Extract
Really fighting the urge to go to sleep now and leave this post 'til tomorrow, but with expletivedleted on the horizon (*cough**cough* shameless plug *cough*go friend it*cough*cough*) I really need to condition myself to writing reviews right away. Dont wanna get behind when I got as many to watch and blog as I will when I start the AFI project.
Right, so Extract is the lastest from Mike Judge, the dude that brought us Office Space, Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and Idiocracy. I'll get right down to it, I wasn't exactly impressed by this one. Granted, I'll admit that I didnt like Office Space on the first go round either, but this one doesnt have enough quirk in it to ascend to cult status. And Im not convinced that subsequent viewings will make me love it over time, like what happened with Office Space.
Why was I not impressed? Frankly, I was just bored. It started off with so much potential. It has (what should have been) a fantastic cast (more on that in a minute), and the opening scene totally hooked me. But after a while the movie just wasnt progressing. There were loose ends just hanging out in the ether that were being mentioned but not acted on. Yes they eventually got wrapped up, but it felt like an unnecessarily long journey--without much journey. I know, Im not making sense. Maybe Im subconsciously trying to recreate my frustration for you.
So why did I say it should have been a fantastic cast? Love Jason Bateman, but he was playing every other Jason Bateman character ever. Not much new there. Likewise J K Simmons, who I also love, was playing every other J K Simmons character ever. With my recent KISS fascination, I was happy to see Gene Simmons' name in the opening credits. Then he came on screen and his hair scared me, and I couldnt get past that. David Koechner was at his most annoying level of socially-awkward-side-character. Dustin Milligan provided some nice eye candy, but was dumb as rocks to the point where I would have gladly given up the pretty just to not have him on screen again. I dont understand why Clifton Collins Jr keeps showing up in every other movie I see this year (Star Trek, Sunshine Cleaning, Crank 2, Boondock Saints 2 next month *squeal*). He was maybe just a hair over the top this time around. Nothing too remarkable about Kristin Wiig, but given that I tend to find her a bit excessive on the awkward, unremarkable is definitely an improvement.
There were a few saving graces in the ensemble. Heart Beth Grant, even though every time I see her on screen in anything all I can hear in my head is "Sometimes I doubt your commitment to sparkle motion!!". Yes she was playing the same character she always plays, but she always does so in small doses, so its a bit more forgivable. Interesting side note, this really tacky patchwork purse she had played a minor role in the film. At one point Jason Bateman says something about never having seen another purse like that ever. I actually have. My mom's got one just like it. Thats not a good thing. Moving on. I can't believe Im gonna say this, but I actually really liked Ben Afflec in this. He's really gotten a lot better in recent years. Not sure if its that he's not trying too hard anymore or what, but he made a great stoner. Although, I did kinda get sick of him once we got to the smoke out scene (not a spoiler, it was in the trailer!) but thankfully he mostly phased out after that. I think that scene is when I gave up on any sorta investment in the movie. By far, though, my favorite was Mila Kunis. Her storyline was the only one I actually cared about through the whole thing, and she played femme fatale cunning con artist beautifully.
Really quick, gotta say thank you LJ for that whole automatic draft saving thing. You saved my butt twice during this post.
So um yeah, not that much to this flick. More than anything I just kinda wanna get on with my life and go to sleep now. Night night.
Right, so Extract is the lastest from Mike Judge, the dude that brought us Office Space, Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and Idiocracy. I'll get right down to it, I wasn't exactly impressed by this one. Granted, I'll admit that I didnt like Office Space on the first go round either, but this one doesnt have enough quirk in it to ascend to cult status. And Im not convinced that subsequent viewings will make me love it over time, like what happened with Office Space.
Why was I not impressed? Frankly, I was just bored. It started off with so much potential. It has (what should have been) a fantastic cast (more on that in a minute), and the opening scene totally hooked me. But after a while the movie just wasnt progressing. There were loose ends just hanging out in the ether that were being mentioned but not acted on. Yes they eventually got wrapped up, but it felt like an unnecessarily long journey--without much journey. I know, Im not making sense. Maybe Im subconsciously trying to recreate my frustration for you.
So why did I say it should have been a fantastic cast? Love Jason Bateman, but he was playing every other Jason Bateman character ever. Not much new there. Likewise J K Simmons, who I also love, was playing every other J K Simmons character ever. With my recent KISS fascination, I was happy to see Gene Simmons' name in the opening credits. Then he came on screen and his hair scared me, and I couldnt get past that. David Koechner was at his most annoying level of socially-awkward-side-character. Dustin Milligan provided some nice eye candy, but was dumb as rocks to the point where I would have gladly given up the pretty just to not have him on screen again. I dont understand why Clifton Collins Jr keeps showing up in every other movie I see this year (Star Trek, Sunshine Cleaning, Crank 2, Boondock Saints 2 next month *squeal*). He was maybe just a hair over the top this time around. Nothing too remarkable about Kristin Wiig, but given that I tend to find her a bit excessive on the awkward, unremarkable is definitely an improvement.
There were a few saving graces in the ensemble. Heart Beth Grant, even though every time I see her on screen in anything all I can hear in my head is "Sometimes I doubt your commitment to sparkle motion!!". Yes she was playing the same character she always plays, but she always does so in small doses, so its a bit more forgivable. Interesting side note, this really tacky patchwork purse she had played a minor role in the film. At one point Jason Bateman says something about never having seen another purse like that ever. I actually have. My mom's got one just like it. Thats not a good thing. Moving on. I can't believe Im gonna say this, but I actually really liked Ben Afflec in this. He's really gotten a lot better in recent years. Not sure if its that he's not trying too hard anymore or what, but he made a great stoner. Although, I did kinda get sick of him once we got to the smoke out scene (not a spoiler, it was in the trailer!) but thankfully he mostly phased out after that. I think that scene is when I gave up on any sorta investment in the movie. By far, though, my favorite was Mila Kunis. Her storyline was the only one I actually cared about through the whole thing, and she played femme fatale cunning con artist beautifully.
Really quick, gotta say thank you LJ for that whole automatic draft saving thing. You saved my butt twice during this post.
So um yeah, not that much to this flick. More than anything I just kinda wanna get on with my life and go to sleep now. Night night.