THE LEGO MOVIE Review

Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the guys behind "21 Jump Street" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," prove a perfect fit for taking the Lego toy property to the big screen. Instead of just a cash grab and launching point for another lucrative franchise (there's no doubt it's also that, but keep reading), its big heart and sense of creativity and imagination make "The Lego Movie" way more than just that. By completely embracing the spirit of the Lego toy brand itself -- something irreverent, goofy and colorful which both children and adults can enjoy -- it becomes an exhilarating piece of work both timeless and ageless. High praise for a movie about a bunch of building blocks, right? Let me keep going. "The Lego Movie" recalls the awe-inspiring originality that became the Pixar standard, and is the freshest, funniest, most audaciously weird and wacky, surprisingly emotional animated film to come along in years.

To quote the song that all the citizens of Bricksburg joyously sing in unison: "Everything Is Awesome." Indeed it is, vibrantly animated by Animal Logic, a visual effects team who has created such lush and tactile animation to the point of almost appearing to be stop-motion. It's both retro and cutting-edge. All the textures of each piece and all the blocks, the way they move and shatter and explode and build and interlock and interact within this world, it's all eye-popping.

The story follows ordinary construction worker Emmett (Chris Pratt, heading the exuberant cast of voice actors) who stumbles across a relic of extraordinary power, which labels him the one to save the universe against the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell). It's all bombastic and heroic-sounding, but the writing satirically skewers such a hero story premise. The old, grey-bearded wizard named Vitruvius (spot-on casting of Morgan Freeman) spews the prophecy with pointed self-mockery, deeming what he says must be true because it rhymes.

Emmett is used to his hometown of Bricksburg where everything follows an instruction manual, there are no original creations, everyone watches the mindless sitcom "Where's My Pants?" and drinks $37 coffee drinks because that's the way Lord Business has deemed it to be. No alternatives. So, once Emmett gets thrust into his hero tale and meets the rebellious Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and the world of Master Builders, he gets thrown for a loop. There are realms outside his own -- humorously referencing other Lego themed construction sets -- including The Old West, Middle Zealand and Cloud Cuckooland which is just one big free-for-all, much like "The Lego Movie" itself.

In their freewheeling and highly energetic style, Lord and Miller have made the movie way smarter and more clever than it has any right to be -- and it's all the better for it. The jokes come flying freaky and fast, zany and whip-smart, eliciting the need for a repeat viewing to catch everything. You'll also be too busy laughing to probably hear it all. I'm not kidding: it's that funny. Sly references and fun character cameos abound, the storyline incorporates all of the Lego properties like "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings." Batman (Will Arnett) is a hilarious parody of the low-growling superhero while Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) is basically a parody of Neeson's now full-blown status of go-to action hero.

"The Lego Movie" is very obviously Lord and Miller's brainchild, and it's no wonder it's so good. They even tackle issues of corporate branding and the threat of conglomerate (a la "WALL-E") erasing voice and individuality, which is a hefty message to deliver, but hey, they do it with panache and no preachy undertones. And how fitting, too, for a franchise whose entire premise is based on limitless possibility and a world where anything goes and everything is, in a word, awesome.

THE CAMPAIGN Review

Political satire is certainly in the air with this year's presidential election heating up. Now comedic heavyweights Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are in the mix with the new comedy, "The Campaign," which follows a fictional congressional campaign between two knuckleheads. The movie feels like a combination of the small town vibe from this past season's story arc on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" (with Leslie Knope running for city council) and the incendiary foul language from HBO's "Veep" with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a disgruntled vice president. Now here's Adam McKay's team in the mix giving the most outrageous and over-the-top look at politics yet -- with a hefty dose of big laughs.

The R-rated comedy is directed by Jay Roach who also helmed 2008's "Recount" and this year's "Game Change" with Julianne Moore playing Sarah Palin. With his background in political scrutiny, it's no mistake this new comedy comes out the same year of a presidential campaign. Those HBO films were more subtle and critical observations on politics, so with this Roach and his writers really get to have some fun, and things do take a turn for the ridiculous. Adam McKay is credited to the story while Chris Henchy (of the comedy video site Funny or Die) and Shawn Harwell (of HBO's "Eastbown & Down") serve as screenwriters.

McKay and Henchy previously collaborated on the buddy cop flick "The Other Guys" pairing Ferrell with Mark Wahlberg, and a lot of the same style and humor appears again with slapstick debauchery and crude improvisational riffs. With Ferrell and McKay teamed up on Funny or Die, it only made sense for them to pull Galifianakis, who has appeared on the site, to act alongside Ferrell. It's a comedic pairing so inspired you may wonder why this is the first time they've starred in a movie together, and facing off against each other no less. Galifianakis feels even more comfortable here than he does with his Wolfpack buddies of "The Hangover" movies.

He plays Marty Huggins, a hapless small town dough ball of a man who's constantly struggling to live up to the expectation of his harsh father (Brian Cox). Marty is totally weird but also well-meaning and lovable with his bubbly wife (Sarah Baker) and two kids. But when he's requested by two conniving corporate heads, the Motch brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow), to run for congressman against the otherwise unchallenged Cam Brady (Ferrell), he's excited as a young puppy but hopelessly clueless. Enter tough guy campaign manager, Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), who gives Marty and his family the proper makeover to look like a legitimate political candidate -- swapping out his pugs for Labradors and mounting a bald eagle pastel painting over his fireplace.

The shenanigans that follow quickly ramp up in intensity as Brady and his campaign manager (Jason Sudekis) continuously butt heads with Marty. Galifianakis and Ferrell spar with each other in bouts of great comic timing and also give their characters realistic motives and changes of heart. Meanwhile, every satirical button gets pressed with inflammatory attack ads from each side, backstabbing, manipulation and sex scandals galore. It's all played up for comedy, but Roach and his writers are clearly tapping into something smart and knowing, too. The sly kicker in the end is that a lot of the fakery, which feels ridiculous, actually rings pretty true in American politics today. Except maybe the baby punching.

"The Other Guys" (2010)

Going into an Adam McKay movie, you pretty much expect only one thing and that is big laughs. Good news that this latest from the writer-director does not disappoint even with the stakes set pretty high. "The Other Guys" is non-stop laughs and stands tall among the likes of "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights." When the credits began to roll, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much at this action comedy that sends up the buddy cop movie while also cleverly honoring the traditions of the genre. It's as if McKay and his co-writer Chris Henchy, who now helm the comedy website Funny or Die, looked at what Kevin Smith did with "Cop Out" and thought to themselves, "We've gotta do this the right way." They've done it.

An uproarious opening sequence with Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson camping it up and not holding back kicks things off. After such a promising opening with these two playing the stereotypical tough police guys, the movie luckily never loses steam in churning out the laughs. From under your breath chuckles to full-out guffaws, they keep coming. These two play P.K. Highsmith and Christopher Danson, the two head detectives who talk dirty and don't mind wrecking an entire city street for a minor marijuana case. When these guys return to the office, everyone cheers for them and idolizes them even for their crass recklessness.

Then there's the other guys, played by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. They are Allen Gamble and Terry Holtz who are detective partners but never leave the office. And while Allen is complacent with sitting behind a desk typing and humming away, Terry desperately wants to escape the office, get out into the field and, as he states, fly like a peacock. Though they have the badges, they're not even considered real cops. This is because Allen is too careful about playing it safe, and Terry had the misfortune of accidentally shooting New York Yankee Derek Jeeter the last time he was on active duty.

From their very first scene together, we realize Ferrell and Wahlberg are an unexpectedly ideal comedic match. Ferrell sends Allen on one of his trademark comic riffs, this one about how a school of tuna could kill a lion, while Wahlberg's Terry repeatedly lashes out at him with uncontrollable anger. From there this oddball mismatching is constantly--and hilariously--arguing and quipping back and forth lovingly poking fun at the buddy cop dynamic.

Once the duo catches a lead, it sends them on a chase into corrupt corporate big heads who are using money they shouldn't be and paying off others in shady ways, and while the actual crime the pair is hunting down does get a bit muddled into Wall Street, there is the always superb Steve Coogan holding it down as the biggest corporate head of them all. Also great is Michael Keaton as the police captain who unknowingly references the titles of TLC songs and has a part-time job at Bed Bath & Beyond. Along with that is Eva Mendes as Allen's smoking hot wife who he treats as his plain-looking ball and chain of a housewife. They're both playing into the fun, which makes it all the funnier for us.

"The Other Guys" is crammed with plenty of ridiculous and intentionally silly scenes such as a slow-motion gunfight with Terry sliding on his back along a glass table shooting off his pistols like a madman. And the way a wild night of drinking is shown is absolutely hysterical and like nothing you've seen before. The stand-out here, though, is Wahlberg who effortlessly stands his ground even against Ferrell's antics. Casting such as this is what carries th movie making it easily the funniest comedy of the summer.

Archive: 'Step Brothers'

Movie Review
Step Brothers (2008)


Here's a movie that arrives in diapers and only regresses from there. It stars two grown adults who are so out of touch with reality and so juvenile, that they can't help but star in a movie that's in an equal state of mind. And when does Judd Apatow sleep? I mean, he's got "Pineapple Express" coming out pretty soon, too. "Step Brothers" is labeled as a Judd Apatow feature, but it's the first one that doesn't so much feel like an Apatow production (aside from a required Seth Rogen cameo). Maybe it's because the guy really in charge here is director Adam McKay ("Anchorman," "Talladega Nights") who also co-wrote the movie with his buddy Will Ferrell. These two have simply created a mechanism to showcase some comedic chops, ones we've come to know already.

The movie works on the pairing of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly that was originally formed with "Talladega Nights," and they are, without a doubt, a perfect match for each other. Without this duo's comic chemistry, the movie just simply would not work because, really, there's not much else to it. The two of them play off each other's energy, and a lot of it feels like improv. Many of their scenes together consist of them shouting profanities and beating the crap out of each other with blunt objects. It's funny because it shows that these two actors are smart enough to play people so dumb and somehow pull it off.

Ferrell plays Brennan Huff, 39, who still lives with his divorced mom (Mary Steenburgen), and John C Reilly plays Dale Doback, 40, who still lives with his widowed dad (Richard Jenkins). When the two parents meet and fall for each other, they get married forcing the two families to merge into one. Brennan and Dale immediately hate each other, not for any apparent reason but simply because they're just that stubborn. But soon enough, they become buddies turning out to be even more disastrous. Their parents decide to deal with the situation but soon realize that their sons need to get jobs and move out. The movie chugs along on this running punchline about two adult men who decided to never grow up, and chaos ensues in a shockingly crude, cuss-filled fashion. And it sometimes gets pretty messy.

The movie is extremely random almost to the point of absurdity. It's like Adam McKay has taken the randomness of his past two features and upped it just one notch too many while making it twice as dirty. The movie also feels a lot less polished than his other work. It's crudely funny for parts, yes, but it's also just sometimes downright crude. It's truly a hit-or-miss affair because it's either gut-busting or not so much. There's a sense of raging hostility throughout, and even when it's trying to have a heart, it feels surprisingly harsh and heartless. It's certainly not a feel-good comedy, which is what makes it sometimes hard to laugh along with. It's also shockingly raunchy and decidedly R-rated, and while I'm okay with that, here it sometimes feels unnecessarily so.

It's interesting to watch proficient actors Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins provide some sophistication while still stooping to such an immature level of rude comedy. When Jenkins drops his f-bombs, it feels like unfamiliar territory. The best parts of "Step Brothers" actually come in song. A family in a minivan sings a four-part harmony of "Sweet Child o' Mine" led by Brennan's foul younger brother (Adam Scott), and then at the movie's big finale, Will Ferrell belts out a humorously emotional ballad. And in the credits, too, there's a hilarious brawl with a group of playground kids. Apart from these stand-out moments, the movie's kind of funny, kind of not, and it left me feeling a little unwholesome.