The Lego Movie

After seeing the trailer for The Lego Movie, I couldn't wait to see it opening weekend.  Although it's aimed at kids, it looked like it would be able to be versatile enough to appeal to adults as well.

The plot is pretty simple. Lord Evil Business (Will Ferrell) has a weapon called the Kragle, and plans on using it to change the world as everyone knows it.  He's tired of people messing with his stuff, so he intends to stop that with the Kragle.  Lord Vetruvius (Morgan Freeman) says that there is a chosen one who will find the Piece of Resistance and be able to thwart Lord Business.  Emmett Brickowski winds up finding the piece.  The trouble is, there's nothing special about him.  He can't put two pieces together to save his life, which frustrates him and his friends.

The Lego Movie didn’t wow me the way I hoped it would.  It’s a good movie, not great, mostly because I wasn’t sure in watching it what it wanted to accomplish.  Was it a story about how an ordinary person could be special?  Was it supposed to be just a zany film featuring Legos?  For a brief second or two, I realized that this could just be one giant ad for Legos with some pleasant moments. 

That’s not to say that there weren’t parts I enjoyed.  There are some hilarious characters (Bad Cop, for instance, is one of Lord Evil Business’s henchmen, but he also has another side, like some Legos do).  I think Will Arnett as Lego Batman may be my favorite Batman ever, as he spoofs how dark Batman tends to be.  And Will Ferrell voices a great villain in Lord Business, playing a menace with good comic timing.

This movie’s for the kids, of course.  But I did read some glowing reviews saying how much adults will love it, so  I did have high expectations going in.  Though they weren’t totally met, I do recommend seeing The Lego Movie and I’m glad it’s out there.

Super Bowl Thoughts

Well, that got out of hand quickly, didn't it?  The first snap sails over Peyton Manning's head, the Seahawks do The Safety Dance, and Broncos fans/Seahawks haters get a little bit of a feeble, queasy feeling that this Super Bowl might be a let down.

It wasn't going to be an easy night for Mr. Manning.  The Broncos weren't used to this NFC West brand of football.  Many moons ago, they and the Seahawks were AFC Westers, back when the Seahawks weren't sporting much of a defense, much of an offense, much of anything, and the Broncs were led by a rambling, scrambling John Elway.  Nowadays, the Seahawks engage in twice (and sometimes thrice) yearly scrums with the only team that seems to keep it close, the 49ers. 

Think you're going to beat the Seahawks with a statue like Manning at QB?  The Seahawks were practically in his helmet.  Manning looked truly ill at ease.  This wasn't going to end in an orange blaze of glory, not tonight, not when the Legion of Boom was taking away everything.  The Broncos (like the Colts) rely on timing, quick passes, long drives.  They were used to little resistance.  They sure didn't get anyin the AFC playoffs.  Against the Pats, Manning might as well have been wearing a red jersey, because he wasn't touched at all.   The Seahawks made him squirm, stutter, and scowl all night.

The 'Hawks offense was nothing to sneeze at, either.  Under little pressure from the Broncos, Russell Wilson became comfortable and started throwing rainbows.  Percy Harvin reminded the world why he's so dangerous (when he can stay healthy) in more than one aspect of the game.  It was truly a clobbering in all phases of the game.

After Harvin broke the kick return to start the second half, it was all over but the commercials, and it was too bad they weren't better.  Any other night, the TV gets turned off after all hope is extinguished, but this is the Super Bowl and the commercials aren't supposed to be bathroom/kitchen break time, but there was little of note this year.  I did crack up at the Doberhuahua commercial, and the Seinfeld/Costanza/Newman reunion was nice to see, but otherwise, there was not much of note. Same goes for Bruno Mars, by the way.  Not that he wasn't entertaining, but I didn't feel there was anything I hadn't seen before.

Hopefully next year someone can stand up to Seattle, but for tonight, they're the champions, andoverwhelmingly so.