Tropic Thunder was one of those controversial films that came out last year. Even though the film itself wasn’t up for Oscars, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and both Downey and Tom Cruise received Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nominations. I remember a guy at work talking about people protesting the “grossness” of the film and a particular offensive scene in which one of the characters talks about those with mental disabilities. My first reaction was, “Wow, it must be pretty bad.”
Fast-forward months later when I actually sat down at home and watched the film. While Downey was definitely funny as an Australian who went “blackface” for this role, Jack Black became almost too much for me and I think Danny McBride stole some of the funny thunder. After everything was said and done I thought, “Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be really, really offensive?”
I think it’s because I watch a lot of movies and have been desensitized by films that most people don’t even know about. Whenever I hear about something be sooooooo bad, it never really seems that bad at all to me. Yes, I’ll agree that the speech given about playing a mentally disabled character wasn’t the most politically correct thing, but there is much worse out there. Overall I thought the movie was funny, but not that great and definitely not worth all the hype it was getting.
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Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a movie I was really looking forward to. Being a huge Arrested Development fan, I’ve always been on the lookout for Michael Cera and have really enjoyed his roles in Superbad and Juno. Now there’s another movie starring Cera and it has something to do about music. I know it came out a while ago, but I’m just now getting to it on my Netflix list.
While on the surface, the story of some teenagers (I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to be high school students) driving around all night trying to find where their elusive, favorite band is going to be playing in New York City might sound cool, I was a little disturbed by the sub plot. You know, their seemingly alcoholic friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor) who is so drunk she has no idea where she is or what happened to her. She was initially handed off to some friends of friends but then came to in the back of a van and “escaped” her kidnappers. You see, she heard the other occupants in the van talking about a song and assumed she was about to be date-raped. So while this funny, teen-romance comedy is taking place Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings from 40 Year Old Virgin) are also trying to find Caroline. They’re essentially chasing her around town to all of her “favorite puking places” and eventually meet up with her by the end of the film.
I feel weird saying it, but I must be getting old. I’ve never really been bothered by these more “sophisticated” teen comedies before, but this time I really just felt out of my element. While there were some funny moments, the whole situation just seemed a little ridiculous. Is this just because I’m not 17 years old anymore?
I was also expecting some awesome music to be had but I must have missed it or just had too high of expectations. Has anyone else seen this flick? I’d really like some feedback here. Was I just not in the mood and need to give this a 2nd chance?
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I think this is the first time I’ve ever talked about a TV show on here. We’ve tried to stick to movies. Tonight I saw the first episode of Joss Whedon’s new TV series on Fox called Dollhouse. This show is about a group of five men and women who are essentially blank slates. They have personalities downloaded into them and are then contracted out to perform jobs. It’s kind of like the ultimate temp agency mixed with some Matrix-style brain downloading.
Starring in this show is Eliza Dushku, playing the character of Echo. We get to see her in action during the first episode, but not everything works out as planned. We know there are four others working for this agency, but we haven’t been introduced to them yet. You’ll probably also recognize Tahmoh Penikett who played Helo on Battlestar Galactica and Olivia Williams who played Rosemary Cross, the teacher, on Rushmore.
If you’re not familiar with Joss Whedon, he’s the creator of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. He’s well known for his science fiction and being a feminist. I’m not talking about Rosie the Riveter here, I’m talking about a guy who respects women, writes great roles for them in his projects, and doesn’t treat them like eye candy. This reputation of his has come under fire with this new project because it kind of fulfills one of those “ultimate male fantasies.” You have women seen as things and not people. While I have to agree with that at face value, I’m not ready to make a judgment yet. I was definitely intrigued by this first episode and am planning on tuning in next week.
For more information visit Fox’s website (http://www.fox.com/dollhouse/) or Dollverse (http://www.dollverse.com/).
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