Pawn jockey

In his 20+ years of hosting late night talk shows, Conan O'Brien has amassed quite a collection of props from bits, as well as fan art sent to him. Conan figured it was about time he started making a bit of scratch off this junk so he took some of the pieces to a pawn shop. Check out his adventure there below:

Slay West

Seth McFarland, creator of Family Guy and Ted, tries his luck in front of the camera this time in the new Western comedy, A Million Ways to Die in the West. Thankfully he's brought along several other funny people to help round out the cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, Giovanni Ribisi, Charlize Theron, and Liam Neeson(??). Here's your first look at the film set to come out this summer.

2014 Movie Preview: #15 - A Million Ways to Die in the West

Release date: May 30

Plot summary: Seth MacFarlane directs, produces and co-writes "A Million Ways to Die in the West." He also plays the role of the sheep farmer (Albert) with an all-star cast that includes Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Silverman, Giovanni Ribisi and Neil Patrick Harris. After a cowardly sheep farmer backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

My take: After the surprising success of Ted, everyone is curious to see what Seth McFarland can do for a follow-up. I don't imagine most people figured he would choose to do a Western. While the setting may seem unconventional, Seth has once again surrounded himself with a talented group of funny actors who will likely be able to make this the funniest Western since Blazing Saddles or The Shakiest Gun in the West

What a doll

While you never know what to expect when Conan goes on a "remote shoot", you can always guarantee it'll yield a lot of laughs. His most recent adventure, which had him taking a trip to the American Girl store was no different. Check it out.

2014 Movie Preview: #26 - Sex Tape

Release date: July 25

Plot summary: The plot has a suburban married couple, Annie and Jay, accidentally losing a sex tape they made to reinvigorate their love life. Annie, a parenting blogger, leads the charge to recover it.

My take: Jason Segal teams up with his Bad Teacher co-star Cameron Diaz in an R-rated comedy that has a lot of potential. Segal does well with awkward comedy and had decent chemistry with Diaz. The added bonus for me with this film is that it is being direct by Jake Kasdan, who did Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which is one of the most underrated comedies to come out in the past 10 years. In an era where it seems like everyone is accidentally having "selfies" and personal tapes of themselves getting leaked to the public, this may be a very timely comedy.

2014 Movie Preview: #27 - The Judge

Release date: October 10

Plot summary: The film finds Downey as an attorney returning to his hometown for his mother's funeral. Although Duvall's character is the town judge, he's also the only suspect in his wife's murder and Downey's character must balance years of estrangement and emotional distance in his effort to uncover the truth about what really happened.

My take: It is tough to get a real read on this film yet. It's placement on my list is primarily because of the strong cast. It will be enjoyable to see Robert Downey Jr. in a non-franchise film for a change. The story has somewhat of a Bernie vibe to me, even though this one is completely fiction. If this is half as good as that movie was, this will be a real treat.

2014 Movie Preview: #28 - Dumb and Dumber To

Release date: November 14

Plot summary: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their signature roles as Lloyd and Harry in the sequel to the smash hit that took the physical comedy and kicked it in the nuts: "Dumb and Dumber To." The original film’s directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, take Lloyd and Harry on a road trip to find a child Harry never knew he had and the responsibility neither should ever, ever be given.

My take: We have seen a lot of comedies come back after long layoffs and the results have been mixed. I have no idea what to make of the 20 year layoff between the original film and this sequel. This has been a project that has started and stalled a few times but now is finally a go. I do not see everyone coming back for this simply for a cash grab or else they would have done it much sooner, so they must have a decent story in mind to tell. These guys struck a chord with my generation in knowing exactly what kind of 'dumb' humor would work. I will be very interested to see if they can do it again with a whole new generation.

2014 Movie Preview: #29 - Tammy

Release date: July 2

Plot summary: Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She's totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint, and instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It's time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she's broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option - with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.

My take: Melissa McCarthy has shown she has some real comedic chops with the films she's been in over the past few years. This may be her riskiest project to date, however, given that she is the lead and doesn't have a major comedic talent sharing the headline with her (no offense to Sarandon). From the plot alone, this does not sound like anything special. However, the film has been written by McCarthy and her husband, so they likely know how to make something funny. Plus the studio is releasing this two days before the Fourth of July holiday, which suggests that they've got a lot of faith in the project as well. Until I see a trailer, I won't know for sure, but there's enough here to make me feel like it deserves a spot on the list.

RBR: We're the Millers

This comedy about a small time drug dealer who pretends to have a family so he can smuggle a large quantity of marijuana across the border turned out to be a surprise hit earlier this year. Now having seen it on DVD, its success is that much more surprising to me. For one, movies that come in August typically are not poised to be blockbusters. But the bigger reason is that the film's humor and subject matter do not seem like they would lend themselves to a mainstream hit. Credit the likeable cast for driving this creaky premise into a film that does enough to get by. SNL's Jason Sudekis plays the drug dealer who rounds up Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter to play his family members. The film also features appearances from comedians including Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, and Kathryn Hahn. The humor here is very hit and miss. I found too many of the gags had decent setups with weak payoffs. The bigger issue though was poor character development. Almost everyone here is inconsistent and behaves in a manner that suits the joke and the role they play in it. Unfortunately, I found there to be very few surprises offered here. Given that this is a film that is relying on half of its jokes to work based on shock value, that's a problem. I also found the film to be a bit too cynical at times regarding the American dream and suburban family life. It feels like they want the characters to take a jaded attitude toward that lifestyle, but the actors seem to be good representatives of it. I did not find myself actively hating this film like other pathetic comedies I have seen this year, but I also was left confused as to what was offered here that struck a nerve with so many viewers to cause it to earn as much as it did at the box office. To me this is the epitome of an average film that gets by with its pleasant actors engaging in some occasionally humorous antics. Rating: ** 1/2

Getting a Jump start on the new year

More trailers keep rolling in previewing the 2014 slate. This time it's the sequel to surprise reboot of 21 Jump Street, this time named 22 Jump Street. I'll let the awesome Nick Offerman explain why.

RBR: The To Do List

After last year's quirky Safety Not Guaranteed, it became apparent that Parks and Recreations's Aubrey Plaza has the potential to be a leading lady in films. In The To Do List she tries her hand at the R-rated comedy genre. She plays Brandy Klark, an over-achieving high school grad who realizes that for all she knows, she's uninformed when it comes to sex. She sets out to learn everything that there is to know before she heads off to college and treats it in the same organized fashion that she would studying for chemistry or history. Surrounding her is a cast of funny regulars in films like these including Alia Shawkat, Donald Glover, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Andy Samberg. Working as a lifeguard for the summer Brandy encounters several guys who are more than willing to help her check off her list items. The movie plays out in a similar fashion as other "high schooler wants to get laid before college" movies, but this one just doesn't work like it should. Part of the problem is the disconnect between what the central character should be and what she really is. For as talented as Plaza is, she makes Brandy too poised and mature for a character that has supposedly had her nose in a book her entire life. She achieves her tasks too easily and hardly shows any awkwardness. Even though it's a natural setting for this type of film, I also question why he character would want to be a lifeguard. The bigger problem with the film is that too many of the jokes simply don't land. Some of the fault here lies with writer/director Maggie Carey. She's working with a solid idea but does not seem to know exactly how to mine it for the most value. The one exception of this is with Bill Hader, who runs the swimming pool that Brandy works at. He manages to produce laughs in every scene that he's in. This may be due to the fact that Hader is married to Carey. Given their relationship, she probably just let him loose and have his natural comedic talent shine. The rest of the cast though needed a bit more direction in order to make the material work. This is not a bad film, just one that did not live up to its potential. Hopefully 'make a better film' will be on Carey's to do list. Rating: *** 1/2

RBR: Identity Thief

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprise that a film with a premise all about stealing the identity of someone would so liberally steal elements from other movies. That's what happens though in Identity Thief, a movie with a ton of promise thanks to the casting of two extremely funny people and saddling them with a tired, rehashed plot that has been done so much better in the past. There are elements of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Midnight Run, and Taking Care of Business seen here but this movie strips away the humor, intelligence, and heart found in those films. Instead, this film focuses on car chases, action scenes, and a physical brand of humor that yields very few laughs. It is a shame that a film that features two comedic actors who I enjoy produced only one actual laugh from me. I quickly became disinterested in seeing how everything would get resolved. Not surprisingly the central story ends on a predictable note while other subplots get ignored or are paid off in an unsatisfactory manner. Given how successful the film was, I know that I am now one of the last people to actually see this movie, but if you have managed to hold out longer than I have, continue doing so because there's nothing here worth your time. Rating: **

Hammer envy

Check out what happens when Loki tries to do some market research to find out who the better superhero is.

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: Admission (Quick hits version)

So there have been a lot of films that I have seen over the past few months that I never got around to reviewing for one reason or another. I am going to try and knock them all out in a row right now. Given that most of these films aren't in theaters any more, I won't do lengthy reviews. But at least you get to hear my thoughts on them anyways. So here goes nothing...

Tina Fey has earned fame and acclaim for her brand of smart comedy. Whether it was being on SNL or 30 Rock, making films like Mean Girls, or writing one of her successful books, she has managed to find the funny in an intelligent manner. For that reason, I am dumbfounded to see her associate herself with such dumb material like this film. What's even more baffling is that her character works for one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Fey plays an admissions counselor for Princeton. For someone responsible for evaluating the lives and merits of others, the decisions she makes in her own life are highly questionable. After breaking up with her boyfriend (Michael Sheen, doing a rather unfunny running gag of always showing up at inopportune times) she learns that she may have found a son that she gave up for adoption at birth thanks to Paul Rudd who teaches the boy at a progressive charter school. Fey's actions dealing with this potential son do not yield much laughs nor warmth. You just sit there wondering why anyone thought this material was good. Even character actors like Wallace Shaw and Lily Tomlin get wasted here. Now that 30 Rock is over, there were high hopes that Fey would make a successful transition to film, but if she continues to do projects like this she better hope to get a new job in TV real soon. Rating: ** 1/2

Can you beliebe it?

Leave it to Zach Galifianakis to put that punk Justin Bieber in his place and right to his face new less. Check out the unforgettable new episode of Between Two Ferns down below.

Getting hammered

Some people have been having some fun with the new Thor trailer that came out last week. First up we have Conan reprising a bit where he shows us why he doesn't think Chris Hemsworth is the right guy to be playing Thor.



Then someone thought it would be a good idea to smash up the new trailer with the world of Arrested Development. You can check out that end result, called 'Thorested Developement' below.

Buddy Sis-tem

Paul Feig may not be a household name, but chances are you've enjoyed one of his comedy projects. He's created critically acclaimed shows (Freaks & Geeks), directed well known sitcoms (The Office) and even found himself in front of the camera as well (playing biology teacher Mr. Poole on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Feig finally garnered some mainstream success when he directed Bridesmaids, a film that attempted to show that the R-rated comedy is not just a man's territory. In his latest effort, The Heat, Feig once again shows that the ladies can be just as foul as any guy around.

The Heat stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as polar opposite cops who are forced together to bring down a major drug dealer. Bullock is the straight-laced workaholic cop while McCarthy is a foul-mouthed loner cop who just wants to clean up her town. Both of these two have played these type of characters before so they know what to do in order to yield laughs out of the archetype, but I did wonder throughout the film if it would have been better for them to try and play the opposite role instead. My guess is that I would have given the film more credit, but the laughs probably wouldn't have been as frequent.

The buddy cop genre has certainly been around for a while and has always yielded mixed results. For every Lethal Weapon there's an I Spy. Credit to Feig who recognizes that he's mining familiar territory and yet still finds a way to make it work. He knows what tropes to play for parody and which to keep straight in order to make the story still feel like it has consequences. A lot of this is done through the scenes that give us a glimpse into the family of McCarthy's character. The interactions she has with her Bostonian clan produce some of the biggest laughs, as well as a few serious moments.

The one drawback to the film is an issue that plagued Bridesmaids as well. There were too many scenes that forced the agenda that women can be crass as well. To me funny is funny, regardless of who's telling the joke. I get no greater satisfaction seeing McCarthy curse up a blue storm than I would Will Ferrell or any other male comedian. I understand the need to show this off since so few women have actually tried to be raunchy, but I hope this becomes less frequent. Let's the jokes be organic to the story rather than be included simply to try and prove a point.

The good news for The Heat is that for as many forced jokes, there's at least twice as many well earned laughs. Bullock and McCarthy have a good chemistry together to the point where I would actually be interested in seeing them team up again, whether it was for a sequel reuniting these characters or in a completely separate project. The film is also buoyed by the presence of several other funny people in smaller roles including Tony Hale, Jane Curtin, Marlon Wayans, and SNL's Taran Killam. Each of these actors know how to get a laugh out of the character they are playing instead of us just laughing at the mere presence of them showing up in the movie.

The interesting thing about this movie is that I'm not quite sure how it will play with me when I attempt to rewatch it a few years from now. Some comedies like The Other Guys have aged well, while others simply don't produce the same number of laughs when you know what's coming. All I can say is that on my first viewing I laughed a lot more than I expected. The Heat creates another successful entry into the familiar buddy cop genre thanks to the deft directing of Paul Feig and the strong chemistry of its two female leads. Grade: B+

Night cap

For one reason or another, certain sketches on Saturday Night Live are created and rehearsed, but ultimately never make it onto the live broadcast. Here are a pair of sketches cut after dress rehearsal that I felt deserved a look thanks to NBC actually posting them on their website. The first was cut from when Zach Galifianakis hosted. I'll have to assume it was timing reasons because this seems to be too funny not to have included in the show.




The second is even more fascinating. It comes from the Justin Bieber episode. Instead of trying to explain why this didn't work, I'll let Bill Hader and a pair of SNL writers do it as they commentate on the sketch and explain why it became the "greatest trainwreck" ever.

Omen holiday

Nearly five years ago to the day, I made a post on my blog about a viral video featuring Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel dealing with the apocalypse. Fast forward to today and that short clip has mushroomed into a full fledged movie. This is the End features Rogen and Baruchel, as well some of their other famous friends like James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they deal with the end of days.

The film begins with Franco throwing a house party for all of his famous Hollywood friends. This of course leads to several celebrity cameos having fun with their real life personalities. For instance, you'll never be able to look at Michael Cera the same way after having seen this movie. Things turn cataclysmic in a hurry, however, as massive sinkholes develop, sending most of the party guests to their death. The central cast initially survive and barricade themselves in Franco's house unsure of what's happening.

It doesn't take long before the gang goes all Lord of the Flies on each other as they squabble over food rations, sleeping arrangements, and facing their mortality. The amount of humor your derive from these scenes will vary greatly. For me, I found there to be far more misses than hits when it came to the jokes. What was interesting is that most of the scenes weren't unfunny. Rather it's that I found myself sitting there nodding in agreement with what was being said rather than laughing at the anarchy. Because these guys are playing versions of themselves, a lot of the jokes were at the expense of each other. They would mock their personality traits or their bad movies or just their general phoniness. While some will be amused by the self-deprecating nature of the humor, I found myself wondering if these guys shouldn't be taking these comments more seriously and reevaluate their career choices.

Making the film more problematic is the tone that's created surrounding the humor. There are some truly disturbing scenes, especially early on as people meet their untimely death. I realize that the apocalypse isn't exactly a day in the park, but it was hard for me to appreciate the film's humor given the unpleasant setting that it had established. A lot of the horror and craziness of the film felt more like something from Sam Raimi, which is not a genre that I'm particularly fond of.

Despite placing the film within a very specific context, This is the End too often feels disjointed. The film moves from one comedy bit to the next with no sense of progression. Ideas and jokes are introduced but very few get paid off by the end of the film. You'll have things like Emma Watson randomly show up which provides the guys with an opportunity to make a few rape jokes and then she's gone and they move onto the next riff. You begin to see that this has been a project that's been percolating for 5 (or more) years. They have this collection of various ideas that may work individually but really don't add up to anything worthwhile.

I will give credit though for giving the right cast members the appropriate personalities in the film. For instance, Jay Baruchel is intended to serve as the heart and humanity of the film, which works considering he's probably the most likeable and least "Hollywood" of the bunch. Meanwhile, Danny McBride does what he does best by playing the douchy a**hole and Jonah Hill is a disingenuous prick. I probably would have struggled with the film even more than I did had they tried to force unnatural personalities onto any of these guys.

It's interesting that this film comes right off the heels of The Internship. In many ways these films couldn't be more different. While I seem to be in disagreement with a lot of other critics on both of these films, a lot of what my reviews for both pictures come down to is mood. The Internship offered a sunny optimism that infectiously made me enjoy all of the characters in the film. I'd much rather spend two hours with that cast than I would with the dreary, unpleasant narcissism that's on display in This is the End.

After watching this movie, it's become clear that this was an idea that worked as a short viral video and should have stayed at that. As a feature length movie, this is nothing more than a poorly cobbled together collection of bits, some of which are admittedly very funny, that really don't add up to anything more than a crass vanity project for Rogen and co. I actually could do a whole separate post analyzing why the film's final joke doesn't work at all, but given that it features another surprise cameo, I won't discuss it any further here. I have been a fan of a lot of these guys' work in the past, but there have been a lot of misfires by them, Rogen in particular, recently that make me question whether or not I should continue seeing their future films. Unless some drastic changes are made, I'm afraid "this is the end" for me watching this work. Grade: C