Double Feach

So last night The Bonz, JJ, The Neon Kid and I pulled off the old double feach. For those of you who don't like to cheat the system, that is going to a movie and then strolling down the hall to another. Like most people, I don't enjoy paying $9 for a movie, especially when it's not fantastic (like the four that I have now seen this summer). First on tap was Land of the Lost, which was followed by Public Enemies (note: I would switch this order if I had to do it again).

Land of the Lost
I have to stop thinking that Skip Bayless has great ideas about what a good movie is because I went into LoL with semi higher expectations because he tweeted that it was good. Don't get me wrong, he claims that Anchorman is the best comedy of all time, so I guess he kind of knows what he's talking about.

I came away from Land of the Lost pleased with the comedic performances of Will Ferrell and Danny McBride, but disappointed with the movie as a whole. This is the big difference, for me, between The Boreover and Land of the Lost. I would take a movie like LoL, that is low budget, ridiculously stupid, but has extremely funny people in it over a high budget movie that deals with a lifelike situation that only has one guy that is semi-funny.

I haven't seen much of the original show, but I'm assuming the crazy fake looking aliens was a nice omage to the show. Kenny Powers was funny throughout, my favorite being when he would wonder why the other two weren't freaking out at the dinosaurs and other crazy things that were happening. The girl was reasonable and Jorma had his moments.

Ferrell had some great one-liners...

[as they hang by vines in a cave looking down at their dooms]
"Fortunately I have been in this exact situation three times before,"

[after throwing a temper tantrum he walks up to the others playing a banjo]
"Is there room around that camp fire for a jerk like me?"

My most laugh out loud moment was when Ferrell, Kenny Powers and Monkey Jorma were stoned on sweet nectar and eating gigantic crab legs. Kenny asked the other two how much money it would take to get them to make out. What ensues is comedy gold.

Public Enemies
I went into Public Enemies with high expectations for many reasons. Gangster movies can be sweet, Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, my boy Christian Bale was the detective, and was getting good reviews. I have to say I was disappointed.

It moved too slowly for me, but that could have been enhanced by it being my second movie of the night. Depp was great, but not as sweet as I thought he would be. Christian was again given a bland character that gave him no room to breathe. Why can't he be Alfred Borden or Jack Kelly in every movie?

Here's the big problem I had. I am all for love stories, but I couldn't get into this one at all. Maybe it just wasn't believable for me, but I couldn't feel anything for Dillinger and his girl throughout the film. I wish I could have been sad at the end, for as we all know Dillinger dies, but I didn't care because if he actually loved this chick he would've stopped robbing banks and gone away a long time ago.

I know it was based on a true story, but it was too standard and obvious to me. He robs banks, hides out, robs more banks, gets caught and dies....blah blah blah. Seen it many times before. What makes it better/different? The beginning was interesting, as we see Dillinger doing his thing, but then it runs kinda old through the middle. Things definitely picked up with during the cabin shootout scene and it was solid from there to the end, but overall not enough to pick me up.

Note to dudes (myself included): here is how you pick up a lady, "I like baseball, movies, whiskey, fast cars and you," and then you hold up her coat for her. Boom. Lock it up.

Eastbound & Down Is F'ing In

The hype on Eastbound got so high that it was no longer possible for me to not watch it. I recently finished the six short episodes of season one and was pleased but not that impressed. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produce the new series, while Danny McBride and Jody Hill wrote the episodes.

• Yeah sure he is the main character, but Danny McBride makes this show. It's not half as good with somebody else that people think is funny. He's been getting a lot of credit now for his work in Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, but if you want to see him at his best, check him out as Rico in Hot Rod.

• The maturation of Stevie (right) from loser dork into loser that acts like a jerk was a masterpiece. Whether it's dressing in all black at the bbq or bringing his band students out to the baseball field and yelling at them when they weren't facing the right way, he was gold by the end of this season.

• The third and final thing that made this first season good was cursing at a middle school. For this reason alone, thank you for HBO. The f word in from of little kids is hillarious. Especially when no one, even the principal, punishes him for his behavior.

Top 5 Characters

1. Kenny Powers- Danny McBride
   
2. Stevie Janowski- Steve Little
   
3. Pat Anderson- Adam Scott
4. Ashley Schaeffer- Will Ferrell
5. Cassie Powers- Jennifer Irwin