Oh Dangle...

Reno 911!: Miami[Unrated](dir. Ben Garant)
I'm not a huge fan of the show. There are some bits that are funny, but the whole mockumentary angle has been overused and not that funny or original anymore. The one thing that the TV series has an edge on this movie is that there are few moments of politically incorrect humor dealing with race, religion, or whatever. This film was amusing. It's hard to defend it because a lot of the jokes fall flat, but the ending put a smile on my face. That's probably because Terry is the funniest part of the show and seeing Paul Reubens as his dad was extremely amusing. The masturbation scene is ridiculous to the max and the star cameos were quite amusing like seeing The Rock blow himself up with his own nade and Paul Rudd doing a horrible Tony Montana impression. The first 60 minutes or so would have made a sub-par episode, but the last 20 minutes or so would have made an amazing episode.
**1/2 out of ****
25th Hour(dir. Spike Lee)
Before the club, the movie was really good. After, it turned into this pity party. I understand that the character's reactions to Monty's situation is supposed to be fueled by 9/11, but it felt alittle over dramatic. Sure, the guy is going away for 7 years, but there's something puzzling about a father willing to drive his son out west and never see him again in order for him to be free for those 7 years. It is almost touching because of the sacrifice and love the father displays, but it would make more sense if the son had a much longer sentence. When the film takes place in the club, it starts to drag and decline in quality. There is something that goes missing from the film. Probably the sense of doom and gloom that is found in the pessimistic conversation between Frank and Jake in Frank's apartment. The film seems to place a lot of focus on who ratted out Monty. It almost tries to play it off as the thing that propelled the story, but it doesn't get a lot of focus until the person is pointed out. I could probably stomach the over dramatic quality the film has if it was shot in a similar way to Do the Right Thing with overly bright colors. I understand the film is shot in a grim way because it is supposed to be a reaction to 9/11, but I can't help that the film's presentation is trying to make the film seem more low-key than it really is.
*** out of ****