TV Show Review - Murderville (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Mystery/ Crime/ Comedy
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2022
Starring: Will Arnett, Haneefah Wood, Lilian Bowden, Philip Smithey, Annie Murphy, Kamail Nanjiani, Marshawn Lynch, Sharon Stone, Ken Jeong, Conan O’Brien  

   
Description: Eccentric detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) teams up with clueless celebrity guest start to investigate a series of murders in this improvisational crime comedy.

Review: In the detective series “Murderville”, detective Terry Seattle gets a different police partner each episode. Together they tackle a murder case, but the guest actor who plays the role of partner has no script. He or she must therefore improvise and at the end of the episode, select the murderer from three suspects.
The idea of “Murderville” is brilliant and has a lot of potential. In six episodes, we see six famous stars try to solve the murder mystery: Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch, Annie Murphy, Kumail Najiani, Sharon Stone and Ken Jeong. As detective Seattle, played by comedian Will Arnett, keeps things going. He leads his unsuspecting partner past the crime scene (littered with hints) and then past three suspects (even more hints) to the final scene where the culprit is unmasked.
“Murderville” works a little better at some moments than others. Some guests break character (Will Arnett also sometimes), which can be distracting. Especially Ken Jeong. Sharon Stone and Kumail Nanjiani are the best at improvising, but Conan O’Brien did a bit of both. And I think he was my favorite guest star. Will Arnett is perfect for the job though. He perfectly navigates between the roles of actor and host. As a viewer, it’s fun to join in, because can also try and guess the culprit. It’s not very difficult though because of the overabundance of clues given.
If you like to tag along in solving a whodunit, “Murderville” is a fun time.  

00s Movie Review - Rataouille

Director: Brad Bird
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Comedy
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O’Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Will Arnett, Julius Callahan, James Remar, John Ratzenberger, Teddy Newton, Tony Fucile, Jake Steinfeld

Description: A rat (Patton Oswalt) who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker (Lou Romano) at a famous restaurant.

Review: In 1995 Pixar brought us “Toy Story” and it started a revolution within the world of animations. Pixar has been very successful ever since.
The quality of the images is unprecedented. The fur of the rats looks realistic, great details, reflections, light and shadowing, the water, it’s all stunning. With the humans they choose a more cartoony style, which is a good choice. This movie isn’t one of those super sweet Disney movies and has hardly any clichés.
The story works and has enough tempo. Off course a rat can’t talk and cook, but in the world of Disney everything is possible. The characters are interesting and there aren’t any typical characters. Leading character Remy, the cooking rat, is so loveable. He is different from the other rats, but is brave enough to be different.
The do it every time, Pixar just knows what the audience wants and they are always very original. “Ratatouille is one of my favorite Pixar movies and in my eyes a masterpiece.

 Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Muppets Haunted Mansion

Director: Kirk R. Thatcher
Genre: Family/ Comedy/ Musical/ Adventure
Runtime: 52 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, Darren Criss, Yvette Nicole Brown, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobsen, Matt Vogel, Alfonso Ribeiro, Ed Assner

Description: On Halloween night, Gonzo is challenged to spend one night in The Haunted Mansion.

Review: It’s Halloween and the Muppets celebrate. Except for Gonzo and Pepé. Gonzo receives an invitation to the spooky manor in which magician MacGuffin disappeared exactly a hundred years ago.
The Haunted Mansion is one of Disney most popular attractions, a kid-friendly haunted house. There is already a live-action movie based on this ride, starring Eddie Murphy. But let’s be honest, it’s more fun with the Muppets in it.
Several famous Halloween movies are spoofed here as well, most obvious one is “The Shining”. That’s where again this Muppet movie is for the entire family, because this is a joke that kids won’t understand, but the adults do.
“Muppets Haunted Mansion” stars the side characters of the popular puppets. Not Kermit or Miss Piggy are the stars, it’s Gonzo and his King Prawn friend Pepé.
It’s a fun Halloween film, for the whole family and for every Muppets fan.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Lego Movie 2

Director: Mike Mitchell
Genre: Action/ Animation/ Famiy
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell, Jadon Sand, Brooklynn Prince, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Ben Schwartz, Noel Fielding, Jason Momoa, Cobie Smulders, Ike Barinholtz, Ralph Fiennes, Will Forte, Jimmy O. Yang, Jorma Taccone, Bruce Willis

Description: It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 5: AN ANIMATED MOVIE

Review: The makers of “The Lego Movie” proved that it is not necessarily a bad idea to base a film on famous toys. The animated film by directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller combined the Danish construction toys that we all grew up with, with a charming story about the good-natured builder Emmet who took on Lord Business.
This was accompanied by wonderfully wooden animations and a world built almost entirely from Lego bricks. You could, so to speak, rebuild and recreate it with your own Legos. After many mediocre animated series, the successful approach of “The Lego Movie” provided the foundation for a number of Lego movies, including “The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Lego Ninjago Movie”.
A sequel to the movie that started it all was inevitable. It is to the credit of the makers that they did not continue in the same vein and even left out some of the characters from the first film. However, you are immediately and hastily thrown into the story. Apparently Brickburg has not fared very well. The Lego world has been attacked by the cute looking but aggressive Duplos.
Five years later, the building world isn’t exactly looking good. Brickburg is a dilapidated, run-down town where Emmet may still score his favorite coffee, but it still looks most like a location from “Mad Max”. The sight of a collapsed Statue of Liberty in what is now called Apocalypseburg brings back memories of “The Planet of the Apes”. When Emmet’s friends including Unikitty and Lcuy are kidnapped by the evil shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi, the orange-clad good guy has to spring into action.
But is Emmet really a hero or is he mostly goot at being loyal and being the best friend, according to the reading of the once Wylstyle known Lucy. In his mission to save his friends from the slimy but seemingly evil alien queen, Emmet comes face to face and side by side with the megalomaniac and tough Rex who is the antitheses in everything. Emmet wants nothing more than to also be as tough and heroic as his new friend.
Where the first film adventure around the popular toy still revolved around different Lego worlds and the jokes around their use, “The Lego Movie 2” is more universal in scope and theme. The question of who is a hero or a loser could have been inserted into practically any family film. On top of that, the story is messier and less straightforward. Emmet had the simple task of rescuing his friends, which at best results in some reflections on right and wrong.
The result is a series of artifacts and a new catchy song. In short, more of the same. In terms of color and tone, this second film is a lot more gloomy and does explore new territory, but the humor doesn’t hit as hard as its predecessor. In terms of plot, it all could have been a lot more original, but the characters and animations are again of high quality. The result is a wild roller coaster ride that occasionally comes to a halt and is more than a vehicle to sell merchandise.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Lego Batman Movie

Director: Chris McKay
Genre: Animation/ Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Family
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate, Conan O’Brien, Billy Dee Williams, Zoë Kravitz, Eddie Izzard, Seth Green, Ellie Kemper, Channing Tatum, Adam Devine, Hector Elizondo, Jonah Hill

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 25: A SUPERHERO MOVIE

Description: A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett) must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan (Michael Cera) who wishes to become his sidekick.

Review: The fun we can have with these little plastic bricks and puppets. And not only kids. “The Lego Movie” already showed us how much fun and how creative you can be with Legos. And one of their characters, Batman, has his own Lego movie now.
Be sure you are ready from the opening titles, since that’s where the first jokes start. Batman’s deep tones narrate everything. What comes next is a fast paces animation, filled with sharp and clever jokes and a lot of nods to pop-culture.
The opening scene is a funny spoof of an attack by the Joker, only to end in a crazy rock song where Batman beats everyone. For the Joker everything gets worse when Batman tells him he’s not his special enemy. Because Batman needs no one, he thinks. Next we see him, sitting all alone in his Batcave.
While Joker and all the super villains from movie history are creating their masterplan, Batman finds a boy in his cave. An orphan, whom he accidentally adopted. This boy, Dick, wants nothing more then to be Batman’s sidekick.
The film has a moral, that together is better then alone, but it’s not one of the morals that they force on you. “The Lego Movie” was an ode to creativity, “The Lego Batman Movie” does it too but with a less creative story. But it’s one fun party for the whole family. The comedy is original and it looks stunning.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 15: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Director: Dave Green
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Tony Shalhoub, Brad Garrett

Description: After facing Shredder, who has joined forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady to take over the world, the Turtles must confront an even greater nemesis: the notorious Krang (Brad Garrett).

Review: Dave Green takes over on directing this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sequel, from Jonathan Liebesman. Green imitates the camera movements and explosive action that Michael Bay loves so much. The movie looks visually great, but there is one thing I don’t understand. Why do they need to pimp this so much? Why do the turtles call each other Donnie or Mikey, when they clearly have perfect names and they never did this in the cartoon? And their party van is way too high tech, too over the top. Why couldn’t they just keep it retro? Bigger isn’t always better you know.
“Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” is entertainment, I give them that. And they somehow please the fans by adding Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang and Casey Jones into the film. But it’s all so superficial and the story is very random. Shredder does look better now and the film has some nostalgia here and there. But everything is pimped way too much.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 87: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction

Runtime: 101 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Plszek, Johnny Knoxville, Jeremy Howard, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, Tohuru Masamune, Whoopi Goldberg, Minae Noji, Abby Elliot, Madison Mason

Description: When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.

Review: It started out as a parody, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles became extremely popular in the 90s. Comics, a TV show, toys and their own movie.

The announcement of a new Michael Bay produced movie was received skeptical. It appeared that the turtles weren’t mutated turtles, but aliens. This was just a rumor, because the story stayed very close to the original. Although there are some adjustments here and there.

In “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” the turtles aren’t portrayed by professional fighters in costumes, but they are full CGI creations. But before we get to see them, we meet reporter April O’Neill, assisted by her cameraman Vernon. Wanting more excitement, April digs deeper into the whereabouts of the infamous Foot Clan, led by the evil Shredder. During her investigation, she discovers the turtles and their master Splinter.

The opening prologue is really impressive, in comic book style. The individual characters stay close to how they were intended: nerdy Donatello, leader Leonardo, joker Michelangelo and rebel Raphael. And they look pretty good, but there is a CGI overkill. Shredder looks different, more like he should be in one of the “Transformers” movies. And Splinter lost its original look as well. The story also feels uninspiring, but there is only a few directions you can go into with four giant turtles. But the budget was obviously spend on the action sequences. The movie also has lots of humor. I caught myself laughing a couple of times, because it really felt like the old cartoons again.

Megan Fox is great eye candy, but she hasn’t improved her acting since the “Transformers”. Will Arnett doesn’t really get a lot to do. His comedic talent was a little lost.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is entertaining, but not very good. If you are familiar with the cartoon from the 90s, you’re not completely satisfied, because it could have been a lot better. But it could also be a lot worse. It’s not as bad as I expected it to be.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Quotables: "The Lego Movie"

This movie really surprised me, I didn’t expect to like it this much. And it’s very well made and really funny. Here are some of the best quotes from “The Lego Movie”.

Emmet: You don't have to be the bad guy. You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe. And you are capable of amazing things. Because you are the Special. And so am I. And so is everyone. The prophecy is made up, but it's also true. It's about all of us. Right now, it's about you. And you... still... can change everything.

Emmet: Uh, guys? We're about to crash into the sun.

Batman: Yeah, but it's gonna look really cool.

Emmet: [while driving] I wanna go home!

[a house lands in the middle of the roadway and Emmet crashes into it]

Emmet: That's not what I meant!

Emmet: Hey, I can be dark and brooding too - Guys, look, a rainbow!

Lucy: [to Emmet] Come with me if you want to not die.

Lucy: Today will not be known as Taco Tuesday. It will be known as freedom Friday, but still on a Tuesday!

Bad Cop: You were found at the construction site convulsing with a strange piece.

Emmet: That's disgusting!

Benny: [suddenly appears] Hey, I'm Ben! But you can call me Benny! And I can build a spaceship. Watch this. [starts building a spaceship]

Benny: Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

Lucy: No! You can't. The skies are surrounded.

Benny: That's okay, I didn't really wanna build a spaceship. Anyway, that's

[kicks his half built spaceship and it falls apart]

 

Emmet: Isn't there a good cop?

Bad Cop: [Changes to good cop] Hi buddy! Want a cup of water?

Emmet: Yeah, actually.

Bad Cop: [Changes back to bad cop]

[Smacks water away]

Bad Cop: Too bad!

Unikitty: You need to be more friendly!

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Lego Movie"

I wasn't too sure about "The Lego Movie", but when I heard so many great things about it, I became curious. So I saw it and I loved it! And now I feel like watching it again... But first, I'm going to share all the awesome characters from "The Lego Movie" with you. It's filled with them, because 'Everything is awesome... lalalala'!

Emmet

Voiced by: Chris Pratt

Emmet is an average Lego minifigure, who is mistakenly identiefied as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is ordinary and follows all the rules. He’s sucked into the eventful life of Wyldstyle, who catches Emmet’s attention.

Wyldstyle

Voiced by: Elizabeth Banks

Wyldstyle is a free spirit who loves pushing boundaries and being creative. She is strong and independent. She believes Emmet is the “Special” and sparks fly between them, but she has a boyfriend.

Vitruvius

Voiced by: Morgan Freeman

Vitruvius is an ancient and heroic wizard, who prophesizes that a “Special” wil defeat Lord Business and become the greatest Master Builder. When it’s believed to be Emmet, Vitruvius tries to teach him that the key to true building is to believe in yourself.

President Business/ Lord Business

Voiced by: Will Ferrell

President Business is an uptight CEO who has a hard time balancing world domination with micro-managing his own life. His successful business contains creating music, TV, surveillance systems, history books and voting machines, dairy and overprized coffee. His secret identity is Lord Business, an evil tyrant who want to take over the entire Lego universe.

Good Cop/ Bad Cop

Voiced by: Liam Neeson

He is Lord Business’s number 1 guy, whom he can always rely on. He has both a good and a bad side, but Lord Business takes away the good side. But deep down there is still a good cop.

Metalbeard

Voiced by: Nick Offerman

Metalbeard is a fierce Master Builder. He has the head of a pirate and the body of a multi-purpose utility knife. All he wants is to beat Lord Business, because the last time he badly failed.

Unikitty

Voiced by:

Alison Brie Unikitty is from Cloud Cuckoo Land, the capitol of rainbows and puppies. She is half unicorn, half kitten. She loves dancing and is very positive. Unikitty is happy to follow her Master Builders in the quest to defeat Lord Business. And you really don’t want to make her angry.

Benny

Voiced by: Charlie Day

Benny is a ‘70s era spaceman, who suffers from a cracked helmet and lack of oxygen. He loves spaceships and he is always finding a moment to build one. And when he finally can….

Batman

Voiced by: Will Arnett

Batman makes it no secret he prefers working alone, since he could probably get the job done better and faster. He is Wyldstyles’ boyfriend, is very confident and likes to show off his skills and coolness.

 

 

Favorite: Emmet

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 77: The Lego Movie

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Genre: Animation/ Family/ Action/Comedy

Runtime: 101 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell

 

Description: Emmet (Chris Pratt) is an ordinary Lego construction worker, thought to be the prophesied 'Special', is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the Lego universe into eternal stasis.

Review: “The Lego Movie” tells the story of Emmet, an average construction worker who never breaks any rules. Because of an unfortunate coincidence he’s mistaken as “special” and an adventurous thrill ride awaits him. With the help of master builders it’s up to Emmet to end all the evil plans of President Business.

The visuals are stunning, from the water to the clouds, everything is made out of Legos. Fun fact: around fifteen million Legos were used for the film. The characters move through stop-motion techniques and that makes it unique and authentic.

There are a lot of unexpected moments, humoristic references and a good dose of self-mockery. Iconic characters like Batman, Gandalf and Han Solo have fun ‘cameos’.

It might look like a big commercial stunt for Lego, but “The Lego Movie” is a highly enjoyable film, with humor and creativity. And the song “Everything is Awesome” is stuck in your head after watching this movie.

Rating: 5/ 5