Anchorman (2004) Movie Review

Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay
Starring:Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell

When the undoubted sequel to Anchorman; Anchorlady comes out, Fantana is sure to be unhappy about it. I will definitely be in line to see that.

This movie constantly butts heads with the Avengers as my favourite movie. The comedy in it is absolutely immaculate making it one of the most quotable movies of all time. The movie really solidifies Will Ferrell as one of the funniest entities in the galaxy. I could honestly go on about this movie all day. I just think it is fair to say that not only does everyone think this film is great but that it is also one of the greatest comedies.

Because of everyone having this knowledge, I would prefer to just disprove all theories that this is just a dumb comedy. Everyone may already know these things but it has taken me personally, countless re-watchings to come to this conclusion. When I was watching it recently, I was thinking that this movie could easily be construed as sexist with how the news team treats Veronica. They treat her as a trophy or just a sex object. Some feminists at this point in the movie would be scoffing and reaching for the remote. Observant people would then realise then that almost all the men in the movie are just depictions of children. Everything that they do contributes to this show that they have the minds of boys but the bodies of men. They get into fights, form gangs and break down into tears when someone says a bad word. This makes the movie, if anything, a feminist one. Even the dialogue in the movie is that of children.  Champ is constantly calling people gay (although some adults still act like this), Brian is always making crude jokes and referencing his supposedly legendary wang and Brick is just that one dumb kid. I hope that you learnt something and that I wasn’t completely of the mark.

Judging by the huge amount of detail I have added, you can probably sense the love I have for this movie. It is perfect and I will have no-one question that fact. It is a legendary movie and I am so happy that it exists. Watch it and you’ll be having some afternoon delight… NAILED IT!

Recommendation Status: Unmissable!


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Shaun of the Dead (2004) Movie Review

Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright (ha pun)
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

Shaun of the Dead is one of those seldom seen horror movies that I can watch. Just because it is a comedy as well. The entire package is decently enjoyable.

Firstly, the writers of this movie, I don’t think, get nearly enough credit for this movie. While the third act is comparatively underwhelming… the dialogue is hilarious and the first act of the movie is more suspenseful than the Golden Gate Bridge. Speaking of suspense, the movie is directing incredibly well. It’s the type of movie that a video game developer would make. It has sequences of daily routine that tells you what is normal and later it really clicks in your mind when it works. Also, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are rather exceptional in the movie (as of 2014, probably not their best though.)

The reason why this is not my favourite movie in the Cornetto Trilogy is the ending. Some people complain that the ending of The World’s End is over the top. In my opinion, over the top is far better than stupidly boring.  The whole beginning of the movie is entirely intentional and subtle enough for you to feel good about noticing little things in the story. The ending can just be summarised by saying, ‘they’re in a building, zombies get shot’. Any other details are pointless and forgettable. More than this, if anyone claims that this is a horror movie, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. Aside from the occasional jump scare there is nothing too frightening about the movie. (Personally though, I prefer comedies anyway so I am not so upset.)

Shaun of the Dead begins a as a fun and almost immaculate movie. The dialogue is funny and the writing makes you feel smart. Unfortunately, the ending and the horror aspects of the movie are just utterly underwhelming and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Recommendation Status: Probably worth a watch.

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!

Ocean's Twelve (2004) Movie Review

Director: Steven Soderbergh

'Writer': George Nolfi

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine-Zeta Jones

So… I feel like Ocean’s Eleven was a greatly enjoyable movie. Ocean’s, in comparison, was just frustrating.

Ocean’s Twelve foolishly decides to dramatically tone down the suave factor from the first movie. Instead of robbing a casino, they decide to rob a recluse’s house and then a museum. Something I did like about it was that they kept referring to ‘the first rule’, alluding to some sort of Internet forum for criminal masterminds. The supposed antagonist from this movie is actually one of the most famous criminals in the world (the other antagonist being the system!). This famous criminal even has a mysterious criminal name, which slightly replenishes the suave levels.

Other than this, the movie decides to keep tripping itself up. The movie hammers in the idea that this character you only ever see the back of is the best criminal you ever did see. This made me think ‘I really hope whoever this guy turns out to be satisfies me’. Spoiler warning – It’s not. It actually contributes to an unbelievably underwhelming twist. It pains me to see a writer have so much potential and then absolutely ruin it. One thing that twelve did take from eleven was the fact that you never really have any idea what the hell is going on. You think you understand what they are trying to do and then Bruce Willis shows up and further confuses everything. I would love to spoil the ending of this movie because it is the best example of a writer digging himself out of a hole and it just makes me angry to think about.

Ocean’s Twelve certainly does not live up to the high-standard set by its entertaining predecessor. It lowers the suaveness and ups the confusion and is topped with honestly some of the laziest writing I have witnessed in my short life. If you want to see a good heist movie just watch Ocean’s Eleven. I haven’t yet seen Ocean’s Thirteen but my expectations have been severely diminished after Twelve. If you want to enjoy a movie and not hate all screenwriters, don’t watch this. If you want to know how not to write a movie, this movie will be a great learning experience for you.

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!