DVD Roundup (Cellular, The Grudge, Harold and Kumar)

Cellular

I never had any desire to see this in the theater. The overall premise is cool enough, but the trailer didn't do much for me. It kind of made it look like a second rate action movie, the kind that go straight to video and star former kickboxing champions. So fast forward to a few days ago when I was wandering through the video store impulse renting, I stumbled upon the box for "Cellular" and it looked cool. Had a 2 thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper and it had Bill Macy and Jason Stratham in it. Needless to say, they had me at Macy. I don't remember seeing he or Stratham in the trailer. So I scooped it up and went home to watch it. After having seen it, I think this movie could have been a big summer hit, has New Line done a better job with it. This is a good smart action film with a good cast and a breakout young star. The movie is about a lady (Kim Bassinger) who is kidnapped and manages to make a call out to the cell phone of the main character, played by soon to be movie star Chris Evans. He then has to drive all over LA doing an assortment of crazy things to try to save the day. Where this movie really works is with the stellar supporting cast, led by the afore mentioned Bill Macy and Jason Stratham and also Bassinger, Jessica Biel, Eric Christina Olson and Noah Emmerich. There is plenty of action here, but not over the top action like a Jerry Bruckheimer film, the action works with the story and makes this a film worth seeing if your an action fan.

The Grudge

Somehow I never saw this one in the theater, despite being a big horror fan. A lot of people seem to think this movie is just the scariest thing ever, apparently they were watching a different film than me. "The Grudge" isn't a bad movie by any means, but there is nothing all that good about it either. It is a likeable movie that never seems to get scary enough to be anything more than a drama. The story is nothing too original if you have seen "The Ring" or any other Japanese horror flick. It's worth a look but didn't do much to separate itself from the 1000 other average horror films made every year. Bill Pullman and Clea Duvall do good work here though, and Sarah Michelle Gellar seems to be on her way to being the new Jamie Lee Curtis.

Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle

I have quite a few stoner friends, so I had heard all about this one before getting a chance to see it. It seems that the amount you like this movie is inversely proportionate to how much pot you actually smoke. For those of you that didn't graduate from high school that means if your a pothead, you probably won't like it as much as if you aren't. None of my stoner friends seemed to like it while most other people seemed to find it pretty funny. As long as you can get past the fact that by and large stoners don't act like these guys then you will be entertained. My friends kept saying things like, "dude, we'd have just given up and hit Taco Bell at first sign of trouble". Valid point. Much like the directors previous film, "Dude, Where's My Car", there is some funny stuff in here, and there is some stuff that is over the top and just doesn't work. Thankfully this movie is funnier than his earlier masterwork, if for Neil Patrick Harris alone. Doogie Howser doing coke off a hookers ass is reason enough to see this. Give it a look if you like your comedy dumbed down. If your looking for smart comedy steer clear and find "Sideways" at your local theater.