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GO LAUGH AT ... "HOT TUB TIME MACHINE"
"Hot Tub Time Machine" is hilariously crude, outlandish and entirely ridiculous. Like "Snakes on a Plane," this movie is everything it sounds like it would be and is everything the trailer promised.
The movie begins with the introduction of four of the most pathetic human beings on the planet. Nick (Craig Robinson) is an ex-musician working at "Sup Dawgs," where his specialty is removing car keys from dogs' rectums.
Adam (John Cusack) is a control freak who has been dumped by his girlfriend. Jacob (Clark Duke) is a basement-dwelling, computer-addicted shut-in. Lou (Rob Corddry) is an alcoholic divorcée with a death wish.
After acting and failing on this death wish, Nick, Adam and Jacob take Lou skiing in his favorite ski resort from the 1980s.
The foursome arrives at the resort to find it is a broken down shack and almost entirely abandoned, except for a mean, one-armed bellhop from back in the day.
The only activity left is to enjoy a drunken debacle in the hot tub.
However, as Craig Robinson's character exclaims after waking up in 1986, this hot tub isn't just a hot tub ... it's a time machine!
The hot tub places Nick, Lou and Adam in their teenage bodies, giving them a chance to change their futures. Jacob, who hasn't been born yet, is brought along for the ride.
While changing their future, the four get into preposterous situations, from Nick pretending to write one of The Black Eyed Peas' best hits, to Lou semi-stalking the bellhop to see the moment that he loses his arm, while sprinkling in every drug, sex, alcohol and communism reference imaginable.
"Hot Tub Time Machine" is silly fun and worth a watch, as long as you are expecting it to be just what is says it is: a movie about a hot tub time machine.
- Rosemary Peters
IF YOU HAVE SOME FREE TIME WATCH ... "SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE"
After seeing the trailer for "She's Out of My League," the movie is 100 percent predictable. However, while mildly entertaining, this movie provides quick humor and amusement. You'll probably never see it again, but it was definitely fun and cute to watch once.
While it is predictable, I did find myself laughing at many parts, and I even smiled at the end. Again, predictable.
The movie opens with Kirk (Jay Baruchel) desperately wanting back his second rate ex-girlfriend (Lindsay Sloane).
However, the tables turn for Kirk when he meets Molly (Alice Eve), a beautiful woman who is completely out of Kirk's league.
Not so surprisingly, the movie is unrealistic. Molly and Kirk, who works for T.S.A., meet in an airport security line. Unrealistically, she likes him after meeting him for a few seconds. Looks aside, the idea that these two would ever get together is far-fetched. However, the movie does a good job establishing that the chances are unlikely.
Hands down, it is the supporting roles that make this movie. Kirk's friend, Stainer (Mike Vogel), and Molly's friend, Patty (Krysten Ritter), are the funniest part of the whole movie. Each friend has good one-liners that help make this movie a comedy. Additionally, the two have an understood disgust of each other, which is also good for the one-liners.
Kirk's family also tries to add to the amusement. With a brother who peaked in high school and an obnoxious sister-in-law, you'll either laugh or be annoyed. If you're a part of the latter, join the club. Kirk's family, I found, was too extreme to be funny. I hope no family is that dysfunctional. I mean, the brother asked Molly if she was wearing underwear at the dinner table, in front of his parents. The family was over-the-top, but they were slightly funny at times.
If you have time to spare, go see "She's Out of My League," but don't expect to be awed.
- Hannah Gray
LISTEN TO ... STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO.
It's not easy to cover another band's music and do a good job, but New Jersey natives and ska-punk aficionados Streetlight Manifesto are doing just that with the release of "99 Songs of Revolution, Vol. 1." Streetlight Manifesto is working in collaboration with Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution and two yet unnamed "Streetlight Manifesto related artists," in an ambitious project to produce eight CDs of 99 cover songs.
"99 Songs of Revolution, Vol. 1" clocks in at just under 33 minutes, but considering the extremely fast pace of ska-punk, the album is jam packed with energetic tracks. With ska covers of songs by bands including Radiohead, NOFX, Bad Religion, Postal Service and even Paul Simon, the album presents a catchy mix of new takes on old songs.
Streetlight Manifesto demonstrates their creative capabilities and superb musicianship by saluting some of the artists that inspired them while at the same time elaborating on every track. Reggae takes on "Skyscraper," originally by Bad Religion, and "Linoleum," by NOFX, presenting a refreshing and melodic take on normally cacophonous music. By incorporating songs outside the punk-pop spectrum, Streetlight shows that they are truly the cream of the ska-punk crop.
"99 Songs of Revolution, Vol. 1" is an upbeat and energetic album of cover songs that is more accessible to anyone unfamiliar with ska, and it certainly won't disappoint longtime fans. Previews of the songs can be found online at www.streetlightmanifesto.com
- John McCarty
