Smurfs

Every time I say the word Smurfs I always attach a great big exclamation point on the end of it.  I just can't help turning that one word into an exclamation.  Smurfs!  SMURFS!  SMUUUUURRRFFFS!!

Well anyway this is one movie I was loathe to see.  I'm not a big Neil Patrick Harris fan.  I know he's a big star now, and super funny to boot, but I just don't think he's a great actor.  Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to put down NPH, because let's be honest he is cool.  In fact he's not a bad actor either.  But his limitations seemed to shine a little easier in this CG and live action flick.  For instance there's a couple scenes where he doesn't focus on any of the smurfs or any where near anything that's going on.  Not really a failure, cause I wouldn't be able to act next to nothing, but it did take me out of the moment for a split second. There's a large amount of humour just built into the Smurfs themselves, and since they aren't above making fun of themselves, they draw attention to the fact that it's 100 male smurfs and one female smurfette right at the beginning of the film.  Also Hank Azaria plays the perfect Gargamel in live action, and Frank Welker as the voice of Azarel really could not have been better. (Who else played?  Go check out the IMDB entry: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472181/)

Now down to the important part: Is it worth seeing?  Yes it passed mustard.   I had a lot of fun watching this film, despite the ridiculousness of have 5 Smurfs who are 3 apples tall (but look only 2 apples tall) running around NYC.

Xanth

now I realize that I should actually read all the books in a series before reviewing the whole series, but I'm just such a fan now and from the first time I read the trilogy (which only took 24 hours), that I decided to give you blog followers a little heads up and a a thumbs up on this expansive series.  It started out as a simple 3 book triilogy, then the first 5 book trilogy ever (having made the first 3 books one book helped), and now it's over 33 books long covering whole centuries of Xanthology and Xanth history, with such humour and dedication to detail that you can't help but admire Piers Anthony's raw Talent.  With a capital 'T' meaning it's his magic talent, and trust me you'd get that reference if you read the books.  I won't be popping in all 33 books as links on this post, but I will link the first three books here, since really they are what got me hooked, and the whole rest of the series doesn't make quite as much sense with out them.

Ok, so no plot synopsis, but this series really does  pass mustard.  Get it!

Oh, I should mention that although it isn't exactly High Fantasy (Tolkien et. al.) it is awfully close. I can't list every type of creature and semi-sentient carnivorous plant, but trust me it has everything but Noble Elves, and Digging Dwarves. Actually, later on in the series it does have noble elves, but they are small, not human sized.


  

Drama At Inish

I had a chance to see another play at the Shaw Festival this season, and if you know me, you know how I got the tickets.  A little back story is needed here, see, Inish is a small town in South Ireland, near the town of Cork where the author grew up.  The date isn't specified in the play, but you can tell that it's a more modern play to be found at the Shaw Festival this year (2011).  This play was written for an Irish audience in an Irish Theatre, by an already accomplished playwright that had turned out quite a few comedic plays before this.  That being said, the almost entirely Canadian cast tended more towards a lilting Maritime accent than a good Irish Brogue.  It does fit the play just fine, and doesn't distract after the first few utterances of "OI".

Definitely Passes Mustard.  If you have a chance to check out this single setting play this season you should do it.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

I just loved this movie. A sprawling live action musical epic if ever there was one! Reminds me of Bedknobs and Broomsticks  and Mary Poppins.  In fact this is from the exact same era as those two films, so of course they have the same huge production value.  Who could have figured that the man who invented James Bond could make a sprawling story about a magical car.  Ok well, maybe it's not that far off from James' supercar with the rocket launchers and ejector seat.  It's just so cool.  Sure it's a children's movie, and that alone should earn it the Honey mustard, but that's not all it has going for it.  There's some pretty sophisticated themes and running jokes in this movie that I'm not sure a child could appreciate (having not watched it with a child I wouldn't know).

Honey of a Mustard!  Find it, buy it, show it to as many people as possible!

The Nutty Professor (1963)

Jerry Lewis plays a simple scientist who discovers a formula that makes you fabulous. Does it have romance? yes. Does it have a good Jekyll/Hyde scene? yes. Does it have a severe contrast between Jekyll and Hyde? yes. So it has all the things a transformation story requires to be a good film. In fact it has so much going for it my girlfriend didn't pause it once. (my girlfriend likes to pause a movie 3 or 4 times so she can talk about something other than the movie for a while.) We were just glued to the TV while we watched this. It's such a good movie, even some 37 years later.

PASSED MUSTARD, buy this!

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1

Okay, so there's a burned out cop that recently lost his partner, and another cop just 1 week from retirement. They get smooshed together as partners to solve a simple murder case (that everyone says is a suicide, but there's obvious signs of struggle), that explodes into a huge drug bust. Sound like a good movie? Well it is, but not because of the plot, it's because it's just so funny that I did not stop laughing. Of course it helps to know a bunch of other buddy cop movies, like the Lethal Weapon series, just to get some of the jokes. The longest running joke in the whole movie has got to be the names of the star players. Samuel L. Jackson as Luger and Emilio Estevez as Colt, both named after gun companies famous for one particular style of gun. If you don't know a luger is a german repeater pistol (uses clips) and the Colt is famous for a .45 caliber revolver.

Anyway I ought to tell you that this film does pass mustard. I'd tell you to rent it, but by now you'd have to buy the thing. Just check out the link in the post, and if you do buy it I get some cashback!

Bulletproof

Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler in a cop buddy movie that's not a spoof, a rip off, or even a slack jawed comedy. It's a well written, well acted movie, with some jokes tossed in to lighten the mood. I like Damon Wayans a lot in this movie because he's not trying to be over the top funny (Homey the clown). I can't really think of anything I didn't like about this movie. Even my girlfriend liked it (once she actually started watching it).

It starts out with two criminals running from the cops, and the get away by parking it while out of sight. Then Damon Wayans who was driving calls a different cop over and asks for directions to Disney land. Next scene they are in a bar where Adam Sandler picks a fight and Damon Wayans jumps in to save him. Next thing you know Damon Wayans is picked up by two police officers and we find out that he is an undercover cop try to take down a drug lord. So to make a long story short, things go down during the bust, Sandler Shoots wayans in the head, Wayans recovers, Sandler runs, and when they finally meet up again they try to take down the Drug Lord again.

Ok, sop this movie passes mustard, and is actually one of my favourite buddy movies. If you can't rent it, I suggest you buy it from the link included here.