Wednesday, November 19, 2008

cK At The Movies: Nov. 19, 2008

CrazyKelvin reviews Quantum Of Solace, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and Role Models.

Welcome to the very first edition of "CK At The Movies"! I'm your reviewer, CrazyK and today I will be reviewing the latest Bond flick, "Quantum Of Solace", "Zack and Miri Make A Porno" and "Role Models".

QUANTUM OF SOLACE:(2008)
Starring Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench

I'm personally a really big Bond fan, and love all the movies in the franchise. The last one, Casino Royale which saw Daniel Craig as the new James Bond wowed everyone despite early criticisms that he couldn't live up to the role. However, I enjoyed Casino Royale so much that I have seen it over 30 times and still do not get bored of it. Which made me think that Quantum of Solace would be a "Casino Royale 2" -- which it's not -- and I shouldn't have thought that in the first place. Although it picks up about an hour after where Casino Royale leaves off, Quantum is its own individual movie.

Quantum of Solace starts out really exciting and has a lot of high points. Overall its a great flick, but something about it was lacking. Maybe the villain didn't have an obvious character flaw like the previous movies, or maybe there were not enough gadgets. If anything, it's not Bond's fault. He is a reckless killing machine in this entire movie. Which is good, because I like that!

Anyways, the 22nd installment in the series still deserves to be up on the shelf alongside the rest of the others as it delivers the action, drama and thrilling sequences that make a Bond flick.

Trivia: Quantum of Solace has the biggest box opening weekend ever for a Bond movie grossing $67.5 million in the US and $25 million in the UK.






ROLE MODELS:(2008)
Starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Bobb'e J. Thompson

Quite possibly the sleeper hit of 2008, Role Models was belly bursting laughter. Yes, there were cheesy parts to the movie, but it still delivered a lot of hilarious scenarios.

Paul Rudd plays "Danny" and Seann William Scott plays "Wheeler" who get arrested and the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 hours with a mentorship program. Obviously they choose to be mentors, however the kids they are paired up with are quite a handful. Not to give any more of the movie away, but it was filled with humour. I found it really funny and Bobb'e J. Thompson who plays the character of "Ronnie" is pure gold. That kid is going places.

There is some love/interest in the movie that I personally related to a great deal, however it doesn't play a major part of the movie and the hi jinks are unaffected. This movie actually inspired me to look into some mentorship programs in my community!

Trivia: Bobb'e J. Thompson, debuted as a rapper at the age of 5, with a rendition of Lil' Bow Wow's "Where My Dogs At?" and is part of the JammXKids.








ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO:(2008)
Starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes

The only reason I saw this movie, is because my brother and friends all piled in the car at the Drive-In, and this was included in the double-feature playing after Role Models. Otherwise, I would not have gone to see this movie.

To my surprise, it started out quite funny. There were some good scenes but a lot of unrealistic poverty. I just went along with it because its a movie. It was getting interesting and then hit a point where it tanked, and was very predictable and no longer funny anymore. This is a Kevin Smith directed film and I like his stuff, and you'll see how even in this film, he managed to tie in a theme to his other projects.

Trivia: I read that the part Elizabeth Banks played was written originally for Rosario Dawson. However, Dawson was busy shooting Eagle Eye and couldn't do this film. What a shame. The poster image to the left is actually the revised version. The original was deemed too controversial and was banned in the US. You can see the original poster here.

If you are totally bored and happen to pass by the $5 dvd bin at wal-mart and this movie is in it, AND you have a wal-mart gift card, then go ahead, buy it! Otherwise, I suggest you go and make your OWN porno!