Weekly Movie Roundup

Away We Go

Away We Go is directed by Sam Mendes. That's really the most positive thing I can say about this film. It's so frustrating to see a talent like Mendes (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) wasted on a painful screenplay like this. This movie really felt like what would happen if you kept filming the characters from Garden State for 5 years, any remaining affection you had for their quirk has turned into contempt and confusion as to why they can't just get their shit together and be normal people. Anyway, besides hating the characters, the humor in the mo

vie is based on little caveats that feel like SNL sketches, the most succesful is based around a new-age woman (played by Maggie Gyllenhall) fearing strollers and sharing a bed with her infant. Yes, that's the best. These scenes are filled with really silly physical gags and jokes that have become really tired.

After the film has dragged you through this road trip of wacky situations and wackier personalites it has the audacity to shove a moral down your throat and make you throat. Mild spoilers ahead. Out of nowhere the couples meet old friends who are infertile, the movie tries to make you cry as the wife does a sad strip tease in a dirty bar, and it is genuinley kind of heart wrenching, unfortunatley the movie hasn't earned it. Twenty minutes ago we were watching breast feeding jokes, and we don't know these characters that we're feeling sorry for. The script preys on our instincts and things that are just sad because theyre SAD instead of developing any sort of story or characters that we can connect with. The ending is unsatisfying, the couple, neither of which have any sort of personality besides being bearded, wearing glasses, and being pregnant respectivley, finally do find a home, and deliver painfully obvious monolouges that border on "home is where the heart is". I'll leave you with an actual quote from the movie "Let's promise to let our daughter be fat or skinny or whatever weight she wants because obsessing about weight is just too cliche for our daughter. Are you kidding me?

Final Thoughts: SKIP IT--really it's painful. "Lars And The Real Girl" achieves the intended tone much, much better! Ren

t that instead!

The Hangover

I know I'm in the minority on this one, everyone thinks it's hilarious and will be quoting the lines ad nauseum. And before I get too far into this, I'm really not a snob, I like lowbrow comedies, I own "Knocked Up" on DVD, and yet, I left "The Hangover" early. I think the difference in enjoyment from the Apatow films and The Hangover is that in Apatow comedies the humor lies in the dialogue, and in word play, even if it is word play about poop. The Hangover is really a series of visual gags, chickens in the room, a missing tooth, a baby jacking off. It's not that I was offended or that my intelligence was insulted by this, I was just bored.

The biggest disappointment for me in this film is Zach Galifinakas. All I heard before going into the theater was how deadpan and hilarious his performance was. Deadpan? This guy is seriously like a less funny version (to the extent that is conceivable) of Jack Black. The lines your saying aren't funnier because you're bearded, or chubby, or apparently playing the role as someone who is developmentally disabled. This is all to say nothing of the weird shoe-horned Top 40 soundtrack, or the cobbled together plot. Ed Helms' character gave the film its only moment of comedy, and even that was a watered down version of Andy from The Office.

Final Thoughts: Skip It! Apatow's title as the king of modern comedy is totally safe. I hope Funny People makes it clear just what a bad movie this really was, by comparison.

Food Inc

I was really wary of seeing this film. I don't like preachy docs that people jump all over as an excuse to let you know how informed and better than thou they are (Oh you haven't seen Food Inc yet, it's really important you know, it's true what they say you are what you eat. I started a vegetable garden and I always buy organic yogurt). However I was pleasantly surprised by Food Inc. It's impressive in its just-the-facts presentation, and feels a lot less like propaganda than you'd expect.

The film explores a wide range of problems with the consolidation of the food industry. It doesn't resort to scare-tactics or deceptive graphs, but rather takes the time to explain each issue in depth, the injustice towards farmers, animals, factory workers and consumers. The camera doesn't shy away from showing the brutality of the way our food is processed, even on the "good" farm, which is admirable. Perhaps the best thing about this doc is that it doesn't simply shame the audience and claim to "raise awareness" *cough cough An Inconvenient Truth*. It offers a set of real, viable solutions that can be implemented at the individual level. Totally worthwhile!

Final Thoughts: Check it out! May not change your life but it raises some issues that need to be adressed sooner than later.