'Other Guys' Unfunny

"The Other Guys" - * - Action/Comedy - Will Farrell, Mark Wahlberg, Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes. Directed by Adam McKay. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.

"The Other Guys" opens in a big way. Over-the-top action sequences that are both impressive and appropriately cartoony. As you watch Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson take down the bad guys in a blaze of glory, causing millions of dollars in damage, you realize this is going to be a fun ride, seeing a brilliant satire of buddy cop movies.

Enter the film's real stars, Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg. Initially, Farrell shows remarkable restraint as he usually goes through his movies merely yelling at everyone and everything. He shows potential as he brings back some of the acting chops he had in "Stranger Than Fiction". Wahlberg, on the other hand, takes his cue from other Farrell films and continuously screams at everything. Blowing up at every turn, with no real explanation.

Despite being a purely comedic director, some of Adam McKay's action sequences are quite fun and well staged. The scene where a helicopter full of well-armed bad guys is taken down by golf balls at a driving range is funny. His direction, oddly enough, falls flat on the comedic side as almost every joke made me cringe.

Although, Farrell ends up back in his old shenanigans with yelling the entire last third of the movie, you can tell he's enjoying himself. Wahlberg, on the other hand, looks pretty bored. Quite a feat to make an actor of his caliber look like an amateur. As a matter of fact, most of the cast looks bored, including brilliant comedians and actors like Michael Keaton and Steve Coogan. Keaton's jokes are the worst in the film and Coogan doesn't really have much of anything to do except make faces at the bizarre actions taken by the two leads.

The real fun lies within the first ten minutes as we follow the hardcore antics of Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson. The engaging and fun beginning involving their characters makes you wish that the film had been about them. You can tell they enjoyed their parts, too.

'Bicentennial Man' hasn't aged well

"Bicentennial Man" - **1/2 - Science Fiction - Robin Williams, Sam Niell, Embeth Davidtz, Oliver Platt. Directed by Chris Columbus.

In 1999, people worried about the future. I remember the big deal everyone was making about how all the world's computers would crash when it became the year 2000. Granted, it seemed a little overboard at the time but now it just seems ridiculous.

This is much like Robin Williams' sci-fi dramedy about an android seeking to become human. It's a story that's been told over and over again, through various mediums. It's been told in fairy tale form (which in turn became Disney animation) through Pinocchio. It's also based on Isaac Asimov's short stories which have been interpreted in "I, Robot" in later years and as the cult classic film "Blade Runner", albeit in a much darker and violent setting.

Just like a combination of the depressing Ridley Scott "Blade Runner" and Disney's animated feature about the infamous puppet, Bicentennial Man doesn't really fit together well. It keeps changing tone throughout the overly long movie. It has great potential as it deals with some heavy subject matter, yet it never confronts the issues and rather just uses those issues as gimmicks to make you care for the lead character, Andrew.

This is not to say that the film is without its moments of a wonderful story. Andrew, played to perfection by the comedian Robin Williams, really does well in showing his growing emotion and learning to deal with the changing world around him. The real scene-stealer here, however, is Oliver Platt. Even though he's given very little to do, he truly makes the most of his moments.

Part science fiction, part comedy, part drama, part romance, part human interest, part fantasy, it never catches its stride and takes off. It's truly a shame as there is some real potential here. It does come much closer than the more critically praised "Artificial Intelligence", which has very little intelligence in the script and is far too dark. Were "Bicentennial Man" cut down a bit, it would be a nice little film.

Also, beware of the misleading rating. Although it's presented as a family movie, there are some moments with some rather frank sexual content, considering it's light rating. Although it would've been comparatively mild, it still warrants a PG-13 rating for its more vulgar moments.

"Bicentennial Man" is rated PG for Language and Some Sexual Content.

One 'Knight' Stand

"Knight and Day" - ** - Action/Comedy - Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano. Directed by James Mangold.

The latest action/comedy with Tom Cruise is not without its moments. The film is ripe with fun stunts, cheesy spy action and several times where it nears the potential of a good movie. Unfortunately, it never seems to capitalize on those moments and we're left feeling unsatisfied that we just spent our time watching the same thing we see in interviews. A crazy Tom Cruise jumping on things and making no sense.

Cameron Diaz goes from someone who cannot carry her luggage up stairs yet becomes a superspy with no training. She smoothly switches places on a moving motorcycle to fire off a few rounds at a pursuing bad boy and destroys the tiree, flipping the chasing car over. I understand this is a cheesy over-the-top action movie, but just 30 minutes earlier in the film, she was so bad with a gun that she couldn't hold it right and she let loose, hitting nothing like bad guys and nearly killing Tom Cruise's character.

Nothing but a random hodge-podge of action moments, set to Cruise's bizarre sense of humor, 'Knight and Day' does have its moments of thrilling fun. As long as you can totally turn your brain off and enjoy the ride, you won't mind it. Not enough substance to commit to, it might be a fun little one 'knight' stand to keep you entertained while you find the next good date movie you both can agree upon.

Knight and Day is rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language. As usual, the one 'f' word was thrown in for poor comedic effect with no pay-off. The violence is pretty tame and bloodless yet thrilling.

A Return to the 80's - "TRON: Legacy"

"TRON: Legacy" - *** - Science Fiction - Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen. Directed by Joseph Kosinski.

Your enjoyment of the new Tron film will mostly depend on whether you enjoy the cheesy film style of the 80's. More specifically, 80's science fiction.

The 80's produced films like "The Last Starfighter" about an arcade player who discovers that his favorite game is actually a pilot's test for an alien race in the middle of a war. "Space Camp" was about a bunch of random teenagers at Space Camp who sat in an engine test on the shuttle and accidently were launched into space. The 80's were all about fantasy and taking an ordinary individual and putting them into unbelievably circumstances and coming out a hero.

"Tron: Legacy" was a blast from the past. In our modern age of flawed heroes and feeling sorry for the bad guys, it's nice to go to a simpler style. Good is good. Bad is bad. Period.

In terms of story, the entire script is one big plot hole. If any of you have discussed the movie "Avatar" with me, you know I despise that movie. I despise it because of the poor writing and glaring plot holes. Although, it had amazing visuals. "Tron: Legacy" is very similar in that regard. What makes the difference? "Avatar" was meant to be taken seriously as a poignant allegory on the evils of humanity. "Tron: Legacy" was meant to be a thoughtless throw-back to a fantasy world.

The visuals were incredible, yet oddly felt 80's. The colors, ultra-bright lights and sterile environments helped pull you into this world. The fights were spectacular. In one scene, it can be easy to get disoriented as gravity randomly switches, but this was passing. It was easy to follow the action, unlike the modern technique of confusing the audience through jerky movements and camera tricks. The Cinematography of Dramamine. Thankfully, although the camera did its fair share of twists and turns, it never makes you feel sick.

All in all, I love 80's movies for all their cheesiness. This is no different. This is completely lame cheese, but it's remarkably fun! If you can shut off your adult brain and remember what it was like to pretend as a little kid, you will love this movie.

One more note that was the very first thing I noticed. The soundtrack is VERY unique. It's a fantastic blend of typical movie suspense music and the fun, synthesized techno of the 80's. Over the end credits, I waited to see who scored the film. It was no surprise that it was the bizarre techno/club group Daft Punk. Just a side note.

TRON: Legacy is rated PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and brief mild language.

Movie Reviews

I stole this idea from someone else, honestly. She's reviewing Roger Ebert's list of greatest movies. I decided to be a little more vague and general. I decided to review movies as I see them, including films I've already seen. Mostly, I'm doing this because I like writing and I like talking about movies!