"Get Him To The Greek"

Richard's Review: 3 1/2 stars

There was a time when rock stars behaved like rock stars. They didn't guest edit The Globe and Mail or appear on "American Idol." In the good old days they trashed hotels rooms, drove Rolls Royces into swimming pools and bit the heads off of bats. In other words they behaved like Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), the decadent singer who first rock ‘n' rolled all night in "Saving Sarah Marshall" and now parties every day in "Get Him to the Greek."

Jonah Hill plays Aaron Green, a record company intern sent to London to accompany his idol, the washed up rock star Aldous Snow, to New York for an appearance on the "Today" show and then on to Los Angeles for his comeback concert at the Greek Theatre. Between "sips of naughty water," condoms of heroin hidden in awkward places and all the sex, barf and rock ‘n' roll two people can possibly cram into 72 hours, the trip goes horribly wrong. Imagine if "The Hangover" starred Keith Moon and Jim Morrison and you get the idea.

Brand and Hill are the name brand comics in the credits, but another actor, not known for yukking it up, actually almost walks away with the movie. As the grizzled record label president Sergio Roma -- a jaded executive who has been there, done that -- Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs swoops in from time to time to deliver many of the film's best lines. He's at his best in the manic Las Vegas drugapalooza sequence -- they smoke a giant spliff called a "Jeffrey," so named because the name sounds safe but packs a punch; much like Jeffrey Dalhmer I guess -- when he's out of control and really letting go of his finely honed P-Diddy image.

Not that Brand and Hill don't get laughs -- they get plenty -- but they are also required to bring some heart to what is essentially an R-rated raunchy comedy. The romantic scenes, the pining for their exes and the heart-to-heart talks, could work, but they don't in this movie. Rock ‘n' roll is a vicious game and "Get Him to the Greek" is best when it is loud and proud and sticks with the three chord comedy. Nobody wants to hear the Ramones backed by a symphony orchestra and likewise we don't need to hear Snow complaining about the lonely life of a rock star. Screenwriter and director Nicholas Stoller would have done well to wonder "What would Keith Richards do?" from time to time and cut the mushy stuff.

Otherwise "Get Him to the Greek" is a rock ‘n' roll romp, and while it doesn't exactly have enough rock ‘n' roll attitude -- it's more The Monkees than Led Zeppelin -- it does provide one great lyric line, "When the world slips you a Jeffrey / Stroke the furry wall," a great old school soundtrack -- "Personality Crisis" by the New York Dolls, T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" -- lots of good inappropriate jokes and some fun cameos.

"Marmaduke"

Richard's Review: 1 star

Wilson and Anderson! Together again after "Bottle Rocket," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Darjeeling Limited." Whoops. Right Wilson, wrong Anderson. This weekend Owen Wilson collaborates with Brad Anderson, not Wes, in a live action adaptation of Anderson's long running comic "Marmaduke." The arty flourishes and subtle humor of Wilson's work with Wes has been replaced with big-dog-in-a-little-car comedy.

Marmaduke (voice of Owen Wilson) is an unruly Great Dane with a habit of speaking directly into the camera. As the film's narrator he introduces us to his family and leads us through the story of how Phil (Lee Pace), a dog food executive in Kansas, winds up moving the family to California and working for that state's biggest manufacturer of organic kibble (a slumming William H. Macy). Before you can say "Kowabarka" Marmaduke is "getting his bark on" in The Golden State, winning a surfing contest, falling for a girl dog with Farah Fawcett fur, faking a cat attack to impress Alfa dog Bosco (Kiefer Sutherland) and tearing up the house. Oh that Marmaduke!

Not since Bill Murray loaned his voice to "Garfield" has a hip actor gone to the dogs like this. We can forgive Wilson the odd misstep like "You, Me and Dupree" as long as he keeps appearing in movies like "Fantastic Mr. Fox" but "Marmaduke" earns him a week wearing a shock collar. Bad dog!

He's not alone. Kiefer Sutherland, Steve Coogan, George Lopez, Sam Elliott and the Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie all take advantage of the easy money of voice acting, but it is Wilson, in the title role, who must take the lion's share (canine's share?) of the blame for this. Where is the Humane Society when you really need them? Somewhere Benji and Rin Tin Tin are rolling over (in their graves) at the state of doggie style movies for kids.

Tots may find some fun in the talking animals and gentle action, but there is nothing here for anyone over the age of five except bad puns -- Dog Vader, anyone? Boneillionaire, perhaps? -- and an allegedly heartwarming story that actually gave me heartburn.

"Marmaduke" is an instantaneously forgettable kid's flick that's all bark, no laughs. There are no treats in "Marmaduke," doggie or otherwise.

"Splice"

Richard's Review: 3 1/2 stars

They grow up so quickly, don't they? One day they are slimy bipedal creatures who look like a cross between Yul Brenner and a slug, the next they are the flesh-eating, underwater-breathing alien looking supermodel types. At least that's the way it is in "Splice," a new sci fi thriller starring Sarah Polley and Oscar winner Adrien Brody, about a creature who goes from newborn to troubled teen in a matter of weeks.

Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are bio chemists (and boyfriend and girlfriend) who develop a splicing technology which binds the DNA from multiple animals to create new life and, possibly, cures for everything from Parkinson's to cancer. It's the medical breakthrough of the century. The next logical step is to fuse human and animal DNA but despite their success in the lab, their employers, the evil conglomerate Newstead Pharma, is wary of the publicity such a radical step would incur.

Secretly the pair go rogue, continue their experiments, and give "birth" to a new life form they dub Dren (that's "nerd" backwards), a tailed creature resembling a bald dinosaur. Clive, conflicted by the ethical and moral issues of cloning, wants to kill the creature but Elsa won't have it. "Human cloning is illegal," she says, "but this won't be entirely human."

Dren develops at a rapid pace, changing from unrecognizable organism to something akin to a humanoid kangaroo. Soon though problems arise. The creature becomes Daddy's little… whatever, leaving Elsa to deal with Dren's difficult puberty.

Like the hybrid creature at the center of the action "Splice" is a cross of genres -- part b-movie sci fi and part body horror à la David Cronenberg. Liberally mixing "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "Frankenstein" and "The Brood," "Splice" examines ideas of life and death, of playing God, of what is human (and what is not) and even touches on Woody Allen style relationships. There are plenty of moral concepts to chew on, many ruminations to be had on what it is to be human, but only if you look past the b-movie thrills director Vincenzo Natali slathers on with a trowel.

Splice goes places that bigger budget science fiction wouldn't dare to tread. This isn't the enviro-friendly sci fi of James Cameron or the space opera of George Lucas. No, this has more in common with the exploitation films of Roger Corman. There's an icky creature, some scientist sexy time and loads of crazy science. Corman might not have been as successful at layering in the love, jealousy and real human emotions Natali heaps on his characters but I think the b-movie king would approve of "Splice's" overall tone. It's doesn't skimp on the blood and guts but it's funnier than you think it is going to be, wilder than expected -- Sarah Polley's maternal instincts towards Dren are right out of "Mommie Dearest"—and takes several unexpected twists and turns.

"Splice" is giddy good fun, the rare sci fi flick that revels in its b-movie roots while also offering up something to think about over a beaker of coffee afterwards.