Double Dipping: The Watch and Moonrise Kindgom

Film: The Watch

Starring: Ben Stiller (Tower Heist), Jonah Hill (Moneyball), and Vince Vaughn (The Dilemma)

Director: Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod)

Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi


Opening in theatres this past weekend was The Watch, a foul-mouthed comedy centering on a proud local citizen named Evan (played by Stiller) who decides to form a Neighborhood Watch after one of his employees is murdered during a night shift. Evan convinces three off-the-wall guys to join his group. First there's Bob (played by Vaughn), a loud and vocal father with two distinct agendas in mind. Bob is looking to meet some guys who want to hang out, drink beers, and have a rowdy good time, and he wants to do everything in his power to make sure his teenage daughter stays a virgin. Then there's Franklin (played by Hill), a mentally disturbed Police Academy dropout with a twisted mind and an obvious sense of aggression. And last but not least there's Jamarcus (played by Richard Ayoade), an English newcomer to the town who's looking to meet some friends. Everything seems well and good with the quartet until they discover that Evan's employee was murdered by an alien who is planning a carefully calculated invasion of Earth. Therefore it's up to this wild bunch of misfits to save the planet from absolute destruction.

At first glance, The Watch appears to be a re-hatched set of ideas with nothing new to add to the Sci-Fi/Comedy genre. In some ways, that's absolutely true. The Watch is a 100 minute long series of male genital jokes and lewd behavior. While almost nothing in the film feels original, the feature still boasts an uproariously funny set of actors that help sustain a solid sense of entertainment throughout the entire duration. Perhaps most notable is newcomer Richard Ayoade, a British actor/comedian finally making his way across the pond. Ayoade offers the only feeling of creativity to the movie. With Stiller, Hill, and Vaughn we see the same characters that we've grown to either love or hate time and time again. However, Ayoade is a sigh of relief and a fresh face to help accentuate the film's jokes.

While I won't urge anyone to rush out to theatres to see The Watch, I will say that it was slightly better than advertised and funnier than I expected it to be. If the members of the cast have a long history of making you laugh, than catch The Watch in theatres or on DVD somewhere down the line. Chances are you'll be mildly entertained and laughing enough to keep you somewhat satisfied.


Stars: 2 stars out of 4

Grade: C+






Film: Moonrise Kingdom

Starring: Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, and Bruce Willis (Red)

Director: Wes Anderson (The Life Aquatic)

Genre: Comedy


Acclaimed director Wes Anderson returns to the big screen with his successful indie comedy Moonrise Kingdom. The story follows Sam and Suzy (played by Hayward and Gilman), a pair of outcast youth who meet one Summer and, after becoming pen pals over an entire year, plan to run away together. As the young lovers attempt to flee their New England town, a local search party comprised of Suzy's parents, Sam's scout leader and troop, and Sheriff Captain Sharp (played by Willis) work tirelessly to find them.

In typical Wes Anderson fashion, Moonrise Kingdom is a winning effort that both glorifies young love in a unique way and delivers a multitude of laughs. First time actors Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman are simply excellent, reminding us of Anderson's unmatched ability to get phenomenal performances out of youthful unknowns. And much like the success that followed Jason Schwartzman (who has an impressive cameo in the film) after Rushmore, I'd expect a lengthy line of features to follow for both Hayward and Gilman. Anderson also sports an all star cast including Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. Each character offering up a necessary purpose to the film, Moonrise Kingdom is a winning effort thanks, in large part, to its entire cast.

As an admitted non-fan of Wes Anderson's previous work, I was pleasantly surprised by this latest release. Moonrise Kingdom is charming, genuine, and meaningful. Examining the magic of young love in only a way Wes Anderson can, we get a thoughtful and comical joy in the form of Moonrise Kingdom. If it's still out in a theatre near you, I suggest taking a chance on one of 2012's most successful independent films.


Stars: 3 stars out of 4.

Grade: B

Trio of Titles Shuffle Their Release Dates

You know it's fast approaching Oscar season when big-name movie titles begin to shuffle around their release date, and we received news of three changes this week alone. First, having nothing to do with the Oscar race and everything to do with the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, Ruben Fleischer's Gangster Squad has officially pushed its release date back from September to January. The film included a wild scene where a bunch of goons were given the task of murdering someone at a movie theatre and, as shown in the newly pulled theatrical trailer, they wreak havoc shooting through the screen and into the entire crowd. By showing an overly large amount of sensitivity to the issue, Warner Bros. forced Fleischer to cut the scene out of the film and do some re-shooting. Perhaps I'm way off base, but I fear the consequences of allowing the actions of a crazed individual to effect our society's creative outlets. It's a slippery slope. Either way, we can all look forward to a Gangster Squad release come January 2013.

In other news, Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company is at it again. The movie mogul is strategically re-organizing the release dates for some of his Oscar hopefuls. Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master had it's theatrical release moved up a month to September 14th. Expecting big things from his well known director, Harvey Weinstein hopes The Master will get an early lead in the Oscar race. Furthermore, The Weinstein Company also announced that Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt will have its opening delayed a few weeks as they move the film's release from September 21st to October 19th. I'm sure this isn't the last we'll hear about big-name titles shuffling around release dates as the Academy Awards slowly, but surely, approaches.

Life of Pi Trailer

Academy Award winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) returns with Life of Pi, the story of an Indian boy named Pi (the son of a Zookeeper) who finds himself in the company of a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck leaves them adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Very visual and sure to captivate, check out the trailer for yourself.

Nolan Says Goodbye to Batman

After almost a decade long commitment to the caped crusader Batman, director Christopher Nolan's personal relationship with the superhero has officially come to an end. With the July 20th release of The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan's epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, it marked the final time the gifted director plans to visit Gotham City. Now, Nolan looks to the release of his new tell-all book titled "The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy", which explains everything from the creation and development of Batman Begins all the way through the production of the saga's final chapter. Yesterday, Nolan released the forward to his upcoming book where we can read the director's official goodbye to the The Dark Knight trilogy. Here's what Nolan has to say:

"Alfred. Gordon. Lucius. Bruce . . . Wayne. Names that have come to mean so much to me," Nolan wrote. "Today, I’m three weeks from saying a final good-bye to these characters and their world. It’s my son’s ninth birthday. He was born as the Tumbler was being glued together in my garage from random parts of model kits. Much time, many changes. A shift from sets where some gunplay or a helicopter were extraordinary events to working days where crowds of extras, building demolitions, or mayhem thousands of feet in the air have become familiar.

"People ask if we’d always planned a trilogy. This is like being asked whether you had planned on growing up, getting married, having kids. The answer is complicated. When David and I first started cracking open Bruce’s story, we flirted with what might come after, then backed away, not wanting to look too deep into the future. I didn’t want to know everything that Bruce couldn’t; I wanted to live it with him. I told David and Jonah to put everything they knew into each film as we made it. The entire cast and crew put all they had into the first film. Nothing held back. Nothing saved for next time. They built an entire city. Then Christian and Michael and Gary and Morgan and Liam and Cillian started living in it. Christian bit off a big chunk of Bruce Wayne’s life and made it utterly compelling. He took us into a pop icon’s mind and never let us notice for an instant the fanciful nature of Bruce’s methods.

"I never thought we’d do a second—how many good sequels are there? Why roll those dice? But once I knew where it would take Bruce, and when I started to see glimpses of the antagonist, it became essential. We re-assembled the team and went back to Gotham. It had changed in three years. Bigger. More real. More modern. And a new force of chaos was coming to the fore. The ultimate scary clown, as brought to terrifying life by Heath. We’d held nothing back, but there were things we hadn’t been able to do the first time out—a Batsuit with a flexible neck, shooting on Imax. And things we’d chickened out on—destroying the Batmobile, burning up the villain’s blood money to show a complete disregard for conventional motivation. We took the supposed security of a sequel as license to throw caution to the wind and headed for the darkest corners of Gotham.

"I never thought we’d do a third—are there any great second sequels? But I kept wondering about the end of Bruce’s journey, and once David and I discovered it, I had to see it for myself. We had come back to what we had barely dared whisper about in those first days in my garage. We had been making a trilogy. I called everyone back together for another tour of Gotham. Four years later, it was still there. It even seemed a little cleaner, a little more polished. Wayne Manor had been rebuilt. Familiar faces were back—a little older, a little wiser . . . but not all was as it seemed.

"Gotham was rotting away at its foundations. A new evil bubbling up from beneath. Bruce had thought Batman was not needed anymore, but Bruce was wrong, just as I had been wrong. The Batman had to come back. I suppose he always will.

"Michael, Morgan, Gary, Cillian, Liam, Heath, Christian . . . Bale. Names that have come to mean so much to me. My time in Gotham, looking after one of the greatest and most enduring figures in pop culture, has been the most challenging and rewarding experience a filmmaker could hope for. I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he’ll miss me, but he’s never been particularly sentimental."

Gangster Squad Being Recut?

After four lengthy years of anticipation for the release of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, our indescribable excitement turned to sorrow with the news of a tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado. And like all great tragedies do, a noticeable impact may be in line for another Warner Bros. picture, Gangster Squad.

The trailer for Gangster Squad, which can be seen below, has already been pulled from theatres because of its visible movie theatre shooting scene. Rumors circulating the web suggest that Warner Bros. may force director Ruben Fleischer to recut the film and remove the scene all together. In doing so, the film with go back into post-production mode with a delayed release looming above it.

Man of Steel Teaser Trailer

In the wake of The Dark Knight Rises' tragic opening weekend, we've been given a first look trailer at 2013's blockbuster-to-be Man of Steel. Marking yet another reboot of the Superman story, Man of Steel (produced by Christopher Nolan) brings together Henry Cavill as the film's caped superhero, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as the featured villain General Zod, and Russell Crowe as Superman's biological father Jor-El. Check out the teaser trailer below.

The Dark Knight Rises

Film: The Dark Knight Rises

Starring: Christian Bale (The Fighter), Anne Hathaway (Love, and Other Drugs), and Tom Hardy (Warrior)

Director: Christopher Nolan (Inception)

U.S. Release: July 20th, 2012 (Rated PG-13)

Genre: Action

Runtime: 164 minutes


After the four longest years of our lives, director extraordinaire Christopher Nolan's final Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises, has finally arrived. And since 2008, no movie has even come close sniffing the quality and precision of The Dark Knight. With the biggest of shoes to fill, Nolan spent nearly half a decade meticulously crafting the epic conclusion to his unmatched Batman saga. And now that I've seen the movie twice in the past 36 hours, I can say without hesitation that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is an absolute godsend. It's the perfectly tied bow to the greatest cinematic gift ever given, the most notable trilogy of all time.

It's been eight years since the death of Gotham's white knight Harvey Dent and Batman (played by Bale) has vanished since his assumed responsibility for the murder of the beloved District Attorney. After a steady run of clean streets and no organized crime to speak of, a new villain emerges from the ashes. Raised in the shadows of hell on earth, Bane (played by Hardy) is an ex-communicated member of The League of Shadows wreaking havoc on Gotham to fulfill the destiny of Ra's Al Ghul and destroy the city once and for all.

While attempting to dissect Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, it's important to view the film in two different lights. First, examining the film within the context of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is a fanboy's dream come true. Circling around in impressive fashion, Nolan's conclusion once again focuses on the psyche of the story's hero Bruce Wayne. In 2005 Batman Begins was predominantly a movie about Wayne, only to see 2008's The Dark Knight turn its focal point to other characters such as The Joker and Harvey Dent. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan delivers closure to the trilogy's main character by spending a near 2 hour and 45 minute journey testing both Wayne's physical and mental being. In doing so, we receive a finale that is both thematically perfect and utterly satisfying. Although The Dark Knight Rises fits perfectly into the mold of Nolan's big picture, some will claw and search for any flaw that they can find. The most obvious criticism may reside in the small sense of disappointment in Bane's character. However, Nolan makes the right decision by shifting the story back to Bruce Wayne and using Bane solely as a backdrop to a larger picture. Let it be known that Tom Hardy's valiant efforts will not go unrecognized, yet they're a far cry from the indescribable work of the late Heath Ledger. And to Hardy's credit, he adhere's to his director's wishes and never tries to steal the show. Nolan is one of the greatest visionary directors of all time and his masterfully executed finale, The Dark Knight Rises, is just another testament to his brilliant abilities.

In addition to analyzing the film within the context of its trilogy, it's also important to dissect the movie as its own entity. In this regard, The Dark Knight Rises becomes less perfect and sparingly flawed. With obvious visions of grandeur, Nolan inflates his script with an overabundance of central characters and gaudy action sequences. While I'll agree that most of Nolan's additions are warranted and beneficial to the film, I can think of one subplot and character in particular that's clearly forced into the story. Despite these minor blemishes, The Dark Knight Rises is entertaining throughout and clearly one of 2012's best pictures. Part of its success hinges on the phenomenal casting decision of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. I must admit that I was one of the skeptics and naysayers when news broke of Hathaway's inclusion in the script. However, I was catastrophically wrong and freely admit to it. Hathaway adds a much needed element to the film that only Nolan could have envisioned. Kudos to the director and his leading lady on proving many of us wrong.

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is the biggest "Must See" movie of the year. Although it never reaches the same heights as its predecessor, it stands well on its own and it makes for a truly epic conclusion to Nolan's Batman saga. There's plenty to enjoy for all types of moviegoers and there won't be a better summer blockbuster than The Dark Knight Rises. Don't wait any longer, head to theatres ASAP and witness the final installment to the greatest trilogy of all time.


Stars: 3 and a half stars out of 4

Grade: A-