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One of the joys of being a university student is getting invited to free sneak previews. I went to one last night, where the front half of the theater was packed with students while the back was filled with members of the writing team, taking careful notes on which jokes we did and did not laugh at. For the most part, the reaction was positive, and the jokes that failed miserably will probably get edited out by the time the movie officially opens.

The movie was pretty sports-comedy formulaic, with the down-and-out lovable losers getting a big chance, then introducing a new character who will inspire them, and a few montages later, the big finale. The R-rating was used mainly on adding in lots of cuss-words, with mixed humorous results. There was a really funny joke about masturbation. I was hoping for a little more basketball craziness, but oh well.

The highlight, of course, was Will Ferrel meeting the 70s. I myself was not alive in the 70s, so I only know about the culture through the disco-funk lens of caricature cinema. Ferrel is one funky mofo so he thrives. I would say this was one of his better efforts, topping Taladega nights, Elf, and the ice skating one. It's not as good as Anchorman, mainly because it's just not as quotable.

In short, if you like Will Ferrel, or 70s funk (the soundtrack is hella dope), see this movie.

I saw a preview for this movie about 5 months ago and I was really excited because it looked almost like it could have something to do with the video game. Finally, the movie came out in Japan and I just went to see it, and let me be the first to say that it was really the opposite of entertaining. The story has absolutely nothing to do with the video game. Instead, it's sort of like X-men meets Romeo and Juliet in Japan, which sounds cool, but nothing really works. The storyline is laughable at best (although not really funny), the character development, including the "love story", is pathetic, and the fight scenes, that is, the reason you go to see the movie, are way too short and only make up about 10% of the movie--the remaining 90% is boring, cheesy, useless dialogue. Furthermore, the only martial art demonstrated is from the ancient school of "Special-effects Fu", which might be entertaining to a 7 year old but aren't that interesting without actual fighting skill. All in all, I can't think of any circumstances under which I'd recommend this movie. Even the lead actress, who is best known for her roles in cell phone ads and ramen commercials, somehow manages to not be hot. If you are a fan of Japanese or other Asian cinema or if you are a movie fan in general, do yourself a favor and skip this one.

I had the opportunity to go to a screening of Human Error last night, and I will say that I am very glad I went. The movie invokes a kind of absurdity which reminded me of Brazil (one of my favorites), with the three main actors working with perfect synchronicity and comedic timing to make hilarious commentary on workplace relations and ethics. The scenery is mainly CGI, but it is a completely new take on the use of computer imaging and makes the whole film seem like some crazy tribute to Hieronymus Bosch. In the end, the movie makes you laugh a lot, albeit sometimes uncomfortably, and is definitely worth seeing if you get the chance. Whether you are a disgruntled worker, a technophile, or a stoned college student, this movie really has something for everyone.