The Green Hornet

Well, that's not what I was expecting. I watched this because it was directed by Michel Gondry and, yes, there are some creative Gondry flourishes, but overall it's your everyday formulaic action comedy. No, what sets this apart is, wait for it...the acting. Seth Rogan is in full Seth Rogan mode ( I mean that in the good way). Korean pop singer Jay Chou, while a bit hard to understand at times as martial artist and engineer extraordinaire Kato, shows good comedic timing and chemistry with Rogan. And then there's the great Christoph Waltz as the Bad Guy. His first scene (with James Franco is, well, watch it). And get this, 30 minutes in, who pops up but Cameron Diaz. I thought the same thing, but she's mostly harmless here. Don't worry.

Not sure why this got such poor reviews. I thought it was a lot of fun. PLUS

Playlist: The Foot Fist Way

Vinny Guns told me I had to watch Eastbound & Down. He was right. Not that I had to watch it, I don't think. It's possible (though not literally) that he could have telepathically hijacked me into doing it, but then again, wouldn't he then wipe my mind of any knowledge of his manipulation? That only makes sense, right? No, what I meant was he was right about it being good. Did I not mention that part? It was implied, like this sarcasm.

Then, Vinny Guns then told me I had to watch Danny McBride and Jody Hill's first film, The Foot Fist Way. (Please note: Vinny Guns didn't say please either time.) So, I watched it. And it was good, just not as good. It was funny, just not as funny. What it turned out to be was a test run for Eastbound with McBride's character, Taekwondo instructor Fred Simmons, essentially being Kenny Powers sans sweet ass mullet. If you like McBride, which I do, that's a good thing. Unfortunately, he's undermined by some less than stellar supporting performances, the actress playing his wife being of particular notverygoodness. But, that's what you get in such a small production. (Hill's small role as a slightly off-center fellow martial artist is the best non-McBride thing in the film.)

Actually, FFW is closer in tone to Hill's Observe & Report than Eastbound. Unsurprisingly, Vinny Guns is a big O&R fan as well. Me, less so. But we both agree wholeheartedly that we're fans of Vinny Guns. BOOM!

Playlist: In the Loop

If you like the British "The Office," you'll...well, you know the rest. And you will. This is classic Brit satire, this time in the world of politics. Specifically, in the State Departments of both Great Britain and your United States of America. Even more specifically, a fictionalized take on the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It's funny in that scary Strangelove way in that, yeah, this is probably how it all really did go down.

Actually, if you like ranting, cursing Brits in general--and who the hell doesn't--then you'll love this. Specifically, the f-carpet bombing Peter Capaldi as pro-war Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker. Capaldi (who I loved as Sid's dad on the BBC's "Skins") is worth watching this for by himself. Not that you have to because the whole cast is good, including a very un-Tony Soprano James Gandolfini as a skeptical U.S. general. But my favorite bit of casting is this: Anna Chlumsky. Yes, the return of My Girl herself. And it's about damn time. Thomas J. would have wanted her to keep acting.

Playlist: Youth in Revolt

This was the film where Michael Cera finally played a character other than Michael Cera. Or at least that's what everyone kept saying to me whenever I mentioned that he's never played anything other than himself. I had my doubts. As usual, I was right (by "usual" I mean, "for the first time".)

YiR is another amusing, quirky comedy--nothing hysterical, but enjoyable. Cera is his usual self, meaning he's himself as a high school kid in love. The big twist here (as opposed to his character's last name, Twisp) is that he develops a smooth criminal alter ego named Francois Dillinger. Francois has a moustache. Not exactly Russell Crowe in The Insider, but it's a start. So, he's going to me Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim. So what? I like Michael Cera. Everyone likes Michael Cera. That's his superpower. Probably got bit by a radioactive bunny.

Some good supporting casting to note: Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Fred Willard, and Zach Galifianakis (though Zach is sadly underused, as he was in Up in the Air. Here, he basically plays a slob with a beard. Talk about typecasting.) But it's a testament to Zach's rising star power that both YiR and UitA misleadingly featured him in ads. He's the buzz boy right now after his cannonball splash onto the public radar in last year's The Hangover. That was Todd Phillips' latest stake (after Road Trip and Old School) to the claim of best mainstream comedy director.

While that's not an actual thing, if anyone could be said to have held that title, it would be Harold Ramis. Proof? Caddyshack, Vacation, Groundhog Day. It's almost poetic that his latest film, Year One, came out the same month as The Hangover. Year One felt like a holdover from Ramis' prime in the 80s. The jokes were DOA, the tone was flat, and it felt more like a string of gags than a fully developed story. That can work and has worked, but you really need to be at the top of your comedic game to pull it off. Mainstream comedy is a tough genre to survive--you have to be equally funny to people with actual senses of humor and also the rest of the idiots out there. It's a small window. Phillips has missed twice already (Starsky & Hutch and School for Scoundrels, though blame Ben Stiller's ego for the former).

The two movies also may have marked the passing of a second torch. Year One's Jack Black seems to have hit the funny wall. Though him hitting a wall might be more entertaining than some of his recent movies. H-Wood is a fickle town and he better watch his back because Zach is the same age, has the same look, but is still the cheaper option. Just saying. Next up for both: Black has Gulliver's Travels this Christmas in what looks to be his attempt to tap into the Night at the Museum market; Zach has Phillips' Due Date with Robert Downey Jr. this fall.

Oh, Jack Black's Year One co-star? Michael Cera. Playing Michael Cera dressed like a caveman.

Playlist: Black Dynamite

Damn, this is one righteous blaxploitation homage, suckas. I say homage because, one, I'm pretentious, and two, parody calls to mind too many goofy hack jobs like all those Scary Movies. The difference is that Black Dynamite, like Shaun of the Dead or even Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, has fun with, instead of making fun of, the source material. There's a degree of reverence present and not just a collection of cheap sight gags or topical jokes that are DOA by the time they come out on DVD.

Director Scott Sanders comes to this with really no track record, but he and co-writer/star Michael Jai White show deft hands at capturing that parodic comedic balance. We get the best of the genre--pimps, hos, kung fu--in all their ridiculous splendor. The climax? Why a nunchucks duel with Richard Nixon, of course.

Now, in the words of The Man himself (Black Dynamite, not Tricky Dick): Shh, mama, you gonna wake up the rest of the bitches.

Playlist: The Jerk

Never one to rest on my laurels (mine have thorns), I recently watched The Jerk to see if it deserved a claim to my 1979 crown. It doesn't.

That doesn't mean it wasn't funny, which it was and very much so at times. The beginning is Steve Martin at his best as we see his character's upbringing in Mississippi as a "poor black child" and his stint as a gas station attendant ("He hates these cans. Stay away from the cans.").

The film slows down once he falls in love and there's actual attention paid to some sort of narrative. (Also, I don't really get the title, other than it's funny. He's much more of a dimwitted fool than anything else.) But there are great moments throughout and, if nothing else, it provided us with this timeless advice:

"Lord loves a workin' man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it."

Extract

There are movies and then there are auteur movies, the films where you refer to the director rather than the title. "Wanna go see the new Tarantino film?" "Is that an early Coen Brothers movie?" Make no mistake--this isn't just an arty pretension. It's admiration and respect for creative minds in an industry where the mainstream is more like a raging river.

Mike Judge is an auteur. No, he's not Kurosawa, but he has a distinct comedic style that he's crafted from the brilliantly subtle subversion of Beavis and Butt-Head to the animated authenticity of early King of the Hill, and culminating with the legendary Office Space. Extract works (hell, even Affleck is funny), but what stood out to me is one of the underlying reasons why. Because this is a Mike Judge movie, we get to see Mike Judge's vision of what this movie should look like. Specifically, what the characters should look like. We get the cinematic equivalent of comfort food: time-tested, go-to character actors who let you know up front that you're in good hands and allow you to sit back and absorb the story. (Just to name a few here--J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Beth Grant--look them up.) It's something viewers should appreciate. PLUS