CINEMASCENE- June 6th, 2009

June 5th, 2009

The Hangover

Two days before his wedding, Doug ( Justinbartha ) and three friends Phil ( Bradley Cooper) Stu ( Ed Helms ) and future bro-in-law Alan ( Zach Galifianakis ) drive to Las Vegas for a wild stag party. When the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can't remember a thing;nor can they find Doug. It seems that Alan bought ruffinal insteadof ecstacy which he usedto spike their drinks that night and now they are blitzed and have total amnesia about the last 12 hours.

With little time to spare, the three hazy pals try to re-trace their steps and find Doug so they can get him back to Los Angeles in time to walk down the aisle. In their odyssey they discover a baby in the closet, Mike Tyson's pet tiger in the bathroom, a murderous gay Chiese Mr. Chow ( ken Jeong ) on their trail to recover his 80 thousand dollars, a secret wedding to a stripper ( Heather Graham ) and much more. yes it WAS a wild night.

This is one of the best comedies in months.

The Players: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong and Mike Epps with Mike Tyson.

The Filmmakers:
Directed by Todd Phillips
Screenplay by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore
Released by Warner Brothers Pictures

Land of the Lost

Shortly after embarassing himself on the Matt Lauer TV show, Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride). They arrivein an alternate universe and make friends with a primate prince named Chaka (Jorma Taccone), their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures. But danger lurks in the form of Enik, a lizardlike Sleestack alien who needs Dr. Marshalls tacyon warp-travel device to conquer the universe. Can they all make it back to our world alive, and if so: Will Dr. Marshall can go from zero to hero with his discoveries?

This update of the popular Sid and Marty Krofft series is strictly for kids and die hard Will Ferrell fans as it is silly, and not much more than some sketches strung together on a thin cord of a plot. The dinosaur bits are too many and the thrills are thin and too far between. This could have been a good thriller with some re-writes and better direction.

The Players: Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride and Jorma Taccone

The Filmmakers:
Directed by : Brad Silberling
Screenplay by Chris Henchy and Danny McNicholas based on the TV series by Sid and Marty Krofft
Released by Universal Pictures