I recently heard an interview on the local NPR station with one Saul Austerlitz about his book Kind Of A Big Deal. As you might guess, the book is about Anchorman, the Legend of Ron Burgundy. The interview painted the movie as ground breaking and iconic.
I’m not a Will Ferrell fan, but I thought maybe I should give Anchorman… a try if it’s that big a deal (sorry). It’s available on Netflix.
Wow! Was it ever bad! Completely not funny. Out of idle curiosity, I went to IMDB to see what the reviews looked like. The vast majority gave it 8 to 10 out of 10 stars with the occasional 1 star review scattered in. Most thought it was hilarious. Clearly, I have a different idea of what’s hilarious.
I saw it when it was released and had a vague memory that I hadn’t overly enjoyed it so had never gone back to rewatch. I finally decided to watch it again a few months ago and found the first half was ok (mostly because of how much of an arse the character was), but the second half was terrible. I don’t think I laughed once after halfway.
I just saw GOLDA (in a theater! 2nd one in four years) and was whelmed.
Not sure of the market for a grim historical look at a dying leader of a nation at war 50 years ago. Helen Mirren, obviously not a vain woman, heavily made up to look like Meir at the end of her life, and Liev Schrieber, a very strange Henry Kissinger, negotiate back and forth about Israel’s dependence on, and independence from, the U.S., as news comes in daily of Israel’s destruction by Arab armies and their resurgence in fighting them. A mess of a film, both too focused on a very short period in history and too diffuse in handling a complex military situation.
Archorman is a joke setup with no punchline. You keep wondering if Ron is some out of time Neanderthal like Austin Powers and the reason his female co-host puts up with it much less is attracted to it is she is also from another time. But no. The whole newsroom has an over the top 70’s sexist mindset and no Human Resources Department and that is funny I guess.
I mostly liked Anchorman when I saw it, but it’s certainly not a towering masterpiece of modern cinema by any means. My favorite scene is when the Paul Rudd character decides to “musk up”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE
Kramer vs Kramer (1979). Dustin Hoffman and Merryl Streep at their best (especially Streep) as a couple that get divorced and then get into a custody battle. Also stars a very capable child actor, Justin Henry. This one swept the Academy Awards in 1980, nominated for five major Oscars and winning three, including Best Picture and Oscars to both Hoffman and Streep. Just excellent in every way.
The Money Pit (1986). Stars a very young Tom Hanks and Shellie Long as a couple who get a great deal on a fine-looking large house, only to discover it has comically severe problems. Kind of a lowbrow comedy because the mishaps are invariably cartoonish, but it has its moments for those who like slapstick or enjoy actual cartoons.
Cocoon (1985). One of Ron Howard’s early directorial efforts. Oldsters in a retirement home discover a literal fountain of youth. It tries for a bit more profundity than it’s actually able to achieve, but overall not a bad movie. It’s also a bit disjointed in that it seems to come to a conclusion at around the 1:20 mark, leaving one wondering what they’re going to do with the remaining 35 minutes. The last part is a somewhat disconnected epilog.
I recently posted a message to my family about something naughty our dog had done, and my son responded with a meme taken from Anchorman of a dog being punted off a bridge. That made me laugh out loud as much as anything in the entire movie did.
More of the same. Who told Bryce Dallas Howard she could act? How did she manage to run in high heels? The only character I cared about was Howard’s assistant. Could this have been deliberate – the film decries people wanting bigger and louder attractions (“more teeth”), by supplying the audience with a bigger and louder movie (much more teeth). Didn’t hate it, won’t watch it ever again.
Apparently I’m in the minority here; I think Will Farrell is great. I admire the way he is willing to commit so completely to a role. Too many actors want to hold back and make their characters likeable.
Moving on, I watched Exam yesterday. It’s a psychological thriller from 2009. Which was surprising because one of the plot points was that there was a major virus outbreak going on so it feels like it’s a post-2020 movie. The cast was solid but the situation was too contrived for the movie to really win me over. That said, I enjoyed watching it.
Opera (1987). To those familiar with his work, hardly more needs to be said than this was directed by the Italian master of horror, Dario Argento. A spooky operatic version of Macbeth is being staged in a magnificent opera house, complete with a flock of ravens. When the lead singer has an accident, her young stand-in is asked to fill in, but is reluctant because she believes the play brings bad luck. And violence and mayhem indeed explodes behind the scenes. Well done, and Argento’s stylish cinematography is chillingly effective, and so is the seemingly incongruous operatic soundtrack. Not for the squeamish – Argento as usual pulls no punches and doesn’t hold back on the gore, some of which is actually difficult to watch. A few fine plot twists at the end, too.
Speaking of Aubrey Plaza, I just saw her in Guy Richie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.
As much as I generally enjoy Guy Richie films, particularly ones featuring Jason Statham (which is like…most), I found this film largely dull and generic as a spy thriller.
Watched The Little Mermaid live action film with the kids. It was ok.
My son asked me what I was watching in the middle of John Wick: Chapter 4. I explained to him basically "that guy there is a retired assassin. Some petty mobsters killed his dog and he went to war with everyone. That was four films ago, and now you’re pretty much caught up.
I watched The Expendables 3. Other than the plot element of the cast being all 80s action movie stars I felt there really wasn’t that much to it.