112 - The 40 Year Old Virgin

Connection To THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER - Paul Rudd.

Before seeing The 40 Year Old Virgin, I already brought, watched and loved the DVDs for Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. So I actually think my mind going into this would be different to somebody who hadn't seen either of these shows would know despite the title that the film as the potential to have heart.

I think the title does make it sound like it will be American Pie but with an older character, a desperate odyssey for a virgin to finally get laid - but it's not really like that, it's his new friends that are pushing him to get laid, but the only way the truly know how to make him appeal to women is to give him Lothario traits that never suit him, but I think the message is actually the exact opposite to American Pie which message seem to be lose your cherry as soon as possible so there's no more pressure to this films hey just wait until you yourself are ready, which is ultimately the better message of the two for me.

While it does have something in common with American Pie and that is comedy set-pieces - the infamous chest waxing scene which Steve Carell did for real is probably the films most famous moment, though there is other funny scenes including Carell talking to Elizabeth Banks' book shop worker in only questions ("do you like to do it yourself?") and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann drunk driving are among the stand out scenes.

Overall Apatow's directorial debut is probably still his best film - the others haven't proven they have had the same re-watch-ability like this movie has. The cast are on super-form and has time to be a bit disgusting whilst still having a heart. Recommended.

110 - The Bling Ring

Connection To GET OVER IT - Kirsten Dunst who has a small role here.

Good on Sofia Coppola - she's managed to put the backlash of her perform in The Godfather Part III behind her and as managed to have a successful career as director, but me the truth is her films have ultimately left me cold, her most acclaimed film so far Lost In Translation just left me bored to tears if I'm honest and I'm a big Bill Murray fan and like Scarlett Johansson too.

I think the story intrigued me of The Bling Ring though, based on a true story in the Hollywood Hills, of a bunch of teenage criminals (mostly girls) who rob from celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom.

The sad truth is, yeah this left me cold like the majority of her work (Virgin Suicides in fairness I remember liking but it's been so long since I've seen it), like Lost In Translation or Marie Antoinette I felt nothing while watching it. It feels easier to write something when you loved it, or had so much fun watching it or the opposite end where the film was just so bad you can just have a go at what you didn't like about it.

The film brought to mind - Spring Breakers - though both are different films other then pretty girls commit crimes - in the fact that is really what is most memorable about them, we had some ex-Disney princesses in Spring Breakers going against type and here we have Emma Watson and others, I mean there is a lot of prettiness going on here but the entire thing was just nothingness.

The film feels like bored teenagers talking, do robbery, the aftermath, doing it again and repeating until they get caught, are we supposed to feel anything for these bored kids? Because I sure as hell don't, I don't necessarily ask to be able to identify with characters in films but I at least want to feel their motivations perhaps.

The person to me who came out of looking this film the best for me is actually Paris Hilton - who had a small non speaking role - she was one of the real celebrities robbed (multiple times) and actually lets her real house be used in the film, I thought that was actually pretty cool of her and she didn't mind letting herself look stupid.

Overall, the scores on the net suggest the score is a little bit of a notch above average, so there must be people out there who liked it but for me it was such a cold experience that I didn't end up really enjoying. 

25 - The Cable Guy

 Connection To 3 NINJAS KNUCKLE UP - Charles Napier

America, The World whatever... was just not ready for THIS Jim Carrey in 1996. The audience still wanted him bending over talking out of his butt and much was made of Carrey's $20 million fee for the movie, his run of movies before starting from the first Ace Ventura certainly showed he was bankable but a black comedy like this wouldn't have attracted the same audience even if Carrey took scale. In a different (later) time a movie directed by Ben Stiller and starring Carrey with roles for Jack Black and Owen Wilson and produced by Judd Apatow would sound like such a winner but it just wasn't to be.

I saw this initially in 1997, when I would have been 14/15 and I was one of the small number of British people who knew Jim Carrey was even before Ace Ventura, I knew him from In Living Color, Earth Girls Are Easy and because of them knew who he was when I saw him in his small role in The Dead Pool, so yeah when super-stardom came it was cool seeing it happen.

Anyway I digress and back to 1997, I'd seen all the stuff Carrey was doing post-Ace Ventura and this was a film I was going to see, but by the time I'd seen it, it had already flopped and being slated and in spite of that I enjoyed it, I recall watching it again around 2000 and still liking it, but haven't seen it since then so I'm curious to see if I still will enjoy a film I will defend some 14 years (maybe a touch more or less) as misunderstood and actually a really good black comedy. (all this first bit was actually written before the re-watch)...

Watching it now, I'm still on the side it's a good film - a good film with flaws, the overriding fact is to everyone watching is that Carrey's character is lonely but unhinged, Broderick really shouldn't have let it get that far even after the initial scenes with each other but it's still fun seeing Broderick let the all situation get out of control.

However one of my little problems is I don't think Broderick's character stands out enough, though you could argue he's another actor overshadowed by a force of nature in Carrey performance (I genuienly think the first actors to steal the show from Carrey where Cary Elwes in Liar Liar and Steve Carell in Bruce Almighty), but to be fair Owen Wilson in a smaller scene leaves an impression, Ben Stiller himself and Eric Roberts also pop in enjoyable bits.

There's it fair share of memorable scenes such as the karaoke scene or the jousting or even the aforementioned Owen Wilson scene and it's pace is not too bad. I'm not picking on Broderick here (because I've enjoyed him in plenty) but his scenes without Carrey tend to be some of the less interesting ones though if he shares the scene with Leslie Mann you have at least her to look at.

Overall a film that still as anchor of Carrey's price tag on it but still a film with enough redeeming qualities about it, no question about it though it's Carrey's film.