THAT'S A WRAP!

If any of you are unaware of this fact, this little blog of mine was actually created for an assignment in my journalism course. I can honestly say I was stoked to hear that we would be required to write a blog with a minimum of ten posts...I thought to myself "I've been wanting to do that anyway!" Reviewing movies was an easy choice for me, as I see so many and like writing, it's something I'm really passionate about. People can think whatever they like about that; that I'm a loser, that I need to get out more, get a life and stop living vicariously through my favourite characters, actors and stories. Well to them I say...well. I probably shouldn't say it on here. But you get the gist. I can't really explain my love for film...it just is. It's definitely crossed my mind that I should have tried to get into it. Sometimes I think, man, if only I had been into doing plays and musicals when I was a kid, then I could have been discovered and made into a star. But when I really contemplate that idea, it sort of freaks me out. It's not a life I would choose for myself, not at that age anyway. If I were to be discovered tomorrow however...just kidding. I'm not that much of a dreamer.

In all honesty, I'm content to watch from afar. That's what movies are all about after all. They're an experience, a ride that you go on for a couple of hours. They transport you to different places, make you feel different things, inspire you, scare you, thrill you, make you laugh, make you cry. Some are good, some are bad. But they're all art. Without movies, there would be a creative void in our lives. I truly believe that the service provided by actors, directors, writers, producers and all the other people who contribute to create films is an irreplacable one. Those that are great at it receive awards for their efforts, and so they should. We all like to believe they have it easy, but think about it. Really think about what they have to do, the responsibilities they have. It's not an easy job. They work their asses off for as much as 18 hours a day, every day. On top of that they're supposed to promote stuff, attend events, fulfill their various duties AND they're meant to look good while they do it. Think about how you feel after a measly 8 hour day at work and you're supposed to be a certain place at a certain time. Sometimes you just make an excuse to get out of it because you're too tired. Well, imagine how these people feel. They can't exactly back out of something that may be in a written contract. It's amazing they don't all collapse from exhaustion in front of the cameras. When exactly are they supposed to have their own lives? We take the free time we have for granted, and then complain about not having enough. Try being an actor, then you'll have something to complain about.


The men and women in these professions all have my utmost admiration and respect. I sit in awe of the talent they display. I know a lot of people out there don't think much of James Cameron. They think he's up himself, over-the-top, doesn't deserve all the attention he got for Avatar etc. Those people are ignorant and petty. That man single-handedly brought people back to the movies, and he deserves to be recognised for that. If idolising these people the way I do makes me a loser, then I guess I'm a loser. I love movies, I'm not going to pretend that they don't make me happy. I have no problem watching movies over and over. Some call that living in a fantasy, I call it appreciating beautiful pieces of art.

I'm never going to stop watching movies, so there's no reason why I wouldn't continue to write this blog. If you like what I write, please keep reading! If not, that's cool. Writing is all about personal expression for me, and I would do it with or without an audience. So, until next time...I'm sure it won't be long, there's a lot of great movies coming out soon...;)

Now the girl with the dragon tattoo will play with fire...

The Girl Who Played With Fire directed by Daniel Alfredson

Actress Noomi Rapace at the Venice International Film Festival on September 6, 2010.

Subtitles. Most of the time, they're insufferable. I don't much care for them myself...I get incredibly distracted and I find myself losing the plot, literally. I mean, do I look at the writing first, or the actors? I try reading the captions first, but then I feel like I'm reading a book on a screen; I miss the actors facial expressions, their reactions. So I try it the other way around, I look at them first. Approximately three seconds later, I've missed about a paragraph of dialogue. This is I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E. Earlier this year, I sat down and attempted to watch one such foreign language film, as I had heard it was magnificent. Also, it was a vampire movie so I was like hell yes. (Yes, I like vampire movies. Shut up.) It was called Let The Right One In, and it was completely Swedish. I think I watched about 20 minutes before I gave up and went to bed, with a huge headache, mind you. It's not that it wasn't good, it was. It's just that I couldn't keep up with the damned subtitles! They moved so fast! Frequent rewinding ensued, but after a while I got over doing that. Honestly, I think it would have taken me about six hours to get through it. That's two whole Lord of the Rings movies. Also, I figured since they're making (made, now) a glossy Hollywood version (re-named Let Me In, starring young Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz aka Hit Girl from Kick-Ass), then I'd just catch that instead. However, to do that with the films adapted from Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy would be a travesty. 

Noomi Rapace with husband Ola Rapace at a Venice premiere, September 4, 2010.

Full disclosure: I HAVE NOT READ THE AWESOME AND RIDICULOUSLY SUCCESSFUL/POPULAR MILLENNIUM TRILOGY. But if you have, you'll know that the story is, in a word, brutal. Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is an a-social, closed-off computer hacker with a photographic memory. She is a legitimate genius, but totally scary-looking with her numerous piercings and gothic-style of dress. According to my mother, who has read all three books, Larsson must have had this actress in mind as Salander before he died, such is the exact replication of her character. Salander's childhood was somewhat harsh, considering her father's violent behaviour towards her mother. In the first chapter of the trilogy, a graphic rape scene occurs, and much of the second film is based on the repercussions of this event. Be warned: these films are not for the faint of heart, nor are the books I suppose. The crimes are sickening and thoroughly disturbing. I myself wondered what twisted mind could have invented such a story, but upon researching Larsson, my respect for him was only increased. Larsson himself witnessed the gang rape of a girl named Lisbeth when he was just 14 years old. He was deeply ashamed that he could do nothing to stop it and never forgave himself, but as a personal form of tribute, he used the incident as inspiration for the themes of violence against women in the Millenium trilogy, and named his heroine after the victim. Those who knew Larsson have said that he had a lifelong abhorrence toward violence and abuse against women. This much is clear through his novels, and has been expertly translated in the films.

Noomi Rapace & Michael Nyqvist at a photocall for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for the Cannes Film Festival, May 17, 2009.

Performance-wise, each actor gives 110% in The Girl Who Played With Fire. Rapace gives 120%. After a while, you don't even feel like you're watching a foreign film...the story is so engrossing, at no point do you feel tired by all the writing; on the contrary, you find yourself hungry for more. I have to say, I think I enjoyed the first film a tiny bit more, and that's really just down to the fact that it was more straight forward in its storyline. Played With Fire is slightly more complex, and at times I was a tad confused. Even so, it's highly entertaining and very well-acted. Michael Nyqvist is simply wonderful as Millenium's star journalist and Lisbeth's one true ally. Micke Spreitz, Georgi Staykov and Peter Andersson are utterly creepy as the three main baddies (Lisbeth's half-brother, her father, and her attacker from the first film). But the real props have to go to Rapace; without her, the profound success of these films wouldn't be happening. She IS Lisbeth Salander, end of story. There's something endearing about the fact that these are independent films...none of those involved could have guessed the exploding force they would have upon the world.

Noomi Rapace at a Venice premiere, September 6, 2010.

But explode they did, and now ravenous fans in more than 20 countries are hungry for more: the last installment (The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest) will be unleashed within the next year. In fact, all three films were made consequetively, and all were released in Sweden in 2009. But alas, Hollywood has their own plans ready to unfold. David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is all set to direct the English-speaking version, pegged for a December 2011 release. So far it's been confirmed that Daniel Craig will play the controversial but brilliant journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and Rooney Mara has nabbed the role of Lisbeth. Unfortunately, she now also carries the burden of having to top Rapace's flawless interpretation of Salander. I say good luck to her...if she succeeds, she deserves an Oscar.

170,000 miles of desert. 90 minutes of oxygen. NO WAY OUT.

Buried directed by Rodrigo Cortes

Ryan Reynolds attends a special screening hosted by The Cinema Society at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, New York on September 16, 2010.

I was pretty excited when I first saw the trailer for Buried. The concept of being buried alive is an old one when it comes to films, but I don't think there's a movie out there quite like this one. This is a full-length film with just one actor, one set, one wardrobe, limited lighting options and only a small number of camera angles to work with. It's everyone's worst nightmare, and I can imagine a lot of people wouldn't be too keen on seeing it. But beyond that, I find it incredibly refreshing. Here we are, with the year 2010 drawing to a close, and it sure was a big year for cinema. James Cameron wowed us all with his 3D revolution Avatar...Christopher Nolan created a world where our minds are the scene of the crime with his trippy thriller Inception, and there were plenty more offerings with jaw-dropping special effects and digital enhancements. Hell, all you have to do is count the number of movies that were released in 3D this year. So, with that in mind, it's simply amazing that there was a director brave enough to take on Chris Sparling's mesmerising, but limiting screenplay Buried. That's where Rodrigo Cortes comes in. Don't be surprised by the amount of attention this film receives; it really is brilliant. It's shot beautifully, every scene is as dynamic as the last, the cast (yes, the WHOLE ENTIRE cast of one man), is effortlessly fantastic, the story is intriguing and suspenseful 100% of the time and the ending will haunt you long after you walk out of the theatre.

Director Rodrigo Cortes at the premiere in Madrid, Spain at the the Palafox cinema, September 27, 2010.

If you haven't heard what Buried is all about, here's some info. Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American truck driver working in Iraq, and he wakes up, bound and gagged, inside a coffin which he soon realises is buried underground. All that's in there with him is a lighter (a really good one, that thing blazes!), a pocket knife, and a cell phone. Oh, and he later finds his anxiety pills and flask, luckily (being buried alive tends to leave Paul feeling a little tense). The format of this movie is very clever; at first we know nothing, and we're not told anything in a hurry. Here's where this movie is immediately different. The audience isn't bombarded with noise, conversation or a quick succession of vivid shots. In fact, the first ten minutes of the film are completely shrouded in darkness. The first 2-3 minutes are actually completely black AND silent. The cinema I was in started twitching, shuffling around...people were twisting in their seats to check that the projector was still functioning. One by one, we each started laughing quietly to each other, and one guy commented audibly "good movie." Then, about 3 or 4 minutes in, the silence was broken by muffled coughing. I almost thought it was just a person in the room. But no, it was Paul slowly waking up (still blackness). More coughing. Then BANG. And another BANG. I thought "okay, straight into it..." Paul realises he's not tucked safely in his bed (although i suppose the binds around his hands and the gag might have been a tip off. But you never know...some people are into that?) Then we hear some nice wheezy hyperventilation, and by nice I mean believable. I'm asthmatic myself, so hearing him breathing like that really made me uncomfortable. Then we hear some fumbling, then the sound of a lighter. Let there be light! Like I said, it's about 10 minutes before we see Paul's face. And he looked exactly how you'd imagine you would look upon awaking inside a pitch black coffin. Panicked, terrified, confused, dirty, sweaty, shocked. Paul manages to get his binds off and takes a minute to observe his current situation. Then, from the space below his feet, Paul and his audience (us) hear the single most welcome sound when in a position like that: the vibration of a mobile phone. Hallelujah! Paul thinks so to...he lunges for it, misses the call but gets to work calling anyone he can think of, and that's when we start to get some information. Like his name. The fact that he's a truck driver and that he's in Iraq (this was a total surprise to me). Then we get some more knowledge as to how Paul ended up here (his convoy of trucks was ambushed, but he doesn't remember anything after blacking out). Basically, we are learning everything at the same time as the people on the other end of the line. This kind of film-making gets the audience involved on a much more personal level; we feel like we are getting to know Paul, and Reynolds portrays him in such a way that we quickly care deeply about him. He's impatient, kind of rude, swears a lot and you could say he has a short fuse when people put him on hold. But the nice guy inside him is understandably unavailable at the time. The rest of the film is a dimly-lit, edge-of-your-seat thriller, with Paul trying desperately to save himself with the only resources at his disposal: the phone, and his instincts.

Writer Chris Sparling, Actor Ryan Reynolds & Director Rodrigo Cortes posed for photos at a news conference for Buried at the Toronto Film Festival, September 13, 2010.

If you're claustrophobic at all, I wouldn't recommend you see Buried. There is absolutely no break in the tight atmosphere Paul has found himself in, and the fact that the environment doesn't change at all may not suit you. It's rated R, naturally, but don't be fooled. It's not a bloody action movie...it's more a psychological R than a physical R. The situation could be viewed as distressing, to put it lightly. But if you're ready for a unique example of a highly suspenseful thriller with some heavy emotion, Buried will take your breath away. All of it.

NOW HEAR THIS: Obviously, there's no soundtrack BUT the score is great. In particular, the opening sequence has some seriously creepy music...if you're into film scores like me, you'll find Buried's interesting.

On his way to finding a legend...he will become one.

The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole directed by Zack Snyder

Jim Sturgess attends the LA premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, September 19, 2010.

Before seeing this movie, I had a pretty intense discussion about it with a fellow journalism student. I'll admit, it was quite negative. To sum it up, we basically agreed that it was a stupid story about the most random animals ever, and would probably be a massive comedy...not the good kind. We also made mention of our shock and disbelief that so many awesome people had offered their voicing talents to this "crazy owl movie." Jim Sturgess (21), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean), Hugo Weaving (Lord of the Rings) and Abbie Cornish (Candy) are just a few of the people involved in Legend of the Guardians, and this I just could not understand. I know it's based on books and loved by millions blah blah blah, but I still wasn't convinced. I talked a friend into seeing it with me, you know, for shits and giggles, and upon entering the theatre, my outlook was that I would leave it having had a good, long laugh. By the way, I apologise if my honesty is offending anyone...but come on. Owls? Seriously, owls. Owls, acting like soldiers. As if that's not funny?!

Jim Sturgess & Ryan Kwanten at the LA premiere, September 19, 2010.

I had told the student I had the conversation with (yes, the one where we paid the crap out of this movie before I'd seen it), that I would blog about it once I HAD seen it. I said "All my blogs are so positive. Every movie I've seen lately, I've liked! I need one that I won't like...definitely this owl one." To which she replied "Ha ha, what if you like it?" To which I replied "In that case, I shall have to fake it and pretend that I hated it, to maintain my reputation and dignity." (Again, sorry for any offence. OWLS.) For the sake of information, (SPOILER ALERT!) here's the lowdown on Legend of the Guardians: Soren (Sturgess) and Kludd (Kwanten) are two brother owls that live in a nest with their parents Noctus (Weaving) and Marella (Essie Davis), their baby sister Eglantine (Adrienne DeFaria) and their nanny (who just so happens to be a snake...what the?) Mrs. Plithiver (Miriam Margolyes). Soren and Kludd have a strained relationship, with Soren always going on about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a legend about a group of great owl soldiers who have fought many battles, ever-triumphant and noble etc etc...Kludd doesn't believe the hype. He's more interested in learning to fly properly so he can get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, Soren's the better flyer, which just amplifies Kludd's annoyance at his brother. The pair attempt some "branching" which is owl-code for the first step of flying lessons; pretty much just sailing at an angle to reach a lower branch...it's pretty basic, and they're fairly hopeless at it so that gives you an idea of the danger. Next thing, they fall out of their tree, and land on the forest floor, "a dangerous place for an owl." Out of nowhere, they're snatched by a couple of scary looking, much larger owls Jatt and Jutt (Saw's Leigh Whannell and comedian Angus Sampson, both Aussies). They're taken with a bunch of other kidnapped owls to St. Aegolious Academy for Orphaned Owls (seriously) and told that their families have abandoned them and that the "Pure Ones" are their new family. (BTW the Pure Ones are an evil force controlled by the scariest owl of all, Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton), and trained by his mate Nyra (Helen Mirren). These two are basically the Gruesome Twosome from Hell, they want to take over the whole Owl Kingdom...the usual story. Soren and Kludd are separated and Kludd is selected to be a Tyto, the purest and strongest soldiers for Metalbeak, whilst Soren is sent to be a "picker," a pretty crappy job it turns out, as all the pickers are made to sleep at night, or "moon-blinked." Next day, the owls are totally out of it, hypnotised and brainwashed, so they're easier to boss around. Soren teams up with an elf owl he met earlier, Gylfie (Emily Barclay) and they both stay awake so they can keep their wits about them. After, whilst faking zombie-like qualities, they're caught out by one of the guards, Grimble (also voiced by Weaving). Thinking they're in a heap of trouble, they're surprised when it turns out Grimble wants to help them escape. He says the only reason he does what Metalbeak and Nyra say is because they have his family. He hates what he's become and wants to teach them to fly better, so they can get away. After only a bit of training, they're interrupted by Nyra and Kludd and forced to attempt escape straight away, with Grimble defending them. Soren pleads with Kludd to make a break for it also, but we now realise Kludd doesn't want to leave. After a bit of a chase, Soren and Gylfie make it out, and start their journey to the sea, as per Grimble's advice (he insisted the Guardians are real and that they're the only ones who can help). They make a pit-stop on the way and run into a couple of quirky owls, Twilight (Anthony LaPaglia) and Digger (David Wenham). They join forces and set off for the Sea of Hoolemere, wherein lies the island of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. From this point on it's a long journey for the four friends, and they face a number of obstacles in the attempt to rescue the other kidnapped owls. Soren's bravery shines through and we see him stand up to his brother and face the ultimate battle against Metalbeak. Oh, and there's obvious sequel innuendo at the end, so fans can be pleased with that.

Essie Davis, Geoffrey Rush & associate producer Katrina Peers at the Sydney premiere, September 24, 2010.

List of reasons why I liked this movie:
1. It's animated. You can't go past an animated film, especially one about owls cuz they're faces are so adorable, you just want to pinch their cheeks. At one stage, my friend turned to me and said "I want one!"
2. It's Australian. There's a ton of Aussie talent showcased in Legend of the Guardians, and Jim Sturgess puts on an alright Aussie accent.
3. It was funny. Woven neatly in amongst the drama and action were some real shining laugh-out-loud moments; this is the Aussie signature coming through and it's awesome.
4. The effects were good. For an animated movie, it felt very real. The action was detailed as were the characters. There were lots of cool slo-mo sequences which never go a-stray.
5. The lead character was a sweetheart. If I were an owl, I'd go for Soren. He was a dreamer...loyal, determined, caring and soooo cute!
6. It had a happy ending, and the promise of more to come. Self explanatory!

Director Zack Snyder, Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Neill & Anthony LaPaglia at the LA premiere, September 19, 2010.

List of reasons why I dislikedthis movie:
1. It made Ryan Kwanten look like a dick.
2. The accents were a bit much...way too occa for me, and Eglantine was the only owl with an American accent? WTF?!
3. At times, it was a little serious and dramatic...which is good but a few times I found myself thinking "...but they're OWLS."
4. A little confusing as to why the metal fragments that mice have consumed (which the owls then consume) hold the power the Pure Ones need to take over the Owl Kingdom? This made no sense to me and it wasn't explained.
5. The only song that played was by Owl City. I would have preferred a more extensive soundtrack, instead of just a track from a band with "owl" in the name.


So that's 6-5. I guess that means this is another positive review. Whoops. The funny part is, I thought I would be ashamed. I'm not.


NOW HEAR THIS: The Owl City track isn't too bad, download "To The Sky." But the real winner is the trailer song, 30 Seconds To Mars's "Kings and Queens." Play it really loud, over and over. Then some more.
                                                                                                    

When the top cops are busy, our only hope is...

The Other Guys directed by Adam McKay


Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg attend the Australian premiere on the Gold Coast, August 18, 2010.

For a girl, I'm strangely partial to a good cop movie. Those who know me will tell you I love violent movies. Horror comedies are a particular favourite (think Jennifer's Body, Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead etc). Blood, gore...I froth on that shit. Luckily, I have a select group of friends who I can rely on to see these types of movies with...one of my best friends shares my passion for the hilarious Saw saga. We often meet horrified stares when explaining how "The dude's arm, like, split in half! The bone came through the skin and everything! It was awesome." From horror comedies/actual serious horror movies that are unintentionally funny, we move onto the action movie arena. Films along the lines of Kick-Ass, Sin City, Kill Bill (basically anything that may have previously been a comic book)/...that stuff is totally up my alley. The more blood, the better. The more unrealistic the blood baths are, the higher the entertainment value. Don't get me wrong, I love a good horror movie for its subtlety and mystery as much as the next person, but it seems like they're few and far between these days. The last truly good horror movie I saw was...hmmm. I can't even think of one. Well. There you have it. But I'm getting off topic. Cop movies! They're awesome, as long as they're done right. And by right, I mean that the finished product serves its desired purpose; for example, in the 80s, Die Hard successfully served the purpose of providing Hollywood with a believable hero cop in the form of Bruce Willis's John McClane...incidentally, it also served the purpose of creating a the perfect bad guy, freaky German terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). This is probably why that movie was such a hit. Then, in the 90s you had Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones serving their purpose as the dream duo; the unlikely partnership defending the universe from aliens which for some reason meant huge bucks at the box office. The point I'm trying to get across is, if the film fulfills its reason for creation, I believe it should be deemed a success. Take Jennifer's Body as a great example; everybody trashed this movie because it was ridiculous. I mean, yeah, it was about a man-eating cheerleader. Literally. But come on! It was supposed to be stupid! Do you really think Diablo Cody, writer of the Academy Award-winning Juno, sat down and thought to herself "Hey. I'm gonna write a deadly serious plot about a girl who gets wrongly sacrificed as a virgin, then comes back to life and starts eating boys for every meal. Yes! The Screen Actors Guild will love this, and then I'll finally get the respect I deserve!" Highly doubt it. She's intelligent enough to realise that this movie was all popcorn, nothing more...but also to know that it works. The sad fact is that most people couldn't recognise this, and instead attempted to pull apart the film, criticising its every aspect. Idiots! A little advice, people: take a movie for what it is, don't try to warp it into something you think it should have been: 99.99% of the time, you'll be wrong. In my opinion, here's where The Other Guys delivered the goods.

Director Adam McKay, Will Ferrel, Mark Wahlberg & Eva Mendes at the Moscow premiere in Russia, September 13, 2010.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg team up in this (for want of a better word) random cop action/comedy. Allen Gamble (Ferrell) is the new guy in the detective's office...a quiet accountant who enjoys his desk job to an annoying extent. Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) on the other hand is the miserable one, knowing he lost his chance at glory after accidentally shooting Derek Jeter (by the way, this is the most hilarious side-bar that gets massive laughs whenever its mentioned, which is a lot). The pair are assigned as partners, but they never get to go out on a call because of their respective issues with hands-on police work. Instead, New York's favourite cops P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) get all the action, and all the praise. That is until they're suddenly (and hilariously) out of the picture and Terry is over the moon about the opportunity to prove himself as a real detective. Unfortunately, he has to convince Allen to go along for the ride, which takes a good while since he pretty much hates his guts, demonstrated during Wahlberg's hilarious monologue: "No, I don't like you. I think you're a fake cop. The sound of your piss hitting the urinal, it sounds feminine. If you were in the wild, I would attack you. Even if you weren't in my food chain, I would go out of my way to attack you. If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freaking eat you. Then I'd bang your tuna girlfriend." As hard as it is to believe, the two get past this tense discussion and join forces. The rest of the movie is pretty much just a series of hilarious events that eventually leads up to the grand finale: a day-time, inner-office shoot-off, of course. You may notice I've said the word 'hilarious' a number of times in the above summary...I apologise. There's simply no other way to describe this movie.

Eva Mendes at "The Other Guys" conference at Comic Con in San Diego, July 23, 2010.

Okay, first up is comedy veteran Ferrell. Not much to say here; he's great as Gamble, but it's nothing we haven't seen from him before. Sarcasm, wit-drenched one-liners, and don't forget the implied sing-along (seriously, when's the last time Ferrell made a movie without including at least a short singing number?). Like I said, it's funny but not all that new. What is new, however, is Wahlberg's comedic genius. Whilst he's not a first-timer in the funny-guy ballgame, this is the first time we've really seen him carry a comedy the way he does in The Other Guys. Hoitz is just so pathetic, and he knows it. The whole Jeter debacle continues to follow him around and humiliation is never far behind. His ex-girlfriend doesn't want a bar of him, and his collegues think he's a joke. Wahlberg doesn't often play a loser; he's usually the badass lead role in action flicks such as The Italian Job, Shooter and Max Payne. As we all know, he's good at playing those parts. But I can't get over how well he portrayed Hoitz in all his lameness. Pretty much the only thing that Hoitz has going for him in this movie is that he's superior to Gamble in almost every way. Except for his slamming-hot wife Sheila (Eva Mendes)...all of Hoitz's interactions with her are classic. His disbelief that Allen could score a babe like that is so perfectly acted over dinner one night: "Why are you with Allen?! *pause* I mean...how..did you two meet?" I seriously think that Wahlberg brings out the best in Ferrell, as the funniest scenes with Gamble involve Hoitz. The chemistry between these guys is great, which sounds weird considering Terry despises Allen. I'm not sure what it is, but the hate Terry has for Allen coupled with Allen's sincere hurt feelings over it is just great viewing. The cinema I sat in to watch this movie was in constant uproarious laughter because of this partnership, especially during one of my favourite scenes, where Hoitz drags Gamble out into the hall and pulls a gun on him to make him go out on a call with him: "You won't shoot me!" "I shot Jeter!" "That was an accident." "Was it?" On a quick note, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson deserve props for their performances, even if they didn't last long. The few scenes they were in were loaded with mirth, and had me and the entire theatre in stitches.

Will Ferrell, Eva Mendes & Mark Wahlberg attend the New York premiere at the  Ziegfeld Theatre, August 2, 2010.

As stated above, cop movies can be awesome but they can also go very badly when they don't allow themselves to be what they were intended. Some need to be serious, some not. The Other Guys scored high points with me because it not only accepted its destiny as a stupid-funny satirical cop movie, it revelled in it. My final word? Mark Wahlberg needs to do more comedies. I can't believe it's taken this long for him to show us how good at it he is.


NOW HEAR THIS: The movie featured some great rnb songs, including "We Trying To Stay Alive," by Wyclef Jean, "Top Down," by Swizz Beatz and great placement of The Black Eyed Peas' "Imma Be." There were a bunch of songs thrown in to this movie that has made them funnier to listen to now, including "Hero," by Foo Fighters, "Reminiscing," by Little River Band, "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) by Phil Collins, and "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs," and "Creep," all by TLC (you have to watch to understand the reference). Also, download "Icky Thump," by The White Stripes, "Ooh La La," by Goldfrapp, "Maggie's Farm," by Rage Against the Machine, and "Pimps Don't Cry," by Cee Lo Green. Just because they're awesome.