Tag: Andy Samberg

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER – The Review

Now, this is an interesting twist on a film genre. Seeing the poster, you might think that CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER is another frothy, lighthearted ” rom-com”. You’d be mistaken. This could be called an anti ” rom-com”. Well most of these flicks are about the two main characters meeting cute, having conflict, resolving said conflict and living happily ever after, CELESTE is about a couple who’ve been through all that and then fall out of love. It’s the ” ever after”.  The big romance is pretty much covered with a photo montage during the title and opening credits. Ah, but you think ” These two are so adorable, they must work things out”. I won’t say if they do, but I will say that this flick is full of surprises. Kind of like real life, as opposed to movie ” rom-com life.

As I said, by the time the opening credits are done, Celeste ( Rashida Jones ) and Jesse ( Andy Samberg ) are a married couple who have separated. You’d never guess as they tease each other in her car on the way to Dinner with their soon-to-be-married best pals Beth ( Ari Graynor ) and Tucker ( Eric Christian Olsen ). The friendly behavior of C & J freak out B & T. Soon-to-be-exes just shouldn’t behave like that! After their pals storm out of the restaurant, C & R return to her house. Celeste lives in the main house while Jesse lives in the garage/ art studio out back. The guy has little work ethic concerning his art career and can’t seem to get around to signing those divorce papers. But he does start dating which prompts Celeste to make him move out on his own. In the weeks leading up to the big wedding Celeste struggles with her job at a media consulting firm and dipping her toes back into the dating pool while trying to deal with the future ex-husband that’s still her best buddy in the whole-wide world.

I’ve enjoyed the TV work of both actors, so I went into this flick rooting for them. My enthusiasm was severely tested when C & R read aloud ( in exaggerated German accents ) from  a Mexican restaurant menu. Well, maybe even earlier as they simulated a sex act on a tube of lip balm in the car on the way there. But the film got back on track and was tougher than the bouncy trailers would let on. What they don’t tell you that even though two names are in the title, we spend most of the film’s running time with Celeste ( Jones did co-write the script, after all ). Jesse’s really short-changed. When they meet up after quite a bit of screen time apart, he’s changed radically. It’s a shame we don’t get to see more of that progress. Instead we get to see Celeste’s dating disasters ( she’s at fault for most of them ). When she does meet nice guy Paul ( Chris Meesina from RUBY SPARKS ), Celeste is such a flakey pill we question his determination. The gal’s got some issues including some frustration at the fact that Jesse’s life is not falling apart after leaving her. A subplot involving one of her work clients, pop-songstress teen temptress Riley ( Emma Roberts ) doesn’t seem to go anywhere and Elijah Wood is wasted as Celeste’s work boss/ gay supportive pal ( even his character mentions this hackneyed stereotype ). Luckily the two stars have enough chemistry and charm to make this story more engaging than it should be. Samberg’s done a lot of great work over the last few years on TV’s SNL, but his film work’s been spotty. This movie gives us a chance to see his dramatic skills. Jones has been stellar in supporting roles on TV ( ” The Office “, ” Parks and Recreations ” ) and films ( THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE BIG YEAR ) and here, as a lead, she’s able to make the exasperating Celeste fairly endearing. It’s a long trek to the film’s big wedding finale’, but there are a few solid laughs along the way to make CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER a flawed, but enjoyable ” break-up- com “.

Overall Rating 3 Out of 5 Stars

THE TO DO LIST Release Date Announcement (Red Band) Trailer; CBS Films’ Movie In Theaters On February 14, 2013

Starring Aubrey Plaza, THE TO DO LIST follows the story of Brandy Klark (Plaza), a Type-A, overachiever who comes up with a “to-do list” featuring all the risqué extra-curricular activities she missed out on in high school and wants to complete before college. Rachel Bilson, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Scott Porter, Connie Britton, Clark Gregg, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Glover, Johnny Simmons, Sarah Steele and Alia Shawkat co-star in the film.

CBS Films is bringing THE TO DO LIST to theaters this Valentine’s Day.

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Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg Star In CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER HD Trailer

Check out the new trailer for Sony Pictures Classics CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER. One of the most talked about films at the 2012 Sundance Film festival (Official Selection), the romantic comedy stars Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Chris Messina, Ari Graynor, Will McCormack, Emma Roberts, and Elijah Wood.

CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER is about two people who met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, they decide to get divorced and attempt to stay best friends while pursuing other relationships. This plan is not as simple as they had imagined.

Celeste— imperious, successful and driven– is convinced that divorcing the boyish Jesse is the right thing to do. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he still is in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realizes she has been cavalier about their relationship. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. While navigating the turbulent changes in their lives and in their hearts, these two learn that in order to truly love someone, you may have to let them go. The film is a humorous and honest examination of a broken heart and the long, hard road it takes to heal it.

In late January Sony Pictures Classics announced that they had acquired all North American, Latin American and Eastern European rights to CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER. The film, directed by Lee Toland Krieger (THE VICIOUS KIND) and cowritten by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, is produced by Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd of Team Todd and Lee Nelson of Envision Media Arts, who also financed the film. The deal was negotiated by UTA’s Independent Film Group.

The film opens in New York and Los Angeles August 3.

THAT’S MY BOY ( 2012 ) – The Review

It was bound to happen. I was fairly successful in avoiding the work of that Razzie-magnet Adam Sandler. Now, I had seen two of his early films, HAPPY GILMORE and THE WATERBOY. Both pretty silly and crude, so his movies weren’t high up on my must-see list. Did enjoy THE WEDDING SINGER and the little seen collaboration with Judd Apatow FUNNY PEOPLE. SINGER’s a pretty sweet love story and he had some nice acting moves in PEOPLE ( may have helped that he had strong co-stars in both- Drew Barrymore and Seth Rogan ). But these were not the pure, undiluted Sandler. They weren’t from his owm production company Happy Madison. And so, I ‘ve now seen the latest ” real deal ” Sandler movie comedy THAT’S MY BOY. This effort can’t be as worthy of the critical barbs as his previous films. Or could it…?

Here’s the set-up for the gags ( and you just may gag! ) : In 1984 Donny Burger’s a 13 year-old wise guy who has a sexual affair with his much older teacher Miss McGarricle. She’s busted and sent to prison while pregnant with their baby. Donny raises their boy while riding the ole’ fame roller coaster. Upon the love child’s 18th birthday he leaves Donny and establishes a new life as Todd, cutting all ties to his past. Fast forward to the present day. Donny ( Adam Sandler ) has burned through all his money from the sale of his life story and owes the IRS 43 grand! A sleazy TV host makes Donny a deal : let him film the reunion of son and father at Mom’s prison and the tax debt will be paid. Luckily Donny sees a newspaper engagement photo of Todd ( Andy Samberg ) and Jamie ( Leighton Meester ).  After Dad arrives at the palatial estate of Todd’s boss ( Tony Orlando ), the embarrassed son passes off Donny as his old ” pal “. Naturally the wedding party insists that his oldest buddy be the best man!. And so begins a testy family reunion as the slobs meet the snobs.

I cringed at the trailers, but they still didn’t prepare me for this cinematic cesspool. I’m not a prude, mind you. I had no problem putting the vastly superior BRIDESMAIDS on my top ten list last year ( I’ve enjoyed most of Apatow’s work ). But this hit new lows of offensiveness. I find absolutely nothing amusing in an adult woman sexing up a 13 year-old ( although the actors playing young Donny and his pals barely look over 9 ). She’s shown as a lovely free spirit ( deeply mentally disturbed? no way man! ) and he’s cheered by the entire student body.. and some of the adult staff and faculty ( the female students too? Really?! ). Ah, but that’s just the tip of the coarseness. We get extended jokes on self-pleasure, incest, Diabetes, and public drunkenness ( aww, Donny’s swilling a beer while driving! That rascal! ). Shots of  nearly naked morbidly obese are cut in for quick guffaws. And the aged, too!  There’s the octogenarian lady who says and does naughty things along with a funny Asian servant couple ( just cut in on them for reaction shots! Hilarity! ). Oh, and there’s a hefty older lady who works the pole at Donny’s favorite hang-out. Old and overweight, that’s a two-fer! Late in the film we get a delightful montage of father and son bonding on the eve of the wedding complete with larceny, assaults, and property damage. The scamps! And with no repercussions, of course! I’d heard that somehow Al Pacino had a big role in last year’s Sandler epic JACK & JILL ( it sweep the Razzies! ) and in this film, he gets two for-real movie icons to do cameos ( one’s an Oscar winner! ). Folks to do want to tarnish your legacies in a misguided attempt to look cool?  As for the main cast, Meester has the thankless role of the shrill harpy of a fiance’. And the scene of her inspecting her damaged wedding gown. Uggh! Revolting and stupid!  It’s not any better for Milo Ventimiglia as her way over-protective brother ( he wears a military uniform, so he’s a violent ticking time-bomb! How original! ). I enjoyed Samberg in HOT ROD and his many digital shorts for SNL, but he’s reduced to nerdy, uptight straight man here, wincing at his Dad’s antics. And of course there’s Mr. S himself as one of the most annoying moronic movie man-childs ever with a raspy, braying, wicked ” Baaastin ” accent who looks always in need of a bath and is never without a brew. Of course he never gets the shakes or even a hangover. The guys wanna’ hang with him and the gals find him irresistable. Uh, uh. Now I understand the critical venom he generates. What perhaps disturbed me most was the cheers and applause directed at this ” entertainment ” from many in the theatre. I just wanted to go home and shower. That is why this soul-crushing, mean-spirited, vileness truly deserves my very first…

Overall Rating : 0 Stars Out of 5

Cee-Lo Green’s Murray The Mummy In HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

From Sony Pictures Animation, take a look at this early design of Cee-Lo Green’s “Murray the Mummy” in HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA – in theaters September 21, 2012.

Welcome to the HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (TV’s “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Star Wars: Clone Wars”), Miley Cyrus, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and David Koechner round out the voices for Columbia Pictures’ animated family comedy.

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? – The Review

Well, it’s time for another trip to movie romantic comedy, or “rom-com” land. This new effort owes a bit to this past May’s smash hit BRIDESMAIDS. Ms Wiig and her crew took some of the rom-com staples and mixed in some of the R-rated raunchiness of THE HANGOVER and Judd Apatow’s (their executive producer) male-oriented hits. The makers of WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? also want to prove that the gals can be just as lewd and crude while finding Mr. Right. But can they hit a humor home run like Wiig and Apatow did a few months ago? Will they even get on base?

Star of the SCARY MOVIE flicks Anna Faris is Ally, a gal with a lot on her plate right now. She’s the maid of honor at her kid sister, Daisy’s (Ari Graynor of CONVICTION) upcoming wedding who’s also dealing with an overbearing Mom (Blythe Danner of LITTLE FOCKERS). Then she loses her boyfriend (STAR TREK’s Zachary Quinto) and her job (with obnoxious boss THE INFORMANT!’s Joel McHale). On that long train home with her cardboard box of office stuff she reads an article in Marie Clare magazine. It’s based on another of those infinite studies and suggests that prior to marriage the average woman has had 10.5 (?) sex partners and if a woman has had over 20 she has little chance of marrying. Grabbing pen and notepad Ally realizes she’s at 19! And after a boozy bachelorette night she is at the dreaded 20! Well, then her hubby must be one of this group. But how to track them down? Enter the musician/stud living across the hall. Colin (Chris Evans of CAPTAIN AMERICA : THE FIRST AVENGER). In exchange for letting him stay at her place while his one night stands leave, he’ll use his tracking skills (Dad was a cop!) to find her former beaus. Will one of these blasts from the past turn out to be the one? Can she resist this hunky helper? For that matter will he succumb to Ally’s flighty, funky charms? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then welcome back from that deserted island. Did you see Wilson there?

For a film with such a talented cast WHAT”S YOUR NUMBER? is surprisingly laugh-free. Anna Faris has been following in the footsteps of many cute, funny, flaky movie blonds (from Judy Holliday through Goldie Hawn) for several films (she energized OBSERVE AND REPORT and THE HOUSE BUNNY). She doesn’t have a whole lot to work with here, which is surprising as she’s an executive producer. Way too much of the screen time is devoted to her getting tipsy and making very poor choices. Ms. Faris deserves better. Ari Graynor is another very funny blond (NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST), but here’s she’s regulated to being a standard frazzled movie bride (least she’s not a “bridezilla”). Danner’s got a thankless role as another overbearing middle aged movie Mom (ease up on the mom-bashing Hollywood!). Evans should balance his big action roles with funny leading man roles, but he’s saddled with some lazy,lifeless banter while the film makers try to spice things up with many, many shots of him almost in the buff (strip basketball followed by skinny dipping!). The actors playing Ally’s past flings don’t get much of a chance to shine. Martin Freeman, so terrific in the original British “The Office,” is wasted as a straight man to Ally’s dialect antics. Faris’s real life hubby Chris Pratt, hilarious on TV’s Parks and Recreations, is reduced to wearing a NORBIT-like fat suit for a flashback sequence. Only Andy Samberg (of TV’s Saturday Night Live) scores in the film’s funniest 30 seconds as Ally’s first. After he’s gone feel free to hit the restroom or concession stand. Don’t want to spoil things, so I’ll just say that there’s a great vocal cameo from another TV funnyman in the movie’s last moments. So what happened? These talented actors can do only so much with a hackneyed script ( Eight year old kids dropping the F-bomb! Ooo! How edgy! ) and direction that relies on such cliches as sped up and slowed down footage and twirling shots looking up at office buildings. There’s even a big romantic scene set at an empty sports venue. Lazy movie making. After those BRIDESMAIDS had me in hysterics a few months ago I was looking forward to another raunchy female-centric laugh fest. Still waiting.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars

Adam Sandler Checks In To HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA For Sony Pictures Animation

Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher, Cee Lo Green, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Molly Shannon,
and David Spade On the Guest List;

Genndy Tartakovsky to Direct

CULVER CITY, Calif., July 2011 – It was announced earlier this week that Adam Sandler will voice the lead role of Dracula in Sony Pictures Animation’s 3D family comedy HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, by Bob Osher, president, Sony Pictures Digital Productions, and Michelle Raimo-Kouyate, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation. The film will be released on September 21, 2012, by Columbia Pictures.

The film will be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, a star in the animation community, well-known for his work on Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and “Dexter’s Laboratory”; he recently conceptualized and storyboarded the final action sequence for Iron Man 2 and provided the stylish and memorable prologue for the film Priest. The film is produced by Michelle Murdocca (Open Season, Stuart Little 1 & 2) and the animation is by Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free from meddling from the human world. But here’s a little known fact about Dracula: he is not only the Prince of Darkness; he is also a dad. Over-protective of his teenage daughter, Mavis, Dracula fabricates tales of elaborate dangers to dissuade her adventurous spirit. As a haven for Mavis, he opens the Hotel Transylvania, where his daughter and some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – can kick back in safety and peace. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Also confirmed to join the cast: Kevin James will play Frank – also known as Frankenstein – with Fran Drescher voicing Eunice, his in-your-face, over-the-top, and larger-than-life Bride. David Spade plays Quasimodo, once the hunchback of Notre Dame and now a crazy, passionate gourmet chef always looking for his next piece de resistance. Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon will play Wayne and Wanda, a pair of married, harried werewolves, parents to an ever-increasing litter of pups, who are looking forward to their family vacation at the hotel. Cee Lo Green is also joining the cast as Murray, a boisterous Mummy, once entertainer to the great Pharaohs, now the life of the party, and always feeling the urge to let loose and sing. Finally, Andy Samberg will voice the role of Jonathan, a 21-year-old regular guy, carefree and full of life, whose world travels land him at the Hotel.

Hotel Transylvania continues Sandler’s long association with Sony Pictures, where he has made or produced 23 films over the years. The studio recently released Just Go With It, which opened #1 and took in more than $214 million worldwide, and last summer, the studio released Grown Ups, the biggest worldwide hit of Sandler’s career, earning over $260 million worldwide. For more than a decade, Sandler has been one of the world’s biggest comedy stars, putting together a track record of comedies that have become must-see events around the world and showing a power at the box office that very few comedians can match. He will next star for Sony in both title roles of Jack and Jill, set for release November 11, 2011, and is currently shooting I Hate You, Dad, opposite Andy Samberg and Leighton Meester.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Adam to create a comedic Dracula for a new generation,” said Raimo-Kouyate in commenting on the announcement. “We have a unique story about that iconic character, starring a phenomenal cast directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, that re-imagines Transylvania and its legendary monsters in the way that only animation can.

About Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its 2009 worldwide hit, the mouth-watering 3D comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and the 2007 Academy Award®-nominated Surf’s Up with a full slate of feature films including the live-action/animation hybrid film The Smurfs (3D) and the family comedy, Hotel Transylvania (3D). The division is also in production with Aardman Animations on two feature films, the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D) and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D). Open Season 3, the third adventure in Sony Pictures Animation’s successful Open Season franchise, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray January 2011. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

Trailer for ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’

cloudywithchancemeatballs

Here’s the first trailer for the new animated movie ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ based on the children’s book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. The movie is directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Sony Picture Animation and stars the voice talent of Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan and, yes… Mr. T!

Plot: A scientist trying to solve world hunger encounters a problem of global proportions, as food begins to fall from the sky. — IMDB

The trailer looks like fun, but I’m not familiar with the book and I’m not sure whether this is one that will hold the attention of viewers older than, say… 6 years of age. The animation looks alright, but not as good as is possible. It strikes me as an attempt to give CGI a claymation look. Then again, it may be playing off the style of illustration in the book. Either way, the movie opens in theaters on September 18, 2009.

Review: ‘Space Chimps’

Ram Man:

2008 is the year of the comic book movie, then it’s also the year we send our animated stars into space. Following the smash hit Wall-E, 20Th Century Fox is sending the primates packing in Space Chimps! Space chimps features a cast of voices that include Patrick Warburton (The Tick), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Stanley Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) and Andy Samberg (Hot Rod).

Kirk DiMecco tells the story of Ham III (Samberg) a circus stunt chimp and  grandson of a famous chimp/astronaut Ham III that went to the moon in the early days prior to the manned Apollo missions.  Ham III  is trying to get his 15 minutes of fame and escape the large shadow cast by his grandfather. When a mysterious black hole opens in space and sucks a probe to the other end of the galaxy NASA is forced to bring back the chimps. That’s when the government comes knocking and Ham is drafted into service and will accompany Titan (Warburton) and Luna (Hines) into space.   NASA soon learns that they have the “wrong” stuff with Ham but continue with the mission anyway.

The primates are sent through the blackhole at 10.5 G’s that disables Luna and Titan and forces Ham to land/crash the ship on a new planet to recover the probe. This is where I was lost ..in the wormhole..because the planet on the other side of the galaxy was like a smurf cartoon on LSD. The new planet is full of bright colors and creature that look like exiles from Fraggle Rock. From the minute the chimps land I can’t wait for them to return home.

Space chimps is a kids movie. I am a movie geek and kid at heart according to my wife, so I made a point to get the crowd full of kids reaction to the picture…and I’m still waiting for it. I think Space chimps is opening this weekend opposite the Dark Knight to slip into DVD obscurity as fast as it can. Space Chimps could have been a great kids movie , if they wouldn’t have dumbed down the new world, had it in 3D and got a few bigger names for voices and they would have had the “Right Stuff”! My recommendation if you have kids that are under the age of 7 take them to check out a matinee of space chimps..otherwise get in line and go check out the bat.

Travis:

Yikes! Starz is really getting big, but I think they may have ventured into the realm of computer-animated features too quickly. I could have seen ‘Space Chimps’ making a debut on DVD, but after seeing the film I am shocked that it is being given a wide theatrical release. It’ll be interesting to see what its overall box office numbers end up looking like.

‘Space Chimps’ is about Ham III, grandson of the legendary chimp Ham I who was rocketed into space as a test flight before human astronauts would later make the same journey. Ham III is a daredevil chimp trying to make his name on the circus circuit, but has no interest in following in his grandfather’s footsteps … but, the government of humans doesn’t care and they team him with two other chimps, Luna (Cheryl Hines) and Titan (Patrick Warburton), sending them on a mission to retrieve a space probe that was lost through a wormhole in space. Their mission reveals life in outer space on a strange planet on the other side of the universe. On this planet, an alien bully has gained power as a tyrannical dictator over his fellow aliens and is forcing them into slavery, building a massive palace for him. If they refuse, he dunks them into the fresnar … which is some kind of quick-setting cement-like liquid that resembles aluminum and flows from the alien planet’s volcano. Ham III finds a love interest in Luna, an unlikely friendship with the by-the-books commander Titan and succeeds at fulfilling his destiny in the process of several near screw-ups.

The animation in ‘Space Chimps’ wasn’t too bad, until the space chimps arrive on the alien planet. When the alien planet is first revealed I was slapped in the face with what I can only describe as an animated Teletubbies set gone horribly wrong. The alien bully had a striking resemblance in personality characteristics to Shrek. The film is loaded with excruciatingly painful puns and cliche’s. ‘Space Chimps’ contains several truly blatant references to other sci-fi space movies, adding something to the movie, but not enough to save it from disaster. I saw ‘Space Chimps’ in a reasonably well-attended screening and I cannot account for seeing and/or hearing any adult (including myself) actually laughing at anything “funny” in this movie. On a rare occasion, a few (myself included) would snicker at something because its soooooooo bad. In fact, I recall only a few laughs coming from the child audience, and most of those were from kids too young to fully understand what they were watching. My overall opinion … you may want to avoid this film, kids or no kids. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!