The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/23825
Film Reviews Contributed Jay Chou, left, and Seth Rogan are shown in a scene from ‘The Green Hornet.’ ‘Green Hornet’ bores “The Green Hornet,” co-written and star- ring Seth Rogen, is a hopeful, but somewhat pointless movie. I can understand the ap- peal of a comedy/superhero movie but this really was not funny. Britt Reid, played by Seth Rogen, is the heir to a successful newspaper called “The Daily Sentinel.” He has never had to take any responsibility for himself, but the death of his father sparks him to make something of his life. He does this by becoming a vigi- lante known as The Green Hornet. As the most useless superhero I’ve ever seen, The Green Hornet would be noth- ing without his sidekick, Kato, played by Jay Chou. Kato is the muscle, the brains, and pretty much makes Britt Reid look completely useless. Kato is a genius with cars, but not with English. After working for Britt’s father, he has equipped their car, The Black Beauty, to be a tank in the form of a Chrysler Imperial. The Black Beauty is the weapon of choice for The Green Hornet and Kato as they go around the city of Los Angeles cleaning up gang violence, one gang and meth lab at a time. Their crime fighting, however, is ruining the plans of Chubnofsky, played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz. Waltz is mildly amusing as a kingpin struggling with how scary he is. Chubnofsky, whose name everyone cannot pronounce, is the villain that wants to kill The Green Hornet. I went into this film understanding that it is not like the movies up for award nomi- nations I’ve seen recently, but this movie wasn’t even enjoyable. I was hoping that “The Green Hornet” would be entertaining because of the draw of Seth Rogen, but there really weren’t many funny moments. Waltz’s character was a bright light, but he wasn’t in the film enough for his character to progress. Because the film had Seth Rogen in basically every scene, we never saw the development of any of the other characters. Cameron Diaz served as Britt’s secretary and love interest who isn’t interested, but even her character was very limited by Rogen’s character dominating the airtime. This movie has been the number one movie in America for the past two week- ends, which blows my mind. The first thing that I think of is the allure of 3D. How they charge $3 more for a 3D movie that barely has any effects that make it 3D escapes me. This movie’s fight sequences had some cool use of 3D, but for the rest of the film, you really didn’t need the glasses. I know this because while I was bored during one of Rogen’s ridiculous scenes, I started playing with my glasses. I was more interested in the 3D effects three-quarters through than wanting to watch the rest of the movie. I give this movie a “D” and don’t recommend it. _ Christopher Ryder Grade: D Associated Press In this film publicity image released by The Weinstein Company, Colin Firth, left, and Geoffrey Rush are shown in a scene from ‘The King’s Speech.’ ‘King’s Speech’ is a royal treat “The King’s Speech” is based on the true story of King George VI. The film stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bon- ham Carter and Guy Pearce. This is a truly compelling story, even for someone who knew nothing about the historical context of the film before entering the theater. I am not sure if I was asleep that day in high school history, but after watching this movie I am glad to know what was going on behind the scenes in Great Britain lead- ing up to World War II. Firth plays Albert, the duke of York, who later becomes the king of England. Albert has a speech impediment, which creates problems with gaining the respect deserved of royalty. Firth, who was recently honored for his role with a Golden Globe and is also nominated for an Academy Award, emcompassses his character beautifully. It’s easy to forget that he is an actor play- ing someone with a stutter rather than someone that the filmmakers might have cast who already had this disability. It is awkward to watch him try to speak to a crowd of fellow Englishmen or into a microphone being broadcast on radios across the nation. With every eye roll and each deep sigh we start to feel for this man who trips on every word coming out of his mouth. His wife, Elizabeth, is played by Helena Bonham Carter. She is committed to her husband and though he is on the verge of giving up on himself, she holds onto the hope that he can rise above his limita- tions. When he is just about to call it quits, she believes she might have found the man who can conquer the tongue of the duke. Geoffrey Rush plays the good Australian doctor Lionel Logue, who takes on the challenge though it proves to be difficult. From the moment Albert and Lionel sit across from each other in their first ses- sion, the doctor refuses to call Albert by his title, instead referring to him by his family-given nickname, Bertie. Lionel is consistent in adding humor by undermining the royal family. There are also many moving moments between Albert and Lionel, especially when they get at the underlying issues to the would-be king’s stutter. I enjoyed the film. Watching how one of the 20th century’s most powerful men overcome a somewhat embarrassing weakness and set the course of history is inspiring. _ Peter Eklund Grade: A Jan. 27, 2011 O-Town Scene 19