”Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is a visual smorgasbord and a delicious story… available in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D… you’ll enjoy it no matter what format you see it in.

This movie is fun for kids AND adults.. a nice combination of fun and good storytelling.
 ( My spoiler-free review)

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” has a good story, with sharp writing, a great fantasy atmosphere and is full of fun characters.

Flint Lockwood is interesting, but the supporting characters like the monkey “Steve”, Police Officer Earl Devereaux, and Sam Sparks, the tv weather girl.

This is a good use of the new 3D technology.. the screening I saw this movie in was 3D… but that is not what makes this a movie I would recommend to you.

Its fun for its target audience: kids and the parents that go with them.  The movie is full of jokes and references that adults can enjoy (Atari, Simon, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and a Death Star-like meatball).

There are plenty of little moments to appreciate, like kids in the town making face-first snowangels when it rains ice cream… there’s also a well conceived spaghetti tornado that wreaks havoc on the town.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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Life is not funny in “Year One”.

This is one of those times where I sit through a movie so you don’t have to waste your hard-earned money or precious time, because “Year One” is a waste of both time and money.
 

The laughter in this movie is limited to mindless, goofy, low-brow juvenile gross-out humor.

If someone gave me this concept in 5th grade, this is about what the script would be… bathroom humor and two guys trying to save the girls.  BUT this plot (unlike my theoretical one) starts slow, flatlines, then shows some promise, then meanders into the wasteland of movie comedies.

Jack Black de-evolves… the movie roles we are seeing him in are essentially becoming the same character and at the same time getting less funny.  I liked Black as a supporting character in “King Kong” (2005), “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004), “Orange County” (2002), “High Fidelity” (2000), “Enemy of the State” (1998).  He was a good lead however, in “The School of Rock” (2003) and as a main character in “Tropic Thunder” (2008).

Michael Cera is typical too… going through his usual passive-agressive jokes and playing an awkward geeky type.

The writing is not great, the story and concept are okay, but it would have been better in the 1970’s or 1980’s… when I was the age that this would be funny and it could be seen as a spoof of “One Million Years B.C.” (1966) the classic “B” movie starring Raquel Welch… which would have been fresh in the minds of american movie audiences.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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I’ve heard all the hype from the critics.. I just don’t get it, yes this movie had funny moments, but its not the funniest movie of the year… not even top 3 !!!

Yes, the movie had a lot of funny one-liners… but all but one or two were in the trailers and clips shown on tv or the internet to promote the movie.  I forgot to add this to my Birthday Wish List… please Hollywood – stop putting the only funny parts of a comedy in the trailers and previews… or stop making movies than only have enough funny moments for the trailers!!
 Robert Downey, Jr. was good, Ben Stiller was okay, Jack Black was okay, Tom Cruise was pretty funny, Steve Coogan was okay, and Matthew McConaughey was good.

The story was okay… the cinematography and editing was good… but there was nothing GREAT that made the movie better.

Again, most of the funny stuff was in the trailers… unlike “Role Models”,  ”Step Brothers”, and “Burn After Reading”… where there were more than just the funny lines in the previews to keep you laughing throughout.

THE BOTTOM LINE: There’s a lot of stuff in this movie that would be funnier to people working in the business… I guess that’s why so many critics and people in the movie industry think this movie is so funny. Its kind of like how those of us in the local tv news think “Anchorman” (2004) is so funny and anyone who works in an office thinks that ”Office Space” (1999) is funny.  But since I don’t know all of the inside jokes of this movie… and knew most of the jokes before I ever saw the movie… I have to give it 6.5 out of 10.

“Tropic Thunder”

(2008) (rated: R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material)
(1 hr, 47 min)

Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.,  (more…)

(RE-POSTING FROM 6/8/08)

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – Hard to Forget

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a fun *adult*-comedy… more than just raunchy jokes and sexual inuendos from a cast of familiar young faces from many of TV’s top shows….  this ranks right up there with “There’s Something About Mary”, “Knocked Up”, and “Superbad” in R-Rated Comedies….   but I do have one problem… a problem that makes this movie fall just short of a 7/10 rating…

 “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

starring Jason Segel (”How I Met Your Mother”), Kristen Bell (”Heroes”), Mila Kunis (”That 70’s Show”), Russell Brand, Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Jonah Hill (”Superbad”/”Knocked Up”)