00s Movie Review - Tropic Thunder

Director: Ben Stiller
Genre: Action/ Comedy
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Bacl, Jay Baruchel, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan, Tom Cruise, Matthew mcConaughey, Bill Hader

Description: Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Review: We all know the prototype war movie: the brave leader, the cursing black guy with a big heart, the scary newbie and the villainous opponent. We also know the prototype actors: the tough action hero on detour, the lame comedian who only knows to tell one joke in many different ways, the serious Oscar winner and the rapper that wants to explore his acting career. “Tropic Thunder” mocks both of those groups, but also Hollywood, agents, producers and entertainment shows.

The film, that starts after a few fake trailers, is about the filming of war movie Tropic Thunder. It’s the fictive memoire of Vietnam veteran ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback. Director Daniel Cockburn can’t control the actors in his crew. He’s dealing with action hero Tuff Speedman, whose try on more serious acting failed. But also the Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus and the addicted-to-many-things comedian Jeff Portnoy. To control them, they are send to the real jungle, where they unfortunately also have to deal with real drug dealers.

The most interesting and elaborate storyline is the one of Lazarus. An actor who always stays in character and even had a procedure to make his skin darker so he can play the role in Tropic Thunder. It sounds harsh and an easy way to provoke, but it’s deeper than that. The other characters aren’t thought through as much. Jack Black does nothing new, hysterical and over the top. But that doesn’t make it less funny. And Ben Stiller’s character is mocking Tom Cruise, a bit too much sometimes. Tom Cruise himself also shows up, as the fat, bald and cursing producer. Funny? From time to time.

The movie is overall very funny and Robert Downey Jr. is just fantastic in his part. And the many supporting actors, Jay Baruchel, Steve Coogan, Danny McBride, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte, are all good. “Tropic Thunder” is always praised and I like it too. But not as much as most people.

Rating: 3,5/ 5 

10s Movie Review - While We're Young

Director: Noah Baumbach
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Grodin

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 23: A FILM WITH AMANDA SEYFRIED
 
Description: A middle-aged couple’s (Naomi Watts, Ben Stiller) career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple (Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried) enters their lives.

Review: Growing older is not easy, especially in a society as youth-oriented as ours. Becoming an adult is even more difficult these days, and increasingly less the same as growing older. What does it mean to be an adult, if it is no longer strictly tied to age? How do you become an adult and stay young at the same time? These questions are the basis of “While We’re Young”, by director Noah Baumbach.

Josh and Cornelia are a couple in their forties who are torn between what is expected of them at their age and their longing for their younger selves. The lives of their best friends revolve solely around children and parenthood, but the couple is not (yet) interested in that. Josh is a documentary filmmaker who has been working on his second film for ten years, without success. In doing so, he is actually postponing further development in his life, always citing the completion of his film as a reason for not doing anything else.

Then they meet Jamie and Darby, two incredibly hip twenty-somethings. They come acress as so original and spontaneous to Josh that he tries to become young again through his interactions with them and drags Cornelia along with him. This results in some funny scenes, where for example Cornelia is learning to dance to hip-hop after fleeing her best friend’s baby music class.

Baumbach skillfully interweaves artistic doubts with uncertainty about growing older and/ or becoming an adult, and the question of how to deal with this (and how not to). Baumbach has his own unique style, I always love his tragicomedies. And I feel like this is a movie that is overlooked by many.

Rating: 4 / 5

Movie Review - Hubie Halloween

Director: Steve Brill
Genre: Comedy/ Horror
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Kevin James, Rob Scheider, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, June Squibb, Noah Schnapp, Maya Rudolph, Tim Meadows, Michael Chiklis, Kenan Thompson, Shaquille O’Neill, Ben Stiller, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler

Description: Despite his devotion to his hometown of Salem, Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) is a figure of mockery for kids and adults alike. But this year, something is going bump in the night, and it’s up to Hubie to save Halloween.  

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 43: A HORROR COMEDY

Review: Adam Sandler joked that if he didn’t get an Oscar for “Uncut Gems” he would intentionally make a bad comedy. He kept his word, because here is “Hubie Halloween”.
Every now and then Adam Sandler makes a serious movie and shows everyone what a good actor he can be. With movies like “Punch-Drunk Love”, “Funny People” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” he won the hearts of the critics. With “Uncut Gems”, which is probably his best performance and movie to date, he even had a chance to win an Oscar. On Howard Stern’s radio show, Sandler joked that he would take revenge with a really bad movie, if he didn’t win. Sandler never even got a nomination, which is a damn shame. So out of ‘vengeance’, he made “Hubie Halloween”.
It is a typical Adam Sandler comedy. Weird mouth, funny voice, poop jokes and all of his actor friends.
In terms of story, “Hubie Halloween” isn’t much either. Sandler plays adult child Hubie Dubois, the village idiot. He is seen as annoying and a loser and hated by the entire town, when he is actually one of the nicest people out there. Hubie doesn’t care about what others think and always wants to help people. And with his favorite holiday Halloween coming up, he’s got his eyes open. Because things will get freaky this year, but no one believes Hubie.
An old acquaintance of Hubie has escaped from the madhouse, his new neighbor has a dark secret and several residents of Salem are kidnapped. Hubie alerts the police, but no one takes him seriously. So Hubie has to solve it himself.
“Hubie Halloween” is a wink to some of Sandler’s other movies. Ben Stiller is in the opening scene, as the mean nurse from “Happy Gilmore” and his former co-star Julie Bowen from that same movie is also in it. There is a reference to Canteen Boy, a character he played on “Saturday Night Live”, and the film is filled with many of Sandler’s friends: Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Kevin James. Even his wife and kids have roles.
Don’t take it all to seriously, then “Hubie Halloween” might be more enjoyable. It has some funny details, like the running gag of Hubie’s mother’s obscene shirts and women dressing up as Harley Quinn. But apart from that, the humor never exceeds the level of a screaming Adam Sandler.
It's not one of his worst movies, but Adam Sandler sure as hell made a lot better comedies. “Hubie Halloween” just feels effortless. I think, with a better script and jokes it could have been a lot funnier.

Rating: 2 / 5

00s Movie Review - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Director: Adam McKay
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Chris Parnell, Fred Willard, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller, Missi Pyle, Jack Black

Description: Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is San Diego’s top-rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 1970s, but that’s all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman (Christina Applegate) is hired as a new anchor.

Review: “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” could have easily been a juvenile, forgettable comedy. But director Adam McKay really created a hilarious film, that is a favorite for a lot of people.
We meet the arrogant and quirky Ron Burgundy, who is one of the most successful news anchors in 1970s San Diego. When Veronica Corningstone enters, he gets some rivalry, because she is a very ambitious women with only one big dream: becoming a lead anchor. At first Veronica gets simple stories to cover, like a fashion show for cats, but she doesn’t accept being just that kind of news woman.
When “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” was released in 2004, it wasn’t very well-received by critics. But through the years, the film has gained a cult-status and is a comedy classic. There was even a sequel in 2013.
The constant bickering between Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate’s characters is hilarious and we get fun supporting roles from Paul Rudd, Fred Willard and Vince Vaughn. But it’s Steve Carell that steals the show, as weatherman Brick Tamland. He is seriously the dumbest movie character and you question yourself how it’s possible Brick is still alive. Carell is hilarious in his role.
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” is definitely one of my favorite comedies off all-time.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 163: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Comedy/ Adventure/ Fantasy/ Family

Runtime: 98 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Rami Malek, Ben Kingsley, Dick van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Boll Cobbs

Description: Larry (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.

Review: In the newest adventure of night guard Larry Daley, the magical tablet has some malfunction. He has to find a solution to stop the corrosion on the tablet, else the magic of the museum will be gone. This leads him to a London museum, the only place the tablet can be fixed. This brings us some of the old characters we know from the previous two movies, but also some new characters. And the group being chased by yet another dinosaur skeleton isn’t very original.

The most painful jokes come from the Neanderthal Laa, who is the spitting image of Larry. It’s a second character played by Ben Stiller. It’s such a ridiculous role and it’s just not funny at all.

It’s clear that “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” is targeting a younger audience. It’s much of the same, director Shawn Levy didn’t change the formula. Where “Night at the Museum” was original, refreshing and fun, this third installment clearly isn’t.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 127: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Director: Ben Stiller

Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Fantasy/ Adventure

Runtime: 115 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, Katherine Hahn, Shirley Maclaine

Description: When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Review: It started as a short story in The New Yorker in 1939 and this is the second movie based on this story. The first adaptation dates from 1947, so it’s not strange to see “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with a more modern touch.

Ben Stiller plays the leading role, but also directed the film. Walter Mitty leads an unremarkable life. He has been working for LIFE magazine as a photo developer. He is a daydreamer, where he sees himself as a mountain climber and a hero. Collegue Cheryl is often the leading lady in his day dreams. Walter’s secure life is about to collapse when the magazine decides to only publish digitally. With that he also has to find the negative of the photo that’s supposed to go on the last issue of LIFE. From that moment on Walter is determined to find its photographer Sean O’Connell.

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has some good dry humor. Here you see that Ben Stiller has a comedic background, but not of the silly category. The film often has a melancholic feel to it. The desire for the seemingly unattainable, lamenting missed opportunities, craving the past; all feelings that many people recognize. The visuals are stunning and that in combination with the music make “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” a true cinematic adventure. The film has a clean style, seamless transitions and beautiful graphics.

Ben Stiller is really good in this film both as Walter and as a director. Kristen Wiig was the perfect choice to play the natural charming Cheryl. Sean Penn is cool as ever and Adam Scott is a very convincing douchebag.

Even the biggest cynic would have trouble to keep that smile of his face while watching “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Marry, Kiss, Cliff - Round 5

Round 5: Jerry Maguire (“Jerry Maguire”), Ted Stroehmann (“There’s Something About Mary”) and Patrick Bateman (“American Psycho”)

Marry: I think you could call yourself very lucky if Ted Stroehmann is your husband. Although he isn’t always very lucky himself. Well, neither am I so we would understand each other. Ted is such a sweet man.

Kiss: Jerry Maguire is kind of a player, but also has a soft side. If he would tell me “you complete me”, I would melt…

Cliff: I would easily push Patrick Bateman of a cliff. He’s a yuppie, obsessed with his own appearance and, oh yeah, he’s insane! I wouldn’t want him to chase me with a chainsaw.

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 13: The Watch

Director: Akiva Schaffer
Genre: Comedy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Will Forte Description: Four men who form a neighborhood watch group as a way to get out of their day-to-day family routines find themselves defending the Earth from an alien invasion.

Review: It’s a very noble deed: starting a neighborhood watch to help de police out. Evan is the initiator, but only three other people in Glenview want to help him. Soon the four men stumble upon something that’s bigger than any of them: extraterrestrials. That’s basically the story and you shouldn’t take it too seriously. It’s a simplistic comedy with jokes that pass you in warp speed. Occasionally they will make you laugh, but they’re mostly juvenile sex jokes.
Although we’re dealing with a cast who has lots of experience with the comedy genre, they don’t lift “The Watch” to a level above average. Ben Stiller is just being his silly self, Vince Vaughn is overly loud and outspoken and Jonah Hill is constantly proving that he’s not a loser. The one that made me laugh the most was Richard Ayoade, who’s just starting to make a name in Hollywood. But then again he’s British and their humor is almost always better than American humor.
Time goes fast while watching this movie, but when it comes to humor the makers were aiming for quantity instead of quality. “The Watch” isn’t a movie you should expect much from, it’s simple and easy to watch.

Rating: 2/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "There's Something About Mary"

“There’s Something About Mary” is my favorite comedy of all time and one of my all-time favorite movies. It doesn’t only have great, memorable moments, but also fabulous characters that you never forget. Just because they are so quirky. Here they are.

Mary Jensen
Played by: Cameron Diaz
Mary is every mans dream. She is beautiful, kind, loves sports, helpful and smart. She is also Ted’s dreamgirl. When he tracks her down she is as beautiful as ever, single, and an Orthopedic Surgeon. Mary is also very involved with her mentaly challenged brother Warren.

Ted Stroehmann
Played by: Ben Stiller
Ted is a goofy guy who got lucky that Mary wanted to go to the prom with him. And that’s all the luck he has, because this night goes horribly wrong. He hires a private detective to find Mary when he’s older and he realizes that Mary is still a fox. He wins her over again but there are many guys on the lookout for Mary. And Ted, the unlucky guy he is, can’t help to get himself in another sticky situation with many to follow. He is the only selfless man though, because he can only be happy if Mary is. That’s how he eventually gets the girl.

Pat Healy
Played by: Matt Dillon
Pat is the private detective Ted hires. He claims that Mary is fat, disabled and very unhappy. That’s obviously not true, but he also fell for Mary and wants her for himself. With a bunch of lies Pat manages to win Mary over, but his lies don’t hold. Pat is a sneaky, slick and lying man.

Dom Woganowski
Played by: Chris Elliott
Dom is Ted’s best friend and is sick of hearing the stories about Mary. He convinces Ted to track her down and secretly likes Mary himself. In high school he was Mary’s stalking ex-boyfriend Woogie, the reason she moved and changed her name. Dom has a thing for shoes and a weird skin condition.

Tucker
Played by: Lee Evans
Tucker is one of Mary’s patients and a very sophisticated man. So he appears, because Tucker is actually Norm the pizza delivery guy who fell in love with Mary after delivering her a pizza when she opened the door in her night gown.

Magda
Played by: Lin Shaye
Magda is Mary’s landlady and she loves tanning. A bit to much, because she looks like a brownie. Magda loves martini’s and likes to eat a banana split after sex. She is also the proud owner of the lovely dog Puffy, who is more feisty then he appears.

Favorite Character: Ted Stroehmann

Movie Moments: "There's Something About Mary"

One of my top five favorites and full of hilarious moments. Here are my favorite scenes.

Moment # 1: Zipper accident
No one believes him, but Ted is taking the beautiful Mary to the prom. He picks her up at her house, where immediatly things go wrong when he’s trying to surprise Mary’s brother Warren with a baseball. It gets worse when Ted goes to the bathroom to pee. He’s watching two birds, when the fly away Mary’s parents think he was watching Mary getting redressed and he was masturbating. When he wants to zip up, his gentleman parts get stuck between the zipper. Auch!

Moment # 2: Who needs him?
Ted hired Pat Healy to find Mary and Healy is spying on her. Finding out she’s practically a saint and still a very beautiful woman. While Mary is having lunch with her friends, Pat overhears her talking about a guy named Brad. He was basically the perfect guy, but she found out he wasn’t that happy about her mentally challenged brother Warren. So she tells her friends: “Who needs him? I’ve got a vibrator”. And Healy bursts into laughter.

Moment # 3: Wrong window
Healy is watching Mary outside her appartement. She is getting undressed and Healy wants to take a look through bigger binoculours. When he gets them and is ready for the big moment where he sees Mary’s boobs, Healy glances into her neighbours window seeing Magda topless, which scares him.

Moment # 4: Healy tries to get Mary’s attention
Mary is at the golf course and Healy is trying to impress her. He doesn’t know how to play golf, but when he needs change he gets her attention by telling her he only has coins from Nepal, a place Mary always wanted to visit. In the parking lot, she wants to get to know him and also finds out he’s an architect and works with ‘retards’ (his words). Off course they are all lies, but she likes him.

Moment # 5: Mary and Ted meet again
Ted found out that Healy lied to him. Mary is still a beautiful woman and hasn’t changed much. He wants to visit her, but is affraid. His friend Dom makes Mary notice him and they start talking. They plan a date and Ted is filled with joy.

Moment # 6: Hairgel
Before Ted is meeting Mary, he’s trying to feel more relaxed. He starts masturbating and after the big moment he looses his… body fluid…. When he opens the door for Mary, the lost sperm is hanging on his ear. Mary thinks it’s hairgel and and grabs it to put it in her hair. While in the bar, Mary’s hair is standing up straight.

Moment # 7: Ted vs. Puffy
Ted goes to Mary’s house and before he does, Healy feeds dog Puffy some uppers. Magda asks Ted to release the dog from the bathroom, while he’s banging the door. Ted is scared for what he’s going to see, but when he opens the door he sees the little Puffy. He’s not so cute, because he attacks Ted and they get into a big fight. And Puffy ends up jumping out of the window.

Moment # 8: The hook
Mary and Ted are having the best time and they seem very happy. While standing on the peer, a fishing hook grabs Ted’s lip.

Moment # 9: Dom is Woogie
Mary told Ted about her ex-boyfriend Woogie who started acting weird and he’s the reason she changed her name. Woogie turns out to be Ted’s friend Dom and he shows up at Mary’s appartement. He’s trying to steal her shoes.

Moment # 10: Happiest with you
All of Mary’s worshipers are in her appartement, even Brad. It turns out that he wasn’t bad and that he didn’t say those things about her brother Warren. Ted tells all the guys that Mary should decide and that he just wants Mary to be happy. When he leaves her house, thinking she choose Brad, Mary follows him. Telling Ted: “I’d be happiest with you”. They kiss.

Favorite Moment: Moment # 10: Happiest with you

Movie Tip #6 - There's Something About Mary

Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliot, Lee Evans

Description: Ted (Ben Stiller)was a geek in high school, who was going to go to the prom with one of the most popular girls in school, Mary (Cameron Diaz). The prom date never happened, because Ted had a very unusual accident. Thirteen years later he realizes he is still in love with Mary, so he hires a private investigator (Matt Dillon) to track her down. That investigator discovers too may so he falls in love with Mary and he gives Ted some false information to keep him away from her. But soon Ted finds himself back into Mary's life, as we watch one funny scene after another.

Review: This is my all-time favorite comedy. The Farrely brother made a one-of-a-kind movie with a lot of humour! Some scenes are legendary (like the hairgel scene and the one with the fishing lure). I can watch this movie over and over again and still laugh at the same jokes. It's hilarious and it has a lot of extraordinary characters. And it's Diaz at her best!