Theatrical Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

Date- Saturday March 9 2024
Location- stroud mall cinemark
Party- 3 (my mom, sister and I)
Time- 11:25am (actual movie started around 11:45)

Review

I’d seen all of the Kung Fu Panda movies at least once. The first at least twice and that was the only one I didn’t see in a theater.
So I can’t approach this movie from the typical approach- comparing it to the previous installments. But as a Dreamworks animated movie, it was another solid effort.

This is the first time DreamWorks had a proper intro. It usually just shows the logo. They’ve since done a complete overhaul where they show the notable characters from their other movies (Shrek and Fiona, and toothless the dragon are the only ones I remember at the moment) interacting with the boy from the logo before he goes to his home in the crescent moon. Loved it.

This was a movie my sister had wanted to see and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
There’d been some dark stuff in some of the earlier movies, particularly Po’s backstory and villains figuring into them. This one was devoid of that. There’s still some dramatic moments but it’s probably the most light hearted of the movies since the first one.
But again, my memory of the previous films isn’t great. I know the second one was kinda dark because of its villain’s connection to Po.

With the exception of the scene during the credits (we left after this sequence and the song ended so I don’t know if there’s also a post credits scene), this is the first time the furious five aren’t featured in the movie.
That being said, Po’s new associate has more than enough personality to go around- thanks to Awkwafina giving another killer voice over performance.

Just to give a basic layout of the plot:
Shifu has decided that it’s time for Po to find a successor to the title of Dragon Warrior, so he may assume his new role as spiritual leader. Which Shifu’s teacher had before him.
Po, of course, is hesitant to relinquish the role that gave him a sense of purpose. He also proves on multiple occasions why his new title might not suit him as well. There’s a running joke through the whole movie about how bad he is about creating thoughtful proverbs. And when he is borderline successful, his words are twisted around to mean something hilariously wrong.
Then we have our bad guy- The Chameleon- played by viola davis. (I had no idea it was her until the credits. Another bad ass performance). Her goal is world domination, extending her reach beyond Juniper City where most of the movie takes place. She strikes fear into her enemies by changing her appearance into more intimidating foes. But she also has a major axe to grind. She wanted to learn Kung fu but all of the masters she sought training from turned her down. Discriminated against her because of her size. So her goal is to steal Kung fu powers from the spirit world in order to rule.
… in not as many words, it’s essentially the same plot as Space Jam, except she’s the one in charge. Whereas the aliens, who are challenged to a basketball game by the looney tunes and stole talent from active NBA players, they are underlinings.

Po is alerted to this villainous plot by Zhen, a silver fox he catches trying to pilfer artifacts from the temple. Then when a group of rams (seen in the first moments of the movie being attacked, seemingly, by Tai Lung, the first movie's villain) beseeches him for help.
So of course he turns to Zhen for help, offering to reduce her prison sentence in exchange.

There’s also the comic relief element that’s provided by Po’s adoptive dad Mr. Ping and his actual dad, Li, as both follow Po a few days behind to offer help if it’s needed.
And to their credit, they actually do help out when it matters. Meanwhile there’s some pretty funny shenanigans that happen on their journey.
Notably, they come to a restaurant where Po and Zhen recently trashed the place and make things worse. Seriously, whose idea was it to build this building precariously on that seaside cliff? Only asking for trouble, haha

I had my suspicions early and while Zhen’s story arc was a little predictable, she’s a very lovable character. In part because I love foxes but it was definitely the type of role tailor made for Awkwafina. Her comedic timing and quirks really shine here.
We had a relatively small group in the theater with us, but I’ll always remember one dude gasping when there’s a big reveal about her later in the movie. Things like that are why going to the movies is such an enjoyable group experience.

Another somewhat predictable thing- Po spends the whole movie carrying around this staff as part of his new role. That thing was just begging to be lost or stolen.

These movies are known for their humor and it’s kinda funny when even the villain gets a sarcastic comment.
She plans to use the blood moon to open the spirit world to steal the Kung fu powers. She’s waiting for it to rise and later bemoans “is it always this slow?” and chooses not to wait for it.
Having experienced blood moons in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild series (as a player as well as a spectator), the doomsday vibe brought on by its appearance wasn’t lost on me.

During the final battle sequence where Po fights The Chameleon and her stolen Kung Fu, we have various cameos from the series. Only Tai Lung gets any notable dialogue and it’s in the school of belittling the protagonist and other unhelpful snark. It is a pretty cool sequence, though.
The only thing I was kinda missing was an otherwise common occasion where powers or talent are typically stolen. Or something Ash once said about Pikachu in a battle- “they can copy Pikachu but there’s nothing like the real thing.” And it’s going to bug me that I completely forgot how that quote came about. I used to know that series so well, especially when the original cast was still part of it.
My point is that The Chameleon was able to use these powers as soon as she got them. And I really thought that was going to be her ultimate undoing. Instead it was the typical “biting off more than you can chew” and “pride cometh before the fall”.
And maybe I am over thinking a movie geared toward a younger audience but there are some good lessons. Particularly about how change is hard but it is necessary. There’s also one or two references that adults bringing their kids to this would appreciate. The cute fluffy bunnies that live in the thieves den with all of Zhen’s “family”— the action they get on the battle field takes a page from Monty python. They’re not as deadly as the killer rabbit but nonetheless not to be taken lightly.

I alluded to it earlier but definitely stick around for the credits. It has a training montage with the furious five that’s set to “hit me baby one more time”- performed by Jack Black and his band, Tenacious D.
As someone who grew up with Britney Spears in her prime, that was a REALLY good cover of that song. Odd combination but it worked really well.

Grade- A

Trailers:

Garfield

• hopefully this is better than the bill murray movies were
• As much as Garfield’s humor would fit in today’s world, putting him today’s world is still a bit concerning. And that doesn’t even include the whole spy novel angle they’re going in. This looks cute but I also can’t help ask WHY…
• Chris Pratt and Awkwafina seem to be really in demand for their voice over work. How long before they do a movie together cuz I’d love to see it

Imaginary Friends

• John Krasinski is going from “a quiet place” to this? That dude’s got range
• It’s an interesting idea- imaginary friends needing to be adopted by new kids after their kid grows up. Add in Ryan Reynolds, it’s probably a halfway decent movie. Just not one I’d see

Inside out 2

• this is something of a teaser trailer because only one of Riley’s new emotions makes an appearance. Gotta say- the fact anxiety came with tons of emotional baggage, I loved how they gave her tons of suitcases to demonstrate this
• I know there’s a fair bit of anticipation leading up to this movie. I just hope it doesn’t twist me in knots the way the first movie did. I hadn’t sobbed that much during a movie since “my sister’s keeper” (and to those who complained the movie was a letdown after the book- I didn’t read the book. So it was an incredibly sad movie start to finish just at face value).
  
  
  Epic tails
• I think it’s about a cat and mouse being friends, Poseidon threatens a town until it makes a statue of him and some sort of adventure is had so the two friends can reunite.
• The movie was 3 days ago. I had no memory of this at all
  
  
  Despicable 4
• honestly I thought this movie was already out… but if it was, we would’ve gone to see it already. And seeing as we’d seen every other movie in this franchise (except minions 2… not sure how we missed that one- we still say “peanut!” the same way as in the trailer, lol)
  
  
  The wild robot
• Whoever did this trailer knew what they were doing. It said a lot with virtually no dialogue until the final seconds
• It looks kinda like Wall-E except humanity never came back to earth and nature flourished without their interference
• Do I smell Oscar buzz?

Theatrical Review: Super Mario Bros. Movie

Date: Saturday, April 15 2023
Location: Cinemark Theater
Time: 11:50am (began at 12:12 after all the trailers and ads)
Party: 2 (my sister and I)

Review:

With the recent success of bringing Sonic the Hedgehog to the big screen, there’s no doubt there’d be a lot of pressure on Mario to do the same.
I’m not super familiar with the sonic franchise (or really any video game franchise other than Pokémon) but I enjoyed both movies that’ve come out so far.
Comparing the two for a moment, Sonic still has the better story and villain (Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik is really hard to beat). But both were a lot of fun to watch.

I’ve played a handful of Mario games (and seen even more on YouTube as Let’s plays). I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an expert. I don’t know what the lore behind Mario and Luigi is but I honestly didn’t expect this to be a fish out of water type story. Where both were plumbers from Brooklyn get sucked into Nintendo land and consequences unfold as a result.

The story overall is ok. Nothing super ground breaking. The main characters (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, Donkey Kong) are recognizable and their voice actors match their personalities pretty well. Really, the best part of this movie was the set designs and trying to find as many Easter eggs as you can.

And any time they throw in gameplay mechanics, it’s super cool seeing that in movie format. Like how when Mario meets princess peach, she puts him through an obstacle course to prove he can handle the journey ahead. And the Super Smash brawl between Mario and Donkey Kong where they use different power ups.

My sister and I have also seen several Donkey Kong Let’s plays on YouTube so the whole Kong island scene was a highlight. Peach and Mario go there to enlist an army to help them defeat Bowser. Seeing Cranky get a big role and Diddy and Dixie getting brief cameos (two of our favorite YouTubers nicknamed them Crinkles, Diddles and Dixels respectively) was a blast.
The antagonism between DK and Mario is fun to watch and it only gets better as they evolve into allies.

Of course, Jack Black as Bowser… you don’t get much better casting than that (except Jim Carrey as Robotnik… that just bears repeating).
We see all parts of Bowser’s character, including a little known sensitive side. The last thing anyone expected was a piano ballad somewhere in the middle of this movie… wouldn’t be surprised if Jack Black wrote the whole thing himself.

Easily the best part of the whole movie was the big battle scene at the end. I won’t give everything away but Mario and Luigi (who spent much of the movie being kidnapped) both get to shine in battle. And Bowser gets the whooping that’s coming to him.

Whether or not we’ll get a sequel, I’m not sure but the potential is absolutely there.


Grade: A-


Trailers:

It's almost like some executive thought: this movie is going to be huge so let's overstuff it with trailers that cater to kids and their parents.

The one cool thing they did do was add a couple of Nintendo Switch ads during the 5 minutes of commercials. One for the Legend of Zelda series and another for Mario Kart.


Ruby Gilman: Teenage Kraken

It’s an interesting idea, reimagining krakens as the good guys and mermaids as the villains. But as someone who grew up loving Ariel, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this…

Barbie 

easily one of the most talked about movies coming this year. It looks very pink, very colorful. Like your classic Frankie/Annette beach movie… not sure if I’d spend money on a movie ticket but Margot Robbie looks perfect for this role
This also makes me wish they made a "Birds of Prey" sequel cuz I loved that movie

About my father

another Robert DeNiro vehicle where he meets his son’s new in laws. 

The one memorable thing about this trailer was that the other family had a pet peacock and things don’t end well for it

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3

this will be our next theater trip for sure and we’ll have plenty of company

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 

I’m not sure if this is a sequel to the Oscar winning animated film from a couple years ago, but it clearly was.
Like with the last Suicide Squad, the titles were so similar it wasn’t inherently obvious. Whatever happened to just putting the next sequential number in the title? So we don’t have to second guess ourselves
All that said, I’m sure this movie will do just as well as the original. And it did very well


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

As much as I wanna say “do we REALLY need another reboot of this series?”, there’s a very good chance we’ll probably be seeing it. They do bring back Bebop and Rock Steady from the original animated series and the turtles are actual teenagers this time.
I may be in the minority but my favorite is still the 4kids version. Having Michelangelo being voiced by Wayne Grayson who also did Joey wheeler in Yu-Gi-Oh! was a stroke of genius. (And maybe I’m biased but Veronica Taylor was also a good April O’Neil- minus that iconic yellow jumpsuit from the original series)

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

This was a teaser trailer if anything. I’m not sure if it’s another Michael Bay “all explosions, no substance” affair or if it’ll be closer to the Bumblebee movie but it’s sure to make its money back either way.

(Looked it up- "Bumblebee" was a Transformers prequel and this movie is a sequel to that. Michael Bay isn't directing, but is one of the producers so there'll probably be plenty of explosions)

Book Club: the next chapter

The original was a cheeky idea. A group of older women getting into "50 shades of grey" and their love lives reaping the benefits from it. This one is likely to feature more “old lady” humor. The one good joke from the trailers was Candice Bergen saying how the ruins they're visiting in Italy are falling apart faster than she is. 
I didn't remember Jane Fonda being in the original so I had to double-check to confirm she was. In that case, I'm kinda surprised we saw the original. My folks have boycotted everything she's been in because of some political controversy from decades ago. (Something I know nothing about and therefore cannot/do not wish to add further comment)

Trolls: Band Together 

Ok... So the trolls are back but now we’re going into the boy band angle. Something about how Branch was the Michael in their Jackson 5 and the other members abandoned him and now they want to do a reunion
As a huge 90s boy band fan, I’m all about this… but if this is going to be Justin’s way of rewriting his own history, that’s not cool. HE is the reason *NSYNC broke up, not the other way around. Never mind that his solo music is 99% garbage… 

Migration 

honestly I spent almost this whole trailer expecting this to turn into a Duck Hunt movie. It was released alongside the original Mario game for the original Nintendo system way back when. Ergo, I don’t remember anything about what this movie is actually meant to be about, haha

Theatrical Review: Kung Fu Panda 3

Date: Saturday January 30 2016
Time: 2:15pm
Place: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 3 (my mom, sister and I)

Directors: Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh
Composer: Hans Zimmer

Cast:
Po- Jack Black
Li- Bryan Cranston
Mei-Mei- Kate Hudson
Shifu- Dustin Hoffman
Kai- JK Simmons
Tigress- Angelina Jolie
Mantis- Seth Rogen
Crane- David Cross
Viper- Lucy Liu
Monkey- Jackie Chan
Mr. Ping- James Hong
Oogway- Randall Duk Kim

Duration: 95 minutes (+3 trailers)

Opening Remarks and Coming Attractions:

Considering this was the first kid's movie of the year, I thought the theater would be fuller than it was. Maybe the cold weather kept everyone away or they all went to the earlier 3D showing. There were maybe half a dozen other people in the theater with us. The majority sat behind us, but in the front row was a grandma and granddaughter who was maybe three. My mom said she giggled at a lot of the same parts we did. I was a little too into the movie to notice.

Scrat appeared in the first trailer, so I thought he was maybe getting his own movie. [I mean, the Minions got their own movie and it did really well...] Instead, it was another "Ice Age" sequel... why do we need another "Ice Age" movie? Honestly?
The first one was great, but the ones that followed... not quite as much. In the last one, Diego got a love interest in Shira, so I hope there's a story about them having a litter of kittens or something :P That's just me.

The second was for "Finding Dory." The teaser has her "sleep-swimming," something Marlin dismisses as a one-time thing. Then in a later part of it, she's talking about remembering something or needing to find her family. Either way, we're probably going to see it.
We saw "Finding Nemo" when it came out- great movie.
Ellen had been clamoring for YEARS for a "Finding Nemo" sequel, so I'm really hoping it's worth the wait.

Then we had the teaser trailer- again- for "The Secret Life of Pets."
Please tell me that there's a legit storyline for this movie. As funny as the trailer is, the movie's only as good as the plot it tells.

Write-up:

The second movie in the franchise came out a couple years ago. My sister and I saw it in 3D and I thought it was even better than the original. Although it'd been ages since I'd seen it, but I remembered enjoying it.
I believe it came out in 2011, so with the years that went by, I was starting to worry that they weren't going to make another movie. Especially since the 2nd movie had a cliff-hanger ending that showed a village full of pandas, they couldn't have not explored that.

So the synopsis is something like this:
Po's teacher, ShiFu, has decided to retire and Po is to take over for him as teacher of Kung Fu. Something he doesn't believe he has a talent for. And around this time, it seems like Po's having an existential crisis-- doesn't really know who he is or what it really means to be the Dragon Warrior. Luckily, the plot comes in and helps snap him out of this temporary funk.
Kai, an old friend of ShiFu's teacher Oogway, is on a mission to take the Chi of all the Kung Fu masters and rule the world. (After JK Simmons did "Whiplash," it's no surprise he went on to play another great villain).
And Po's father, who received a "message from the universe," comes to the village looking for him. The two reunite and they go to the secret mountain village of pandas where Po must learn what it is to BE a Panda.

Visually, it was stunning and exhilarating. A couple minutes in, I was regretting that we didn't see it in 3D because it could have been even more amazing than it was.


Like much of this series, it's very straightforward. Unlike most Disney and Pixar movies, it relies more on adventure and comedy than emotion. There aren't many sad points or scary dramatic moments. Yet Po is able to grow as a character while not losing what made him lovable in the first place. So I guess you could say Kung Fu Panda is more kid-friendly.

Some people might want to get more out of movies... but every now and then, it's nice to have something like this where you come in knowing what to expect and there's this safety net in place that assures you everything will turn out all right in the end.

My advice: Don't come in expecting anything deep and just enjoy the ride.
And also bring your kids. They'll love it.

Other than the "kung fu" action and Kai being kind of intimidating (maybe not quite as much as the villainous peacock Gary Oldman played in the 2nd installment of the series), I don't get why this had to get a PG rating. It could have passed for G easily.

All three of us had a lot of fun with this one. Lots of funny moments, great visuals, and of course, we overdosed on the cuteness of the pandas :P All of them had their unique personalities.
Then with the introduction of Po's biological father, there's obviously a little jealousy being felt by Po's adoptive father, Mr. Ping. That's kind of funny to watch.
And Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, he has his moments ;) it's been a while since I've seen the previous movies in the series, but I don't remember him having as funny a moment than he had giving his final lesson- the art of the "dramatic exit."

Grade: A

3. Tropic Thunder (2008)

Code-name: Dude within a dude within a dude

[:facepalm: I shoulda just stuck with "TiVo", so much simpler]

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen
Composer: Theodore Shapiro
Type: R-rated Vietnam War Movie/Hollywood Comedy/Parody

Cast:
Tugg Speedman- Ben Stiller
Kirk Lazurus- Robert Downey Jr
Jeff Portnoy- Jack Black
Alpha Chino- Brandon T. Jackson
Kevin Sandusky- Jay Baruchel
Director Damien Cockburn- Steve Coogan
Cody- Danny McBride
"Four-Leaf" Tayback- Nick Nolte
Tugg's Agent Rick Peck- [Matthew] McConaughey
Studio Big Wig Les Grossman- Tom Cruise
[Honorable Mentions]
Bill Hader... his character's name is Rob Slolom... [I knew he was an SNL member and thought this would be the movie that took him beyond that]
Reggie Lee as Flaming Dragon member Byong [who later got a role as Detective Woo on "Grimm"]

Notable Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Supporting Actor- Robert Downey Jr
Golden Globe- Best Supporting Actor- Robert Downey Jr
Golden Globe- Best Supporting Actor- Tom Cruise

Write-up:

First Things First...

Now, this isn't me knocking Heath Ledger. I loved him in "The Patriot" and "A Knight's Tale" [heck, "Brokeback" as well]. His death was a tragedy that jostled me a bit when I was in college.
But I retain to this day that this was Robert's Oscar and there was no way Heath Ledger would have been in that conversation if he was still alive.

"Why The Dark Knight is OVERRATED" is an entry I've got planned for the future with Heath Ledger being the only thing in the (+) column.
The Joker was the only good watchable part of this movie. Doesn't mean I advocate for post-mortem Oscars...

This is how I see it:
My first experience seeing RDJ act was mind-blowingly amazing. It didn't feel like an actor playing a role. It felt someone who lived and breathed it, the likes of which I hadn't seen before.
I can watch "Tropic Thunder" now and still not see Robert. I see this hilarious character with most of the best lines in the movie.

The First Time

When "Tropic Thunder" came out in theaters, I seriously considered seeing it but ultimately didn't because I'd never seen an R-rated movie in theaters before.

I remember seeing the trailers, thinking they were freaking hilarious. But the one thing I couldn't wrap my head around was one particular quote. Maybe it was the exaggerated voice RDJ was going for in this role, but it took me a couple weeks to figure out he was saying:

"I'm a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude!"

Seriously, I think my head exploded trying to comprehend it. Maybe because it just sounded AWESOME... in a trippy nerdtastic sort of way!

But after seeing the movie, all of it came together... but still trippy

The only faces I recognized were Ben Stiller and Jack Black... all of that would soon change.

Finally saw this at my college's movie night Fall of 2008 (with my fellow animé club friend Andrew) and we love every minute of it. Laughed the entire time.

There was one cringe-worthy moment and it was when Jack Black dig through his loincloth ... I didn't know the [expletive] was going on there... when he pulled out a gun, I breathed a huge sigh of relief because it just didn't look right.

Another standout (other than RDJ) to me was Tom Cruise... who I had NO idea was in this movie until the end credits. I just saw this muscular balding guy who likes to groove to Flo Rida (I liked "Low" already but will forever associate it with this movie :P). The dance moves were so trippy good.

And if you wanna get technical, there was a LOT of trippiness in this movie...

The Story

 ...again... mind the spoilers

 This is a movie about making a movie based on a memoir by a member of the U.S. Army who was rescued from a Vietnam prison camp.

 ...But before we see any of this, we see 4 fake trailers starring the actors in this Vietnam movie.

* Alpha Chino's "Booty Sweat" commercial

*Tugg Speedman's latest installment of his "Scorcher" franchise- Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown ["who left the fridge open?"]
*Jeff Portnoy's comedy "The Fatties" (think "Nutty Professor: The Klumps")
*Kirk Lazarus's latest- "Satan's Alley" (think "Brokeback Mountain" but with monks instead of cowboys, co-starring "MTV Best Kiss Award winner" Tobey Maguire)

(btw, who do I see about getting these movies made for real? With RDJ channeling Russell Crowe in "Satan Alley's. Now that dude who's won Oscars!)

The first 10 minutes [mind you, I'm going by the director's cut version here] show a climatic finale set in the Vietnam War, an illusion that breaks when we see the director and crew-- this was a movie they were filming.

Apparently Tugg Speedman is having trouble with one of his lines and Kirk Lazarus storms off set in the face of Damien's lackluster directing style.

Everything is literally going wrong only one week into the shoot.

So the man behind the war memoir tells Damien to take his cast into the jungle to scare them into doing some real hardcore acting. He leaves us prematurely thanks to a random landmine in the middle of a clearing.

Ultimately, the movie does get made as planned. Tugg Speedman gets kidnapped by the indigenous people (I use this term cuz I don't know if they're Laotian or Burmese, it's never made clear) and the other actors have to rescue him.
Their exploits become the documentary "Tropic Blunder" that apparently earns Tugg an Oscar [his former captors, in an alternate ending, believe this is compensating for the "Simple Jack" Oscar snub].

The Characters

But everything that happens in between... that's what makes this gold. The actors (all playing actors) have to work together to achieve their objective. Along the way, there's a lot of butting heads, but also moments of clarity when their issues boil to the surface where they can resolve.

I'm still working on the notion of a drinking game because there are so many great running jokes in this movie :P

Let's start with the newbie: Kevin Sandusky

He's the epitome of the "good student"... he did all the work for this movie, read the book and script and was the only cast member to participate in boot camp.

Yet all the other actors can never remember his name :P one "fake" name he got was Radar... I didn't get the reference until I saw a couple episodes of M*A*S*H (this came about randomly but I wouldn't mind a revisit)

Ironically, he was the sanest member of the group and talks them down when "the dudes begin to emerge"

Hip-hop rapper Alpha Chino brings up his products Booty Sweat & Bust-a-nut for almost every reference the other actors make to their previous roles.

Pretty much every scene where he's attacking Kirk Lazarus for going too method with his character is hilarious. Great interaction between these two. Especially since it's a black man criticizing an Australian for playing a black man

Alpha Chino: I thought I just had to represent because they had one good part for a black man and gave it to Crocodile Dundee
Lazarus: Pump your brakes, kid. That man's a national treasure.

Then later in the movie, one of the indigenous points out that he's not the real Al Pacino, giving a laundry list of his best movies. Eventually this escalates into the final shootout, but I just lose it at this line from Alpha:

"Get the **** out of here, that's another dude all together!"

[And I'm not gonna lie, I saw "Dog Day Afternoon" and still want to see "Carlito's Way" because of that set of dialogue... if you'll notice, also, Bill Hader wears a hat that says "Scent of the Woman" at the movie location]

5-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus is a Australian method actor. So method that he doesn't drop character until after the DVD commentary. For the role of the African-American army Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, he goes to Singapore for a controversial medical procedure to have his skin tinted. Yep, he took Blackface to the extra mile, and more or less based his voice and dialogue on stereotypes.

In the epic climax scene, he has a conniption, completely loses character and realizes "I think I might be nobody"

But before that, there are too many good lines to list here. While not every word is intelligible (hell, I still haven't figured out a couple lines of dialogue), almost everything of his mouth... OMG... I can't help wondering how much improv went into that.

Jeff Portnoy is a gross-out comic actor who specializes in farts and an ongoing drug addiction. After losing his "supply" to a bat (totally out of nowhere!), he spends the whole "shoot" fielding withdrawal symptoms and carries himself as if no one else has any idea about it.

We have the dynamic duo of Cody (the special effects guy who might be a pyromaniac) and Four-Leaf (who, as it turns out, is the "Milli Vanilli of Patriots").

And the other duo of Les Grossman and Bill Hader (again, his character's name is Rob Slolom, but c'mon, it's Bill Hader)... Bill Hader's trying so hard to fall in line with Les on everything he does, but I don't think Les really respects anyone. Not even brownnosers like him. He's almost more hilarious than Tom Cruise in the Flo Rida dance scene, actually.

Finally, the final scene-stealer: McConaughey as Tugg Speedman's true blue best friend/agent, Rick Peck...

I already loved me some McConaughey in all those chick movies he did (Kate Hudson is intolerable in "How to lose a guy in 10 days" but I always come back for him), but this was the movie that took me over as a fan.

Supposedly this role was originally going to be played by Owen Wilson and later went to McConaughey... for a reason I don't want to go through here. In fact, it's something I completely forget about except when I muse about the "what could have been" scenario with this movie. I'm sure he would have been great, but... yeah, I'll say it again, I love me some McConaughey.
His running joke throughout the movie: making sure Tugg Speedman has TiVo... to the point where he flies off to the jungle to give it to him.

A Word about Commentary and Censorship

I'd only recommend it if you'd seen the movie so much that you know the dialogue well... or heck, I'd recommend it if you're not up for watching the movie and just want to be treated to a lot of good laughs.

Two sets of commentary exist on my Blu-ray but I'd only listened to the actors' commentary- Ben Stiller, Jack Black and RDJ [who is in character up until the ending credits!!]

They talk over almost the whole movie, but it's such good fun I don't really mind.

If I wasn't running long already, I would have mentioned on my "Purple Rain" entry that I refuse to see it on cable unless it's a VH1 or music channel. Saw a major hackjob on a low numbered channel that even cut songs in half.

With "Tropic Thunder," I cannot watch it on TV unless it's a movie channel like HBO.

a) because I hate the voice who dubs over Robert's cussing- sounds nothing like him

b) "the full retard" scene

As if Robert doing blackface wasn't controversial enough, there's also the scene where Kirk Lazarus explains to Tugg Speedman what went wrong with "Simple Jack," the movie where Speedman plays a "mentally impaired farmhand who can talk to animals"

I think I read somewhere that a website was created for Simple Jack and due to protests, it was taken down.

I understand why that's a heated topic, but to say "Never go full special" just sound STUPID to me... nobody outside this movie's edited version has ever used that phrase to describe someone going too method while playing someone with a mental disability.

"Watched a lot of 'special' people, all the 'special' stuff they did"...
it just doesn't work, I'm sorry

A Nod to the Writer/Director

I gotta single out Ben Stiller. 12 years prior to this movie, he had a small role in the Speilberg war movie "Empire of the Sun" where he had the lightbulb idea "what would it be like to actually make one of these Vietnam war movies?"
Great writing and great directing on his part.

Some of the jokes probably also came from Justin Theroux, who many know as Jennifer Aniston's steady fiancé. (Yeah, I know he acts occasionally, but whatever). After this movie's success, he was brought on to co-wrote the script for "Iron-Man 2." [After returning to the film a year ago, the first time I saw it since its release, I decided that this degree of humor didn't feel as natural in that capacity] 

The Genre

As far as the genre of movie goes, I'd only seen "Platoon." In part because it won the Best Picture Oscar in my year (1986) but also to see that infamous pose Tugg Speedman does in the movie.
:shudder: That movie did its joke all right, had me convinced that they were really out there in that harsh terrain at a difficult time in American history. I really liked Willem Dafoe in the movie, but when he died... thanks to Tom Berenger's character (another army member that went dark-side on him)... that broke me. I lost all sense of feeling in my body for the rest of the movie.

I still do plan on see "Apocalypse Now" just because it's another great Vietnam movie, but never again with "Platoon" thanks to what I call "The Oliver Stone effect."

I was fine with the "Wall Street" movies, but "Joy Luck Club" didn't agree with me either. Also part of the reason, as much as I like seeing RDJ's movies, I cannot think to see "Natural Born Killers." That'd probably destroy me for a week instead losing a single day.

War movies might be the more realistic version, but I think I'd rather revisit Tropic Thunder a million times in my life than have to deal with another brush with "Platoon"

More on Downey

I don't remember where I found a list of the most anticipated movies of 2009, but as I went through it, I zeroed on in Sherlock Holmes. He's a figure I'd always been curious but never thought to look into. I looked up the movie on IMDB and [zoom in] saw that Robert would be playing the main role.
After I loved Robert in "Tropic Thunder," I made a note of this... the following year, I'd see 3 of his movies (one being Sherlock Holmes)... then I went to full-blown fangirl mode in 2011 after "Less Than Zero"... perhaps in February I'll go into that in length.

My last entry, I mentioned Prince got me started with my blogging so I probably wouldn't be here with that...
but Robert reinvigorated my writing in 2011 and got me even more enthused about multiple aspects of film beyond the actors.. so I might not be here movie-blogging without him.

Because of how good he is in this movie (and how unrecognizable he is), the "fangirl" reflex doesn't come into play here beyond the "Satan's Alley" trailer. I can just laugh and enjoy everyone and how they interact.

It's also worth it to mention that this is one of the few of his movies my dad will watch with me :P the genre might contribute but I think it's because the script is so good and so funny.

On the Rest of the Cast

Brandon T. Jackson, I later enjoyed in the "Percy Jackson" movies (even though they were NOTHING like the books) and I'm still disappointed his "Beverly Hills Cop" TV series didn't get the green light on TV.

Jay Baruchel, I'd later go see in my first R-rated theater film "She's Out of my League"... also loved him in "Fanboys"... Didn't know he was in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" (I saw that for Kat Dennings) and he was among the reasons I found that movie unpleasant (that plus Kat's girl friend hit too close to home for me- one of my college roommates was like that).
It disappoints me he quit acting (as far as nerdy guys go, he's really cute) but glad he still does "How to Train Your Dragon" movies.

On Jack Black: I liked "School of Rock," but I think this movie made me love it. Not just because Ned is a more pleasant guy to be around than Jeff Portnoy, but I just found more to appreciate about that character with my enhanced knowledge of music and movies.

Tom Cruise is also pretty hilarious in an unexpected way. One of my top 3 performances of his (along with "Top Gun" and "Rock of Ages"). There was talk of him doing a Les Grossman spin-off movie... whatever happened with that? That'd be cool... again, along with A "Scorcher" movie and "Satan's Alley"

Coming Soon

Two words: Hayao Miyazaki

57. School of Rock (2003)

Code-name: Stevie Nicks

Type: Comedy, Music, Inspirational Teacher

Director: Richard Linklater

Musical Score: Craig Ledren

Cast:
Dewey Finn- Jack Black
Principal Rosalie "Roz" Mullins- Joan Cusack
Summer- Miranda Cosgrove
Zack- Joey Gaydos Jr.
Larry- Robert Tsai
Freddy- Kevin Alexander Clark
Katie- Rebecca Brown
Tomika- Maryam Hassan
Ned Schneebly- Mike White (who also wrote the screenplay, amazingly)
Patty Di Marco-Sarah Silverman

Golden Globe Nomination- Jack Black- Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical

Write-up:

First of all, I've made a horrible habit of disliking certain people in show business on the basis of one character they played.
However, I'm not entirely positive that the fact I can't stand Sarah Silverman began with this movie... but it certainly contributed.

It's funny that I was talking about "The Hangover" a few weeks ago because I found myself making comparisons while I watched this movie last night.
Firstly because Sarah Silverman was almost as bad as Rachel Harris in "The Hangover." They play the dominant force in the relationship and act as a source of conflict for the protagonist.

The other common link is the role of "lovable idiot" and who played it better: Jack Black or Zach Galifianakis.

Tread lightly, there be spoilers afoot

From the start of this movie, we know how much of an idiot Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is. He's a deluded man-child who's part of a rock band... and after the gig we see in its opening moments, he's kicked out. Clearly, he's acting the part (or what he believes the part entails, between the crazy antics, making faces and "20 minute guitar solos"), but he doesn't appear to have any legit musical talent.

He's also a free-loader living with his brother Ned (Mike White) and his brother's girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman)... according to Dewey, his brother had no problem with him living rent-free before he started dating Patty. Now she wants him out of the apartment, under the impression Ned is letting him "walk all over him."
How I LOATHE the irony of her opinion... she's the one he's letting walk all over him...

Unfortunately, she does have kind of a point...

After being kicked out of No Vacancy and Patty threatening him with eviction, Dewey takes the next opportunity that comes up and runs with it:
He takes down a phone message for his brother, who is wanted to substitute at Horace Green Prep school. When he hears about the pay, Dewey assumes his brother's name and takes the "gig" in his brother's place.

Being the slacker he is, he goes through the motions, letting the kids have recess while he's nursing hangovers.
All of that changes when he hears them in music class and has a "light bulb" moment.

Dewey wants to live out his rock n' roll fantasies AND get back at his band for kicking him out.
Say what you will about our unreliable protagonist, he does know his stuff when it comes to rock music. Except I don't believe as he does that they deliberately write music that make no sense and put all their energy into rocking as loud as they can.
My knowledge of classic rock goes as far as I know who Pink Floyd, Led Zepplein and Jimi Hendrix are, but I don't know many of their songs or their histories.

Dewey puts together the band, telling the kids it's for a school project where all the other schools will be competing against each other.

At its core, the players include:
Zack Attack on Guitar
Larry (aka "Mr. Cool") on keyboards
Patty on bass
Freddy "Spazzy McGree" on drums
Blondie, Alicia & Tomika on back-up vocals

and of course, Dewey on lead guitar and vocals  :roll:

Miranda Cosgrove (who I knew as the Nickelodeon star who got her start on "Drake & Josh" and got her own show "iCarly"... I stopped watching new Nickelodeon shows around that point) plays Summer, the pet's teacher who tries to tell Dewey how he should teach them... he then appoints her as band manager...
She does play the part pretty well, admittedly (nowadays, I know her better as Margo from "Despicable Me").

While watching this, there are tons of moments where I was thinking: this could only happen in the movies.
It's the only place you will find an idiot who means well, actually knows what they're talking about in a given area and somehow, against all odds, they come out on top... not to mention escape incarceration, lol, considering a couple of laws that he breaks... all for the sake of rock n' roll and "sticking it to the man"

Despite all that, he really is great with all these kids. When they're unsure about their part in the band, he talks them back into it and gives them great advice. That's probably the biggest thing I love about this movie.
I wouldn't necessarily rank Dewey Finn among my top "inspirational movie teachers" (one of my favorite archetypes in movies, btw), but he does help the kids quite a bit. Most of them come from really rich families and don't let them cut loose and be kids.

One of my favorite scenes is where Dewey gives the kids a rock album for homework, catering to each of their given talents.
"Blondie" got Blondie
Larry got Yes ("listen to the keyboards in 'Roundabout'")
Freddy got Rush's 2112 album
Zack got Jimmy Hendrix
after Tomika expressed her desire to sing (great voice, Dewey compared her to Aretha in a future pep talk because she was unsure someone as heavy as her could sing), he gave her Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon ("vocal solo in 'Great gig in the sky'")

I've heard of all these bands and I have heard some of Blondie & Yes... I should get on the rest of them to see what he was drawing reference to.

The next obstacle: getting Principal Mullins to loosen up and allow him to take them on a field trip (which is really the "battle of the bands")...
When she's stressing out about the upcoming parents' night, the faculty tells Dewey about one time she got drunk at the Alumni dinner and did a great Stevie Nicks impression...

The reason why it's my code-name for this particular movie.
Dewey takes her out for a couple beers after work and gets her bopping to "The Edge of Seventeen" while selling her on his idea.

Stevie Nicks is also someone who I've found more reasons to love as the years have gone by. It started with that song and extended to her work with Fleetwood Mac. She's one of my favorite female voices to listen to... I also love how she wrote "Stand Back" after being inspired by Prince's "Little Red Corvette" and he actually came into the studio to play keyboards on the track.

There's also a great reference to Sheila E., who played drums for Prince but had a great career in her own right before and after she worked with him...
Katie said to Freddy how she's an amazing drummer and "she's a better drummer than you."...he reminds me a little of Draco Malfoy because he plays the tough guy of the group. (There's also another kid in the class who looks like Crabbe from Harry Potter)

Sure enough, the truth does catch up with Dewey on Parents' Night.
He just about survives the barrage of questions the parents are giving him about their exposure to rock music... when the bitch calls the cops and ruins everything.

Ned and Patty find out that Dewey took his teaching job... Patty has every right to be concerned that Dewey assuming Ned's identity will ruin his credibility and career... but her timing is TERRIBLE.
Heck, when the cop shows up at the school, the circumstances make he look/sound like a pedophile... not to mention insane.

What's really insane is the fact Dewey evades arrest... and returns to his apartment... don't you think that's the first place the cops are gonna look for you?

But this is a movie and not all the pieces are supposed to line up. That's what makes it fun. Especially the fact the kids know where he lives and convince him to come to the competition with them.... the fact that the kids are still talking to him at this point is amazing in itself.

The biggest difference between Jack Black and Zach Galifiankis in the two movies...
Allen Gardner is always going to be an idiot, but he's endearing all the same because he's actually intelligent in a backwards sort of way.

Dewey Finn actually learns something and becomes a better person for it. He made just as much an impact on the kids as they had on him. In most other cases, the character arc of the teacher doesn't change nearly as much as the kids they're teaching.

At the end of the day, you can't help but be grateful that the power of rock magically makes everything okay between Dewey and the kids and the kids and their parents...
and it results In him starting an afterschool program where he teaches music theory and rock appreciation from 3 to 6.

And for the record, the School of Rock does not win the battle of the bands... No Vacancy still won, but School of Rock won because the entire audience demanded an encore performance. Now that's powerful! 8-)