Four wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine.

Jason Segel is an actor who inspires awe and amusement in me. This giant oaf of a man never ceases to make me chuckle in his countless roles as the sensitive, sort stupid guy with a propensity for spazzing. You may remember those pleading puppy dog eyes from such hilarious productions as television’s Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared or the giggle-fests such as Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So when Jason Segel’s twitter informs me that, “FYI. The Hangover is hilarious”, I figure that is one little piece of advice that I can take to the bank.




And so I bid farewell to the hideous pile of homework collecting on my desk and headed to the local cinema. I sat amongst the blonde, tanned, and texting nubiles and their scruffy “BFs” and prayed that Jason Segel would not forsake me. The movie opened at the end, creating “How did they end up here” predicament. This choice of opening indicates some sort of plot development is going to ensue so that already puts this film a cut above the usual comedic productions. I don’t want to blow anyone’s mind here but this film had all the basic necessities of plot such as: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and a Denouement, while at the same time being ridiculously funny! The creators even went so far as to break out some fancy foreshadowing. It was nice to see a movie that was funny but was clearly not written entirely around the jokes. An added bonus is that there is hilarity outside of what you’ve seen in the preview! *cough* Year One *cough*
The Hangover follows a group of four guy friends throwing a bachelor party in Vegas. They hit a bump in the road when they end up loosing the husband to be. Sounds pretty uninspired and lame right? But hilarity ensues when they discover they have all been ruffied and can’t remember all the asinine and unimaginable things they got up to the night before. This concept alone would not have made it to the level of hilarious without this motley crew at the helm. I believe Todd Phillips deserves a pat on the back for making a successful comedy despite the fact that his name is NOT Judd Apatow. Pretty boy Bradley Cooper plays a pretty convincing jackass, lothario but it is Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis that make the movie riotously hilarious. Almost everyone already knows Ed Helms as Andy Bernard from The Office and he plays a sort of similar character who is more anal and badly “pussywhipped” by his domineering girlfriend. Zach Galifianakis literally came out of nowhere to play the part of Alan, the groom’s brother in law to be who is questionably mentally disabled and likens himself to a wolf. Galifianakis steals the show as he continually neglects social graces and makes a continual ass out of himself (literally).
I realize that my last couple of reviews have all been positive and that is not to say that I have not seen some totally crap movies this summer *cough*Wolverine: Origins*cough*. But I will say that with a full summer schedule I am being much more selective about what I will take the time to see and am generally more psyched to write about movies that I absolutely loved. I would advise that movie-goers looking for a good buddy comedy skip “I Love You Man” which barely elicited a giggle and go see this movie which almost made me pee a little.
Warning: This movie features the exploitation and questionable depiction of babies. Adorable babies named Carlos who wear aviators, cruise in stolen cop cars and have a general badass swagger.

I can't help it, I'm totally impressed.

Buffy serving Edward his ballz on a platter.

“Adventure is out there”

This afternoon I decided to say a big “Fuck You!” to the sun and head for the comfort of an air conditioned Cineplex. I decided I would differ from my usual matinee routine and see a 3D movie. I was going to see the much babbled about Up. My last 3D experience was a televised Rolling Stones concert back in the mid-nineties and it was nothing to write home about. I’ve avoided 3D ever since assuming that it was the same old blue and red cardboard shades that made things pop only slightly. But today was the day , I painfully paid the $14.99 for my ticket and shamefully bought my $7 popcorn and sat down feeling broke and ready to be unimpressed.
Things were off to a good start when I sat in the dark for about 5-10 minutes after the lights went down. As the lights went back up the screen came to life, well sort of. The 3D was not kicking in; everything was a blurry haze of reds and blues. Nothing was popping and everything was giving me a headache. I leaned into my friend sitting next to me and told her to dig out our tickets because we were going to need a refund and then WHAMMO we were in a fantastical world of 3D vision. At first I felt a little uneasy, like maybe I was too old and stuck in my ways to ever get used to having the animated stork flying literally right in front of my face. But I just sat back and let the awesome wash over me and it only got better from there.
I was not expecting Up to be all that entertaining. I did not see how you could get much stimulating amusement from the interactions between an old cranky man and a tenacious young boy. Throughout the entire hour and twenty nine minutes of this film I found myself laughing continually was completely entranced. The back story of Carl, the old man was presented in a short medley of key moments throughout his life with his wife Ellie and it was moving in a Forest Gump sort of way. The young boy Russell is adorable and amusing; the one child in the audience of adults seemed to really get a kick out of him. My favourite character in the film was Dug the dog. Fitted with a collar that allows him to speak human, the audience is privy to every single minded, spastic thought in Dug’s little brain. Being the owner of a 14 month old puppy I embarrassingly often comment on what I think my canine companion would say if he could and Dug’s dim, devoted, carefree attitude pretty much sums it up.
The animation of the film was marvellous. The details of the characters was amazing: Carls square framed face, hands, glasses and physique, Russell’s short and rotund little form and Dug’s fat dog ass, Kevin the rare birds coloring was amazing, I could swear the brilliant feathers were glimmering at me. Speaking of coloring, the subtle rainbow colors of the balloons, the house and the landscape were beautiful. The masterful creation of city and landscapes in this film are worth the watch alone, they are completely awe-inspiring.
My only criticism of the film would be that the villain is not as amusing as the protagonists of the film. I found my mind beginning to wander if I had to spend too much time with the baddie Charles Muntz or his pack of evil thug dogs. I will admit I would have been happy to watch Russell, Carl and Dug floating through those magnificent landscapes in their adorable airborne home.
I would recommend this film to anyone who is looking to get completely drunk off easy humour and pretty colors as well as anyone who is looking for their next hit of Pixar-goodness. Oddly enough I don’t think I would recommend this movie for children, at least not young ones, I think they might get bored like they did in Wall-E. Warning: This movie might break your heart a little bit.