Pineapple Express

Year: 2008
Directed By: David Gordon Green
Written By: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Judd Apatow

RYAN’S REVIEW

I gotta be honest. This movie gets lost on me more and more the older I get. It’s occurred to us far too many times throughout this journey through the blog that we own too many movies of this kind. In fact we own so many pothead movies I have half a mind to start a new category and call it “college years” or something along those lines. This many in the collection gives the wrong impression of who we are. I’m a firm believer that a person’s movie collection says something about the person in general. Movies like this certainly say the wrong thing about us, but they are what they are and they are all here for a reason. If serving no other purpose than reminding us of the good ol days these movies all have their place in our collection.

I think this movie is really funny although a bit too much like an accidental sequel to Superbad. This group of guys has an ever growing reputation in the movie industry and it’s fun to see them doing their thing. I do feel like it should have stopped with this movie though. Enough is enough guys, you are better than reliving this pipe dream over and over again. I think this is a funny movie and I love it, but when it has come to the collaborations of James Franco and Seth Rogen since I am more and more not into it. I thought This is the End was cool, but it was a bit too much at the same time.  Things got so crazy with The Interview but I remember long before there was a controversy thinking: “again? come on guys.” I have yet to see The Interview, but I will because I think every American should see it just to spite the North Korean leader. I’m sure when I see it I will laugh but I think both of these guys are too good to waste their talent being silly in the same dynamic as before.

I love all the guys that are in this movie. In fact when This is the End was coming out I remember being so excited and thinking that it was a genius idea. It seemed like there was no way it wouldn’t be the funniest thing I had ever seen until I saw practically the same thing done by Simon Pegg and company in The World’s End and it was hands down funnier. What Simon Pegg did was not just funnier but a lot better than the movie these guys made about getting hammered as the world came to a close around them. That was a disappointment to me personally because I think these guys are better than that, as great as Pegg and his posse are, I expected more than simple pot head circle ideas from these guys.

I referred to this as an accidental sequel to Superbad but that’s not really true. It only feels that way to me because these movies came out so close to one another and were made by Judd Apatow, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen. Like Superbad this movie too is a story of two friends with a third odd ball tie in friend. They both feature the same type of comedy and Seth Rogen in a significant roll. There are also several other correlating actors in both films.  They are very different stories but I’ll never shake the feeling of continuity between these two movies.

I think Danny McBride is a really funny guy. He has a weird sense of humor and it’s not always for me but I like it more often than not. I specifically like his part in this movie and I think he is hilarious as the best/worst friend a guy could possibly have. His fight with Rogen and Franco is epic and awesome. He has the strangest demeanor about him and he can be so funny when he gets into character. Everybody brings something funny to this movie but Danny McBride stands out among the rest.

Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan have great chemistry as the two hit men just going about their jobs. Their parts seem similar to the parts played by Bill Hader and Seth Rogen in Superbad. Hader incidentally has a great cameo at the beginning of this film. Also playing a small role is a pre-Hangover Ken Jeong. I’m a big fan of Jeong, he plays a really small part in this movie and he doesn’t partake in any of the comedy, but I like seeing him in this all the same. He has done much better for himself in the years that followed this movie.

This is a silly movie and if you are still in the age range to enjoy it then this is certainly the movie for you. There are plenty of movies like this that really take me back but this one doesn’t really get me like that as the others do. This movie came out as that window in life was closing and the eye of responsibility had already squarely fixed its gaze on me. I was still young enough to really appreciate this one then but today I find myself identifying with Ed Begley Jr. more than anybody else. That is a scary realization in itself. I think this movie is worth your time but watch at your own discretion. Depending on your age and stance in life this movie can be perceived in a variety of ways ranging from really funny to really stupid.

NEXT MOVIE: Pitch Black (2000)

Land of the Lost

Year: 2009
Directed By: Brad Silberling
Written By: Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas

RYAN’S REVIEW

Sometimes the greatest key to any joke or good comedy is to leave the audience laughing in the end.  When they walk away laughing they remember the humor on a high note and plenty of what came before is forgotten.  That, in a nutshell, is the whole reason we own this movie.  Yeah it’s a pretty stupid movie, but in the end when –Will Ferrell titles his book “Matt Lauer Can Suck It” I fell to the floor laughing.  I did not see this movie in the theater and didn’t get to see the 3D spectacle it was supposed to be.  I might have never seen the movie if not for the persistent and relentless encouragement of a cherished co-worker.  He talked about this movie for weeks and I found myself with nothing to watch one evening and this was available on HBO OnDemand.  I expected it to be stupid, and it was, but when you enter anything with such low expectations it can be really easy to be surprised if you still have an open mind about it.

When we first watched this movie I was generally unfamiliar with Danny McBride.  I had seen him here and there but hadn’t given him any attention yet.  It was McBride that really had me laughing through most of this movie and I have since become a very big fan.  The guy has a strange sense of humor that I just can’t get enough of.  Kenny Powers is one of the funniest characters I have ever seen.  He’s a bit too much at times but often the funniest of the funny are a bit too much from time to time.  McBride went to school near where I live which makes him more endeared to me.  As a graduate of the NC School of the Arts he has become a local alum that has hit it big. I think his film Your Highness was a bit too stupid and didn’t really like it, but when he takes his trophy from the Minotaur I laughed till it hurt.  McBride is a really funny guy who has a place in a really funny group of comedians that will keep him involved in plenty of great films to come down the road.  Obviously McBride is a friend of Will Ferrell and that gives him plenty of opportunity.  He is also part of the Seth Rogen and James Franco crowd which is really awesome.  Those guys have made a movie I am really looking forward to this summer.  I won’t waste time discussing it now because it’s too soon but I insist you check out this trailer, it looks to be one of the funniest movies ever made and I cannot wait for it to come out.

I think McBride is without doubt the funniest part of the movie but Will Ferrell isn’t without a few laughs.  His type of comedy tends to get on my nerves more often than not because it comes across as stupid instead of funny most of the time.  He is stupid in this movie as well but that is what he brings to the table as the lead star.  For all the stupid things he says and does in this movie I will forgive it all for the sake of the closing joke.  His character going back to the Today Show with his new book simply titled “Matt Lauer Can Suck It” was hilarious and worth sitting through any of Ferrell’s stupid crap for.

This movie was a complete and utter failure both critically and at the box office.  That is probably all well deserved.  Yet when I watched the movie expecting it to be the worst thing I had ever seen I finished the movie laughing my ass off.  Any time I am so surprised I tend to love the movie more and I find myself liking this ridiculous movie more every time I watch it.  I particularly love the part when they are all stoned on Land of the Lost drugs and that giant crab comes after them.  Right as they all start to wail in fear the crab falls into a boiling spring and explodes into cooked crab.  Something about that just makes me laugh my ass off.  When they are touching the monolith thing and singing the Cher song I laugh my ass off too, especially when Danny McBride tells the woman she should sit on that thing.  So yes this movie is really stupid movie, but I think it has plenty of funny stuff to offer.  I think this one is worth your time but be prepared to disagree with me and feel free to leave a comment and tell me how awful you think it is.

AMBER’S REVIEW

This movie is so great. I was so confused at first when Ryan suggested that we watch it. It looked incredibly stupid. And all in all it is a really stupid movie, but nevertheless really stupid. Will Ferrell and Danny McBride play off of each other so well. I think it’s always great when comedians team up. I think it really shows their talents and true innate humor.

I love this poster. I think it fits the movie well and it is really nicely designed.  I like the typography, the imagery, and everything. It includes all of the main characters in a pleasant way that makes sense. It’s a nice poster.

NEXT MOVIE: Lars and the Real Girl (2007)