RIP IT UP MOVIE CLUB: Horrible Crazy Shark?

Horrible Bosses
One of the truly beautiful things of film is its ability to exaggerate common misfortune to the point where our own personal lives just don’t seem that bad. For all of the people out there who endure painful bosses, director Seth Gordon’s follow-up from Four Holidays might just be the dose of schadenfreude needed to get you through the week.

Having previously worked on comedy hits The Office and Community, Gordon has shown that he is more than capable of turning an everyday office into a place of hilarity. Throw in a great cast and a story that most people can sympathise with and Horrible Bosses could be the sleeper comedy hit of 2011. 

Starring fellow television comedy alumni Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live) and Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia), the film story follows three friends who drunkenly conspire to murder the bosses which make their daily lives hell.

With Kevin Spacey (The Men Who Stare At Goats), Jennifer Aniston (The Bounty Hunter) and Colin Farrell (Crazy Heart) filling in as bosses who aren’t above a bit of blackmail, sexual harassment or plain psychotic tendencies, Horrible Bosses should leave you feeling a bit more thankful toward your own employer.

Horrible Bosses is in cinemas now.

Crazy, Stupid, Love
With the seemingly endless conveyor belt of American romantic comedies that are churned out each year, it is with great relief (and well over due time) that one of real quality looks set to hit our screens.

Upon seeing that the film features Steve Carell (Dinner for Schmucks), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Emma Stone (Easy A), Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right), Kevin Bacon (X-men: First Class), Marisa Tomei (Cyrus) and Josh Groban (the token singer), one has the immediate instinct to fear the dreaded ensemble Hollywood cash cow.

However, a second look reveals that this might actually be the film to buck the trend. No Taylor Lautner? Check. No Jessica Alba. Check. This movie actually stars a star cast who can… well, act.

Throw in a storyline that might actually draw people in, Cal (Carell) is unexpectedly divorced from his wife (Moore); not knowing how to navigate the single life he enlists the help of his bachelor friend Jacob (Gosling) and we might actually have a heart-warming, genuinely funny film on our hands.

Still not convinced? Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are the same minds which brought you Bad Santa and writer Dan Fogelman’s work includes Pixar’s Cars and Disney’s Tangled.

I never thought I’d say this, but bring on the American romantic comedy!

Crazy Stupid Love is out on August 25th.

Shark Night 3D
From the director of Snakes On A Plane and The Final Destination comes a horror-comedy in the vein of 2010’s Pirahna 3D. If the mention of those three movies hasn’t put you off yet, then you’re reading the right article.

Director David R. Ellis’ latest offering features a number of randy/drunk/stupid teens who decide to head up to the lake for the weekend. Enter fresh water sharks and you have your typical over-the-top chomp fest.

With Sara Paxton (Aqua Marine), Joel David Moore (Dodgeball) and Chris Carmack (The O.C.) filling in shark bait duty, you can even enjoy watching some reasonably well known teen-stars meet their toothy end.

Just to top off the B-grade goodness is the inclusion of the poor man’s Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames.

If you’re looking for the quality of Jaws you might want to give this one a miss, but if you’re looking for a guilty pleasure movie to wind down with (or if you enjoyed any of the movies mentioned in the opening paragraph) then this might be right up your alley.

Shark Night 3D is out on September 15.

By Shane Drought