Movie 43 (2013)

I.............................................................................................I, um...................................................What the Hell did I watch? Okay, you know how I said I was planning on seeing Les Mis on Sunday? Well guess what, it was sold out. I really didn't expect the cinema to be that busy on a Sunday afternoon. But myself and my friend decided to go see a film which was one at (roughly) the same time. It was this.

Upon being April Fooled by his younger brother Baxter (Devin Eash), Calvin (Mark Young) and his friend JJ (Adam Cagley) attempt to fill his laptop with viruses. In order to do this they distract him by asking him to help look for a banned film entitled Movie 43. While searching for it, through the power of Zoogle (See what they did there? They did the same with Youtube, calling it...View Tube or something like that. Which seems pointless when Baxter says a second later that he cloned Youtube), they come across some of the most bizarre and shocking shorts ever made, but also find that Movie 43 is real. Or at least that's the plot in the UK. Apparently in the US it's a film pitch by crazy Wessler (Dennis Quaid) who reveals some of the short stories in his film.

I have no idea why they would change that.

I spent all of last night (Besides typing up the review for 'Gangster Squad') trying to decipher what I had actually watched. Looking back, I do actually think the way they connect Baxter and JJ watching these films was done really well, and the revelation that a film Calvin and JJ made up actually existed and the fact that there was some organisations wither trying to find it or keeping it hidden was also a nice twist. It was obvious but it was pretty good.

And as much as I hate to say it, I do actually like some of the plots from the short stories. It started off well with The Catch and Homeschooled, while Middleschool Date and Happy Birthday were also pretty good, then it went downhill before picking up again with Superhero Speed Dating, for the most part. The rest were just...there. The only ones I really didn't like that much were Truth or Dare and Victory's Glory, mainly because they effectively kept using the same joke over and over, and the joke wasn't really that funny to begin with.

Of course for a film that states that it's "The Most Outrageous Comedy Ever Made", obviously it relies on outrageous comedy. Well, they got the outrageous part right. In hindsight you probably could find this funny...on your second viewing, since for your first viewing, like me, you'll be so shocked with what they put on the screen your jaw will be hitting the floor.

Of course, that's if you find poop, fart and sex jokes funny in the first place. Which is generally what this film consists of. Constantly. If you enjoy watching ninety minutes of nonstop of this kind of humor, than yeah, you'll find it hilarious. Otherwise, you most likely be joining me with my jaw hanging. It's got a few funny moments, some of which are more cringe worthy than actually funny, I'll give the film that, but these are jokes which aren't about sex or farts or shit.

I suppose the only characters you'll feel anything for, are Baxter, Calvin and JJ. I admit I didn't really like any of these characters, but as the film went on, I sort of found myself getting attached to them, Baxter and JJ more than Calvin, mainly because they actually acted like human beings and were over-the-top characters (When needed) in an over-the-top film. The other characters, well, they only appear in their respective shorts, so we don't really care what happens to them in the end. Well okay maybe the odd one or two, but due to the...shocking nature of the film, you'll forget about them pretty quick. Though you really feel for Kevin (Jeremy Allen White) in Homeschooled because, how should I put this? His parents are f**king insane. And I have to say, you do like the youngsters in the Middleschool Date segment.

Though that's mainly down to the acting from Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jimmy Bennett who you probably know more from 'No Ordinary Family'. And you'll have to believe it when you hear this film has the biggest ensemble cast ever. 'New Year's Eve' have less cast members than this! Who have I mentioned so far? It's like a who's who of actors and actresses, I mean, apart from those I've already mentioned, we have Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Seth MacFarlane (US Version), Greg Kinnear (US version again), Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Emma Stone, Kieran Culkin, Kate Bosworth, Asaif Mandvi, Richard Gere, Justin Long, Uma Thurman (Who plays Lois Lane, not Poison Ivy for some reason in the superhero segment), Kristen Bell, Patrick Warburton, Gerald Butler, Sean William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, Halle Berry, Stephen Merchant, Snooki (For some reason), Terrence Howard, Elizabeth Banks (Who also directs the Middleschool Date segment), and Josh Duhamel. And I don't think I've even named half the cast!

I can only wonder why so many well known names agreed to do this film. Did they really look at the script and go "shitting on a woman, incest, animated cat in love with Duhamel?...I feel this"? And the weird thing is they give it their all, they take acting in this film seriously. Even Halle Berry who I think is one of the worst actresses of all time actually gives a pretty good performance. From most other reviews I've seen, I've seen a few which state how could Halle Berry stoop so low. But let's be fair people:

It is not the worse thing she has done.

So in the end, is it a good or bad film? It's bad. It does have its good points, like interesting short stories, some good acting, a couple of funny moments, but unfortunately it's obscured by (basically) the concept of the film. The majority of the jokes alienate any audience over the age of twelve, to which most of the punchlines fall flat, the overall story gets really confusing, the dialogue sounds like none of the seventeen writers knew how people actually talked, and worst of all the film strains towards the end, and at the point when the film should've ended, it instead carries on, making the film feel dragged out. It's only January, but you should expect this on my top ten worst films list of 2013.

Spoiler Section

How exactly does Hugh Jackman go from this

to this

in a space of a month?

Gangster Squad (2013)

I had my reservations about this. I don't really know why, I just wasn't really that interested in going. You can thank the Whalley for me seeing this though. I do love how in the poster you have the three main actors Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Sean Penn dominating it, and then Emma Stone has been squeezed into the corner.

Sort of based on real events, we find Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) has effectively taken over Los Angeles, with plans to take over the entire western coast. Police Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) calls upon Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) to put together an off-the-books squad to take on Cohen in a guerrilla style war.

This film, is a lot of fun.

The film says it's based on real life events. Well Mickey Cohen existed. The thing is the only reason the authorities managed to put Cohen in Alcatraz was for tax evasion. But don't let that put you off, there's plenty of action and drama in it to keep you entertained, as well as some humorous and emotional moments as well. The film runs smooth, I'd describe it as beautiful to watch, it's slick, it's fast, it's great.

And that's helped along by some really amazing characters. From the sociopathic Cohen to the determined O'Mara, to the family man Keeler (Giovanni Ribsi). This film makes you care for the characters, and that is a mark for truly remarkable character development. Cohen and his right hand man Lennox (Holt McCallany) show that they are some of the most despicable characters in cinematic history, and yet they are characters you love to hate.

The acting is stunning. As I said Cohen is a character you love to hate, and that is down to Sean Penn. As much as I don't like the guy (Keep your nose out of the Falklands Penn), he was fantastic in this. Everyone else was superb in their roles, though you could argue that you don't see much of them. Yet, as I said before, you do care about what happens to these characters.

As much as I hate to say it, there are some bad bits. The main point is this film is full of cliches and characters which seem to appear in most films (Gosling's womaniser anyone?), including a character staying out of the plot until a close friend is killed, the inevitable "it's being shut down" "ah well, let's do it one last time", it can be a bit too much. Also grenade timers have varying times.

But in the end, who the Hell cares? I maintain that this film is extremely entertaining, the action is amazing, the acting is fantastic, the plot runs smooth and is great, I really don't understand how most people don't like it. Maybe it's what I said earlier, that I didn't expect much going in. But I stand by my statement, this is a hugely entertaining film.