Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 119 minutes
Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Adam McKay and Will Ferrell (written by and based on characters by)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Meagan Good, Greg Kinnear, Harrison Ford

Anchorman 2:The Legend Continues opens in Australian cinemas on the 19th December and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. Now showing in the USA and UK.

"Oh hey, guess what everyone!? Did you hear? Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has a sequel!" said no one ever.

You must have been living under a rock if you hadn't heard about the upcoming release of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. It's aggressive promotional campaign which involved Ron Burgundy appearing on various news broadcasts across the world and he and his news team popping up in the places you least (or most) expect them, such as on "Saturday Night Live" singing "Afternoon Delight" with One Direction. The amount of promotion for this film was almost enough to worry you if you weren't worried already about Anchorman 2 not living up to the success of the first film. Comedy sequels are always very tricky territory as they are seeking to write a screenplay that matches the successful humour of the first. While many people will be over the moon to see the return of Ron, Brian Fantana, Champ Kind and especially Brick Tamland, there is no doubt that what made Anchorman so unique and funny just isn't there in the second film. Anchorman 2 pushes so many boundaries that just give off an air of trying way too hard and coming off as painful rather than funny.

Co-anchors, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) have enjoyed many years of success after they relocated from San Diego to New York together. When Veronica is given a promotion and Ron is sacked, he hits rock bottom when he finds himself working at Sea World as an announcer. By a stroke of luck when he needs it most, he is summoned back to New York to anchor on the first 24 hour news channel and re-assembles his old news team consisting of Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). When the four arrive in New York, they find that they have a lot to do to regain their success and popularity. They have to measure up to the anchorman of the moment, Jack Lime (James Marsden) as well as somehow impress tough businesswoman, Linda Jackson (Meagan Good).

The thing that made Anchorman work was that it was silly and random but in a completely unique way. It stood out from other comedies which with it's memorable characters and ridiculously quotable and hilarious dialogue. It still remains the Will Ferrell movie you like even if you do not like Will Ferrell. Anchorman was always going to be a hard act to follow. What made the first Anchorman work so well is what writers, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell seemed to have forgot in the writing of the sequel. Anchorman 2 is more about pushing the boundaries on topics which many will find offensive and hope that these risks will be seen as funny. It is the mistake many writers make when writing comedy, they feel they have to try really hard in order to make us laugh. The problem being that most of the time audiences can tell when a film is trying too hard. Anchorman was silly and very random, but didn't go over the top, while Anchorman 2 does. There are certain scenes (particularly that of Ron and Linda at the family dinner) that can be perceived by some as being quite racist or to some, very racist. Some may say that it is just how things may have been, but it still doesn't make a difference to how uncomfortable some of the dialogue makes you. There is also more sexual references, more cringe worthy images and references and silly turns to stupidity. Anchorman 2 is unfortunately what many will call a typical sequel, which means there is more of everything which the first film has and those dreaded words used to describe many sequels are absolutely used here...it is nowhere near as good as the first. It is even hard to say whether die hard Anchorman fans will appreciate this film as for the most part it walks in the opposite direction of the first. Anchorman 2 was never going to be as good as the first, but it would have been nice if it could have been half as good as it at least.

The screenplay really is a big step backwards for McKay and Ferrell. There are laughs to be had , but nowhere near as many as the film makers would want you to have. The first few minutes are funny and after you get over the happiness of seeing the news team again, you settle into the film and then realise that not much is really happening. It jumps all around the place for awhile and never really solidifies in the story. It's all about getting people to laugh again at Ron Burgundy...and it doesn't even achieve this for the most part. At nearly two hours, the film seems a lot longer than what it actually is. The highlight of the film are the hilarious cameos which take place towards the end of the film, and it is almost worth watching the whole film just for this segment.

Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy isn't as likable or endearing as what you want him to be. His character, like the film, just seems all over the place and often painful and annoying. He has no real consistency through the film and while in most circumstances this would be seen as versatile, in Anchorman 2 you just feel like you really have no idea who Ron Burgundy is anymore. Paul Rudd's Brian Fantana probably has a bit more to do in this film than he had in the first, and he is actually a lot more likable as opposed to Ron Burgundy and to the first film. His character actually shows progression in changing emotions and his character development is quite well done. He is a stronger character who in the end, is the one holding the team together and the true friend.

David Koechner was probably the least likable out of the news team in the first film and this is continued here. He's not particularly interesting and if it wasn't for his first scene in the film, you would forget about him being in the film at all.

Anchorman will always be remembered by many as the first time they saw and took notice of Steve Carell on the big screen. His character of  Brick Tamland is one warped and strange human being, but has given use some of the most quotable comedy film dialogue in the past decade. Here he is probably the one character who really saves this comedy. Once again Carell delivers some hilarious dialogue, which will again be quoted by many in years to come. His on screen relationship with Chani, played by Kristen Wiig is not really oozing with chemistry or humour, but does have it's moments. Wiig does well enough, but would have benefited from having a larger role in the film to work with. Christina Applegate is fine and her performance probably would have seemed better if it was in a better film. Meagan Good is working with a character who is just too overdone and seemly unrealistic just by how over the top she is.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues may still have it's lovers, but is not the type of humour which a large portion of the population will enjoy. It is definitely a good idea to be familiar with the first in order to understand the second, but seeing and enjoying the first doesn't mean you will enjoy this one.

3.5/10

Megamind

Megamind
Year: 2010
Director: Tom McGrath
Cast: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill

In My Own Words
Animation seems to be going in a new direction as of late, hasn't it? There seems to be a lack of the cute and cuddley talking animals which we used to see in the animated films in the last few decades. Now it seems to be the bad guys who are the lead characters in these films who become the heroes and they are anything but cute and cuddley. Just look at Megamind, blue with a massive forehead, hardly what would seem a promoters dream. Cute characters are so much easier to make promotional toys for Happy Meals of and have more staying power. Will we remember these characters in 20 years time which we are seeing now in the same way we remember Little Foot, Simba or the Disney princesses? They're doing their job for the film makers at the moment though, so does it really matter whether we remember them in 20 years just as long as we remember them now? Not cute and cuddley, but the movies around the characters are still great fun and good entertainment!

Anybody know what the toys are in the McDonalds Happy Meals now? I suddenly have an urge to start collecting those awesome toys again.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
It is a scenario which we see in numerous films, the underdog falls in love with the beautiful woman, proves himself as the hero but it doesn't matter because she falls in love with who he is underneath. We have seen this a lot, but not so much in animated films. It is not often we see the ugly animated character get the gorgeous girl, but you do in "Megamind"! The film does fit into the animation trend as of late of the bad guy becoming the good guy, but gives it the twist with this unsung hero getting the girl, which will do good things for peoples self esteem. Even if you are blue with a massive forehead and alien looking you can still get the one you love by being yourself! Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) has never been good at anything besides being bad. The means of his existence is to fight with Metro Man (Brad Pitt), but when he actually defeats Metro Man, he is completely confused by his new found dominance and lost for what to do next. He decides to create a new super hero for the town, Titan (Jonah Hill) so he will have someone to fight. One thing he didn't count on was failing in love with Titan's crush, news reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) and bringing out more bad in Titan than Megamind ever had.

"Megamind" is a great, fun family film to watch. It is not just a film for children as their are many themes there for adults as well, such as the romance theme which children will of course be unable to relate to. The graphics are amazing in the film and it is one film which is worth seeing in 3D while it is in the cinemas. It is well written and has a lot of great laughs throughout. However, the ending won't be a surprise to anyone and will be something most people will see coming from the very beginning.

"Megamind" has some big names which have contributed their vocal talents to the film. The one thing that is obvious with this is that with each of the cast members, they do not seem to go the extra mile with their characters voices. Each of them, bar perhaps Will Ferrell , plays the type of character they would normally play in a film which they would physically appear in and it is easy to pick who's voice is which. For example, Brad Pitt plays the good looking hero, Tina Fey plays the businesswoman who has too little time for her personal life and Jonah Hill plays the overweight nerd who can't be taken seriouslyh. Will Ferrell does definately do a good job at providing the voice of Megamind and, unlike the others, you can often forget that it is Ferrell's voice you are hearing.

If you are taking your children to see "Megamind", you will probably find that it is more a boys movie than a girls movie. Children aside, it is a film that all ages will enjoy. The graphics are great to watch and the script is witty and funny. Overall, besides the romance, it isn't the most original film to come out in the last few years and it is quite predictable, but definately good for a laugh.
7/10

The Other Guys

The Other Guys
Year: 2010
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton

In My Own Words
I love a movie which gets mixed reviews. I’m not referring to the movie reviews you see on TV or read in magazines, but the reviews from the people who really matter in your life. The one’s who’s opinions you really care about like your family and your friends. The majority of people will listen more to the ones close to them regarding whether they should see a film rather than the media. So it intrigued me to no end when one half of the people I know tell me to see a movie and the other half tell me to wait until the DVD. When a situation like this arises, damn it I am going to see the movie at the cinema! If someone normally hears that a movie is bad from a friend, they normally won’t see it, even if someone else they know says that it is good. Me on the other hand, my mind works another way when it comes to movies. If people are conflicted on whether it is good or not, then I’m sure there is going to be plenty to talk about after I see the film! Nothing like a good debate about film! Who needs parliamentary question time when we can all sit around and talk about movies? Maybe if Australia had got Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to discuss their favourite movies before the election, it would have been over and done with a lot quicker.

Maybe the difference in opinion for many people in this film comes from whether they are Will Ferrell fans or not. I don’t believe Mr Ferrell’s humour is quite for everyone. He does definitely have a cult following though. However, like everything, there is always one film which will break through the haters expectations and a wider audience will enjoy it. I don’t think this is one of those films though.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“The Other Guys” is funny. There is no denying that, but oh does it try hard to be. Subtlety is definitely not the order of the day in this film and although it is not a fantastic film, it is not a complete dud either. Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) are two cops who are not the heroes and do not have any hope of being so. They are always in the background watching everyone else take all the credit and are the laughing stock of their beat. Not only that, but they intensely dislike each other. Even when they do happen to tap into something that doesn’t seem quite right, no one seems to take any notice of them. Gamble and Hoitz find that by working together and remaining outcasts, they are actually able to accomplish more than what they and anybody else would’ve thought.

“The Other Guys” tries very hard to be funny. This is more so at the beginning of the film where the jokes just seem predictable, old and forced. It is as though director and writer Adam McKay was almost worried that people wouldn’t find the movie funny, so he had to try and cram as many things that the audience may find funny in so that he couldn’t lose. However, this lack of subtle humour seems to calm down towards the middle of the film and there are actually some very funny parts. The film is not deep by any means and one cannot take it seriously, mainly because of the presence of Will Ferrell. Not to say that Ferrell cannot do a serious film or carry on a serious role, because he did so in “Stranger Than Fiction”, but in a film which is first and foremost a comedy and has him in it, there is no hope for a tearful moment. There is definitely good character development though. Each main character has a back story and an entertaining one at that which does make the film more enjoyable to watch. The special effects and action sequences are very impressive, but unfortunately there isn’t nearly enough of them throughout the film.

Will Ferrell is much like he is in the majority of his other films. He is very funny in parts of the film, but he doesn’t give anything in “The Other Guys” that sets his role as Allen Gamble apart from his others. Gamble is a very entertaining character and it is obvious that no one else could have played this role besides Ferrell. He does play it perfectly to his ability, but it won’t be one of the characters he will always be remembered for. Mark Wahlberg gives an easy performance in his role as Terry Hoitz. It is a different role compared to what he has done in the last few years and it is interesting to see him in a comedy role. He is not the funniest person in the film, but doesn’t do a bad job by all means. Eva Mendes plays Gamble’s wife, Sheila and although Mendes isn’t known for her comedy roles, is really quite funny. However, it is almost painful to see Michael Keaton in a role such as this.

“The Other Guys” could almost be described as a try hard comedy in its first half, but redeems itself in its latter half. It’s interesting and colourful characters also help to save this film from being completely terrible. It could be so much better than what it is, but those who love Will Ferrell movies will love it.
5/10