Hotel Transylvania

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At first glance, Hotel Transylvania might strike you as your usual family-oriented computer-animated movie. But it actually breaks new ground in terms of computer animation. But more on that later.

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It doesn't break new ground in castle design, though.

R.I.P.* The Wedding Singer

*Review In Pictures

Although this movie didn't make it on my List, I am just reminded why I liked it in the first place...

Audio: Pass the Dutchie 'pon the lef-hand side ♫
Video: Hell limo!

Funny People

Now where's McLovin' in this pic?

As the name of the title suggests, this flick is indeed about some funny-assed people. And since this was a Judd Apatow creation, I expected to crack up multiple times. And I did! Majority of my laughter was stimulated by Adam Sandler's antics.

And also, since this was a Judd Apatow outing, I kinda' expected Michael Cera, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill to be present. And there they were. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen that is. Two out of three ain't bad. The Superbad boys are at it again!

I found it pretty cool that Judd Apatow made a reference to Pink Floyd. Roger Waters to be exact. And this really cracked me up because what happened was, Adam Sandler and his new assistant Seth Rogen were invited to MySpace.com's anniversary party which was held in some other state, so Seth and Adam flew in Adam's very own charter plane or private jet somethin'-somethin'.

Now you know those movie transitions wherein somethin' mellow is bein' played in the background while the current scene is transitioning to the next one? You know, like in the movie Almost Famous where the song "Tiny Dancer" was bein' played in the background while Stillwater's guitarist was bein' whisked off on a tour bus after a hard night's partyin' at some Random house in Topeka, KS? Well it was somethin' similar to that in Funny People when they were goin' to the MySpace annual party. One of James Taylor's songs was being played in the background while they were boarding the private plane. Now as the scene transitioned to the MySpace party itself, there he was. James Taylor himself singin' the song that was playin' in the background.

When Seth noticed how cool it was to have James Taylor playin' at their party, the usher (or whoever was guidin' the newly-arrived guests) said that the previous year they had Roger Waters doin' Dark Side Of the Moon. Now as a hardcore Pink Floyd fan, and casual James Taylor listener, that's some funny shit right there!

I would like to say kudos to Marshall Mathers III for his acting here, but I won't. That's because he played himself so he didn't require any method or whatever sort of acting there is. He dissed Ray Romano of the TV shows Everybody Loves Raymond pretty naturally, just like the real Slim Shady would!

The hidden gem here is Eric Bana, believe it or not. Who would've thought that Hector of Troy could be funny? I was really caught unaware. Yes, we know that he's Australian and shit, but he delivered his Australian-accented lines with conviction. Just like that Aussie croc guy who always goes, "Crikey, mate!" Steve Irwin or Brady Barr or somethin'. All I know is that he's dead (R.I.P.). And he wasn't even killed by a croc! Just some stingray poisoning or something water-related. Poor croc-master.

I rate this movie 8 out of 10 just because of the fact that I love Happy Gilmore, Superbad, and Pineapple Express. Bring on the funnies!





*pic from www.thevine.com.au

Grown Ups

I can just imagine Adam Sandler saying, "My bosses at Happy Madison want me to make a new movie, even if I am part of the board. But what I'd really like is to go on vacation. And maybe flirt with Salma Hayek. I know! I'll just round up the old gang, get some lousy script where we get to go to a lake house, then make a movie. That way, I'll be hitting two birds with one stone!"

So Adam Sandler rounds up the entire gang. He calls Rob Schneider, and tells him, "Hey Rob, we need your insane sexual humor in this film." Then he calls David Spade and says, "Hey David, your career needs to be resurrected, I can help you with that." Then he calls Chris Rock and tells him, "Hey Chris, we need one black guy in this movie, wanna come? You're not allowed to make racist jokes, though." Then he calls Kevin James and says, "Hey Kevin, we need a fat ass in this movie, and Tom Arnold is too old. We need someone around our age, even if you're not as famous as us." Then he calls Salma Hayek, and offers her a part, but of course he doesn't mention his hidden agenda. And he starts flirting from the first phone call.

Of course, Steve Buscemi is part of the old gang, but Adam Sandler tells him, "Hey Steve, I want you to be in this movie, but you've grown old, really, bug-eyed and ugly, so I can't give you a lead part. You can have a supporting part though. How about one of the villain bullies?"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how they made Grown-Ups.*


*Actual conversation may differ.


*some info from IMDb
pic from daemonsmovies.com


Rating: Five out of ten.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan

One riotous laugh-out-loud movie.

Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production comes up with a noticeably intelligent comedy, and they definitely didn't hold back on the sex jokes. Zohan Dvir is Israel's modern-day superhero, a counter-terrorist who gets tired of the 2000-year old conflict in the Holy Land and decides to pursue his dream of styling hair in New York City. It may seem like a shallow plot, but it is actually inspired by the famous Arbib brothers, all former Israeli soldiers-turned-hairstylists (they still run the salons Shampoo and Shampoo Too in West Hollywood).


The script's no-holds-barred humor (sexually, politically, and racially) is a result of the comic brilliance of three distinguished comedians today: Sandler, Saturday Night Live writer Robert Smigel, and of course the popular Judd Apatow. But of course, it's the crazy performances of the actors that breathe life into the script.

Adam Sandler plays the Zohan perfectly, in a role tailor-made for him and his Jewish roots. Along with John Turturro as Phantom the terrorist, and joined by Rob Schneider as the cab driver Salim, the three buddies reunite once more, and make comic acting seem effortless (which, to them, it probably is). Nick Swardson is quite funny as Michael, the clueless New Yorker who takes Zohan in, and Emmanuelle Chriqui sizzles the screen as the hairdresser Dhalia. Filipino-American actor Alec Mapa also gets some screen time as the hairstylist Claude.

Speaking cameos abound in this movie, starting with Michael Buffer himself (you'd half-expect him to suddenly shout "Let's get ready to rumble!") as the tycoon Walbridge; the musician Dave Matthews as James; Chris Rock as a Jamaican taxi driver; and the following play themselves: actor Kevin James, tennis great John McEnroe, actor George Takei, and diva Mariah Carey herself.

Again, expect a lot of sex jokes, political jokes, and racist jokes, all tastefully done, and you'd be surprised how many times you'd catch yourself laughing out loud.


Rating: Four stars.