Movie Reviews By Movie Reviews Pro

Greenberg

Rating:

Movie: Greenberg (2010)

Studio : Scott Rudin Productions

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 107 min

Website : here

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcupdf

Review:

Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is the brother of Phillip Greenberg. The difference between them is that Phillip is a successful owner of a hotel chain with a healthy family with three kids and a dog in a large home in California. Roger Greenberg is a “do nothing” who lived in New York City as a carpenter with a mental breakdown who lives like an old man wishing it was twenty years ago.

Greenberg is a film about acknowledgement. Greenberg refuses to acknowledge people but wants to be acknowledged, particularly by those who had something to do with his past in California. As he attempts to find some way to bring back the things he loved in his high school days, he finds himself in a frustrating relationship with his brother’s personal assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig), who is almost twenty years younger than him and strangely resonates with his eccentric attitude. She is one of the only people who acknowledges and admires him, and he hates her for it as he tries to get people in his past to acknowledge him instead.

The only member of his past who is willing to be a part of his life again is Ivan (Rhys Ifans), an old band member with a son and an ex-wife that Roger refuses to acknowledge. Roger insists that Ivan leave the things that has happened to him while Roger was in New York while plotting with him on how to get back the ex-girlfriend that left him during high school so long ago.

It was difficult formulating what to say about this film. It’s awkward and clumsy at times, much like Roger. We don’t really understand him, but slowly start to see the pieces of his past that made him this way. Like Florence, we are strangely drawn to his eccentricities, and only when we see him interact and care for these new figures in life do we start to really acknowledge him.

This is definitely a film for the Wes Anderson crowd. Initially, I was even tempted to call this film another Rushmore (and, no, not in a good way). But thankfully, unlike most Wes Anderson films I’ve seen, director Noah Baumbach is generous with his clues and willing to give you some slack in order to “get it”. As you go further into the film and study the pieces, you start to acknowledge that this film really is more than you originally may have believed.

-Donald Lee

Comedy, Drama, In Theaters acknowledgement, Ben Stiller, greenberg, greta gerwig, review

Rating:

Movie: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Studio : 21 Laps Entertainment; 20th Century Fox

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 105min

Website : nightatthemuseummovie.com

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8626c

Review:

Battle of the Smithsonian is the sequel to the incredibly lucrative Night at the Museum, released in 2006. This movie picks up a few years after the first finished, and now Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is the creator of his own infomercial inventions company, home to items such as a glow in the dark flashlight. After discovering that his old museum is being absorbed by the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, Larry abandons his hectic schedule to answer a distress call from Jedediah Smith (Owen Wilson), which is one of the exhibits that have come to life. Jed and his crew are in possession of the Tablet of Akmenrah, an artifact integral to Kah Mun Rah’s (Hank Azaria) evil plot to take over the world. This relic becomes the center of battle, as both sides attempt to secure it.

Ben Stiller’s satisfactory performance is greatly overshadowed by Hank Azaria’s adept portrayal of a flamboyant Egyptian monarch hell-bent on global dominance; Amy Adams’ role of the adventurous, precocious Amelia Earhart is also superb. Several other actors have noteworthy performances as well, including Owen Wilson, Bill Hader as General Custer, and Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible.

Despite its remarkable special effects, a predictable storyline and ordinary comedy amass to a movie that seems to please only children, not the entire family. But for its genre, Battle of the Smithsonian most certainly delivers with a pure PG rating and sparkling clean humor that is perfectly fit for younger audiences. These factors, plus the inherent celebration of museums and history, make for a movie that is certainly worthy of a parent’s approval.

Night at the Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian opened in theaters nationwide on May 22, grossing nearly $54 million on its first weekend. It is now playing in theaters across the country.

-Daniel S.

Comedy, Family, In Theaters Ben Stiller, Comedy, Family, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum 2, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian