At least Justin Long was not annoying as the sidekick.
He's a pretty solid supporting actor. His bit in GALAXY QUEST as the nerdy fan who helps the actors/aliens was handled well. He also put on a good show in the original JEEPERS CREEPERS, as well, so I'm not surprised that he doesn't tank the film, though I wondered.
Willis was on the internet (aint-it-cool.com) posting in the talkbacks as WalterB saying it was as good as the first, sorry but it wasn't.
That's one of the many bits of damage control the studio demanded since it knew that:
A.) it had a weak film on its hands becasue of:
B.) The studio suits ignored the fact R-rated action films rake in big money, and put a very marginal profit line by trying to appeal to what they thought was a "broader market" by making it teen-firendly PG-13. of course, the PG-13 takes all of DIE HARD's balls away, and when fans of the series - the "built-in-audience" were up in arms, Bruce was sent in to do contractually obligated promotion of the film and that's one way the studio tried to save face.
The box office will reveal if FOX killed the DIE HARD franchise.
this probably is going to hurt Carell's career but I hope it doesn't.
I won't even bother to see it. Carell participating in an overtlly religious-themed film that desperately tried to play the family amarket in a patronizing way the film's predecessor didn't - coupled with the fact word-of-mouth has killed the film in many circles, and how the studio realized it's got a pdud on its hands and has since marketed the film heavily to churches - that is not a good sign, especially for a guy who is so close to being a mainstay in comedy.
Carell's come a long way from THE DAILY SHOW, and his work in ANCHORMAN and the U. S. versio nof THE OFFICE brought him up a notch. THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN proved his worth in carrying a film, and his supporting work in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE certainly added cache to what he had built up. His agent clearly was doing a really good job for him and he was living up to his hype.
EVAN ALMIGHTY either indicates his agent's winning streak has collapsed, or he changed agents and is paying the price with their selection of dubious material; or he simply settled for a fat paycheck over something that would bring him to the Tom Hanks level of bankability that he certainly ahs the skills to achieve.
I see a lot of Tom Hanks in Carell. He can handle drama and comedy and is genuinely likeable onscreen adn when he's promoting his work. He's got that everyman thing going on that made Hanks a superstar.
Maybe EVAN ALMIGHTY is to Carell what VOLUNTEERS was to Hanks? it will be itneresting to see where his career goes with his psot EVAN ALMIGHTY decisions (well, his agent's decisions).
Ratatouille - Will post back in about 8 hours, seeing a early showing while everyone is in church (re - no talking kids!).
Outside of A BUG'S LIFE I haven't been disappointed with a PIXAR film. Even CARS (which felt like a lesser work to me, but by no means a bad work). Because of the kid factor, I'll respect the kids' rights to enjoy the film with enthusiasm in the theater, and respect my sanity to enjoy it in a quiet settting and will wait for DVD.
Just my ops.