Mike Jurewicz’s Blog

Over the weekend I took some time to take in the Guy Ritchie’s movie Snatch for the second time.  The first time through I really enjoyed it but had a hard time understanding some of the dialoge.  Between some thick English accents to crazy pikey dialect done by Brad Pitt’s character, Mikey, it can make your head spin at times to try to figure out what they are saying.  But this time I made it a priority that I pay attention to the words and I must say that I enjoyed the movie even more the second time around.

The cast is just packed full of talented actors who all interact extremely well with each other.  Conversations between Turkish and Tommy are brilliant but possibly out done by the three some of Sol, Vince and Tyrone.  The gang of bubbling crooks just can’t seem to get along for long enough to get anything done and the results are hilarious.

This movie coupled along with Ritchie’s previous gangster film, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells, are some of the best done gangster films I have ever seen.  It of course is no Godfather but it’s not trying to be.  It seems to take a more realistic approach in that things are going to go wrong at some point and you have to deal with them.  Maybe this is in a more hiliarious manner that they take care of things but even still.  This film has it all in my opinion.

I was just reading that a new Ritchie movie entitled RocknRolla is due out in October, probably just in England at first. It is supposedly suppose to be back in the same vein as Lock Stock and Snatch. I look very much forward to seeing this one and think Ritchie has niche for this gangster/comedy films.

And I have included a nice video of some of the funniest moments of the film for your enjoyment.

I must say that Judd Apatow is far and away my favorite writer/producer/director in cinema today, probably of all time as well.  This guy is a god of comedy for bringing us such greats as Superbad, Knocked Up, the 40 Year Old Virgin and Talladega Nights.  Not to say he doesn’t always have a great troop that comes with him.  Seth Rogan, who does a lot of writing and acting with Apatow, is coming into his own as well.  But anytime I hear about a project with Judd Apatow’s name on it I know that I will not be disappointed.  Case in hand with his latest project Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  While he didn’t direct or write the movie, done by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segal respectively, he did help produce the film.  Similar in role to what he did with Superbad.

The movie contains some of the usual gang that appear in Apatow movies; Jason Segal, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd and Bill Hader.  I have always been a big fan of Segal back when he was in SLC Punk as the soft spoken yet brutally harsh Mike.  He is brilliant on the TV show How I Met Your Mother and was hilarious in his small role in Knocked Up.  This movie was a chance for him to shine and I think he achieved that in all his glory, literally.  Segal daringly showed ALL his glory a few times on screen that was pretty shocking but funny.  From watching him on TV each week you don’t really expect to see an actor show his twig and berries so openly in a movie.  A matter of fact his character in this movie, Peter, reminds me a lot of his character on HIMYM, Marshall.  They are both very loving individuals who seem that their only goal in life is to be happy with someone they love.  It is also a character that many people can relate to, my included, and that makes him even more likable.

Both the leading ladies in the film are great.  Both are extremely (I can put enough emphasis on this) beautiful and play great roles.  Kristen Bell’s character, Sarah Marshall, looks perfect playing a young aspiring actress.  She has a very lovable quality to her look but also at the same time you can look at her and know she is trouble just waiting to happen.  Part of you wants to be with her but part of you wants to hate her so much.  Mila Kunis’ character, Rachel, just exemplifies what a lot of guys would want in a girl: beautiful, sense of humor, down to earth, just chilled out yet with a wild side.  I found myself saying to myself so many times during the movie, “Damn she would be a great girl friend.”  Being that I don’t know Mila Kunis personally I was judging by the character she played.  Although I have seen some stuff about her and her personal life and she seems very much like that in person.  Lucky Macaulay Culkin.

The supporting staff, just like any Apatow film, brought the whole thing together.  Both Russell Brand and Paul Rudd have numerous memorable lines.  Add in Jonah Hill, Jack McBrayer and Bill Hader and it is just complete.

If you have ever liked any of Judd’s movies that he has had a hand in then you will love Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  I even went to movie theater which if you know me I don’t like doing at all.  I liked it so much that I may go see it again.  Yes I may go to another movie theater to see it again, it was that good.