I am a fan of Mike Judge. Dating back to when he erupted on the American cultural landscape with Beavis & Butthead through his low-key but clever films (Office Space, Idiocracy), I have always considered him to be one of the most insightful comedic writers working. His criticisms of American life and the vacuous state of our culture have been dead-on.

Unfortunately, Judge has decided to pull away from his satirical brand. Extract is more of a straight comedy, playing on the uncomfortable fumbling of a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with his unsatisfying life. Missing is Judge's biting humor. The situations have no deeper meaning beyond what is happening on screen so any humor is likewise distant.

Judge's work is character-based. One can't walk away from his previous works without some connection with the people in the story. In this film, other than a bitter, assembly line worker and a lawyer, the characters are rather thin. It seems Judge had little affection for the people he is writing about. Either that or he had no idea who they were. This is seen in the second half of the film where the story simply swings from catastrophe to catastrophe without deepening emotional payoff. Layers of bad things pile up and then POOF, there's a flimsy resolution.

More times than not this is a character issue in the script. When characters are properly developed and managed, their motives will grind against one another. These conflicts will all lead to the same point where a single, clearly defined resolution is achieved. If the writer is unclear on his characters, who they are, what they want, the conflicts will get jumpy and misaligned. While it is possible to smooth over such faults throughout the story, it will always come to light in the final act.

I am a fan of Judge but I have to turn this one down. I can't recommend this movie. It is poorly written, contains unnecessary crudeness and way too much Ben Affleck. Three strikes, this one is out.




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Labels: Ben Affleck, David Koechner, film, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, movie review

Michael Bay is the Spielberg of crap. and this loud, brainless Mountain Dew commercial with a narrative is his masterwork.

The plot of this wasteful, culture-killer is simple, a big rock is going to crush Earth so in response, America sends up Bruce Willis to blow it up with nuclear bombs because...well, just because it sounds awesome, that's why.

It isn’t that the film is stupid, of course its stupid - it a film starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck directed by Michael Bay and written by JJ Abrams, it has stupid in its DNA. The fact that this is dumb doesn't mean much. The number of truly brain dead movies is legion. This movie is a momentous achievement because of the its ability to sustain its stupidity for the duration of its run time and does so at an extreme level. From the moment the lights dim to the second the credits thankfully begin to roll, the audience is assaulted with an unyielding dumb, a thought-smothering blanket of idiocy so thick that it can cover any struggle for logic. Michael Bay has managed to develop a redefinition of the moronic. From the plot to the dialog, every aspect of the script manages to avoid any not being completely dunderheaded.

Here is the kicker, despite the idiocy of every frame, this is a fun movie. It asks nothing from the audience but gives a lot of flashy lights and numerous moments of peril in return. The reason the film works is thanks to the two-dimensional character writing skills of JJ Abrams. He pens a gaggle of impressively thin characters and then Bay cast these shells with solid character actors to bring them to half-life. There's the cranky blue-collar dad (Willis), the virginal princess daugter (Liv Tyler), her handsome young buck (Ben Affleck), the down-to-earth sidekick (Will Patton), the frenzied genius (Steve Buschemi) and let's not forget, the black friend (Michael Clarke Duncan), tossed in for good measure. Across the board, the cast is given an easy job, play to the low expectations and recite some snappy lines that really make no sense, even in context. Its a heck of a living these people make.

I could keep going on make unspecfic attacks on the film but I think I've made my opinion clear. Allow me to sum this up and we'll all move our separate ways. To sum this up, it has Ben Affleck in it and it suits his skills.



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Labels: Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Michael Bay, Owen Wilson, Steve Busemi, Will Patton

Short Review: This film is so horrible it’s given me post-stress disorder.


This movie was apparently made on a bet. I can’t believe sober adults came into this production with the intent of making a good movie. If John Woo keeps making poop cakes like this disaster he should be forcefully deported back to China. Let him dumb down their culture, why do we need to take the hit?

I usually try to find something I like in a film. With this waste, I honestly think I liked the ending credits best. They gave me a comprehensive list of people whose work I should avoid. That is a great service and I appreciate it.


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Labels: Aaron Eckhart, Ben Affleck, film, John Woo, movie review, Paul Giamatti, Uma Thurman

Its from Mike Judge, so I'm seeing it.

The trailer itself doesn't back the film well. Judge's humor isn't evident and it seems more like yet another cobbled together comedy. Jason Bateman plays yet another frustrated, borderline middle-age guy, so we'll see if he breaks away from the pigeonhole he's created for himself. He certainly appears to be recreating his mope from Juno and Hancock. Its not a good sign that Ben Affleck is on board. The extra hair isn't going to help his inability to act. He'll just be Ben Affleck hammering through his lines through a scruffy beard. Maybe he'll shock and actually be funny, but it would be the first time he's brought anything to a film other than his looks.

There's doesn't appear to be much here. I give it a chance purely because its from Mike Judge. The man is a fine talent and has a knack for character. We'll see.

Screenwriter: Mike Judge (Idiocracy)
Director: Mike Judge (Office Space)
Actors: Jason Bateman (Juno), Mila Kunis (Max Payne), Ben Affleck (Armageddon), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

Labels: Ben Affleck, David Koechner, film, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, movie trailer

Screenwriters: Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) and Billy Ray (Breach)
Director: Kevin McDonald (The Last King of Scotland)
Actors: Russell Crowe (American Gangster), Rachel McAdams (The Notebook), Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland), Jason Bateman (The Kingdom), Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump), Helen Mirren (Excalibur), Viola Davis (Disturbia) and Jeff Daniels (The Crossing)

Labels: Ben Affleck, film, Helen Mirren, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, movie trailer, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright-Penn, Russell Crowe, Viola Davis

Screenwriters: Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein
Director: Ken Kwapis (License to Wed)
Actors: Jennifer Aniston (Derailed), Jennifer Connelly (Dark Water), Scarlett Johansson (Match Point), Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates), Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland), Justin Long (Idiocracy), Kris Kristofferson (The Jacket) and Kevin Connelly (The Notebook)

Labels: Ben Affleck, film, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long, Kris Kristofferson, movie trailer, Scarlett Johansson

Screenwriter: Paul Bernbaum (Next)
Director: Allen Coulter
Actors: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Diane Lane (Must Love Dogs), Ben Affleck (Daredevil), Bob Hoskins (Doomsday) and Robin Tunney (August)

Labels: Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, film, movie trailer

Labels: Ben Affleck, film, Kevin Smith, movie trailer

Labels: Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, cops, Ed Harris, film, Morgan Freeman, movie review

This is the quintessential big, fat McMovie. Huge and stupid, this movie asks nothing of its audience and gives nothing in return. Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis star in this goofy flick about a group of oil drillers are sent into space with nuclear warheads to blow up a killer asteroid. The upside to this film is how it openly revels in its stupidity. The frank dumbness at the heart of this piece begs you to wallow in this thoughtlessness carnival of crap without shame. You know this is stupid, the people who made the movie know it’s stupid – everyone agrees. If you like big flashing lights, big explosions and lots of bad dialog screamed at full throat, this is the movie for you. If you’re into plot, character, dialog, or patient exposition, you’ll be better off finding something else.

Labels: Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Michael Bay, Owen Wilson, Steve Busemi, Will Patton

There are plenty of guns, shooting, blood and cursing - so its a little like hanging out Tom Sizemore on a Friday night.

This film is a well stylized bullet fest with some very clever dialog thrown in for good measure. If hyperbolic, posturing characters and ridiculous gunplay are your thing, you’re in for a ride, but I wouldn't recommend this personally. While inventive, it unashamedly dips into coarse violence for the sake of simply being violent. The smart dialog and sharp filmmaking give the impression there's something more going on than blood and guts, but there isn't. This is all flash and no substance.

Overall, this is a smart person’s version of a dumb shoot ’em up - but if you're smart enough for this movie, you're probably too smart to want to sit through it.



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Labels: Ben Affleck, Common, FBI, film, mob, movie review, Ryan Reynolds, shoot em up

Labels: Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, film, movie trailer, Steve Busemi

Labels: Ben Affleck, Common, FBI, film, mob, movie trailer, Ryan Reynolds, shoot em up