Our Idiot Brother
I really enjoyed Our Idiot Brother. It is a nice film that is carried by a confident performance from Rudd. Rudd could have easily tread into caricature but manages to layer his performance into something unique and not absurd.
Paul Rudd is not an idiot in this film. He is trusting, relaxed and happy guy who does make the occasional dumb/naive decision. The movie starts with him getting arrested for selling weed to a uniformed police officer. He gets out of prison and his hippy girlfriend has broken up with him, shacked up with TJ Miller and refuses to give him his dog back.
The rest of the movie revolves around Rudd dealing with his sisters. Rudd is such a nice and trusting person everybody tells him their secrets which are then pulled out of him. The secrets make the family realize their malcontent and everyone ends up a better person.
The movie has likable characters. Whether it be TJ Miller’s organic farmer, Adam Scott’s sci-fi writer or Rashida Jones lesbian lawyer. The movie is littered with nice scenes and funny dialogue.
I absolutely believe that it would be impossible to leave this film without a smile on your face.
Enjoy!
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September Movie Preview Part 2
John’s September Preview
By John Leavengood
Apollo 18
Release Date: September 2nd
Cast: The budget was $5 million. If I told you do you really think you’d recognize any of the names?
How excited am I? Ummm, for an indie sci-fi horror? EXTREMELY! Lots of indies take their writing very seriously, so I’m hoping that this baby-budgeted Aliens-too-close-to-home flick delivers some gritty and chilling scenes. Here’s the trailer.
Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star
Release Date: September 9th
Cast: Nick Swarsdon, Christina Ricci and Don Johnson
Guess which movie I’ll be skipping this September? Well, watch this trailer and see for yourself. They evidently thought they were making the next Dumb and Dumber, but instead they just seem to have made a steaming pile. Don Johnson plays a porn director in this one. I’m guessing after we see how this movie does, directing porn will be the only work he’ll be able to find.
I Don’t Know How She Does It
Release Date: September 16th
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear, Kelsey Grammer, Pierce Brosnan
I don’t know how Sarah Jessica Parker keeps getting work…and I don’t think watching this will explain how she does it. It’s like everyone skipped Sex in the City 2 and then just assumed it was great. She hasn’t done anything tolerable in movies in over a decade. And before you call me a typical guy for hating her I’ll let you know that I loved her show Sex in the City—every season of it. Bless her heart, she just doesn’t translate well into film. Here’s the trailer.
Killer Elite
Release Date: September 23rd
Cast: Jason Statham, Robert De Niro and Clive Owen
Watch this trailer. Did you see Statham doing chair-fu!?! You know—the ancient alcohol-induced Irish fighting style? I think we’re in for some serious Bourne Identity fight scenes in this. No need to banter, just go see it.
Moneyball
Release Date: September 23rd
Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright
Jonah Hill, welcome to a serious role. Brad and Phil, always nice to have you back.
This movie looks like someone took Major League and transformed it into a serious movie. I like it. And it feels so right that Pitt looks like a young Robert Redford—as if he was channeling The Natural. Here’s the trailer.
50/50
Release Date: September 30th
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anna Kendrick
Okay, so I like all of these actors, particularly Gordon-Levitt. But I’m going to treat this movie like I would a stray pitbull: I may be intrigued to know what it’s all about, but I’m not going to rush into it or make any sudden movements. I still can’t decide how I feel about 500 Days of Summer and the tone isn’t very different. Here’s the trailer.
Courageous
Release Date: September 30th
Cast: I don’t recognize a single actor in this.
I’m not saying this movie looks bad, but I am struggling to find signs of quality in
this trailer. Nothing about the plot is unique and, not knowing any of the actors, I have no clue how well-executed this will be. This strikes me as a wait-for-DVD kind of movie.
What’s Your Number?
Release Date: September 30th
Cast: Chris Evans, Anna Faris, Martin Freeman and Andy Samberg
This looks like a lot of fun and I think the nature of Chris Evans’ character will make this RomCom very guy-friendly. Not that I don’t think he’s awesome in action flicks, but it’s nice to see him doing some comedy. And how awesome is it that the BBC’s new Watson (Martin Freeman from Sherlock Holmes) makes an appearance!?! Here’s the trailer.
Dream House
Release Date: September 30th
Cast: Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz
This trailer made my chest tingle with delight. This psychological thriller could be really creepy. It feels like they give you the solution to the puzzle right away, so I have a feeling we’re in for a big twist in this one.
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September Movie Preview
Take Shelter
September 30
Michael Shannon is one of my favorite actors. he is totally underrated and always does good work. I’m stoked for this end of world flick. An added bonus is that this is directed by Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories). Jeff is the brother of Ben Nichols who is the front man for Lucero. Expect a great score and soundtrack.
Shark Night 3D
September 2
Bad CGI sharks + Bad Acting= Awesome. The plot is incredibly intricate. College students get eaten by sharks in a salt water river. I might skip the 3D though. I don’t think I could pay $15 dollars to see this. Good for a double-header Drive in night.
Warrior
Sept. 9
Finally MMA gets a decent movie with great actors. I hope the sport is represented well and the fights are believable. I love MMA and it is great to see actors like Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy beating each other up. The plot centers around brothers fighting in a championship bout. An added bonus is that it is directed by Gavin O’Connor (Miracle)…So hopefully we get some great speeches. I might just shed a man tear.
Drive
Sept 16
Director Nicolas Winding Refn is insane (Bronson, Valhalla Rising). It is great to finally see him go mainstream. I can’t wait to watch Ryan Gosling go head to head with Albert Brooks. I like most movies about Driver’s driving fast while being chased by bad guys. The only negative is Carey Mulligan. She is always “acting.” I hope Refn reins this in. I will see it opening night.
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil
Watch this preview! Two rednecks go on vacation and are mistaken for killers. The teenagers think they are in Deliverance….The rednecks wonder why they went to a cabin for vacation. This seems much like Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. I loved that flick. This seems super fun as well.
Contagion
Sept 9
What seems like thousands of A-list celebrities battle an unstoppable virus. Steven Soderbergh handled the A-list cast of Traffic well. I have no worries what he will do with this flick.
Red State
Sept 23
I don’t know what to think about this film. Kevin Smith’s last films haven’t been great. Cop Out was quite possibly the unfunniest thing ever. Smith says this is his return to form. He has been taking it on the road and it is getting a great reaction. However, I wonder what people who are not in the cult of Kevin will think of the movie. Either way, I enjoy Kevin Smith. I like having him around.
Straw Dogs
Sept 16
Not sure they needed to remake this. I like James Marsden a lot though. I think he will do okay in Dustin Hoffman’s role. Plus, it is good to see Alexander Skarsgard on the big screen. I’m thinking this movie could either work really well or be just another lame remake. Either way Erik fans will love it.
Burke and Hare
Simon Pegg, John Landis and Andy Serkis. You can’t beat that trio. I’ve heard the movie is only sub par but that won’t deter me. I am a huge Pegg fan.
Machine Gun Preacher
Sept 23
I’m happy to see Gerard Butler not playing a rakish womanizer or angry guy yelling “Sparta.” He will have to act in this film and I think he will knock it out of the park. Plus, the plot about a former drug addict fighting to protect Sudanese orphans sounds interesting.
Pearl Jam
Cameron Crowe directed this doc about super grunge band Pearl Jam. I dig rock docs. If you don’t watch this check out Anvil on Netflix.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Something Borrowed
When this film hit the theaters critics dogpiled heaps on negativity upon it. They went above and beyond dislike and they entered into hateful. I can imagine three hundreds critics running out of the theater after watching this and just tearing up the streets.
The reviews went something like this:
“This movie made me so angry I punched an old lady in the face.”
“I hated Kate Hudson so much that I flew to a far away island. Learned how to make a voodoo doll and plan on using it to inflict pain on her.”
“If this movie was a catastrophe I would compare it to The Hindenburg blowing up and landing on a nuclear power plant that is located next to a major metropolis.”
These are not real reviews but you get the idea. When I hear a movie getting universally panned it makes me want to watch it. I want to know why it is so bad. I’m like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. I investigate bad films and find clues as to why movie critics would rise so violently against them.
What I discovered is that the main characters in this film are some of the biggest turds (technical term) we’ve witnessed in a while. They are these weak little people who are too afraid to speak their mind. You are supposed to like the main characters in movies. However, this film goes out of its way to make you not like anybody. In its attempt to be new and unpredictable it shot itself in the foot. This leads me to believe the culprits were the writer in front of the computer and the director on set.
The plot goes like this. Ginnifer Goodwin loves a guy, she is too afraid to tell him so Kate Hudson starts dating him. Kate and the dude get engaged. The dude and Gennifer hook up one night. They are too afraid to tell Kate because she runs all over them. The dude and Ginnifer keep dating, He doesn’t leave Kate. He makes a speech and Ginnifer turns him down. Ginnifer makes a speech in the rain and he turns her down. John Krasinski makes a speech and it blows up in his face, Then it ends and everyone is like “huh?”
I’ve come to the conclusion that the director and writer disliked all the actors so he planned to hurt their careers by making them look bad through the movie.
The critics absolutely despised Kate Hudson’s character. However, the wimpy characters allowed her to treat them terribly. They let Kate get what she wants. The odd thing is that Kate Hudson makes this big speech that could have possibly redeemed her but then she does something so bad you wonder why they tried to make you like her. She is what she is in this film. I guess she is the bad guy because she has a spine…..a jerky spine albeit.
Everyone in this film makes big speeches. The problem is what happens after the speeches. They get these triumphant moments and BAM something terrible happens. It is actually funny. I get this visual of after a character makes a speech somebody runs up and antiques them (smooshes flour in their face).
The worst part of this film is what they do to the best character. John Krasinski is the voice of reason in this film. He makes fun of everybody and the movie isn’t so bad when he is around. However, towards the end he delivers a monologue that makes him a turd (technical term) as well. The director wrecks all the good will and makes his character just another one of the wimps. It is incredibly devious. I remember after the speech and following moments my girlfriend said “oh geesh.”
Oh geesh is right. Be wary of the antiquing!
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Five Movie Gem Discoveries I Owe to Movies, Films & Flix
Five movie gem discoveries I owe to Movies, Films & Flix
By Erik H.
As a faithful reader of this excellent blog, I really appreciate Mark and John’s noble trailblazing quest to watch bad movies so others don’t have to. I also appreciate the blog’s distinct personality with its running jokes about Nic Cage, Dolph Lundgren and Sam Rockwell’s dancing. However, what I enjoy the most is the blog’s damn good under-the-radar movie recommendations.
To show my appreciation I’ve listed five movie gems I would have never seen if not for Movies, Films & Flix. Check these out!
Four Lions
A rich story about four incompetent British jihadists set out to train for and commit an act of terror. There’s comedy, social commentary, and it ultimately discusses how terrorism is about ideology, and it can also be about idiots. I’ve seen it twice and can’t remember another movie that spawned as much good post discussion.
The Hammer
This movie resonated with me because it was so poignant and it’s actually based on Adam Corolla’s pre-radio life. It was produced with a lot of passion, much like Howard Stern’s Private Parts, but better. If you like the movie, check out Adam’s book “In 50 Years We’ll All Be Chicks,” which is a solid commentary on masculinity in America.
The Good the Bad and the Weird
This happy-go-lucky movie about Korean gunslingers in the World War II era is the summer blockbuster that you’ve never seen. A determined thief, nasty hitman, and mysterious bounty hunter all vie for an elusive map that could lead them to a buried treasure and it is straight-up entertaining.
I am Number Four
Not a “great” flick, but it was surprisingly fun for a Sci-Fi movie I had never heard of prior to reading the blog. Here’s the synopsis: Aliens and their guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list … it just worked. Plus, Timothy Olyphant makes every movie better.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is one of the top crime dramas of all time, and it has one of the smartest catch 22s I’ve ever seen in a movie. It’s about seventeen year-old navigating his survival in a criminal family, and a detective who thinks he can save him. The plot is rich and steadily unfolds, and I definitely agree with Mark that it leaves you stimulated and not needlessly depressed.
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Conan #2
Hello all. Mark here.
John already reviewed this film but I had to put my two cents in. The review is spot on and I enjoyed John wondering how a female monk taught in the ways of peace could knife fight like she was Benicio Del Toro in The Hunted.
Check out the review here. https://moviesfilmsandflix.com/2011/08/25/conan-2011/
Instead of writing a review I’ve decided to compile a few observations I made about the film.
1. If you look at the poster you wonder how Conan could get on top of all those skulls. He couldn’t have killed them all and waited. That would take too long. So, he must have walked on top of them and posed like he did the killing. Thus, making him kind of phony.
2. The slaves in this film get whipped a lot! It gets a little ridiculous at times.
3. If you kill a tribal chief leader never take his sword and leave his son alive. It just causes a lot of trouble.
4. Who builds the massive labyrinths and underground tunnels? They must have been whipped a lot.
5. Is it impossible to hold a camera still for three seconds?
6. The female lead in this film might be the worst ever. For instance, Conan rescues her from 700 people then she gets all saucy (in a badly written way) and demands she is taken to some place. If I was Conan I’d be pissed.
7. If the only way to awaken a homicidal world ending demon is to get the blood of the only pure born left on earth wouldn’t it make sense to make the pure born disappear? Say you are walking close to a cliff one day…Push….Threat over. Sure, you might be saddened but at least you don’t have to worry about a homicidal demon killing millions.
8. I’d be pissed if I had to battle sand creatures. When you kill them sand would get everywhere. Imagine the clean up. The only positive is that the people in CSI, Law and Order and NCIS could never prove it. I’d like to see them ID a dead sand blob.
9. Is it impossible for Conan to utter more than two sentences at a time? His big speech was I live, I fight, I love, I’m Content.
10. How do you capture a kraken? Net? Fishing line? Leave a trail of fish?
11. Why do people want world domination? Dominating the world would be a lot of work. The only positive is that you can get slaves and elephants to push around a large boat through any terrain.
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Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
It is a nice little genre flick that is in no way good. However, it gets a free pass. Two weeks before production the films budget was cut from 32 million to eight million. This meant the shooting time was cut, the locations were cut, the money for everything else was cut.
Imagine going through all of pre-production, coming up with a great game plan and then BAM everything changes. The result is Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
I thought the plot of the film sounded great. A pulpy noir where a burnt out detective works for zombies, demons, werewolves and vampires. Dylan stumbles upon a femme fatale and dives headfirst into a plot to revive a terrible monster. Along the way there is a seven foot cannibal zombie, Taye Diggs has gold vampire teeth and zombies have support groups.
Routh is reliable as Dylan. Sam Huntington is fun as his recently undead partner. Disapointingly, all the vampires are stereotypical goths who listen to repetitive techno.
In the end, the movie has all the making of a cult flick. Too bad it didn’t have the bigger budget to smooth out all the wrinkles.
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Trailer Talk: The Three Musketeers
Hello all. Mark here
John watched the trailer for The Three Musketeers and loved it. I am slightly worried. I’m still not sure why Milla must do Matrix types moves in this film. She could be perfectly tough without slow motion falls and flips.
I think the casting of Orlando Bloom was inspired. Also, Ray Stevenson is in it! I was his stand-in on the film Jayne Mansfield’s Car. He is a super cool guy and I hope his career blows up.
I’m thinking this film will be a minor hit in theaters. Just a hunch….I’m going to watch it anyway.
TRAILER TALK: The Three Musketeers
BY John Leavengood
Check out the new trailer for The Three Musketeers (2011). It looks great!
It stars Milla Jovavich, Orlando Bloom, Logan Lerman (Gamer, Percy Jackson), Matthew Macfayden (Robin Hood), Ray Stevenson (Rome) and Luke Evans (Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans). The last three play Athos, Porthos and Aramis, respectively. Christoph Waltz (bad guy from Inglorious Basterds and Green Hornet) plays the Cardinal. Will he be as slimy as Tim Curry? Will Logan Lerman be as annoying as Chris O’Donnell? Ray Stevenson and Oliver Platt…I don’t know how to compare them other than to say in Rome Ray’s character (Pullo) really liked to drink. The other actors seem to appropriately fill the 1993 Three Musketeers’ boots just fine—based on a trailer.
You be the judge.
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John’s Horror Movie Starter Guide 2
Horror Movie Starter Guide 2
By John Leavengood
Horror fanfare is all about the fun of wading through bogs of awful, student budget, straight-to-DVD and so-bad-they’re-good gore and shocker flicks. Did you enjoy your first off-the-wall horror marathon?
For your second weird, foreign and bad-horror combo marathon, try rounding up a few of these. I know I will! To the seasoned horror-hound, all of them look worth watching for their own unique reasons. We have a modern Euro-zombie apocalypse, an 80s-style campy camp horror, a Latin Shaun of the Dead, and an group of three Asian shorts by three different directors.
Eaters
It’s been a long time, Italy. We had thought that the Lucio Fulci era would never see its second-coming. Well brush up on your Italian, warm up the Blu-Ray player and prepare to enjoy some moderate special effects in a film where folks clearly made an effort on both scenery and gore. This trailer makes me think 28 Days Later in Italy. The director’s name is even suspiciously similar to Danny Boyle—Uwe Boll.
Camp Hell
This honestly looks terrible…like, even for a “bad” horror movie. However, a few recognizable actors, including Jesse Eisenberg, got fooled into taking this gig. Its plot sounds painful, its drama looks forced, and the fact that it was even made makes my skin crawl. That said, all I want to do is rent this, invite four friends over, get drunk and laugh at it. But, to clarify, a part of me does want to see this unquestionably lousy movie. Here’s the trailer.
Juan of the Dead
This looks like Shaun of the Dead with a lower budget goes Latin. This is the first horror movie I’ve ever heard of coming from Cuba, or the first comedy, or the first anything. Anyway, based on the trailer this looks very funny. Be prepared to wait a while, though. First this flick has to make its way through genre film festivals like Fantastic Fest.
3 Extremes
This one originally came out in Asia in 2004, but few seem to know more about it than the title itself. This features three short horror/thriller films by three directors (Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, and Takashi Miike) from three countries. The trailer is not terribly informative, but I found an online review which, in lieu of clips, gives a better story overview. There’s also a sequel out—with three more tales.
I’m not familiar with Fruit Chan, but after Park Chan-wook’s directing work on Lady Vengeance, Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Thirst, I’m excited to see what he has in store. Not to mention Miike’s 13 Assassins, One Missed Call, Audition and Ichi the Killer, which leave me desperate for more of his films.
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Conan 2011
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
By John Leavengood
MY CALL: A rather disappointing Conan movie, but an entertaining movie nonetheless. You may notice that I make almost no mention of the plot in this review. Why? It wasn’t very interesting. I’ll give it a B-/C+. Far from a “must see” but fun. WHAT TO WATCH INSTEAD: Watch Troy and skip to all the combat scenes. That way you’ll remember what action is supposed to look like. 300 was right on the money, too.
I had been waiting so very long for this movie—perhaps over a decade. I always wondered who they’d find to replace Schwarzenegger and whether there would be a strong comic book fantasy element or not. Judging by the trailer, they went with the Boris Vallejo fantasy with serpents and sorcery (i.e., a creepy Rose McGowen sorceress). I was thrilled. I also like the guy they found to play Conan. He does a great job as Khal Drogo, a nomadic barbarian clan leader, in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Now for the bad news…
Yes, Mamoa played a great barbarian in Game of Thrones. So if it’s a barbarian you want, then maybe you should skip this movie and get HBO. Okay, okay, Conan wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t great either. The movie did a good job conveying Conan’s hunger for battle and revenge. Unfortunately, when it came to expediting these notions during the action scenes, specifically in terms of camerawork and film editing, it failed to deliver. The action shots, which is why any of us went to see this movie, were choppy, discontinuous reels alternating between way-to-close-ups and pan-outs. The close-ups were so close that you couldn’t see the entire actor or actors as they tumble about or clash swords. This was particularly disappointing when Conan faced off against our villain (played by Avatar’s rather buff-for-his-age Stephen Lang) or a huge tentacled monster. What upset me most is that this was not necessarily the director’s fault, nor did they miscast Mamoa—rather Mamoa was perfectly cast. The problem was entirely a result of post-production. No film editing Academy Award for this one.
Another bummer was the love interest (played by Rachel Nichols). She’s some virgin monk who is naturally capable of Slap-Chopping her enemies with ease like a Puerto Rican knife-fighter from the Bronx. No effort is made to explain where she gained her training and, even if they did, she did not come off as a credible tough chick. You want credible tough chicks? Try A Perfect Getaway. On that note, McGowan (as a high-foreheaded sorceress) also seemed a bit wanting for toughness. Sure she had “tough chick” lines, but they weren’t delivered by a tough chick. She came off as tougher in Jawbreaker playing a bitchy high schooler than she was as an adult playing a malevolent, murderous necromancer. I really didn’t care for either of the female characters. In fact, other than Mamoa and Lang, I didn’t care for anyone.
So let’s end with the strong suits. I really appreciated the level of fantasy (e.g., sorcery, a magical artifact, a tentacled monster), Mamoa was perfect for this role and no fault of this movie was his, and Lang provided some excellent villainy. If I wasn’t so busy feeling disappointed I would have probably enjoyed this more. But again, this wasn’t bad. It was kind of fun. I don’t regret the price of admission.
Movies, Films & Flix 