Run Fatboy Run

I’m pretty much a sucker for all Simon Pegg movies. This one was directed by David Schwimmer.

Filed under: Culture, Movies, Simon Pegg, Trailers, YouTube

Movie Reviews

Hudsucker Proxy — Interesting movie. Watched this one due to an extreme recommendation from Brandon. It was visually stimulating and the story was fun. Seeing Paul Newman was a pleasant surprise as well. I think my favorite part about this movie was how all of the great ideas were simply a circle on a piece of paper, which at the time seemed silly, but turned out to be legitimate ideas. The reporter in the movie was really annoying, but I suppose she nailed her part, and should get credit for that.

American History X — Tonia and I sort of accidentally got caught up in this one the other night on TV. It’s probably a good thing that we caught the TV version as I’ve since seen it was once dubbed one of the most violent films of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Regardless, it’s a very well done film with a great story. I’m sure it’s been done before, but I really loved how the paralleled back-story was done in black and white. That really helped keep track of things. Edward Norton was amazing in this movie.

Borat — Um. If you haven’t seen it, don’t. Sasha Cohen is incredibly talented, and mildly funny, but it’s wasted in this movie. For some reason he relies on extreme vulgarity, shock, and junior high humor to get laughs. (Didn’t Tom Green do this schtick already?) And I don’t believe that even 10% of this movie was done without scripting. I’d love someone to prove me wrong on that. Final thoughts… this was the most vulgar and disgusting rated R movie I’ve ever seen in my life! It’ss niiiicee… … … … NOT!

Shaun of the Dead — Not a first viewing for me, but I insisted Tonia check it out with me since she liked Hot Fuzz so much. This movie might turn into an annual Halloween viewing for me, much like Escanaba In Da Moonlight is for me on Thanksgiving, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is on Christmas. Simon Pegg and cast are hysterical, and for some reason the over-emphasized squirting blood all over just makes me laugh. And I’m a big fan of the overall editing techniques used here. Great fun.

We Are Marshall — Another true story, which I love. It was a really nice movie and filled in a lot of questions I had about the story yet never looked into. Not a fan of Matthew McConaughey in this one though. His over-acting to sound like the real Jack Lengyel—including accent, talking from the side of his mouth, and physical appearance—really got annoying after about 10 minutes. Matthew Fox on the other hand was awesome (minus his ridiculously red hair). Overall, this was another nice true sports story that translated into a good movie. To be brutally honest, I’m really surprised that kind of thing hasn’t happened more often.

Filed under: Borat, Culture, Movies, Racism, Reviews, Sasha Cohen, Simon Pegg

Movie Reviews

*Getting a little backed up in reviews, so these will be brief.

High Fidelity — Working my way through the Cusack collection. Loved this one. Good music, good story, and Jack Black was great.

Blades of Glory — Saw this one twice. Good fun here. Unfortunately I won’t be able to look at Pam the same anymore though.

Platoon — Oliver Stone is the man. He goes to Vietnam, comes home and uses his expertise to portray what he experienced. Well done.

Tombstone — Very good western flick. Val Kilmer was touted as awesome in this movie, and those touts weren’t wrong. I also loved the Billy Bob Thorton character.

Four Brothers — Not so much. I haven’t seen all of Mark Wahlbergs movies, but this has to be his worst to date.

Hot Fuzz — A must own! It was the perfect combination of humor, drama, thriller, and action. Simon Pegg at his best.

Donnie Darko — Good movie here. Jake Gyllenhaal did an amazing job in this role. Love movies with depth like this one. However, of all the movies here, probably the worst language.

Filed under: Culture, Hot Fuzz, John Cusack, Movies, Oliver Stone, Reviews, Simon Pegg

Movie Reviews

Big Nothing — A poor mans Snatch or Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Only without the great soundtrack or tight writing. It does star Simon Pegg and has its moments. It kept me mildly interested through the entire movie. The plot is absolutely absurd, but they were going for that. One of those nothing-goes-right kinda movies. Not something I’m interested in watching again, but it was good for a few laughs.

Disturbia — I’ve said it before but Shia LaBeouf is one of my favorite actors. This movie grabs your attention quick. The first five minutes are wonderfully done and set the stage for a nice little spooky comedy in the mold of Scream. I usually don’t get into the Saw and Grudge type movies, but this one was more my speed. Just enough suspense to keep it intense without having a heart attack. I was entertained.

True Romance — Ummm…. another one I had to stop at the 32 minute mark. I’m pretty sure I’m not being a prude with this one. It was really awful. I think it would be more appropriate to watch Risky Business in church than to recommend this to anyone. (Sorry Jason.) It was billed as similar to Pulp Fiction, but it fell way short and went too over the top in the vulgarity department. Two thumbs way down.

Capote — Truman Capote was not only a freak, but he was a punk as well. And I suppose he was an accomplished writer too. Philip Seymour Hoffman did an outstanding job in this movie. Jason complained about the pacing, but I didn’t really mind. It was a captivating story and I enjoyed watching the emotions play out. After watching this, I’m thinking about reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And I suppose In Cold Blood as well.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest — I can’t give this movie enough praise. I’ve always thought Jack Nicholson was alright but, good night, he was outstanding in this movie. That was the best I’ve ever seen Danny Divito as well. This movie shot instantly to my must own list. This movie has won enough awards and received enough reviews that I really can’t add to it. Just see it if you’ve never had the chance. One of the best movies I’ve seen all year, maybe ever. (And that’s saying something.)

Filed under: Culture, Jack Nicholson, Movies, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reviews, Shia LaBeouf, Simon Pegg, Truman Capote