Thursday 11 October 2012

First Impressions: "The Dictator" + "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (2012)

   Time for this week's pair of rentals. :)

   Number one: The Dictator. Now, I was a tad sceptical about this one because of the Sacha Baron Cohen formula. I fucking *hateBorat, and I haven't seen Brüno but I have reason to believe it's even worse. But The Dictator… I'm surprised! This one was actually kind of funny! True, it has several moments that are just downright uncomfortable – and not in a funny way like I'm sure they were intended – but a lot of the rest did make me laugh. Maybe it's because it has a definitive story as opposed to just being a series of awkward encounters. Or maybe it's because the main character being an authority figure gives it more of an edge. In any case, it does have its moments, though maybe not quite enough of them. But it was a hell of a lot better than Borat.
   My rating: 55%.

   And number two: How I Spent My Summer Vacation (known in the US as Get the Gringo). We all know that Mel Gibson's not the most popular guy in the world right now, but he still has plenty of charm on screen. I just love his character's first few minutes of screen time. It's just a shame the rest of the movie doesn't quite live up to that.
   The premise is basically an American citizen trying to survive in a Mexican prison. That alone could have filled an entire movie. But instead, the plot gets so needlessly complicated with a web of conspiracy involving the money our hero stole. By the end, I neither knew nor cared what was going on.
   So, like The Dictator, my rating for this one would be, to quote Roger Ebert, a close call but a marginal thumbs-down.
   My rating: 55%.

No comments:

Post a Comment