Baby Me 3 in The House

These movie-title combinations in our weekly previews have probably become too ridiculous. Can you tell what we're talking about? Well, you clicked - you'll find out soon enough! There are three films dropping this week - one today, then two more on Friday, but we'll just run through the whole lot right now - particularly because today's the only one worth any effort in checking out. Let's save that sucker for last and start with some trash:

Oh, oh, Minions are back. This terrible franchise has been damn reliable since the Steve Carrell-led Gru and a bunch of little girls-film dropped in 2010 with Despicable Me. That one's still a solid outing, at least for quotable creativity and marketability, which is through the roof from anything DreamWorks or Pixar has attempted in that time. The sequel, which focused more on the doofy expendable Minions and nominally on the eponymous despicable one, did even better in the theaters in 2013. Finally, we got Minions (2015), which I watched on Netflix Streaming because it was like 80 minutes long and I was pretty drunk - that movie is really really terrible. It's so bad. These films have clearly had a descent in quality as it leans into that marketable toy-ability rather than its story.

We tend not to be disappointed when Illumination Entertainment does this, though. When Pixar cranks out Cars 4 (2020), it'll be a down and dirty shame, but that's because they're selling out twenty years of fantastic story and character-based entertainment that had typically bucked the "selling toys and getting cheap laughs that every other children's animated film goes after." Illumination has no pretense of being a classy enterprise.

Having said that, the Minions are actually a fantastically classic comic team, even if that team is incredibly fluid (to the point where it's less a team than a series of interchangeable yellow dildos). Their mumbly jibberish works as perfect silent comedy, and a lot of their miniature bits within their three films are pretty inspired. This is all to say that Minions are pretty groan-worthy and totally hackneyed, but when executed with creative aplomb, that can be a good thing.

Despicable Me 3 (2017), seems like it's focusing on a ton of different things. I'm not really up on the story, but it's like, Gru returning to villainy (I guess he left?), his brother or something coming back, and then some weird purple 80s guy voiced by Trey Parker? It's that latter bit that's the only thing I'm really interested in here - not just because I'm a South Park fan, but because it's just so damn rare that Parker does anything that he didn't direct himself.

Let's break this down. Trey Parker has of course been running South Park with Matt Stone since 1997 and most recently branched out with The Book of Mormon on Broadway in 2011. Their last major film appearance, though, was Team America (2004), which they directed and appeared in as voice roles. His last non-cameo appearance in anything not directed by himself was BASEketball (1998). That's getting to be some bit of time. That, combined with South Park's pedigree for mercilessly making fun of any and all parts of pop culture along with the duo's general disinterest, or need to appear in anything else makes this pretty damn interesting. You've got to wonder on some level if this script made the high satirical standards of Trey Parker. OR if he just didn't care. At any rate, Parker really should be considered one of the greatest voice actors of all time and it's frankly amazing that his voice is being featured for the first time in something that he didn't write or direct.

This is all interesting, although I struggle to think it'll be a reason to make the film any good. Commercially it ought to be fine, although plenty of films seem to be bombing lately, and it's not like we haven't had a cash grab big studio animated film in a while. I would be shocked if it hits Despicable Me 2 (2013) numbers, but maybe Minions numbers? Certainly not last year's Secret Life of Pets (2016) surprise hit.

Moving on, we have The House (2017), which is widely billed as the first Amy Poehler / Will Ferrell vehicle, as if Blades of Glory (2007) never happened at all. It's still enticing, even if the broke college parents premise feels a bit tired. The trailer wasn't all too bad, although I'm not really feeling much interest at all. It's been a decent while since we've had a solid comedy land, though, and it'd be great if these two could get a true hit. They're riding mostly off of Daddy's Home (2015) and Sisters (2015), which are both funny in their own right, but just can't really touch anything they did int he past decade (at least on the big screen - Parks and Rec aside).

Why is that? It's weird to say, because a lot of their work has done really well - Daddy's Home is somehow the highest-grossing film of Ferrell's career - but it also just doesn't feel that memorable. There's been a definite shift, first of all, these actors can play parents of college-aged characters now, but it might just simply be that we've finally crested the near twenty-year popularity of these comedians.

The House has plenty of solid supporting actors from Jason Mantzoukas to uhh...Jeremy Renner and maybe Allison Tolman is funny in addition to being great in Fargo. There's certainly a humourous turn here when Ferrell and Poehler go nuts, but the whole story feels very done to death. Then again, there is a need for comedy right now, both in the world and the specific film market, and honestly, without much else competition from anyone, this could be a surprisingly well-timed Independence Day hit. Then again, it also feels very school-focused, but it's summer, dammit! In the end I'm just not feeling this.

Finally, we have Baby Driver (2017), which needs to get off its soft name and earn its reputation for being one of the coolest movies ever. Edgar Wright needs to struggle hard to make an unfine film, and the cast is an absolute dream from top to bottom. The premise, the eponymous baby as a getaway driver with tinnitus who needs music to soothe his pain, which doubles as a sick action-beat soundtrack is a bit complex, but ought to add up to a solid outing.

Almost everyone who loves movies ever is pretty pumped for this, but the big trick is getting everyone else interested. It's weird and tragic that it's an underdog, because it should be a slam-dunk. There's no preexisting property or built-in fan base, but that shouldn't matter, right? We seem to hate sequels (well, non-Marvel or Star Wars sequels) these days, and Baby Driver actually looks like fun, engaging filmmaking. I don't reckon it'll go nuts at the box office, but likely at $40 million it'll do well enough to be successful.

It's also at least culturally distinctive enough to build a following like all of Wright's films have achieved. He's already shown that he doesn't have to lean on the Cornetto Trilogy to pull this off, with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) making no money, but still being a beloved hit amongst its fans. I think that Baby Driver has slightly more mass appeal, and that ought to be enough to ensure its legacy both financially and culturally. I think critics too are already chomping on the bit to throw it on some best-of lists, although it's totally not a bait-y film. I know I'm excited to count it among 2017's greats. Maybe even too much so - the worst it could do is probably being good, but not great.

That's your Fourth of July lowdown, people. What do you think? Wonder Woman (2017), again?

Top 10 Films 3.0: 2012-2014

As we did yesterday with years 2009-2011, it's about that time where we re-evaluate our Top Ten film rankings of yesteryear. Attitudes change and some movies hold up better or worse than others over the years. While this is certainly a pointless exercise with no real end year after year, it's definitely a nice way to be reminded of how many good flicks there are out there and an encouragement to see as many as possible. I would postulate that as my tastes have evolved, these latter years won't change that much - based both on their recency matching my current profile and the original lists being more solid and less random and pandering than when I first started this site.

Again, for our first realignment back in 2014, which also holds our first lists, click here!

2012:

The Campaign
The Grey
The Five-Year Engagement
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Life of Pi 
Skyfall
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
The Master

When we last met I was but the student

There's only three films that I have retained through the years, four since 2014 which is actually incredible. The Grey has maintained a low spot on the list while Django and The Master have unwaveringly held the top two positions. Other than that I've moved away from the slew of great action films in 2012 like Dredd and Looper in favour of the great comedies like The Five-Year Engagement and Celeste and Jesse Forever. I never thought much of Life of Pi, but it's grown on me, and in terms of big spectacle films I traded The Dark Knight Rises for Skyfall. 2012 is an all-around pretty solid year that I can see switching around quite a bit, while I don't think much can touch those top two giants. Other films like Moonrise Kingdom, Seven Psychopaths, and even Pitch Perfect were tough to leave off, but they're ultimately all too gimmicky. Then again, The Campaign gets the #10 spot as a film that's held up remarkably well as its outrageousness is eclipsed by actual contemporary political campaigns.

2013:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Frozen
Prisoners
12 Years a Slave
The World's End
Pain & Gain
Spring Breakers

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Wolf of Wall Street
Stoker

omg shoes

I really love a list that includes Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Prisoners so close to each other. You may have noticed how much I've loved the Phil Lord and Chris Miller films, but I'd argue that the sequel is actually the superior film in many ways. Now, to be sure, my original 2013 list was a total cop-out that just allowed me to list all the films I liked. That's all kind of bullshit. Of the 19 films listed, six remain here. In 2014 I re-ranked and as predicted, the lists are pretty similar, with seven films still cropping up here. The major difference is Stoker, which I just watched and loved, earning it the #1 spot. In future installments I'd be curious if that film's position is tenuous. Other than that this list is crazily similar. Frozen moves from #8 to #9, 12 Years a Slave moves from #6 to #7, and the Top Five largely remain identical besides the downvote of The World's End and the inclusion of Stoker. To be sure, when making the 2017 list I didn't even glance at previous rankings; I literally re-ranked from scratch, which means 2013 is remarkably stable, at least as far as my tastes are concerned. I would like The Lone Ranger to make it someday.

2014:

Interstellar
The LEGO Movie
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
The Interview
Birdman
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice

Under the Skin

Scottish Men only use 10% of their dicks

Some years are weird with titles, like how 2012 has "The" in front of a lot of films. 2014 is all about "In" - Interstellar, Interveiw, Inherent Vice...2014 retains seven from the original list, but in drastically different order, with Under the Skin moving way up and Interstellar moving way down. Birdman I unanimously named my favourite at the time, although it's #4 in 2017. What's more weird is that in 2015 I re-ranked and only five remain from that one just a little over a year ago. Those are basically the Top Four, although I had difficulty leaving John Wick and Dear White People off the list - the former because it's a well-constructed action film that isn't that great of a film, and the latter for just being something that didn't stick with me as much as it did in 2015. Instead, Foxcatcher and Snowpiercer sneak in, both of which I still actively talk and think about.

These ranks ought to be considered Norwegian Morning Wood canon for at least the next three years. I'd be curious to see how anything changes between now and 2020 or if we've somewhat stabilized. We of course JUST ranked 2016 and re-ranked 2015 here, so you may check that out as well. As for the future, we can only guess as to which films rise to prominence, which seem to flash hot then fade, and which barely miss the cut in favour of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

The Funniest Movie of the Year for the Past 20 Years

Watching the atrocious Dumb and Dumber To (2014) has made me think a lot more about how great Dumb and Dumber (1994) is, which I'd consider one of the funniest movies of all time. But then I think about This is Spinal Tap (1984) or Blazing Saddles (1974) or The Jerk (1979) and have to reconsider. I think I can at least claim, however, that Dumb and Dumber is the funniest movie of 1994, which got me thinking - what movies can claim that title year by year? Comedy is always a subjective, contentious issue, so  take a look at my pics here and then feel free to troll the hell out of the comments:

1994: Dumb and Dumber

You could have figured this out by the heading of this post. There's very few more quotable comedies that are so keenly written in its dumbness. The plot is a loose construct for plenty of road-trip jokes but when it settles on Aspen and making fun of the erudite Colorado skiers, it really shines.

1995: Billy Madison

Between Madison and Happy Gilmore (1996) I always think this has an edge even if it's really just a prototypical man-child movie. There's so much subtle insanity to the world, though, which is constantly much stranger than Billy himself. From the sardonic High School principal to the unnecessarily lusty maid, there is so much more going on around Adam Sandler that pushes its modern surreal humour. Also every scene looks exactly like my Elementary School.

1996: Black Sheep

This was the first really difficult year. There are better comedy films out there for sure, like Kingpin or Fargo, but is anything funnier than Black Sheep? Kill whitey, hell no.

1997: Orgazmo

Austin Powers is the easy choice here, but to be honest, it's aged pretty poorly. And I still get hard when I hear those first few chords. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's humour was still developing here, but this is a surprisingly confident film full of shit like this that still cracks me up for no reason.

1998: The Big Lebowski

It's tempting to go with more late 90s efforts by the Farrellys or Matt and Trey, who dominated 90s humour, but when the Coens are on, they're on. The slow burn of how funny The Big Lebowski really is in undeniable, and while it may not necessarily be seen as a defining comedy movie (it does seem to defy genre), it's engrossing and endlessly re-watchable.

1999: Galaxy Quest

Going way outside the box, here, folks. American Pie is the most mainstream comedy of 1999 and Office Space is probably still the most relevant, but Galaxy Quest has put in its time, if only as an eerily canny Star Trek spoof. I just wish J.J. Abrams had seen it.

2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Again, we have a pretty mainstream option in Meet the Parents here, but I can't tell you the last time I watched it, and despite renewed relevance through James Franco, I'm leaning towards Coens again, because Dude, Where's My Car? also just feels old.

2001: Zoolander

2001 is tough. Why is 2001 so tough? Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back may win on jokes, but it's not a very good movie, and the references wear thin. Wet Hot American Summer is also far more subtle, but is that a good thing? It's more conceptual than laugh-out-loud. It really hurts to knock off Super Troopers, but I've seen both recently and Zoolander just wins. By now it feels like it should be overrated, but it just wins.

2002: Jackass: The Movie

I feel like every year has one comedy that irks its way onto College Campuses and is seen enough to be quoted to death and revered without ever really being that good. In 2002 this was National Lampoon's Van Wilder, which has been diminished through a decade of sequels and knock-offs. I thought about going way outside the box with Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, but I'm not sure its anti-comedy holds up. So let's go with most laughs per minute.

2003: ELF

2003 is an incredible year for comedy, particularly Christmas flicks on either side of the spectrum - Bad Santa and ELF as well as Will Ferrell vehicles on either side of the spectrum - Old School and ELF. Let's split the difference and hit what's probably one of the more unique comedies on this list - an immortal, hilarious, at time subversive Christmas picture that also gave us a blonde Zooey Deschanel.

2004: Shaun of the Dead

Anchorman probably leads quotes, although Napoleon Dynamite can't be too far behind. It broke my heart not to give this to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, but there are far too many chuckly character moments in Shaun of the Dead that really hit on point to ignore it here.

2005: Wedding Crashers

There's a clear battle here between this and The 40-Year Old Virgin, but you need only to remember that first time you saw Wedding Crashers - it's the movie that made everyone involved a star and for damn good reason. Pre-critical mass Vince Vaughn is a spectacle to behold.

2006: Beerfest

For the longest time I informally considered Clerks 2 to be 2006's funniest movie, but I think it needs to step down to Beerfest, which has held up a little better. Clerks 2 mostly boils down to poor acting and a donkey show, which also echoes throughout Borat, which is a strong contender. I once called Borat one of the best films of the decade. It may now slide into that "enjoyable" slot (jeez look at that list on that page - you should no longer be surprised by most of these musings here), and I'm not sure I've revisited it all that much since.

2007: Superbad

This and Knocked Up felt so similar - sharing a similar cast and producers and coming out pretty close to each other, both being really funny and really surprising successes. I'm leaning towards Superbad being funnier, although you can switch the titles around in this paragraph and come to no stronger a conclusion.

2008: Tropic Thunder

An unsung contender here is Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was a little quieter upon release, and has much better character work than just about any other film here, but I've got to hand the crown to Tropic Thunder, which blew me away upon release. Damn, I forgot about Pineapple Express...wait...what was I doing here?

2009: The Hangover

There's not really a debate here. I actually still think the sequel is funnier (even though it's, you know, the same movie), but The Hangover is a giant in 2009 and instantly entered that hall of immortal comedies. Hell, it even brought back Mike Tyson so he could be solving mysteries to this day.

2010: Get Him to the Greek

Tough call between this and The Other Guys - the latter may be more mainstream (is it?), but when you're comparing scenes between Mark Wahlberg and Sean Combs you know you've stumbled into a weird place. I want to go with this movie because I love every second of it, I already dissed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I listen to Infant Sorrow constantly.

2011: The Muppets

Here's another year where the two funniest films are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Bridesmaids holds a mean fight against The Muppets, but there's no "travel by map" in sight, so fuck that. It's tough to remember a theater experience laughing as hard as I did for The Muppets. Actually, I think I brought a flask to that one.

2012: The Campaign

I think that over time, 21 Jump Street has emerged the champion of 2012, and The Campaign sort of got swept under the rug, and I trashed it after I saw it for not taking a tough enough stand. Actually read that first paragraph, oh jeez. Comment on this one, folks. Two years down the road I think it's incredibly underrated, and an especially fitting team-up of Ferrell and Galifianakis who are gods of this yearly list.

2013: This is The End

Here is where I reached Muppets-level in-theater laughter without even a flask in hand! This is still one of my all-time favourite movies that I thought hit every note perfectly while having some really interesting things to say about the public personas of film actors. The Backstreet Boys ending still leaves something to be desired, but I can deal with it for the preceding ninety minutes of hilarity.

2014: 22 Jump Street

I've talked a lot about my problems with 22 Jump Street, I in fact, JUST talked about it, but it's still the funniest movie of the year by a wide margin. Neighbors comes close, and I'm curious which of these movies we're talking about a few years from now, but for now, it's all Jump Street.

Damn, is it Thanksgiving? What are you doing reading this? Go watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) for goodness sake!

And argue away in the comments! This is especially ripe for discussion - do you think that even my contenders should be contenders?

An Analyzation of the Targets of the Past Forty Years of Comedy Films

It's interesting to determine what spurs the conversation on the Internet. You'd think that in general, with instant and continual access of every bit of information known to humanity, we'd talk about everything all the time. Instead, there is a steady stream of contemporary events that inform pop culture discussion. This week, even though it hasn't really been a domineering critical or commercial success by any means, everyone seems to have either the revitalization or desolation of sword-and-sandal epics in the wake of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014). Likewise, a few weeks ago in the wake of the death of Harold Ramis, everyone couldn't stop talking about the monumental influence he had on the modern comedy, even if Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Doug Kenney, and John Landis are probably equally to blame.

Still, I was attracted to this piece by the New York Post, which essentially lamented the fact that the comedy films of old drove their satire through targeting venerable but corrupted institutions while the comedies of today only target poop and vaginas. While any kind of nostalgia-thumping like this is basically selective remembering (if you look at a list like this, most of the films we remember and talk about today are mostly satires - which is fair to say that they have perpetuated in our culture, but were far from the only films being produced or popular), it also drew me into a larger conversation - how do we judge the evolution of the modern Hollywood comedy film based on its target?

1970s: Institutional-Smearing Comedy

If we're looking at the big 70s films that we remember today - Robert Altman's M*A*S*H* (1970), a few Mel Brooks opuses (Young Frankenstein [1974] and Blazing Saddles [1974]), a few Monty Python opuses (Holy Grail [1975] and Life of Brian [1979], Burt Reynolds' role-defining Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Ramis' aforementioned Animal House (1978), and the greatest comedy of all time, Steve Martin's The Jerk (1979) - we do see a lot of busting on the stodgy and pompous institutions that control aspects of society, social customs, or even the acceptable narrative structure of Hollywood films themselves.

The target in a comedy is the butt of the joke. The Post piece suggests that targets in the 70s and 80s were great and powerful, compared to the crass subject matter of today. That's largely true. From the list above we see targets including the Korean War, racism, zealous religious followers, good ol' boy law enforcement, and academia. I'm for a bit of a loss, though, who the targets were for  Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The Jerk. Do we have, respectively, Old Hollywood, English Legend, and uh, biker chicks?

The 70s were full of irreverence. As New Hollywood emerged through the collapse of the production code as well as the advent of modern blockbuster filmmaking, comedy reflected these thrown off shackles through its gutting of societal structure and thriving on high concept ensemble pieces. There's no central star in most of these films - it's more groups of people getting together and lampooning an established part of society.

1980s: The Satire Evolves on a Grand Scale

Comedies from the 80s explode a bit, though that may be due to the fact that as of late the 1980s have sort of been canonized as this decade where everything awesome originated - after all, the toys of the 80s are the biggest films of today. We have this strange adoration for the slick veneer of the 80s, even though it was really as shallow and money-driven as it's usually stereotyped. It still offered some of the best big-movies of its time - what other decade could we find so many forgettable Best Picture Winners and so many adored blockbusters?

When I think 80s Comedy my mind turns to Airplane! (1980), Caddyshack (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), Stripes (1981), Vacation (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), This is Spinal Tap (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), Coming to America (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), and Major League (1989). Who are our targets? Or another way we can look at it - who are our villains?

There is a bit of a mix here for sure. From this list we can see country clubs, Illinois Nazis, the Army, the police force, the EPA, and school administrators. There are, however, already a good mix of the kind of personal comedy that would define the Apatow era. Vacation and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles are both disastrous road trip movies where the greatest obstacles to the characters' final destination are the characters themselves. The high concept for Coming to America is an African Prince traveling to the United States to find a bride, but neither love nor Africa is really lampooned. Well, maybe the latter. Other films like Airplane! and This is Spinal Tap have achieved immortality through defying convention and digging more into specific characters with quick and dirty jokes than having a major target.

The 80s still evokes a lot of ensemble, but there's a bit of a paring down throughout the decade, so that eventually we see all these duos popping up. Doc and Marty, Neal and Dell, Eddie and Roger. Hell, Eddie Murphy's Black Cop / White Cop shtick defined a whole genre of buddy action films. There is still a lot of institution-bashing, but there is more introspection going on. More than that though, there are actually strong themes of convention shifting, whether it be from the improv-driven Spinal Tap, the animated Chinatown-esque Roger Rabbit, or the slapstick-or-bust rapidfire nature of Airplane!

1990s: The Megastar Era

These films keep paring down. From the 80s duos we see instead these big star-driven vehicles in the 90s, mostly for Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, or Ben Stiller. There is still this mixture of targets, though, and the most successful of these 90s films are those that emulate the standards of the 1970s. Our list of general 90s comedies we're still talking about includes, Home Alone (1990), Wayne's World (1992), Cool Runnings (1993), Groundhog Day (1993), Ace Venture: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb & Dumber (1994), Clerks (1994), Billy Madison (1995), Friday (1995), Tommy Boy (1996), Happy Gilmore (1996), Austin Powers (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), There's Something About Mary (1998), American Pie (1999), and Office Space (1999).

Now, feel free to debate my selection here (Why for instance, do I feel like Tommy Boy is more relevant than Black Sheep [1995]? I don't know. It just seems to me based on no evidence that more people like it and it's a bit of a better movie. Ditto with leaving out The Mask [1994]), but I'd call these in general the crop of 90s Comedy Films that peaked commercially (sometimes critically), but everyone's pretty cool with still watching today. So, what kind of institutions are we still targeting?

Olympic bobsledding...and uh...school administrators and golf again. That's about it. Suddenly these movies are about one central doofus character, sometimes a duo again like Wayne and Garth or Harry and Lloyd. Gone are the teams or camaraderie, though it returned a bit with fare like Lebowski, Pie, and Office Space by decades' end. The 90s are probably our most vapid decade. It's fitting for a decade where we were on top. With a booming economy and a Cold War victory in hand, it seemed like for all our angst, our institutions seemed to be working - so why target them? We lost a bit of that critical eye, because we weren't in fact as angry as we probably should have been. We had a pot-smoking, saxophone-playing president and Arsenio had his own TV show. We're pretty close to that point again, so who knows how the rest of the 2010s will play out.

There is some saying that comedy fails during really good times, which is perhaps why when looking over this list you don't get quite the feeling as you do when checking out the flicks from the 70s and 80s. These are classics, but more in a really frat-y way, and even though There's Something About Mary is really just as classy as Animal House it loses some charm, maybe because Stiller somehow is less charismatic and more neurotic than John Belushi. Or maybe it is because the 90s asks us to question less. It's more complacent with its authority figures. EXCEPT for Adam Sandler movies - which is why in the 90s Sandler was really the most brilliant auteur out there and truly emulating Ramis' efforts a decade and a half earlier.

2000s: Character and Self-Reflexive Comedy

This is tricky, because as I pick the most representative films of the 2000s there is sure to be more debate over what has really had the most influence. Still, when I think of 2000s people still talk about today, I think The Replacements (2000), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Super Troopers (2001), Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Zoolander (2001), Old School (2003), Anchorman (2004), Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Shaun of the Dead (2004), The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005), Wedding Crashers (2005), Beerfest (2006), Borat (2006), Talladega Nights (2006), Knocked Up (2007), Superbad (2007), Tropic Thunder (2008), Pineapple Express (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Step Brothers (2008), and The Hangover (2009).

Now, how come I can only name eight films from the 70s I'd consider relevant and twenty films from the 2000s? Well, time hasn't yet sorted out the best from the only very good yet. But to be honest, if you look at what these films are doing, you'll find a couple things that begin to circle back to what the 70s was doing - ensemble satires, with most importantly, the addition of a ton of character-driven comedy.

Ensembles are most visible in Wes Anderson, Broken Lizard, and Judd Apatow films. Even Will Ferrell comedies are pretty scared of leaving him up there alone to do Jim Carrey-like shtick. It's why the Ace Ventura-like extremely annoying character was brilliantly lampooned in a film like The Cable Guy (1998) - because in reality, no one could buddy with that kind of person and emerge with a complete life. Ferrell is much softer, and has made headway into these sort of buddy comedies reminiscent of the 80s. So, targets?

NFL Unions, family structures, highway patrolman, summer camps, male models, the fraternity system, local newscasters, racism, nerds, horror films, antisemitism and jingoistic beliefs, NASCAR, big budget Hollywood filmmaking, and anti-marijuana laws. I would contend that a film like Pineapple Express encourages questioning of authority at least as much as Stripes does. For the rest, the targets are smaller, more intimate. You can see a clear declining of really solid targets from about 2006 on. Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Hangover, again the largest obstacles characters face are themselves. These films really dig into interpersonal relationships across their ensemble as the cause of conflict rather than an outside antagonist. I do, however, want to focus on one more decade, even three years' worth, to at least suggest that we're starting to be encouraged to question again, perhaps because we're once again in a time of absolute shit.

2010s: What the Hell do We do Now?

We're far too close to the past three and a quarter years of film to really figure out who is influencing who and how this decade is developing. I can, however, give you three films that have succeeded in being just as subversive as anything the 1970s gave us. For better or worse, they are three Will Ferrell movies: The Other Guys (2010), The Campaign (2012), and The LEGO Movie (2014).

The Other Guys had a lot to say about the foreground and background characters of action films, but as per Ice T's narration, the core Madoff-esque scheme that drives the plot, and the end credits infographic, it's really taking a very sly dig at the financial industry under the silly sheen of a buddy cop comedy film. In an age where we're more ostrich-like than ever while getting screwed over a rapidly growing income gulf, it's startling that such a mainstream comedy featuring A-List actors of both comedy and drama would contain such a subversive message.

Likewise, The Campaign is one of the more underrated films of 2012 with its virulent but believable take on the rigors of political office-seeking. It offers a brutal glimpse into the insane lengths it takes to win one of these contests, the rapid reaction of middle America to slight changes in public figure perception, and of course, the vested interest of nefarious corporations looking out for not the country's interest, but their own. It's another film that strongly asks us to question everything about our electorate institution.

Finally, The LEGO Movie is probably one of the most subversive films of all time, as I've recently and neatly outlined here. It pleads for a line to be drawn between creative thought and stuffy mind-destroying cultural oppression. Its largest target is the banality and unoriginality of pop culture itself.

You know, we could also throw in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) for its succinct skewering  of the 24-hour news cycle, but that would be a little much, wouldn't it? It also features an ensemble cast and a tendency towards slapstick and silliness over crudity. So, why would anyone complain about this film? It's everything the 70s and 80s wanted to be. Which is why it's set in 1980. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are truly the Ramis / Murray of this generation. Actually, it's more like Ramis and Murray were the McKay / Ferrell of their generation.

I have a lot of confidence for the future of comedy. I'm not sure that institutionally-targeted comedy makes the best kind of film, or that satire is even justifiable in the sense that it leads to comfortable inaction rather than actual policy change. In the end, none of this really matters. As long as it's funny.

Looking Back on Looking Forward: The Final Critical Look at 2013's Most Anticipated Cultural Events

Two-Thousand and Thirteen brought us many things, and a year ago today we were highly anticipating a whole smorgasbord of great movies and television. While some of these turned out pretty great, many more were a big let down, but more than anything, our Big 2013 Moments were really full of meh. As we look back on looking forward today, let us remember how everything was kind of good.

#13: Oz the Great and Powerful (03/08)

We should know better. This looked pretty okay, and it turned out...pretty okay. It's not an aggravatingly stupid blockbuster (see: Jack the Giant Slayer [2013]), but it really didn't knock it out of the park either. It certainly looked pretty and had some pretty cool moments, especially its ending, which was real solid. Other than that this ain't reviving Oz. Or Sam Raimi's cultural adoration.

#12: Warm Bodies (02/01)

I was pleasantly surprised by this take on the ever growing star-crossed monster horror romantic comedy genre. Rob Corddry offers an unexpectedly good supporting turn here, and the film made us sympathize with zombies like we never believed we could. I'm not sure if we'll be talking about this ten years down the line, but for now, I'm happy with the call.

#11: Pain & Gain (04/26)

Michael Bay's best ever movie, a dark action comedy that scews real dark and cray all the time. Mark and the Rock have never been more ripped while the film actually rips apart expectations towards conquering the American dream and the true meaning of fitness. You need to be a little touched in the head to really enjoy this thing, but if you're on board, it's a trip.

#10: Star Trek into Darkness (05/17)

Here's our first major disappointment. See, there's really two movies here. The first is an intriguing, mysterious set-up with political undertones and unspeakable violence. The second is an inverse re-make of Wrath of Khan (1982) with softer balls and tons of uncomfortable 9/11 imagery. It's not great. Here and there this film found the energy of Abrams' first Star Trek (2009) that made the geekiest sci-fi franchise cool again (or for the first time?), but this is just another mindless tentpole begging for its scraps.

#9: Iron Man 3 (05/03)

Superhero villains forever upended in a film that's way more fun than it deserves to be. Every problem here stems from its forced collusion with The Avengers (2012), which points more to the fault of giant self-sustaining immortal franchises than anything in Shane Black's writing. Everything original here (yes in a threequel. Yes, using every technique Shane Black used 25 years ago) works and breathes some life into what could have been a damned stale Marvel cookie cutter film. Now if only Stark's fully articulated character arc could stick through The Avengers 2: Age of Who Cares (2015).

#8: The Wolverine (07/24)

When your last film is X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), there's not much room to go besides up. The second solo James Howlett flick ditched just about everything comfortable, including familiar characters, actors, and settings, and set out to tell a bold story from the Wolverine canon, essentially showing where these superhero films can go when there's a lot less pressure to be big and dominating. There were some problems with plot, acting, and just about everything else, but I dig the ground uncovered. More please.

#7: The Return of Community (02/07)

Here's an incredible let down. The Fourth "Gas Leak" season of Community was tepid at best, with a continual effort to try way to hard that feel short just about every damn time. It was nigh unbearable to suffer through the mangled tone from a Harmon-less world that couldn't find its footing between heartfelt, hilarious, and sappy. Season 5 actually premiered this evening, and delivered two episodes better than this whole sorry lot.

#6: Elysium (08/09)

With some pretty high hopes Blomkampt and Damon delivered a pretty fun late summer flick, even if its political subtext was pushed a little too heavy for it to be as subversive as District 9 (2009). Sharlto Copley probably delivered the villain of the year, but in general, we forgot about this film as soon as September hit. Actually, I totally forgot to place that facial reconstruction scene on our scenes of the year list. That's exactly what I'm talking about - a generally mediocre film overshadowed its variable really cool moments.

#5: Pacific Rim (07/12)

Here we saw some promises finally delivered. There were actually a good amount of big original movies this summer, although conceptually, many were pretty derivative of what's come before (Oblivion [2013] and Elysium may be the biggest offenders). Pacific Rim was more an entry into the underdone Kaiju genre than a total rip-off, even if it was full of clever homages. It was probably the funnest damn blockbuster of the whole year, even if Charlie Hunnam may join Taylor Kitsch and Garrett Hedlund as horrible stereotypical angsty white protagonists that I do not care about ever seeing in a movie again.

#4: The World's End (10/25)

And we even got it early - The World's End was so worth a very long wait after Hot Fuzz (2007) and blew our pretty high expectations out of the water. It was original, culturally significant, witty, engaging, and hilarious - the perfect late summer comedy riff. Anticipation delivered.

#3: This is The End (06/14)

I don't actually think we'll have an issue differentiating these two end-of-the-world comedies, because both were so good yet so different. The is The End reached the highest peaks of meta-comedy with humour as block as the demon cock that rapes Jonah Hill. Just picture him in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), he deserved it. I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard in a movie theater, although I may have been the only one. Consistently rude, insane, and full of obscure Pineapple Express (2008) references, this was a perfect film for niche Apatow fans and a damn confident directorial debut from writing partners Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

#2: Anchorman: The Legend Continues (12/20)

I was never sure what to really expect out of this one. What they ended up churning out was this extremely silly but politically poignant 2013 answer to Network (1976), with more ridiculous cameos than any movie will ever have ever. Everything clicked, even the stuff that didn't quite work, and without a whiff of caring about the hype, this one knocked it out.

#1: The Hangover Part III (05/24)

I feel pretty ashamed that I listed this as #1. It was pretty torrid, all things considered, largely because they attempted the same basic formula without the well-used pretense. It makes sense that the best scenes in this flick were the shoudy Chang opening and the re-hash wedding credits aftermath scene. Debauchery is all this is good for, and in a year where so many other black comedies got it right (in addition to Pain & Gain and This is The End, see the aforementioned Wolf of Wall Street. Or even You're Next [2013]), it's even more pathetic that this got it so wrong.

Stay tuned for what we're looking at in 2014! Onward, Commander!

The Way We Were: The Flicks of 2013

If you're on the Internet this time of year looking at movie sites, no doubt you've come across one or two "Best Of" lists. I struggle with this concept each year, because it's tough to define what really makes a great movie. Is the best movie of the year the one that made me reflect the most about myself? Was it the most fun I had at the theater? Or is it the film that accomplishes the greatest technical achievements?

My general rationale regarding what makes a movie great is its cultural staying power - which is impossible to measure in a year anyway. Even though back in the day There Will Be Blood (2007) probably got the most cultural cache, and No Country for Old Men (2007) got all the awards, who knew that in December 2013 we'd be talking the most about The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)? Does this make it the best of the three aforementioned slow moving westerns released in 2007? No, but there's never any telling with these things. It's all subjective and bonkers.

For these reasons, I've split up my favourite films of the year into three big divisions, because I'm going to the movies to get different things out of each. First we have the Blockbusters, where I'm looking at who did and did not succeed at the big spectacle (and sometimes I enjoyed the "failures" much more than the "successes"), who surprised me, and what I thought was genuinely interesting. Let's begin, counting down from no particular set number:

Blockbuster Division:

#5: Oblivion

Oblivion would have been a much better film if it had come out like thirty years ago so that it could innovate and inspire every sci-fi movie to follow instead of appearing to rip them all off. Still, even though it's a far cry from Tom Cruise's high sci-fi watermark in Minority Report (2002), it was a surprising film full of gorgeous landscapes, a likable Cruise, and even if most of the plot elements were largely lifted from dozens of other films, it was competently executed.

#4: The Lone Ranger

I loved the fact that Disney based their entire non-Marvel summer around The Lone Ranger, but Verblinski and Depp were more in a mood to make an anti-Blockbuster, pulling the rug out of its audience's feet with completely boffo shifts in tone, some of the greatest train sequences of the year (or ever), and a general disregard for big movie conventions, despite its identity as such. Racist and un-American? You got it.

#3: Iron Man 3

It took me a while to realize what Iron Man 3 did for superhero films. I'd be curious if it has as general an effect on the genre as something like The Dark Knight (2008) did. While The Dark Knight pushed everything to be "dark" and heady, Iron Man 3 asks why superhero movies can't be exactly like early 90s action movies. It both takes the suit off the Iron Man and the piss out of the Mandarin. While the fanboy in me was outraged at first, I eventually grew to appreciate Shane Black's postmodern take on the pomp and pointlessness of antiquated archrivals and their unnecessary place in the hero narrative. The result is far more interesting than Iron Man 2 (2010).

#2: Pacific Rim

Originality may be a stretch here, for Pacific Rim does borrow liberally from mecha, kaiju, and many anime genres, but still, this was the biggest, best original sci-fi of the year. It gets big points for the best world-building of the decade, its refreshingly multi-cultural cast, its relenting coolness, and Charlie Day. No other big studio film had as much fun with itself or gave its audience so much to play with this Summer.

#1: Furious 6

How did this Happen? Not only does the plot of Furious 6 run pretty tight, despite a complete disregard for physics (who cares), it changes the narrative of every movie that comes before it, which is impressive in a franchise largely written off seven years ago. From the Rock to Diesel's incredible headbutt, tank chases and runways that stretch from London to Manchester, Furious 6 announced itself as able to play with the big boys in a big way. When every other movie this summer tried so hard to be cool, this rose above the rest and lived it, baby.

Next we have what I'm calling the Prestige Division. These are the kind of high-minded films I'm betting we'll see on many end-of-year lists, but I've probably thrown in a few wacky choices. I'd consider these to mostly be thought-provoking dramas, but a single genre definition essentially eludes the collection I have here:

Prestige Division:

#8: The Way Way Back

This movie tends to come along every couple years. Sometimes it's called Superbad (2007), sometimes it's Adventureland (2009), but it always tends to be tough to get sick of. The Way Way Back takes itself slightly more serious than either of these two, and thanks to Sam Rockwell sliding into a perfect role (he tends to have a lot of those), and Carell caring less and less about stardom, this one works.

#7: Side Effects

I can't stop being a Soderbergh junkie, and this, supposedly his final theatrical film, brings everything you could want from the man. The narrative juggles and switches protagonists like no film since No Country for Old Men (2007), and continually threads a mystery between who to believe and who is full of shit. It's tense fun with a slight critique of Big Pharma for being huge dicks. Rooney, Jude, Channing, and Catherine are all must watches.

#6: American Hustle

Hustle, even amidst criticisms of being "Scorsese Lite," is a damned fine bit of filmmaking. David O. Russell essentially combines the casts of The Fighter (2010) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012) in a slick ABSCAM piece that has tremendous fun with itself. Is it a comedy? That's a question that rages across a lot of flicks this year, and Hustle, while probably not as groundbreaking as Silver Linings, is just as enjoyable.

#5: 12 Years A Slave

Steve McQueen finally brings instant acclaim to his filmmaking abilities with a brutal look at slavery in its nadir in the 1840s. It's not only a portrayal designed to shock audiences into recognition and remembrance of slavery's horrors, but a critical examination of black identity, the survival of hope among hoplessness, and the corrupting influence of the peculiar institution. Spoiler alert: this one gets all the awards come March.

#4: Inside Llewyn Davis

Somehow Llewyn stands out among Coen Bros films, which grows more difficult with each subsequent film they release. Biting bitter comedy flicks in and out with splashes of irreplaceable wit in an otherwise exceedingly sad film. "Please Mr. Kennedy" should be the song of the year and with John Goodman's presence turning The Artist (2011) and Argo (2012) into Best Picture winners, can he go three for three? 

#3: Wolf of Wall Street

If Goodfellas (1990) had never existed, I may have listed this higher. Any breakthroughs this may make in narrative Scorsese already accomplished with his seminal gangster flick. Still, Wolf is crazy good, with the kinds of overflow of sex and drugs we've always dreamed of seeing on screen. At its heart, though, it's a tortured an uncomfortably funny tale of a man who can't do anything but make money, at the expense of everyone around him, including himself. There's not a better fable to tell in an age where the financial sector regularly screws over the entire world.

#2: Gravity

Picking between these last two was very difficult. They both get a lot of points for using their medium really well. Gravity provides a reason to go to the theater again during a time when the entire industry is whining that they're losing out to Netflix and home viewing options. It's a nauseating, dizzying turn through space with a ridiculous performance out of Sandy Bullock that genuinely works best when paying for a premium 3D IMAX ticket. Finally, a film that makes the trip worthwhile. As soon as other studios learn this, everyone can get a slice of that Gravity pie.

#1: Spring Breakers

Even though it's an incredibly important film for the medium, Gravity really didn't have the story to push it to the #1 spot. I'll give that to Harmony Korine's gritty dirty Spring Breakers, which feels like a dream when watching it. It's bathed in neon excess, Britney Spears rhythms, guns, cash, and a lot of delusional dreams, both broken and half-fulfilled. James Franco's "Spring breeeeaaakk" breathy whisper echoes throughout the slow scene construction over and over again, and unpredictable craziness flows at every turn, not only because it was primarily filmed with real spring breakers interacting with four hot Disney starlets. It crawls and oozes like only it can and remains the trippiest flick of the year.

Finally, we have a smattering of movies that don't really belong anywhere. I doubt you'd find these on any "Best Of" lists, but a handful were the most fun I've had at the cinema in years. In favor of continually eschewing any regard for form or convention, here are the downright funnest flicks of the year:

Fun Division:

#6: Warm Bodies

I'm basically at the point where I'll reward a movie for just not sucking. That's Warm Bodies, which takes what could have been a pretty stupid Twilight-esque premise and eschews any sort of expectation that could come along with that. The Zombie genre has been deconstructed time and time again by now, but perhaps never better than in this romantic comedy. The hokey ending be damned, this was a nice surprise.

#5: Don Jon

Otherwise known as Jersey Shore: The Movie, Don Jon showcases Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a competent and confident filmmaker, pushes a love of porn and girls in some new exciting directions (seriously), and offers a smooth ride from beginning to end. I'm still not sure what it is about this trashy sub-culture that attracts so much adoration from the general public looking it, maybe it's just how ridiculous yet commonplace their generally accepted behavior is within their own communities. I dunno. I can't stop watching, though.

#4: This is The End

I would put this at the top of my list for the whole year, but I understand there's a pretty heavy caveat - just about all enjoyment of this film depends on whether or not the viewer is pretty familiar with the culturally accepted social personas of the actors involved, as well as whether or not the viewer enjoyed Pineapple Express (2008). I'm a big supporter of both, so I had more fun watching this flick than any other single movie this year. Since it's so dependent on buying into that quasi-fictional world though, it's ultimately held back from being a truly great comedy. I also really didn't buy that Backstreet Boys reunion.

#3: You're Next

Probably the greatest marketing for any movie all time, You're Next proved to be the best kind of horror film - small, scary, fun, and effortlessly iconic. There were a lot of pretty good horror flicks this year, notably The Conjuring and even Insidious: Chapter 2, but James Wan can't get all the credit for reviving the genre. This little renegade movie needs a whole lot more attention than it's been given so far.

#2: Pain & Gain

Auteur Michael Bay's greatest film, and notably one of the most insane experiences at the cinema this year, Pain & Gain presents a non-stop assault on the senses, but not in that normal explosion-driven Bay way. Is the American Dream completely delusional? What's the price for success in a world that restricts the working class and rewards the liars and cheats? What's the best road to the top - honesty, steroids, theft, murder, or cooking hands on the grill? These are the big questions that I'm not sure Bay is even sure he's asking, but Pain & Gain contemplates them all pretty thoughtfully while serving up constant insane nonsense. It's a spectacle.

#1: The World's End

What's more to say? The fourth of four end-of-the-world comedies to premiere this year, and the second on this list, The World's End caps the Cornetto Trilogy and doesn't disappoint at all, in fact there's a good argument to be made it's the best of the three. Without a lot of fluff or other goofiness in the kind of film that could easily slip up, this flick provides laughs, some of Simon Pegg's strongest character work, and an answer to the hundreds of man-child alcoholic films that began with Will Ferrell and have accelerated through Todd Phillips' Hangover series. Every inch of this movie is covered in brilliance and it's thoughtfully the best outright comedy of a year full of pretty great ones.

Actor of the Year:

This was a pretty tough call this year. Tom Hanks had a few high profile roles in Captain Phillips and Saving Mr. Banks, but despite his admirable best efforts, both those flicks were kind of shitty. 2013 will always be remembered as the year everyone started treating Matthew McConaughey with more respect between Mud, Dallas Buyers Club, and The Wolf of Wall Street, but none of those flicks were really mainstream. Therefore I'm kind of torn between James Franco and Dwayne The Rock Lobster.

Now, The Rock starred in one of the biggest films of the year, Furious 6 as well as Pain & Gain, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Snitch. The thing is, though, only the first two of these films were really that notable, and neither especially because of Dwayne. Franco had a little bit of everything this year - big blockbuster potential with Oz the Great and Powerful, indie cred with Spring Breakers, a comedy blast with This is The End, and a bizarre domestic drama, Homefront. Not only that, but he appeared in small films such as The Iceman, Third Person, and Lovelace, and directed three additional festival films. He was also roasted on Comedy Central. Now, Franco may have the same lack of widespread cultural influence that the Rock did, but for sheer volume and diversity he gets our Actor of the Year award, with Dwayne a close second.

Actress of the Year:

This was also a very tough decision. Jennifer Lawrence just like last year has awards buzz from American Hustle, won the Academy Award for Silver Linings Playbook, and starred in one of the biggest films of the year, Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I'm also looking at Amy Adams, who had a slice of big budget blockbuster with Man of Steel, and two smaller great films in Her and American Hustle.

This duel, however, is coming down to the two starts of The Heat, Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Besides the success of The Heat, Bullock owned Gravity, and McCarthy added a supporting role in The Hangover Part III and provided a lot of the success of the year's first hit, Identity Thief. I'm not going to question the cultural impact of Gravity, however, and Bullock will get our Actress of the Year Award.

Scenes of the Year:

#11: When Oz's head finally makes its appearance in Oz the Great and Powerful, there's a lot of clever pay off there that encapsulates the entire movie and this douchebag's journey from Kansas to Oz.
#10: Pick any train scene from The Lone Ranger or The Wolverine. Why were trains in this year?
#9: Much of Star Trek Into Darkness fell flat, but Kirk and Harrison's (c'mon if you don't know who he really is by now) space jump saw Abrams briefly find a moment to equal the thrill and excitement of Star Trek (2009)
#8: There's not much more to say about the powerful hanging scene from 12 Years a Slave - McQueen lingers uncomfortably long on Northrup's body - if you don't get the point after the first thirty seconds, maybe another thirty will do.
#7: There were two big SPOILER-y superhero scenes that changed a lot in the genre this year - the first upends everything Superman is supposed to be about when Man of Steel kills Zod. The second is when Tony Stark finds out about Trevor Slattery and everyone's idea of what makes a supervillain is completely upended.
#6: Michael Cera has always seemed like kind of an enigma, but his brief turn in This is The End blows by ridiculous into a super-insane coke-fueled, Rihanna ass-slapping glory.
#5: Did you hear the apocalypse was cancelled? The best moment in Pacific Rim may be both of Gipsy Danger's Kaiju exterminations in Hong Kong (a double tap and a sudden massive sword, respectively), but when Idris Elba tells us that they're cancelling the apocalypse - damn if we don't buy his conviction.
#4: Gravity lets you know what kind of innovative, unique movie it's going to be from that first, exhaustive opening scene scrolling through the infinity of space.
#4: Smaug Awakes in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - it's as if this whole crummy cash grab was worth it - Smaug is an incredible character and Peter Jackson offers us a rare pay off that's really worth it.
#3: Say what you may about Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and many will point to the absurd obligatory battle scene, but for me, nothing beats the moment where the family says goodbye to Doby.
#2: It's hard to pick a scene from Spring Breakers. The most famous scene is surely James Franco serenading his masked beauties to the tune of Britney Spears' "Everytime," but I dig the crazy tension and character turn when the ladies make him fellate his own gun.
#1: You knew this was coming. Leo, on Quaaludes goes into the cerebral palsy phase in The Wolf of Wall Street. It's horrifying, hilarious and full of powerful character moments all at once. Scene of the year.

Trailers of the Year:

I always like dishing on trailers as their own special artform. Let's begin with films that came out this year:

Gravity - This first teaser still scares the shit out of me. In just 90 seconds the trailer demonstrates the inescapable fear, loneliness, and terror of the whole film, as well as a brief showcase of the crazy good effects. Seeing just this in 3D IMAX for the first time was more memorable than the Man of Steel that followed it.
Don Jon - Trailers have the unenviable task of capturing the spirit of a film, grabbing our attention without spoiling big moments, and getting our butts in seats. Don Jon provided a memorable trailer based on a simple man's routine that's interrupted by a unique woman that shows a lot of story but leaves the viewer intrigued for more. And the music's perfect.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire - I give this a lot of props because I didn't see The Hunger Games (2012), and have no desire to see Catching Fire, but this trailer really made me want to check it out. It's mostly the intriguingly conniving dialogue between Don Sutherland and Philip Seymour here that catches my fancy, hinting at some brains behind this bippity YA adaptation. You have my attention - thanks, trailer.
The Wolf of Wall Street - Even if the film itself is really just Goodfellas meets Boiler Room (2000), the trailer presents itself as wildly original. It's got a fine slice of insane douchebaggery on display, exhibits Leo's totally unhinged performance, and presents the film's irreverent tone set to the intense thumping of Kanye's "Black Skinhead" - a match between clips and song made in heaven to perfect demonstrate the theme of this flick. MORE IS NEVER ENOUGH couldn't be a better thesis for this flick. Completely engaging and instantly re-watchable, it's a nigh perfect trailer.

There is aother set of trailers that came out in 2013 for films premiering in 2014. Let's wrap up the year in movies by dishing on them:

The LEGO Movie - I can't think of a worse idea for a movie than LEGOs. I mean, I love LEGOs, but the point is to play and build with them, not watch them on a screen. This trailer gets a lot of credit then, for just being damned funny ("The 2002 NBA All-Star Team...") and hinting that maybe, just maybe this won't suck.
Captain America: The Winter Solider - Could probably go without seeing the Helicarrier go down, but as far as cookie cutter Marvel superhero flicks go, this seems solid. More than Thor 2 (2013), this looks to push Cap's ideals as far as they go, especially through S.H.I.E.L.D., which seems like a nice little dose of Civil War. I'm intrigued more than I should be.
Godzilla - This is another movie that really needs to prove in its marketing material that it won't suck. The trailer succees with a kind of urgency that is usually lacking in previous campy Godzilla films, GINO (1998) included. It wisely sticks with just shots of shadows, and destruction, mostly around one scene, which aptly demonstrates just what kind of film this wants to be - a badass realistic interpretation of the Big Tokyo Stomper. Walter White can't hurt.
X-Men: Days of Future Past - How the hell were they going to pull this one off? While holding back a lot of his hand, Bryan Singer helps us remember how he started all this superhero nonsense - with damned good character work. This trailer doesn't need a big explosion at its climax to let us know it's a big shouty important movie - merely one man saying to his younger self, "We need you to hope again." It understands where its drama is and promises a hell of a ride by way of character, not set pieces. If that holds, that'll be about the best we can hope for.

Reexaming Last Action Hero in the Modern Age of Meta and Parody

In the Summer of 1993 there was only one movie on my seven-year old mind: Jurassic Park. As it would turn out, dinosaurs were the only thing on everyone's mind. Jurassic Park not only became the biggest film of the summer, but one of the highest grossing films of all time, a trendsetter in computer generated imagery (that still looks pretty damn good), and is beloved enough today to earn a damned decent 3-D conversion and theatrical re-release a few months ago. Last Action Hero (1993) debuted a week after Jurassic Park, but is none of those things. No one gave a shit about Last Action Hero in the Summer of Dinosaurs.

He says "I'll be back" like 50 times, and is made fun of each time

Why bring this up now, twenty years later? For better or worse, I had heard some good things about this flick but had never bothered to watch it. The premise always seemed flimsy to me, and in terms of the truly great Schwarzenegger films, we've got Commando (1985), Predator (1987), Total Recall (1990), True Lies (1993), and more Conan and Terminator movies than we could ever want. I always perceived Last Action Hero as this red-headed stepchild that was bizarrely dropped into the middle of Arnold's peak popularity and instantly forgotten. Thanks to my general laziness in paying attention to my Netflix queue, though, for better or worse, Last Action Hero was mailed to my house and I watched the hell out of it. It's one of the most meta-movies ever made for sure, but I'm wondering if, while under-appreciated and overshadowed in its time, if it had been released today, would audiences be way more into it?

It's a tricky question. It feels very much like a specific 90s action movie and a movie that came out in direct response to the glut of not only the Arnold films of this era, but of all the increasingly nutty action flicks made in the wake of Lethal Weapon (1987) and Die Hard (1998) like The Last Boy Scout (1991) and Demolition Man (1993). It helps that the script for Last Action Hero was originally written by Zak Penn as a parody of Shane Black (of Lethal Weapon fame) scripts, and was later touched up by...Shane Black.

In this sense, it's very much a product of its time. Everything about it, from its heightened sense of violence, endless witticisms, and sultry L.A. setting screams 90s movies. Its core brilliance, however, stems from the fact that Arnold is game for parodying his entire film career along with the entire genre. The essential premise is that a kid who is an Arnold fanatic gets sucked into the fictional film-within-a-film, Jack Slater IV, and eventually emerges from the world with the actual Jack Slater, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's actually probably Arnold's best acting ever, expressing some real emotion when his fictional character realizes that he is fictional, and becoming upset when he meets the actual Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also exists in real-life.

A world without Schwarzenegger - now that's a scary thought!

Within Jack Slater IV, the kid continuously points out how ridiculous everything is, but the film accurately and self-reflexively depicts the insane physics and rules of its word with a consistency befitting any action film. Jack Slater's only super powers are those granted to any action hero - he never runs out of bullets, no enemy can hit him, he can drive any car like a crazy person, and every clue comes to him with little to no sleuthing. When he enters the real world, these powers disappear and the film accentuates the ridiculousness of the action genre through a deft presentation of this contrast. The kid acts as a running commentary in lieu of the audience, pointing out a constant stream of craziness (like a talking cartoon cat), convenient plot developments (like the cat showing up to save their asses), and even an inability of any character to swear (because of the film's PG-13 rating). All of this intelligent meta-discussion of genre and the implicit criticism of action movies disguised as an action movie ws lost on 1993 audiences. But would it be adored today?

There have been plenty of films since that have parodied Hollywood, although none were quite as dense as Last Action Hero. Bowfinger (1999) skewered much of the movie-making process, but wasn't nearly as off-the-wall crazy or genre-savvy as Last Action Hero. The closest film to what Last Action Hero was trying to do is possibly Tropic Thunder (2008), which also featured over-the-top films-within-the-film and a savvy commentary on life in the entertainment industry, as well as blurring multiple lines of fiction and reality (The final film-in-the-film, after all, is shot by the actors reenacting events that they actually experienced while filming another film, which was based on a book that an author made up but passed on as a true war story). Whether it be from an age of increased transparency in entertainment news which allowed potential audiences insight into the creator's intentions that allowed viewers to get in on the joke, or just a corrected perception of the talent involved (Tropic Thunder, after all, was created by comedians, rather than action stars), the film was largely understood by audiences and became a financial success.

Other films that have been successful strutting the line of homage, parody, and genuine genre flicks are the Cornetto Trilogy. The important thing about Last Action Hero is that while it clearly makes fun of action flicks, it is still very much an action flick itself. The Cornetto Trilogy, consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013) all strut this line, not as overtly and obviously as Last Action Hero, but again, the audiences today understand and appreciate what its creators are trying to do. On the topic of Apocalyptic Comedies in the Summer of 2013, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This is The End (2013) also relied on audience perceptions of Hollywood to "get" the core joke and premise - the riff on the public personae of a handful of young Hollywood Stars. All these films were pretty successful, culturally and commercially.

Plus - Sonya Blade!

So, in an age where this level of meta-parody and self-reflexive Hollywood criticism is both more common and more successful, could Last Action Hero have succeeded today? It's a tough pill to swallow, if only because there are only a few actors whose careers are widely enough known to skewer for the tropes to be understood, but that needs to be effectively communicated through marketing material. Picture Will Smith making an extremely genre savvy parody of Will Smith movies. I'm not sure that would work (or that Smith would be game - which is another reason why Arnold, at literally the top of his career, was unlike just about any other actor). Picture Matt Damon starring as Jason Bourne in a parody of Bourne Movies (he might do that), and you've got some idea of what this needs to be.

I really like Last Action Hero. I'm not sure if anyone else could. If you're a Shane Black fan, or at least an early 90s action movie fan, it's a must see. If you like extremely meta-films that constantly comment on themselves through a mixture of the different rules of different realities, this is the flick for you. It could possibly catch on in this age more than it did against Jurassic Park, but parts of it that are so dated towards the 90s tend to hold it back. Then again, you need to be in on the whole joke.

Jack Slater V (2015) needs to come before the next Rocky.

First Impressions: The World's End

At the end of Summer we were treated to a film chronicling the End of the World - well, another one, anyway. Do not fret, though, because Edgar Wrights's The Worlds's End (2013) is an animal wholly distinct from It's a Disaster (2012), Rapture-Palooza (2013) or This is The End (2013). I swear. It's really a tale of weary middle-aged friendships, drinking night adventures, and yes, World Domination by Robots. SPOILERS from here on out, folks, so turn back now.

There are many contexts with which to read this film because it straddles so many genres and has a handful of close contemporaries. It's still one of the more original films this summer and one of the best comedies of the year (I might give the cake to its apocalyptic rival, This is The End, though). Let's take that lens, first:

Who Knew the End of the World Could be so Funny?

"You got blue on you."

Perhaps it's all 2012 Conspiracy Leftovers, but there has been a glut of End of Days comedy films as of late. The highest profile of these was this Summer's This is The End, which we reviewed over here. After the title and basic global-destroying premise, though, the films are very different. Both, however, use that premise as a tool to explore some other theme involving friendship and disillusionment. This is The End primarily explored a pair of friends, one of whom had "sold out" to Hollywood while skewering and riffing on the public personae of just about every young comedian working in the movies today. The World's End also focuses on a pair of friends who have grown apart, one of which seems trapped in nostalgia for yesteryear, while the other has tried to move on with his life. It's also about the inherent weirdness that comes with heading back to one's hometown after years away. Some things are the same, some things are different, but Wright quite literally transposes that unsettling feeling into a town taken over by Robots, or "Blanks" as the film calls them.

Despite these similarities, the styles of each film vary so wildly that they aren't really comparable. This is The End is steeped in jizz and rape jokes (typically demonic) all driven by intense meta-humour. It's also a very isolated film that takes place almost solely in James Franco's house, and serves as a tribute and a reunion of modern Apatovian growing cult hits like Superbad (2007) and Pineapple Express (2008). While The World's End pays tribute in expected ways to fellow Cornetto Trilogy insallments Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), it's driven by Wright's trademark wit, symbolism, foreshadowing, and fast-paced crazy action.

I'll Take a Mint Cornetto

For those who somehow don't know, the Cornetto Trilogy refers to a slew of similar films all directed by Edgar Wright and featuring actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, among many more (Such as Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy who keep showing up). Each film really serves as both parody and homage to a given genre. Shaun of the Dead is a brilliant horror film that also parodies horror films. Hot Fuzz does the same with action flicks. The World's End sets its sights on sci-fi and again knocks it out of the park.

Every bit of The World's End fires strong. It's impressive that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost nearly switch personalities from Shaun of the Dead, which featured Pegg as the slacker trying to right his life and Frost as the oafish and slovenly buddy going no where. In The World's End Pegg is allowed to chew scenery like a madman as Gary King, and his devotion to insanity makes him one of the better characters in recent cinematic memory. Frost this time plays an uptight best friend who does eventually cut loose, but still harbours a bit of resentment towards the King. Rounding out the friends on their epic quest to conquer the Golden Mile through Newton Haven are Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan.

One of the more notable features of the Cornetto Trilogy is the subtle yet steamingly accurate foreshadowing of the entire plot. This was used to great effect in Shaun of the Dead, and to some extent in Hot Fuzz. The World's End, however, goes completely bonkers with this. Not only does the pack's Night Out directly mirror Gary King's initial telling of their fateful evening in 1990, but the whole trip is foreshadowed through the names of each Pub. Now, after scouring the Internet for possible meanings, here's what I've come up with:

#1: THE FIRST POST
Naturally, this is merely the first stop of the night and not much goes on here. There is much to be gleamed from the sign, however. As Jessica Johnston cleverly noticed over here (in the comments section), there is a Red Mailbox with a Letter A on it set apart. It's almost assuredly meant to stand for "Andy," the one character who drinks only a water at the Pub while the rest drink beers. The rest of the friends, therefore, are the Post (Gary, holding everyone together) and its three arrows, which represent the different paths that everyone else will journey down (like becoming robots).

#2: THE OLD FAMILIAR
At a glance The Old Familiar is obvious - it's identical to The First Post, quite familiar indeed. It's also the site where the gang first meets up with Sam (Rosamund Pike), the sister of Oliver (Martin Freeman), who both Gary and Steven (Paddy Considine) are interested in. In 1990 it's where Gary got "familiar" with her, which he's recollecting and attempting to emulate here, but to no avail. The sign is two beers close to each other, which represents not only the similarity to the first pub, a natural doubling effect, but also the desire of many of the characters here to get close to someone else.

#3: THE FAMOUS COCK
The Famous Cock is of course Gary, who was thrown out of this place in 1990 and remains barred from entry. This is the first time Gary and company are recognized and their fame from their earlier crawl is acknowledged. Gary tends to be a real cock here, strutting around and sneaking drinks while no one is looking. The sign may not seem like much but when have you ever seen a rooster where boots like that? It's Gary. This poster also suggests that Gary's previous rendezvous with Sam implies that he literally has a "famous cock." Clever, but Sam isn't at this bar.

#4: THE CROSS HANDS
The Cross Hands is an important one. It's both where a lot of secrets and dark pasts are revealed, from the fact that Gary's mother is still alive, Peter (Eddie Marsan) is approached innocuously by the man who used to beat him up, and most threatening of all, the revelation that Evil Robots walk among us. Some out there suggest that this is called the Cross Hands because it's where the first fight takes place and where all the friends work together, as well as describing the grabbing method of attack preferred by the Blanks. I imagine, though, that this is more where the friends are upset with each other (cross), and the grip is not that of a friendly handshake but as an irritated by necessarily partnership. Also looking at the sign, it's smeared with Blue for the first time, indicating a Blank Fight. The blue covers two of the five hands, foreshadowing that two of the group will eventually be replaced. The clearly visible wedding ring, though, ought to be long to Peter, who should be one of the Blue Hands. Any theories on this one would be welcome.

#5: THE GOOD COMPANIONS
In order to keep up appearances, the five friends trot merrily through the streets. The sign is one smiling face and four frowning faces, which is perhaps the clearest summation of this whole film and particularly this moment, where Gary up front and center is the only one enjoying himself while the others "mask" their terror. Ho Ho.

#6: THE TRUSTY SERVANT
Here's another one with a few meanings. The Servant in question could mean Reverand Green, Gary's old drug dealer who is now forced into collusion with the Blanks. It could also refer to Oliver, who is abducted at this time (mirroring how far he got in 1990) and becomes in essence a double agent for the Blanks. It's notable that in the sign there are only four beers visible, signifying that one friend was lost. Or considering how much talk goes on here of how the word "robot" originally meant slave, perhaps it's referring to the fact that the desire of the robot conquerors isn't malevolent, but rather to help humanity. OR it could be ironic, considering that the humans must serve the robot slaves rather than the other way around. There's lots to go on here. Definitive theories in the comments are welcome.

#7: THE TWO HEADED DOG
I probably shouldn't spend too much time dwelling on the fact that in proper grammar it should be The Two-Headed Dog. It's likely a reference to the Twins, who appear here with Sam. They're both virtually two heads of the same person, having identical personalities and voices, as well as duplicitous characters, secretly Blanks. This same logic can apply to Oliver, who know being a Blank himself, is also a "Two Headed Dog." The sign is again smeared blue, indicating another scrap with the Blanks.

#8: THE MERMAID
Here Mermaids are used like they were used in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and probably folklore, as Sirens that lure men to their doom. The Pub is really a dance hall and the boys are tempted by the Marmalade Sandwich (a redhead and two blondes from 1990 who haven't really aged) except for Steven, who saves them in Odyssean Glory. The sign perfectly captures the aforementioned Marmalade Sandwich.

#9: THE BEEHIVE
Note that the sign indicates that this is The Beehive Free House, which is either ironic, considering the Blanks' plan to assimilate the Gang, or refers to the fact that the pub is free place for the Blanks themselves to gather. It's definitely a place of swarming and stinging, where Pierce Brosnan really plays the Queen, leading all the other Blanks in thoughtful discussion, then a brawl with the Humans. The Blanks show off their Hive Mind, and Pierce talks about the great things they're building together. Like a Hive. Get it? Blue on the sign means there's plenty of spilled ink.

#10: THE KING'S HEAD
The bloke on the sign really looks exactly like Simon Pegg, and it's another clear reference to Gary King. It could be taken as a chance to get inside Gary's head and motivations, which he resists, or a very direct reference to how Gary repeatedly pounds his head on a beam in the derelict pub to prove he's hardier than a Blank. Its horrible state could also be a reflection of Gary - a great, bumping place in the 90s is now abandoned, falling part, and forgotten. There are also a bit of flames here, perhaps meaning that the Blanks are closing in.

#11: THE HOLE IN THE WALL
A single pint in the sign with plenty of blue smudges - you ought to be figuring this out yourself now! Gary scrapes together his point after regaining consciousness while his mates fend off Blanks. This part of the crawl ends with Steven literally ramming his car into the side of the building, creating a huge hole in the wall.

#12: THE WORLD'S END
This is it. It's called The World's End because the world literally ends here. Caput. The sign is really engulfed in fire and the word is burning, seemingly stemming from Europe - if only the sign maker had made it any other continent we may have been spared...

Have a Drink on Me!

Lastly, I wanted to address this film's context among other drinking films. There seems to be a lot of these running around lately, starting with Beerfest (2006) and working towards two great and one horrendous Hangover movie. While Beerfest delights itself in showcasing drinking games and team friendship bonding in juvenile yet hilarious terms, The World's End places the friendship and characters front in center and sidelines the booziness, despite it being a critical plot point. The Hangover (2009) forever serves as an immortal drinking comedy mostly because it dealt with the extreme aftereffects of an extreme party rather than the party itself. It's still about a bunch of blokes out on the town, though.

The World's End differs though, because none of the characters are originally that despicable (besides Gary). Gary isn't quite the overt man-child that Zach Galifianakis' Alan Garner is, he's just tragically stuck trying to relive a night that never quite happened. He can't get over the loss of his friends moving on or realize any kind of potential because he's continually trapped in what he perceives as the greatest time of his life. Without any discernible skill besides chaos, he's actually more at home riding out the Apocalypse with Blank Versions of his Best Mates than doing anything else with his life.

While we have our party drinking movies and our hangover movies, The World's End is very specifically a pub crawl movie, which is kind of rare. It's about actually going to bars, which is somehow a little bit more mature than playing beer pong or stealing tigers. Listen, the bar is admittedly pretty low here. It ends up being a pretty distinct entry into the End of the World Comedy genre, the Drinking Movie Genre, and even the Cornetto Trilogy genre. There isn't a better way to end the summer, or our lives.