On Christina Applegate's Greatness in 'Anchorman'

In honor of the film's 20th anniversary, I decided to pay tribute to Anchorman's underrated MVP. Here's my salute to Christina Applegate.

'Dumb Money' and the Rise of the Crazy Fact-Based Comedy

Dumb Money is hardly the first recent comedy that explores a true story from an irreverent perspective. I examined what's behind this trend for Cracked.

What 'Anchorman' Understood About "Afternoon Delight"

I wrote about nooners and Ron Burgundy for Cracked.

Telling Will Ferrell's Story in Only Five Movies

For Cracked, I'm going to start dissecting comic stars' careers by focusing on five of their movies. Not their best. Not their most popular. But the five that most represent the depth, breadth and ambitions of their stardom. And I begin with Will Ferrell. Hope you enjoy.

Who Is Mark Wahlberg's Best (Cinematic) Friend?

In Uncharted, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland are kinda/sorta buddies (but not really) as they go on a quest together to find some lost gold. That inspired Will and me to rank all of Wahlberg's movie buddies. You can read the results here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Spielberg's Musical, McKay's Satire and 'Red Rocket'

Three big movies on this week's podcast. (Makes sense considering we're in the thick of awards season.) Two are quite good, while one is Don't Look Up. Hear our reviews and random foolishness down below.

I Want a Whole Movie About the Making of 'Airplane!'

Last week, HBO released the first trailer for Winning Time, about the Los Angeles Lakers' championship run of the 1980s. But the best part had nothing to do with basketball: It was the two seconds it showed of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) filming Airplane! This inspired a very whimsical piece about my love of that film and Abdul-Jabbar in general. Hope you enjoy.

What 'Don't Look Up' Gets Wrong About Disaster Movies

I know, I know: That headline construction makes me roll my eyes, too. But even though Adam McKay's dark comedy is meant to be a satire of disaster movies, I think there's something fundamentally flawed in that approach. You see, we watch disaster flicks because we do sorta like watching the earth get destroyed. My essay is over at MEL.

'Don't Look Up' Review

Oh boy, is Don't Look Up bad. I have very little good to say about Adam McKay's latest over at Screen International.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Have Broken Up

For MEL, I wrote about the end of a comedy era.

The 2021 Movies That Aren't Based on Anything

Wanna see something original this year? For MEL, I offer a preview of 10 promising movies coming out in 2021 that aren't sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots or adaptations. Hope you enjoy.

What's Christian Bale's Best Performance?

Each Friday, Vulture is doing a movie-club viewing, and last night it was American Psycho. For the occasion, they asked us to rank Christian Bale's performances, which we were happy to do. Check it out right here.

Some Thoughts on 'Vice'

Wow, did this movie annoy me. I talked about smug laughter (and Todd Snider and The Unknown Known) for MEL.

'Vice' Review

What a disappointment this Dick Cheney film is. I reviewed Vice for Screen International.

AFI Fest 2015: 'The Big Short' Review

Sometimes, I walk out of a screening knowing I'm slightly overrating a film, overlooking its flaws, simply because I'm swept away in what's so good about that movie. Such is the case with The Big Short, which I thought was rather fabulous, even though I can recognize the parts that don't quite work. Director Adam McKay has made a ridiculously entertaining and wonderfully angry satire about the 2008 financial crisis. If you're still mad about how that all went down -- or, if you're like me and had forgotten just how mad it made you -- this film is singing your song. I reviewed The Big Short for Screen International.

Let's Rank All Will Ferrell's Movies

For Vulture, Will and I gave ourselves the task of ranking every one of Will Ferrell's movies. (We did draw the line at his cameos and his animated roles, with the exception of The Lego Movie, of course.) Going through Ferrell's career, including the recent Get Hard, you notice that he's a better comedic actor than a dramatic one: His artistry doesn't require him to get serious to get our attention. Also, boy, he plays a lot of musical instruments in his films: everything from guitar to drums to banjo to jazz flute. OK, with that out of the way, let's get to the list.