Extract Left a Bad Taste In Our Mouths

Brandon: I'm a big fan of Mike Judge's work over the years. Beavis and Butthead were controversial and hilarious when they first came out, King of the Hill was always under-appreciated while it was on TV, and Office Space is one of the funniest cult comedies of all time. When Extract came to DVD, I was certain we were in for a treat!

Jenni: Judge's writing has always been his strongest talent, and he's an expert when it comes to capturing the humor and heart found in conversations with everyday people. Extract introduces us to Joel Reynolds (Jason Bateman), the owner of a flavoring extract factory, who is struggling to cope with his potentially unfaithful wife, his own infatuation with his cute new employee (Mila Kunis), and the rest of his employees that are trying to take advantage of him. A plot like this should have been comedy gold for Judge.

Brandon: Yes, it should have been. In fact, the plot of Extract so closely resembles that of Office Space (as seen from management's point-of-view) it should have been an easy home run. What with a factory full of disgruntled employees, stoner best friends, idiot gigolos, and annoying neighbors, how could this not be an absolutely amusing movie? I'm still so confused as to how this turned into one of the most boring and humorless films I've seen in a long time.

Jenni: It broke my heart too. I mentioned how Mike Judge is a consistently incredible writer, and it seems like many of the jokes in the movie were probably very funny on paper. Something just didn't translate well when it went from script to film. Personally, I blame the acting. Jason Bateman's bumbling shtick was funny enough when he was on Arrested Development, but it's getting old in everything else that he does. I didn't like his character, and I hated how he got such a **SPOILER ALERT** happy ending when his actions were often just as deplorable as those of the rest of the characters. He was an inattentive, career-driven clod, so it's no wonder why his wife was so unaffectionate.

Brandon: I'm not such a Jason Bateman-hater. Sure, we've seen him play this character before, but it still seemed appropriate for the part. I am a Ben Affleck-hater though, and his character definitely could have gone. His "hilarious" stoner cameo was lame and pointless. But my dislike for Ben Affleck runs deep, so I can't attribute my hatred of this movie just to his presence in the film. No, I have to turn the focus back on Mike Judge. Although I applaud him as a writer, I really think it was his role as a director in this film that deserves the blame. There was some funny material hidden in there, but I think that the pacing and tone of the film just killed any humor that could have been had.

Jenni: Although I still place a lot of the blame on Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck - good point there, by the way - I agree that the directing and editing could have been tightened up a lot. I felt like the director had a shopping list of plot points he was trying to get to the audience, and we were just dragged from one scene to the next. Everything was very plodding, very deliberate, and very formulaic. Ultimately there was just no joy, and thus no humor in this movie.

Brandon: I agree, and you summed things up nicely there. This movie had tons of potential, but it had no heart. It doesn't get any recommendation from me either. And with that, the snobs are out for this week. Peace!

You can watch the trailer for Extract here.

The Snobs Check Out A Serious Man

Brandon: Ah, a Coen Brothers film! These guys are truly great filmmakers. I love how they take characters that are somehow representative of a particular group - such as North Dakotans in Fargo, aging hippies in The Big Lebowski, cowboys and bounty hunters in No Country for Old Men, and a 1960's Jewish family here in A Serious Man - and they place them in extraordinary situations to see how such a character would react. Their films are always fascinating character studies.



Jenni: This movie is no exception. Set in the 1960's, A Serious Man focuses on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a college physics professor and devout member of his Jewish community who struggles to maintain his faith while his life suddenly starts to fall apart. The Coen's take what appears to be a very simple premise, but they populate this narrative with such complex and fully developed characters that Larry's struggles seem epic.



Brandon: Larry struggles, a man of science confronted with a crisis of faith, all the while trying to do the "right" thing. On every side he is confronted with morally questionable, yet obviously easy escapes from his current trials. His story echoes that of the biblical Job, and I couldn't wait to see if Larry had a breaking point, or if he'd be able to overcome his adversity.



Jenni: But the movie's not all doom-and-gloom. In fact, I laughed my ass off following the story of Larry's teenage stoner son as he prepared for his bar mitzvah. And the best part of the movie had to be Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), who was the man having an affair with Larry's wife. His character was such a haughty, super-intellectual snob, and he totally stole every scene that he was in.


Brandon: I wish I could be as cool as Sy Ableman. Someday, maybe....


Jenni: Keep working on that. While you do that, I'll be recommending this movie to all of my friends. It's definitely the best movie that we've seen in a long while, and I'm really disappointed that it didn't receive more attention when it was in theaters last fall.


Brandon: Yeah, it wasn't in any of the multiplexes in our area, but I can see how such a character-driven drama wouldn't appeal to the general movie-going public. Regardless, I also give my hearty recommendation to this awesome film. And with that, the snobs are out. Peace!



You can watch the trailer for A Serious Man here.

This Time the Snobs Visit Zombieland

Brandon: I've been so excited for this movie to come out on DVD! Most of the reviews that I had seen for this film described it as the best zombie movie to come out in years. The trailer looks gruesome and hilarious, and I'd heard that it's got a super-awesome secret cameo near the end that totally kicks ass. This had the potential to be a truly epic flick!

Jenni: I was equally excited. Zombieland follows the adventures of a small group of survivors in a zombie-infested world. And that's it in a nutshell. Sure, there's some subplots about finding love and companionship in unlikely places, but it's really just about different ways to kill a zombie.

Brandon: Yup, and like all good zombie-shooting video games this movie's full of lots of guns and baseball bats and falling pianos and such to kill the never-ending throngs of the undead. If you're looking for a film full of crazy ways to kill brain-eating monsters, this movie's going to be right up your alley. But, if you're looking for anything more than that in this movie, you're going to be disappointed.

Jenni: Agreed. Was it funny? Sure it was, but all of the really funny parts were shown in the trailer. Worse than that, even the best zombie kills were shown in the commercials on TV. Was there human drama (love, laughter, despair)? To a degree, yes, but really any scene that didn't involve zombies felt like filler material. The main characters were very good at killing zombies, but they were terribly stupid when it came to anything else in their lives. I'm not even sure how any of them had survived as long as they had. The movie basically focused on them making really bad decisions and then having to hurriedly find a way out of the ensuing carnage.

Brandon: Yeah, I'm with you. I spent the whole movie shaking my head and thinking of how dumb the characters all were. At least Woody Harrelson's character was charismatic when he was on-screen - he was fun to watch kill zombies. But was Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine - really in that movie? She had what, maybe two lines through the whole thing? And Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg? My goodness, but those two actors are so completely dull, and there was absolutely no chemistry between them. I hate to belabor my distaste for Jesse Eisenberg (see our Adventureland review below), but how does he always end up with the girl in his films? He plays such boring and monotonous characters in every movie that I've seen him in. I suppose that in a zombie-filled wasteland, girls just don't have much else to choose from.

Jenni: You be nice to Jesse! Sure, he's not the brightest bulb in the box, but he's cute and sweet. Your jealousy won't keep me from loving him! I'm just sad that his movie wasn't as good as it had been hyped-up to be. Even the surprise cameo near the end couldn't save the film. If anything, that whole sequence just left me confused and thinking again of how stupid the non-zombies in Zombieland really were.

Brandon: Yes, this was such a disappointment. It just had so much potential! Unfortunately I won't be recommending this one to any of my friends. Rather, if you want a great zombie flick, go out and find a copy of 2002's 28 Days Later (not the terrible sequel). That was awesome zombie action! So until next time, the snobs are out. Peace!

You can watch the Zombieland trailer here.

What's All the Fuss About The Hurt Locker?

Brandon: The Hurt Locker's finally on DVD! After having topped many critics' lists of the top movies of 2009 and receiving almost 100 different awards nominations, now we can finally see if The Hurt Locker lives up to all of the hype.

Jenni: The film follows a U.S. Army bomb squad stationed in Iraq as they work to disarm the various deadly bombs that plague the country. This really was an incredible look at the dangers our troops face over in Iraq. And director Kathryn Bigelow sure knows how to direct a suspenseful action scene.

Brandon: True that. I found myself holding my breath during several tense sequences in the movie. It seemed like there were bad guys and bombs around every corner in that country. Yet, despite all of the danger, I was really impressed with how almost all of the Army characters were shown to act with restraint and respect towards the Iraqi people.

Jenni: I was also impressed by the way the U.S. soldiers were portrayed. That was also one of my big concerns going into this movie. I didn't want to watch another movie that focused on the political and military quagmire in which the U.S. is involved in the Middle East. Although the topics were touched upon, as is necessary when setting the stage for any Iraq war discussion, the points were not belabored. The characters recognized the situation they were in, and they did their best to deal with matters on a day-to-day basis.

Brandon: Again, an excellent point. The script was very sharp, and it was wise to let the drama and suspense of their situation engross the viewer, as opposed to adding too much moral discourse. As an action movie, it was very gripping. The various bomb-defusing scenes were captivating, and the occasional gun-battles with insurgent forces were also very well done. But this movie is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for Best Picture, and I'm not sure if it's necessarily the best movie of 2009. Action-packed? Yes. Great character study/drama? I don't think so.

Jenni: I have to agree with you there. Although I don't fault the actors themselves, I still walked away from the film uncertain about the main character's, SFC William James (Jeremy Renner), motives. He seemed like a competent bomb-diffusing professional, but he was a danger to all of those around him. It was hard to feel any real emotional connection with him since I was so appalled by his behavior most of the time. So while the movie was generally good, I was still very removed from the story emotionally.

Brandon: Exactly. So while I'd recommend this movie, if only to see what all of the critical buzz is about, I don't think it would win any Best Picture awards with me. And, with that, the snobs are out. Peace!

You can watch the trailer for The Hurt Locker here.