The Hangover Part 2: My Review

I sat in the theater with my nachos in my lap anxiously awaiting that time to come when the theater would get filled, the previews would start and it gets extra dark because the movie is about to start. Soon there it was on the big screen, The Hangover Part 2 starring Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu) and Zach Galifianakis (Alan). Also, reprising their roles Justin Bartha (Doug) and Ken Jeong (Leslie Chow). There is even another cameo by Mike Tyson.

The film takes place two years later after the Las Vegas fiasco in Thailand where Stu is getting married to a woman named Lauren (Jamie Chung) and that is what brings the Wolfpack all together again. They go on the beach to have a beer and to celebrate Stu's upcoming wedding. Next scene Phil, Stu and Alan wake up groggy in a hotel room with a monkey and the rest is revealed during the course of the movie.

I don't want to ruin the movie for those of you that have not seen it yet, but basically: same premise, different place.

The movie is good and it gives you, the watcher nothing more or less. It definitely pushes the limits a bit. There are a couple scenes when the N-word is used, but it seems not to bother people particularly Black people. The word was not used toward anyone Black, but it was something that surprised me. Also, there is a short scene where the monkey is performing a simulated sex act.

Is it better than the first one? In my opinion NO. I say no because the first film was somewhat an original and this one just piggybacks off the first one which is the point of a sequel, but there is also room for originality in a sequel.

Overall I give The Hangover Part 2 a thumbs UP. Go join the millions of others that have already seen this film.

Summer Movies

June
1- Yellow Brick Road
3- X-Men: First Class
10- Super 8
17- The Green Lantern
24- Cars 2, Bad Teacher
29- Transformers: Dark of the Moon

July
1- Monte Carlo, Larry Crowne
8- Zookeeper
15- Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows: Part 2
22- Captain America: The First Avenger
29- The Smurfs, Cowboys and Aliens

August
5- Rise of the Planet of the Apes
12- Final Destination 5, Glee Live 3D, The Help
19- Conan The Barbarian, Fright Night
26- Apollo 18, Colombiana
31- The Debt

The Hangover Part 2 Controversy

Missouri tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill is suing Warner Bros. for copyright infringement for the tattoo he inked on boxer Mike Tyson's face. Mike Tyson did a cameo appearance in the first installment of The Hangover in 2009. Whitmill claims that the producers of The Hangover Part 2 used the tattoo without his permission. It appears on Stu's (Ed Helms) face. He wants to push back the release date of The Hangover Part 2 that is set to release in theaters on May 26, 2011. So far seems like that is not going to happen because it is still being advertised to release on that date.

Can a person really copyright a tattoo? I am not an attorney so I am giving my honest thoughts on the matter. I believe in some way it is possible to copyright a tattoo not from someone's personal use though. For example: A man walks into any tattoo parlor anywhere in the world and says he wants the Mike Tyson tattoo then the artist can draw it and put it on the person's body. Now in the case of The Hangover 2 a person cannot use it in a promotional way to sell something without getting the holder of the copyright permission.

With so many producers, co-producers, writers and lawyers that are in Hollywood and on movie sets something like this should not even happen. Although in all probability Warner Bros. will just settle with Whitmill it cannot be overlooked that this was a major screw up. All avenues have to be checked.

Was this all just a publicity stunt? This is possible because it will build more anticipation and make people that were not fans or seen the first film rush out and buy it on DVD or watch it OnDemand and fill the seats in the theater during the Memorial Day weekend, ergo making more money.

I will see it, but I was going to see it even before this controversy.

Hanna: My Thoughts, My Disappointment

When I first saw the trailer of the then upcoming movie Hanna the feeling bubbled up inside me that I just had to see it when it came out in theaters. If I would've known then what I know now I could've saved myself $11.00 and two hours of my life. Part of the problem with the film wasn't purely the writing or the poorly choreographed fight scenes. Part of the problem was me.

Yes, me, because I went into the film with high expectations and sadly I was disappointed. I was expecting an action film with a young girl doing skillful hand to hand combat, wielding weapons and shooting a bow and arrow, but what I got was just blah.

The movie Hanna tells the story of a young girl that lives with her father in the woods of Finland. Her father is ex-CIA and he trains her. Long story short one day Hanna tells her father that she is ready and gets detained by the CIA, but then escapes and is on the run. The only compliment I can give of this movie is that it was original, but just fell short.

Eric Bana, who plays Hanna's father, had the worst choreographed fight scenes I have ever seen in all my time of watching movies. Hanna, played by Saoirse Ronan, I feel played her part well. Hanna was timid, shy but yet a fighter. The movie could have been better, but there was a lot of fluff. I gave this movie a thumbs down. But I always say, judge for yourself don't just take my word for it.

Fast Five

I have been a fan of The Fast and The Furious franchise since the beginning so it was only befitting that I see the new installment, Fast Five. It brings back past characters from previous Fast and Furious movies such as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) all in the first film. Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) part of the 2 Fast 2 Furious film, Han Seoul-Oh (Sung Kang) casted in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. And Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), Tego Leo (Tego Calderon) and Rico Santos (Don Omar) were members of the Fast and Furious cast.

They are all brought together in Rio de Janerio to do a $100 million heist of the most powerful man in Rio. Since the movie is new I will not give any other details that may ruin it for those of you that have yet to see it. All I will say is that if you have enjoyed the previous Fast and Furious films then you will enjoy this one. It gives you nothing more and nothing less. The acting is decent and this film ties up some loose ends and answers some questions. Also a new edition to the Fast and Furious franchise is Dwayne Johnson. It is nice to see Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson going toe to toe with one another.

When I left the theater from seeing this film I asked myself a question: Will there be a Fast Six? I guess it is possible, but ultimately I think the answer is no. What do you think?

Salt: Movie or Reality?

In this age of heightened security and more naturalized citizens are being employed into government positions. Is the concept of the movie Salt just an act of brilliant creativity or a dangerous reality?

Salt focus' on a CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) agent named Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie, has worked as a spy for the United States. An unexpected Russian visitor to the CIA has a sit down with Salt in an interrogation room and tells her about Day X which is a Russian plot to bring the demise of the United States by killing the Russian president. He also tells her of sleeper agents trained from birth and the first experiment was of a young male baby that when was older replaced Lee Harvey Oswald and in the success of assassinating the United States President John F. Kennedy began to make more and more indoctrinated soldiers.

The Russian visitor, Vasilly Orlov, played by Daniel Olbrychski, causes dissension when he accuses Evelyn Salt of being a Russian spy. She then goes on the run to seek out the truth and the CIA is chasing right behind her more specifically her partner Ted Winter, played by Liev Schreiber and Agent Peabody, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Are sleeper agents in the United States government possible? I guess in this day and age anything is possible. All a person needs is the right documentation that can be either bought or altered. This is a scary thought, but a realistic one. With more foreigners, naturalized citizens and gain more positions in the government the concept of Salt could turn out to be real. Now days you a place and you can barely understand the person on the other end, but yet they will get the jobs, but Americans will not. Its almost maddening. You almost hope that there is no one that smart or sinister to think of such a plot that is ingenious.

Wall Street- Daily Movie Quote

Bud Fox is awaken by a phone call in the early morning and hears the voice of Gordon Gekko on the other end say,

"Money never sleeps, pal."

Before Charlie Sheen was known for the catch phrase "winning" and his iconic role on the hit CBS show Two and a Half Men he played Bud Fox, a young stockbroker anxious to get to the top of the Wall Street ladder in the 1987 Oliver Stone classic Wall Street.

Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, is a ruthless, deceptive, but wealthy big name on the Wall Street circuit and he becomes the mentor of Bud. Although his ideals are nothing honorable he lures in Bud with the promises of wealth and the perks that come with wealth such as a better place to live and a blond named Darien that you find out later in the movie is the former lover of Gordon Gekko.

Also appearing in the movie is Martin Sheen who plays Carl Fox. Carl is Bud's father. When I was watching this movie a question that popped in my head was, "I wonder what it was like to play a role where your father and son when your actually father and son?" I guess in those scenes maybe there wasn't much "acting" involved it was probably more of evoking a feeling.

I view the character of Bud Fox as smart, but naive and I see Gordon Gekko as manipulative and calculating. I feel that both Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas play their parts well.

I enjoy movie tidbits so here are a few: Oliver Stone originally met with Tom Cruise to play the role of Bud Fox, but Charlie Sheen had already been committed to the role. Also, the studio wanted Warren Beatty to play Gordon Gekko but he wasn't interested. Then Oliver Stone wanted Richard Gere, but he passed as well. He finally went with Michael Douglas despite being told not to. Finally, Oliver Stone gave Charlie Sheen the choice of picking either Jack Lemmon or Martin Sheen to play his father and he chose his actual father Martin Sheen.

If their is a person that has never seen Wall Street then I recommend you go to your local Best Buy, Barnes and Noble or go on Amazon.com and purchase this movie.

Daily Movie Quote

Today's quote comes from the 1939 film Gone With The Wind.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

The film Gone With The Wind is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning romance novel by Margaret Mitchell that was published in May 1936. The film and book are both set during the Civil War and Reconstruction and revolves around the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, Scarlett O'Hara. The film starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel.

This film won 10 Academy Awards and is said to be an iconic film and to be honest for actress Hattie McDaniel, a Black woman to win an Oscar for her portrayal at a time such as that her performance had to be AMAZING.

I chose this movie and this particular quote to publish because the American Film Institute (AFI) voted this quote as the number 1 movie quote of all time.

I haven't seen this movie, but wouldn't mind checking it out just to see what the buzz is all about.