No, there is not going to be another Weekend at Bernies movie...yet. But now that I have your undivided attention:
Shorter, but boozier and less amusing real-life version of the film Weekend at Bernie's
Less amusing than Weekend at Bernies?
Set Up (Part 2)
Movie Intro: When I was younger, I wanted to be a priest. I was going into battle, to save man's soul from the evil of the world. But as I got older, I saw the world for what it really was. I wasn't so much who I was going to save, but what was going to save the world from me. As I lay there, gasping for my last breath, I knew God gave me a second chance, but I was too stupid to take it. I was gonna get what's mine.
This raised important theological and philosophical questions. A large chunk of the movie was spent exploring a wide array of existential questions.
Set Up Intro (Part 1 of 3)
Set Up
125 minutes
R
Director:Mike Gunther
Writers: Mike Behrman, Mike Gunther
Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ryan Phillippe, Jenna Dewan, Randy Couture, James Remar, Will Yun Lee
I was really looking forward to seeing this movie at a theater. As it turns out, this is a straight-to-DVD flick. Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson has lost his street cred; he's not making music. 'Fiddy' has not really done much since Get Rich or Die Tryin', not to be confused with the 2005 album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' [Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture]. Ironically, he is the one who turned into a 'wanksta'.
I started writing a review for this movie. Then I realized, to do this film justice, I will have to split it up into three parts: Intro, Part 1 and Part 2.
Starring
- 50 Cent as Sonny
- Bruce Willis as Biggs
- Ryan Phillippe as Vincent
- Jenna Dewan as Mia
- Randy Couture as Petey
- James Remar as William
- Will Yun Lee as Joey
This concludes Part One.
Our Idiot Brother
OUR IDIOT BROTHER
90 minutes
R
Director: Jesse Peretz
Writers: David Schisgall, Evgenia Peretz
Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer
Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan
I decided to do my duty honestly and firmly. Maybe it will be
boring and painful for me to be with people. In the first place I
decided to be polite and candid with everybody; no one can ask
more of me. Maybe I'll be considered a child here, too—so be it!
Dostoevsky, THE IDIOT p. 137
Look at this guy. You can tell, solely by his appearance, that he sells vegetables at a farmer's marThe key word is idiot: only an idiot could embody the highest of human values. Only an idiot would sell pot to a uniformed police officer.
Ned is an unassuming, non-judgmental type of guy. An idealist, always seeing the best in people. This catches up to him... eventually.
Ned serves a short jail sentence. His family pays his bail, but he just decides just to serve the rest of his sentence. Upon arriving home, he learns his girlfriend started going out with his best friend, and he no longer has a place to crash (or grow organic vegetables).
Paul Rudd usually plays different characters. Mostly playing average guys, who are lacking in confidence. I was a little skeptical at the beginning of this film, he does not seem like the type of guy who could pull this off.
(Pictured on the left) Ned is at a meeting with his parole officer. He is incredibly candid with him. Later on, he tells the parole officer about the joint he smoked with the neighbor kid.
Has Three Sisters
They help him out monetarily, and give him place to stay. But Ned is wreaking havoc in the personal lives of his sisters, or at least it seems that way.
Liz (Mortimer) Middle Sister. Her husband, Dylan (Coogan) dooshy documentary film maker (as opposed to a non-dooshy documentary film maker)
Miranda (Banks) ambitious (at any cost), status seeking, boyfriend is unpublished sci-fi writer.
Natalie-Ned's youngest sister, (Deschanel), and partner, Cindy (Jones).
Fictional Characters Similar to Ned
This type of character is rarely explored. Most people are not able to relate to saints, but they exist nonetheless.
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (2008), a British comedy; Sally Hawkins played a similar character. A free spirited, elementary school teacher. Acknowledging the bad things in life, while still remaining upbeat, and optimistic (I'm sure you can infer this from the movie title).
Who's the boy that can laugh at a storm cloud?
Who can turn a frown into a smile for free?
Who's that kid with a heart full of magic?
Everyone knows it's Butters!
This kid is pure innocence:
when Butters grows up, he will end up like this Ned character.
My Conclusion
The actors have real chemistry together (especially Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks); they all have experience both comedy and drama. By far, Paul Rudd's best movie, you can really tell how much fun he is having portraying this character.
The conclusion seems a bit rushed, that is my only complaint. This movie is worth watching; I suggest viewing it at some point.
'The dude abides. I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there, the Dude, takin' her easy for all us sinners.'
-Sam Elliot, Dodge Truck Spokesman
Paul Rudd on Conan. Pretty Funny, especially toward the end.
Final Verdict: 90 out of 100
Fright Night
Charley Brewster is a high school kid, probably about 17 years old, living in the suburbs. One day, a new guy moves next door. This man sucks... the life of all those he interacts with. But enough about Colin Farrell.
Jerry (Farrell) is this new neighbor/vampire, but Charlie doesn't think much of it, because he is going out with an attractive girl (she's a total bitch). Longtime friend, Mc Lovin’ (Mintz-Plasse) tells him he is going out with a skank, and warns him about the vampire living next door.
I won't spoil anything; you can figure it out from here.
Conan the Barbarian
"Hate in your heart will consume you too."
-Will Smith, Just the Two of Us
They say that if you throw shit at a wall, some of it will stick, but really—that is not always the case.
Watching Conan is like getting robbed at knife point, you replay it over and over, but you can never make sense of it all. It's just a nightmare that will always haunt you.
Morgan Freeman narrates this epic, non-penguin movie; and by my count, this marks his eighteenth narration gig. As I write this article, I see a movie preview on in the background. Apparently, Morgan Freeman is narrating/starring in Dolphin Tale, about a dolphin that loses his tail in a crab trap, but I digress.
The Zookeeper
The first edition of: “hey that wasn’t as crappy as thought it was gonna be.”
The more a movie is promoted, the less likely it is to be good. This movie was promoted during the NBA Finals, during every commercial break, about a month before its release date. Kevin James was on every late night show (cable and network TV). It took me a month to watch this entire movie. You would see previews for Mr. Popper’s penguins, and think “wow, that Zookeeper movie doesn’t look as bad as Mr. Poppers Penguins”.
Some of you may be wondering why this is rated PG, as opposed to G. I could be wrong, but I think it’s the interracial romance Griffin (James) and Kate (Dawson); the MPAA does not look too kindly on this sort of thing.
The Change-Up
“We've tried nothing and we're fresh out of ideas!”
-Ned Flanders’s Dad, The Simpsons
Some say the human body is a vehicle transporting your soul, and some think human bodies exist solely to watch bad movies. It is a summer blockbuster season, filled with sequels, prequels, and remakes. Ironically, The Change-Up, an original screenplay, is the least original movie of the summer.
These movies where two characters switch bodies, has been done many times. BIG (1988) is the only enjoyable movie in this unoriginal genre.