Blu ray movie review of Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass, a comic book adaptation, has received some great reviews and buzz. A lot have compared it to Superbad or any other nerdy-sex comedies to come out of Hollywood in droves. While I’m not denigrating Superbad or other similar films, Kick-Ass is really different film. While it does retain the nerd factor from Superbad, it is mainly an over the top live comic book movie. There are some crazy over the top violence in Kick-Ass. While there have been more violent films, non has come from a small girl with a very violent streak.

The story revolves around Dave Lizewski, a nerdy high school kid with a big crush on the school’s popular girl. As expected, Dave is a big nerd who is into comic books and video games. Tired of being pushed around, Dave decides to become a “superhero” even without any super powers. On one of his outing, he stands up to three thugs who are beating on one guy. Even though he doesn’t really take care of the thugs, he does just enough to chase them away. This entire encounter is caught on tape and Dave becomes an internet sensation. Through some misunderstanding, he becomes entangled in a crime that involves real superhero duo Hit Girl and Big Daddy. Together, they have to deal with dangerous drug dealer.

This is different type of superhero movie. It is not Marvel or DC comic book adaptation. You will not see any Spiderman type of story. While you do see some elements from Batman, you will not associate this movie with any other superhero movies. While movie does center around Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass, it is Hit Girl that takes the center stage. The diminutive Chloe Moretz delivers a winning performance as the foul mouthed assassin. You will be hard pressed to find better young actress to deliver this type of performance. Overall, Kick-Ass is an enjoyable movie.

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Blu ray movie review of Date Night

The combination of Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a comedy movie is a dream come true for the fans. They both star in two of the funniest comedy shows on television. Whoever came up with the idea to put them together in a movie should be given a medal. Having said that, Date Night was little disappointing even with the two great leads. Even with the comedic chops between the two leads, the film feels like a formulaic and derivative. Perhaps I expected too much and had too high of expectation from two of my favorite comedians.

The plot is nothing new in a movie. You take two ordinary people and put them in an extraordinary situation. Only this movie does it with funny situations. Phil and Claire Foster, played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey, are married couple who go on their weekly date night. They are a very busy couple who insists on having a date night every week to get away from their family and work for a day. On one particular date night, they decide to go to a fancy/hip restaurant on a spur of the moment. They soon realize they cannot get a table without a reservation. To get around this little problem, they pretend to be another couple when one reservation call is unheeded. They soon find themselves in a trouble when they are mistaken for the other couple. Two men approach them and insist on following them out. Phil and Claire think it’s about taking the reservation. But, they soon face bullets and murderers on wild night out.

Even with very vanilla material, Steve Carell and Tina Fey carry the movie from start to finish. The played out plot doesn’t seem so bad when the two leads are so funny. Maybe that’s enough to carry this movie. And, that was the goal when the movie maker got Steve Carell and Tina Fey. I don’t think you can have really unfunny movie with two of them. While the movie was funny, it easily should have been better with the two great leads. Overall, it’s very pleasant way to spend 90 minutes.

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Blu ray movie review of Cop Out

While I’m not a huge fan of Kevin Smith, I did enjoy some of his earlier movies like Clerks and Chasing Amy. His more recent movies like Jersey Girl and Zack And Miri Make a Porno was not as good as the earlier movies. The Cop Out is somewhat different movie from Kevin Smith. The buddy cop genre is something different from the Chasing Amy director. Given that I’m a big fan of Bruce Willis, I gave it a shot. The movie turned out to be one long SNL skit involving Tracy Morgan. Bruce Willis has always done very good comedy within his action films. While it’s not gut busting funny, I always got good chuckle out of his comedic chops. However, Cop Out was just painful to watch.

The plot is paper thin and not all that original. It’s about long time partners Jimmy and Paul at NYPD. They have been long time partners and good friends. Facing an astronomical wedding bill for his daughter, Jimmy decides to sell a rare baseball card. However, during the transaction, the collector’s shop gets robbed by two bumbling thieves. Jimmy and Paul eventually track down the two thieves and learn that baseball card has been turned over to a drug dealer. One thing leads to another and both cops find themselves involved in bigger crime.

Half of the movie is filled with Tracy Morgan’s antics. The other half is a bland cop comedy. Both are painful to watch. I can understand Tracy Morgan doing this movie. But, I can’t understand why Bruce Willis would do this awful movie. I would have rather seen another mediocre Die Hard film. And, Tracy Morgan shows no range as actor. He plays the same SNL character he has played in his entire career. I’m not asking for Shakespearean stuff but at least do something different in the comedic field. The over the top comedy gets old by the middle of the movie. Overall, I can’t honestly recommend this film to anyone.

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Blu ray movie review of The Bounty Hunter

After string of bad movies, Jennifer Aniston makes another stinker in The Bounty Hunter. In all fairness, she did have Gerard Butler’s help in making this movie. While both are undoubtedly great actors, they seem to go out of their way to make bad movies for some reason. Aniston has enjoyed great success on television sitcom as well as some movies. However, she has failed to star in a decent movie in for a while. I’m not sure who is forcing her to star in these terrible movies. For Gerard Butler, he should stick with action/drama movies. While P.S. I love You was barely watchable, The Ugly Truth and The Bounty Hunter were both terrible romantic comedies.

Like the movie name suggests, the movie is about a husband chasing down his ex wife. Milo is a former cop who works as a bounty hunter for his friend’s business. When his ex wife, a reporter, jumps bail to chase down a lead, he jumps at the chance to bring in his ex wife. Murder cover up serves as a rather boring back drop to the story. The murder cover up is only convenient ploy to showcase the interaction between the two leads. The simple case of hunting down his ex wife turns out to be little more complicated as the two go at each other over their failed marriage and the current situation.

The trailer looked funnier than the actual movie. The stupid murder cover up was not all that intriguing. The film maker banked too much on the star power of Aniston and Butler. Even they couldn’t save this ridiculous movie. There were some funny moments but not enough to carry this movie. Overall, I cannot recommend this movie to even the hardcore fans of Aniston and Butler. Avoid this movie.

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Blu ray movie review of Couples Retreat

Ever since Swingers, I’ve been a big fan of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. As such, I was fairly excited about their latest comedy Couples Retreat. While they had no hand in directing the movie, they were both the writers for the film. Overall, I was disappointed with the movie. Maybe Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are more mature and this is their idea of romantic comedy. I’m not so sure. With both of them writing, I thought the movie would be lot funnier. It even stars one of my favorite actor Jason Bateman along with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau.

The movie centers around four couples. Jason and Cynthia, played by Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell, are close to a divorce due to Cynthia having hard time getting pregnant. Dave and Ronnie, played by Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, have seemingly good marriage. Joey and Lucy, played by Jon Favreau and Kristen Davis, are planning to divorce once their daughter leaves for college. And finally Shane, played by Faizon Love, is divorced and having a good time with younger girl friend. Jason and Cynthia ask the other couples to join them in the couples retreat to try to heal their marriage. They need them to go in order to get a big discount for the group. Once they get to the retreat, they try to fix their various problems.

There are some funny moments in the movie. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are always good together in comedies. The overall premise of the film was pretty weak and predictable. You can see that everything will work out and the only reason to watch is the comedy. While the movie did offer some very funny scenes, it did not have enough to keep me interested through the entire movie. The stellar comedic cast of Vince, Jon, and Jason seemed to have been wasted on this weak effort. Never the less, it is worth watching if you are a fan of Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn, or Jon Favreau.

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Zombieland Blu Ray Review

Zombieland does a very good job of imitating the 2004 horror/comedy classic Shaun of the Dead. This is not a knock down Zombieland. Before Shaun of the Dead, there have not been very many horror comedy films. In fact, Shaun of the Dead spawned many clones that tried to copy the success of the cult classic. None has succeeded until now. Zombieland is without a doubt a very funny movie worthy of being compared to Shaun of the Dead. Like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland packs in incredibly funny moments in a very classic horror setting.

The story is not atypical in horror films. The world is turning into a wasteland thanks to a virus that turns people into zombies. We’ve seen this scenario in countless other horror movies. Two main characters, Tallahassee and Columbus form an unusual bond. Tallahassee is the gun toting mad man to Columbus’ geeky underdog character. They both set out to survive in the wasteland and reach a place where it is safe from the flesh eating zombies. Along the way, they meet Wichita and Little Rock and head toward west.

What sets Zombieland apart from the other horror films is the comedy. Sometimes you forget you are watching a zombieland. Instead, movie delivers funny scenes throughout the movie. From opening scene to the final scene, Zombieland consistently delivers laugh out loud moments like running into Bill Murray or the funny rules about surviving in the new zombie infested country. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are perfect as two unlikely buddies slaying zombies left and right. This is without a doubt one of the funniest movies to come out last year. Everyone who enjoyed Shaun of the Dead should not miss this movie.

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Inglourious Basterds Blu ray movie review

As a big fan of Quentin Tarantino, I was little bit disappointed with his last two films. Kill Bill and Death Proof was a letdown compared to his earlier movies like Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Nevertheless, I was excited to watch his latest film, Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino takes his shot at a World War 2 film in Inglorious Basterds. Inglorious Basterds is a different type of war movie. It is dark, violent, funny, and has tint of alternative fiction element. You really would not expect a conventional film from Tarantino. The overall premise borrows from previous war films for over all framework. However, Tarantino adds his own flavor to the movie.

The movie takes place in Nazi occupied France. The Nazis track down any French that harbor the Jews in order to exterminate them. In one such occurance, Jewish family harbored by their neighbor is slaughtered in the opening scene. Shosanna is the only survivor who runs away from Colnel Hans Landa’s atrocity. Years later, Shosanna plots her revenge when her theater is selected to show a film featuring a German hero. The high ranking Nazi officers and the Hitler himself is announced to attend the event. Meanwhile, Lt. Aldo Raine assembles a group of Jewish-American guerilla force to harass the German forces in France. They hear of the movie event and decide to take down Hitler and his officers.

The plot doesn’t sound like much. However, it’s Tarantino’s dark humor and style that makes the movie such a great experience. There are only small numbers of violent scenes. But, the scenes are funny and cringe worthy at the same time. The violent bar scene is one of the best action sequences in a war movie. The scene contains no CG or crazy explosion. Instead, the comical build up right before the violence and subsequent mayhem is pure Tarantino. Brad Pitt deserves some award for his portrayal of redneck Lt. Hell bent on killing Hitler. Overall, any fan of Tarantino should not miss this film.

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Land of the Lost Blu Ray Review

The casting of Will Ferrell in the Land of the Lost remake was little baffling at first. Will Ferrell is mostly known for his comedic acts. Even his sole dramatic role in Stranger Than Fiction had strong comedic elements. So, it’s little strange that he was cast as the lead in the remake of the family friendly science fiction franchise. But, you can instantly understand the casting once you start the movie. The movie is more comedy than its predecessor. I expected movie similar to Journey to the Center of the Earth starting Brendan Fraser. Instead, you get more of gag oriented film.

The movie starts with Rick Marshall being interviewed by Matt Lauer on his scientific theory. Matt Lauer laughs at Marshall’s theory on time warps. This enrages Marshall and he proceeds to attack Matt Lauer on air. Three years later, Marshall is reduced to working at a museum teaching kids. One day, Holly Cantrell persuades Marshall into building a tachyon amplifier to try his theory on time warp. Both of them end up at a tourist spot called Devils Cave where they try the tachyon amplifier. Along with the guide, Holly and Rick are thrown into alternate universe.

While it may not accurately represent the Land of the Lost franchise, it is still a fairly amusing movie. Will Ferrell delivers his usual comedic performance while Anna Friel and Danny McBride adds very good performances of their own. I was especially pleased with Danny McBride as the guide who tags along in the adventure. If you were looking for family friendly adventure, this might not appeal to you. However, if you are looking for some funny gags from Will Ferrell, this will be a perfectly funny movie. All in all, don’t expect too much in the way of science fiction or drama.

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Wedding Crashers Blu Ray

Wedding Crashers Blu Ray Review

Pick and two from Vince Vaugh, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson and you get a funny movie regardless of plot. Wedding Crasher is a similar raunchy, over the top comedy that has been well received by the male audiences. You can think of Old School, Meet the Parents or any other Ben Stiller movies and you can pretty much guess what type of movie the Wedding Crasher is. In my opinion, Wedding Crasher is as good as Old School.

John Beckwith, played by Owen Wilson, and Jermey Grey, played by Vince Vaughn, are divorce mediators who have been good friends for long time. They are only interested in crashing weddings to hook up with available women who attend the wedding. They have perfected this crashing technique with complete back story and believable identities. Both are incredibly charming and cunning. This leads to many affairs with women while they have no intention of staying with them. On their latest wedding crash, they are sucked into the life of Treasury Secretary William Cleary’s family. John ends up falling for one of Cleary’s daughter at the wedding. This leads to some funny complication and lies. After the wedding, they end up as guest at Cleary’s house for the weekend.

This is one of the funniest comedies you will watch in a long time. That is, if you enjoyed Old School and similar type of comedies. Vaughn and Owen are great as comedy duo. I’d even say as great as Vaughn and Favreau in Swingers. The cameo by Will Ferrell was one of the funniest parts of the movie. Rachel McAdams was surprisingly good in the comedy. She is more suited to romantic films but was great in this comedy. Overall, this is very well done comedy.

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Adventureland Blu Ray Review

Adventureland is Greg Mottola’s follow up to successful Superbad. The trailer and small previews all point out that fact very proudly. The marketers also touted it as similar movie. That would have been except Adventureland is a very different movie. It is not a teenage sex adventure film like Superbad. Instead, Adventureland is a coming of age romance film that is vastly different from Superbad. The movie does have some funny scenes and moments. However, it is more drama than comedy.

The movie is about a recent college graduate who has to move back home to earn some money before heading to New York to attend graduate school. He initially planned to travel the Europe after the graduation. However, his parents encounter financial difficulty when his father is demoted. Forced earn his own money, he moves back home and takes job at local amusement park called Adventureland. The job is terrible and funny at same time. We meet various funny characters. But, he falls hard for an employee named Em. She is a college student who is taking a break and working at the amusement park. The overall story revolves around this couple.

The story is a fairly entertaining. The setting of 1980s is clearly aimed at the older generation who might feel nostalgic about their time in the 80s. However, it’s a film a Superbad fan will also be able to appreciate. The movie has right balance of drama mixed in with some comedic moments. Overall, it is a very enjoyable film with broad appeals.

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