Tag Archive for 'Bill Murray'

Get Smart

Published
by
nathanshorb
on July 5, 2008
in Action, Based on TV Series, Comedy and Crime
. 1 Comment

Let me preface by saying this: I am a huge Steve Carrell fan. He and Jack Black are tied for being able to make me giggle uncontrollably pretty much just by doing absolutely nothing. Just the other day, which shopping for a greeting card, I picked up one of those cards-with-sound that featured Steve Carrell mumbling something or other from The Office. In the middle of the card store, I laughed really really loudly and couldn’t stop. I love Steve Carrell.

And because of that love, I had relatively high hopes for Get Smart. I knew it wouldn’t be a great film or anything, but I expected to laugh quite a bit.

Well, it’s with great disappointment that I tell you: I wasn’t impressed. I really didn’t even laugh all that much.

It’s your typical summer comedy, a chuckle here and there and quite a bit of poor acting and cheesy delivery. But not even Mr. Carrell could redeem it. So much of the movie simply fell flat. You wanted to laugh, but it just wasn’t worth the effort.

Don’t get me wrong. Alan Arkin is decent as always, and Anne Hathaway is a lot of fun, too. The Rock is as bad as ever, and there are plenty of cameos to keep things interesting, too.

Speaking of cameos: I won’t mention who it is in case some of you are rushing out to see it after this stellar review, but one cameo features another one of my favorite actors, and I felt his 2 minute cameo was the best comedic delivery in the whole movie.

In the end, Steve Carrell just wasn’t allowed to shine enough in this film. While he was one of the main actors, the movie didn’t feature him. It also seemed like he wasn’t allowed to take his lines on as his own, and followed the script pretty closely, when we all know he’s at his best when he’s flying off the cuff.

It’s a fine fun summer movie, but don’t go spending nine dollars on it like I did.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The Darjeeling Limited

Published
by
nathanshorb
on November 15, 2007
in Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Dysfunctional, Family, Road Trip and Trains
. 2 Comments

When I saw the trailer, I had mixed emotions. Part of me was as completely ecstatic as I always am for discovering any movie in which Wes Anderson is involved. The other part of me was a little disappointed to see that it looked exactly like everything else he does.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m an absolute sucker for his unique style. But I just began to wonder how many more movies he could make with the same actors, plot lines, camera techniques, and any other string of details before getting completely redudant and unoriginal. Again, don’t get me wrong, I would keep watching his redudant and unoriginal movies, but I just began to get worried for him.

Well, it turns out, The Darjeeling Limited is a bit of a departure. In Anderson’s world, it’s a simple movie. But keep in mind, to most directors a simple movie doesn’t involve a film shot entirely on location in the country of India.

Gone is the large cast and multiple story lines. Besides one flashback, gone is the detailed backstory. Gone are the elaborate and detailed sets. Gone is the original soundtrack. It’s considerably shorter, too. Even many of the dry one-liners are gone, and the humor feels more subdued, not as dry or dark. Many things are different, and it gives the movie a simple feel.

It turns out feeling like an EP between full-lengths or a short story between novels.

One friend called it his Punch Drunk Love; a simple, straightforward story that follows an epic like Magnolia.

And all of this allows us to focus on the scenery, the brothers, their stories, and their development on this journey.

When you finish watching, you won’t be blown away, and it won’t make it to the top of your list of favorites. But the setting, the characters, and the story, along with the classic Anderson heartbreaking/heartwarming moments are enough to make it a solid, enjoyable movie that you’ll be glad you saw.

Broken Flowers

Published
by
Chalupa
on October 16, 2005
in Comedy, Coming of age, Drama and Philosophical
. 0 Comments

Went to a double header at Castleton last weekend. Saw this and Junebug back to back. That, to me, is a great way to spend a Friday night.

This was acclaimed as an even better role for Bill Murray than Lost in Translation. I’d have to agree he did a pretty good job in here. The basic plot is that Bill Murray is a bit of a Don Juan and suddenly gets a mysterious letter. It lacks a return address, readable postmark and signature of sender. This letter informs him he has an 18-19 year old son that might be out looking for him. Don and his neighbor Winston, Jeffrey Wright, decide to do a little detective work to find out just who this person is. So Don figures out who all of his girlfriends were from 20 years back or so and they go to work. Don decides to go visit these women and try to figure out if they’re the one.

Some clues Don is looking for include a typewriter, pink items - especially stationary, and a red ink pen. Unfortunately everyone he visits seems to have one or more of the clues. I think my favorite had to have been when he visited Laura and Lolita. Lolita is a bit of a ‘tart’, but we soon find out she is just closely mimicking her mother. One of the best lines has to be when Don says, “So Lolita…that was some outfit you weren’t wearing earlier.” I won’t explain…you just have to watch.

After returning home, Don starts seeing different young men loosely matching the description of a possible son and starts assuming/fantasizing it might be “him”. We never really find out what happens in the end, but it’s not like you’re left hanging or feeling let down either. This is definitely one of those “artsy” and “independent” films. So if you’re not into them steer clear of this one. I’d say this is worth a watch, but I’d be surprised if it makes it to my top 10 list for the year.

Life Aquatic

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 13, 2005
in Adventure, Comedy and Drama
. 1 Comment

Tonight was a night out on the town with Liz, Robby, Megan, Jeremy and Sara. Jeremy and Sara were only with us for our tardy meal and Jeremy only got to enjoy a beverage. Life Aquatic was a much anticipated movie for myself. I’m a big Wes Anderson fan and had been looking forward to this one for a while. Royal Tenenbaums is definitely a top 10 if not top 5 sort of movie.

Well, I guess I should start off by saying I heard some people liked this one and others told me it was slow, boring and not funny. Liz and I were talking about how it was just lacking some funny and this was probably because it lacked the writing skills of one Owen Wilson. Some of the stuff almost seemed contrived for an Anderson film. I know that’s a bold statement and I’m not exactly sure how to back it up at the moment. However it just seems the right things to say. There were still some funny parts and definitely some family inner-workings involved. I think I need to see it again.

While reading How Movies Helped Save My Soul, the section about Royal Tenenbaums contained, “It’s easy to compare with Charles Addams and J.D. Salinger, but the comparison is entirely appropriate; The Royal Tenenbaums is a modern American masterpiece. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I might even say that this film is the great American novel.” I find it interesting that Wes Anderson seems to be always focusing on family, community and relationships. The afore-mentioned movie deals with Steve Zissou finding out he has a son and his rocky marriage; along with the relationships between different crew members. Bottle Rocket has Owen Wilson longing for a father figure in Mr. Henry along with the relationships of Anthony (Owen Wilson), Dignan (Luke Wilson) and Bob (Robert Musgrave). Then there’s also Rushmore with its examples (I guess at this point I’m feeling too lazy to spell all this out for you so go watch this movie or ask somebody about it).

This definitely looked like a Wes Anderson film. Even from the start. I don’t know if I can even put my finger on what makes it look that way. Maybe it’s the way his films seem to be placed in multiple time periods. Maybe it’s a European-esque sorta thing…well, not just that. It’s hard to explain. It’s sorta like quality - you know it when you see it.

Well, to wrap this up. If you enjoy Wes Anderson I’d say go see this one. Definitely not as funny as some others, but I believe it still has a message to convey about our relationships with other people, how we can carelessly hurt others and how sometimes it’s the little things that mean so much - both good and bad.

The Royal Tenenbaums

Published
by
Chalupa
on September 6, 2004
in Comedy, Drama, Dysfunctional, Family, Independent and Narrated
. 0 Comments

This is definitely my most favorite Wes Anderson film. I just watched it again recently and figured might as well write something about it. For me it kinda ranks up there with American Beauty as showing what some American families are like and are films where I think most people can directly relate to on one or more levels. For me I feel like I can relate to various characters in both movies, or have members in my own family that greatly resemble some of the characters.

The basic premise for this film is a man trying to reconnect with his family after pseudo tearing it apart over the past 30 years or so. He seems to be a very selfish, self-centered person which is very evident in why he wants to reconnect with his family in the first place. He has 3 children who were all geniuses as children, however “Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums had been erased by nearly two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster.” Now that right there is a very powerful statement. Here’s a family that had so much potential but has been torn apart at the seems by outsiders, circumstances, and each other.

At times this can be a hard movie to watch because it brings up memories, thoughts and images from my past. It’s not like I can’t look at the screen, but it always gets me thinking about things during and afterwards. I mentioned this in my other blog but I’d have to say my most favorite - and hardest to watch- scene is when Richie tries to kill himself. He has just found out some things about his sister and kinda loses it. I’ve never attempted suicide myself, but have definitely been in a depressed state like that before. Kinda sucks.

Well, I must suggest you watch this if you haven’t seen it yet. Come talk to me and borrow it or we’ll watch it together.