So retardedly crappy, such a naked character-for-character ripoff of Superbad, and with ‘acting’ beneath the level of amateurish, you’ll be sorry you ever enrolled in COLLEGE. The only sane response is to drop out, which I gladly did after less than an hour. An F. — Jeff Schultz
Month: August 2008
MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
Break out the Camels and pour me a scotch. MAD MEN is back! It took 5 episodes for the show to get back on track. Tonight’s spectacular writing, especially for Peggy, and its taut, charged acting make it a standout. — Jeff Schultz
Closer to the real MAD MEN. The acting and writing are the best of the season. The storylines are still dominated by the women, I’d like to see stronger men. — Alan Yudman
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
For chronic laughs and a stoner cold good time, climb on board the PINEAPPLE EXPRESS! Danny McBride steals every scene as the drug supplier. A comedy high! — Alan Yudman
PINEAPPLE is a lemon! This EXPRESS goes off the tracks early then crashes and burns! Too many tokin’ montages, not enough laughs make this comedy seriously unfunny! Too many lows in this movie about getting high-worst of the year (without the words crystal skull in the title)! — Stormy Curry
Frantic, loud and unfunny, they shouldve called it PAIN-APPLE EXPRESS. That said, every single thing James Franco does in the movie is note-perfect — he’s that good. Special award to Bobby Lee for the single most pointless casting of the year. — Jeff Schultz
STEP BROTHERS
BROTHER, can you Spare a laugh? There are plenty to go around in this STEPendously stupid, bracingly vulgar comedy — the DUMB AND DUMBER of 2008, featuring the year’s 2 best cameos: Maria Quiban and Will Farrell’s balls. — Jeff Schultz
Where theres a WILL there’s a laugh! Step Brothers is one of the funniest movies of the year! A smart dumb comedy that takes full advantage of the cast and an R rating! Farrell & O’Reilly are perfect together-bring on the sequel! — Stormy Curry
MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 4
Is this MAD MEN…or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Decent writing and solid acting can’t hide the fact this show is veering farther and farther away from its Madison Avenue roots. And when did Robert Morse’s character become all but senile? — Jeff Schultz
Mad Men should be called Father Doesnt Know Best-the show is a shadow of itself. With SPECIAL GUEST STAR Colin Hanks, its one Issac the bartender away from turning into the Love Boat! Save us Charo! — Stormy Curry
These MEN aren’t MAD, they’re sad! As in pathetic. What happened to showing us inside the AD world? All of a sudden they’re ’90’s guys in ’60’s garb. Blech! — Alan Yudman
THE BANK JOB
BANK on this: Entertainment is JOB 1 in this British caper that’s essentially Mission: Impossible meets The Departed. The movie’s salacious topicality — Princess Margaret getting it doggie-style –adds a titillating fillip to an otherwise standard but well done heist flick. — Jeff Schultz
A heist movie that is so much more, BANK does a great JOB of showing us what happens after the crime and tells us a story that I for one knew nothing about. An interesting and compelling crime drama thats worth checking out! — Stormy Curry
A great caper made even better because it’s true, THE BANK JOB blows away others in this genre. Statham is highly underrated. Worth a spot in any collection. — Alan Yudman
SMART PEOPLE
Offbeat and unusual, there’s nothing stupid about SMART People. Dennis Quaid reminds us that he is a good actor and the script keeps it all too real-these PEOPLE are worth meeting. — Stormy Curry
THE KINGDOM
Terrorism as entertainment. Jamie Foxx rules THE KINGDOM and Ashraf Barhom is his crown prince in a middling thriller made better by a roster of good character actors. But a message tn Jeremy Piven: you’re starting to repeat yourself. — Jeff Schultz
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN (novel)
It’s Terms of Endearment with a wagging tail. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN is so shot through with dog love, so tenderly observed and lucidly written, it was hard to swallow — because of the lump in my throat. Simply wonderful, but get out your handkerchiefs. — Jeff Schultz
Despite being a 4 hankie weeper, I couldn’t put down THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN. The uniqueness of dog as narrator saves a familiar plot from itself. Luv it — Alan Yudman
SPACED
Faced with SPACED, I wondered: Isn’t the BBC filled with this kind of mildly pleasant witcom — well-enough acted, but also talky and slow? I’m mystified by the show’s reputation. — Jeff Schultz
SPACED is the anti-Friends. Characters are real, not prettied up. Smart homages to geekdom complete a well-written & acted sitcom. Hits the PEGG on the head! — Alan Yudman
While not as groundbreaking as britcoms like Fawlty Towers or The Office, SPACED is a funny show with loveable characters and a shout out to anyone who has ever been angered by George Lucas or used T2 to express their true feelings! A show that speaks to a geek like me! Very cute and entertaining! — Stormy Curry