Short Review: The Change-Up

Grade: B

A man works hard to make partner at his law firm.

It's a body switching movie with dick and fart jokes.

Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde

Attention Span much last 1 hour 52 minute to enjoy.

Full Review: The Change-Up

Grade: B

Dave is a hardworking lawyer who is married with a daughter and two new born twins. Things have been rough lately as Dave has been working hard on a case at work and his home life has been affected by this. Mitch is an actor who doesn't seem to get much work and spends most of his days doing, pretty much, whatever he wants. The two have been best friends their whole lives and after a night of drinking, the two stumble upon a fountain they use to urinate in. Somehow, by doing so, the two switch bodies and the fountain has gone missing. Now, the two must do their best to respect each other’s lives until the fountain is found and they can switch back. The two, of course, learn valuable lessons along the way.

The Change-Up follows a tried and true formula of movies like Freaky Friday and its many remakes. The main difference being that this body switching movie is much raunchier and has tons of adult language. Rather than being the typical Mother/Daughter or Father/Son switch, this is more of an Odd Couple switch. Dave is clean, organized, wears a suit every day, has a respectable job, has kids and is generally responsible. Mitch is single, lazy, does what he wants (which usually includes lots of drinking and weed) and has lots of random sex with strange women. So to watch these two switch bodies is really funny and entertaining. Especially watching as Mitch tries to be Dave and just fail miserably. I easily laughed through 85-90% of this movie, it is better than I thought it would be. However, I do have to say that there are several moments in the trailer that were hilarious and they are either played down or missing all together from the movie. While I understand that this happens frequently, some of these moments were genius and I don’t get why they would be cut out. Also, one of my few complaints about this movie is that I am not a big fan of poop/gross humor and while there are only a small handful of these moments, some of them took me out of the movie for a moment.

Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses, Paul) plays the role of Dave. He does a great job in this movie and he is absolutely hilarious, as he usually is. Bateman is one of the more consistently funny actors out there and he does not disappoint in this. Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern, Buried) plays the role of Mitch. He was great and completely outrageous in this. His character has the vast majority of the language and raunchiness in this movie and Reynolds does this extremely well. Bateman and Reynolds play each other extremely well, but some of that is because the two have similar comedy styles. The movie also features Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin and more.

If you are looking for a fun comedy that is loaded with adult humor and all that comes with that, then the Change-Up is the movie for you. It is a great comedy but the easily offended should pass on this one. It tries to instill a message and succeeds somewhat but it’s kind of lost amidst everything else that is happening in the movie.

Great quote: “Take my hands off of you!”

Podcast: Episode 15

Episode 15 of Shut Up! The Movie's Starting is available now at sutmspod.wordpress.com

In this episode Michael and Russell discuss The Change-Up and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, both in theaters now, and The Chase, available on Netflix Instant Watch. The two also discuss Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Jersey Girl, Smokin’ Aces 1 and 2, Intolerable Cruelty, The Jonses, MacGruber, the greatness of Val Kilmer, remakes that should not be, their lack of enthusiasm for Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises, they ramble on for a bit and Michael continues to defend the quality of the Apes movies and so much more.

Short Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Grade: A

APES!!!!!!

Great addition to the Apes series. Lots of fun. Very emotional. Not to mention APES!!!!!

James Franco, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 45 minutes to enjoy.

Full Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Grade: A

Will Rodman has been working at a genetic lab for years where he has been working on a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. He has recently made a break through and a chimp they have been testing on has been showing amazing cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, the chimpanzee went out of control and they were forced to stop the program and put down all the chimps. It turns out, the chimp they were testing on had a baby and rather than put it down, Will took him home in order to hide him from the company. It appears that this chimp has increased cognitive abilities and quickly learns sign language and much more. After becoming hostile with a neighbor, Will is forced to put Caesar, the chimp, in a primate sanctuary. Here, Caesar learns how humans really are and he begins to organize a revolution with the rest of the apes.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is essentially a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes from 1968 starring Charlton Heston. I have been pretty excited about this movie for a while as I am a huge fan of all of the Planet of the Apes movies (there are 6 including Tim Burton’s remake). I was hoping that this would be a nice addition to the series. I was not let down at all. Rise manages to be fun and exciting as well as very emotional. The chimpanzee, Caesar, goes through many emotional and tragic ordeals, it gets to the point where you aren’t just rooting for him, but all of the apes. On top of that, they make many great references to the original movie as well as some references to some of its sequels, particularly Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. The writers did a great job and managed to sneak in many of the classic lines we all know and love. The special effects in the movie look absolutely spectacular, the apes look incredibly realistic. The buildup is great but the payoff is even better. The climactic scene with the apes rampaging through the streets of San Francisco is an absolute blast to watch. They left it somewhat open ended for possible sequels, which as an Apes fan, I am all for.

The movie stars James Franco (127 Hours, Your Highness) as Will, the genetic researcher who finds the cure for Alzheimer’s. Franco did a great job of playing Caesar’s surrogate father. He did an amazing job with his character’s connection to Caesar. Andy Serkis (King Kong, Lord of the Rings) portrays the role of Caesar, a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee. Serkis did an amazing job with all of the motion capture work for this character. He made this character feel extremely real and you truly sympathize with Caesar, more than I thought I would in this movie. John Lithgow (Orange County, TVs Dexter) plays the role of Charles, Will’s father who has Alzheimer’s. Lithgow is great in this movie and does a great job with some of the heavy handed stuff he has to deliver. The movie also features Freida Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Tyler Labine and more.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is absolutely everything I could have asked for and more out of a new Apes movie. I enjoyed this movie from start to finish and can’t wait to go see it again. If you are a fan of any of the Apes movies, I really can’t recommend this movie enough. If you aren’t a big fan of them or have never seen any Apes movies, I still suggest at least giving this one a try.

Short Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Grade: A

Mysterious visitors come to a small mining town in the old west.

Perfect summer popcorn flick. James Bond AND Indiana Jones are in it, how can you lose?

Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell

Your attention span must last 2 hours in order to enjoy.

Full Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Grade: A

In 1873, just outside a small mining town in Arizona, a man wakes up in the middle of the desert with no memory and a mysterious device attached to his wrist. He wanders into the town where he instantly makes a name for himself by teaching the son of a local business man a lesson. When it is discovered that this man is a wanted criminal, he is locked up and handed over to a federal marshal to deal with. However, that night, mysterious crafts arrive in the sky and lay waste to the small town, taking many of the residents. The man, Jake, the business man who practically owns the town, Woodrow Dolarhyde, a mysterious woman, Ella, and many other townspeople decide that they must work together in order to find the taken people and defeat the alien menace.

Cowboys and Aliens is one of the better westerns in a long time. Don’t mistake this movie for something that it’s not. It is simply a western where the bad guy is different than what you’re used to, and on that level, it completely works. It is an extremely fun movie with lots of great visuals. Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Zathura) did a great job with this movie, it looks absolutely fantastic. The creature design is very intriguing and the aliens are actually very intimidating. The writers of the movie, which includes the likes of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and more, did a great job with both the dialogue and action. This movie is based on a series of comic books of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, I have never read the comic books but after seeing this movie I’m going to pick them up.

Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Layer Cake) plays the role of Jake Lonergan, a mysterious man with a case of amnesia. Craig is an incredible actor and he does a great job in this movie. He is a lot of fun to see wandering around the old west like Yul Brynner, fighting aliens and generally kicking butt. His character has some moments that are very Indiana Jones-esque, like how he won’t let anything happen to his hat, I think they did this because of his co-star, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones, Morning Glory) who plays Woodward Dolarhyde, a man with seemingly more authority in the small town than the local sheriff. Ford is fantastic in this movie and I feel like for the first time in a long time, he was really trying and giving this role his all. Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy, The Next Three Days) plays the role of Ella, a beautiful and mysterious woman. Wilde is great in this movie and I’m really glad to see her career taking off the way it is. Sam Rockwell (Choke, Moon) plays the role of Doc, the owner of the local saloon. Rockwell is a greatly under-appreciated actor and he is really enjoyable in this movie. The movie also features Paul Dano, Adam Beach, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine and many more.

Cowboys and Aliens tells a very interesting and fun story and is everything you could ask for out of a popcorn flick. It is an absolute blast to watch James Bond and Indianna Jones work together to kick some alien butt. This movie has all the right twists and turns with some great characters and special effects.

Short Review: Crazy Stupid Love

Grade: C+

A man gets a makeover.

Funny, great date night movie.

Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Attention span must last 2 hours in order to enjoy.

Full Review: Crazy Stupid Love

Grade: C+

Cal and Emily Weaver have been in a rut for a while now and after Emily sleeps with a co-worker, she decides that they should get a divorce. Not wanting to put up a fight, Cal moves out into a small apartment and begins his lonely, now single, life. He decides to start going to a local bar, where he meets Jacob, a young, smooth-talking ladies man who seems to go home with a different girl every night. Jacob decides to take Cal under his wing and help him become a better man. Cal gets an entirely new wardrobe, a new haircut and Jacob teaches him how to talk to women. Cal starts feeling much better about himself and soon realizes that he should be fighting to get his wife back, not just hooking up with random women.

Crazy Stupid Love is an interesting romantic-comedy that adds something slightly new to a classic formula. This movie definitely has its funny moments, like when Jacob takes Cal shopping for a new suit and other clothes and is teaching him how to have more confidence. It also hits many rom-com clichés, like in one scene, after Cal and Emily get into another fight, it instantly starts to rain. For the most part, this movie is pretty decent. It does have its faults though. For instance, I feel that it goes on a little long, the amount of “Crazy stuff that happens is, itself, crazy. The movie feels like it’s heading towards conclusion several times only to have another weird incident drag it out a little longer, and some of the love triangles are a bit ridiculous.

Steve Carell (Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks) plays the role of Cal Weaver. I have to say, this is one of Carell’s better movie roles. I usually like him, but in this movie he seems a little better than usual. He manages to handle the balance of dramatic and comedic sides to the character really well. Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright, Children of Men) plays the role of Emily Weaver. I have always liked her and she is really enjoyable in this movie. Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, The Notebook) plays the role of Jacob. I have to say, I usually don’t like Gosling and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a comedic role, but he was actually very enjoyable in this movie and really funny at times. Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland) plays the role of Hannah, a girl whom Jacob meets and changes his ways. I am a huge fan of hers and I am glad to see her getting as much work as she is. She absolutely does not disappoint in this movie. The movie also features Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Marissa Tomei and many more.

Crazy Stupid Love is a decent and enjoyable romantic comedy. Even though I personally feel that it drags on a bit longer than it should, but I still feel that this movie would make for a great date night movie. It is funny and the cast is great. If you don’t see this on a date night, wait for DVD and rent it somewhere.

Podcast: Episode 14

Episode 14 of Shut Up! The Movie's Starting, the official Podcast of Cucu for Movies, is now available at http://sutmspod.wordpress.com/

In this episode, Michael and Russell discuss Cowboys & Aliens, which is in theaters now, and Chaos Theory, which is available on Netflix Instant Watch. Michael briefly talks about Tree of Life and Crazy Stupid Love. The two then go on to talk about their adoration for Clerks II, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Behind the Planet of the Apes, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, movies hitting DVD, the trailers for In Time, Tower Heist and Battleship, Olivia Wilde’s amazing eyes, Paul Bettany, movie news and more!