Review: Live Free Or Die Hard

Originally posted at Epinions



The days are long, the temperatures are high, and the explosions are big. That’s right, it’s once again summer and the season of the blockbuster. It’s that fabulous time of the year where the cinema invites us to leave our brains at home while we escape the heat in the comforting darkness of the theater. The summer has returned, the blockbuster has returned, John McClane… has returned?

Over ten years have passed since the last Die Hard movie, 1995’s Die Hard: With A Vengeance, was released and the question is, can Bruce Willis still bring it as the tough guy cop who is just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I think the answer is a happy yes, yes he can.

And oh thank goodness for that. Because really, what we don’t need is another lackluster sequel killing a promising franchise (*cough* Spiderman 3). So believe me, I’m thrilled to say that Live Free or Die Hard delivers.

The premise is very 2007. Cyber-terrorists compromise the entire United States infrastructure through use of the internet, McClane is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it’s up to him and a hacker kid to save the day. Why is he that guy? Because someone needs to do it and there’s no one else.

The best part of this movie isn’t its plot. It’s not its depth and social insight (because there really isn’t any). The best things about this movie are the giant explosions, the ridiculous stunts, and the rapport between McClane and the hacker kid Matt Farrrell (Justin Long). I also liked McClane’s daughter. Or at least the part where she punched a bad guy in the face.

And really, that’s what the summer blockbuster is all about. Big explosions. Clever dialogue. Absurd stunts. You know what you’re getting the second you watch the trailer.

“You just killed a helicopter with a car.”
“I was out of bullets.”

And more along those lines.

Where does it stand in the context of the series? How does it fit in with the Die Hard franchise? I’m going to go ahead and agree with the friend I went to see the movie with: not as good as the third, better than the second, and definitely a Die Hard movie.

It’s bigger than the previous movies. The threat is bigger. As I’ve mentioned, the explosions and stunts are bigger. The consequences are bigger. Of course bigger isn’t always necessarily better. In places it felt too big, too spread out. The threat was a little ephemeral; it never feels real or incredibly plausible. It was always fun though. Which is what it comes down to. We’re going to see a Die Hard movie because John McClane is awesome and we love him.

There is something very wrong about this theatrical release however. Have you noticed the rating? Um, PG-13? Really? Who thought that was a good idea? Not only is nearly incomprehensible that they would make a Die Hard movie less than R, the movie actually suffers for it. Some of the edits are so incredibly bad you just can’t help but cringe. It makes me sad. I want to see the un-butchered R version. Oh well, that’s what the DVDs are for after all. We can’t just have the real version up front. We have to pay again to see it uncut in out own living rooms. Jerks.

So should you go see? Well, what did you think of the trailer? That’s your answer right there.

P.S. Kevin Smith has a small role as the Star Wars loving hacker “Warlock”. Yay.

Review: Knocked Up

Originally posted at Epinions



Knocked Up isn’t the sort of movie I will normally go see in the theater. It’s the sort I would normally wait to rent or wait for a friend to bring it over or maybe wait for it to show up on cable. 40 Year-Old Virgin was fun and all but not $10 (or more in certain places) worth of fun.

You know, occasionally, I can be wrong.

I did go see Knocked Up in the theater. In fact, I’ve seen it twice. It’s a movie that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s moving. Sometimes it’s just plain wrong but it’s also down to earth and something that I think people can actually relate to. There are so many moments that make me think of my friends, situations they’ve been in, antics they’ve been up to. I’m not sure what that may say about myself and my friends but I like to think that it means Judd Apatow is somewhat in touch with reality.

Knocked Up is about Ben and Alison and the results of their drunken one night stand. Alison is a gorgeous blond who is working her way up in the entertainment news industry while Ben is an overweight stoner with about $100 to his name. From the title of the film the results of their one night are a given. It’s the journey they take over the next nine months that the film is concerned with. How do two people who are so different, headed in such different directions in life, reconcile themselves to a fate that has tied them together? Can they make it work? Is making it work enough?

Katherine Heigl and Seth Brogan star as Alison and Ben. They are joined by Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd as Alison’s sister Debbie and Debbie’s husband Pete; Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, and Charlyne Yi play Ben’s band of fellow stoners. Joanna Kerns, Harold Ramis, Alan Tudyk, and Kristen Wiig make appearances as well.

I really enjoyed all of the performances. Heigl and Brogan work well together, their chemistry is convincing and I believe in the relationship that slowly builds between them. It’s an awkward situation, to say the least, and I like the way that their characters work it out. I also enjoyed the supporting cast. Debbie and Pete create a great sub-plot that adds tension and conflict to not only their relationship but to Ben and Alison’s as well. As far as the stoners go, well, I may know a few people like that. They seemed fairly realistic to me.

As good as the acting in a film like this may be, what it really comes down to is the writing. And in that regard Knocked Up wins. As a comedy it kept me laughing through the entire film. The second time I watched it I still laughed the entire film. The jokes don’t get old, the movie is never boring. It’s a movie I can see myself buying and pulling out for a movie night with my friends, even when we’ve all seen it already.

My favorite part of the movie, two times through: The scene between Ben and Pete in the hotel room in Vegas. There really were a lot of chairs.

Knocked Up is a lot of fun. At a running time of just over two hours some people might get a little antsy but I don’t think it’s overly long. There aren’t any scenes that feel unnecessary. It’s all funny, it’s all well written, and it’s really all very likeable.

Production: A Sport Show

Tomorrow I start work on a sports show that's being shot for the Fox Sports Network (I think that's the deal). I'm going back to being scripty. A development I feel sort of ambivalent about. But hey, it's not a bad gig. Hopefully it will be fun.

I did most of my prepping today after spending a couple of days last week shadowing the Script Supervisor for the upcoming Comedy Central show American Body Shop (which has the potential to be hilarious btw). I'm a little excited about the work I got done today. I have new forms and templates that, at least aesthetically, I like a lot better than the ones I've used previously. I know I'm a dork. But I like the idea of paperwork that actually looks professional.

I also purchased a new digital camera. As well as my old one treated me, it had its limitations and it was just time to move on. So now I've got a little Casio that will hopefully be my new friend. As soon as I figure out how to turn the flash off...

And since I have to be up super early it's off to bed for me. Maybe I'll actually post stuff about what I'm doing during this job. That would be fun. We'll see.