Saturday, September 15, 2012
My Shopper review didn't get used this week because of space restraints (ah, life is fickle), so you'll see it next Saturday.
Along with learning life skills, I wrote six reviews this week. Four of those were on Thursday (two like the one below and two shorter ones). I was a machine. The other Liberal review is for upcoming Aussie film Mental, but an embargo prevents me from expressing my opinion for another week. I'll put that up when I can. For now, I avoided Madagascar 3 because I haven't seen number two and I want to beforehand. I can't wait to see Afro Circus although I've seen the trailer countless times. And yes, I've done the 10-minute survival on YouTube.
The Watch (MA15+)
ALIENS exist. Deal with it. They want to destroy Earth and
there’s no getting around it. That is the overwhelming conclusion cinema has
given us over time and 2012 has done nothing to dispel the theory. Not even
when some of Hollywood’s crudest names give us a comedy of orgies and boys
clubs amidst a picture of perfect American suburbia.
Glenview, Ohio is named by Evan (Ben Stiller) as the best
town in the best country on the best planet. He really loves the place,
creating numerous clubs and striving to be the best he can as senior manager at
a Costco warehouse. Like all things in life and at the movies though, things
starts to unravel. Evan’s store’s security guard is murdered and he is inspired
to create a neighbourhood watch group to catch the criminal responsible and do
more effective work than local cop Sgt. Bressman (Will Forte) can manage.
What starts to be serious intent from Evan turns into
something different as he befriends Bob (Vince Vaughn), Franklin (Jonah Hill)
and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade). They each have their own issues; Bob wants to
control his teenage daughter, Franklin is bitter about his rejection from the
police force and Jamarcus just wants to integrate into the community. It very
quickly turns into a boys club best at drinking beer and creating more trouble
in the neighbourhood than there was to start with.
Causing trouble is what we have come to know from this bunch
in their previous works. That and making jokes focused on the lower regions,
which there’s plenty of here as we find out it’s all in relation to the aliens
hanging around town that turn out to be the primary villains. Explicit language
is a must, but gratuitous sex scenes are thankfully minimal.
Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer, in his second feature
as director, is comfortable with the vulgar tone of the film. His cast are as
well, particularly Vaughn who shouts half his lines in excitement as many have
come to know and some have grown to love. Stiller as a serious man is at times
still surprising, and his ability to make something comic seemingly out of
nowhere is top range.
The men all play their roles with an awkward twist to them
and it makes for some good humour. Supporting cast, including an uncredited
Billy Crudup as Evan’s creepy neighbour, help push this momentum along. As “The
Watch” becomes increasingly doubtful about who it can trust, and as Evan starts
letting up just a little bit, the overall seriousness of the story lightens and
the gang have a bit of fun with what they manage to find in their
investigation.
The story covers a lot about family as they solve the town
mystery, particularly the angle of being truthful and looking out for those
around you. Forming the group becomes a symbol of that for these guys;
Neighbourhood Watch as we knew it may be well gone with the advent of networks
like Facebook but they want to stick to the old skool way of thought. From all
accounts they don’t look to be having a bad time with that, catching
extra-terrestrial bad guys and all.
Rating: 3/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 15/9/2012
MISSED THE LAST REVIEWS? See what I thought of Kath and Kimderella and Tootsie.
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