| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MguyXXV |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 08:20:14
When Will Ferrell left SNL it seemed inevitable. His quirky talent was ripe for big screen exploitation.
Then he did "Old School," which I just pretended he didn't do. He's done some funny stuff since then. But now there is "Land of the Lost," which, by comparison, makes me nostalgic for the sublime humor and rich emotional tapestry of "Old School."
I think I chuckled twice during the entire film, but I don't remember why. There was an older couple that left about one-third of the way through the film. Kudos. I might have been annoyed at staying, had it not been for the fact that I sneaked in to see this piece of shit after the pretty funny "The Hangover".
There is nothing even to talk about regarding this film. It's not worth the time it takes to criticize it. Take the money you were going to spend to see this film, change it into coins and see how many times you can skip the various pieces over a pond or a puddle of rain water. That's a far better use for the money. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| randall |
Posted - 04/23/2010 : 13:03:40
I think you had to be a fan of the TV show to really enjoy what must be many callbacks in this movie. I never saw the program, that's one strike, I don't think Danny McBride is or has *ever* been funny, that's two, and I didn't see anything that wasn't already in JURASSIC PARK and MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, unless you count many Xeroxed "Skeezaks" or whatever they are. But I'm not in the target demo, so maybe it went under my head. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 15:06:30
quote:
Originally posted by silly
"You forgot Poland" has a new-ish meaning here in the US, thanks to the Iraq war.
I'd never heard about that before.  |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 15:04:40
quote:
Originally posted by silly
(Note also that Will Ferrell has played G. Bush in some sketch comedy)
I caught some of that the other night on UK tv. It was more than a bunch of sketches - it was a full length trawl through Shrub's life and career -- sort of W. with laffs. Actually WF was very good - he really went past the swagger and arrogance. The script was patchy, but no one should doubt the man has talent, and a terrific sense of timing.
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| silly |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 14:56:31
"You forgot Poland" has a new-ish meaning here in the US, thanks to the Iraq war.
Not that it means anything to Land of the Lost, but when he said that in the movie, that's where my mind went. (Note also that Will Ferrell has played G. Bush in some sketch comedy) |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 00:28:08
quote:
Originally posted by MguyX
I think the point was this: the Polish joke is outdated -- nobody makes Polish jokes anymore, because the classist/bigoted/jingoistic notion upon which they are based has long since passed into oblivion; hence, the fact that the Ferrell chacter makes the reference is funny because it is an obvious irony, as in, only an idiot would actually believe in the conclusion to be drawn from stupid, outdated, bigoted Polish jokes.
It still doesn't work -- because he is not that kind of idiot in any other part of the film, i.e. he is not otherwise a bad person which the Polish joke makes him be. And some people do still make such jokes or else as a British person I wouldn't be aware of them -- I'm sure it's not from old films, as I haven't seen many.
quote:
And, by the way, it isn't an "Americocentric" myopia that created the Polish joke of yore: it was the tension between Poles as an immigrant group, on the one hand, and other, longer-settled immigrant groups in the U.S., on the other hand, that spawned the Polish joke
Yes, I realise that. But that means it is Americocentric, like I said. |
| MguyXXV |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 00:24:35
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
That Polish joke was the funniest in the movie. Yes, I'm pretty sure the point is that Will Ferrell is an idiot -- it came across perfectly to me.
I can't make sense of that. There is no other indication that he has prejudiced attitudes -- he is just generally awkward/desperate. It doesn't fit at all.
I think the point was this: the Polish joke is outdated -- nobody makes Polish jokes anymore, because the classist/bigoted/jingoistic notion upon which they are based has long since passed into oblivion; hence, the fact that the Ferrell chacter makes the reference is funny because it is an obvious irony, as in, only an idiot would actually believe in the conclusion to be drawn from stupid, outdated, bigoted Polish jokes.
And, by the way, it isn't an "Americocentric" myopia that created the Polish joke of yore: it was the tension between Poles as an immigrant group, on the one hand, and other, longer-settled immigrant groups in the U.S., on the other hand, that spawned the Polish joke -- much like the "Irish" jokes among the English, which spawned from Irish-English tensions and do not reflect the actual intellectual capacity of the Irish (who produced Joyce and Yeats, fer crissake!). Accordingly, one does not actually believe that the English think a crowd of Irishmen is actually called a thicket.   |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 15:51:02
His best is Talladega Nights, Anchorman is very good (if likely to seem much less fresh five years later), and he's the best part of the mediocre Old School. Other than that... eh... |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 11:40:49
I thought Blades of Glory was quite funny; Talladega Nights and Semi-Pro were O.K. (Is he obsessed with sport?) He's good in Zoolander. |
| ChocolateLady |
Posted - 08/06/2009 : 06:38:11
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
1 Will F. needs to be out of movies for a few years,
I'd argue that "a few years" may be too short for me.
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
he's ruining everything good he's made.
And that would be what, exactly?
What film did he do that was "good" aside from maybe Stranger than Fiction?
(Of course, I didn't care for him much in SNL, either.)
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| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 21:31:40
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
That Polish joke was the funniest in the movie. Yes, I'm pretty sure the point is that Will Ferrell is an idiot -- it came across perfectly to me.
I can't make sense of that. There is no other indication that he has prejudiced attitudes -- he is just generally awkward/desperate. It doesn't fit at all. |
| MguyXXV |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 15:01:28
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
How about the fact that it's a big-budget movie that is actively trying to look like a shitty kid's show from thirty years ago? The props look plastic, the costumes look rubber -- it's not a cheeky homage, it (like the whole movie) is actively making fun of the fact that it's a remake of a shitty television show. Land of the Lost the movie hates "Land of the Lost" the show.
I would agree with that observation and even consider that the filmmakers purposely employed such a sublime, metacritical approach if it were not for one thing: there is no signal in the film that it doesn't take itself as a serious attempt to be funny. In that regard, it lacks one more layer. Suggestion for the DVD: a final scene where the camera pans back, revealing a kid watching the "film" as a TV show. He looks nonplussed and maybe mumbles, "That was retarded." |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 14:53:39
That Polish joke was the funniest in the movie. Yes, I'm pretty sure the point is that Will Ferrell is an idiot -- it came across perfectly to me.
I see everyone else has already covered the fact that it's a disgusting toilet humor movie that didn't need to be so, and that Will Ferrell has ridden his shtick into the ground. How about the fact that it's a big-budget movie that is actively trying to look like a shitty kid's show from thirty years ago? The props look plastic, the costumes look rubber -- it's not a cheeky homage, it (like the whole movie) is actively making fun of the fact that it's a remake of a shitty television show. Land of the Lost the movie hates "Land of the Lost" the show. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 09:12:06
Land of the Lost
So bad. But as I expected it to be bad, it didn't disappoint at least.
I'm really interested in the origins of language, so the Cha-Ka stuff drove me absolutely demented. I know it's not a serious film but that aspect was just annoying. I won't even put it in my Cunning Linguists accolade, where I normally include this sort of thing.
I was thinking of giving it 2/5 (for intermittent passable moments) until I remembered this line: "Forget the Polish, it's the tyrannosaurs that are the real dummies." Some people on the I.M.D.B. say that it is to show the character as being an idiot, but if that's the case it didn't pull it off. Just seemed off-colour and also Americocentric. (No one else thinks that about the Poles.) |
| rabid kazook |
Posted - 07/13/2009 : 17:14:35
1 Will F. needs to be out of movies for a few years, he's ruining everything good he's made.
2 It's just sickening that this is piled under a family movie.
3 I'm puzzled how can people like these uncharismatic, a-ssholish characters that people like D. McBride (in other movies J. Hill, S. Rogan...) play.
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| silly |
Posted - 06/16/2009 : 14:59:50
I hear Will is developing a Turd Monster script (to be shown in 3D, naturally).
I need to go see Hangover. |
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