The Hangover: Part II

*** stars

I can already imagine the reviews The Hangover: Part II will be getting (note: I wrote this review on Monday, May 23rd, when reviews weren't available to the public yet):

"A remake of the original."

"Basically Vegas all over again, only this time it's in Thailand."

"The original was waaaaaay better."

Here's the deal. If one ever thinks that a comedy sequel will always be more original than its predecessors, dream on. However, what one should do is expect more laughs and crazier scenarios. Thus is part, this sequel delivers.

What made the original Hangover so refreshing and inventive was its formula. Show the before and after of a bachelor party gone wrong and save what actually happened to the viewer's imagination. Then during the credits, display the raunchy footage audiences deserve. So why mess with something that already works?

This time around, Phil, Stu, and Allen make their way over to Thailand for Stu's wedding. The man who married a stripper, lost a tooth, and avoided a horrible engagement with a terrible girlfriend is finally getting the life he always imagined. But in Allen's mind, the Wolf Pack is a lifelong commitment and he knows that the three of them are meant to live it up once again. So one night after a harmless cheer with a single beer, they wake up in a run down hotel in Bangkok only to discover that "it happened again". For those who experienced round one, you know exactly what this means. For those who haven't, watch it, and then come out for round two.

Don't worry, Doug isn't missing again. But Stu's bride's little genius brother Teddy is. And to make matters worse, they discover his finger soaked in blood. Now they have to find him before Stu loses everything.

What makes the Hangover franchise creatively successful (along with the formula) is the direction by Todd Phillips. His exterior shots of Thailand are so well mastered that this could have been an amazing 2D IMAX experience. He makes the right decision by letting things unfold through the action of the characters rather than the jokes. Things happen for a reason, and with that, the audience is able to enjoy the chaos even if they know the endgame. Having Part II take place on the other side of the world while still delivering the hilarious goods is surefire proof that it's the characters that make it happen, not the setting. Maybe it's supposed to be similar to the original because Phil, Stu, and Allen still have the same personalities. I like to think they are prone for these ridiculous situations. Like Hank Moody in Californication, they don't find trouble. Trouble finds them.

And the movie is all the better for it. I knew instantly after seeing it that it will be one of the biggest movies of the year. Not just because it's a sequel, but a sequel that lives up to the hype. You hear that Captain Jack? Watch out for The Hangover: Part II to eclipse the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean's $90 million opening and land well north of $100 million. Not bad for an R-rated comedy featuring a chain smoking monkey, eh?

Bridesmaids

*** stars

The fact that Bridesmaids is the biggest box-office surprise of May 2011 is a clear indication that 3D is not working and people are still looking for something smart-and-witty instead of loud-and-noisy.

Bridesmaids is just that, and it works for both men and women. Why? Because master producer Judd Apatow, working from a very funny script by star Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, is able to understand the importance of jokes through character development rather than the other way around. It also helps that Kristen Wiig is on comedic fire with her hilarious and heartfelt performance as Annie, the lonely and lost bridesmaid.

This is what Katherine Heigl's 27 Dresses should have been. It's not sugar-coated or glamored up to be a typical "chick-flick." In fact, this is not a chick-flick, but a raunchy comedy from the viewpoint of women. I know many women who loved The Hangover, so why can't a guy enjoy Bridesmaids? Maybe it's "cooler" for a woman to enjoy a guy's movie than a man enjoying a "chick-flick". What makes Bridesmaids different is that it breaks that rule by doing one simple thing: it's a very funny and moving film.

If that won't convince your boyfriend to tag along with you, let him know that Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame) is in it, and he plays a wicked asshole to perfection. I guarantee you though that he will be laughing at other things as well, especially one hilarious scene on a plane to Vegas that could be the most finely timed comedic scene of the year.

Wiig plays Annie, the maid of honor for her lifelong best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph). During the stretch to Lillian's wedding, Annie's nature consists of continuously falls for the "asshole" while flushing her cupcake-making career down the toilet thanks to the downfall of the economy (a refreshing and relevant recession plot line). The more pre-wedding festivities that occur and the closer it gets to the actual wedding date, the crazier Annie gets.

She can't seem to handle the fact that her life is spiraling out of control. Her friendship with Lillian is falling apart, her career is in shambles, and her love life is no more than a punch line. She meets a nice policeman who seems to be very interested in her. At first, it feels this romance is heading towards formulaic city, but staying true to character, writers Wiig and Mumolo are able to find a more unorthodox way for Annie to find the answers to the questions she's been asking her whole life.

I found Bridesmaids to be surprisingly sweet-and-sentimental. Staying true to the Apatow nature, this is a a surefire comedy packed with hilarious situations that work for both sexes. Men may be from Mars and women may be from Venus, but one thing we can all agree on is that when raunchy humor is done right, anyone can find it funny.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

** stars

In a blockbuster, there's really only one rule to follow: it has to be entertaining. It can be about anything, so long as people are into it. For a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie to exist, you would think the creative team behind it would follow that rule. Instead, On Stranger Tides is destined to be one of the most boring films of the summer. Audiences ye be warned.

You can't ask much from a franchise that should have stayed At World's End four years ago. There's really no need for another Pirates film. In fact, the only thing successful about it is that producer Jerry Bruckheimer was able to convince Johnny Depp to come back. Sure, he loves playing Captain Jack Sparrow, but receiving the highest paycheck of all time by an actor (at a whopping $35 million) certainly must have helped in the negotiation period.

Then again, Depp banks on almost everything that he's featured in. So why tire out a character audiences already love? Sure, the actor still brings his energy and charisma into the swashbuckler, but even he can't save this installment, one that director Rob Marshall struggles with endlessly. The pace is all off, jumping from chase scenes to talking, to sword-fights and more talking, to beautiful exterior shots of ships and yes, more talking. And that wouldn't be so bad if the dialogue wasn't so dull and expositional.

The hardly recognizable plot has Jack Sparrow on the run again simply because he's a pirate. Teaming up with his old nemesis Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), they embark on a quest to find the fountain of youth, which can give eternal life to anyone who drinks from it. Soon, they discover that others are trying to find it, including the evil Blackbird (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz). Apparently, her and Jack have a past, which allows the writers an easier passage to the introduction of the character. Why does she have to be someone from his past? Can't she just be her own character and not a protege of Jack's? That would have allowed a spark to occur instead of just reigniting an old flame. When you're making a fourth film in a franchise that already as a hard time justifying its existence, it's frustrating when things are still in the past.

Which is exactly what On Stranger Tides feels like. It's old, outdated, and meant only for the hardest of hardcore Jack Sparrow fans. It's one thing to keep a franchise going long after it has outstayed its welcome. It's another to do that, and then shove it in your face.

Thor

*** stars

If you actually look at the character Thor without the Avengers franchise, the mythology is quite fascinating. He is a grand hero in a mystical world that is cast out due to his reckless temptation of war which is against his father's wishes. Thus, he ends up on earth.

Now, if you look at the character Thor with the Avengers franchise, it's quite silly. He's from another world and uses a big hammer to smash an enemy's face in. However, due to Shakespearean expert Kenneth Branagh and his excellent skill at directing, he manages to turn a potential disaster into an exciting summer blockbuster movie with (not surprisingly) numerous Shakespearean themes. Hence Branagh's attraction to this project.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) longs to take over his father's thrown as the king of his homeland, Asgard. But when he gets in over his head and takes on an old enemy which consequently opens the doors to a deadly evil, his father (an absolutely appropriate Anthony Hopkins) has been protecting for centuries, he takes away Thor's power and casts him out onto planet earth. The film never explains why his father sends him to earth, but in the mind of we the humans, where else he is going to go?

So how does Thor get to Earth? By creating a riff in science consisting of opening a magical gate that connects the two worlds. He crash lands in the middle of a New Mexico desert and is discovered by three very interested scientists. At first, they think he is a guy who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But when they find out about his abilities, they soon realize he is much more than meets the eye. Especially Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who immediately believes that he is the answer to her entire life's work.

Thor has one thing in mind, to get his hammer back. To bad S.H.I.E.L.D found it first (in case you forgot, S.H.I.E.L.D is the group of agents that were introduced in the original Iron Man, and at the end of Iron Man 2 we see the lead agent finding Thor's hammer). Now, Thor has to get to his hammer back without being stopped by forces of earth.

Exactly, S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't stand a chance.

To my surprise, Thor finds a way to connect all the pieces. It continues the story of the Avengers franchise, it makes us believe that Asgard could be a real place, and it finds the fish-out-of-water humor that many moviegoers yearn for in these kinds of movies. It's what made the original Iron Man so refreshing.

Having a director like Kenneth Branagh doesn't hurt either. Shakespeare is seen all over this story. For example, Thor struggles with dishonoring his father, while his evil brother wishes to erase Thor's memory from his father's head so he would be his favorite son instead. The final battle between the two siblings is appropriately personal and heartbreaking. Visually stunning and in many cases quite the epic, Thor may not be the best film in the Marvel universe, but it certainly is a warm welcome to a new superhero.

Osama Bin Laden: The Most In-Demand Figure in Hollywood

For those of you who were too busy playing Call of Duty for the past couple days, Osama Bin Laden was finally killed by U.S forces on May 1st, 2011. It is a time of celebration, closure, and on a different note, a chance for Hollywood to bank on what is certainly one of the most historic moments in American history.

There are already a few Bin Laden projects in the works . The big one is Kill Bin Laden, which is (supposedly still) Katherine Bigelow's follow-up feature to her astounding 2009 best picture/director winner The Hurt Locker, about a failed attempt to take down the ultimate super-villain. However, now that he is actually dead, is it possible to make a project about someone who gets away even though we already know he has faced his much-deserved demise?

I think it could go both ways. Obviously, it will be harder for moviegoers to connect to the painful emotions of the story because we know the ultimate end to Bin Laden's outcome. Or maybe, it could create a completely different emotional effect where moviegoers can appreciate the bravery of the soldiers who tried to do so instead of just getting angry at the fact that we didn't "get him". It could be the opposite feeling of a movie like Valkyrie, where we knew that Hitler wasn't going to die and were waiting for the eventual demise of our heroes instead of our enemy. Thank you Tarantino, for giving us closure in Inglourious Basterds.

There is a third option for Kill Bin Laden, and that is to tell the same story but change the ending to include his death. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. The vibe for the last decade in Hollywood is that there are no happy endings when it comes to war. Jack Bauer went through hell and back again even though he was a bonafide hero. In the end, he was forced out of the country he swore to protect. Maybe now with the 9/11 attacks coming around in full-circle with the death of Bin Laden, there can be a real change in how we display outcomes in cinema. Maybe hope will rise again, instead of glooming in the dark sorrows that force us to believe that we are just prolonging the inevitable.

So, my question(s) to everyone is this: what kind of Osama Bin Laden movie do you want to see, if at all? Do you want an action movie about his take down? A biopic about the man's disturbing life? Another 9/11 movie that begins with the attack and ends with his death? Perhaps a failed attempt by the Clinton and/or Bush administration compared to the success of Obama's? Although, does it even matter which President gets the credit so long as the man is dead? After all, it truly is the one thing they all agree on.

As do we, the citizens.