The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[iam1bearcat]

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

year: 2004
director: adam mckay
starring: will ferrell, steve carell, christina applegate, paul rudd, david koechner, fred willard

another movie i bought in the heat of the moment when it came out and everyone was blubbering about how cool the Best Buy exclusive set was. so even though i own the damn thing on dvd and have watched it... twice since i first saw the movie in 2006, i spent another $20 on blu-ray. why? i really have no idea. because i do enjoy the movie. but overall i don't love the movie. i love certain scenes and lines of dialogue, but a bit too much falls flat for me to rank it highly on my "favorite comedies" list (yes, i have one of those too )

the writing, for 90% of the film is top notch. i'm sure most of it is improv as well, but it's genius. the performances are also fantastic and add to the hilariousness of a bunch of scenes. none of the actors feel like they're playing a character on a page, it's like these news cast members are actual former versions of themselves only in the 2000's.

i would definitely watch the news if these guys were the ones on it.

but for as many classic scenes as there are (the opening segment, Ron's conversation with Baxter,

[Show spoiler]Jack Black's

cameo (), every single line that Brian Fantana says:

[Show spoiler]"60% of the time, it works every time"

and many, many more) there are scenes that, for me, fall flat. the whole flute playing in the restaurant gets zero laughs from me, and applegate, while being great here, doesn't get any laughs and i feel she's out of place at times (would love to see elizabeth banks in the role ) and the film is just to fudging long, and the ending is very lackluster.

so do i keep it? or do i sell it? chances are i'll sell it because since i bought it in august, this is the... second or third time i've watched it. and the only reason i watched it today was to decide if it was worth keeping. so it definitely doesn't fit the criteria of "a film i'll watch on a regular basis".

PQ: 4/5 - very solid and bright, great colors for a comedy
AQ: 4/5

3.5/5

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

starring: will ferrell

99% of the time I HATE Ferrell.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

[Show spoiler]Milkshake would be a better analogy.

so true

[Marcus Wright]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

There Will Be Blood

year: 2007 (limited release) / 2008 (worldwide release)
director: Paul Thomas Anderson
starring: Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano

[Show spoiler]i've reviewed and watched There Will Be Blood more than enough times to make up for a short review here. almost everyone on this thread knows my love for this film, and my love of all Paul Thomas Anderson films probably rivals that of Surf to Kubrick among other users to their particular director of choice.

David Fincher used to be my favorite director, mostly because Fight Club is my favorite movie (and then also because Zodiac is also high up on my favorites list as well), but the rest of Fincher's work is just very in my book (haven't seen The Social Network yet ), but P.T.A's work? all of it is simply marvelous, and very, very different.

odd, because i'm a very "sci-fi" / "think out of left field" type of person. i don't think of the obvious answer for things. i think big, bold and unorthodox and find the 'normal' answer and way of doing things very bland. so knowing that my favorite director is one who makes nothing but heavy character driven pieces is almost as baffling to me as it would be to those who know my tastes and preferences. but Anderson's films are all a work of magic. Anderson writes great characters, great scenes and has an expert eye for directing a scene and great range with structure of his films. in a sense, when watching, i know my gf didn't find anything "super obvious" about the directing being great, but she never had anything she would have done differently. no super flashy camera tricks, no lens flares, no shaky cam, no jump cuts, no tricks or quirks. a lot like Kubrick: slow moving scenes that build off one another and put you right where you need to be in a film to the point where it doesn't feel like you're watching a film but where you're in the film with the characters watching nearby

There Will Be Blood, in my opinion is his magnum opus. at least so far. had i been able to comprehend, understand and appreciate (and know of) Magnolia when it was released, i would have probably said that was his magnum opus. in a lot of ways, that could be seen as his magnum opus as well. There Will Be Blood is more centrally focused than Magnolia - smaller cast - but much larger in scale and story telling history. while all of Anderson's films have very obvious themes, they also carry many "under the radar" themes.

There Will Be Blood is very exquisite in nature that it is a period piece (about oil and how it has become what it is today), but also carries with it themes about humanity that were here long before us and will be here long after us: greed, selfishness, ambition, relentlessness, incredible work ethic, and determination. one of my friends believe No Country for Old Men is the better "western" focused film because "TWBB is about oil, and in 20 years, it won't have the same effect that NCFOM will have", which i personally find ridiculous, but to each their own.

Daniel Day Lewis gives a performance that i believe is unrivaled in any genre or decade of film. some may find that a tad much, but there are so many subtleties to the character. it could have easily been written and acted out as an overzealous, selfish loud and arrogant bafoon. but that's not at all what Lewis brings to the character. he's perfectly portrayed as someone everyone wants to be, and wants to be around, but at the same time no one would like to be around because of how focused and driven he is. he does things that some will find disheartening, but at the end of the day, i am still glued to every line of dialogue, every body movement and i still care for the character. he's not a hero. he's not someone to be admired for his personality, but very much respected for his work ethic and drive. how many films have someone like that?

oddly enough, the opening... 20-25 minutes or so i'd say, i found a lot of resemblances to 2001: A Space Odyssey. i may have noticed them before but not taken notice, but anyone familiar with both films will likely see what i mean below:

[Show spoiler]the opening shot in TWBB of the piercing music and shot of mountains, very reminiscent of the opening scene in 2001 with the apes. same setting, same feel... follow this up with how there is zero dialogue in TWBB for about the entire first half hour, and 2001 is of course very well known for it's minimal dialogue. and then, maybe this is a bit far fetched, but the apes in 2001 find the monolith, and then they learn to use the bones as weapons. Plainview learns and finds oil. both "characters" in the films discover something that enriches and forever changes their lives. and i believe that Plainview wasn't searching for oil (gold and silver) and the apes stumbled upon the monolith when it was by their "fighting area" / water hole.

i know this isn't much of a review of a great film (in my opinion, the best film of either 2008 or 2007 (depending how you look at release dates)) but to me, it's a film that demands - and gets - your attention from start to finish. and either you're invested and following along, or your bored and waiting for something to happen.

as i've said before, i could watch all 5 (currently) of Anderson's films constantly on a regular basis, every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of any one of them. i cannot say that for any other director. i almost (almost) can't even say that for any other films!

an absolute masterpiece in every category:
performances, characters, story, atmosphere, cinematography, score, directing, writing...

one of my absolute favorites

PQ: 5/5 - some truly gorgeous scenes but also has the grain and grit to it that it definitely should have.
AQ: 5/5 - no qualms here

5/5

Great review.
This is one of my all time favorite movies as well.
A real mastrepiece of not only movie making, but also of phylosophy, psychology.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

That might depend on the size of your mortgage, or how many you have.

if he still has to pay one or more mortgages after all the success of Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Boring Buttons, and The Social Network then that man should be busy making a movie about money management not some girl with a silly dragon tattoo!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

[Show spoiler]Milkshake would be a better analogy.

[Show spoiler]You almost made me bust out laughing in the middle of my Computer Science class

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i always seem to lose control and thought of how long these reviews turn out to be!

The hilarity is that you actually described what was to follow as short. And the launched into a novel.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

99% of the time I HATE Ferrell.

so what makes up the 1% of non-hate?

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

so what makes up the 1% of non-hate?

Talladega Nights

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I choose to believe that is what you really look like .

It might really be me.

Will do. Should be watching it Thursday

After Netflix I checked RT and it got a lotta love. Where did you hear about it?

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by Diesel

[Show spoiler]You almost made me bust out laughing in the middle of my Computer Science class

please let us know if you do any hands on science experiments with

[Show spoiler]MILKSHAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!

but be sure to keep them away from the computers

p.s. i cannot fathom Diesel sitting in a... computer science class...? if that's your new film, you better hope Fast Five () makes a boatload of money because if you thought The Pacifier was bad, this "computer science" movie seems like a real bust!

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

It might really be me.





After Netflix I checked RT and it got a lotta love. Where did you hear about it?

We had to read Turn of the Screw which is what it is based on (well we were supposed to, I just read enough to get an A on the assignment I'm a half*** college student it would seem ) in one of my classes.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

so true

I was like, "I wonder if he intentionally chose to avoid the pun factor, or if he just zipped past it?"

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

The hilarity is that you actually described what was to follow as short. And the launched into a novel.

short reviews are so 1990's novels are all the rage these days

Originally Posted by Diesel

Talladega Nights

i think that's the one Ferrell movie i HAVEN'T seen. ironic lol

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

if he still has to pay one or more mortgages after all the success of Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Boring Buttons, and The Social Network then that man should be busy making a movie about money management not some girl with a silly dragon tattoo!

Look at Nic Cage. Some people spend every cent they make. And every time they get a raise they upgrade their car or increase their debt in some other manner.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

[Show spoiler]You almost made me bust out laughing in the middle of my Computer Science class

Wadya doin surfing BD.com when you are in class?

[Show spoiler]Yeah, I know, its COMPUTER SCIENCE class.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

short reviews are so 1990's novels are all the rage these days

Blue, it's the new "Red".

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Wadya doin surfing BD.com when you are in class?

[Show spoiler]Yeah, I know, its COMPUTER SCIENCE class.

Sorry, I'll get back to work

[Show spoiler]

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Look at Nic Cage. Some people spend every cent they make. And every time they get a raise they upgrade their car or increase their debt in some other manner.

great point! i forgot about how he's blown like 800 cazillion dollars on planes, islands, cars and god knows what else. sad really

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Talladega Nights