Lego Dredd 3
Since the last post I watched Dredd (2012), Spider-Man 3 (2007) The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Knocked Up (2007), and This is 40 (2012).
Dredd
Under the radar movie that was skipped in theaters by most who would have seen it because of the 1995 Stallone interpretation of the comic that betrayed the faceless nature of the character. This is beautifully directed with great special effects.
Noms: Pete Travis directing, Special Effects, Alex Garland for writing, and
Anthony Dod Mantle for cinematography.
Spider-Man 3
I was shocked that this was even worse than I had remembered. I was pretty disappointed watching it ten years ago and went into rewatching it with an open mind but it really doesn't come together well at all.
Noms: no way.
The Lego Batman Movie
Despite the great reviews I was pretty cautious going into this movie. Both my wife and I thought the Batman character was the worst part of the original Lego Movie, and I didn't care for the first trailer I saw for The Lego Batman Movie. I didn't much care for the rap metal song at the beginning of the movie although it certainly set a fitting tone for the Batman character and plays off the cinematic and comic darkness of Batman. Great joke writing and great casting of the side characters (especially appreciate the deep cut joke of Doug Benson as Bane. It might not fit the rules of real lego pieces as well as the original but it does get creative.
Noms: Animation, screenwriting for Seth Grahame-Smith (he has the "story by" credit), ensemble casting.
Knocked Up
This felt like the first beautifully shot comedy in quite a while when it came out and gladly it has been a trend. The one thing about this movie that doesn't hold up is Katherine Heigl's career. This was her most enjoyable performance and gave false hopes that she would be make ten years worth of good movies since this came out, however she felt this was a movie she needed to be distanced.
Noms: writing for Judd Apatow, cinematography for Eric Alan Edwards, the music of the film.
This is 40
This (somewhat) sequel to Knocked Up plays more like a very well shot indie film with funny dialogue than a straight comedy. The Mann/Rudd characters are the same as Knocked Up, however some of the extended family characters seem to have been tweaked or disappear. It still holds up as a nice comedic drama about getting older.
Noms: acting for Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, cinematography for Phedon Papamichael
