Note: I've kind of thrown this post together in a haste. It's not entirely well written, but I wanted to get a few thoughts on each of these films on here in some capacity, before the weekend, when I'll be posting thoughts a few new movies (and franchises, for that matter).
We're in the middle of the summer movie season. We've seen a few good movies and a few that have missed the mark. These past two weekends have seen the release of three different movies that are so completely different in their plots and characters, that I wanted to try my hardest to link them all together in one big review. They are: Horrible Bosses, Larry Crowne, and, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Two of the three I felt were enjoyable; it's probably not that hard to figure out which one didn't do it for me.
But, let's start out with the positives in each movie, which in the case of these three, are similar: They are all pretty funny. Now, this is of course the big selling point for Horrible Bosses, as it's (surprise!) a comedy. If it ain't funny, it ain't good. Makes sense, right? I wasn't sure about the film going into it. I am a big supporter of Jason Bateman. His career is very reminiscent to me of Paul Rudd. Despite Bateman starring on the hit comedy show Arrested Development, his film career hasn't included any major roles; only supporting characters, albeit in good films like Up in the Air and Juno. Horrible Bosses is really the first time he's allowed to shine in a major role, and he plays the part of overworked, under-appreciated employee Nick Hendricks to near perfection. His scenes opposite a very funny, and very lewd, Kevin Spacey are the films highlights.
Transformers 3 gets comedic props because it actually has some intentionally funny passages of dialogue. But, most of the films dramatic scenes are so ridiculous that I found myself chuckling at their parts as well.
However, each film has its faults. Despite its funny story arch, Horrible Bosses loses some of its muster towards its conclusion, as it gets a little too unrealistic for its own good. Larry Crowne, although a delightful way to spend a few hours, is too formulaic and ends on too perfect of a good note. These are the types of films that we know the ending before we see them, but the fact that Crowne ends with everyone getting exactly what they want AND needed...it's just a little too far fetched for me to be perfectly honest, and brought the film down a notch or two.
And we come to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the sequel to one of the worst sequels ever. The second Transformers film (Revenge of the Fallen) such a disappointment and total failure that even Michael Bay admitted that he screwed up with the entire thing. I personally enjoyed the first Transformers, and, as I saw the trailer for this third film more and more, I liked it. Not that it gave me hopes for the film, mind you, but I thought the trailer was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the film suffers from a lot of the same problems as two. First off, there's too many damn robots. For most of the action scenes, it's hard to figure out which ones are fighting, and which one actually wins. Considering that Bay's ADD style of filming and editing hasn't changed, it becomes all the more frustrating. On top of that, the characters don't develop any sort of relate-ability to the audience. I kind of equate Bay's Transformer trilogy to a kid playing with his action figures. You smash them together, making cool destruction noises in the process, and, when you're done, set them on the floor and move to something else. That's what Bay does here. The film just stops. There's no coda or conclusion. Not even a line of closure. There's the final battle that takes forever; it ends, and credits roll. After three movies, you'd think there would be more to it than that, no?
Horrible Bosses: B
Larry Crowne: B-
Transformers 3: C
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