THE ODDS

50/50 (2011)
– 3 and a half out of 5 stars

Loosely-based on the life of Will Reiser, friend of Seth Rogen, who also produced and starred in this movie. It shows a different perspective of cancer – mostly about the social aspects and dealing with it and not just the harsh parts about chemotherapy.

How ironic is that you often have to comfort others even though you’re devastated and broken down inside?

Adam Lerner: I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I recycle.

It shook me when Adam broke down in the car the night before his operation. Joseph Gordon-Levitt really did good here and Seth Rogen is honestly funny as his friend dealing with his buddy having cancer. I thought that bathroom scene was nice.

“MY FIST HUNGERS FOR JUSTICE”

KUNG FU PANDA 2 (2011)
– 3 out of 5 stars 

Lord Shen: Who do you think you are, Panda?
Po: Who do you think I am, Peacock?

In this sequel, the Dragon Warrior, Po, and the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, Crane) have to stop Lord Shen who has created a new weapon that threatens to destroy the legacy of kungfu. In the process, Po learns more about his past and how his father came to be Mr. Ping, a goose.

Po: Scars heal.
Lord Shen: No, they don’t. Wounds heal.
Po: Oh, right. What do scars do? Fade?
Lord Shen: I don’t care what scars do!

This was really funny and I enjoyed it even though I didn’t watch the original movie. Po really likes to state the obvious and OMG I loved it when he finally found inner peace! You can always count on him to do something unpredictable! Plus, the baby Po is super adorable! He eats non-stop and really cries like a human baby! Some of the funnier parts are already seen in the trailers but it’s still worth a watch.

IT’S PROBING TIME

PAUL (2011)
– 4 out of 5 stars

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings, two Brits visiting the 2009 San Diego Comic Con who decide to take a roadtrip through the sites of major extraterrestrial importance. However, they meet Paul, an alien, who wants to return home and their lives will never be the same again.

OMG this movie is super funny – I kept laughing throughout its entirety! Most of it had something to do with their inner (and outer) geek and of course Paul, who is as unconventional as an alien could be. He smokes weed, moons people, swears like a sailor – and he doesn’t like to probe you. Seth Rogen with his stoner voice and goofy laughter is perfect for Paul. The agents after them were really funny too! Especially Jason Bateman’s Lorenzo Zoil, who actually tasted the liquid (it’s pee!) on the ground. Eeew! While Agent Haggard (Bill Hader) likes to snap pictures of useless items, Agent O’Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio) was trying to find out what spaceman balls look like… OMG that scene in the comic shop was one of the highlights! Caution though, cos there’s lots of swearing in this film but it was all done in good fun.

Graeme Willy: You are an alien!
Paul: To you I am, yes.
Graeme Willy: Are you gonna probe us?
Paul: Why does everyone always assume that? What am I doing? Am I harvesting farts? How much can I learn from an ass?

Last but not least, the universally-asked question: “Who the hell is Adam Shadowchild?”

HE’S TOO FAST FOR TV

THE GREEN HORNET (2011)
– 3 and a half out of 5 stars 

The Green Hornet is the alter-ego of Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), heir of The Daily Sentinel after his father died of an allergy. The town’s gangs are under the control of Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), whom his late father was trying to expose. Britt convinces his “executive associate”-slash-sidekick Kato (Jay Chou), that they should pose as criminals while fighting crime so as to infiltrate them.

Wow, this is the first 2011 film I’ve seen in 2011! That’s because most of the films that are showing now have already been released in 2010.

Britt Reid: Kato, I want you to take my hand and I want you to come with me on this adventure.
Kato: I’ll go with you but I don’t want to touch you.

Anyway, the Black Beauty is pretty impressive – it’s almost indestructible, hasthat Ben-Hur shit and can even operate on just its front wheels. One amusing thing to note is that all the switches on board are written in Chinese! Jay Chou does get quite a few funny one-liners and his English isn’t all that bad, except for that much publicized “thumting”. Christoph Waltz as Chudnofsky is hilarious because he’s a gangster who seems offended whenever people insult his dress sense and finds it necessary to reinvent himself to become more relevant(Bloodnofsky, anyone?). I thought it was cute that they included the sushi USB drive in the ending – that cute little thing sure got many cars chasing after it. And a cameo by James Franco is always welcome!

Click HERE for more funny quotes!

Kato: We saved those people and all they talk about is this stupid head.

NOT HAVING FUN

FUNNY PEOPLE (2009)
– 3 out of 5 stars

Funny People, though directed by Judd Apatow, is not really funny at all.

It’s about a celebrity comedian George Simmons, who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. When he goes back to do stand-up comedy again, he notices Ira, a struggling stand-up comedian, and decides to hire him as his personal assistant. George notifies Ira of his illness and Ira tries to help him re-connect with the people he cast aside – his comedian friends, family and ex-fiance, Laura.

The funny parts are the processes, I think. Like when they visit George’s doctor with the very thick accent, they start making fun of him and even the doctor starts joking with him. The scene where Ira cries and spills snot all over their lunch. The part where Eminem disses Ray Ramano of Everybody Loves Raymond fame (“And I thought everybody loved you…”). Eric Bana is also hilarious with his thick Australian accent. I liked the part where his wife, Laura, fakes his accent in a horrible way and tries to quarrel with him – even he doesn’t get what she’s talking about.

Otherwise, the movie also makes jokes on the real-life situations of the actors. Like how Seth Rogen lost his charm after he lost the extra pounds, or how Jonah Hill looks like the XXXL-version of himself. Oops. But at the end of the day, it’s all about becoming a better person.

GREEN JELLO RULES

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (2009)
– 3 out of 5 stars

I saw Monsters vs Aliens! It’s really funny, especially B.O.B. the Blob who has no brain and literally makes no-brainer remarks!

B.O.B.: “Derek, You’re a selfish jerk, and guess what? I’ve met someone else. She’s limegreen, she has 14 little chunks of pineapple inside of her and she is everything I deserve in life! I’m happy now Derek, without you. It’s over!”

The President in the movie is a complete dumbass and is always trying to prove his “presidentiality”. Plus, there was this newsreader who made this very true-to-the-bone comment: “that aliens only ever seem to appear in America”. The other thing that made me happy was that a couple of The Office actors lent their voices to the characters! Oh, and STAY TILL THE (ALMOST) END!

ONE MILLION TOOTHPASTES

SUPERBAD (2007)
– 4 out of 5 stars

Caught Superbad yesterday and it’s great!

Produced by those who brought you Knocked Up, it’s the same kind of crude humour and not-so-handsome boys with a real story behind it. The best friends – Seth and Evan – are leaving high school to go to college and the bad thing is that they are going to different colleges. In order to make themselves look like the coolest guys in school, they plan to get booze for the party and try to get their dream girls. But who knows what can happen in one day when they have got “McLovin” for a friend, meet two crazy cops and one night of hilarious happenings?? Though it’s filled with rude language and a bit of nudity, it’s essentially about the two best friends who are afraid for their future without each other.

THE RIGHT THING

KNOCKED UP (2007)
– 4 out of 5 stars

Knocked Up is more realistic as it plays on the danger of one night stands and how drinking REALLY mars your vision, considering how pretty Alison (Katherine Heigl) hooks up with average guy Ben (Seth Cohen) under the influence of alcohol.

The story picks up when she discovers she’s pregnant and contacts Ben, requesting for help and support during the remaining seven months of her pregnancy. However, Ben seems to need more help than her; he does not have any income/savings and he smokes pot and watch porn with his friends daily. I guess the main draw of the film is seeing how Ben matures from a no-brainer to serious Joe, and does his best to win Alison back after disappointing the hormonally-imbalanced her too many a time. It also talks about the ‘sacrifices’ each gender has to make after they get married or have a child. In this case, it’s all fast-forwarded since the pregnancy is unexpected. The delivery scene is hilarious too, though I must say parts of it were rather explicit. The ‘crowning’ image shown (3 times within a minute) is similar but clearer than what was shown during Science class is secondary school. At the end of the movie, you’ll start to think that Ben is really a good guy after all, well at least better than most of the friends he hangs out with.

I liked the movie. I like Knocked Up‘s soundtrack too. Nice and relaxing tunes. Their website is cute too – using pregnancy test kits to signify ‘loading in process’.