New To DVD: Pineapple Express

Out today (January 6th) …

check out JB’s review on the Pineapple Express while it was in theatre.

In The Valley of Elah : Movie Review

I wanted to see this movie the first time that I saw the trailer, in fact, I was chomping at the bit. Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and written and directed by Paul Haggis… it has awesome written all over it, right? Not so much it seems.

While it took me some time to get to see the movie, I was not disappointed by it, but it really didn’t thrill me at all. I suppose it basically just became “movie of the week” material to me. Charlize Theron’s character was pretty reminicent of her character in North Country, too butch and unfeeling. Charlize has those doey eyes that lend so well to warm tender scenes, apologies to Charlize if that’s too type cast, but it’s what I see. And I’m certainly not downplaying her performance in North Country, which I throughly enjoyed, I just wish that I could say the same about her character in this movie.

Haggis’ story is such a great concept, ‘how do trained killers behave when not in the kill zone?’. There is just too much story missing, not enough back information or character development. It makes for a very lackluster movie, that seems to drag on, with the viewer gagging for an ending to tie it all together.

Jason Patric’s character was decent, but I was surprised to find out that James Franco was even in the movie. I’m still trying to figure out who he was… that does not say much for Franco, even less for his character.

I give this movie 5 ‘blue cars under yellow lights’ out of 10.

Pineapple Express Movie Review

Pineapple Express is the latest addition to the stoner-buddy movie hall of fame, making its way to the top of the pile for putting on a fresh satirical spin to the otherwise overplayed genre.

Seth Rogen brings on the sweet and goofy goodness to yet another Judd Apatow-produced movie as Dale Denton, the process server whose pot habits lead him down a winding path of hilarious disaster and destruction. James Franco, another Apatow vet from the Freaks and Geeks days, sheds his usual brooding heartthrob persona to play the part of flaky drug dealer Saul Silver, who is looking to make friends and enough cash to support his Bubbie’s nursing home bill.

Dale is under the firm impression that you can’t be friends with your drug dealer, but when the going gets tough, Dale runs straight to Saul for help. After purchasing a rare and potent strand of weed from Saul, Dale leaves to deliver a subpoena to one of the main drug lords in town, Ted Jones (Gary Cole). Incidentally, Jones is embroiled in a drug war with “the Asians.” While smoking a pre-work joint outside the drug lord’s home, Dale witnesses the murder of one of the Asian spies by Jones and his paid dirty cop (Rosie Perez). He flees the scene to run to Saul’s, but not before throwing out his roach full of Pineapple Express out the window. Dale accurately deduces that the bad guys will be able to trace the wasted rare doobie back to Saul, so they must go on the run.

Dale and Saul are then on the lam from Jones’s hit men, a bickering semi-unprofessional duo played by Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson. They try and get help from Saul’s quirky supplier Red (Danny McBride), who easily flips on them but redeems himself later on. Also, while juggling trying to survive being hunted down by dirty cops and drug lords, Dale also has to deal with meeting his girlfriend Angie’s parents for the first time. By the way, his girlfriend, played by Amber Heard, is a senior… in high school. Throw in one of the funniest car chase scenes ever produced, plenty of gunfire, big explosions, and a smattering of dead bodies, and you have a good time on your hands.

There are enough juvenile jokes, homosexual undertones, and ad-libbed dialogue to choke on, but it seems fitting considering the subject matter. Also in the movie are dozens of cameos pulled from Apatow’s cast goodie bag. And, of course, there are half-naked men carrying their BFFFs (best “effing” friends forever) out of harm’s way to save the day. Combined with the non-condescending satirical outlook on pot, and Rogen’s and Franco’s incomparable comedic partnership, Pineapple Express is elevated to a higher level of comedy; one that, instead of focusing entirely on the obvious for humour, concentrates on the connections and friendships to draw on for material.

It’s not quite just a stoner movie, and it’s not entirely an action-packed cops-and-bad-guys flick, but it is funny and, above all else, another signature “bromance” movie brought to us by Apatow’s creative team. Take a deep breath and inhale the funny.

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