The Change-Up (No Spoilers)

The Change-Up (No Spoilers)

            My new favorite body switch movie. The plot is easily overdone but the sell and pitch to this movie is that it is rated R. It did it for me and the results were hilarious. Critics have been harsh to this film but this has been a summer of raunchy R movies and at the end of summer; I am sure some of the critics are tired of it but don’t let them faze you because The Change-Up is really funny.

            Growing up together, Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (Jason Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they've slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. To Dave, living Mitch's stress-free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true. Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave's worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other's bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out.
Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other's lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed. Further complicating matters are Dave's sexy legal associate, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde) and Mitch's estranged father (Alan Arkin). With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other's lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back.

            I am a big fan of Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman so I was 100 percent on board with casting these two to switch bodies and it worked out great. Since Van Wilder I’ve been waiting for Reynolds to do something this funny again with exception of waiting; he hasn’t. But with this he is back to his comedic form. There are some scenarios in this that will keep you laughing at the edge of your seat that you don’t see coming. Of course Leslie Mann like has been doing for the last few years steals almost every scene she is in as the foul mouthed wife Jamie. But what really makes this movie is the interaction between Bateman and the twin babies…hysterical. This does have its downfalls biting into familiar territory with the whole body switch thing but will keep you entertained the whole time. Definitely a good date movie; but make sure they are into the Apatow type of comedy that is raunchy and witty.

3 out of 4 stars.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (No-Spoilers)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (No-Spoilers)

            This is a monkey to go bananas over! Once again when I first heard of this film getting made I kind of rolled my eyes but the sooner this movie was to getting released with all the trailers and the good buzz; my interest tipped and began to get excited. I am pleased to say that this film was one of the best movies of the year! Definitely a good popcorn movie that you can easily get lost into from start to finish. The best part was that America agreed with me; raking in over 50 million through opening weekend finishing well over 20 million ahead of what industry experts predicted. In today’s standards; that number is astonishing achievement and well deserved.

            The Planet of the Apes franchise gets the origin treatment in this 20th Century Fox production from director Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist). Man‘s arrogance sets off a chain of events that leads to intelligence in apes and a challenge to our place as the dominant species on the planet. Caesar, the first intelligent ape, is betrayed by humans and rises up to lead his species‘ spectacular race to freedom and the ultimate showdown with Man. In Caesar, WETA – the Oscar–winning visual effects team behind Avatar – have created a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence. James Franco stars, with Freida Pinto and John Lithgow heading up the rest of the cast.

            Andy Serkis is the real star in this film; as the main monkey Caesar. But because we rarely get to see his face on film; his fame and talent come off un-noticed to some. Serkis is a motion- capture icon; he played Gollum from the lord of the rings films and he also played King Kong in the recent remake. I read one critic calling him a modern day Boris Karloff or Bella Lugosi from the days when they played all kinds of monsters in the Universal picture heydays. I could not agree more; he transforms his body into whatever is asked out of him using facial acting as well as realistic movements that mimic whatever he is trying to copy. But what comes off the best about this film is the flow and pace of this movie. Everything from the opening to the end comes off very planned out and intricate to the whole storyline. The movie is billed as a planet of the apes movie but easily stands out as its own film that easily could have been titled something different. When we first see Caesar; he is a baby that comes off cute and cuddly like curious George but in time you can see things coming together for a grander plan. The best use of telling the audience this is how the score is done and using sounds and music to give us a vibe that this is no normal monkey without screaming it out to the audience. Rise of the planet of the apes excels on keeping you interested not only by visuals but almost all other element you can think of but smell with ease and preciseness. This is not James Franco’s best performance but is what was needed from him because the apes are the stars of the film. The cast was great and I thought it was interesting that Tom Helton; the actor who played Malfoy in the Harry Potter films was even more unlikable in this movie alone in contrast to an 8 film span of being the bad boy. I really don’t want to spoil anything but I strongly recommend this movie to anyone. I cannot believe this film got made in the first place but will easily be a part of my top ten films of 2011. Grab a friend, spouse, family member or anyone and go see this movie now!

4 out of 4 stars.

30 Minutes or Less (No-Spoilers)

30 Minutes or Less (No-Spoilers)

            30 minutes is an enjoyable ride. Fresh off of an academy award nomination; Jesse Eisenberg dabbles back into comedy and is almost the opposite kind of a character that he played in the social network. In this one; Eisenberg plays a loser pizza boy that drives like he’s auditioning for the next fast and furious movie. With that being said; the movie has its moments that are hilarious and at times came off a bit rushed. But what really sells this movie is by far the cast!

            In the action-comedy '30 Minutes or Less,' Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

            By far; Aziz Ansari steals this movie as Chet! It seems like he is a star on the rise and definitely showcases his comedic talents in this film. The movie clocks in less than an hour and a half but seemed like it was longer because of all the stuff going on. I mean that in a good way too because the pace of the movie went along very smoothly and kept you in it the whole time. Eisenberg has come a long way and watching him pick projects like Zombieland, The Social Network and now 30 minutes or less; it seems like he is definitely on his way to big things. This definitely a crowd pleaser but nothing too special; if it seems like something you would like than you probably will. This is not the type of movie to rush out to; I’d give this a matinee or an easy rental.

3 out of 4 stars.