DVD--The Other Guys

or: A movie filled with cop funnies.

One word to sum it up: Fun

Will Ferrell has always been one of those people who have divided my attention. I used to love him, until I realized that he hasn't really done anything substantial and his shtick isn't really that funny anymore. But his pairings with Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Anchorman) have always been funny, and even though The Other Guys isn't as good as those ones, it is still no exception. Throw in some Mark Wahlberg (who you may remember as rap-star 'Marky Mark' from back in the day) poking fun at an arrogant character and this movie has it made.

NYPD Detectives Christopher Danson and P.K. Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) are the baddest and most beloved cops in New York City. They don't get tattoos - other men get tattoos of them. Two desks over and one back, sit Detectives Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg). You've seen them in the background of photos of Danson and Highsmith, out of focus and eyes closed. They're not heroes - they're "the Other Guys." But every cop has his or her day and soon Gamble and Hoitz stumble into a seemingly innocuous case no other detective wants to touch that could turn into New York City's biggest crime. It's the opportunity of their lives, but do these guys have the right stuff?

Putting Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg together in the long list of 'buddy cops' in these types of movies is weird, but the mismatched duo really work. Sure, Wahlberg may have been a little too arrogant, but this is no match for his Oscar-nominated turn as the super arrogant Dignam in The Departed. Ferrell is just very same-same, which should be a shame. If you're used to Ferrell's typical antics, then chances are you will probably love this film. Even though they disappear early in the film, Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson remain a high point in the movie, as they also poke fun at the 'tough cop' stereotype. Essentially, this is a movie which has no problem in making fun of the cop stereotype the film industry has built up over the years.

The story of the movie is a little dry, but the laughs within the script come thick and fast. It's be ages since a comedy has actually been funny. The Other Guys fills the gap of a time largely devoid of laughs quite well, and all in all, it is a pretty funny movie. Typically funny, but there are lot of fresh laughs to be had. Especially when Mark Wahlberg shows off his 'ballet talents' to his girlfriend. If it's a laugh you're after, then look no further than The Other Guys. They're actually quite funny.


THE VERDICT: The Other Guys is the kind of movie that is the normal comedy we see these days, but is made all the better by the mismatched partnership of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

7/10

DVD--Brooklyn's Finest

or: Apply the brakes, kiddies.

One word to sum it up: Mindbending.

I admit, cop dramas have never really been my thing. They all seem to think that all cops are bad, and never seem to show the heroism of a cop until the very end when we have lost respect for the cops. Admittedly, I think the only cop drama I have ever liked is The Departed. I never would have watched Brooklyn's Finest had I not had to go through weeks at work seeing it's real cool trailer which was perfectly fit to Rihanna and Jay-Z's hit 'Run this Town'. Despite my reservations about it, I still couldn't help but be a little intrigued by this project by Antoine Fuqua.

In Brooklyn, amid drug deals, violence, casual racism, poverty, housing projects, and corrupt cops, we follow three officers: Tango (Don Cheadle), African-American, working undercover, believing he's earned a promotion to a desk job but told he has to set up the bust of an ex-con who saved his life; Sal (Ethan Hawke), who'll commit murder to get cash to buy a house big enough for his family; and, Eddie (Richard Gere), the precinct's oldest beat cop, a week to go before retirement, assigned to mentor an earnest rookie. Can this end well for any of the three?

Brooklyn's Finest isn't as bad as many critics would lead you to believe. It's genuinely gritty portrayal of the crimeland in Brooklyn may be something that me as a Kiwi simply couldn't believe. The performances, however, really make this movie. Though these characters are those who are often found in these types of films, the actors elevate them to new heights and make the gloriously offensive language-laden script worth the ear battering. Ethan Hawke, especially, knows how to make the audience feel for a character who has done some bad things but is still dedicated to his family. His part is by far my favourite out of the whole movie.

That aside, Brooklyn's Finest was really over-cooked. Usually multi-plot movies don't really bother me. But this one had three major seperate stories which I failed to see much connection in. Each story was overlong that the simple explanations that should have been there were replaced by curiously distant melodrama and incessant violence and aggression-fuelled conversations which went way over the top of my head. By the end, it became an all out killing spree and then the dose of heroism came...right on cue. Brooklyn's Finest was clearly confused about where it was going, but then again, when it could get its story straight, this movie really shone.


THE VERDICT: Brooklyn's Finest was really good, apart from the fact that it's multi-plot story was a little stereotypical and way too melodramatic. Performances are top rate, though.

6/10