The Baron's Weekly Capsule Reviews

As I say above, "weekly." I promise, from now on.

Drillbit Taylor
Directed by Steven Brill and Written by Kristofor Brown & Seth Rogen.

This is a fun goofy comedy in the same vein as 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad. I am not a fan of Owen Wilson at all, yet this movie was funny enough to get me to ignore his inherent mild retardation (thats right, I said retarded. Come get me anti-defamation league!). Its fun to watch nerds, and even a heavy nerd (a rarity in films) fight back and come out on top for a change.

The Kingdom
Directed by Peter Berg and written by Matthew Michael Carnahan.

This is a great movie. It pulls you (the American audience) in right from the beginning, and it doesn't let you go until the closing credits. The characters, the cinematography, the setting, it's all top notch. This may be the best thing I've seen Jaime Fox and Jennifer Garner in (not to mention some good work from Jason Bateman and Chris Cooper). By the end of the movie you understand that not every person from the Arab/Muslim world is a terrorist, but those who are probably will never be moved to stop their atrocities. This is a MUST WATCH!!!

In Bruges
Directed and Written by Martin McDonagh.

This is an excellent bit of dark comedy (emphasis on the dark; think "Hamlet" and you'll get an idea of character survivability in this flick). The cast does an excellent job, even Colin Farrell (a rabid little miscreant who's acting skills I usually despise) playing Ray, an uncouth retard (so the casting took the actors strengths and used them). Over all it's a great little bit of film from a first time writer/director, and if you like black comedies about hitmen/criminals with midget interludes, drug fueled rants about future race wars, and great medieval architecture...well then you will love this movie.

The Darjeeling Limited
Directed by Wes Anderson and Written by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman.

Okay, let me say, I hated this film. The characters are annoying (two of which are portrayed by actors I can't stand: Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody), the plot seems to go nowhere and take forever doing it!, and the short film prelude, is like a micro-cosom of the larger film (i.e. annoying, pointless, and slow). This film acted as the crap chaser that only emphasized the delicious flavors of the "okay to good" films I watched in this batch.

Entourage: Season 4
Created by Doug Ellin.

The show is a very glitzy sharp and funny tale of ultra-hippster actor Vincent Chase and his hangers on (a brother, a manager, and a childhood parasite known as Turtle). This show is a guilty pleasure for me, its a fun look into the industry of shallow values and crazy drama addicts. A friend of mine once declared it Sex and the City for men, and I'm a little embarrassed to say that's not untrue. Season 3 of this show sees our five main characters grow in their industry, if not there lives (though some of that happens too) as Vince and manager Eric (E for short) are producers on Vince's latest starring movie. They will reap the rewards and suffer all the problems this entails.

Battlestar Galactica:
Season 3
Created by Ronald D. Moore

This season of Galactica, more than any previous season, is heavily character driven. The plot is still there, but it kind of takes a backseat to the development of characters and their relationships with other characters. So its not a bad, or poorly made season. But I had to wait to watch this on DVD, quite a long wait my friends. And not seeing the story moved forward as much as I would like after so long a wait, I can't say that didn't annoy me some. And the ending is a cliffhanger! I already get that from Lost guys, I don't need another ultra-serious sci-fi drama that always ends with cliffhangers. It was a good solid season, but not my favorite season so far.

Hot Rod
Directed by Akiva Schaffer and Written by Pam Brady.

I'm not going to lie to you folks. This movie is silly and ridiculous. Its got crazy hilarious fights, large quantities of hair-band music in the score, and even some poop humor. And I loved every minute of it! The cast is super bad-ass! You have recent SNL alumni Andy Samberg and Bill Hader, then you have Danny R. McBride that seems to have exploded into every single funny movie I've seen this summer (Pineapple Express, Foot Fist Way, Tropic Thunder), and then you have Ian McShane as Rod's ultra-tough step-father. This movie is legit. Its too legit, and so it must not ever quit!