Pirates of The Carribean - On Stranger Tides

Jack Sparrow and Barbossa are on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it, too.

To be perfectly honest if Johnny Depp wasn't part of this zillion dollar franchise we doubt whether we would have gone beyond the first movie. But he is so still so watchable as Jack Sparrow that we keep coming back. Visually it's awesome but the story meanders around like a drunk sailor trying to find his ship and to make a great movie you need a damn good, roller coaster of a story. It's better than the two previous movies and if you listen carefully there is some great dialogue especially from Capt Jack but maybe it's time to put the lid on this particular treasure chest.

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Hangover Part 2

Two years after the batchelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to Thailand for Stu's wedding where Stu decides to play it safe by having a very low key pre-wedding brunch. But as usual, things don't go as planned.

Film making at its laziest. Make a good movie and follow it with a sequel that has almost the same story (they just lose a different guy) and set it in a different location. It had the potential to be hilarious but Bradley Cooper just looks pretty, Ed Helms over acts and Zach Galifianakis looks vacant. A huge disappointment.

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Due Date

Father-to-be Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jnr) is forced to share a car with wannabe actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifiankis) on a road trip back to LA in order to be at the birth of his firstborn.

We all expected this movie to be absolute crap but it was surprisingly funny. Zach Galifianakis is hilarious. There are not many films that truly make us laugh out loud (we're kind of hard to please) but this really did. There were some funny lines that we still keep repeating to each other. Even the way Zach Galifianakis walked was funny. Go see - we command you.

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Pineapple Express

A process server and his drug dealer go on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer when he accidentally witnesses a murder.

The chemistry between Seth Rogen and James Franco works - well. And this has to be Franco's one finest hours. He shines as the hippy drug dealing Saul Silver. We're taken on a ride as Rogen and Franco haplessly try to escape their pursuers while mostly high as kites.

While there are only a few laugh out loud moments the movie is HIGHLY enjoyable. Easy to watch. And the running gag which involves their indestructible friend 'Red' (Danny McBride) is really funny.

Overall a fun movie to watch especially at 4:20

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The Other Guys

Two mismatched detectives (mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell) take the opportunity to fill the shoes of the top two cops in New York after their untimely demise.

Director Adam Mackay and Will Ferrell pull it off yet again with this fun comedy. Bit of slap-stick, bit of satire, bit of idiot humour, action scenes - it's like a smorgasbord of laughter. Brilliantly funny.

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The Men who Stare at Goats

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) reporting in Iraq -to impress his estranged wife - may just have stumbled on the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to be a former member of the U.S army's First Earth Battalion. A 1980s unit that employed paranormal powers in their missions. ie: Men who can stare at goats till their hearts stop.

Based on Jon Ronson's book, it's a satirical comedy in the style of the Coen brothers.
Tagged with the title that that 'more of this is true than you realise' you are led into a story of hippie soldiers, psychic spies, Jedi warrior all quite endearingly woven together with off-the-wall characters. A list actors with some terrific moments, the film meanders but ultimately never reaches a satisfactory conclusion. The kind of movie that leaves you scratching your head. However, if you get the chance - read the script because then you'll see how funny this film really is.
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Best line: It's ok, you can "attack" me...
What's with the quotation fingers? It's like saying I'm only capable of ironic attacking or something.

The Proposal 2009

Pushy boss, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), forces her young assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to avoid being deported to Canada.

Only one of the Saturday Night Bright team watched this movie because only one of them is a Sandra Bullock fan! That apart, this movie script is sadly, formulaic. It's all been done before right down to the confession at the altar and inevitable chase to the airport. There are some very funny moments mostly provided by the adorable Betty White who plays Andrew's Grandma Annie and the scenery is very nice! But mostly it's just another romcom with the usual predictable happy ending.

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Eagle vs Shark

Two social misfits, Lily (Loren Horsley) and Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) become boyfriend and girlfriend after Lily - who works at a fast food outlet turns up univited at a party thrown by the boy she adores from afar, Jarrod, a nerd who works at a video games store. Impressed by her savant-like skills at a video game they embark on a romance. But Jarrod has more on his mind than love as he is honing his fighting skills to settle and old score with a school bully.

Although this has sometimes been referred to as New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite this was, in fact, released at the same time. Deadpan humour, quirky, eccentric and quite brilliantly acted this movie makes you laugh and yet empathise with the characters. It's quite simply a funny film with a really lovely story and we didn't want it to end.

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Confessions of a Shopaholic

Rebecca Bloomwood has a major shopping addiction but she's in debt up to her Gucci neckline and she's just lost her job. As a result of a letter mailing mix-up she unintentionally lands a job with a financial paper where she unwittingly becomes a star when she writes an article about how to handle money - something she clearly cannot do. Living a huge lie and with a very persistent debt collector on her tail, Rebecca finds herself in big trouble.

A disappointing film from a really, really good book. Why do they always do this? The same thing happened with 'In Her Shoes' - nothing more to say. Don't bother with this movie.


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Role Models

Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann Williams Scott), two guys in their 30s, work for an energy drink company. But Danny feels stuck -- as if his life is going nowhere. Desperate to do something he proposes to his girlfriend who promptly turns him down and then breaks up with him. Danny snaps and gets into a fight with a tow trucker, dragging Wheeler into the melee, and both guys end up in court. It's either jail or community service. They opt for the latter which means that they have to join a Big Brother programme. Can these two guys ever become role models?

After a slow and somewhat disjointed start, this movie actually turns out pretty good. It's not ground breaking and it follows the typical Hollywood formula but it's fun and has a damn good ending.

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Yes Man

Life for Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is going nowhere until he enrolls on a personal development programme based on a simple idea "say yes to everything." Suddenly life becomes perfect -- for awhile, anyway.

We liked it but we didn't love it. It's a ton better than a lot of other movies we've watched and there are moments that are really hilarious. Sometimes Jim Carrey's gurning gets a bit old, but then who else could possibly do that as good as him? The very best character in this movie is Norman (Rhys Darby) Carl's nerdy boss. He steals every scene he's in. Come to think of it this isn't a bad movie at all, the story line was just not strong enough. However, we'd watch it again.

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Get Smart

Analyst Maxwell Smart dreams of becoming an agent for top secret organization CONTROL. When CONTROL is attacked by its nemesis KAOS and some of its agents are compromised, Smart is promoted to Agent 86 with a reluctant partner Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and they set out to thwart KAOS plans for world domination.

We expect Steve Carell's 'Maxwell Smart' to be a hapless character. A loser who get's everything wrong. But he isn't. He's smart. Really smart. And, apart from a really good storyline, that is what makes this film so good. We laughed out loud and we want to see it again and that means for Saturday Night Bright - it's a great movie.

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Step Brothers

Brennan and Dale, two middle-age layabouts that act like ten year olds, are forced to live together when their respective parents get married. As reluctant step-siblings their immature antics cause chaos.

If you want to watch a film that takes you out of yourself, a film that for one hour and thirty-four minutes makes you forget all your problems then watch this movie - not once but twice, three times. Listen to the dialogue - it's hilarious.

Anchorman, Talladega Nights and now Stepbrothers. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay - you guys rock!

We give it Five elephants.

Tropic Thunder

Action Comedy Movie

Plot:

A movie is being made in South-east Asia based on the memoirs of a Vietnam war hero. Over budget and behind schedule, the novice director decides to take the actors -- who are behaving like prima donnas -- into the jungle to get the movie shot and to make it more realistic. However, the cast are attacked by local drug dealers, but they are unaware that these are not actors and still think they're filming.

We love an all star cast and this movie has got them by the bucket load, from Ben Stiller to Tom Cruise. At last an original story and even better, one that pokes fun at Hollywood actors. We love the way it opens with a series of hilarious trailers that introduce the main cast members. Laugh out loud funny on occasions. Kudos to a barely recognisable Tom Cruise who provides some of the funniest moments in the film. And if we hadn't have seen him at the start, we would never have guessed that it was Robert Downey Jr playing Sgt. Osiris -- well deserving of that Oscar nomination. Love this movie. It's brilliant.

We give it Four elephants.