The Hangover...

I was a bit neutral towards this Vegas-set comedy when I saw the trailer (and Mark Kermode's distinct disliking of it made me a bit weary), but then again it's from Todd Phillips who has given me a good few chuckles in the past with the likes of Old School (and a couple of others that slip my mind right now).

As soon as I saw it was a Vegas-set comedy, I immediately thought of Fear & Loating In Las Vegas (which is great) and Very Bad Things, which I saw a number of weeks ago for the first time (good black comedy) ... so I guess that's where a bit of my trepidation came from as well ... but regardless, the lads and I were off to have a double-film Sunday cinema jaunt, and The Hangover was first up (Doghouse would follow).

I was pleasantly entertained, I'm glad to say. The last time we went on a double-flick cine-trip, we went to see I Love You, Man (which was good fun) and Observe & Report (which was pish - and even more hard going as it was the second movie in our double bill, and my blood sugar was rock bottom).

It's not amazing by any stretch of the imagination, and I didn't guffaw uproariously, but I got plenty of solid laughs throughout and was awarded with numerous 'bits' to mimmick with the lads as we waited for our post-Hangover movie Pizza Hut pizzas.

Undoubtedly, the biggish dude with the beard ("fat Jesus" as he was mocked in the movie) stole the entire movie, but the rest of the cast did well by keeping you on side for continued chuckles also ... Heather Graham wasn't in it much though, was she? Then again, it's really about the four guys, so nevermind that observation.

I'll look forward to no doubt giving it a second viewing with the lads sometime in the future for another DVD night-in, because that's how this flick works best - watching it with the lads.

Oh, and weirdly enough, the bit where "fat Jesus" eats a slice of pizza dug out from the back of a sofa really made me crave a Meat Feast pizza ... and so, in-between showings, I went and had a Meat Feast pizza in Pizza Hut ... and it was fucking lush!

4 short March movie musings...

I've been meaning to post this up for a while/a long while, so here's a run-down:

Lesbian Vampire Killers...

You know what, it does what it says on the tin - it's got lesbians, who happen to be vampires, and they get killed. It was never going to be Shaun of the Dead (despite playing to that idea and audience), but it does what it does and as a result it was good for a night out with the lads.

A bit of silly throw away fun with brash, if scattergun, visual flair with a plot so simple you get the whole thing within minutes. Script wise - what do you expect? Well, a few more gags would have been nice - you do wonder, if it hadn't been for Horne & Corden, would this flick have done as well as it did ("well" being a relative term mind you).

It's been said that it's a bit soft on both the horror and the comedy fronts, and I'd have to agree. A few more gags to propel the final act more convincingly would have been nice, and a few more gore gags to elevate the bloodlust to From Dusk Till Dawn-ish levels.

Nothing especially memorable, but like I said - good for a watch and ideal lad's night fodder.



Transporter 3...

What's there to say really - Statham plus car plus random scrawny euto-trash bimbo plus silly make-do plot equals Transporter 3. A shame really, as the first movie was quite promising in terms of simple-minded action fair - lots of fun to be had with a cool jet-black motor roaring around with Statham doing his "action look" ... but Transporter 2 was utter pants, and Transporter 3 is perhaps marginally better ... but by the thinnest margin.

If you're going to watch a Transporter movie - watch the first one.



The Spirit...

Aye - late on this one as well, but whatever - it's nothing to get fussed about sadly. After the sheer bucket of awesome that was Sin City (the movie), it was a case of high hopes for The Spirit - but evidently, it definitely was Robert "do everything" Rodriguez who brought the directing talent in Sin City.

Frank Miller - he's a talented guy - but it's painfully obvious with his solo directing gig of The Spirit, that he just doesn't quite have the movie directing "thing".

No doubt the PG-13 rating was a major problem with this flick, it simply does feel like "Sin City for tweens" from start to finish, and the story feels too jumbled for those (of which there are no doubt many) who have never heard of "The Spirit" before. The film jumps right into the middle of it all, and only explains - sort of - about mid-way through, what on earth is going on - a major mistake, quite frankly...tacked onto the distinct softening on the sex and violence front. Regardless of what the source material was like, the movie just DOES feel neutered - and it's a damn shame.

It looks nice - albeit basically identical to Sin City, which is perhaps another downside - but over-the-piece it just doesn't grip at all. There are moments of kick-assery, but it's really not that convincing throughout from the out-set, and I say again - it's a damn shame. It was shaping up to be feckin' schweet ... but alas, no dice.

Roll on Sin City 2 methinks.



Very Bad Things...

I remember seeing an advert for this flick - absolutely YEARS ago - on the back of a film magazine. I remember the line-up of characters (mainly a procession of "oh that guy from..." sorts), but I never got around to seeing it - but at last, I dipped into it the other day.

Kind of like U-Turn, in that it's one of those movies where "shit" simply gets progressively "more fucked up" for the protagonist(s) as the running time flows on.

It just goes to show really - when you accidentally kill a hooker in Vegas - just call the fuckin' cops, for crying out loud! Kinda like "Swingers" ... if it had gone REALLY badly in "Vegas, baby!" ... indeed.

...

Now if you don't mind, I'm off to watch yet more Angry Video Game Nerd episodes online - I've been a fan for quite a while, but I only saw it sporadically - thanks to His Name Was Jason getting the wind up me to see more AVGN stuff, I'm now methodically going through them ... but backwards ... to replace my "YouTube time", as I call it.