The original STEP BROTHERS

Will Farrell is an original funnyman. No one has enjoyed a career essentially playing themselves for so long since Jim Carrey in his Ace Venture/Dumb & Dumber phase. I don’t deny his talents, his utter fearlessness, and astounding absurdities. Farrell is the real deal.

John C. Reilly is a truly original actor. He’s a sensitive Everyman who isn’t given enough opportunities to shine. Every role he takes is of an unsung hero just like his life. He commits fully to his craft life few other actors of this generation, and when given the right co-stars, he feeds off that energy and morphs into the role he’s given.

STEP BROTHERS is not an original movie. The concept of two 40 year olds acting as adolescents is original. When the concept broken down and stripped to a nut sack on a snare drum, this is a “Buddy Movie” in the style of Steve Martin and John Candy in PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES, Abbott and Costello, or (the aforementioned) Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in DUMB AND DUMBER…only not as good.

Comedy can be dumb and silly. Comedy can be thoughtful. But comedy demands heart for it to be palatable. Without heart, it becomes difficult to care about the character’s careless antics. As such, it is difficult to care about Brennan (Farrell) and Dale (Reilly).

This isn’t a slight on Farrell’s or Reilly’s comedic ability. They made as much as they could from what they were given. The fault lies on their writing abilities to produce an adequate script (also written by the two stars). It almost felt like they were relying on old jokes and just “phoning it in” instead of pushing the envelope.

I found myself caring more for their father (step-father), Robert (Richard Jenkins of SIX FEET UNDER), who displays the most depth in this movie. His dreams of traveling around the world on a boat are shattered as quickly as the brothers shattered his boat on some rocks. Only when they realize Robert’s pain do they try to make amends and grow up. But even here, this seems forced and out of character for them.

Still, STEP BROTHERS does offer a few laughs (most of which are given away in the trailer), and a good fill of Will Farrell. Not one of his best movies (ANCHORMAN), not his worst (NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY), and better than the dated SEMI-PRO. This is a movie in search of a heart.

6.9 “Boats and Hos” out of 10

Heath Ledger's THE DARK KNIGHT

Now THIS is why I love movies. The high-octane action. The palpable tension between characters. Smart dialogue. Brilliant cinematics. And one actor who created a character so intriguing, so full of joie-de-vie that they could've made a movie all about him...and they did. It's called THE DARK KNIGHT.

In the second installment to the newer darker grittier Batman series (BATMAN BEGINS being the first), we are introduced to a villain who not only dominates and outsmarts the Caped Crusader but also over-shadows this flick with a demented red war-painted grin. Everything you've heard about Heath Ledger playing The Joker is true. I was skeptical. I felt his death might've blown up his celebrity status and created a posthumous congratulatory hue over this role. But I was wrong. Even if Ledger didn't tragically pass away earlier this year, he deserved every accolade the movie world can give him. Not only does he reinvent The Joker into someone who's likable, understandable, funny, and terrifying (in the A CLOCKWORK ORANGE way), he's created a villain in par with other great antagonists in history like Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader.

No disrespect to Jack Nicholson who also did a great job as The Joker in BATMAN from 1989 but comparing these two roles is like comparing who makes a better Hamlet. You can but both are distinctly different visions and neither are better nor worse than the other. However, Ledger's darker version will ultimately become the most memorable considering the circumstances that surrounds this role.

Christian Bale is excellent as Batman/Bruce Wayne again. But even this always raspy Batman (who probably needs a Bat-lozenge to sooth his throat) and all his awesome technology (the Bat-bike is what dreams are made of) is only a side-show to The Joker.

And Aaron Eckhart as Harvey "Two-Face" Dent starts out as bland as vanilla ice cream until he becomes horribly scared and warped by The Joker. Eckhart's Two-Face is also based in reality (albeit a bit of suspension of this reality is needed in order to believe he'd survive what happens to him) which is why this movie works so well. On some strange level, all these characters are plausible to some degree.

Other notable nods to Maggie Gyllenhall as Harvey Dent's girlfriend, Michael Caine as Batman's butler, and Morgan Freeman as Batman's gadget maker.

THE DARK KNIGHT is not too far off from a classic and is the new pinnacle to what superhero movies should be. With the exception of some slow parts involving Harvey Dent, this movie is worth two, three or four viewings...even if only to see Heath Ledger as The Joker.

9.7 Wild Jokers out of 10

A HANCOCK Intervention

On tonight's special episode of A&E's Intervention, we have a movie about raging alcoholic with confidence and uncontrolled destruction issues named HANCOCK.

H.A.N.C.O.C.K. (for those who've seen the show Intervention will get that.)

Oh yeah, and did we mention he also is a loner superhero with a chip on his shoulder. HANCOCK (played by the charming Will Smith) relies on drinking 40's of whatever liquor he can find to numb his pain. People of Los Angeles (called Angelinos...who knew?) nudge this reluctant saviour from his drunken stupor whenever there's "bad guys" around. Meanwhile, Hancock would rather be left alone in this lonely lonely world where he is the only one of his kind...hence the drinking to cope. And if it weren't for the "bad guys", the city would rather him leave to protect themselves from his destructive rampages.

There's a lot of fun in this part of the movie (about the first 40 minutes). We have a unique and likeable character unlike any other superhero we've seen before. He doesn't disguise who he is (wears ratty clothes), makes no compromises or excuses, and doesn't care what destruction he causes as long as he saves the innocent people. You either take him or leave him. He doesn't care. It's funny, fast-paced, and glowing of something special (probably a liquor buzz).

Then comes the intervention in the form of Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), a marketing entrepreneur trying to get his business off the ground. He takes Hancock under his wing to sanitize his image and to become more accessible to the public.

And thus Hancock is cured...and the movie turns into the sanitized superhero movie we've all become accustomed to. There are twists to keep the movie going and the action sequences are on par with SUPERMAN RETURNS or HULK. But the magic of HANCOCK disappears as soon as they pry the bottle out of his chaffed and soiled hands.

(Beware! Writer's Rant ahead!) If a new hero character is to survive in this Marvel and DC world, he or she needs to be completely one-of-a-kind. A drunk foul-mouthed wreckless superhero who doesn't like his job is such a character. Turning him into Superman in an X-Men suit is not. This movie would've been better if he tried out his new clean cut version, rejected it but still saved the day. He's the hero of anti-heroes. An imperfect being for an imperfect world (like HELLBOY). Instead, we get a superhero movie that may be forgotten in the summer of superhero movies.

HANCOCK isn't a bad movie. It's very entertaining and best viewed on a large screen to get the full effect. It's your typical summer fare that I enjoy this time of year: sit back, eat your popcorn, and get ready for take-off with not much thinking involved or consideration for plot holes. It's just in a summer when IRONMAN was released, HANCOCK pales in comparison.

7.8 Bottles of Hooch out of 10