Hot Tub Time Machine

When I first heard about Hot Tub Time Machine I thought it was a joke. Seriously, how could you not? Was I to seriously believe that a studio would make a movie with that ridiculous title? Who in their right mind would greenlight such a stupid sounding film? Then I remembered Snakes on a Plane, so what if it was originally just a working title, it still came out did it not? After these initial "logical" thoughts came through my my mind, I began to think about the possibilities. In the right hands this could be a beautiful, beautiful film. That's right, I said beautiful.

The trailers came out and I began to get a little excited as they looked utterly ridiculous. There are not many people that could get the likes of John Cusack and Craig Robinson together in the same film, not to mention Rob Corddry and Chevy Chase! Now, if that is not enough, do not forget Crispin Glover. I know I did a double take when I saw that he was in this.

The big question was whether or not this was going to have any sort of story. I went in expecting something along the lines of Snakes on a Plane while hoping for something more like The Hangover. I walked out more than satisfied to have found it was closer to The Hangover, if The Hangover had gotten together with Back to the Future with a little Wayne's World/Bill & Ted on the side. Seriously, the movie is not serious at all, yet still has a heart at its core and that is what elevates this beyond the goofy, stupid, raunchy comedy upon which it is built.




Hot Tub Time Machine focuses on a trio of old high school friends who have gone their separate ways as they have gotten older with varying degrees of success. You have Adam (John Cusack) as an insurance salesman whose girlfriend has moved out, left alone with his nephew who lives in the basement, Jacob (Clark Duke). Nick Webber (Craig Robinson) is a dog groomer convinced his wife is cheating on him. Finally there is Lou (Rob Corddry) who has not left his partying ways behind him and it is his accident that kicks off this quartet's adventure.

Lou makes the mistake of revving his car in a closed garage during a rather active round of air drumming and becomes a victim of the carbon monoxide poisoning, This brings the friend back together and believing their friend may be suicidal, decide to take a weekend trip to a ski getaway they went to back in their heyday of the late 80's, 198 to be exact.

They find the town is now a ghost town, the resort a rundown mess, and their room a shadow of its former self, and their surly . They decide to make the best of it and party down in the hot tub. The drinking gets a little out of hand and before they realize anything has happened the bubbling waters have transported them back to 1986.




Once in 1986, and they realize what happened, they fall into the Back to the Future concept of time travel, where they need to retrace their steps and ensure what is supposed to happen actually happens. This involves sex, drugs, fights, and drugs. Yes, drugs get mentioned twice.

Frankly, there is not much to the plot. The story is thin at best, with the main goal of the film to poke fun at their past selves and just goof on 80's references. However, the combination of the screenplay by Josh Heald, Sean Anders, and  John Morris, and the comedic talents of the cast create that perfect storm that could not have been better if they tried. The writers know their 80's films and get in a ton of lines and references to the past while the cast is pitch perfect in their comic timing and chemistry.

It is a fine balance that trying to achieve is like trying to hit a moving target. This is a project that could have just as easily gone flying off the rails. The movie is over the top, wild, and goofy, yet the characters bring it all home and I actually found myself caring about them. Would they decide to change the future? Will they rediscover why they were friends in the first place? How many different ways can they swear? Will they be able to get back home?

Bottomline. Sit back and laugh. Don't over think this movie. I am sure we all know that if you try to bring in any logic to the time travel you will get a nasty headache. The time travel is just a tool to get the comedy flowing, and it worked beautifully. I cannot believe this will be remembered by the masses, but I am sure many will get a lot of enjoyment from this for years to come.

Highly Recommended.

Box Office Update 4/2-4/4: Clash of the Titans Dominates Easter

 This Easter weekend brings us a new record holder for the weekend. The remake Clash of the Titans dominated the frame as it took in $61.2 million. It took the record easily besting 2006's Scary Movie 4's $40 million. One of these days maybe we will actually get a good movie to take the weekend record. Unfortunately, Clash of the Titans fails to truly deliver. Yes, it has a few decent action sequences, but the story is week and the characters are not all that interesting. It is a shame, too, seeing how rich Greek mythology is.

Second and third place came down to a photo finish with Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too barely edging out last week's top film, How to Train Your Dragon. There was less than $300,000 separating the two films. I have not seen the Perry film and do not really have much of an interest in seeing it. I like and respect the fact that Perry has an audience and has been given an outlet to make his films, I just can't see myself ever seeing one. It is kind of like Nicolas Sparks films, I have had my fill of his adaptations and cannot foresee going to another one.

How to Train Your Dragon did enjoy a solid second frame in which it suffered a mere 33%. The film really is a winner. It had a bit of a rocky early start with a lackluster trailer, but subsequent trailers greatly improved on that, showing another side of the movie. The Viking dragon fantasy tells a heartwarming story of believing in yourself and seeing something more in who you believed to be your enemy. It also excels in the use of 3D technology, it is a great effect used exceptionally well.

Fourth place is The Last Song, the second Nicolas Sparks adaptation of the year following Dear John. The movie features Miley Cyrus in her first non-Hannah Montana film and many are heralding it as a breakthrough role for the young entertainer. I cannot say definitively, but nothing in the trailer pointed me towards seeing this as anything other than another romantic film with nothing much to offer. If you liked it, I am happy for you, I know I have enjoyed my share of films that are none too special.

Alice in Wonderland did well in its fifth weekend despite losing a good number of 3D screens to the just released Clash of the Titans. Wow, two remakes (well, one is more of a sequel, but the idea is the same), two 3D releases, and two mediocre executions. It is a shame too, as both projects began with so much potential.

There is nothing terribly special to note in bottom half of the chart. All of the films just slipping down a couple of notches to make room for the new releases. Although, I do think it is notable to see Hot Tub Time Machine do as well as it did in its second weekend. it is no blockbuster, but the high concept raunchy comedy slipped just 42% from its debut weekend. I would have expected a movie like this to slip more in the 55-60% range. For this, I am happy as it really is a funny movie.

Next weekend sees a single new release go national. Date Night sees Steve Carell and Tina Fey come under fire from some very bad dudes when they are mistaken for James Franco and Mila Kunis. They turn to Mark Wahlberg for help. Funny thing is that they only wanted to have a nice night out away from the kids.

Three movies dropped off the list this week: Green Zone (11), Our Family Wedding (14), and Repo Men (16).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	Clash of the Titans (2010)	$61,235,105	$63,890,110	1
2	N	Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too	$29,289,537	$29,289,537	1
3	1	How to Train Your Dragon	$29,010,044	$92,135,916	2
4	N	The Last Song	$16,007,426	$25,395,041	1
5	2	Alice in Wonderland (2010)	$8,208,060	$309,733,753	5
6	3	Hot Tub Time Machine	$8,070,716	$27,910,213	2
7	4	The Bounty Hunter	$6,091,907	$48,853,453	3
8	5	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	$5,302,369	$46,013,347	3
9	6	She's Out of My League	$1,516,952	$28,712,974	4
10	8	Shutter Island	$1,488,403	$123,440,937	7

Box Office Predictions Recap
Not bad, not bad. With the notable exception of my underestimation of the latest Tyler Perry film, I feel I did pretty good. Most of my number right in the ballpark, although in most cases I tended to be a little on the low side. I am going to attribute my general underestimation to the holiday weekend. I should have figured the numbers may be up a bit with families heading out to the theaters.

Here is how the field matched up:

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	Clash of the Titans (2010)	$61,235,105	$68 million
3	2	How to Train Your Dragon	$29,010,044	$28 million
2	3	Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too	$29,289,537	$18 million
4	4	The Last Song	$16,007,426	$16 million
5	5	Alice in Wonderland (2010)	$8,208,060	$10 million
6	6	Hot Tub Time Machine	$8,070,716	$6.5 million
7	7	The Bounty Hunter	$6,091,907	$5.75 million
8	8	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	$5,302,369	$4.5 million
9	9	She's Out of My League	$1,516,952	$2 million
10	10	Shutter Island	$1,488,403	$1.5 million

DVD Pick of the Week: Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call New Orleans

Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope this humble column helps you navigate the stacks of new releases each week. My goal is to point you toward titles of interest and warn you away from those films that seek to do nothing but leech away your time and give you nothing in return.

Full disclosure: I have not seen many of these titles, and what follows are not necessarily reviews, but opinions based upon what I know of the titles I pluck from the new release lists I peruse. The opinions I give based on the new releases are my own, and my recommendations are based on my personal interest. In any case, I hope you enjoy and perhaps find something you like or a title to point me towards.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (also Blu-ray). I fear that not enough people had the opportunity to see this film. Now that it is arriving on home video I hope that it will find a larger audience. This really is an intense, strange, odd film that has a very strong performance from Nicolas Cage (that's right, that Nicolas Cage). Director Werner Herzog takes us into post-Katrina New Orleans on the trail of the drug-addicted Cage who is in a downward spiral with no hope of escape. It is a movie that has a plot but it is not what the movie is about. The plot is the thread used to give the audience some perspective, to organize the heavenly hell that Cage's lieutenant is building for himself. The story could have been anything, the point is not the investigation. Just watch Cage and the his character develops. He is the titular bad lieutenant. He has relationship troubles, drug troubles, case troubles. You name it, he has an issue for it. Sit back and watch the fun.


Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Blu-ray). The classic, Oscar winning fantasy trilogy makes its way to Blu-ray. What can I say that hasn't already been said? They are wonderful films with exhaustive extras that everyone should watch. However, it is not without its controversy. This set only has the theatrical versions, not the extended cuts. There really is no reason to separate the two aside from milking the fans who want both. I really don't have much of an opinion one way or the other, save to say that Peter Jackson considers the theatrical cuts to be the definitive versions.

The Natural (Blu-ray). I have not seen this in forever. Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, an average baseball player who becomes a legend. I remember loving this film, but I have very few definite memories of it and think I really should give it a revisit.

The Unusuals: The Complete Series. This is an Amazon exclusive, so don't go looking for it on store shelves. This short lived series was pretty entertaining. It stars Jeremy Renner and Amber Tamblyn as members of a dysfunctional detective force. The characters were developing nicely only to have the show cut short. It was quirky and odd and different from your typical cop show, which is possibly why it didn't last.

The Lord of the Rings (animated, Blu-ray). Interesting that they are releasing this the same day as the trilogy, although it makes perfect sense to pair them up. I remember watching this when I was really young and just being utterly confused. It wasn't the story that I found difficult, but I was thrown by the animation style, which relies on a lot of rotoscoping, where animators trace live action footage. It really is a unique project, it is a shame he was never able to complete the trilogy. This leaves off part way through The Two Towers.

The Relic (Blu-ray). I like this creature feature. It is nothing particularly special, but it is fun. If you like monster movies, give this a spin. It features a researcher who brings some findings to a Chicago museum from an excursion to South America. One of the things he brings back turns into a bloodthirsty monster. Penelope Ann Miller and Tom Sizemore are faced with trying to stop its advance. Fun.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

In 1981 director Desmond Davis and screenwriter Beverly Cross brought the Greek myth of Perseus to the big screen n grand fashion as Clash of the Titans. I do not believe it to be a perfect telling of the myth, but there is no denying its epic blend of action and adventure is quite spectacular. Sure, it looks a little dated now, but it still terribly infectious and entertaining. Now we are faced with a retelling of the story at the hands of Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) and the trio of screenwriters Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi. This time around the story gets altered a little bit more than in the previous film, but I still feel it is well within the realm of acceptance for the overall myth.

This new telling of the story begins with the fisherman Spyros (Pete Postlesthwaite) discovering the infant Perseus (who will come to be Sam Worthington) locked in a crate with his mother, Danae, floating in the sea. They pluck him from he sea and raise him as their own, while convinced that he was born form some great purpose that will be revealed to him in time.

Perseus fate is revealed when he and his stepather happen upon the soldiers of the neighboring Argos attacking a village and toppling a gigantic statue honoring Zeus. This attack leaves Perseus orphaned and picked up by the Argos soldiers. Meanwhile, the gods are none too happy with what is transpiring below. Zeus (Liam Neeson), brother Poseidon, and banished brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) plot a way to punish the humans. You see, in addition to the toppling of the statue the people are becoming considerably bolder in their defiance of the gods and their desire to be master of their domain.



These events point Perseus towards his fate. The bastard son of Zeus is apparently destined to save humanity from the wrath of the gods. This is that special purpose his adoptive father told him about. The young Perseus sets out on a quest that never feels fully defined or explained. I understand what he is meant to do, but the way it is revealed is lacking, seemingly more focused on getting us to the next effects sequence at the expense of good storytelling.

Perseus sets out to fight against gods who act like petulant children all in the service of a film that has surprisingly little plot. For as much story as there seems to be, you would think the movie would be better. Seriously, you see the gods stomp around and try to punish humans while Perseus and an intrepid band of soldiers wander around trying to find a way to a way to repel their attacks. Perseus also has the secondary goal of avenging the murder of his adoptive family.

As I sat there watching the film unfold, I cannot say it is terrible. There is a certain level of skill employed in the creation of the film. There is plenty of action and the pace is generally quite good. The problem is that I did not care. I did not see any reason to care. The screenplay lacked heart and the performances did nothing to bring any heart to the characters. With this being true, my mind wandered a little away from the story to a couple slightly related ideas. I felt it was safe to do so as it was clear early on that the story was not going to need my complete attention. I just let the action carry me through, it became something more of a sword swinging poem rather than a traditional narrative.



One of my thoughts concerned the look of the film. I felt it looked cheap when there was no real need for it. The Kraken sequence was quite spectacular but that was about it. It reportedly had a $125 million budget, where did it go? This led to the idea that perhaps the cheap look of much of the production was on purpose. Was it done as an homage to the dated look of the 1981 film? I cannot truly believe that is the case, but it is an idea. This led to thoughts of Bubo, the mechanical owl from the prior film. He has a cameo, but it feels more like an afterthought tso they can say he is in the film. I felt it was a little backhand swipe and that may not be the case, it just felt unnecessary.

My wandering mind turned away from the effects, although I must admit to being mesmerized by the giant scorpions (they are rather goofy). The next thing that popped into my mind was the curious timing of the release. I understand that it was pushed back a week when the suits decided to ride Avatar's 3D coattails and bleed a few extra bucks from the public, that aside the release lines up with Good Friday and Easter.

What is so interesting about that? Think about it. Here you have a film about the son of a god who is destined to free humanity and possibly having to sacrifice himself in that endeavor released on the weekend that mourns the crucifixion of the Son of God and His Resurrection, thus freeing humanity from the shackles of death and reopening the gates of Heaven. It is an interesting story to be telling this particular weekend. I do not think there is really anything behind besides coincidence and a connection made in my wandering mind. Still, interesting.



Overall, this was a rather dull film. I am glad I did not see it in 3D, a decision made easy by the fact it was never intended for such a release in the first place. It is a shame, I think Louis Leterrier is a good action director, having helmed Danny the Dog (aka Unleashed) and Transporter 2. I do not think it was his fault the film fails. The action is competently directed and the pace is good. Issues lie more with the heartless screenplay and the lackluster performances by most of the cast. I am not ready to write of Sam Worthington yet, but I am waiting to see him truly break out with something. Here he is rather bland and unconvincing. Quite frankly, the only cast member I was taken with was Gemma Arterton as Io. I did not realize until later that I had seen her before. In her role here I found her quite striking as the woman watching over Perseus.

Bottomline. I say skip this one and rewatch the original. Yes, the original is dated and perhaps a little corny, but it is much more entertaining than this one. It is even a little endearing. This new take was just dull and lifeless despite the action they threw at the screen.

Not Recommended.

New Movies and Box Office Predictions: 4/2

This week's wide releases -
The Last Song
Clash of the Titans
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too

Last week How to Tain Your Dragon (or Dreamworks' Dragons if you listen to the commercials) easily won the weekend with its combination of heartfelt storytelling and eye-popping visuals. It is a much better movie that my initial suspicions would have predicted. Now, will it take a second weekend? I don't think so, there is a new 3D movie in town poised to take over the top spot. The question there is if it will be able to hang onto more than one week.

The Last Song. (2010, 107 minutes, PG, romance/drama) I cannot say that I have much interest in this. I a sure it will have its fans, but I cannot say that a Miley Cyrus romance attracts me all that much. On top of that, I feel I have had my fill of Nicholas Sparks adaptations. In any case, Cyrus plays a city girl sent to spend a summer with her father (Greg Kinnear). He looks forward to spending some quality time with his daughter while she wants nothing to do with him. She meets a local and romance ensues.



Clash of the Titans. (2010, 118 minutes, PG-13, fantasy/action) Following Terminator: Salvation and Avatar it seems like Sam Worthington is the next newcomer to get pushed to the moon as an action hero. Will it stick? I have no idea. I do think he has some potential, but still need to see more of him to know if he can truly act. Here he plays the lead role in a remake of the fantasy film from the 80's, taking on the Harry Hamlin role. I think the film looks like fun, not terribly great, but a lot of potential fun as humans and the Greek gods face off. I will be seeing this and I will not be seeing it in 3D. I like 3D but I want the film to be intended for it. This was never filmed with that in mind, it was a decision made after the fact by suits blinded by Avatar's success. The film was complete and had its release rapidly approaching when they chose to do the retrofit, resulting in the release moving back a week and a new tag added to posters and trailers. So, I ask those who are interested in seeing it, see it in 2D as it was intended.



Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too. (2010, 121 minutes, PG-13, drama) There is no denying Tyler Perry's films have an audience, there is no denying that they do well, and there is no denying I hae little interest. I have nothing against him and I am glad to see that his voice has found a place on the big screen. I am just not a part of his target audience. This movie centers on four couples who meet for their annual vacation getaway only to be thown into turmoil when one of their exes arrives with intent to break up her new marriage and win her back. This problem puts the other relationships into perspective and they are forced to examine their lives.



Also opening this week, but not near me:

• Breaking Upwards
• The Greatest
• The Thorn in My Heart
• Warlord

Box Office Predictions
With Alice's dominance tempered and Dragons as the lame duck leader, it is now time for the Titans to rise. This is not a sign of quality, just how good the marketing was. Sure, quality comes into play sometime, but it is not a requirement. In any case, I am sure that Clash of the Titans will come out on top. As for the rest, your guess is as good as mine.

Here is how I think it could play out:

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Clash of the Titans	$68 million
2	How to Train Your Dragon	$28 million
3	Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too	$18 million
4	The Last Song	$16 million
5	Alice in Wonderland (2010)	$10 million
6	Hot Tub Time Machine	$6.5 million
7	The Bounty Hunter	$5.75 million
8	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	$4.5 million
9	She's Out of My League	$2 million
10	Shutter Island	$1.5 million

DVD Pick of the Week: I Sell the Dead

Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope this humble column helps you navigate the stacks of new releases each week. My goal is to point you toward titles of interest and warn you away from those films that seek to do nothing but leech away your time and give you nothing in return.

Full disclosure: I have not seen many of these titles, and what follows are not necessarily reviews, but opinions based upon what I know of the titles I pluck from the new release lists I peruse. The opinions I give based on the new releases are my own, and my recommendations are based on my personal interest. In any case, I hope you enjoy and perhaps find something you like or a title to point me towards.

I Sell the Dead (also Blu-ray). I have not seen this film but I am definitely intrigued enough to make it my top pick of the week. Just read this desciption and tell me it does not at least sound interesting: It was a time of ghouls, ghosts and most ghastly of all, the fine art of grave robbing. Dominic Monaghan of Lord of the Rings and Lost stars as 19th century corpse snatcher Arthur Blake, who pilfered the cemeteries and coffins of England until his capture by police. But just before Blake is to meet the hangman s noose, he will confess to a peculiar priest (Ron Perlman of Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy) his gruesome tale of vampires, zombies and cadaver dealing that takes him from the savagery of the criminal underworld to the terrors of the undead. Producer Larry Fessenden (Wedigo, The Last Winter) and Angus Scrimm (Phantasm) co-star in this deliriously grisly and hilarious homage to foggy graveyards, bloody mayhem and the golden age gothic horror.

Sherlock Holmes (also Blu-ray). This movie is a lot of fun. The story is not exactly deep and Rachel McAdams seems a little lost, but there is no denying the entertainment value and the way Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law command the screen. Guy Ritchie does a fine job of tempering his kinetic skills and focusing them on a decidedly more mainstream project, it is a definite compromise but one that works to his advantage. I look forward to visiting it again at home.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (also Blu-ray). I enjoyed the first film but feel that with that I have seen enough of the animated trio brought to the live action arena. Frankly, the commercials began to annoy me, especially the Chipettes and that Beyonce tune. You know the one. Maybe one day I will catch up with it, but not soon.

Collateral (Blu-ray). This is a thrilling film. Michael Mann brings LA to life and also opened my eyes to Jamie Foxx's ability. The film centers on Foxxs cabbie who is charged with driving Tom Cruise around as he goes about his work. Cruise just happens to be a hit man. It really is fascinating to watch their personalities interact over the course of the night. This is definitely a movie to see.

An Education (also Blu-ray). I have heard very good things about the Oscar nominated Carey Mulligan's performance. Despite that, I cannot say I have an overriding desire to run out and see it. It is a coming of age story set in the 1960s and how a teen girl's life changes with the arrival of a man much older than she, played by Ewan McGregor.

The Killer (Blu-ray). Back before John Woo came to Hollywood he made some great action films in Hong Kong. This is one of them. Chow Yun Fat stars as an assassin going on one more job before quitting the game, but he is double crossed by his employer. This is a great film I have not seen in some time. It is a shame that I hear that the Blu-ray is really quite bad. I understand that it is interlaced as opposed to progressive and just does not take advantage of the format.

Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction. Robin Williams first new special in years has arrived. I have not seen any clips, but the man does not know how not to be funny. The guy is insane and has incredible energy reserves, how can this not be fun?

The Protector (Blu-ray). Tony Jaa is quite the martial artist. Not so great an actor, but definitely impressive when it comes to fighting. This film features an extended fight sequence with no cuts as Jaa blasts his way through a ton of bad guys before getting into a fight where a guy throws an elephant (no joke).

Sports Night: Season One. I never watched this when it was on, but a friend turned me on to it well after its run and I saw just how great it was. Aaron Sorkin created the show that was set on the stage of a sports news show and the drama about the characters and their relationships. It is now coming back to DVD after a long period of beng out of print. I may need to finally pick it up.