Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Has it really been nine years since Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy?  I have to give them credit for not rushing a cash-grab sequel out immediately after.  Believe it not, I actually didn't like Anchorman all that much the first time I saw it.  I can only remember laughing once or twice in the theater, but a lot of that was due to my mood (and being on a bad date).  It wasn't until I watched it a second time that I really started to love it.  I think that's the case with a lot of comedies though.

With so much time passing between films, can Anchorman 2 live up to the expectations?  Let's see...

Since Anchorman, Ron (Will Ferrell) and Veronica (Christina Applegate) have moved to New York and are anchoring a weekend news show.  Their boss and legendary reporter, Mack Harken (Harrison Ford), offers Veronica a promotion while firing Ron.  As you'd expect, this doesn't have a good outcome for their relationship and Ron dives into another tailspin.  Eventually he's offered a job by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker), who offers him a job at the Global News Network, which is trying to become the first 24-hour news network.  Ron assembles his old news team, and they head back to New York.  There's not much more to the plot than that, and it can be kind of a mess at times.  In fact, much of the story feels like a remix of the first, hitting many of the same beats.  Let's be honest though, is anyone watching Anchorman 2 for the plot?  We all just want to laugh, right?

Anchorman 2 is a little rough in the opening minutes.  Many of the jokes were landing with a thud, and I was concerned they were trying too hard.  I've said this before, but it's really hard to recapture that same lightning in the bottle, especially where comedy is concerned.  Fortunately after it settles in, there are plenty of good laughs to be had.  Having said that, there are a few gags that go nowhere or outright don't work, and more than a few times, they are basically recycling a joke from the first.  They can't be all gems though, and I was pleased that some of the better laughs weren't spoiled by the trailer, so if you're concerned about that you should rest a little easier going in.  Another thing that you'll notice is that this installment isn't quite as quotable as the first, although subsequent views once this hits blu-ray may prove otherwise.  I still think Anchorman will be the winner in that category though.

It's all the same silly stuff you've come to expect from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.  So, if you're not a fan of the overgrown, man-child act, then this is likely not going to be for you.  Will Ferrell portrays Ron again with the same over-the-top buffoonery, but he might have dialed it up to 11 this time.  If you're a Champ (David Koechner) fan, he seemed to take a back seat, as well as Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), who played more of a voice of reason this time around.  As much as this is Will Ferrell's show though, you'll likely notice there's a lot more of Brick (Steve Carell).  He has an oddly sweet, but funny, courtship with Chani (Kristen Wiig).  I can only describe it as watching monkeys learn how to use tools.

There are lot of new members to the cast, such as Dylan Baker, who's primarily a straight man to all of the antics.  Meagan Good joins the cast as Ron's fiery and sexy boss.  Films need more Meagan Good.  Greg Kinnear also has a few funny moments.  I was very happy to see James Marsden finally getting a chance to show mainstream audiences that he can be a funny guy.  I've long felt he was an underappreciated actor who usually ends up playing the other guy in romantic comedies or even in action films (like his role in Superman Returns or Cyclops in the X-Men series).  Here he has a central role that I hope gets him the recognition he deserves.  Another interesting performance was the kid (Judah Nelson) they had playing Ron and Veronica's son.  At times, he's delivering lines like an inexperienced. overly enthusiastic child actor, but then there's a scene towards the end that made me think this was an intentional direction and make it that much funnier.

I was surprised to see this was two hours, as I often complain that comedies have no business being that long, but I didn't notice the length at all.  Time flies when you're having fun, eh?  I also applaud the movie for getting away with just a PG-13 rating.  Anchorman 2 doesn't get its laughs from being vulgar or gross.  I don't have an issue with that normally, but it's nice to see a comedy not going for shock value.

While not as funny as the first film, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues has enough of the same absurd and silly humor that made the first so enjoyable and fans will have a good time watching.  I can't say it was worth waiting nine years for, but in a weak year for comedy it'll do.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

2 Guns (2013)

It's weird how you can talk about something in a casual conversation and then that very thing happens to you just a few hours later.  I was talking movies with a friend and he was giving me crap for liking Bullet to the Head.  I justified it by saying I can forgive a lot of things in a movie, especially an action movie, if it delivers on what I expect.  Like, if a movie has a few good action scenes, a great villain or supporting performance, or funny dialog, then I can look past some shaky acting or plot elements.  Later that evening, I watched 2 Guns and got that freaky sense of deja vu.

Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and Marcus Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are working with the Mexican underworld.  After a deal goes south with crime lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), they rob a bank where they know Greco usually keeps about three million bucks in safe deposit box.  It's revealed early on that Trench is really an undercover DEA agent.  After the bank heist, Trench moves to bring Stigman in, only Stigman beats him to the punch.  Turns out Stigman is working undercover for the military and was going to bring Trench in.  That these two are really undercover is also spoiled by the trailer, so thanks for that, trailer makers.

Now here's where things get head-spinningly convoluted.  Rather than the three million expected, there's closer to over 40 million, so the pair suspect something's amiss.  After Stigman turns the money in back to his commander (James Marsden), they turn on him and try to kill him.  The DEA similarly turns their backs on Trench.  There's a third, mystery person (Bill Paxton) after them too, and don't forget that Papi Greco wants his money back as well.  Trench and Stigman are are forced to team back up to track down the money and find out why everyone wants them dead.

2 Guns suffers from something I've complained about lately where you have too many players, too many people whose motivations are unclear, and back stabbing and double crossing galore.  It's needlessly busy and complex.  We're more than halfway through the film before we finally figure out what's going or who some of these people actually are.  I feel like with some of these films they are so afraid of being called dumb, that they add all these extra twists and turns to keep you guessing.  Simple and cliched is fine when done well.

However, simple can work against you, too.  Multiple times in the film a character will have no real plan for what they are about to do, but it all works out anyway.  There's one long sequence where they break into Stigman's base where they plan is little more than, "I'm gonna cause a diversion, and you just wander around casually and nobody will notice you."  It's as if the characters all knew in advance where to be and when.  Then, the climax suffers from 'big, dumb action' syndrome where you see all the typical crap you hate in a movie; people casually walk away from explosions, there's a Michael Bay-style, slo-mo-spinning shootout (the poster at the top is no exaggeration), etc.  There are some well executed scenes though.  When director Baltasar Kormákur can stay away those types of action cliches he does a good job, and some of the scenes actually had a humorous tone to them, despite that they didn't pull many punches.  It's a violent film for sure.  Maybe it's because I saw this on RPX, but I thought the sound really pounded the feel of the action into you.

The strength of Blake Masters screenplay is that the dialog is very fun throughout.  It's not all silly one liners either.  The banter between Trench and Stigman is often hilarious, and the two felt like old friends or brothers.  Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg really sell it and the chemistry between the two of them is fantastic.  They're such a good pairing that it makes you hope for a sequel where they've set up their own private investigator business or as partners in another buddy cop film.  I was actually reminded of Lethal Weapon in parts.  They really made the film worth watching and it just goes to show you that if you get two actors that are committed and work well together, they can elevate the material.

The supporting cast is rounded out with James Marsden, who once again seems criminally underused.  Admiral Adama (Olmos) is good in his limited role, and I like that he's starting to take on more bad guys in recent roles.  Paula Patton's character is one where her motivation was all over the place.  It's not her best work, but at least she finally gets a chance to show her 'assets'.  My favorite of the supporting roles was Bill Paxton who has a fun, scenery-chewing performance.  It's the best I've seen him in a while, and continues to prove the rule that it's more fun to play a villain.  I'm still begging for him to do a movie as Chet from Weird Science.

2 Guns is a cliched and messy story, but it's elevated by the great chemistry and performances of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.  Fans of old-school action films should get a kick out of the (mostly) fun action, and banter between the characters.  I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to enjoy this, but I had a good time and felt it was a good movie to start August with.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars

Bachelorette (2012) - Movie Review

Have you ever watched Bridesmaids and wondered what those girls would be like if they were bitchier and on lots of cocaine?  Bachelorette gives you a look at this world.

Four high school friends are reunited when one of them finally gets married.  Immediately, jealously starts to rear it's ugly head, as the others all thought they would get married before their 'fat friend'.  The only positive they seem to take from this is that it means they can have a bachelorette party.

Other than the actual bride, Becky (Rebel Wilson), it doesn't take long to figure out why the bachelorettes are still single.  Regan (Kirsten Dunst) is a Type A, pushy business woman, Gena (Lizzy Caplan) is a barely employable, druggie that sleeps around, and lastly Katie (Isla Fisher) is a ditzy girl that seems too dumb to function.  These girls call themselves 'B-Faces', which is short for 'Bitch Faces', a name they seem to have earned. Based on their self-absorbed behavior, one of the things I had a hard time wrapping my head around was how the bachelorettes were friends with Becky in the first place.  Their personalities don't seem to fit and these girls seemed like the type to make fun of her back in high school. Becky has grown up, but the others haven't.

Becky wants a low-key party, but the girls insist on partying it up and getting a stripper.  There's a incident with the stripper, and the bride and the rest of the girls go home, leaving the B-Faces to drink more, do lots of coke and complain about why they aren't married yet.  While screwing around, something happens to the wedding dress, and now they have to scramble to get it fixed before the wedding the following morning.  It's as if the movie knew we wouldn't be able to sit through 90 minutes of nasty girls drinking and doing coke, so they had to give them a goal.  Now we get to watch them run around frantically as they try to make things right.

Much of what you see in Bachelorette are cheap drug and sex related jokes that you've seen many times before.  There are some funny moments, but they were too infrequent to make up for the unlikability of the characters.  As the movie progresses, they try to show you that there's more to the bachelorettes, but the problem is that what I learned about them didn't make me sympathize with them more.  As I mentioned in my For a Good Time, Call... review, one of the things I enjoyed was how I could see myself being friends with those people.  In Bachelorette, I wouldn't want to know these people or hang out with them.  I was actually kind of surprised at how catty these girls were, and how willing and capable they were of stabbing their friend in the back.

What I could relate to was a wild bachelorette party and getting crazy, but think about all of the times you gotten hammered with friends.  It's funny to you, but you know how you tell someone a story that doesn't get a laugh and then say, 'Well, you had to be there.'  That's Bachelorette.

The positive I got from the movie was the good cast and the performances.  Kirsten Dunst continues her career renaissance playing flawed characters.  Lizzy Caplan is always great, but this is a role she can play in her sleep.  The same for Isla Fisher, who gets the majority of the laughs.  There's nothing wrong with either of their performances, but neither of them had to stretch much here.  Rebel Wilson seems to be a star on the rise as she continues to get roles in higher profile films, but she's more of a side character and doesn't take part in the festivities as the night goes on.  I realize the contradiction of liking the performances, but not liking the characters, but it was more that I didn't find them interesting or relatable.

Adam Scott and James Marsden are once again underused and these guys deserve better.  They are both on my "most under appreciated actors" list.

Written and directed by Leslye Headland, Bachelorette is a good idea, but it never quite takes off. I felt that the ending was too predictable and unearned, where they try to give everyone a happy ending and everyone learns a lesson.  A riskier, darker ending would have fit better with the tone of the film and been more satisfying, even if it wasn't a happy one.

Bachelorette isn't as funny as it thinks it is.  It tries to one up Bridesmaids, but it ends up being a less funny version of The Hangover.  It wastes a talented cast with tired jokes and bits, and then tries too hard to make you sympathize with characters that really don't seem redeemable. It's a rental at best.

2 (out of 5) Death Stars

Robot & Frank (2012) - Movie Review

If I ever get a robot, I want it to speak with Patrick Stewart's voice.

Set in the near future, Frank (Frank Langella) is an ex-burgler living in a small home on the outskirts of town.  His dementia is getting worse, and is losing the ability to take care of himself.   His son (James Marsden), growing tired of driving out to take care of him, buys him a robot caretaker.

Frank's not too wild about the robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) at first, but he learns that the robot isn't programmed to know if an activity is illegal or not.  Even better, Frank learns the robot can also pick locks.  This enables Frank to plan a few more robberies, which keeps his mind engaged and gives him something to do again.  His mind isn't completely gone though, as he spends some time flirting with the local librarian (Susan Sarandon).

For a time, Frank's daughter (Liv Tyler) comes to take care of him, and deactivates the robot.  This upsets Frank, as it's clear that he's become attached to the robot, and also time is running out on the robberies they have planned.  Eventually, he's able to convince her to let him keep the robot, and she leaves.

The robberies are successful, but the local authorities (led by Jeremy Sisto), knowing Frank's history, question him and surveil his house.  The robot points out to Frank that his memory can be used against him and advises him to format his memory.  This puts Frank in a tough spot.  This robot is his only friend and is it right to erase its memory, even if doing so will keep him out of jail.

This was an impressive debut for director Jake Schreirer.  He kept things moving and easy to follow.  The robot has a simple design, similar to modern robots by Honda, so the premise never seems hard to believe.  Based on how our technology is advancing, this genuinely feels like something that could happen just a few years from now.  The script by Christopher D. Ford hits all the right notes.  It's smart, funny and sweet.  The story is fairly straightforward, but I felt it was emotionally complex.

Frank Langella is always great and he gives another fantastic performance.  He's able to say so much with those soulful eyes of his and it's hard to not get wrapped up in what's going through his mind.  It's a very small cast, and they all play their parts well, but this is really just about Frank and his robot.  Their interaction is touching and humorous.  I wasn't expecting to be as moved by this as I was, nor was I expecting how funny it turned out.

Movies like Robot & Frank are why I love movies.  It's a smart movie about aging and the fragility of memory, but it's also a charming and funny buddy movie.  Led by Frank Langella's wonderful performance, this might be one of my favorite films of the year.  I highly recommend checking it out if it's playing at a theater near you, like The Vine (www.vinecinema.com).

4.5 (out of 5) Death Stars