film / tv / substack / social media / lists / web / celeb / pajiba love / misc / about / cbr
film / tv / substack / web / celeb

Thumbnail image for jonahcyrus.jpg

Mother-Lover

By Genevieve Burgess | DVD Releases | December 14, 2010 |

By Genevieve Burgess | DVD Releases | December 14, 2010 |


The Other Guys: “It’s meathead humor — homophobic, macho bravado oneupmanship — but as meathead humor goes, it’s inspired, tinged with off-the-wall splats of pop-absurdity. When Will Ferrell is on his game, no one does it better — it’s early Adam Sandler’s temperamental explosions stretched into a full length movie and tossed with goat fucking, blasphemy, and juvenile punchlines. But it’s also comedically brilliant, and you find yourself repeating some of the better lines to yourself in the hopes that you can hang on to them before IMDb populates their quote section, because there are 15 to 20 “punch you in the ovary” gems. All that was really missing from The Other Guys, besides the fact that this brand of humor isn’t new anymore, was a Brick Tamland character, though Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson — in their brief appearances — help close that gap.” - Dustin Rowles

The A-Team: “Of course, turning a TV series into a film can be tricky. Do you (a) pay homage to the original or (b) go in a new direction? Do you (c) tacitly acknowledge that the film is a pseudo-canonical tale based on pre-existing characters or (d) start from scratch to build a rapport with the audience? Carnahan and company have chosen (e), all of the above, plus more. The first section of the film is the most reliant on whatever level of nostalgia viewers might feel for the original show, and as such it feels the flimsiest. For instance, there’s no reason given in the film as to why Bosco “B.A.” Baracus (Quinton “Rampage” Johnson) has the words “PITY” and “FOOL” tattooed across his knuckles; it’s just a gag meant to recall a Mr. T catchphrase from the early days of the Reagan administration. Similarly, the opening notes of the TV show’s fanfare work when folded into the score, but the outright playing of the theme song when one character watches an old war movie is just a groaner. But when Carnahan can hold still and stop winking, the film gets a lot better.” - Daniel Carlson

Cyrus: “Jay and Mark Duplass have been bumbling around in the mumblecore bowels of the indie world for nearly a decade now, taking off-beat premises and exploring the relationship dynamics that arise from them; no one, in fact, is better at extracting the honesty out of a spectacularly bizarre situation. Cyrus is more of the same — a genuine, heartfelt comedy that organically explores the relationship between a 22-year-old live-at-home layabout, Cyrus (Jonah Hill), and his mother’s new boyfriend, John (John C. Reilly). The wrinkle here is that Cyrus and his mother, Molly (Marisa Tomei), have a borderline Oedipal relationship. They’re best friends. They share the bathroom together. Molly still coddles Cyrus to sleep. And they wrestle together at the park. They are, indeed, like an old married couple minus the bickering and the occasional sex, though it seems, sometimes, that it’s not for lack of want, on Cyrus’ part.” - Dustin Rowles

The Town: “It’s been thirteen years since Ben Affleck became The Celebrity Known as Ben Affleck, and every day of it shows on his face. His career arc is a familiar one, marked by the struggle to rise above the roles that get nominated for MTV Movie Awards and create legitimate works of art, but the twist is that it’s precisely his tabloid past and swaggering early work that’s allowed him to draw on the requisite breadth of emotion to become so convincing today. Maturity isn’t just age, but the knowing assimilation of youth. He was excellent as a washed-up George Reeves in Hollywoodland, and he knew how to play a figure leery of public scorn in State of Play. He brings that same energy to his role in The Town, as a criminal who’s been in the game so long that it’s become an unfulfilling, monotonous job. He moves with a hunched shuffle down streets he met with a bounce in Good Will Hunting, and he can convey everything from anger to worry without raising his voice. At 38, he’s finally grown up, and grown into his presence.” - Daniel Carlson

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole: “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is the most bitchin’ piece of ’70s van art that you’ve never seen. As adapted by Zack Snyder from Kathryn Lasky’s children’s books, it’s very much Happy Feet crossed with 300, a continuation of his thematic fascination with mythmaking and fetishistic use of slow-motion. It looks positively gorgeous, and there’s a good chance that it’ll scare your kids just as much as hold them rapt.” - William Goss

Exit Through the Gift Shop: (Part 1) “By the mid-2000s, Thierry became increasingly intent on capturing the most infamous and anonymous of street artists, Britain’s Banksy. Banksy is an extremely popular (in certain circles) street artist, respected for the wit and biting social commentary present in many of his pieces. He also gained a bit of mainstream notoriety after repeatedly managing to plant his own pieces of art in various museums, where they often stayed for days or weeks before being detected and removed. Through a stroke of almost random luck, Thierry actually managed to meet Banksy in 2006, when Banksy was in Los Angeles to do some work. Thierry showed Banksy around LA, suggesting the best walls and locations to use, and Banksy allowed Thierry to film his process. Later, Banksy invited Thierry to England and offered Thierry the type of access into his inner-workings heretofore unafforded to anyone. Over time, Thierry not only became Banky’s personal documentarian, but something akin to a friend.” - Seth Freilich

(Part 2) “As The New York Times rightfully notes, “both Banksy and Mr. Guetta are pretty unreliable narrators,” but Banksy insists that the film is not a hoax because he “could never have written a script this funny.” Shepard Fairey similarly denies that the film and Thierry are a hoax: “I swear to god that’s not the case…. Banksy may not want me to say that but no, it’s not.” Nevertheless, the fact remains that the film comes across, as the runner of a street art website puts it, “100 percent like a Banksy exhibition.” - Seth Frielich