Horrible Bosses

The Story: Horrible Bosses is about three men (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) who are all employed by bosses they hate. They decide that rather than quitting their jobs in uncertain economic times and giving out handjobs for $40 at the back of a bar like an unfortunate friend of theirs that they'll kill their bosses instead.

The plot itself isn't particularly believable (as in, I'd rather commit cold blooded murder than have sex with Jennifer Aniston) and the resolution of the movie makes almost no sense. However, the plot does do a good job of driving the humour which, after all, is the point of a comedy (Story: 1/3)

The Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis all do a great job in the leading roles and the interaction and comedic situation is managed well. You definably feel like their relationships are genuine. The stars of the show however come in the form of their more experienced co-stars: Aniston, Farrell and Spacey all shine in their roles, although Spacey is the only one you really want to die. Jamie Foxx makes an appearance as a 'murder consultant' for the three would be killers in convincing fashion. (Cast: 2/3)


The Comedy: Horrible bosses is outrageously funny. You sometimes feel like the situations are a little too set up but overall there is comedy gold almost all the way through. The range of characters leads to a wide variety of funny situations and the cast certainly take full advantage. (Comedy: 3/3)

Everything else: Horrible bosses doesn't really offer anything beyond what you would expect, despite being a genuinely funny movie. The comedy is regular and original, but it's not executed in a particularly smart way. If you want to watch a fun film with a great cast then get yourself down to the cinema to see Horrible Bosses. However, no bonus points here. (Everything else: 0/1)

Horrible Bosses: 6/10

This Week In Movies - Breaking Dawn, Comic-Con and Paranormal Activity 3

Comic-Con is underway in San Diego and the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival is drawing quite a crowd. The Friday schedule includes horror and comedy sections, although one assume they aren't at the same time, unless some awful parody movie is being released...

Much awaited Rise of the Planet of the Apes is getting a lot of interest at Comic-Con pending it's release. Reviews of the clips are good, and it looks like we're in for a real treat with some of the special effects.


The Paranormal Activity 3 trailer is out and well worth a watch. I think we can probably expect more of the same from this prequel, but the original movies were widely successful and I doubt this one will be any different.

Top 3 at the UK Box office looks like this;

1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part Two) $38,340,631
2 Transformers 3 $3,212,932
3 Bridesmaids $2,545,123

Just the 10 times more for Harry Potter than second place Transformers then...

Lastly, the movie on every teenage girls mind right now is the upcoming Twilight film - Breaking Dawn. Broken into two films the first one will deal with expecting parents Edward and Bella dealing with the Volturi and the wolf pack hot in their tracks. It's not out until November, but you can see the trailer here.

---

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I have to confess to not being a huge Transformers fan. I thought the first movie was great for the special effects but since I wasn't a fan of the story beforehand and didn't find the content particularly engaging I had all but written it off. I didn't make a special effort to see the second film and only saw it when it made its way to TV.

With this in mind Transformers: Dark of the Moon was really impressive. While the storyline may have lacked depth, this is definitely a film where the special effects and action sequences drive the movie rather than the other way around.

You have to realise that Transformers is a film about robots fighting - it really doesn't get more geeky than that. If you're expecting an intelligent plot with gripping dialogue and multiple themes you're going to be thoroughly disappointed.

The special effects in this film are absolutely phenomenal. Just at the time you start to think that the action is too fast paced and you can't actually see what's going on, they slow things down for you, adding nicely to the flow of the film.

The interweaving of the films plot with American History is a little weak and somewhat unnecessary in places, but it at least places some context on some of the events.

Shia LaBeouf does a good job in his return as Sam, and although his relationship with one of the robots is a little difficult to buy at times, his dialogue and general demeanor fit well with the rest of the cast.


The short appearances by Sam's parents are almost entirely pointless and could have easily been removed as they add practically noting to the film. You never feel like the relationship between them and Sam is genuine, and the banter about his getting a job is lost in the wider plot.

Megan Fox was always going to be a tough act to follow in the leading Lady stakes, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley makes a genuinely beautiful alternative. She's also British, so director Michael Bay scores extra points there. They do utilise her in one too many beautiful-girl-in-front-of-epic-action slow motion shots but outside of that she does as good a job as can be expected in that type of role.

Overall Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a great crack at a sequal, and the special effects make up for pretty much everything else that's lacking. If you'd like to go and see a movie about robots fighting, then you'll love this, if you're looking for an in depth, dialough based throught provoking movie, you're probably better off going to see something else.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 7/10

Movie News - Transformers 3 Box Office Hit, Monte Carlo Reviews Positive, Pixar Release More on Brave

Transformers 3 has been a huge hit at the box office, bringing in $162million already. This is a contrast to Green Lantern which is struggling at the box office so far admid some poor reviews. Both movies make use of 3D, so it just goes to show that content, use of the technology and the type of movie all have an impact on the success of 3D. Great article from the LA Times about its use for commercial reasons instead of creative ones.


Reviews for Monte Carlo look good so far, as does the 5th place in the box office one would guess.

Pixar have released more media for Disney fantasy Brave. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Brave deals with some darker themes that traditional Disney movies and could set a new genre of fantasy animations from Disney is successful.

---

Bridesmaids

Important Note: I am male. While that normally isn't a problem where watching movies is concerned, when I went to see Bridesmaids there was roughly a 10:1 ratio of women to men, maybe more. Some of the jokes and situations in the film simply do not apply, and that does in some way change the overall feel and experience.

It's been a while since I saw people dress up for a movie, it might have even been as far back as the last Star Wars film. A number of women at the viewing I went to, one of the first in our area, were dressed up in bridesmaids outfits and wedding dresses (check out the Facebook page for examples). It's also been a long time since I left a cinema screen and walked out into the car park where people are still full blown laughing - such was the level of overall comedy and sheer number of jokes.

Let me start my saying that Bridesmaids is, in parts, an exceptionally funny movie. Before I saw it someone explained it to me as 'Better than The Hangover 2' which I think it definitely lives up to. It's a female slant on a male movie, much like Bad Teacher it applies some tried-and-tested male scenarios with a female dynamic.

Lillian (Maya Rudolph) picks Annie (Kristen Wiig) to be her maid of honor who has the task of organising the rituals of pre wedding organisation. Annie is a broke, disorganised and inexperienced, not the best qualities in this type of role. Unfortunately for Annie, Lillian has a new friend, Helen (Rose Byrne) who is beautiful, successful, popular and is married to a wealthy businessman.

Annie and Lillian battle it out in the movie and the contrast in values, standards and lifestyles in addition to the constant upstaging leads to some hilarious and at time cringe worthy scenes. Bridesmaids isn’t a move that is afraid to test the boundaries of this type of comedy, it really goes for it in a fully blown, taking a shit in the middle of a busy street kind of way.

Matt Lucas makes a few appearances as Annie’s housemate, but unfortunately his potential isn’t exercised and he adds little to the comedy, which is more a mark of how good it is elsewhere in the film than of Lucas' skill as a comedian.

While Bridesmaids is mostly genuinely funny and original comedy, there is a love interest that makes it tick the inevitable ‘chick-flick’ box involving a local cop played by Chris O'Dowd, who brings a charming and loveable spark to the story and provides some fantastic comedic situations of his own.

My first rating out of 10 puts this at quite a lofty 7/10 mostly for it’s originality based on a modern theme but it goes and extra point for the audience reaction and participation.

Bridesmaids: 7/10

---

Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher is a comedy about Elizabeth Halsey, a school teacher who gets dumped by her wealthy partner after he realises she's only after his money.

This film is not one that takes itself too seriously. Elizabeth's character (Cameron Diaz) is a female version of many a leading man we have seen in comedies lately. The self obsessed, weed smoking, could care less attitude is one we have seen frequently - although the school setting does give some mileage for new jokes and a different, if somewhat predictable, story of redemption.

Elizabeth's style attracts the attention of Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) who brings some genuine comedy to the movie - much of it centered around her attempts to woo a wealthy supply teacher Scott Delacorte (Justing Timberlake) who has family money, far too much sensitivity and a passion for dry humping. Atlthough Timberlake's character is clearly supposed to be over the top, he doesn't quite take to the role as well as he did as Napster founder Sean Parker in The Social Network.


Some of the smaller roles in this movie make for the best scenes. Lynn Davies makes an appearance as fellow teacher Phyllis Smith, and adds some nice balance to Elizabeth's wild ways with a genuine sense of nervousness and caution in her approach to life. It's supposed to provide a contrast, but there is some comedy, both intentional and unintentional, in their relationship.

Dolphin loving Principal Wally Snur (John Michael Higgins) plays his part well and interacts nicely with the other characters. The end of year speeches are a perfect reflection of the awkward work team address and his excitable, animated discussion with various members of the faculty are hilarious in parts.

Bad Teacher was never going to be a great comedy, but it's not particularly bad either. If you have a cinema pass like me an a couple of hours spare one evening you could certainly do worse.

Bad Teacher: 2.5/5

(I think I'm going to have to start rating out of 10...)

---

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2: Final Trailer

The final Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer is up:



The long awaited final instalment of the Harry Potter story is out in cinemas on July 15th. A mystery website that appears to be signed by J.K. Rowling has appeared, along with a Twitter page which has tweeted a couple of updates about the release of some 'exciting news'. There is also a YouTube announcement page completing the video/website/social media triangle.

Speculation is rife (and one would expect that was the intention) as to what the news could be. After a successful book and film franchise one of the most popular suggestions is that it will be some form of online game.

Those excited that Pottermore might be a new book will be disappointed however, as Rowling's people have confirmed that the project is not going to be a book release.

---