I am generally apprehensive of stoner comedies. It’s not for any political or judgmental reasons, so much as it seems often like an excuse for lazy, unstructured comedy, and well, I guess it just isn’t my thing in the same way I like peanut butter, but not peanuts because the texture of them give me the willies. That’s why I wasn’t really looking forward to PINEAPPLE EXPRESS.
Thankfully my hesitance was entirely unmerited, something I probably should have anticipated given everyone involved in this film. The joy of the film is watching it subversively mix together all sorts of genre to create a bizarre but effective hybrid of stoner flicks, buddy-cop action movies, gangster and caper sagas and Hitchcock like “wrong man” adventures. It mashes them up together with a manic and irreverent spirit, speed, and energy, which by all accounts shouldn’t work.
Read the rest of this entry »
MAMMA MIA!
I’ve always had a devoted love for whimsical musicals, if not necessarily ABBA. It’s the former that has me rather drawn to this trailer for the film adaptation of the successful Broadway musical (which I never actually saw). Sure, the trailer is a bit grating, what with the whole “three Dads” thing being emphasized every ten seconds, and its annoyingly rapid editing, but what emerges is still the fact that it’s a silly, infectious, and undoubtedly entertaining fluffy musical. You also can’t argue with the cast. I mean, Meryl Streep (who it’s just delightful to see having this much fun), Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Waters, and Christine Baranski? I’m particularly excited to see two of my favorite young and up-and-comers Dominic Cooper (HISTORY BOYS, STARTER FOR 10) and Amanda Seyfried (“Veronica Mars,” NINE LIVES, MEAN GIRLS) get a high profile film gig.
Check it out here.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
To be frank, I have no idea what people are so excited about here. Okay, I do. It’s written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (SUPERBAD), and produced by Judd Apatow. That should really be enough. The thing is I didn’t find the teaser trailer, the red band trailer, nor the most recent trailer really that funny. There are a few gems, sure, like the “I’m kind of flabbergasted when you say things like that” bit, but for the most part it roused a might “meh” out of me. Maybe it’s just that I’ve never been much drawn to the slacker-stoner genre, or maybe it’s just that it’s not that funny.
Check it out here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Loading ...
