A Surprising, and Hopefully Not Lost, Treasure.

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2014)

December is when big movies come out. 2013's December was no different. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and Anchorman 2 were destined to be blockbusters based on the success of the first film's in those franchises. American Hustle, a David O'Russell film that featured Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (who he had success with in 2012's Silver Linings Playbook) as well as Amy Adams and Christian Bale, was released in the month, as well as Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street, which featured fan favorites Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill. Critically acclaimed Disney's Frozen was also still attracting viewers in December. With all of these movies, and others that were not even mentioned, there was another great film released in the month: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I read the short story in middle school and saw the vague, yet intriguing, trailer, which feature Of Monsters and Men, over the summer. I almost didn't make time to see Mitty because of the hectic activities of the holidays, work and other movies but I ended up having a free night and watched it. I am so glad I did not pass it up. Ben Stiller is best in his serious roles and Mitty is a surprisingly serious film. Wiig, who also starred in Anchorman 2 last month, also acts surprisingly well in a fairly minor role. The film focuses mainly on the idea of really living your life and by the end of the film the viewer should want to make their own life more active. Truly delightful and perhaps Stiller's second best performance of his career (the first being The Royal Tenenbauns).
Let's hope this film was not lost because of the films it was released alongside with.