Quick Shots 23 Part I

Title: Hangover Part II.

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti.

Brief Synopsis: Two years have passed since the Wolf Pack's first predicament in Las Vegas at Doug's (Bartha) bachelor party. Next up is Stu's (Helms) wedding, which is taking place in Thailand. Phil (Cooper) and Alan (Galifianakis) join the rest of them for the wedding. Alan has kept in touch with Mr. Chow (Jeong) and invites him to the bachelor party - and again all hell breaks loose.

Opinion: With the high success of the first Hangover film, which pretty much came out of nowhere, there was bound to be a sequel. And, I am fine with that. But, going back to the well with a bachelor party being the reason for the 'blackout' was a bit lazy. But, I will let it slide. It was still pretty funny, and fun to see the gang retrace their steps yet again. I just really hope No. 3 isn't Alan or Phil's wedding.

Grade:

Title: This is 40.

Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, Charlyne Yi, Robert Smigel.

Brief Synopsis: The family from Knocked Up, minus Katherine Heigl, is at it again. We see a glimpse into the lives of Pete (Rudd) and Debbie (Mann) as they are struggling in their marriage and jobs during the week of their 40th birthday. And, the issues in raising their two daughters, Sadie (Maude) and Charlotte (Iris).

Opinion: Honestly, the best part of Knocked Up was the two side groups - including Pete and Debbie's family. Their relationship is so real, which makes it interesting - and, in my opinion, pretty funny as well.

Grade:

Title: Red Dawn (2012).

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Brief Synopsis: North Korea has invaded the United States, and a small group of teenagers in Spokane, Washington that call themselves the Wolverines (the mascot of their high school) try to retake their town. Led by former Marine Jed Eckert (Hemsworth) and his brother Matt (Peck), the group hides out in the woods and tries to find weaknesses to take out the enemy.

Opinion: I had never watched the original Red Dawn until a few years ago during my first 50 list - and I enjoyed it, but it definitely felt dated. Here, things aren't really an exact shot-by-shot remake, but a lot of the themes are the same. I am not sure why it got panned as much as it did - perhaps because of the love for the original - but this was not a bad remake, in fact I found myself enjoying it.

Grade:

Title: Bachelorette.

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Adam Scott, Hayes MacArthur, Kyle Bornheimer, James Marsden.

Brief Synopsis: Becky (Wilson) is getting married and has asked her friends, Regan (Dunst), Gena (Caplan) and Katie (Fisher) to be in her wedding. All three are suffering from issues in their life: Regan is a perfectionist who is pissed Becky is getting married before she is, Gena has hated herself ever since she lost her boyfriend Cylde (Scott) back in high school, and Katie has serious party issues. Together, they ruin Becky's bachelorette party, including ruining her dress - and spend the rest of the movie trying to make things right.

Opinion: Really had no expectations for this movie going in, but I really found myself laughing a ton. This will probably always be compared to Bridesmaids, which was the more successful film, but I think I might have liked this one better - even though I did enjoy Bridesmaids. Caplan and Fisher were outstanding, and Dunst really steps out of her comfort zone, and I feel succeeds.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 3/19/13

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: This will be a part of my collection as soon as I can. I love the Lord of the Rings films and got the collection on blu-ray for my birthday. I saw it in the theater and here is my review. I felt it was a good start to this 'extended' movie. As I said in my review, I don't feel like we can judge it as one film because it's really just a piece.

Zero Dark Thirty: Really looking into checking this out. A great piece of history for our country on film, and the film actually looks good as well. Definitely can't wait to see it.

Bachelorette: Looks like another version of Bridesmaids but I've heard that it really isn't. I like all of the leading ladies in this film, so I will definitely give it a chance.

Price Check: A small little movie starring Parker Posey. Looks like it may be worth giving it a shot.

Les Misérables: Well, what to say. Definitely will be owning this film. It really surprised me, and though a bit depressing, this was a great film - here is my review. A film I would probably have never even looked at but my wife wanted to see. Glad she did (don't let her know that thought).

This is 40: I have to admit that I really enjoyed Knocked Up even despite the fact of Katherine Heigl and a whole lot of Seth Rogen. It was probably because I enjoyed the supporting characters - the odd group of friends and the strange little family. Here, the family gets it own spinoff and, to me, looks like it may be ok.