Superbad

I knew Superbad was going to be good, if not great, the moment I saw the preview months ago. With people like Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Michael Cera, Bill Hader, and Jonah Hill involved, you just can’t go wrong. And when Apatow is producing, you just know that he’ll pull from his ever-expanding posse to make memorable cameos in his films (i.e. Martin Starr as a cokehead). Like films and shows that these people have done, you get extreme honesty (maybe too much sometimes) and heart, because you really can’t have one without the other. Superbad has just that via teens with raging hormones and end-of-the-year/off-to-college emotions. Seth and Evan have a realistic relationship with fighting, cursing, apologizing, laughing, and even carrying one another. McLovin’ definitely steals some of the greatest lines/moments of the film, but hearing the assumingly innocent Cera swear like a sailor is strangely endearing. The scenes with the cops are entertaining but maybe one segment too long, as some of the dialogue/action gets a bit redundant. Although the plot is pretty much revolved around the boys getting laid, the movie itself is anything but.

Becoming Jane

Unlike other great films adapted from Jane Austen novels, such as “Pride & Prejudice” and “Sense & Sensibility,” “Becoming Jane,” inspired by the Victorian-era’s author’s life and perhaps her only brush with love, is tiring and slightly uninspired. The beginning is slow and never truly picks up a healthy pace, making it difficult to feel completely involved in Austen’s family and love life. Anne Hathaway looks and feels right for the part, but her English accent seems a bit off, although I can’t claim that I’m an expert on such matters. James McAvoy, who plays Jane’s maybe one and only lover, is a charming lad with respectable morals and is the supposedly the man behind Austen’s self-created Mr. Darcy (minus the happy ending). Lacking a real heart and soul, the film eventually becomes a huge downer for all involved – audience included. And really, we never quite learn what it means to “become Jane” as the story is an all too bittersweet glimpse into the author’s one romantic encounter.