Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, and Michael Peña

Directed by Peyton Reed 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

Click here for my previous RyMickey Review

My current RyMickey Rating:  B

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin, Danai Guirra, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Letitia Wright, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Tilda Swinton, Hayley Atwell, Marisa Tomei, Rene Russo, Taika Waititi, Angela Bassett, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Natalie Portman, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, Abby Ryder Forston, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas

Directed by Peyton Reed

Written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Back in the 1980s, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) becomes trapped in the microscopic quantum realm by shrinking herself too small as she successfully disabled a Russian nuclear missile.  Back in the present day, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is on house arrest being monitored by the FBI after assisting Captain America a few years prior with the events of "Captain America: Civil War."  One evening, Scott has a wild dream wherein he sees himself as Janet van Dyne.  Utterly confused, he calls Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) who have all but excommunicated him after the events of the prior Ant-Man film and Civil War.  Upon hearing Scott's dream, however, they determine that Scott's visit to the quantum realm in the first Ant-Man film has somehow connected him to Janet and they hope that Scott can help reunite them with their wife and mother.  

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Fundamentals of Caring

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, and Bobby Canavale

Directed by Rob Burnett

***This films currently streaming via Netflix***

The Fundamentals of Caring could so easily have been sentimentally mushy, but thanks to some irreverent humor and witty dialogue, writer-director Rob Burnett's film is an amusing diversion.  Trevor (Craig Roberts) is an eighteen year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  Unable to walk or perform typical daily tasks, Trevor's mother Elsa (Jennifer Ehle) hires caregiver Ben (Paul Rudd) to watch over her son while she works.  Ben has his own demons to deal with, but the sarcastic Trevor helps to liven up Ben's life and inspires the caregiver to take Trevor on a road trip to see a variety of cheesy roadside American "attractions" that Trevor has always longed to see.  Along the way, they meet the sassy and strong-willed Dot (Selena Gomez) because every buddy road trip needs someone or something to create a bit of tension.

There is something very rote and "typical" about The Fundamentals of Caring, but the game cast adds a sardonic tone to the proceedings which creates enough humor to liven up the lack of originality.  Young Craig Roberts with whom I am unfamiliar doesn't make us feel sorry for Trevor which is a positive difference here in films of this ilk.  His dry humor along with a surprisingly sassy and capable performance from Selena Gomez (with whom I'm also unfamiliar as an actress) create an atmosphere that consistently brings a smile.  While the film still falls into some familiar tropes -- the less said about the pregnant hitchhiker and the ridiculously obvious conclusion to her subplot the better -- this one is still a pleasant diversion.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Little Prince

The Little Prince (2016)

Featuring the vocal talents of Mackenzie Foy, Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Riley Osborne, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Albert Brooks, Paul Giamatti, and Paul Rudd

Directed by Mark Osborne

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

2016 was a lukewarm year for animation and I was hoping this little flick -- which was supposed to be released in theaters, but was then shopped to Netflix -- would be a quirky venture that I could latch onto.  Unfortunately, the lack of a theatrical release for The Little Prince was probably the correct assessment as it proves to be much too talky and philosophical for a kids' film, but a little too childish to really engage adults.

I don't think I've ever read the popular children's book upon which this film is based so its resemblance to the source material is completely unknown to me.  However, the film revolves around The Little Girl (Mackenzie Foy) whose Mother (Rachel McAdams) forces her to live a very regimented life focused squarely on education rather than having any modicum of fun.  When The Mother and The Little Girl move to a new home, their next door neighbor ends up being a bit of a handful.  The elderly man (Jeff Bridges) was a former aviator who spends his time piecing together an old plane in his backyard.  Much to her mother's chagrin, The Little Girl ends up befriending The Aviator as he regales her with stories of his youth where he met The Little Prince (Riley Osborne) who traveled to Earth and taught him about being a better man.

The Little Prince looks lovely, there's no denying that.  The mostly typical Pixar-esque computer animation is interspersed with some charming paper-y looking stop motion work that is aesthetically appealing.  The voice acting, for the most part, is also quite good (although there are a few performances - Ricky Gervais, James Franco - that seem more celeb-driven than story-driven).  Unfortunately, it's not enough to help the philosophical mumbo jumbo that drives "The Little Prince" segments of the story which take over as the film progresses.  The film really appears to be unsure to whom it's marketing itself -- is this a kiddie film (as the first half would have you believe) or is this some deeper adult presentation about hanging onto the past and never losing the memories of what came before?  The flick isn't sure of that and it shows in its muddled nature.  Still, it's lovely to look at, but a bit boring to watch.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Sausage Party

Sausage Party (2016)

Featuring the vocal talents of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Salma Hayek, James Franco, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton

Directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I'm guessing that in order to really and truly appreciate a movie like Sausage Party, certain psychotropic enhancements may be needed.  Undeniably raunchy, this animated tale takes us into Shopwell's supermarket where we find anthropomorphic food dreaming about being chosen by humans (whom the food believes are gods) to take a trip to the outside world (the "Great Beyond") where they will be treated to the most glorious existence they could ever know.  Being chosen is the ultimate goal of Frank (Seth Rogen), a hot dog in a pack of eight who, along with his girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig), a hot dog bun in a pack of ten, desperately want to leave the supermarket so they can fulfill their destiny of consummating their relationship instead of being stuck in their respective plastic wraps.  Life is pretty grand for these food items until a can of honey mustard (Danny McBride) is returned to Shopwell's and he details the sheer horror the human gods enact on food - boiling, cutting, and chewing in a murderous, heathen-like way.  This sends the food into a bit of a tizzy and, through a series of chaotic events, Frank and Brenda find themselves outside of their packages and trekking across the store to find out if there is any truth to Honey Mustard's claim.

There is some cleverness to Sausage Party that is undeniable.  Decidedly adult, the film doesn't mince any punches when it comes to the risqué aspects of the story.  While this works for a while, Frank and Brenda's sexual innuendos wear thin after a bit as does the film's notion that simply dropping an F-bomb or some other variation of curse word automatically yields a laugh.  Perhaps I'm just becoming a much-too-stuffy adult, but a little restraint in the coarse language would've worked wonders here because about twenty minutes in, I almost gave up seeing as how all the supposed humor was coming from seeing a piece of corn say "Eff This or That."  Nonetheless, I hung on and while I don't think Sausage Party ends up being a successful film simply because the writers cheapened the whole thing by their verbiage, there are some stellar set pieces that are incredibly humorous.  While I won't spoil these moments, they all revolve around the food realizing just how "evil" their human gods really are and they work incredibly well at providing humor that isn't necessarily coarse-language-based.

I realize I may be coming off as a bit of a prude and that's not my intention with this review.  I drop F-bombs often...but there's such a thing as moderation.  Impact is lost when that's your only way of trying to be humorous.  In the end, this hurt Sausage Party overall for me.  Despite some clever moments and some rather ingenious set pieces, there were too many lulls where the writers thought they were being funny, but really weren't.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, John Slattery, Alfre Woodard, and Marisa Tomei

Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

The casts of these Marvel movies just keep growing -- I can't tag nearly all of those famous people in the labels attached to this review -- but the films following the Avengers team saga keep getting better so I approve of the multiplying ensemble.  Captain America: Civil War certainly has its epic action sequences, but it's the Marvel movie that feels the most grounded in reality -- of course, it's a reality filled with flying, shrinking, web-slinging, and energy manipulating superheroes, but it's the most realistic Marvel depiction of these folks yet.  Without aliens desiring to wreak havoc or supervillains intent on literally raising cities off of the Earth, Captain America: Civil War pits Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) against one another as they try to determine the Avengers' place in the world.

Building off the events of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Civil War asks the question as to whether the Avengers do more harm than good.  Following the devastating damage the Avengers helped to cause when taking down Ultron who was intent on destroying Sokovia, worldwide agencies want to make the Avengers answer to a governing body in an attempt to keep them from simply running rampant across the world.  Sure they do good, but the Avengers are also reckless at times.  Tony Stark is amenable to this treatise, but Steve Rogers feels that it will severely inhibit the Avengers' ability to fight evil.  Our superheroes -- Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and the newest member Spider-Man (Tom Holland) -- take sides, all while Captain America tries to figure out if his former buddy Bucky Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is responsible for an attack on the United Nations-esque body that is responsible for instituting the Sokovia Accords.

For me -- someone who isn't a huge comic book movie fan, despite having seen all of the new era of Marvel films -- the biggest reason for the success of Captain America: Civil War (which isn't really a Captain America movie so much as another Avengers picture) is that the villains here aren't foreign entities like superhuman computers or outer space creatures, but based in reality.  Add to that, the tension that arises within the Avengers group themselves is surprisingly palpable and dramatically effective.  Plus, in typical Marvel fashion, the film knows when to lighten things up, creating nice pops of humor when the heavier story desperately needs it.  The Russo Brothers who did a great job with Captain America: Winter Soldier do an even better job here and I look forward to what they can bring to the oftentimes over-bloated Avengers films.

The character of Captain America is one that didn't start out successful for me in the slightest.  In fact, the original Captain America film is one of my least favorites in the Marvel canon.  However, as the character of Steve Rogers has grown and developed, he's become compelling and captivating.  Placing him front and center here in a battle against some of his former allies creates what I think is the best Marvel film to date.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, and Michael Peña

Directed by Peyton Reed

Congratulations are in order to Marvel Studios who has managed to consistently deliver films that audiences clamor to see at the box office.  Having tackled their marquee superheroes, they've begun heading into the lesser known characters starting with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and continuing with 2015's Ant-Man, the tale of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a thief who is released from prison and finding it tough to make a living outside in the real world.  Desperate to reconnect with his daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson) but without any money to provide child support, Scott agrees to take part in another heist at the home of the rich Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).  Unfortunately, upon breaking into the home's safe, Scott discovers simply a suit rather than any money.  He takes the suit and ends up trying it on, only to shrink to the size of an ant.  Pym finds Scott and asks him to go on a mission to infiltrate the workplace of Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) who is trying to use the shrinking technology that was created by Pym to create weapons of war.

Ant-Man is a perfectly acceptable film and all aspects of it -- from the acting to the direction to the script to the special effects -- are enjoyable, but I didn't find myself fawning over it which, admittedly, is the case with many of the Marvel films for me.  Rudd is engaging as the lead character and it's nice to see Michael Douglas take a central role in a popular movie.  Corey Stoll is amusingly evil as well and his final showdown with Ant-Man is actually one of the best final battles yet in a Marvel film simply due to the fact that director Peyton Reed doesn't take things too over-the-top and allows the flick to breathe a little bit rather than feel like a nonstop unending action sequence.

But still, considering the raves this one got by people over the summer, I was perhaps expecting a bit more.  Don't mistake me -- Ant-Man is one of Marvel's better efforts, but I longed for a little more.  Perhaps when its sequel rolls around and we're given less of an origin story (which always tend to be boring), we'll be in for more of a treat.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - They Came Together

They Came Together (2014)

Starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Christopher Meloni, Bill Hader, Ellie Kemper, Jason Mantzoukas, Max Greenfield, Cobie Smulders, Melanie Lynskey, and Ed Helms

Directed by David Wain
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Movie spoofs are always a tricky business proposition with more failures than successes it seems.  The most famous as of late has been the Scary Movie franchise which took on the slapsticky Airplane approach and subsequently withered and died from the get-go for me.  In its skewering of the romantic comedy, They Came Together eschews some of the more blatant physical humor (although it does still successfully go there at times), aiming moreso for verbal barbs (just look at that suggestive title) and observational humor.

Molly (Amy Poehler), owner of a small candy shop, finds her business threatened when the big Corporate Candy Company decides to open up a shop right across the street from her.  When she meets Joel (Paul Rudd), an executive at CCC, Molly can't help but despise him, but as their paths intertwine, love begins to blossom beneath the hatred.  Simplicity abounds in this summary, but the obvious regurgitating of You've Got Mail's story proves to be more humorous than I could've expected.

Poehler and Rudd are always charmingly funny and their performances in They Came Together are no exception.  They have to walk a tricky road in that they're playing overblown caricatures of romantic comedy stereotypes, yet they have to still carry this film as relatable people in order for us in the audience to latch onto the tale successfully.  Director and co-screenwriter David Wain manages to make Molly and Joel well-rounded enough even with their parody-laden characteristics.  Wain throws a lot at the wall and while not all the jokes land, enough of them do making the laughs come quickly enough to warrant a watch.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Admission

Admission (2013)

Starring Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Gloria Reuben, Wallace Shawn, Nat Wolff,  Travaris Spears, and Lily Tomlin

Directed by Paul Weitz

Admission starts out promisingly enough, but after about forty minutes, I found it nearly inconceivable that there was still over an hour to go.  Tina Fey is charming as Portia Nathan, an admissions officer at Princeton who visits a small private high school run by John Pressman (Paul Rudd) only to discover that John's prize student Jeremiah (Nat Wolff) may be the son she gave up for adoption eighteen years prior.  With Jeremiah, whose transcript contains nothing spectacular, desperate to get into Princeton, Portia finds herself in a conundrum both professionally and personally.

And, unfortunately, the problem with Admission is that this aforementioned story is dished out in its first third and not much else happens for its remainder.  There's scene after scene of attempts at humor, but they fail to present a well-rounded story.  It certainly helps that Tina Fey and Paul Rudd are both pleasant to watch onscreen either together or separately and the rest of the cast is certainly appealing, but they're left floundering throughout the entire second half of the film.  It's a shame, really, because there's an attempt here to create a somewhat "smart" comedy, but the story simply isn't enough to sustain itself over its run time.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Nina Dobrev, Johnny Simmons, Melanie Lynskey, Joan Cusack, and Paul Rudd

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

There's an aire of pretentiousness that runs throughout the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I found it a book that kept me at a distance because none of the characters were embraceable, nor were they nasty enough to be characters you loved to hate.  I was hoping that the movie might change my tune, but my overall reaction stayed pretty much the same.  Overall, the book's author Stephen Chbosky does a nice job in his first directorial gig in nearly two decades and he adapts his novel quite adequately to the screen, but this is simply a tale I never quite found winning.

The problem with The Perks of Being a Wallflower never lies with the storyline of the main character Charlie (Logan Lerman) who, as the film begins, is starting ninth grade after having a difficult summer in which he lost his best friend to suicide.  For most of his life, Charlie has always been battling psychological demons, but he hopes he's pushed them to the side as he begins the angst-filled four years of high school.  Charlie ends up befriending two seniors, step-siblings Patrick and Sam (Ezra Miller and Emma Watson) and it's in these two characters and their surroundings that the film (and the book) disappoint.  It's not that Patrick and Sam prove to be unrealistic, it's just that I couldn't care less about their problems and dreams for the future.  Patrick is an incredibly quirky gay teen who is seemingly the class clown and Sam is lovable with a pixie cut that indicates a slightly rough edge.  Everything with these two just feels overly angsty with a vibe of "aren't we unique/no teenager has ever done this before" thrown in when, in fact, their shenanigans are quite commonplace.

However, the character of Charlie makes the film work better than it probably should and Logan Lerman is a standout.  Lerman's fairly new to the acting scene and while I can't say I've ever been disappointed by the kid, I don't think I ever would've said I've been impressed.  That has changed.  Here, the now twenty year-old Lerman perfectly captures the fear of the initial days of high school, the insecurity of being one's true self even if it doesn't make you popular, and the tentativeness of one's first forays into romance, alcohol, and the other difficulties that come with one's teen years.  Also nice was Paul Rudd's turn as Charlie's English teacher, a friend/mentor who helps shape Charlie into a young man who can be proud of himself.

While there's part of me that can understand the effusive praise The Perks of Being a Wallflower received upon its release -- the film looks good, the acting is decent -- I've never been a fan of Mr. Chbosky's novel so its transition to film was going to be difficult to reel me in.  Still, thanks to a great performance from Logan Lerman, this one definitely lands in the "you should see this" category.

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - This Is 40

This Is 40 (2012)

Starring Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Chris O'Dowd, Lena Dunham, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, and Melissa McCarthy

Directed by Judd Apatow

While he sometimes succeeds as a producer (see Bridesmaids, Step Brothers, and The Five-Year Engagement), Judd Apatow has never been a favorite of mine when he gets behind the camera or puts pen to paper.  He can't seem to edit himself and he's the single biggest contributor to the notion that began in the 2000s that comedies must be longer than two hours in order to "feel important."  This Is 40 is typical Apatow in that these same problems exist -- seriously, can't this guy afford an editor at this point -- but I found the film overall quite humorous and, ultimately, worth a watch despite the fact that there is hardly any story to sustain itself over its 135-minute running time.

This Is 40 is apparently the quasi-sequel to Knocked Up in that Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are reprising their roles of married couple Pete and Debbie, but there's nary a mention of that former movie and you certainly do not need to be even remotely familiar with it in order to understand the goings-on here.  As the film opens, Debbie is celebrating her fortieth birthday -- a milestone she refuses to accept which is why the birthday cake her two daughters Sadie and Charlotte (Maude and Iris Apatow) present her with has a giant "38" on it.  Pete is also celebrating his fourth decade on Earth in a few weeks and the couple finds themselves in a bit of a rut after having been together so long.  With a teenage daughter who always fights with her younger sister, a nagging Jewish father (Albert Brooks) who is constantly guilting Pete into giving him money, and a failing business leading to less income, life is difficult for the couple which leads to bickering around every corner.

The issue with This Is 40 lies in the fact that it doesn't bring anything new to the table and it feels like a dinner guest that just refuses to leave when he should.  There's simply not enough story presented to warrant its length and despite attempts at creating tangents -- Debbie is worried that a worker (Megan Fox) at her clothing shop is stealing, Debbie's estranged father (John Lithgow) tries to return into her life, an angry mom (Melissa McCarthy) accuses Pete and Debbie of harassing her son at school -- they're simply tangents that don't add anything to the overall story.  Granted, they're funny and they often caused me to laugh out loud, but in the end, it amounts to a whole lot of nothing.  And let's not even get started on the Judd Apatow reliance on something dramatically "important" happening that turns out not to be all that critical to the plot by the film's end.  There's several of those moments here, but I'm preferring to forget about them.

Still, despite these qualms, I wasn't ever bored by This Is 40 and the biggest credit for that probably should go to Rudd and Mann who work well together and are each more than capable of carrying out their own moments of required humor.  There's some nice cameos by folks like Jason Segel and Chris O'Dowd as well, but I can honestly say that I'm over the Melissa McCarthy craze.  This lady needs to stretch a bit as she's chosen the same exact role in every film she's undertaken.  For someone who burst onto the scene in an overwhelmingly strong way in Bridesmaids just two years ago, she's worn out her welcome very quickly.

I've never been a fan of Judd Apatow so I will admit that I came into this biased from the get-go and This Is 40 contains all of the typical Apatow-isms that I despise, but this one still manages to end on a good note for me.  There's probably something to be said in the fact that this is Apatow's lowest-rated film on RottenTomatoes and my favorite film of his, but I laughed enough to recommend it.

The RyMickey Rating: C+

Movie Review - Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother (2011)

Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Kathryn Hahn, and Steve Coogan

Directed by Jesse Peretz

I'm fairly certain that Our Idiot Brother was supposed to be a comedy.  I mean, there were moments where I probably should have laughed at the sweet, yet entirely too innocent and trusting Ned (Paul Rudd) whose hippie vibe was lovable and charming, but the flick simply didn't elicit chuckles (with the exception of one very odd threesome scene and a game of charades that admittedly cracked me up).  Instead, Our Idiot Brother places a huge focus on Ned's three sisters -- workaholic Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), quirky lesbian Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), and stay-at-home mom Liz (Emily Mortimer) -- none of whom are ladies I'd like to spend any bit of time with.  

The whole affair just plays like some sitcom, jumping back and forth amongst Ned and his trio of sisters whose troubles reach soap opera levels of absurdity at times.  Unfortunately, these problems should have made me give a damn about these characters, but instead they just made me upset that these ladies were such idiots -- for, you see, the absurdity of the flick is that the supposedly sane sisters are perhaps the ones who are more foolish than Ned the Kooky Simpleton.

Despite a game Paul Rudd whose kind Jesus-y hipster Ned is amusing (and is the only thing that saves the flick from being a complete and utter failure), Our Idiot Brother just doesn't ever feel rooted in reality at any point.  Characters are too one-dimensional, predicaments are resolved way too quickly and cleanly, and the final scene was nearly disgustingly treacly.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Romeo + Juliet

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Brian Dennehy, and Paul Rudd

Directed by Baz Luhrmann
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Despite your feelings towards the film, no one can deny that director Baz Luhrmann has crafted a unique, modern take on William Shakespeare's classic tale of the two lovers Romeo and Juliet.  As their families fight each other, the two young amours become enamored of one another and refuse to deny their love up until their dying days (oops...did I spoil the tale for someone?).

I remember going to the movie theater to see this when I was sixteen and thinking that it was pretty darn cool.  At this point in time, Luhrmann wasn't known at all and his crazed, schizophrenic visual style was oddly compelling and unlike anything I had ever seen before.  Placing the Bard's "old school" dialog in a completely contemporary setting was riveting to me.

Cut to fifteen years later and I'm not so sure that I'm as much of a fan.  Don't get me wrong, Luhrmann has certainly crafted a distinct take on the material, but there are (several) moments where there is just too much going on visually.  Because of the bombardment of images, the words sometimes get lost in translation and the story becomes a secondary afterthought to the film's appearance.  A decade-and-a-half after the film's release, rather than being riveted I found myself laughing at an early scene involving a showdown between members of the Montague and Capulet families simply because of the way Luhrmann utilizes his camera.  The "wild west showdown" atmosphere he creates just didn't set well with me.

The aforementioned scene is one of several that just had me clamoring for a more straightforward (or at least less crazed) take on the material.  Maybe I'm just becoming a fuddy duddy in my old age, but the film as a whole was a bit of a disappointment.

Luhrmann does manage to get a decent performance out of Leonardo DiCaprio, but Claire Danes' Juliet felt a bit wooden to me at times (although, if I'm being honest, I'm not sure the character of Juliet is all that interesting of a person to begin with).  Most of the other supporting roles didn't really strike my fancy either this time around.

All that said, I can't deny that this is a different spin on the classic tale, but it's one that I don't need to revisit any time soon.  As I was watching it (and not loving it), I wondered to myself what my take on Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge would be so many years later.  Seeing as how that film has the same visual style of Romeo + Juliet, I can't help but think it will have faded from my initial praises as well.  Might be time to take another look at that one...

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - I Love You, Man (2009)

Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jaime Pressley, Andy Samberg, Jon Favreau, and J.K. Simmons
Directed by John Hamburg

Personal Confession: I'm much like Paul Rudd in this film. Not only in the lack of serious guy friends, but in the awkward mannerisms, odd speech patterns, and "uptightness." There's a scene where he leaves a rambling message on a phone that seriously could've been me (I'm certainly known for my rambling messages and was just called out on it within the past week). Much like Rudd's Peter by the film's end, I guess I've changed in the past year (I've actually had multiple people tell me that...for better or worse, I guess) -- "found" a guy friend, perhaps am becoming a little less uptight, but I certainly still am maintaining the awkward mannerisms and speech patterns...so I'll just leave it at that...

Before I get critiqued for being too personal, let's jump into the movie. Rudd is Peter Klaven, a real estate agent who just got engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones). Peter doesn't really have any guy friends...he's got acquaintances, but nobody that he can call upon to be his best man at his wedding. Realizing that, he starts to seek out a male counterpart and he stumbles upon Sydney Fife (Jason Segal) who has crashed one of his open houses simply for the free food and to pick up aging divorcées. Despite their significantly different personalities, Peter and Sydney inexplicably hit it off and become close friends (once again, oddly familiar to me here). Some conflict arises simply to further the plot, but, in the end, this is an incredibly simple story.

I was actually pretty impressed with how "uncrude" the film was as a whole. Sure, there are some "adult" scenes -- the "masturbation zone" bit made me laugh -- but it's not an incredibly dirty film despite the fact that the ads when it first came out kind of wanted you to think that it was.

Paul Rudd and Jason Segal are both really great here. It's nice to see Rudd in a lead role and he came off as a completely believable guy to me (obviously, I guess...hence the whole first paragraph of this review). Segal (who is great on How I Met Your Mother) was also fun to watch -- sure, he was the "crude" one here, but nothing really seemed over-the-top. His role came off as genuine to me. Rashida Jones isn't given a whole lot to do here, but she was adequate. Quite impressive, actually, was Jamie Pressley -- she makes the most out of a small role as Zooey's friend.

The film wasn't stellar...there weren't quite enough laughs to give it a really high rating, but the acting certainly raised the bar here. I say give Paul Rudd more leading roles and make Jason Segal a star...

The RyMickey Rating: B-

DVD Round-Up 4/1/09

A completely random assortment of DVDs here...

Role Models (2008)

I had heard that this Paul Rudd-Seann William Scott comedy was funny, but I hardly laughed at all when sitting in my living room. Maybe a movie theater experience was necessary. There were some funny lines, but they couldn't even create one funny scene. Rudd and Scott were okay, but lacked any type of charisma...dull as could be. As the head of the volunteer organization that Rudd and Scott were forced to join to complete some community service, Jane Lynch was completely wasted, forced to deliver the most ridiculous lines about drugs and phallic-shaped hot dogs. Kid actor Bobb'e J. Thompson (really Bobb'e...an apostrophe in your name?) is perhaps one of the most annoying people ever to grace the screen...the unfortunate thing was that in this poorly constructed movie, having a 12 year-old kid spout curse words was about the funniest thing it had going for it.

The RyMickey Rating: D

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Burn After Reading (2008)

There were some great actors here who all turned in some amusing work -- George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and a particularly funny Brad Pitt -- but the writing-directing Coen Brothers team didn't really know what to do with them. There's definitely a story here -- McDormand and Pitt come across an innocuous computer disk that they believe contains secret government information and try to blackmail its owner -- but in the end, I didn't really give a damn about it or any one of the characters. Not bad, but certainly nothing you need to rush out and rent.

The RyMickey Rating: C

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Lakeview Terrace (2008)

It's cliché to even say it nowadays, but Samuel L. Jackson will do anything for a paycheck. As a racist L.A. cop, Jackson is pissed that an interracial married couple moved in next door, and if you've seen the classic Snakes on a Plane, you know not to mess with motherf'n Samuel L. Jackson. This movie was awful. It bills itself as a suspense, but nothing happened in this movie for 115 minutes and then in the last 10 minutes it follows things way too "by the book" to be suspenseful in the least. Throw in a ridiculous storyline about impending California wildfires (which I'm sure is some metaphor for racism or something) and this was one of the worst movies I've seen in years.

The RyMickey Rating: F

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Reservation Road (2007)

Not to be confused with one of my favorite movies of last year (see review here), this Road movie is actually just as depressing, but ultimately not as good. The film starts out stunningly as the young son of Joaquin Phoenix (pre-rap artist crazy) and Jennifer Connelly is killed in a horrific hit-and-run car accident. Mark Ruffalo is the man who killed him, and he is wracked with guilt. When the police fail to find the killer, Phoenix attempts to take things into his own hands. The first 30 minutes of this one were utterly gripping. My eyes were literally welling up over the grief that was depicted onscreen. But then things got a little kooky...there were way too many coincidences and odd connections and too much time with Phoenix sitting in front of a computer. Despite my problems with the film which definitely falters in the final 45 minutes, the acting and story in the first half is too good to miss.

The RyMickey Rating: B