Brilliant chemistry between the leads along with wonderful supporting actors

Author: Faisal Khatib from United Arab Emirates
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*** This review may contain spoilers ***

With the premise of an internship at Google; you get the whole deal with product placements. Luckily "The Internship" manages to stay afloat as a two hour enjoyable and rather funny Google advert.

The film begins with Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) losing their jobs as fast talking watch salesmen facing an uncertain future thanks to the digital age. Managing to talk their way into an internship (against all odds) at Google, they find themselves facing off against smart and tech-savvy college kids aka "a mental Hunger Games" for jobs at the on-the-line search giant. Ending up with a team of out casts and facing mostly unreasoned challenges (Read: Quidditch match), Billy and Nick manage to turn the odds on its head for the perfect (and predictable) "Lived happily ever after" ending.

With previous individual failures Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson come together once more to share their amazing chemistry on screen. Vince Vaughen plays the exact same role he has played in every possible film you've seen of him lately. Since he's co-written the film; I guess he likes to feel right at home. The same may apply to Owen Wilson who's landed himself in a similar rut. It does make the whole process rather familiar but there is no denying that the chemistry both these lead actors share gives the films premise a new pair of legs every time it starts lagging a little. Both these actors clearly know their limitations and have managed to work around it well this time. Also since this was a PG-13 rated film, some of the vulgarity that you might associate with these actors is kept to a bare minimum reducing what I feel are just distractions.

Tobit Raphel as home-schooled Yo-Yo was a complete scene stealer as more often than not he'd have you laughing out loud with his crazy antics on screen. Dylan O'Brien on the other hand balanced it with his controlled cynical act of 'know it all' Stuart. Tiya Sircar as Neha was brilliant as you watch her character go through its curve. Josh Brener as the 23 year old Team leader Lile starts off brilliantly as he tries to portray himself as a cool dude but fades away as the love interest angle falls into place quite predictably.

Max Minghella as the films main antagonist Graham is underused and left with one-liners that are too far and few. Rose Byrne as Wilson's love interest apart from a single scene comes across as a postscript. Aasif Mandvi as the internship programs head Mr. Chetty is stereotypically brilliant and the short chemistry he shares with Billy is entertaining to watch.

Brilliant chemistry between the leads along with wonderful supporting actors makes you forget the flaws and plot holes blatantly staring at you. You just go along with that warm fuzzy feeling with a smile plastered on your face.

Exactly what I expected

Author: Hockey-Girl-1995 from United States
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R.I.P.D. is exactly what it looks like. The plot was not mind-blowing but it was good enough to hold my attention, the acting was not Oscar worthy but they did a very good job in their respective roles and it wasn't the funniest thing I've ever seen but I did laugh. I would almost categorize this as an action before a comedy, it's got quite a bit going on!

I liked the second half of the movie more than the first, though that's not to say the first half was bad. It just felt a little repetitive and right about the time I began to feel like it was going to go in circles, it kept moving and saved itself. The second half steps it up in both action and comedy and the climactic ending was great.

Overall I enjoyed R.I.P.D. It was just a fun movie that you don't need to think about!

Not nearly as bad as a lot of people like to say it is.

Author: Hellmant from United States
'R.I.P.D.': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

One of the summer's biggest expensive casualties is this Dark Horse comic adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as two police officers in the after life fighting undead ghouls. It was directed by Robert Schwentke (who also directed the action films 'RED' and 'FLIGHPLAN') and written by Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi and David Dobkin. Peter M. Lenkov created the comic book it's based on and also executive produced the film. The film also co-stars Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marisa Miller and James Hong. Oddly both Reynolds and Parker had two big films opening the same weekend (Reynolds also can be heard in the animated family film 'TURBO' and Parker reprised her role in the sequel to Schwentke's 'RED'). All three films bombed and Reynolds now has a pretty big reputation for constantly delivering box office misfires. That doesn't mean they're bad films though and I actually enjoyed 'R.I.P.D.' to a certain degree (definitely not an especially good movie though).

The film opens with a Boston cop named Nick Walker (Reynolds), having a dispute with his partner, Bobby Hayes (Bacon), over whether or not to turn in gold they found at a recent drug bust. Walker is shot and killed by Hayes during a shootout and is recruited by the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department) in the afterlife. The R.I.P.D. specializes in catching 'deados', which are souls who have refused to leave the land of the living. Walker is teamed with an old U.S. Marshal from the Old West, named Roy Pulsipher (Bridges), while he attempts to track down his old partner and clear his reputation with the love of his life, Julia Walker (Szostak).

The biggest complaint I've heard about the trailer for the film is how much it resembles the film 'MEN IN BLACK' and I have to say, after seeing the film as well, that it very much resembles a 'MEN IN BLACK' movie. It's of course not nearly as good as that campy sci-fi classic but it is better than it's first sequel (arguably 'MEN IN BLACK 3' as well). The fact is the movie is not nearly as bad as a lot of people like to say it is. It's a lot of fun, funny at times and the visuals are spectacular. It had a budget of approximately $130 million and as a purely visual treat it paid off; as far as the special effects go, plus the women are all super hot (Szostak and Miller are breathtaking in the flick). Watching Reynolds and Bridges together (as an odd couple duo) is a treat as well and it's funny to see Reynolds being mostly the straight man while Bridges mostly hams it up (Bacon is also once again a great despicable villain). Not a great film by any means but not a bad one either.

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Of muscles and mad men

Author: del91 from Penang, Malaysia / Chicago, USA
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Bay is shamelessly reputed for huge explosions, choppy editing, excessively flashy/glitzy cinematography, sexy women, fancy cars and (recently) giant robots. With "Pain and Gain" he returns to low-budget territory since his debut "Bad Boys" in 1995. The result - the film is a debauchery in style - it's all over the film. Although Bay cuts back on the explosions and robots (mercifully), everything else has Bay written all over it, and considering how morbidly ridiculous the film's subject matter is, Bay tackles it in such a head-on and energetic manner that the audience is whisked off for the insane ride ahead.

For this movie, he has assembled together Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie as the three bumble-heads who have their hearts set in the right goal but clearly lack the intellect to do so. All three men look jacked up, and play their parts as ridiculous as the part goes for it, especially Johnson, who clearly is having a blast showing off a completely different side of him as opposed to what we've been seeing him of late. Wahlberg plays a character so dangerously goofy and dumb one will wonder whether such a person exists in real life. Tony Shalhoub's unfortunate but still jerk-ish character sets the tone for most of the movie as his predicament grows from one spectrum of ridiculousness to another. By the time we've reached sexy Bar Paly's and hilarious Rebel Wilson's love interest characters, the audience have probably seen enough.

Then in comes Ed Harris as Detective Du Bois. Just when I thought the film was about to careen off the rails into insanity. He's the only sane person in the whole movie, and his presence helps bring balance and clarity to what was a ludicrous first half.

Comic relief is key in Bay's action films, but here he's going all out at comedy, and he sure does pull of the stops. The film is simply put, hysterical. The fact that it was indeed a true story makes it all the more hilarious to watch, who honestly can think of some story like this and pull if off straight?

I am aware that since this is a film, some liberties had to be made to the story and characters. Some scenes were undoubtedly exaggerated, but which one? Every scene looked and felt so surreal, every major character ridiculous, every line of dialogue inducing a chortle from the audience. But it was a dementedly fun ride, and Bay, after making two bloated sequels about giant robots, finally returns to his stride.
Michael Bay's "Pain and Gain" is a very bleak, very dark comedy about three knucklehead bodybuilders in pursuit of their own American dream, even if the road there is paved with sex, drugs, torture, humiliation, and even murder.

Great, with a side of horror!

Author: ariasn1 from Canada

This movie was near perfect to me, and let me explain why: The actors portraying the three (can you call them) anti hero's incredibly well. I don't quite know how accurate they were in comparison to the real criminals but as standalone characters they were pitch perfect (even the Rock, who may have actually stolen the show for me).

Tony Shaloub is no actor to be laughed at, he played such an interesting 3 dimensional yet despicable character that forced me to try to come to terms with how I felt with him being the victim.

And what really made the movie for me was the phenomenal writing and directing combination, there were intensely serious moments surrounded by the blackest of black comedy, something that shouldn't have worked, but it did!

My only problem with the flick is that it IS a true story. From what I've heard it's not even based on a true story, it's just a sensationalized docudrama with added humour... Christ (re read this after you see the movie and then you'll find it funny... I hope)

TL;DR VERSION Not for kids; great movie with great casting, writing, direction, cinematography etc.; But it loses a point for taken such a sad, serious story and making it painfully funny.

More of a comedy than anything else, in spite of the blood & gore. Two brothers run a dubious fertilizer factory requiring some secret ingredients

Movie in Reviews: Personally, I don't have taste for this genre I couldn't stand this movie more than half an hour and had to fast forward till the end. But for those who enjoy, the reviews are good for this movie.


Author: JvH48 from Amersfoort, The Netherlands
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The plot elements were cleverly employed, like the use of human bodies (from travel accidents, at first) to "improve" the fertilizer that the two brothers produce. They have a lot of success with it, and demand is rising. Due to the latter, any human body that is found along the road that does not move, is carried away without proper medical review. That is where the story starts, soon involving three hitch hikers who pose an imminent danger to their secret operations. They thus become potential ingredients for their fertilizer production process. Though the cutting up of bodies is only shown once and not very directly, you can expect an abundance of blood sprayed around, tainting most of the bystanders who have every reason to assume they are next in line. Those movie lovers fainting on the sight of blood, are better off when they avoid this one.

The real secret ingredient of this film, however, is the humor that is incorporated all over the story, and works very well in hiding there is no real story to tell. Things happen in a logical sequence, though, but different from what we expected upfront. That is precisely the most important feature of this film. It is a Comedy rather than a Horror movie, is my conclusion, with the blood&gore only as binding element.

All in all, I found this Horror very enjoyable. I usually try to steer clear of blood&gore movies, but this time it is not the central theme that binds the scenes, unlike some other movies with no recognizable story line other than providing for reasons to miserably end other people's lives. In other words, the blood&gore is more entourage here than anything else. The relationship between the two fertilizer making brothers is much more important, as is the hasty and uncoordinated way they try to cover their tracks when the darker side of their business might be exposed. Along the line we witness various ways in which the younger brother tries to show initiative, in an attempt to outsmart his brother who obviously has the lead in everything. And the people who are so unlucky to get involved in their "factory", mostly fail to survive the encounter with all limbs intact, or even to escape alive for that matter. Hilarious scenes throughout, in spite of the darker aspects of the plot.
I saw this film at the Brussels fantastic film festival 2013 (BIFFF). It was announced as a Horror movie, but you are mistaken if you want something sinister. Everything happens in broad daylight. On the other hand, there was sufficient blood&gore to let it fall under the Horror category. Still, I found it more of a Comedy rather than anything else.