Horrible Bosses 2 (5/10): Some laughs, but you can't help but feel it's a waste of a strong cast

“I hate to break it to you, but the American dream is in China.”

I was a huge fan of the first film so I had some expectations for this sequel considering Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine were the new additions to an already impressive cast. What could go wrong with a comedy I had already enjoyed starring three Oscar winners? A lot when you bring in a new director whose most popular film up to now was That’s My Boy. The sequel tries to bank off the success from the strong chemistry between the three lead actors (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day), but unfortunately the formula felt repetitive and excessive at times. As much as I enjoyed their chemistry there were some moments that felt forced this time around. I am glad they didn’t repeat the same scenario from the first film and tried to change the structure of the comedy by centering on a kidnap attempt, but despite some funny scenes the sequel still falls flat by repeating some of the jokes from the first movie. Chris Pine was an excellent addition and once again the cameos from Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey are the highlight of the film, but I was expecting a lot more from Christoph Waltz, who’s an actor I highly admire. I think he could be great in this sort of comical villainous role, but he was underused here. All in all, Horrible Bosses 2 fails to deliver the same amount of laughs as the original but it still remains as a watchable and entertaining comedy. 2014 has yet to deliver a satisfying comedy, but if you’re bored this is a sequel that will keep you entertained for a while. 

I actually found the first half of this film a bit stronger than the second half. It begins with a lot of promise introducing some of the new characters while centering on the relationship between the three amigos. Chris Pine is hilarious as well and he plays off the leads very well. There are several funny moments including the cameos with Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, and Jennifer Aniston who you can tell is very uncomfortable with the dialogue she has to say but pulls it off nonetheless. The weakest part of the film is the resolution which in my opinion was a bit exaggerated, and many people might find the jokes offensive. It doesn’t come close to matching the potential of the original film, but I didn’t hate it either. The film is silly, but the cast makes it a worthwhile experience elevating the dull material and making it a little more fun than it had the right to be.

My Review: LA Confidential (9/10)

"Rollo Tamasi is the reason I became a cop. I wanted to catch the guys who thought they could get away with it. It's supposed to be about justice."

L.A. Confidential was a very pleasant surprise. I had been waiting a long time for a crime drama like this one and somehow I had never been able to see this classic film from 1997. They don't make crime dramas like they used to in the 90's anymore. L.A. Confidential belongs in the same rank as Se7en, The Usual Suspects, and Heat in my opinion. Unfortunately, in the last decade this genre has faded away. This is director Curtis Hanson's best film and despite directing many more movies in the last decade they have been decent or misses. None of his films compare to the set and mood he's established here with LA Confidential. The film is full of suspense, thrills, and has several twists along the way. This is just the kind of film I love to see. The performances were also all really strong thanks to a spectacular cast and a fabulous adapted screenplay written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland (42, Man on Fire, Mystic River). The script was adapted from James Ellroy's crime novel and it incorporates several true events from the 1950's crime world in L.A. Fans of film noir and crime thrillers will be in for a treat here because this is a really special movie and it deserves all the awards it has received because this is a very satisfying film. The last hour of this thriller is really intense and will leave you at the edge of your seat. The build up is also very satisfying because the characters and events are all well developed.

The film takes place in LA during the early 50's right after the arrest of the well known gangster, Mickey Cohen. The LA police department is as popular as ever thanks to this arrest and a TV drama glorifying them. They are prepared now to face the war over the control of the drug trade that Cohen's arrest has provoked. Among the best men in the department we have the hot headed cop, Bud White (Russell Crowe) who is willing to do what it takes as long as the guilty pay for their crimes. He`s extremely sensitive towards abused females and is ready to punish the criminals. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) on the other hand is always looking for fame considering he`s a consultant for the cop TV show. Jack has close ties with Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito) a magazine editor who makes deals with him to cover some high profile arrests after setting up their victims. Then there is the promising young officer Edmund Exley (Guy Pearce) who does things by the books and has impressed the DA and high officials for his smarts. Exley is ambitious and is looking for a big arrest in order to climb the ranks. These three men despite being very different from each other will have to join forces if they want to solve the brutal crime that has just taken place near a local cafe. Their main suspect is the millionaire, Pierce Patchett (David Strathairn), who runs a sort of high profile prostitution net involving Hollywood star look a like hookers. One of these hookers, Lynn Bracken, is played by Kim Bassinger and begins to be romantically involved with Bud. James Cromwell plays a supporting role as one of the Sergeant's in the police department.

This film received 9 Academy Award nominations including best picture and director, but only won two (Kim Bassinger for best supporting actress and Hanson for best adapted screenplay). There is something unique about this film despite the fact that the subject matter has been dealt with before a million times (corrupt cops and gangsters) and I think it has to do with the fact that there is no main character here. All three officers have the same amount of screen time and they all kind of play out like anti heroes. They are not your usual heroic cops, instead they are all flawed but easy for the viewer to identify with and root for. I was interested in what was going to happen to each one of the characters in this film. There are good enough twists for the audience to enjoy this film based on the action alone, but the performances from Spacey, Pierce, and Crowe are all so good that they just elevate this film and take it to an entire other level. Basinger is really good here as well, but I don't think she was better than the male actors in this film. L.A. Confidential is one of the best crime dramas I've seen thanks to a great script, some incredible performances, memorable characters, and a lot of thrills. This film is a must see.

Rating: 9.3/10

My Review: Margin Call (8/10)

¨There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat¨

Margin Call may be a fictional movie, but it has more truths in it than an actual Hollywood film that claims to be based on a true story. Despite not knowing a whole lot of economics I assure you we are all familiar with what happened in 2008 with the bubble burst in Wall Street because it has affected everyone`s life. First time director and screen writer J.C. Chandor does a great job at recreating what probably happened inside one of the investment banks the night before the financial crisis actually took place. I don`t know much about economics, but this movie is pretty easy to follow thanks to the smart script which in a way serves as an Economic for Dummies book. By making the actors explain the situation to their bosses in ¨plain English, ¨ Chandor is actually telling us what is going on in understandable terms. I wouldn`t argue that their bosses would actually understand everything in harsher terms, but the audience needed to be informed so I`m not going to take credit away from Chandor for this because it needed to be done. If not most of us wouldn`t have a clue of what was going on. Margin Call isn`t just a film about the financial crisis, it also deals with some aspects about important business corporations and how sometimes as employers we are forced to do things that go against our moral beliefs. Most corporations run as ¨a dog eat dog world¨ and ¨survival of the fittest¨, and in this film we see plenty of that.

A Bank investment firm is reducing its personnel in the risk management division letting go of almost 70% of its employees including their main analyst, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci). Dale seems to be working on something very important, and before leaving he gives his pen drive to a co-worker, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), so he can finish the work and warns him to be very careful. Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) is the division manager and he gives the remaining employees an inspirational speech about them being the best in their line of work and thus surviving in the company. The group decides to go out and celebrate with their boss Will Emerson (Paul Bettany), but Sam stays to see if he can review what Dale was working on. He manages to solve the equation that Dale never quite finished and the result was dreadful. The company is heading towards bankruptcy and the financial meltdown is about to begin. Sam calls his co-worker, Seth (Penn Badgley), and tells him that he should come back to the office with Will as soon as possible. It`s midnight, but the situation can`t wait any longer. When they arrive and discover what is happening they realize they have to call their bosses so up we go through the corporate ladder, first they call Sam, then Sam calls his boss Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore), and she calls Jared (Simon Baker), until the Owner finally arrives in his personal helicopter, John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). They discuss everything that is going on in a meeting and realize that the financial crisis is about to hit hard and have to sell all their stocks as early as possible.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this movie is that it focuses on the financial meltdown in one confined space. We get to see how the main characters interact with each other inside the company and how everyone has to face a moral dilemma. It`s not just a movie focusing on the financial meltdown, but it`s more of a corporate drama where we have interesting characters who we end up caring about and understanding the moral dilemma they have to go through. There are some real good performances from some of the actors, and the cast is also very interesting. Stanley Tucci is always great in these small roles, Zachary Quinto delivers a strong performance as one of the lead characters, and Paul Bettany along with Kevin Spacey also give powerful performances as the struggle with some moral issues. Everything they have been working for all their lives is about to go down the drain, and the hardest decision is still right in front of them. The script is really engaging and well written. I loved this movie. Inside Job was a great documentary about the financial collapse, but Margin Call gives us a better look inside as to what might have gone on inside these big corporations. Don`t be scared off by the plot dealing with economics, this is a very strong and entertaining drama with good performances.

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My Review: Horrible Bosses (8/10)

¨You can't win a marathon without putting some band aids on your nipples! ¨

I`ve been on a hot streak recently with comedies; this is the third one in a row that I`ve found really funny. The laughs began with Bridesmaids, then came Cedar Rapids, and now Horrible Bosses; another hilarious comedy that perhaps is a little more mainstream than the others and has more stereotypical characters, but it is saved by the wonderful cast who really got a lot of laughs off me. Sometimes it can be hilarious to make fun of some of these stereotypes, especially when we are dealing with bosses. The characters aren`t deep or anything, they are more of caricatures than normal people, but that is ok because when a comedy is done right it totally works. The plot of the story isn’t new either; we`ve seen it before in other movies and the film even mentions them. So why did I have such a fun time with this film? The cast was brilliant! We got to see Jennifer Aniston in a role that I never thought she would do; she says things you`d never think would come out of her mouth. Then you have the rest of the cast all delivering several laughs. Sometimes the actors have such a great chemistry together that the movie just clicks and you find all the situations funny. It`s like when you hear a joke that isn`t that funny, but the person who tells it does it in such a great way that you just can`t stop laughing. The cast makes this R-rated comedy worth it and I had a great time with Horrible Bosses.

The premise of the story is pretty simple: it`s about three friends who hate their bosses (extremely horrible ones) and begin talking about how they wish they would die. They can`t just quit their jobs because they run into an old schoolmate of theirs who shows them how difficult it is to get a job during the recession. Their only option seems to be to kill their bosses. Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) works for Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) at an important business company. Nick has worked really hard the last few months in order to get the promotion he has been expecting for a long time. Dave however gets upset because Nick happened to show up two minutes late one day to work and doesn’t give him the promotion he rightfully deserves, and goes as far as blackmailing him so he won`t quit either. Dale (Charlie Day) works as a dental assistant for Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who sexually harasses him and claims she will tell Dale`s fiancé that they`ve had sex if he doesn’t sleep with her. Dale can’t get a job anywhere else because he`s been mistakenly charged with a child sex offence for peeing in a park near to a school. Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) on the other hand loves his job and his boss Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland), but unfortunately he suffers a heart attack and passes away, leaving the company in his coke addict son`s hands: Bobby (Colin Farrell). He wants to cuts expenses and tells Kurt that he must fire all the obese and disabled employers. Kurt, Dale, and Nick get together and decide the only solution to their problems is murdering each other`s boss.

Horrible Bosses is extremely funny, despite the strong language. It has memorable performances from Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Colin Farrell in roles we are not used to seeing them in. Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Jason Bateman are extremely funny in every scene they are together in; their chemistry was just great. The situations these guys got themselves into was hilarious; beginning from trying to hire a hitman online (with a really funny cameo from Ioan Gruffudd), to getting criminal advice from an ex-con named Dean MF Jones (played by Jamie Foxx), ending up breaking into Bobby`s house and accidently sniffing some of his cocaine. Charlie Day also gets some laughs while lip singing to The Ting Tings ¨That`s Not My Name¨ while staking Dave`s house. I had a really great time during the entire movie, and there are just too many memorable scenes to point them all out. All I can say is that you should go check out this movie if you ever felt like you had it bad with your boss. I guarantee you won`t complain anymore after seeing what these guys had to put up with. Seth Gordon did a great job with the direction of this film and I highly recommend it if you`re in the mood for laughing.

  

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My Review: The Men Who Stare At Goats (5/10)

¨I did what so many men have done throughout history when a woman has broken their heart. I went to War.¨

The Men Who Stare at Goats is one of those movies that really seems funnier in paper than in the big screen; it is one of those rare films in which the black humor is more effective when read then it is when executed. I laughed more reading the quotes from the film then I actually did while watching this movie. It isn`t a terrible movie and it`s short enough to not wear the viewer down, and with low expectations it can be enjoyed because there are some good performances from great actors such as George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Ewan McGregor. Director Grant Heslov worked in the past with Clooney in Good Night and Good Luck, but in that occasion they worked together writing the screenplay which was nominated for the Oscars. In The Men Who Stare at Goats the screenplay was written by Peter Straughan and it was adapted from Jon Ronson`s book of the same name. The film claims to be inspired on some true events which is hard to believe because the film is ridiculous, but I guess it is a spoof on the psychic activities that went on in the Army. I have to give some credit to director Heslov for making a different kind of film and it is original, but it just wasn`t funny enough to save the movie even though it had such talented actors. The movie had the potential to be so much better and that is what left me disappointed by the end of the film.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a reporter who has just had his heart broken by his wife that leaves him for a one armed editor. Bob is devastated and decides to go cover the war in Iraq in order to forget about her. He can`t get into Iraq so he covers the war from Kuwait where he meets a special forces operator named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob remembers hearing about Lyn from a report he did years ago on a man named Gus Lacey (Stephen Root) who claimed to have been trained by the US Army in paranormal and psychic activities. Gus mentioned Lyn to be the most powerful student of the group. Bob interviews Lyn and he tells him about the special Army Unit that he was trained in called the New Earth Army. The founder of the group was Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a Vietnam veteran who travelled around the States studying the New Age movement and adapting it for the army. Lyn was the best student, but he had a rival, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) who had a different vision of the New Earth Army. The men were trained to become Jedi Warriors and the purpose was to manipulate the minds of the soldiers so they could put an end to war. The story is narrated by Bob and it has several flashbacks as he interviews Lyn while at the same time travels with him on a mission across Iraq having to experience these psychic abilities first hand.

The film has its funny moments but the pace of the movie doesn`t work very well. The performance from the cast is great, but they only remind you of the potential the film had with so many talented actors and how many other great films these actors have made. The movie also claims to be based on true events, but the film is more of a spoof and makes fun of these soldiers and it is really hard to make sense of what are the true events or what even inspired them. The funniest thing in the film is George Clooney`s hippie look with the long hair and the mustache, but you can laugh at that in the trailers. Jeff Brides also reminds us of his great character in the Big Lebowski, but as a soldier now. The movie really had some great potential, the material seemed good to work with, but the final product really didn`t deliver. The material is dark and sometimes you have to be very careful with it if you want it to work, and in The Men Who Stare at Goats it just doesn`t work.

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My Review: Moon (8/10)

¨I hope life on Earth is everything you remember it to be. ¨

Moon is a very good sci-fi film, which is even more impressive considering it is Duncan Jones`s directorial debut (and he actually won a BAFTA award for this picture). Jones, who was known up to this moment primarily for being David Bowie`s son, does a great job at creating such an artistic movie with such a low budget. He came up with the story and Nathan Parker wrote the screenplay for it. Moon is probably among the best films of 2009 and my favorite sci-fi movie of that year along with District 9. The film works because it has an interesting premise, it`s a well thought out movie, and it has a very good performance from Sam Rockwell. It also is impossible not to compare it with Kubrick`s 2001 A Space Odyssey, since Moon seems to pay homage to that film and I think that it does the movie justice. It is very hard to come across smart movies like this one, especially in the sci-fi genre, and it really felt very nice to not know what was going to happen nor being able to predict the film. In a period of time where so many remakes are being made and ideas are constantly being recycled it was good to come across a fresh movie like this one. Even though the budget to make this film was pretty low, the visual effects are great and that is a must for a sci-fi picture.

 Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) works for Lunar Industries and he has a 3 year contract to work solo at the station in the moon. The new energy source in Earth is Helium 3 which is harvested in the moon and Sam is in charge of sending it back to earth. The only company he has at the station is a robot called GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), who is designed to fulfill his every day needs and since direct communication with Earth has been interrupted he has to communicate with his wife through video recordings. Sam also has a young daughter who was born shortly before he went to the moon and he can`t wait to go back to meet her since he only has a couple of weeks left in his three year contract. The problem is that the three years of isolation have begun to leave its mark on him and he begins to suffer from hallucinations and finds himself often talking to himself and his plants. One day Sam encounters some problems outside of the station as he was trying to fix a mechanical harvester and suffers a head injury and is left unconscious. He awakes inside the station with GERTY attending him but has no recollection of how he got back to the base.  After Sam recovers from the injury he decides to visit the site of the accident and makes an astonishing discovery that makes him doubt about his sanity. He sees himself in the same place where he suffered the injury and decides to bring him back to the base. He begins to question his mind and his true identity and whether or not he has been cloned.

The movie really takes some interesting twists and turns making it very hard to predict. This is what makes Moon such a good sci-fi film, but it wouldn`t have worked if Sam Rockwell didn´t give such a great performance as he put on a one man show. He had to play two different kind of characters and it was very entertaining to see him deliver such a great performance. Kevin Spacey also was great as the voice of GERTY and it was impossible not to think about HAL from 2001 Space Odyssey. I really enjoyed this movie which raises a lot of questions towards the advances of science and will leave you thinking about some important issues which I don`t want to give away. It also focuses on the importance humans have of communicating with each other and having intimacy with other people in a similar way that Tom Hank`s Castaway did. This is a highly recommendable film which you should see if you`re not easily put off by the slow pacing of the film.

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