2008 - The Lego Movie

This has quickly become one of my son's favorite films, and he has been dying to re-visit it since we watched it way back when.  He's counting down the days till it becomes available on DVD.  The best part about watching it this time was how he got excited as certain things approached.  Watching films with nerdy excitable kids is one of my new favorite things.
I don't love the first act of this film, though in retrospect it's a perfect set-up for everything that follows.  Once we're moving along though this film is a rocket - and it's got one of the best third acts I've seen in recent years, and potentially ever in a family film.
Feel free to check out my previous review of this.  This film has it all - a fun story, great characters, lots of laughs - but most of all it's a conversation piece, and has been between my son and I.  Is it also a blatant commercial for toys?  Maybe a tinge - but it's a great goddamn toy!

1962 - The Lego Movie

In theory the idea of a Lego Movie is terrible.  Seriously.  And when I was asked what it was about, I told someone that the plot was, actually, about how to play with lego.  Which sounds ridiculous.  But it's true - and it's awesome.  It took me a little while to get into it if I'm honest, but part of that was getting my little guy and his popcorn sorted out - so I absolutely need to see it again just to watch it clean and without distractions.  I don't want to say too much about it - the reviews kind of speak for itself, but I will say that the film has one of the smartest third acts in a kid's movie I've ever seen - and what might be my favourite final line of a film - the funniest anyway.
If you've ever played with Lego you should love it.  Unless you're dead inside...

1822 - The Other Guys

I watched this sometime last week and seem to have forgotten to write about it here.  The premise is a lot of fun and I won't get into the details of the first act 'cause there's a great surprise moment there that I wouldn't want ruined for anyone else.  Wahlberg and Ferrell make a wonderfully unlikely comedy team and the story itself reminds me of all those buddy movies I watched as a kid in the 80's.  What's really wonderful is that the film takes itself seriously as an action comedy - the action is pretty fantastic, but played realistic in the sense that people don't easily walk away from the pain endured.
This has been out for awhile, and I believe it's on netflix - it's a fun flick if you want some solid popcorn entertainment. 

1790 - Elf

This is the last of the absolutely essential Christmas films I watch each year (or try to) - there's always a few more that I try to get around to, but this is one of the must-sees.  It's amazing to think it's a decade old at this point, and I absolutely forgot that Zooey Deschanel was a blonde in this film.  I adored her when I first saw this and still do today - it's nice to see things work out for people like this who really deserve it - the film is chock full of great characters but she's an absolute delight through and through.
This film is more gags per minute than most films, but it never feels like it's forcing it or trying too hard.  One liners, visual gags, it's a unique magical thing. 
This film has been out for about a decade so if you haven't seen it then you really really owe it to yourself - it's on Netflix currently so many sure you get around to it over the holiday season - whether you're new to this film or it's an old favorite - I always discover new gems in this one.  Hopefully you do too!

1651- Melinda & Melinda

This is probably one of my favorite posters for a Woody film.  I don't know why I wanted to revisit this one, but here I am.  It really isn't one of Woody's finer films by any means.  The premise is very interesting - can a story (and therefore any story) be a drama or a comedy based on how it's told?  The film follows parallel story lines with only Radha Mitchell's Melinda carrying over from one to the other.  Great premise, years ago I thought about writing something like this, I think I still might at some point as my take would be a quite different.  I think the main problem with this film is the casting is wrong and, honestly, doesn't really work.  He'd originally planned it for Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr, and I think that would have worked a lot better.  The dialogue feels written and a bit stilted here, and I don't think it's overly different from the majority of Allen's writing, so I'm going to blame the cast.  This film came on the backend of a series of films that were not so successful for Woody and so he probably didn't have his usual situation where he could re-cast and re-shoot stuff if needed.  Luckily we're back into a golden age for Woody and shouldn't have to have those kinds of things hurting his films and process.
So this isn't essential Woody - it's got a great premise and a few enjoyable scenes and moments, but it feels cold and empty, sadly.  Not one of his worst films by any means, it hovers somewhere in the middle.

1402 - Everything Must Go

Just one movie today, then I'm talking the rest of the weekend to hang out with the family before I dive back into it hard on Monday. I like Will Ferrell. I like him most when he's playing an actual person and not an over-the-top-man-child. Not to say that those films aren't enjoyable, I'm just stating my preference for how I like my Ferrell.
I don't know the short story on which this is based, but I can only imagine that it's heavily adapted. I believe that this script was on the imfamous black-list some years ago, but I'd never read it. (just checked, I have it on my computer... huh... maybe I'll give it a gander at some point....) So this is a film about a man on his way to hitting rock bottom, and the set-up is pretty great. There is a nice blend of funny, sad, and a little pathetic, and Will carries it all well. I was a little disappointed that later on it didn't seem to escalate futher, and if I'm honest I would have like to seen the actual rock bottom be a little rockier. That being said, this film has some really lovely moments and even lovlier performances. Laura Dern is a gem, and Rebecca Hall continues to shine as she moves up the movie ladder. It will absolutely hit theatres at some point - it's not the Will Ferrell that most people expect, but it's not something that's going to piss off his man-child fans either.

1088 - Step-Brothers

My Dad was in town and so we gave him free reign on seeing whatever film he wanted to. So here we were. He loves these kinds of films, and I get it. I get that this will make a shit load of money and it doesn't matter that there aren't any really decent story points or motivations for changes or scenes, and it's not that kind of film. It's exactly what you expect from seeing the trailer, and I'm sure that they weren't aiming for anything higher. It's just a shame that a cast as talented as this isn't producing something a little more satisfying. Especially since Apatow's name is on this somewhere, you just expect a little more heart.

Oh well. I laughed out loud enough, so there's that. If you've seen the trailer you've seen the film.