African union

Here the first trailer for Blended, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Adam and Drew always have nice chemistry together, but this feels like another excuse for a paid vacation for Sandler.

RBR: Grown Ups 2

I am developing quite the cognitive dissonance when it comes to Adam Sandler's films these days. As I watch more films and learn more about what it takes to make a great film, I increasingly notice the flaws that are found in his movies. And yet one fact remains (mostly) true whenever I watch him on screen - he finds a way to make me laugh. Given the sophomoric nature of the humor, I don't always take pride in the fact that I laugh, but what can I say? In this follow up to the successful film from 2010, we find Sandler and all of his buddies (Kevin James, Chris Rock, and David Spade) and their families all living the sweet life in suburbia. If you are looking for a plot here, do not bother. While story has never been a strength in the Sandler library, this one is particularly startling in how flimsy of a premise there is to string along these scenes. This is moreso a collection of scenes with Sandler riffing with his friends, as well as more tertiary friends (Tim Meadows, Colin Quinn, Nick Swardson, etc.). The sad thing is that among this collection of scenes you see some morsels of goodness that make you believe a better film could have been delivered by this cast if anyone was interested in putting in some effort. Both the adults and the kids (all of whom are back from the first film) have some nice moments. Ultimately, this is the perfect type of movie to watch on cable. You can turn it on in the middle, leave at various parts and come back again and watch some more later and never really miss a beat. During the times you watch, you're likely to find at least a few jokes you'll like but you also won't feel like you're missing out if you do not see every frame. For all of their weaknesses, this is a group of guys that I enjoy watching and hanging out with. This one won't be winning any awards (save for a few Razzies perhaps), but I'm ok with that. A steady diet of this would be too much, but there's nothing wrong with an occasional low-brow indulgence. Rating: ** 1/2

RBR: Hotel Transylvania

One good scary-themed kids movie deserves another I suppose. This one centers around a Dracula who is overprotective of his daughter trying to shield her from human beings by keeping her in a hotel he built as a getaway for monsters. The dracula is voiced by Adam Sandler and his usual gang of cronies make up the majority of the voice cast. Guys like Kevin James, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, and Steve Buscemi are all here as monsters. Things run afoul when a gawky human teen, voiced by Andy Samberg, stumbles into the hotel unknowingly. In a lot of ways, this movie plays exactly the opposite of Paranorman. This is fast, loud, and in your face constantly with noise and action, never relenting for a minute of its hour and half run time. A little of that goes a long way, and yet buried amongst it all is a handful of decent jokes and sight gags that admittedly made me chuckle. It also has the father/daughter storyline that, while played too many times before, is tried and true in its effectiveness. This is far from a perfect film and certainly not the best animated film even this year, but it certainly has much more mainstream appeal and will likely offer something to everyone whether you're a kid or just a fan of Sandler's comedy. It manages to scare up just enough laughs to make it worthwhile as a rental. Rating: *** 3/4

RBR: That's My Boy

Watching an Adam Sandler film is a lot like eating Taco Bell after midnight. When you're young, you enjoy it even if you realize doing so offers you no nutritional value. But as you get older you continue to do it only to instantly regret the decision and realize how disgusting it is. Though I may be maturing, it seems as if Sandler is regressing with each film. His latest effort continues his recent run of disappointingly unfunny films. That's My Boy sees Sandler attempt more R-rated fare and it doesn't help matters. Sex jokes and bodily function humor are used with wreckless abandon in hopes of covering up for a flimsy plot. Sandler plays a deadbeat dad who impregnated his teacher when he was in junior high. Now that his son (Andy Samberg)is grown up and ready to get married himself, he tries to reconnect with him in order to get some money from him. Of course, in staying with him he learns what it means to be a good father (sort of) and everyone lives happily ever after. While the plot slogs along from one obvious point to another, the humor is so crass and off the wall, that no one could see it coming a mile away - primarily because it requires a sick mind to think incest jokes are ever a good idea. At this point, it seems like the best thing for Sandler is for me and everyone to stop watching films like this to help him see he needs to put a better effort into what he's offering the viewing public. Otherwise, audiences will continue to suffer through 'fouth meal' entertainment like this. Rating: * 1/2

2012 Fall Movie Preview (September)

This week I'll be looking at the top films I'm looking forward to over the next four months as well as identifying some other big releases set to come out soon.

HOTEL TRANSLYVANIA (September 28)
Plot: Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free from meddling from the human world. But here's a little known fact about Dracula: he is not only the Prince of Darkness; he is also a dad. Over-protective of his teenage daughter, Mavis, Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit. As a haven for Mavis, he opens the Hotel Transylvania, where his daughter and some of the world's most famous monsters - Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more - can kick back in safety and peace. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem, but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Quick thoughts: After a rough stretch of bad movies, Adam Sandler hopes to turn things around in the friendly environment of computer animation. Though the basic story isn't novel (over-protective dad can't let go of his little girl), the setting lends itself to a number of wild and colorful characters. Opening a month before Halloween, this will no doubt be a big hit with kids.


LOOPER (September 28)
Plot: In the futuristic action thriller "Looper," time travel will be invented, but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a 'looper' - a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good, until the day the mob decides to 'close the loop,' sending back Joe's future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels.

Quick thoughts: I took an interest in this film fairly early on and with each preview I've seen or read, it has continued to build. I always appreciate films that come up with novel or unique plots. And you gotta love this cast. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has already had quite a year and this one might just end up being his best one yet.


THE MASTER (September 14)
Plot: Set in America in the years following World War II, a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

Quick thoughts: This one has really been generating some Oscar buzz, particularly after its first trailer was released. Though still a lot is unclear about this movie, it appears that it will be in some way based on life of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. That will no doubt create some controversy. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who also directed There Will Be Blood, this will be if nothing else, captivating.


TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE (September 21)
Plot: Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) has been one of the best scouts in baseball for decades, but, despite his efforts to hide it, age is starting to catch up with him. Nevertheless, Gus, who can tell a pitch just by the crack of the bat, refuses to be benched for what may be the final innings of his career. He may not have a choice. The front office of the Atlanta Braves is starting to question his judgment, especially with the country's hottest batting phenom on deck for the draft. The one person who might be able to help is also the one person Gus would never ask: his daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), an associate at a high-powered Atlanta law firm whose drive and ambition has put her on the fast track to becoming partner. Against her better judgment, and over Gus's objections, Mickey joins him on his latest scouting trip to North Carolina, jeopardizing her own career to save his. Forced to spend time together for the first time in years, each makes new discoveries, revealing long-held truths about their past and present that could change their future.

Quick thoughts I can't help the fact that I'm a sucker for baseball movies, so I immediately wanted to check this one out. The fact that it features Clint Eastwood in front of the camera for the first time in four years just sweetens the deal. Now that the Cleveland Indians have given up their season, this may be the only good baseball I have to look forward to for the rest of the year. Last year's baseball movie, Moneyball, topped my 'best of' list. I'd have no problem if this accomplished the same feat this year.


OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST
The Words (September 7)
Finding Nemo 3D (September 14)
End of Watch (September 21)
Won't Back Down (September 28)

Scariott Hotel

Here's a trailer for the upcoming animated film Hotel Transylvania featuring the voice work of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez.

RBR: Jack & Jill

I have often found myself to be an Adam Sandler apologist when it comes to his films. While many of these get lambasted by critics for being crass, stupid, or just poorly made, I will still watch them and find some value in them. I certainly don't feel he makes masterpieces, but I can usually rely on them for providing me with a few solid laughs. But I found while watching his latest film, Jack and Jill that there are limits to the degree I will go to defend the "Sand-man". I watched this film in horror wondering how anyone could have thought this film was good and/or funny. Simply put, putting Adam Sandler in drag to play his twin sister was a bad idea no matter how you look at it. The character is loud, obnoxious, and fails to yield any sympathy no matter how much the film tries to portray her as a victim. Perhaps even more baffling than the idea that it would be funny to have Sandler play a woman is how this film managed to get a great actor like Al Pacino to not only be in the film, but to play a version of himself who is drawn to Jill because she reminds him of his New York roots. The rest of the cast (including Katie Holmes as Sandler's wife) is an underdeveloped group of characters merely there to stand on the side as observers and tell us how wacky and funny Jack and Jill are. They're not convincing and neither is the film. I simply couldn't wait for this one to be over. If I had to point out one positive aspect of the film, its that I was impressed with how seemless the scenes are involving two version of Sandler in the same shot. Often when TV shows or movies try to have scenes involving one actor play two roles, it comes off phony or cheesy looking, but the scenes in this film really made it look like there were two different people in the same shot. Still, this is no reason to give this movie a watch. A strong recommendation to avoid this one. Rating: *

RBR: Zookeeper

I was really on the fence about whether or not I should bother with this one. On one hand I enjoy Kevin James' work and I typically enjoy Happy Madison pictures, but on the other hand this looked terrible. I should have used my better judgment because this turned out to be as dreadful as the previews indicated. Kevin James stars as the genial zookeeper who is unlucky in love. That is until he realizes that the animals in his zoo can talk and they offer him advice about how to win over the lady in his life. It basically combines Dr. Dolittle and Paul Blart: Mall Cop, yet fails to have any of the charm or comedy, little as there was, from those films. To make matters worse, this suffers from the same obnoxious problem that James' buddy Adam Sandler's last film, Just Go With It when it comes to the romantic storyline - the male protagonist is bending over backwards trying to win over beatiful, yet vapid woman, when there's an equally beautiful woman who's nicer standing by their side waiting for them to realize that they have feelings for them. It's just plain insulting to the audience and it's getting overused way too much in Hollywood these. One of the other odd things about the film is how poor it looks. There are a lot of seems that are dimly lit that give the film a darker feel than what its going for. Finally, while the animals are voiced by an impressive list of stars that includes Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte and Adam Sandler, none of them give a notable performance that would make you clamor to see more from them in any sort of sequel. This film is just lazy and then made poorly on top of it. Even within the limited genre of talking animal films, there are actually several films that are better than this awful dreck. Rating: **