Saturday, August 18, 2007
Movie Reviews: SUPERBAD & THE INVASION
IN THEATHERS
SUPERBAD
Seth and Even (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera) are two high school best friends who are about to graduate and move on to two different colleges. For one final school blowout party, the pair of nerds try to buy alcohol to get some girls drunk who will then hopefully sleep with them.
Cast Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Kevin Corrigan, Joe Lo Truglio, Martha MacIsaac (more)
Director(s) Greg Mottola
Writer(s) Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Status In theaters (wide)
Genre(s) Comedy
Release Date Aug. 17, 2007
Running Time 114 minutes
Review:
Superbad is quite the accomplishment. Taking a story we've all seen numerous times, mostly told badly, Superbad makes everything feel fresh and new. This is mostly accomplished through smart and very authentic dialogue and interactions. The characters in the movie proceed through the well worn plot in all their awkward glory so realistically that it may give some flashbacks. Jonah Hill, who acts via F-bomb here, and Michael Cera are perfectly cast and do a great job of being visual representation of the mind and the libido. Cera in particular, through his incredibly mature deadpan style, shines as he's made to wad through all the angst and confusion his character is facing. Hill is clearly given a green light to go wild and he doesn't hold back. Both make for a great 2 man combo not seen on the screen in a long long while. Christopher Mintz-Plasse debut is memorable and perfectly fitting for the movie, his subplot was almost as funny as the main one. This is mainly due to great supporting roles from Seth Rogan and Bill Hader who deliver some awesomely funny dialogue. While most of the movie is great raunchy fun, it does tend to lag in some spots and I felt that some things could have been trimmed to give it a more streamlined feel, felt the same about 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up so it's no real surprise here. Minor complaints aside, Superbad is still a great comedy and proof that if done correctly retreads of plots or stories can work.
A-
THE INVASION
Nicole Kidman stars as a Washington, D.C., psychiatrist who discovers a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. Weirder still: The origins of the virus appear to be extraterrestrial.
Cast Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright
Director(s) Oliver Hirschbiegel
Writer(s) Dave Kajganich
Status In theaters (wide)
Genre(s) Sci-Fi, Thriller
Release Date Aug. 17, 2007
Running Time 93 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13
Review:
The Invasion is slightly muddled mess of a movie that lacks any tension or depth. German director Oliver Hirschbiegel's, Downfall, American debut seems to have been the result of way too many cooks in the kitchen. The film was subjected to reshoots by the Wachowski Brothers, The Matrix trilogy, who handed them over to their protégé James McTeigue, V for Vendetta, because Warner Brother's believed Hirschbiegel's film was too cerebral. The film changes styles in very unnatural ways throughout especially in the film's more action oriented ending which was a major sequence that part of the reshoots. This pre release drama rarely works out well, Tombstone is one of the few exceptions, for films and it's no different here. The Invasion lacks any real dramatic grip and the film has a very herky jerky feel to it, never quite settling on a tone. The film's message is clearly stated by characters in the movie but never really displayed visually and where the film stands is never actually defined or explained. Top notch talent is everywhere to be seen on the screen; Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright should make for a recipe for an excellent movie but here they are unusually stale and uninspired as if the movie's sucked all the fire out of them. It doesn't help that the majority of the movie is populated with people acting like robots which just doesn't make for a particularly enjoyable watching experience. In the end it's a real shame as this idea, even if it's been remake countless times, can still say something important about our society and perhaps Hirschbiegel's original film did say something substantial but as is The Invasion is an empty endeavor.
D
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