Dumb and Dumber To

Going into this movie, I knew it could have gone one of two ways. It could have been surprisingly funny, just like the original was two decades ago, or it could of been disappointing. And it did end up being disappointing, not because it was unfunny, but more because we didn't get anything new. One thing is for certain, it says it all in the title.

Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) are reunited after twenty years of Lloyd pretending to be in a catatonic state, just to make a joke at Harry's expense. Harry finds out that he fathered a child with Fraida Felcher (Kathleen Turner) and that she put the baby girl up for adoption. After Lloyd sees the photo of her and falls in love, he decides to help Harry find his now grown up daughter, who is now named Penny Pinchelow (Rachel Melvin).

All in all this movie is almost a carbon copy of the original film. Harry and Lloyd are traveling across the country to find a girl and along the way they foil the plot of another couple (this time played by Rob Riggle and Laurie Holden), who are trying to get rich of someone they are close to. All the jokes in this one are just playing to fans of the original, Billy in 4c (the blind kid with the parrot) makes a return and is even played by the same actor. There is a henchman being extremely annoyed by them in a car until he dies and even the dog van makes a return. I felt like there needed to be newer jokes for a new audience, but apparently the Farrelly Brothers disagree. Sure, there was an obvious Breaking Bad reference, but the joke was extremely laboured and would have done well as a throwaway line.

It is amazing to have watched the careers of Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey steer in totally different directions. Daniels is now regarded as a fine dramatic actor, whilst Carrey is still trying to hold onto his past as wacky comedic actor. That said, Carrey still possesses his amazing ability as a physical comedian and still throws himself around just as much as he did as a younger man. Daniels slips back into the role of Harry with such ease, that it's hard to believe that he won an Emmy for Best Dramatic Actor just prior to making this film.

All the other actors in this film gave pretty poor performances. Kathleen Turner was a hero in the 80s and 90s with her quick wit, but here she just felt lethargic. Rachel Melvin needs a bit more acting experience before tackling roles like this, because I couldn't help feeling that she is an idiot just like her character. Laurie Holden has never been an actor who has captured me with any of her roles and I know that Rob Riggle can do better than he did here.

Verdict: This movie payed too much service to fans of the original and didn't pave the way for anything fun or new for younger audiences to watch and have something of their own, especially if they were too young to have seen the first Dumb and Dumber.

Kick-Ass 2

As much as the original Kick-Ass presented us with what it would be like if there were actually real life superheroes, this film deals us with the consequences of what it is to be a superhero. I can't help but feeling like this film was made as a public service announcement for those people who actually want to do this kind of thing.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has given up fighting crime as the superhero Kick-Ass and wants to live the life of a regular teenager. Soon he starts training again with Mindy Macready (Chloe Grace Moretz), formerly Hit-Girl. Before long, he joins a group of other superheroes headed by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Meanwhile, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is still brooding over the fact that Kick-Ass killed his father and vows to kill him as the world's first supervillain, The Motherf***er.

I felt that this movie was just a little weaker than the original film and I have a feeling that this was down to it having a different director. Matthew Vaughn (also known as Guy Ritchie's producer) gave the last film a certain energy that this one lacked. Jeff Wadlow (who also wrote the script) did an alright job at showing us the consequences of being a superhero. I think that I may be being a bit harsh on him, as Kick-Ass is a tough act to follow.

Taylor-Johnson did a great job playing a character who is torn between what he thinks his duty is and what he thinks a teenager should be doing. There are few scenes between him and his father (played by Garrett Brown) that really shows his inner conflict.

Moretz does a fantastic job as Macready, who is trying to learn to be a normal girl after the events of the last film. She has an energy and passion for acting that I really think will pay off for her in the future.

Jim Carrey once again shines in a film. Unlike Burt Wonderstone, where he outshone the stars, he really complements the rest of the cast. A lot of the humour in the film comes from his character's wacky view on being a superhero. It is a shame that he has since denounced the level of violence in the film, but it is good to point out that these violent actions do have heavy repercussions in the film.

There are also some very funny cameos from Donald Faison (Scrubs), John Lequizamo (Ice Age, Super Mario Bros.) and Iain Glen (everybody's favourite khaleesi bodyguard from Game of Thrones) as Chris D'Amico's truly terrifying uncle.

Verdict: The first Kick-Ass did seem like lightning in a bottle, but this film still does a great job with the cast and characters and does have some truly funny parts.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I'm the kind of guy who loves magic. I can really buy into the illusion (thank you to Gob Bluth for teaching me that), so I was expecting to go into this movie and be blown away with a magical comedy. Don't be fooled. Just because you see Steve Carrell on the poster, don't think, he's funny, I'll go see that. Really think about it, is there something else better showing? Maybe you'd like that more.

This movie is, for the most part, largely unfunny. If it had of been a drama about an older Vegas magician who had to compete with the younger generation of magicians and was forced to return to his roots to find his passion for his craft again, I would definitely go see that. Instead we get a comedic version of just that.

Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carrell) is a 40 year old magician, who has been performing in Vegas for the last decade with his partner Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi). This pair is an obvious reference to the stage magicians Siegfried and Roy (there are multiple references to them throughout the film). Wonderstone's passion for magic has dwindled and he is constantly fighting with Anton when they are offstage. The only thing he uses his act for is sleeping with impressionable young women, rather than entertaining people.

One afternoon, Burt and Anton come across street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), as he films an episode of his show Brain Rapist. This is undoubtably a nod to illusionist Criss Angel. Upon seeing this new act, Burt's boss, Doug (James Gandolfini) gets Burt and Anton to come up with a similar sort of life threatening stunt. Anton comes up with the idea of being suspended in plexiglass box for a week.

This act ultimately fails and the two go their separate ways. Burt ends up getting a job entertaining seniors at a retirement village, where he connects with retired magician Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin). Holloway rekindles Burt's love for magic, which is perfect timing because Doug is opening a new hotel and casino, where he is auditioning magicians for the headlining act. Cue predictability.

Steve Carrell has created a very unlikeable character. I wasn't sure if he was supposed to become likeable at the end, but I didn't find him so. I wish I could say more about Steve Buscemi, but he doesn't have a lot of time for character development.

The saving grace of this film are performances by Jim Carrey and Alan Arkin. It was very funny to see Carrey channel the new type of magician that has come about in the last decade. Alan Arkin is also a great comedian, but an actor of his calibre shouldn't be drawn into the likes of this film.

Wonderstone's love interest is wannabe magician Jane (Olivia Wilde). I think I would have found their relationship more believable if it had remained platonic. The chemistry between the two wasn't really working even though Wilde is an actress of incredible range. Likewise, the relationship between Burt and Holloway was lacking, although there was great potential given the two actor's track record with each other (Little Miss Sunshine). One cameo that did make me smile was Jay Mohr as a magician struggling to get shows.

Verdict: Ultimately this comedy failed because of a dodgy plot and the fact that it tried to walk a line between a family comedy and trying to be edgy.