Land of the Lost

Based on the awful TV show about a routine expedition that turns into a time-traveling encounter with dinosaurs and cavemen, this one is a lot better than the critical consensus would lead you to believe. Will Ferrell running from dinosaurs and cursing out the infamous Cha-Ka is worth the price of admission. Having Danny McBride along for the ride as a redneck fireworks salesman and the beautiful Anna Friel as a revamped version of Holly only makes things better. OK, it’s not the comedic masterpiece I hoped for, but I must’ve laughed a solid 20 times while watching it, and that’s respectable. The special effects supervisors actually took $100 million dollars and made an oddly appropriate, cheap-looking homage to the TV show. The dinosaurs look good, but they do have a slightly cartoonish slant to them, as if the designers were trying to capture the spirit of the Sid and Marty Krofft TV show. I dug it, but I’m in the minority.