Zero to 88 Degrees: Hot Tub Time Machine as predictable as its name March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Josh Hylton, Staff Writer
Back in January, I was invited to attend an early screening of a little film called Hot Tub Time Machine. It was a rough cut and was, well, a little rough.
The editing required tightening and a few story issues needed to be resolved. Now it has been completed and the finished product is, well, still a little rough.
It is a shoddily structured, messily executed hour and a half trip through an unoriginal screenplay. The story is reminiscent of dozens of other time-traveling films, only this time, the machine in question is a hot tub. Still, its goofy nature and fun, unabashed ridiculousness are hard to deny.
The story, as lackluster as it may be, can be summarized as follows: After Lou, played by Rob Corddry, tries to kill himself, his friends Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Clark Duke) and Jacob (Craig Robinson), travel to their old vacation spot, a ski resort in the mountains. There, they are transported back to the ’80s via a hot tub and must travel in the same footsteps they did all those years ago, lest they disrupt the past and change the future for the worse.
Much like Snakes on a Plane or the more recent Ninja Assassin, Hot Tub Time Machine is a movie most will want to see based on the delightfully absurd title alone. Those people will not be disappointed.
Hot Tub doesn’t concern itself with heart, meaning or character development. It simply provides a constant string of gags that allow the four actors to play off each other.
Unfortunately, for every hilarious joke, there was one that fell flatter than an anorexic supermodel, including the bodily fluid jokes that even the most juvenile of viewers will find degrading.
Blood, urine, vomit — you name it, this movie has it. In the first 20 minutes alone, you get all of the above and then some, not to mention a scene where Nick digs out keys that were lodged in the anus of an animal and throws them at someone. This type of lowbrow humor is to be expected, but it doesn’t make it funny.
It is during the more perceptive scenes that Hot Tub Time Machine really shines. It knows what it is — over-the-top, tongue in cheek and very silly — and it takes its ’80s setting and capitalizes on it.
Cusack, known for his seminal roles in ’80s films like Say Anything, is used to the fullest. The film puts him in situations that echo movies of his golden era, even going so far as to duplicate one of the most famous scenes from Sixteen Candles, a film which he played a minor role in.
In a way, Hot Tub Time Machine is kind of smart in its stupidity. There is nothing going on behind the camera, but the comedic chemistry of the four actors is enjoyable and the witty script proves some thought went into it. It’s ironic, really.
The film has brains, but you’ll have to turn yours off to enjoy it.
Broadside Now Showing March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer
With the remake of Clash of the Titans being released this week, audiences will see a film in 3D that attempts to be epic in every way.
But Clash of the Titans has a long way to go to become one of the great epic films. With that, here are the top 10 epic films of all time.
10. Intolerance
The father of the epic movie, D.W. Griffith, dropped all the white power messages of his previous film Birth of a Nation, and created four fascinating stories of intolerance spanning many countries and various time frames.
9. Spartacus
In the battle of ’50s – ’60s slave epics, Spartacus beats Ben-Hur, hands down.
Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick created a classic redemption story with some of Old Hollywood’s finest actors.
8. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
It doesn’t get much more epic than three films being shot simultaneously in a project that took over eight years to create.
But Peter Jackson’s surprisingly faithful adaptations of Tolkien’s novels will go down as modern day classics.
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Another great Kubrick epic, 2001 makes the leap from the beginning of time to mankind’s next evolution that is as epic in its theories and discussions as is the film itself.
6. There Will Be Blood
Daniel Plainview’s struggle with greed and religion in There Will Be Blood takes him on a journey that makes for an internal struggle just as great as any epic story.
5. Star Wars trilogy
Star Wars has easily become known as the great sci-fi epic series with its original trilogy. Yet even as George Lucas continues to mess up the credibility of his groundbreaking franchise, the original trilogy is one of the finest examples of epic filmmaking.
4. The Grapes of Wrath
If Griffith is the father of the epic film, Grapes of Wrath director John Ford is the son.
Ford was known for his glorious Western epics, but with this film, he told the touching story of a Depression-era family just trying to get by.
3. City of God
Following two children on different paths in Rio de Janeiro, director Fernando Meirelles crafted an urban struggle, spanning from childhood to adulthood and dealing with the most epic journey of all: growing up.
2. The Godfather
The Godfather will always be considered one of the greatest films of all time, and for good reason.
The struggle of a young son dealing with taking over the family business and everything that comes with it is as sprawling and majestic as most other films can only hope to be.
1. All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is the greatest of all war films. A group of German soldiers in World War I realize the true cruelty of war in a film that is epic in every way.
From the journey that the soldiers go on emotionally and physically to the groundbreaking camera techniques the film produced, All Quiet on the Western Front is about as epic as they come.
Broadside Interviews: Clark Duke of Hot Tub Time Machine March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , 1 comment so farStarring alongside best friend Michael Cera in the Internet series Clark and Michael is only the beginning of Clark Duke’s story.
With the underappreciated Sex Drive and hit television show Greek under his belt, not to mention the highly anticipated film Kick Ass on the horizon, Duke is proving himself to be one of the most promising up-and-coming actors in Hollywood.
Broadside recently chatted with Duke about his new movie Hot Tub Time Machine and the difference between television and film.
What attracted you to the Hot Tub Time Machine script?
Clark: It was funny. I got involved with it because the guys who wrote Sex Drive had written the draft of Hot Tub and wanted me to play this part and I just said “yeah” because I really love those guys.
They ended up not directing it, but I still stayed on because there was Corddry, Craig and then Cusack. I think Cusack being in it makes it really weird and meta because he’s such an ’80s icon himself.
And in the movie, these guys go back to the ’80s and the whole thing seems like it’s coming out of him a little bit, which is cool.
Since you mentioned your co-stars, after seeing the movie, it seems like John Cusack is being billed to sell the movie.
Clark: John is sort of the straight man to some extent. He’s still the lead in the film, but Corddry has the wild character like the one I had in Sex Drive, the really fun one to play. So Johnny’s stuff is a little more understated, but he’s great.
It was just really cool working with him because High Fidelity and Gross Pointe Blank are two of my favorite movies. And the guy who directed Hot Tub wrote those.
Working with all of those guys was pretty amazing. Chevy Chase was my highlight because he’s my hero.
All of our scenes were together pretty much and he was next to me at the hotel, so every night he would come knock on my door, call me and mumble things, so we’d go eat dinner and get drunk every night. It was the best week of my life. It was pretty surreal.
You’ve also done a lot of work on television, on the show Greek. I know this is a question you’ve heard a thousand times, but do you prefer the slower pace of film or the faster pace of television?
Clark: Film for sure. TV is brutal, man. You’re going through eight pages a day and it’s rough. I mean it’s not rough, but compared to shooting a movie where you’re shooting one page a day, TV’s pace is just so much different.
So, on average, how many takes does it take to get something done in movies and TV?
Clark:On TV you’re doing one or two takes because there’s just no time.
On movies you can take all the time you want more or less because you’re shooting a page or two a day compared to six to eight pages, so it’s pretty bananas.
Will the real Bon Jovi please stand up? March 29, 2010
Posted by Sonya Hudson in : Style , add a commentBy Evan Benton, Staff Writer
Jon Bon Jovi is perhaps most responsible for ushering in the short-lived but ridiculously popular hair metal genre in the mid – late ’80s. While that may not be the greatest compliment in this day and age, it’s nevertheless a fantastic personal achievement.
Bon Jovi represented the genre with his long, teased-out hair, his pretty-boy looks, his unstoppable voice and his shameless mane of golden chest hair. He and his namesake band left Sayreville, N.J. and took the entire world by storm with their second album, 1986’s Slippery When Wet.
With “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” and the Mason Nation’s unofficial anthem “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the record, it went diamond-certified with 12 million copies sold and to this day holds the record for number of weeks spent at #1 on the Billboard charts by a rock band.
That’s right: combined with later albums, this makes Bon Jovi one of the most successful American bands ever.
But that’s not even the most important part of Bon Jovi’s legacy.
With the winning smile and hairy man-chest of its lead singer, Bon Jovi was an MTV favorite, and each of the band’s music videos became major hits on television. The video for “I’ll Die For You” from Wet is so unapologetically ’80s that wet clumps of hair gel actually drip from the screen.
With Bon Jovi, the hair metal genre reached its apex both musically and visually, and would continue to do so until taking an unexpected leave of absence with the arrival of those buzz-killing Sasquatch rockers, the grunge bands.
But then Jon Bon Jovi came back ten years later with the album Crush, and the unfortunately successful and addictive song “It’s My Life.” He was back in the spotlight, but some very important things had changed.
His mane was gone, replaced by a bouffant. His awesome spandex pants and cut-up denim vest were ditched for a tuxedo. But worse, when scandalous pictures of his body began to appear in magazines, his chest was no longer full of manly hair. It had been rigorously waxed and tanned.
These days Bon Jovi makes his living charging his most devoted fans $300-plus for decent seats at his concerts, releasing country duets with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland or staring in the television show Sex and the City and movies like Cry Wolf and National Lampoon’s Pucked.
In conclusion, the man who was Jon Bon Jovi — ladykiller, rock god and hairy man’s man — is no more, lost to all of us that wish it was still 1988.
From the Vault: Film Points in the Right Direction March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Dylan Hares, Staff Writer
Let’s take a short trip back to movies from the ’90s that, despite not having access to a multi-million dollar budget, were actually written well.
In fact, there were so many well-written movies that many went under the radar. One of those is 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank.
Grosse Pointe Blank is a film that sits in the “dark comedy” genre.
It blends together action and comedy while taking a provoking look at the human psyche.
Martin Blank (John Cusack) is a hitman who hesitantly revisits his childhood suburb for his 10-year high school reunion in order to sort out the
problems in his life. Work is hell, life is hell and hell follows him back to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where after 10 years, he runs into all sorts of characters from his past.
John Cusack is the kind of actor who always seems to be thinking of something witty or probing to say in any given conversation.
From the get-go, every line in the movie is sarcastic and funny. Joan Cusack plays Martin Blank’s assistant, and when he asks her, “Did you go to [your reunion]?” she cooly replies, “Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled.”
The best dynamic is between Cusack and his long lost love Debi played by recently inactive Minnie Driver.
From their first encounter, she is clearly Blank’s opposite, challenging this seasoned killer in mind and love with a tension that’s intriguing and sexy.
Many of his peers live in the area working as, among other things, a real estate agent, rent-a-cop and local DJ — all very normal careers compared to, you know, professional killing.
I would be remised to neglect the fantastic soundtrack the movie boasts. “It’s an all vinyl weekend,” the DJ smoothly says in the opening scene.
Who can deny such ’80s classics as “Blister in the Sun” and “Under Pressure,” not to mention the wonderfully juxtaposed placing of the Guns N’ Roses cover of “Live and Let Die” and Nena’s “99 Luftballons.”
A soundtrack makes a movie and I will take the ’80s-heavy Grosse Pointe Blank over the orchestral-heavy soundtrack of . . . well just about any three-hour Hollywood epic.
Grosse Pointe Blank is funny, well-written, marvelously acted and features a great soundtrack.
I thoroughly enjoy everything John Cusack has ever done and this is a great example of his writing and acting. In this under appreciated classic, combining action and comedy works really well, unlike in this year’s Cop Out.
Showing Off Your Pride: March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Ramy Zabareh, Staff Writer
Spring has sprung, and the flowers are blooming. You know what that means — Pride Week is just around the corner! Pride Week is intended not only to educate the many diverse campus communities about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) culture and issues, but also as a medium for the expression and celebration of the Mason LGBTQ community itself. Pride Week will last from Sunday, March 28 through Saturday, April 3.
While it certainly is a time to celebrate culture and identity, Director of LGBTQ Resources Ric Chollar reminds us that there is a more sentimental value to Pride Week. “Historically, the LGBTQ community had been associated with shame and lack of social acceptance,” said Chollar. “This [Pride Week] is a way to acknowledge the members of our community as actual contributors to the overall Mason community, and to counteract the historical perception of the LGBTQ community.”
Preparation for Pride Week started in December 2009 and is being organized by a planning team of around 30 people. This group includes about 20 students and faculty or staff from the Multicultural Research and Resource Center (MRRC), Women and Gender Studies, Student Activities, the Office of Diversity Programs and Services (ODPS) and Housing and Residence Life.
For more information about Pride Week events, check out Broadside’s calendar of events and visit http://pride.gmu.edu.
Black at Mason Part I: Students talk about first-hand experiences March 29, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Deena Smith, Staff Writer
George Mason University is an institution that prides itself on having a largely diverse student body that respects and welcomes all walks of life and cultures. Although I respect this diverse label, it is quite a stretch. The minority groups are spread so thin and so few in number that most everyone in a minority group knows one another. Since the percentages are so small, they tend to stick together and not branch out into different racial groups.
Anyone can see this for themselves by walking through the Johnson Center during lunch time.
As a black student, I admit that most of my close friends are black, but I do have friends from a wide range of ethnicities and races.
I wondered — has being a black student at predominantly white institution had a large effect on my sense of “blackness”? After interviewing an eclectic group of African American Mason students, I have gained a large insight into the opinion of being black at Mason.
Students said that getting involved in organizations made the most difference in how welcome they felt at Mason.
“I immediately got involved with Mason Ambassadors and met many students,” said Melanie Durrett*. “I feel that as long as you get involved on campus, there is no reason that you shouldn’t feel welcomed.”
“[Move-in day] was a huge event, [when] the freshmen were moving on to campus,” said Dominique Carlson. “Everywhere I turned, people were introducing themselves — black and white — and that definitely helped me adjust to being away from home.”
However, some upperclassmen did not feel as welcomed when they first arrived at Mason. “The upperclassmen weren’t as friendly and welcoming [when I was a freshman] as the current upperclassmen are now,” said Ronnie Cullen*.
Contrarily, some freshmen still do not view the upperclassmen as the most welcoming group of students.
“I do not feel as if that many upperclassmen really care to get to know anyone outside of their cliques, although there are a few who took the time to speak and to know me as an individual,” said Catrina Pope*.
However, some organizations, such as Akoma Circle, a mentoring organization through the Peer Empowerment Program, have been established to help minority upperclassmen bond with freshmen students.
But when specifically asked about the welcoming of one’s own racial community, some students were not as pleased. “We all support each other, but the individual aspect needs work,” said Pope*. “Overall, I am happy with the picture of us all supporting each other, but there is definitely room for improvement.”
After spending at least a semester on campus and attending some of the few events that are geared specifically for the black community, students did begin to feel more welcomed into the black community than they were initially.
“After getting to know a lot of people, I do feel welcomed,” said Lisa Harris*. “I have been going to more events regarding the black community, just trying to get more involved.”
So does one have to attend events that are exclusive to the Black community in order to be fully welcomed?
This may be sending a mixed message to those incoming freshmen who applied to a diverse college but cannot seem to get an open invitation into their own racial community without showing exclusivity.
In a league of its own (albeit a bad one) March 25, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBy Josh Hylton, Staff Writer
My father once told me about a game he used to play with my uncle before I was born. Every year, my family would head to the beach and my dad would sit with a beer in hand and rate passing women on their looks. He used a scale of one – 10 and would debate with my uncle over who was the best looking. My dad was never the classy type.
She’s Out of My League deconstructs this game, though perhaps “deconstruct” is the wrong word, as that would imply the film has an air of intelligence about it. It does not.
You see, Kirk, played by Jay Baruchel, is a five. He is a lanky, skinny, nerdy guy who looks at beautiful girls and immediately dismisses his chances with them. That is until Molly, played by the beautiful Alice Eve, accidentally stumbles into his life and falls for him. She is, as his friends put it, “a hard 10,” and we all know a 10 like her could never love a five.
Kirk is already pessimistic and self-conscious, and his friends only play into those fears. The toxic combination threatens to ruin his relationship with Alice.
There might not be much to recommend here, but I can say this: She’s Out of My League gives hope to all of the fives of the world.The film says they are tens in the eyes of someone who loves them, which is a nice change of pace regardless of how cheesy that message is. However, it also says that all men are womanizing meatheads who cannot function normally when a pretty girl is around.
When Molly walks in a room, every male in her line of sight goes googly eyed and ogles her like a Thanksgiving turkey. While the actress is certainly a gorgeous woman, as a man, I found it kind of insulting that the movie insinuates our general lack of control when pretty women are around. It goes so far as to suggest that we have two heads and aren’t using the one with a brain in it.
Nevertheless, the movie’s mistaken analysis of the male instinct should be overshadowed by the laughs the story provokes. It is a comedy, after all. Unfortunately, League rarely elicits much from its tired premise. While Baruchel has been likable in supporting roles in movies such as Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, he is not much of a leading man.
He is hardly compelling and his nasally voice eventually grates on the nerves. It is tough not to feel sympathy for his pathetic character, seeing as how — let’s face it — the majority of us are fives like him. But he lacks the charisma to work this movie through to its conclusion.
With contrived attempts at creating drama and the only laughs coming from a character nicknamed Stainer (who adopted the moniker due to his weak bladder as a child), She’s Out of My League is little more than another run-of-the-mill teen comedy that exists in a world where beautiful women actually judge a guy by what’s in his heart rather than how big his biceps are. What a world that must be.
Broadside Interviews: Stars of She’s Out of My League March 25, 2010
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentThe names Alice Eve and Krysten Ritter may not be universally recognizable, but given Krysten’s past work in popular romantic comedies like 27 Dresses and Confessions of a Shopaholic and Alice’s upcoming role in Sex and the City 2, you can expect that to change very quickly.
Both are put in the spotlight in She’s Out of My League, which opened on March 12. Broadside recently spoke with the two ladies about their movie.
Have either of you ever dated someone you’d consider out of your league or a guy that others would consider too good for you?
Krysten: I’ve dated people who others have thought that maybe I was out of his league, but I didn’t think so and now I’m currently dating somebody who is out of my league. [Alice and her boyfriend] are on equal footing. They’re both really hot.
Alice: I think he’s out of my league. He’s cleverer than me.
For this movie, you were working with a first-time director and Jay Baruchel, who is usually relegated to supporting roles. Was there any hesitance going in knowing this or did you have faith in the material?
Krysten: It can go either way for first-time directors. I feel like with first-time directors, sometimes they’re not confident and they’re worried about cast mutiny and they overcompensate. Doing a big studio film with a first-time director doesn’t matter as much as an indie film or TV because there are so many other voices.
We were all in similar places in our careers and I think in the cast, you sort of recognize people, you’ve sort of seen them before, but it was pretty much like everybody was on equal footing which was cool.
How awkward was that scene where you and Jay had to strip down? I imagine that would be pretty intimidating for him.
Alice: You both have a job to make each other feel comfortable. His job is to not make me feel insecure and my job is to not make him feel insecure and I think we both did our best in that. You know, it is nerve-wracking to drop your dress in that kind of situation and I think we worked hard to make each other feel comfortable. He’s a good actor.
What advice would you give all of the “fives” of the world if they want to find their “10”?
Krysten: Be confident and funny. Show girls a good time.
Alice: Fix things when they break.
From Stand-up to Standout: Top five actors who have made the leap March 25, 2010
Posted by studentmedia in : Style , add a commentBy Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer
This week, Ben Stiller will be taking a break from comedies like the Night at the Museum and Meet the Parents series for a more serious turn in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, a film about a middle-aged man trying to figure out his life.
Stiller is one amongst several notable comedians who have tackled heavier, more dramatic roles with great success. With Stiller’s recent turn as a launchpad, here are the top five comedians to take on serious roles:
5. Jamie Foxx
After Foxx’s first dramatic role in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday, it was easy to forget about his awkward, comedic past. With movies like Collateral, and his greatest role as Ray Charles in Ray, Foxx is stepping up as a promising young actor.
4. Will Smith
Who would have thought that The Fresh Prince would eventually earn two Oscar nominations? Yet Smith has, for his love-him-or-hate-him role as The Greatest himself in Ali and for his role as the father who will do anything for his son in The Pursuit of Happyness. Even with a fantastic career so far, Smith still has many penetrating roles ahead of him.
3. Robin Williams
A good rule of thumb for Robin Williams’ movies seems to be: if it’s a comedy, skip it, but if it’s a drama, don’t miss it. After performances in The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting, Williams delved into darker roles like those in One Hour Photo and Insomnia.
Williams is a talented actor; it’s just a shame that he messes up his resume with abhorrent comedies.
2. Jim Carrey
Carrey could have easily gone the way of Pauly Shore with his obnoxious comedic roles, but instead took the high road in some fantastic dramatic roles.
His performance in The Truman Show was remarkable, as was his take on Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. And let’s not forget his greatest role as Joel in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Carrey has proven that he is more than just the man with the rubber face.
1. Tom Hanks
After some spotty comedies in the 80s, Tom Hanks quickly emerged as this generation’s version of Jimmy Stewart, the most likable actor in America.
Just listing his films is like reading a lineup of classics: Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, among many others. Hanks has gone from starring alongside a mastiff in Turner and Hooch to becoming one of the greatest stars of the past 25 years.