Screens
by Jeff Boam
Opening This Weekend
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd
Friends since their days together at Saturday Night Live, director/writer Adam McCay and Will Ferrell have collaborated time (Anchorman) and time (Talladega Nights) and time (Step Brothers) and time again (The Other Guys) on the big screen. Next, however, McCay is reportedly looking to direct a remake of Uptown Saturday Night starring Denzel Washington and Will Smith… after Anchorman 2, that is. In this PG-13-rated comedy, top rated San Diego newsman Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) returns to make New York’s first 24-hour news channel an ‘80s ratings success. The Plus: The name. Though not an overwhelming blockbuster when it first bowed on screens, 2004’s oft-quoted The Legend of Ron Burgundy went on to become a smash modern comedy classic once it landed on video, on-demand and downloadable platforms. Here, Ferrell (The Campaign) rejoins Steve Carell (Despicable Me 2), Rudd (This is 40), David Koechner (Hit and Run), Christina Applegate (Hall Pass), Vince Vaughn (The Internship), Luke Wilson (Death at a Funeral) and Fred Willard (Youth in Revolt) as well as series newcomers Kristen Wiig (Friends with Kids), James Marsden (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Meagan Good (Think Like a Man), Harrison Ford (Ender’s Game), Greg Kinnear (Green Zone) and Dylan Baker (Secretariat) plus a slew of cameos. The Minus: Time lapse. It’s been nearly a decade since Anchorman signed off. Will audiences… oh, you’re all lining up already, aren’t you?
American Hustle
Christian Bale, Amy Adams
In this R-rated drama, con man Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his seductive British partner (Adams) are forced to work for a wild FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to infiltrate a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mob figures. The Plus: The players. Even without its recent 7 Golden Globe nominations, American Hustle is a hot ticket just based on the fact that it’s director David O. Russell’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning box office hit Silver Linings Playbook. Here, his A-list cast list boasts Bale (Out of the Furnace) Adams (Man of Steel), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover Part III), Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), Louis CK (FX’s Louie), Michael Pena (End of Watch) and Jack Huston (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire). The Minus: The competition. It opens against Saving Mr. Banks starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. Oh, Hustle is the better reviewed film by far, but the holiday magic of Disney’s Mary Poppins-inspired story plus lure of H’Wood legend Hanks might outweigh Russell’s R-rated Abscam at the box office given it’s the cheerful holiday season.
Now Playing
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan
**** — Tolkein Good Gesture
Despite taking some dragon-sized liberties with its vaulted source material, The Desolation of Smaug bats away the fire-breathing scorn of Hobbit purists and offers up a rousingly fun and epically dark adventurous keystone in this new fantastical trilogy. In this PG-13-rated fantasy adventure, a magical ring-toting Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) and wizard Gandalf the Grey (McKellan) accompany the dwarves on a quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from the evil dragon Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumerbatch). Far from a middle (earth) child destined to be overlooked and tasked into submission, the film displays a lot of drama, action, and flame-singed fang from the get-go and never stops for breakfast, second breakfast, or anything after. At this point, filmgoers should’ve already reconciled and embraced the fact that this isn’t a word-for-word adaptation of a veritable geek Bible — it’s auteur Peter Jackson’s reordered, reshuffled and slightly rewritten version of the same. But the man knows what the hell he’s doing and prioritizes giving audiences a multi-part H’Wood popcorn muncher for the ages rather than a one-pump straight-ahead kid flick with hairy feet. Even after shoehorning in characters from the first trilogy and inventing another solely for the sake of a love triangle, Smaug bests its predecessor, An Unexpected Journey and REALLY starts to irrevocably thread itself into The Lord of the Rings trilogy’s intricate fabric — like author J.R.R. Tolkein’s works, classic in its own time — with gangbusting effects and a growing maturation.
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Perry, Chad Michael Murray
*1/2 — It’s a Woeful Life
Putting the Ho Ho Ho in horrible three times, Tyler Perry’s wary Madea Christmas not surprisingly gives moviegoers a piece of coal in their stocking. In this PG-13-rated comedy, Madea (Perry) dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on rural town when she’s coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas. If a 7-foot man dressing up as a cantankerous granny didn’t tickle your funny bone the first seven times, it’s sure as hell not gonna strike comedy gold with this holidazed slice of bad taste. Oh, there are valuable life lessons floating around, but they mostly involve what NOT to do in a holiday flick. Here, the morals get presented in a way that’s practically immoral. Putting forth Christian values by making a mockery of the virgin birth negates the message, as does rampant stereotyping on both sides of the aisle in the face of promoting racial harmony. Yes, it’s a message movie, but the messenger shoots himself in the foot by alienating audience with flat jokes and insipid dialogue spoken by broad caricatures. It becomes so cringe-inducingly unfunny that you begin to feel embarrassed for everybody on screen.
Out of the Furnace
Christian Bale, Casey Affleck
***1/2 — Cooking with Gas
Blacker than midnight in a skillet, Scott Cooper’s riveting but bleak follow-up to Crazy Heart takes filmgoers out of the frying pan and smack dab into the fire (think: Craggy Heart). In this R-rated drama, a small-town Pennsylvania steel mill worker with a checkered past (Bale) takes matters into his own hands to find justice when his younger brother (Affleck) mysteriously disappears and law enforcement fails to follow through. Thanks to Cooper’s graces with the pen and lens, the setting and characters feel lived in and hard wrought. The A-List cast excels at realizing this gritty and white-knuckle material that finds a working man’s blues boiling over into a San Peckinpah level of bloody retribution.
Frozen
Voices of Kristen Bell, Josh Gad
**** — Snow Falling on Oscar
Like a cool invigorating breeze of ingenuity, Disney finally surpasses its subsidiary Pixar in terms of heart and humor with this beautifully sung, drawn and written holiday gem. In Disney’s PG-rated animated family flick, fearless optimist Anna (Bell) teams up with Kristoff (Jonathan Goff) and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (Gad) in a race to save their kingdom from an eternal winter. Their best feature since Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, Frozen challenges Pixar (Disney bought the Toy Story studio in 2006) when it comes to combining smart alecky wit and whipsmart writing with letter-perfect voices–all with Uncle Walt’s signature princess and tunesmith hook.
Small Screens
Prisoners
Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal
***1/2 — Mystic Ringer
In this R-rated drama new to DVD, a father (Jackman) desperate to find his missing daughter takes matters into his own hands as the police (Gyllenhaal) pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. Prisoners to no critic, this searing and brilliant drama offers filmgoers a break from popcorn blockbusters with an award-worthy script and performances from popcorn blockbuster stars. Yes, it all comes from the story. And yes, it helps that this story is damn good. And double yes, it definitely helps that the damn good story is well acted.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
John Call, Leonard Hicks
* or **** (depending on how seriously you take it) — Sanity Clause
Spoofed by everyone from Mystery Science Theater 3000 to Rifftrax, this courageously bad holiday-themed Z-Movie definitely deserves a viewing if you’re willing to spearhead your tongue firmly in cheek. Dig this premise: When Santa and a couple of kids get kidnapped and some Martians threaten to 86 Christmas, St. Nick and the lil’ buggers help to save the day. But wait, there’s more (per the movie poster): In Space-Blazing Color! The Fantastic Martian Toy Factory! Earth Kids Meeting Martian Kids! Santa Turn(ing) Mars-Robot into a Mechanical Toy! If you missed the MST3K version screened at the Scranton Cultural Center on Dec. 12, call some friends, grab some potent alcoholic beverages and let the cinematic ball-busting commence from the confines of your own home.