Pineapple Express: Sour Pineapple Still Sweet

All aboard the funny train! Next stop, damnation. This is hardly an express, however; there will be many ludicrous stops and track derailments along the way. Despite the weeds, raucous Pineapple Express manages to transcend the average stoner movie and defines a genre all its own: bromance action comedy. Pulp Fiction meets Superbad meets Half Baked aside, a second-place gross of $22.4 million beneath juggernaut The Dark Knight at $26 million is no joke given the box office drag of a weekend.

Produced by comedy-famed Judd Apatow (of such works as Superbad, Knocked Up, and 40 Year Old Virgin), this pineapple doesn’t fall far from the tree. With rowdy marijuana-induced escapades, crooked cops, drug dealers and near-death bonding experiences, you’re in for a wild ride on the Cannabis train. As the latest entry to the stoner comedy fray however, it is one of the funniest in the line and riotously celebrates the genre while making it fresh and modern.

In other words, you won’t need a bag of grass to make this movie worth the admission.

Pineapple Express is surprisingly full of verve and wit, marvelously provided by the dynamic duo of druggy Dale Denton (the ubiquitous Seth Rogen) and dealer Saul Silver (a stunning James Franco). Shockingly interspersed brilliancies will have you wondering whether these are pothead degenerates or civic engineers speaking. The script and story (both splendidly co-written by Rogen and Apatow) engage and entertain you to no end, dotted with tender poignancies that will warm even the coldest critic. (How someone could remain cold while howling through the hilarious trip to survival of these two men, though, escapes me.)

Added to the mix, too, are a clever strand of satire and an honest hint of humility. Pineapple Express knows what kind of movie it is, and so isn’t afraid to laugh at itself when it incorporates action. You witness a film clearly crafted in good fun as it admits its faults and laughs with you. Even an entertaining game of “name that movie!” takes place as you notice references to such famous films as GoldenEye, Chariots of Fire, Rocky and Terminator.

And so Pineapple Express doesn’t try to be something it’s not. Rather, it embraces and upgrades its stoner roots. There is still plenty of surface level humor and action, but the deeper levels of life’s ironies and journeys come into play in Apatow’s story of struggle, rebellion, and friendship. This will certainly be the next big stoner-genre hit, and it deserves to be. Pineapple Express graciously delivers exuberant entertainment, so if you’re up for a wild ride, sit back and enjoy the show.

Mamma Mia: Oh, my!

Mamma Mia! sings not as a movie but as a light vacation from The Dark Knight. At a time when the box-office is dominated by male-targeted films, Mamma Mia! offers a breath of fresh air. Opening the very same weekend as The Dark Knight, it exceeded expectations with a $27.7 million domestic gross from audience members perhaps less-interested in the intensity of the new Batman. Outdrawing last summer’s Hairspray of the same genre, the movie’s first-weekend haul is number one for musicals and ably contributed to the box-office’s best weekend ever.

Breaking records in its own right, this summer’s musical fun will have you dancing at times but puzzling at others. Staying true to the ABBA-ridden, feisty play of the seventies, Mamma Mia! does have all the catchy songs, playful tunes, and sassy scandals you might remember. In order to fit all of those trademark Mamma Mia! moments in, however, some story coherency was sacrificed. Because of this, the film occasionally turns from a happy musical to a shocking thriller, complete with sneak-attack dance scenes and sudden bursts of song that will both startle and bewilder you.

All of that confusion is forgotten, though, when the irresistible “Mamma Mia!” refrain comes around. The credible nostalgia to the songs of old saves this movie from certain doom. (Perhaps, too, does the draw of the “who’s the daddy?” game: is it the adventurous Bill (Stellan Skarsgard)? The dreamy Sam (Pierce Brosnan)? Or the charming Harry (Colin Firth)? No one seems to remember!) Albeit jarring, the transitions from dialogue to lyric come as much-appreciated gifts, for they promise another enjoyable scene to keep your attention and enthusiasm high.

Mamma Mia! is choppy, yes, but it’s a sort of quantum progression that keeps the musical moving. Far from The Dark Knight’s perpetual climax—yet still not following the conventional model of rising action—Mamma Mia! jumps straight from slump to elation. If you’re up for the bumpy ride, the waves can be pretty enjoyable. (Not to mention that those waves are off the beautiful coast of Greece, where the movie was filmed.)

Mamma Mia! is, in a word, amusing. The story will entertain you with all its mischievous melodrama and those catchy melodies will certainly weasel their ways into your head. (Don’t think you can escape the dancing queen.) Meryl Streep as mother Donna is excellent, of course, fake laughter or not. She and her daughter, Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried, will quickly capture your hearts and make the touchingly archetypal mother-daughter moments all the more tender.

Between these two, six best friends, a husband-to-be, his bachelor buddies, and three father-could-bes, the only thing Mamma Mia! is missing is a partridge in a pair tree. There’s certainly enough to keep you occupied, especially if you count their alternate singing voices (or, as I like to them, the “other cast”). Feel free to join in, because there’s a high likelihood the sound from your mouth is better than the abomination from former-Bond Brosnan’s.

And so, Mamma Mia! will sure give you some good grins and giggles. It’s just a shame when you have to witness great actors brought down to the lip-synching level. But, I guess even Hollywood stars have bills to pay.

The Dark Knight: One Helluva Movie

You must experience this movie. You cannot just see it. The Dark Knight will grip, disturb, and stun you. It will leave your heart racing and your blood pumping. Director Christopher Nolan has created a cinematic masterpiece fit for the ages—a feat of craftsmanship and execution that makes prequel Batman Begins look like, well, the beginning. The Dark Knight has already soared to number one on the all-time biggest opening weekend list at $155.3 million; have you seen it yet?

The Dark Knight seizes you and never lets go. You don’t see this movie with your eyes for it lives in your mind. With a life-defining performance from Heath Ledger that rivals Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector, the film is more a psychological thriller than an action adventure. The Joker’s demonic smiles and maniacal cackles corkscrew into your head as you grit your teeth and tighten your grip. The disturbing unpredictability of a man devoid of all reason, motivation, and humanity keeps you glued to the screen, cringing in anticipation for another shock that you won’t see coming.

The plot, crafted around this evil incarnate, will consume you. The battle between good and evil has never been so dark, so real. Sanity and order hang by a thread, pummeled by the pervasive onslaught of a man that just wants to watch the world burn. He culminates through a horrifying grin: “madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.” Heath Ledger does not play The Joker, he is The Joker. Christian Bale does not play Batman, he is Batman. Even Aaron Eckhart does not play district attorney Harvey Dent, he is Harvey Dent. These actors are not characters in a movie; they are men in a villainous city. And they will make you believe.

Though born from comic books, The Dark Knight lives in our world. Cold, contorted reality. This is not a superhero movie; it is a hero movie. Batman is a man, vulnerable and haunted. You are not watching some invincible, campy character parade around a thug-overrun city; you are witnessing the struggle of one man wrestling with his inner demons as he battles the outer. Nolan’s Dark Knight is not so much a caped crusader as a symbol for mankind; a hope for decency in an indecent time; a hero we deserve, not need.

There is no wasted element in this masterful story. Beginning, middle, and end, you are captivated. Each character, every action, each and every word has purpose and intent larger than what’s happening on the screen. These heroes are not fighting for the people of Gotham; they are fighting for you. You cannot but be thrown into the tumult of duality as you relinquish watching a film for experiencing one. Their battle is your battle. This is not just a movie; it is a film of life’s struggles.

The Dark Knight will not merely entertain you, it will provoke you. It will engulf you and perturb you. Surround and thrill you. Amaze and shock you. This is a movie to break records with a cast to make history.

The Dark Knight. Experience it.