The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013) - Movie Review

Ben Stiller, as a presence in Hollywood, frankly mystifies me. For a person who seems to have as much of an axe to grind on the establishment as he does, he sure spends a lot of his time in patently weaker productions. Sure, it’s as an actor, but it does feel like the game is playing him at times. I mean, the Meet The Parents series took a very steep decline that I can only hope is at its end and the Night At The Museum films, while okay diversions for kids, had way too much L.A. sheen to really buy into why Stiller would sign on for them… aside from the pay packet, of course.

Meanwhile, behind the camera, he’s made films like the epitome of clever filmmaking about dumb characters with Zoolander, the underrated comedic thriller The Cable Guy and let’s not forget his masterpiece as a satirical firebrand with Tropic Thunder. Something tells me that there was a bit of reality-influenced casting that went into his role in last year’s While We’re Young. Anyway, once again as prep for a newly-released film by the same director, time to take a look at his last release.

While We're Young (2015) - Movie Review

As part of my going back and checking films that I should’ve seen earlier in the year, I am also spooling through the archives for films that I only saw segments of to complete. Back when I was doing some part-time work in movie theatre as ticket checker/clean-up crew, along with growing to hate Home even more because those sessions were easily the messiest of the entire day’s run, I also caught bits and pieces of today’s film. Something about a guy in a robe talking about his boat and David Bowie’s Golden Years playing over the credits; that’s pretty much all I know. Somehow, I’ve seen scenes from the actual film and this is still the blindest I’ve gone into a film all year. Well, hopefully Ben Stiller is still waiting to give a decent performance; considering Night At The Museum 3 and Little Fockers, I can’t be sure. So, as a sort-of road test before next year’s Zoolander 2… because, clearly, thatneeds to exist, let’s get stuck in today’s subject.

Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (2014) - Movie Review

It’s a very bittersweet experience seeing a film like this; Robin Williams is one of my favourite comedians of all time with a wide pedigree of talent (despite a couple of film clunkers) whether it’s his excellent stand-up shows, his classic film roles like the Genie in Aladdin and Peter Pan in Hook, or his surprising talent at darker roles like One Hour Photo and his guest spot on Law & Order: SVU. It is a tragedy when anyone dies, but knowing who he was and how it happened… I’m getting choked up as I write this just thinking about it. But his works still remain to warm the hearts and tickle the funnybones of audiences for a long while yet; I firmly believe that men live on so long as they are remembered, and I doubt that Williams will be forgotten anytime soon. With that, let’s take a look at his final live-action film role that was also dedicated to his memory.