“There was a time, a time before cable. When the local anchorman reigned supreme. When people believed everything they heard on TV. This was an age when only men were allowed to read the news.” – Bill Lawson
SYNOPSIS: Ron Burgundy is San Diego’s top-rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 1970s, but that’s all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman is hired as a new anchor. – via IMDB
Alrighty, putting it out there right now, ripping the band-aid off super fast: NO. Just NO. I did not like this
Okay, now that it has been said and I can be called a heathen, I can move on. Since this damn movie came out I have heard how I have to watch it, how it is super hilarious and quotable as all hell, and I have never really had the desire to watch it. Not even the beloved Paul Rudd could tempt me. But it has always been in the corner of my mind, that I should check it out despite not liking the majority of the cast, if for nothing more than to see what the cult status is about.
Well, I don’t get it. Anchorman is painfully stupid. My husband sat through this with me and is usually way more forgiving about movies than I am, and he said this was soul crushing. I have to agree with him. There were like two gems in this movie (Baxter? Bark twice if you’re in Milwaukee) and:
Other than that, this movie is not quotable. It is painful to sit through, and has some completely braindead humour. No, it is not funny if you think about it, and no, it is not funny even if you check your brain at the door (which I consciously bloody well did).
“No, venti is twenty. Large is large. In fact, tall is large and grande is Spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn’t mean large. It’s also the only one that’s Italian. Congratulations, you’re stupid in three languages.” – Danny
SYNOPSIS: Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program. – via IMDB
You know, I watched this movie when it came out and I have gone back to it a few times over the years and I still thoroughly enjoy it. No, it isn’t a perfect movie or anything like that, but it is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
First and foremost, Paul Rudd is absolutely fantastic in this. I adore the man, so will pretty much watch anything he’s in. I think he’s sweet and hilarious and so dry, which works for me. This is no exception, he is plenty entertaining, and works wonders with Stifler Seann William Scott. Scott provides just the type of role you would expect from him, but he does it well. McLovinChristopher Mintz-Plasse entertains endlessly as awkward Augie. Another hilariously awkward character is cocaine-crazy Sweeny, and Jane Lynch has a ball with the role. As you can tell, the movie hinged quite heavily on the actors having fun with the material, and it works.
The humour made me laugh, too. It’s witty, dry, sarcastic and crude at times throughout, and it totally works. The movie also doesn’t drag out the run-time, so it plays it out and does its thing but doesn’t overstay its welcome, which is great. You just have fun, and then it is over, before it wastes away and tries too hard to be something it isn’t. The story, while not new, is handled deftly. There are a lot of crappy movies in this genre, but every now and then there is one that stands out, one that tries to and succeeds to be more. This is one of those. It has a lot of heart and a lot of humour, knows what it is and goes for it, without being apologetic.
I really enjoyed some of the situations the characters found themselves in and I liked how things were handled. There was even character growth to be found throughout here, which is more than I could have asked for. The soundtrack and score worked, not once taking over and becoming the focus, which is just fine.
So, all in all, if you haven’t checked out Role Models before and feel like a good, light comedy with plenty of heart, I can highly recommend this one, it is quite fun. I don’t really know what to say other than I like this one and I find myself returning to it time and time again and enjoying it without fail.
“I knew what he was, but I never knew why.” – Dr Sam Loomis
SYNOPSIS: Six years after Michael Myers last terrorized Haddonfield, he returns there in pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, who has escaped with her newborn child, for which Michael and a mysterious cult have sinister plans. – via IMDB
I only saw after watching this that it was eventually ruled non-canon, and that’s okay. This was a bit of a messy movie, because there were distinct sections that had possibility, and some of it was realised, and some of it was not. For one, I will always love Pleasence as Loomis, his character is core and so important, and he seems a little more in control of himself in this movie, although it seemed he was given a significantly smaller part. I also liked the fact that we saw a little more of the Strode family – not Laurie’s direct peeps, but the uncle and his family. Speaking of, that uncle was a tosser, and I shed no tears when he was wiped out. Then there is the plot line of bringing Tommy back (Laurie’s charge when she was babysitting in 1978), and I had absolutely not objections to it being the looky and super adorable Paul Rudd, who was an extremely awkward turkey here, but I liked that. I also think it was a good way to look at what happens to people in the wake of a Myers encounter. I think the Halloween sequels get way too much flak, as they are not even remotely as bad as most horror sequels go. Myers was omnipresent again in The Curse of Michael Myers, which at times annoys me because it leaves me asking why and how all the damn time. Also, there was this whole thing about Myers and a mark and some cult and all that, and I was not pleased by this business, that’s for damn sure. It was just silliness, what with symbols that mimic constellations on Halloween, and sacrifices. Pfffff. Too much whishy washy now, if you ask me. Sometimes this movie was shot well, and then other times it was messy and too much flashing and it was too busy on screen. While this is by no means a spectacular film, it is nonetheless entertaining in a ridiculous and silly way, and is certainly different from the other films in this canon. A whole lot different.
“I know we’re not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” – Steve Rogers
SYNOPSIS: After another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps, one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability. – via IMDB
I would also just like to take a moment to appreciate the raw power of this moment.
Well. Well. Where do I even begin? Let’s start with the fact that this movie really shouldn’t have been flown under the Captain America banner – it could really have just been Civil War or even Marvel/Avengers: Civil War. This was essentially an Avengers movie, and you all know how huge a fan I am of that. So it shorts Thor and The Hulk, but they were mentioned a ton of times. I don’t know, I wanted a Captain America movie. He is my favourite Avenger, he is the only one who has individual movies I get excited about and adore, and then we got this one, so heavily reliant on Age of Ultron and all that happened there, and it was all about signing off on a document to regulate the Avengers team. Seriously. So they called it Captain America: Civil War because there was some extra Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier?
However, that being said, there was so much scrumptious Sebastian Stan for me. Oh hell yeah there was, hmmmm. I really liked the themes that were explored in the film, like friendship, opposing opinions, loyalty, standing up for what you believe in, conforming, moral responsibility, etc. The performances were all solid, though I really feel that this movie was juggling way too many characters, but still managed to do a relatively decent job with them all. I enjoyed the introduction of the Black Panther, and I freaking love the moves on this guy, so fluid and awesome. Marvel has again let us down on the villain, Baron Zemo. After The Winter Soldier, I was expecting darker, more hardcore villains. Zemo was underutilised here, and didn’t pack as much punch as he could have had he been set up better. I never felt shock and horror at any of the things that he did.
Steve finally kissing Sharon was a little rushed and out of place in the movie, it wasn’t properly set up (in this film), and then it was glossed over. The fighting sequences were great to look at, and the Russo’s really grasp that – that choreography, the movements, all of it is just amazing. The inclusion of Steve’s “I can do this all day” is another scene that thrilled me, it is something I expect from him. There were some interesting plot developments here, some of particular interest being carried by the Winter Soldier, which is great. Anyway, with too many characters to really talk too much about, Captain America: Civil War is an entertaining Avengers flick with more heart to it than the average Avengers film, solid performances, darker, a good movie, some solid humour and well worth watching.
“Did my heart love ’til now? Forswear its sight. For I never saw true beauty ’til this night.” – Romeo
SYNOPSIS: Classic story of Romeo and Juliet, set in a modern-day city of Verona Beach. The Montagues and Capulets are two feuding families, whose children meet and fall in love. They have to hide their love from the world because they know that their parents will not allow them to be together. There are obstacles on the way, like Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and Romeo’s friend Mercutio, and many fights. But although it is set in modern times, it is still the same timeless story of the “star crossed lovers”. – via IMDB
Gah! Can we just take a moment to truly appreciate DiCaprio’s beauty…
And then again in black and white because it stays so absolutely delicious:
Just adding this one, too!
Some more…
And because I certainly cannot resist one last one…
DiCaprio. Need I say more? I suppose you might want some more, so I will give it to you. Romeo+Juliet is such a Baz Luhrmann experience, no two ways about it. It is extravagant, flamboyant, in-your-face and fabulous. I loved this movie when I was growing up, I thought it was a really great modernization of the play, which I enjoyed. Plus there was young, dreamy DiCaprio. We can’t even deny that. And to see a young Claire Danes, pre-cuckoo crazy Carrie Mathison is just wonderful. I think that Luhrmann did a good job bringing this forth in a new way. It was innovative, and to keep the dialogue as it was in the play is disconcerting and refreshing all at once. Grief, but these two kids were melodramatic as hell, I won’t even attempt to deny that. It is one heck of a disturbing and unhealthy relationship, and nobody can tell me otherwise about that. I am not even going to get into all the insanity of this relationship – true love, just sex, respect, what? – because I am sure we have all covered it in school a million times. The camera work was really snappy in the movie, and the way it would flow and then sometimes race and be all edgy was something that worked very well. I think the whole cast gave solid performances and it was great to see Paul Rudd, even though his role was minor. He’s such a sweetie! The costumes were something else in here, outrageous, loud, perfectly suited for the whole affair. I had a few good laughs throughout, and this movie, while not perfect, is definitely something worth spending time on and checking out – though some might need to keep a more open mind in terms of the modernization.
“So when you say something negative and insult the other person… You’re really just showing that other person what an unsure-of-yourself-type person that you really feel like you are.” – Lance
SYNOPSIS: Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. – via IMDB
I found this film to be incredibly long and incredibly tedious. I think there were a royal five minutes that managed to generate a smile from me. I felt like my time was wasted. I didn’t enjoy the story much at all, which was a pity seeing as the actors weren’t bad and I really wanted to like it. The only thing that carried the story the little bit that it went was Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. I really, really didn’t like Lance’s character – he was a real tool and annoyance and superbly rude. His nice moments were few and far between, though Emile Hirsch was very well cast to carry him out. Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Alvin was actually really good as it goes out of his regular comfort zone, and he does it incredibly well. The settings were slow, the pace was non-existent, the story was weak and it was boring for me in so many places. There, I said it. I know some people praised it for being an alright comedy drama, but there was nothing that I was enamoured with (except maybe chasing someone with a wrench and throwing things at them). It almost felt like it was trying to go in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way but missing the bus. I also really didn’t like the jittery camera work for this movie at the best of times though I really liked the sets they were working in. The conclusion was also incredibly sudden for me, and didn’t really explain much or wrap it up. I suppose there really are worse movies to watch in your precious free time, but after the many positive reviews I read about this I was not impressed.
Alrighty, putting it out there right now, ripping the band-aid off super fast: NO. Just NO. I did not like this 
The Sporadic Chronicles 
