Will Ferrell

The sort of bad movie that constantly threatens to turn into something good, mostly on the strength of a few talented actors.

In the hands of Will Ferrell, Elf beats a hackneyed script into submission and cajoles smiles and chuckles from obvious material.

For all its failings...[has] enough thoughtfulness, creative energy, and comedic idiosyncracy to outpace any five modern comedies, much less two.

Something happens halfway through the movie: star Will Ferrell cuts loose...Suddenly, we're in a cauldron of blood and coffee and Gatorade.

Nicole Kidman tells the ubiquitous Will Farrell, "I think the fact that you're a hopeless mess is very refreshing," but critics are not so charitable about bad movies.

Not for the resolutely politically correct or the shtick-averse. For everyone else, it's the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

The film's consistent ticklishness frequently breaks out into uproarious set pieces.

A fantasy, so it's not obligated to be logical, but it should at least have internal logic and follow its own set of rules. A failure to do so untethers the film.

The script's failure leaves a heavy burden on the cast, and how well they compensate is both a testament to their talent and a waste of it.

A sort of cinematic comfort food: it's the mac and cheese of the cineplex.

The film's funniest moments come early...But the more outlandish the joke (a.k.a. little kids pick fights with the men), the less purchase McKay finds, as our investment in the film's reality checks out.

It’s all mildly entertaining in an incredibly stupid, borderline coherent way...But in banishing formula, the film ends up, well, lost.

The promise of extraordinary brain power isn't fulfilled.

Had me at 'Ride Like the Wind.' But by 'Shilo,' I was not so sure.

Zany episodes...provide a clothesline on which to hang social satire and an overriding message that an individual's imagination can trump social and cultural oppression. Throw out the instructions, and make what you want of the world. Plus butt jokes.

Another conspicuously packaged product seemingly designed to wear down an audience more than entertain it. While wee ones won't notice, they probably won't remember Home by the time the car ride gets them back to the real thing.

A goofy gag machine that will raise smiles for some and make others just plain gag.

Only insurance premiums can say whether we’re in for a Daddy’s Home 3 that adds Dick Van Dyke as Lithgow’s dad and Clint Eastwood as Gibson’s dad.

While adults will probably find somewhat diminishing returns in The Second Part, its cheeky variations on all the constructions that worked so well the first time also work pretty darn well, and to a good end.

As long as Faxon and Rash...stay in this pitch-black pocket of uncomfortable truth-telling, Downhill retains its power. But since this is an American comedy...