Showing posts with label Rogen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rogen. Show all posts

Green Hornet 1*

Highlights all in preview. Too typical of Seth Rogen - credited lead actor, writer, producer - his favorite word is sh-. Potentially the story of a goofy nerd super-hero idolizer in over his head with hard criminals who alienates his only friend and sidekick (hard to hear through accent). Instead, boozy selfish slob uses brains of only buddy Kato, and employee (Cameron Diaz, seen only at chest level - boring). Kato's high-tech engineering and Diaz as the duo's unknowing mastermind are the best parts.

Paul 1*

Paul is big-eyed small scrawny (thus appealing, harmless) alien captured in 1947 intro, who meets kind bumbling British nerds-next-door on RV trip of UFO U.S. highway highlights. Unfortunately Seth Rogen voices the lead, and even adlibs from supporting Bill Hader couldn't upgrade his typical boring repetitious unfunny trash-talk.

Jason Bateman and all the pursuing Men in Black, employed by evil-voice (Sigourney Weaver), deserve special mention for their straight faces, twists, and adlib contributions. The special effect alien took hundreds of animators and looks and acts real, but one I want to spend hours with. Some fun, but more at a drunk bachelor party or graduation from kindergarten level.

Like Star Trek's Vulcan Spock and robotic Data, human children learn both civilized courtesy and humor from adults. Like the toddler who laughs at repeated forbidden words, Rogen missed. >/br?
The shy healed bible-thumper girl learning to swear could have been funny. The disrespectful implication that 60 years of U.S. "military-grade" influence led to smoking, toking, cussing, is at least balanced by the gun plus fundamentalist equals unnecessary murder equation. Although "roll the dice" is repeated twice, I think the moral is choose your priority, your path, in favor of your friends who save your life. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paul/
Stars: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Seth Rogen (voice), Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig