I’ll cut to the chase. The Lego Movie is terrible. I’m aware that it’s universally praised and that that love is from both younger and older audiences. I had no preconception going into the film, had not watched any trailer, knew nothing about the plot. And the film just begins. A cold opening that seems jarring and catches myself and the audience by surprise. It feels like our brains are already trying to catch up despite only being a few minutes in. What’s this thing they are looking for ? Is this still a preview? Is this actually the start to the film ? Surely this is some pre-film filler. The audience of kids and parents seemed to take a while to get into the film, but never really ever laughed outrageously out loud at any particular scene. By the one hour mark, many were restless. However by the film’s end, they applauded. And I gather they will tell their parents the movie was good, and that that character was funny, and then start singing that annoying song.
But The Lego Movie isn’t funny. It is paced so quickly that any joke that does land is because everything literally stops, and we find ourselves giggling at the silence. The filmmakers knew that recipe and overuse it throughout the film. But the one-liners and the visual gags just aren’t funny. The film becomes boring very quickly. I accept that the CGI is impressive and just the concept of a movie of lego characters tickles the nostalgia, but directors/screenwriters Chris Miller and Phil Lord deliver dull dopey scenes that become exhausting after a few minutes. I’ve rarely been bored by a film so quickly. There is a world out there of great Lego characters they could introduce, but we are left with a handful of characters with their one running gag told over and over again. The Lego Movie is woeful, forgettable and one of the great film disappointments of this decade. The folks at IMDb talking about movies, TV and celebrities. 8,882 Photos and videos
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Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account. Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love. Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in. Get instant insight into what people are talking about now. Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about. See the latest conversations about any topic instantly. Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.“The Invitation” is a dinner-party-from-hell scenario best served as unspoiled as possible. After all, a psychological thriller built upon slow-simmering tension is only as good as its surprises. Therefore, I will refrain from any major bean spillage and provide what I think is just enough to get you hooked.
However, there is one element of note that can be revealed and celebrated without peril. Filmmaker Karyn Kusama has at last fulfilled the promise she showed in her knockout feature debut, “Girlfight,” a pugilistic coming-of-age drama from 2000 that also launched the career of its scrappy star, Michelle Rodriguez. With “The Invitation,” Kusama appears to have gotten her lean-and-mean vision back into focus, one that went astray with 2005’s female-driven action flop “Aeon Flux” and 2009’s Diablo Cody-ized, flesh-eating cheerleader horror comedy “Jennifer’s Body.” With backing courtesy of Gamechanger Films, which finances indie movies directed by women, Kusama seems to be freed from much of the commerce-minded constraints placed upon her by regular studios. It also feels refreshing if almost shocking that nearly all of the characters at this reunion of friends, which takes place in a sprawling mid-century-style abode in the Hollywood Hills, are in their 30s. In other words, they are allowed to be adults.
No blatant pandering to the youthful demo here. Plus, the cast is casually diverse as it features both multiracial and Asian couples.The script—written by Kusama’s husband, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi—divides the story’s action equally between the genders. While there is a bit of a “Big Chill” feel—grief and loss of a loved one is the film’s emotional engine—“The Invitation” is primarily an intimate, highly effective chiller in a confined space with an armrest-grabber of a payoff.The setup immediately provides cause for anxiety. Will (Logan Marshall-Green, all haunted eyes and exposed nerves) and Kira (nicely low-key Emayatzy Corinealdi of “Miles Ahead”) driving along a twisty high-altitude road. Not without trepidation, they are headed to a gathering held in Will’s former home. It is being thrown by his ex-wife, Eden (Tammy Blanchard, all ruby red lips and clingy white gown), who he hasn’t seen in two years, and her new husband, David (Michiel Huisman, whose specialty is scruffy hunks on TV shows like “Nashville” and “Treme”).
Foreshadowing comes into play early when Will’s car suddenly hits a coyote. He puts the injured animal out of its misery by whacking it with a tire iron. Once they reach their destination, a shaken Will and Kira are warmly greeted both by their friends in attendance but also by their touchy-feely hosts. Toasting “new beginnings,” David breaks out some triple-digit bottles of fine wine and everyone gets cozy—save for Will, especially after he spies a female stranger down the hall sans pants and panties. Turns out, there are two unknown quantities joining the festivities. Manic pixie nut Sadie (Lindsay Burdge), now wearing a mini dress, and Pruitt, an older balding man (the ever-invaluable John Carroll Lynch). David and Eden explain that they met them in Mexico where they were visiting a community—a cult as it were, where they learned to deal with trauma.Soon enough, David hauls out his laptop and shows his guests what amounts to a recruitment video—one that ends with a rather disturbing and unexpected sequence.
Will, already suspicious, now has his hackles on high alert. When he makes the observation that Eden, David and their fellow cult members are weird, a fellow partier replies, “Yeah, they’re a little weird. But this is L.A. Of course, similar statements were probably made about the Manson family, too.Kusama keeps us guessing for quite a while, maybe for too long. Is Will, prone to unsettling flashbacks of life with his former spouse, just imagining things or should everyone run for their lives? Then again, Lynch has major creepy cred as the prime suspect in 2007’s “Zodiac” and Blanchard's Eden, for all her talk of tossing aside her anger, certainly can deliver one a hell of a slap when someone declares her new belief system to be “fucking crazy.” Plus, that dinner—as delicious as it looks—arrives awfully late in the proceedings. I would have been out of there hours ago, if only because of hunger pangs.Some clues that suggest something might be afoot turn out to be red herrings.