The Watch

The Watch

21 Laps Entertainment

July 27, 2012

Comedy, Sci-Fi

DVD
C-

Uneven and never quite funny, but I could see it working with a better script.  Seth Rogen co-wrote, and Akiva Schaffer directed.

Thumbsucker

Thumbsucker

Bob Yan Productions etc.

October 7, 2005

Dramedy
DVD
C-

A little depressing but not bad.  Director Mike Mills adapted Walter Kirn's novel.

Old School

Old School

DreamWorks

February 21, 2003

Comedy (allegedly)

DVD
D

Unfunny and misogynistic (not that the men are any great shakes, but it is from their perspective), although bumped up a notch for the wedding singer, and he's no Adam Sandler.  Todd Phillips directed and co-wrote.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Regency etc.

June 10, 2005

Comedy?

DVD
D

I didn't really last until the "action" part of the movie, but as a dark comedy about an incompatible couple, it's pretty unappealing.  I mean to the extent that I kept wanting the narrative to follow minor characters or even extras.  Doug Liman directed.

Fred Claus

Fred Claus

Warner Bros.

November 9, 2007

Comedy, Fantasy
DVD
C

I enjoyed this more than I expected, well, except for Vince Vaughn as the title character.  David Dobkin directed.

Domestic Disturbance

Domestic Disturbance
Paramount
November 2, 2001
Crime Drama
DVD
B-

I liked this more than I expected, especially with a title like that.  Since I haven't seen any of Vaughn's other dramas yet, I found it interesting that this plays off of the duality of his persona, the charm and the creepiness (which I noticed in DodgeBall as well).  Casting him as the nice-seeming psychopathic stepfather works, as does Travolta's average Joe persona for the ex.  (And of course Steve B. is very Buscemi.)  I did think the movie got a bit silly, especially in the last twenty minutes, but it certainly held my interest.  And I like that it's a PG-13 crime drama, more about the suspense than the violence.

Harold Becker directed, about five years before City Hall.

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
20th Century Fox
June 18, 2004
Sports Comedy
DVD
D

Crude, homophobic, and unfunny except for sort of the pirate.  Rawson Marshall Thurber wrote and directed, a dozen years before Central Intelligence.