DVD Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Posted Jun 30, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Jun 30, 2010 at 04:09 PM

Hot Tub Time Machine
Director: Steve Pink (“Accepted”)
Stars: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover
Plot: Three Generation Xers who are unhappy with their lives travel back in time via a hot tub to their 1987 skiing vacation. Adam (Cusack) has never been able to commit to a relationship and wants another chance at the girl he thinks was “The One.” Nick (Robinson) wants to resurrect his music career. And Lou (Corddry) is suicidal and simply wants to hang out with his old friends again. As they seek to alter their destinies, they must also make sure that Adam’s nephew, Jacob (Duke), who time traveled with them, is conceived.
Bottom line: This could have been so good. I’m a Generation Xer myself. I wanted it to be good. But it’s not. There are cute touches, like a character named Blaine (Andrew McCarthy’s character in “Pretty in Pink”) and the way Jacob fades in and out of existence like Michael J. Fox in “Back to the Future.” But where Baby Boomers got thoughtful and funny movies about mid-life angst (“The Big Chill,” “Return of the Secaucus Seven”), we get a mindless flick with gross-out humor and a phoned-it-in performance from one of our icons, Cusack. Sigh. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe this fits perfectly.
Extras: Deleted scenes, unrated version of the movie
99 minutes (R; strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive profanity)

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DVD Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Posted Jun 29, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Jun 29, 2010 at 06:02 PM

‘Percy Jackson $ The Olympians: The Lightning Thief’
Director: Chris Columbus (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”)
Stars: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Alexandra Daddario
Plot: Percy Jackson (Lerman) is a high school student in New York City who is (unbeknownst to himself) the son of Poseidon (McKidd), the Greek god. When fellow god Zeus (Bean) has his lightning bolt stolen, he thinks Percy is the prime suspect and threatens to start a war among the gods if his bolt isn’t returned. Meanwhile, Percy learns of his true nature after being attacked by mythological creatures and is sent to Camp Half-Blood, where demigods (those who are half human, half god) are taught how to use their powers by Professor Dumbledore and his staff — oops, I mean Chiron (Brosnan) and his staff. Percy then goes on a cross-country quest with his protector, the half-man, half-goat Grover (Jackson), and the super cool warrior Annabeth (Daddario). It all leads to a showdown with Hades (Coogan) in the underworld.
Bottom line: Yes, it’s all very Harry Potter, from the title to much of the plot. I found it pleasant enough, but it was the sort of movie that I mostly forget 24 hours after I watched it. I showed it to the target audience — my daughter, who has read the book, and one of her friends, who likes Harry Potter. They both liked it, but neither has demanded to see it again, and they both have watched the Potter series’ “Prisoner of Azkaban” a dozen times. It’s a one-and-done kind of movie. It will also provide more fodder to those who think Columbus is the most overrated popular director of his time.
Extras: A chance to find out which god you resemble and a behind-the-scenes feature
118 minutes (PG; action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild profanity)

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New GREEN HORNET trailer released today. Watch it here.

Posted Jun 24, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Jun 24, 2010 at 02:50 PM

Sony Pictures has released the first “Green Hornet” trailer. The movie, which comes out in January 2011, stars Seth Rogen as the title character and Jay Chou as his sidekick, Kato. It’s directed by Michael Gondry, who directed the fabulously weird “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”

Check out the “Green Hornet” trailer by clicking here.

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DVD Review: Green Zone

Posted Jun 24, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Jun 24, 2010 at 02:28 PM

Green Zone
Director: Paul Greengrass (“The Bourne Ultimatum”)
Stars: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson
The plot: In Iraq in 2003, chief warrant officer Roy Miller goes rogue when he suspects he’s been given bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction. He pairs with a CIA agent (Gleeson) to find the truth, and they both match wits with a Department of Defense intelligence officer (Kinnear) keen to keep Bush Administration machinations from the light of day. The answers may lie with an Iraqi military official who has gone into hiding.
Bottom line: Greengrass and Damon paired to give us the second and third installments in the Bourne Trilogy, a high standard for thrillers. This doesn’t match that. There’s plenty of action and cloak and dagger stuff, but we already know about the bad intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, so there are few surprises. Kinnear is a cookie cutter bad guy.
Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette
115 minutes (R, violence and profanity)

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DVD Review: She’s Out Of My League

Posted Jun 24, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Jun 24, 2010 at 11:55 AM

She’s Out Of My League
Director: Jim Field Smith (“Where Have I Been All Your Life?”)
Stars: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Nate Torrence, Lindsay Sloane, Kyle Bornheimer, Geoff Stults
The plot: Kirk (Baruchel) is your standard contemporary comedy character, an underachiever with self-esteem issues. His big goal at the moment is to get back together with ex-girlfriend, Marnie (Sloane), who still hangs out at his house with her new boyfriend because his family likes her so much. But things start to change when, while working his job with airport security in Pittsburgh, he meets Molly (Eve), a gorgeous blonde who takes an interesting in him. But will he listen to his upbeat friend Devon (Torrence) and go for it, or will be succumb to the negativity of his other friend, Stainer (Miller), who thinks there is no way a guy like Kirk (a “5 at best”) can get with a “10” like Molly?
Bottom line: Yes, it’s that silly. Still, and for reasons I can’t entirely explain or am particularly proud of, this movie was actually pretty fun to watch, especially the side characters like Stainer, Devon, Kirk’s brutish brother, Dylan (Bornheimer) and Molly’s ex-boyfriend, Cam (Stults). The concept of a loser guy getting a hot girl runs rampant through comedy these days, and this one just takes it to the logical extreme. That said, you’ll have to sit through a lot of profane humor and scenes about shaving the pubic area to get to the funny bits, so gauge your rental plans based on your tolerance for that sort of thing.
Extras: Deleted scenes and bloopers, plus a funny expanded skit featuring Devon and Dylan giving dating tips.
104 minutes (R; for profanity and sexual content)

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