Just the other day I was wishing I could go back to the movie mentality I had when I was little; any time I saw a movie, I came out of it entranced, not knowing how not to enjoy a movie. After the incredibly disappointing slew of movies so far this summer, and after giving more C-ratings than ever before, I was starting to fear that maybe I had lost the ability to leave a movie with that rush of happiness and satisfaction that you can only get after seeing a really, really good movie. Then on Friday night, I went into The Karate Kid with somewhat low expectations, and left the theater…with more endorphins than a champion marathon runner.
When I first heard that they were remaking The Karate Kid, I was repulsed. When I found out they were switching the location to Bejing and casting the much younger Jackie Chan in the role of the old, wise, and incredibly bad-ass Mr.Miyagi, I was furious. However, I can admit when I’m wrong, and in this case, I definitely was. The filmmakers did everything right when it comes to remaking a beloved film. They made enough changes so that it wasnt a carbon copy of the original, brought a fresh new swing on the story…all the while preserving almost everything that made the original so great, from some of the classic lines and memorable scenes to keeping alive the very spirit of the story.
Now, the acting: I can’t call Chan Mr.Miyagi…and luckily, I don’t have to. Wisely changing the name of the character from Mr.Miyagi to Mr.Han, this remake did not in any way try and recreate the characters from the original. Chan drew from the original character, embodying his wisdom and adding a more somber veil over the character. I never realized what a good actor Jackie Chan was until now. He’s always been the go-to guy for the role of funny foreigner who knows how to kick-ass, and in The Karate Kid, we definitely get to see a lot of ass-kicking (top notch, incredible ass kicking to be exact) but also a performance with depth, something I didn’t at all expect. Jayden Smith (son of Will Smith) is a little superstar in the making. I don’t care if he got the role because of his parents…the boy can act, and very well. He was funny, charismatic, and was without a doubt able to hold his own throughout the entire film. I can’t wait to see where his career goes from here.
The Karate Kid reminded me why I love to go to the movies- not rent dvds, or watch movies online…but what is so special about the movie-going experience. I could literally feel the energy of the audience. I heard gasps and “oooohs” all around me during the training sequences. People stood up and cheered during the end fight. Clapped wildly during the end credits. THIS is why people go to the movies in the first place. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of seeing one of the first truly great movies of the summer and go see The Karate Kid ASAP!
Rating: A-
You know a movie really sucks when its only an hour and 20 minutes long...but feels like three. This is exactly what I experienced when I made the unfortunate decision to make use of some free sneak preview passes to go see Jonah Hex. The movie had a good trailer, Josh Brolin, and overall just seemed like a fun time. How wrong I was.
After watching his family being murdered before his eyes, and having the right side of his face mutilated with a branding iron, Jonah Hex becomes a ruthless and cynical bounty hunter. Then the U.S. military comes to him with an offer he can't refuse: they'll let him go a free man, exonerated of all the warrents for him, in exchange for him stopping the evil terrorist Quentin Turnbull...the man who took everything from him all those years ago. Its your run-of-the-mill revenge story, we don't get anything new here...that is, unless you count the absurd and incredibly out-of-place supernatural element that comes into the story out of nowhere, where hey! Jonah Hex can magically bring dead people back to life temporarily by touching them! ::rolls eyes:: 
We get the slow motion double gun draws to loud music, quippy one-liners (none of them actually clever, of course) and explosions galore. What we don't get is any characters worth caring about. Megan Fox had one purpose, and one purpose alone: to stand there in a tight corset with her chest hanging out while speaking with an accent. And even watching her do that is painful. Josh Brolin's talent is completely wasted as well. His job: to run around with an ugly scar on his face while speaking in the same gruff voice with the same sour expression on his face the entire movie. All of this might have even been tolerable if the movie ever found its rhythm and pace, which unfortunately, it never did. It didn't flow, and after a while, I stopped waiting to get into the story and started waiting impatiently to get out of the theater.
Rating: D
For those of you that have seen Tropic Thunder, I think it’s safe to say that one of the funniest, most memorable aspects of the movie was Tom Cruise’s hilarious (and surprising) performance as the foul mouthed, balding, hip-hop dancing producer Les Grossman. Much to my glee, on Sunday night at the MTV Movie Awards we were graced with a couple hilarious appearances of his Tropic Thunder character once again, the best part being when Cruise and Jennifer Lopez joined the stage together with a show-stealing dance off. After seeing that, I was desperately craving more Les Grossman. And luckily, today I found out that this craving is to be soon satisfied. Les Grossman fans, I am happy to report, that a spin-off movie centering around the popular character is currently in the works! Backstage at the MTV Movie Awards Cruise confirmed this, telling E! ““We’re working on it. Yup, we’re working on it.” Hopefully more details will come soon. What do you think about the new project? Is the world ready for more Les Grossman?
Aaron Green has just been given the most important task of his career: He has three days to go to London and pick up British rock star Aldous Snow, bring him to New York to make an appearance on The Today Show, and then finally get him to L.A's Greek Theater where he has to perform a 10-year anniversary concert. Sounds simple right? Maybe with your average celebrity, but Snow is a whole new breed of partyier. We were first introduced to the character of Aldous Snow in 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where he was sober and recovering. In Get Him to the Greek, Aldous is back to his Absinthe-drinking, narcotics-doing, sex-obsessed self....times 1,000.
Get Him to the Greek was produced by comedy-god Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad, 40 Year-Old Virgin, etc), and just as you would expect, his newest film carries on the same type of raunchy, obscene humor we've all grown to love. Filled with more gross-out humor than I appreciate (vomiting scenes galore), I felt that Get Him to the Greek was one of the least funny of Apatow's movies, on an overall scale. However, some moments of sheer comedy brilliance and hysterical performances from Brand, Hill, and surprisingly, P. Diddy, greatly helped elevated the film.
When I left the theater I was somewhat split on my opinion of the film. It felt like I watched two separate movies: the first half, of which I've described in this review thus far...and then the second half, which for reasons unbeknownst to me, felt the need to focus almost entirely on giving depth to Snow's character, showing his reunion with his estranged father and highlighting his loneliness and longing for his ex-girlfriend. With a running time of only an hour and 40 minutes, Get Him to the Greek should feel anything but long...but towards the last act I found myself checking my phone for the time. Far from perfect, Get Him to the Greek was nevertheless at times very funny, amusing, and a good "bromance" film...for the most part.
Rating: B-
