Most Anticipated: The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet (PG-13)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz
Director: Michel Gondry

Seriously, this is just amazing. Not only have I already seen two movies for this year off my anticipated list, but I've seen them before they've even opened and they were free! I feel pretty good about my life right about now. Okay, I'm the asshole soaking up all this awesomeness that is my life when I should be telling you about the movie. Well, let's just say it was awesome, bro! But to begin, I will put this out there - if you are not a fan of Seth Rogen, you probably will not like this movie. He's co-written and produced as well as being the lead man (duh!) in this movie. It has his stench all over it (and I mean that most flatteringly). I really like Seth Rogen - I think people got sick of his slacker image plastered on what seemed like every movie two years ago. BUT! He's playing a different kind of slacker this time around! Plus, he's a bit more toned in this movie and I found that not jarring at all. It's not like he's Kato and jumping around in 3D, kicking ass. So, if you're on the fence about Rogen, I say give it a chance! Secondly, I feel really dumb for seeing the poster and thinking about the Donnie Darko bunny:

Because they really don't look that much alike. At all. And after I said this to Maggie while adding I just don't get what the headlights are all about, she pointed out the headlights formed a HORNET. So apparently I cannot make out pictures like a four-year-old can.

But back to the movie - it was surprisingly awesome! I remember thinking after the first twenty minutes, wow, this movie isn't that funny. And then the funny happened. A lot! I laughed quite a bit - whether it was the banter back and forth between Britt Reid and Kato or Christoph Waltz's gleefully eccentric bad guy - I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud. The movie mixes things up pretty well between the dreadfully serious action movie and the over-the-top cheesy action that first inspired The Green Hornet's roots. There's a great article from The New York Times that follows the 70-year history of the franchise. It's funny how Nicolas Cage almost ruined the movie with his Jamaican accented villain idea. Or Stephen Chow's idea to implant a chip in Britt Reid so Kato could control him with a joystick. Those movies would have been train wrecks. Thank god Seth Rogen got a hold of this movie. It's balls deep in kickassness. Michel Gondry, the eccentric filmmaker who brought the world Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, seemed like an odd choice, but he's been attached to this movie since 1997. And he's a perfect fit, because Kato-vision is pretty awesome and there are some cool sequences including a scene where the film gets cut up into tiny boxes, each showing the spreading of news by the bad guy (I'm not doing it any justice - let's just say it was pretty cool). And the action is just enough, although the ending I can't decide if it was balls-to-the-wall awesome or if it was a bit too much to swallow (Maggie would argue it was too much. And that's what she said). So...yes you should see this movie! Unless you don't like Seth Rogen. But you can skip the 3D - it's not like the movie was worse because of it, it just didn't add anything special. The credits were actually the coolest 3D part. The movie is out this weekend, so make sure it gets some love!

Rating: See It!