Tuesday 30 September 2014

Trivia Round-Up: September


You know the drill by now, don't you? Here's a list of trivia snippets Jenna and I found for the films we reviewed this September.

This is the third movie that pairs Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, High Crimes and Kiss the Girls being their previous collaborations.

Originally, Loki wasn't going to be in this movie (WTF!!) but after the popularity of the character in Avengers Assemble, the script was re-written to include him - thank god for that!!

Mark Wahlberg did 90% of his own stunts. (surprisingly there was limited interesting trivia for this film so that's all you're getting!)

On the March 21st edition of Late Night with Conan O'BrienDavid Schwimmer discussed the scene between Hank Azaria and Simon Pegg that takes place in the locker room. Generally, if males have to be nude for a scene, they will use a nude (flesh)-colored pouch to cover themselves. However, for some reason, the pouch wouldn't stay put and Azaria ultimately decided to forgo wearing it - but told Schwimmer not to say anything to Pegg. The reaction of shock we see from Simon Pegg when Azaria drops his towel is genuine.

CAMEO SPOILER: In the scene were Bruce and Drew are dancing in the parking lot a car beeps to pass by and in the car is Simon Pegg.

The film was shot in the 2-perf Techniscope format to provide a grainy image reminiscent of older horror films and to save money on film stock and processing. Despite this, "Filmed in Panavision" is listed in the end credits.

Jon Favreau did all his own cooking in the food truck after training with food truck chef Ray Choi who said "he really became part of it"

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin both agreed to do this film but Brolin had to wait over a year for Winslet to be able to start work on it.

Monday 29 September 2014

10 Actors I Would Watch in Almost Anything (Allie)

Forgive me if I get this wrong, but I think this theme started with Abbi at Where the Wild Things Are. I love the idea, list 10 actors that you would watch in almost anything, and then another list of 10 actresses. These are 10 guys who could sell a film to me just by being in it.


Why: When I was younger, every Saturday meant another Jim Carrey film. I was so excited the night before Bruce Almighty came out that I could barely sleep, and my brother and I still quote his character from Liar Liar on a regular basis.
Best Role: Bruce Almighty
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: I Love You Phillip Morris This is a great film, you must see it!


Why: This is probably the most simplest of all the actors in my list. I simply have never seen a bad Tom Hanks movie, and so I'm not sure I could ever refuse to see something that he’s in.
Best Role: Forrest Gump
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Larry Crowne


Why: I’m sorry, I was about to type and then I got lost in those eyes. Can that count as my reason? No? Ok. I just think he’s incredibly charming, and just the right kind of cocky. Oh, and those eyes...
Best Role: Star Trek
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Blind Dating


Why: He’s the most bad-ass guy I know. Not personally of course, but he’s bad-ass nonetheless. I actually really need to see some of his older work to see another side of him, but I would be first in line for Taken 9.
Best Role: Taken
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Battleship


Why: I haven’t seen a comedy of Steve Carell’s that I haven’t found hilarious. I first saw him in The 40 Year Old Virgin and he’s just the master of awkward comedy. That’s not all though because I love his serious roles too.
Best Role: Crazy Stupid Love
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Bewitched


Why: This man is an absolute legend. I love his acting work of course, but I just love how he has so much fun in anything he does. Not that I’ve met him, but he seems so great with his fans and he just oozes charm.
Best Role: The Avengers

The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: The Deep Blue Sea


Why: He’s the first actor I ever became fascinated with; I have fond memories of tracking down some VHS tapes on Amazon when I was still in High School. I used to quote Bubble Boy on a regular basis.
Best Role: Donnie Darko

The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Rendition


Why: I don’t think I’ve ever loved an actor as much as Ryan Reynolds. His dry, witty humour is my absolute favourite, and I could watch any of his movies time and time again!
Best Role: The Proposal

The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: None, I have actually seen everything he’s been in! So far at least.


Why: This guy makes me smile without even doing or saying anything. He’s just an incredibly likeable actor, and he deserved to be in any of my top 10 lists for the three flavours cornetto trilogy alone.
Best Role: Shaun of the Dead
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: A Fantastic Fear of Everything


Why: Benedict is my current obsession, thanks to Sherlock. I had to forcibly made to watch it in the first place, but I fell in love with his acting skills (and then just him!) soon after. He’s just incredible, and perfects whatever role he plays.
Best Role: Star Trek Into Darkness
The one even he couldn’t convince me to see: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (I really did try)

Saturday 27 September 2014

Review: Labor Day (2013)

I had forgotten all about wanted to see this when it was on at the cinema so when I saw it on the selections on my recent flight to the States, I jumped at the chance.  I have loved Josh Brolin since his first outing as Brand in the Goonies and Kate Winslet has to be one of my top 10 favourite actresses (see if I remember that when I actually do the top 10 post). 

Labor Day was one of those films where I see the trailer, tell myself that it looks great and I should see it, then forget about it for a year until I bump into the DVD at a store somewhere! I'm glad Jenna reviewed it because that was my final push to see it.



Tobey Maguire narrates this film as the older version of Henry who lives with his damaged mother Alele (Kate Winslet), who, although it's never stated, is clearly suffering from crippling depression and anxiety that has slowly taken over her life.  She is scared to drive her car and going to the supermarket is incredibly traumatic for her. Cue Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped convict who forces them to take him home until he can rest his injuries from jumping out of a hospital window.  A nervous Adele agrees and nurses him back to health, allowing him to stay longer than either of them intended. Frank becomes the partner Adele craves and the father figure that Henry desperately needs.



I am a shameless romantic so films like this are perfect for me but that's not the only reason I loved it.  The main part of the story is told in chronological order, however the flashbacks to both Adele and Frank's pasts are told in fleeting images, that build and grow throughout the film so you only know the whole story of their pasts once you get to the end of the film.  It's really cleverly shot and so different to anything I had seen before.  Plus, this film is quite slow in pace so the flashback images break it up and keep you interested throughout.

At one point I actually wondered if the flash-backs were actually flash-forwards to Henry's life, but as the actor in the flash-backs aged I realised he was definitely meant to be Frank. I agree that the film itself is very slow, and yet at no point was I bored in the slightest. The slow pacing actually worked really well.


Brolin and Winslet are both amazing in this film, many scenes have no words just slight shifts in movements and they manage to tell a whole story with just that.  Winslet's portrayal of the fragile Adele is incredible, she used subtlety over big gestures which makes the panic and fear feel so much more real, in many scenes she uses one look to indicate how Adele is feeling and it's so powerful.

I haven't seen much work from either Brolin or Winslet but I thought they did a cracking job in this, Winslet in particular.




Hopeless romantic or not, you may actually like this film.  It's slow paced but at no point boring and Brolin and Winslet are at their best.


I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I did, and although I won't say what happened, the ending was incredible. I shed a tear or two, and I would recommend Labor Day to anyone who's a fan of romantic films.






Friday 26 September 2014

Friends 20th Anniversary

I felt like I needed to post something to commemorate this momentous occasion, 20 years since Friends started, feels like yesterday as well as feeling like a lifetime ago!!

Initially I wanted to do my Top 10 episodes but it's so hard to pick so I'm just going to mention a few of my favourite moments throughout the 10 seasons. 

I actually found this one yesterday, I happened to change channel and The One Where Ross is Fine was on, I forgot how much I loved this episode, I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard and even my Dad was struggling to stifle a laugh (and he is adamant he hates Friends!).  Basically, this is the scene where is he entertaining Rachael, Joey and Charlie after finding out that Rachael and Joey have got together:


This still has to be my favourite Chandler moment, the first time I watched it I just didn't expect it at all, I laughed so hard:


More Ross, he has to be the funniest character because he doesn't try to be funny, it just kind of happens - this is mine and my Best Friends favourite episode but this scene at the end what Ross is trying to return his couch is brilliant:


Rachael has her moments too, but usually with the whole cast.  The episode where she is trying to have eyedrops put in, is all to familiar for me (as a kid mind!) but still hilarious:

 
Who doesn't remember the one with the Football and the Gellar cup (or a troll doll nailed to a 2x4), once the game becomes Girls vs Boys the montage that follows is still funny now:
 

 
Joey and Ross on the fire escape "I don't think we really thought this through" need I say more....
 
 
OK so they are some of my favourite funny moments, but there are also some of the soppy moments (the hopeless romantic that I am) that I love and still get me a bit emotional now.
 
When Phoebe tricks Rachael into thinking she's not pregnant and seeing her disappointment only to tell her she lied and she is pregnant.  It was a lovely moment that got me a bit teary:
 
 
 
Chandlers VERY surprise proposal to Monica was so lovely (and kindly arranged by his wife-to-be), I admit I cried....a lot!
 

 
By favourite soppy moment in friends has to be this:
 
 

That's it, 10 Years of Friends boiled down to one post.  I can still happily watch any episode of Friends and laugh or cry, I'm not sure it will ever get old.

What are your favourite moments from Friends?  Does anyone have an all time favourite episode?

Thursday 25 September 2014

Review: Chef (2014)

I wanted to see this at the cinema but ended up missing it but then I got on a(nother) flight and there it was in the menu (pun intended?), happy days! Or maybe not, one thing I always find on planes is that I'm hungry and always when there is no food being served so watching a film about this amazing food had my dribbling into my lap (not a good look!)



Chef is about Carl Casper, head chef at a fancy restaurant whose creativity is being stunted by 'stuck in the mud' boss Riva (Dustin Hoffman) which leads to a bad review by Ramsey Michael (Oliver Platt) which in turn leads to a viral twitter video and the loss of his job.  Instead of begging for his job back he decided to follow his creative ideas and buys a food truck...


This film was quite slow moving to start with but caught up once Carl invests in his food truck of dreams.  One of my fellow bloggers called this 'food porn' and they are not wrong.  The characters are good, the artsy shots of the truck and chalkboards are good, the comedy is good but the food...the food is EPIC.  It's making me hungry just thinking about.  Plus having just visited New Orleans for the first time it was amazing to see the sights on camera (I did sample the Café Du Monde Beignets that are mentioned in the film and they were incredible) and hear Carl announce that "this isn't Bourbon street that's for tourists, this is Frenchman Street..."

I agree completely, Chef started off really slow. I think the amazing food kept me going, but once we actually got to Carl buying the truck, the story flowed much better and the time whizzed by!

It's listed on IMDB as a comedy but I saw it as more of a drama as it was dealing with serious issues (and really wasn't all that funny).  The way the film was shot was different to anything I have seen, but it helped the flow of the film, so even the slower parts were so well shot that you almost failed to notice.

It had a few funny moments for sure, I don't think I'll ever stop laughing at the term 'amuse douche' but definitely not a comedy in my book. This was a heart-warming drama for me.


I was nervous about Jon Favreau taking a lead role, I wasn't sure whether he could step up but I think he is supported so well by John Leguizamo's supportive buddy Martin and Sofia Vergara's general charm as ex-wife Inez, that he couldn't really fail.  I even liked Percy (Emjay Anthony) when the child character in this type of film usually annoys me, he brings a real likability to character and you just want to hug him when you realise how much he brings to the business. Percy was an absolute sweetheart and the coolest social media guru I've ever seen!

I was trying to work out what else I had seen John Leguizamo in, and it wasn't until I turned away from the screen and realised it was actually his voice I recognised him from! He was absolutely fantastic in this and I can't wait to see more of his work. (Ice Age by any chance?!)

Is it just me though or did Chef have some huge names in that it really didn't need? How much did they pay Robert Downey Jr. for his very small role? Did we really need Scarlett Johansson at all?

Definitely watch this film, but do it after dinner otherwise you will find yourself eating yourself out of house and home. Scrap that, I watched this straight after dinner and still wanted to eat the contents of my fridge!
 

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Currently Watching...Six Feet Under

WHY WHY WHY did it take me so long to watch this.  I was staying at my Aunts, where as there is no TV in the room I sleep in I watch something on my iPad.  Unfortunately, this time the Internet hadn't connected and I couldn't be bothered to go downstairs so I had to watch whatever had already been downloaded.  This happened to be Six Feet Under. 



Now knowing how much love (although have yet to finish!) Dexter, I have no idea why this wasn't on my radar sooner.  So one episode in and I am completely and utterly addicted...



The series follows David Fisher (Michael C Hall) who after his Father dies is left to run the Family Funeral Home that he has worked at all his life.  His brother Nate (Peter Krause) returns home for the funeral to be told he has been left half of the business in his fathers will.  This means they have to run the business together while dealing with their meddling mother, Ruth (Frances Conroy) and wannabe badass sister, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and trying to live their own lives.


I have watched a total of three episodes of this and its so well put together, it's unapologetic dark humour had me laughing hysterically and the acting is superb.  The characters fell very real, like they are people you might meet, they talk like normal people (and swear like normal people!)  Who'd have thought a series about a funeral home could be so entertaining, but the addition of their family dramas, personal dramas and conversations with the dead keeps you coming back for more.

I can not wait to watch the rest of this season and the four after that!!  Sleep is over-rated anyway!!

Why must you introduce me to another new TV Show when I'm already so far behind on so many others?! I'm still recovering from Dexter and this might be what the Michael C Hall shaped hole in my life needs!

Sunday 21 September 2014

Back to School Blogathon

Wendell over at Dell on Movies has come up with an AWESOME Blogathon idea - Back to School.  Well I couldn't wait to get stuck in and come up with some ideas.  Some of the categories turned out to be more difficult than I thought so it took a bit longer than expected!

http://dellonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/back-to-school-blogathon.html


As always, a good Blogathon comes with a set of rules, here they are:

Bloggers, you are tasked with creating your very own movie class using characters from as many different films as you wish (almost). We will also include someone to run the school and someone to run the class. The rules are as follows:

1. Choose at least 1 character to fit into each of the following roles:

Administrator (either a dean, principal, head master, or some other equivalent)
Teacher
Star Student/Nerd
Jock/Class Bully
Popular Girl/Diva
Invisible Girl (aka not popular girl)
Class Clown
Troubled Youth

Of course, include a few words on why each character was chosen.

Some of the categories have slashes because there is a lot of overlap within. However, feel free to break those up to make your class even larger. For instance if you use a jock who is a nice guy, you can also include a bully. As long as you have the minimum number of students and others, your class can be as large as you like.

2. There are NO RESTRICTIONS on age. Theoretically, you can have Zach from Kindegarten Cop in the same class as Rodney Dangerfield's character from...um...Back to School

3. You can use multiple characters from a single movie, but a class must be made up of characters from at least three separate movies.

4. Use movies in which school is an important part of the plot or are largely set in a school.

5. Finally, use my banner somewhere in your entry and link back to this post.

 Administrator

Mr Gilbert from The Inbetweeners Movie (this is a bit of a cheat really because you really get to know the character in the series and he is only in the movie briefly but hey ho!!).   I love this guy, he has such a dry humour and when he send the students off into the real world his parting words are: "Good luck with the rest of your lives...and try not to kill anyone"

Teacher

Would Dewey Finn not make the best teacher EVER, no actual work, no homework just playing music all day everyday.

Best quote: "Ok. This is a bass guitar. And it's the exact same thing but instead of playing it like this you tip it on the side... cello, you got a bass."

Nerd

McLovin (or Fogell) from the movie Superbad is the ultimate nerd, he gets a fake ID (from Hawaii of all places) with the name McLovin on it!! Amazing!

Best Quote: Fogell: "Naw, they let you pick any name you want when you get down there"  Seth: "and you landed on McLovin..."

Star Student


Mike Wazowski in Monsters University may not have actually been the star student next to Sulley BUT he was the hardest worker, he had the least natural scare ability and he studied and worked so hard to be the best.  I loved this prequel, how it showed Mike learning that his greatest skill was in leading rather than scaring.

Jock


This might be a shock to some people but he is by far my favourite jock, he is forever on the track training always looking to improve and he doesn't give up his sport even when everything in his life becomes chaos - truly committed jock.

Best quote: "Like I'd marry you!  You'd be the meanest wife ever, okay? And I know that you weren't bored that day because there was a lot of stuff on TV, and then The Blair Witch Project was coming on Starz and you were like 'I haven't seen this since it came out and if so we should watch it' and then 'but oh, no, we should just make out instead la la la'"

Class Bully

The original and the ultimate bully, Biff Tannen from Back to the Future.  Made George McFly's life hell and proceeded to attempt to do the same to Calvin Klein (or as he is better know Marty McFly!).  As with all class bully's he gets put in his place numerous times, the best being with a manure truck!!

Best Quote: "Since you're new here, I-I'm gonna cut you a break, today. So, why don't you make like a tree and get outta here?"

Popular Girl

This literally could not have been anyone else, she is the ultimate popular girl with her Beverly Hills zip code and her Daddy's platinum card.  She has the money and power to do whatever she wants (but still gets overthrown by her 'mini-me project' Tai.  She was the girl in the 90's that every teenage girl wanted to be, I personally wanted her wardrobe!!

Best quote: "This is where Dionne lives.  She's my friend because we both know what it's like for people to be jealous of us"

Diva

This was tie between putting Regina George from Mean Girls into Diva or Bully (but Biff didn't fit the Diva category!).  She is mean and demands that everything is done the way she wants it, her friends follow her like sheep and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Best quote: "She's so pathetic. Let me tell you something about Janis Ian. We were best friends in middle school. I know, right? It's so embarrassing. I don't even... Whatever. So then in eighth grade, I started going out with my first boyfriend Kyle who was totally gorgeous but then he moved to Indiana, and Janis was like, weirdly jealous of him. Like, if I would blow her off to hang out with Kyle, she'd be like, "Why didn't you call me back?" And I'd be like, "Why are you so obsessed with me?" So then, for my birthday party, which was an all-girls pool party, I was like, "Janis, I can't invite you, because I think you're lesbian." I mean I couldn't have a lesbian at my party. There were gonna be girls there in their *bathing suits*. I mean, right? She was a LESBIAN. So then her mom called my mom and started yelling at her, it was so retarded. And then she dropped out of school because no one would talk to her, and she came back in the fall for high school, all of her hair was cut off and she was totally weird, and now I guess she's on crack."

Invisible Girl/Boy


I went with Peter Parker from The Amazing Spiderman, before he becomes Spiderman and gained his new found confidence, no one really noticed him.  I probably could have found someone that was invisible throughout the whole film but I LOVE Andrew Garfield and I LOVE Spiderman so here it is.

Best quote:  "Um so, uh, you want to, uh... I don't know....I don't know. Just, uh... Um... I don't know, we could, I don't know, we could uh... Or we could do something else, or we could, with no... We, like, we could"

Class Clown


As a kid I loved this film and the more I watch it as an adult the more terrible it becomes, BUT Billy Madison played by Adam Sandler in the film of the same name is a great class clown.  He goes through all the school years in a year and gets more ridiculous as the grades go on...

Best quote: "Of course I peed my pants, everyone my age pees their pants.  It's the coolest."

Troubled Youth


If any character in any film was considered a 'troubled youth' its Mindy Macready AKA Hit Girl, who was raised by her father Big Daddy to be a hired killer.  She doesn't appear to believe she is troubled but she is an 11 year old serial killer, i would call that pretty troubled.  This quote says it all:

Mindy Macready:  "Can I get a puppy?"
Damon Macready: "You wanna get a dog?"
Mindy Macready:  "Yeah, a cuddly fluffy one, and a Bratz movie-star make over Sasha!"
Mindy Macready: "I'm just fucking with you Daddy! Look, I'd love a Benchmade model 42 butterfly knife."

So that's the Flick Chicks class.  Thanks again Wendell for coming up with this, I've had a great time coming up with my class. 

Review: House at the End of the Street (2012)

I'm not a huge fan of horror films, but I do like to watch one every now and again. I'm not brave enough to see them at the cinema and so I have just one friend who will watch them with me at home. She was over last night and so we watched House at the End of the Street.  I really want to watch this a) so I can add to the review and b) because Jennifer Lawrence is in it BUT I wont watch horror films on my own, my Dad hates them and now my Flick Chicks buddy has seen it, therefore this is the grand total of my comments on this one ;-)


A few years ago, a tragic event took place in the house. The family's daughter murdered both her parents. Four years later, Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother Sarah (Elisabeth Shue) move in to the house next door. They learn that the son of the family next door still lives in his parents house, and nearly the whole neighbourhood have a extreme dislike of him due to the fact that he brings down everyone's property value.

I'm sure some of you will scoff at my fear of films like this but it's the suspense that gets me. The only way I can cope is to just talk quietly through the film and make fun of everyone. It's a great tactic of finding plot holes and goofs actually.

'Wasn't that room pitch black earlier? There aren't any windows.'
'Why won't anyone just grab that policeman's radio?'
'Who carries a supply of USB sticks with their own songs on?'
And so on!


Elissa ends up befriending the son next door Ryan (Max Thieriot), although her mother has already mentioned that Elissa likes to find the most damaged boy she can find, and 'turn them into a project'. That said, their relationship seems genuine and actually quite sweet. There was a moment which shouldn't have been funny but was actually hilarious, where the two of them were sat outside looking at a tree. Ryan told Elissa to look closely and she saw a face in the tree, but no amount of squinting could make us see it! Did anyone else?

As the story continues, we start to wonder if Ryan is actually as weird as everyone else seems to think he is. Without spoiling anything, his friendship with Elissa certainly turns sour.


I wasn't expecting a plot twist in House at the End of the Street at all, nor did I see this one coming, although you know me, I tend to be a little oblivious to everything film-wise. The final scene dragged out a little, and relied on cheap scare tactics (which worked on me) but other than that, I thought the ending was okay.


All in all, I thought this film wasn't that bad. The characters did stupid things and some parts made little sense, but an awful lot of horror films do that too. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be either. Grab a blanket, check the batteries in your torch and give it a try sometime. 



Friday 19 September 2014

Review: Cuban Fury (2014)

You might have heard of my love for the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are just amazing in my opinion, and I'm always excited to see something new that they star in. I remember seeing a trailer for Cuban Fury a while ago, and while it wasn't enough to make me dash to the cinema, I still wanted to see it, but at home instead.  I have to agree, I wasn't in a huge rush to see this but glad I did in the end.


Bruce (Nick Frost) and his sister Sam (Olivia Colman) were salsa dancing superstars when they were teenagers, but on the night of a competition, Bruce was beaten up by a gang and it put him off dancing for life. However, when he learns that his new boss Julia (Rashida Jones) is into salsa dancing, he decides it's time to face his fears and start dancing again, before his colleague Drew (Chris O'Dowd) steals her away.

Cuban Fury started off really strong. It told the backstory quickly and efficiently, and set the scene for the present tense with the comedy that I was expecting from Nick Frost. Chris O'Dowd's character was equally great as the annoying colleague.


After the intro, I just got a little bored to be honest. Bruce's friends were a little odd and seemingly pointless to the plot, Drew went from annoying colleague to completely unlikeable douchebag, and Julia annoyed me even more. What sort of boss leads on two of her male employees anyway? My only real source of interest and comedy came from Bejan (Kayvan Novak) who I thought was hilarious. 100% agree, he was by far the highlight of the movie!


I really enjoyed the whole film to be honest, I laughed regularly.  That is until the Dance off which very nearly made me turn the film off, it was too cheesy and false and horribly awkward, I just buried my head in a pillow and asked my cousin to tell me when it was over!  Luckily the scene was saved by an awesome cameo (which may have been the highlight of the whole film!).  The whole storyline was horrendously staged and tweaked to suit the jokes, it was almost like the jokes were written first and then they just came up with any old storyline to fit around them.
The actors were great through, Chris O'Dowd proved he can do rude and arrogant instead of his usual funny laid back guy and Kayvan Novak was amazing and stole every scene he was in.  Rashida Jones can be so much more than this character, who was ridiculous (why is the new boss out drinking, dancing and bowling with her new employees, way to show your authority!) I'm not certain why they made her the new boss in the storyline as opposed to a new colleague which would have made much more sense (maybe there was a boss lady joke they wanted to use!)
I was nearly nodding off, but then Bruce and Drew had a mixture of a fight and a dance off in the car park, nearly got ran over by Simon Pegg (best cameo ever!) and it all got much better from there. Drew got his comeuppance, Bruce completely owned the dance floor, and everyone was happy.

Apart from me. Okay, I was just a bit underwhelmed to be honest. The comedy was great but it just wasn't enough to make me forget the far-too-simple plot and other annoyances. Nick Frost was really good though, so I'm still I saw Cuban Fury. Give it a go if you like, but I'd rather stick Hot Fuzz on.
Considering the characters were pretty shocking (and some completely useless) and the storyline just a bit worse than that, I did still enjoy it.  I laughed a lot and cheered, booed and shouted at the TV numerous times.  Basically, if you watch it, don't think about it and you might be able to enjoy it.