Beerfest

In lieu of Oktoberfesting, I decided to do a little blurb on one of my favorite party movies, Beerfest. There is really no defining reason as to why I like this movie so much. It's definitely not worthy of any awards. It is basically about five buddies deciding to form an American drinking team to battle against the Germans for the right to the family brewery. This is the fourth movie from the Broken Lizard Industry (known for Super Troopers, Club Dread, and the soon to be released Slammin' Salmon). All in all, its a decent movie and it is good innocent fun. Have a good Oktoberfest everyone, no matter how you decide to celebrate it.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars.

Top 8 Party Movies of All Time

8. Road Trip (2000)

A crazy race against time with Sean William Scott and his college bros as they try to recover their friend's drunken mistake caught on tape.

7. American Pie Trilogy (1999-2003)

You'll never look at apple pie the same way again.

6. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Sean Penn's big breakout role as a longhaired high school stoner.

5. Beerfest (2006)

Das Boot!!! Like Oktoberfest captured in a single movie.

4. Van Wilder (2002)

Ladies, we present you Ryan Reynolds. Enjoy.

3. Superbad (2007)

Judd Apatow's crowning comedy, but the cops almost spoil it.

2. Old School (2003)

Frank the Tank would have won this hands down if not for the movie that paved the way for all party movies. You're my boy Blue!!!

1. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

Cult college classic with John Belushi (pictured above) started the party movie genre with togas galore.

Joe Gow's Movie Pick of the Week! "Network"

"Network: With uncanny accuracy this 1976 film, directed by Sidney Lumet, foresaw the critical impact of the profit motive on television journalism. What was once thought to be “objective reporting” becomes sensationalistic entertainment and the phrase “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” is the rallying cry for a vast and angry audience. I first saw this film as an undergraduate journalism student and it both changed the way I viewed the media and led me to re-think my career plans. While perhaps not as powerful today, “Network” still has much to say—in a very entertaining and provocative fashion—about media’s complex role in contemporary society."
-- Joe Gow, Chancellor of UW-La Crosse

Network at imdb

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

It's not every day that you walk in to a movie theater and you can not relate to anybody in there. That was the case for us when we walked in to the Carmike Valley Square Cinema on Saturday afternoon. The crowd consisted of parents with their children, grandparents also with their children and grandchildren, and then us: two random college students choosing to spend their weekends inside.

Taking advantage of the air conditioning and our fashionable 3-D glasses, we spent the afternoon watching food fly every which way in Sony Animation's newest release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Based off of the popular children's book written by Judi and Ron Barrett, Meatballs is about a young, brilliant, and unfortunately unlucky inventor named Flint Lockwood. His whole life Flint wanted to make the one invention that would get him his notoriety and change the world around him. After countless failed experiments, he comes up with a contraption that didn't originally work, but by a freak accident ended up turning his luck around. This machine was capable of transforming water into food, but it ends up causing a downpour of cheeseburgers on their city. The citizens are originally in love with the new results, but when the people start getting too acclamated to this new gift, things begin to spiral out of control, and all eyes are back on Flint to save the town again.

This movie was flat out fun. It is amazing to sit in a theater full of kids just cracking up at anything that happens. Although this is geared towards the child audience, the all-star cast can keep any teen or adult interested. The cast includes the like of SNL members Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Will Forte. It also stars Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, Bobb'e J. Thompson (the rising child star from Role Models and Imagine That), and even Mr. T does the voice of the town police officer. It's arguably the best animated this summer since Up, but it does have its shortcomings. Nevertheless, this is a must see movie, whether it be in theaters or on DVD.

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEyjj-L5Mv8

The Time Traveler's Wife

For our first review for the Racquet we thought we should try something we haven't done too often yet, review a romantic drama. With all the students back in La Crosse reuniting with old friends and meeting countless new ones, many guys out there will be looking for a perfect movie to ask that one special girl out to see. Of course he wants to find something the girl will love and something he can at least tolerate if not secretly enjoy, but he won't admit it of course.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the latest work of director Robert Schwentke, and this is arguably his most successful film to date. It is a story of girl named Claire (Rachel McAdams) who spends her entire life visited by a man, Henry (Eric Bana), who has a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel throughout different times of the lives of his mother, Claire, himself, and later into the life of his daughter Alba. Henry meets Claire very early on in her life, around the age of 6 or 7. Claire then spends her life awaiting his next visit and they become extremely connected to each other. Constantly waiting becomes the first struggle of many for the two. Claire is forced to patiently wait Henry's return, and it becomes harder and harder the deeper the two fall for each other. More challenges come along the way for the two as they struggle with living a normal life through marriage, childbirth, and awaiting an unknown but unavoidable death. But, the two are determined through their love for each to fight and live for each other. Because if anything is worth loving, it is worth fighting for and if life is worth fighting for, it's always worth living.

The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the best movies to come out this summer. It is of course a romantic drama, but it avoids all corniness even with it's "time travel" situation. Though an near science-fictional concept, the story seems very real to the audience. The acting of both Bana and McAdams under the good direction of Schwentke keep the audience locked in. The girls will be clutching their tissues and the boys will be contemplating the proper time to do the ol' "stretch and nonchalantly put your arm around her" routine. Date night or girls night out, The Time Traveler's Wife is a movie worth seeing. Eric Bana will woo his way into girls' fantasies and Rachel McAdams proves yet again that she is one of the most beautiful and talented persons in Hollywood. Ladies, you'll love this movie and guys, your ladies will love that you brought them to this movie.

Rating: 3 of out 4 stars.

Trailer : Click here!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This marks the first review which will be printed in the UW-L Racquet!

Coming soon to Coate Field is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, last year's Oscar nominee for Best Picture. This fictional biopic which chapters the life of a man living in reverse is the most impressive work to date of director David Fincher. Benjamin Button is born as a grotesque miniature man of 80 or 90 years of wrinkled age. Startled by his son's appearance, Benjamin (played by Brad Pitt in an Oscar nominated role) is abandoned on the door step of an assisted living residence. He is adopted by one of the home's caretakers and Benjamin starts his life as no other man has known. His "childhood" starts with arthritis and a wheelchair, presumedly aging forward towards death. As time goes on, it becomes evident that Benjamin is not growing older by the day, but younger.

As the film progresses you are taken through Ben's struggles and life lessons as he learns to read, walk, and all those other motor skills as the world see's him as something far different than a child. During his preadolescence (which appears to be late 70s) Benjamin encounters his first crush, a young girl who grows into a renown ballerina, played by Cate Blanchett. They become good friends from the start but as they begin growing closer to each other in age, their hearts grow much closer as well. Age, youth, injury, and death test the characters' will to be together as their age distances. Benjamin's life is marked by experiences, encounters, and journeys. He spends life as a retiree, a sailer, a child, and in the beginning and in the end he is alone.

This movie pushes 3 hours in length but its plot keeps you captivated along the way. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett both turn in great performances. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a revelation to what really matters in one's life. Everyone lives for an unknown time, but the years do not compare to the ways in which they are spent. Because, as the tagline proclaims, "Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments."

To see how this plays out, be sure tocheck out Midnight Movies at Coate Field during Welcome Week!

Rating: 3.5/4 Stars

The Goods: Sell Hard, Live Hard

I love Jeremy Piven. His role as Ari Gold in Entourage is one the greatest characters in television and it has scored him an Emmy. But in this role as Don Ready, a dynamo salesman of used automobiles, I see much of the same character but in much more watered down and more trashy version. Don Ready is very vulgar and lewd but he lacks much of the Ari Gold wit and flash that makes Jeremy Piven a good actor.
In "The Goods," the premise is that a used car lot is about to go belly up if it doesn't move many of the sitting cars in its inventory within the next few days. The owner calls in a "mercenary" (Piven) to liquidate the assets and save the business. The major plot in the movie is that Don Ready becomes emotionally attached to this task, because of his love interest in the daughter of the autodealer, Ivy, played by Jordana Spiro of "My Boys" (TBS) fame. There are a lot of obstacles that come in the way and they are all very over the top, and not very funny. As the story plays out you see some familiar faces notably Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office), Will Ferrell, and much to my displeasure Kathryn Hahn (the sex maniac inlaw of Step Brothers, I seriously cannot stand her choice of roles) and David Koechner (Champ from Anchorman, I hate him in all his roles as well).

This wraps up to be an okay movie, but I wouldn't pin it to be a good at all. At the same time it's not that bad, it was decently entertaining and very short (83 minutes). It was far from as funny as I hoped it to be. The writing wasn't sold very well and producer Adam McCay appears to have fallen short yet again. Save this movie for the Redbox.

Rating: 1.5 of 4 stars.

Trailer