Men in Black II



Men in Black II (2002)

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfield

Written by: Lowell Cunningham, Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro

Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson, Lara Flynn Boyle

Rating: PG-13

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

And So You're Back, From Outer Space!



Hola! I'm back from vacation, so I'm slowly working on the mountain of un-written entries that have piled up after my two days of nothing but lounging around a Gatlinburg cabin and watching movies! As fun as that was, I now feel obligated to write on them in a reasonable time frame, so I can recall them while they're fresh. With this particular entry, that shouldn't be an issue. Why? I've easily seen this film 100 times.

I'm prepping my bold statement about this film now, so you can stew about it and argue with me at the end of the entry in the comments or via Twitter or Facebook.

Bold Statement:

(LOL, see what I did there?)

Men in Black II is better than the original.

Yes, I do understand that I may receive hateful comments despite this just being an opinion. I get it, I really do. This is not to say that I don't love or appreciate the original Men in Black, either! Obviously there couldn't be a sequel without an original. I think as far as fun, action/comedy/scifi films, that Men in Black II accomplishes more. It's funnier, just as action packed, and faster paced than the original.

Again, I realize there are a lot of sequel hating movie purists who will give me crap on this one, that's why I went ahead and got it out of the way. More on that later!

Synopsis:

Agent J (Will Smith; Seven Pounds) stumbles on to a case that MIB worked on years ago involving Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle; Wayne's World) forcing his need for help from Zed (Rip Torn; Dodgeball, a True Underdog Story), who in turn insists that he de-neuralize his former partner, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones; Lincoln) to help him save the earth...again!!

Thoughts:

I've always loved this film...almost as much as I love gettin' flushed!

The comedy in this film is very strong. Will Smith has always been one of my favorite comedic actors (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will always hold a special place in my heart, and never ceases to make me laugh), plus the straight man Tommy Lee Jones, and comedic ensemble of humans and aliens alike, make for a strong comedic presence. Frank the pug, the worms, the two headed guy (Johnny Knoxville; The Ringer) and Jeebs (Tony Shaloub; Galaxy Quest) are some supporting cast highlights.

One of my favorite aspects of a comedy film is its quotability (I'm not 100% sure that is a word, but let's go with it). Of course, what I mean by that is when a movie is extremely quotable like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story or Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. While more people from my generation have seen the latter two than MIIB, it still retains that same memorable quote material.

The action half of the film is strong as well. I wouldn't say it was AS strong, but largely due to a static performance by the film's main villain, Serleena. Johnny Knoxville accomplished his dopey sidekick role (in true Men in Black fashion) but the main villian just didn't seem to be evil enough. Ironically, Lara Flynn Boyle was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress for this role!

Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds) stays relatively neutral throughout the film. She has a ton of acting talent but didn't pick a great venue to showcase that. She serves her purpose in the film well, though, and I have nothing bad to say about the performance she gave.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are as compatible as they always were, and the supporting cast (aside from Boyle, of course) shines in its comedic glory!

Response to Bold Claim:

Now that you have had time to either get madder about my bold claim, or stop and reflect, I wanted to elaborate on the claim I made that MIIB is better than the original, MIB. Historically, it is not often that the general public accepts sequels as better than the first. The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation often top a list of sequels widely accepted as better than the original, though often that list is a short one. I think Men in Black II should at least be considered.

Of course, I have never met anyone (I mean it. ANYONE) who agrees with me, so of course there will be dissent. Though, if you are a kindred spirit, I would love to meet, chat hours on end with, and become best friends with you. Always looking for people who also love to get flushed!

Here are some reasons that I love MIIB better than the first:

1. It's funnier. I'm a big fan of movies with both comedy and action and MIIB doesn't disappoint.

2. Many of your favorites from the first film return. I think this is an important part of any sequel. Sequels with only a few (or one) returning character can sometimes be interesting, and even great movies in their own right, but more often than not, I want to see all of my favorites return! MIIB brought back not only Agents J and K, but also Zed, Frank, Jeebs, and the Worms. Not even the third installment of the Men in Black series can boast that, and (while I enjoyed it) I was honestly disappointed by that.

3. It enhances the experience of the first installment. If you have seen the first MIB movie, you are 10x as likely to enjoy the second. Through dialogue and visuals alike, it pays homage to the original in several ways, all while preserving its integrity as a stand-alone film. Though it is made better for a franchise fan, it is also a fun time on its own.

All the above reasons are what I look for in a sequel. Though I can certainly appreciate The Dark Knight's of my day, with a sequel to a fun movie, I expect just as much if not more fun.

Again, I'd love to hear your responses to this. Let's discuss! I could discuss all day!

Final thoughts:

I say you should see this movie, if you haven't. I'd recommend watching the first MIB, then the 2nd, then waiting 10 years and then seeing the third. Just kidding, but seriously.

I enjoy this movie for several reasons that I've already stated, but don't forget what you can learn from it. Your calling is your calling, whether you accept it or not.

Watch this film with an open mind. While I'm sure the folks at Universal greenlighted this sequel as a cash cow, it should not be written off as such. Watch with an open mind, otherwise, "(Jeff) I am SO NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!!"

That about wraps up my entry for one of my favorite sequels. I really encourage feedback of any kind, so please do not hesitate to comment or tweet me @archivesreport or find us on Facebook! Thanks so much for reading! I look forward to your thoughts! Thanks so much!

God bless!

NAH

The Social Network

The Social Network (2010)

Director: David Fincher

Writers: Aaron Sorkin, Ben Mezrich

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, Brenda Song

Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 5 stars!

I vowed to start writing in this more frequently, so to my million and a half readers- you're welcome! Anyhow, it's a blog kind of morning. Fourth of July at almost noon, barely been awake for 53 minutes. I watched a movie last night with my girl, and so me and my Quaker Chewy Dipps (yes, that is the correct spelling, direct from the box that's two inches to my left) bars have something to say.

I came into a copy of The Social Network via buy one get one free sale at K-mart. I bought this one, and got Easy A for free. I've already seen that one but I will happily review it should my readership vote in that direction. Anyhow, I've told enough quirky little anecdotes for one day, and it's time to get to what I thought of the movie. Again, I won't give away too much of the story, but if you really want to get it, you can look it up online. It's not exactly a secret. 

The Social Network is the fabled tale of internet game-changer Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg; Zombieland) and how he created and built the social networking powerhouse we know as "Facebook". I don't want to give away too much of what happens, but the origins of Facebook go back to 2003 when Zuckerberg's girlfriend, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara; The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), breaks up with him, and he creates an incredible "hotness rating" website, as well as trashes her by name on the 2003 blog-o-sphere, and let's face it, everyone knows that trashing someone on LiveJournal is pretty much the biggest 2003 slap in the face you can possibly receive. But Zuckerberg's "hotness rating" website that crashed the Harvard server received him some notoriety around the school, including an offer to help build "The Harvard Connection", which was a primitive social network for Harvard students only, geared mostly towards dating. Zuckerberg eventually flakes on this project for one of his own.

I thought this movie was incredibly well acted. It was clever. The story was told well. I actually learned things. For instance, that Zuckerberg and the original Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield; The Amazing Spider-Man) were the only two listed as the founders of Facebook (meaning Zuckerberg did most of the work), and that internet innovator and creator of Napster Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake; Friends with Benefits) was a huge influence on Zuckerberg and had a major role in Facebook. The most interesting thing I learned, however, was that Mark Zuckerberg was a socially inept computer nerd who created Facebook for many reasons, but the main one seemed to be that he had to social network because he had so few friends of his own.

I gave this movie five out of five starts because I just thought it was a beautifully made film. The Oscars they won for Best Original Score, Best Achievement in Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay were well deserved, and honestly I think that Jesse Eisenberg should've gotten a second look for that Best Actor nomination he received. But 3 wins out of 8 nominations really isn't bad. 

I would highly recommend this movie. Especially if you are on Facebook. So...everyone. :)

Here is the link to the IMDB page for The Social Network in case you would like to do a little more research:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/

and here is the link to the GetGlue forum, to see what the people who watched it most recently have been saying:

http://getglue.com/movies/social_network/david_fincher

(Once again, I have hyperlinked to the GetGlue homepage. If you do not have an account, do yourself a favor and get one. I could care less about any other networking venue, but GetGlue is one that is genuinely fun, especially for movie and TV lovers like myself. Seriously though. Follow me on GetGlue.)

Alright, that wraps up my post this time. I've already received a suggestion from a reader (but it's one I have to track down a copy of, first), but keep them coming! Please comment on here or Facebook (hehe) and make a suggestion for improvement or of a review to do! Thanks so much for reading! All 3 of you!

NAH