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movies, weekend reviews

Will's Weekend Movie Reviews

The Foot Fist Way (Dir. Jody Hill) – Every year, the movers and shakers in Hollywood scour Sundance and other film festivals in search of the next Little Miss Sunshine. Will Ferrell and Anchorman director, Adam McKay, championed this ultra low-budget picture (shot in a grainy, documentary style) about Fred Simmons, a small-town Tae Kwan Do instructor. This is right up Ferrell’s alley as the lead is the same type of character that Ferrell specializes in, the wacky & abrasive guy who flies off the handle at any moment. The tagline of the film should read, Will Ferrell as a martial arts instructor dropped into the world of Napoleon Dynamite. Except, it’s not funny. Not one single bit.

Final Thoughts: Someone is going to have to explain to me why everyone seems to love this movie so much. The Foot Fist Way generates a few chuckles, but the scant jokes it possesses wear thing very quickly. Danny McBride inhabits his character well, but he’s so thoroughly unsympathetic and scummy, that you don’t care a lick about him. The one shining spot in the film is the minor character of Julio, a roly-poly kid and wannabe apprentice to McBride’s Simmons. Maybe they should have made the movie about him. And Best of the Best remains the best Tae Kwan Do movie ever. The Foot Fist Way gets only one and a half fists out of a possible five.

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The Happening (Dir. M. Night Shyamalan) - Once upon a time there was a golden boy in Hollywood named M. Night Shyamalan who steadily pissed away his career due to ego and hack writing. The Happening lacks the twist revelation that became a trademark of Shyamalan's films. Yet, as ridiculous and infuriating as the ending to The Village was, at least there was some sort of ending. I'm not one to demand that every movie has to wrap things up in a neat, little bow, but The Happening is all build with no payoff. Awkward exposition dropped in at all-too convenient moments and silly performances make this another miss for a man fast becoming a one-hit wonder.

Final Thoughts: M. Night Shyamalan appears to have Uwe Boll-like powers in convincing gullible folks to fund his crappy movies. After the disaster of The Village, Buena Vista told him to screw off, forcing Shyamalan to make his masturbatory ego trip, Lady in the Water, with Warner Brothers. That film netted Shyamalan two Razzies for Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Director. Somehow he found a way to snow Fox into footing the bill for The Happening. What makes it all so infuriating is that Shyamalan is one Hell of a director. He's got an impeccable visual style and knows how to build suspense.

There's some great sequences in The Happening, but it builds to absolutely nothing, except an overly blunt message of environmentalism. That keen direction and a few dashes of humor are enough to lift this above his last couple of bombs, but not enough to recommend. The Happening gets two Marky Marks out of a possible five. And, yes, I did try for the goofiest possible picture I could find...

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Kung Fu Panda (Dirs. Mark Osborne & John Stevenson) – Yet another computer animated film about funny, talking animals. But, Kung Fu Panda brings the awesome and there is no surcharge for the awesome. The story is one we’ve seen a million times before and follows the basic hero’s journey while providing enough charm and humor to keep audiences satisfied. The film doesn’t rely on easy jokes based around lazy pop culture references. It also doesn’t get in-your-face with all the celebrity voices. They actually act rather than constantly remind you of who is behind the curtain. Dustin Hoffman lends a heavy sense of gravitas to his role of the kung fu master while Ian McShane is great in another role as the moustache twirling villain.

Final Thoughts: It’s got Kung Fu. It’s got panda. And it just about washes the terrible taste of The Forbidden Kingdom out of my mouth. The fight scenes are terrifically animated and the vivid, stunning opening sequence is almost worth the price of admission. This will definitely do, at least, until Wall-E comes out. Kung Fu Panda gets three pandas out of five.

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