What I Think Of: Land of the Lost (2009)

I must admit that when I first saw trailers for this remake of the classic television show, I was far from impressed. The trailers made this film look campy and crappy, and not in a good way. However after watching it, my initial impressions were totally off base. Shame on whoever cut the trailers because far from just being a stupid comedy, Land of the Lost is a dark, subversive comedy with a very British sense to it. As the film progresses things get zanier and crazier, but there's an undercurrent of dread, like at any moment our heroes could get eaten, or rather eat something and crap themselves to death. In this world violence is a way of life, a means to an end.

Land of the Lost feels like a living breathing Salvadore Dali painting, a cross between 70's television and the surreal "Escalator" photo from Scott Mutter. The backdrop of the world is just beauty in color. Frankly, more so than just being a movie, it's a wonderful piece of art.

Still, there's a lot wrong with this movie. Not all the jokes hit and some are frankly just too deadpan. And the four main charcaters are just the biggest of idiots causing you to wonder how they survived in the real world let alone in a "lost" world. However, I still found this movie to be a very entertaining, fun and creative romp through a lost and imagined world. Again, shame on whoever cut the trailers because this movie deserved to make more money at the boxoffice than the no money it made. So yeah, check out Land of the Lost if you're looking for an offbeat, different king of comedy.