Judgements on films past

These are some films I saw a while back, that I never got around to writing reviews on - 

The X-Files: I Want To Believe - Disappointing. Seemed like it was going to be something more interesting, but ended up coming off as a much longer version of some of the not-so-great tv episodes. I was hoping for something as exciting as Fight The Future, even if they didn't want to do aliens, but it just didn't deliver. It was nice to see Mulder and Scully together, but I would have rather had them apart with a good story line.

Pineapple Express - Funny, but not as funny as I thought it was going to be. Still one of the better of the Apatow/Rogen movies. Not one of David Gordon Green's best, but better than Snow Angels.

Step Brothers - Hilarious. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly cement their status as a great comedy team. Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen were great as the parents. The kind of movie you need in your DVD collection, so you can watch over and over again.

Hancock - Pretty good. Enjoyed it a lot. The whole surprise with Charlize Theron was great. It's not life changing or anything, just a good hour and a half of entertainment.

The Happening - I was ill when I saw this (should have waited until I got better). All I remember about it was thinking it was a little hokey, but still better than his last few films. Not that good, but not horrible either. I'll probably get it from Netflix and re-watch it, just so it isn't a weird, hazy memory.

The Strangers - Didn't really care for this much, except for the cinematography. It really seemed to stretch realism, a lot more than some similar horror films. I liked how it was a low-key starter, and how everything was centered around the single location (a house), ultimately it just came off as kind of ridiculous.

You Don't Mess With The Zohan - Took my mom to see this. She really likes Adam Sandler movies. It was funny. That's about it.

The Incredible Hulk - I thought it was pretty good. It didn't change my life, or get me all freaked out about the Hulk. I wasn't going around and trying to get my hands on all the Hulk comics I could, but it was enjoyable.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - One of the funnier Apatow produced movies. Not as good as Superbad or The Forty Year Old Virgin, but better than Knocked Up or Walk Hard. Jason Segel is hilarious, Kristen Bell is hot, and Jonah Hill has a great, albeit small, role as an obnoxious, celebrity obsessed waiter. Russell Brand was annoying, and I wish they would have gotten anyone else but him to play that role.

David Gordon Greene - Asserting his independence from independents

David Gordon Greene has made quite a name for himself over the past eight years, or so, since the 2000 release of his debut feature George Washington. Greene had heaps of praise laid on him for the lyrical poeticism of the film, many even going so far as to refer to him as the successor to Terrence Mallick. With his follow up, All The Real Girls, Greene explored some of the same lyrical poetics, and a similar visual style, though he used the backdrop of young love as his story, instead of the ennui of small town youngsters, trapped in a world they will never emerge from.

Both films were amazing feats, done on incredibly small budgets, with amazing acting, and the gorgeous cinematography of Greene's NCSA classmate Tim Orr. His next film, however, would try to incorporate some of his style into a more mainstream thriller. Undertow is the story of two brothers, on the run from their psychotic uncle after he kills their father. Undertow is definitely a departure from the glacial, yet beautiful, worlds of his previous two films. It is raw, and it is dirty to the point where it almost feels like artifice. I remember when Undertow came out, a lot of critics and fans were crying "Sellout".

His follow up to Undertow, a film called Snow Angels, I have not seen,unfortunately, so I can't comment on it. I do know, however, that it has gotten fair to bad reviews, and seems like the sort of film that will probably end up being buried by the studio on DVD.

His next film, coming out in a few weeks, is the Seth Rogen (Knocked Up/Superbad) penned comedy-thriller Pineapple Express. I say thriller loosely, as their is action involved in the film, but it definitely comes off more as a comedy than anything. It is the story of two pot smokers, one of which witnesses an execution style murder, while trying to get high. The two friends go on the lamb, when the killer finds out who they are, and sends some goons to hunt them down and kill them. 

And most of you that have seen Greene's work are saying, "Really?". Really. I love the trailer for Pineapple Express, and I have to say that if Seth Rogen co-wrote Superbad, and co-wrote Pineapple with his same writing partner, I think we are in for one hilarious ride. But why David Gordon Greene? He does seem like an awkward fit for a stoner comedy.

If you're looking for the back story, I don't have it. I have no idea why Greene took the directors position, but I can only assume that it was because after George Washington and All The Real Girls, which were incredibly similiar in style, that Greene has been looking for some way to break away from the expectations that film critics and audience members are putting on him. And why shouldn't he? A director is not unlike an actor, in that he (or she) wants to try out as many different avenues of their craft as is humanly possible. No one wants to get stuck doing the same kind of films every time (well, John Carpenter doesn't seem to have a problem with sticking to a single genre, but...). Even George Romero, the man who essentially invented the modern day zombie film, refused to cash in on his success with Night of the Living Dead for years, because he was afraid of being typecast as "The Zombie Guy". Of course, that's probably not the best example, seeing as how he did eventually get typecast that way (I mean, c'mon... who has even seen There's Always Vanilla, or heard of Knightriders or The Crazies?).

Personally, I'm looking forward to Pineapple Express. I'm looking forward to Greene spreading his wings, and seeing what he can do outside of his first three films. I have loved all of the films he's made, and look forward to seeing him try new things and (hopefully) succeed. I think he is an incredibly talented director who has a real gift at, not only working with actors, but creating a visual experience with his crew to put up on the screen.