Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses -- 3.5/5

This movie, actually, was not on my radar for this upcoming July. Actually, from the trailer I wasn't too amused to be honest. It didn't have much that really grabbed me, however neither did the first Hangover. I suppose it's actually even safe to say it's very rare that I'll want to go out and see a comedy, seeing as I am super picky concerning which ones I really enjoy. Looking at my DVD collection, I own no more than 10 comedies. I'm just a darker-movie sort of girl (bring on the horror and Tim Burton!).

So then why did I see this movie? Well, I will usually consider any movie that's recommended to me from a fair select group of people I trust, and if on top of that it's fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, then I will give it a shot! The movie was free anyway, so why not?
As it turns out, the person who suggested this movie to me was correct: this movie is really funny and probably one of the better summer comedies (though it wasn't too hard to be, with its only competition being Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part II, and I'm not bashing Bridesmaids either). Horrible Bosses uses a full-proof raunchy guy comedy formula that works: 3 guys (the ladies man, the innocent-ish one, and the every-day normal guy) get themselves tied up in a really crazy and awkward situation and in the climax of the film, miraculously get out of it, no harm done. In this movie's case, the 3 men all have these jerky bosses that sort of push them around, and in conclusion they really want to murder them. The audience never really believes the guys are going to kill the bosses, but the situations these guys get themselves into are pretty amusing.

A plus of this movie was that even though it was a tad predictable at times, it wound up still giving a few shocks that ended up really working with the flow of the film, and the hilariousness of the situation. Two of my favorite characters were actually supporting cast, and those being Dr. Julia Harris (played by Jennifer Aniston) and Motherfucker Jones (played by Jamie Foxx). I actually did not recognize Aniston at first, and was really quite surprised that she played such a funny character, seeing as her name post Friends was pretty much the kiss of death to any comedy. And Jamie Foxx may have his ups and his downs, but it wasn't much of a surprise that he brought out a lot of laughs. This summer comedy is actually not too different from The Hangover a few summers back. Although it does have Jason Bateman as the protagonist, other than that the cast really isn't seen in an overabundance of main stream comedians like the Judd Apatow or SNL group. What it really all comes down to though, is that the writing of this comedy was pretty spot on and it worked. Because really, that's why I find a lot of comedies in the disappointing category: the situation writing is poor and in the end I do not feel satisfied.

Battle Memorial Day Sequel Weekend: Kung Fu Panda 2 vs. The Hangover Part II

VS

In this review I'm going to do things a little differently. Instead of doing 2 separate reviews for the 2 sequels, I'm going to compare and contrast them, saying what film did the sequel-thing right and which one did it horribly wrong.

Three summers ago I was going into college. I had this fantastic new job at the Hill Country Galleria Cinemark and I loved everyone I was working with. And Kung Fu Panda had come out. Now up against the year's best animated picture (Wall-e), Kung Fu Panda was just not as fantastical. However, after rewatching it again (on bluray of course) I realized that the movie actualy was pretty fantastic in its own way. The movie is gorgeously animated and all the jokes are super clever. It's funny, it's beautiful, and the story pans out marvelously. I laughed throughout the film again. It was hilarious.
Now, two summers ago one of my favorite recent comedies came out in theaters. I went to see The Hangover twice, which is something I rarely ever do for a comedy (I'm more of a repeat action-blockbuster kind of girl). It was unexpected, unpredictable, and totally hilarious. The Hangover is simply a fantastic raunchy comedy that I love. Like Kung Fu Panda, it too was hilarious.

This past holiday weekend both these films sequels hit theaters. The Hangover Part II swooped in and almost doubled the original's weekend gross with $86.5 million. That's a whole lot of people who decided to go out and see said raunchy R-rated comedy sequel. On my last day at the theater, all of our showings for The Hangover Part II sold out completely after 6pm. It's safe to say it did really really well. Kung Fu Panda 2, however, did not do so well. Coming in with a total of $48 million, the film's predecessor pulled in $60 million on a non-holiday weekend 3 years ago. I guess this wasn't the weekend for a children's movie after all (probably because all the parents were out seeing the R-rated movie).

It's obvious what film did much better money-wise this weekend, but which one was better overall? I of course saw them both, being I was very excited for the 2 films this summer. I must say, as much as I understand the box office results, I do not agree with them.

The Hangover Part II was a horrible film. Not only did it pretty much just cut-and-paste the first film's formula, making it completely predictable (something that the first film was so good at evading), but the jokes just weren't funny. Director Todd Phillips must just be laughing behind his desk in Hollywood right now, pointing his giant finger at us all for paying for this movie. I felt like the movie also didn't take advantage of all the funny jokes it could have. Being a fish out of water in any country is always a funny scenario, but this film took that and stomped on it. The movie had this super serious tone to all its humor and it felt to me that there's something about Thailand that maybe Mr. Phillips doesn't like. Every time a person near me would laugh, I would look over at them and think "How is someone getting shot funny? That's not funny, this is serious." The film got people to laugh at parts that, if they were in another film, people would not be laughing at ever. Also the total lax attitude about the [spoiler alert] chopped off finger was ridiculous. I would never be so nonchalant about my finger getting chopped off if I wanted to be a surgeon. Say goodbye to your future. [/spoiler]. I usually don't get the feeling to walk out of a film, but with this movie I almost did. The only reason I didn't was because my boyfriend had gone with me and I didn't want to bother him. However, after the movie it came to my attention he too wanted to walk out. If I had paid for this movie, I would have probably asked for my money back. It was terrible.

There was a glimmer of hope this weekend though and families didn't take enough advantage of it. While The Hangover Part II was the example of what you shouldn't do while making a sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2 was everything you do when you want to make a sequel right. The film was just spot-on. Instead of creating a movie that is step-by-step the original, it expanded on the first and moved forward, repeating some jokes from the first, but most of all creating more character development. In the first film, Po learns to accept himself for who he is. What Po discovers in this film is to accept his past and to focus on the present, to become at peace with himself. The villain was also fab. Gary Oldman's voice was so prefect for the peacock, I loved it. The film had a completely new story arc and I fell for it. I adored Kung Fu Panda 2 almost as much as I loved the first, and it just proves that sometimes that children's movies can be the better film. Just because you're over the age of 17 does not mean you can't watch a really solid and good animated film. They may sometimes be better than the raunchy R-rated movie.

At last! I shall give you my ratings (with my ratings of the first films as well).
The Hangover Part II: 1.5/5 (The Hangover: 4/5)
Kung Fu Panda 2: 3.5/5 (Kung Fu Panda: 4/5)

Wild Target (2010)

Wild Target - 4/5

I really enjoy British comedies when I get the chance to watch one, and this one is no different. This is a remake (but you wouldn't know), and despite that it's stays super quirky and fresh. With a huge and remarkable cast (Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, and Rupert Grint to name a few), it is as well acted as any movie I've seen lately. It's fun, and it's not supposed to be anything else. There's no incredible life lesson that is to be learned, and the plot is very simple and nothing extra-ordinary. However, this movie has energy and keeps its audience laughing throughout.

This movie fell upon my radar because two of my favorite people are in it: Rupert Grint and Emily Blunt. They played the two major supporting characters, and they did it so well. Emily Blunt's character Rose kind of reverts back to her hilarious work on The Devil Wears Prada, which was the first movie I watched with her; and Rupert Grint fabulously breaks away from the Ron persona (of Harry Potter) really well, very much like he did with Driving Lessons. Bill Nighy played the assassin Victor Maynard and he was hilarious. I absolutely adored the way he would so nonchalantly kill all his victims in the beginning and his transformation was funny to watch.

Watching the movie on bluray was really fantastic, because the colors all popped out. The film itself was also really fast paced and it moved with such ease. I really enjoyed this movie, and would strongly recommend you go out to your nearest movie store or head on over to your netflix account and get it!