The Dictator is a bit of a departure for Sacha Baron Cohen. In previous movies in which he’s played the lead (Ali G, Borat, Bruno), Baron Cohen has interacted with members of the public who were completely unaware that he was playing a character. He still plays a larger-than-life character here, but this time, the film he inhabits is completely fictional. Does this change in comedic style work as well as his previous efforts? Read on to find out.

Sacha Baron Cohen stars as Admiral General Aladeen, the supreme leader of the fictional Republic of Wadiya. Ben Kingsley plays an advisor who was passed over for leadership some years prior, and he puts a plot in motion to get Aladeen out of the way. (Of course he does. He’s Ben Kingsley. See: Persia, Prince of.) See, there’s oil in Wadiya that Aladeen refuses to sell to outside nations, but Kingsley’s character is wheeling and dealing behind the scenes and stands to make billions in commission if he can start selling it to other countries. During a trip to New York City, Aladeen is supposed to speak in front of the United Nations, but he’s replaced with a body double and left for dead outside the city, setting up the major conflict of the film: can the real Aladeen, now unrecognizable without his iconic beard, make it to the UN in time to stop a new Wadiyan constitution from being signed?

With all of that out of the way, let’s return to the question posed at the beginning of this review. Does a completely fictional narrative work as well as Baron Cohen’s previous efforts? Not quite. In satire, which The Dictator most certainly is, I’ve always found interactions with real people over the course of a film to paint a broader picture of the general population’s consensus, therefore turning the looking glass back on ourselves and allowing us to examine our culture’s ignorance, apathy, prejudices, or whatever the issue may be. It may not be completely representative of the entire nation’s opinions, but at least there are real people that you can point to as concrete examples and say, “look, these people actually believe what they’re saying.”

In a fictional narrative, that element is gone in favor of actors speaking pre-written dialogue, and there’s just something about that method that takes the bite off the criticisms Baron Cohen tries to make. At the end of The Dictator, Admiral General Aladeen gives a long speech which, in so many words, condemns the leadership of the United States as a type of dictatorship. It works, and it’s even sadly funny, but I think watching real people’s behavior is a much more subtle way to critique society’s impulses rather than going with a pre-planned speech.

Putting its stylistic choices aside, I think The Dictator has a few great moments of comedic brilliance in it. With Borat, I was put off by the cultural phenomenon it became in the weeks and months after its release, but returning to that movie years later, I found it hilarious. I’m guessing something similar will happen here, but in the meantime, Baron Cohen knows his audience and knows how to play up his strengths. His blustery buffoon character is at his best when he’s completely out of his element, and Baron Cohen knows how to walk the line between gross-out humor (which there is a bit of here, but not as much as previous films) and one-liners. He’s also got a solid supporting cast this time around, including John C. Reilly as a racist American officer, UCB co-founder Ian Roberts as a police officer, Anna Faris as the Brooklyn-based hippie love interest, and even Megan Fox playing herself in a cameo appearance.

But this movie is really a coming out party for Jason Mantzoukas, who you may recognize as Rafi from the FX series “The League” or from a bit part on “Parks and Recreation.” He plays Wadiya’s former head of nuclear science who now lives in New York City’s Little Wadiya, and he helps Aladeen with his plan to reclaim his position as supreme leader. Mantzoukas’ comic timing is spot-on, and he is responsible for some of the film’s funniest moments. He essentially plays the straight man to Aladeen’s wild man, and watching him get flustered at Baron Cohen’s stupidity was a personal highlight of this movie. There’s a great series of gags that play out in Little Wadiya that I won’t ruin, but they all involve flashbacks of Aladeen having members of his country assassinated. You’ll know it when you see it.

Is The Dictator Sacha Baron Cohen’s best film? It’s tough to say, especially with comedies. Though the lack of unsuspecting real people might not be as funny as the alternative, perhaps this is a step in the right direction for the auteur. It shows that he’s willing to step outside of his comfort zone a little, and I think watching him grow as a comedian may be more important than watching him play the same games in his self-constructed sandbox over and over again. Until next time…

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As some of you recover from an Easter chocolate hangover, the studios have dumped an avalanche of release date changes on us, so let’s make sure you can mark your calendars properly. Hit the jump for the latest information regarding Maleficent, The Dictator, Ender’s Game, and Red Lights.

• Disney has set a date for Maleficent, which will see Angelina Jolie take on the role of the famous Sleeping Beauty villainess. The movie will hit theaters on March 14th, 2014. Robert Stromberg is directing and Elle Fanning is in talks to play Princess Aurora.

• Sacha Baron Cohen hopes to craft another iconic character with The Dictator, which Paramount has just moved from May 11th, 2012 to May 16th, 2012. The move was caused by proximity to Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, which will still open on the 11th, so Paramount didn’t want to pit one of its stars up against Johnny Depp in a movie that looks to be more comedy than horror.

• Gavin Hood’s adaptation of Ender’s Game has been moved back eight whole months from March 15th, 2013 to November 1st, 2013. Since it’s such a highly anticipated adaptation, I’m guessing most fans won’t have a problem with the filmmakers deciding to take their time in order to make the best movie they possibly can.

• Rodrigo Cortes’ follow-up to Buried, a supernatural psychological thriller called Red Lights, will come to theaters on July 13th, 2012. I saw this one at Sundance, and would definitely recommend it. Solid performances from a great cast, including Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, and Robert De Niro.

Are you excited about any of these films? Let us know in the comments!

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Paramount Pictures has released the second trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest, The Dictator. Unlike the first trailer (which mainly focused on unveiling Cohen’s next over-the-top character) this one actually sets up the plot. Along for the ride are Megan Fox, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris, and John C. Reilly, among others.

Check the trailer out below:

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

The character comes off as a type of bizarre Adam Sandler’s Zohan-Borat lovechild, and it somehow actually works. Well most of that could be because of the fantastic supporting cast, but it’s a huge leap from the shallow, one-note characters Cohen has given us in the past, with a much larger plot to boot. Of course it’s just a trailer, but it seems Cohen’s stepped up his game from the gross-out shock factor to delivering some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, most likely due to the focus on a much more standard, linear film, rather than the “mocumentry” approach. Although I can’t see Cohen straying away from his usual shtick too much, but we’ll just have to see for ourselves!

The Dictator hits theatres May 11, 2012.

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DreamWorks Animation and Paramount have released a new trailer for Madagascar 3, the latest entry in the popular series about a group of escaped animals. Now I have to say, previous trailers have not impressed me but this one, it totally sold the movie.

So thanks to this trailer I learned something new today, apparently zebras can’t drive, only humans and penguins can. Looking past some of the obviously stupid jokes, there are more then a few genuinely funny moments here and unlike past trailers, we get a much better feel for where the movie is headed. Also, I’m now actually looking forward to this.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted brings back Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien XIII, Maurice, Mort and obviously Rico, Skipper, Kowalsky and Private. While still trying to get back home to their Zoo in New York, our heroes travel across Europe with what is probably the best cover for a group of animals like them, a circus. There, in order to be accepted, they must create the ultimate circus act, Madagascar style.

You can tell a mile away that Madagascar 3 is aimed at the international crowd, and who can blame DreamWorks Animation, past entries made most of their money outside North America.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Jessica Chastain and Paz Vega among others.

The film will make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May, while for North America and most of the world, the release date is June 8th.

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While Sacha Baron Cohen made his name with the mockumentaries Borat and Bruno, he’s been taking solid acting gigs in ‘real’ films over recent years such as Sweeney Todd and most recently Hugo. He’s also set to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and will play the villain in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, but not before he unleashes another wacky character onto the world with The Dictator.

Paramount has today released the first trailer for the film via Moviefone, and this time Cohen in joined by Anna Faris, Sir Ben Kingsley, Megan Fox, John C. Reilly and J.B. Smoove.

In the film Sacha Baron Cohen plays a ruthless dictator who heads to the U.S. for a meeting at the United Nations and finds that his number two has replaced him with an unsuspecting sheepherder lookalike. As the dictator wanders the city, he meets the owner of an organic food store. She turns around his dictatorial thinking, and there’s a little romance in it as well.

Cohen has re-teamed with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles, and The Dictator will be released May 11, 2012.

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DreamWorks Animation has released the teaser trailer for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg previously said Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe would get back to New York eventually (probably in the fourth film) but in the meantime “their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.”

Watch the trailer below:

The film once again features the vocal talents of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer and Andy Richter. Frances McDormand is a new addition and voices a calculating and goal-oriented animal control officer who leads her team to capture the animals. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted will be released on June 8, 2012 and is directed by Eric Darnell (Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa).

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For a movie that looks radiant – including the 3D – and handled with precision from behind the lens, Hugo is shockingly a numbing experience.

Chances are you will not feel a thing until the last third of the film. This is also the point where the purpose of the story is finally revealed. It’s the first time where yours truly had to wrestle with if a movie did in fact need a purpose or sturdy plot to be entertaining. Hopefully this will be answered in just a few paragraphs; or in this case, rambles.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a young orphan that has a knack for fixing anything mechanical. The setting of this tale is 1930s Paris, at a massive train station in the heart of the city. Hugo spends most of his days adjusting all the clocks throughout the station – a job his drunken Uncle (Ray Winstone) should be doing. When he’s not adjusting clockwork mechanisms, he ends up fiddling with an over-sized mechanical doll with human-like features. Trying to get the automaton to function is proving quite the task for someone who usually figures out everything fairly quickly. He believes that this robot has a message from his late father (Jude Law in cameo mode), but learns that its history runs deeper than he once thought.

When he’s not working on the little metal man, he carefully maneuvers around the station, avoiding the shrewd station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his k-9 sidekick, Maximilian, who takes an unusual pride in catching shoplifting orphans. Hugo is also a watcher (no pun); as he peers through secret crevices taking in the daily people who work at small shops on the station grounds; his favorite being the quiet toy store operator, Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley). Through his visual stalking, he coincidentally becomes friends with Georges’ daughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz). During their time together, the two explore the riddle behind Hugo’s wind-up robot; the interest Georges has, or doesn’t have, in it; and the magic of filmmaking. And naturally, the two do get into some mischief.

While Chloe Grace Moretz dazzles again, the young male lead is no slouch either. Their chemistry and emotional discharge is a pleasure to watch considering their young age. And with people like Ben Kingsley and the great Christopher Lee showing up in supporting roles, the veteran actors are able to anchor this down as the more-or-less wise mentors. Even Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno) shows that he’s more than just a shock and awe actor. His timely and subtle comedy is right on for the family-friendly atmosphere. And if you listen closely, it does have some mature edge to it.

Having all these fine performances keeps your attention. Plus director Martin Scorsese creates an atmosphere that ushers in old-school and modern-day filmmaking aesthetic that will have your eyes constantly exploring. It’s definitely a holiday movie yet its purpose remains hidden for some time. Mainly because the script changes its mind on where the focus is going to be and the transition is anything but smooth.

And that’s why it’s amazing that this film can’t project any emotion off the screen to the audience. Aside from an educational montage that showcases the pioneer techniques of filmmaking, which is beautifully orchestrated, the direction or message this piece is trying to depict remains as mysterious as the mechanical robot angle. But it’s not the good kind of mystery. It’s the I-really-don’t-care-anymore feeling that will consume your mind. Very strange not to have any interest in the story yet you do not mind admiring the physical characteristics. Guess that’s similar to a conversation with a stripper…or watching Avatar again.

This flick may be worth the price just to see how aptly 3D can be used in conjunction with jaw-dropping set designs. Other than that, this would have been more moving and engaging if this instituted one of those old-school movie mechanics and ran silent for its near two-hour duration.

Overall, Hugo is quite frankly, attractively boring. The storytelling is lacking but the visual aspects and filmmaking mechanics can, and do, pick up the slack. All the production people deserve the utmost recognition, but this feature as a whole, just feels underwhelming, despite some exceptional performances from the entire cast.
RATING: 3 out of 5

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GK Films has released a new trailer for Martin Scorsese’s 3D family adventure Hugo. It’s a bit odd saying the words “Martin Scorsese” and “3D” in the same sentence, but with “family adventure” thrown in the mix, it causes one to scratch his or her head, wondering if it’s just a big prank.

Alas, it is as real as it gets, and from the looks of the new trailer, it looks surprisingly intriguing. But who can complain with a cast consisting of Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass), and Asa Butterfield (The Boy in The Striped Pajamas).

Check out the trailer below:

‘Hugo’ tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick’s award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” this magical tale is Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D.

Now it’s no doubt that Hugo is a dramatic departure from the usual violent and gritty films Scorsese’s become iconic for, such as GoodFellas and Shutter Island. But, with that being said, the trailer manages to capture a mysterious and emotionally engaging adventure with adult elements, contrary to the first trailer’s whimsical “kiddie” feeling.

It may be hard to wrap your head around, but it looks like Scorsese is managing quite well in new territory, which promises us a feel good mystery/adventure film that is geared for all ages. The only quip I have, which is obvious, is Scorsese’s attempt at using 3D elements. It just doesn’t feel like this is the type of film that warrants the need for the technology (then again most modern films don’t) and, again, it just doesn’t feel right for the director. Scepticisms are no doubt abundant, but we’ll know soon enough if Scorsese can pull it off when the film releases.

Hugo is released on 2D/3D screens across the US from November 23rd and the UK from December 2nd.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been itching to be remade for some time. Now, it’s looking like the film, which originally hit theaters in 1947 and bookshelves five years before that, might actually make its return. Pajiba reports that 20th Century Fox has offered Sacha Baron Cohen the lead role. No director is yet attached to the project, nor is it officially in production, but things are looking up.

Walter Mitty has run through a series of actors and filmmakers for the past two decades. Jim Carrey, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Owen Wilson, Mike Myers, and Mark Waters (among others), have all been tied to the project at one point or another.

The film is about a “mild-mannered” man who has five heroic daydreams that are inspired by his mundane surroundings. In the original story, he flies a hydroplane during a storm, performs an impossible surgery, plays an assassin in a courtroom, pilots a plane on a crazy bombing run, and faces a firing squad. With the right filmmaker on board, this could make for a great movie. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a CGI-fest like Bedtime Stories. More on the film as we hear it.

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Eight years after Men in Black 2, the folks at Sony Pictures have decided to revisit their successful franchise and plans have been set in motion for Men in Black 3. Will Smith is reportedly interested in reprising his role as Agent J, but there’s been no word of Tommy Lee Jones’ potential involvement.

Now Bloody Disgusting reports that Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno) and Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”) are in talks for a lead role in the sequel – a character named “Yaz.” With Josh Brolin also rumored to join the cast, the talent surrounding this project is slowly building up as it inches closer to production.

Written by Tropic Thunder screenwriter Etan Cohen, the story supposedly features Agent J going back in time to meet the young version of Agent K. Josh Brolin is reportedly suiting up as the younger incarnation of Tommy Lee Jones’ straight-faced agent. No actors have officially signed on to the project yet (and no director has been hired, either), so it’ll be quite some time before we see this film up on the big screen. No word yet on the return of the wise-cracking alien pug Frank.

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