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Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 24, discussing Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Will Ferrell's penchant for fictional characters in real-life competitions, and how Netflix is changing the game with running time.

Background music used is from the Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga soundtrack.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel

Rating: 6.95/10
3:11 PM
Chud

The Lego Movie isn't really the very first Lego movie. There's Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers. There's also Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. Those two, however, converted the cute appeal of the Lego Minifigures into computer-generated characters. Which means in those movies, the Minifigures bend, and I mean in curves.

Bendy legs: great but unrealistic.

What makes The Lego Movie different from those other Lego movies is that this one tries – and succeeds – in achieving the look of the stop-motion fan-made videos on YouTube. The characters don't bend at the knees, and everything is made of Lego pieces – from waves to smoke to clouds to flames.

Some people may prefer the streamlined look of Ninjago or Chyma, so the stiff animation style may not appeal to them. But there are still several reasons why you should go watch this flick. Here are five.

1. "Everything is Awesome"
Yes. That annoying but damn catchy theme song.

The Lonely Island: annoying but damn catchy.

2. The Schizophrenic Good Cop/Bad Cop
Of course we'll hear Liam Neeson's trademark Irish drawl. But we'll also hear him in a high-pitched goody-goody voice.

"Release the Kraken. The boy is the chosen one, you must see it."

3. Super Heroes
By which I mean "DC heroes", specifically Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern. Three guesses why there aren't any Marvel heroes in here.

Everyone is happy in this movie. Even Gotham's Dark Knight.

4. The Wizard Vitruvius being voiced by God
By which I mean "Morgan Freeman". I also love how they just dangle him on a string to simulate being a ghost.

"My voice acting talent fee is quite expensive." -Morgan Freeman

And finally…

5. The Millenium Falcon
Yes, that's Anthony Daniels and THE Billy Dee Williams as C-3PO and Lando Calrissian.

No photo of the Millenium Falcon available, so here's Abraham Lincoln and Superman instead.



The Lego Movie. USA. 2014.



Original rating: 8.0 / 10
Chris Pratt's genuinely happy voice: + 0.05
Charlie Day's trademark scream: + 0.05
The meta-ness of the entire thing: + 0.05
Will Arnett's Batman performance: + 0.05
Channing Tatum as Superman: + 0.05
Jonah Hill as the Green Lantern: - 0.05
Live action bit at the end: - 0.05
President Business not being Will Ferrell-y enough: - 0.05
Final rating: 8.10 / 10





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4:33 PM

I was just stumped at the fact that Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L Jackson died instantly in this one. I thought that they were the fuckin' super cops. But they died! What a bunch of losers. Good stuff too that Foo Fighters' "My Hero" was playing while they were falling to their deaths.

Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) play disgraced New York cops who do the paperwork for the cops that they idolize (namely The Rock and Sam). I was LOL when Wahlberg shot Derek Jeter (as himself) in the Yankees Stadium. Very stupid.

Eva Mendes' beauty was uncovered here fully I think.

Wasn't it already uncovered before?

I already noticed her ass in Too Fast, Too Furious. But she's on a whole 'notha level right here. Can't believe Gamble was allowing Hoitz to talk to his wife (Mendes) like that.

The hidden gem here for me is Michael Keaton (Capt. Gene Mauch). He keeps mentioning TLC song lyrics without him even noticing it. Now who the fuck would say, "Don't go chasin' waterfalls"? Hilarious shit!

Can't find quick Keaton movie pics. Here's Batman instead.

Nice soundtrack, too. Little River Band rocks! I didn't know that "Pimps Don't Cry" was a real song (during the end credits). And I knew that it was The White Stripes' music that was playin' in the background during the shootout in the building after the shareholder meeting.

All in all, 7.5 out of 10 for hilarity.



*images from deadline.com, mos.totalfilm.com, blog.newsok.com




If you liked this review, you may also want to read Sting Lacson's review of The Other Guys.
12:03 AM

I must admit that this film changed my perception of Will Ferrell. I found Will Ferrell funny way before this movie, but I thought his humor came from his loud antics and his desire to be nude all the time. This movie shows his more subdued side (his character is a boring cop who used to be from the Forensics Accounting department), although there are times when he slips back to his loud persona. But that's like only for a few seconds, so it's all right.

Mark Wahlberg doesn't take off his shirt here (sorry, girls). But he is such a natural actor that pretty soon it ceases to matter that he is Mark Wahlberg.

Samuel L. Jackson is back with his famous Samuel L. Jackson-style of acting. You know, tough cool guy approach. Fugly cool.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson didn't get much screen time, roughly as long as Samuel's. Too bad, as The Rock is one of my favorite actors. He is someone who left the world of wrestling for showbusiness, because he is damn better at it.

Michael Keaton is hilarious as the police chief. And the TLC references were really laugh-out-loud moments.

Steve Coogan was brilliant. Of course, he will always have that British accent. And I only recently noticed that Coogan kind of looks like Spanish footballer Carles Puyol.

Ray Stevenson once again shows his team playing-abilities. Only this time, he plays an Aussie.

And finally, Eva Mendes is starting to grow on me. I admit that she wasn't really my type before. But she's getting hotter and hotter with every movie I see her in. Keep up the good work, Eva.


P.S. No wonder that other black guy looked familiar. He's Damon Wayans, Jr. I mean, is Damon Wayans that old?


*some info from IMDb
pic from empiremovies.com


The Other Guys. USA. 2010.


Rating: Seven and a half out of ten.




If you liked this review, you may also want to read The Negation's review of The Other Guys.
10:34 AM

You all know Will Ferrell. He's that comedian who likes to strip naked.

And you all know Bear Grylls. He's that really cool guy who can drink urine.

Now put them together into an hour-long program, and you get Men vs. Wild. Actually, the complete title is Will Ferrell and Bear Grylls are Men vs. Wild.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show Man vs. Wild, it's the wilderness survival show on Discovery Channel, hosted by Bear Grylls, where he shows you survival techniques that you never even knew were possible.

In this special episode, Bear Grylls shows us how to survive in Sweden's arctic tundra, this time with Hollywood comedian Will Ferrell tagging along. Now Will Ferrell may seem obnoxious in a lot (in fact, most) of his films, but he does know how to tone down for serious shows like this. I mean, he is still funny, but without upstaging the show's host. He just sits in the back seat and limits himself to a few side comments here and there. But believe me when I say that he grabs every possible opportunity to crack a joke. Good work, Mr. Ferrell.

When I first heard about this, I thought that the show might turn out to be a spoof or a parody, but no. It surprisingly remained true to the essence of the show. Will Ferrell did not transform it into a laugh-out-loud riot. It was still the same Bear Grylls show, only with Will Ferrell in it, which made it cooler, more interesting, and more humorous.

Will Ferrell apparently was not chosen at random for this special episode. As it turns out, this is part of his promotional campaign for his upcoming film Land of the Lost. Boo to his shameless plugging, but hooray for a great show.


*pic from socialitelife.celebuzz.com


Will Ferrell and Bear Grylls are Men vs. Wild. Discovery Channel. 2009.


Rating: Eight and a half out of ten.
Will Ferrell's subdued humor: Eight and a half out of ten.
Bear Grylls' survival techniques: Nine out of ten.
7:50 AM

Confronted with a choice between The Other Boleyn Girl and Semi-Pro, I just asked myself, "Do I want to leave the theater happy or disturbed?"

Seems that I made the right choice, for Semi-Pro will have you laughing literally from the opening credits. People might find Will Ferrell's brand of comedy a little off-color, but he is at any rate the funniest man on the planet right now. To be more precise, the funniest man in Hollywood. Americans just like to think that Hollywood means the entire planet.

Anyway, continuing the tradition of Blades of Glory, Ferrell once again relives his sports fantasies, this time in a sport he really plays. Woody Harrelson spices things up as Monix, the NBA-washout who got traded for a washing machine. Andre Benjamin doesn't deliver as much laughs as Will and Woody, but he does a good job nevertheless.

With the music, the wardrobe, and the hairstyles, it's a retro-fest, and the old school basketball jerseys provide the cherry on top. Those short shorts weren't enough to hide Will Ferrell's thighs while shooting the final free throw.

So before seeing this movie, just ask yourself if you want to leave the theater laughing. Because I did.


Rating: Three and a half stars.
11:28 PM
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