Brian Bentley

Review: “Blades of Glory”
Run time: 1:33

What happens when you put Ron Burgandy and Napoleon Dynamite on ice? “Blades of Glory”. I wish I was kidding, but I can’t watch Jon Heder without hearing his delivery and waiting for him to start reciting lines from “Napoleon Dynamite”. I can imagine that is a tough nut to crack since it was such a huge breakout role for him. Will Ferrell, on the other hand, has no excuse. His Chazz Michael Michaels is oddly reminiscent of “Anchorman’s” Ron Burgandy. I guess when something works you stick with it, but come on.

The movie is absurd in a good way. The idea that 2 male skaters would be banned for life after fighting on the medal stand during the Winter Sports Games only to discover that they can compete as a pair. It’s a simple story from there with the standard characters - the stalker who finds the loophole, the villianous brother and sister skating pair, they cantakerous old skating coach, and the naive love interest who just happens to be the rivals little sister.

It’s silly, the skating scenes are hilarious, and you’ll laugh through the movie.

The German Judge gives it a 4 out of 5

Review: “Hot Fuzz”
Run time: 2:01

A “parody” or “satire” usually skewers the material on which it is based. The “Naked Gun” movies were extremely slapsticky and could be best described as “loose send ups” of police movies, where the case itself is hardly anything more than a reason to set Leslie Nielsen in glorious motion. “Hot Fuzz” is neither parody or satire, it is straight up brilliant. I love the British sense of humor because it is very straightfoward and direct without the mugging and wink-wink, tongue in cheek efforts to make it funny by accompanying a joke with a silly face or gesture.

From the same people that made “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” is smart and funny, but never once tries to give off the feeling that it’s not meant to be a big budget, blow stuff up cop movie. The writing is sharp, the stars have obvious chemistry, and there are so many funny references to other cop movies (”Bad Boys 2″, “Point Break” to name a few) without being a “Scary Movie” type film. The plot is outlandish, and the gratuitous gore is hilarious, but aren’t big budget cops movies supposed to be that way?

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the stars, and real life best friends offscreen. They play off each other so well and it translates to the film. Look for Peter Jackson as a knife wielding Santa Claus, and Cate Blanchett as Pegg’s girlfriend, Janine.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review: “Reno 911!: Miami”
Run time: 1:24

Dammit. I really wanted to like this movie. I really did.

I’m a big fan of the show and I had high hopes for this, and that may have set the bar too high to start.

The movie feels like one long episode with a loose storyline based on bioterrorism, the only difference is that the swear words aren’t bleeped out like on Comedy Central and the gratuitous nude beach scenes, which I didn’t have that much of a problem with. There are also a handful of funny cameos including The Rock and Paul Reubens.

I’m giving this an extra half point for Patton Oswalt’s use of the word “douchnozzle”.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Review: “Music and Lyrics”
Run time: 1:36

Hugh Grant has built a career as the sullen yet charming Englishman with a gift for wooing the ladies. Now you can add singing to his repertoire. Grant is Alex Fletcher, the lesser known keyboardist from a Wham!-esque 80’s pop band called, ironically, POP. Now washed up and touring state fairs as a one man show, he’s hired to write a song for Cora Corman the current hot female starlett. The trick is Flecther only has one week to come up with the tune, is given the title “Way Back Into Love” (it’s the title Corman’s favorite book), and isn’t the only artist competing for the songwriter’s spot. Did I mention Fletcher’s never written lyrics before? Oh, how will he ever make it…? Enter offbeat plant waterer Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) who happens to utter out a few lines while Fletcher is trying to hammer something out to go with his beautiful melody, and the rest, they say, is a romantic comedy.

Grant and Barrymore have great chemistry on-screen. Her cheery persona balances out his wry, sarcasm. Brad Garrett has some good lines as Fletcher’s agent, but Kristen Johnson (formerly of 3rd Rock from the Sun) gets big laughs with as Sophie’s POP obsessed sister. Of course, we did see this on Valentine’s Day at Studio Movie Grill so we were obviously there to see this type of movie.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Review: “Smokin’ Aces”
Run time: 1:49

Buddy “Aces” Israel is a Vegas entertainer turned small-time mobster who has turned government informant. A $1 million hit has been put out on his head before he can testify and go into witness protection, but the contractors want his heart, too. The hit goes out and every freelance killer/psychopath wants in on the deal, and once word hits the street he’s holed up in the Presidential Suite of the Nomad Hotel in Reno, the race is on and the first one to smoke “Aces” gets the loot. It’s sort of like “Cannonball Run”, but for contract killers. Who gets the cash? Do the Feds get there in time to pull him out? Why did Affleck decide to grow that ’stache?

We went and I was almost positive Melinda was going to hate this movie, but about 2/3 of the way thorugh she leaned over and gave me the thumbs up. The cast is large and pretty impressive (in the order of remembrence, not importance): Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Alicia Keys, Common, and a funny cameo by Matthew Fox.

It’s not a date movie, but it is a fun time even if the ending seemed convoluted. No poker jokes here, just a solid 3.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review: “Night at the Museum”
Run time: 1:49

I will say that if you told me Ben Stiller would be in a movie with Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, Owen Wilson Steve Coogan and Dick Van Dyke I would expect it to be a rip-roaring comedy, but instead “Night at the Museum” is a fun family friendly movie. This is not your typical Ben Stiller movie, but he does play the type of character he’s carved out a niche for himself - bubbling guy with some sort of personal trouble.

This time he’s Good-hearted dreamer and single father Larry Daley, but despite being perpetually down on his luck he thinks he’s destined for something big. When he accepts what appears to be a menial job as a graveyard-shift security guard at the Museum of Natural History, extraordinary things begin to occur and amidst the chaos, the only person Larry can turn to is a wax figure of President Theodore Roosevelt.

I enjoyed the movie and the effects are excellent. If you have kids you’ll enjoy it, too.

And yes, we went to a movie on New Year’s Eve. Everybody be safe and have a Happy New Year.

Rating: 3 out of 5

“Shut Up and Sing”
Run time: 1:33

During a concert in London in 2003, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines made her infamous remark about the President. “Shut Up and Sing” shows what happens when the Chicks walked off stage all the way through the recording of their latest EP “Taking the Long Way” with mercurial producer Rick Rubin.

It’s amazing to see things transform as the Chicks go from singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 2003 and announcing their tour, seeing the remark made in it’s full context in London, and the subsequent fall from grace of the most successful female band of all time (the had the #1 single “Travelin’ Soldier” at the time and it was completely off the charts the week after the remark). What I was truly amazed about was the footage shown after the London concert and how “the remark” was not a big deal. It was an unrehearsed remark made in the spur of the moment, and met favorably from the London audience, that was picked up by the American media and a whirlwind followed. From record burnings (9 year olds stomping CD’s and looking to mommy and daddy for approval), concert protests (a mother holding her 3 year old yelling “Screw ‘Em!” then asking her child to repeat her), and talk show rants (Bill O’Reilly recommends physical violence against them) the reaction is polarizing and somewhat unfair.

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“Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny”
Run time: 1:33

I’m going to go ahead and get this reference out of the way - “Destiny” is this generation’s “Tommy”….only because I can’t think of any other musicals right off hand except for South Park the Movie.

Written over the course of 6 years by stars Jack Black and Kyle Gass, this movie has the marks of stoner movie all over it. I like The D. I think they’re funny, but this movie is going to gross more on DVD than it will at the box office. What started out as a tongue in cheek satanic acoustic duo on HBO has spawned 2 albums, put Jack Black on the map and gave his the chance to do movies, and proved Kyle Gass is a guitar genius.

I thought it was funny and I appreciated the humor in the music. I thought the casting of The D’s child counterparts was dead on hilarious, but you have to be a fan of The D to enjoy “The Pick”.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

“Casino Royale”
Run time: 2:24

When Daniel Craig was named the new James Bond, everyone lined up to pee on his parade. I wasn’t as skeptical after seeing him in “Layer Cake”, but I was eager to see what he did with the role.

“Casino Royale” is the “Batman Begins” of Bond films. The one that takes the origin of the character and updates it with the times without going against or disturbing the cannon.

It’s all there, the opening credits complete with song and title specific graphics (diamonds, spades, clubs and hearts), the action, the car chases, and most importantly….the Bond girls.

Craig’s performance is stoic, but strong, with the requisite charm for being Bond, and the movie had a couple of false finishes which was kind of frustrating because it felt like 3 movies in one towards the end. The movie delivers on action and Craig is jacked, and locked in for 2 more movies.

If you can, check out some of Daniel Craig’s previous work and then enjoy “Casino Royale”.

Rating: 005 out of 007

“Stranger Than Fiction”
Run time: 1:57

An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.

They say there are only 7 stories that you can write about, but I don’t remember seeing this premise in the handbook. Will Ferrell is IRS auditor Harold Grick, and his performance is not the normal performance we’ve come acustomed to. He’s sad, sardonic, lonely and empty. Until one day he begins to hear a woman’s voice narrating his life. Emma Thompson is the narrator who is writing her latest novel “Death and Taxes”, but what neither of them know is every keystroke on her typewriter dictates Harold’s life.

This movie is getting good reviews for good reason. The movie’s pace is nice and the opening titles set a very nice tone for the rest of the movie. Dustin Hoffman is wonderful as an Engligh Literature professor helping Harold narrow down the list of possible author’s that could be narrating his life.

This is a good moive and very smart. Check it out.

Rating 4 out of 5

“Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”
Run time: 1:22

There’s permonace art and then there’s the social experiment that is “Borat”. The creation of UK comedian (and observing Jew) Sasha Baron Cohen, Borat is a naive television reporter from Kazakhstan who says what most people only think, but it works because he’s foreign and everything comes from him with such youthful exuberance it’s easy to think he’s mixed up, not on the attack. The trick to Borat is that his subjects become so comfortable with him that before they know it, they’ve either agreed with his rheoric or corrected him with their own latent bigotry or racism.

The movie is a series of real-life situations loosely based on the premise that Borat is driving cross country, primarily through the south as luck would have it, to Malibu to meet his true love, Pamela Anderson. The amazing part is the film man on the street segments are completely improvised and done in one take with Cohen in character the entire time (he even maintained this appraoch for all of the movie’s promotional appearance).

I cannot say enough good things about this movie, but I have to try and temper my review so I don’t completely regurgitate it sharing the wit and genius of Cohen. It’s offensive, anti-semetic, at times vulgar, and complete genius. I’m amazed this movie was reduced from 2,000 to 800 for it’s opening weekend and still managed to do $26 million. As Borat would say “High fi-eeve” out of five.

Rating: 5 out of 5

This was terrible. We walked out 40 minutes into it. I would have rather literally run with scissors. I’m not going to even waste time tracking down the poster and run time.

Rating: Incomplete.

“The Departed”
Run time: 2:29

Simple math equation here: Jack Nicholson + Martin Scorsese + Leonardo DiCaprio + Matt Damon + Martin Sheen = movie gold, but add Alec Baldwin, a scene stealing Mark Wahlberg and deserving comparisons to “Goodfellas” and that equals Oscar nominations galore, or at least it should.

A remake of a Hong Kong movie called “Infernal Affairs”, “The Departed” is movie about two men from opposite sides of the law that are undercover within the Boston State Police department and the Irish mafia, but when discoveries are made and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy’s identities, violence and bloodshed boil.

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“Monster House”
Run time: 1:31

I can’t remember the last movie I saw in 3-D, and to be fair, this “3-D” version of Monster House was not full of the things you associate with 3-D movies like cheesy effects, things flying out at the audience, or people reaching towards the camera for stuff. The 3-D was used to accentuate the wonderful computer animation of the film by providing incredible depth of field to the cartoon. I’m not sure it was worth the extra $1.50 for the glasses, but I thought the 3-D was a nice touch and something different. Of course, the movie is not marketed to grown-ups like me and Melinda so I guess the point is moot.

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“School For Scoundrels”
Run time: 1:40

Anyone heard of the theory that bad movies put all the funny parts into their trailers and hope it sells tickets? If you haven’t, then go watch the trailer for this turd and then go drop $8 to see it proven. I really wanted this to be funny because I laughed out loud the trailer all 3 times I watched it.

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Rating: 0 out of 5