He has Unfurnished Business. He’s the…
Vidiot
Week of July 4, 2014
They should invent a bed that turns into a couch. First up…
Bad Words
Thanks to SMS’ truncation of words, winning a spelling bee
nowadays is so EZ.
Even easier is entering as an adult, like the guy in this
comedy.
Forty-year-old Guy (Jason Bateman) hires a small-time
reporter (Kathryn Hahn) to detail his subjugation of a national spelling bee
for 10-year-olds.
To win, Guy must endure the vitriol of both parents (Rachael
Harris, Anjul Nigam) and administrators (Allison Janney, Philip Baker Hall).
Not until he befriends a competing speller (Rohan Chand)
does Guy loosen up and let slip the meaning of his mission.
The directorial debut of star Jason Bateman, Bad Words is a
valiant effort on both sides of the camera.
His contemptible character manages to strike an accord with
his adolescent co-star’s naivety, while his camera skills capture that great
comedic and dramatic interplay.
Incidentally, the only word spelling bee judges need to give
grown male contestants to spell is: Pedophile. Green Light
The Raid 2
The upside to working undercover is getting two paychecks at
the end of the week.
Unfortunately, the covert agent in this action movie isn’t
collecting on the dirty income.
Shortly after the events that left him the lone survivor of
his SWAT unit, Rama (Iko Uwais) is recruited to join a task force devoted to
weeding out corrupt cops.
With his wife and newborn in danger from mob retaliation,
Rama agrees to go to prison under the name Yuda to gain the trust of Uco
(Arifin Putra), the son of Jakarta’s biggest kingpin (Tio Pakusadewo).
Unbeknownst to Yuda, however, his involvement with the mafia
family comes during their turf war with their Japanese rivals.
Detached enough from the original to be accessible to
newcomers, this rapid-fire follow-up has more consistency and contains some of
the most mind-blowing fights sequences ever.
On the upside, gang wars typically involve Broadway style
song-and-dance numbers. Green Light
***Under Covered Up***
A Better Tomorrow 2
The hardest part of being an undercover cop is toning down
your evilness to fit in with low-level thugs.
Fortunately, it’s a former Triad member doing the
masquerading in this action movie.
After years in prison, Ho (Ti Lung) is released and
recruited by a task force intent on taking down a reputed counterfeiter, Lung
(Dean Shek).
With his brother Kit (Leslie Cheung) already under Lung’s
command, Ho agrees to help the police.
But it’s not Lung, Ho and Kit must worry about, it’s Lung’s
lackey (Shan Kwan), who’s usurping their leader.
With help from an old friend’s twin (Chow Yun-fat), Lung and
his loyalists set out to ruin his former empire.
While closely related to the characters from the first film,
this John Woo helmed sequel doesn’t require previous knowledge to impress
viewers with its stylized gunfights.
Incidentally, the best way to resolve Asian gang disputes is
over karaoke.
He’s a Kingpin-up. He’s the…
Vidiot
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