MacGruber

Anybody who's seen a MacGruber skit on SNL can tell you that they're painfully unfunny. Fortunately, this is not the case with the MacGruber movie.

Macgruber is definitely stupid, but it's also pretty damn hilarious. The jokes are spot-on almost all of the time, but every so often you'll find yourself laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing.

Will Forte brings his TV character to life with spot-on comedic timing, and Kristin Wiig is hilarious, as always. Together, they provide most of the funniest gags. My only problem with the cast was Ryan Phillipe, who really has no business doing comedies like this in the first place.

MacGruber is definitely different from most of the rated-R comedies we've been seeing recently from people like Judd Apatow. It's much more juvenile in it's humor, but that's not necessarilly a bad thing. Sometimes its the ridiculous that gets us to laugh the hardest.

Don't be fooled by the terrible skits and trailers. MacGruber will surprise you with just how damn funny it really is. In my opinion, it's definitely one worth checking out.

B-

Kind of a fun fact: Tonight was the first time I legally purchased my own rated-R movie ticket. I felt so proud being able to hand them my ID and have them hand me that ticket. I'm glad it was an enjoyable movie as well.

Robin Hood

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe's newest period epic Robin Hood might look like it could be their next Gladiator, but unfortunately, all it really does is remind us of what a great movie Gladiator is, and that Scott's best work is definitely behind him.

It's not to say that Robin Hood isn't a good movie. It is. It's entertaining and very well-acted, but it just doesn't evoke the same emotion that similar films of this genre do. Aside from the obvious similarities to Gladiator, I was constantly being reminded of Mel Gibson's Braveheart. For example, Marc Streitenfeld's score sounds very similar to James Horner's Braveheart score, and some of the locations and battle sequences are similar as well. When Robin gives his obligatory inspriational speech to rally men into battle, I couldn't help but repeat "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" over and over in my head.

Maybe Robin Hood's problems lie in the fact that it's a prequel to a story we've seen told many times before. We know who's going to live, so when we see these characters in peril we know that they are in no real danger. I had similar problems with last year's Sherlock Holmes. To make a great prequel, you have to make us forget that we know what's coming next, and Robin Hood, while entertaining and very well-made, just doesn't do that.

B-

Iron Man 2

Summer movie season has officially started, folks.

Iron Man 2 was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, but when the movie opened in foreign markets last week and the critical response was less than fantastic, I started to worry that I was going to be let-down. Fortunately, this is not the case. Jon Faverau has kicked-off summer 2010 with a bang.

First, let's get this out of the way right now. Iron Man 2 is not better than it's predecessor. Iron Man lacked a strong villain, but more than made up for it with it's charm (very similar to 2009's Star Trek). Iron Man 2 has the same problem, only reversed. Mickey Rourke as Whiplash was fantastic, but the movie lacked some of the charm that made the first one such a great movie. There are also some pacing problems in Iron Man 2, and sometimes you start to feel it's length, but the same thing could also be said for the first Iron Man. That's really Faverau's only weak spot as a director.

The rest of the cast does not disappoint. Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark. He plays the part so perfectly that you can't even tell he's acting. We also get our first look at the new Rhodey, now played by Don Cheadle instead of Terrance Howard. Howard must be kicking himself, because War Machine is a badass. There is one member of the cast that seems to have been skipped over in most of the trailers (and is nowhere to be seen on any of the posters) and that is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. I love Rockwell. He's one of my favorite actors, and in Iron Man 2 he's absolutely great. Justin is the Bill Gates to Tony's Steve Jobs, and they play off each other so well.

I'm not going to say much about this because I don't want to spoil it, but we also get a much bigger look at the Avengers initiative. Nick Fury has a much bigger role here, and provides some important information about just what it is that S.H.I.E.L.D. does. And make sure you wait till the credits finish, because there's a special scene at the end that makes a pretty big reference to a certain Avenger.

In closing, I'd say Iron Man 2 was a great way to start the summer movie season. It doesn't improve on the first one, but it definitely gives us more of what made Iron Man great. If you enjoyed the first one at all, Iron Man 2 is definitely a suitable sequel.

B+