2 Guns

ACTION/ADVENTURE, SUSPENSE/THRILLER

2 Guns, More Problems

8.5 out of 10 | MOVIE OR DVD

---

Rated: R Violence throughout, language and brief nudity
Release Date: August 2, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes

---

Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Blake Masters, based on the Boom! Studios graphic novels by Steven Grant
Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward, James Marsden, Edward James Olmos, Robert John Burke, Patrick Fischler

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: A DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer find themselves on the run after a botched attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. While fleeing, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither knew that the other was an undercover agent.

REVIEW: Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur re-teams with Mark Wahlberg acting lead, and the always fine actor Denzel Washington, to bring to life another comic book adaptation. Instead of super powered beings, screenwriter Blake Masters (Law and Order: LA) takes the source material from Steven Grant's Boom! Studios comic series.

Bobby Beans (Denzel Washington, Flight) and Michael 'Stig' Stigman (Mark Wahlberg, Pain and Gain) figure out how to break into a bank for a haul of $3 million. Selling fake passports to a drug cartel overlord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), the duo get shafted when their payment of cocaine is replaced by a payment of actual money. When the pair is stopped at the border crossing between Mexico and United States, they are interrogated and let go. Little does the other know that Bobby Beans is actually an undercover DEA Special Agent and Stigman Is a US Navy intelligence officer. When their bank heists becomes too successful, the pair find themselves with too much money, a Greco after them, their own government agencies hunting them down, and an unknown party trying to get his hands on them and the $41 million he says is his.

Wahlberg and Washington reinvigorate the buddy cop movie genre. Like Bullock and McCarthy the in The Heat, Mark and Denzel flip the formula on its head to make a satisfying and engrossing shoot-them-up drama. These actors are well-versed in action films, with Washington coming in as an A-Lister in impactful dramas like Man on Fire, and Waldburg burning up the screen with dramas like The Departed and action comedies like The Other Guys. While both seem an unlikely pair as actors and as opposing characters, each elevates their game to the next level for this Boom! Studios graphic novel adaptation.

Hollywood is abuzz with comic book adaptations. By this time the audience doesn't even realize that the story they are watching onscreen came from a nine colored panel a page book. While this movie doesn't have the hallmarks of superheroes with superpowers, it does have a strong dramatic story. Like Bruce Willis' RED and The Losers, the silver screen is immersed with comic generated stories that do not involve radioactive spider bites, aliens sporting capes, cosmic radiation, or billionaire playboys with crime-fighting gadgets.

As a comic book reader even I missed 2 Guns as coming from comic materials. In fact, the movie felt more like Traffic than The Losers. The director does not try to reference the comic origins of the story, staying away from split screens and 1960's or 1970s comic stills to transition between scenes. There are some snarky moments with Denzel at his ultracoolest under pressure and Wahlberg as his normal manic self on screen, but they treat the material as action drama more so than comic fluff.

The villains are as cool as the so-called heroes. Olmos is the quinessential druglord. James Marsden performs double duty as both Stigman's Commander Quince and as someone also after more than just Greco's head on a platter. Bill Paxton plays a shadowy enforcer who has a perchance for Russian Roulette and thumb tacks.

2 Guns is a slick, twisty summer action flick with strong performances and great chemistry. Wahlberg and Washington are great, doing what they do best - put on a great show. If you are tired on monsters, giant robots, and CGI-heavy spectacles, give 2 Guns a shot!

---

Pain and Gain

ACTION/ADVENTURE, COMEDY

Bigger Than Yours

8.0 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

---

Rated: R Language throughout, bloody violence, drug  use, crude sexual content and nudity
Release Date: April 26, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 9 minutes

---

Director: Michael Bay
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Pete Collins
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackey, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Ken Jeong, Rebel Wilson, Mindy Robinson

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS:  A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.

REVIEW: Director Michael Bay made his mark on Hollywood with his adrenalized actioners Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor, and The Transformers franchise. He takes a break from robots in disguise to return to something more terrestrial. The true story is adapted to the big screen by Captain America and The Chronicles of Narnia series writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and new writer Pete Collins.

Daniel Lugo (Mark Walhberg, Broken City) has a dream. He is a body builder trainer with ideas of being the best he can be. He's a do-or not a don't-er. After going to a self-help seminar led by Johnny Wu (Ken Jeong, The Muppets), Daniel gets it in his head to target one of the gym's wealthy clients, Victor Crenshaw (Tony Shalhoub, Monk), and take his house and money. A three-man job, in his opinion, Daniel enlists the help of fellow trainer Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie, Gangster Squad) to help. Needing one more man, they approach ex-convict muscle head named Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson, G.I. Joe: Retaliation). Looking to have Crenshaw sign over his property and bank accounts, the trio end up being bumbling idiots and unable to get the kidnapping for the transfers done right the first time around. When Crenshaw somehow survives the experience the cops do not believe his story and Daniel, Paul and Adrian hunt Crenshaw down again. Crenshaw goes to the Yellow Pages to find former Miami cop and former private detective Ed Du Bois (Ed Harris, Man on a Ledge) to take his case. When Daniel, Paul and Adrian start living the big life off the money they stole from Crenshaw, their living in excess has its costs and forces them to plan another job, thus allowing the Miami-Dade police department to close in.

Michael Bay returns to the directors chair to leave behind giant robots and alien invasions. This time, he focuses on an unfortunate true story that seems almost as unbelievable. Michael Bay was the originator of the slo-mo hero walk and overly stylistic cinematography. In this effort he adds in some Tarantino-esque edit stop shots and on-screen labels to add to the story. With the added elements, it  shows that the director is expanding his palette a little bit.

Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Anthony Mackie devoted their bodies to fitness for the making of this film - and it shows. Each of them normally have great physiques but they completely bulked up for these roles. Wahlberg is thick, Johnson has no neck, and Mackie looks almost unrecognizable (except for his mug). The trio is so big there costars Tony Shalhoub and Ed Harris look utterly puny in comparison.

Wahlberg knows his way around both drama action and comedy. Pain and Gain is right up Mark alley. Anthony Mackie adds in his own style, and The Rock plays against type as a coke-snorting, Jesus-finding ex-con. These guys makes for a modern day Three Stooges criminal disorganized ring. One would like to believe that Americans aren't this stupid, but since it is based on true story I guess anything is possible.

Coming in at two hours and eight minutes this film is long, but he keeps moving. Michael Bay changes narrative perspectives, by letting each of the main characters have their own voice over. Switching perspectives keeps everybody involved in the plot line and keeps the story moving. It also helps that all the characters are just fun to watch.

The success of Pain and Gain comes in the fact of its ridiculousness. Wahlberg is a master of the straight man with absurd dialogue and monster stunts without cracking a smile. The film is a series of misdeeds and misadventures on a scale larger then Dwayne Johnson's biceps.

Filled with laughs, a degree of cat and mouse antics, and some Oceans 11 style planning, Pain and Gain will make you laugh and will make you cringe. This film is never better then when Mark Wahlberg and his cronies are at their worst.

---

Ted

Stitch Splitting Furry Fun

---

Rated: R  Some drug use, pervasive language and crude and sexual content.
Release Date: June 29, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 46 minutes

---

Director: Seth MacFarlane
Writers: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild
Cast:  Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, Jessica Barth

---

---

SYNOPSIS: When young boy John makes a wish for his teddy bear to come to life, his wish is granted. Years later, as an adult, John and Ted do everything together - which results in difficulties at work and with John's girlfriend.

REVIEW: Seth MacFarlane, triple-threat writer/creator/voice talent of American Dad, Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, makes his first foray onto Hollywood's silver screen with his first live-action adventure. With a script written by MacFarlane, fellow Family Guy scribes Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, MacFarlane enlists A-listers Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and a angelic little stuff bear named Ted.

As a nine-year-old boy with no friends, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter) receives a teddy bear for Christmas and wishes that his furry friend could talk for real. When John's wish comes true, Ted (Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy) comes to life and becomes John's fast furry friend. Ted becomes a sensation, making appearances, gracing the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. But with any fleeting fame comes the life that happens after. Ted's star fades but he remains John's closest friend. A thirty-five-year-old John still has his best friend at his side, living together in the same apartment with the bear and girlfriend Lori Collin (Mila Kunis, Black Swan). While Lori works hard as an executive at her firm, John and Ted get high in the mornings, John gets to work late, and the pair continues to make juvenile decisions. When Lori tires of John's antics with Ted, she gives John an ultimatum to get rid of Ted or lose her.

Seth MacFarlane does things with a stuffed talking teddy bear that should not be shown on screen. Of course, since he is Seth MacFarlane, putting Ted and his profane antics on screen is the first thing he decides to do. The creator of the indomitable Family Guy (remember when your favorite homage to All In The Family was cancelled from the Fox network?) continues his reign of taking something cute like a baby or a dog and using that cuteness for the most vile and ridiculous situations. This time, with Ted, MacFarlane opens the cuddly stuffed critter's stitched mouth and lets the vulgarity spew forth. But he's just a teddy bear, you say? When Ted is standing in the doorway with his button eyes and upturned smiling mouth, you want to say aaah. When he talks about drugs or women or drugs or alcohol, you can't help but break out in laughter that will lead to rolling tears.

The laughs are fast and furious, starting from the beginning scene and last the entire length of the movie. In fact, you may want to avoid a packed theater altogether because the laughter is so unexpected and quick at times that you will absolutely miss any dialogue that follows! From a teddy bear being carted away from airport security because of mushroom contraband to wrongful maneuvers with a grocery store checkout line, MacFarlane, Ted and cast deliver. MacFarlane also writes in a few Family Guy-esque fantasy flashbacks involving Flash Gordon and a hovercraft ride.

Mark Wahlberg is perfect as the almost delinquent man-child John with the heart of gold and ability to make his girlfirend laugh. Like his role as a detective in The Other Guys, Wahlberg knows when to play the straight man and when to go for the laughs. The beautiful Mila Kunis as Lori is sweet and tough, knowing that laughter is more important than prestige and power. MacFarlane's voice work on a CGI furry and fuzzy bear named Ted may sound a lot like Peter Griffin from Family Guy but you will forget that fact when you see how he acts. Added to the cast is Joel McHale (What's Your Number?) as Lori's leacherous boss Rex, Giovanni Ribisi (Contraband) as a father named Donny willing to do anything to collect Ted for his own son, Family Guy alum Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) as Rent-A-Car co-worker Guy, and Jessica Barth (Get Smart) as a Ted groupie with a trailer trash first name.

Ted is a hilarious and light-hearted film filled with the warm stuffing of wrong words, wrong gestures, and oh-so-wrong situations. Funny from start to finish, with a little drama sprinkled throughout, Ted is as refreshing as it is raunchy. Teddy bears may be cute and cuddly, but give them a voice and a few years to experience life and you have the makings of something much more obscene than a simple Winnie the Pooh. 

---

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

Contraband

The Panama Job

---

Rated: R  Brief drug use, violence and pervasive language.
Release Date: January 13, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 50 min

---

Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Aaron Guzikowski, Arnaldur Indriðason and Óskar Jónasson (film Reykjavik-Rotterdam)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas

---

---

SYNOPSIS: Although trying desperately to leave his life of smuggling behind him Chris Farraday is forced back into the 'life' in order to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, traveling to Panama to score millions in counterfeit bills.

---

REVIEW: One of Iceland's most popular and critically acclaimed actors, Baltasar Kormákur has made an even bigger name for himself as a director (Inhale, A Little Trip To Heaven). Newcomer screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski adapts a script to Americanize a new version of the film Reykjavik-Rotterdam by Arnaldur Indriðason and Óskar Jónasson.

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter) enjoys life as a security specialist with his own company, loving wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale, Underworld) and two young boys. Behind him are the days of smuggling, stupidly walking in his father's footsteps (William Lucking, 'Sons of Anarchy'). With his father now in prison, Chris has straightened his life out, taking his smuggling sidekick Sebastian (Ben Foster, 3:10 to Yuma) with him. But times change when Kate's younger brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones, X-Men: First Class) takes a run from Panama for local drug lord Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi, Gone in 60 Seconds) but has to dump the drugs overboard when customs agents come aboard for a random search. With Briggs still wanting his money, Chris is forced to make the decision to get back into the smuggling trade for one last score to 'balance the books' with Briggs. Assembling a team of smugglers for the job of 'importing' counterfeit super bills, Chris reteams with Andy, just married Danny Rayner (Lukas Haas, Inception), Tarik (Kevin Johnson,The Philly Kid) and Igor (Olafur Darri Olafsson, Children) and get papers to board a container freighter captained by an all too suspicious Captain Camp (J.K. Simmons, Juno). When everything does not go according to plan, Chris needs to make some tough decisions for the job, and for his family.

Unfamiliar with the original film, I cannot compare the two. But what I can tell you is that Contraband packs quite a suspenseful wallop. Mark Wahlberg does what he does best. He kicks ass, knows how to puts a plan together, and holds to a moral center in an immoral trade. Imagine The Italian Job without all of the slick antics. The summary storyline and the inclusion of Giovanni Ribisi may make you think of Gone in 60 Seconds, but the similarities end there. Giovanni may still be sporting the scraggly, not-all-there beard, but his character's Cajun accent and brutal methods erase any thoughts of the younger brother of a boosted car ringleader. Ben Foster, as versatile as ever as Sebastian, plays opposite ends of the spectrum with equal efficiency as Chris's former sidekick, protector of Chris's family while Chris runs the job, recovering alcoholic, and building site contractor. Kate Beckinsale is beautiful as ever as Mrs. Farraday, but only pulls out her big guns once or twice when her family is threatened. When the crew hit the open waters, J.K. Simmons Captain Camp is a wiry cat suspicious of Chris and quick to show Chris who the captain of the ship truly is. And once the crew hits the streets of Panama, Chris and crew face an assortment of crazy smugglers and drug lords that make Chris's work so much tougher. New boss Gonzalo (Diego Luna, Milk) may be the same as the old Jeffie, but loco en la cabeza.

The action is slow to start, honing in on the customs agents boarding the freighter and Andy losing the drugs he was to deliver to Briggs. Then the story tilts to Chris and Kate enjoying a wedding reception for their friend Danny, proving that his legitimate life IS all its cracked up to be. Even the time aboard the freighter only holds preparation and confrontations between Chris and the captain. But once Chris and crew step foot on the soil of Panama, the story is a non-stop roller coaster ride of gun fights, close calls, double crosses, and uncertainty. There are even some laughs thrown in for good measure. One thing that Wahlberg is good at is being the straight man with the best funny one liners. The other things he is good at is throwing a good punch and getting himself out of tight spots.

Gritty, dirty and out-of-focus at times, Baltasar Karmakur keeps all the slick sharp perfectly centered action where it belongs - not in the film. He uses New Orleans and Panama as perfect rough backdrops to match the his style of filmmaking. The fight scenes are bloody and up close, a la Ryan Gosling's Drive, and there are enough twists, turns and surprises along the way to keep everyone white-knuckled and entertained for the entire second half of the film.

Slow to start, but accelerating quickly and sustaining high speed throughout the rest of the film, Contraband may be an Americanized remake, but stays away from the traps of the glitz and glamor that Hollywood adds to most of its big budget action films. The villains are ruthless or crazy, keeping Wahlberg's Chris in uncertain peril throughout and keeping the stakes at an all-time high. Smuggling may be the wrong side of the law, but you do root for Chris for the work he has to complete to keep his family safe. The ending may not be picture perfect like in Wahlberg's The Italian Job, but definitely worth the time - for Wahlberg fans and gritty action drama cineasts.

---

WORTH: Matinee or Rental

The Fighter

Powerful Truths

[Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee, Mickey O'Keefe]

image from about.com

RANT: Today's trip to the movie house supports my theory that human nature is only half bad. On the bad side is the guy that keeps his phone on, gets a call, then takes the call in the theater itself. On the good side, a woman sitting two seats down from the phone call guy told him to take the call outside the theater. On the bad side, the same guy started talking louder on the phone when he was standing in the entry corridor. And on the good side, the same woman followed the phone call guy and told him that the entire theater can still hear his conversation. Hurray for making a stand for the greater good against the tyranny of rudeness.

SYNOPSIS: A small town fighter tries for a title shot, walking in the footsteps of his big brother.

Director Davis O. Russell, best known for I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings, brings the "based on a true" story of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his trainer/big brother Dicky Eklund to the screen. The story revolves around Micky's early career as he attempts a run at a welterweight title. A somewhat passion project for Mark Wahlberg, he plays "Irish" Micky Ward. Joining him is Christian Bale as his brother from another father, playing Dicky Eklund.

Running into a series of losses due to poorly planned boxing matches by his brother and manager/mother Alice Ward (Melissa Leo), Micky finds himself on the verge of quitting. While his brother has trained him from the beginning, Dicky has spiraled into a destructive habit of crack smoking, run-ins with the law and irresponsibility to Micky's career. Contemplating quitting, Micky takes up with bartender Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams) who helps Micky find his confidence to return to the ring. Torn between loyalty to his family and the success of his career, Micky painfully decides to break away to be managed by a local business man, his father George (Jack McGee), and trained by Lowell Police Department sergeant Mickey O'Keefe (playing himself). Finally putting together a string of wins, Micky finds himself the contender for the welterweight title in London.

The movie is more then about mere fighting inside the ring. "Irish" Micky Ward is a struggling boxer, fighting to live up to the shadow of the limited success of his brother. Dicky fought and knocked down "Sugar" Ray Leonard, and since has fought the habits of drinking, drugs and civil disobedience. Dicky and Micky's mother Alice fights against the knowledge of what Dicky has done to himself and fights against the certainty that Dicky will never make a comeback to the ring, thereby living vicariously through Micky to realize the dream of the failed title shot for Dicky years before.

Mark Wahlberg picks a great film and a great role. His performance as Micky, though, is almost secondary to the method that Christian Bale brings to the role of Dicky. And Amy Adams sinks her teeth into the role of Charlene in such a raw manner that Enchanted seems like a fairy tale. If one of them doesn't get a best supporting nod by the end of the awards season, I would be surprised. The rest of the cast is stellar, allowing us to laugh, cry and feel the pain and drama that the citizens of Lowell felt.

Worth: Matinee and DVD

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!

The Other Guys

Detained Comedy

[Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan]

image from media.entertainment.sky.com

RANT: It finally happened. One of my constant readers needed one of my reviews in order to make an informed decision about what movie to take his family to... and I didn't have all of my reviews loaded for them. Well, long story short, he may have spent his money on a film not appropriate for a 10 year old. Or did he?

SYNOPSIS: Allen Gamble and Terry Holtz are desk jockey New York City detectives working in the shadow of super cops P.K. Highsmith and Christopher Danson. When Highsmith and Danson die in the line of duty, the department finds that it has a vacuum to fill. And it may be up to "the other guys" to answer the call!

Director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell get together again for another go round in comedy, previously hitting the silver screen with "Step Brothers", "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". And this time they brought Mark Wahlberg along for the ride.

Fans of the aforementioned list of films will undoubtedly like this movie too. New moviegoers drawn to the theater by Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be both pleased and disappointed. Jackson as P.K. Highsmith and Johnson as Danson serve as crimefighters in the classic vein of other buddy super cop flicks like "Lethal Weapon". But in the "real" world, their antics get them both keys to the city and nails in their coffins. Highsmith's and Danson's final moments are both surprising and funny, changing the audience's expectation of what cop films are supposed to be like.

McKay, along with co-writer Chris Henchy, put other popular buddy cop film conventions on their ears as well. The trailers already let us know that people can not simply walk calmly away from an arson explosion, as Ferrell's Allen Gamble quickly points out as he writhes in pain in the parking lot.

Ferrell's Gamble plays a detective formerly assigned as a forensics accountant, while Mark Wahlberg plays Terry Hoitz trying to do the right thing and making all of the wrong moves. His big promotion was thwarted when he takes part in a bad shooting. Wahlberg's misery is actually funnier than Ferrell's naivety. Gamble's wife, Dr. Sheila, played by Eva Mendes, provides great moments with Wahlberg. And Gamble's red hybrid is the cause of several chuckles.

The case that Gamble and Hoitz get themselves into involving David Ershon (Steve Coogan), a financial investor, and head of security Roger Wesley (Ray Stevenson) seems to take a back seat in importance in the story, although the subject matter is timely.

Sometimes a comedy, sometimes an homage to buddy cop films, sometimes a parody of the same buddy cop films, this flick is in hot pursuit with laughs, than arrests you with slow dramedy. If your already a fan, take a shot at this target. If you are looking for some breaking and entering of Ferrell and McKay, keep a lookout for something better.

Worth: Matinee or Netflix

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!

Date Night

Banter and Bullets

[Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Mark Wahlberg]

Have you ever gone to the movies by yourself when you really should have gone with someone else, be it a child to a kid flick or a date for a chick flick? I do it al the time! I love movies so much, I would have gone to "How to Train your Dragon" by myself. Luckily, in that case, I had  a roommate and friends with a son with me. My advise -  as long as you are not "creepy", going to movies solo should not be taboo.

SYNOPSIS:  A boring, New Jersey couple decide they need to liven things up with a posh dinner in Manhattan. By taking the reservation of another couple, they open themselves up to mistaken identity, car chases, bullets, run ins with corrupt cops, mob bosses and strippers.

Tina Fey and Steve Carrell bring their small screen style of comedy to the big screen in "Date Night". Fans of both Fey and Carrell will enjoy them as a married couple, struggling to keep the spark alive with work and the raising of two kids. They are funny, snarky and intelligent as Phil and Claire Foster, spotlighting the all too real issues of comfortable married life. When they find out that one of their married couple friends are separating, Phil realizes that he needs to make a more romantic gesture to keep their marriage on solid ground. When they can't get a table at an exclusive restaurant, Phil takes the reservation for the absent Triplehorns, leading to Phil and Claire being pursued by cops on the take looking for the "real" Triplehorns and their incriminating flash drive. During their escapades, they dodge bullets, take part in an unique high speed chase involving an Audi and a taxi, enlist the help of ex-military hunk Holbrooke (Mark Wahlberg), track down the Triplehorns (James Franco and Mila Kunis) and have their best moments as a stripper and a pimp working undercover on the pole. But the real laughs come not only with Fey and Carrell, but the supporting cast as well.

Mark Wahlberg's Grant Holbrooke provides a great shirtless straight man for Fey and Carrell to riff off of. Franco as "Taste" and Kunis as "Whippit" give a ghetto voice to what plagues Phil and Claire, to comic effect. Franco in his last couple comic roles, from "The Pineapple Express" to his host stint on SNL is proving he truly has the comic chops to compete with Fey, Kunis and Carrell. "Date Night" primarily goes with the smiles and laughs, but does supply a enough action to keep the story racing along. J.B Smoove proves both the funny and the frantic as the cab driver unwittingly connected to the Fosters during their chase to ditch the cops on their tail. 

With intrigue, smiles and action, "Date Night" is a nice date night movie. Will the younger demographic enjoy it? Maybe not as much as some of the other flicks out there. But anyone married can definitely relate to the Foster's situation. Well, maybe not the flash drives and sideways gun "kill shots", but definitely everything else!

Worth: Matinee and DVD