Trailer Alert: The Hangover Part II

Truth be told, I was avoiding the trailer for The Hangover: Part II. The whole movie just seemed like a bad idea. But I caved. And while there are some laughs to be had in the trailer, my fears were generally confirmed for one major reason – it looks like the same movie as The Hangover. Like, exactly the same, pretty much. Even more than I was expecting. Let’s take a look at the similarities:

• It’s the same bachelor party plot. Sure, this time it’s Stu getting married. But they really couldn’t think of a slightly different situation for them to get into? The storyline doesn’t have to be exclusive to weddings. There are SO many other scenarios they could put them in with similar outcomes.
• It’s the same “we lost the _____” plot. It may be the bride’s little brother this time, but it’s way too similar to the first film. Either pick the bachelor party OR the “we lost the _____” storyline. You could go so many different places with either while still keeping the spirit of the first film.
• Ken Jeong’s character is back. I didn’t even love his character in the first movie, and to make him a (seemingly) more major character this time around is overkill/
• Justin Bartha still isn’t in on the fun. Surely after the misadventures last time around, Doug would be allowed to get in on the fun. I get that it’s about the main three guys, but why both putting Doug in the movie if you’re just going to sideline him again?
• Monkey = baby
• Some of the scenes in the trailer look like they’re straight out of the first film (such as them waking up the morning after). Obviously, it’s fine to reference the original (and I did like Alan’s rehearsal speech about the “pact” at the beginning), but it seems pointless to completely recreate it.
• Tyson tattoo. Ugh.

Oh, and setting your movie in a foreign location doesn’t make it funnier or more interesting. If fact,
it’s usually quite the opposite. See: Sex and the City 2 (which this trailer reminded me of) and Couples Retreat.

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The Best of 2009

2009 gets a bit short-changed with everyone focussing on their “best of the decade” lists, but these are my picks for the best movies and albums of 2009. I haven’t heard nearly as many albums as I’d like to, and it’ll probably take me until half way through ’10 to catch up on all of the movies that I want to see from last year on DVD. But from what I’ve seen/heard, here are my lists:

Favourite Movies of 2009

1. (500) Days of Summer
2. Where the Wild Things Are
3. Adventureland
4. Sunshine Cleaning
5. Star Trek
6. The Hangover
7. Avatar
8. I Love You, Man
9. Away We Go
10. The Princess and the Frog

Favourite Albums of 2009

1. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
2. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
3. It’s Blitz! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Wilco (The Album) – Wilco
5. My Old, Familiar Friend – Brendan Benson
6. Fortress ‘Round My Heart – Ida Maria
7. Territory – Two Hours Traffic
8. It’s Not Me, It’s You – Lily Allen
9. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
10. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

2010 Golden Globe Nominations

 

Often considered the precursor to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes announced their nominees at the crack of dawn this morning. I made some predictions for the major film categories beforehand, and I was surprised to see that my predictions were 100% correct for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, and Best Supporting Actress. I haven’t seen many of the big Oscar contenders yet (like, basically, I’ve only seen Julie & Julia), but I’ve been following this awards season fairly closely. I might post some predictions for Globe winners, or Oscar nominees later on.

Here are some quick reactions to the nominations.

• I was thrilled to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt nominated for (500) Days of Summer, and for the film to be nominated in the Best Musical/Comedy category. It’s my favourite film of the year so far, and I’m glad that people haven’t forgotten about it in the deluge of big Oscar movies.
• The biggest surprise, for me, in the film categories was probably Tobey Maguire’s nomination for Brothers. I’m sure he’s good in it, but I’ve heard very little talk of awards for his performance. The iffy critical reviews didn’t seem to help his chances, either. I would have expected to see Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (who I had predicted), Viggo Mortensen for The Road, or Johnny Depp for Public Enemies in the fifth spot of the category (Clooney, Firth, Bridges, and Freeman were obvious nominees) long before Maguire. But I like when the awards shows keep things interesting with some surprise nominees.
• Sandra Bullock, Matt Damon, and Meryl Streep got double nominations (and in Streep’s case, it was two nominations in the same category!) And even though I’d been expecting it, I’m really confused as to why Bullock got nominated for The Proposal (I haven’t seen The Blind Side, so I can’t judge the validity of that nomination). She was fine in it, but I thought that category had so many other stronger contenders. I would have rather seen Amy Adams (for Sunshine Cleaning, or even Julie & Julia), Zooey Deschanel (though she was the weaker of the duo in 500 Days of Summer, she was still good in it), or Maya Rudolph (Away We Go) nominated instead.
• Though I haven’t seen their performances yet, I’m still glad to see these actors nominated, just because I like them J: Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Homes), Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria – wasn’t expecting that one!), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Julianne Moore (A Single Man)
• I don’t follow the Television awards too closely, but I was really happy to see Glee nominated for Best Comedy, and to see Lea Michelle, Matthew Morrison, and Jane Lynch all nominated! Pretty good for a show in its first season.
• When did it become a rule that Julia Roberts has to be nominated for a Globe for every film that she makes?
• I think that the Best Picture – Musical or Comedy category is a lot of fun. I like Julie and Julia, really liked The Hangover, and loved (500) Days of Summer. I have no idea who’s going to win this category, since early reviews of It’s Complicated and Nine seem a bit mixed.
• Could this be the year that a woman finally wins Best Director at the Oscars? I think Kathryn Bigelow has a good shot for The Hurt Locker. I’m sure she’ll get nominated, but she’ll have tough competition in Jason Reitman, James Cameron (who also happens to be her ex-husband), and even Clint Eastwood. It should be an interesting race.

To read the full list of Golden Globe nominees, click here.