Sacha Baron Cohen can wholly become a character like few other actors working today. As we saw in Borat and Brüno, he seemingly transforms beyond recognition into whatever heavily accented, exaggeratedly foreign, brazenly funny character he is embodying. While The Dictator is more of a traditional, narrative film that his two previous mockumentaries, Cohen still manages to fully become his character and give us some crude, sharp and satirical jokes.

For this film, Cohen transforms into Admiral General Aladeen, the merciless leader of Wadiya, a North African nation. Aladeen is a ruthless, egomaniacal ruler who oppresses his people and has anyone who crosses him executed on a whim. He’s seemingly unaware that he’s in the midst of a power struggle with his premier Tamir (Ben Kingsley) who is trying to assassinate him to take his rightful position at the top. The plan is to kill him during his speech before the UN Security Council, where he will address his country’s development of WMDs. Fake security is hired (John C. Reilly) and Aladeen ends up kidnapped, beardless and roaming the streets of New York. After a being mistaken for a protestor when he tries to return to the UN headquarters, he is taken in by Zoey (Anna Farris) and offered a job at her super-hippy health food store. She’s impressed when he uses his dictator tendencies to get the store running more efficiently and they start to fall for each other.

Meanwhile, he discovers “Little Wadiya” a section of New York that now houses all the people he thought he had executed. His former nuclear scientist Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas) decides to help him take back power and get rid of the dim witted body double (also Cohen) that Tamir used in his place.

Cohen is, as always, perfect in this character. There are several scenes were he goes wild with the accent and it makes you long to see the outtakes of his improvisations. Mantzoukas brings a ton of laughs with his criticisms of Aladeen and his plans. Farris does her usual wide-eyed, over-the-top performance, but it can get a little tiresome when everyone else is so damn good.

The film feels like a combination of Team America and The Devil’s Double and really captures the tensions between the United States and, well, everybody. In a clever and rousing speech, Aladeen fires off a list of atrocities that exactly mirror some of the US’ misdeeds over the past few Presidential terms. His changing several words in his country’s language to Aladeen is a running joke and his constant arrogance brings a really funny spin to the endless series of dictators we see on CNN. Don’t worry, it doesn’t get too snarky and satirical, there are some poop jokes too.

The only downside to the film is that, if you’ve seen the trailers and Cohen’s hilarious in-character interviews on The Daily Show and others, you’ve basically seen the movie. It’s unfortunate that some of the best jokes are given away so easily. Still, it’s definitely worth the price of admission to see this character genius work his magic.

We don’t publish enough book reviews here on Trashwire–possibly because we don’t read enough books–but E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey is such a ginormous success that it warrants a bit of commentary. Let me start off by saying that I’m no English Lit major and I’m not a big time reader, but I have read my fair share of book-to-screen adaptations and, since this book will soon become a movie, I feel qualified to make a judgement call. This review will contain some spoilers, so consider yourself warned!

As most of you probably already know, Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of Anastasia Steele, an innocent, bookish virgin, who happens to fall in love with a masochistic, manipulative, handsome billionaire by the name of Christian Grey. Christian’s tastes are on the kinky side and Anastasia is simultaneously frightened and turned on by all the ways he intends to “punish” her as his sex slave in their dominant/submissive BDSM relationship.

At first, things are interesting and even a bit tantalizing. Christian’s mysterious and charming, but we know he’s got a dark side, we just don’t know how very, very dark that side is. He’s rather inexplicably taken with Anastasia, much as Edward Cullen is captivated by the blasé, underdeveloped Bella Swan in Twilight, which inspired the Fifty Shades trilogy. We’re drawn along with her in her journey to find out more about this extremely wealthy, extremely handsome and, it turns out, extremely twisted individual. There’s a little bit of a power play between the two, but it’s the kind of flirtatious intimidation one expects in a relationship. He’s so staggeringly perfect, at least to her, and she struggles to match him in wit and confidence.

The graphic sex scenes are also much-discussed, though they get a bit boring since Anastasia and Christian are banging every few pages. Anastasia’s “inner goddess”, the devil on her shoulder, keeps rearing her ugly head and her little insights get a bit tiresome. Really, none of this stuff is anything you couldn’t read on the internet or in one of those $.99 eBooks on the Barnes & Noble Nook store, so it’s only riling people up because these books are actually popular. Still, Anastasia seems to be having fun exploring the world of crazy, wild, impulsive sex with her super hot beau.

Things get a bit weird when Christian reveals that he’s into spanking, whipping, caning, and tying up women to get his kicks. For some reason, Anastasia is down with this, mostly in an effort to make him happy as opposed to a genuine interest or desire to be someone’s submissive. Even then, it’s kind of amusing to hear the couple negotiate rules and “safe words” and all sorts of parameters for their relationship. Anastasia’s email exchanges with Christian are particularly sharp and quite funny.

And then it gets darker.

Christian wants Anastasia to sign a contract (specifically noted as being legally unenforceable, likely in an effort to make him seem less of a monster) that gives him control over most aspects of her life including her wardrobe, diet and the amount of sleep she must get each night. To her credit, she proves to not be a completely idiotic character and offers up some negotiations, though all her limits seem rather hollow as it’s clear in the first few pages that this girl will do absolutely anything her wealthy sadist wants.

Let the “punishments” begin! Christian is a fan of spanking, but not in that tee-hee playful kind of way. He likes hurting her, leaving her sore and crying. And, incomprehensibly, this girl keeps going back for more because she decides she can put up with the floggings since the sex is so good. I’m calling bullshit right here. Now, I’m sure there are girls who would dig this kind of thing, but the way Anastasia’s character is set up leaves no real explanations as to why she’s so willing to accept this kind of abusive relationship. Sure the innocent girl and the dangerous guy are common literary and cinematic traditions, but it seems like most of these romances are about the bad boy’s transition into a good boy, a loving boy, a boy who no longer wants to do any type of damage to his leading lady. Fifty Shades seems to be about a girl’s transition from interesting, intelligent, compelling character into obedient, brainless, easily manipulated servant. What’s up with that?

What disturbs me the most about this series is its popularity among women, particularly bored housewives and soccer moms. Maybe it’s a need to indulge in a fantasy world that’s very different from their own, maybe it’s a curiosity for kink without actually having to go out an buy whips and chains, but I sincerely hope it’s not because of a desire to be physically and emotionally harmed in a relationship. Love isn’t about tearing the other person down and making them feel cheap, worthless, confused and sore and our literary and cinematic objects of desire shouldn’t be about it either. In the time of birth control debates and GOP-fueled threats to women’s rights, what does it say about our gender if we want to be in a relationship where a man controls us and abuses us?

I know people in the BDSM community have had issues with the book as well, claiming that it doesn’t accurately depict the nature of that lifestyle. I don’t think those people would call what they’re doing dangerous abuse, not even the submissives in the relationship, but that’s what it all boils down to in Fifty Shades. Christian is abusive. Christian is manipulative Christian physically injures Anastasia. Christian emotionally destroys her. But somehow that’s ok?

Maybe I’m just the kind of mouthy, headstrong, boss-lady type of woman who Christian Grey would love to break in his “Red Room of Pain”, but I just don’t think a relationship should be based on suffering. Simply put I don’t find anything particularly appealing about the relationship between the two characters. In fact, I find it troubling that a nation of women are digging this and are identifying with Anastasia. I’m on the fence about reading the remaining two books in the trilogy. Part of me is appalled, but part of me is intrigued at how bad this thing could actually get. While I may have a slight masochistic desire to finish the other books in this series, I’m not exactly going to let someone bend me over their knee and spank me with them.

Back in the 1990s, Hollywood started taking old TV shows and making them into movies, set in present day, and making fun of just how outdated they seemed by today’s standards. The Brady Bunch Movie, The Adams Family and even Pleasantville showed us that the characters of old would have a tough time fitting in with our cool, hip, progressive society. Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows is a lot like those fish-out-of-water parodies, just with more vampire jokes.

The original series ran in the 1960s, but the film is set in the 1970s, complete with stoner hippies, lava lamps and a disco ball. Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, heir to a very wealthy colonial family who rebuffs the advances of a clingy witch named Angelique (Eva Green) and ends up cursed to spend eternity as a vampire. After spending two hundred years trapped in a coffin, Barnabas is unearthed by some construction workers in the 1970s and must reunite with his relatives and try to adjust to the technology of the time at his ancestral home, Collinwood. There’s a side story about Barnabas’ true love (Bella Heathcote) falling under the witch’s spell and jumping off a cliff, only to be seemingly reincarnated as a nanny working for the Collins family, but it seems a little tacked on in an attempt to make Barnabas more three dimensional.

The film’s primary goal seems to be attempting to make every possible joke about the 1970s and an old fashioned vampire trying to blend in. Barnabas is perplexed and fearful of a lava lamp in pouty, teenage Carolyn’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) swingin’ bedroom. Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) explains to him that they don’t ride around in a carriage, but a Chevy instead. He assumes a television is some kind of magic trick. He even learns to brush his teeth, though his reflection doesn’t show up in the mirror. Because he’s a vampire. Get it! Isn’t that hilarious?! With all these kitschy jokes, it’s hard to even remember the story lines of little David (Gulliver McGrath) being visited by the ghost of his late mother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) trying to rip off the family fortune and even Angelique trying to take down Barnabas by destroying his family’s business.

Burton’s trademark dark, angular, German Expressionist-influenced style is also a bit lost here. Sure, there are some looming gargoyles and a beautifully spooky, big-eyed heroine (Heathcote), but aside from the casting of Helena Bonham Carter, it’s hard to even tell this is a Burton film from visual alone. Even Danny Elfman’s music seems toned down and simplified.

The cast is sort of engaging. McGrath is adorable and plays his timid, haunted character well. Moretz, whom we know can actually act, seems a bit wasted in such a stereotypical role, so much so that, when we discover a twist about her character during the finale, we don’t really care. Pfeiffer is good, though it’s hard to tell why she talks with an affected accent like Madonna when the rest of her family speaks normally. Green, who looks like a slightly more sinister Anne Hathaway, fully commits to going bat-shit crazy as a spurned ex-girlfriend. Carter brings a bit of comedy to her role as a drunken psychiatrist, but her scenes are few and far between.

The whole thing feels like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Hocus Pocus, good for kids too young to go see Twilight, but disappointing for adults who were looking for a solid nod to the original series.

Our heroes set out to save the world

What do you get when you combine Hollywood’s most profitable superheroes in one film? You get action, effects, humor and fun. In other words, you get The Avengers.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, or movies based on comic books are so not your thing, The Avengers are a team of heroes from various comic books who have been brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret military law enforcement agency, on a mission to save the world.

The team includes Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) on the superhero side, as well as two regular humans with exceptional skills, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). They’re supervised by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and on a quest to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who aims to use the all-powerful Tesseract to subjugate earth.

Thor and Captain America get ready to kick some ass

This film is so action packed that it would take me about 5,000 words to describe everything that happens, but suffice it to say that a lot goes down. We see the team assembling for the first time, their personal struggles and friendships, the reemergence of Thor’s brother Loki as a villain and the mythical Tesseract that we’ve seen glimpses of in all the single character movies that lead up to The Avengers. With this all-star group of heroes, the focus feels equally distributed and we get invested in each one of them in the first half of the film, which eases the transition from origin story to the pure, adrenaline-fueled, CGI orgy of action that follows.

The dynamic between the characters is great. Downey stands out because Tony Stark is such a delightful smart ass, Ruffalo is excellent at capturing the meek alter ego of his not-so-jolly green giant, Hemsworth is jacked beyond belief and Evans is channelling his inner Superman with his straight-laced, old-school hero. The guys get along, the guys fight, and the audience wins.

Tony Stark tries to ruffle Bruce Banner's feathers to get "The Other Guy" to show his big, green face

Let’s face it, movies today are expensive–3D movies even more so–and The Avengers definitely gives you the most bang for your buck. The final battle in New York is so action packed you might need to bring some eye drops because you’re not going to want to blink. Danger waits around every corner and we get to see superheroes do what the do best: throw down. Each character is highlighted individually and we also see their place within the team. This also gives the filmmakers an opportunity to show off just what these guys can do, from shield throwing to hammer tossing to building climbing to dishing out witty comebacks whilst zipping around in a high-tech suit.

If you enjoyed any of the individual character movies, you will loose your freaking mind in The Avengers. Director Joss Whedon manages to give us a hero team that’s even greater than the sum of its parts.

Jennifer Lawrence stars as 'Katniss Everdeen' in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

Let’s face it, Hollywood rarely succeeds in making a book-to-screen adaptation that lives up to the original. Even True Blood, one of my favorite shows, takes quite a few creative liberties with Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels. After reading (and totally loving) Suzanne Collins’ best-selling The Hunger Games, I was keeping my fingers crossed that the film version would live up to all the hype. Thankfully, director Garry Ross gives us a film that perfectly captures the essence of the original work. 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The story takes place in the future country of Panem, built on the ruins of North America, and centers around Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who lives in one of twelve districts that surround the ultra-wealthy Capitol. Katniss’ district, District 12, is the poorest in the nation and our heroine is forced to break the law and go hunting with her friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in the woods outside the district to feed her family. When we join the story, it’s the day of The Reaping, when one teenage boy and girl from each district are chosen as “Tributes” to participate in The Hunger Games, a barbaric spectacle in which the kids must fight to the death until only one is left standing. The event exists to show the government’s absolute power as well as being broadcast to the entire nation for entertainment. Think American Idol meets ancient gladiators. In a horrible turn of events, Katniss’ tender-hearted sister, Prim (Willow Shields) is chosen to compete. Certain that this will mean Prim’s death, Katniss volunteers to be District 12’s female Tribute. She will go up against their male tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and the other kids in the arena.

Cinna (Lenny Kravitz, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center) and Josh Hutcherson (right) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The barbaric and primitive nature of the event is offset by the high-tech entertainment value. The tributes are escorted to the Capitol where they train in fighting techniques and receive strategic advice from their advisors, previous winners of the games. District 12’s only winner is Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), a drunken slob with no manners and seemingly no valuable information for Katniss and Peeta. The kids must also compete for sponsors, wealthy people who can spend their money sending food, medicine and other supplies to their tributes while in the games. In trying to court those deep-pocketed sponsors, the kids receive makeovers from stylists like Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) and PR training before they go on to their interviews with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci).

From left to right: Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman), Cato (Alexander Ludwig), Marvel (Jack Quaid) and Glimmer (Leven Rambin) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

Then it’s off to the games where Katniss must go up against the Career Tributes, kids from the wealthier districts who have trained their whole lives for the games and become deadly killing machines. She’s horrified when Peeta seems to have formed an alliance with the Careers and forms a partnership of her own with little Rue (Amandala Stenberg), a very clever twelve-year-old girl from District 11.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The brutal atmospher of the games is contrasted by the people at the Capitol who see this purely as entertainment, completely devaluing the lives of those competing. This attitude is perfectly captured by Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), whose utter disregard for the lives of Katniss and Peeta brings a twisted humor to the story. We also see this reflected in Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley), a Gamemaker who can throw twists at the kids to make the show more exciting.

Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

As someone who’s watched her fair share of reality TV, I found the book and the film to be incredibly poignant, providing a great commentary to what our society finds entertaining. A show like CBS’ Big Brother is very Hunger Games-esque in that it locks its competitors in a space and forces them to go head to head (not to the death, but for a great sum of money) while audiences watch live and have the ability to vote for favorites to win prizes. Reality TV is all about creating characters and we see that as well in the film with Cinna branding Katniss the “Girl on Fire” and Peeta presenting a Romeo and Juliet storyline that might just save both of their lives.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center) and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, right) in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The film also succeeds in creating a beautifully realized, visually rich world while carrying the dystopian heaviness of a story about kids forced to murder each other. Even when we laugh at one of Effie’s comments or roll our eyes at Caesar’s cavalier attitude for the games, we feel the underlying somberness of the entire situation. It’s truly rare for a film to succeed in being entertaining while maintaining those kind of dark undertones, doubly so for a film aimed at the PG-13 crowd, but The Hunger Games flawlessly navigates those waters.

Josh Hutcherson stars as 'Peeta Mellark' in THE HUNGER GAMES. Photo credit: Murray Close

The young a relatively unknown cast is very impressive. We identify with Katniss, Peeta and Rue, despise the cruelness of the Career Tributes and feel sympathy for the friends and relatives forced to watch their loved ones die on TV. Each actor completely embodies their character, which allows the viewer to be totally immersed in the world of the film.

When it comes to adaptations, Hollywood needs to follow The Hunger Games’s lead and focus on the overarching message of the original work. Sure, there are a few things that have been altered from the book, but the spirit of the story is there, and that’s what’s most important. Hopefully this kind of excellence will continue in the adaptations of the other two books in the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

When I was a kid, I loved ¡Three Amigos!, starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short. It was one of those great, cheap ‘80s movies that didn’t need effects or complex characters because the guys starring in it were hilarious. The Will Ferrell comedy Casa de Mi Padre is a lot like that, but all in Spanish. 

First off, I feel Ferrell and the gang deserve some recognition for doing an American comedy entirely en Español. It’s common knowledge that mainstream audiences hate reading subtitles and it’s quite a bold move to make a film that only includes about ten words of English. Surely this will effect the box office, but Ferrell should be enough of a draw for most and I’m guessing the budget for Casa de Mi Padre was mere pennies compared to most other films in theaters right now.

Farrell stars as Armando Alvarez, a simple rancher who likes to spend his days riding with his friends (Efren Ramirez and Adrian Martinez) and his nights camping out under the stars. When his wealthy and successful brother Raul (Diego Luna) returns to visit their father (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), he brings along his beautiful fiancée Sonia (Genesis Ramirez), reminding everyone once again that he’s way better than his simple sibling. There’s only one problem, Raul’s success hasn’t come from business but rather from the drug trade, primarily selling drugs to stupid Americans on vacation. He’s mixed up with evil drug lord Onza (the scene-stealing-ly gorgeous Gael García Bernal), who also happens to want Sonia. After an attack at Raul’s wedding, Armando must grow a pair and try to save Sonia and the family.

The film is delightfully tacky, with big matte painting backgrounds instead of CGI landscapes and animatronic animals instead of real ones. This is especially funny in an early scene involving Sonia and Armando riding off on horses as well as several shots of Armando and his friends driving their pickup truck down the road. Stock background footage races by the windows and it’s very reminiscent of the films of old.

Ferrell proves he can be just as funny in Spanish, particularly in scenes with Luna, who has great, natural comedic timing. Bernal is also very impressive because he plays Onza with great conviction, even in the most ridiculous circumstances. It’s perfect for the telenovela vibe they’re going for. The bizarre sex scene is sure to get some big laughs as well with several shots of naked butts (like, seriously, a lot) and even a quick moment where Ferrell rolls around with a mannequin.

Casa de Mi Padre can feel a bit disjointed, at one point breaking from the story for a trippy montage, but it’s got a lot of funny moments and it maintains that low-budget spirit that lends itself to comedy westerns. If you’re like me and subtitles are no deterrent, check it out.

When a movie touts the fact that it features “the cast of Bridesmaids”, it’s fair to assume it will be funny. Unfortunately Friends With Kids has a played-out and predictable storyline that keeps it from ever living up to the talents of its stars.

Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt (who also wrote and directed the film) are Jason and Julie, successful best friends living the fun, free single life in New York. When their group of friends (the Bridesmaids gang: Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Kristen Wiig, and Jon Hamm) all start having babies, they stop being fulfilled by their fast-paced, freewheeling lives and start craving their own little bundles of joy. Being so progressive and modern, they decide to skip the pains of marriage, fighting over how to raise the kids and possible divorce and give it a go with each other, assuming that two best friends could raise a child better than a married couple who resent each other. This is where an otherwise smart film takes an aggravating turn into sugary, predictable rom-com territory. Of course, as they raise their child, they start to fall in love with each other and it all culminates with a sharp U-turn at a stoplight and a teary-eyed speech, an unfortunate downfall for a film that could have been so much more.

Scott has a unique ability to play characters that are total dicks, yet still appealing and fun. Here he’s perfect in scenes where Jason teases Julie about the horrors of labor, losing her baby weight and when to start having sex again after giving birth. If anyone else said these lines, we would think Jason was a major jerk, but Scott can pull them off and manage to be even more likable.

The whole “cast of Bridesmaids” thing seems like a bad marketing ploy because, not only is the tone of this obnoxiously sweet rom-com a far cry from the quick-witted boldness of Bridesmaids, but that film’s uber-talented cast is hardly the center of attention. In their limited minutes, they bring most of the funniest moments and keep the film from descending into some sort of Kate Hudson/Jennifer Aniston rom-com nightmare, but their scenes are too few and far between to keep that momentum going. Wiig, in particular, is criminally underutilized playing Hamm’s bitter and disenchanted wife.

On top of wasting the talents of some of the funniest people in the business, the film follows such a cliche storyline that you can predict the entire story by the time you’re about thirty seconds in. It’s a disappointment from Westfeldt because it feel like literally anyone could have written this movie. As Larry David once said, “is it art if I could do it?”

Friends With Kids will likely capture a core demo of new moms and married couples, but those looking for a fun, fresh comedy would do best to skip this one.

Have you ever wanted to quit your job and move out of your place to go live in a hippie commune where you can run around naked and trip balls on hallucinogenic tea? If you said yes, you’re a lot like George and Linda (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) in the new comedy Wanderlust, directed by David Wain. 

Rudd is George, a New York business type with a soul-sucking corporate job. Upon arriving at work, he sees that the CEO is in handcuffs and it appears the entire company’s been shut down by the government. Meanwhile, his wife Linda (Aniston) is a filmmaker trying desperately to get someone to pick up her über-depressing documentary on penguins with testicular cancer. After HBO passes and she runs out of options, it becomes clear that they’ll no longer be able to afford their teeny tiny “micro loft” in the city. As a last resort, they decided to move in with George’s douchey brother (Ken Marino of Party Down fame) at his giant McMansion outside of Atlanta. On the journey, they happen upon a hippie commune called Elysium. Wouldn’t you know it, that’s when they have car trouble and end up staying with the yoga-loving, sage-burning, guitar-playing vegans at the little retreat for long enough to spark their curiosity. They decide to spend two weeks at the commune–or “intentional community” as they call it–to explore the lifestyle and then face the decision about returning to the “real” world, and to each other.

Wanderlust is packed with comedy greats like The State’s Kerri Kenny-Silver and Joe Lo Truglio, who bares all as a nudist winemaker and novelist, Lauren Ambrose and Jordan Peele (one half of Key & Peele) as soon-to-be parents who will raise their baby at the commune, Kathryn Hahn, whose hilarious turn in StepBrothers was one of the most memorable pasts of the film, Malin Akerman and Alan Alda as the acid-fried founder of the free love camp. The leader of the gang is Seth, played by Justin Theroux, a charismatic cult leader figure who starts to drive a wedge between George and Linda.

With all those comedians on one strip of celluloid, you know you’re in for a good time. Peele’s explanation of how he accidentally drove George’s car into a lake is great, Ambrose giving birth to her baby on the porch is a crack up and Alda’s constant listing of the names of all the original founders of Elysium is a really funny recurring joke. Still, the funniest scene comes from Rudd alone, psyching himself up in the mirror to get the courage to try out the whole free love thing with Akerman. Most of his speech is improvised and it’s amazing that the crew was even able to shoot it without keeling over with laughter. We’re reminded of this non-essential but ultra funny scene with outtakes during the credits, a lovely little parting gift.

All the actors play their roles with great conviction, which makes the characters even funnier because they’re not straight making fun of them. These hippies feel that they’ve found the ideal life and that their beliefs are the way to true enlightenment. When we contrast this with the real world and with our regular guy and gal characters, it leads to great comedy.

It’s really no surprise that Wanderlust is fresh and funny given the cast and the premise. Rudd turns out another stellar comedic performance and I only hope that this gathering of comedy stars will realign again soon.

Red Tails, written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder and directed by Anthony Hemingway, is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary African-American pilots of World War II. The film was first developed over two decades ago by George Lucas, but faced many challenges because studios believed a movie with an all-black cast couldn’t be profitable. It’s quite fitting that a film about these heroes, who overcame prejudice and adversity, can serve as an example to Hollywood that it’s possible to make a successful film with an African-American cast. 

Red Tails tells the story of a few of the heroic airmen. There’s Easy (Nate Parker), the straight-shooting leader who hides a drinking problem, Smokey (Ne-Yo), who’s always quick with a funny remark, Joker (Elijah Kelley), Deke (Marcus T. Paulk), the religious one, Junior (Tristan Wilds), the young gun and Lightning (David Oyelowo), the cocky one who never does anything by the book. They serve under Major Emmanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) in a segregated all-black squad. As the U.S. starts to loose bombers at a rapid pace, they are forced to give these pilots a try, believing them to be mentally and physically inferior because of their race. Beginning with their first mission, they prove to be some of the best flyers the military has ever seen and end up helping the war effort and becoming American heroes.

Lucas has said that he wanted this film to feel like something made in the 1940s and unearthed today. He succeeds in this regard. All visual effects and sweeping aerial shots aside, Red Tails does have a vintage vibe in terms of storyline and characters. Most will probably criticize the corny, one-dimensional nature of our heroes, but if we look back to old war movies, they didn’t contain complex, three-dimensional characters with rich backstories and motivations. The main characters were servicemen who fought for their country and became heroes, and that’s all we really needed to know about them. Here, we get a glimpse into each pilot’s life, but the main story takes place in the air.

All the airmen have their own unique qualities. Ne-Yo stands out with the voice and swagger he creates for Smokey. Oyelowo, shines as Lightning because he gives us Top-Gun-level cockiness while still being likable. Andre Royo and Method Man bring comic relief as mechanics Coffee and Sticks. Both Gooding and Howard pull their weight and show us that the Tuskegee Airmen were fighting more than just Nazis, they were fighting a culture of bigotry and racism.

One of the most fascinating elements about the film isn’t what takes place on the screen, but everything that had to take place before the cameras even started rolling. Lucas has said that he financed the film himself because of resistance from major studios who believed a film with an all-black cast wouldn’t be profitable overseas, where most films make the majority of their money. It’s very true that Hollywood places “black movies” on a different level than “mainstream” movies. Typically, these films have very low budgets and limited distribution. Lucas set out to change that and prove that a film with an almost entirely African-American cast can be mainstream. It’s very fitting that the tale he chose to break this barrier also happened to be about a skilled group of African-Americans who were told they were inferior by the mainstream military.

Fact: Tina Fey is one of the funniest people ever, therefore 30 Rock is one of the funniest TV shows ever. I quote the show almost constantly and know most episodes by heart, so it was nearly impossible for me to come up with my favorite Liz Lemon moments. This list originally begas as a top 10 and ballooned up to 20 when I kept cracking up at YouTube videos while I was gathering clips and images.

20. Liz oozes confidence and charisma

In this great clip, she gives herself a pep talk.

19. Liz would do anything for love

Including wolfing a Teamster sub so she could reunite with the man of her dreams at the airport. Ah, just like a romantic comedy, but with a lot more dipping sauce.

18. Liz is a feminist

Tina Fey is my heroine, and by that I mean “lady hero” not that I want to inject her and listen to jazz. Naturally, I loved the episode (“Rosemary’s Baby”) where Liz got to meet the TV writer that inspired her. Unfortunately for Liz, her heroine turned out to be crazy and they ended up roaming the streets of Little Chechnya with delusions of grandeur.

17. Liz faked a pregnancy

Jack’s girlfriend, Avery, is hiding her pregnancy and her work rival, Carmen Chao, is out to expose her. Liz steps up to the plate and pretends she’s with child to fool Carmen. The result is this photo shoot. “Rufus T. Barleysheath is kicking!”

16. Liz is tenacious

She works hard for her beloved show and nobody’s gonna take that away from her.

15. Liz is the boss

Who run the world? Girls! Liz Lemon is at the top of the food chain on TGS, and in this clip, she finally started getting the respect she deserved.

14. Liz’s love life

Floyd, Dennis and even the studly Dr. Baird (Jon Hamm) have all courted Miss Lemon. We get a great example of Liz’s taste in men when she discovers that Dennis was on To Catch a Predator.

13. Liz knows how to party

Liz has had some wild times in her past. Everyone knows there ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party, ’cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory.

12. Liz is resourceful

After purchasing, and subsequently ruining a wedding dress with ham grease, Liz found a new use for the dress when she used it to prop up the leg of her Swedish ready-to-assumble furniture.

11. Liz gets freaky

Though she keeps it on the down low, Liz can be a bit of a freak in bed, as Jack finds out when he puts a black light on her.

10. Liz was a bully

All these years, Liz thought she was a lowly nerd in high school, picked on and teased by the likes of Kelsey Winthrop and the popular kids. It’s only later that she learns she was actually the mean girl.

9. Liz’s success song

“I’m a star! I’m on top! Somebody bring me some ham!” All of us have little motivational songs we sing ourselves, though most of them probably don’t include ham.

8. Liz should not be photographed in 1080p

Hi-def isn’t for everyone, and it certainly isn’t for Liz Lemon.

7. Liz is a bad hooker

What would Liz do if TGS suddenly got canceled? She’d start turning tricks. But she’d be really, really bad at it.

6. Liz’s diet

Whether it’s Sabor de Soledad or Cheesy Blasters, Liz will eat just about anything fattening, processed and fried. Thanks, Meatcat!

5. Liz sleepwalks…and sleep eats

And on the subject of Liz’s diet, she once ordered a pizza in her sleep. That’s a true skill.

4. Young Liz Lemon

One of my favorite things about 30 Rock is the flashbacks to Liz’s past. What aspiring actress hasn’t been represented by Suzanne’s B+ Talent as some point?

3. Astronaut Mike Dexter

There can be no greater made up boyfriend that Liz’s fantasy man, Astronaut Mike Dexter.

2. “I want to go to there!”

The phrase was originally coined by Tina Fey’s then three-year-old daughter, but has now been used the world over when describing something you want so much that it erases all your knowledge of grammar. For example, I used it the first time I saw Jason Momoa without a shirt on.

1. Two words: Night Cheese

There are so many more, but I’m limited to what clips/pics I can find online. This list doesn’t include the time she accidentally called Floyd’s girlfriend and pretended to do a survey for the Ranford Group but ended up yelling “Who is this?! I’m your worst nightmare is who I is!” Other great moments I unjustly left out: the Dealbreakers talk show, the time she tried to refill the water cooler when she got in a fight with Tracy about gender equality, when she pretended a lego train was a robot penis or the time she had a drunken phone break up with the co-op board of the apartment she wanted.