MOVIE SHEEP

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEcNbEDg_E

rating: 4 sheep (black sheep)

if you took ‘Zombieland’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and you added fast talking funny guy (Aziz Ansari) you would get this movie. it was original and had the feeling of a classic 80s teen movie. plot that can be explained in two sentences, jokes aimed towards 17 year olds and of course a little bit of violence. stellar performances by all types of actors, even oscar nominated twenty year old teenager (Jessie Eisenberg) even the thug (Michael Pena) was spot on and is a character that will be quoted for the next couple of months by those who have seen the movie. and who can forget the two bad guys (Danny McBride, Nick Swardson) who can make you laugh even wearing monkey laughs where you can’t see their faces. it’s gotten to the point where both McBride and Ansari have becomes Roganites (my word for comedians who can say anything and make you laugh, aka Seth Rogan once upon a time ago before he made ‘Observe and Report’). and besides, this movie is a good lesson to those who take life for granted with a message “what if you had a bomb tied to your chest, then what… homes!”

what you’ll get from watching 30 Minutes or Less:

- an appreciation for your oh-so-young life

- McBride and Ansari at their best form

- an appreciation for Swarsdon who might just become a familiar name in the near future

- a cooler side of Eisenberg who will not be getting an oscar nod for this one, but maybe some younger fans

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHnyW5Fvtvw

rating: 2 sheep

i had to admit that i laughed, but it’s only because i wanted to feel like i didn’t waste my money. two friends (Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds) pee in a fountain and wish to have each others lives; simple premise, simple comedy. however, the jokes were too crude and too obscure to be regarded as main stream comedy. although it did have some laugh out loud moments, it was not an all around good comedy. usually when i see a movie, i think to myself “would i buy this movie when it comes out on dvd?” i wouldn’t get this one… yet, what gave this movie some spice was the beautiful female lead (Olivia Wilde) who showed her true colours as a girl with moxie instead of the typical ditzy girl who trips over herself falling for the guy. all in all this movie was the kind of movie you see with your buddies on tuesday cheap nights, laugh about it on the way home and then forget it the next day. 

what you’ll get from watching The Change-Up:

- an appreciation for Jason Bateman as an a-list comedy actor (about time)

- multiple nude scenes that get pretty wilde (hint, hint)

- palm to face: hollywood is running out of ideas

trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK68Y3oMEk8

rating: 4 sheep

if you are a guy who has his doubts, even though it has funny man with the shark fin nose (Steve Carell), you are wrong. go see this movie, even if it’s with the bros. you will laugh at things you only thought girls thought were funny, like men’s fashion. basic outline of any romantic comedy, man and wife getting divorced, man finds male companionship in suave superstar (Ryan Gosling) who shows this recent divorced man the time of his life and how to really score chicks. this movie deals with love for all ages, except seniors cause that would be gross and is meant to be in a Nancy Meyers movie. it’s sad that guys have shunned rom coms due to the fact that so many suck, but every once and a while you get a charmer like this that is loaded with crude one liners and a really, really unpredictable ending!

what you’ll get from watching Crazy, Stupid, Love.:

- a new respect for Ryan Gosling as the funny man (guys)

- a new respect for Steve Carell as the leading man (girls)

- an urge to buy really nice clothes (even though you’ll wear them and the second you go out in public you’ll chicken out, change into sweats because you know that you are not Ryan Gosling)

trailer: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCoDf44oCE

rating: 5 sheep 

the wait is over. we can finally give the franchise the old pat on the back and forget that Marky Mark ever did that one where they dressed up in ape suits. this is the beginning of a whole new world that will come up to par with ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Avatar’, but only if they play their cards right. simple premise: a young scientist (James Franco) thinks he’s found the cure for a common disease and tests it on apes. his ape, a prodigy, one day goes nuts and decides to go animal farm on San Francisco. it’s exactly what the wordy title says it is: the rise of the planet of the apes. don’t expect armies of humans fighting armies of apes for two hours. this movie is the prologue to what i hope will be a series of promising movies (no monkey business!) oh and by the way, this will win best special effects come awards time.

what you’ll get from watching The Rise of Planet of the Apes:

- the most exciting hour of a movie with very little dialogue spoken (the tipping point of the movie)

- an appreciation for monkeys (no lie, almost felt like donating to the monkey wildlife reserve during the movie, but then remembered that it was just a movie)

- a fear of orangoutangs 

trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JerVrbLldXw

rating: 4 sheep

this is the movie that we have been waiting for. finally, the first respectable superhero movie of the summer (seeing how there has been so many, only exceptions being ‘Thor’ and ‘X MEN: First Class’). this movie was the first superhero movie that actually felt as if you were reading the comic book. the punchy dialogue, the saturated colours and even the flow of the movie really brought this cool sense of superhero nostalgia to the screen. i even loved how the film was set in the backdrop of ww2 and the marvel studios didn’t sell out to modern appeal. even the star of the movie (Chris Evans) brings the the same flare to his character as he did in ‘Fantastic Four’; he’s one of the only superheroes who has heart and isn’t just a ego centrical arrogant rando with a cape. i’m going to finish with this, ‘The Avengers’ better be damn good because they’ve been sneaking in plot points in the last few films that have been pumped out in rapid succession just to satisfy the fan boys that will probably tear the film apart while wearing the t-shirt… what a world we live in.

what you’ll get from watching Captain America: The First Avenger:

- the first good movie from Joe Johnston since ‘Jumanji’

- a good dose of superhero nostalgia 

- an appreciation for american patriotism (i don’t see a ‘Captain Canada’ coming out anytime soon so feel good about this one my fellow canucks)

- a sneak peak at the new ‘The Avengers’ trailer

trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh9cG5dzs-U

rating: 3 sheep 

the reason this movie was not great, though still funny, was simply due to lack of originality. it was very predictable and the storyline was somewhat weak. however, it is very funny and very crude. some of the one liners said by the three agitated employees (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day) will keep popping into your head well after the movie is over. the one thing i loved about the movie was how the three a-listers (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston) were the ones who really had to act like fools in order to sell their characters. (Aniston’s first different role, if you will). and last but not least the hitman (Jamie Foxx) who i felt stole the show, will be a memorable character the same way Mr. Chow was memorable in ‘The Hangover’.

what you’ll get from watching Horrible Bosses:

- a couple of new phrases to repeat to yourself in the shower

- a cameo from the Old Spice guy

- an interest to watch ‘Throw Momma From the Train’ or ‘Strangers On A Train’

- a good dose of black comedy

trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-WCCdkVDr4

rating: 4 sheep (black sheep)

this seems like a movie that Wes Anderson would make if he were Welsh and had an obsession with ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’ newcomer writer and director Richard Ayoade’s movie is the first ‘real’ teen movie in a while. though it may be quirky and unbelievable at points, the topics and situations it deals with are closer to being real than say the not so believable dramatic points from The Girl Next Door. i found that this movie is the closest thing to an adaptation of J.D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ (movie even makes several references to the book) and if the rights were ever released to make an official adaptation then Ayoade would be a perfect fit. not only was this movie witty, but it also highlighted the great awkwardness of being a teenager in the classiest form possible. the protagonist Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) falls in love with Jordana Bevin (Yasmin Paige) and the two of them do not have the usual boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. together they enjoy arson, bullying and honest to god brutal truth telling. it was interesting the way the movie was presented like a book with headings before each act almost like Tarantino’s movies, except this one made it more of an event every time there was a new theme. Ayoade definitely has style when it comes to making movies especially the mis en scene which makes it fun to try and guess the time when the movie takes place (supposedly the eighties). and for all those who are thrown off by the title, don’t worry; it all ends up making sense. 

what you’ll get from watching Submarine:

- an interest to download the music written by Arctic Monkey’s lead singer, Alex Turner

- an appreciation for a submarine as a metaphor

- an ear for the Welsh accent

- a good dose of quirky wit with a mix of indie drama