Friday, February 25, 2011

7 Word Weekend Movie Review: Hall Pass, Drive Angry, and February's reign of terror is ended


New Movie Releases Reviewed in 7 Words Each


The Grace Card (limited) - Louis Gosset Jr. need I say more?

Drive Angry 3D - Yea... More Nicolas Cage car *Yawn* chasing.

Hall Pass - Remember when the Farrelly brothers were relevant?


The good news is, February (at least in terms of movies) is almost over. Soon it won't be able to hurt us anymore. Well not so much hurt as bore. Oh, no wait, hurt too. Last weekend Big Mommas House tres, while not number one, still placed in the top 5 with $16 million. Why?

I really can't remember the last time I wanted to see a Farrelly brothers movie (specifically that they've written). Regardless of how crazy and often tasteless their comedy is, it used to have an odd brilliance to it. Now though even their early stuff seems largely unwatchable to me. Their movies are what I like to think of us cable time killers. In that if I catch a few minutes of Something About Mary or Dumb and Dumber on cable, I'm good. I just don't want to sit and watch the whole film. In fact the only two of their films that I still really enjoy on occasion, Kingpin and The Ringer, they didn't write. Hall Pass could be different -it does have Stephen Merchant in it- but I doubt it. 

And then there's the new Nic Cage movie... Part of me thinks 'hey, a guy on a wicked car chase to save his daughter from being sacrificed by a cult, sounds like fun!' while another part of me just wants to hang my head in silence at the thought of another Nic Cage vehicle (and all the pun that implies). He just puts out way too few good films to justify the deluge of crap he streams. Granted, R rated action is what he does best, so I haven't abandoned hope for the film, but for sure I'll wait till DVD. 

Herb & DorothyI finally saw a documentary I've wanted to see since it came out last year. And by 'since' I mean that I forgot while it was in a very limited run up until I thought to check Netflix the other day. Herb & Dorothy is captivating story about an old Jewish couple that amassed a huge art collection throughout their lives. While that may not sound so incredible, it's more the fact that they weren't rich. Herb worked a job at the post office while Dorothy was a Brooklyn librarian. Their passion for art led them to live as cheaply as they could, to meet with artists, and to buy art in installment plans. Eventually with their collection as huge as it was they donated it to the national gallery of art, which has split it up amongst institutions across the country. It's a rich, charming story about a very interesting couple. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good doc.

Have a great weekend everyone! 

19 comments:

  1. Once again there is no movies that you talked about that I find interesting.

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  2. I read a review on Hall Pass that said something along the lines of, "Remove the H and the P from Hall Pass and that's what this movie is."

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  3. as a married man, there is something intriguing about hall pass. I will admit, I don't think this is the least bit plausable and I have never heard the term before.
    Your wife would have to think you are a total loser to agree with something like this. now that I put it this way, maybe I could get my wife to go along.

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  4. I loved Herb and Dorothy. Even their names are cute.

    I thought it was interesting that they bought what was plentiful and affordable at the time and appreciated that. Instead of drooling over what they appreciated, but couldn't afford.

    My favorite line is when they went to the artist couple's flat, found out the price of the art and said, "We got here to late."

    It really inspired me to start checking out local talent and start ups.

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  5. Hey! Where's my preview to Hall Pass? Budd just totally freaked me out about it, so of course, now I have to go see what it's about!

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  6. I am seeking out that documentary right now. I find art collecting interesting espeically by people who are ahead of the fads and actually do their homework about the artist. Art collecting is such a personal thing too. I have no doubt that I will be fascinated about what these people like when compared to their personalities. Thanks for the tip my brother.

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  7. I was quite surprised Big Momma's House did so well, too. What's up with that?

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  8. The documentary definitely seems interesting...maybe Big momma house has a audience...big mommas themselves...Nic Cage should retire...If I catch his twitching face once more on cable I am going get spooked for the rest of my life...

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  9. I tend to not be a huge Cage fan but I just finally saw Kick Ass this weekend and I thought he was really funny in it.

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  10. Never mind. I just read what CC said it was all about... no longer interested. Not even morbidly.

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  11. I'll admit - I'm still contemplating seeing Drive Angry.

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  12. I am all in for Drive Angry. Saw the trailer again this past Tuesday as I was watching Sanctum and I was sold. Don't care if it is a bastard child of Gone In Sixty Seconds and GhostRider. It's action, its fun, and it has those quotable Cage lines.

    Yeah, I'm easily amused.

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  13. The documentary is the only one that sounds interesting to me.
    It's too bad about the Farrelly brothers! Unless several people tell me they enjoyed anything new by them, I won't ever see it!

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  14. I love Merchant, but I think this might be a meh decision.

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  15. ha- camel's quote is a good one

    you have impressively eclectic tastes - the doc sounds interesting

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  16. Neat sounding doc. I love interesting documentaries.

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  17. So I really feel like there was a time when I was like, I don't know 14, when Nicholas Cage made movies that weren't total crap. Am I incorrect in my thinking? Now it seems like if Disney is making some sort of live action movie dealing with magic or someone is making a car-based movie that isn't good enough for Jason Statham they give Mr. Cage a call.

    That documentary looks super interesting BTW.

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  18. I loved the "Herb and Dorothy" documentary. Like the fact that they somehow nestled about 5,000 works of art in their small apartment, and the big museum they wanted to donate the collection to had space only for 1,000! And I loved what the artists had to say about them--that they were the first to pay attention and buy work from new struggling artists. And that they bought only what they liked.

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  19. jcohen7523 said...
    I love Merchant, but I think this might be a meh decision.

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