Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: NR #57

Continuing this week of reviews, I'm going to critic the newest Will Ferral comedy that has been, in many people's minds, long over due. Does it live up to the original, or is it too late. Let's find out in my review of...

PLOT

Set in the year of 1989, "Anchorman 2" continues the story of Ron Burgundy and his San Diego news crew. In this chapter of the legend, we find the crew being introduced and becoming apart of the new way of reading the news, 24 hour news. But when the crew ends up in the 2-5 a.m slot, Burgundy decides that they should start telling what the public wants to hear and not what they need to hear.

PROS

While the humor is different from the 9 year old original, "The Legend Continues" is still very funny. I found many moments where I was laughing hard, and annoyingly loud.

Will Ferrell falls right back into the roll of Ron Burgundy, it's almost as if he never stopped playing this character.

One thing the movie has over the original is that it has a message to it. While it is obvious, you could probably figure it out by the plot description alone, it's done very well and takes a few good shots at modern news stations.

CONS

While the movie is funny, there are slightly more misses then hits. One reason is because the humor is so different from the original. It's much more random and non-sensical, which means there are a ton of throw away lines. There are also a lot of scenes that go on way to long, the biggest offender being the dinner scene between Burgundy and a black family. While it's kinda funny at first, it gets almost racist by the end of it's long run.

While they are prominent in the beginning, everyone who's not Burgundy or Brick are thrown by the wayside. The people given the biggest shaft are Paul Rudd and David Koechner. They are given nothing to do and just stand around and...look.

CONCLUSION

While not as funny or memorable as first, "Anchorman 2" still supplies plenty of laughs and silliness to please fans, like myself, of the first one. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece of comedy

    

The Wolf of Wall Street: NR #56

I've decided that from now on, whenever I go on a long hiatus or don't update one week, I won't even acknowledge it. I've done it so many times now I'm starting to run out of things to say. So this time, in order to make up for the break, I'm going to review a movie everyday this week to bring in the new year! 

So to start out this game of catch-up, I'll be reviewing a new release from this past Christmas, the new and highly anticipated film from Martin Scorces that almost didn't come out this year. A film I'd been dying to see ever since I heard the concept. This is my review of...

PLOT

Starting in the late 80's, "The Wolf of Wall Street" tells the real life rise and fall story of Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street big shot who's love of money brought him to Wall Street and his shady business practices gave him his near billions. While his love for money pushed him up in the world, his equal love for drugs and sex will be his downfall. That doesn't mean he can't have fun on the way down!

PROS 

While I'm sure no one will be surprised by this, Leonardo DiCaprio gives a knockout performance. He seems to be having a ton of fun with the role and brings his all. This fun aspect comes from all the other actors as well. The other stand-out in this film is Jonah Hill, who gives a funny yet solid performance.

Rounding out the cast is a plethora of excellent supporting characters played by the likes of Rob Reiner, director of "Princess Bride" and "Stand By Me", Jean Dujardin, and Matthew McConaughey in a criminally short role. While these people aren't in the film too often, they do give it their all.

While you may think this film will be comedy-drama, it actually is a straight up comedy, and one of funniest ones I've seen all year. There's always something hilarious happening and it always gets a big laugh, at least out of me. There is one scene in particular where DiCaprio takes some strong drugs. It's the funniest thing I've seen all year and it goes on for 10 minutes,  never losing it's ability to make me laugh.

Not only funny, this movie is also a ton of fun. I haven't had this much fun in a movie all year. There are many party scenes and other scenes of debauchery that are just amazing to watch.

While the film is one minute short of 3 hours, it never feels that long. There's always something happening that I didn't feel the time until I got out of the theater and checked the time. 

CONS

Really there's nothing I have a problem with here.

CONCLUSION

I'm not sure if I got this across in my review, but this is one of my favorite movies of the year. While it's not trying to have a big message or reinvent the wheel, it is trying to be crude, crazy, controversial and have fun while doing it. In that aspect, it succeeded with flying colors and blew me. I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since I saw it yesterday. If you can handle copious amounts of cursing, nudity, drugs, and partying, then this film is perfect for you.

RATING

RUN TO!!

 

Gravity: NR #52

ONCE AGAIN, I apologize for missing last week. I was out of town and it was late by the time I got home. Luckily, I'm going to review last week's newest release, a realistic start-studded survival film. This movie is...

PLOT
Ryan Stone is a doctor who's on her first mission to space, a routine mission to fix a satellite. She's accompanied by Matt Kowalski, an experienced astronaut who's on his very last mission. While working on the satellite, fast moving debris hits the satellite, leaving Stone and Kowalski as the lone survivors a drift in space. Now they both must survive long enough to reach another ship and hopefully escape alive from the harsh realm of space.


PROS
Sandra Bullock does a great job as the lead of this film. The film never leaves her perspective and almost never leaves her side, so you need someone the audience can relate to and feel for. Bullock is the perfect person for the job and carries the movie well.

The special effects are spectacular and constantly amaze you. They're so realistic that I kept forgetting this was filmed on a green screen and just got caught up in the film.

The camera work is also amazing, constantly moving and spinning with and around the characters. It's almost a character itself.

The film does a great job at conveying a sense of isolation. It accomplishes this feat by having scenes go on for 10-15 minutes at a time, never leaving Bullock's side, and keeping the silence of space silent. What I mean is that besides the score, there is little to no sound, with what sound there is muffled. It creates a mood and pulls you into the movie's world of empty space.

Unlike most films, the 3D is great and works very effectively. There were times when I literally ducked and flinched when something came towards the screen.

Tension is this movies speciality. I was close to yelling at the screen so many times I was that tense. True Story: "Gravity" is 1hr 30min. long, 1hr 15min. in I released I'd been tense this whole time and finally relaxed.

The cinematography is gorgeous and constantly boggles the mind. There are tons of breathtaking moments in the film and are worth seeing in the theater just for that.


CONS
I hate to say it, but I don't have any real complaints with this movie. I always try to find something to fault in a film, but this one is near perfect.


CONCLUSION
"Gravity" is a truly astounding film. It is the reason why we go see movies. It finally brings back the notion that art films and mainstream blockbusters can coexist as one. I absolutely adored this movie and would love to see it again and again. This is one of the best movies of this year and is a must see for anyone who can stomach the near constant tension this film exudes.

RATING
RUN TO

Blue Jasmine: NR #49

{Preface: Sorry if this review looks different compared to the others. I had to write this on my phone, this may be happening every once in a while. Just wanted to explain myself}

After a long week of crazy celebrity stuff, the crisis in Syria, and school, I need some quiet movie to help me calm down. Luckily, I saw Woody Allen's newest film, one that has garnered critical acclaim and audience dollars. Going in knowing nothing, I saw...

  

PLOT

A modernized retelling of the classic play "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Blue Jasmine" is about a woman named Jasmine who marries a wealthy business man named Hal. She lives a life of luxury and common ignorance. One day, Hal is arrested for embezzlement and other illegal business acts, leaving Jasmine with no money. The only place she can go now is her sister's apartment in San Francisco. Now Jasmine must deal with this loss while also dealing with her fragile psyche.

PROS

Everyone in the film gives a great performance, but the true standout is Cate Blanchett playing Jasmine. She gives a performance that encompasses so many different strong emotions and she pulls them off effortlessly. It really is a haunting performance and is a shoe-in for an Oscar.

The script and dialogue are also great, but why expect anything less from Woody Allen? 

The film does a good job at balancing different tones, the main ones being comedy and depression. The movie is laugh-out-loud hilarious at times, yet it's also sad and tragic. The key here is that neither feel out of place and work in there respective context.

Similar to Allen's own "Annie Hall", the movie takes place near the end of the story, with the first half being told through flashbacks. Also like "Annie Hall", it's expertly done and is used to explain references the characters make. In this film, it's also used to show how Jasmine associates certain words with her past and how they lead to her small mental break downs.

One thing that I really liked about the script is that no one character is just Woody Allen. While some characters do  have little bits of Allen in them, no single person completely personifies Allen, which is a welcomed change from his past works.

CONS

I don't mean to cop out, but I honestly can't think of any major problems I have with this film.

CONCLUSION

I went into this movie completely cold. I knew nothing about the plot or it's tone, I only knew it was by Woody Allen and it was receiving universal acclaim. Once it began, I was instantly taken in by its story and real but tragic characters. It is a Woody Allen film, no question, but it certainly will be regarded as one of his best for decades to come.

RATING

(HIGH) RUN TO