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[Edited 6/2/15 18:36pm]

Empress said:

ufoclub said:

You know its a comedy right?

----------A comedy? Get the f*ck outta here. Beverly Hills Cop is a comedy! The Hangover is a comedy! The Party is a true comedy!! Cabin in the Woods is just crap!

"Cabin in the Woods" is making fun of people for even watching horror movies. It's a type of high comedy concept.

I Will Follow (2010) 1/2

What a busy movie weekend for RodeoSchro! Not one but TWO trips to the ol' cinema!

First, my son and I went to see "Love & Mercy" Saturday night. This is the story of Brian Wilson, the genius behind the Beach Boys. My son is a Beach Boys fanatic/expert, so I was very interested to see what he thought of the movie.

But first we had to sit through the previews. I activated the RodeoSchro Movie Previews/Film Predictor Service. Movie previews are selected to go with whatever kind of movie you're watching. Action movies get action movie previews; horror movies get horror movie previews; etc. So what kind of previews did we get fir "Love & Mercy"?

Yuck, horrible previews! Mostly movies about people smoking or losing their virginity at age 15, or both. First off is some movie about some dorky girl that bones some dude when she's about 15, and loves it so much she apparently spends most of the movie dancing by herself in her room, or talking to Kristen Wiig at the dinner table while Kristen Wiig for some unknown reason gobbles down cancer sticks. Pass! Then there's some movie with Jessie Eisenberg in which he plays some dude that has to cart around some hipster author on a book tour, and apparently all they do is smoke cigarettes and drive around so that the hipster dude can complain about how much it sucks to be rich and famous. Pass! There were some other previews but they were so much more horrible that I've luckily been able to erase them from my mind. This was NOT a good sign for "Love & Mercy".

But lo and behold - "Love & Mercy" is a GREAT movie! I loved it! Very well-written, and it's one of those cool movies that's set in two different decades and they keep switching back and forth between decades. I predict Oscar nominations for the dude that played young Brian Wilson, and maybe also for Paul Giamatti, who is hs usual excellent self. Even John Cusak is good as Old Brian Wilson. And Elizabeth Banks is a knock-out. I'm not surprised, as she and I share the same birthday.

The best parts of the movie are showing the making of "Pet Sounds" and various other recordings. As a musician myself, I just found those scenes fascinating. Plus, this movie actually has Carol Kaye! Not the REAL Carol Kaye, but they show her character in the studio. Unfortunately they did not explain who Carol Kaye is. I assume that you Dear Reader, as a top-notch fan of the world's greatest musician, know who Carol Kaye is and what she's played on. If you don't know, then don't tell me - just Google her and be amazed.

Anyway, "Love & Mercy" is a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it. But so what? You only want to know what my son, the Beach Boys expert thinks, right?

He loved it too! Mainly because it stuck true to facts, which to my son means showing what an a**hole Brina Wilson's dad was. Oh, and also showing that it was Mike Love that broke up the Beach Boys. (Don't yell at me about spoilers. Everyone knows it was Mike Love that broke up the Beach Boys.)

I give "Love & Mercy" about 4 Good Vibrations out of 5 possible Good Vibrations. Go see it!

Then tonight I took my wife and son to see "Spy". I heard good things about it.

But first, we must apply the RodeoSchro Movie Previews/Film Predictor Service. The movie previews for "Spy" curiously enough had movie previews for DIFFERENT movies that star Jessie Eisenberg and Kristen Wiig. Now THESE movies look AWESOME. I forgot what they're called or really what they are about, except I remember that Jessie Eisenberg plays a stoner bud who is somehow unknowingly a top-notch secret agent. He's a great actor so I will go see this one for sure. I forgot what the Kristen Wiig movie is - something about robbing a bank or whatever. It has all the usual "Saturday Night Live" people in it. There was also a preview for Amy Shumer's movie. Personally I don't think she's funny. She's just a shock jock IMHO and there's only so much you can do with that. So I'll pass on the movie but it looked like it could have its moments. Also, LeBron James is in it.

So properly enthused, I settled down to watch "Spy".

Just as my son was the ultimate predictor for "Love & Mercy" so was my wife the ultimate predictor for "Spy". My wife is awesome but she doesn't laugh at many movies. Well, she sure laughed at this one!

It's nice to see Melissa McCarthy finally play a likeable character. I saw her in "Identity Thief" and all I wanted to do the whole movie was throw stuff at the screen. But in "Spy" they actually let her make intelligent jokes, and they treat her with respect. She's awesomely funny in this movie.

To be brutally frank, the movie is probably a little too long. But it never drags - you just find yourself saying, "OK, we get it. Let's move on". Part of that is because this isn't a Melissa McCarthy vehicle per se - it's a very clever spoof of spy movies. So they had a lot of cliches to make fun of. And they do a very good job of it!

If you go see this movie - and I think you should go see it - make sure you watch the credits all the way until the end. They're hilarious! No, they aren't outtakes for the most part. But trust me, you will find it funny. Just be sure to read all the graphics they put up on the screen.

Funny coincidence - remember the movie "Parker"? You should, I wrote a great review of it. Anyway, in "Parker" Jason Statham gets stabbed through the hand with a knife during a fight. The same thing happens in this movie! But it's not Jason Statham (who, by the way, is absolutely hilarious throughout the entire movie). I'm sure this was an homage to "Parker" which is kind of funny since "Parker" wasn't a very good movie.

But "Spy" is a great summer movie. You don't have to think at all, and there are way more than enough good jokes to keep you laughing throughout the entire movie.

Also, I've never been much of a Jude Law fan but I'm telling you he'd be a GREAT James Bond.

I give "Spy" 3.5 Somethings out of 5 total Somethings (sorry, couldn't think of a clever rating device).

.

[Edited 6/7/15 21:10pm]

Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann / The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013) - After living a long and colorful life, Allan Karlsson finds himself stuck in a nursing home. On his 100th birthday, he leaps out a window and begins an unexpected journey.

Pleasant albeit derivative comedy.

hifidelity67 said:

Shit perfect 2 .. I mean pitch perfect 2 Another good first movie ruined by a crap 2nd. Whoever thought this was worth it should be banned from movie making. It was awful.

Which is odd, because it did far better in sales than the first one. And word of mouth was good on that one?

kewlschool said:

Jurassic World. Good but not great. If you like the first three, you will like this one.

SPOILER ALERT:The lady running in high heels at the end would have never out run that dinosaur. That is probably my biggest complaint about the plot.

We had an awesome road trip to Mississippi and back last week, so I watched "Contraband" while my wife drove part of the way. It's not a bad movie!

It's kind of cool in that everyone in the movie is a bad guy. Even Marky Mark, who arches his eyebrows many times. From the eyebrows up he is Jaden Smith.

So anyway, Marky Mark is a retired smuggler whose gone straight, gotten married and has a couple kids. But his wife's little brother is an idiot and keeps smuggling and of course gets caught by the Border Patrol or Coast Guard or someone in a boat. So being an idiot, he throws the loot overboard. It turns out the loot was a bunch of cocaine and now Marky Mark's idiot brother-in-law owes $700,000 to the person who owned the cocaine. This person, you may surmise, is not a good guy.

But in this movie, no one is. I already told you that!

The weird thing about this movie is that while all the smugglers made jillions of bucks smuggling, they are all dead-ass broke. Except Marky Mark's best friend, who actually is also broke and in hock to the Mob but at least he has a nice apartment. Everyone else lives in pig stys.

Well, Marky Mark loves his wife so the only thing he can do is save his idiot brother-in-law's hide by making one last smuggling run to Panama. Although Marky Mark has been out of the smuggling racket for at least a decade, he still knows all the players and more importantly, they all still regard him as a legend. And you thought country music fans were loyal! They got nothing on the smugglers community! Did Glenn Frey even have half a clue about this when he wrote "Smuggler's Blues?!?

Let's talk about Marky Mark's wife. She is played by Kate Beckinsale. I have to be honest - I have no idea who Kate Beckingsale is. Heck, I've spelled her name two different ways in two sentences, and they both look right!

I've heard her name throughout the years and based on that name I figured she was another one of those delicate British actresses. I mean, really - how much more British can a name get that "Kate Beckingsale"? So now is a good time to Google her and see if I am right.

...Googling...Googling...Googling...

First thing's first - it's Beckinsale. No "g". And she IS British! I asked how much more British can you get than "Kate Beckinsale"? Well you can get THIS MUCH MORE BRITISH - Kathrin Romary Beckinsale. Holy tea and crumpets, is that a British name!

And the reason I know nothing about her is because I have never seen any of her movies except "Click" and that movie was so bad that all I did was curse at Adam Sandler every time he appeared on screen. Prince and Bruce Springsteen could have been in "Click" and I would have missed them because I would have been preparing my next verbal blast for Sandler for making me think "Click" was a comedy when in fact it was so depressing I thought Alanis Morrissette had written it.

Anyway, back to the action. There's plenty of it! Non-stop and over-the-top but not quite so bad that you lose all faith in the integrity of the story.

Marky Mark overcomes many obstacles and learns along the way that he can't trust anybody that doesn't share his last name. And I mean anybody - like I said, there are no good guys in this movie.

To illustrate that point, let me tell you how this movie ends. The evil Panamanian smuggler that Marky Mark was forced to help carry out an armored car heist stole not only money but also a tarp. Except, the tarp is actually a $140 million Jackson Pollack painting! Which Marky Mark now has in his possession! And can sell on the black market for $20 million! Which he does! Because the last scene shows Father of The Year Marky Mark and Most British-Named Woman Ever Kate Beckinsale watching their two kids play soccer in the back yard of their new water-front mansion!

No one seems to care that all that is possible because Marky Mark killed a bunch of guys, stole a bunch of stuff, and fenced it to some underworld characters.

And they all lived happily ever after! The end!

Despite that minor flaw, I give this movie 3 1/2 I Say Old Chap, That's A Jolly Good Movie out of five I Say Old Chap, That's A Jolly Good Movies. Cheerio!

.

[Edited 6/15/15 13:59pm]

Ex Machina (2015) - A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

Highly recommended, smart and disturbing sci-fi film. I loved it.

sexton said:

ZombieKitten said:

sexton said:

Ex Machina (2015) - A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

Highly recommended, smart and disturbing sci-fi film. I loved it.

Not that I think it's even possible but I love you even more now!

L'homme qu'on aimait trop / In the Name of My Daughter (2014) - Agnès Le Roux, a young independent woman, returns to Nice in 1976 to have a new start in her life after a failed marriage. All while falling in love with an older lawyer.

Mildly enjoyable only because I really like Catherine Deneuve.

sexton said:

Inside Out.

4.5 outta 5