Paperaxle Reviews: The Change-Up

I put off watching this movie for over a week. I outgrew movies where the sole purpose of the main character is only to get laid by as many women as he can. But I had people telling me that this movie was a lot better than "Horrible Bosses", and I really liked that movie.

Christ... look at the plot. Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) is a successful lawyer, and is married with three children. His best friend Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds) is a single, unemployed actor who takes too many drugs and refuses to grow up. Both friends believe the other has the better life and would love to switch lifestyles. One night, after having way too much to drink, both men find themselves walking through a park, with an urgent need to piss and the only available spot is in a wishing fountain.

And by pissing in the wishing fountain and talking about how each other has the better life, they find themselves in each other's bodies, and living each other's lives.

Now that sounds like quality entertainment, right? Isn't this a remake of "Freaky Friday"?

This is a movie where the raunchiness dances around the rim of the toilet seat, looks deep inside, but fortunately can (for the most part) pull back before taking that plunge. It wasn't full blown "Hangover" disgusting, but it comes close. (Jesus... I never thought I'd see a baby's ass puckering up before letting out an explosive shit! And I laughed at that! Out loud! What the hell is wrong with me?) The only thing about the movie which I didn't care for, and which the movie couldn't avoid, is the consequences of best friends changing bodies and the complications of Mitch sleeping with his best friend's wife, while Dave is nearly getting laid by nearly every girl he meets. (And nearly every female in this movie has a nude scene!)

If "Horrible Bosses" is the funniest movie I've seen this year, then "The Change-Up" comes in second, and that's something that's hard for me to admit. Jason Bateman has pulled off something that Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, and Adam Sandler can't do... that is to make two very funny movies in a row. Who woulda thunk it?

This 112 minute movie comes with a high recommendation, and I'm giving it 4 wet t-shirts and a dirty diaper. Just leave your brain in the car before you go in the theater, and you'll have a great time!

Paperaxle Reviews "Cowboys & Aliens"

This is one of those movies that's real pretty, but when you get home and you think about it, you'll realize that you really didn't like it as much as you thought you did.

In 1875, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) is a criminal who wakes up in the middle of nowhere with a strange device attached to his arm, and no memory of who he is. He is taken to Absolution, a town ruled by Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), a cattle rancher with an iron fist. Lonergan has stolen the Colonel's gold, and Dolarhyde wants revenge. But the two find out their troubles don't mean much when aliens decide to attack Absolution. And Jake is the only person who can defeat the aliens, if he only knew how. A mysterious woman, Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde) who is more than she appears to be, will help Jake stop the aliens, but she first has to overcome a few problems... like raising herself from the dead.

Now, with a synopsis like this, you would probably think that this makes a premise for a fantastic movie, but you would only be half right. All of the pieces are there, but the director (Jon Favreau) cuts a few corners in order to tell his story. There are way too many "Why doesn't he...?" type questions in the movie. Jake has an "armgun" but yet he rarely uses it, instead preferring to run away from the aliens at every opportunity instead of blasting them. Ella's past is explained, and the how and why of how she came to be in Absolution is unsatisfying. Dolarhyde is shown to be a ruthless and evil man, even resorting to killing when necessary, and yet by the end of the movie, we are expected to actually care for him.

But there are some good aspects in the movie as well. The backstory of how Jake came to be in his situation is well told, and despite how easy it would be for the movie to degenerate into silliness, it maintains a serious tone all the way throughout.

Right after I saw this movie last night, I was ready to give this movie one of my highest recommendations, but after mulling it over for a while, the best I can give this 118 minute movie is a couple of Predators and some used bullets.