Showing posts with label Casey Affleck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casey Affleck. Show all posts
Tower Heist Steals Some Laughs
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the manager of the luxurious Tower in New York.
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the manager of the luxurious Tower in New York.
The Tower is the place to be for some of the highest rollers in the city, and Josh knows how to treat them with the utmost respect and discretion. He demands the same type of attitude from his entire staff, understanding and catering to every need of the residents of the building.
When the FBI takes one of Josh’s tenants into custody, everything changes. Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) is this films Bernie Madoff. He has “invested” the money of a number of individuals and there is nothing to show for it. But there is a bigger problem at the tower, he also has all of the retirement accounts of all the employees there as Josh had invested it with him.
Now, it’s personal, especially after reality hits the employees that have lost everything. Josh can’t look beyond these indiscretions any longer. After confronting Shaw, he finds himself jobless. He knows that if it weren’t for his trust in Shaw’s character, the employees of the Tower would not be out all of their retirement.
He recruits a crack team of criminals to get the money back for his employees. Unfortunately only one of them has any criminal background and Slide (Eddie Murphy) hardly knows any of the crew. Can they reclaim what is there’s? Or will this be just another crash and burn experience for Josh?
First and foremost let’s get this out of the way; Tower Heist will make you laugh. I know many of my critical brethren will look at this film and immediately discount it. But they can’t knock the fact that it’s funny.
We’ve waited for years for Eddie Murphy to have some of the restraints taken off of him to return to his funniest and although this doesn’t go far enough to really unchain him, it DOES give a glimpse of that old school Murphy humor.
It’s not only Murphy, with a cast like this, you can’t help but find a variety of funny moments. From roles for Casey Affleck and Matthew Broderick to the “villain” Alan Alda and small moments for Gabourey Sidibe and Tea Leoni, this film is loaded with talent.
Some uneven sequences do exist and I have problems with the structure of the film at times, but this isn’t Citizen Kane, nor does it pretend to be.
Tower Heist is a solid funny buddy film that will have you giggling until the end all while yearning for someone to really let Eddie Murphy go again.
B
Universal Pictures
Director: Brett Ratner
Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick
Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content.
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
A Scary Good Time
Animation has come a long way over the years. Animated films used to be a simple process. Cute, peppy music, fun, not much substance and kids would have a good time. Now, after Pixar has changed the landscape, we look to animated films for more that just the aforementioned things. ParaNorman delivers.
Animation has come a long way over the years. Animated films used to be a simple process. Cute, peppy music, fun, not much substance and kids would have a good time. Now, after Pixar has changed the landscape, we look to animated films for more that just the aforementioned things. ParaNorman delivers.
Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is different from most kids. He sees and can talk with ghosts. This ability has made him the butt of many jokes in school. He’s been bullied, ostracized and just flat out exiled from his clubs, classes and friends. But things are about to change in this sleepy town.
They are fast approaching the 300th anniversary of an event where a witch was hung and a town had the main group of men cursed. Seems tame enough, but there is an individual that thinks that Norman is the only hope for the town’s survival.
Norman is told that he must read from a book at the place where the witch was buried to save the town. Weird? Yes. Effective? We’ll see.
The great thing about ParaNorman is that the film is really a great scary movie for older kids without the craziness of real life. This isn’t a film for the 8-10 year olds in the family. This is a big kids movie that those in their pre-teen years through adults can enjoy and take a ride with confidence.
Visually it is a really exciting piece of work. It shows a true ghost story with relatable characters and enough bones and skulls without going over the top. It is an intense ride that will scare the youngest out there, but will enthrall older kids and adults alike. The humor is subtle but timely and the film will make you remember why you like good old-fashioned scary movies. A return to the past with the technology of the present makes ParaNorman a scary good time.
B+
Focus Features
Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Chirstopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann
Rating: PG for scary action and images, thematic elements, some rude humor and language.
Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes