New in Theaters: ‘The Lego Movie’

Batman and Random '80s Spaceman Guy Battle the Forces of Evil and Conformity in 'The Lego Movie'
Batman and Random ’80s Spaceman Guy Battle the Forces of Evil and Conformity in ‘The Lego Movie’

legomovie-posterThe last few years have seen a dismal parade of brand-extension movies for toy companies like GI Joe and Battleship that barely deserved the digital space they occupied in some projection booth’s server. Now, a pleasant surprise: the anarchic, play-centric The Lego Movie, which could just be that Holy Grail of the family film: Fun for all ages.

It’s playing now pretty much everywhere. My review is at PopMatters:

The Lego Movie isn’t exactly calling for open rebellion against the corporate toy complex that provides its title: it means to sell interlocking plastic blocks. But in a world of cloud server-scheduled childhoods, proposing that kids should be left alone to play however they damn well feel like it seems at least mildly rebellious…

Overpriced coffee as tool of the oppressive state in 'The Lego Movie'
Overpriced coffee as tool of the oppressive state in ‘The Lego Movie’

Here’s the trailer:

New in Theaters: ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’

'Anchorman 2'! Is back!
‘Anchorman 2’! Is back!

Anchorman2_PosterThe rule of comedy sequels is not a strong one; witness everything from Ghostbusters 2 to The Hangover 3. Nevertheless, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell dared the fates by going back to their 2004 cult oddity Anchorman, the single most surreal comedy to hit American theaters since Monty Python, and seeing if they could resuscitate the magic. This time, instead of 1970s local-news, they’re doing an extended riff on early CNN.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opens everywhere tomorrow. My review is at Film Journal International:

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is so busy resting on its laurels it never gives the audience a solid reason for having shown up. The original was anarchic parody on a near-operatic scale, with the feel of several comedy greats throwing it all out there as though they would never get another shot. But the second film is clearly a franchise, it reeks of work

You can see the trailer here; just part of the film’s Super Bowl-like marketing campaign that’s been swamping the nation for weeks now: