Hot Tub Time Machine

Four friends, with dead end lives, come together in hopes of recapturing their youth. They spend a night of heavy drinking in a magical hot tub that takes them back to 1986.

Ok so this is what happens when I go to movies late at night and by myself. I lose all sense of sound judgment and end up paying money to see Hot Tub Time Machine.

How is it possible that this stuff gets made? Let’s pause for a reflective moment – yes, I did in fact see this movie. Ok so aside from the ridiculous, I am sure that someone thought a DeLorean was silly too, here we have the opportunity to recreate Back to The Future. Did they succeed?!! Only if you were interested in seeing a car wreck.

I don’t really have time to give you a thorough break down as to the many reasons that this movie doesn’t work, so I will just give you a few notes:

A) The casting is so off. I love John Cusack and admit that I saw this movie mostly because he was in it, but this group of people is the most hodgepodge, unbelievable, unlikable, uncharismatic bunch of actors that one could assemble short of involving Pauly Shore and Carrot Top.
B) Here you have the chance, to make fun of all the conveniences, technological advancements, and trends of 2010 that were nowhere to be found in 1986 – aside from 2 lines of dialogue this was never done.
C) Everyone loves the idea of time travel; it’s charming and sentimental. Unfortunately those words will NEVER describe this movie. Instead lets try: inane, cockeyed, indecorous, fatuous, salacious, uncouth, licentious, and scatological.

* Not-A-Chance – For the love of Man, do not see this movie.

Rated R (for sexual content, nudity, drugs, language, and strong crude content)

Greenberg

Roger Greenberg just got out of a mental institution after having a nervous breakdown. He travels from New York to Los Angeles to house sit for his brother while he is away on vacation. Roger uses this time to reconnect with friends in the area, upon doing so, he realizes that his perception of friend is somewhat different than that of those around him. This leaves him to connect with Florence, his brothers’ personal assistant, who is herself another sort of lost soul.

I had heard such great things about this movie and Ben Stillers’ performance that despite my earlier protests at seeing this movie, I went. Hmmmm…. So yes, Stiller gives a very good performance, in that he perfectly creates a despicable, self centered, irritating, unredeemable character. I hated him. If that was the point, then bravo. This movie doesn’t have much of a story line or direction, just a glimpse at the random misguided lives of two people that find each other, and still are unhappy.

The performances are great; the awkward moments are sublimely developed in that the entire audience was squirming in their seats dreading the outcome of the moment. It was well made and the characters brilliantly crafted—but when it was all said and done, I still didn’t care and the story or lack there of doesn’t take you anywhere.

** Rentable

Rated R (for sex, drugs, and language)

Alice in Wonderland

Alice, now all grown up, must face the choices of an adult, but when pressured by her family and friends, she struggles with what is the right decision for her. While trying to wrap her head around all that is happening in her life she is again distracted by the white rabbit who once more leads her back down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland.

Ummmm. Yeah so this wasn’t as dark or as creepy as I expected a Tim Burton flick to be, nor was it outlandish enough to be fun or new. It was like The Never Ending Story meets The Chronicles of Narnia. I don’t really know how to explain it, other than it seemed as though they were trying to make Alice in Wonderland appealing to 8 to 13 year old boys. There are a lot of battle scenes, very little wonder, and I get that if you are going to have Johnny Depp in your movie you use him as much as possible – having said that, let’s take note that the Mad Hatter is a very minor character that is suddenly center stage.

Over all, the movie itself is odd, and not odd in a good way. The fun thing about the story and the cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland is that it feels very much like a dream. It is random and abstract. Things appear out of no where and the sense of fear comes from not knowing what is next. This movie never really captures that feeling and tries way too hard to have— meaning.

Neither imaginative nor dark enough to really make the trip back to Wonderland worth while.

** Rentable

Rated PG (for violence I suppose)