Movie Review: THE SITTER

THE SITTER

2011
R


"Keep it in control, baby. Tears, no fears, man."
-- Noah Griffith

The Sitter is a 2011 comedy directed by David Gordon Green that offers a story of an inexperienced babysitter as he attempts to make it through one night with three upper-class kids. When his mom's friend desperately needs a babysitter, Noah Griffith (Jonah Hill) reluctantly agrees to watch the family's three children: the fearful Slater (Max Records), the wannabe celebrity Blithe (Landry Bender), and the adopted Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez). Hoping for an easy night in, Noah is soon contacted by his alleged girlfriend Marisa (Ari Graynor), who is hoping that he can score her some drugs then find her at a party in New York City. Propelled by the hope for physical relations, Noah decides to take the kids on his trek to drug dealer Karl (Sam Rockwell). As one can imagine, everything happens to go wrong, and Noah soon finds himself fighting not only for his life but for the lives of the three kids he's vowed to keep safe.

If you feel like you've heard this story before, don't worry - you'd probably be right. The Sitter almost feels like a mash-up of a babysitting movie and 2007's Superbad, but it doesn't necessarily offer the same level of comedy. From the moment the film started, it all seemed a little bit cheap. The humor was a little bit off, and although there were a few chuckles here and there, I never actually laughed during any point of the film.

The biggest issue with The Sitter has to be its screenplay. Sure, we get quite a few twists and turns throughout the storyline, but there really isn't anything all that new. It's almost as though the screenwriters chose to go with as rote a story as possible, hoping that the actors themselves would be able to give the film a little bit of life. Unfortunately, most of the leading adult characters - Hill's, Graynor's and Rockwell's, to be specific - are not that well-written, and I was left scratching my head at how they could have possibly decided to give this movie a go. And so, with a predictable storyline and so-so dialogue between the characters, we're just not getting a strong written component to this film.

That's not to say that the cast doesn't do its best to try and make ends meet. Jonah Hill brings his standard performance, all the way down to his near-trademark shake of the head followed by the wide-eyed stare. I feel like I've seen this character so many times since Hill made his big splash in the aforementioned Superbad that I've grown just a tad bit weary of it. Directors continue to come back to him, but until he can prove to me that he has a little bit of range (which he ever-so-slightly showed in 2011's Moneyball), I'm going to be a little bit wary of his performances. Graynor and Rockwell start out well, but their characters ultimately prove annoying about halfway through the film; however, I blame this on the screenplay rather than the acting. There's only so much that an actor can do when a screenplay is this poor. I did think that our child actors did a decent job. Max Records, who some of you may remember from 2009's Where the Wild Things Are, gives a strong performance as a young teen coming to terms with his personality, and Landry Bender offers most of the films stronger bits of comedy. That being said, however, there's still not a lot going on in terms of the acting performances.

Overall, The Sitter is probably a movie that you should avoid unless you can somehow watch it for free. If you're a fan of Jonah Hill, this'll be right up your alley, but even then, it's by no means one of his better films. As I said before, The Sitter offered me a couple of chuckles here and there, but there was no point where I actually felt the need to laugh. That's not a good sign for a film attempting to be a comedy.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: D-
1.5 Thumbs Down

Movie Review: MONEYBALL

MONEYBALL

2011
PG-13


"There are rich teams, and there are poor teams. Then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us."
-- Billy Beane

Moneyball is a 2011 dramatic film directed by Bennett Miller that tells the story of one game-changing year in the history of the Oakland Athletics franchise. After losing in the playoffs to the New York Yankees in 2001, A's General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is given the nearly impossible task of replacing some of his all-star talent with a budget that's microscopic in comparison to some of the large market baseball teams. When he tries to utilize his scouts' knowledge of the game, Billy realizes that the A's are going to need a different approach if they want to compete with the big dogs. On a trip to Cleveland, he meets the young Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a Yale economics graduate who keys Beane into the idea that there might be a computer-based way to create a championship team that the A's could afford. Beane buys into the idea and shakes up the status quo, bringing in players his associates would normally deem useless. He faces a lot of opposition, especially from team manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who elects not to play the athletes in the manner Beane wants them to be played. Despite some early-season troubles, however, the team manages to find a groove and goes on to find a certain level of success, ultimately changing the scouting process in Major League Baseball.

There were a few reasons I wanted to see Moneyball. First and foremost, it stars Brad Pitt, who you may know to be one of my favorite actors to grace the silver screen (I'll talk more about his performance momentarily). Second, it's a sports movie, which in an of itself makes it an appealing flick for me. It's difficult to make an outright terrible sports film because it's so easy to get caught up in the emotion of a sporting event. When I heard that Moneyball was garnering some rather stellar reviews - it currently holds a 94% critic's approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com - I knew I had to at least give it a shot. And let me tell you, I most assuredly was not disappointed.

The story itself is rather basic, telling the tale of a year in the life of Billy Beane as he tries to reinvent the very process of creating a high-caliber sports team. At the same time, we're catching glimpses of Beane's personal life, and I for one thought the mesh between the two to be stellar. We're getting the screenplay from Academy Award winners Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, and from the moment the film starts, you know there's something great about it. I found the strength of the screenplay to be its handling of conflict. On the one hand, we're seeing the external conflict between Beane and basically everybody else who's fighting him tooth and nail when it comes to his new system. On the other hand, we're seeing the internal conflict with Beane himself as he struggles with his own feelings of low self-esteem and unworthiness that stems from his days playing in the major leagues.

That's where Pitt's performance comes into play. While I've always found Pitt to be a great actor, I think it's only in the last few years that he's truly started to prove himself to the rest of the world that he can handle his own in a series of dramatic roles. For so long, he was simply the eye candy, and while he had early critical success (he scored an Academy Award nomination for his role in 1995's Twelve Monkeys), I don't think he's really gotten the respect he deserves. It's rare to hear his name being tossed into a group with the likes of Kevin Spacey or Daniel Day-Lewis, but I would posit here and now that Pitt is one of the finer actors of his generation. His role in Moneyball only solidifies my stance as he shows a wide range of emotion in completely becoming Billy Beane. And while we do get some great performances from our supporting cast - Hill and Hoffman are exceptionally good - this is really Pitt's vehicle, and it should be viewed as such.

I'd also like to tip my hat to Mychael Danna, who composed the score for this film. It definitely fit the tone of the movie, and it actually reminded me a lot of the soft-toned score that Explosions in the Sky created for 2004's Friday Night Lights. Kudos, Mr. Danna.

Overall, I think Moneyball is definitely worth, well, your money, if you feel so inclined to see it. There's only so much I can say about a film's acting and screenplay, but some films just have that "it" factor that's so difficult to describe. Moneyball definitely has "it," and as a result, we the audience are getting something rather wonderful.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: A-
2 Thumbs Up

Rankings
Best All-Time: #129
Best Drama: #47

Movie Review: MEGAMIND

MEGAMIND

2010
PG


You can watch the trailer here

I know that I'm a little bit late on seeing Megamind - I had every intention of seeing it last Friday upon its release - but now that I have seen it, you can have my review.

Our story, which was directed by Tom McGrath, follows the titular Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell), a supervillain whose only joy in life is his constant battles with his arch-nemesis, Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt). When Megamind finally dispatches of the city's hero, life becomes dull. He resolves to create a new hero for his battling pleasure, mistakenly choosing TV cameraman Hal (voiced by Jonah Hill) as his future nemesis. When things go awry, Megamind enlists the help of an ever-present reporter named Roxanne (voiced by Tina Fey) to bring Metro City back to its feet.

The screenplay itself is your standard, superhero fare with a few twists in just the right places. We see a man stand up for the good of the city, but this time, that man starts his reign as the city's most prominent villain. I think what I liked most about the screenplay were the throwbacks to the original Superman film. Baby Megamind's start in life almost perfectly mirrors Superman's, and the same can be said for Metro Man himself. Also, one of Megamind's alter egos in the film bears a strong resemblance to a certain character played by Marlon Brando back in 1978. A coincidence? I think not.

The voice acting is good, if not spectacular. Ferrell brings his usual stuff to the lead role, and it's hit-or-miss just the same. Pitt and Hill are both equally good in much smaller roles. However, Fey's character stands out a little bit more simply because the animation artists were able to convey Fey's spirit through her on-screen persona. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

I would like to say that Megamind has arguably one of the greatest composition soundtracks that I have ever heard, and the filmmakers found a way to incorporate each song into its respective scene seamlessly. Aside from Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe's score, we've got a lot of familiar music from pop culture blasting through our ears. From Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" to Gun n' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," it's a rock party that I thoroughly enjoyed. They even threw in a little MJ at the end.

Overall, Megamind is good, but I don't think it's worth running to see. If you're going to watch it in theaters, see it in the morning when you can get a matinee price; otherwise, I'd just wait for the DVD.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B
Thumb... Slightly Up
Addition to Awards

Movie Review: GET HIM TO THE GREEK

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

2010
R


You can view the trailer here

Two years after the smash hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall, director Nicholas Stoller once again teamed up with British comic superstar Russell Brand to take another look at his character, the raunchy-yet-lovable rock-n'-roll superstar Aldous Snow. This time around, Brand steps more to the forefront of the storyline, teaming up with Jonah Hill as Hill's character (Aaron Green) tries to get Snow back to Los Angeles in time for an anniversary concert at the Greek Theater. As one can imagine, the trip from London to Los Angeles doesn't go exactly as planned; however, the hilarity that ensues makes the movie worth watching. I mean, who would want to watch a movie about a record company intern completely controlling an out-of-control musician? It would be downright boring.

Stoller wrote the screenplay and really takes the audience into the lifestyle of the no-longer sober Aldous. Rather than following along with Aaron's strict desire to do his job, Snow pulls him into the partying lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. Essentially, we watch the pair move from city to city and party to party, consuming a plethora of drugs and alcohol along the way. The film even has its serious moments, where Brand showcases that he can turn a little bit darker. It made me want to see him in a more dramatic role someday.

Unfortunately, I found that the movie did get a little too mired down in its own brooding close to the end. I understand what Stoller was going for (the aging rocker out of his prime coming to grips with the fact that he feels alone in the world), but something just didn't click with it all. Whereas Forgetting Sarah Marshall balanced the comedy and drama very well, Get Him just didn't have the same type of flow.

In terms of acting, there isn't really that much to complain about. Brand resurrects Aldous Snow in true form, and it's a delight to see him grace the screen once again. Hill plays his typical self, which is getting run a little bit dry, but his personality counters Brand well this time around. Surprisingly, Sean 'Diddy' Combs stood out with the most comedic value throughout the movie. He's not by any means a good actor, but his manic approach to the owner of a record-production company who knows how to treat his artists proved to be downright hilarious. A number of cameo appearances also add a little fun, with the likes of Aziz Ansari, Meredith Vieira, and a somewhat-random Tom Felton adding to the hilarity.

If Get Him to the Greek does anything right, it's the inclusion of some more original material from Aldous Snow's band, Infant Sorrow. In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, we got tastes of "We've Got to Do Something" and "Inside of You." Now that Brand is essentially the star, we get a slew of new material, highlighted by the ever-awful "African Child (Trapped in Me)," "The Clap," and "Furry Walls." In fact, nearly the entire soundtrack (available on iTunes) is comprised of songs by Infant Sorrow. Just the music makes this one worth watching.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B
Thumb... UpAddition to Awards