Tropic Thunder 2008

     Welcome back everyone to Movies Eye See, the blog that allows me to tell you about a film from the past that I was able to catch during its theatrical run. Unfortunately our scanner is being an asshole so you won't be seeing the movie stub that usually intro's the blog, so I will just go over when and where this viewing took place. We must travel allllll the way back to Monday September 1st 2008 at 7:30 pm when myself, Erikka, Jonathon and Sovi went to the Valley Mall Cinema to check out the latest Ben Stiller flick Tropic Thunder. Here is the trailer for everyone to get reacquainted.

     Hollywood had been putting out straight to dvd worthy parody films largely since the Scary Movie franchise began and I did not want anything to do with them. Luckily Stiller and crew knew that you could still make a great movie in this vain and not make it a complete waste of your time. The most important thing that sets this movie apart from the rest is the cast. Stiller gives one of his better performances, Jack Black plays Jack Black on heroin, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Mathew McConaughey, Jay Baruchel, and Brandon Jackson round out this great cast that did an amazing job. The show stealer though is Robert Downy Jr. (no not Tom Cruise, fuck him) who was actually nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor. You can see in the trailer just how far he is willing to go to get into his character.
     The movie starts with four fake trailers each staring one of the four main actors you are about to see in Tropic Thunder. This still to me is one of the best ideas I have seen on the big screen because we instantly get to know enough about each character before the movie even starts. The best is Satan's Alley just to see Tobey Maguire billed as the MTV Movie Award Best Kiss Winner. You get Stiller as the summer blockbuster action superstar, Brandon Jackson as the boisterous rapper turned actor, and Jack Black doing his version of the Clumps with gas.
    

   I recently traded in my blu ray copy because it isn't something that I am going to sit down and watch on a regular basis, maybe in a year if I can stream it on Netflix I will. If you haven't seen it I would recommend it especially if you want a non family friend Jack Black or Ben Stiller comedy. Once you are done checking it out why not see some classic parody films like Young Frankenstein or Airplane.  

Funny People 2009

 

Has it seriously been over twenty years since I was first exposed to Adam Sandler on one the greatest game shows ever made? Some people my age may remember when MTV wasn't a complete pile of shit and actually made some decent programs to filter in between videos. For those that don't remember Remote Control was a game show hosted by Ken Ober with a very young Collin Quinn and later Kari Wuhrer. Three contestants would pick a channel and answer movie, music or television related questions. Some questions would be asked by a special walk in character which included Dennis Leary as Keith Richards and a character named Stud Boy played by Sandler.

 

It wasn't until 1991 that Sandler would join one the most memorable casts of Saturday Night Live. After a four year run it was time for him to make the big move to Hollywood and become a massive star catering to the dick and fart joke crowd all the way up to drunk frat boys. I'm not sure I could say that I am a fan of even half of the movies that Sandler has done in his career, but he has had a few gems thrown in. One of which just happens to be the film that Erikka and I saw back in 2009. 

While Sandler was great in this role it was the supporting cast that really impressed me. We get our usually Apatow cast along with cameos by some great comedians as themselves. Here is the trailer for everyone to check out and enjoy. 

Sandler plays an older comedian who has left the business in favor of making shitty family friendly movies.....sounds familiar. When he is diagnosed with leukemia and told he may die, he decides to get back into the stand up game. He asks a young up and comer played by Seth Rogen to be his assistant and write some material. This makes up the first half of the movie which really focuses on the world of stand up, but then the second half of the movie is all about Sandler trying to get back together with his ex. It really feels like it could have been two different movies and even more so when you consider that it clocks in at 153 minutes. I haven't seen the movie the whole way through since seeing it in the theater so I did my best to remember what I could. I do plan on adding this to the blu ray collection eventually and look forward to seeing it in its entirety again.

If you haven't seen Funny People yet then I would highly recommend it especially if you are a fan of stand up. Need more Sandler after that, check out Punch Drunk Love. If you enjoy Aziz Ansari's Randy character pick up his Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening DVD and prepare to piss yourself laughing.

I Am Legend 2007

Do not get this confused with the Tom Cruise film Legend because that is one that I actually enjoy. No, this was the awful attempt to add some shitty CG to the classic Richard Matheson tale about the last man on earth as he struggles to destroy the undead. Before I even saw this it was behind in the count because I can't stand Will Smith. Here is the trailer to remind me what was going on since I haven't seen it since this viewing.

Before I start my Big Willie Style rant I viewed this eye poison with my wife Erikka, Will and Ashley. This was pretty early on in our relationship and I don't know if we would be were we are today if she had told me that she loved this movie. Thursday nite at the Valley Mall cinema was probably rocking to a packed theater of 8. Seeing that giant $9.00 is really twisting the knife in my side like it's saying "hey dude! Why don't you just wipe your ass with that! And when your done that poo covered twenty might look better than the creatures in this movie"!

This was not The Fresh Princes first crack at horror, we can go all the way back to 1988 for this gem.

Am I the only person who wishes we lived in an alternate world were Jazzy Jeff went on to be the giant internationally known summer movie champ? I think he tried to sell me speakers at Best Buy last week because the only song he uses to let you hear the quality of them is Parents Just Don't Understand.

I will try my best to remember what happened in the 101 minutes that I will never get back. Agent J finds himself alone in New York city except for his trusty dog companion.....I pretty sure that it dies to get that real tear jerking response from the audience. He drives fast cars, runs into a tiger from the zoo and eventually gets attacked by the dreaded Resident Evil reject creatures. Some how a lady gets into the city even though the bridges have all been destroyed to help him release a cure. That is all you are going to get out of me! I do remember them giving the fanboys a couple of nudges by having a Batman Superman movie on the marquee, and a poster for a Teen Titans movie in the video store.

If you love Will Smith then you have already seen this and will hate the far superior options I am going to give you. The 1964 classic Last Man on Earth starting Vincent Price has been a favorite of mine ever since catching it on the Sci Fi channel many, many years ago at 3am. The second is The Omega Man, a much campier version released in 1971 staring Charlton Heston. With Halloween right around the corner it would be a good time to check out these classics.

Land of the Dead 2005

I guess I enjoyed this one enough to see it multiple times at the theater.  Pretty sure I saw it with my bro and Skinner, and then with some guys I worked with at the time. It does have a home in my dvd collection and did find it's way into my player a couple months ago....I fell asleep half way through it though. Here is a trailer to refresh your braaaains.

2004 saw the zombie genre return from the grave with Shaun of the Dead, Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake and how could I leave out the second of way too many Resident Evil films. They did well enough in the theaters so why wouldn't the man responsible for the modern day zombie want to take a stab at it again after 20 years.

George A. Romero gave us one of the greatest trilogies that in my opinion should have stayed just that, a trilogy.  Land of the Dead is not the worst film I have every seen but it is far from the best.  Night, Dawn and Day or the Dead were made when movies were gritty and full of man made gore. Seeing intestines ripped out or a shotgun blast to the head in the late 70's meant there was going to be an actual mess to clean up, now that everything can be done on the computer it's lost that feeling of dread.

I'm trying really hard to think of  reasons to recommend this movie.......I guess Dennis Hopper gives an okay performance.....ummmm Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have brief appearances as zombies....compared to his next two Dead films this is Casablanca.....that might be about it. Now why it doesn't hold up for me.....digital effects bug the shit out of me.....zombies are adapting pretty well for being brain dead.......sky flowers.......and it's just not what I grew up loving.

 I compare Romero to that athlete who can't walk away when he is on top, trying way to hard to match what was done in his prime. Great run Mr. Romero, and you had a major impact on my childhood. Maybe next you can give us that Monkey Shines sequel we have all been dying to see.

I shouldn't have to tell this to anyone but if you haven't seen Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead do that right now. If you would like some non zombie Romero check out Creepshow, and Martin.

Walk the Line 2005

Okay, this time around it's a movie that I actually enjoyed enough to see more than once. I do own a copy of Walk the Line, but it has been a couple years since I watched it. Here is a trailer to jog our memories.  

 

Let me start off by saying that I am not a big fan of Mr. Cash. I found it very weird in the mid 90's when MTV was playing Delia's Gone on Alternative Nation trying to get all the young grungies to bite. I guess it worked with Neil Young earlier in the decade so why not do it again.

Jason was my viewing partner for this flick, and Cinema Center Camp Hill was the theater that fueled our film addiction for that evening. Despite the start time neither of us were high. 

I think that after this Joaquin Phoenix was finally more that just River's brother. Then trying to become The Man in Black made him insane enough to turn his back on Hollywood and pursue his rap career.

          

                                                                           
If you liked Walk the Line I would also recommend you check out La Bamba. 

Rush Hour 1998

Lets start this off with a real winner. This was the only time that I watched this cinematic masterpiece so I guess I will post the trailer and see if it rekindles any memories.

I saw this movie with Mary who thankfully was an employee of the theater so we didn't have to pay for the pain . The theater was located in the Colonial Park Mall in Harrisburg. Right around this time a giant multiplex was being built about a mile down the road which made this theater obsolete unless you wanted to see a six month old movie that had already been released on dvd.

We have all seen our fair share of buddy cop movies that have the exact same plot.
1. Cop #1 doesn't want a partner.
2. Chief says you will take a partner or I take your badge.
3. Cop #1 begrudgingly accepts his new partner.
4. Cop #1 gives Cop #2 a hard time until they realize they have something, even the simplest thing 
    in common which makes them best friends.
5. They save the day until the sequel.

Now I'm not sure if this is how it goes down in this movie, but its not like I am going to watch it again to find out. I know that Rush Hour ended up being a trilogy for some horrible reason. Part two and three have somehow eluded me, but I am sure they were just as full of racial Asian jokes as the first. I like to think that part three ended with Jackie Chan stumbling into a time machine and ending up in his next failure Shanghai Noon.

I hope you understand all the words that I am telling you that have come out of my mouth! Do yourself a favor and watch Drunken Master instead, or if you have to watch a buddy cop movie watch 48 hrs.