Review: "Pineapple Express"

Seen on: August 6, 2008

The players: Director: David Gordon Green, Writers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, James Remar, Joe Lo Truglio

Facts of interest: Rogen and Goldberg also wrote "Superbad."

The plot: Two lazy stoners (Rogen and Franco) are on the run from a bunch of ruthless criminals.

Our quick thoughts: “Pineapple Express” may not be the best Judd Apatow production we’ve seen over the past two years, but the so-called stoner action comedy still delivers plenty of laughs and surprises to keep those who choose to see it completely satisfied. The film obviously hits a few bumps along the way, but in the end, it offers cinemagoers exactly what it promised: a bunch of solid jokes, some decent action and a considerably high dose of pot-smoking.

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'Pineapple Express' web reviews

The comedy I was looking forward to most this summer is finally here, and while I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, I have to admit I laughed quite a bit and had a great time (I'll post my review later today). "Pineapple Express" is the latest Judd Apatow production, focusing on two stoners (Seth Rogen and James Franco) who are on the run from a bunch of ruthless criminals. While the film received generally positive reviews from the nation's top critics, let's see what people on the Web have to say about it.

• CinemaBlend's Josh Tyler: "The cast delivers, Green’s direction is adequate, and the script is, I suppose, adequate. Adequate. That’s a pretty good description for what’s going on here."

• Scott Weinberg at Cinematical: "In other words, I liked this flick a lot, not just because it gave me some "funny pot schtick" from a bunch of entertaining actors -- but because it's a comedy that takes chances, hearkens back to a weirder generation, and doles out as many surprises as it does big laughs."

• RopeofSilicon's Brad Brevet: "The finale pretty much guarantees you should walk away happy as it is easily the best part of the production, but that doesn't mean its early faults should be overlooked."

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David Gordon Green talks 'Pineapple Express'

Edward Douglas over at ComingSoon posted an interesting interview with writer-director David Gordon Green, whose stoner action comedy “Pineapple Express” opens everywhere this Wednesday.

Co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film follows Rogen and James Franco as two pot-smoking lazybones who are on the run from a bunch of bad guys. In the interview you can read right here, Green talks a bit about the making of the movie, but also chats about his previous work and some upcoming projects.

When asked about the balance of action and humor in the film, Green said:

“The gore we added and the strange humor we added, the weirder the movie became, the more positive the reaction became, so there was really every incentive to maximize its strange qualities and non-traditional qualities and really follow our initial instincts of what that balance would be.”

If you want to find out more about “Pineapple Express” and Green’s experience on set, read the full interview here.

‘Harold & Kumar’ are at it again… for the third time

Harold Lee and Kumar Patel are not ready to call it quits quite yet. According to Variety, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg will return to write and direct a third installment in the series starring John Cho and Kal Penn.

Although no details about the sequel’s plot have been released yet, the story line will likely follow the two stoners as they get in plenty of trouble in Amsterdam. Cho and Penn are expected to return as the titular characters.

“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” opened in 2004 and took home $18.2 million at the box office. This year’s follow-up “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” collected $38 million domestically.

The film will be produced by Mandate Pictures, which also worked on “Juno” and the upcoming Michael Cera romance “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.”

I can’t say I’m excited about this because I pretty much hated “Guantanamo Bay,” but I assume fans of the franchise are more than willing to watch Harold and Kumar invade the big screen for a third round. What do you think? Do you really want those guys to return?

Check out six hilarious ‘Pineapple Express’ clips

I can’t say it often enough, but “Pineapple Express” is definitely the comedy I’m looking forward to the most this summer. Helmed by David Gordon Green and written by the “Superbad” team of Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, this stoner action comedy centers on two guys on the run from a bunch of ruthless criminals.

Check out six brand-new clips from the upcoming movie below. Although most of them are extensions of some of the footage we’ve already seen in the trailer, they’re still hilarious. “Pineapple Express” opens Aug. 6, 2008. Chill out and enjoy!

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