Hot Tub Time Machine

Went out on a limb and rented a brand new release on blu-ray to see if it had anything valuable to offer, and the answer was ‘kind of’. The film follows four guys, three who are lifelong friends. When one of the friends tries to kill himself they take a weekend vacation to their old hang out place atop a skiing resort. The town is not what it used to be and they settle for a night of partying in a hot tub with each other while they’re naked. Long story short, they travel back in time after a Russian sports drink spills into the control panel of the hot tub. So they are magically transported back to 1986.

HTTM Trailer

This film left me feeling stagnant. The story is stupid and some of the situations are even dumber. But I guess that’s the point, right? There were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud. There were even a few parts where I rewound the bluray to experience it again. The majority of the hilarity and ridiculousness comes from Rob Corddry who is the probably the only redeeming factor in this film. Without him this would have been a lot of nothing for 98 minutes. Joan Cusack is semi wasted as he doesn’t really add to much to the film in this character role. The young boy is good too, but not on Rob’s level. Craig Robinson, most well known star from TV show The Office, is quite good as well. Craig and Rob keep the comical moments moving along quite well.

Overall the film is funny. Fairly absurd in almost every scene, but it works for what it is. Also, the transformation of the ski resort to back to the 1986 timeframe is impressive as well. They went through a lot of work to restore the 1908s for the screen, and they did a really good job. I hate the 1908s, so it wasn’t as magical for me as it will be for those who loved that era. The guest appearance by Chevy Chase as the hot tub repairman was also a fresh breath for this film.

Rating: 5/10
RT: 63%

Observe And Report

So I’m back! Took a nice week off from being diligent within any type of writing and now I’m back to the ole’ grindstone. I still kept up with my movie watching quota, so I have half a dozen new films to blog about. And I finally went back to the library for DVDs and CDs, so now I have a never ending supply of films I need to watch. The majority of them are newer releases so I am sure I will be disappointed and enraged and I get to share that. Let’s start with OBSERVE AND REPORT. The premise is that there is this flasher on the loose at a local mall where Seth Rogan works as Head of Mall Security. His role serves to bring this pervert to justice and win the love of the makeup girl he so avidly admires.

OandR Trailer

For the most part I did enjoy this film. The story did not move worlds and the acting, like all of these flicks, was just good enough to get by. The times when this film shined the most is when Seth or the other main characters when on their tangent raves. You could tell that the majority of the funniest scenes were unscripted and improvised by the main actors.

There is a good amount of full frontal male nudity in this film, so be forewarned. It really doesn’t kick in until the late third act, but when it does, it really does. Picture a 300 lb guy running around a mall with just an overcoat around him. Yeah, I know, and now picture it in slow motion – which is exactly what they used. Kind of funny and nauseating at the same time. This is a good one for the boys. Put it on in the background during a party because it doesn’t demand full attention by a long run.

Rating: 6.5/10
RT: 51%

Jaws

What is there to say about JAWS? The answer is – A LOT. So therefore I will do the opposite. I will keep my comments brief and striking. Story in two line – a great white shark terrorizes a town by eating anyone who enters into the water. A sheriff, a marine biologist, and a professional shark hunter head out to sea to slay the beast. This is definitely one of those films that I’ve spent too much time researching and learning about all the behind the scenes stories, so I won’t bore anyone with all those details. I’ll just focus on the things that I really love about the movie.

Jaws Trailer

This film really did create some awful waves (pun intended) when it came out back in the 1970s. People were actually afraid to go into the water in the oceans and beach communities saw a decline in revenue. Spielberg had no idea that this film would be as effective and amazing as it turned out to be. He was 100 days over schedule and thought that it was going to be the last film he ever made because it was the disaster film that ruined him. However, we all know it turned out being one of the great pieces of American cinema of all time and still holds up till today.

My wife and I watched this over two nights as we laid tucked in our bed – JAWS played just below our feet at the end of our bed and this was actually the first time she watched it. The film actually did scare her at several parts. The parts that scared her were: the scene where Richard Dryfess goes underwater to investigate the recently sunken ship and is greeted by the dead body in the window, when jaws (aka Bruce) kills the sail-boater, and when jaws killed Quinn she actually covered her face with the blanket in fear. So it’s nice to see that the PG-rated film that gave me nightmares as a kid still holds some power to affect people today.

I love the buildup in suspense and how we hardly ever see the shark until the final act. I love the musical score by John Williams, but I have to admit that it was offsetting during the final battle moments. There was very whimsical and playful music used seconds before jaws might his demise. It was distracting for me a little bit. Wow, imagine that – someone saying something negative while critiquing JAWS – that’s a first!

Rating: 9.8/10
RT: 100%

The Village

It has been a long time coming that I revisit this film. When it came out I remember everyone ripping on it and not being very happy with it. I, however, loved the film. I thought it was clever, original, and extremely entertaining. My thoughts on the film have wavered little – but I’ll still go into more detail on why I like it so much. Quick story synopsis: we follow the life and times of a village of people from olden times (possibly late 1800s or early 1900s). The village is surrounded by dense woods where these deadly creatures/monsters live so therefore the villagers fear the woods and do not travel outside their town limits. One man, played by Quaquin Phoenix, desires to venture into the woods and find civilization outside of the village. There are other “rules” that the villagers have to abide by regarding the color red, etc, but no need to go into that.

The Village Trailer

I won’t back down. I still love the crap out of this film. It transports the audience to another place and time. It does effectively create a new world for us to explore and be in awe of. The characters are well drawn and the dialogue is crafty. I especially love the lighting throughout the film – from the high towers of watch guard torches to ambient lighting from candles within the houses – it is truly a spectacular spectacle to observe.

But the best part of the film has to be how the suspense builds ever so perfectly. From the boy standing on the log with his back turned to the woods, to Quaquin’s short venture into the woods where he sees something for a second, to the first spotting of the red-robbed creature under the watch tower, to the sighting of the creature on the front porch – it all works so well. I also love the use of the impaired senses in the film; the blind girl and the mentally retarded boy, Percy, played by Adrian Brody. It allows the audience to experience this whole new world in a different light because we become attached and embedded in these characters and what they are experiencing.

My favorite scene has to be where Luscious (Phoenix) takes the blind girls hand and ushers her to safety. That slow motion sequence mixed with the music work so beautifully together. It just gets me every time.

Say what you will about M. Night Shal…. Other films, but this film Is extraordinary. I love the cinematography, acting, musical score, and the story is solid as well. To be truthful I hate the huge twists he adds to the ends of his films – they destroy all of the ground that he has built throughout the film. This destroys the experience for two reasons – 1. Repeat viewings are extremely minimalized and 2. During his other films the audience is too focused on trying to figure out what the biog twist will be and they do not get caught up in the film at the current moment like that should.

Rating: 9.5/10
RT: 43%