Clerks II
Twelve years later, Dante and Randall are back looking a lot older, but not so much wiser. Clerks II was very funny in a guy humor sort of way, which, of course, I'm a sucker for. The film joked about themes that might appeal to different groups in the audience. The LOTR argument was ripe with references that only the nerdy among us may understand, while still bringing to hilarity how ridiculously funny nerds can be. The Kinky Kelly bit played on potty humor and homophobia. It wasn't completely true to the original though. This was obviously a higher budget film and didn't have the same cultish feel of the first one. It seemed as if the first one was only appreciated by a unique segment of the population until it became fashionable to be a Kevin Smith fan. Case in point, box office gross: Clerks, just over 2 mill, Clerks II, over 24 mill That's not ot say that this movie wasn't heavy with drawn out dialogue scenes that seem to populate all of Kevin Smith's films, which I believe that fans/critics either love or hate. Also, the same group of actors that were in Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, etc. were present, lending the the notion that Kevin Smith films really are just a bunch of buddies sitting around making movies.
The Descent
The Descent was a very stressful movie to watch. It followed a group of adventurous girlfriends, one of whom loses her husband and daughter in a gruesome car accident. On the road to recovery she accepts an invitation to go cave exploring with her girlfriends, each one representing a different stereotypical personality. When the group leader makes some bad decisions including choosing the wrong cave and leaving the cave manual in the car, things quickly turn bad as they get lost in the tunnels, have their return path cave in, and the brash, overzealous girl falls down a hole and breaks her leg (saw that coming). But everything gets much worse when the blind, starving cave people (?) start eating members of the group. What follows is some hardcore girl-power ass-kicking, but eventually the members dwindle down to the last two, the group leader and the widow. This is when the underplot is touched on (but is still never too obvious).
Running With Scissors
I read the book first. In fact I read all of Augusten Burroughs books. Because I read the book first, I understood what was going on. Without already knowing the stories, I believe it would be difficult to understand the plot line and find the humor in the film. On that note, as with any film based on a book, so much was left out or scene mashed, that it did not get across how disfunctional and hilarious Augusten Burroughs life really is. My suggestion is read the books and only watch the movie afterward if you are curious about how the books were interpreted.
Idiocracy
This movie is pure genius and I believe one of the most underrated movies of 2006. I watched it right before I went to the rodeo and I realized that the theories presented in this film may be frighteningly accurate. I believe a person can be judged by what they find funny in the movie. If they think "Ow, My Balls" is funny because some guys getting kicked in the balls, then they are a certain type of person. If they think that it's funny the hookers of the future are Carl's Jr. brand hookers, then they are a different type of person. I have now seen this movie 3 times with different people and have been able to sort my friends into the 2 categories. The acting may seem sub-par on the surface, but it is actually fantastic. No one in the history of film has managed a stupid, blank look on the caliber of Frito (Dax Shepard), and Luke Wilson does a great job of being the incredulous hero. Essentially, what makes this a comedy and a tragedy is the statement it makes about our society and how, logically, it may be a glimpse at our very real future.
That wraps up this edition of jessacole's movie reviews. Thank you for reading!
In other news, I made tortilla soup last night that was awesome. Monica came over and helped me and we watched movies. I think I may be getting a cold. Thank you, Barry!! Scott went to the doctor on Monday and she is running lots of tests on him, mainly because he hasn't been to the doctor in a million years but also to find out what's up with his tummy.