A heady blend of outrageous Grand Guignol comic set pieces and fast-twitch dialogue, Tropic Thunder walks a fine line of dangerous satire that straddles gallows humor and bawdy pop-culture inflected slapstick. In the midst of filming an Apocalypse Now-styled movie an overzealous crew squander a multi-million dollar explosion, thereby forcing director Damien Cockburn (Steve … [Read more...] about ‘Tropic’ of conversation
A ‘Pineapple’ a day
Pineapple Express could easily be titled The Apatow Express for the way it expands on Judd Apatow’s influence as a modern-day Mel Brooks. The title refers to a hybrid kind of marijuana so rare that to smoke it is akin to “killing a unicorn.” James Franco busts out some impressive comic chops as Saul, a good-natured pot dealer who befriends his process … [Read more...] about A ‘Pineapple’ a day
All ‘X’d out
This borderline sci-fi soap opera could have benefited from a more visionary treatment from a director like David Lynch or William Friedkin instead of from the film’s writer/producer/director Chris Carter. Carter’s rote script requires Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny to call each other Scully and Mulder so many times that you’ll wish the writer had paid attention to … [Read more...] about All ‘X’d out
Waves of Change
Hawaii’s role in the transformation of surfing from what many considered to be a pastime for drug-crazed counter-culture rebels to a multi-billion dollar sport is examined in debut director Jeremy Gosch’s documentary about the group of Australian and South African surfers that “broke down the door” for pro surfing to take hold. At the same time, the … [Read more...] about Waves of Change
‘Brothers’ a keeper
Goofy, bawdy and full of slapstick physicality, Step Brothers takes advantage of the natural comic chemistry between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly to generate a coming of age comedy that’s funnier than any of Ferrell’s recent outings. Dale (Reilly) and Brennan (Ferrell) are 40-year-old boy-men still living at home with their respectively divorced parents Nancy … [Read more...] about ‘Brothers’ a keeper