Hit And Run (2012)

Bradley Cooper and henchman walk in on a party of swinging septuagenarians.

At a glance:

In love on and offscreen:
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell
at the L.A. premiere.
(Eric Charbonneau/WireImage)

Hit and Run, to risk an obvious pun, is all hit-and-miss. Apparently impressively made under 10 weeks and under US $2 million, this road movie is a labour of love from Dax Shepard (The Freebie, 2010), who wrote, directed and even got his fiancée Kristen Bell (You Again, 2010) to play opposite him in it. I think she might have been producer, too. Their sweet pillow talk starts us off on an overwritten script, as we follow the couple on the road to L.A. in a custom '67 Lincoln Continental for a job interview, while bein chased by an assortment of maladjusted characters on both sides of the law. I'll leave you to discover them yourselves.

Bad news on the doorstep:

It's easy to blame the crowded cameos and fleetin characters but I suspect they would've been just perfect if only the romance between the lead pair was a wee bit more substantial. The winsome couple draw well from their real life chemistry but without a stronger reason to root for them, the heart of the story is absent and their elaborate dialogue tend to turn petty. Hit And Run is funny only in spurts and I reckon a more traditional storytellin dynamic would've turned this into a top act instead just shiftin gears for mild giggles in between.

Perennial wonderment:

A GPS-powered app to find gay dates in your area. Really? Yep. In real life, it's somethin called Grindr. Funny how much you might be missin out on just by bein on the straight and narrow, eh? On a related note, the movie is full of references to derogatory terms and I'm not entirely sure if I was alright with one or two gags that might actually be genuinely offensive to me. Hit And Run is clearly made to appeal to a certain portion of middle America and if I watched this a second time I might really think it was out of order.

Reminds me of:

Underwhelmin crime capers like Cat Run (2011). Shame. It had a few things goin for it but the end credit feelings are reminiscent of Larry Crown (2011) - cute and likeable but with a hole for a heart.

I can't remember if I cried:

When the crew walk in on some butt-naked septuagenarians about to get busy with their swing party. Wow. I ain't seen such graphic inelasticity since Les Textiles (2004).

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi? 
Maybe I had higher expectations for this because I was a little pumped up from watchin Mel Gibson's excellent Get The Gringo (2012) the previous night. Anyway, show some love to Dax Shepard for puttin his best foot forward. Hope he'll work on gettin a stronger story if he decides to do somethin wacky like this again. Man the guy can really drive!★★1/2
Bonus material:

Dax Shepard and the custom 1967 Lincoln Continental used in the movie.

Up In The Air (2009)

At a glance:
Commitment-phobia never looked sexier than when skirt-chasin extraordinaire George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, the cocksure, jet-settin elitist who spends all his time flyin, as the movie title suggests. For a drama with many depressive elements, Up In The Air is surprisingly just as upliftin as it sounds, as Thank You For Not Smoking and Juno director Jason Reitman predictably followed up those two thematically similar films with this one. No surprise then that it's in the runnin for Best Pic at the 82nd Oscars. Adapted off the 2001 Walter Kirn novel of the same name, we follow the globe-trottin Mr Bingham as he travels from city to city to fire people as a specialist consultant hired by bosses too gutless to drop the axe face-to-face when downsizin companies. He may call it 'career transition counsellin' but make no mistake, it's a dirty job of having to tell people they've lost their jobs. The story is enriched by his chance meet with an equally self-centred traveller who becomes his romantic interest (Alex Goran played by a delectable Vera Farmiga, The Departed) and also the introduction of a young, overly-idealistic, go-gettin colleague (Natalie Keener played by Anna Kendrick, Jessica in the Twilight movies) who has persuaded the boss (Jason Bateman) to try out a new semi-confrontational video conferencin method of firin people.
Most memorable line:
Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans... We are not swans. We are sharks.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Four stars. A refreshin, cynical take on our name brand society. It's only natural that Americans in particular warm up to this picture all too easily. While it isn't a morally punishin film, it is one with clear and sharp ideas on lifestyle choices and their correspondin consequences, with some very interestin scenes that play on a more sociological wide angle rather than a private behavioural breakdown. Followin the character arc of the very dislikeable Ryan Bingham is an engrossin prospect, as his values are tested and he even has the option of redemption. The film finishes strong and leaves you as a rather intimate, though wordy movie that entertains and rewards nevertheless. Very strong performances by the main cast will go some way to make this a worthy Best Picture contender.

State Of Play (2009)

At a glance:
Good example of an effective political thriller that doesn't try too hard, based on a BBC series some years ago. Fat fuck Russell Crowe (apparently no more fat roles for him after this, I remember readin) teams up with a cutesy Rachel McAdams as journalists who are on to a case of two seemingly unrelated deaths. Other players are Ben Affleck as a stiff Congressman, Robin Wright Penn as his resigned wife, Jason Bateman as an amazin PR prick and the ageless Helen Mirren as the brutal editor. Movie is entertainin. Clever, contained.
Perennial wonderment:
Russell Crowe. He has no right to act as well as he does in every role that he does.
Watch out for:
Some pretty suave humour from Russell Crowe's character.
Most memorable line:
When Russell Crowe's journo character complained about McAdams' online blogger: I've been here fifteen years, I've got a sixteen year old computer. She's been here fifteen minutes and she's got enough gear to launch a fuckin satellite.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Three and a half stars because the climax wasn't as satisfyin as it could've been. However, this is one of the most watchable films of its ilk in recent years. Never trust an editor, though.