Yes Man
Jim Carrey does wonders with a slight premise that finds his reserved, emotionally-distant character, Carl Allen, a banker who routinely turns down loan applications, accepting a challenge to open up to life by saying “yes” to everything. A man who constantly disappoints friends by weasling out of opportunities for bonding and happiness, Carl radically changes into a creature of complete spontaneity. By never saying no anymore, he gets into situations with unpredictable outcomes, such as driving a homeless stranger to a scary-looking park at night. But for the most part, whatever Carl says yes to becomes a road to worthwhile experiences, even receiving a promotion at work for approving hundreds of micro-loans against all policy. Zooey Deschanel, who often plays appealing kooks, is very good as Carl’s girlfriend, a free spirit who takes to his positivity about everything–for awhile, anyway. Director Peyton Reed (Down with Love) makes the most out of the gimmicky comedy, as does Carrey, who does wonders with scenes that are often left open-ended just to see what the brilliant comic will do with them.
American Pie Presents: Beta House
The sixth entry in the long-running American Pie franchise anchors its story in the tried-and-true rivalry between nerds and jocks while serving up the non-stop barrage of raunchy gags for which the series has earned its notoriety. The twist in Beta House is that the nerds are actually the heels of the picture, while the heroes (as it were) are hormonally super-charged Erik Stifler (John White) and his pals, who pledge at their college’s most chaotic frat during their freshman year. That the fraternity, Beta House, is run by Erik’s cousin Dwight (Steve Talley) only works in their favor, but trouble rears its head in the form of the Geek House, a rival frat made up of socially awkward boys with money to burn due to their technological superiority. The apex of their clash is the Greek Olympics (inexplicably presided over by American Pie regular Eugene Levy), which descends into a frenzy of scatological sight gags (one bit, inspired by the Russian Roulette scene in The Deer Hunter, is jaw-droppingly gross). The sweetness that tempered the sex jokes in the original American Pie is completely absent from this entry; that, however, may not be a bad thing for some viewers. The DVD includes a considerable amount of deleted material, including whole story lines removed from the final product; commentary by and interviews with the cast and crew, outtakes, an in-character interview with Levy, and a ridiculous “Yule Log” featurette (a smutty play on the old Video Yule Log) round out the extras.
Tekken The Movie
The best part of the video game Tekken has always been an animated prelude that sets the stage before you start drop-kicking your opponent’s head. So it seemed natural to extend it into a movie, brought to life with artful anime illustration and an alt-rock soundtrack. All of your favorite Tekken characters are here as they battle their way through each other to win the Iron Fist tournament, where fighters of unequaled strength from around the world gather to test their strength in the gladitorial arena. Of course, intrigue and danger abound, with professional assassins, champions of justice, and those whose prowess earns them fear and respect facing off. Also, many opponents have deadly hidden agendas. Watching this film is perhaps not as visceral as actually executing a flying face-smash on your own, but an anime thrill nonetheless.
Sex Drive
Sooner or later, the new breed of coming-of-age comedy (good ones like Superbad, not-so-good ones like College) had to inspire a parody of itself, and that self-conscious knock-off is the sporadically funny Sex Drive. A road movie about a virginal nice guy, Ian (John Zuckerman), who drives cross-country in his brother’s car to score with a girl he met online, Sex Drive sounds like just another teen farce. But it isn’t, exactly: with stops in a rockin’ Amish community, in the redneck house of a bathroom fetishist, and in Ian’s own family home (where a well-meaning new stepmother is continually exposed to Ian’s unsavory private life), the film has an original life of its own. Casting counts for a lot in this movie. Clark Duke plays the likeable, over-confident nebbish we’ve come to expect since meeting McLovin’ in Superbad, and Amanda Crew is Felicia, Ian’s best friend and obvious romantic destiny (once these crazy kids figure that out). The three of them go traveling together in search of Ian’s sure thing. But Sex Drive really becomes a much better comedy once Seth Green appears (as an Amish guy steeped in guilt-tripping sarcasm) and James Marsden (as Ian’s bullying, homophobic brother) lets loose with a very funny performance. The two of them, really, have never been better on screen. There are a number of noteworthy scenes, particularly a chaotic climax that brings most of the characters together for an unexpected finish. Sex Drive, in some ways, is a more inspired movie than some of the ones it lampoons.
Valkyrie
Unpretentious and dramatically straightforward, Valkyrie is a suspenseful yet ennobling story about the last attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler prior to the end of World War II. Tom Cruise is effective if a little opaque as hero Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who channels his anger at Hitler’s atrocities and mismanagement of the war by joining a secret organization bent on killing the Führer. When the outspoken Stauffenberg hits on the idea of linking Hitler’s death with an official policy to safeguard Berlin during a government crisis–a contingency plan called “Valkyrie”–the group realizes a post-assassination coup could be covered by rapidly implementing the plan. History tells us the plot failed, of course, and Hitler killed himself months later. But that doesn’t stop Cruise or director Bryan Singer from approaching the film as a thinking person’s thriller, told from inside the conspirators’ camp, where the outcome of their deeds were uncertain for several tense hours. In the tradition of The Great Escape, Valkyrie is a war movie full of famous faces, including Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard. (The lesser-known David Bamber is very good as Hitler, hunched and cracking under pressure.) The film’s gravity is offset a bit by the fun of seeing all these actors in a factually-based slice of history, and by a few, interesting stylistic flourishes on Singer’s part, including the peculiarly unsettling image of a mosquito sizzled to death in close-up.
The Boy In Striped Pajamas
The innocence of childhood savagely collides with the Holocaust in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Bruno (Asa Butterfield) knows that his father is a soldier and that they have to move to a new house in the country… a house near what he thinks is a farm. But his father isn’t just a soldier; he’s a high-ranking officer in Hitler’s elite SS troops who’s just been placed in command of Auschwitz. As Bruno explores the woods around the house, he discovers the concentration camp’s perimeter fence. On the other side sits a boy his own age, with whom Bruno strikes up a friendship–a friendship that will have tragic consequences. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is most powerful in the details: The casual brutality of a Nazi lieutenant; the uncomfortable juxtaposition of the family’s domestic life with glimpses of the treatment of the imprisoned Jews; a ghastly propaganda film suggesting that life at Auschwitz was like a holiday. But more than anything else, Butterfield’s performance makes this film compelling. The young actor perfectly conveys Bruno’s limited perspective even as the film carefully unveils the larger, darker reality. The movie’s ending will undoubtedly spark arguments, but only because of the emotional complexity of what happens–The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is made with great skill and compassion. Also featuring David Thewlis (Naked) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) as Bruno’s parents.
Fired Up
The word “shameless” does not begin to describe Fired Up, a sneaky, self-aware teen comedy about two high-school jocks who join the cheerleading squad so they can score with girls at cheer camp. Naturally, they find themselves starting to care and end up committed to helping their squad win the big competition at the end. But while trotting through the formula paces, Fired Up manages to subvert the cliches of teen movies while fulfilling them at the same time. It’s really kind of genius. Fusing the smart sassiness of Bring It On with the hyperactive self-referentiality of Dude, Where’s My Car?, Fired Up wallows in the luscious flesh of its cast (both male and female) while pushing the horndogginess to ridiculous heights; it casts an absurdist eye on cheerleading while making savvy use of sports-movie plot devices; it starts out with the rigidly defined sex roles of high school, but by the end has mocked masculinity, femininity, homophobia, and furries(!). Nicholas D’Agosto (”Heroes”) and Eric Christian Olsen (Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) play the jocks with just the right mixture of likability and preposterousness. Also featuring Sarah Roemer (Disturbia), swimsuit model Molly Sims (Las Vegas), AnnaLynne McCord (90210), and the ever-dependable John Michael Higgins (A Mighty Wind, Best In Show).
