Frog's Blog

Hello, everyone.  Welcome again to my wonderful review of current and upcoming rentals.  This week we feature two films coming out tomorrow and a couple that have been out for a while, but are worth the rent. 

Today's overall rating = "Most definitely!"

Starting us off is the early summer comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."  This film was written by Judd Apatow alum, and frequent player, Jason Segel.  Some may remember him from "Knocked Up," where he was seen mostly nude holding his bits.  Here Jason portrays Peter, a music writer for a big time crime show, ala CSI, which happens to star his long time girlfriend, Sarah Marshall.  She is in fact a huge star and frequently Peter finds himself hanging on her like a handbag.  The film is kicked into place when Sarah breaks up with Peter, again Jason featured nude.  To solve his broken heart, Peter runs to Hawaii, only to run into Sarah and her new boyfriend.  What can I say except, this is a must see comedy.  Sweet, hilarious, and very true.  All characters stand out and make us remember why we love romantic comedies.  Mila Kunis, of "That 70's Show," is brilliant as the hotel desk clerk that Peter meets.  This one if great for couples in need of a little lovely reminder, or just a couple of people who want a night of laughs.

The second big film hitting the shelves tomorrow is, yes, wait for it, I know you want it, yes, "Iron Man."  The first real blockbuster of the summer.  For those who missed it, "Iron Man" tells the story of rich, alcoholic, womanizing Tony Stark, who is captured by terrorists and is force to find a way to escape.  In order to escape, he builds a suit made of iron.  From this experience, he realizes that his destiny may not lie with building weapons.  With an amazing supporting cast consisting of Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and "the Dude" himself, Jeff Bridges, playing his first villain.  This film is well worth its weight in gold, or iron if you prefer.  It brings back the wonderful memories of the first "Spider-Man" film as we watched a young Peter Parker wrestle with his new found destiny to be a hero, or continue to be a plain teenager watching the world pass him by.  In this, Robert Downey Jr, in the title role, becomes a hero that the audience wrestles with loving just as much as he wrestles with taking on the mantle of a hero.  One of the reasons for this film's great storytelling, is that of director Jon Favreau.  Originally known for creating the ever fun comedy "Swingers," he is now becoming known as a director who can touch the family with the simplest of stories and cast you can't help but love.  Be sure to rent "Zathura" and "Elf" to see his previous greats.  If you have not seen "Iron Man" already, make the trip as soon as possible and bring it home.  The family will love you.

Finally we come to a couple of rentals that hit shelves prior to my blog that I would like to throw out as excellent rents.  First up, "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."  This lovely little gem hit theaters early in 2008 and was received extremely well.  And why wouldn't it be?  The two leading ladies light up the screen and force to you not blink.  Academy Award winner Frances McDormand takes on the title role while AA nominee Amy Adams plays Delysia LaFosse.  These two actresses are at their best together telling such a wonderful story that will make you glow in your seat.  Truly a tale that was meant to be told, and no one could have done a better job.  In case you didn't know, the story is that of Miss Pettigrew, who is out of a job and living on the streets of London just before WW2, when she sneaks her way into a new position as LaFosse's new social secretary.  A lovely little romantic comedy that will definitely place itself on the shelves next to the greats.

Lastly we have "Forbidden Kingdom."  Some may know of this film.  It is the first film to star both Jackie Chan and Jet Li.  Two of the great film martial arts masters finally acting along side each other.  Not only that, but they also go head to head.  In fact, their show down against each other makes this film worth renting.  Outside of that, it's a fun fairytale along the lines of "Labyrinth" and "Neverending Story."  Granted those were aimed at a slightly younger audience, this film is not unlike them at all.  Following the story of a teenage boy who is transported to ancient China to return a magical staff to the legendary Monkey King.  He is guided by a drunk poet (Chan), a monk (Li) and an orphan girl, played by relatively new Yifei Liu.  They face two very cool adversaries.  One is the White-haired Demoness, played by Bingbing Li, and the all-powerful Jade Warlord, played by Collin Chou, known to a few as Seriph in "Matrix Reloaded."  While it's not the best of films out there, it is a very entertaining film that never gets old and is always fun to watch.  If for anything, it's great to see two masters work so well with each other.  Again, a must rent for any family that wants to have a fun evening on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn.

There you have it.  Again, I urge you to watch what I review and share with me your own comments.  I am always eager to hear how people respond to film I like and films I don't like.