DCT Season 2 Episode 7: The Rundown: Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Nightmare Alley, and King Richard

Da Couch Tomato Podcast Season 2 Episode 7, a.k.a. The Rundown 02. At ang three short reviews namin sa episode na ito ay: 1) Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) ni Jason Reitman, at kung paano nito inulit ang plot ng unang Ghostbusters noong 1986; 2) Nightmare Alley (2021) ni Guillermo del Toro, and kung gaano ito kabigat even if hindi siya ang iyong typical del Toro film na may creatures at supernatural elements; at 3) King Richard (2021) ni Reinaldo Marcus Green, at kung paano kami naging Jon Bernthal fans matapos ang performance niya sa film na ito.

Average ratings:
Ghostbusters: Afterlife: 7.05/10

Nightmare Alley: 7.85/10

King Richard: 8.25/10

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Movie Review: War Dogs, or Jonah Hill Is Fat But Brilliant

Bollywood Reads

"What do you think, Miles? Should I aim for 'Best Actor'?"

For two guys in a buddy flick, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller exhibit great chemistry, which I assume extends offscreen.

In War Dogs, the new drama from Todd Philips brings us back to the mid-2000s, back when the war in the Middle East was on the minds of most Americans. We follow David Packouz (Teller) and Efraim Deveroli (Hill), two childhood friends from Miami, as they become professional arms dealers under Deveroli's company AEY. Take note, this is a profession very uncommon among 25-year pot smokers, but through a mixture of determination, talent, and sheer luck, they win a multi-million dollar Pentagon contract to supply arms to armed forces in Afghanistan. This isn't a shady black market deal gone wrong, but it could just as well be, because a few snitches and glitches and double-crosses later, AEY is taken down by the FBI.

Films based on a true story tend to be either serious or boring, which should not be the case, because a lot of times fact trumps fiction in terms of interesting stories. War Dogs is neither serious nor boring; in fact, it's a wild romp. The end credits of the movie says it was based on the Rolling Stone article "Arms and the Dudes", but that is apparently inaccurate. The actual Rolling Stone article is titled "The Stoner Arms Dealers: How Two American Kids Became Big-Time Weapons Traders", written by Guy Lawson back in 2011. He then turned this into a book in 2015, and its Amazon page lists it as Arms and the Dudes: How Three Stoners From Miami Beach Became the Most Unlikely Gunrunners in History. The question then is: Three? I read the Rolling Stone article, and Alex Podrizki, the third gunrunner, was only mentioned towards the end.

Wenner Media

See? No Podrizki. Just two war dogs.

War Dogs is proof that Todd Phillips is a good director. Ordinary, mediocre directors tend to excel in a certain genre only, but shift them to another genre and they flounder. Phillips is known for his weird and offbeat comedies, most famous of which is The Hangover trilogy, yet he transitions to drama seamlessly, and hopeully we can expect more serious flicks with him at the helm. Granted, this film also has some comedic elements going for it, but that's more than welcome if only to diffuse the tension that the really serious topic of gun smuggling brings.

Although Miles Teller is a good actor (remember his fatigue- and angst-ridden drummer in Whiplash?), this film belongs to Jonah Hill. If you can, even for an instant, put his annoying laugh out of your mind, and if you can get past his onscreen obesity, you'd see that Hill has come a long way since his early comedy films such as Superbad. In fact, Jonah Hill is so method in this movie that he gained an unhealthy amount of weight for this role in order to tip the scales, presumably to make his character more despicable. He is, after all, a two-time Oscar nominee.

Bocamag.com

"Seriously, bro... Am I that fat?"

War Dogs. USA. 2016.



Original rating: 7.5/10
No Ana de Armas nudity: -0.1
Bradley Cooper with facial hair: -0.1
Based on a true story: +0.1
Jonah Hill's laugh: -0.1
Drug use: +0.1
Final rating:7.4/10

Silver Linings Playbook

The Weinstein Company

What makes a great love story?

A great love story is one which makes you fall in love along with the characters. That’s because no matter what gender you belong to, you can always put yourselves in one of the character’s shoes. And pretty much everybody could relate to either Bradley Cooper or Jennifer Lawrence.

The Weinstein Company

Or both.

Limitless

Oh, what drug is this? Sounds cool. I want to try it. But it's not really a mind-altering drug. It just enhances the neural connections in your brain. Or something like that. Anyway, I'd prefer psychedelics over this any day.

The universe in pill form.

Sadly, Robert De Niro's roles are always confined to grumpy old men. Is it maybe because he is a grumpy old man? Maybe. But I really should be getting used to his performances by now. I can't expect him to be as versatile as he was when he played Vito Corleone. Although he was great in Stardust, I'll give him that.

The classic Robert De Niro I-don't-give-a-fuck face.

Abbie Cornish, you look like Nicole Kidman. Really. I think it's because you're both Aussie.

Nicole Kidman, Jr.

Finally, to end on an anti-drug note, I don't need something like this drug to be happy. All I need is my brain in Bradley Cooper's body. Once you get that combination, the possibilities are limitless.

"Hey, my brain's okay, you know."

Limitless. USA. 2011.


Ratiing: Seven and a half out of ten.
Lack of Abbie Cornish sex scenes: Minus half a point.
Final rating: Seven out of ten.



*some info from IMDb
pics from VLC

The Hangover Part II

Basically, it's almost the same as The Hangover Part I. But instead of Vegas, it's in Bangkok.

Honestly, there weren't as many laugh-out-loud moments in here compared to the first one. This sequel in my opinion was kind of darker, more criminal, in a way. There were even Russian mobsters and a drug-dealing monkey. Also, a severed finger. Eeewww.

And I don't know when Alan (played by Zach Galifianakis) became such an asshole. I don't think he was that bad during the first film. Here, he's just a total douche. Funny, yes. But still a douche.

"Am I?"

Justin Bartha still doesn't get any action. Just like the first film. Though he's not the victim here. He's just a wuss. Or maybe because he's married. Which still makes him a wuss.

"You can tell I'm a wuss because my wife is taller than me."

Stu the dentist (played by Ed Helms) got his shining moments. He is, after all, the bridegroom. But at what expense? Putting the "cock" in Bangkok, that's what. It almost made me want to throw up.

Bradley Cooper=Man-crush. No words necessary.

Kaboom.

Jamie Chung didn't get that much screen time. Probably because she was the bride. And this is a guy flick. So don't expect any chicks in here.

Lovely.

Ken Jeong is back as Mr. Chow. Still as annoying as before. But he's still funny. That cameo from Iron Mike Tyson was entertaining, but at the same time, terrible. He already took singing lessons for his few minutes of screen time. But it was still pretty much off-key. No, not pretty much. Very off key. Paul Giamatti's cameo, on the other hand, was fantastic.

So this got me thinking: If they do The Hangover Part III, will it be Zach Galifianakis who gets married then? That would probably be a riot. And I hope they set it in Europe. Not in a city that reminds me so much of Manila.


The Hangover Part II. USA. 2011.


Rating: Six and a half out of ten.



*some info from IMDb
pics from YouTube, All Movie Photo, and I Heart Flicks



You may also want to check out the reviews of The Hangover from Sting Lacson and Cholo Mercado.

The A-Team

I am ashamed to admit that I do have vague memories of the 80s A-Team show. That means I am old.

Anyway, my favorite back then was Murdock. And my favorite in this version is still Murdock. Because he can speak Swahili. And because he did that Braveheart thing.

Director Joe Carnahan did a great job. The pacing was adrenaline-pumping perfect, and there is no shortage of explosions.

Jessica Biel has never been my type. Sorry. Well, naked, maybe. But otherwise, no.

Girls might be disappointed though that Bradley Cooper bares his body for like a minute or two. Well, this is The A-Team, not a Bradley Cooper porno, so stop whining.

Rampage Jackson might not have gotten Mr. T's BA Baracus down pat, but at least he had no pretensions. It wasn't like he was trying to be Mr. T. I guess he knew that he couldn't be Mr. T. So he decided to just be Rampage.

Liam Neeson might look like Hannibal Smith. But he still acts like Liam Neeson. Just imagine Qui-Gon Jinn with short white hair and a cigar. Neeson belongs to those actors who have only one acting style. Maybe I should devote a separate post on this.

The two villains were pretty effective. The guy who played Lynch was really annoying. The guy who played Pike was despicable. So annoying + despicable = effective.

And again, Sharlto Copley as Murdock is this film's saving grace. Aside from the action sequences, of course.


*some info from IMDb
pic from api.ning.com


The A-Team. USA. 2010.


Rating: Eight out of ten.
Adrenaline rush: Nine out of ten.
Murdock's stunt flying: Nine out of ten.

Valentine's Day

This movie is just a lame-o excuse to milk moviegoers' pockets on Valentine's Day.

The screenwriters attempted a multi-character narrative, with several subplots woven together. But it failed.

Did it fail because the multi-character style was confusing? No. Well, maybe just a tad bit confusing.

Did it fail because the weaving of the subplots wasn't tight? Not really. It was woven together quite well.

The reason it failed: the individual subplots sucked.

Jennifer Garner and Ashton Kutcher's subplot: Predictable. You could see it coming a mile away.

Jennifer Garner and the Little Kid subplot: No set-up. There was an attempt at misdirection. An attempt. Ho-hum.

Jennifer Garner and Patrick Dempsey subplot: Typical.

Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway subplot: Nice. But only because it's Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway.

Hector Elizondo and Shirley MacLaine a.k.a. The Old Couple subplot: I liked this. Even though it was a bit cliché.

Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner subplot: Please. Abs + bimbo = bleh.

Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba subplot: Okay, then what? What happens to Jessica Alba?

Bradley Cooper and Eric Dane subplot: Where the hell did that come from? No set-up at all.

Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper subplot: Boo. Just because Bradley Cooper didn't make a move doesn't mean that the subplot above was set up.

Julia Roberts and Little Kid subplot: Win. For being the only non-romantic subplot in the movie. Mothers, please bring a hanky.

Lesson learned: Multi-character and multi-subplot narratives are great, if the individual stories are great, and if they are woven together tight. It has to be all or nothing. You can't have some good individual stories and some not-so-good ones woven together. They have to be all good. Otherwise, it will seem like a smile with some teeth missing.


*some info from IMDb
pic from fanpop.com


Valentine's Day. USA. 2010.


Original rating: Zero stars.
Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway subplot: Two stars.
Hector Elizondo and Shirley MacLaine a.k.a. The Old Couple subplot: Two stars.
Julia Roberts and Little Kid subplot: Two stars.
Trying hard to copy Love Actually but failing: Minus one star.
Final rating: Five stars.