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Showing posts with the label zach

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD - REVIEW

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Blaming  Twilight  entirely for the recent burst of corny teen nonsense (shriek! abs!) is easy but one mustn't forget all the Hannah Montanas and High School Musicals which helped kick start the new trend of (shriek! abs!) pseudo-romantic teen movies. Yes  Dear John , I'm pointing at you too. You wartime-set, letter sending...bastard. Anyway, so one could say Twilight is partly to blame for the spread of (shriek! abs!) naivety throughout modern cinema but the real culprit really is Disney. And with the company now proud owner of the rights to Marvel films, god help us all... And so we get to Zac Efron (shirek! abs!). I managed to avoid  17 Again  but I have to say the trailer for Charlie St Cloud was unintentionally funny enough to spark my interest. The  High School Musical  alumni's puppet-like stare and Mentos-selling grin might just provide some welcome comedy! Charlie St Cloud, indeed, was pretty funny. But also pretty harmless. As a film I was expecting somethi

PUSS IN BOOTS - REVIEW

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Shrek had a good run. And for a character I never actually liked all that much, it's amazing the series kept me watching until now. Never a fan I nonetheless looked forward to the antics of the cartoon gang, at least early on. Although it feels like Puss In Boots should have been made way earlier, say between Shrek 2 and 3, when the joke was still fresh, it seems Antonio Banderas' furry alter-ego still has enough charm left in him to warrant a solo effort. Luckily, Puss In Boots is a breath of fresh air. Forget the tired, endless pop culture references, forget the Fat Bastard-sounding ogre, forget that mouthy Donkey, forget the shitty pop songs: this is where it's at. By going for a vastly different vibe, focusing more on the characters, the story and the action, Puss In Boots proves itself to be an infinitely more rewarding experience than, say, the last two Shrek movies. Sure, the film retains the lighthearted feel of the original franchise but Puss is an infini

ONLY A WATCHMEN

Only a Watchmen from TheRetroCritic on Vimeo .

BORED TO DEATH - REVIEW

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I bet you never thought you'd see Zach Galifiniakis, Ted Danson and Jason Schwartzman in a movie together let alone an entire TV series! Well, show creator Jonathan Ames clearly had a unique vision and his latest show Bored To Death makes it work seamlessly. The series follow Schwartzman's struggling writer as he goes through a painful break-up, puts an ad on Craigslist as an unlicenced private detective and becomes just that. Ted Danson is his charming, ever so slightly eccentric boss and Galifiniakis is his bearded, weary cartoonist friend. The first season focuses primarily on Ames (Schwartzman) leaving little room for George (Danson) and Ray (Galifiniakis) to develop their own storylines. They mostly pop up here and there to make themselves useful and add some quirkiness to the proceedings. That said, the last 3 episodes of the first season finally gives us what we want as our main cast finally unites and everyone is given a fair chance. From the terrific "Beautif

THE HANGOVER: PART II - REVIEW

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Comedy sequels are a hard one. If any comedy shows any sign of popularity you can bet that an inferior sequel is just around the corner ready to rack up the cash once more. Usually three things can happen: 1/ They get it right in that they expand on the story/characters, bring something new to the table and still create something fun and original ( Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey , American Pie 2 , Austin Powers 2 , Wayne's World 2 ...) 2/ They get it almost right, in other words the filmmakers didn't quite get what people liked about the first film so they did pretty much the same thing but with slight differences or a different setting. Usually that doesn't quite work but makes the sequel feel fresh enough that fans of the original film can still enjoy it ( Ace Ventura 2 , Ghostbusters 2 ...) 3/ They get it wrong...( Splash Too ) Hangover II falls under the second category: more of the same but oddly considerably darker and...in Thailand. This time Stu (Ed Hel

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS - REVIEW

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Something of a classic in France, the "original" Dinner For Schmucks, Francis Veber's Le Diner De Cons , was, it must be said, overrated to begin with. French to US film adaptations are never a great success but occasionally you do get something that's at the very least about as decent as the original ( Three Fugitives , Father's Day ). And although Diner De Cons did the job, there was definitely room for improvement. And to be fair, Dinner For Schmucks does really well to fix some of the original's flaws. For one thing, you actually get to SEE the titular dinner! And it is gloriously ridiculous. Plus, whereas the original felt a bit too stagy and claustrophobic, Schmucks is on a sugar rush and never stops for a second. Which is also its main flaw, but we'll get to that. In terms of the cast, this is as good as a comedy of that type can hope for: Rudd, Galifianakis, Carell, Clement, Walliams... Everyone has a ball and everyone does a gre

DUE DATE - REVIEW

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Had I been informed years ago, pre- The Hangover , that a (sort of) remake of John Hughes' classic Trains, Planes and Automobiles was in the pipeline, I would have no doubt called for Todd Phillips' head on a stick whilst sharpening my trusty pitchfork. However, after Robert Downey Jr's glorious comeback and Zach Galifianakis' impressive bearded breakthrough the prospect of seeing these two travel across America together feels like a real treat to say the least. And that's just what Due Date is: a treat. Sure it's derivative and reminiscent of countless other road movies ( Tommy Boy , Dumb & Dumber ) but it can stand proudly next to the best of them as a hugely entertaining, very funny little gem that's frankly hard to resist. Steve Martin may have been uptight back in the day but here, Downey Jr is one angry, cynical guy and is never shy of punching kids in the stomach or spitting in dogs' faces. As for Zach, our John Candy, his retarded buffoon

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD - REVIEW

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Blaming Twilight entirely for the recent burst of corny teen nonsense (shriek! abs!) is easy but one mustn't forget all the Hannah Montanas and High School Musicals which helped kick start the new trend of (shriek! abs!) pseudo-romantic teen movies. Yes Dear John , I'm pointing at you too. You wartime-set, letter sending...bastard. Anyway, so one could say Twilight is partly to blame for the spread of (shriek! abs!) naivety throughout modern cinema but the real culprit really is Disney. And with the company now proud owner of the rights to Marvel films, god help us all... And so we get to Zac Efron (shirek! abs!). I managed to avoid 17 Again but I have to say the trailer for Charlie St Cloud was unintentionally funny enough to spark my interest. The High School Musical alumni's puppet-like stare and Mentos-selling grin might just provide some welcome comedy! Charlie St Cloud, indeed, was pretty funny. But also pretty harmless. As a film I was expecting something n