Land of the Lost (2009)
Directed by Brad Silberling
On his latest expedition, has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his crack-smart research assistant Holly and redneck survivalist Will into a world populated by marauding dinosaurs and painfully slow creatures called Sleestaks. With no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts, the trio must rely on their only ally, a primate named Chaka, to try to survive long enough to figure out a way back home.
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What critics compared Land of the Lost to
The special effects run the gamut from uninspired CGIthe dinosaurs don't look half as seamless as the ones in 1993's "Jurassic Park"to matte paintings that might just be bad green screen work, to literally people in Halloween costumes (the villainous Sleestaks).
“Jurassic Park” it ain’t.
Creatures such as the ape-like Pakuni and the reptilian Sleestak, in all their fake-looking costumed glory, as well as the dinosaurs, vastly improved CGI creations reminiscent of Jurassic Park which trump the show's claymation and B-grade puppetry.
This is Ferrell thrown into "Jurassic Park," so you can see the comedy potential.
Meanwhile, Silberling tries to match this pop-cultural grab bag with references to movies such as 2001 and Planet of the Apes.
The demands of summer event pictures, however, are as often embraced as subverted by Land of the Lost, which screws with its obligations—a climactic joke in which Rick saves fellow scientist/love interest Holly (Anna Friel) by denying his affections plays like a wink-wink spoof of a cliché—and yet frequently recoils before outright mocking its Planet of the Apes-indebted conceit.
Some of the character’s shtick, performed by a manic John C. Reilly, wouldn’t feel out of place in Land Of The Lost .
It's not that Ferrell has gotten less funny—it's that no amount of comedy genius could salvage the miserably scripted Semi-Pro and Land of the Lost .
Obviously, not all of Ferrell’s movies work (remember last year’s “Land of the Lost“?).
The movie is a return to form for Will Ferrell, who finally reins in the idiot frenzy he's so often deployed in the past (most recently in last year's dismal "Land of the Lost") and an added blessing shows no skin, either.
Cowriter/director Adam McKay ("Step Brothers") takes another shot at what Kevin Smith attempted earlier this year with "Cop Out" - turning the buddy cop movie on its ear by celebrating and satirizing the cliches - but while he and cowriter Chris Henchy ("Land of the Lost") have a greater level of success, aided by the amusing improvisations of Ferrell and Wahlberg (i.e., tuna vs. lion), he can't sustain the film.
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(I won’t spoil them with descriptions; basically, don’t expect Land of the Lost. ) Interstellar excels when it veers into 2001 territory – showing us the inside of a psychedelic wormhole – or Solaris territory – such as when Cooper mourns the lives he’s left behind – or Sunshine territory – by revelling in the death-defying nature of outer-space survival.
It’s as if Family Guy found a leftover script from that old ABC puppet series Dinosaurs and decided to cast the Griffins in their own goofball take on Land of the Lost.
That CGI can be laughably bad — a shot of the men on flying choppers looks so pasted-together it could have been on an old kiddie show like “Land of the Lost.”
Juliette Lewis trots out her white trash shtick in an inconsequential sequence, and Danny McBride brings back memories of the dreadful “Land of the Lost” remake by playing a surly Western Union rep.