Hey guys!  Just got back online after three days of down time.  I guess having no internet is like taking half of my life literally.  Good thing my connection is reinstated a few hours ago and here I am wide awake again in front of my laptop surfing like I've never seen the internet for a year.  But let's cut the crap out and go straight to the real business.  Our movie for the day: Columbia Pictures' 30 Minutes or Less.


The film is all about a Pizza Delivery Boy called Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) who's life revolves around his boring and underpaid job.  But his life went upside down when one day he end up being hostaged by two unknown men.  To make it more exciting, Nick is strapped with a jacket loaded with C4 bombs enough to blow him to kingdom come.  Forced to rob a bank, he seeks the aid of his best friend (Aziz Ansari).  After that is just a plain roller coaster ride as the two went on a wild chase dealing with the police, a hired assassin, fierce prostitutes, douche teenagers, horrible bosses and a hundred thousand dollars.  Can Nick made it to the end of the line before the bomb explodes?



30 Minutes or Less is a fun watch.  Watching the actors playing their respective roles is such a treat.  As Nick, Jesse Eisenberg is stripped from his usual geeky stereotype and now given the chance to play a blue collar worker with a personality bordering to mediocre to boring.  It is rare to see him playing such character and I'm glad to see him getting out of that comfort zone.  Aziz Ansari definitely shines on the film as he played Nick's best friend Chet.  As a sidekick, Chet's character has his own strength and Aziz executed it very well.  Being a forerunner on the Indian sidekick genre (e.g. Kal Penn), I should say that he is very promising and has a lot of potential.  The tandem of Danny McBride and Nick Swardson somehow lacks chemistry but works pretty well on screen.  It perfectly portrays how two opposite people without any much in common (except stupidity) can become best friends.  Danny McBride playing a role of a over aged, rich, brat annoys me a lot and I like it.  Nick Swardson on the other hand lands flat on the ground without even giving me a single laugh.  I guess Swardson is more fit on playing gay/flamboyant roles on Adam Sandler films.


As a whole, the movie satisfies my primary cravings for Fun, Laughs and Good times.  Though that line may sound like a rip-off from a Bob Fosse musical, 30 Minutes or Less is indeed an enjoyable film.  It is a heist movie with a little touch of The Hangover.  Maybe a little bit male version of Sugar and Spice without the pregnant Betty Doll costumes.  In short, the movie has all the good ingredients for a perfect comedy flick.  But despite having the right mix of elements, the film end up having unnecessary details left loosely hanging up leading to a disastrous ending that in my opinion is irritatingly otiose and senseless. But as a consolation, I may say that I appreciate what they did with the laser pointer.  A good prop build up and very clever one.


If you just want to have fun with friends and family (adults only), 30 Minutes or Less is definitely a good watch.  But if you are the one who values story telling and details, the film is absolutely not delivered well.  Opening today, October 26 across the Philippines, 30 Minutes or Less is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.