by LaRae Meadows, Contributor
The Pineapple Express is a comedy that could best be defined as the styles of Jackie Chan, Steven Segal and Cheech and Chong. A slow start and cheap jokes dull the brilliant luster that sometimes sparkles in The Pineapple Express.
Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a process server who loves to get stoned. He gets his marijuana from Saul Silver (James Franco), a good natured pot dealer. Saul gets a shipment of special pot and sells it to Dale right before he serves a process to a rich drug lord, Ted Jones (Danny R. McBride). Just as he's about to leave his car to serve the paperwork, he witnesses a murder performed by a female cop (Rosie Perez) and Mr. Jones. In his attempts to flee, Dale brings attention to himself. Through unusual investigative techniques Mr. Jones realizes Saul is Dale's dealer. Dale and Saul have to flee to stay alive.
The Pineapple Express is, at times, hysterical, but writers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Judd Apatow couldn't avoid throwing in cheap, overused, adolescent jokes that just make the movie uneven and badly timed. They even have the over done "looks like gay sex from a distance." As The Pineapple Express progresses, it picks up steam and hurls itself to the other side of comedy with lines that made me explode with laughter.
None of that sissy in your nose laughter one keeps to herself because it isn't worth sharing; laughter that wells up so quickly, she has to let it go or her gut might burst. Director David Gordon Green has all the momentum of the previous laughs barreling down the tracks and throws a gas tanker in front when he chooses to use cheap jokes once again.
A great deal of the aforementioned stomach ripping laughter came during "I can't believe they just did that" moments. The Pineapple Express proves the rule that comedy is just drama sped up! More than once I wanted to look away from the screen but I could not pull my attention away.
The push pull of timing made watching the movie exhausting and sometimes annoying but overall, I did have a good time. I wouldn't rush back to see it again but it wasn't a waste of time. If you really need a half an hour of really good laughs, then try The Pineapple Express out.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Pineapple Express
Friday, February 29, 2008
Goose On The Loose!
Comedy, Family
TBA 2008
"Goose!" centers on a young boy who befriends a talking goose in order to get over his mother's death. When he learns that the school's principal is fattening up the bird for a Christmas cook-off,
the boy join forces with his friends to save it. They plan to kidnap the principal's mother for ransom and get the bird to safety.
Toy Stroy 3
Family, Comedy
TBA 2008
In the 2010 film "Toy Story 3," Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is recalled to Taiwan after a series of malfunctions. Learning of a productwide recall, all the toys in Andy's room, under Woody's (Tom Hanks) leadership, head to Taiwan to save Buzz from doom.
Or, if you believe a quote in the Wall Street Journal, in February 2008, In "Toy Story 3" - "Woody the cowboy and his toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, leaves for college."
Christmas In Wonderland
Comedy, Family
TBA 2008
Three kids and their dad (Patrick Swayze) move from L.A to Edmonton. When they go shopping at West Edmonton Mall they find counterfeit cash. They inadvertently help catch the crooks, and later make a discovery about Santa.
Car Wars
Comedy
TBA 2008
A snobby Mercedes-Benz dealer (Dustin Hoffman) sees his kingdom crumble after a "Hollywood Classic Cars" shop opens up across the street. The new dealer (Dax Shepard) quickly befriends Hoffman's character despite his immense hostility.
Yes Man
Comedy
December 19, 2008
The story centers on a man who decides to change his life by saying yes to everything that comes his way.
Opus: The Last Christmas
Animation, Comedy
December 12, 2008
Opus the Penguin from the comic strip Bloom County will star in an animated feature from Dimension Films. Opus was created by Pulitzer Prize-winning Berkeley Breathed in 1980.
Madagascar: The Crate Escape
Family, Comedy, Animation
November 7, 2008
The sequel to the hit animated film Madagascar.
Igor
Animation, Comedy
October 24, 2008
A hunchbacked lab assistant has big dreams of becoming a mad scientist and winning the first place prize at the annual Evil Science Fair.
The Lonely Maiden
Comedy
October 17, 2008
The film centers on three museum security guards who have become attached to the artwork they've watched over for decades. When they learn their beloved pieces are to be transferred to another museum, they concoct a scheme to "steal" them back.
My Best Friend's Girl
Comedy
September 19, 2008
When guys get dumped, they hire Tank to take their exgirlfriends out on the worst date of their lives—an experience so horrible it sends them running gratefully back to their beaus. So when Tank's best friend, Dustin, is dumped by his new girlfriend, Tank naturally offers to help out—and ends up meeting the challenge of a lifetime. Smart, beautiful and headstrong, Alexis is the first girl who knows how to call his bluff, and Tank soon finds himself torn between his loyalty to Dustin and his love for his best friend's girl.
He Just Not That Into You
Comedy, Romance
August 01, 2008
A hard-line advice guy falls for a woman who seeks him out because she can''t figure out the men in her life.
Step Brothers
Comedy
July 25, 2008
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly will play coddled guys who live with their respective single parents. Their folks fall in love and marry, making the guys stepbrothers.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Mamma Mia!
Drama, Comedy
July 18, 2008
Meryl Streep will play the rebellious single mother of a bride-to be who never met her father. The daughter invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding, and the ensuing conflict triggers the performance of 22 Abba hits including "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All." Based on the crowd-pleasing musical that has played in 130 cities around the world and has grossed $1.6 billion since its 1999 opening.
Tropic Thunder
Comedy
July 11, 2008
Everything goes wrong during the making of a big budget war movie and the actors end up be comming the commandos they are playing.
You don't mess with the Zohan
Comedy
June 6, 2008
A Mossad agent fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.
Kung Fu Panda
Comedy
June 6, 2008
Kung Fu Panda features Jack Black as Po the Panda, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant, who is
a kung fu fanatic but whose shape doesn't exactly lend itself to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po's defining characteristic appears to be that he is the laziest of all the animals in ancient China. That's a problem because powerful enemies are at the gates, and all hopes have been pinned on a prophesy naming Po as the "Chosen One" to save the day. A group of martial arts masters are
going to need a black belt in patience if they are going to turn this slacker panda into a kung fu fighter before it's too late.
Sex and the City: The Movie
Comedy
May 30, 2008
Sex and the City is coming to the big screen in a feature film adaptation of the hit HBO television series. The film will follow the continuing adventures of the series four main characters - Carrie,
Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda - as they live their lives in Manhattan four years after the series ended. Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are all on board to reprise their roles, while the film will be written and directed by Michael Patrick King, who executive produced the original television series. Additionally, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler and Jason Lewis will return as the women's love interests. Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls") has also joined the cast of the film and will play Carrie Bradshaw's assistant, a new character to be introduced in the film.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Action, Comedy May 22, 2008
In 1957, Indiana Jones is thrust back in action, venturing into the jungles of South America in a race against Soviet agents to find the mystical Crystal Skull.
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo
Comedy
April 25, 2008
Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.
