Pineapple Express

Seth Rogen and James Franco in what may be the first pot action comedy, Pineapple Express (Sony Pictures)

I have a weakness for pot comedies. I think there's a lack of mean-spiritedness in pot comedies even when there are gross out gags or in the case of Pineapple Express (opening August 6 throughout San Diego) violence. You can always find a goofy sweetness lurking somewhere in a pot comedy and I find that oddly endearing. In the case of Pineapple Express that sweetness can be found in James Franco's broad innocent grin and in a totally frivolous scene where the two main characters take a moment to goof off in the woods. You could cut that scene out and not disrupt the plot at all yet that scene seems essential to me in terms of defining this film as a pot comedy. But while films such as Harold and Kumar, Garden State, and Knocked Up are all obvious pot comedies, Pineapple Express may be the first pot action comedy. Now cops have always been a part of pot comedies if only in the sense that characters are often on the look out for cops in order to avoid arrest, or find themselves being pursued by law enforcement. But pot comedies have avoided using cops, guns, and criminals in full-blown action mode - until now. Check out the video of the Pineapple Express Comic-Con panel.

Trailer Tuesdays: Pineapple Express

Now that I can more easily add video elements to my blog I have decided to start a new weekly feature: Trailer Tuesdays. Each Tuesday I will try to post up a fun or interesting trailer from an upcoming new film or maybe a classic old one or something cool on DVD. The first trailer going up is for Pineapple Express (opening August 6 throughout San Diego). Imagine the Big Lebowski crossed with True Romance, or Hot Fuzz with the added layer of being a pot comedy and you'll have a good idea of what Pineapple Express is like. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the creative team behind Superbad, and produced by Judd Apatow, Pineapple Express focuses on Rogen's character Dale who witnesses a hit while taking a hit, and then all hell breaks loose. The film marks the first mainstream effort from lyrical indie director David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls, Snow Angels). Check out the trailer and let me know if there are any trailers you'd like to see posted or dug up from the archives. Trailer courtesy of Sony Pictures.

You Don’t Mess with the Kung Fu Panda Zohan

Master Shifu teaches Po a lesson in Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks)

This week I am pleased to introduce two new KPBS Teen Critics, Raymond Mai and Vikram Bhoyrul. They both had reviews up this week (of Kung Fu Panda and You Don't Mess with the Zohan,respectively) and I hope you check them out. Raymond is someone I've known since he was in elementary school with my son and he's always had very strong opinions about movies, so I'm thrilled to have him aboard. Vikram, on the other hand, I just met. I was introduced to his father at an Indian film screening and his dad explained how Vikram had started his own paper at Bishop's. Now that's initiative. Anyway, I hope you check out their reviews. But I wanted to throw my two cents in about Kung Fu Panda and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (both opened June 6 throughout San Diego). Also, being a martial arts fan I thought it was worth mentioning that three films that opened on Friday - Kung Fu Panda, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Foot Fist Way - contained martial arts to varying degrees.

First let me start with Kung Fu Panda, an American animated martial arts film about a panda with big dreams. The film seems in part to tap into the fact that all eyes are on China as it prepares to host the summer Olympics. The film starts with a strikingly animated prologue that turns out to be a dream. Po (voiced by Jack Black) is an eager, out of shape panda that wants nothing more than to be like the heroes that he worships (and has a full set of action figures of). This open got my interest up because the animation style recalled the Emmy-winning Cartoon Network show Samurai Jack. Unfortunately, when the dream ends, so does the innovative visual style and we're back to the standard 3-D computer animation that everyone is using. I know it's state of the art and I should appreciate how the hair looks so real... but all right already. Kudos to the technicians and animators. But this style of animation seems to place more emphasis on the technology than the artistry, and I've begun to grow weary of it.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Breaking up is hard to do for Jason Segel (right) in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal)

In order not to shock anyone driving in their cars and listening to my radio feature on KPBS during the morning commute, I couldn't call Forgetting Sarah Marshall (opening April 18 throughout San Diego) what it really is and that's a "dick flick." It earns that title in two ways: Not only does writer and star Jason Segel bare all but he also wallows (humorously) in a male version of chick flick emotiona upheaval. The film's gender bending approach turns a romantic break up into a hilarious comedy. When I ask debuting director Nicholas Stoller about the label he laughs.

Drillbit Taylor

The terrors of high school in Drillbit Taylor (Paramount)

I was going to leave Drillbit Taylor (opened March 21 throughour San Diego) to the Teen Critics, who did a fine job dismissing the film as "more stupid than funny" and not "completely horrible." But then I came across this item in Variety: "Thanks to the prolific Judd Apatow, the reclusive John Hughes has made an under-the-radar return to the movie business." The article went on to reveal that one of the people credited with conceiving the film's story, Edmond Dantes, is none other than John Hughes. That's right, John Hughes, the king of teen comedies from the 1980s who slipped into oblivion before the new millennium. But Hughes had written a treatment years ago for Paramount that was given to Apatow and developed into Drillbit Taylor, a film about a trio of high school freshmen targeted by a bully and forced to hire a bodyguard for protection. In his heyday, Hughes created such popular teen comedies as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. His films also gave birth to the Brat Pack of young Hollywood stars and influenced people like Apatow and Juno’s Diablo Cody who grew up loving his comedies. So in an odd way this proves somehow appropriate but it may also explain why I didn’t like Drillbit Taylor as much as Apatow’s other films.

On Drillbit Taylor and School Bullies

Owen Wilson stars as Drillbit Taylor (Paramount)

By Tony Galindo

Drillbit Taylor: Not your normal comedy staring Owen Wilson. Then again it's exactly what he's done before. With such movies as Wedding Crashers and Night at the Museum under his belt this actor has partaken in many unusual funny films.

In Drillbit Taylor (opening March 21 throughout San Diego) he plays the title character but we don't meet him right away. Instead our attention is focused on our two teenaged main characters, Wade and Ryan, preparing for their first day of high school. As the film progresses, Wade's attempt to help one kid out of a bullying situation proves to be a mistake that lands our characters on the hit list of the school bully. I use the term "hit list" because for some reason this bully really wants to kill someone. Something that hopefully would never happen at a real high school you would be attending.

After their first impression of high school goes horribly wrong, the story truly begins to unfold and we are introduced to the main attraction for seeing the film - Owen Wilson as Drillbit. The boys hold an interview session to try and hire a personal bodyguard to protect them in the halls and after school so they can just get on with there geeky lives. Since the boys are short on cash, many professionals turn them down -- until the one and only Drillbit Taylor shows up to save the day. With his army "expertise" he begins to help the kids out for the reasonable price of all the money they have and an occasional bowl of cereal. Not knowing that their new found friend Drillbit is actually a homeless military deserter, they end up paying him for what turns out to be useless protection services. To make a long story short, it doesn't go so well for the boys. They soon find out that their new friend isn't who or what he says he is. So they decide to stick up for themselves and everyone finally recognizes them.

This movie wasn't completely horrible. It felt like the stupidest thing at the time I was watching it but it was a great movie to just sit back and enjoy. Not a lot of thinking was required to enjoy the funny moments in the film, and the cast was great. I could believe the geeks were geeks and that Drillbit was a homeless army dropout. The only thing that got to me was trying to believe that the bully they were up against really wanted to kill them. This along with the fact that even going to the school principal didn't help. That didn't seem believable. Maybe that happens across the country but growing up here in San Diego I can say that schools really do try to help with your problem and care about the students, especially if you bring a screaming, pissed off parent in. Other then this problem, the movie was fun to see, especially if you're with your friends and just looking for a good time. If you want to see a movie with a purpose then this probably isn't the one for you.

-- Tony Galindo is a senior at Mount Miguel High. He was recently accepted at the Art Institute of San Diego where he wants to major in game art design and pursue a career in environmental design. Writing is a hobby of his as well as watching movies, so he thought it would be great to be able to share his opinions on film with people.

Knocked Up

Ben and buddies in Knocked Up (Universal)

Two years ago, Judd Apatow's comedy The 40 Year Old Virgin surprised everyone by grossing more than a hundred million at the box office. Apatow's follow up film this summer is another relationship comedy and it offers a welcome alternative to bloated blockbusters. Knocked Up (opening June 1 throughout San Diego) considers the unexpected repercussions of a one night stand between a slacker and an overachiever.