Movie Review: TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

2011
R

Take Me Home Tonight is a 2011 comedy directed by Michael Dowse that chronicles the nights of three twenty-somethings as they traverse their way through a summer-ending party. The film opens on Matt Franklin (Topher Grace), an MIT graduate who lives with his parents and works at Suncoast Video, as he learns that Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer), his high school crush, is back in town. The two meet by chance at Matt's workplace where he tells her that he is now working for Goldman Sachs. Impressed by their similar line of business, Tori asks Matt whether he is attending the (in)famous Kyle Masterson (Chris Pratt) party later that evening. Matt says he'll see her there then makes his way to find his best friend Barry (Dan Fogler) to tell him the news. Barry, who had just been fired from his job at a car dealership, chooses to help Matt with his façade by stealing a car. With the help of Matt's twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris), the three finally make it to Kyle's party, and Matt begins his attempts at wooing Tori.

When I first saw the trailers for this film, I thought we might be in for a fun ride back into the late 1980s. The trailer was filled with some classic '80s musical hits, so I thought we might have another homage to that particular time period. I'd like to say now that Take Me Home Tonight doesn't come close to succeeding in that particular regard. The storyline could have easily taken place in 2011, and at times, I completely forgot that I was supposed to be in 1988. The only thing that's left to keep the audience tied to the '80s is the constant stream of '80s music; the rest of the film, however, doesn't carry any of that feel or appeal.

The storyline is decent but doesn't offer anything truly spectacular. I liked the fact that we have three intertwined storylines as it gives a little bit of a fresh breath of air every ten minutes or so. Yes, the Matt-Tori relationship is the film's centerpiece, but we also get a glimpse into Barry's attempts at getting high and getting laid as well as Wendy's struggle with her application to Cambridge as well as her relationship with the aforementioned Kyle Masterson. In a way, all three stories are connected, but their connection comes full circle back to Matt. I mean, he is the film's central character, so it makes sense logically to bring everything back to him. His story in the film is probably the simplest: he's a young man who has no direction in life, and when he sees an opportunity to score on one of his biggest high school regrets, he decides to take action. In a way, I felt like I could relate to Matt, but I won't bore you with any of those particular details here.

The acting is also decent but we're not given anything truly spectacular. For a comedic film, the bar is relatively on keel with what you should expect with this type of film. Our aforementioned "leads" do their best with what they're given. Despite the fact that I'm not much of a Topher Grace fan, I think he did well with this particular role. Faris and Fogler are okay, and Palmer brings a little bit of sass to the screen (and she's definitely easy on the eyes). As is the norm in comedic films nowadays, Take Me Home Tonight is filled with a slew of cameos. Be on the lookout for the likes of Demetri Martin, Michael Biehn, Michelle Trachtenberg and Michael Ian Black. Unfortunately, none of those individuals named really gives a fantastic cameo piece. Part of the reason some comedies have been successful in recent years is the effectiveness of their supporting characters and cameos. Look at 2009's The Hangover - it had a who's who cast of Hollywood celebs, and it was capped by an extended Mike Tyson cameo, and he's one of the first people you remember about that film. Star power works, my friends, and it definitely helps people remember a film.

The biggest problem with Take Me Home Tonight is that it's going to be entirely forgettable. If you asked me in a week, I probably won't remember much about what happened and about what was funny within the film. It ultimately didn't make me laugh all that much. It's a nice ride while you're riding it, but as soon as it's over, you're definitely ready to move on. The great films make you keep thinking about them, pondering them and laughing at them. Take Me Home Tonight won't do that - it's good for a one-time view, but that's all it will ever be.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: C-
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Movie Review: PREDATORS

PREDATORS

2010
R

You can watch the trailer here

In case you haven't noticed, the lack of original thought in Hollywood has led to a slew of sequels, remakes and reboots, which probably led to the eventual green-light for the production of Predators. Although I'm not a die-hard fan of Arnie's 1987 original - I've seen it before, but it's been ages - I remember finding it at least moderately entertaining, and it had a rather clever premise. In crafting this semi-sequel, semi-reboot, director Nimród Antal tried to capture some of that entertainment.

Sparing any type of a prologue, the audience is immediately thrust into the action as we see a man plunging towards the earth but managing to activate his parachute just before he hits the highest peaks of the treetops below. Once he lands on terra firma, we meet this unnamed soldier (Adrien Brody) as he watches more people fall from the sky. Once everyone is accounted for, we find eight people - four soldiers, one drug cartel henchman, one Japanese mob guy, one death row inmate, and a doctor - now stranded in a jungle they do not recognize. The only female in the group, a similarly unnamed soldier (Alice Braga), suggests that the group stay together because there's strength in numbers. And so, the crew sets out, trying to figure out where they are. However, they soon realize they are no longer on Earth and instead have been taken to another planet that's used as a type of game preserve, and they are now the game. Action - and a bit of unwanted hilarity - ensues as the group does their best to compete against the "predators" hunting them around the planet.

I think it goes without saying that there's not much of a screenplay to talk about here. It's basically your standard action flick with a few good fighting sequences that are much too seldom and too far in-between. The dialogue isn't anything to applaud, but it suits the context of the movie. Of course, there will always be the one guy who seemingly and inexplicably knows everything - enter Adrien Brody, everyone - and as a result becomes the unwilling leader of the group. Some people live, most people die; I think you know how these types of movies go by now.

At least there's a little redemption from the characters. The acting is "action movie good," but if you put this level of performance into a drama, I'd laugh it out of the theater. All of the characters are distinct and different from one another, but there's so many different people that you never really get a good insight into any of them, aside from Brody, Braga and Topher Grace. (By the way, I just want it to be publicly known that I'm not a fan of Mr. Grace. I couldn't tell you what it is about him that I don't like, but something just doesn't rub me the right way about him. I mean, aside from the fact that he's a terrible actor. He's not quite at the Shia LaBeouf level of hatred, but he's close.) We do get a small role from Machete himself, Danny Trejo, but when he's -- SPOILER ALERT -- out of the film in the first twenty minutes, -- SPOILER ALERT -- you know you're not in for much of a quality flick.

It's not that the movie is bad; in fact, it's even entertaining at times. But there are quite a few scenes that will leave you a little bit bored, wondering when the next predator is going to rip some guy's spinal cord from his body. If you're a fan of the original, I'm sure it's worth watching this installment, but it's not going to blow you away. For what it is, it's a decent flick, but it's not really going to stick with you for a long time.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C
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