherheads

Theatrical Release: 4/4/08

DVD Release: 9/23/08

George Clooney produced, directed and starred in this pain by numbers 1920s football movie.  John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) and Renée Zellweger also star.  The movie had one or two moments that earned a chuckle but that’s about it.  The movie was so cutesy and self aware it was hard to sit through the entire film.  The script was formulaic, the acting was over the top and the story was ultimately forgettable.  This might not be a bad movie to catch on cable, but don’t rush out to see it once it’s out on DVD.

Verdict: Catch it on cable.

Forbidden Kingdom

Theatrical Release: 4/18/08

DVD Release: 9/9/08

Forbidden Kingdom is the first big screen meeting of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li.  Jackie (who’s been rather down on his career lately) said that fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high for their historic first brawl in FK.  The movie follows an American teenager who’s obsessed with martial arts movies that gets thrown into ancient China where he has to return a mythical weapon to the imprisoned hero, the Monkey King (Jet Li).  Along the way he’s joined by several heroes from Chinese mythology.  If you are able to suspend your disbelief that a random kid from modern day America can learn martial arts in no time at all then this is actually a very entertaining movie.  Good action, not a bad story… of course the fight scene between Jet Lie and Jackie Chan could have been longer… but then again fans wouldn’t have complained if the two just fought for 2 hours with no story attached what so ever. 

Verdict: For a mindless good watch, go rent.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Theatrical Release: 4/18/08

DVD Release: 9/30/08

Everything Judd Apatow does turns to gold.  Once again he created a hilarious rated R comedy with Jason Segal (How I met Your Mother) taking the lead roll as the heart broken main character who travels to Hawaii to escape his ex-girlfriend, the titular Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars/Heroes) only to discover that she’s there with her new boyfriend.  Along the way he befriends a series of hilarious characters (including Paul Rudd as a hilarious stoner/surfing instructor) and a very attractive hotel employee played by Mila Kunis.  The story doesn’t seem especially hilarious, but the movie’s humor jumps out and hits you like a ton of bricks… much like the surprise scenes with full frontal male nudity. 

Verdict: If you’re a fan of the other Judd Apatow films, chances are you’ll be a fan of this one.  RENT IT.

Harold & Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Theatrical Release: 4/25/08

DVD Release: 7/29/08

The sequel to the smash cult hit Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle pretty much delivered a standard sequel that picks up moments after the first.  Like most sequels the same gags are more or less done again just in a different setting.  The movie takes punches as George W, airplane security, and even takes a moment to explain Kumar’s history with weed.  The movie was pretty funny, but before watching please take a moment to prepare yourself for a sequel that is not as funny as the original. 

Verdict: If you’re a fan of the first, you’ll probably enjoy this one too, but not as much.  Rent it.

Baby Mama

Theatrical Release: 4/25/08

DVD Release: 9/9/08

SNL’s all woman new team reunites in Baby Mama.  Tina Fey plays a career woman who can’t have babies despite her biological clock going off.  She turns to a white trash couple to carry the baby for her.  After some marital problem the carrier (Amy Poehler) moves in with the uptight mother to be.  Hilarity ensues.  The movie was actually a lot funnier than I thought.  If you go into this movie expecting a movie as good as Tina Fey’s Mean Girls… don’t.  The movie has a lot of the same charm but fails to live up to Tina’s previous film.  The movie definitely had some hilarious moments and it’s definitely worth checking out. 

Verdict: Rent, but there’s no hurry.

Iron Man

Theatrical Release: 5/2/08

DVD Release: 9/30/08

Easily the biggest and most successful release of the 2^nd quarter was John Favreau’s Iron Man.  Robert Downy Jr. plays Tony Stark, billionaire playboy and inventor.  After being kidnapped in the Middle East Tony changes his life from making weapons to protecting life by building a suit of armor for himself and becoming Iron Man.  The movie features a bevy of talented actors, hilarious moments, great action and a build up for a sequel.  This was definitely one of the best comic book movies I have ever seen, and I highly recommend you see it too. 

Verdict: Rent it!

Speed Racer

Theatrical Release: 5/9/08

DVD Release: 9/16/08

The Wachowski Brothers (hee hee… 10 points if you know why that’s funny) made history when they created The Matrix, one of the most successful and influential action movies of all time… then they lost a lot of credibility when the sequel had the jaw dropping special effects but the story had become a garbled mess.  So what do they do after the Matrix trilogy?  Speed Racer: a live action adaptation of the cult 70s anime.  Sadly I have not scene it but if the box office is any indication the movie delivers another Wachowski flavored dose of visual eye candy with intellectual brain… spinach… (it’s tricky metaphor to maneuver.  But you get the idea)

Verdict: Rent it… if you dare… but don’t expect much.  I’m not.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Theatrical Release: 5/23/08

DVD Release: 10/14/08

Another summer another sequel… George Lucas and Steven Spielberg bring back to theaters one of the most iconic cinematic heroes of all time: Sala.  Just kidding.  Indiana Jones returns 18 years after his last great adventure.  Was it worth the wait?  Not really.  The action is once again pulse pounding, the special effects are amazing but the plethora of sidekicks that Indy picks up along the way are unnecessary and annoying, the looks to the camera saying “I’m getting too old for this” were nothing but obnoxious, the first 25 minutes of the movie was ultimately frivolous to the plot and without spoiling anything Indiana Jones is not what I consider sci-fi… The movie was entertaining but then again so is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom… Much like the Ark, this franchise should not have been disturbed. 

Verdict: Rent it if you want an action movie that insults your intelligence and destroys a franchise.

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

Theatrical Release: 6/6/08

DVD Release: 10/4/08

Adam Sandler’s new comedy sees him star as an Israeli super soldier who longs to leave the war behind and become a hair dresser (for some reason).  While fighting off with his Palestinian counterpart he fakes his own death and heads to America and gets a job at a hair salon run by a Palestinian girl.  The movie had a few laugh out loud moments, but if you go your entire life without seeing this movie… I think you’ll be okay.

Verdict: Don’t go out of your way for this one.

Kung Fu Panda

Theatrical Release: 6/6/08

DVD Release: TBD

Jack Black voices Po, a Panda who is fond of eating who dreams of being a martial arts master.  When an evil martial artist escapes from prison his former master (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) announces that it’s time to find the Dragon Warrior who will be given the Dragon Scroll that will give the reader unlimited power.  Their students Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Lui) and Tigress (Angelina Jolie) compete to see who is worthy.  But as in most movies the clumsy unlikely character is chosen.  Po must learn martial arts so that he can defeat the evil headed to Jade Palace to take revenge on his former master.  I loved this movie.  It was hilarious, great action, heart warming, definitely memorable and definitely worth seeing.

Verdict: Rent it (whenever it comes out)

The Incredible Hulk

Theatrical Release: 6/13/08

DVD Release: 10/21/08

Hey, remember Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk movie?  Well if so I’m sorry to hear that.  Hopefully that didn’t completely ruin one of Marvel’s most interesting characters for you.  Marvel Studios re imagined the character, recast everything and made a very entertaining summer action movie.  The movie isn’t as good as Iron Man, but the action is huge, the characters are interesting and the movie is definitely going to play into the new Avengers series of movies (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Capt America, Ant Man & Avengers) which will be coming out over the next 2-3 years.  The DVD is supposed to have a deleted scene where Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) discovers Capt America in the Artic. 

Verdict: Rent it.  Give it a chance.  It’s a fun, exciting movie that every comic book/action movie fan should get behind.

Get Smart

Theatrical Release: 6/20/08

DVD Release: TBD

Steve Carrell stars as Maxwell Smart, a part made famous by the legendary Don Adams in the original TV show.  The movie re launches the old show with new characters, new spins on the old standard of the show and creates a funny and extremely entertaining spy comedy. 

Verdict: A must see.

Wanted

Theatrical Release: 6/27/08

DVD Release: TBD

The movie stars James MacAvoy (Atonement) as Wesley, a loser who finds out that his father was an assassin in an organization called the Fraternity lead by Sloan (Morgan Freeman).  Wesley is paired with Fox (Angelina Jolie) who trains him how to be an assassin so he can take revenge on his father’s killer.  Wanted is loosely based on one of my favorite comic books of the same name.  The movie is so loosely based that I can barely tell that the movie is based on the original comic.  The movie is a great action film however filled with a lot of great scenes in Chicago.  The acting in the movie is surprisingly good and the special effects are pretty impressive.  If you leave your concept of physics at the door the movie is defiantly watchable. 

Verdict: Rent it if you’re in the mood for a mindless, darkly comical action flick. 

Wall-E

Theatrical Release: 6/27/08

DVD Release: 11/18/08

Lastly but by no means least is Pixar’s newest and probably greatest movie.  Wall-E takes place long in the future when Earth’s garbage has gotten so bad that the president (a live action Fred Willard) has everyone evacuated to a giant space ocean liner.  All that’s left is Wall-E, robots designed for dealing with the garbage.  Generations later only one Wall-E unit remains functional.  He’s developed a series of daily rituals and even has a pet cockroach.  Things change for the lone Wall-E unit when a new robot named EVE arrives on the planet.  I would prefer not revealing anything else as I really feel like of all of the movies that came out in April, May and June this is definitely the most amazing.  The visual effects are great, the story is touching and there’s a message to the movie, which is always an important feature.  The movie is of course for kids, but it’s easy for any one of any age to really enjoy every second of this film.  I am saying that without a doubt Wall-E will be winning the Oscar for best animated feature this year. 

Verdict: A new classic.  A must see. 

The Good

Forbidden Kingdom

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Iron Man

Kung Fu Panda

Get Smart

Wall-E

The So So

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Baby Mama

Incredible Hulk

Wanted

The Bad

Leatherheads

Speed Racer

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan

Love Guru

So back in 2003 I went to go see the Ang Lee directed Hulk film.  On Saturday I saw the new more different Hulk film.  Which is better?  Well let’s find out.

Round 1: Bruce Banner

2003: Eric Bana

2008: Edward Norton

Norton’s got a lot of notches on his belt and Bana (even at the time) was pretty obscure.

2003 - 0 2008 – 1

Round 2: Betty Ross

2003: Jennifer Connelly

2008: Liv Tyler

I may be a biased, but I’d take Empire Records over Labyrinth any day of the week.

2003 – 0 2008 – 2

Round 3: General Thunderbolt Ross

2003: Sam Elliot

2008: William Hurt

As much as I love the voice of the beef council…

2003 – 0 2008 – 3

Round 4: Bad Guy

2003: Nick Nolte as Mr. Banner/The Absorbing Man

2008: Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/The Abomination

Creating a new character for the first movie in a franchise and merging him with another character… for shame 2003.

2003 – 0 2008 – 4

Round 5: Director

2003: Ang Lee

2008: Louis Leterrier

This is tough because for a big budget summer action movie you could have the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Broke Back Mountain or The Transporter 2…

2003 – 0 2008 – 5

It’s pretty much a shut out.  As much as I love ever single scene in a movie being an extreme close up, mutant dogs, waiting over an hour for the titular Hulk, completely rewriting a well known comic book character's origin, and overacting a plenty… I’ll still take the new film, thank you.