RBR: Tower Heist

This movie earned some notoriety last fall first for initially being considered as the first movie to simultaneously be released in theaters and VOD (that plan never panned out) and then because its director, Brett Ratner got into trouble for making some inflammatory remarks. But none of that is what made me curious to check this film out. Rather I was interested in the heist plot itself and how well it would work with a cast that featured such funnymen as Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Matthew Broderick. The titular heist is a result of a Bernie Madoff-esque corporate criminal (played nicely by Alan Alda) scamming an entire building's staff out of their retirement fund, so the workers band together to rob him as revenge. I found myself enjoying the heist itself as it provided some twists that I didn't see coming, but found that the film was really lacking in the humor department. Considering this cast that is a big disappointment. Any group of actors could have been chosen to pull off the heist, but if you bring in these guys then there better be some sufficient laughs to go along with the action. The film also makes a pretty pathetic attempt at being relevant of our current tough financial times by making this to be a case of the 99% vs. the 1%. There could have been so much more done to make that aspect of the story stronger either through social commentary or biting satire. As a rental, you certainly could do worse. The story moves along at a decent pace and the heist plot is a reliably entertaining story. But if you go in with higher expectations, you'll be disappointed. Like he does with virtually every film he makes Brett Ratner proves once again what a subpar director he really is. And this time, not even his talented cast could help raise the material above his level of mediocrity. Rating: ** 1/2

Triumph-ant return

For the first time since coming to TBS, Conan O'Brien's old pal Triumph the Insult Comic Dog stopped by and once again brought the funny. This time it involved talking with people from the Occupy Wall St. movement. Any time you can get that dog around delusional, socially awkward individuals it is comedy gold. You can watch the segment in its entirety below. On a side note, all last week Conan took his show to New York and the contrast in his show was vast. I'm not a big fan of New York City in general, but the people who live there are so much better at being audience members and totally get Conan's comedy. There was an energy to the shows that has been largely absent ever since Conan went to LA. I know he says he'll stay in LA so that his kids don't have to move, but I wish he would reconsider because NYC gives Coco the mojo that he needs.