Hit and Run: 2H2(g) + O2(g) -> 2H2O(I)... That's Good Chemistry

It's amazing what a guy like Dax Shepard can do.  He began his career assisting Ashton Kutcher in pranking celebrities on the MTV show Punked.  From there he landed his first starring role in Without A Paddle, a little comedy no one remembers until they're scrolling the channels at 3 AM and lands on comedy central.  Not a bad movie, just not a good one.  Either way, Shepard's performance didn't hurt him, in fact, it may have given him a little bit of public face-time in order to cement himself as a comedic actor-- one who may have some staying power.  From there, though, the roles he took didn't help his cause at all.  From the little-seen Zathura, to the hardly seen Idiocracy (which I personally believe is a hilarious film) to basically killing his career in the abysmal Employee of the Month.  Then, Dax Shepard essentially dropped off the Hollywood map appearing only in random episodes of TV or tiny bit parts in movies just as bad as the ones he starred in (Old Dogs, When In Rome).  Finally, Shepard came back to the scene in a little indie film called The Freebie which was basically a less expensive, less scene, and way more depressing version of Hall Pass.  But, Shepard was bound and determined to make it back to mainstream Hollywood.  During his absence he kept busy.  He married the popularity-gaining Kristin Bell and decided to try his hand at writing and directing.  And while his writer/director debut, Brother's Justice, didn't gain him any attention from regular shmoe's like you or I... it did give him back a little credibility in the Hollywood mainstream.  His second project, Hit and Run, while it isn't anything to rave about, is another step in the right direction.

Now that you've been given the Dax Shepard history lesson, on to the movie. Hit and Run stars Shepard as Charlie "Charles" Bronson, a man whose past is a mystery, living in some bumfuck town during his tenure in witness protection.  He's dating Annie, played by his real-life wife Kristin Bell.  When Annie gets a job opportunity as a professor at a college in Los Angeles, Charlie jeopardizes his identity and safety and drives her across country for her interview.  This triggers a chain of events that isn't quite a "clusterfuck" but is definitely in the lower totem of cluster.  Annie's jealous ex-boyfriend Gil tails them on their journey and alerts the attention of Alex Dimitri (played by Bradley Cooper), who has a violent, but unknown agenda towards Charlie having something to do with the reason he's in witness protection in the first place.  Also tailing the couple is U.S. Marshall Randy (Tom Arnold) who has a legal obligation to stop Charlie from leaving witness protection.  From there on a series of events ensue that lend to humor, violence, and emotional distress, giving us... Hit and Run.

What works about Hit and Run isn't its story, it isn't its set-ups and payoffs, it isn't the laughs (and there are a few good ones) and it isn't the strange dreadlocked performance by Bradley Cooper.  The strength of the film lies solely on the shoulders of Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell's chemistry as a couple, because they have it.  Their interactions as a couple, their relationship nuances, love and squabbling are all realistic.  There aren't a whole lot of couples that can pull off real chemistry, if you don't believe me rent Gigli.  There is no doubt in my mind that most of the interactions between the two stem from real life experiences, which gives the movie its organic flow not only in plot but in character development.  Charlie and Annie really are the only characters you care about, which is good because they are the only ones that need to be cared about.  Bradley Cooper as the pissed off Randy is very very funny, but it's not the heart of the movie.  He's the wildcard, he's the side character that is only really there to further the plot and get the laughs.

That being said, Hit and Run didn't entirely do it for me as a whole.  It's marketed as a raunchy and violent action-comedy when really it's not that raunchy and there isn't that much action.  It's an indie movie disguised as a big budget action film with a few simple car chases spliced between actual heartfelt conversation.  If that's what it wanted to be, then I guess it works, but I don't believe that's what it wanted to be.  If you're given free reign to write and produce a hard-R rated action comedy why not go balls out crazy with it.  It's rated R!  Do what you want!  This is what my biggest problem with Ted was.  You've got an R rated comedy starring a foul-mouthed teddy bear -- make him a foul-mouthed teddy bear!  Ted wasn't even that raunchy of a movie save for a line here or there.  South Park knows how to push the boundaries.  Any episode of South Park in the last ten years is a million times more raunchy and graphic and downright outrageous than Ted ever tried to be.  I guarantee you that movie would've been much funnier had Trey Parker and Matt Stone lent a hand.

Hit and Run is no different.  There are a couple of raucous moments in there but none enough to warrant an R.  While these scenes solidified its R rating, had they been cut out the movie would've been the same and probably just as funny.  One scene in particular, which if you've seen the red-band trailer has already been spoiled for you, involves Charlie and Annie accidentally walking in on a real life lemon party (if you don't know what that is, I don't recommend you googling it around anyone, ever).  The scene is gross-out, but it's not over the top.  It comes and goes, comes back once more, but the joke is dead.  If Shepard had this mindset for the whole film, it would've been a lot funnier.  What the film needs is to recognize what it is.  It tries occasionally but ends up looking embarrassed and tries to cover it up with a cute moment with Charlie and Annie.  It should've been no holds barred, but it barred a lot.  It barred too much.

B-

A Reason to go to the Movies: Upcoming Best

When beginning any new blog, I'm searching for things to write about.  Seeing as how I'm really going to have new movie reviews up once or twice a week, I thought I might share with you some of the best looking movies that have yet to come out.  A lot of the movies still coming out look like complete shit.  But, still, some of them look very interesting.  Below are the movies I am most excited to see for the remainder of 2012.  Some you've probably heard of.  Some you may have not.  In any case, check out the trailers to see if there's something you'll dole out eighteen bucks to see this year.


Looper: September 28

Rian Johnson has a near-perfect track record having written and directed both The Brothers Bloom and Brick.  So, needless to say I trust him as far as anything he's coming out with.  Much like M. Night Shyamalan after The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs... my trust of his work was his to lose. And man, did he lose it.  But as far as Looper goes, it's nice to see a sci-fi movie that appeals to the masses.  Most sci-fi films really only appeal to a core group of superfans.  Even Promethius, which was the definition of anti-climactic, didn't have far as much appeal as I thought it would.  Check out the trailer for Looper below.

Trouble With the Curve: September 28

The first time I saw the trailer for Trouble With The Curve I was a little concerned that it would just kind of fade away without many people seeing it.  It looks like your generic romantic drama, with nothing extra special to draw audience members in.  But then I remembered that it's got Clint Freaking Eastwood in it.  When I heard that Eastwood was retiring from acting after Gran Torino, I died a little bit inside.  So, even though I may be a little skeptical about this film, I trust it because obviously the script was good enough to bring Dirty Harry out of retirement.  And even if the film is mediocre, what's honestly going to be that bad about watching a movie about Clint Eastwood and baseball?  Trailer below.

Taken 2: October 5

Yeah.  You read that right.  They've made a sequel to Taken.  How? you ask.  They already killed everyone!  Yeah, well the people who were killed had families.  And those families are pissed.  So, they're like, trying to "take" Liam Neeson and his wife and his daughter again.  And his wife is like... oh, no, they got me.  And his daughter's like, fuck that you ain't takin me again.  And Liam's all like, yeah, I dare you to take me bitches, I'll just kill you harder than ever.  Then he gets on a phone and says some more badass stuff.  And then... well, you know what happens then.  If you haven't seen this trailer yet... get to watching.

Seven Psychopaths: October 12

One of my favorite movies of the last five years was In Bruges.  It's a very underappreciated movie that really has everything.  It's funny, it's violent, it's crude, it's got heart and it's probably one of the smartest comedies I've ever seen.  So, much like Rian Johnson having a perfect track record, Martin McDonagh has my full and complete trust with only one film, In Bruges, under his belt.  I mean, if you don't wanna take my word for it, just watch the trailer.  I'm fairly sure you'll be as convinced as I am.

Killing Them Softly: October 19

I don't honestly know that much about Killing Them Softly.  I've looked up a few things, but none have really provided much more about the story than the trailer does.  All I know is that Brad Pitt is in a movie about gangsters.  I'm on board already.  The only thing that would make me more excited about this movie is if Martin Scorsese's name was attached as director.  Check out the trailer below.

Flight: November 2

You guys remember when Robert Zemeckis made good movies?  Of course you don't... I'm guessing most of you don't even know who Robert Zemeckis is... you're not a faggy little movie nut like me.  Zemeckis directed great movies in the past such as Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Castaway.  Then, he decided that making shitty animated films was the inevitable route he had to take and went on to tarnish his good name with The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol.  Finally, he's back with another live-action movie with a lead actor that hardly ever fails.  It's an engaging and intriguing tale and I, for one, hope that this will be the launching of Zemeckis back into live action movies.

Skyfall: November 9

Okay, I'll admit it right off the bat, that Quantum of Solace was a pretty lame movie especially with how fantastic the James Bond reboot Casino Royale was before it. Still, it was better than any frozen hotel, invisible car, Pierce Brosnan 007 crap ever came out.  I'd even argue to say that Daniel Craig is the best bond of the last twenty-five years.  That being said, I think Skyfall looks as if it will redeem any "accidents" in the Daniel Craig/James Bond series.  It looks like they're going back to the good ol' shoot-em-up spy gadget fun we've come to love.  Plus, they've brought back Q.  I, for one, am excited.

Les Miserables: December 14

Don't worry.  You don't have to say it.  I will say it for you.  Yeah, I'm gay.  I'm excited for a musical coming out this year.  I'm sure most of you reading this couldn't give two sacks of fermented animal shit about this movie, but I can tell you right now it is going to be amazing.  Here's why you can trust me on it.  Number one, I hate, nay, loathe musicals.  I'd rather watch Tyler Perry fart for two hours than ever see the first twenty minutes of Mamma Mia again.  Two, I've seen this play four times live and it really is the greatest musical of all time.  Three, the cast is unbeatable.  And four, because if you can't feel like crap at Christmas time, then what else can you feel?  I will be in line to see this movie, first showing when it comes out.

This is 40: December 21

I feel like I'm repeating myself when it comes to writer/directors and earning my trust.  There aren't many directors I can say have ALWAYS had my trust, but Judd Apatow is one of them.  Sure, some of his movies haven't been the same quality and caliber of the one preceding it, but no matter what, if you're going to see an Apatow film, you will be laughing frequently.  I know a lot of people didn't much care for Funny People.  I really liked it because I did know that it was a dramedy, and I could also identify with the inner workings of the comedy world.  This is 40 is a spin-off of Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters from Knocked Up, which is arguably Apatow's best film.  Even if it isn't as good as Knocked Up I know I will be laughing throughout.  Because Judd Apatow has proven he can make me laugh since the very first movie he wrote... which was Heavyweights for those who didn't already know.

Django Unchained: December 25

We've reached the movie that I am most excited about this year.  If I could only see one more movie from now until Jan 1, 2013 it would be Django Unchained.  Sure, I'd miss out on some good sci-fi, some good comedy, and a damn good musical (seriously, it's awesome).  But... there's no way in hell I'd miss Quentin Tarantino's next film.  I mean, come on, he's the Daniel Day-Lewis of directors.  The guy only puts out a movie every four years.  His last, Inglourious Basterds, was arguably the best movie of 2009, with Christoph Waltz giving one hell of a performance.  Now, Tarantino is releasing a spaghetti western with Waltz, Sam J, AND Leo???  What's not to look forward to?  Watch the trailer, enjoy, then repeat.

And finally, something to look forward to in 2013...

Arnold is back??????  Where have the last eight years gone???  Watch the trailer and get your ass to Mars!