Warrior

This is the one thing I didn't want to do. I did not want to watch another film that was released in 2011, because if I did, I knew I would have to amend my list (See where Warrior ranks) that took so long for me to perfect. Sure it is only one new entry which would only shift everything up one spot, but in fact I also watch another film last night after Warrior, so now it will be total chaos for me. Maybe it was my naive perception of Hollywood and their need to bring us "Based on a True Story" films that made me think this was based on something real. Maybe it was the Director that made me think that also. Gavin O'Connor directed this film and his other claim to fame is the Highly touted, not seen by as many people as it should have been, "Miracle". Warrior is one of those rare movies that gives lots of concepts, and some how makes them all work together in perfect harmony. It really is a Rocky-esque story multiplied by 2. Warrior gives us 2 underdog fighters in the fights of their lives. Motivated by completely different situations and fueled by different mentalities, "Irish" Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy Reardon (Tom Hardy) are men on a mission. Tommy shows back up in town at his Pop's house out of the blue some 14 years after he defected with his Mother. I only know it is 14 years because I read it on Rotten Tomatoes. Pop (Nolte) plays the 1000 day sober, ex drunk who drove his entire family away to perfection. Of course, they say, "write what you know". I think that mentality applies to his acting for Warrior. Brendan is a former UFC fighter who now teaches High School Physics. He and his wife have 3 daughters and they are struggling to pay the bills. When he is not teaching, he moonlights in no hold barred parking lot cage matches. He is the most well trained of any of the muscle heads that show up, so he does win, but he does take a beating as well. Tommy is bitter. To say he has a chip on his shoulder would be like saying an ice cube from the freezer sunk the Titanic. He is very intense and uses that to dismantle other fighters. He hates his Pop, but needs a trainer. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Tommy and Brendan are brothers. (Not a Spoiler- Watch the trailer). They are very estranged and there is a lot of animosity between them. When Tommy went with their Mother, Brendan stayed with Pop. Bad blood a brewing for 14 years. When a winner take all MMA tourney arises for the top 16 middle weights in the world arises, these two want in. Tommy needs to relieve some of his own grief from his time in the Marines, and Brendan needs to save his house from foreclosure. A 5 million dollar purse would solve everything, but only one person will win it. Neither one of these Cage newbs have a shot in hell, but that is why you play the game. Anything can happen. I mean, though unlikely, NBM writer Dean-O may be able to shave his "Bears Beard" this week. I doubt it, but you just never know what will happen. Like all Hollywood fiction, we know where this is going. Two unknowns, who are brothers, who hate each other, end up facing off in the title match. Brendan is very grounded, but Tommy seems unstable. He is a psychopath and after watching Hardy's performance, I am looking more forward to watching him unleash the true psycho Bane, in The Dark Knight Rises. The fight scenes are intense and brutal. Very well done. Brendan has some reservations against fighting his brother, but Tommy would be fine if he killed Brendan. What these two are fighting for are both noble, and no matter who wins, I would have been happy. I really enjoyed watching this play out, because I had no idea where it was going to lead. At 2 hours and 20 minutes long, it actually flows so well, it feels like 90 minutes tops. If this film had been based on real people Nolte would be a shoe-in for Supporting Actor Oscar in a Drama. He is superb. The way I rate this may surprise some of you, but allow me to explain. When dealing with a Biopic, the characters and stories are emblazoned in the text of history. The actors know who they are portraying and they need to be as similar, identical even, to those figures. Warrior was drafted on paper out of thin air as far as I know. The story came from a writer, and the characters were created by the actors cast to play them. It was all done to perfection. An engaging story about Family, good and bad, and the ties that bind. Great action that was not overdone. The fighting was not the center of the film, the characters were. With all that said...

NBM rates Warrior - A Cinematic Work of Art

2011 NBM Rankings

Here is a list of all the films I watched during Hollywood's 2011 campaign. They have been compiled and listed in order of my perception starting with my least favorite all the way down to my Number 1 film of the year. Click the Title to read Full Review...


45) Sucker Punch
44) Your Highness
43) Green Lantern
42) Hall Pass
41) The Change-Up
40) I Am Number 4
39) Scream 4
38) Bad Teacher
37) Rango
36) Cedar Rapids
35) Gnomeo and Juliet 
34) No Strings Attached 
33) The Hangover II 
32) Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
31) Everything Must Go 
30) 30 Minutes or Less
29) Fright Night
28) Captain America : The First Avenger
27) Hesher
26) Machine Gun Preacher
25) Thor
24) Battle Los Angeles
23) The Ides of March
22) Water for Elephants
21) Limitless
20) Tower Heist
19) The Lincoln Lawyer
18) Source Code
17) Our Idiot Brother
16) Hanna
15) Real Steel
14) Transformers : Dark of the Moon
13) Paul
12) Fast 5
11) The Help
10) Bridesmaids
  9) Cowboys and Aliens
  8) X-Men : First Class
 7) Warrior
  6) Horrible Bosses
  5) Crazy Stupid Love
  4) Super 8
  3) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  2) Drive
#1) Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol


This was harder to do than you may think. Dramas, Action, Comedy, Noir, Indie. It would have been easier to divide them all into specific genres and then rank the genre independently, but I feel very good about the final order of my list. I hope you have enjoyed 2011 reading NBM as much as I have enjoyed Writing.

Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol

I want to preface this by saying that when I saw the trailer 6 months ago, I knew I would see it in the theater no matter the ratings it received. Fortunately for the good of the nation, It has been swooned over by critics and audiences alike. I am no different. I had to see what it was going to be, especially due to the fact that a buddy of mine stated it was the greatest action movie ever. EVER!?!? What I knew I would appreciate about this latest installment in a very solid franchise was the fact that it would be more like the first. I say that because it is not a damsel in distress film like #2 and #3 were. This is about the IMF and how Ethan Hunt (Cruise) must save himself and his crew when a horrible event is pinned on them. An act of terrorism in a foreign country. That is the scariest situation possible. By far, this is the most clever and the best written film of all 4. At times this felt like a James Bond Film or an episode of 24 with Jack Bauer. Aside from those similarities, the biggest thing it had on it's side was the story. An in depth, very detailed film with lots of players and scenarios. It flowed extremely well and I was excited to continue to watch where it would take us. It took us to the top of the tallest tower in the world right there in Dubai. That entire scene which was way more than just what we've seen in the trailers and was definitely the highlight of the film. I also appreciate Tom Cruise doing all his own stunts, and there is a very funny story behind that scene in particular. **(Let me derail for a minute. Apparently the original stunt coordinator was fired because he wanted Cruise to wear a parachute while shooting the scene. He was not at ease about Tom being on harness only. Tom didn't want to wear a chute, so he found another stunt coordinator who would basically tell the insurance company that Tom would be perfectly safe. Kind of funny, but also shows that Cruise has bigger balls than I do, as I don't think I would have gone outside of that building relying on a couple of wire harnesses only.)**  

After the Kremlin is blown up (not a spoiler, just watch the trailer), the IMF is disavowed by the President and branded as terrorists. They must clear their names, all the while continuing on with their original mission. They are dealing with a scientist that wants to send the nukes and not just to one specific country or another. He wants to nuke the Earth. Ya, he's nuts. I don't think he even realizes he lives on Earth. Dumbass. So Ethan and crew must find this guy and his equipment before he launches a worldly holocaust. They must do it without any resources from the IMF as it has been disbanded. Another reason this film was so good was the addition of power player Jeremy Renner. He is fantastic in everything he is in. I was hoping he would have plenty of screen time unlike his cameo in Thor. I was not let down. Once we see him for the first time 20 minutes in, he is there in every scene and he is brilliant. A great sub plot unfolds with his character that adds to his character. Simon Pegg is back for his second MI film and he had as much screen time as Cruise himself. He was the comic relief and if Pegg knows one thing, it's comedy. I was happy with how the laughs were earned in this film. Almost like they weren't suppose to be funny. The chemistry between the remaining 4 IMF members is uncanny. I really felt like these people had been trusting each other for years, except Renner as he was a nubie to the cloak and dagger games Ethan has become accustom to. Rumor of a fifth is on the web this week and if they can write as quality a story as Ghost Protocol, then I am all for it. The one thing all the Mission films have given us is very cool tech. This one did not disappoint. It had some of the coolest gadgets that I wish existed. The fact that the writers basically invent things that are beyond un-probable really shows how clever they can be. The sad news was no Ving Rhames. Wah Wah, sorry. Well, almost No Ving Rhames. 

I am really close to rating this A Work of Art for it's Original Plot, Superb Acting (Tom Cruise's best performance of his career!!), Visuals, Action Scenes, Fantastic CG when necessary, and the utter body abuse Ethan Hunt takes for his team and the World. Ah Hell, I just convinced myself....

NBM rates Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol - A Cinematic Work of Art

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I was not going to miss this one, but for different reasons than you may expect. I went to watch this film last night with 5 other people. These 5 people all read the books. I did not. I feel I had an advantage to the over all enjoyment of the film, because of where the takes us. Being a crime solving noir flick, the ending is what it was in the book. Everyone knew where it was going to eventually lead, all they were doing was appreciating the Actors portrayal of the characters they love on paper, and hoping the Director didn't screw it up. I, on the other hand, had no idea where the murder mystery would take me. That kept me on the edge of my seat. Even with a run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it didn't seem long, The way it played out, there are several stories about several people, so for a while it is like we are watching two different films that will tie together. First off, The Director should legally change his name to David AMAZING-Fincher. The guy is a master at what he does. This is no different. When you must combine a story with several dozen characters, several plots and sub plots, wrap it up in under 3 hours, have it be 100% coherent, and have the non book reading audience not have a single question about anything just witnessed, you have done something more perfect than perfect. Another buddy of mine said it would be hard to understand without knowing the text of the books. This got me nervous. Alas, I have no questions about the film at all, except, when are the next two coming out?!?! I know Fincher is shooting them back to back, but I have not heard a guesstimate release date yet. No bother, I will embrace what we have now. On to the story. Mikael (Mik-ale) (Daniel Craig) has just been sued for publishing a libelous story he wrote in his magazine. It cleans him out, and he does not know what to do. With very little prospect, he is commissioned to write a memoir for a wealthy man name Henrik Vanger (Plummer). More than the memoir itself, Henrik wants Mikael to find out who killed his niece, Harriet, 40 years earlier. This is where we get an extremely well thought murder mystery. Mikael has to research over 40 years of history. 40 years ago there were no databases, or computers logging everything. He had his work cut out for him, but once he got into it, he became obsessed. Where we meet Lisbeth (Rooney Mara) is when the story goes into a dark place. She is a loner. She doesn't trust anyone, with good reason, and she wants her freedom. She has one thing going for her. Her attention to detail and her memory. She is a bloodhound on a case and Mikael turns to her as a research assistant when he can no longer think straight. He made a wise decision. She is fantastic. Daniel Craig may be the big name attached, but this is the Lisbeth show. Her attitude and demeanor are so violent, yet funny at times. Her look is something I've never seen before, yet she is comfortable in her own skin. These two are determined to figure out all the answers even if it kills them, which it could. They have a strange relationship to say the least. Mikael is the first man she has trusted in a long time, and Mikael needs her to be strong for the both of them sometimes. He knows he can depend on her if he is in need and she will deliver. The story never dulls, and never slows. When it ended, it ended. No loose ends. No questions. Everyone wins. I was so happy that good movies can still be made. 
PS: The opening credits is the best Nine Inch Nails video ever. I will also tell you, this film has one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever been privy to. It is near the end and I was holding my breath. Scroll down for Take 2 of this film review. Dean-O will give his review, and this should be good, since he read the books. A different perspective. 


NBM rates The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Phenomenal

After reading all three books in Stieg Larsson’s “Girl” trilogy two years ago, I was elated when I heard they were bringing an English version of the film to the big screen. Ever since I saw the first trailer, I’ve been counting down the days to this holiday season so I could see the images come to life. I’ve got to give a big thumbs up to David Fincher and the crew, because they did not disappoint! Rather than writing in my normally poetic, smooth flowing style, I’m going to share my thoughts on some major points:

• Script: it’s not “word for word” from the book, and there were a few points in the plot that were modified in the film that kept it fresh without changing the overarching story or character relationships. Well done.
• Rooney Mara/Lisabeth Salander: One word – remarkable! I knew Mara was playing the role, but I didn’t know who she was. I don’t think I’d ever seen her in anything before, or if I did, she made no impression on me. I went online today (after seeing the movie) to see what Mara looked like before this role. It’s a further testament to the unbelievable transformation she made. Her physical appearance is a perfect representation of Lisabeth, from the borderline anorexic physique to the haircut, piercings, tattoos and clothes. It’s not just a Halloween costume on screen, though. The most compelling part of this movie is the performance she gives. Mara managed to capture the essence of Salander and play it out on screen: balancing fragility with ferocity, appearing aloof yet calculating, seemingly comfortable being completely uncomfortable within society. I could write an entire review on this performance alone. If Halle Berry can win an Oscar for Monster’s Ball and Charlize Theron can win for Monster, then Rooney Mara needs to start working on her acceptance speech for this performance.
• Daniel Craig/Mikael Blomkvist: Craig managed to play this role better than I expected. He was understated and vulnerable rather than cocksure as his Bond role dictates. As the plot plays out, Blomkvist regains the confidence in himself and his abilities that was shattered in the early stages of the film, and Craig is able to depict this turn without firing a weapon or torturing anyone. The best acting I’ve seen from Craig.
• The Score: Effective, but I did have one complaint. When Salander is driving a scene, she’s given her own “Jaws” music – that musical accompaniment that is dark, eerie and leads you to 
  • expect something dramatic and shocking will occur. I think this was overdone. It wasn’t subtle enough, and it was just outright distracting in one of the early scenes in the film. I understand what they were trying to do, but discretion is sometimes the better part of valor. Fincher and Reznor could have exercised a little discretion here.
  • Billy’s Pan Pizza, sandwiches and coffee: if you’ve read the trilogy, you know that these were the three things that fueled Blomkvist and Salander. I was pleased to see all three playing a role in the film.
  I was blessed with the presence of Filter Jesus seated at my right hand during the film, and knowing that he had never read any of the books , I’m curious to hear his reflections on it. Enlighten us, oh Jester!
  
  
  Dean-O rates The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Phenomenal

Fright Night (2011)

I will be the first to say that this movie looked ridiculous, but reviews don't lie. Especially when the critics review it so well. (75% on RT). They hate everything. Why would they tout over a remake? A remake of a horror film that stars Colin Farrell just doesn't sound that appetizing. Couple that with a film that was "made" for 3D. By that I mean, while watching it in 2D at home, the obvious shots coming toward the front of the camera being thrust into theater audiences faces just feel flat to at home DVD renters. It just seems pointless, but this review is not about my dislike for 3D. Though that hand full of shots did take away from a good film, it did not ruin it for me or my "I'll watch it, but it looks awful" wife. In the end she was more surprised than me of how much she liked it. As you know, I pretty much like anything. Her, not so much. She likes to hate things to throw it back in my face that I wasted her time. Not really, she is a good sport most of time. What is great about Fright Night is the lack of character development. When we have a short movie, in order for it to be good, we need what we crave. Action, blood, plot. Not anything about the players it necessary some time. In this film, we know all we need to know from the trailers. Unlike Disturbia, which kept us guessing, Fright Night is very cut and dry. Jerry (Farrell) is a vampire. He is not a shiny vampire, he is a killing, vampire making machine. He likes the hunt and the kill. Within 15 minutes we hear a kid talk about Jerry being a vampire, and within 20 minutes we know it's true. What I love about Vampire movies, especially in our current vampire heavy society is the myth and the lore of it all. Every vampire in film survives by a different set of rules and it always interests me to see what the film makers vampires are susceptible to. This is no different. Jerry is a run of the mill vamp. No sunlight, very fast, no reflection, yada yada yada. It does seem like the vampires in this film are a direct rip off of 30 Days of Night, but then I saw some images from the original 1985 Fright Night (Ya, I never saw it). Now that I have seen those images, I realize that so many movies rip it off. Jennifer's Body, 30 Days of Night....and so on. Our hero in this film is Charlie (Anton Yelchin). He realizes right quick to not have anything to do with Jerry, unfortunately Jerry wants to mess with him. The only person to help Charlie is the host of a stage show called Fright Night (clever), named Peter Vincent. This character is the comic relief of the film. The film is riddles with decent to great jokes in between the horror. Charlie must stop Jerry before his entire neighborhood is wiped out. He must protect his mom and his girlfriend...at all costs. The film is very entertaining to say the least and the fights between hero and villain are fantastic. I went from no hopes to thorough enjoyment.


NBM rates Fright Night (2011) - Aweso-nomenal

The Change-Up

Oh Dave and Mitch. To say this story isn't cliche would be a bold face lie. It's been done a dozen times and none better than the original Freaky Friday with a young Jodie Foster. The closest other one would have to be the Judge/Savage vehicle Vice Versa. What has not been done to date in the body switching genre is a graphic hard R rated version featuring two grown ass men. These two men, Dave (Bateman) and Mitch (Reynolds) could not be more different, which is why the switching works for this particular film. If each of these guys were married and both of them had kids, then the switch would basically amount to your everyday wife swap for a few days. However with these two, that couldn't be further from the scenario we are blessed with. Mitch, or Uncle Mitch to Dave's kids is a single, unemployed actor who lives in Atlanta. An actor in Atlanta? Ya, that will get you work. Dave is a work-a-holic attorney trying to make partner at his firm after putting in 18 months on a merger proposal for his company. The switch could not happen at a worst time for either of these guys. What do we really expect from this type of vulgar movie? Apparently critics were let down. Were they really expecting an Oscar worthy film filled with dick jokes? I got exactly what I expected. The only thing that was a little off for me was the nudity, or lack there of. Nudity was present, it just was not the type of nudity we would expect from a guy like Mitch. When they switch, they have to be each other in every aspect of life, so the world does not implode. This means Mitch may have to sleep with Dave's wife, and Dave may have to cheat on his wife, though it's not even his body, he still feels it to be wrong. Dave really has the most to lose. His loser best friend now must understand law and marriage and raising kids...all of which he has never even considered to think about. The attitude changes of these two guys is really what sold it to me. To watch Dave go from over worker and sweet to a total D-Bag is great and of course Mitch goes the opposite. The jokes are good, sometimes great and I have never laughed so hard at babies being computer altered to do funny stuff. It is totally unrealistic and that is what we hoped for. It really shows what beneath the surface of both men in another cliche way, but there is nothing wrong with that. Cliche  can be good and The Change-Up offers up a new way to deliver an old story...with raunch, nudity, diarrhea, an abundance of F-Bombs, and Samurai swords. If you want to watch a comedy with very little thought, you will enjoy it. If you have kids, you will really enjoy it, and if you like Bateman and Reynolds, you can't lose. Rotten Tomatoes dogged it with a 24%. I think it should have at least been double that hitting 50% which is where I rate it. Right in the middle.

NBM rates The Change-Up - Awesome

The Help. Now on DVD and Blu Ray

I am not going to give a full review of this film as it has already been reviewed by the Missus. The Help was Raw, Emotional, disheartening, well acted, well written, and extremely well thought out. I enjoyed it immensely and you will too. 
The Jester rates The Help - Phenomenal. 
Read Lisa's full review Here 

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The Boondock Saints

I have been a "mega-fan" of "The Walking Dead" since the night it aired that fateful Sunday last year. What's more, I like Daryl the best of any character on the show. Daryl is played by Norman Reedus who's other claim to fame was an indie film from long ago called The Boondock Saints. I have only seen the movie once in 1999, and I remembered I liked it, but through the channels all I have heard is how unbelievably AWESOME it is. I had to watch it again and the one word that comes to mind...Regret. As in, I Regret I have not seen this film at least 10 times by now. The film itself is very original. Actually, it sort of rips off The Bible. Ya, That Bible. As in the Angel of Death. Doing God's work by exterminating the evil for no self gain. The story written by Troy Duffy and funny enough Directed by him as well. I say funny enough because Troy was not a film maker at all. The documentary "Overnight" is a brilliant look at what Troy did to not only get his film made, but to place him behind the camera. If you can find the documentary, WATCH IT!!! It makes the already magnificent Boondock Saints even better. The Saints as they are called are Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery aka Powder) and Murphy (Reedus) MacManus. Two normal Irish born Americans who feel the "hand of God." These brothers just like to work and like to drink. We pick up with them on St. Paddy's day and all is well. When they get roped into a bar brawl with some nasty Russians, they leave them embarrassed and pissed off. When the sneaky Ruskies show up to make the boys pay the ultimate price things get out of hand, and the Russians end up taking a dumpster nap. This murder/manslaughter gets the attention of Detective Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe). He wants answers, but the boys are not what he is looking for. After this first experience gets them branded as heroes, the boys feel they must continue God's work by taking out all the scum of the city. The rest of the film follows them carrying out their mission, while the baddies put a price on their heads, and all the while Dafoe's performance as the eccentric detective is the show stealer. A fantastic story, great action, and even better comedy. Obee Kabee. Aequitas/Veritas.

"And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be, In nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen" 

  The Brother's prayer before the deed is as awesome or more awesome than Sam Jackson's quote from Pulp Fiction.

NBM rates The Boondock Saints - A Cinematic Work of Art, and though I didn't review it, The Documentary about Troy Duffy mentioned earlier in this post would receive the same rating.

Green Lantern 2.0 (Jester's Version)

When Green Lantern hit theaters this past summer, I had no desire to watch another DC comics failure. NBM guest writer "Superman" had different thoughts and he scribed the review for this film a couple of days after it's theatrical release, then he bought it on Blu Ray when it came out, and finally he loaned it to me. It sat there for over a month waiting for me to have nothing better to watch or do. Now that I have seen it, I feel I must write some words about it. It did not exceed my expectations and it did not fall short of my expectations. Truth be told I had very little expectations to begin with, which suck because I do love Ryan Reynolds. I am not a comic book guy, however I do like the stories that have spawned an entire generation of decent to fantastic comic book films. Marvel definitely has the edge on the market, and by that I do not mean in terms of characters. The characters do have a lot to do with a film, but overall, it's the direction and story that make or break it. Marvel has had a few flubs along the way, but since X-Men broke over 11 years ago, the success rate for a Marvel movie is very high. Maybe they have been doing it long enough to understand the formula. Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is the son of a military pilot, so naturally that is what he wants to be. He is one, and a cocky one at that. No accountability whatsoever for any of his actions. He is a selfish pilot, a selfish man, and a selfish lover. That last one is merely an observation on my part. When an alien ship crashes to Earth, the Alien's "costume jewelry" chooses Hal as this Aliens predecessor in the Green Lantern corps. After Hal inherits his ring, he is the first human to be in the corps, and he doesn't know what that means. He doesn't even know what the corps is or does. He does know he has to speak the oath to the lantern which is the funniest scene in the movie...."To infinity and beyond the Power of Greyskull. Amen" The CG is extreme and the story is mediocre. If you are a comic book guy, I'm sure you knew all the players in the film. I, however, thought Sinestro (Mark Strong) was a baddie from all the trailers I watched. I pay attention and read a lot of movie news and spoiler sites and the fact that I was wrong about such a detail proves that the marketing campaign for Green Lantern sucked. They didn't do their jobs to promote what the movie was. They expected everyone to know everything about this Green Lantern world, and that's just not the case. Hal is the first Human in the corps, and this bothers some of the other corps members. You see to be a Green Lantern, you must not have fear, and it is Human nature to be fearful. After a couple of cool scenes, and a few good jokes it comes to an end. As I have always preached here at No Bad Movies, I never regret watching any movie, but whether I watch it again usually determines how I feel about it. I will never watch this again and depending on whether or not I like you will determine if I tell you to watch it or not. Now that see how I feel, here is a link to the original Lantern review from Superman.

Jester rates the Green Lantern - Good

Hesher

Take a good hard look. Yep, that's Joseph Gordon Levitt in what I think is one of his best roles. Let's face it, he did not need the role of Hesher to break out if you will. He is an indie god among actors and viewers alike. He can do whatever he wants and he will be respected. Hesher proves that. His character is one of the most vile people ever written. These people do exist, but with movies we like to be shown things that are sugar coated and not like the norm. He is a bitter young man, who hates everyone and everything. He speaks his mind, listens almost strictly to Metallica and He is also a pyroMANIAC. As impactful as Hesher is with everyone who is unlucky enough to meet him, the real story of this film is about a young boy named TJ Forney. TJ is  on the mend as is his father Paul (Rainn Wilson in his best role to date). They have just lost their wife and mother and neither of them knows how to cope. Paul turns to anti depressants in bulk form. He may as well be a zombie. TJ, only being 11 or so, does not have the luxury of drowning his sorrow in booze or drugs. He has to deal with his pain all on his own. Paul and TJ are living with Paul's mother trying to pick up the pieces. Life is hard enough for this family, what they don't need is an abusive, destructive, foul mouthed pothead squatter. Enter Hesher!! I said they DIDN'T need that. Anyway, Hesher comes to live with them because TJ blew off some steam. A funky happenstance. Either way, TJ is responsible for getting Hesher evicted from his layer. Now Hesher is gonna real mess up some lives...or is he? The first half of the film is filled with one liners that mostly include a non chalant F word followed by a Heavy Metal rim shot. BRILLIANT. He is funny because he doesn't give a rat's ass about anything. No one really says anything to him except Grandma. She likes Hesher. He talks to her and she is lonely. We get the feeling that Hesher is a guardian angel of sorts. Put there to protect TJ from a bully who is ruining his already crappy existence. Not the case. Hesher actually watches the bully beat up on TJ, and he does nothing. Then we think, maybe Hesher is teaching TJ that no one will ever be there for you, so you should defend and fend for yourself. Nope, wrong again. Hesher is truly a selfish individual that puts everyone around him into awful situations only to bail on them in their time of need. Most of the time, he is both the cause and effect of every bad situation. The film has great visuals throughout. His crap tattoos, his artwork, his van etc.. It also shows, in great fashion, the turning point in Hesher's mentality. What he really needs or wants. We watch TJ and his Dad go at each other's throats while Hesher just sits there eating his dinner. It really begins to look like he may be the normal one in this equation. He goes from dropping F Bombs to talking in nothing but sexually explicit language. That change comes when Nicole (A very drab looking Natalie Portman) shows up. She kind of becomes the third wheel with Hesher and TJ. I really wanted to rate this film A Work of Cinematic Art, especially after the crap I gave to There Will Be Blood yesterday, but alas, Hesher is too just half of a Perfect movie. The second half also derails in this film. It is only 1 hour 43 minutes, but it could have been trimmed. The last 23 minutes are a bit of the writers just seeing what they could get away with. We see Hesher go through a change, then revert, but we also see how he sees the world. He will always keep his guard up, and no one will ever get in. JGL offers up a performance that I could see as being hard. He does things in Hesher that as a human being would be hard to do. He is a bit of a psychopath, but JGL gives him life. He makes us care about him. I think if you can handle all the bad language and how douchey Hesher is most of the time, you will enjoy this.

PS. The swimming pool scene where Hesher emulates Luke Skywalker is absolutely hilarious. I laughed very hard for the first 35-45 minutes, then I felt really bad for the last 45 minutes with a few more laughs thrown in.

NBM rates Hesher Phenomenal

There Will Be Blood

Did Daniel Day-Lewis deserve his Oscar win for TWBB? YES!! Did I love it? Sort of. Vastly hailed as a "Work of Art", which is a term I loosely throw around here on NBM as the highest of the high in terms of ratings. I do agree with the statement, but TWBB is not going to receive the coveted "Work of Cinematic Art" rating the Writers, Actors, and Director so strived from NBM,  when doing this film 3 years before I started my site. Only 58 films out of the 421 I have reviewed have received this rating, and TWBB was really close. I am going to tell you why it could have, then why I ultimately took the prestigious prize away, much like they do to coked up, sex scandal clad Miss America pageanteers. The movie begins in 1898 with Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) hunting for gold. Let's just say it's not going well, but he is determined to make something of this life, so he never gives up. Move forward a few years. Gold is out, oil is in. Now Plainview is an oil man. He is good at what he does, but more than anything, he is a salesman. He gives property owners low dollar leases to be able to drill their land. Big signing bonuses blinds the property owners to signing anything The first hour shows Daniel's mentality toward success and also his mentality toward anyone who disagrees with him. He is doin well, but not well enough. Then a young man named Paul gives him a lottery ticket. All he has to do is cash it in, and without hesitation he does. Paul sends him to a town undrilled, where oil literally lies on top of the ground. Daniel buys the whole damn town, and this will be his legacy. Daniel plays the demented really well, but he does have honest love for his son. That is the best part of him. Then the second half of film kind of trails on and on about how crazy this man is. It goes all the way into the year 1927, where HW is grown and married. It follows his downward spiral through all of his successes, but at 2 hours 30 minutes, it is drawn out. I think the story is still brilliant, but I think the director (who also wrote the script) wanted to indulge himself in his own epic. I loved the work aspect. How hard everyone strived for the same goal, but watching Daniel continue to shut himself off from everyone and everything just went too far. The main constant in TWBB is the relationship Daniel has with the local preacher Eli. Don't think because I said relationship, that these two liked each other. Daniel went out of is way to humiliate the preacher, and this quarrel was very public for 20 years, but luckily for us viewers, their story does come to a close before the credits role. Maybe the long running time is necessary to close all the gaps, fill all the holes, and leave nothing to our imagination. It's all very black and white and there is no one who would be able to come up with some sort of analogy for Daniel's actions. He is a psycho. A very wealthy psycho, nonetheless, still a psycho. That's it.

NBM rates There Will Be Blood - Phenomenal

Tower Heist

Eddie Murphy is back... in a sense. A PG-13 Eddie is better than the kids movie Eddie of the last 10 years. As much as I was looking forward to seeing Murphy back to business, he was not in the film as much as I thought he would be. He is very intrical, and every scene he is in, he steals...except maybe the one featuring him and Gabourey Sidibe (Pictured above). I finally have a reason to agree with people that Brett Ratner is a good Director. This film is directed phenomenally. The angles he uses and reflections. It all felt real, even when, we as the audience, know what we are seeing is impossible. He did a really good job. The cast is the best part which is the way it should be. To join cult icon Ferris Bueller with cult icon Axel Foley, then add the usually unfunny Stiller to lead the crew (although I liked him in this film) with a guy who has cut his comedic teeth in 2011, I'm talking about Michael Pena, who was the funniest person in 30 Minutes or Less and lastly add the dry wit and brilliant uncomfortableness of Casey Affleck you get an all star cast with real chemistry. I think Casey Affleck was brought on because of his time on the Ocean's movies. They needed a guy with previous "caper" experience and he was that guy, mostly because I think Carl Reiner is dead. Alan Alda (Hollywood Royalty) is the perfect cast call for the character of Mr. Shaw. He is the problem with everyone's lives in the film. He is a big shot investment banker who not only loses everyone's money, but probably won't be held accountable, and still has a nest egg of considerable amounts all to himself. He lives in the multi million dollar penthouse of the building aptly named The Towers. When he is indicted, Josh (Stiller) knows he is in a personal kind of trouble. Josh is the building manager of the prestigious Towers, and he has invested all of his employee's pensions with Shaw. They did not know he did this, but he thought they would appreciate having their portfolios tripled. Instead everyone who has worked for Josh for 10 years lost everything. Josh has to right this wrong. He is pissed at Shaw - a man he considered his friend - but he is more disgusted with himself. He assembles a rag tag team to take from Shaw what he has left. An estimated $20 Million. He wants it for his friends and colleagues who lost all their money. The film's flow is so good, we are unaware of every relationship among the people on screen until we are informed. That is just good story telling. Like I said, Murphy does not make an impact until 30 minutes in, but when he does, I had a big smile. I would not be surprised to find out he adlibbed many of his lines and jokes which he delivers in classic Murphy fashion. Josh is not going to be denied, but he may not have a choice in the matter. He is being watched semi closely by the FBI agent who is working the Shaw case. She (Leoni) also happens to be interested in Josh on a personal level. This does add complications, but with continued great story telling, it rounds out solidly. I wanted more when the short 1 hour 39 minute movie was over. It could be sequeled I think, even though it wasn't really left open. It's just a good cast that could definitely work together again. Sitting at 69% on RT , it has surprised almost everyone who watched the trailers. I think it deserves to be more along the lines of 75%. An absolute fun action comedy that Hollywood as a whole needed. It keeps hope alive that good films can still be made.


NBM rates Tower Heist - Phenomenal

Hanna

What a fun movie to watch. I had some expectation of what Hanna was going to be, but what I got was a bit different. Good different. The cinematography was second to none, and the Chemical Brothers soundtrack synced up with the sequences perfectly. Hanna is raised in isolation on a snowy continent by her Father Erik (Eric Bana). When know from the trailers that he has raised her to be a perfect soldier, or hunter, or maybe just a survivalist. What we are a little unclear about is why. He trains her, teaches her any language she may ever need, and makes her unafraid of the world she does not know. She is 16 and has not experienced anything. Then her time has come. She is ready. Ready for what? That is what the film really is about. The revenge Erik wants on his former employer Marissa (Blanchett), who is a government handler for spies and secret agents. When Hanna is taken into custody by her own free will, the movie is off like a rocket. She is smart and trained and has her orders. Failure is an unknown word to her, and Saoirse Ronan is absolutely one of the elite young actresses in Hollywood today. Hanna takes us on a thrill ride of unanswered questions, laced with really good, if not some of the best, fight scenes ever. As much as I thought this would be an Eric Bana vehicle, it was actually more to showcase the brilliance of Miss Ronan. The way she never hesitates to the way she handles herself and her firearms really showed me that she very well could be what the film was making her out to be. If you can't tell, I really enjoyed this film, and though I love Cate Blanchett, the southern accent was not the worst I've heard, but not the best either. Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead, who is also British, does a much more believable southern accent. She tried to hard, and that is why she failed. True southern is about talking slower and drawing out the syllables, not emphasizing every syllable like she did. Her flaw did not over shadow the brilliance that is Hanna. It was not so "Nicolas Cage" over the top, that it was distracting, and it does not change my opinion of the overall story. Truth be told, Hanna is one bad mother. The last aspect I am going to discuss is the overall direction. In a word, PERFECT. The way we see Hanna light up seeing the world for the first time, and being terrified of running water or fascinated with electricity was done so good it had to be done. Director Joe Wright only needed a couple of very short scenes to set the stage of the lead character's entire mentality and he did it so well. You will enjoy what Hanna is, I'm sure of it.

NBM rates Hanna - Phenomenal

Catching Hell

Dean-O here.

I need to disclose a few things before I start:

1. I grew up in the Chicago area
2. I am a devout Cubs fan
3. I drove 8 hours from Orlando to Atlanta early on Sunday, October 5^th, 2003 and sat down the 3^rd base line at Turner Field that evening as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of their Division Championship Series, putting them 4 wins away from making their first World Series appearance since the 1940’s. After the game, I drove back home and went to work without sleeping…or without a voice.

Needless to say, I was consumed with the ensuing Cubs chase for the National League pennant against the Florida Marlins. I was elated after the Cubs took a commanding 3-1 series lead after 4 games. And I was on the borderline of hysteria as I watched Game 6 unfold on my TV. The Cubs were up 3-0 going into the 8^th inning. Mark Prior was on the mound and he was dominant. A lifetime of dreams was in our grasp. The Cubs were on the cusp of making it to the World Series.

Then, a fly ball went down the left field line, and everything changed.

It became known as “The Bartman Ball”. Steve Bartman, an unassuming 20-something fan ended up touching the ball as Moises Alou, the Cubs left fielder, reached up to try and catch it. Alou didn’t make the catch, and he immediately reacted with outrage. The ensuing collapse by the Cubs is epic, legendary, and still makes me sick to my stomach. Bigger than that, though, is the reaction to Bartman that occurred during the game. He was isolated, taunted, vilified, and became the symbolic scapegoat for the Cubs failure.

Last month, ESPN Films released a documentary by Alex Gibney titled “Catching Hell”. In his film, he examines the notions of “curses” and “scapegoats” while providing an in-depth perspective on that fateful play and the subsequent fall-out. ESPN Films has produced many impactful documentaries as a part of their “30 for 30” series, and this was no exception. Obviously, this film brought back some painful memories, but I was fascinated by two aspects of his film in particular. First, he incorporated footage from two amateur documentarians – one guy behind the video camera, one guy in front of it. They recorded the experience of arriving at the ballpark that day, getting to their seats in the left field bleachers, and giving their own “fan reaction” running commentary of the events as they unfolded. What this footage captured that Fox TV Network coverage did not was the raw emotion of the fans as the 8^th inning unfolded. The feeling in the stadium went from jubilation to confusion to disbelief to anger and hatred…all within a span of 30 minutes. Most of that anger was directed at the kid in the left field seat…not to the product on the playing field. To watch that “gang mentality” play out so clearly on film and tying it to the coverage that Fox provided – essentially fueling it without fully appreciating the impact they were having – it was a masterful presentation on Gibney’s part. Equally as enthralling was the “behind the scenes” footage – the interviews with the Fox TV producer and commentators, with security personnel at the stadium that day, and with those in the seats around Bartman. They all played a part in the way that the events unfolded around this young man, and hearing first-hand accounts of how he had to be hidden, disguised and escorted to a temporary location before eventually going to his hotel room was captivating. Above all else, though, hearing the story of Bartman’s confusion over what had transpired, his watching the replays of the events in the bowels of Wrigley Field’s security office, his remorse and his outright fear – it was compelling.

While there were parts of this film that I could have done without – specifically the preacher who goes into a diatribe on scapegoating and blowing up the “Bartman Ball” – I was really impressed with this film. Going into it, I thought I knew what to expect. After all, I lived through these events. Gibney managed to give viewers a comprehensive perspective on the incident and the fallout from it. I learned more about the event and the person it impacted than I knew going in, and it made me reflect back on those events in a new light. This film is as much a study in human behavior as it is a dissection of an unfortunate event in a historic baseball series, and I would recommend it to anyone – Cubs fan or not!

NBM rates Catching Hell as Awesome.     

Ghostbusters

Who ya gonna call? Happy Halloween everyone, hope you all have a fun night. I just watched Ghostbusters for the first time in more than 15 years, and I either forgot or just flat out did not realize how brilliant it is. I could not help but to kick myself at all the years I have missed out on Dr. Venkman's sarcastic, mostly pompous attitude, or Ray and his naive child like excitement and behavior for the unknown. Then level headed Egon Spangler, who always knows what to do, but usually doesn't tell anyone else. What a great cast of characters, and though Rick Moranis only had a small part as the annoying neighbor/ key master he is fantastic. I don't plan on spoiling anything for any of you as I'm sure you have all seen this film. It is 27 years old, and highly regarded in the comedic community. The three scientists have all lost their jobs at the university for unapproved test methods, so what to do next? Paranormal bounty hunters - for hire. They have put all their eggs in this basket, and it looks grim. Then she shows up. Dana (Weaver) to hire the boys out for a job involving her penthouse. She claims her fridge is possessed by some other world, guarded by vicious dogs, and the name Zuul comes up. Though Venkman (Murray) thinks to himself that she is nuts, he also knows she is hot, and he wants a date. He goes to her apartment and finds nothing, but the load of BS her dishes to her is brilliant. Venkman makes the film. He is the least experienced and the biggest jack ass of the trio. He can sell it anyway he wants to, and people eat it up. Egon (Ramis) and Ray (Aykroyd) are the brains behind the science of ghost capture, and after a few jobs, the Ghostbusters are becoming famous. The film is called Ghostbusters and that is what they do, but essentially we see them only bust one ghost - Slimer. Other than that it is all about Dana and Zuul. What does it mean, and what do we do? Zuul is the gatekeeper for the all powerful Gozer to return to Earth. Zuul possesses Dana and it gets pretty hot -especially for Venkman. Moranis gets possessed by the keymaster and once they are together, Gozer will reign down in Biblical proportions. Cats and Dogs livin together type of stuff. The Ghostbusters must stop this catastrophic event from happening, but before they can Ray uses his brain one too many times, and then we get the greatest / worst / funniest written villain of all time. The Stay Puft marshmallow man. Only he is 50 feet tall and really pissed off. There is not a lot to this film in terms of plot, but the jokes are outstanding, the acting is even better, and still 27 years later Ghostbusters is revered as one of the greats. Written by Aykroyd and Ramis, I commend you. Rumors of a 3rd installment have been on the horizon for some time now with no definite answer. The latest in the rumor mill was that Bill Murray would only do it if he could be a ghost. I dig that. Now Aykroyd and Ramis are saying GB3 will be made with or without Murray. I guess they got tired of his holier than thou attitude. I think he has the right for said attitude as he is the only one still doing quality work. 


NBM rates Ghostbusters - Phenomenal

Halloween Party

Normally I wouldn't post things of this nature, but seeing as The Jester dressed as The Dude, I couldn't resist. Note the authenticity of the identical Ralphs card, and the green and maroon bowling shoes which are the colors the Dude wears.

STOP APOLOGIZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond sick and tired of people not standing behind their work. It has been 3 years already. For the love of God, shut up. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may be the most ridiculous movie title of all time, but the film itself kicks ass. All kinds of ass. I once heard that the formula that makes a movie great is having at least 3 great scenes and no bad ones. In my opinion this is a great film. Sure, the final scene is a little far fetched, but so is pulling out a man's heart through his chest while he still breathes. Hmm, sound familiar?  What about a bunch of Nazi soldiers melting for looking directly at a golden box said to have held the 10 commandments? My point? These films are ridiculous, which is why we love them. They are works of fiction in the highest degree. The fourth installment was a great work of the same fiction for an hour an half, then it added the dreaded adjective "Science" to the beginning of that fiction. Was it perfect? No, but then again it is hard to make a Perfect film. A couple of scenes I would have cut would have been the Tarzan act with the monkeys, and maybe cut the sword fight down by a couple of minutes, but other than that, it is pretty darn good. This is the film(s) we grew up with, we just happen to be 20 years older, and for some reason most of you have lost your inner Indy. I, on the other hand, try and watch the newest Indy as much as possible, just to appreciate it. You can read Spielberg's Comments Here, and Shia's Here. As for me, you all know where I stand. I'm a fan and a purist, but I appreciate the new projects in certain franchises, especially when they are helmed by all original members.  I cannot wait for Henry Jones Jr. to travel to the Bermuda Triangle for a rumored 5th installment. Once again I will be there opening day to watch it in the glorious 35mm format. Thanks Spielberg - TO HELL WITH DIGITAL!! Speaking of Digital, during the viewing of Machine Gun Preacher, the film paused. No lie. For several minutes the screen held a crystal clear image of Gerard Butler. Digital. Pfffft.

Burn After Reading

I really have an inclining to write tonight, because NBM hit a new 1 day record for page loads. Today we came in just shy of 400 hits. That is outstanding, so I wanted to give you all something new to read. I have written so many reviews, it is hard to keep them straight. Sometimes I write a new review on a film that I have already written a review for - feels a lot like Memento sometimes. For some reason this film popped in my head just now, and I wanted to read my own review. WHAT!?!?! I have not written one on Burn After Reading? Say it ain't so. Oh, it's so. Today seems like the perfect day for this review. I feel not many people have seen this film. I, however, will watch anything with the names Joel and Ethan Coen attached to it. Then you add Clooney, McDormand, Malkovich, Swinton, Richard Jenkins, JK Simmons, and Brad Pitt...well, it can't lose. Unfortunately not enough people have watched it to send it to the status of Fargo, Raising Arizona, or The Big Lebowski. It is every bit as good as all of those films, it just needs to find its audience. It really is a movie about a misunderstanding, and that is also how it all becomes derailed. There are so many players, it can get a little diluted, but they do a perfect job not letting it go that way. Everyone has a good role in this "mystery". I call it a mystery from the perspective of the characters, not the genre in which the film is rated. I would call the film itself Dark Comedy. Let's start with character development. The Coen are so flawless at giving us details in a quick, non drawn out fashion. I love it. Malkovich is Osbourne Cox - a recently forced into retirement CIA agent. His wife (Swinton) hates him. She is currently lovers with Harry (Clooney). Harry is a State Department Marshal who loves his wife, but he also loves every woman he meets. Then we have JK Simmons as the head of the CIA. Bit part as usual for Mr. Simmons, but also as usual, he nails it. Lastly we get the comedy portion. Chad (Pitt), Linda (McDormand), and Ted (Jenkins) are all employees of a hard bodies fitness club. Pitt plays the muscle head retard, and he plays it perfect. He has that Cool World haircut, but this time he is sporting highlights. Brad can do no wrong and to see this character's many imperfections sort of reminds me of a mix between the crazy 12 Monkeys and the eccentric Snatch characters he so perfected. When Osbourne drops a disk at the gym, Chad recovers it thinking he can blackmail Osbourne for the disk contents. Chad thinks they are state's secrets, so with the help of Linda, they move forward. Throughout the story we all begin to realize through few channels of separation, all these characters will interact with one another. When the overly paranoid Harry gets thrown into the mix everything kind of becomes FUBAR, to say the least. One thing in particular happen that I did not foresee, and it involves Harry and Chad. Once all of Chad's resources for making quick money are absolved, he has one more shot. Get more dirt on Osbourne then try again. You will have to watch and see which character is the one that ties it all together, but I assure you, you will not regret watching a movie this brilliant. You will want to watch it over and over again to see what you may have missed. The Coen's have such a knack for cinematic flair, it is unfair to the rest of the film makers out there. They have done so many things so perfectly, all others will be compared to them if their work resembles anything even close. Thanks readers for the 400 hits today. Let's do it again tomorrow, but for now NBM states that Burn After Reading is nothing short of Phenomenal.

Real Steel

So, I will be the first to tell you, I did not have the smallest bit of desire to watch Real Steel. Then when it comes out, the abundance of praise it received from not only the audience, but the critics made me wonder. Got nothing else to do on a Friday afternoon, so why not hang out with the A-Bomb and M-80 for a film that floored me. I knew the basic premise. Estranged Father and Son bond over battle bots or something to that nature. Turns out, it was pretty difficult to watch from a Father's point of view. Charlie (Jackman) is a grade A prick. He never saw his son before he was saddled with him at the age of 11, when the boy's mother dies. I'm not gonna go into the details, but Charlie plans on only retaining custody for 2 months. Cliche' alert: They bond. Fortunately from a story aspect, it happens to a great one. Human boxing is a thing of the past, and now gamers build ultimate fighting machines for high dollar payout, or invest in what eventually becomes a pile of scrap. The sport has been around for about 15 years or so, and it has evolved quite a bit. When Charlie doesn't have a leg left to stand on, he owes money all over town, and has recently trashed 2 robots, which happens to be his only form of income. He and Max (His son) go looking through a scrapyard to find parts when both their lives change. Long story short, they find a robot unlike any they have ever seen. It really reminds me of the Iron Giant robot, and funny enough, it seems there is a lot of that film inside of this one. Charlie and Max start Atom (The Robot) at the bottom of the ladder to see how he does, and though he is a little slow, can't pack much of a punch, he is better built so he can withstand a pounding. The travel the underground circuit long enough to be invited to the big leagues. The film is cliche' laden, but don't we love that about movies. If we didn't love cliche's, there would be no more movies. What makes this film brilliant is the attention to detail in each and every shot. It is very neat to watch Atom the whole time he is on screen, because he is equipped with a "shadow mode". This means he mimics what he sees, and I mean every little detail. How he walks, moves his head, and clutches his arms. Although the film starts out rather dark, it is extremely funny mostly throughout. The banter between boy and Father and spot on perfect. This movie takes cues from lots of our favorites, but is very individual at the same time. The most obvious one to me is Robot Jox. Apparently it's just me though, as I have not met anyone who has heard of it, though I saw it in theater. Then we have the obvious underdog story borrowed from both Rocky I and Rocky IV, and the Iron Giant as already mentioned - A boy and his robot. The last correlation to me is the Father/Son relationship. They don't know each other until now, so why not spend every waking moment in a rig driving across the country to compete in Arm Wrestling Robot fighting matches? Of course I speak of Over the Top. Real Steel did several things very well. Things that had to be done well, or the movie could have been good but not great. The robots is what I speak of. They were seamless. Fluid machines in every way. Does not look CG at all. So much so that I will stand behind my next statement..."More real than Transformers!!" I am glad I watched this film. I sweated out my shirt during the matches if that tells you anything about the realistic factor. Can fighting robots mend 11 years of abandonment and Daddy issues? Watch and see. The kid needs an honorable mention. This kid, Dakota Goyo, is one hell of a good actor. At his age, he kept toe to toe with Hugh, but his delivery of sarcasm and smart ass lines were perfect. I think he will have no issues booking jobs after people see Real Steel.

NBM rates Real Steel - Aweso-nomenal

Bad Teacher

I was very close to watching this in the theater, as I think I may be the only actual fan of Cameron Diaz. People tend to like her, but for some reason, I appreciate her. I don't know why. Can't explain it. After the first wave of awful reviews came pouring in, I felt it would be wise to save my $9, and spend $1 four months later. I will call that a good choice. With that being said, I had a certain grade in my head before viewing it based on what I read, and only one review rang true. That particular review was more of a statement than anything.  "Jason Segal should have had more lines and screen time." I agree with that. He is so good, and this was a secondary role for him, and he killed it. Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) is engaged to be married which in turn will end her teaching career, one short school year after it began. When she is dumped by her wealthy Mother in Law Fiance', she has no choice but to return to teaching. This is where we see how little of a crap she gives about anyone. I guess the one good thing about her is she is not out to hurt anyone, she just is not out to help anyone either. She is selfish, and she knows it. I think the classroom scenes were some of the funniest, considering she only showed movies about school, every single day. Example: Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, and Dangerous Minds. Elizabeth is not giving up. She has a new plan. Find another rich man who wants to take care of her. The only problem in her mind are her boobs. She feels they are too small to attract men in general, so she decides to get a boob job. Only problem is the $$$. This becomes her new mission, and what I find funny is the overly nonchalant conversations people have with her about her tits...Co-workers both men and women. Quickly the job at hand becomes irrelevant, when she meets Scott (Timberlake). Scott is a sub who is heir to what she longs for. This becomes her new focus, and Timberlake sells the do-gooder character superbly. He is fantastic as always. The big problem people had with Bad Teacher was that it wasn't raunchy enough. It didn't push the perverse envelope. All I have to say is that every comedy does not have to be The Hangover. This is a well executed comedy that runs smoothly. It may not have the laughs of Horrible Bosses or Bridesmaids, and it may not be shocking like The Hangover, but it does a good job being what It is, and not trying too hard to imitate those other films. I liked the humor, the foul mouth, even the unexpected breast shot (Not Diaz's). I laughed evenly throughout, and some things really got me, Like the dodgeball scene pictured above.

NBM rates Bad Teacher - Awesome