Sausage Party

Is this a case of the munchies gone out of control? It sure seems like it. With Seth Rogan’s meaty, stoned fingers all over this movie, one would be forgiven for assuming that’s the case. The film does, in fact, display a certain amount of impaired judgement; everything that the filmmakers assumed would be riotously funny only hits that mark on rare occasions. There are a number of good, laugh-out-loud moments, but probably not as much as these folks were expecting. While I’m not one to shy away from crude humor, this movie overdoes it. A bit of well-placed smuttiness can work wonders for a comedy, but in the volume displayed here it becomes overwhelming, almost numbing to the funny bone. Finally, this movie shows the downside of the now ubiquitous product placements in films; the generic nature of the food products that star in this show--a once standard industry practice--now comes across as weirdly artificial and distracting. You pretty much expect to see brand names on all the featured foods, and it actually hurts the film that they’re not there. (Contrast with the Toy Story movies, where the familiar toy brands and models provide shortcuts to the audience recognizing the characters and their natures.) Overall, there’s laughs here, but not enough, and too many places where things just go wrong. Making a truly adult animated comedy was worth a shot, but this one ultimately misses the mark.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Pretty standard issue Scorsese. Very high energy, actors chewing the scenery, everything very Noo Yawk...It’s an entertaining template, for the most part, but not nearly as great as his apologists like to believe. Case in point: at around three hours this film is way too long. How many orgy/drug-fiend scenes do we need to see to get the idea that your guys are debauched? We get it; in fact, we got it the first five times. There’s so much nudity here that the viewer wonders if there’s actually a comment intended in it, some sort of meta-criticism of movies...but maybe Scorsese just wants to show us a lot of tits and bush. It’s hard to say. And ultimately, what’s the message? “Chickens come home to roost”? Not sure about that, not based on the ending. I leave you to sort out the muddle on your own.

This Is The End

Here’s a wildly terrific concept for a movie: famous funny people, playing themselves, get stranded together when the shit goes down. And I mean, when the shit really goes down. The results are great, in places howlingly funny, and seriously entertaining throughout (though the very very end comes across as weak, especially compared with the rest of the show). Highly recommended.

Moneyball

This is a really great movie--if you know nothing about baseball. If you do know a thing or two about baseball, it's still good, but there's a real mountain to climb in trying to separate the fact from the fiction, to ignore all the stuff that the movie ignores and take it for what it is--which is a highly fictionalized, very narrowly focused version of what happened with the 2002 Athletics. It is, perhaps, a tribute to the skill of the filmmakers that even a very involved fan can see beyond those limitations and still find a very enjoyable movie. Your personal history will decide how you perceive these two-plus hours of cinema. For this viewer, it was like a double play turn at second: the second baseman may have been off the bag, but the "neighborhood play" gets him the call. Posted .

How to Train Your Dragon

You know the drill by now. This film has all the standard characteristics of today's CGI animated wonderworks--enough so that it shouldn't rise anywhere above run-of-the-mill status. And yet, somehow, it does. There's something in this piece that gives it more life than the usual fare. The art direction, the voiceover acting, the setting...I don't know; it's something ineffable that leaves the viewer thinking, "I enjoyed that more than I should have." Maybe I shouldn't trust that result, but I think we can get away with it here.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

A movie chock full of smiles and giggles. Is that enough? I think so; I can't imagine how you'd expect more from a movie like this. But even when this film seems weak, it keeps plugging away with smile and giggle moments, and eventually it hits enough marks to win the fight. Call it a TKO, if not an actual knockout, but that's enough to get the win.

Superbad

This one comes out of the gate like a house afire, then glides down the back stretch and final turn with a little bit of fade. Still, you get a comedy that delivers a lot of great, laugh out loud moments and finishes near the top of the leader board. For a teen comedy, it's hard to expect more than that.