Movie Review: The Hangover

On a whim, my friends, after a decadent lunch of Dim Sum, decided "HEY, let's go see a movie!" But as 2 of the 4 of us had already seen Star Trek, we decided on a different movie.

We went w/ The Hangover. THAT BE SPOILERS HERE, BE WARNED ALL YE WHO READ FURTHER So here's my point review, that assumes you've seen the film already.

--DUDE, where's our Groom??
I'm sure its been said before, but The Hangover is basically Dude, Where's My Car? with less stoners, more WTF moments than you can shake a stick at and a mother blippin' TIGER. Screw ostriches or whatever those were in DWMC, tigers rule. There's a reason why they call that song "Eye of the Tiger".
But I digress. This film was one of those situations where someone fucks up and everything snowballs out of control. i love films like that, so if you're a fan of things getting way worse before they get better, then The Hangover is for you. In fact, if you're like me and have friends like I do, you'll leave the theater laughing and slightly worried that this may happen to you. I'm never having a bachelor-ette party. Not w/ MY friends.

--Alan
When he first mispronounced the word "retard" (emphasizing the -tard potion, so it sounds like r'tard), I think i realized that only comedy GOLD will be spouted from him. Like those funny asides from an episode of Family Guy, you'll find he may draw out the joke longer, making it unfunny, but it all gets pulled back in at the last moment to save the scene and make you laugh. Roughly half the time you're laughing in the film, its cuz of something r'tarded Alan has said or done.

--Snowball Effect
In this film you get no less than an impromptu Vegas wedding, the dentist losing his tooth, gambling gone wrong, car crashes, ass-kicking, and big black woman cops screaming, and more. Things kept getting wildly out of hand more and more as the film progresses, even throwing a few loops into the mix (small ones like picking up the super-nice car at the impound and its virtually spotless), but while it never reaches the outrageous lengths DWMC reached (ALIEN CHICKS?!), it still worked out in the end.
While not as non-stop mad as Crank, TH is pretty damned close to it. There are few slow moments in the film and they're thankfully sped along by the next big clue to where the fuck they left Doug.

--Mike Tyson
He sings "Coming in the Air Tonight" and owns a motherfucking tiger. That is all.

--Melissa
You know those characters in a horror film where there's that ball-breaking bitch that is non-stop bitching and being a general....unpleasant young woman? Rachel Harris' character is that character, and you revel in each moment in the movie waiting for that ultimate bitchslap. While she doesn't get her crowd-pleasing kill (because...well, this isn't a horror movie XD!), her comuppance is so wonderfully satisfying at the end. Harris is a great actress. XD

--Mr. Chow.
......Ok, you just HAVE to see the film to believe him. He's easily my number one favorite side character in any film of all time. BAR NONE. Mr. Chow owns my life, which means he's gonna have to share it w/ like...Guise, Jacob, and my future dog.

--Previews
Ok, maybe its just me and your milage may vary depending on your theater, but the previews they showed were of the same ilk of the film we were to watch, aimed at that audience. So a Rom-Com here and there. Then the trailer for The Final Destination starts up. HEY, THIS IS THE LAST ONE!! 8O And its in Threeeeeee-Diiiiiiiiiii! Heavens to betsey, I hope to hear good ol Denver in this one (of which I dunno is a trend they followed in the previous 2 installments since I've only seen the first movie). What I never understood in these films was how these yahoos get the power to see Death make his magic before he does it. I'm on board w/ that "the main character becomes the avatar of death" theory so maybe that's why. Cuz to be honest, if >I< were Death, its one hell of a lot more fun to watch people flail about, killing themselves w/ outrageous Rube Goldberg machines, thinking they CAN outwit me than swinging the sickle for myself.
That and I'm one LAZY mofo.
This trailer was followed by one for the movie Orphan. Creepy lil girl is a murderous HELLBEAST. Its like The Omen for the girlies. Ehhh, i'll just save my money for a copy of the original Omen and maybe wait til this hits Red Box in like 3 years.
So adding up the funny trailers and then The Final Destination followed by Orphan, you can kinda tell they wanted to hit the audience w/ downers before they sent you into Sin City w/ the Wolfpack. I'll never understand trailers.

Anyhoo, The Hangover was totally worth my money, and since we got matinee, we only paid $6.75 or something. I'd have prolly paid $8 for the film, I liked it so much. And a warning to you men: LOTSA MALE FULL FRONTAL (and a warning to the ladies: pretty much none of it if from attractive dudes). Yeah, I had to save that for the end of the review, just so I can laugh if you didn't read the whole way an blamed me for not warning you. Nyah nyah.

.....I'm never having a bachelor/ette party w/ my friends.

Up Review

Because my dad is such a Pixar nut, we went to go see Up last week. His reigning favorites are currently Wall-E and Cars (which I admit is growing on me), but he said that Up is easily now one of his favorites.

Without trying to sound like a long ass review, I'll try to stick to the points of interest w/o really plot combing, esp. since some of you haven't see the film yet.

--Partly Cloudy short
Answering the grand question of "where do babies come from", this short also showcases cloud technology, mostly physics and of course, character development of said clouds. While not nearly as superbly timed as Presto! (which is my ALL TIME FAVORITE short ever created XD), its still sweet, heart-warming and really, really funny, what with the amount of physical humor.

--CARL IS COSGROVE <8O
Which really will apply to you Freakazoid fans since we all grew up hearing Ed Asner's voice; "Hey Freakazoid, wanna go build a go-kart?" "DO I?!?!" Notwithstanding that Asner is a veteran and is one of the best old man voice talents out there, he really shined in this film. I loved him. XD

--Doug
You know those dogs who are a might slow? The kind who'd chase faked ball throws, or if they were in school, they'd stick crayons up their nose, eat the Play-Doh, and play with snails? The "I'm cute, I'm bouncy, I'm thick/dumb, I've GOT IT MADE!" kinda dogs? That's Doug. You can't help but fall in love w/ him and his mannerisms. Plus the line "I like that joke because the Squirrel got dead" is as golden as his breed.

--Dog animation
Speaking of dogs, the animation for animals in this film is, per usual, top-notch. I found it rather annoying that Beowulf boasted this hyper-realistic animation and modeling, yet their animal animation (esp. the wolves/dogs and horses) was horrendous. Up's canines (and there are a lot of them) are uniquely modeled and uniquely animated (at least the main ones, most of the other dogs are usually in a ragin hellpack, which was additionally well animated).

--Russel
I have a friend who looked just like him. XD He was adorable.

--Delicate issues
Not unlike Finding Nemo and Incredibles, some of the real life issues a child (or parent) may encounter are handled with the upmost delicacy and subtlety. Divorce, death, and even the issue of not being able to have children are shown without even really mentioning the actual words (the conversation about Russel's father between the boy and Carl is dealt with very finely w/o saying the actual D-word). Like the opening of Finding Nemo, be prepared for a rather melancholy opening to the film, and a thread of loss that is woven throughout the entire film.

--BALLOONS
There are a shit load of them, all with wonderful light bouncing off and through them, and they even act as balloons ought to. It'll make you want to buy a bunch when you leave the theater.

--In Real D 3D (wut? XD)
As it was made to be in 3D, for the most part, the film worked in 3D. I don't really feel you'll miss much if you watch the film regularly, but the 3D aspect was fun. Unfortunately the previews for upcoming films in 3D aren't very interesting, but, eh. You're not there to see trailers for G-Force, you're there to watch Kevin bother the shit out of Carl.

--Kevin
I want a bird just like Kevin. It looks like a toy. XD

--DON'T FORGET
To watch the credits. Pixar's been really personalizing their credit rolls lately, and even if there really aren't any teasers or epilogues, it still a treat to look at the art behind the people (my favorite credits rolls are Finding Nemo and Wall-E). Also, keep an eye out for the Animation Badge and the Mac OS Pinwheel of Death badge. I want a whole set of those. T_T

Ultimately: the film is definently worth your time and money, even in 3D. You won't be disappointed (in fact, I was stoked to see a trailer for Toy Story 3), and you'll prolly be back in the theaters to see it again. I know I will. ^^