Movie Review: This is 40

So as a perk of going to the almost alma mater of Judd Apatow, USC, my class was able to catch a screening of his latest comedy "This is 40" I say almost because he dropped out his junior year to live with Adam Sandler, boss move.

A little background on the film for those who don't already know - it is a followup to the characters first introduced in "Knocked Up"You remember Katherine Heigels sister played by Leslie Mann, and her husband, played by Paul Rudd. In Knocked Up they served as a sort-of reflection of Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigel. So as a spinoff, 40 follows Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a married couple in their 40s and all the fun stuff that comes with that. The film also stars Apatow's two daughters, Maude and Iris, who steal the show. Leslie is Judd's wife, in real life.

This is 40 is a great home movie. 

I'll eat up all the shit Judd Apatow puts out, except for Girls. I hate "Girls". So I loved 40. Jason Segal is fucking hilarious, probably the funniest I've ever seen him. Apatow's daughters are great, and their obsession with "Lost"never gets old. The film itself looks great. It's warm, bright, and very comforting.

Even within the first hour, I'm hooked. But...I couldn't help but notice that there is no real conflict or plot. As in, nothing actually happens. There is no comedic premise, which is fine! But after two hours, you start to realize that you've just been watching a really well done home video. Premise refers to the "what if" factor in comedies. In "Knocked Up" for example, Apatow's premise is "What if...A one night stand led to a pregnancy?" In 40, all I could figure is "What if...You turned 40?" That was my ONLY question about the whole movie. Again, Apatow's latest film is 45 mins longer than it needs to be and I have a feeling he's making them long just because he can.

After seeing "This is 40" all I wanted to do was start a family and get married, so props to you Judd. I'm hoping the rate of successful marriages increases thanks to your film! Below is a clip that shows off how funny Segal was in this movie.

Thanksgiving Break Movies Part 2

Saw some more movies, here are my thoughts again. Comment below!

Wreck It Ralph 
Firstly, the short before the movie "Paperman" is better than Wreck It. Not to say Wreck It is a bad movie, but Paperman is a pixar level amazing demonstration of no-dialogue story telling. I liked the movie though. Very formulaic but good plants and payoffs. Lot's of cool characters too. A good movie overall that's not afraid to use tons of physical comedy to secure laughs.

Your Sister's Sister
Good movie to watch if you are an aspiring filmmaker. It feels like the three actors and the director rented a house for a weekend and shot the movie, and still told a good story with real, likable characters.


Silver Linings Playbook 

"Just saw Silver Linings Playbook. Best movie this year so far. Everyone is perfect. Movie is amazing." - @JonahHill via Twitter

As I'm typing this post up, I saw Jonah tweet that. I really would not go that far. Good movie, maybe even a great movie, but its way to all over the place and niche-y to be the "best" movie of the year. Brad Cooper crushes it, and the film yet again proves how great of an actor he really is. Also shows that a good movie can be told on a small budget. Go see it before the Oscars so you can say you did.

 

Thanksgiving Movie Breakdown

Sup Kids? I saw a bunch of movies this week, figured i'd share my thoughts on them.

Lincoln
A lot of talking. Probably the most talking i've ever seen in Spielberg film. The thing is, the film was made to win awards, and be shown in 5th grade classrooms across America - and for that it's awesome. Last of the Mohicans was getting kind of old.

Daniel Day obviously crushes it. And Spielberg does a great job at building suspense and surprise for things we already knew were going to happen. I could see the argument being made that Lincoln was boring but the boring scenes really only happen when the historical accuracy is at its best. When Steven and team get to mess with history it allows for some great storytelling.

Life of Pi 
Visually stunning. I can't imagine how difficult that film must have been to make. Not only having to live up to the hype of the book but the entire movie takes place on water. Films on water are famous for being impossible to make (Jaws) Did some research and found out they built a tank, which I'm sure was still a bitch to shoot on. I also found out the entire movie is pretty much ADR, very impressive considering the main actor, Suraj Sharma, wasn't even an "professional" actor.

For me though the movie just raised a bunch of questions both about filmmaking and the story itself. First, Ang Lee is a master director and all us film students should consider a different occupation and let him direct all the movies from now on. Second, I wonder why the movie was told after the fact, meaning why was the character re-telling his story? (Unless that's how its done in the book, which I haven't read) And third, why did Richard Parker not turn around and say goodbye? That really pissed me off. If anything I thought we learned that even if you're a Tiger, you can have feelings.

"l'oreille Absolue"aka "Pitch Perfect"
This was the small french indie that won the Palme d'Or last year at the Canne...Just kidding. It's that Glee-esk movie. Funny thing is I saw a clip from this movie almost a year ago when it was being sound-mixed. My sound class at USC film school took a field trip to a mixing stage. They were mixing this and Tower Heist.

Here me out on this one. Funny script. Funny movie. Fun movie. Terribly made. Editing was shit.

Lead actress was terrible. I'd like to take her on a dinner date, act all respectful and shit, hookup with her, try to have sex with her then have her tell me she's not ready and "isn't that kind of girl" then never call her again.

That said, Rebel Wilson is hilarious and has a promising career ahead of her. It's one of those movies that doesn't try to be more than it is.

"During Break"

In an effort to always be making stuff, Taylor and I wrote then filmed this. We thought a lot about getting these two characters trapped into a conversation. Future episodes are going to blend genre, like do an episode that takes place in the 1950s, one that's a musical, action movie...etc Enjoy!

Star Wars VII

I've been a Star Wars nerd all my life. The first movies I remember watching were 4,5,6. Like any kid from the 90s, Being a Jedi is just as important to me as it is to my Dad, so we had a lot of light sabers around the house.

Since I go film school, I thought I'd just write a post about possible episode 7 directors. Shit's about to get really nerdy.

It's a fact, chicks like Jedi. 

Facts

Kathleen Kennedy, the longtime producer of most Spielberg films will be producing the project.

George Lucas will have a "creative say"
It's a Disney film.
Spielberg won't direct it.
and, it's being written by Michael Arndt, who wrote Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine.

That said, who is going to direct it? Here are some possible contenders along with some pros and cons.

Top Picks

J.J. Abrams
This is kind of an obvious one. What better director to helm the Star Wars then the guy who just made two Star Trek films? Great story telling combined with a very visually conscious eye would make for a great take on the franchise. The guy is also just a boss.

Jon Favreau
You might know him for starring alongside Vince Vaughn in "Swingers" Or you might know him as the director of Iron Man, Iron 2, and Cowboys and Aliens. Or you might know him from the 10 time academy awarding winning comedy, Couples Retreat. Regardless of what you think of some of his most recent films, the guy is very smart. He's not afraid to find the funny either. He has a good relationship with Disney considering he's planning to direct a film called Magical Kingdom  - the Night at the Museum of Disneyworld.

Robert Zemekis 
Back to the Future 1, 2 and 3. Cast Away. Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Forrest Gump. Flight. Zemekis was brought up and trained in the Spielberg cinema club. He learned all his tricks from Spielberg after he was hired to direct Back to the Future. Again, this guy is talented and would deliver something special.

Joe Johnston 
He is a very possible pick. Producer Kathleen Kennedy said she was meeting and looking for someone she has worked with in the past, Johnston fits this category. How do you know him? Directed the fucking amazing movie known to most as Jumanji. Also, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, The Rocketeer, and Captain America. But what's most important is that he was the art director on Star Wars 4 5 and 6 AND Indiana Jones. He would do a good job too. It'd be classic Star Wars, no risk taking.

Brad Bird 
Possible pick. He comes from a Pixar background, having directed The Incredibles and the Iron Giant. He took his first stab at live action directing with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. He knows story, and has a good Disney connection.

OR, it could be someone out of the blue. These are obvious picks. But if you have not been keeping track, or don't give a shit, I hope that helped!

What's most interesting is if they will pick a director who was established BEFORE Star Wars or AFTER. Imagine being a kid and deciding you wanted to make movies after seeing a New Hope, then getting a call and being told you get to take a stab at it! It'd be a lot like playing in the 1996 NBA Finals, as Michael Jordan.

twitter: @JonahFoundGold

Stand Up

I did standup for the first time last night. It's highly addictive. The second I was done, I wanted to go up and do the whole thing over again. It's funny, you can only prepare so much before stepping up on the stage and instantly forget everything you memorized and rehearsed.

Thought i'd be chill to post my notes/set so check it out below. The video from the show should be up sometime this week or next.

Interesting thing... after forgetting some jokes, I started doing a Drake impression, I also didn't really preface it so not sure if anyone besides my friends got it.

Also real quick shoutout to my bffae Harrison (@DurtyHarriet) on some great lines.

Rated R

--JONAH STANDUP FINAL--

Standup Final 

Dog Bit. 

1. So this is my first time doing standup, i'm pretty confident though this women outside stopped me on the street, i swear this actually happened, and she goes "Hey Jonah, you look really hot tonight" I blushed, gave her a huge, and just said "Thanks Mom"
2. I really like girls with a lot of personality. I really don't care about looks. I'd even prefer my girlfriend to be kind of ugly that way there's no ego thing, like “im better looking than you, why am I with you if everyone knows I can get chicks way hotter” type thing. So I started dating this Vicotrias secret model. It’s a pretty good thing so far, tons of depth in our relationship. Sometimes we’re in bed and I’m just thinking “even though I could do way better, I’m settling for you because you don’t mind that I still have spiderman bed sheets and occasionally have wet dreams at the age of 22.” It’s a real healthy relationship
   
   
   So halloween happened. Anyone here get dressed up as a slutty mouse or slutty cat? You know women love it because its the only time during the year that its "acceptable" to wear underhwere and a bar as an outfit. And for some reason us men see this holiday fit to wear spandex. Now. this might pose a problem at dance parties. This girl turned to me and said woah you have an  literally have an erection and I was like woah you literally have a i single thing layer of cloth separating my penis from you're vagina.
   
   
   Anyone hear heard of Facebook.com? It's invite only you probably haven't. People will post anything on that thing. Cabo. Booked. Great let's make everyone feel bad that they aren't going to cabo.
   - i'm going to cabo…
   - facebook is kind of old school though, you the relationship status part? You can be married, it can be complicated, engaged or just single. See there leaving a lot out there. I'd like there to be one that's like "SLaying mad bitches" or "Alone, thinking about giving up on women completely moving to antartica and living with penguins." I've thought about it.