Movie Review: The Hangover Part 2

This week’s film was The Hangover Part 2, when the original Hangover film came out I was not particularly interested as it seemed to be the kind of brainless humour that I really struggle to get into so I decided not to watch it. As everyone I knew then started to watch it and constantly tell me that it was the funniest film they had ever seen I started to become curious, I tried on several occasions to rent it when it was out on DVD but it was always fully booked out which only seemed to further suggest that it really was as good as people had claimed. I was obviously very disappointed then when I finally got hold of a copy only to find out that it was exactly the film I thought it was and with the exceptions of a few scenes was the lowest form of base humour. I therefore made no plans to watch The Hangover Part 2 when I saw it was advertised however there was nothing else on this week so we went to see it.

Now before I start I should say that this film is not bad, but it is not good either, in fact The Hangover Part 2 could quite easily be a far east remake of the original, there is really nothing that would set this film apart from the original and it sticks to nearly the same structure but then as it is a widely acclaimed film it makes sense not to change it. As I left the cinema I would have said that I preferred this film to the original but on reflection I think that this was simply a difference in expectations, in the original I was expecting to laugh the entire time and didn’t – This time I was expecting not to laugh and did (a couple of times). Overall I found the expectation that I would find humour in the idiosyncrasy of two of the characters funny seemed a little too much like bullying for my liking, The main “comedy” character Alan is designed to be the but of the jokes however the fact that he clearly has a special outlook on life is not, for me, enough to laugh at.

As I say the film follows basically the same plot as the original; Alan, Phil and Stu phone Sasha to say they will not make it to the wedding, Then we see the start of the story up to the guys starting to drink before we cut to the “Next Morning” and see the three guys waking up and trying to piece their story back together. The baby from the original is now exchanged for a baby and they are also joined by Leslie Chow the oriental gangster from the original who was also out with them. The majority of the laughs are supposed to come from Zach Galifianakis (Alan) and Ken Jeong (Chow) who are extreme caricatures of their characters with Alan’s simpleness and Chow’s shock value expected to carry the film. But unfortunately for me, it doesn’t. Bradley Cooper (Phil) and Ed Helms (Stu) seem quite incidental to the scenes that are set up although as the uptight victim of a couple of the set pieces Ed Helms does force a few cringes, however the relationship between his fiance and him is beyond comprehension as I doubt there is any woman alive as forgiving. Overall this film is simply a darker more unpleasant version of the first which really didn’t add anything and made some of the characters just a little more unlikable.

Movie Review: Limitless

This week’s cine-visual treat was Limitless staring Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, The A-Team) as a failing writer; It is never really explained how he actually managed to get a book contract when he had never even managed to write a single word – I would love the name of his literary agent, or the publisher who is handing out advances based on concepts for that matter – His life is changed for ever after a chance encounter with his Ex-Brother in Law (Brother of his Ex Wife rather than his Sisters Ex Husband) who offers him a pill. The Ex-Brother in Law having given up drug dealing in order to work in selling pharmaceuticals, This pill he explains is the answer to the fact that we only use 20% of our brains and can open up the other 80% - Obviously at this point I have to point out that this is not true and in fact all of our brain is used just for reasons of controlling electrical output our minds do not all fire at once as this would over heat our receptors. – Anyway he decided he has nothing to lose so tries the pill and instantly becomes alert focused and seemingly has total memory recall. A few days later he has finished his book, started trading shares and started to learn new languages, although his first priority does seem to get as many women into bed (Or bathroom cubicle) as possible. Obviously there is a catch, would be a pretty boring film if not :- “Here’s a Pill” “Thanks, here’s a book” “Thanks” So the film starts with Bradley contemplating suicide as a gang of murder intent criminals are breaking down his door, and then tracks back to see how he gets there (Always a bit annoying to me to know where a certain point in the film will be as it then locks the possibilities into a certain point, and this film didn’t really throw up any shocks on how he got there.) The only really annoying points for me were that 1) He had an advanced intellect and thought through all possibilities and yet never once considered the possible side effects, surely as a genius this should have been a consideration. 2) The criminal “mastermind” that he was pitted against (Not Robert De Nero who was very good as his boss/adversary) did not seem a worthy opponent, if we were to believe that he did in fact have all the skills that he had received from this pill then he should instead have been a minor inconvenience. 3) too many questions were simply ignored, I don’t want to ruin anything with spoilers but I left with a great deal of unanswered questions, and it isn’t one of those “Imagine your own ending” films (Which also annoy me – I pay you to tell me a story, I can easily stay at home and tell myself one.) the questions are simply ignored entirely. The film is based on the book “The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn and rather unusually for a Science Fiction film a book I had never read, so it was quite unknown territory for me which probably led to me liking the film a little more than if I had known the story. However I do think this is a good film, and a good concept so well worth watching if you get a chance. Finally a quick bit of trivia, Bradley Cooper attended the Actors Studio New York, If you watch the series Inside the Actors Studio in which stars are interviewed in front of students Bradley Cooper was in the audience which interviewed Robert De Nero, must be quite a good feeling to think that De Nero is now supporting him in a movie.

The A Team

I saw the A Team this week, There is very little in the movie that will take you by surprise or involve actual thinking but then, this is the A Team, so what do you expect.

The film has a great many similarities to the Losers I saw two months ago (As I knew it would do.) the film includes some back story of how the team got together and focuses on the actual crime they were wrongly convicted of.

The main characters were all very competent in taking on roles that are so well known it is impossible not to draw comparisons, Individually they were not quite as strong as the original actors in the parts however as a team they clicked very well, Face was probably the best change as the original Faceman Peckman was always very stylish but it was hard to imagine anyone staying that pretty in a war zone. Bradley Cooper however is believable as both the "pretty" one and an American ranger, and whilst Liam Neeson is very good as Hannibal he lacks some of Peck's original charm.

The film itself had several points that demand the utter suspense in all realism, but again it is the A Team, although the ending can have no excuse for the atrocious CGI that makes up the final scene.

So in summery, If you need something to watch, if nothing else is showing, and if you can find it playing, then maybe you can buy a ticket for ... The A Team ... de de de, da da da etc...