Funny, Sad, and Everything in Between

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) - dir. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa - 4,5 stars

The posters showcase a gay couple with two pooches, Barbie-like hair and glowing skin.  They carry the trademark smile that Jim Carrey is famous for. The whole thing beckons like a straight-up comedy from the wrapper, but the film's deep and thoughtful handling of the true story of Steven Russell and Phillip Morris makes Ficarra and Requa's film a highly enjoyable experience.


Steven Russell is a cop who does well and means well. On the surface, he is in a loving marriage with a religious wife who would make any Texan proud. But God wants him to come out, and so he does after a car accident forces him to reassess his life. He reveals to his wife that he is gay and he has been having affairs.  He moves to Miami, gets a boyfriend and starts living the sex-and-the-city life. However, as they mention in the film, being gay is expensive. Clever as he is, Steven beats the system with fraud and becomes a con man to get beautiful things for himself and his lover. All's well until finally he gets caught and put in jail. This may sound like the end of the story, but actually, it is just the beginning.


His time in jail brings love to his life when he meets Phillip Morris, and for love, he's ready to do anything. The following 80 minutes or so surprise, delight, depress and force the viewer into fits of laughter. This crazy, clever, romantic man does what he can to make sure they stay together despite circumstances and enjoy what life has to offer. It might just be the best romantic comedy for those who hate traditional romantic comedies as it is littered with dark themes that remind us we're watching a true story.


With his performance as Steven Russell, Jim Carrey once again proves he is an actor with range. The Carrey we watch is not the same one we've seen in any of his screwball comedies; it's closer to his performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His trademark smile is still there, but his portrayal is inherently believable and convincing. Similarly, Ewan McGregor matches Carrey's performance with his wide eyes, naiveté, and Southern accent. The great performances of the leads are coupled with an astute script and effective editing that drives home the surprising tactics of this con man. At more than one occasion, I found myself as deceived as anyone else in the film. 


Overall, the film has the right amount of all things essential to make it a great film. This is one that shouldn't be missed so go buy your ticket!

Glorified, unimaginative monster bashing

Clash of the Titans (2010) - dir. Louis Leterrier - 2 stars


I must admit I wasn't expecting much to begin with when I went to see this remake of the 1981 classic, but even so, the film was underwhelming. Made in typical cash-cow style that dominates Hollywood remakes, the film pays too much attention to the action and graphics and not enough to the characters or the mythology. It's one of those films that assumes a certain viewership demographic and goes for it. As such, it is riddled with unimpressive acting and predictable dialogue. This is not to say it will not be successful financially, as there will be scores of people signing up to see the Kraken monster in 3D.

The story is based on Greek and Nordic mythology. In a time when humans start to rebel against Olympus, the Gods decide to teach their creations a lesson by unleashing a Titan that would set havoc on them. The plan is that the Gods will intervene and save the humans, which will inspire them to go back to their devout ways and pray to the Gods. The prayers are important as they keep the Gods immortal.  The twist in the story is that there is a demi-God among the humans named Perseus who has a personal score to settle with Hades. Hades, on the other hand, has his own agenda involving Zeus and the rest of the Olympians.  For vengeance, Perseus ends up traveling the ancient world killing one famous creature after another to destroy the Gods' plans, while Hades makes his underground agreements to get his dream. Still reading?  Good.

As you can tell, the story is actually quite elaborate, and considering the depth that exists in Greek mythology, it could have been turned into a fully-fledged fantasy world. There were some moments in the film where Leterrier obviously tried to emulate the Lord of the Rings feel cinematically, but overall, the film cannot create the sense of disbelief that Peter Jackson had so masterfully accomplished in his trilogy. Instead, Leterrier's attempt feels very unimaginative and canned. The monsters die as quickly as they appear with almost no backstory for any. Medusa didn't exist just to be slain by Perseus. She has her own story and it's a damn good one. In Leterrier's film, their stories are diminished into seconds and they just exist for the action sequences, which dominate the 106 minutes. Seeing these creatures get beheaded and killed with no justice to their story made me feel a bit sad. Furthermore, the film simply jumps from one monster to another with some heroic leadership speech thrown in the middle to give just enough incentive and need for the characters to go on. The script is obviously not a highlight for this film.

The attention to detail that should have been paid to the script has all been used for the graphics. The monsters are pristine and realistic in their 3D glory and the action sequences make the most of the technology. However, due to the aforementioned issues, the action sequences don't have much heart in them as the viewer doesn't care who or what is being killed. It's just a glorified monster bash.

To add insult to injury, the acting in the film is mediocre with a lot of stereotypical performances. Perseus (Sam Worthington of Avatar fame) is a meathead with heroism thrust upon him, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) is a bad God who apparently smokes a lot in Hell and has to bend to get places as one can tell from his osteoporosis, while Zeus (Liam Neeson) decides to wear full, glittering body armour in Olympus for some odd reason and speaks with a very low voice. Why doesn't anyone really think through what these Gods would live like up there and try to reinvent their world? It's boring to see these stereotypes even in 3D.

If all you'd like to see is some 3D popcorn film, by all means be my guest.  But if you're looking for something with a bit more thought put into it, avoid Clash of the Titans. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Carell-Fey duo needs a better script (or none!)

Date Night (2010) - dir. Shawn Levy - 3,5 stars

Never, ever, take someone else's restaurant reservation. One little white lie can take your life off the rails. That is pretty much the premise behind the new comedy from Levy. Starring the poster children of US comedy, Steve Carell and Tina Fey, the film has to satisfy a lot of expectations on the comedy front. It ends up as an enjoyable night out, but the action takes over from what could have been a funnier film given the improvisation geniuses involved.

Phil and Claire Foster (Carell and Fey respectively) live a quiet life in suburban New Jersey with their two kids. Their marriage seems boring, tiring and extremely ordinary; so ordinary in fact that they don't even remember their date nights - the nights without the kids - and even when they do, it feels like a chore. One of these date nights takes a wrong turn when Phil, in a desperate attempt to save his marriage, tries to take someone else's reservation for a romantic dinner. That lie propels their relationship into resolution; that is after they've been kicked, chased, shot at, among other things that include some extremely funny references to robot sex.

The action in the film takes centre stage with elaborate sequences that are thrilling. Long car chases follow breaking-and-entering, which definitely keeps the film going at a nice pace. However, this also means that the comedy is a bit dispersed so it never reaches a crescendo to sustain itself. This seems a bit endemic in Levy's films from the Pink Panther to Night at the Museum, where the comedy cannot sustain itself and relies heavily on action sequences.

Overall, Date Night is an enjoyable film with some good action and a few good laughs. It doesn't take any risks and plays on a tested-and-true Hollywood formula. However, with the Carell-Fey duo, I was expecting something better than Levy's other films. One thing that I'm sure of after seeing the film is that we'll see more from the duo as they're a good comedy couple. They work off of each other's energy and lines extremely well, which shows off in the small portions of the film where they were ad-libbing and improvising. If you want to see more, stay until the end of the credits and you'll be treated with some extra takes that are well worth it.