Bovie Movie

Co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor betray their roots in commercials with this nonstop barrage of flashy tricks and breakneck action in which visual and narrative absurdity vie with each other on an insanely epic scale. Trash antihero icon Jason Statham (The Transporter) plays a retired hitman injected with poison. If he slows down for a second he’ll die — something that must not happen until he’s slain the LA crime syndicate responsible. To keep his adrenaline up he ingests every drug going and, in a hilarious highlight, has public sex in Chinatown with girlfriend Amy Smart. It’s Speed with a man instead of a bus, and nothing is sacred or even realistic — from Statham performing motorcycle stunts naked to calmly using his mobile while freefalling through the air. As fun bad movies go, this split-screen, hyper-kinetic comic strip revs up the entertainment value to lunatic “anything goes” levels. Taken seriously, however, the violent and vulgar distraction stops stone dead. 

Tipping its hat to 1970s paranoia thrillers such as The Parallax View, this conspiracy effort from Michael Haussman employs all manner of bewildering visual flourishes and plot devices in an attempt to make a drab tale seem vaguely intriguing. Yet the stylish touches merely render it pretentious, and even more disappointing is the sight of a calibre cast thrashing around in the muddled storyline. Chief casualty is Val Kilmer, who appears in the New Mexican desert suffering from amnesia with a vague notion that the life of the US president is under threat. Among the suspects are girlfriend Neve Campbell, sheriff Sam Shepard, the mysterious Faye Dunaway and sympathetic nurse Amy Smart. 

Executive producer Ivan Reitman updates the humour of his 1978 production National Lampoon’s Animal House here, but with middling results. There are some raunchy and hilarious moments as college student Breckin Meyer races from New York to Texas with his friends to avert a disaster that would ruin his relationship with his girlfriend, but the movie is a jumbled mess. Several lengthy and redundant subplots keep diverting attention from the central story, and the main characters come across as stereotypes sharing the same “wild” college guy personality, not as individuals. The exception is Tom Green, whose insane character is as unforgettable and hilarious as John Belushi’s Bluto in Animal House, yet he’s put in a supporting role that doesn’t give him a chance to stretch himself. 

At the beginning of Interstate 60, Neal Oliver (James Mardsen) has more questions about his future than answers. Though he would rather pursue a career in art, Neal debates whether or not he should set his goals towards a law degree, as his father would greatly prefer. He has a girlfriend, but he wonders if he should search for the mysterious woman (Amy Smart) who visits his nightly dreams and inspires his artwork. By the time his 23rd birthday roles around, Neal is no closer to choosing his life’s path. He feels empty and unsatisfied, despite lavish birthday gifts, and wishes only for clarity as he blows out the candles on his cake. Rather than instant answers, Neal is given the opportunity to take a journey on a highway that doesn’t exist on any map; a highway where the past, present, and future converge. Alongside him is One Wish Grant (Gary Oldman), the immortal offspring of a leprechaun and Cheyenne Indian, who has the unique ability to grant wishes to those he believes deserve them. Thus begins Neal’s surreal road trip through the uncharted territories of his own potential destiny. Interstate 60 features a stellar cast with supporting performances and cameos from Kurt Russell, Michael J. Fox, Liv Tyler, and Christopher Lloyd. Bob Gale, co-writer/producer of Used Cars, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and, most notably, the Back to the Future trilogy, directs.

Fans of 1960s caper movie It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World will enjoy this infectiously silly comedy that’s packed with celebrities and gags. John Cleese — complete with the maddest set of dentures ever seen on film — plays the billionaire casino owner who decides to give his high-rolling gamblers something unusual to bet on: the outcome of a race from Las Vegas to a locker a few hundred miles away in New Mexico that just happens to contain $2 million. A group of ordinary people are given the chance to get their hands on the loot — the only rule being that whoever gets there first, gets the cash. Among those in the hunt are a narcoleptic Italian (Rowan Atkinson), a recently reunited mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanai Chapman), two idiot brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf) and a nagging Jewish husband and wife (Jon Lovitz and Kathy Najimy) who manage to run into a band of neo-Nazis en route. It may be an old-fashioned chase movie with jokes as old as the hills, but it’s still a fun diversion. 

Deacon, Matt and Fred will do anything for even a glimpse of sex and spend their mornings pirating porno movies from Fred’s after school job at the video store. But when Fred is fired, the well runs dry, and our heroes come up with a new plan: make their own “adult” film.

A snappy script breathes life into this stereotypically idiotic tale of one man’s journey of self-discovery. Obese high-school loser Chris (Ryan Reynolds donning a prosthetic fat suit) has been in love with Jamie (Amy Smart) for years. She loves him, too, but only like a brother, and drops the “just friends” speech on him on their graduation night. After making a success of himself in Los Angeles, he finds himself back in his New Jersey home town where he determines to win her heart — not realising that, even though he’s now slim and handsome, he’s not such a nice guy any more. Chris also faces competition from local good guy Dusty (Chris Klein), and is further hampered by having his ex-lover (Anna Faris), a bratty diva, in tow. Worth watching just for Christopher Marquette’s hilarious turn as Chris’s pain-in-the-neck brother, this obnoxious comedy has a generous helping of natural, surprising laughs amid the bumptious stupidity. 

Just Married and Dude, Where’s My Car? goofball Ashton Kutcher takes on a more serious role in this ambitious supernatural thriller. Written and directed by Final Destination 2 scribes J Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, it’s based on the idea of chaos theory, which speculates that the smallest of events can have the hugest of consequences. In a plot that feels lifted from The Twilight Zone, Kutcher plays a troubled college student who discovers he has the ability to go back in time and rewrite the past. Touching on provocative themes such as child abuse, disability and terminal illness, Gruber and Bress have created a powerful and disturbing tale. Despite being spoilt by a rushed and overly simplistic conclusion, it’s surprisingly dark and adult for a Hollywood project. In contrast to his joker reputation, Kutcher delivers a strong and believable performance, though his co-stars, with the exception of a stomach-churningly good Eric Stoltz, are largely unremarkable. 

By cleverly respecting his source material and skewering some much-loved clichés, co-writer/director Todd Phillips (Old School) nails the big-screen version of TV cop show Starsky and Hutch. The casting of Ben Stiller as by-the-book detective David Starsky and Owen Wilson as laid-back chancer Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson couldn’t be better. Both are clearly having enormous fun in this entertaining buddy movie that neatly captures the 1970s film-making style and adds some hilarious homoeroticism to their relationship. Grudgingly paired up, the mismatched duo learn to rely on each other while bringing a drugs lord (Vince Vaughn) to justice for peddling a cocaine variant that even sniffer dogs can’t detect. Rap star Snoop Dogg delivers a great Huggy Bear and Will Ferrell is sidesplitting in a cameo as a dragon-obsessed convict. But it’s Phillips’s eye for the disco decade’s details and the show’s kitsch iconography that ensures a good time is had by old fans and newcomers alike.