FILM REVIEW: MUPPETS MOST WANTED By: Faiz No comments

A scene from Muppets Most Wanted. 

Bounty-full fun

By John Esther

Picking up where The Muppets in 2011 ended, Muppets Most Wanted sees the gang touring across Europe, thanks to their new co-manager, Dominic Badguy (pronounced "bad gee"), played by Ricky Gervais. 

Immediately, we suspect Dominic has alternative motives for taking the "weirdo" troupe to Europe, but the Muppets are a trusting bunch and do not notice any of the obvious clues. Besides, Dominic's carefree managerial style is a welcome change from the sternness of their leader, Kermit (voice by Steve Whitmore). Now the Muppets can go crazy on the stage!

Our mistrust of Dominic is confirmed when we discover he is in cahoots with Constantine (voice by Steve Vogel), the world's most dangerous frog and number one criminal. Constantine has just escaped from a gulag in Siberia. Iti s time for a little switch between Constantine and Kermit.  

Soon Constantine and Dominic, AKA The Lemur -- the world's number two criminal -- are co-managing the Muppets tour and robbing museums near the shows' venues while Kermit dwells alone in the Gulag under the iron fist of Nadya (Tina Fey).

Despite Constantine's accent and abrasive attitude, none of the Muppets suspect he is a fraud except, one of my favorite Muppets, Animal (voice by Eric Jacobson). Meanwhile, it becomes apparent to Nadya that Kermit is not Constantine, but that will not set him free. There is an upcoming show for the gulag guards and somebody has to manage the song and dance of such fellow prisoners as Big Papa (Ray Liotta), Prison King (Jermaine Clement) and Danny Trejo.  

While I have not seen all of the Muppet movies, I have seen most of them, and this one is probably my favorite. Co-written and directed by James Bobin, unlike his The Muppets, featuring Amy Adams and Jason Segel, Muppets Most Wanted focuses on the non-human characters while adding a notable new one, Constantine, and bringing back ones from previous Muppet movies -- at least for a cameo. 

The original songs here by music supervisor/songwriter Bret McKenzie are pretty good. Do not be surprised if kids under 13 will be singing Constantine's "I'll Get You Want You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)" -- if the kids can follow the Jabberwocky-like lyrics. On another hoof, the duet between Miss Piggy (voice by Jacobson) and her Piggy Fairy Grandmother (Celine Dion) is rather creepy. 

Although the movie has bountiful good jokes, entertainment, song and dance for people of many ages, the biggest thing going against Muppets Most Wanted is the tiresome anti-European jokes about small cars, long holidays, etc. Yeah, because a car's superior MPG and worker benefits are a joke. 

And as far as the typical Muppets cameos go: yes, they are here in abundance. Some of their roles are much better -- like the ones offered to Saoirse Ronan (probably my favorite), Christoph Waltz (doing a waltz with Sweetums), Josh Groban, James McAvoy, Frank Langella, Miranda Richardson and Salma Hayek -- than the ones offered to the likes or performed by Tony Bennett, Sean Combs, Lady Gaga, and Stanley Tucci. 

LAFF 2012: ROBOT & FRANK By: Faiz No comments



Frank (Frank Langella) and Robot (voice by Peter Sarsgaard) in Robot & Frank.

Big mouth strikes again

By Ed Rampell

Jake Schreier’s wry science fiction, complex comedy, Robot & Frank, has plenty of plot twists and turns that keeps audiences guessing and takes them by surprise until the very last frame. Frank Langella plays the eponymous Frank, an aging man plagued by memory loss. Frank’s son, Hunter (James Marsden), coerces his old man to accept a robotic caregiver (voice by Peter Sarsgaard) -- or face institutionalization. Comic complications, however, ensue as the two title characters form an unlikely relationship and Frank’s prior choice of career is revealed.

Meanwhile, the apparent mechanization of Frank’s life is opposed by his globetrotting daughter, Madison (Liv Tyler), who jet sets back from some sort of anthropological work in Turkmenistan to rescue her dad from the robot’s clutches at his home in upstate New York. There, Frank is attracted to the librarian, Jennifer (Susan Sarandon), whose small town library is being digitized and yuppified. Jeremy Sisto plays the village constable who’s called in when valuables -- vintage books, jewels -- mysteriously go missing.

Just when you think the futuristic Robot & Frank is about one thing -- such as elder care being provided by robots -- Christopher Ford’s inventively witty script ducks and weaves and takes us into another completely different direction. In the end, this well acted, enjoyable romp is more about a theme than a plot: The aging process, persistence (or lack) of memory (deleting a robot’s memory is akin to Alzheimer’s Disease) and family. Then there is the mystery behind Jennifer.

But your plot spoiler adverse critic won’t ruin the surprises for you, dear filmgoers -- unlike the dolts on KPCC’s “Film Week” program who, on June 22, without warning revealed Woody Allen’s imaginative, hilarious sight gag in To Rome With Love on the radio, then promptly went on to tell listeners the funniest scene in the new Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley comedy, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Blabbermouths who aren’t talented enough to know how to “review” works without giving away their best moments aren’t critics -- they’re plot spoilers. And there is a special seat in hell reserved for idiotic, incompetent “reviewers” who rob film fans of the joyous act of self discovery and finding out for one’s self -- instead of from some loose lips, no talent, big mouth.


Robot & Frank will at the Los Angeles Film Festival: June 23, 7:10 p.m., Regal Cinemas.