Andy Gapin

Too much Cameron Diaz.

Not enough Jason Segel.

After saying that, there isn’t a lot left to say. Bad Teacher isn’t nearly as funny as it would have been if Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz at least shared the screen 50/50. Instead, we get Cameron Diaz as the single main character and Jason Segel with a much more minor role. Hell, Lucy Punch spent the second most amount of time on the screen after Diaz. I’m not complaining about that, I like her, but Jason Segel was completely underutilized. The fact is, Bad Teacher has more than enough talent at its disposal to make for a good movie, but wastes all its time on Cameron Diaz. This is so problematic, it’s not even funny.

Actors aside, Bad Teacher could have also benefited from having more likable characters. I’m pretty sure the only likable character was Jason Segel’s. Justin Timberlake’s and Lucy Punch’s characters are only marginally more likable than Cameron Diaz’s completely awful character. What’s worse, is that while Justin Timberlake and Lucy Punch play characters that are unlikable in a way that works positively for the film, Cameron Diaz’s character just plain sucked all around.

With unlikable characters and focus on the wrong actors, you’d at least hope for a solid script, but holding out for such a thing will just yield disappointment. The film had potential, but it went unfulfilled. There was weren’t jokes where there needed to be and most of the ones that were there fell flat.

Bad Teacher isn’t an entire loss, it does have a few moments, but only so much as to be worth streaming from Netflix. I wouldn’t bother even wasting a DVD rental on it.

Rating: C-

Okay, so I saw The Green Hornet the other day. Pretty fun and entertaining. It was kind of exactly what you’d expect, but in a good way. It’s worth a viewing, but it’s nothing amazing either,  it’s really just fun times and an excuse to see some solid action without feeling like a douche.

Yeah, that’s all I’ve got to say really. I’m mostly just trying to get a post up on here so you guys don’t think I’ve abandoned this blog. I’ve got some stuff coming…maybe.

Now for the wait for the other Green <noun> movie.

Rating: C+

Personally, I think the trilogy+1 thing is rarely a good idea. An ongoing series is one thing–say what you want, Jason X was awesome–but doing four movies is kind of silly. Shrek Forever After isn’t really much of an exception to this. It’s far from bad and it might even been better than the third one, but the whole thing felt unnecessary and a little forced, not natural at all.

The movie entertains, but not enough to justify the new $20 ticket price at a select few AMC theaters for IMAX 3D. Thanks to reading this article, I decided to just go for the 2D version and save my money. I’m glad I did too. The movie was worth $6 for an AM Cinema ticket, but I would have been furious if I paid $20 for a ticket (not that I think the AMC near my house is one of the theaters charging that).

Shrek 4 has everything a Shrek movie should have, except for new ideas. Shrek was a great concept for a movie or three, but it doesn’t scale out to four movies very well. By the end of the third movie, all the clichés and fairy tale references had been used up and not much was left. Definitely not enough for a fourth movie. Had this flick taken the place of the third one, things might be different.

Still, Shrek Forever After holds true to the fact that you really can make a movie that has something for everyone.

As a huge Shrek fan, there was no way I was going to wait to see this one, so I’m not suggesting anyone should, but what I am suggesting is to take advantage of the cheapest theater option possible.

Rating: C