Horrible Bosses

So, who hasn’t wanted to murder a boss of theirs at some point then? That’s the selling point behind Horrible Bosses as three friends (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) plan to knock off their superiors (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston) in order to make their lives easier. This isn’t Strangers On A Train though, but the new comedy from Seth Gordon. Yep, the Seth Gordon who made Four Christmases. That’ll probably be enough to put most people off going in the first place and, frankly, you will have made the right choice. This is another one of those films where, if you've seen the trailer, you’ve seen the film, or, at least, the best bits of the film. Actually, if there were Oscars awarded for the best trailer for a film then this would be right up there. The old problem emerges though that if you’ve seen the trailer and laughed at the jokes already you’re not going to be laughing too much during the actual film, especially in this case where all the other gags are either massively telegraphed or just plain unfunny. So, what went wrong here? This seems like another one of those films where the premise was agreed upon as a great idea and then a screenplay has been fitted as best it can around it. In fact, “seems” is probably too less a word as its fairly clear as the film lurches from one scene to the next that there isn’t much of a structure here. Of the three employees in the film Sudeikis gives the best performance, though he looks in danger of just becoming (in Europe anyway) “that guy from that other film”. Bateman plays it straight and dry which is only mildly successful, whilst Day hypers it up to such an extreme level his voice goes beyond Bobcat Goldthwait at times. I was amazed not to find 200 cats outside the cinema when I left such is the pitch of Day’s voice at times. To be fair to the three, it’s clear that most scenes are improvised and they all do a decent job riffing off each other and get the best out of their roles when compared to the bosses. Spacey phones it in playing a slime ball, Farrell is great as Sudeikis’ weaselly boss, but is criminally underwritten, whilst its Aniston’s part that has garnered the most headlines. In brunette wig, wearing skimpy clothes and armed with the foulest mouth this side of a docker dropping a crate on his foot, she’s clearly having a blast playing against type. However, her sexual bullying of Day is meant to be funny, but it will actually have you squirming awkwardly in your seat. If the roles had been rehearsed (i.e. man harassing woman) such a character would have never made it off the page. All in all, if you haven’t seen the trailer, you may get a few laughs, but there’s just the nagging doubt that this could have been so much better.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

A few good performances, but nothing can compensate for the terrible screenplay. Rating: 4/10

Bridesmaids

Hurrah to Bridesmaids, not a complete cracker of a film, but decent enough and certainly the cure to The Hangover Part II. The set up is simple: Annie (Kristen Wiig) is asked to be maid of honour for her friend Lillian, but a combination of little money and interfering bridesmaids leads to frayed tempers and some very bad behaviour indeed. In effect this is basically a tale of friendships made, lost and made up again. Nothing new there, but director Paul Feig has a solid background in US TV comedy and copes with ease getting the best from the numerous set ups, though he is somewhat hamstrung by the screenplay at times. Wiig takes lead duties here and is the star of the show, stepping up into the spotlight with ease and showing just how much she was wasted by Pegg, Frost and Mottola in Paul. Not only is her comic timing great, but her gift for physical comedy is well utilised in a number of hilarious scenes. In fact, these four scenes (Airplane, Car, Bridal Shower and an hilarious argument with a precocious teenager) are so great that if you remove them the rest of the film is only average at best. Other acting nods go to Melissa McCarthy as a bonkers future sister in law and Chris O'Dowd follows up his good work in Gulliver's Travels, doing a nice job as a cop who is clearly the man for Annie, though, at times, his accent appears to be a confusing mix of English, Irish and American. It isn't all gravy though and being a ensemble production means that numerous characters just seem to disappear without a trace at times (Jon Hamm appears as a sleaze ball, but seems completely lost as to what film he's in). As for the now infamous bridesmaids dress fitting scene, this appears to have wandered in from a Farrelly Brothers film and sticks out like a sore thumb, seemingly included just as an entry in the gross out comedy hall of fame / shame. So overall, not quite a bridesmaid, nor a bride, but a comedy with more laugh out loud moments than most of late and perfect friday night viewing.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not many original ideas, but there’s enough decent gags and Wiig’s performance holds it all together. Rating: 7/10.

Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher is all about Cameron Diaz. Her pouting lips and long legs on the poster and a trailer so Diaz-centric it has sold itself on the premise of Diaz alone being the draw to get audiences into the cinema. Is it a risk though? It’s a while now since Diaz has had a hit and, as is Hollywood’s way, despite being only in her late 30's, roles that she may have been considered for in the past are now being snapped up by younger actresses. So, it’s clear that this is Diaz’s vehicle, but does she and director Jake Kasdan make the best of it? In the film Cameron plays Elizabeth Halsey, an, ahem, bad teacher, who’s teaching ethic revolves around making the kids watch videos whilst having a snooze at her desk. Halsey only begins to show an interest in helping American education when she discovers that winning a cash prize due to her students test scores can help her with a breast enlargement, namely in order to snare new teacher Scott Delacorte (a game, but miscast Justin Timberlake). Goodbye Mr Chips, this ain’t. In effect, with its odd storyline and short running time, this comes across as an extended episode of an American sitcom, especially with the quirky characters that inhabit the school (the Headmaster ignoring Halsey's sackable antics such as writing swear words on children's homework due to her faux love of dolphins). This is sporadically very funny, but the line of humour is never clear as it swings wildly between straight, black and outright crudeness meaning a number of gags fall flat as it’s unclear whether they should be taken at face value or not. Cameron is good in the lead, but the show is stolen by Lucy Punch as a rival teacher. With convincing American accent, Punch steals most of the scenes she is in and gives an amusing portrait of a person desperately trying to suppress their highly strung tendencies through a combination of insincere gestures and strained smiles. Overall, a straight C. Is that enough to save Cameron's flailing career though?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not many ideas, but enough laughs to see you through the short running time. Rating: 6/10.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Despite it being a half-decent film there hasn’t been too much clamour for a sequel to Dreamworks 2008 film Kung Fu Panda. However, it was an animated film that made money, right? Sequel Ahoy! To be fair to the studio they avoid the usual sequelitis problem of over-loading with new characters and concentrate mainly on Po (Jack Black) and the back story of his unconventional upbringing, leading to this films main storyline, his battle with Shen (Gary Oldman, appearing to be doing an impression of John Hurt). However, as the film focuses exclusively on Po, all the other main characters are side-tracked and it appears the film doesn’t have many new ideas up its sleeve, particularly in the middle section which appears to be one long fight scene and not much else. In addition the character of Po himself, even taking into account this is an animated film, makes little sense when it comes to these fight scenes where he’s either a fool or a genius or both. Not only is it not very well explained (especially if you haven’t seen the first film), it also means most of his visual gags are telegraphed well in advance. This isn’t too say this is a titter free zone though, as there are some decent guffaws throughout including a few genuine laugh out loud moments. The main plus point though is the animation. It is pretty great throughout, but reaches genius levels when the back story of Po's life is shown. Overall, this is a film that looks good on the big screen (despite the unnecessary 3D), but it just can’t shake the feeling that it should have been a direct to DVD release.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Some nice touches, but too much filler. For fans only. Rating: 6/10.

True Grit

Despite all their success, and the majority of their films being great, the Coen brothers are still an acquired taste for some people. Leaving aside any comparisons with the 1969 film, will this convert any unbelievers? The storyline concerns a young girl Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) and her hiring of US Marshall Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) in order to track down the murderer of her father. They are soon joined by a Texas Ranger LaBeouf (Matt Damon) who himself is after the murderer, but for different reasons. Despite the storyline and the usual Coen scenes of sudden violence, this is in effect a buddy movie as the three main protagonists bicker and banter their way across the plains, providing some decent laughs as they go along. As you would expect Bridges is great, but his drawling accent at the start of the film will probably have you reaching for the subtitles option when you come to watching this on DVD. Damon himself is also good, but seems a bit confused as to what kind of character he’s meant to be playing. That aside his banter with Bridges is great, though Steinfeld, understandably, gets sidetracked quite a bit because of it. As you’d imagine the film is fantastically lit and shot, and is so authentic you can almost taste the grit and dirt in your mouth. So with so many plus points, this must be another Coen classic right? Sadly, not. The problem is that despite a few action scenes very little actually happens and the storyline just doesn’t grip as it should. Interestingly enough this is probably the most “straight” film the Coen’s have done for some time, i.e. the quirkiness factor barely registers and the film does seem to be missing their usual eccentricities. So, in answer to the original question, no, this won’t convert any Coen fence sitters, but it’s still a decent film for the rest of us, if well below their usually high bar of quality.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

An average Coen brothers film, still means an above average film. Rating: 7/10.

The Hangover Part II

I started my review of The Hangover by saying “With a Todd Phillips film you pretty much know what you’re going to get”, so for The Hangover Part II you really know what you’re going to get. So it’s as you were, but this time, and following the usual rule of sequels, the action is transported abroad, this time to Bangkok. So being a sequel this also has to be bigger in terms of storyline and scope and, yep, it’s pretty out there. It’s also not very good. It is as ludicrous as the first film, but lacks the knowing nod of the head that that film had. This is a shame as it’s mildly intriguing in a detective sort of way following Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis as they again attempt to discover what happened to them the night before. What’s most frustrating of all is that, especially after the half-decent Due Date, this could have been quite good fun. There’s some good ideas here, especially one flash back showing the main protagonists as children going through their night of debauchery, but anything fresh is quickly side-tracked in order to get to the next swear word or knob gag and a further cameo by Mike Tyson is even unfunnier than his one in the first film (and that’s saying something). Let’s not forget that Phillips is the man who doesn’t find Monty Python funny. The Hangover Part II has a sexual mix-up involving a ladyboy (A ladyboy? In Bangkok? How original!) and a monkey licking a man’s penis. Each to their own, huh Todd?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Fans of the original should get the required laughs. Not too sure anyone else will though. Rating: 4/10.

Senna

The genre of documentary films has enjoyed a cannon of high quality for a good number of years now and Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey's film, Senna, is a welcome addition to the pack. Most documentary films have a tough time at the box office (though this is counter-balanced by the relatively low production costs) but I’d expect Senna to make back some decent coin as not only is it about one of the most famous racing drivers of all time, it’s also a cracking film. Where documentaries usually fall down is when they have a slow build up. This is fine if you’ve already got a built in audience (which Senna already has anyway), but this will usually turn off the floating viewer. The film makers realise this and are smart enough to gloss over Senna’s upbringing and within minutes we are into Senna’s Formula One career and his feud with Alain Prost. I’m an F1 fan so giving a balanced review is a bit tricky, but this is still a film all can enjoy, as it’s a story of triumph and despair played out against the back drop of burnt tyres and oil changes, and in this film the disasters are real. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a documentary about Senna as a driver though. This is about Senna the man. There’s a few clips of the relevant racing action, but this is a quest to understand Senna’s determined and, at times, conflicted personality. What will have petrol heads drooling the most though is the incredible behind the scenes footage taken at the time, particularly the pre-race drivers meetings. There is also some hilarious moments in the film including Senna’s appearance on a bizarre Brazilian Christmas show and some mirth inducing off the cuff quotes from the various racing team personnel (“He missed the chicane....Fucking Hell…..Do you want a cup of tea?”). Quibbles? The feud with Prost clearly casts the Frenchman has the villain of the piece and isn’t balanced enough to appreciate that he was also a masterful driver and that Senna himself could also be a mean bastard if needed. Also the investigation into the aftermath of Senna’s crash is barely touched on, which is a shame as you want at least a small explanation as to why such a tragedy occurred. Speaking of that, you’ll have to have a heart of stone not to have watery eyes at the films denouement and the moment when F1 Doctor Professor Sid Watkins asks him why doesn’t he quit racing (reply “I can’t quit”) a mere 24 hours before he was gone forever is the type of tragic moment only real life can produce. I saw the 2 hour version of the film, but there is also a 2 hour 40 minute cut out there which I believe has more racing action and great footage of Senna’s friendly feud with Gerhard Berger. It’s hard to believe most people won’t seek this longer version out after seeing this masterpiece.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not only a great film, but the perfect example of making a documentary that will appeal to a wider audience than what the subject matter pertains too. Rating: 8/10.