Movie Review: Hangover 2

A few days ago, I watched the premier movie screening of Hangover 2. I and some of our male friends had a blast watching it although my wife found the story too rowdy for her taste. 

The best description I could give of this movie would be something in between the following categories. Let me explain further …

SICK:

I’ve seen many sick, odd freaky movies in the past (which I enjoyed watching), but this one went-off the charts! Kudos to Director Todd Philips and the writers for their “out-of-the box” imagination in coming up with this kind of film. The idea of having three American friends, wasted from an all night party in the heart of the reddest district of Bangkok, Thailand is a work of geniuses. I would think that a story plot such as this can only mean that the writers must have had tons of hangover experiences, including the pre- and post-effects of alcohol and drugs that could simply transform normal people into pandemonic maniacs who will do stuff that are beyond crazy.

FUNNY AND ENTERTAINING:

Describing the funny stuff would spoil everything. But the mix of diverse personalities of the characters of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and Zach Galifianakis from a mild-mannered dentist to someone with ADHD combined with questionable social behavior problems is a riot to the tenth-degree. If the Vegas bachelor’s party in part one was disastrously hilarious, the setting in Bangkok, Thailand, with its colorful red-light district, gangs and “she-male” prostitutes will make you laugh all the way to Venus.

THOUGHT PROVOKING:

Every good story involves a problem where, at the end, a solution would somehow present itself that normally concludes to a happy ending. Here, the three friends tried to find their way back (to the island they were supposed to be at) and out of Bangkok with no recollection of what they did the previous night. Little by little, they found themselves in more and more serious, and closer to life-and-death situations, as well as critical elements that resulted to near-disastrous consequences. When it seemed that there were no hopes left, the three tried their best to sober themselves up and find a solution. Thus, in many scenes, you’ll find yourself laughing, wondering and deducing the story in between.

CROSS-CULTURAL:

For the overly-critical and one-track minded people I know (my wife is protesting she’s not one of them), movies such as this will never get to their favorite lists. For me, beyond the “wildness” of the scenes and the story itself, is a lesson in acceptance and the adaptability of every human being. In the story, Stu finds it hard to win the favor and acceptance of his future father-in-law, someone from a different race, and was perceived to be a lesser man. But in the process of his two-day journey in the heart of the city and having been immersed in the realities of Bangkok, he discovered that he has actually become a better person thanks (and no thanks) to his good, and yet eccentric, friends.

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

For guys like me who grew up in the late 70’s and 80’s, Marvel and DC comics were among the highlights of my high school life, even up to college days. For the new generation of today, like my kids who are all goofed up with game consoles and social network sites, it’s very seldom anymore to see young ones hanging around in comic book shops and buying or collecting hard copies of comic books. Often times, we see older people buying them instead.

Last night, I had a wonderful time watching another segment movie of the X-Men courtesy of 20th Century Fox at the SM Mall of Asia. After seeing the last three batches of X-Men movies, I still have this excitement and anticipation of how this new movie would turn out. It’s like after reading an X-Men comic book, you’ll start to wonder what will happen next and can’t wait to buy the next copy. Only this time, you’ll get to appreciate the advances of technologies in motion picture, whereas in comic books, you can only imagine.

The movie is another prequel of the X-Men saga. For non-comic aficionados like my wife, previous X-Men movies may have left you with some questions which finally came out clear in prequel movies like this one. But for the comic freaks, who have eyes for details, we can’t help not to be too critical when we see some inconsistencies of the movie. I am not typing those down, however, so as not to spoil your viewing pleasure.

But overall, this latest offering gave me more than just entertainment but excitement as well in anticipation of the next X-Men movie to come out.