Is there any way we can make the movie go faster?

The Movie: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, directed by Adam Mackay.
Recommendation: Dee
Reason: "It's another quotably funny Will Ferrell movie!"

I'm starting to wish that more movies came out that weren't quotable. Movies that just left you with a sort of 'wink and nod if you've seen it' crowd. I have no idea if that's even possible, so instead Will Ferrell gets another greenlight. Talladega Nights comes from a lot of the same people as Anchorman, which was possibly the highlight of Ferrell's career so far. This take on Nascar and racing movies in general was alright, though the pacing was absolutely awful.

Will Ferrell has range and depth, he just chooses not to use it. While he managed to create a full-bodied but still ridiculous character in Anchorman, he does no such thing here. Ricky Bobby's his usual idiot-squared, propped up by sidekicks who are barely more competent than himself. The character's absurdity just doesn't balance as well as his previous creations have.

This movie could have been a lot tighter. It abruptly stopped being remotely engaging during the repeated 'you can do it' speeches, started by the Nicole-Kidman-in-Days-of-Thunder imitator. Though I was mildly entertained until that point, chemical intervention would have been necessary to elevate the remainder of the movie from the pit it fell into.

-137/365 down, 228/365 to go

My worst nightmare lives!

The Movie: Stranger than Fiction, directed by Marc Forster
Recommendation: H
Reason: "It was wierd."

I am a writer, or at least I pretend to be every time my fingers hit the keyboard. I understand writing, to some extent. I suppose I don't understand it incredibly well, or else I'd probably be a famous author by now. But there is one scene in Stranger than Fiction that really struck an empathic chord with me. Emma Thompson, sitting in her office, unaware of what exactly to expect, is confronted by her protagonist. She doesn't bluster, she doesn't even really apologize, she only crumples under the sudden emotional weight of all she's done to him.

What began as a funny movie (not FUNNAY, like Anchorman) quickly became a headtrip on par with parts of I Heart Huckabees. Emma Thompson's collapse was the climax of some excellently constructed anticipation. I knew exactly how she felt in that moment, and in many of the ones leading up to it. Trying to plan the death of a character is difficult in any medium. Being confronted with evidence of their actuality is another realm of messed up.

I think this was a thoughtful movie. Do not see it if you're a WACKAY WILL FERRELL DOES WACKY THINGS OMG fan. If you want that, here. I also love lamp, but if you don't let Ferrell's reputation as a slapstick, over the top comedian get in the way, he pulls off a decent performance here. Not as powerful perhaps as Jim Carrey's turn in The Truman Show, but he did a decent job.

-76/365 down, 289/365 to go