The Hangover

When The Hangover came out, I didn’t see it right away. This was a movie that everyone was raving about and quoting lines from it. For a long time, this was the highest grossing Rated R film of all time and everyone I knew was obsessed with it. People were quoting lines I could not place and they were just spouting off lines from this movie like it was the holy grail of hilarious movies. And the first time I watched it… I was a little bored.

Looking back at it now, I think I made a couple of mistakes when watching this movie the first time. I’m pretty sure I watched it alone. The second mistake I made was believing all the hype about this movie. If you go into a movie thinking its going to be the funniest movie ever, or if someone you don’t like thinks this movie is hilarious, you already have a bias against it. So yeah, the first time I saw The Hangover I was a little bit bored by it. And then I saw the second one and I sold every interest I had in ever seeing these movies again. Not only was I bored by the first one, I felt cheated that I went to the second one just to see the exact same thing. I don’t know if I’ll ever see the second one again, but I’m pretty sure all I’m going to do is put a link to this review and say, it’s the exact same movie. And I don’t even know what the third one is, as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t exist… (at least not until I decide to review it)

But when I was on vacation this past week, I was getting ready to go out and the Hangover came on the television. I was watching it with my friends and even with the censored version on, I found myself laughing pretty hard at the jokes. I decided that when I got home, I knew I had a free copy laying around, I thought I’d throw it in and give it one more shot.

The Hangover follows the story of 4 guys heading out to a bachelor party for the groom to be, Doug Billings (played by Justin Bartha). His groomsmen include his friends Phil (played by Bradley Cooper) a teacher who is all around a bit of an asshole, and Stuart (played by Ed Helms) a dentist who is in a very abusive relationship with his girlfriend. Joining them is his strange brother in law Alan (played by Zach Galifianakis) who he feels obligated to bring along despite his very odd quirks. They have the plan to bring Doug out to Las Vegas to have one last unforgettable night two days before his wedding. The funny part about this film is that they get to Las Vegas, they’re about to go out for the night, they make a few speeches and they have a drink before they set out. And then the movie cuts to the next morning.

Phil, Stuart, and Alan all wake up in a trashed hotel room. Stuart wakes up without a tooth, Alan finds a baby in the closet, and they all find a tiger in the bathroom. But most importantly, they cannot find Doug. At first, they chalk it up to just one crazy night where they drank too much that they can’t remember anything and Doug is somewhere fine. But the more they delve into the events of the previous night, they start to figure out that there is more to that night and Doug is straight up missing. The rest of the night is the three of them following a bread crumb trail of clues from the night before and they try and figure out where they were, what they did, and most importantly, find Doug in time to get him back to Los Angeles and get married.

Even when I wasn’t a huge fan of this movie, I did think it was a really creative and fun idea. Obviously not an idea that you needed to do again… and then a third time, but for a single comedy, this really played well. Everyone has had, or knows someone who has woke up the next morning after a long night of drinking and had no memory of the night before. This is that just brought to the 10^th degree as they start to realize they ran into some shady people the night before.

The most fun part of the movie is that you’re right there with the main characters trying to figure out what happened to these guys and what the night actually looked like. There are so many fun hints and clues that they leave and then slowly throughout the movie they dole out the answers to your questions. Even at the end of the movie when they find a camera with the evidence of what they did the previous night, you’re still not totally clear of what happened and that is kind of the fun part of the movie.

But these are all things that I could have noticed and still thought the movie wasn’t funny right? Well yeah, but after a little bit of time to shed the stigma and the expectation that EVERYONE was obsessed with this movie, I actually listened to some of the jokes and its actually a really funny script!

To me, a lot of this movie just feels genuine and original. It doesn’t have exactly a distinct style of humor, its just three guys unraveling a mystery and a lot of funny things happen to them. The people they run across are really funny and it’s a lot of fun to imagine them doing all these crazy things just plastered the night before. They could have easily done flashbacks showing exactly what happened but it’s almost funnier just staying there with the three of them and having the night unravel to you the same way it is to them.

The humor is raunchy, its crude, its definitely a rated R comedy. But there’s a reason that Deadpool and Ted are really the only movies that have topped The Hangover and that’s because Rated R comedies need to be done right. And The Hangover does it right.

It also might have helped to watch this movie 7 years later because I am now aware of the kind of humor these actors bring and where their strengths are. This movie would not have succeeded if it wasn’t for the three main actors, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zack Galfianakis. They’re the kind of people that you know just had fun doing this movie and it shows in their performance.

They all bring their own kind of humor to the movie. Bradley Cooper very much plays the straight man because… well he’s Bradley Cooper. He’s too good looking to be anything other than the straight man. However, he’s also an incredible asshole and so he’s not boring. Too many times the straight man in movies like this are just there to be the straight man and be a vehicle for the audience. But in this movie, Cooper actually felt like he had his own character and he wasn’t just the good looking one.

Then you’ve got Ed Helms who of course has really grown into his own since this movie and The Office. I don’t think I was a huge fan of him when I first saw this movie but I think after seeing some of his work since, I really have enjoyed his tempo and type of humor that he just becomes hilarious in this movie. An example of how refreshing and original the humor is in this movie is when he just gets on a piano and sings the Doug song. That’s the example of something that would only work if it was done by Ed Helms, and just how refreshing the movie feels sometime.

And then you have Zack Galifianakis. The Hangover wasn’t his film debut but it might as well have been. This was the movie that launched his career and made him the actor that he is today. Now even after a second viewing where I actually was laughing pretty hard, I still don’t really love Galifianakis and his other work. I’m kind of lukewarm on him. He’ll do something like Between Two Ferns which I think is funny but not side splitting funny and then I have moments where I feel like he’s just doing the awkward bearded guy he was in The Hangover again.

I’m planning on seeing Keeping Up with the Joneses this weekend so if I do I can definitely see if he’s still doing the same shtick.

However, keeping in mind that this was the first time he did that shtick, I really do enjoy Alan in this movie. He’s funnier if you’re looser and you’re watching this movie with friends, but I do think it’s pretty funny.  

Like I said before, the supporting cast from the hooker that Stuart ends up marrying while drunk played by Heather Graham, to Ken Jeong playing a flamboyant Chinese gangster, it’s a really solid cast. The fun thing I’m noticing about this cast is that it was actually pretty conservative with the really well known actors being involved. As much as it was fun to see a lot of cameos in movies like Popstar, its interesting going back to a time when Rob Riggle wasn’t that well known and he was brought on because he was funny, not because he was Rob Riggle. Nothing against Rob Riggle, its just an example. It seems too often that comedies are banking off things being funny when they bring in a celebrity cameo instead of just getting someone new to be funny.

Here’s the example. In Popstar, Justin Timberlake had a cameo as the chef. Don’t get me wrong, it was really funny to see Justin Timberlake in that role because it’s funny to point that out and Justin Timberlake is a funny dude. But I think what happened with people in The Hangover was they grabbed a couple actors who weren’t unknowns but hadn’t quite popped yet, and just helped that progression. Both methods are funny, but I kind of enjoy seeing new faces and still laughing my ass off, because they’re funny, not because I just recognize them.

The biggest complaint I have about The Hangover really isn’t about the movie itself. It’s a pretty original and creative storyline and even if I’m having a day where I don’t think it’s funny, I can still recognize when a movie is structured well. The issues I have was the sequels that spawned from The Hangover. I think the big stigma I had put on that movie was that I resented it for starting a trend of just creating a sequel and doing the exact same thing.

Sequels can be hard. It’s hard to take a concept that was really funny to begin with and make it totally different and make it as funnier if not funnier since that’s what people expect. But with the Hangover sequels, they took the exact same concept, put it in Bangkok, and really didn’t change anything. I remember being angry coming out of that movie saying I paid to see a movie I could just find online for free.

I won’t talk too much more about The Hangover sequels because I’m thinking I should probably save that for another day, but my issue was that the people found gold in this first project and didn’t really know what to do with it after they had got it. And in a way it does make me a little bit angry and resentful of the first movie for starting that.

But overall, The Hangover is a fun time. You really have to take separately from its sequels though or else you get the bias that I ended up having for a couple of years. But now, I’m feeling a little bit of a Hangover revitialization… or maybe that’s just me because I just watched it. Anyways, I really enjoyed the Hangover and you should definitely check it out. I’d wait until I do a review on the sequels to move in on those if you haven’t seen them already but if you haven’t seen The Hangover yet and you like raunchy crude humor, go for it.

But those are my thoughts on The Hangover, even if they are 7 years late. What are your thoughts on The Hangover? What’s your favorite line from the movie? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I’ll leave you with this.  One of the funniest parts from the movie is the Doug song and here that song is. Enjoy!

Luke Cage

Luke Cage first made his appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the series Jessica Jones. And I'm not going to lie, I wasn't a huge fan of Mike Colter's performance. Maybe I was more focused on the story of Jessica Jones and I thought Luke Cage was holding the story back, maybe I just wasn't wild about his lack of character throughout the season. So when I realized that Cage had his own series up on the queue at Netflix, I was a little bit skeptical. I didn't know how they were going to do an entire season on a character that I honestly thought was a little boring.

Well they did, and they did a really good job at it.

Right off the bat, I do have to make mention that the Luke Cage from the Jessica Jones season was not the Luke Cage from this season. That Luke Cage was stoic and really dull. In this season, Mike Colter really upped his game and made a character that is actually really interesting. He's not just a large guy who happens to be bullet proof, he's also a soulful guy, he's got jokes, he's able to give it back just as badly as he gets it, but he's also quiet. He's thoughtful in the things that he does and he's not just a meat head like he was in Jessica Jones.

The series begins in Harlem where Luke Cage has been staying since the events of Jessica Jones. He started working for a local barber shop owned by the local father figure of Harlem, Henry "Pop" Hunter (played by Frankie Faison). Cage keeps his head down as there is obviously more to his story that he doesn't want the rest of the world to know about. He keeps his abilities secret to everyone except for Pop and he just wants to be left alone.

But running the streets of Harlem is a notorious gangster by the name of Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes (played by Mahershala Ali) and when his criminal business starts to affect the lives of the people that Luke cares about, he springs into action and soon becomes something of a folk hero on the streets of Harlem.

And that's the first thing I'll talk about that makes Luke Cage different. In the Daredevil series, Daredevil is a vigilante. In Jessica Jones, she's not even a hero as opposed to a private investigator. She wants to keep her head down and not be noticed. For the case of Luke Cage, he's definitely a vigilante and they call him that, but the show portrays the public reaction differently. Of course there is the question of vigilantism and should the police be hunting down a person who is doing their jobs, but the more important theme that comes across during Luke Cage is the fact that he is less of a vigilante on the streets of Harlem and more of a local folk hero. He doesn't wear a mask, he doesn't wear a costume, he just struts up in a hoodie and kicks some major ass. There's even a great line where they say there's something about a black man in a hoodie who is bullet proof.

And that goes into the cultural relevance of this show. Jessica Jones was able to, almost heavy handedly, tell a story about a woman with extraordinary powers and the themes of each episode echoed with the struggles women go through every day. Like I said, it was too in your face and I feel like they may have pulled back a little bit with the analogies in Luke Cage, but there is still the cultural relevance, especially with the headlines of today. There is a certain kind of irony of a bullet proof black guy going around stopping corruption in a black hoodie.

In my opinion, the Netflix shows (and movies for that matter) manage to take a superhero, and make a good movie out of them, perhaps even throwing them into a different genre. So they're not only a good superhero film, they're good films in general. The best example is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was not only a comic book movie, but it also felt like a espionage thriller and therefore gave it the feeling of doing something new and creative. Instead of falling into the typical Marvel formula that has worked for years but is starting to show some signs of causing fatigue with audiences, good superhero films select a genre or a topic and run with it. Jessica Jones ran with the topic of women and based a show around that where the main character just happened to have super powers.

Now, that's not to say that Daredevil is not good and doesn't have important things to say. I just think the questions of law and order that Daredevil are breaching on have been more frequent superhero themes and its good to see something a little bit different. The benefit of Daredevil is it feels like a superhero story and its something we're familiar with. It might not be groundbreaking theme-wise but its pretty damn entertaining.

So where does Luke Cage fall? Well luckily, Marvel is starting to figure out that they can find a happy medium. They don't have to go so heavy handed with the themes like they did in Jessica Jones, but they also don't feel the need to go full superhero show. Luke Cage falls somewhere in the medium with the action and crime fighting of Daredevil, and the subtle social commentary that I think was started in Jessica Jones.

But on top of any social commentary, Luke Cage also manages to be a cultural commentary, especially on a unique culture like that of Harlem. The feeling of Harlem is really great and potent throughout the series. For someone who doesn't know a whole lot about the history of Harlem and the culture, it was an interesting insight on the history, arts, and just vibe of the burrow because that's exactly what the show was influenced by. The Luke Cage comics were your over the top representation of black culture when there hadn't been that kind of representation in comic books before. Not only are they pulling from the comics but the music in the show is some of the best I've heard in a long time and its unique.

And the really fun part is, its a dual edged sword. On one hand, the show is really celebrating the actual Harlem that exists today, showing the community, the music, and the whole attitude throughout the show. However, oddly enough, Luke Cage also shows a Harlem that is affected by the world created by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its not just showing Harlem the way it is now, its showing Harlem if it was in the MCU, reacting to the events of the first Avengers movie. It shows how the community would react and gather together, either in fear or support of those who are different. Its not a huge aspect of the show and they still manage to be very vague about the circumstances of "The Incident", but at the same time its very obvious, if you've watched the rest of the Marvel movies that they are talking about the events of the first Avengers and its world creating which I always think is really unique and special about the MCU.

The environment and the fact that this isn't exactly a straight up comic book superhero show makes it a lot of fun because Luke Cage is set up more as a gangster film that just happens to have a guy with super powers involved in the gangland activities of Harlem. And that actually can be a lot of fun. But that only works if the relationships between characters is very strong, and this was something Luke Cage was very good, especially in the beginning.

Luke Cage has a really strong cast of mainly black characters which is something very different than the status quo. And the relationships between these characters are really what made it for me. Of course you have the relationship between Pop and Luke in the beginning and that is really strong. It is basically the catalyst for the rest of the series so it has to be good. But Pop is also a quintessential character because he represents the good of Harlem and so many people have a close connection to him.

Luke has ties to the detective Misty Knight (played by Simone Missick) and the two of them play off one another in this really fun skeptical way. We as the audience know that they’re on the same side and there are moments where it looks like they know that deep down but at the same time they are always at odds until it finally comes down to it and they need to team up. I really enjoyed these two and I would have actually liked to see more come out of that relationship but that was kind of blocked by the relationship between Luke and Claire (played by Rosario Dawson).

I do find it interesting that Rosario Dawson is going to be the connective tissue between the different series in the Netflix Marvel TV universe. I do really like her I’m glad I have no problem with seeing her return, especially after Luke Cage. My only issue is kind of a petty one, but I actually liked her and Matt Murdock more than I like her and Luke Cage together. It doesn’t hurt the story and it’s not a huge deal at the end of the day, just something that my personal bias pushed back against. But she actually has quite a large part in this series, much larger than she did in Jessica Jones and now that she’s left her job at the hospital, she is now coming into her own and actually becoming the Night Nurse. What I do like about her is the fact that she is not the damsel in distress or the girlfriend, she clearly lays out that she wants to be the one helping those trying to do good when she can’t help herself. She knows how to tend to wounds so that is what she is going to do, for Luke Cage, for Daredevil, and any of the Defenders she comes across in the future.

But the relationship with Luke Cage that I loved the most was the one he had with one of the main antagonists, Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (played by Mahershala Ali). Ali is actually becoming one of my favorite actors because he is just strong in whatever he does. He’s not exactly well known because he does take these supporting roles in movies like The Hunger Games and in House of Cards, but I do have to say, whatever I have seen him in I have really enjoyed his performance.

My favorite parts of the show was the rivalry that is set up early on between Cottonmouth and Luke Cage. They both represent the ways that the elements of the streets are taking care of Harlem and how the trust is not in the police but in these natural elements, and they’re both playing for the affection of the people of Harlem. It’s obvious that Cottonmouth is a criminal but that’s not the

persona he puts on in the public eye. That’s the part that I was talking about when I said that this show is similar to a gangster film. The best gangster films are the ones where the gangster is a criminal but he’s also a huge part of the community. He has the communities back but at the same time he’s shaking it down for money. This is the strange dynamic that makes Cottonmouth a fascinating character and that made that rivalry awesome. One of my favorite parts was at a funeral and both Cottonmouth and Luke Cage give eulogies. In many ways it plays like a rap battle between these two and the tension is high because you’re not sure if the words are going to spring people into a gun battle or if they’re just going to be exchanging these words with one another, but either way its entertaining as hell.

Furthermore, they delve into his past and make him just as sympathetic of a character as they made Kingpin in Daredevil. He’s the kind of antagonist you love to hate. And while when I first saw that episode where they delve into the past of Cottonmouth I thought they were just retreading what they did with Kingpin, I didn’t really care because I enjoyed these two’s feud too much.

And then you have Diamondback…

Now I’m trying to talk about this character without giving away too many spoilers. There is definitely a shift when Diamondback comes in and the show takes it a little bit on the chin to try and fail to make this character more interesting than Cottonmouth. The truth is, Willis Stryker is just not more intriguing as a character to me than Cornell Stokes. And I understand there is more of a personal relationship between Stryker and Cage but honestly the guy who played Stryker didn’t give nearly as good of a performance as Mahershala Ali. Cottonmouth felt more like a realistic gangster that created a good foil to Luke Cage’s folk hero status. Diamondback felt more like a cheesy comic book villain or a Joker type character, which I’m sure he was originally written as. But it honestly felt out of place compared to the rest of the show that provided this gritty, “The Wire” feeling to it. That is incredibly true especially in the last episode when he wears this…

And that gritty “Wire-esc” feeling was supported by characters like Hernan “Shades” Alvarez (played by Theo Rossi) and the rest of the supporting antagonists. Theo Rossi is an interesting case because he doesn’t exactly have the face of a seasoned gangster and he doesn’t exactly look like the kind of guy who is going to be king of the castle. However, the character of Shades has been described by Rossi as the “Littlefinger from Game of Thrones” to the Luke Cage series and I really enjoyed that character. You never really knew what side he was on, all you knew was that he was going to have his own interests in mind and he had a plan to serve those interests.

And those interests are only supported when he’s working with the final main antagonist of the film, Mariah Dillard (played by Alfre Woodard). Mariah Dillard is a local politician who is the cousin of Cottonmouth. She grew up in Harlem and was witness to the gang violence and dealings from the very beginning. She is just as cold and callas as the rest of the bad guys but she is also very strategic in her dealings and tries to remain above it all, keeping her hands clean in the entire ordeal, which almost makes her the worst of the bunch.

I really enjoyed Alfre Woodard’s performance and I did think she was a slimy bad guy that was easy to dislike. I liked her and Cottonmouth’s relationship more than I liked hers and Diamondback’s, but you already know that I wasn’t as much of a fan of Diamondback as the others. She will definitely have a place in the future Defender’s TV shows and the way that her character develops and turns from just a politician to something so much more is really exciting to think about in future outings with these characters.

Now there are a couple of downsides to the series of Luke Cage now that I’ve had a little bit of time to really digest the entire series. Of course I’ve made note of my issue with Diamondback and that’s just going to be a thing. But one of the other big issues is that the series does start to drag near the end of it. The season is 13 episodes long and I’m thinking that maybe it could have been condensed near the end to perhaps a 10 episode season. A couple episodes of the season really delve into this war between Luke Cage and the gang that really aren’t necessary. The episodes where they delve into Luke’s past are good, but a lot of episodes near the end really take some detours to the final battle we’ve all been waiting for.

The other thing I’ll mention is the wackiness of the series at some weird parts, but I will get into that in a second.

Overall, I really enjoyed Luke Cage. I’m trying to figure out how much of a lasting impression it has made on me, especially since I finished it in the early weeks of October and I’ve had some time to think on it. But then I start thinking I should re-watch Jessica Jones and I start doubting myself. Give me some time, I’m sure I will send out a tweet or do a full post in preparation for Iron Fist and the Defenders and I will give the standings of where Luke Cage ranks between the last two seasons of Daredevil and Jessica jones. I am interested where you all rank those seasons if you have seen them all. Be sure to let me know.

But now I wanna talk about the wackiness of the series.

There is a certain element of Luke Cage and how wacky it got because it was paying homage to the original comic. There’s a funny flashback where Luke is escaping prison and he finds clothes on a line that he takes to blend in. Of course they are the clothes that match his original costume and he straight out says he looks like a damn fool.

And in other parts, the wackiness is something that contributes to the character of Luke Cage. The fact that he says Sweet Christmas from time to time isn’t just an homage to the phrase in the comic books, it actually fits with the character of Luke Cage. While he can be solemn and stoic, he can also be a really funny guy and bring on some really funny quips.

 But the entire season really does do a balancing act on a tightrope between being a comic book show and a gritty “Wire-esc” show. And that’s a balancing act I’m not sure Marvel is going to fall on the right side of with the Defenders as a whole.

Luke Cage is an interesting beast when you come down to it. I’ve never read the comics, but what I can understand from the Wikipedia page (Isn’t the extent of my research just so in depth?), the stories being told in the Netflix series are pretty close to his origin story. A lot of his origin is pretty close and he does remain a local legend of sorts in Harlem. But later on he starts doing adventures with the Fantastic Four and he starts fighting the cosmic bad guys and he falls right in with other Superheroes. Now this is the case with both Daredevil and Jessica Jones so it’s not too far-fetched to think of that, but it does make me wonder what the future of the Netflix series is.

The big question on everyone’s mind as we get closer to Infinity War is, will the Defenders make an appearance in the battle between Thanos when he comes to Earth to destroy us all? Besides mention of “the Incident” and quick references to Captain America and the Avengers, these two mediums have remained pretty clearly apart. They obviously exist in the same universe but it’s obvious that Chris Evans is probably not going to make an appearance as Captain America in Iron Fist. And this is for multiple reasons. 1) Netflix probably can’t afford Chris Evans to show up on their show. But more importantly 2), it wouldn’t fit.

While they exist in the same universe, it wouldn’t make any sense narrative wise for Iron Man to interact with Jessica Jones because they exist on planes that don’t really mix. Yes they’re both vigilantes but Iron Man has fought aliens from outer space and Ultron Robots. Thor is a God from Asgard, why would he interact with a small time vigilante dressed as the Devil from the few city blocks that make up Hell’s Kitchen?

I don’t want to belittle the badassedness of the heroes of The Defenders but the issues of the Defenders are totally different than the issues of the Avengers. I don’t see a particular reason why the Avengers would even waste their time with these small time heroes who the worst thing they’ve fought has been ninjas.

But the most important reason I don’t think I want to see the Defenders show up in Infinity War is for the reason that the Defenders would be elevated from fighting the street level threats to suddenly fighting aliens and the supernatural. And while that sounds cool to see Luke Cage fighting aliens, you have to think about the tone that was set up by the Luke Cage series. While it had its wacky moments, it was definitely a street level gangster tone. Maybe it’s not about belittling the heroes themselves on whether or not they could handle a threat like the aliens from the first Avengers, its probably more about belittling the experiences of the previous series. After Daredevil fights aliens, how does him fighting street level criminals become relevant again? A great part of the show has been the intimacy of the setting and how it’s been utilized to make these heroes seem big, even though if they are in perspective to Thor they seem really small.

And the thing that worries me about The Defenders series itself is that it might try to go too big. They’ve already announced the Signourney Weaver is going to be the main villain for the Defenders series. I’m worried that they’re already trying to make these heroes larger than they need to be. The wackiness of Luke Cage could be hinting at a larger universe that The Defenders are fighting and I’m worried that the larger the threat, the more likely the close, intimate relationship heroes like Luke Cage and Daredevil have with their street level villains like Cottonmouth and Kingpin, will be lost.

I’ve been listening to a couple of podcasts that suggest that the cameo these heroes have in Infinity War should be very small, like a quick shot of them looking over their shoulder to witness the events happening while they fight the bad guys, but even then, I can’t say I’m a fan of the Defenders showing up in Infinity War.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe it will be great, but in my opinion they should keep them separate and only bring them in if they really make the most sense to do so. Don’t throw them in just for the sake of throwing them in because I don’t want them to distract from the story at hand. I want the Defenders to be in Infinity War only if it makes sense.

But that’s neither here nor there right now. Right now, I can say that Luke Cage was a really fun series and it made me really interested in a character that I didn’t have a lot of high hopes for when I first saw him in Jessica Jones. Luke Cage has reassured me that there is a larger universe in the Netflix Marvel shows and I am looking forward to Iron Fist, The Defenders, and the other shows that Marvel has to reveal in the future.

But what did you think? Did you like Luke Cage? Where do you rank it between the two seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones? Do you think that the Defenders are going to show up in Infinity Wars? Comment and Discuss below! You can send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for movies and shows I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I’ll leave you with this. I've probably put this up before but just to remind you, the Defenders are happening. Enjoy!

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

I as such a huge fan of Andy Samberg when I was a kid that I actually got in trouble when I was younger because I recreated one of SNL digital shorts that he and other members of the Lonely Island created a while ago paying a loose homage to the Season 2 finale of the OC. I of course thought it was hilarious, but its all about people getting shot… my parents didn’t think it was very funny…

But when Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping had Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island seemingly making fun of Justin Bieber, I really couldn’t resist. I however, did not actually see the movie until recently. The movie came out at a time when things had gotten quite busy at work and while I wanted to see the movie, I wasn’t excited enough to make a big deal out of seeing it. And by the time things had settled down at work, my motivation had really gone down to see this movie. But I went to Red Box the other day to see what movies were available and I saw this one. I thought it would be a good film to watch and I put it in to finally see what the Lonely Island had to offer.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a mockumentary following the musical career of Conner 4 Reel (played by Andy Samberg). Conner is a musician who has been playing music his entire life. He has been very talented and has gained a lot of his fame through his social media persona. The beginning of the mockumentary shows the progression of his career from being in a rap band called

The Style Boyz. He is accompanied by the other members of the Lonely island who play Lawrence (played by Akiva Schaffer) and Owen (played by Jorma Taccone). The band has a falling out and Conner goes on his own solo career, supported by Owen who acts as his DJ. Lawrence on the other hand goes off to obscurity and becomes a farmer. (That joke actually becomes funnier as the movie goes on, but it didn’t start out funny).

Conner is surrounded by an entourage of yes men and his career soars on the success of his first solo album. The mockumentary mainly starts at the release of his newest album which isn’t great and a tour that has a lot of twists and turns that test Conner. It shows the highs and lows of a pop musicians career and it really has a lot to say about the music industry today.

Right off the bat, this is supposed to be taking a pretty big jab at musicians like Justin Bieber. It pokes fun at the idea of what happens when you get these child star music prodigies and when their life has really only been success, fame, and fortune.

But more importantly, it points out when music is no longer about the art but it is instead about the business of the industry. A lot of the decisions made in the film are not based off of what is going to make the best music, but what is going to make Conner more money.

This movie has a lot of star power in it. Sarah Silverman plays Conner’s publicist, Tim Meadows plays his manager and the rest of the cast is a lot of fun cameos. Justin Timberlake has a fun role in the movie, Will Arnett plays the head of a spoof of TMZ. The cameos are a lot of fun in this movie.

One of the features of the movie that might be hit or miss with people is how over the top ridiculous it is. If you’re a fan of other movies the Lonely Island has put out like Hot Rod, you’ll feel right at home with Popstar because sometimes things just happen and you’re not totally sure why but you laugh because it’s so strange. That being said, it has a lot of immature humor and while it’s out of the ordinary humor, some people might be off put by how immature it is.

Another part of the film that is kind of hit or miss is the different lines in the story they are trying to follow. It’s a mockumentary format so it’s going to go in a lot of directions to illustrate the life of Conner 4 Reel. However, there are a couple of stories in this movie that go absolutely nowhere and are wrapped up almost lazily. The best example is his girlfriend who he is obviously dating for a publicity stunt. She break up with him off screen and before you know it she’s dating Seal. Not everything is going to be resolved and it is more focused on the relationship he has with the members of the Style Boyz. But when you look back you kind of have to wonder if its totally a story worth telling, especially with how goofy the movie is through its entirety.

I’ve been watching a lot of Brooklyn 99 recently and I’ve watched Andy Samberg since his days on SNL. I think the guy knows he’s not a world class actor so he keeps on doing these really goofy roles. They work for him what can I say? He’s funny, he gets a laugh and he knows how to poke fun at the tropes and conventions we see in every movie that they’re making fun of in this one. When I first saw the trailers for this film, I didn’t really understand how they could turn him into a Justin Bieber popstar, and at a certain point, they don’t exactly succeed, but that almost makes it funnier. The Lonely Island have never been known to take themselves too seriously and it’s a silly mockumentary, its not supposed to be taken too seriously.

Deciding on whether or not you see this movie is really dependent on your humor. There are literal dick jokes in this movie… like you see a penis, straight up. If you enjoy the Lonely Island songs, you’re going to get a couple of those in her and they’re funny. It’s not a movie that is going to go down as a classic because while its funny, it has some pacing issues and the characters are not really that relatable. But the format and the absurd humor is funny for something that you might see on Netflix and say what the hell. I don’t think it’s a waste of time, I just don’t think you need to go out of your way to see Popstar. Worse movies are out there, but there are certainly better ones. Popstar is really nothing to write home about.

But those are my thoughts. What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I’ll leave you with this. Here's the Lonely Island on Jimmy Fallon doing a rendition of I'm on a Boat, arguably their most famous song. Enjoy!

Trailers of Last Week: Rogue One, GOTG 2, and Logan

So maybe I forgot to mention this but I went on vacation this last week and I didn't have the time or wifi to do a lot of writing. And of course, this just happens to be the week that a crap ton of trailers dropped. And they're for movies that, don't get me wrong, I am quite excited for them, but they weren't on the top of my list. After these trailers, I do have some different outlooks on them for sure.

So let's start with the one that is coming out sooner: Rogue One.

Here is the link. 

Now here is the thing about Rogue One and the other Star Wars movies. If you probably haven't noticed, I don't really review Star Wars movies or a lot of Star Wars stuff on this blog. The reason is because I love everything about Star Wars. I put it on a totally different level because I am such a fanboy of it. So when I have a blog on movie reviews, but I'm looking at a Star Wars movie through a totally different lens, its hard to write objectively.

That is why I didn't write a review about The Force Awakens because while I do have my critical opinions of it, I can't say that I will give you a totally unbiased review because I love Star Wars too much... like I love the prequels.

But I am wondering if that might change with Rogue One. The reason is, this is no longer a story about the beloved characters like the Skywalker family, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han Solo flying the Millenium Falcon. I like to call those the main stream episodes and they will appeal to both casual Star Wars fans and the hardcore fans. Rogue One has the job to delve into the lore of Star Wars in a way that has never been done on live action film before. Its delving into stories that aren't totally familiar and thats taking a huge risk. There is something familiar about the Skywalker family that keeps bringing people back. Now if you're like me and you've read the comic books, played the video games, etc, you know there are a lot more stories about a lot of different characters that have nothing to do with the Skywalkers.

This movie will have the loosest relationship and as a fan that intrigues me. As a movie critic, I'm a little skeptical it will play well to a larger audience. I want it to but I'm worried.

However, the other thing that really gives me hope about Rogue One is that the trailers have gotten progressively better with each one. They're showing more and more and its making me very excited about the film.

But the part that I really liked in this trailer was the personal stake some of these characters have, mainly between Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones) and her father, Galen Erso (played by Mads Mikkelson).

This was the first time we saw Mads Mikkelson's character and suddenly the story is starting to tie together. Suddenly, I have an idea of where this movie going and what to expect.

Now, in retrospect, if I had been more confident in this movie, I would have wanted to figure all of this out during the first viewing I had in December, but I understand that this is a movie that has a marketing team behind it like any other and if I don't want to watch the trailers, that is my choice.

Back on target however, this is showing a lot of new characters and showing them interact with one another.

This looks like a pretty rag tag group that is standing up to an Empire. Its really great to get back to that image, something that I think they were going for in The Force Awakens but it just felt off to me, especially since I had a better understanding of the lore before going into the movie.

I appreciate this trailer showing me a little bit more of Jyn Erso and the other characters to get some kind of idea of how they are going to fit in with one another. I really hope this movie makes me care about these guys, despite the fact that there is a pretty good chance, they're not going to make it out of this film, given that they don't show up in the Original Trilogy and Darth Vader basically says that he kills them all off in A New Hope. (Not officially but there are a lot of hints pointing towards that).

The last thing worth mentioning is that this trailer set up the sides in this film. You have the rag tag

rebels and you have the Empire of the Original Trilogy. This movie is going to remind you of the complete power of that Empire and remind us why we loved to hate it in the original trilogy.

You've got Ben Mendholson being his badass self as an Admiral of the Empire and he's very good at looking creepy and staring at people. But at the same time he has a great interaction with Darth Vader that you start to realize, he's not messing around. He knows how much power he has and he's going to us it to try and crush the rebellion.

And then there was the shot of Darth Vader that was the complete money shot in my opinion. Like there were a lot of cool shots in this trailer, but nothing compares to this one.

Like I don't know if that's Ben Mendholson, I don't know if that's Mads Mikkelson, but whoever it is, they are going to die at the hands of Darth Vader and I'd be scared shitless.

I think the big thing I took away from this is, this needs to be the last trailer. At least this is the last trailer I am going to watch.

I have seen everything that I need to see from this movie before its released and they have been on such a good trajectory, there is no point for them to spoil what they have started. Leave it on a good note.

I'm excited for Rogue One because this was just an awesome trailer. I am satisfied until the movie comes out, let December come quick!

The next film trailer I want to talk about is the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 trailer...

Now... let me be very clear, because I did have fun with Guardians of the Galaxy. I thought it was a risky move and Marvel did a good job with it.

However... its not as good as people think it is.

I think I am due for a rewind review of this movie because I have spent a good amount of time going back and thinking of all the problems I realize Guardians of the Galaxy has and why its not as great as people think it is.

That's why I am not as overly hyped for its sequel as other people are. I am going to see it, but its not my most anticipated film of 2017... in fact, its probably on the lower end of my most anticipated films to be one hundred percent honest.

So did the trailer change that?

Not really...

Now I get it, this is a teaser, its the first trailer, they still have a lot of footage that is going to get me more excited. However, nothing about this really got me very excited.

It honestly just showed some strutting shots of the team and a couple of action shots, but nothing that blew my mind away.

I can only hope that this movie will be more focused on showing how exactly these guys are now friends, something that was kind of missing in the last film. It seems like there is going to be some development on the relationship between Star Lord and Gamora (Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana), something that was non existent in the first film, and at least these are characters that hug now? Maybe?

I guess my biggest issue was putting the most dialogue in the trailer was between Drax and Star Lord... I didn't hate the scene, but it was just lackluster for what was supposed to be the first look we get at the movie.

Unfortunately, it also kind of reminds me of the great possibility that the world might be getting Chris Pratt fatigue soon.

Now I am one of the people that really love Chris Pratt. He seems like an awesome guy, he is a talented actor. I'm just worried that he had a window where he was at his peak between latter half of 2014 to mid 2015. This also happens to be the same period where he got away with basically playing the same character in Star Lord and Owen from Jurassic World. Now I can forgive that if Guardians comes out and I am reminded of the character of how great Star Lord, or if he is phenomenal in Passengers and gives me hope that there is more unique Chris Pratt waiting out there for us, we just have to go find it.... I also need to go see Magnificent 7.

Overall, in my personal opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy has to prove itself a little bit and its the trailer out of the three I'm picking out today that I wasn't impressed with.

But then it all came together with the beauty that was Logan.

Here is the link to the regular trailer and then here's the one to the international red band trailer... pretty much the same except for one huge difference.

Damn...

So yeah, this is the people at Fox deciding that the X-men are headed in a more serious and darker direction.

So why did I like this trailer better than the Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer?

I mean I have to be careful because it’s not exactly comparing apple to apples. Marvel calls the GOTG2 trailer a Sneak Peak, and Logan seems to be more of an actual trailer. Logan gives more of a story while Guardians basically just gives the movie going audience the reminder that Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is coming out soon.

But I think the thing that made me like the Logan trailer better was how different it was.

When I watched the Guardians trailer, all I could think of was how similar it was to the trailers of the first movie. I mean think about it, do you not remember the slow mo walking shot from the first trailers? Do you not remember getting lost in Zoe Saldana’s eyes as she stares into the camera? Do you not remember seeing Star Lord with his mask on looking like a bad ass? I know that there are new shots in that teaser but for me it didn’t seem like there was anything new being brought to the table with this teaser. Now I know that Kurt Russell is going to be in the film along with some other new faces so I’m sure there is something new but Guardians didn’t show me anything I couldn’t get confused for possible deleted scenes from the first film.

But Logan. This movie doesn’t feel like any kind of superhero film I’ve ever seen. You’ve got the solemn Johnny Cash song and a very dower and almost depressing tone. You’ve got barely any action

shots, just a lot of the same shots you might get in a Oscar Bait drama. There are still the iconic imagery, like Wolverine’s claws and recognizable characters but they seem like they’re in a totally different feeling environment. It seems like they’re going for some actual character interaction and friendship and you can guess that there is going to be some dramatic moments from these actors who until now have really only been seen together in a comic book environment like Days of Future Past.

We see Logan and Charles Xavier in this dystopian looking future where mutants seem to be gone. We don’t know why there aren’t mutants anymore, but we can only assume the worst. Logan has stopped healing, and Charles Xavier doesn’t look great. I have heard rumors that he has Alzheimer’s in this film and that is a fascinating concept to think about since he is a telepathic character and there’s a lot that could happen there.  

The story suggests that there is a girl who is like Logan, very much like him. Based on rumors that I’ve seen, this is suggesting X-23, or the female Wolverine. How she is going to be a viable player in the new franchise of X-men from Apocalypse remains to be seen but the timeline is already so messed up that anything could happen.

Based on what we know from X-men Apocalypse and other rumors, Mister Sinister is supposed to be the villain in Logan and we can guess that the Essex Corporation is hunting Logan, Charles, and this girl to capture her.

And the movie looks awesome.

Now I haven’t been a huge fan of the solo Wolverine movies in the past. Origins was terrible and The Wolverine just seemed like an opportunity Fox was cashing in on to get people to pay to see Hugh Jackman in his iconic role. But the thing that really interests me in this film is the fact that it is using material from the Old Man Logan comic book run.

The only thing that possibly worries me about this film is the R Rating. While I don’t think it’s a bad choice, I am worried that pushing Logan to be a Rated R film is just a ploy and knee jerk reaction from the huge response Fox got from Deadpool, a Rate R film. I don’t want comic book movies to all of a sudden start being Rated R just because Deadpool was successful. I want comic book movies to

be Rated R when it serves the purpose of the story and its going to be able to tell the story in the best way possible. For Deadpool, that was the only way they could tell that story. Now by the track record of Wolverine, it’s a little bit muddled. He has been in successful X-men movies that were rated PG-13 and yet all his standalone films were not good. Now I’m not convinced that was because it was missing an R rating, but it is something to consider. As long as they can produce an interesting story, utilize the R rating in a way that is conducive to the character and the story, and not just make the movie R rated to cash in on Deadpool’s popularity, I think Logan will be fine with that rating. 

Now I must make a disclaimer. I have never read the Old Man Logan comic books. I have done very little research on the storyline and I can’t say I know exactly what happens. However, what I’ve realized in the span of time that comic book movies have had their golden age is that most movies are not going to do very true adaptations of the storylines they pull material from. Civil War is a long

comic book run with a lot of characters Marvel does not have the rights to involved. The movie is nowhere close to being an adaptation of the comic book movies, it just has an umbrella theme to it and it shares the same name.

Now I will concede that there are other films that have said they’re drawing inspiration from a famous comic book run and they have not been great movies or anywhere close to the source material (Example: Batman v Superman = The Dark Knight Rises, and X-men Apocalypse = Age of Apocalypse). But at the same time, the reason I get excited when I hear that a certain comic book storyline is attached to a movie is because it means that they are at least pulling material from something that people enjoyed. The hardcore fans are never going to be satisfied that its not a direct adaptation, but the fact that they hold those storylines in high regard means that I am excited to see how Marvel, DC, and Fox all take that and try and incorporate it into the worlds that they’ve created.

I also think/hope that since this is the last outing of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, they’re going to try and give him the best script and the best story to send him off on. I have no idea where the X-men franchise is going, nor do I have any idea what direction Fox is taking this, but all I can point out is that I am incredibly excited for Logan. 

Out of these three movies, which one are you most excited for? Am I being too hard on the Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer? Do I need to re-watch the first one? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. Hugh Jackman is a freaking beast. One day I will be a huge beast like him. Enjoy!