Movie Title Runs

I have seen several movies lately, but I'm just not in the mood to write a review. Instead I'd like to introduce you to a movie game. Try to combine and string together as many movie titles as you can. I'd like to see what you come up with.

GladiaTora Tora Tora (2)

ArmegeDon Juan de Marco (2)

Groundhog Day of the Jackal (2)

National Treasure Island of Doctor Moreau (3)

Clear and Present Dangerous LiaSons of Provo (3)

The Empire Strikes Back to the Future 3 Men and a Baby Genius (4)
Van HelSinging in the Rain Man on Fire Starter (5)
Lost in Space CowBoys of Summer School of Rock Star Man For All SeaSons of Provo (7)

Add any suggestions in the comment section.

Gentlemen Broncos

I had been looking forward to seeing Gentlemen Broncos for quite a while. I had to wait for it to come to video since it was only shown in a limited number of theaters. This is a movie with the same plot as Big Fat Liar which is kind of ironic since the movie is about plagiarizing and stealing others' ideas. Gentlemen Broncos is directed by Jared Hess whose claim to fame includes Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. This movie has many similarities, like odd personalities and goofy looking characters.

Gentlemen Broncos features three adaptations of the same geeky science fiction story and takes it up a notch when it comes to crudeness. If you enjoy jokes and gags about gonads, boobs, vomit, and poop, you will probably love this film. I am not a big crude humor fan, but I have to admit that over the years I have kept track of movies that feature vomit scenes. There are some prolific vomiting scenes in cinema history thanks to movies like My Giant, Mafia, and Stand by Me, but this movie offers one of the most extreme vomit scenes I have ever seen.

Overall, this movie made me laugh a lot, but I'll be the first to admit it's pretty stupid. I especially enjoyed the performances by Sam Rockwell and Jermaine Clement. I give it 6.4 generous stars, but it's definitely not for everyone (That is code language meaning it's a guy movie or for really immature audiences). I'm kind of embarrassed, but the more I think about it, the more I liked this movie.

The Invention of Lying

I recently watched the Invention of Lying. I had high expectations when I saw that the cast included Ricky Gervais, Phillip Seymor Hoffman, Tina Fey, Justin Bateman, and Jeffrey Tambor. The movie takes place in a world where everyone always tells the truth. They express their fears, opinions, and insecurities openly. As you can imagine, you can have a field day with this premise in a comedy. At one point in the movie the main character discovers lying and we see how it empowers him in a world where trusting people believe everything he says.

This movie is a commentary on human nature. It had a drab feel to it like the Truman Show and most of the characters were pretty depressing. Despite several funny parts, I felt it was lacking something. I didn't buy Jennifer Garner's character or understand why the main character cared for such a shallow person who didn't recriprocate in their relationship.

The movie has some crude jokes, but I think people will be more offended by the way religion is portrayed in the movie. I felt a little disappointed that Gervais used the movie to mock religion. Maybe it's just because I am one of those gullible people who believe in "the man in the sky". I try not to take offense or get worked up over it since it's just a movie, but now I know how atheists feel when they complain about a Christian theme they weren't expecting in a movie.

I really liked the idea behind The Invention of Lying, and the performers were all good, but it could have been much funnier. I wanted it to be a better movie and I wish I could give it more than 6.4 stars.

3 Combined Movie Reviews

I recently watched three unrelated movies that I didn't care for. I don't have the energy to write a review for each one, so I am going to combine them in this post.

The first movie was All About Steve staring Sandra Bullock. It was not very good although it had some funny parts. I thought the best part of the movie was Thomas Haden Church, who played the Sandman in Spider-Man 3. I didn't care for him at all in that movie, but I thought he had stole the show in this movie. The movie is about an insecure woman who basically stalks a guy across the country after one short date with him. I give it 5.8 stars.

The other movie I saw was The Brothers Bloom. I had never even heard of this film and wasn't sure how it ended up in my Netflix queue. It appeared to take place in the early 1900's but then there were scenes with Lamborghinis in them. Although it featured several talented actors, I just couldn't get into it and actually stopped watching it about 20 minutes before it was over. Ouch. Sorry, I just didn't like the style of the movie. If you want to see a good movie about con men, watch the Sting or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels instead. I give it 6.1 stars and that's because I felt bad for giving up on it.

The last movie I had to endure was An American Carol. It is a film that came out last year which spoofs Michael Moore. I thought the idea sounded funny and I had heard it had poor reviews, but I figured it was because it was supposed to be a right wing comedy with a conservative message and was probably just blackballed. It was directed by David Zucker who did Airplane and Naked Gun, so I was hoping it would be funny, but I was wrong. The idea had some potential, but it was butchered. I give it 4.9 stars and that's only because it was trying to make fun of Michael Moore.

So there you have it, 3 lame movies that I am making share a review. Take note movie makers. If you want your movies to get their own review on my blog, you'd better do a better job.

Duplicity

Last night I watched Duplicity on DVD and it was a strange experience. This movie reminded me of Oceans 11 and the Italian job because it had to do with spying, stealing, and conning. It also had a similar sound track which gave the movie a sassy feeling. The story is about two people played by Clive Owen and Julia Roberts who work for two large rival Proctor and Gamble type of companies. These rival companies constantly compete with each other and employ more spies than the CIA and FBI combined. The movie was interesting and had some funny parts but was also confusing as crap.

It usually bothers me when people complain about being confused during a movie. I have little patience for people who can't follow a plot or can't handle a flashback or don't have the patience to wait for all the pieces to come together at the end of a movie, or don't like long run on sentences, but this was different. This was confusing on steroids. I have to admit it was not entirely the movies fault. First of all, I was starting to nod off and was in and out of consciousness for some of the scenes. Netflix also sent me a scratched disk that kept skipping back to prior scenes and many of the scenes have identical dialogue so I couldn't tell if I was watching the same scene or experiencing deja vu. On top of that, I was watching a movie that had more flashbacks than any movie I have ever seen. Not a good combination.

I'm not a huge Julia Roberts fan, but she was okay in this movie despite being so cold and calculated the entire movie. I'm still not sure if I buy the chemistry between the two stars, but I thought it was kind of funny how they were so mistrusting and constantly tormenting each other. Paul Giamati was great in his role. He seems to steal the show in every movie I have seen him in (Big Fat Liar included). Seriously, he rocks.

Despite the abundance of confusion I had to endure while watching this movie, I still give it 6.6 stars. I would tell you to wait for it to come to video, but that would be like me telling you to get ready for Y2K. By the way, I know I am no Roger Ebert, but you gotta love the Movie Guy because despite his critiquing shortcomings, his heart is in the right place.