Casa de mi Padre

First Hit:  This film was entertaining mostly because it was an obvious spoof with good acting.

Watching Will Ferrell (playing Armando) speak fluent Spanish and use his impish grin and questionable logic to tell this story was fun.

As you all note, I’m not a big Ferrell fan, but here he is good at keeping the film moving along. His character lives at home with his father Miguel Ernesto (played by Pedro Armendariz Jr.).

The juxtaposition between all the Mexican/Latin cast with the main character (Armando) being a Caucasian was hilarious. Armando’s brother, Raul (played by Diego Luna), comes home with his soon to be wife Sonia (played by Genesis Rodriguez) as a drug dealer who exclaims he really isn’t hurting anyone because it is the stupid Americans who require the drugs he sells.

There are moments where Raul mimics Pacino from Scarface which brought me to laughter.

The use of really bad animatronics was perfect.

The fake background scenes repeated over and over as they ride in the truck or the fake horse riding was perfect for this farce filled film.

Ferrell was good in this role and actually had me laughing multiple times. Efren Ramirez and Adrian Martinez as Esteban and Manuel respectively are perfect in their roles. Gael Garcia Bernal as “The Onza” held my attention whenever he was on the screen. Rodriguez was beautiful and engaging as Sonia the love interest. Andrew Steele wrote this funny script. Matt Piedmont directed this in mindful spoofy way.

Overall:  I was surprised that I liked what Will Ferrell did in this film and the tongue-in-cheek approach made it fun.

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

First Hit:  Although I didn’t anticipate much, this film was touching and more interesting than I originally thought.

Jeff (Jason Segel) lives at home. He’s over 30 years old, watches the film “Signs” often, smokes a lot of pot, and is totally lost in his life.

Trying to find his way, he looks for his own signs that will give him a clearer picture of what he needs to do with his life. Jeff is a pacifist and mourns the loss of his father.

His brother Pat (played by Ed Helms) is struggling in his marriage to Linda (Judy Greer) and is trying to spice his life up with a new car. Jeff and Pat’s mother Sharon (played by Susan Sarandon) works in an office, doesn’t know how to motivate her son Jeff and is being admired by someone in her office.

Jeff gets a call from someone who is asking for “Kevin”. There is no Kevin so Jeff, while on an errand for his mom, leaves the house and then runs into a young man with “Kevin” written on his shirt. He thinks it is a sign. He eventually runs into his brother Pat.

Pat on the other hand, has bought a Porsche which he and his wife cannot afford because he thinks he’s missing out on life. They run into Linda who is meeting up with a male friend. Sad that Pat doesn’t talk with or listen to her any longer, she ends up in a hotel room with him.

Then Sharon getting anonymous instant messages from someone at the office has her in an emotional tizzy. The ingredients are interesting and result in a very nice finale.

Segel is very good as Jeff the wayward slacker lost in life. Helms is good as the highly wound-up brother who just wants something different in his life and doesn’t see he needs to look within. Sarandon is wonderful as the lost mother of two boys who are on their own unhealthy paths. Greer is great as the wife who has had enough and wants things to change. It was very nice to see Rae Dawn Chong again in her role as Sharon’s office friend. Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass co-wrote and co-directed this pleasantly interesting and engaging film.

Overall: This is a thoughtful and interesting film.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

First Hit:  This was a very delightful film to watch.

Sheikh Mohammed (played by Amr Waked) believes that by introducing Salmon fishing in Yemen, his countrymen will learn patience while creating a new food resource, (with the fish and using the water to make the desert green) and an appreciation for life itself.

Harriet (played by Emily Blunt) works for a British investment company that manages much of the Sheikh’s money. There is a skirmish in the Middle East and the British and 10 Downing Street want to deflect the negative press by creating a feel good story.

They pick this idea of introducing Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The guy charged with this from the fisheries department is Dr. Alfred Jones (played by Ewan McGregor). He scoffs at this idea and turns them down.

But the Prime Minister guided by his press secretary Patricia Maxwell (played by Kristin Scott Thomas) orders Alfred to take the project on. At home Dr. Jones’ married life is very sterile and the defining moment is a scene where he and his wife make love. Harriet is involved in the project because she is the lead for the Sheikh.

One of the themes in this film is “faith”. The Sheikh poses the discussion of faith at various moments and he does this effectively. The humor between the uptight Dr. Jones and the open Harriet was perfect.

Although this film is formulaic, it executes in its own unique way.

Waked was beautiful in his execution of the Sheikh’s role. The “1,000 apologies” statement when he has an argument with a fellow countryman was perfect as was his fishing in his robes. Blunt is amazing in her performance. She can be vulnerable, strong, and beautiful all in the same moment. Here she does this perfectly and her voice – simply intoxicating. McGregor was sublime as an uptight intellectual who prefers talking with fish versus humans. As he unfolds his life in-front of the Sheikh and Harriet, he unfolds his life in front of himself. McGregor was extremely effective doing this. Scott Thomas was funny and in full bloom in this characterization of an overzealous PR person for a head of government. Simon Beaufoy and Paul Torday wrote a fun and poignant script. Lasse Hallstrom directed this film with a wonderfully perceptive hand while paying attention to the subtle details that make films good.

Overall: This is a joyous and enjoyable film – worth watching.

Project X

First Hit:  There wasn’t any acting because none was required.

This film is quite simply about a party that got away from itself.

The likelihood that high school kid could have a party like this in the neighborhood and house he was living in without the cops stopping it before it got the size it did is highly unlikely. The point, or so it seems in this film, is that a nerdy kid can make a lasting name for himself if he has a party of epic proportions.

Besides all this, the film was shot so that the audience was viewing it from an attendees camera point of view. This is the most interesting thing about this film.

The three main subjects Thomas (played by Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and JB (played by Jonathan Daniel Brown) hired Dax (played by Dax Flame) to film the entire event. This was the inventive part of the film because it was as if none of the actors were acting, they just had a party and filmed it.

The love interest in the film was between Thomas and Kirby (played by Kirby Bliss Blanton) which, of course had its ups, downs and up.

Mann was good as the kid who wanted to be more “in” but had some, but not acted upon, consciousness about how to go about it. Cooper was the real driver of the party to fulfill his own whims and wishes. As this character he did a very good job. Was he likable? Not really. Brown was fine as the overweight kid who was always the third wheel and who comes out of his shell a bit during the party. Flame was on camera, I think, three times and was perfect as the cameraman. He had the right look and answers to questions. Blanton was beautifully engaging and good as the girl who was willing to take a friendship with Thomas a little farther. Matt Drake and Michael Bacall wrote the script and I’m not sure of the inspiration except maybe through other films like Animal House and The Hangover movies. Nima Nourizadeh directed this and I’m sure in some ways it must have been both easy and difficult.

Overall: Not an inspiring or interesting film and outside of high school boys, I’m hard pressed to know who the audience is.

A Thousand Words

First Hit:  An uneven film but the point regarding forgiveness is spot on.

Jack McCall (played by Eddie Murphy) is a fast talking, truth stretching literary agent.

He prides himself in being able to talk anyone into anything. He bullshits people left and right and by doing so has become one of the top literary agents in LA. To land what he thinks will be the book of the century by guru and new age teacher Dr. Sinja (played by Cliff Curtis) he visits his ashram and slyly convinces him to handle his book.

While there he touches a Bodhi tree and cuts himself. The tree feels/senses him and decides to pop-up in his backyard. As soon as he speaks leaves start dropping off the tree. Congruently, as leaves fall he doesn't feel well. Dr. Sinja tells him that when the last leaf falls he may die.

There only about 1,000 leaves left. The set-up is OK because we all know Murphy can talk. But is at this point the film loses its way.

There are funny moments, like at Starbucks when he is trying to pantomime his coffee order, but I thought the blind man crossing the street bit was too made up, wasn’t funny nor did it add to the film.

This is how the film unfolded, up and down and not holding together. What did work for me, because it is one of my principles of freedom, is that he figures out that living is about forgiveness. When he does, his life turns around.

Murphy was very uneven in this film. When he shines, it is bright, but otherwise it wasn't that funny or interesting. I think this was more of an issue of writing and direction than Murphy’s acting. Curtis is mediocre as a new age guru. Kerry Washington (playing Murphy’s wife) was OK, but not very compassionate as a wife and her character came off as selfish. Clark Duke played Murphy’s assistant and again this performance was very uneven but I don’t know how much of it was poor writing. Jack McBrayer was very good as the Beatle loving Starbucks Barista. Steve Koren wrote a very uneven script. Brian Robbins directed this and it was all over the map. Some wonderful scenes and some dreadful scenes, like the blind man scene.

Overall: This is, at best, a video film to watch on a Sunday evening.