Relentlessly silly but not quite funny parody of 70s network news never quite lives up to its promise. As always, Will Ferrell gives it his all, and Steve Carell’s every moment is hilarious.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s directorial debut interweaves three stories that get less and less interesting as the overlong movie rolls on. Two of the three (all revolving around a horrific car accident) are interesting enough to hold a movie, but putting them together adds little to each except time.

In what could be backhandedly described as an ‘appropriate’ third installment of the “American” series, most characters are relegated to the background, with the notable exception of Seann William Scott’s Stifler who is left to run wild like a libido with Tourette’s. The directing team of Weitz and Weitz is missed, but writer Adam Herz knows his characters very well. Amusingly, so do we.

The trials of comic book everyman Harvey Pekar are brought to vivid life through a mix of documentary and scripted footage resulting in the most innovative and unique biopic in recent memory. Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis are unforgettable as Pekar and his wife.

Mary Harron’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ tale of emptiness in America offers definitive proof that, without the controversy, it’s really not much of a story.