Alvin and the Chipmunks – The Squeakuel

It doesn’t take much to figure out that you are in for a really corny movie if you decided to pick up Alvin and the Chipmunks – The Squeakuel. Now which movie maker would in his right sense of mind name a movie The Squeakuel??? Now I am surprised that after the near disaster of a first movie, the makers actually went ahead with a sequel. And as we are all well aware, there is also a third one released quite recently. Aaargh. It is true that there is no dearth of suckers in this world. Especially suckers with children aged between 3 and 8 probably. Who else would be the target for a concept such as Alvin. I mean first of all, they are all squeaky squeaky. And not a nice squeaky like Chip ‘n Dale were but a very irritating squeaky like Chip n Dale but with a hint of chalk rubbing against a black board. Could not think of any other metaphor honestly. In a nut shell, really corny and really squeaky I must say. I guess I was kind of hoping against hope that the makers would have learnt from their previous mishap and improvised significantly on this one. Sadly not to be.
And then there is this aspect of changing directors. At least think about having some consistency people. You have a rep to protect and a brand to build. Unless you made all of the series together, you are going to be losing a ton of money because there is a distinct break in the chain when you change directors. Lets for a moment agree that there is no way you could have continued with Tim Hill. To begin with, he was indeed not much to look up to. So you had to pick up someone else. But did that someone else have to be Betty Thomas? Of John Tucker Must Die fame… or should I say infamy? The same Betty Thomas who gave us 28 Days and Doctor Dolittle? Please Madams and Sirs – Corny is what you should have expected I say. Not corny in an endearing sort of a way. But corny in an extremely irritating kind of way. Should I comment about the direction – forget it. No point really.

Add to the tacky direction a really sensational combination of an inhuman acting attempt in the form of Zachary Levi, Jason Lee and David Cross who continue to keep you on tenterhooks and if society had permitted it, you would have jumped onto the screen and torn it to shreds. Even the attractive female star cast cannot save the day. And if 3 chipmunks didn’t get to your nerves in the first part, you have to deal with 3 more in this one. And that too female chipmunks – The Chipettes – Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. But then if all of the above coupled with really slapstick American humour with some chipmunky romance thrown in for garnish is up your alley then you must watch this vastly over rated franchise again. I wouldn’t bother going down that road. 3 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi441844249/

Hall Pass

I have been really busy over the past few days. If I haven’t posted my review for the day or at least watched a movie then I get quite crabby and edgy. But when it comes to Hall Pass, although I saw it 3 days back, I haven’t really regretted not posting the review. I was even contemplating not reviewing it and my conscience said – “Sacrilegoous!!!! How can you deviate from the plan? Your 44 followers (get the hint folks – click on “FOLLOW”) will be so waiting for the review of Hall Pass. What would they say if they didn’t read it”? But the lazy part of me kept pushing it for later – I am a procrastinator. Why do something today when it can be done tomorrow? Nevertheless, my shock knew no bounds when in the movie listings of India’s largest selling tabloid, I could not find The Fighter (yes I haven’t seen it yet and you guys can stone me later) but HALL PASS was clearly staring at me and I almost stopped eating my breakfast. But then thankfully my faith in good movies was redeemed when I checked the PVR website (is anyone from PVR listening? This is free promotion!!!) and found that Hall Pass had only 3 shows and The Fighter had 4. I would probably have been much harsher than 3 shows. Maybe one show @ 9 am in some random cinema in the city just to keep the distributors happy. I mean, what were they thinking? Did they check the product out before putting it out there to torture us simple souls? Or is this their version of some sick joke?


Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Rick (Owen Wilson – heavily made up at that) have been married for a while now and have 3 kids. One cannot say that they are extremely happy or sad (that is the extent of lifelessness in the acting) or in trouble but they seem to be managing things. One thing for sure is that Rick hasn’t been getting any from Maggie for a while now. And Maggie hasn’t been putting herself out there either. Cut to Grace (Christina Applegate) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who are a bit more animated about their relationship status. Neither Rick nor Fred are the kind of men today that “they used to be” (GOD I have had it with that!!!!). And they are both dead sure that if they were out there for some ass then they would get it hands down. Regular story right? And all of us are well aware that it is not as easy as it used to be. But our 2 heroes continue to live in their false beliefs and are happy taking mental pictures of several HOT women who are on display through the entire movie. But when things get a little out of hand (no they don’t cheat or anything of the sort – just some domestic squabble) then the wives get together to give them a Hall Pass – a week off marriage where the husbands an do whatever they want to no questions asked. What the husbands forget is that the Hall Pass works both ways.

Yet another case of an interesting concept that has been totally hashed up into classic slap stick American Comedy which has more emphasis on showing women than actually showing some quality comedy. I have never been too much of a fan of Peter & Bobby Farrelly who gave us the likes of There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber, Stuck on You and Shallow Hal. All are movies that have been widely viewed – so I guess they make their money. But they still have to learn even the basics of movie making. I guess there are enough and more takers for slapstick. So what if it is cheap laughter. Its laughter anyways I guess. Cannot say much about any of the other aspects of movie making cause they were pretty much absent. If you liked the previous stuff that the Farrelly brothers have dished out then you may find this just a little bit lower in rating. I don’t think it deserved anything more than 3 on 10 and that too because of an interesting storyline and the fact that it was finished reasonably well. Yeah you can also say I give it a point for the hot women on display (I am being honest here). Really – don’t waste your time. Put in half the money into my account for saving it for you.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi811440665/

Going the Distance

Meet Garret (Justin Long) is your atypical man in his late twenties (presumably). His “boy next door” image ensures more often than not that he has company. He is not averse to being in a relationship but he just doesn’t know how to sustain it in the long term. He has no clue on the expectations of the fairer sex when in a relationship. To quote, “I didn’t get you a birthday gift coz you asked me not to”. Duh!!! Even I know what THAT means. After every such instance he finds himself at the local bar with his best friends Dan (Charlie Day) & Box (Jason Sudeikis) wondering what could have possibly gone wrong. Not getting drunk. Just getting his mind off. And if he is really off his mind then he indulges himself in a game of Centipede.


Meet Erin (Drew Barrymore) is 31 years old. Very Girl Next Door. She is studying journalism @ Stanford and stays in San Francisco with her sister Corrine (Christina Applegate). She is completing her internship in New York. A few twists of fate in her life led her to drop out of school and follow a guy all over the place (with no references to which places). But over time, realization dawns on her and she eventually gets dumped. She picks up the pieces and gets back to completing her grad school. She is an extremely basic woman with almost little or no hang ups – a man’s dream come true and decent looking to boot. And she is brilliant @ Centipede.

And if u haven’t made the connect yet, that’s how Garret and Erin meet. @ the local bar in New York over a game of Centipede. Garret interrupts her game rudely to say the least. However, when he realizes that she is “ËRL” – the highest scorer on that very Centipede machine – he is quick to apologise and offers to buy her a drink. Well cupid strikes. And quite quickly at that. Before you know it the two are getting really really REALLY close. This despite knowing that the affair can last for not more than 6 weeks coz Erin will be headed back to SFO after her internship. At the end of 6 weeks, Garret drops Erin off to the airport. Both of them have pretty much resigned to the end of the affair. However, they are unable to go through with it and decide to give the long distance relationship a really good shot.

Directed by Nanette Burstein (not known for much per se), GTD is quite funny in parts and very entertaining in the first half. It gets a but mushy towards the 2nd half where our cute couple are struggling to maintain the excitement in the Long Distance Relationship. But it doesn’t drag all over the place. The direction is quite decent. Both Drew Barrymore and Justin Long pull off an above average performance. The support cast is also quite entertaining. Not to mention that there have not been too many movies made on the topic. So definitely a different Rom Com positively. Worth a dekko and even an DVD rental or buy if you haven’t been able to catch up with it on the big screen. 5 on 10 for this one.