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kentro21
Reviews
Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
Good, not great (unless you see it in 3D)
Monster versus Aliens is a sometimes funny and sometimes interesting, but mostly the story is dull and the plot is nearly a non-entity.
However, this movie does take 3D to a new level at times. There's really only one obvious 3D "gag" very early in the movie, but other than that, you are just in awe of seeing these animated characters truly come to life like never before.
The character that steals the show is of course BOB (voiced by Seth Rogen) He is incredibly dumb but also fantastically funny and the most interesting of all the monsters.
The main character Susan (Reese Witherspoon) has this whole back story, but really we never care about it. Much of her story is just recycled from 100 movies that have come before and very predictable.
Still, the action and the 3D are top notch and this is a movie definitely worth seeing if you can see it in the 3D form. In 2D, I only give it a very lukewarm recommendation.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Kevin Smith Makes a Kevin Smith Movie
Far be it from me to tell Kevin Smith how to make a Kevin Smith movie. Of course, only he can be the master of that. And that's exactly what Zack and Miri Makes a Porno is... a Kevin Smith movie in every sense of the word.
But if Zack and Miri fails in any regard, its that Kevin Smith might be trying too hard to follow his own criteria for what makes a movie significantly his.
In this film you will see plenty of raunchy humor and nary a sentence without a swear word. You'll laugh your head off and possibly pee your pants while simultaneously being strangely aroused.
However, while you do all this, realize that little of it makes much sense. For instance, why is Seth Rogan's character broke and in risk of becoming homeless, while Craig Robinsons character does the exact same thing at the exact same coffee shop but has enough money to finance this porno movie? Why would two friends who have been in a platonic relationship for the greater part of two decades all of a sudden decide to interact in a pornographic movie together - especially when they hire additional actors? The basic premise of the movie and the first act definitely draw you in and make you interested, but ultimately many promises were made and never kept. By the end of the movie you feel it was all too contrived, too unrealistic, and that little of it made sense on a real-world scale.
Kevin Smith tries to balance the ridiculousness of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back with the romance of Chasing Amy, but ultimately falls into a universe that does not exist. The decisions these people make and the characters they find are too far out there to believe on a basis of reality. That would be okay in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back or Mallrats, but the setup for this movie had lead you to believe that this was still going to exist in the real world. It did not.
Elizabeth Banks will stand out for many as the best actor or actress in the movie and its not even close, though Craig Robinson steals the show from a comedic standpoint.
Jason Mewes also deserves some praise for stepping somewhat out of his "Jay" character to deliver a good performance and for the most part make you forget that he is "Jay" The performance of Seth Rogan, whom Im a big fan of, felt forced at times. Trying too hard to deliver the line perfectly, and then ultimately feeling like it was a line read off of a script rather than a line that was spoken.
I wish we could have seen more from the duo of Justin Long and Brandon Routh, as well as the coffee shop manager who most people will remember from The 40-Year-Old Virgin. And I wish that the scene near the beginning of the movie at the reunion had actually meant something on the grand scale of things, but afterwords felt completely meaningless and unnecessary except to provide some extra laughs.
Which is what most of the movie is, laughs and not much else. I give the movie 8 out of 10, because it is worth seeing in theaters and does provide many laughs. It could ultimately stand out as one of Kevin Smiths 3 or 4 funniest movies. Overall, however, this doesn't stand up to recent Rogan movies like Virgin and Knocked Up or for Kevin Smith it's not nearly as meaningful or good as Dogma or Clerks.
It is however a funny movie that succeeded in making us laugh, but failed in delivering any heart and badly in need of a re-write if it ever wanted to go above and beyond simply being funny.