BuzzSugar

Observe and Report: The (Very) Dark Side of Being a Mall Cop

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -0700

With its ambling plot, oddball characters and sudden bursts of violence, Observe and Report is a weird little movie. I chuckled a lot and was shocked a few times, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's an uproariously funny comedy. I'm not sure what it is, actually.

In the story, mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) considers himself tough and important but when incidents occur at his mall - like a flasher terrorizing women in the parking lot, or someone robbing a store - the police are called in and Ronnie's job suddenly seems inconsequential by comparison. He applies to become a police officer and in the meantime pursues Brandi (Anna Faris), the shallow, blond party girl who works at a cosmetics counter and who clearly has no interest in Ronnie. The thing about Ronnie, though, is that he doesn't quite see the reality of things, so when he finally realizes that he might not be police officer material and Brandi doesn't consider him her boyfriend, he kinda loses it. Can he ever earn the respect of everyone around him? I won't say what happens but I will share more thoughts if you read more.

It's not a particularly well-told story, as the narrative wanders from point to point and we watch our lead character merely go from delusional fantasy to blind rage and back again. Sure, his outrageous behavior is funny - particularly in the setting of a sleepy suburban mall - but it's still hard to care about him all that much. It feels a bit like we're rooting for him out of some kind of obligation.

Rogen does a fine job in this kind of role - the schlubbier-than-average guy with a humorously unrealistic view of himself and his place in the world. Rogen fans will most likely enjoy this performance and this movie that revolves entirely around him, but in his ever-lengthening résumé, I have a feeling Observe and Report will not stand out as one of his best. His costars - especially Anna Faris and Celia Weston - give their all to this film and they succeed in bringing blasts of (often inappropriate) fun.

As I left the screening I overheard a conversation about how "uncreative" the movie is, and while I wouldn't go that far, I would say that some parts seem lazy. Certain gags are dragged out for a long time, I think to make them funnier, but the result is something that just feels draggy. And other scenes are quite funny but so dark or bleak that I ended up just feeling sad. It's extremely vulgar and violent, and definitely not for everyone's taste, but if you do like this sort of thing then it's worth seeing this someday just to see all these funny people interact.

Warner Bros.

The Lucky Ones: Surprisingly Funny and Cute

BuzzSugar — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:00:38 -0700

It's hard to say bad things about a movie this well-intentioned and sweet. It's a story about Iraq War soldiers that is heartwarming and funny, which is something we haven't seen much in films about the current war. I have no idea why the trailer for The Lucky Ones includes Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You," a song practically engineered to force people to cry, because this movie isn't really sad. I brought tissues and I didn't even use them.

Rachel McAdams is the biggest reason to see this, as her character is so incredibly endearing and McAdams portrays her perfectly. She plays Colee, a young soldier on a 30-day leave from Iraq after a gunshot wound to the leg. Colee is an (extremely) open book, blunt to a fault and full of wide-eyed, childlike naiveté. Tim Robbins is career soldier Cheever who is leaving the Army for good after suffering a back injury. Michael Pena plays TK, a bit of an insufferable know-it-all whose "private parts" are not quite back to normal after being wounded. The three are stranded in New York when they land and discover that all flights have been canceled. There is one rental car available to them at the airport, and thus the three embark on a road trip together. Nothing - seriously, nothing - goes as planned, however, and challenges pop up for these characters faster than a whack-a-mole game. This bombardment of predicaments is both funny and problematic, though, so to find out more, read more.

Each character's storyline includes some kind of obstacle (or obstacles), and over the course of their shared trip a staggering number of new obstacles present themselves. This demands some powerful suspension of disbelief, and at times the plot is like a brainstorming game between friends on their own road trip ("And then all the flights out of New York will be canceled, and then two of them will fight and the old guy's wife wants a divorce but his son needs college money like, right now, so the three head to Vegas, but along the way they stop off at a bar so the girl can get into a fight, and then there's a car crash and - ooh! I know! - a tornado!" and on and on).

Some of these things are totally preposterous (do college loans not exist in this world?), but it's not necessarily a random, rambling course of events. Much of what happens feeds our understanding of each character and many of their conversations are recalled in some way later in the story. Like the words "luck" and "lucky," which they repeat about 20 times in the movie. The occasional triteness aside, it's a rewarding experience to watch this movie, as you can consistently identify references to previous things. All in all, it's a flawed script that's saved by some great performances and a sweet dynamic between these unlikely friends.

Photos courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Movie Preview: The Lucky Ones

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:30:23 -0700

"Well of course it is - war is messy. It can't be all perfect!"

Despite the use of one of Sarah McLachlan's sappiest tunes and the three-strangers-thrown-together-on-road-trip shtick, The Lucky Ones looks like a really good movie. The movie stars Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, and Crash's Michael Peña as Iraq War soldiers who return home and end up on a road trip together. What I already like about this movie is the attempt to tackle - through a quirkier lens than usual - a subject that American moviegoers have been reluctant to see thus far.

I really like the montage of people saying thanks to the three upon learning they're soldiers, and the awkwardness that ensues ("Thank you!" "No...thank you."). It seems to perfectly capture - without use of a heavy hand - how strange it must feel to reintegrate into American society after being away at war. Rachel already seems pitch-perfect in this role, and I have a feeling people will be talking a lot about Peña once The Lucky Ones hits theaters on September 26.

To check out the preview for yourself, read more.

Source

Shooter: Overblown But Still Satisfying

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:41:35 -0700

First, let's get one thing straight: Mark Wahlberg's new thriller, Shooter, is full of shooting. Possibly more shooting than I've ever seen in a movie. So if that sort of thing bothers you, you'll probably want to skip the latest from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). But if you can put up with some oh-how-convenient plot twists and gratuitous cleavage and bulging-bicep shots, Shooter is a captivating, conspiracy-drenched action flick that's part Fugitive and part Bourne Identity, with lots of post-9/11 paranoia thrown in.

Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, a top Marine sniper who leaves the force after the death of his spotter (aka, a sniper's very important partner) during a botched mission. He's living like a liberal Ted Nugent in the Wyoming mountains, hunting his food and reading The 9/11 Commission Report, when he's approached by some covert government types (led by Danny Glover) with a mission. It seems the government has received a presidential assassination threat involving sniper tactics, so the guys want Swagger to figure out how the crime would be committed in order to help prevent it.

Swagger accepts, only to discover that the whole scheme has been orchestrated to frame him for the assassination attempt that soon goes down. And that's just the first 25 minutes, so

Most of the movie has Swagger on the run from the Feds, frantically trying to unravel the conspiracy. As viewers, we are only slightly more well-informed then he is, as we follow the clues hatched by a seemingly hapless FBI agent (Michael Peña), who is rightfully suspicious about the whole case. Amid some serious sensory overload - relentless explosions, hyper-real color, and mind-blowing revelations - we follow Swagger's trail from the Kentucky home of his spotter's widow (Kate Mara) to the remote corners of Montana.

Like most action movies, this one is pretty ridiculous, but the conspiracy-comes-true plot and earnest performances make it incredibly gripping. Wahlberg's strong performance is as dutiful as his character's motivation, but it's so subdued that, sadly, Shooter isn't likely to establish Wahlberg as a leading man.

More notable are several of the supporting turns: Mara ("Nip/Tuck," We Are Marshall) pulls off a wonderful Southern accent, managing a performance far more subtle than the low-cut tops she dons in every scene. Also, Levon Helm (yes, the drummer/vocalist for The Band) has a scene-stealing cameo as a reclusive gun expert, while Ned Beatty shines as an obnoxious red-state senator.

Shooter is full of the usual action-movie tropes, but it's also scattered with enough surprises - sinister character twists, liberal agenda items, and oh-no-they-didn't shootouts - that it still manages to be delightfully unpredictable.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures