THE HANGOVER PART II

The Hangover Part II stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong and Justin Bartha. Directed by Todd Phillips. Rated R with a running time of 1 hour and 42 minutes.

Plot: Well the wolfpack is back and this time they are in Bangkok, Thailand. This time Stu is getting married and wants nothing to do with another bachelor party. Inevitably though the gang wakes up in a grungy motel with no memory of the past nights events. This time they have lost Stu's fiance's little brother. Sounds familiar huh?

Like many people I am a huge fan of the first Hangover film. Im sad to say that I was very disappointed with this lazy rehash of a sequel. I call it lazy because it is essentially a shot for shot remake in a different location with a few new characters. Though it takes everything from the original Hangover, this is not what makes the film disappointing since the thought of having more of the same shenanigans was fine because The Hangover was a very funny film. Theres just one problem with The Hangover Part II, its not nearly as funny as the first film. Sure theres a few laughs here and there but the formula that worked for The Hangover feels very stale in the sequel.

Heres the formula: instead of Doug (Bartha) getting married, its Stu (Helms) tying the knot this time. This time they lose the brides little brother instead of losing Doug as in the first film. Ken Jeong returns as the gay, racist, "gangster" Chow. His act was getting tiring and unfunny in the first film and having a larger role in this one didn't do any good for the film. Instead of stealing a tiger, this time the guys steal a chain smoking monkey during their night of drunken debauchery. While the formula that worked for the first Hangover is here, the laughs that came with it are mostly absent. It is basically all of the same jokes as in the first one but the execution is just pure lazy and you can sense that a lot of the cast returned for the pay check. Paul Giamatti shows up for about 10 minutes as a crime boss and is also completely wasted in the role.

The Hangover Part II isn't all bad. I do think that the three main guys Helms, Cooper, Galifianakis have good chemistry and they play off of each other well. I do feel bad for Justin Bartha as Doug. He's in the movie for about 10 minutes and is wasted in the role. As in the first Hangover, Galifianakis gets most of the laughs as the lovable goon Alan. Walking into a monk monastery Alan asks "Is this a PF Changs or something?". There is also a funny scene in a strip club with some transgender strippers. I also did enjoy the pictures during the credits as they capture all of the wild happenings of the crazy night.

Overall I am saddened to say that The Hangover Part II is the biggest disappointment of the summer so far. Going in to it I knew it could not be as good as the first one but I had no idea it would go this low. It's essentially the same movie as the first Hangover but without many of the laughs.

C-

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Claflin, and Astrid Berges-Frisbey. Directed by Rob Marshall. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours and 17 minutes. In case you lost count this is indeed the fourth installment in the franchise.

Plot: When Jack Sparrow crosses paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penelope Cruz), he's not sure if it's love or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past.

Yep thats right folks here is another Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Shocker huh? Yeah no not really, especially with the popular Johnny Depp back in his most beloved role, Captain Jack Sparrow. In Pirates 1 (sorry I don't feel like typing out the long subtitles of each movie) Depp created a true character that really came to life and whom everyone adores. He was very good and just created this persona that skyrocketed to the top of pop culture. Over the next two sequels Depp is pretty much doing the same thing over and over, which wasn't bad because he was a joy to watch and really brought the character to life. You really feel like you are a watching a drunken pirate from the 18th century. So I hate to say it but this fourth time seeing this character made Depp's schtick pretty old. Jack Sparrow was a joy to watch in the earlier films ( 1 and 2, but not 3 because that movie was complete crap) but the fourth time isn't a charm and thanks to Disney, it's pretty tiring.

As for the rest of the movie, it is certainly not as bad as the third installment but I was still disappointed. Look I wanted to see this movie for some cool sword fights and some big high seas action. But to my horror out of the 2 hours and 17 minutes of the film I'd say there was about 35 minutes of action. So that leaves 1 hour and 42 minutes of the Jack Sparrow schtick and a lot of pirate banter. Im just confused as to how people can call this an action movie. Throughout the movie I found myself bored because there was way to much talking and not enough action. Though I did find the mermaid scenes entertaining and exciting.

The plot is pretty silly and basically is a bunch of pirates trekking the seas looking for the fountain of youth. Throw in some decent action scenes and way to much pirates standing around talking and you get an uneven, unsatisfying "action" adventure movie. I thought that Ian McShane (who plays the main bad guy) was not the slightest bit scary or threatening. Definitely nowhere near the first films villain Capt. Barbossa. Speaking of him Geoffrey Rush is back as Barbossa but in a very limited role. It's to bad too because he is a very fine actor and he plays Barbossa as kind of a menacing, sarcastic pirate who plays off of Jack Sparrow nicely. Penelope Cruz is new to the franchise and adds absolutely nothing except for some cleavage (not complaining there).

Unfortunately there will probably be a fifth pirates movie in the near future. You can definitely count me out on that one. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has definitely been milked dry by DIsney. Pirates 1 and 2 were pretty good movies and very entertaining. The third movie was complete crap due to a bloated running time and way too many plot points. At least Pirates 4 was a little bit better but still disappointing. Teenage girls everywhere will probably want to kill me after saying this but Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow is pretty much a bore now and its almost as if his performance in this one was phoned in. Thanks to Disney for beating another franchise into the ground.

C-

THOR

Thor stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings and Clark Gregg. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hour and 54 minutes. Directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Plot: Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior, is sent down to Earth as punishment for reigniting a reckless war. But after a dangerous villain from his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth, the hammer-wielding Thor will learn what it takes to be a true hero in order to save mankind.

Everyone knew that Thor would be Marvel Studios' toughest sell because of the fantasy aspects that may put off the average movie goer. While that may be the case I do think that this movie will please fans of the comic. Chris Hemsworth is perfect as Thor and he completely owns the role. He is funny, dramatic and arrogant (in a good way) when the story calls for it. I can't see anyone else playing this role and it will be fun to see him play Thor again in The Avengers.

Natalie Portman stars as Jane Foster who is Thor's love interest. She is cute and a little quirky and she does a fine job. Anthony Hopkins plays Thor's dad, Odin, who is also king of Asgard. He is cast perfectly as he says each line with a thunderous roar. Tom Hiddleston plays Loki who is Thor's brother and also the movies main villain. Hiddlestion does fine with what he is given but I found the character a weak villain as he was not very menacing and looked ridiculous with his horn topped crown. Kat Dennings plays Natalie Portman's co-worker and is in the movie strictly for comic relief which actually worked very well. Clark Gregg reprises his role from the Iron Man movies as agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. This is for the sole purpose to weave all of the story lines together for the upcoming Avengers movie. Jeremy Renner also makes a pretty cool cameo as Hawkeye which he will also reprise in The Avengers. Overall the cast is very good and brings some real emotion to their characters.

The film's main problem is the fantasy aspects. They will most likely be off putting to mainstream audiences and at times it was a little off putting to me too. From the silly costumes to the even sillier Frost Giants which are the race of creatures that are the enemies of the Asgardians. They are basically giant blue creatures that freeze people. While these parts are silly, all of the scenes that take place on Asgard look great and the production design is top notch. I also think that the 3D does nothing to add to the experience and you are better off seeing the movie in 2D.

Another problem I had with the movie were some of the weak action scenes. The beginning battle scene that takes place on the home planet of the Frost Giants is one of these scenes. While it had an epic feel it was hard to see what was going on and the editing was a little too choppy. The climax of the movie was a little too anti-climactic and they could have raised the stakes a little more. But it took place on a rainbow bridge in outer space so at least it looked cool. Though the scenes with the destroyer on Earth were pretty good.

While Thor is no Iron Man, it is still a fun fantasy action filled superhero movie and it will please fans of the comic. It's just that the fantasy aspects and Kenneth Branagh's inexperience with action is what ultimately hurts the movie. Chris Hemsworth is a revelation and should definitely become a star after this movie. Thor is lighthearted fun and is another step closer to the superhero team up movie, The Avengers, which has comic book fans drooling in excitement (including me).

B