Posted on Aug 13, 2008 under Comedy |
Beginning precisely where Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle left off, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay takes the film franchise in a more boorish and spuriously topical direction. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) take an ill-fated flight to Amsterdam, during which Kumar's suspicious-looking bong is mistaken for a bomb. Their arrest prompts a wild-eyed, racist Homeland Security nut (Rob Corddry) to send the boys to indefinite lockup at Guantanamo Bay, where beefy guards sexually subjugate "enemy combatants." The duo manage to get away and make it back to the U.S., hoping the well-connected fiance (Eric Winter) of Kumar's old girlfriend, Vanessa (Danneel Harris), can get them out of their mess. During a dangerous and grotesque odyssey to Texas (where Vanessa is marrying her rich and vain boyfriend, much to Kumar's dismay), Harold and Kumar have episodic encounters with the Ku Klux Klan, a one-eyed, inbred monster, and old friend Neil Patrick Harris (as himself), who swallows fistfuls of magic mushrooms and drags the boys to a brothel stop that goes terribly wrong. The desultory comedy strikes a lowbrow tone from its opening scene (Harold takes a shower while Kumar has a diarrhea attack) and doesn't get much more interesting than that. If there's a bodily fluid that doesn't rate a joke in Guantanamo Bay, it doesn't exist. The persistent sight gags about weed (including a smoky visit with President Bush) never reach the kind of giddy pitch that pot humor requires, leaving a lot of the film's comedy just hanging like dead space. The sequel's attempt to say something, albeit in a gross way, about the state of the country during the Bush years is obvious and empty. Really, there isn't a lot of reason for Guantanamo Bay to have been made, except to print money.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Iron Man (Special Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]
You know you're going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics' longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that's Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quit hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there's always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn't get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won't be able to guess it until it's on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right.
Popularity: 4% [?]
The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season
In the projects. On the docks. In City Hall. In the schools. And now in the media. The places and faces have changed but the game remains the same. Times are tough for the detail. Mayor Carcetti has slashed the departments budget to the bone. Police are operating without overtime some without cars and radios. Angered McNulty is off the rails again and headed down a dangerous path of deception and lies that will ally him with an unscrupulous reporter. The drug trade still rules the corners all you have to do is read between the lines.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat.
Popularity: 3% [?]
