Ratings without Reviews

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday yesterday-- sorry there was no new update! Today, I bring back "Ratings without Reviews" where I rate some of the other things I've been reading and watching. Later this week, there will be a new Daily Shill Review.

Ratings without Reviews:

Books:

Sleepwalk with Me by Mike Birbiglia: A seriously funny book, completely worth the read. 5/5

The Sandman, Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (and several illustrators): I've read the Sandman series before and loved it, but it starts a little slow. 3/5

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson: The perfect follow up to 13 Little Blue Envelopes; Johnson knows how to write quality YA Fiction. 4/5

Movies:

Catfish: Engaging, creepy, and engrossing. 5/5

The Hangover Part II: I didn't think a repeat of the same plot could be funny, Part II proves that, with new jokes, it can be. 4/5

Due Date

I was cautiously optimistic when I went to the theater on Saturday to see Due Date. With the combination Robert Downey Jr's bad-ass sexiness and Zach Galifianakis' consistent humor, Due Date's cast appealed to me. But the story also seemed a whole lot like 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobiles-- a movie that I certainly enjoy, but do not need to see remade.

The initial concept seemed all too familiar. In their attempts to fly from Georgia to LA, Peter Highman (Downey Jr) and Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) get placed on a no-fly list thanks to Highman's angry reaction to Tremblay's idiotic antics. Highman needs to make it home to LA in three days for the birth of his son, but is unable to rent a car because his wallet is with his luggage on the plane. Enter Tremblay, a wannabe actor headed to "Hollywood," ready to save the day with his rental car (and complicate it with the coffee can filled with his dad's ashes). Despite Tremblay's clear deficiencies as a travel companion, he is Highman's only option, so the two embark on a cross-country roadtrip. Hijinks ensue.

For the first half hour of the movie, I was thinking, "Yeah, yeah, this is funny, but nothing new." And then, with a surprise sucker-punch, the movie starts to go a little nuts. Highman gets a little crazier than initially presented, Tremblay continues to become wackier, and the problems their trip poses stop being typical travel mishaps. It was just what the movie needed to become its own.

One of the things that impressed me the most about Due Date was how it dealt with the more tender scenes that most comedies stumble over. Due Date sneaks into them: what starts as a joke morphs into a moment where you really feel for one of the characters. Then, just as you start to get in a little too deep, Galifianakis says something ridiculous and you're laughing again.

Due Date is doomed to be compared to The Hangover, as they're both directed by Todd Phillips. Though I did like The Hangover better, Due Date is certainly worthy of being packaged with it in the nostalgic comedy box-set that will be released in another 15 years.

Due Date is a dumb movie, but a good kind of dumb. (However, be warned, if you're like my sister and don't like Galifianakis, this is not the movie for you). I give it a 4/5.

Watch Jon Stewart's interview with Zach Galifianakis

Get Him to the Greek

First off, before I jump into the review, I want to apologize for my absence here (not that anyone is really at the edge of their seat waiting for a Daily Shill update.). I just graduated from Kalamazoo College, and the week of graduation and the one following have been crazy busy. But I am back!

I had low expectations going into Get Him to the Greek. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the movie where Aldous Snow’s character originated, the trailers did not look good. My expectations were met; the movie was okay.

Get Him to the Greek follows Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), an under-appreciated record company employee, as he attempts to escort washed-out, drugged up rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to a concert at the Greek Theater. As one might expect, everything that could go wrong in this transportation process, does.

The movie was very hit or miss for me. Though there were some scenes that cracked me up, like the “furry wall” one the movie will likely be remembered for, they were outnumbered by the attempts at humor that didn’t land. I never thought I would say this, but I thought Diddy was the funniest actor/character in the movie. Make of that what you will.

Get Him to the Greek follows the comedy blueprint that has worked well for movies of the past two summers like The Hangover and Superbad: there is some time-sensitive problem (get rock star to the gig, groom to the wedding, or booze to the party) and a duo (or trio) of guys have lots of comical obstacles until they solve it. But unlike in Superbad and The Hangover, I wasn’t endeared to the characters; I just didn’t care if they succeeded in the end. Also, I didn’t laugh as much.

I give Get Him to the Greek a 2/5. It’s a high 2 (I’d rather watch it than read George Lucas’s Blockbusting or Newt Gingrich’s novel), but a 2 nonetheless.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Jonah Hill

I’m currently making my way through David Remick’s biography of Barack Obama. It’s a long one, so it may be a bit before another review. But I will be back!