Dead and loving it

R.I.P.D. is based on a graphic novel and from the look of this first trailer, this could either be a wild, fun ride or an unmitigated disaster ala Jonah Hex.

RBR: Safe House

Familiarity breeds contempt as the old saying goes. In Safe House, there's a lot of familiarity to the story. While I would not go as far as saying that I have contempt for the film, I am disappointed, they couldn't do more here or at least create a more intelligent script. The story centers around Tobin Frost (played by Denzel Washington), a former CIA agent who is now believed to be a traitor to the United States. After remaining off the grid for nearly a decade, he shows up at a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa where a wet behind the ears agent (Ryan Reynolds) is tasked with keeping him alive while everyone else seems to want him dead. Once again, I fail to see the appeal of Reynolds as an actor. Though this is far from his worst performance, he still comes off as unconvincing in this role as a novice agent. On the other hand, Washington manages to rise above the mediocre material and deliver antoher compelling performance. I would have liked for there to have been more engaging dialogue between Washington and Reynolds' characters, but the film opts to pad its run time with several chase sequences and gun fights instead. I also felt that there was information pertaining to several characters' motivations that should have been revealed sooner. I get trying to build some suspense, but in this case it prevented me from becoming more interested in the outcome of the people in the film. Safe House is a perfectly serviceable action thriller, but it had the potential to be so much more. Washington is the only real stand out here, so if you're a fan of his, I'd definitely recommend you check it out. Rating: *** 1/2

RBR: The Change-Up

If you watched Freaky Friday and felt it needed more poop and sex jokes, then The Change Up is for you. This latest entry in the body swapping genre pairs Jason Bateman, as the over-worked dad and Ryan Reynolds as the carefree, crass bachelor. Credit goes out to both guys for being able to pull off a realistic switcheroo while avoiding doing simple imitations of the other. Each actor does a nice job of truly embodying the other. Aside from the tired premise, the film's major problem comes from ineffectively developing a proper arc for each of these characters. The whole reason to do such a movie is to have each person reevaluate their own life by enjoying the novelty of being someone else. However, the life that they initially establish for Ryan Reynolds character is so vulgar and irresponsible, that there's no way anyone, let alone the uptight character that Jason Bateman plays, would actually want that life. Ultimately Bateman's character just needs a vacation, not someone else's life. This proves to be true as his character doesn't really differ once he's back in his own body while Reynolds ends up getting to see the error of his ways and becomes a better person (who ends up getting Olivia Wilde in the end - not a bad deal at all). The body swapping formula works, which is why it keeps getting reused. Here, the emotion associated with their dilemma is felt and comes off genuine. I just wished they hadn't felt the need to be so crass in their humor. The jokes made by, about, or around children in this film are particularly troubling and were not needed. I can't say that I completely hated this film, but it's tough for me to fully recommend it either because of its problems. Guys will likely be turned off by the sentimentality while women won't care for the gross-out humor. If this film had been able to swap out some of its elements, perhaps it too could have been better off for it. Rating: ** 1/2