Horrible Bosses

All right, you may think that this is a Judd Apatow comedy, but it's not.

So here are the horrible bosses:

Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey)

"Listen, I don't care if you played Teen Wolf too."

Kevin Spacey, you're always a tool. It's not hard to imagine you as a bad guy. And you are literally a bad guy in this movie, as you're the only one who shot someone dead.

Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell)

Mr. Farrell, I love what you do with your Irish accent every time you're in a Hollywood movie. What do you do? Do you declare it at customs? Do you leave it at an airport locker somewhere and just get it before going back to Ireland? What do you do with it? Where does it go?

and finally...

Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston)

Really, who doesn't want their boss doing this to them?

Oh, jolly good, Ms. Aniston. You've bounced back. Yes, I know Brad left you for a hotter woman, but who says you're not hot? Really, you are smokin'. Very, very good.


Okay, rest of the cast, not bad, yadda yadda. Jason Bateman is always a great team player. Yadda yadda. Julie Bowen is hot. But I think I've already mentioned that before in some Modern Family review. Yadda yadda. And Charlie Day sounds like a whiny Chris Romano when he shouts. Yadda yadda.


Horrible Bosses. USA. 2011.


Rating: Seven and a half out of ten
Meghan Markle's hot cameo: Plus point three
Final rating: Seven point eight out of ten


*pics from TQN here and here, and fastcache.gawkerassets.com

Couples Retreat

Another one of them senseless Vince Vaughn comedies. Funny at times. But not all the time.

Plot goes like this: Couples go on a retreat just for the vacation, thinking there is nothing wrong with them. But there is. And in the end, problem solved.

And they had to stretch that to standard cinema length.

Jon Favreau was hilarious here, by the way. Hard to imagine him directing Iron Man. Jean Reno was great, too. It's refreshing to see him in comic roles. And Jason Bateman is always welcome.

Oh, and let me add that I had to google the gong-ringer before I found out that he's Star Wars' Jango Fett.

Girls' reason to watch this: Abs. From that funny yoga instructor with the huge bulge.

Guys' reason to watch this: Malin Åkerman, and Kristen Bell.


*some info from IMDb
pic from allmoviephoto.com


Couples Retreat. USA. 2009 (2010 Philippines).


Rating: Five point seven out of ten.

Hancock

Named after the famous signatory of the US Declaration of Independence whose flamboyant handwriting became synonymous with the word "signature" itself, the new John Hancock is a totally different character altogether---an ill-tempered, alcoholic superhero.


Now the idea itself is fresh, and it differs from Iron Man in that Iron Man is just a regular human being, without any superpowers, so his flaws are understandably human. Hancock, on the other hand, is a superhuman, and it is rather interesting to watch a superhuman with human flaws.

Will Smith tones down his acting, staying true to the character, and actually succeeds in making the audience sympathize with him. Jason Bateman plays the nice guy Ray, the PR consultant who gives Hancock an inside-out makeover. Of course, Mr. Bateman is a natural at playing nice guys, so there really is no problem there. And of course, Charlize Theron plays the hot mama, and you're going to have to watch the movie to find out what her character's really about.

The reason this movie doesn't quite make it in my book is the storyline itself. It starts out great, with a flying drunk superhero who fights crime while destroying city property at the same time. I was expecting a sort of in-depth character analysis of Hancock, showing us every facet of his otherwise depressing superhero life. But the movie takes a dramatic twist at the end, which I believe was the producers' way of creating a smooth transition to a possible sequel. Anyway, with a character-driven plot that compromises its character, no amount of brilliant directing, even from someone like the talented Peter Berg, can save it.

But again, my review is just my opinion, and my opinion is as good as yours, so I suggest you just go and watch it yourself, to keep you occupied before Christian Bale and Heath Ledger take control of the box office.


Rating: Three stars.

Juno

Simple storytelling goes a long way.

Oscar season is over, and yet people are still raving about this coming-of-age drama that also pulls a few laughs.

Ellen Page shows extraordinary brilliance, a remarkable metamorphosis from Kitty Pride of the X-Men days. You will totally feel for Juno, from her pregnancy test all the way to her delivery, and you will also realize your concept of parenthood changing.

Supporting Ellen Page in this film is Michael Cera of Superbad, once again playing his trademark soft-spoken character, but this time donning gold shorts. J.K. Simmons also shows a more subdued side, playing Juno's supportive father. Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, fresh from their team-up in The Kingdom, play the adoptive parents, Garner actually displaying brilliant acting as an expectant mother who will finally get what she wants.

In fact, everyone's acting is subdued except Ellen Page, and this was probably intentional to let her fiery character stand out. And it does.

Rating: Four and a half stars.

The Kingdom

One of the best films about the greateset conflict of modern times.

With a spectacular opening sequence, audiences will be primed for the big show with a brief visual history of Arab-American relations. It is indeed a funky way to explain how all this shit started.

Most of the action (more than 90%) happens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the richest places on the planet, and director Peter Berg does a great job of transporting us to the Arab world. Western audiences will need this immersion into the alien Arab culture. This works in establishing everything, because the authenticity of life in the Middle East is one of this film's selling points. This is not like the other movies that portray Americans and Arabs in black and white.

Jamie Foxx gives a good performace as the FBI special agent assigned to investigate a suicide bombing (check out the scene where the terrorist explodes). The ever-brilliant Chris Cooper plays the experienced old-timer on the team, while Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman (who will team up later in Juno) play the serious forensic scientist and the comic relief, respectively. Ashraf Barhoum also gives a very convincing performance, showing the American audiences that there is such a thing as a good Arab.

There truly is never a dull moment when you're an infidel in Arab land. Especially with bullets flying and bombs exploding.

Rating: Four and a half stars.