My Early Movie Thoughts

Hollywood says, "It's summer!"
Originally uploaded by melissaamy7

So, after a long hiatus from the movie theaters, Melissa and I hit the Arclight with a vengeance the past two weekends. So, here's my movie thoughts:

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL- If nothing else, I now know the next Muppet movie will be awesome. Jason Segel is hilarious and I trust my beloved Muppets in his hands. Forgetting Sarah Marshall features great Muppet references and a fantastic puppet sequence. Oh yeah, it's also really funny. It's not a perfect movie (Jonah Hill, while funny, is pretty unnecessary to the movie). Still, if you don't mind full frontal male nudity, I'd check this one out. Raunchy? Yes. A little silly? Yes. But, in true Apatow form, there's a lot of heart in there, too.

BABY MAMA- Like everyone else on the face of the planet, I was under the impression that Tina Fey wrote this movie. She didn't. She should have, but she didn't. The end product is an ok movie, don't get me wrong, but it's not as sharp and clever as it could have been. I love Tina Fey, absolutely love her, and she is funny in this. I also love Amy Poehler and she is less funny. Not her fault, really, but her character just didn't pop. The script winds up feeling very formulaic and cheesy. When it's funny it's very funny, but it isn't consistently funny. The best part? Steve Martin is fantastic. I didn't even know he was in it and he stole the movie. My verdict- good enough movie, but feel free to wait for Netflix.

IRON MAN- I love comic books. I especially love Marvel comic books. Now, that being said, I never read much Iron Man. I knew the basic story and he popped up in my collection from time to time, but I wasn't as familiar with his story as I was with Spiderman and X-Men. So, going in with an indifferent air towards the character, I came out loving this movie. It's exciting, flashy, and well-performed. Robert Downey, Jr. is just plain fantastic. I've been loving him since Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and the love fest will continue. I think he looks hilariously offensive in Tropic Thunder. But I digress. Go see Iron Man. You'll have a good time. Oh, and it manages to be pretty smart, too.

As for the upcoming films, I'll be seeing the new Indiana Jones at a midnight screening the night it comes out. It looks pretty cool, but there's almost no way it can live up to my high expectations. The Dark Knight could end up being one of the best movies of the year, let alone the summer. And don't forget Wall*E. Pixar hasn't let me down yet, and I think this could end up being their best. A gorgeous, minimalist robot love story set to the score of Hello, Dolly? I'm SO there. Plus, every new poster I see for it has Wall*E in a new pose, and they're all just too damn cute. With all of the excitement over the franchise pictures, it's hard to believe that this movie is the one I'm most excited about. But it is.

Cheers,
Eli

NYT- 4:17
CS- 4:02
LAT- 5:14
NYS- 5:29