Stanger Than Fiction @ IMDB

Synopsis:
A tax auditor named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a monotonous life full of calculated and precise actions. Things go horrible awry when he starts hearing his life narrated by a woman’s voice as he lives it. He soon discovers that the voice blongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a famous author who is suffering from writer’s block and is notorious for killing her protagonists.

Review:

Plot: This one is a comedy and a drama, the all to prevalent dramedy. Unfortunately for Ferrell fans, its heavy on the drama portion. There are some mildly funny moments throughout the movie, but no bust-a-gut/ROTFL moments like in Ricky Bobby. Doesn’t mean it was bad. Its somewhat interesting to see a slightly more serious side to Ferrell.

Acting: I actually enjoyed Emma Thompson a lot. Her character’s fascination with death and approach to writing is terribly awkward and Thompson translates it excelently. Queen Latifah is inconsequential as Eiffel’s assistant. I also liked Maggie Gyllenhaal as liberal activist baker. She’s odd but endearing as Ana Pascal.

Photography/Production: I was really dissappointed with the quality of filming for this movie. I guess my criticism here is not based on personal experience, but how hard can it be to keep a mic boom out of the scene? Maybe its just me, but it seemed a bit sloppy. It ruined it for me a little, because after the first time, my eyes kept getting distracted whenever the mic dipped in to the shot.

Overall: It wasn’t a bad movie, but its not worth a primetime ticket. If you’re a “I must see all Will Ferrell movies on the big screen” kind of fan, then go for a matinee. Personally, I think its amusing enough that its worth a rental when it comes to DVD, but probably not a purchase.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby @ IMDB

Summary:
Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) was born with a need for speed and a natural talent behind the wheel. With a lucky break he is flung to NASCAR greatness and quickly moves to the top. But Ricky’s dominance is challenged by a Formula-1 racer named Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), who is looking to make his mark on the sport. When a devistating crash puts Ricky in the hospital, he loses his nerves and is unable to race. With his world crumbling around him, Ricky goes back to his roots and seeks help from his dead-beat-dad (Gary Cole).

Review:
I thought this movie was hilarious! If you liked Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, then you will love Talladega Nights. This movie continues the “American Man” series that Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay began with Anchorman. I had really high hopes for this movie and I have to say I was not dissappointed.

Now I’m going to say something that might get me in to a little bit of trouble. I personally think that Talladega Nights may have been better than Anchorman. I have a friend who’s probably cringing in his seat as he read this. But before everyone gets excited, I have to say that loved Anchorman, I own it. But I feel like I just laughed more while I was watching Talladega Nights.

The cast is spectacular. Ferrell is at his finest and John C. Reilly is perfect as Cal Naughton, Jr., Ricky Bobby’s hapless friend. Cole and Cohen rounded out this crazy comedy cast. Cole plays a wise but washed-up dad who never quite learned how to be happy. You may remember him as Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. Cohen, better known as Ali G, is spectacular. I’ve never seen The Ali G Show, but I think I may start watching.

At any rate, go see this movie. You won’t be dissappointed. Its definitely worth the ticket price (even a primetime ticket). Though I have to say that this movie would be as entertaining on the small screen so seeing it at the theater isn’t a must, especially considering how high ticket prices are these days. If you’re feeling frugle, then wait for the dvd. Enjoy.

Synopsis:
When Yves Gluant (Jason Statham) is murdered during a national soccer game and the coveted Pink Panther diamond is stolen, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) calls in the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin). With the help of his trusty sidekick, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), Clouseau must track down the killer and save the jewel. But the beautiful Xania (Beyonce Knowles) proves to be dangerous distraction. Can Clouseau crack the case and prove himself worthy of the rank of Inspector or will he shame is country with failure?

Review:
I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. It was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I was most looking forward to Jean Reno’s performance and I was concerned that Steve Martin’s may be a little over the top. Reno wasn’t as good as I thought he would be and Martin wasn’t as bad as I thought he would be. Others indicated this movie would be horrible, I didn’t think that was the case at all. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but then I don’t think it was trying to be.

This was a comedy-mystery, but as is usually the case with this combination, it was very light on the mystery. The culprit’s identity seems to be almost randomly selected from the cast of characters with a motive to commit murder. That’s not a huge flaw, like I said comedy-mysteries tend to be light on the mystery. It was alright with the comedy. There were some highly amusing sequences and some that just didn’t elicit the laugh they were looking for. As I mentioned before, Jean Reno wasn’t that amusing. The truth is that Ponton doesn’t have much of a role in the film. He helps things move along but he doesn’t do much. This is something I didn’t appreciate. Reno is talented and could do much more. On top of that, Ponton was a true source of comedy in the cartoons.

I gues that brings me to the final point, Peter Sellars, the original Clouseau did an excellent job. He made the original series classics. There is something lacking in this new incarnation that doesn’t quite compare to the originals. Then again, remakes rarely do compare. Overall, this movie is a relatively entertaining family comedy. I don’t think it is quite worth a matinee showing, but wouldn’t be a bad rental. Definitely worth a watch, but not necessarily for $7.50.

Synopsis:
When four animal friends bust out the zoo for a night on the town, things get wildly out of control. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinket Smith) quickly find themselves in crates on the way to a wildlife preserve. En route, their crates get knocked overboard and they wash up on the shores of Madagascar. Now these four pampered zoo animals must adjust to life in wild….

Review:
I must say I was a bit dissappointed with Madagascar. I had high hopes for this movie, but it seemed to fall in line with the last few mediocre animated films. It seems that Dreamworks Animation is having difficulties finding success after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which I’m watching while I write this). This movie left something to be desired. I was continuously waiting for that gut busting moment, but it never came.

First of all, the voice talent was a bit lacking. Stiller and Smith were ok, but Rock and Schwimmer were horrible. The voices just didn’t work with the characters for some reason. I can’t stand Chris Rock’s voice to begin with. Put it behind a wierd looking zebra and you have a problem. Schwimmer’s voice is, as someone else put it, a bit distracting. His vocalization of Melman, the hypochondriac giraffe, is a bit annoying. I keep seeing Ross not Melman. It just doesn’t seem to work.

The other thing is that the peripheral characters tend to be more entertaining than the main characters. I loved the squad of commando penguins. They are the true source of amusement in this movie. Their attempts to get to Antarctica are hilarious. What’s even better is what happens when they get there. The tribe of lemurs on the island are also pretty funny. Though they’re cute, they don’t compare to the penguins.

If you get the DVD, you’ll be lucky and get a bonus: A Christmas Caper featuring the penguin squad. I have to say that I loved this eleven minute short and I enjoyed it more than the whole movie. This one is definitely worth the rental, but make sure you get the bonus cartoon. It makes all the difference.

Synopsis:
When Phil Weston (Will Farrell) gets the opportunity to coach his son’s soccer team, he’s gets the chance to prove he’s nothing like his overbearing and belittling father. Phil quickly loses himself in the stuggle to win as we see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Review:
Everything I heard and read about this movie said that it wasn’t going to be good. It didn’t do that well at the box office and most people that saw it said it wasn’t any good. Personally, its tough to pass up a Will Farrel movie, regardless of what people say about it. I’m happy to report that everyone was wrong, at least in my opinion. I got a kick out of this movie, no pun intended.

I’ll be honest, it isn’t Farrel’s best work. I laughed more during Anchorman and Old School, but I still got a good laugh out of Kicking & Screaming. Its definitely more of a family movie than an all out comedy as the humor is a lot milder than his other movies. There are still some crude jokes, but nothing too graphic or explicit. It does play a little like The Mighty Ducks or The Little Giants, but that didn’t seem to hurt the movie too much.

The movie has a wonderful cast of characters, including Mike Ditka (as himself) and and Phil’s father, Buck Weston (Robert Duvall). The cast of kids used in the movie wasn’t that great. They were probably the weakest element. Though one kid definitely stole the show, Byong Sun (Elliot Cho). Half as tall as any of the other kids used, he is the most amusing and cute kid used. I should also mention that Ditka did a great job. His rivally with Buck is a great source of comedy for this movie.

Overall, a good movie. Despite the bad press, I think it earned three out of five stars. Its definitely worth the rental but its a questionable purchase. I don’t think I would cough up the money to buy this movie because its just not Will Farrell’s funniest.