Tropic Thunder – 2 stars (average)

For some exaggerated laughs, watch Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder,” a very confusing movie that can’t decide if it wants to be an action adventure, a war story, a comedy, a satire, a mockumentary, or a wannabe. drama. In fact, it was a little bit of each and good at nothing, all of which makes it funny at times, but a normal movie.

That would be because Stiller collaborated on the script, directed the film, starred in it as Tugg Speedman, and was the driving force that made it possible.

In essence, you could say that Tropic Thunder was all about Stiller with the help of other leading artists named Robert Downey Jr. (Kirk Lazarus, think of rising from the dead), Jack Black (Jeff Portnoy, think of Portnoy’s complaint ), Tom Cruise (Les Grossman, not less, but more rude and vulgar), and Matthew McConaughey (Rick Peck, think of the theatrical agent).

There were also minor lights, including Brandon T. Jackson (Alpa Chino-think Al Pacino), Nick Nolte (Four Leaf Tayback-think the way back, on the way down), Bill Hader (Studio Executive Rob Slolom-cool from Saturday Night Live) and a host of family, friends, and peers who got jobs on the movie.

In 22 words, Tropic Thunder is about making a war movie in Vietnam after the fact and the stars come across an illegal drug production operation. Its R rating purposely to accommodate pervasive sexual references to body parts, violent content, and drug material.

The funniest part of the movie for me was listening to Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) unleash a profanity-filled tirade about a kidnapper demanding ransom for Tugg Speedman.

It would be difficult for me to say frankly that I am a fan of Ben Stiller. Stiller always seems to me to have an absent gaze, as if you know that there is a person inside that body, but it is never evident on his face. Much of his humor focuses on the gross, dirty and sexual, as if he has many fantasies that he will never enjoy after filming is over.

The real star of this movie is not Stiller, but Robert Downey Jr., who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Downey also garnered the same Golden Globe nomination, and Tom Cruise also did so in the same category. Neither won an Oscar or a Golden Globe.

300-2 stars (average)

“300” really suffered because Zack Snyder helped write and later directed a remake of the historic Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. C., when 300 Spartans of Greece faced a Persian army of more than 100,000 people led by King Xerxes. Some historians point to this event as the birthplace of freedom and democracy.

The best way to describe the merit of this movie is to let you know that 300 won Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film, and Snyder won Best Director, at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Awards. You read it correctly. There were no nominations for the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards. Certainly 300 has great battle scenes in a fantasy world.

It has very little place in the real world of movie making by viewers who see it in the real world. Why? Thought you’d never ask. This is why:

The film was shot in 60 days, while post-production (also known as hocus-pocus) took almost a year, as there were 1,523 cuts in the film and more than 1,300 visual effects shots involving 8,631 visual effects elements. This may or may not be some kind of a worthy record of Harry Potter wizardry.

The film was photographed almost entirely on a sound stage in Montreal. This is taking post production to the extreme. The R rating (made on purpose) included the usual sexuality and nudity (which the vast majority of movies are made today), and enough bloody violence to drown a grain-eating horse at a waterhole (585 murders visual by stabbing, goring, beating, cutting and cutting body parts of soldiers and animals).

The Spartan King Leonidas (Gerald Butler) manages to hack and personally beat 33 Persian soldiers, 1 Persian messenger, and a wolf. I have been told that their number does not include the Persians who were protected during the battle sequences, as if that was important.

Trust me when I say that the 300 Spartans did a great job of killing animated characters.

I’m sure Zack Snyder was really satisfied with his movie and its awards (think Sinatra and I did it my way); He was not so pleased. 300 reminds me why I don’t like so many action adventure movies – not much live action, not much live adventure, too much live animation.

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley