The Lorax (2012) - M3/E5

I tried to go into this movie with no expectations, though I had read what the general response was from the critics.  I knew it was a movie about caring for the environment, but still remembered loving the story growing up.  After getting through 10 minutes of commercials and 25 minutes of trailers (with my daughter asking me each time a new trailer came up if it was the movie actually starting), the movie finally started, and I was hopeful.

It ended up being far from great, and will more than likely just disappear from my memory as a rather uneventful experience.  The movie was a fun kids show, lots of colors, and fun creatures; but the songs were less than memorable and the characters were not very interesting or deep, and the villain was completely annoying.  Why is it supposed to be funny to cast the villain as a mean, angry, short person? (My kids loved it, so I guess that's what they were going for.)

We are taught the same lesson that the book and the earlier animated feature teach us, that "unless" we take action and defend the trees, no one else can or will.  A much stronger moral (and the one my wife remembered from the book) was that "unless" we do something ourselves, we can't ever expect anything to get done - not only with respect to caring for the environment, but in every aspect of our lives.  Carpe diem!  Act now!

[Spoiler Alert]

The movie ends on a silly, corny, but positive note.  A movie suggesting action, is often better without offering a resolution (like what we're given in the original book/movie); giving the reader/viewer the opportunity to decide for him/herself what actions they need to take.  Instead we're given a crazy chase with the angry, tiny man trying to destroy the last truffula seed and the townsfolk changing their disdain for the boy with the seed to disdain for the tiny, angry man when they see what he's hidden from them (a dark and dreary wasteland).

Wait for this to come out on DVD to see it, and you will probably only enjoy it if you have small kids that you can watch it with.

Airplane! (1980) - M2.8/E5

I needed something light-hearted at the end of the day to help release some mysteriously acquired stress, and this helped. It is one of the most bizarre comedies I’ve seen in a while, and I’m not sure why it’s praised as one of the all time funniest movies. It had its moments, but still fell captive to cheap laughs (offensive material) for a small portion of the film.

Don’t let the PG rating fool you, not only is parental guidance more than suggested, I wouldn’t even recommend it for parents,

The one thing Airplane did have going for it, and did remarkably well, was constant play on words. I loved the random actions that would result from a statement that was taken literally. Here are a few great examples:

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Elaine Dickinson: You got a letter from headquarters this morning.
Ted Striker: What is it?
Elaine Dickinson: It's a big building where generals meet, but that's not important.

Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land?
Captain Oveur: I can't tell.
Rumack: You can tell me. I'm a doctor.
Captain Oveur: No. I mean I'm just not sure.
Rumack: Well, can't you take a guess?
Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two hours.
Rumack: You can't take a guess for another two hours?

Ted Striker: I flew single engine fighters in the Air Force, but this plane has four engines. It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether.
Rumack, Randy: [together] It's an entirely different kind of flying.

In addition to the play on words, Johnny was by far my favorite character (with Dr. Rumack coming in a close second). While not always working with a literal play on words, he would take lines out of context and exaggerate them for some extremely funny moments:

Striped controller: Bad news. The fog's getting thicker.
Johnny: [jumps to an overweight controller and shakes his gut] And Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger.

Reporter: What kind of plane is it?
Johnny: Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

Steve McCroskey: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...

Johnny: The tower, the tower! Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

Johnny: Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, Toto! It's a twister! It's a twister!

Rex Kramer: All right, I'll need three men up at the tower. You, Neubauer. You, Macias.
Johnny: Me, John, big tree!

Ok, so it sounds like I enjoyed it more than I mentioned earlier, but the total funny scenes probably took up 70% of the movie, while the rest was either boring or offensive. As with most comedies, everyone finds different things funny, offensive, and boring, so if you’re pleased for half the film, the writers are probably pleased.

If you’re looking for great comedy go find an Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis film.