Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
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Director: Jay Roach Cast: Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd Country: USA Year: 2010 Score: **** MPAA Rating: |
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (USA 2010) ****
Directed by Jay Roach
I must admit that I was not too pleased when I heard that Hollywood was remaking the France Veber French comedy LE DINER DE CONS (THE DINNER GAME). For one, that film was overly sentimental, not that funny and a mild success at the box-office. But, surprise, surprise this remake by Austin Powers’ director Jay Roach pushes ridiculousness to the limit and it works. Though a bit inconsistent in times, DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS has enough side-splitting lines to make the film worthwhile. In some parts, the audience would laugh till their sides hurt!
The premise is the regular dinner party held by high executives. Each brings their own ‘schmuck’ and they vote for the winning schmuck. In order to win the promotion Tim (Paul Rudd) eyes, he befriends and brings Barry (Steve Carrell) who before the dinner date, makes his life a chaotic mess. His girlfriend, Julie (Stepahnie Szostak) leaves him and appearing in place, is his stalker date from the past (Lucy Punch). The film ends with the dinner part where a happy ending actually exists.
For a remake, the script offers a few appropriate changes. Julie is the girlfriend, not the wife. Tim is now vying for a promotion, which makes him more vulnerable and desperate to prove himself than in the original where Tim is just a publisher. The addition of the brain control segment is new and definitely the best part of this movie. The film hits all the right notes, including the song “Fool on the Hill” heard during the opening credits where Barry’s taxidermist expertise is displayed to full effect – in all sentiment and hilarity.
The supporting character casting is superb, the best being Little Britain’s David Walliams as the Swiss investor Mueller, complete with outrageous accent. (Yes, the schmuck actually realises and comments that this Swiss has a German name.) Brit actress Lucy Punch plays Tim’s stalking ex-date from hell, and Zack Galifianakis plays the mind controller are others that add to the mayhem. Jermane Clement puts Russell Brand to shame in the role of a sex-crazed artist. But best is Carrel who proves his mettle as a comedian, holding his own.
Don’t expect character development - there is none, subtlety or story inventiveness. But Roach and gang are able to turn any situation to huge laughs.
The film works as it has a good base story with strong comedy potential and a little message tied in for good measure. Roach is able to tie all in building the scmucks to a grand final climax culminating in a dinner that is not to be forgotten. The idiots assembled include a black woman who can read dead animals, a mind controller, a man with a dummy in red dress and deep cleavage and a blind swordsman. Roach masterfully juggles all their acts together including a final confrontation between the mind controller and Steve Carrel, whose character believes he has brain control. Brain vs. mind control? Ridiculous? Yes, but definitely hilarious enough to make this, as one character in the movie say, the BEST dinner date ever!
Review by: Gilbert Seah
No Responses to Dinner for Schmucks
Countdown to Zero (2010)
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Director: Lucy Walker Cast: Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Boris Yeltsin Country: USA Year: 2010 Score: *** MPAA Rating: |
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO (USA 2010) ***
Directed by Lucy Walker
The threat of nuclear weapons, the danger to all humanity and how all this can be stopped is the topic of the scary documentary COUNTDOWN TO ZERO.
The filmmakers make their case by going down firstly, to the masses and asking the public in various countries from China to the U.S. what they think or fear of the nuclear threat. The consensus is the same – everyone is aware, scared but feel they are unable to do a thing to change the current state of affairs. Using archive footage and talking heads, director Walker assembles their case of hoe so many times in the past, an accident could have happened to ignite a nuclear missile. Walker keeps the information moving fast and furious. But quite a bit of the material is technical, and the film wavers in terms of audience interest. Too much information and too much to swallow!
The most interesting part of COUNTDOWN TO ZERO is the start when the film traces the different ways terrorists can attain a nuclear weapon – and one way being to build it. The film goes on to chart how radioactive uranium and other materials can be stolen and badly guarded they are. Get it from Russia, as the voiceover goes, rather playfully. The research on the many cases where such material is stolen and almost sold is mind boggling.
In the end, Walker flashes a number the audience can text do to say or make their stand. A small gesture, perhaps but at least it is a start. COUNTDOWN TO ZERO is educational in the amount of information it provides and the amount of research it has put in regarding the nuclear threat.
Review by: Gilbert Seah
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Gasland (2010)
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Director: Josh Fox Cast: Josh Fox Country: USA Year: 2010 Score: *** MPAA Rating: |
GASLAND (USA 2010) ***
Directed by Josh Fox
Upset and shocked by what the natural gas companies have done to his land, the one-man crusade Josh Fox embarks to tell the world what is happening and to hopefully make thing right. The result is a documentary that tells its story in pretty much the same way as films like AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, LAND, FUEL, but still hits its point effectively home.
Basically, the documentary states its case. In GASLAND, the American rural landowners receive an offer, as Fox did (making enough of a handsome sum) to lease their property. The companies pump chemicals beneath the surface to extract natural gas (called fracking) and its products only to leave the water contaminated and the surroundings a wasteland. Then, the doc goes about interviewing those affected, the company officials who will deny any wrong doing and then change its tone from educational to caution to anger and disbelief as to what has happened.
Director Fox has two shocking images that he milks fully to make his point loud and clear. First is the flammability of the contaminated water. Putting a lit match to the water, whether flowing from the tap or bubbling out of a stream, the result is identical – the bursting of the light into a huge flame. This experiment is repeated a couple of times, forgivable as the audience roots for the director. The second is the images of the contaminated brooks and stream – all blue and purple with dead wild life that used to habitate in the area.
Most of the subjects chosen as interviewees are victims rather than famous people. But these often sick (physically and mentally) people have effective moving stories to tell. The heads of various organizations are also selected. One keeps insisting that his company will ensure all people affected by the bad water will be replaced with good drinking water. Fox who interviews him tells him then that all rivers and brooks can now be replaced by water cisterns. When asked what brooks and rivers are affected, pretending that this is the first time hearing this, Fox replies that they are the ones on his land.
Dick Cheney and George W. Bush once again become easy targets for blame. Fox targets them and show that they are to blame.
Every month or so, a documentary like GASLAND appears to warn the world of the dangers that has been done to the environment as a result of the US government and corporations. There are too many such docs implying that the planet has been abused, contaminated and wasted to an irreversible degree. A big thank you, to the Bush Administration!
GASLAND won the Special Jury prize at Sundance for best documentary. Well deserved, GASLAND would therefore be seen by a wider audience and rightly so. GASLAND is very scary but the truth often is.
Review by: Gilbert Seah
No Responses to Gasland
Salt (2010)
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Director: Phillips Noyce Cast: Angelina Jolie Country: USA Year: 2010 Score: * MPAA Rating: |
SALT (USA 2010) **
Directed by Phillip Noyce
The new action Angelina Jolie vehicle SALT begins with high expectations with a scantily clad Evelyn Salt (Jolie), a CIA tortured and ordered out of a country. The skimpy plot involves the testing of Salt’s loyalty when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.
Is she? No genius needed to guess the answer, or to comprehend the rest of the film either. For one, there is no more story. Salt fights off all her enemies, mostly without weapons, using kicks and fists. She jumps from vehicle to vehicle, is chased all over the globe. How can such a person perform such miraculous feats without possessing any super powers? As the film progresses, SALT kicks away to prove her innocence and reveal the true traitor but not until also revealing how awfully boring and lazy her latest movie is.
The script does not even bother giving the heroine any one-liners or any of the characters any punch lines. SALT is classic textbook on how not to make a summer action blockbuster. Don’t bother with a proper villain, a climax, any humour or suspense, just lots of action bits strung together, never mind any special effects or even the customary boring romance. Just take one big name star and hope the film makes it at the box-office.
What has happened to Aussie director Phillip Noyce who put Australia on the film map and made on of the best Australian movies of all time NEWSFRONT? Hollywood had taken him in with the result of him directing flops like THE SAINT, SLIVER and this one.
The ads scream: Who is SALT? It would more appropriately scream: What IS SALT? SALT is the most flavourless movie so far, this year!
Review by: Gilbert Seah
No Responses to Salt
Ramona and Beezus (2010)
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Director: Elizabeth Allen Cast: Joey King, John Corbett, Josh Duhamel Country: USA 20098 Year: 2010 Score: ** MPAA Rating: |
RAMONA AND BEEZUS (USA 2010) **
Directed by Elizabeth Allen
RAMONA AND BEEZUS follows the misadventures of 9-year old, young grade schooler Ramona Quimby (Joey King) from Beverly Cleary’s popular children’s book series. No magic or danger in this story, just everyday happenings – which can make for a real life, down to earth or dead boring movie.
As it turns out, father Robert Quimby (John Corbett) loses his job and the family has to relocate after he finds one, finally, but in a different city. Ramona and her sister, Beezus (Selena Gomez) try to help out with chores and cooking, but with disastrous results. . Ramona confides with her favourite aunt, Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) who promises to be around for her forever. A subplot has Aunt Bea falling for hunk Hobart (Josh Duhamel from TRANSFORMERS, WIN A DATE WITH TED HAMILTON) who plans to marry her and take her to Alaska for two years where he is deployed.
A film will be liked if the audience can connect with the characters of the movie. For this one, the heroine is a 9-year old whose problems involve not getting enough recognition from the parents (she gets jealous when the baby sister gets her picture taken when she puts apple sauce on her head), something audiences have already grown out of. The climax of the movie involves Ramona running away from home and picked back up by her parents in a sentimental scene. The problem of Aunt Bea going to Alaska and breaking her promise is not dealt with either. Everything in the movie is too goody-goody. No new songs are written for the film but recycled popular ones are played on the soundtrack. Director Allen even does away with the parent’s argument scene only to have the father sleeping downstairs on the spare bed.
RAMONA AND BEEZUS moves along at an acceptable pace and is an ok family film, but with all the action pics and other kids movies with special effects (THE SCORCERER’S APPRENTICE) currently playing, one wonders how this film will draw in the numbers at the box-office.
Review by: Gilbert Seah
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