Posts Tagged ‘Jack Black’

Shallow Hal (2001) Review

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Shallow Hal (2001)

Here is a neat movie which deals about perception. It shows how differently people are treated. I think most people would agree with this being a wonderful heartfelt film. A lot of the characters in this are identifiable to many and there easy to follow along with as the story unfolds. A film like this also appeals to many different age ranges. It was directed by the Farrelly brothers (Bobby and Peter). They also collaborated for the screenplay along with Sean Moynihan.

Jack Black stars as Hal who only sees women for their physical appearance only and not their personality so much. Things change for him as he meets up with Rosemary played by Gwyneth Paltrow. She is an overweight woman. Gwyneth wore a “fat suit” as she filmed this and many people didn’t even recognize her. Jason Alexander plays Mauricio who has his own self obsession and views about women as well. As you watch this film you will discover a secret about him. The late Joe Viterelli plays Steve Shanahan Rosemary’s father. He was often cast in mobster type roles or police men.

Hal discovers much more about life and relationships especially after being hypnotized by self help guru Tony Robbins played by Anthony Robbins. He in real life gives speeches and seminars to people in need of help and motivation in their lives, perhaps you have seen him on television at some point.

There are more interesting characters in this such as Walt played by Rene Kirby who in real life suffers from spina bifida which is a birth defect where the backbone and spinal canal don’t close before birth. He in real life leads a productive life despite his unfortunate circumstances and he has appeared in a few other film productions. Bruce McGill appears in this as Reverend Larson he has a pretty lengthy resume of film and television roles. Susan Ward plays Hal’s neighbor and once romantic interest named Jill. Zen Gesner plays Ralph, Brooke Burns is Katrina, Rob Moran is Second Tiffany, Joshua ‘Li’iBoy’ Shintani is Li’iBoy, Kyle Gass is Artie, Laura Kightlinger is Jen, and Nan Martin is Nurse Tanya Peeler.

The film was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Actor, Choice Actress, and Choice Movie. Overall, I think you will surely enjoy this one; there are some touching moments in it. And it deals with things they linger in our society among one another. I highly recommend seeing this one, it no doubt will become a classic over time.

Share and Enjoy:

  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Wikio
  • Netvibes
  • NewsVine
  • Propeller
  • RSS
  • Live

Year One (2009) Review

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Year One (2009)

We just finished this one, and I was constantly smiling and laughing. I can only recommend it to those with an open sense of humor. My wife also seemed to enjoy this, even with the ongoing sexual reference jokes. It is of course not a serious drama filled film. Instead, it is a crude rude look at the early days of society, and pokes fun of some key early biblical figures. It is a screwball comedy film, with Jack Black as Zed and Michael Cera as Oh playing the two central characters. The cute Juno Temple plays Eema the love interest of Oh and June Diane Raphael plays Maya the love interest of Zed. It was directed by comedic mastermind himself Harold Ramis. Harold Ramis plays the role of Adam in this also. The man is responsible for many great movies. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg.

This one will leave you laughing and giggling, but the concept was not entirely original. Nowadays, I guess it’s tough to come up with an original idea since nearly everything has been done already. Year One (2009) doesn’t take itself seriously, and that is a good thing. It is very much a fantasy story setting with the out of date continuity of time and over the top sequences.

I appreciated seeing Oliver Platt again as the High Priest an unusual role for him to take. David Cross plays Cain and his brother Abel is played by Paul Rudd who was uncredited for the part. Vinnie Jones appears as Sargon, you might also know him as Cain Marko aka Juggernaut from X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Hank Azaria plays an over the top Abraham. Isaac is played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Xander Berkeley appears in this as the King and Gia Carides is the Queen. Keep an eye open for Saturday Night Live man Horatio Sanz as Enmebaragesi. David Pasquesi plays the Prime Minister. Matthew Willig is Marlak and Princess Inanna is played by Olivia Wilde. Courtney Shay Young appears also in this as a Belly Dancer but was also uncredited.

I recommend this one for everyone, but it is not to everyone’s taste. I think some will find it revolting, and others will appreciate the primitive humor that was put in. The movie was never rated originally so, the recommended age would be 14 and over to see this.

Share and Enjoy:

  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Wikio
  • Netvibes
  • NewsVine
  • Propeller
  • RSS
  • Live