TWIM 12/31/13

5 Year Engagement

What an underrated movie. How did this fly so under the radar? This film is from the creators of Bridesmaids and ultimately is much better in my opinion. The cast of this flick is absolutely loaded. Jason Segel is his typically hilarious self as the lead actor. Then there is also the likes of Chris Pratt, Emily Blunt, Kumail Nanjiani, Kevin Hart, Kelly from the Office, and Brian Posehn. All of whom bring a lot of comedy to this movie. If you like Jason Segel, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t you will love this film. It has his scent all over it. In this one he proposes to his girlfriend in San Francisco only to be forced to move to Michigan for her dream job. Usually movies like this will appear to try too hard in the cut scenes as they show how they are adjusting to life in a new place. But this one they even nailed those. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie were in the back in forth between Segel and Posehn. This film is a bit of a Bridesmaids-esk chick flick but the execution and the comedy are far superior to that hit movie. It’s why I can’t believe how under the radar this movie has flown. Also for the record this is on HBO on demand right now I highly recommend you check it out before it becomes more difficult to find.

The Conjuring

Don’t you love when you pop in a movie that you are expecting to be rather ridiculous and then the opening line of the movie is “Based on a true story”? I mean come on, what are we talking about here? Is this a true story about demons or is it a true story about crazy people? Or is it just not a true story at all? All I know that I live about 10 minutes away from Wakefield, MA and there is no such thing as Western University in that town. I wish this review was going to turn around but it’s only going to get worse/funnier. First off there is a scene in which Vera Farmiga is outside hanging sheets on a clothesline when the wind blows one of the sheets out of her hands onto some ghosts figure and then it sticks to the side of her house with a window open, so naturally that transfers the ghost into the house because we all know ghosts can navigate doors. I hope you are sitting down but this demon is about as evil as they come. Hollywood should try to make a movie that isn’t about the most evil demon out there for once, since the current recipe is failing so badly. Why not a funny demon? Or even just a middle of the road evil demon? Also why is it that in every one of these shitty movies they request the help of a priest whom always fails miserably at removing the evil spirits? Also we all know levitation is a must in these, so you at least have that to look forward to. I’ve wasted too many words on this flick already so, watch it if you are looking for some unintentional comedy in a new-era horror movie that is 100% about the sound guy.

Planes

What a shitty version of Cars. While I liked Cars because I enjoy racing it was arguably the weakest of the Pixar movies when it was released. So to call Planes the poor mans version of Cars is not a very good thing. The cast is worse and the plot is simple with a few major holes. For instance Dane Cook’s plane is the cinderella story of the movie. He wants to race and he wants to win. Now in this movie they fly a seven race schedule. Two of those races Dane Cook did not finish. Then in the final race Dane Cook overcomes the odds and wins the race and somehow the championship even though the plane that dominated the first six races finished in second place. How the hell does that work Pixar? Could you imagine if Jimmie Johnson won the first nine races of NASCAR’s Chase but Danica Patrick won the final race and therefore she wins the championship? Even if it’s a winner take all final race, then there is likely some elimination process over the course of the season and Dane’s plane wouldn’t have made the final race. Get your shit together Pixar, stop getting lazy and do us all a favor and put a stop to the sequel to this turd of a film while you still can.

The Way Way Back

While you have likely seen this premise played out in film before it’s still absolutely worth watching. A young kid goes on summer vacation with his moms her overbearing boyfriend (Steve Carell) and his daughter. As he struggles to fit in he finds an unexpected group of friends working at a waterpark. While this one starts off a little slow, Steve Carell really carries the early scenes. By the way Carell really plays a great dick and somehow still manages to be really funny. Also Allison Janney plays a really annoying character but she plays the shit out of her character.

While some of this 14 year old kids “problems” may have been legit, like being told by Steve Carell he views him as a 3/10, even though I think at 14 that may have helped me in the long run, a lot of his issues are nonsense. For instance a lot of the angst stems from little things like being told to clean up after himself, or being told to help unload the car. If you grew up uncomfortable in your own skin only to have some adults take you under their wing, like I did, then this movie will really hit home with you.