The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

Discussions of specific films and franchises.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:27 pm

The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#1 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:35 pm

Even riding the wave of nostalgia I have for LEGO toys growing up, I never imagined a feature film capitalizing on those sentiments or crafting a truly imaginative story from those pieces. Much to my surprise, "The LEGO Movie" did just that, in large part to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller who took the similarly rank notion of updating "21 Jump Street" into a movie and ended up making one of my favorite comedies in recent years. I've never seen their early work with "Clone High" or "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", but I'm knocked out by the visual and narrative imaginations of these two guys. During the matinee I attended today, I channeled that same cerebral reaction I had during "Speed Racer" a few years back, two movies that capture that sense of childhood imagination I had when digging out the Hot Wheels or LEGOs from my toy box and concocting some wild, elaborate worlds for my toys to inhabit. I lament that the onslaught of toy movies will keep on coming, but I have the utmost appreciation for "The LEGO Movie" crafting a visually exciting world mixed with sly comedy rather than producing another rote product placement.

User avatar
warren oates
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:16 pm

Re: The Films of 2014

#2 Post by warren oates » Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:50 pm

Good to hear. Though I haven't seen it yet, I'm looking forward to The Lego Movie. I do hope the film has some sense of the genuine merits of the toys, how they really are building blocks with practically unlimited possibility, how they actively encourage creativity. And that it pokes some fun at the Lego company's recent and rather crass co-branding efforts with the likes of other pop culture icons like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman.

Movie-Brat
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:14 am

Re: The Films of 2014

#3 Post by Movie-Brat » Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:02 pm

I've been hearing crazy good things about the Lego Movie and it hasn't been a year since something like Frozen which had a similar reaction.

wattsup32
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:00 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#4 Post by wattsup32 » Fri Feb 07, 2014 8:27 pm

Not that Rotten Tomatoes is any real measure of a film's quality, but at 97% on RT the Lego Movie has had a better overall critical response than any movie nominated for Best Picture (or any other major Oscar, for that matter).

Thank god for my kids. They'll keep me from looking creepy seeing this tomorrow.

User avatar
jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#5 Post by jindianajonz » Fri Feb 07, 2014 8:30 pm

The problem with Rotten Tomatoes is it is not at all an indicator of how good a movie is, but how many people felt it was more good than bad. A movie everybody agrees is somewhat enjoyable will do better than a divisive masterpiece.

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#6 Post by Zot! » Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:19 pm

How scary was this? Like characters in peril, things jumping out at you type of scary? Compared to say Monsters Inc., which I thought was a little scary for being G, while this is PG? Though I suspect puritanical America is more concerned with some potty humor or whatever.

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#7 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:49 am

Last edited by flyonthewall2983 on Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
dad1153
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:32 am
Location: New York, NY

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#8 Post by dad1153 » Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:04 am

Zot! wrote:How scary was this? Like characters in peril, things jumping out at you type of scary? Compared to say Monsters Inc., which I thought was a little scary for being G, while this is PG? Though I suspect puritanical America is more concerned with some potty humor or whatever.
Saw this in 3D this morning with a packed mantinee with both adults and kids. Things get a little hairy a couple of times and only once, when
SpoilerShow
a major character is beheaded, his/her head rolls over and talks a little backstory before he/she gets 'X' eyes (which within the movie's LEGO universe it's not scary as much as sudden and unexpected)
, did I get shock goosebumps. But overall "The Lego Movie" is more of a rollicking action/adventure comedy with just the right dose of sentimentality. I had a blast, this is everything "Wreck It Ralph" should have been but was only partially. And, like "WIR" and its 'A' cast of videogame characters in small supporting roles, my only complaint about "The Lego Movie" is that they had access to a wealth of LEGO toy characters (on screen, with dialogue/scenes!) and yet 75% of the time they go to Batman for the laughs. If you're a fan of the underused characters (DC and other IP's) you'll be left wanting a sequel that does more with them, which is a given now that this is shaping up to be a monster hit and new franchise, Warner's own "Despicable Me" money-printing machine. Heck, even Armond White likes it. :O

BTW, after leaving "The LEGO Movie" I went straight to a late morning showing of "Stranger By The Lake" at another Gotham theater because the timing worked out. Man, was my mind reeling after this 'A-Z' twofer. Get it? :)
Last edited by dad1153 on Sun Feb 09, 2014 3:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
TheDudeAbides
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:57 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#9 Post by TheDudeAbides » Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:37 pm

A friend of mine is a rotten tomatoes junkie and practically had an aneurysm when he saw the tomatometer. Literally got a text of "OMG the lego movie is sick dude! It's supposed to be amazing, 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!" so of course he went to go see it last night.

He loved the film and thought it was a lot of fun, but this brought up an interesting point to me. Did he actually like the film or did he like it because it was deemed as a universally liked film by RT and the critics whose reviews get posted there?

I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of those types of people on the Lego Movie bandwagon, liking the film because the critics told them it was good, rather than forming their own opinions based upon their interpretation of the film

User avatar
jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#10 Post by jindianajonz » Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:03 pm

Despite being a pretty huge Lego fan (the only thing that rivals my DVD collection is my Lego collection) I've been on the fence about this movie. The torrent of positive reviews has convinced me it's worth watching, but I really don't expect to be blown away by it.

It's certainly not worth traveling out of town for, so now I need a strategy to see it in my small town in a way that has as few screaming children as possible. Unfortunately, there are only two 2D screenings per day, around noon and six, so I need to figure out if it's worth paying more for a 9pm 3D show (which, due to the time and the expense, is probably the least family friendly) despite the fact I really don't enjoy 3D that much (though I don't get headaches from it like I used to)

User avatar
Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:27 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#11 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:24 pm

jindianajonz wrote:It's certainly not worth traveling out of town for, so now I need a strategy to see it in my small town in a way that has as few screaming children as possible.
Your best bet would probably be to go to a late evening showing, though if you can manage a weekday matinee that might work. When I saw it yesterday, the audience consisted of only myself, my girlfriend, and a few pre-school kids with their parents. The little kids ran amok in the theatre for much of the screening to my great annoyance, even dancing at the front of the screen during the end credits. I don't mind, and even enjoy sometimes, a child's enthusiasm during a movie. Sometimes kids have made the theatrical experience worth iit for me, like when I've seen Chaplin revivals sitting families introducing their kids to silent comedy for the first time. Parents not teaching their children how to behave in public places like a theatre, though, is not forgivable.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#12 Post by MichaelB » Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:01 pm

I've just got back from seeing it, and...

...well, the bulk of the reviews I've read are pretty much spot on, if you ignore the aggregate RT 97% that's being rather too widely bandied around and concentrate on the fact that most individual reviewers gave it their second highest rating. Which seems entirely fair to me.

The film is one hell of a lot of fun - in fact, I can't think of a film I've taken my kids to on its first run that I personally enjoyed quite so much. The animation is extraordinary, not just because of the remarkably convincing way that they've made clearly state-of-the-art CGI look like hand-crafted stop-motion, but for the overall visual invention: this will almost certainly repay multiple viewings just to appreciate background details like, say, the Lego-constructed waves and foam spray during a storm-at-sea sequence, or the way that all conflagrations are constructed out of those little translucent "flame" pieces. It's an absolutely phenomenal piece of design, and I bet they had a whale of a time putting it together.

As with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, it's also clear that a huge amount of effort went into the script, which is almost continuously quick-witted (verbally, visually, conceptually, you name it) - not least in the way that the film is constantly and knowingly undermining its own status as an $80 million toy commercial. The central scenario is basically nicked from The Matrix but is none the worse for that - it certainly makes sense in context - and a terrific voice cast gets around the basic problem that Lego people really aren't that expressive (in all seriousness, this is one of Liam Neeson's best roles in years, and I loved the fact that "his" parents were also given broad Irish accents). I daresay there are also tons of in-jokes for hardcore Lego aficionados - I certainly picked up on a few, and the makers clearly researched their Lego history, as the bricks and people from older sets are more visibly battered.

The downsides? It does get a bit relentless at times - I'd have preferred a mere billion high-speed chases to the gazillion that we actually get - and although an eleventh-hour deus ex machina moment also produced the single biggest belly laugh (largely because it was generated by all the adults in the auditorium while the line in question sailed over their kids' heads), it ultimately made for a rather blah dénouement with a bit too much "forget the instructions and be your own creative self" preaching for my taste (given that that particular point had already been amply made). So yes, three out of four stars is entirely fair - but it more than deserves those three.

As for the 3-D, I normally avoid it like the plague but gut instinct told me to make an exception here, and I'm glad I did. Let's face it, with this subject you actually want it to look like an actual Lego set in front of you, and that's exactly what you get.

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#13 Post by Zot! » Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:07 pm

MichaelB wrote: The downsides? It does get a bit relentless at times - I'd have preferred a mere billion high-speed chases to the gazillion that we actually get.
Thanks, every single review seems to make mention of the manic nature of the film, so this coupled with the aforementioned decapitation, and think my 3-going-on-4 year old are going to sit this one out, and revisit later perhaps. I don't mind that they have break-neck, mad-cap films for kids, but it wold be nice if they also had something a little more sedate every once in a while.

User avatar
jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#14 Post by jindianajonz » Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:56 pm

Well, if the decapitation is anything like theLego Star Wars game, it'll be pretty cartoony

User avatar
jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#15 Post by jindianajonz » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:38 pm

MichaelB wrote:As for the 3-D, I normally avoid it like the plague but gut instinct told me to make an exception here, and I'm glad I did. Let's face it, with this subject you actually want it to look like an actual Lego set in front of you, and that's exactly what you get.
Thanks Michael! My girlfriend wouldn't listen to me, but when I told her the chicken blog guy recommended it (she has three chickens herself) she relented. We will now be seeing it in relatively kid-free 3D!

User avatar
Jeff
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#16 Post by Jeff » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:10 am

Such fun! My fastidious eight-year-old niece identified with Lord Business and wanted to know "why is that bad," regarding his need for conformity, instruction-following, and "properly" assembled Legos. She did not seem to find my defense of the Cloud Cuckoo lifestyle convincing. I don't think she or my ten-year old nephew enjoyed it nearly as much as I did. The message, nostalgia, and gag-packed humor are definitely aimed squarely at adults -- particularly middle-aged men who never quite grew up. MichaelB's recommendation (which I read too late) has convinced me to go back for a 3D viewing, but I think I'll be flying solo for that one. It definitely demands a second look anyway. It's probably my favorite contemporary kid-flick that didn't come from Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze, or Pixar (and is even better than all those caveats make it sound).

I can top dad1153. I had a particularly disparate and all-around fantastic triple feature of The Lego Movie, The Act of Killing, and The Past today.

User avatar
The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#17 Post by The Narrator Returns » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:21 am

I watched 21 Jump Street before this, and I was impressed by how pleasantly surprised I was by both, despite hearing about how so many people loved them. Between the insane genre deconstruction of Jump Street and the shocking inventiveness and poignancy here, I say Lord & Miller need to make every comedy now, given how well they work with completely opposite tones (profane action-comedies and hyperactive kids' movies).

And I may just have all of you beat, as today was a double-feature with this movie and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#18 Post by domino harvey » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:44 am

Professor Wagstaff wrote:I've never seen their early work with "Clone High"
MTV co-produced this with Canadian TV and the entire series has been released on DVD in Canada. I keep meaning to pick it up, but I remember enjoying it a lot when it first aired and it seemed to be pretty popular, so it was surprising when MTV canceled it. I mean, aren't jokes about JFK and Jeanne d'Arc in the periphery of all MTV viewers?!

User avatar
The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#19 Post by The Narrator Returns » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:54 am

There's actually at least one nod to Clone High in this movie, since both feature Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln.

User avatar
Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:27 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#20 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:12 am

domino harvey wrote:
Professor Wagstaff wrote:I've never seen their early work with "Clone High"
MTV co-produced this with Canadian TV and the entire series has been released on DVD in Canada. I keep meaning to pick it up, but I remember enjoying it a lot when it first aired and it seemed to be pretty popular, so it was surprising when MTV canceled it. I mean, aren't jokes about JFK and Jeanne d'Arc in the periphery of all MTV viewers?!
My affection for the Lord and Miller films I've seen thus far have me interested in tracking these down at some point. I've heard so much positive feedback over the years but never sought it out.
The Narrator Returns wrote:I say Lord & Miller need to make every comedy now, given how well they work with completely opposite tones (profane action-comedies and hyperactive kids' movies).
I remember Lord and Miller talked about adapting "Carter Beats the Devil" not long after "21 Jump Street" came out. I hope they can add a sprawling literary adaptation for adults to their hits list.

User avatar
dad1153
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:32 am
Location: New York, NY

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#21 Post by dad1153 » Sun Feb 09, 2014 3:31 am

dad1153 wrote:BTW, after leaving "The LEGO Movie" I went straight to a late morning showing of "Stranger By The Lake" at another Gotham theater because the timing worked out.
Jeff wrote:I can top dad1153. I had a particularly disparate and all-around fantastic triple feature of The Lego Movie, The Act of Killing, and The Past today.
The Narrator Returns wrote:And I may just have all of you beat, as today was a double-feature with this movie and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
I don't know... going from blocks to cocks in one fell swoop is nothing you can blow off lightly (ahem). :P

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#22 Post by MichaelB » Sun Feb 09, 2014 3:58 am

I merely sandwiched The Lego Movie between two Preston Sturges films. It wasn't too bad a fit, surprisingly.

User avatar
colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#23 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:40 am

I must admit that I'm concerned about all of this seeming denigration of following the instruction booklets. Am I the only kid who while growing up loved the 'structured play' on display in the booklets of putting all the little blocks in the correct order to build the approved structure? [-(

(OK so I then imagined my completed Lego building being involved in a scene from a disaster movie, having to save my little Lego people from the collapsing structure, but I always felt that freeform play and structured play both have their merits!)

Anyway, I'm waiting for the announcement that a cinema has gone for the fully immersive experience by forcing everyone to take their shoes off before entering the theatre and then scattering Lego blocks across the aisle to recreate the Lego experience that everyone is familiar with at home!
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: The Films of 2014

#24 Post by MichaelB » Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:38 am

warren oates wrote:I do hope the film has some sense of the genuine merits of the toys, how they really are building blocks with practically unlimited possibility, how they actively encourage creativity. And that it pokes some fun at the Lego company's recent and rather crass co-branding efforts with the likes of other pop culture icons like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman.
I'm delighted to confirm that it ticks all those boxes with just about the thickest marker pens imaginable.

User avatar
jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: The Lego Movie (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2014)

#25 Post by jindianajonz » Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:16 am

I don't know... going from blocks to cocks in one fell swoop is nothing you can blow off lightly (ahem). :P
Depending on whether you are talking about genitals or fowl, "Bricks to dicks" or "bricks to chicks" would be a more proper way of putting it.

Post Reply