In addition to seeing an advanced screening of Thor: The Dark World (which I really hope all of you get a chance to see very soon!), I also got to see an extra advanced screening of Ride Along, as well as almost touch Ice Cube, the star, and Will Packer, the producer.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SRSLY I ALMOST TOUCHED HIM IT WAS AMAZING.
Ice Cube and Will Packer are currently screening this movie for a college tour they’re doing. The premise is that Kevin Hart’s character is a security guard who wants to be a cop and wants to marry Ice Cube’s character’s sister. Ice Cube also happens to be a tough cop who doesn’t approve of goofy Kevin Hart.
This movie was HILARIOUS. I did not expect to like it that much at all, but I laughed really hard. I’m not going to give it the same glowing recommendation as I do other movies, but if you like Kevin Hart and/or Ice Cube, this is DEFINITELY a good movie to check out.
Reasons to see this movie:
You like to laugh.
You like Ice Cube.
You like Kevin Hart.
You’re a gamer (especially one who plays shooters)
You like opposites-attract buddy cop movies (e.g. The Other Guys,The Heat)
Lots of laughs, but you’ll have to wait until January for this one.
This song never gets old for me. It first got stuck in my head during Hurricane Irene, as I was walking back from meeting the first students I taught while at university. Rest in peace Ilene Woods. You brought a magical sensuality to Disney that we hadn’t heard prior. Thank you.
I went to see The Heat on a whim this weekend. When I first saw the trailers for the film a few months ago, I didn’t think too much of it. Buddy cop movie with Sandra Bullock playing some kind of twisted version of her Miss Congeniality character and Melissa McCarthy, who seems to be getting typecast as this type of brash, less than savory character in many of her silver screen roles. I thought it would be funny but didn’t think that many people would care. It has, however, gotten some good press, and I’m hearing everyone from my younger brother to Harry Shum Jr. recommend the film to others.
SO. Buddy cop film where the twist is female cops. I laughed and laughed. Since it’s the feature debut of a screenwriter, it’s only right that the jokes are great in this movie. I was tickled pink seeing Tom Wilson, best known for playing Biff Tannen et al. in the Back to the Future trilogy. (I was somehow watching The Heat with 2 people who had no idea what I was talking about when I pointed this out. What. Buttheads.) Bullock and McCarthy are also pretty safe bets as far as comedy goes. Their roles didn’t challenge them to portray characters they haven’t portrayed before (Bullock as the uptight and therefore unlikable and therefore lonely Ashburn; McCarthy as loud and brash and messy Mullins) but they are reliable characters that play a reliable foil to each other.
Plotwise, The Heat was pretty predictable. I wasn’t disappointed by the predictability moreso than I was disappointed by how the movie seemed to actually try quite hard to catch you by surprise. Oy.
When a movie like this focuses SO HARD on the two leads, the other characters get really… just blah. You don’t really know why they’re there or what to do with them. I got a little giggle out of seeing “Gina… Jessica Chaffin | Gina’s Boobs… Jessica Chaffin’s Boobs” during the credits and all (and yes, they did merit their own credit line, spilling out of Chaffin’s top for an agonizing minute) but some of the characters just flopped around wanting and deserving more but not getting it: Wilson’s sad and pathetic Boston PD chief, Marlon Wayans as the wannabe romantic opposite to Bullock, Spoken Reasons as the hilarious small-time drug dealer.
I really liked The Heat. I felt like there was potential for much more, but it was really funny. This was a good feature debut for director Katie Dippold (who writes for the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation). There is no reason why anyone should doubt the hilarity of a buddy-cop movie that stars women instead of men. Women are funny, end of discussion.
CollegeHumor recently made a feature-length film titled Coffee Town. I didn’t have any clue about the movie until I saw a little post on the Tumblr Radar, which I’m assuming they had sponsored for promoting the film. Otherwise, I hadn’t heard very much about it, but I entered to win free tickets to view an advanced screening, since the film doesn’t premiere for another 2 weeks. (It’s available for rent on iTunes right now, however.)
Disclaimer: I was able to watch this movie courtesy of CollegeHumor. I am not being paid to write the review but the screening was free for me and a friend. (Information about screenings and the possibility of attending for free at the end.)
Description:
CollegeHumor’s first feature film!! Coffee Town is a workplace comedy for the generation that increasingly doesn’t work out of a traditional office. When a 30-something website manager who uses local café as his office learns of plans to convert the space into a bar, he enlists the help of his two best friends to help save his freeloading existence. Directed by Brad Copeland (Arrested Development), the film’s all-star comedy cast includes Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Steve Little (Eastbound & Down), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation), Adrianne Palicki (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and Josh Groban (Crazy, Stupid, Love).
Review:
This movie was much funnier than I thought it would be. The trailer gave me very low expectations for the movie. I also had some kind of pre-conceived notion that a feature film produced by a company that specialized in short web content wouldn’t be very good.
I was very wrong and I’m happy I was wrong.
There aren’t many movies that I can immediately name that have had me laughing throughout the majority of the length of the movie like Coffee Town did. I was also laughing out loud a lot, which I don’t normally do so much at the movies. (I am an inside-my-head laugher.) Even though there weren’t very many people at DC screening (I’d say 20 people tops) everyone was cracking UP.
I think part of the movie’s success comes from the fact that it didn’t take itself too seriously. It is fully aware of how ridiculous its jokes are, which allows them to push the jokes a little farther than “safe” while still be really funny. These are the kinds of jokes that you normally don’t laugh at in a cinema. It’s the same kind of humor that you find on CollegeHumor.com, but feature-length.
The movie blasted by. I didn’t even realize that an hour and a half had passed when the credits started rolling. That’s always a good sign, when you don’t feel the time passing during the movie. It didn’t seem like a streeeeeeetched out Internet video. It was just good jokes throughout the entire movie. There’s the little romantic subplot with the girl, which didn’t matter much, and the movie knows that. They don’t try very hard on that and I appreciated that. They used this subplot as an opportunity for more humor, which they took full advantage of. CollegeHumor definitely did a great job of taking advantage of every possible moment for comedy.
I didn’t care much for the characters, but they just managed to be not-annoying enough to make me think they weren’t funny. Normally, I really hate those dumb characters in comedies, with no redeeming qualities and who serve no purpose other than to screw everything up. But the characters here toed the line very carefully and managed to be hilarious.
I personally thought Josh Groban shined in this movie. My friend was surprised to see him acting, but he was really funny. I think I can chalk that up to a good screenplay, but the protagonist (played by Glenn Howerton) definitely was overshadowed by the other, more interesting characters.
If you are at all intrigued by this movie, I highly highly recommend you try to check out a screening near you. The screenings left are:
Atlanta, GA (Midtown Art Cinema) – July 17
St. Louis, MO (Plaza Frontenac) – July 18
Minneapolis, MN (Lagoon Cinema) – July 19
Chicago, IL (Logan Square Theatre) – July 21
Detroit, MI (Main Art Theater) – July 22
Get tickets for a free screening of Coffee Town and/or We Are the Millershere. You have a really good shot, and I think it’s worth it to try.
Sip of Starrshine 