Last night I attended an advanced screening for a movie due to be released on August 6th, Pineapple Express, directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and the beautiful Amber Heard from Alpha Dog. This movie is “from the guys who brought you Superbad” (and Knocked Up) and is offered to us by Columbia Pictures.

Before getting into the movie itself, I will explain how the event was. It was hosted by the Just For Laughs Film Festival in association with Cineplex Entertainment at Cinema Imperial at 1430 Bleury. When I arrived, one hour before the show started, there was already a line stretching about three blocks. Thankfully, I got to skip the line and wait in front thanks to friends working security. I have a feeling that had I been in the line, I would have gotten high from second-hand smoke; there was a lot of consumption of illicit substances to say the least. When the doors finally opened after the stars made their red carpet entrance from three black Cadillac Escalades, we were unceremoniously ushered in and asked to hand over any cameras and cell-phones equipped with cameras, as well as any device capable of capturing still images, video or sound. After handing over said devices and being thoroughly worried about getting them back, we were subjected to bag searches and metal detectors, a really ridiculous measure: I don’t see why they are so afraid of having the movie pirated, seeing as it’s already all over the internet (not that I encourage downloading it nor do I even believe half the files are real). Anyways, after being pushed around by rude staff, we found seats and waited for an hour for the movie to begin.

As an aside, the problem with watching a movie about two guys getting high is that most of the people in the theater are high themselves and extremely noisy when funny things happen, which makes it hard for a guy who’s trying to follow the movie for it’s production aspect to concentrate. I found that the crowd detracted from the movie and from the Q&A with the director after.

The movie itself: Pineapple Express is a rather stereotypical “weed action movie”, as described by the director. It is the story of a rather ordinary guy, Dale Denton, a frequent consumer of marijuana, who witnesses a murder by a drug lord after getting some of the world’s best weed – Pineapple Express – from his dealer, Saul Silver. Dale and Saul go on the run after the drug lord sends two assassins to eliminate them. This chase is made hilarious, obviously, by the fact that both are completely blitzed throughout to movie. I will not go further into details nor do I suggest watching the trailer, as they spoil some of the movie’s funnier moments.

If you liked Superbad, you’ll probably like this movie. It’s basically the same story with weed replacing booze, as the authors described it. Don’t expect any sophisticated humour though; it stays in its genre and has very simple yet effective jokes. Quite frankly put, however, there isn’t much to this movie except the jokes. I found Seth Rogen to be quite deceiving in his role (which is curious, since he is pretty much portraying himself). James Franco, on the other hand, did a fantastic job, a performance almost worthy of an Oscar, if there were one for “Best Stoner”. There was nothing spectacular about camera work or lighting, but this is something to expect from this type of movie. The script was clever and witty but at times came at a standstill. Overall, I found the movie to be exactly what I expected, and got quite a laugh out of it. I laughed, I cried, and I give it a 9/10, * * * * 1/2. Crazy laughs guaranteed.

After the movie, there was a Q&A with a couple of actors and the director, and I found that quite interesting, although they were referring a lot to inside jokes. I found David Gordon Green to be a really interesting person, and discovered that Seth Rogen is exactly who he plays in his roles. Unfortunately, I had to leave before it was all over.

I predict that Pineapple Express will be a great success, perhaps not to the heights of Superbad as it targets a slightly more specific target audience, but perhaps a Harold & Kumar. Set the date in your calendar, because on 06.08.08, the country will be set ablaze.

For those of you who insist on seeing a trailer, here it is, although I strongly recommend not watching it as it spoils some of the awesome jokes, but it shows just how funny the movie is:

Comment and appreciate!

The movie’s official website can be found at www.ridetheexpress.com

EDIT: There are contradictory messages about when the movie is due to be released. Sony Pictures says August 6th on its main page then August 8th on the release page. It has finally been cleared up, however. To avoid conflict with the Olympics, the movie will be released on August 6th 2008.

I saw Prom Wars today and here’s what I thought.

I personally found it amazing, but my sister who was with me found it quite boring. So it’s probably much better to be a Selwyn, LCC or ECS student to understand the inside jokes. There are many. Some of it is even filmed in school, notably the dance in the Macaulay gym. However, with the right understanding of the setting, one can easily understand.

This is the setting: For quite a while, Selwyn House (Selby in the movie) and LCC (Lancaster College) have been rival schools. Back in the days, LCC was reputed to have more jocks while Selwyn had more nerds. Although this is not the case anymore, the rivalry still exists. The whole story is set in Westmount, a rich part of Montreal where huge houses are common sight, and prepiness is a standard.

Onto the movie itself: it’s a little bit shallow on the plot side but not decieving and I found it to be quite entertaining, although it is no blockbuster. The story is simple, but, then again, so was Mean Girls, and that didn’t stop it from being a hit. The movie is comedy, and you sure do laugh when you see it. The actors do not deliver Oscar-worthy performances but fit very well into the roles of teenagers in Easthill, the fictitious version of Westmount. What I find really made the movie good, however, was the filming, which was clean, sharp and very well done. The costumes and the sets are absolutely fantastic. Whenever you go to see it, pay particular attention to them, especially if you know what to look for. They add so much to the characters.

Overall, a very entertaining movie. I recommend it to all! (Support independents!)

9/10

Similar movies:

Juno (style), Mean Girls (story), Revenge of the Nerds (story)

I bought 28 Days Later last week on DVD because I expected it to be good enough for me not to waste 5 bucks on for renting it beforehand. I finally got the chance to watch it this weekend, and it gave me mixed feelings.

I can’t say I didn’t like the movie. I liked it a lot. Except…the ending is so decieving. At the point the movie ended, I thought it was the introduction that was ending, and that the movie was beginning. But no, it was the end. I think I really wasn’t prepared for that, and that’s what shocked me.

Except for that, the fact the movie is only 90 minutes when I feel it could/should have gone for 120+, the movie was good. It’s so different from 28 Days Later when you think about it though. You notice it on the first frame; it’s filmed on 35mm and not in digital. Although 28 Days had that cool feel with digital, I have to say it looks a lot better on film. It really adds that feeling of reality, distancing it from that choppy feel of survival from the first one. In the making of, that’s what the director says; the movie is more of a documentary of the repopulation, the building of lives, than the survival. But they still mix together.

From the technical side of things, I really enjoyed watching the making-of and listening to the commentary. It gave me a great insight into how this movie was special. First of all, it was relatively low budget, which surprised me seeing as 28 Days Later was a pretty big success. They still managed to do great things with the movie, such as many more shots of deserted London. Another thing that struck me was that (at least, I think so, correct me if I’m wrong) the whole movie was filmed with only one cameraman. Seeing him film really impressed me. His hands touching the camera were like those of a pianist expertly playing, and the movement was awe-inspiring. I also found it funny that the writer, the director and the cameraman were all Hispanic. It just made it that much cooler.

I found the movie hard to believe though. That someone is immune to the virus? Easy to believe. That the virus manages to get out again? Easy to believe. That the US Army couldn’t eradicate a few thousand infected? Hard to believe. In real life, they would have nuked the city. Honestly.

I’d like to write more, but I feel I gave most of my feelings about this movie. It’s good, rent it. Observe, it’s really well made. Just don’t expect a development…

9/10

By the way, 28 Months Later hasn’t been officially announced yet but Danny Boyle says he would like to make one. I suppose that one would have a significantly bigger budget if Fox Atomic were to produce it.

Full trailer here.

I saw Hot Fuzz this weekend and this is what I thought of it:

It’s a great comedy. It makes fun of the Hollywood movies with their over-exaggerated shoot-out scenes and portrayals of a cop’s job. It’s clever and witty and doesn’t get boring. Not much plot, but in this kind of movie plot is unnecessary. There’s enough story for it to work and that’s good enough.

In European film tradition (I’m thinking Taxi), the story follows a superb police officer that’s teamed up with a less-than superb cop in a small town. Needless to say this calls for laughs.

I don’t want to say more about the movie in fear of ruining it for you, but rent it. It’s definetly worth it.

9/10. Bravo.

Movie review for 300.

I know I’m late, but I finally got my hands on a copy of 300, the movie everyone’s been talking about for months. I would have seen it sooner, but the day before I went to see it at Paramount’s IMAX was the last day. I missed out on the experience of seeing this film on the huge screen, which would have been stunning.

I’ll spend no time resuming the film, seeing as everyone knows the story or played the above trailer. Three hundred men fight against one million. Enough said.

Simple plot. But extremely effective. I could not look away from the screen for one second. It’s just spectacular. But what draws attention to this movie is not necessarily the story that Frank Miller drew up in his graphic novel, but how it came out on film.

Here’s a quick link to a videos to be watched. I think there’s 11 in that string in total. It resumes how they used the graphic novel basically as a script and details all the elements of creating the film.

What struck me about the film was the details. Everything is well researched and looks authentic. The landscapes that were CGI’ed are absolutely spectacular and breathtaking. The fighting is intense yet never repetitive. You get so absorbed into this (slightly exaggerated) Spartan universe that at the end of the movie, when the soldiers die (not a spoiler), you feel that they die in the highest honour, and are almost happy for them. That is what sets the movie apart. From the beginning, you are drawn into this fantastic world that is, of course, fiction, but could very well be reality.

The only things I disliked about the movie were two, very small details. First of all, the beginning was somehow akward and didn’t feel right; I wasn’t immediately pulled into Frank Miller’s world like I was in Sin City, which instantly made me feel in the movie. The second small detail, which really is small, is the 300 font. It’s almost impossible to read the credits. But that’s extremely minor.

The last thing I’d like to mention is that the film was shot in Montreal and all of the post-production was done in Montreal too, which I find cool.

So the quote:

10/10.

Why a perfect score if there were some things I didn’t like?

Because I would have given it 11/10. The movie is truly a guy movie and is just…no words can describe it. Absolute must-see. As will probably be the upcoming Sin City 2. And all other Frank Miller stories.

Another review…: Alpha Dog, which came out on DVD a few weeks ago.

So this movie is based (pretty accurately, too) on the kidnapping and murder of  Nicholas Markowitz which happened in 2000.

The story turns around a group of young drug dealers in LA. They abduct a kid, Zach, and hold him for ransom because his brother owes Johnny Truelove, the leader of the gang, 1200$. After realizing that there are too many witnesses and that they could be facing a life sentence, they decide to kill the boy. I won’t ruin the ending but it’s really shocking.

I really liked this movie. It really explores the aspect of young guys looking at rap videos and taking themselves for gangsters, and when faced with the consequences of their acts, they freak out. The acting is also great; I was surprised at Justin Timberlake’s performance. He’s actually a good actor. The movie also has a more fun side to it, which was good, and the contrast was what made the movie so…different. It’s just stuck in my head.

I really recommend this movie. It’s good and it gets you thinking. There’s also a very hot version of Marco Polo in it…you’ll have to see.

9.2/10…it’s a must.

Movie Review for Romeo et Juliette (2006 Quebec Version of the play)

What to say about the movie…

I guess I’ll start with this. Everything (or almost) we learned NOT to do in media (too many of the same kind of shots, shots too long, no audio, etc) was done wrong in this movie. There’s so much unnecessary scenes/nudity/homesexuality. Don’t get me wrong here, I’ve got nothing against homosexuality. But one of the themes that make Romeo and Juliet good is the ambiguity of Mercutio’s sexual orientation. Here, he’s just plain out gay. There’s also way too much unnecessary nudity. Example: Throughout the movie, Mercutio is painting a naked woman, and we see his model naked all the time. But she’s not attractive. Then there’s a weird scene when for NO reason, we see Juliette butt naked taking a shower. Not only does this bring nothing to the plot, but it’s just…she’s 14 years old…

Okay so the movie is Romeo and Juliet in a “modern” feel. They meet in a rave, he starts stalking her, she falls in love, they go in the woods and have sex in a tipi, and then she has to leave for France, tries to kill herself, he thinks she’s dead, jumps off a bridge with her in his arms. She wakes up before they hit the water. Dramatic. And totally unrelated to the original piece. Did I mention that she’s the daughter of a judge, and that he’s the son of a criminal? Not that it’s important.

Okay, so why I think this movie sucked except for the above reasons?

The point where I lost all interest in the movie was the sex scene. It’s two minutes or so with no sound at all except breathing into a mic. They’re in a tipi, and they’re both losing their virginity. So after about one minute of him trying to take off her bra, they have sex for 15 seconds. But it’s so unnecessary. I’ll remind you again the actors are under 16, and that they’re having sex while being filmed. And the girl is naked too. I’m starting to think the director is a pedophile or something…

I could go on for days about mistakes in the movie (such as bright sunlight at 2AM), but i’ll just say this. 4/10. Don’t waste money. Give it to the starving children in africa.

 Drama – Thriller – Suspense

This is my review for the 2006 movie The Prestige.

The movie is set in London, somewhere in the 19th century. It is the story of two magicians, who turn on each other, trying to have the best trick. Both of them have a trick the other wants to know how to do, and the story turns around this. I can’t say much about the plot, I don’t want to spoil anything.

Although this isn’t the kind of movie I usually watch, I loved it. The intrigue is just so big that even though the movie may seem long, at times, you can’t take your eyes away from the screen. And at the end, you are almost deceived; in the same way you are decieved when you have learnt the secret to a magic trick. This is a very important theme in the movie.

So, if you’re looking for a movie that’ll get you thinking about magic and the such, you’ll enjoy this one.

I should add the actors are very good and the filming is impeccable. A true media masterpiece. 9/10 (I never give 10s)

-LG-

You’ve all probably seen a few James Bond movies over the years. You’ve probably heard of Casino Royale. This is what I think.

Overall, it’s a good movie, in general Bond tradition. But it didn’t have that little something from the previous movies, I find. James Bond wanting to get married? What kind of 00 agent is that?

Apart from that, the movie was pretty entertaining. Impossible stunts (jumping from one crane down 30 feet onto another and landing AND not breaking a leg), nice cars (Aston Martin, in Bond tradition) and some pretty good fights.

The movie revolves around the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, and his mission, which is to stop a French criminal from getting money, money that Le Chiffre is missing because of Bond. This money belongs to various terrorist organizations. So, Le Chiffre organizes a poker game at Casino Royale. The winner leaves with 115 million dollars. If Le Chiffre wins, then Bond is in trouble.

This is the major plot of the story, with a few side stories. The main woman in this movie isn’t that good looking, though. I was decieved. I was expecting a lot more pretty ladies. There were maybe 2 in the whole movie, which is 144 minutes. That’s not a great ratio right there.

Anyways, a pretty satifying movie. I would give it a 8.75 out of 10, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

-LG-

**Edit**

So apparently it’s not the first time he falls in love and wants to get married. My bad. Still, good movie.

Haven’t posted in a while. So here’s a movie review on Miami Vice…

I didn’t like it much. Definetly the kind of movie that ends up on TQS 6 months after it comes out. I don’t know anything about it’s success in the US, but it doesn’t really matter.

So basically, it starts off with some undercover cops being killed in a drug transaction. We learn that there is a spy in the FBI, the CIA or another police force…the only department not affected is the Miami police. So obviously, they hire two Miami cops to go undercover and find out who the mole is and at the same time bring down a drug network. So the two cops steal drugs from the dealer’s transporter and manage to get the deal for doing the transportation of a huge drug network.

So the whole movie is about them being undercover and doing their thing, ending with a very lame gunfight. We never actually learn where the information leak comes from, which was the point of the movie. So really nothing special.

This movie wasn’t very thrilling, exciting or funny. Lot’s of sex scenes but none of them with nudity. 2 hours of falling asleep in front of the TV.

My rating: 5/10…being generous. Wait for it to be on TV, don’t waste your money.