Will Ferrel seems content in continuing to make the same film over and over until the well runs dry. We as an audience continue to lap up what he’s serving, so he’s able to continue to do so, not forcing him to move on to something greater. But I must admit that his films remain funny, he’s such an offbeat, lovable character that his shtick has yet to grow old. Although I’m not sure how many more trips to the well I can take.

In Semi-Pro, Ferrel plays owner/coach/player Jackie Moon of the fictional ABA team Detroit Tropics. It’s the late 70’s, Moon made his money with a disco one-hit-wonder called "Love Me Sexy", but his bank account is quickly dwindling and the basketball league is dying. The era lets Ferrel and gang dress up in over-the-top costumes, ridiculous even by disco standards. Ferrel gets to rock his trademark white-man’s-fro and as usual he’s obliged to take off his shirt to show off his flabby physique and strange orange, lint-ball chest hair. Woody Harrelson shows off his comic chops as the aging veteran Ed Monix, going through his last hurrah. Will Arnett, does his usual funny routine as the hard-living team announcer, and gets some great one-liners off during the games. Andre Benjamin, doesn’t really get any funny lines as the hot-shot youngster, but he holds his own with some of the best comedians of the day.

I don’t need to spell out the storyline, it’s easy enough to make it out from the trailer. It doesn’t go anywhere fresh or exciting; it’s a fairly typical sports-comedy archtype, simply a foundation for the comedians to riff off of. Perhaps the most interesting development of the film, is that Jackie Moon doesn’t have a love interest, at least female wise, his love is his team. It's not often that the lead character of a comedy, isn't chasing a woman. Harrelson’s character gets the love story, and it’s a twisted one at that.

Perhaps what surprised me the most was the filmmaking, I found it to be far better made than Ferrel’s last few vehicles. There's some actual attention to detail, this isn't the typical, bare minimum, flat-lighting, point a camera in the stars direction, comedy. The film is really nicely shot in widescreen, with some true attention to detail. The costumes and sets are believably 70’s, it doesn’t feel like a bunch of guys playing dress-up, it actually places you into the era. Most importantly I thought it was genuinely funny, I laughed out loud much more during this film, than either Talladega Nights or Blades of Glory. It doesn't feel quite as re-watchable as the minor-classic Anchorman, but it's a close second. – Grade: B (Seen on 6/25/08)

I didn't think too much of the trailer for Horton Hears A Who, it didn't make it look like a particularly good film. And I abhor the uber-celebrity casting for these animated films, it usually ends up being more distracting than anything, as I always imagine these stars behind the mic, instead of getting involved in their characters. I honestly haven't been that impressed with the latest crop of computer-animated films outside of Pixar's work and the inspired Surf's Up; the magic has worn off, and most of them have become as bland as any standard Hollywood production. But it had been a few months since anything kid friendly had been released, and we wanted to take our son to see something, and this was the only thing that fit the bill.

Like every American kid I grew up on Dr. Suess books, I love everything about them and still do; they are my favorite thing to read to my son. Sadly we haven't had a good Dr. Suess film adaptation, since the original animated Christmas classic, How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; the two live action adaptations, The Grinch and The Cat and the Hat both landed somewhere between slightly bearable and putrid. So I didn't have great expectations for Horton Hears A Who, but as soon as the first scene started to roll, they started to rise. The film gorgeously creates the great adventure of a drop of dew rolling and falling through the entire jungle of Nool, before it knocks loose a tiny speck, that is in fact the world of Whoville.

The speck is sent floating by Horton, a happy, go-lucky elephant, who is swimming in a nearby stream. With his huge ears, Horton is able to hear the quiet screams of the Who's as their tiny world goes floating by; he manages to save them, just before they're dunked in the water. Jim Carrey is really wonderful as Horton, I thought he might get to crazy with the role, but the filmmakers keep him mostly reigned in and in character. Steve Carrell is also good as the Mayor of Whoville, who Horton communicates with, and promises to save their world by placing their speck on a protected flower at the top of the tallest mountain in Nool. Carol Burnett plays Kangaroo, a cranky WASP of woman, who doesn't like Horton's large heart and imagination influencing the jungle's children. Unable to keep her prejudices to herself, she sicks a nasty Vulture on Horton; and then to really make sure he doesn't complete his quest, organizes a huge rally of animals, by playing with their fears.

I was really surprised by how caught up in it all that I got. The way they present this children's story, translates so well to so many aspects of our real life issues, that it took it to a whole new level. I guess the anti-abortionists have grabbed on to Horton's saying "A person 's a person, no matter how small they are."; which fits for their purposes, but I took it to mean, that a person is a person, no matter the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their religion, whether they have disabilities or not; meaning that no one should be discriminated against, no matter what, and that's a wonderful message to convey to kids, and it's done in a very entertaining way.

The film is beautifully animated, the opening scene as they fly through the jungle is so luscious that it looks more real than real; all the characters are very nicely created and done in a true Suess style. The narrator reading lines directly from the book, is a very nice touch. They don't ham up the story with all kinds of pop-culture references, keeping it timeless. I felt there was only one small misstep in the entire film; when the characters all break into song for a few minutes, but it was brief, mostly the film stays very classic. If every Dr. Suess book could be as faithfully adapted as Horton Hears A Who, I'd tell Hollywood to bring on as many as they can make. Unfortunately I don't think that's realistic. - Grade: B+

I've known about these filmmakers for a while, they're friends of a friend. I've never had the pleasure of meeting them, but I've heard stories. They started this comedy website The Lonely Island, then moved on to Saturday Night Live, where they gained infamy with the Lazy Sunday short, that became a huge Internet sensation. So when I saw the very funny Hot Rod trailer, I was excited. I meant to see the film in theaters, never got the chance, but watched it as soon as it came out on DVD.

The movie is fairly uneven. One minute it's brilliantly funny, the next you're groaning to yourself. That's because these guys are always pushing their jokes right to the edge; sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Luckily they work more than they don't, so overall the film is pretty damn funny.

SNL's Andy Samberg plays the lead role of Hot Rod, he's an amateur stunt-man, who does little stunts on his moped for his friends and neighbors. The film opens with him unsuccessfully jumping over an ice cream truck, to hilarious results. It was amazing to learn in the commentary that a stunt-man really did the jump, the way his body folds I figured it was a dummy. There are a couple of classic scenes, including a Footloose spoof, where Rod dances off his anger, the scene ends with possibly the longest fall in the history of film.

I loved the basis for the plot too. Rod organizes his biggest stunt in order to raise money to save his step-father, a typical plot device; what makes it funny is that he want so save his dad, so he can kick his ass. Deadwood's Ian McShane plays the step-father, who is constantly testing Rod's manhood by beating the crap out of him. They've got a great chemistry together.

The whole cast really has a great chemistry, you can tell they had a blast making this, and it comes across on the screen. The film is pretty well made, they've got a good idea how to stage their scenes and move the camera. I think it's one of those movies that you'll catch on cable every once and while and not be able to turn it off.