Step Brothers, Riddick, Cloverfield.

Yes, YES, and YES! In the interest of time, these are going to be short. And mostly about my personal feelings, not filmmaking, so deal.

1. Step Brothers, 2008, directed by Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly.

"Two aimless middle-aged losers still living at home are forced against their will to become roommates when their parents get married." (IMDB).

Clearly this kind of humor is not going to appeal to everyone. If you have a husband who acts similarly to the characters, you might appreciate it a bit more. This whole film was like watching the experiences of Matt Adams (and that isn't an insult, my husband is extremely entertaining); anatomy jokes, watching quality on the couch, making up sick songs, etc. I found it hilarious. I honestly didn't stop laughing, like, at all. Just ridiculous. So, so inappropriate and ridiculous. Will Ferrell can be my wingman anytime.

Diesel channels your inner kick-ass!

2. The Chronicles of Riddick, 2004, directed by David Twohy. Written by Jim Wheat.
starring: Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Colm Feore.

"5 years after Pitch Black, the wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe." (IMDB).

I think you have to dig either fantasy or Vin Diesel in order to enjoy this. Lucky me, I dig both. Not to generalize, but I can see where partners having to sit through this (or any other Vin Diesel film) might get a little restless while their male mates are probably oozing testosterone, roaring rebel yells loudly ("#$*& YEAH! VIN DIESEL ROCKS!") but if you give him a chance, ladies, you might be pleasantly surprised.

 That said, this film probably would have been a good one without him. I thought the women (Judi Dench, Thandie Newton) were well-cast and very interesting. And visually, the film was amazing. Great sound. Amazing landscapes and effects. My favorite? The tentacle-y sun, reaching out to burn everyone with its beautiful, slithering rays. Gives quite a new meaning to "Fire on the Mountain, run boys, run!" doesn't it? And speaking of kick-ass, how about that ending, yeah?

What a great poster!

3. Cloverfield, 2008, directed by Matt Reeves. Written by Drew Goddard.
starring: Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, and Lizzy Caplan.

"Revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people."(IMDB). 

I had big plans to hate this film; I. CANNOT. TOLERATE. HAND-HELD. Like, at all. I spent the entire day after seeing The Blair Witch Project with a severe case of the bed-spins; I avoided seeing Avatar in the theater for fear of the same (obviously Cameron is a bit above using hand-held style but the motion? Heave). I get vertigo really easily. I can barely even turn my head around in the car for Christ's sake!

However. Even with an enormous chip on my shoulder coming in, I liked this. It was skillful, credible, funny in parts (kid holding the camera, and constant sarcastic explanations, "it's something, it's very terrible" or "we don't know what they are, also terrible.") ! And it scared me. Scene in the empty subway tunnel, flashing lights? I was ready for it to be something funny, or gross, like a scurrying rat, and I kept asking Matt, WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS THAT THING? JUST TELL ME! He giggled and said nothing; when they find the night-vision setting on the camera and then discover what it is? I literally jumped about a foot in the air. The bites on that girl? Very gruesome. The repeated bashing of one of the "creatures" with what, a pipe? And the noises it made? Right on.

Nicely done, all. But tread lightly if you have any sensitivity in your inner ears, really.

Wills.

Blades of Glory, 2007, directed by Josh Gordon, Will Speck. Written by Jeff Cox.
starring: Will Ferrell, John Heder, Amy Poehler.

"In 2002, two rival Olympic ice skaters were stripped of their gold medals and permanently banned from men's single competition. Presently, however, they've found a loophole that will allow them to qualify as a pairs team." (IMDB).

I was completely fine with this. I mean, clearly it wasn't meant to win any awards or anything, but I laughed pretty much the whole time. It was crude, and the humor was just embarrassing and dorky, but I thought it was funny. "You smell like urine." "A lot?" or "Whoever invented rope is an asshole," as Ferrell's character struggles to untwine himself from a trap. And can we just talk about the name for a minute? CHAZZ MICHAEL MICHAELS. This makes me laugh now, sitting here alone in the computer room. I have never like Amy Poehler in anything before, certainly not SNL, but I thought she was well-suited for this. It's a silly, slapstick-y bunch of nonsense, but it's good for a lot of chuckles. I can see Will Ferrell's films doing really well in the stoner sector, if you know what I mean.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,  2004, directed by Adam Mckay. Written by Will Ferrell and Adam Mckay.
starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd.

"Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top rated newsman in the male dominated broadcasting of the 1970's, but that's all about to change when a new female employee with ambition to burn arrives in his office." (IMDB).

Absolutely not what I was expecting. And while I found it actually less funny than Blades of Glory, I kind of dug the silly little stylistic things they did, almost in an Austin Powers kind of way: the random popping up during his jazz flute bit, the animated TAKE ME TO PLEASURE TOWN scene, bursting out into barbershop quartet "Afternoon Delight?" Silly. Call me crazy, but I thought the shaggy hair, sideburns, and 'stache really worked for Paul Rudd (hot). I haven't been able to watch Steve Carell without clenching for years now, and this didn't help matters. Christina Applegate has always been really pretty, I think she just had to fight hard to shed her Kelly Bundy image; I liked her. And she has cute freckles, never knew that!

There may be a few more Ferrell films on the list but honestly, if they are all like this, I'll be just fine with them. I think he's funny. And for my money, I don't think there's been a more entertaining presidential impersonation than his W. Too bad there's not a film about that.

One of my favorite things. . .

Okay, you'll have to forgive the way this completely takes up my whole blog and that the subtitles are probably Swedish or Finnish or something, but this is one scene from a movie that I will stoop to You Tube to rebroadcast. I watched this last night and was literally bawling from laughing so hard. Each new object the van hits sends me into a new fit of hysterics, even today.

Cars hitting objects and smoke shows. See? I'm not a difficult audience. This sort of thing should be marketed as an antidepressant or something. I just think about it and I start giggling.