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455,019 | 11,228,318 | 223,400 | 10 |
The Great Toy Robbery is a fine Canadian animated holiday short
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Just discovered this quite funny animated short from Warren Leonhardt on his blog as linked from The National Film Board of Canada site . It takes place in the Old West with a cowboy , some robbers , and Santa Claus . Oh , and some toys . It takes a while but the way the gags are timed , you just can't help double up with laughter at how sudden some movements are and the way the whole thing is executed . Kudos go to director / co-animator Jeffrey Hale , Derek Lamb who did the storyboard and design , Don Douglas for the cool music , and Richard Gilbert for the voices . Oh , and I loved the way that horse doesn't always listen to the cowboy's commands ! So on that note , I highly recommend The Great Toy Robbery .
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454,761 | 11,228,318 | 398,808 | 10 |
Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderfully essential family film
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Based on the Newberry Award-winning book , Bridge to Terabithia is the story of two tween outcasts , Jesse and Leslie , who bond over their creative endeavors , drawing and writing , respectively . After school , they swing a rope across the brook and go to their tree clubhouse where they imagine being in the land of Terabithia , fighting various creatures and racing each other . Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb are wonderful as the lead characters . Among the adults , I especially liked Zooey Deschanel as the music teacher and Robert Patrick as Jesse's dad . Despite some sadness along the way , this is essential viewing for the whole family . Kudos to Gabor Csupo and the Disney Company for making it .
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453,863 | 11,228,318 | 45,708 | 10 |
Chuck Jones ' Duck Amuck is his most abstract and funniest cartoon short
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Duck Amuck is Daffy's frustrations of being trapped in an animated short that keeps changing scenery , has him playing a guitar with shooting sounds , fighting with himself in another frame , gets drawn in different sizes and colors , and basically is at the mercy of an unseen animator . This is Chuck Jones ' and Michael Maltese's masterpiece of abstract animation . One of my favorite parts was at the changing scenery sequence when , after Daffy changes into a farmer outfit singing " Old McDonald Had a Farm " in front of a barn background , it changes into a winter scene with a snow-house as the duck then sings , " And on this farm he had an igloo . . . " LOL ! At the end , the duck demands to know who is behind the whole thing . All I'll say is that person says , " Ain't I a stinker ? " Duck Amuck is definitely worth seeing again and again .
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453,848 | 11,228,318 | 808,435 | 10 |
A Raisin in the Sun marks my farewell comment for Black History Month
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This entry of the 2008 TV movie version of Lorraine Hansberry's play " A Raisin in the Sun " that just aired on ABC four days ago , is my final entry on African-Americans in film and television in chronological order for Black History Month . Nearly the entire cast of the recent Broadway revival of this still-resonant drama-Phylicia Rashad , Sean Combs , Audra McDonald , Sanaa Lathan , and Bill Nunn-reprise their roles here . They're all great as well as Sean Patric Thomas , David Oyelowo , Paul Stephen , and , as Carl Linder-the man who tries to buy the Youngers out of their new house , John Stamos . Rashad and McDonald , both of whom won Tonys for their performances , should repeat at the Emmys this fall . Combs , usually known as Puff Daddy / P . Diddy / Diddy , holds his own with the experienced veterans here . Scenes such as Rashad slapping daughter Lathan after the latter denounces God or Combs doing his " shufflin ' Negro " act near the end to everyone's disgust still packs a wallop . And writer Paris Qualles , whose work I just watched on The Rosa Parks Story , and director Kenny Leon open up the play's locations and expand on the dialogue considerably well . What else can I say except it's been a wonderful journey watching how much African-American performers and filmmakers have evolved over the nearly 90 years with nearly 100 listings here at IMDb during this special month . With the writer's strike still in effect at the beginning of it , I thought this was as good a time as any to celebrate some of the most acclaimed and popular celebrities America and the world has ever known . With that , I'll just say thanks for anyone who's read this and my other BHM comments and gave me favorable and even not-so-favorable marks as a result . Oh , and feel free to read and mark my other non-BHM comments as well !
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455,047 | 11,228,318 | 28,390 | 10 |
Toby Tortoise Returns is a very hilarious sequel to The Tortoise and the Hare
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After watching The Tortoise and the Hare on YouTube , I quickly watched the sequel right after on there and I found this one more hilarious than the predecessor . Actually , I thought Toby Tortoise Returns was very funny while TTATH was only amusing . Especially since the competition is now in the boxing ring and there are cameos from other stars of other Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoons . I was especially very amused by the Mae West bird caricature Jenny Wren and the Harpo Marx rooster ( whose hair is red as opposed to the more familiar blonde ) from Who Killed Cock Robin ? ( whose scenes I'm familiar with from seeing them in Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage ) There's dynamite , Mexican music , a couple of hospital orderlies , and plenty other hilarious stuff that I don't want to spoil for you . Needless to say , I very much recommend Toby Tortoise Returns .
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453,960 | 11,228,318 | 120,324 | 10 |
A Simple Plan is a great suspense film from Sam Raimi
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The leading performances of Bill Paxton , Billy Bob Thornton , and Bridget Fonda are excellent as is that of Gary Cole in a role that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows his work . Two supporting players that really impressed me , however , were those of Brent Briscoe and Becky Ann Baker ( who I recognized from " Freaks and Geeks " ) as Lou and Nancy Chambers . Brisco brings a slightly obnoxious but somewhat lovable vibe as the co-conspirator in the money laundering scheme that when his fate happens , you feel a little sorry for him . Ditto Nancy as she cries when she sees what happens to her husband and her eventual fate as well . Great atmospheric direction from Sam Raimi accompanied by a very suitable score by Danny Elfman . And the constant scenes of snow and the animals that inhabit them are so beautiful despite the mostly suspenseful tone throughout . So having said all that , I highly recommend A Simple Plan .
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455,063 | 11,228,318 | 26,226 | 10 |
A Colour Box is highly worthy experimental animation short
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Just saw this on YouTube and was blown away by the various paints of colors directly on film and the post office prints at the very end . Reminded me a lot of Chuck Jones ' The Dot and the Line where we see lots of shapes and sizes of various colors of lines , circles , and what have you . Great period music to set the mood to whatever abstraction is matched for the rhythm of the picture . This , The Peanut Vendor , and Free Radicals are the first time I've seen anything by Len Lye . Great experimental work from such an independent artist . Makes me wish I can find a DVD or VHS that might possibly have some of his works preserved . I guess I'll keep on searching YouTube . . .
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454,634 | 11,228,318 | 47,678 | 10 |
Wild Wife is a great Robert McKimson cartoon
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Just watched this Warner Bros . cartoon on YouTube . In it , husband John ( Mel Blanc , of course ) asks his wife Marsha ( Bea Benaderet ) if she's done various chores . When she replies " no " on the lawnmower question , he tells her she doesn't do enough work during her free time . Marsha rebuts with a tale of what her work day entailed . . . Director Robert McKimson fills this day - in - the - life - of - a - housewife premise with lots of hilarious verbal and visual gags that keeps building until the much deserved finale . And the stylized ' 50s design that was probably UPA-inspired is perfect here . And music director Carl Stalling , as always , provides many familiar music cues-like the " Powerhouse " score by Raymond Scott which is my favorite-their suitable moments in the short . So for all that , I'm highly recommending Wild Wife .
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455,222 | 11,228,318 | 10,757 | 10 |
Watch The Tantalizing Fly for one of the earliest appearances of Koko the Clown
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The Tantalizing Fly is one of the earliest appearances of Koko the Clown in Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series . In this one , a fly is bothering Max at the drawing board and Koko on it . In fact , Koko follows the fly as the clown twists and turns every which way on his body ! The fly also goes around his face , and near his nose bothering Koko so much that he gets an ink spray that also sprays Max's face ! Max eventually gets a fly swatter that ends knocking Koko out after which Koko draws a man in a chair , hits him on head when fly goes near it , chair man gets mad , Koko uses pen to siphon man back and Max then takes sheet Koko is drawn on to siphon the clown back in inkwell . When fly also enters inkwell , Max covers it with hand . The end . Very amusing early entry in Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series . Seek this one out if you're a die-hard animation buff .
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454,212 | 11,228,318 | 1,017,495 | 10 |
Pie-lette marks a great start for unique series " Pushing Daises "
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Pushing Daises is the most critically acclaimed new show of the season and I can't help but agree how great the pilot or " Pie-lette " is ! Lee Pace is charming in a role that requires him to not show too much personality as Ned . Chi McBride shows a flair for comedy as Detective Emerson Cod , Ned's partner on cases and his pie restaurant . Kristen Chenoweth as Olive Snook , Ned's waitress , brings her pixie spriteness to the table , and Anna Friel brings a spunky optimism to her role as Charlotte " Chuck " Charles , a childhood crush Ned brings back to life he dares not touch again if he wants her to keep living . Also want to mention Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene as Chuck's aunts that she lived with after Ned , when they were young children , inadvertently killed her father ( which she doesn't know about ) . What wonderful veterans they are ! This show is worthy of all the acclaim it got and the ratings it got means that a lot of people were willing to try this one out . Can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings !
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455,189 | 11,228,318 | 141,075 | 10 |
This parody of Romeo and Juliet is Felix at most creative
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Felix the Cat as Romeow is funny from beginning to end ! The best one I've seen so far . It begins as Felix is riding his bike to a fair maiden's castle . When he arrives , the smoke from his bike carries him to the fair maiden's balcony . While Felix woos with his banjo , his rival is on his way on his horse . As he arrives , he challenges Felix to a duel but not before he squeezes his horse like an accordion ! They use swords . Felix manages to cast his rival's sword out so the rival uses an ostrich's beak instead ! After that ends , Felix wanders out and comes to a flower , blows its petals out and turns it into a microphone ! He sings to it which comes out of the fair maiden's phonograph . A duck comes behind Felix and quacks into the mic causing the fair maiden to use some kind of medicine to feed her speaker and Felix to tie the duck's beak with a handkerchief ! The duck goes to his father who unties the handkerchief which then becomes a rabbit that hops away ! The duck's father than tries to confront Felix who keeps kicking him away . The father duck then uses the mic to preen as if looking in a mirror ! Then a donkey comes and licks the mic before dropping it . Then a mouse comes and turns the mic into a unicycle ! Felix then goes back to the castle and uses the tire from his bike as some kind of viewfinder to eye his maiden . He climbs back up to find the maiden and his rival in embrace . He then finds two megaphone shaped things and uses one of them to shrink his rival to mouse size ! Felix then embraces the maiden as we iris out . I'm sure there are some gags I've neglected to mention but trust me : This short is quite hilarious ! It's also nearly perfectly synchronized with sound effects and music which I'm thinking came from a reissue since it came from a year that The Jazz Singer was just premiering . By all means , seek this one out !
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455,176 | 11,228,318 | 533,501 | 10 |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer : The Harvest is excellent conclusion to series pilot
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This is the second part of the pilot episode that aired on the WB's last broadcast of September 17 , 2006 . In this one , The Master and his minions are trying to " harvest " lives in order to free The Master from the underground Hellmouth . We find out Jesse is now a vampire , Willow is good with computers , Cordelia's not ( I love Willow's " Push the deliver key " line to her ) , Harmony ( Mercedes McNab ) is Cordelia's friend here , and minion Luke ( Brian Thompson ) is not too bright ( another favorite line , " It's about nine hours , moron " from Buffy after tricking Luke to look through a broken glass window with the sun shining ) . The final line from Giles , " The earth is doomed " after Willow , Xander , and Buffy joke about possible ways Buffy could get kicked out of school makes this the perfect beginning of this wonderful comedy-horror hybrid for the next seven years . . .
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454,726 | 11,228,318 | 41,593 | 10 |
Little Rural Riding Hood is another hilarious Tex Avery cartoon from MGM
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I first saw this one as a ' 70s kid watching The Tom and Jerry Show on weekday afternoons . That show had lots of outrageous cartoons that are so funny you can't help yourself . This one is more outrageous than usual since it parodies two well known stories : The Little Red Riding Hood and Country Mouse / City Mouse . Here , the title character is a hillbilly girl who speaks in a southern drawl who's bringing some jug of moonshine for her granny . Granny here is , of course , a wolf but he speaks in Goofy's voice ( Pinto Colvig ) who , instead of wanting to eat her wants " kiss her and chase her " acting all country bumpkin crazy . So the chase ensues when Red arrives but stops short of the wolf kissing her when a telegram arrives from his city cousin to come to his house where he'll promise a " real red riding hood " . I'll stop here and mention that when we see her , it's reused footage from Swing Shift Cinderella as animated by Preston Blair . During this sequence , Colvig's wolf is so out of control , it's hilarious . And the city wolf's voice is none other than Daws Butler , best known for the southern drawled Huckleberry Hound . Tex Avery has done it again with this entry in the Red Hot Riding Hood series he made for MGM in the ' 40s with the typical wackiness and sexiness one never gets tired of seeing from this man . Most highly recommended for animation buffs especially of the Avery kind .
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454,496 | 11,228,318 | 367,555 | 10 |
Martin Scorsese's Bob Dylan documentary is excellent
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I watched Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home having only known Bob Dylan mainly from hearing " Like a Rolling Stone " and " Everybody Must Get Stoned " on the radio or seeing recent live TV performances in which his voice usually sounded garbled , so this was truly a revelation of how much of an impact Dylan made in American music as well as who in turn impacted him ( His encounters with Woody Guthrie were especially interesting ) . It's great to see vintage performances and interviews of Pete Seeger , Joan Baez , and Mavis Staples as well as some of Dylan's fellow musicians and poets from Greenwich Village . We also get small wraparounds in Part 1 of his 1966 concert in which he gets booed for his first electric set that shows how fans can turn on you when you try something different . As soon as I see Part 2 , I'll post an update . I've now seen Part 2 and , boy , what a journey as we see Dylan perform for Martin Luther King's March in Washington , in the Newport festival , doing press conferences in which he says he's a song-and-dance man instead of a " protest singer " , and then his first electric concert in which Pete Seeger threatens to cut the wires ! During the second half , you hear footage of " boos " and " traiter " being yelled in England and America although they lessen when you hear Dylan's biggest hit , " Like a Rolling Stone " . In the beginning of this second part , Dylan keeps his sense of humor as when he mangles interpreting a road sign for his own pleasure but becomes a bit surly when a couple asks for an autograph later on . No Direction Home ends right before Dylan's motorcycle accident in 1966 so most of his great stuff is covered here . Afterwards , Charlie Rose interviewed director Martin Scorsese who explained the meaning of the title , " When you die , you're home . " No better words have been spoken !
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454,158 | 11,228,318 | 41,598 | 10 |
Long-Haired Hare is another hilarious Bugs Bunny cartoon by Chuck Jones
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Another classic Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Chuck Jones . In Long-Haired Hare , our rabbit likes to sing and play the banjo , harp , and tuba . But Giovanni Jones , an opera singer who lives nearby , is constantly distracted to the point of joining along . So he hits Bugs with those instruments . After getting his ears tied to a tree branch causing his head to go up and down , Bugs declares , " Of course you know , this means war ! " Attaboy , Bugs ! If you haven't seen this yet , I won't spoil the rest for you . Instead , I'll just say this : When Bugs gets even , he GETS even ! As always , Michael Maltese deserves credit for thinking up some of the funniest cartoons of all time .
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454,009 | 11,228,318 | 54,743 | 10 |
The Children's Hour has subject matter relevant even today
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In this time weeks after California became the second state to recognize gay and lesbian marriages , I thought I'd finally get a look at a time when anyone even accused of loving someone of the same gender got him / her ostracized by watching The Children's Hour , a movie made in 1961 based on a play written by native New Orleanean Lilian Hellman in the 1930s . In this one , bratty girl Mary ( Karen Balkin ) lies to her grandmother ( Fay Bainter ) about a relationship between her teachers Karen Wright ( Audrey Hepburn ) and Martha Dobie ( Shirley MacLaine ) . Another girl , Rosalie ( Veronica Cartwright ) gets roped to play along because she " borrows " some jewelry and doesn't want to get ratted out . A Dr . Joe Cardin ( James Garner ) defends fiancée Karen and Martha's honor in front of the rich grandmother but is unable to stop all the girl students from being sent elsewhere . And it doesn't help when Martha's actress aunt Lily ( Miriam Hopkins ) is conveniently away during most of the trial that results from a suit against the grandmother that she wins . This was a well done movie about how some lies can snowball to tragic consequences and how some truths can be found in those lies . Director William Wyler , who had previously filmed this as These Three but had to change some of the material to suit the Production Code of the time , brings his usual classy treatment to such sensitive material . Leads Hepburn and MacLaine , especially MacLaine , bring emotional power in their roles that challenge them to the fullest . Mr . Garner acquits himself nicely in his scenes with them . Hopkins and Bainter-with Ms . Hopkins a veteran of These Three-also provide fine support . As for the children , while Ms . Balkin does indeed seem too annoying as Mary to be convincingly charming even to her grandma , Ms . Cartwright is just the right side of frightful in her reluctance as Rosalie to cross Mary to her face . Of course , I think Grandma is so prejudiced that thinking what her granddaughter whispered was out-and-out lies was the last thing on her mind . And the difference between attitudes then and now is heartbreakingly brought out at the end when Martha reveals her true feelings to Karen before Karen takes a walk and then the aftermath when she runs back in . . . While homosexuality may be more open and accepted today , there's still some backlash that makes this movie even more relevant now . And seeing Garner back-to-back in this and Sayonara just now makes me appreciate how brave he was in appearing in these then-provocative films . So on that note , I highly recommend The Children's Hour . P . S . My condolences to Hepburn's and Mel Ferrer's son Sean on the recent death of his father at the age of 90 .
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454,580 | 11,228,318 | 66,327 | 10 |
Santa Claus Is Comin ' to Town is perfect Rankin / Bass Christmas special
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I've just seen Santa Claus Is Comin ' to Town for the first time since I was an under-12 kid in the late ' 70s . It brought back such memories of seeing the origin of the big red-suited man when it used to show on the Sunday at 6 central time period on ABC opposite NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney . Fred Astaire is perfect as the Special Delivery Mailman guiding us through the story . Mickey Rooney is fine as the orphan baby originally named Kris Kringle by a family of elves with that surname . Keenan Wynn is touching as the Winter Warlock who convincingly turns from mean to nice after Kringle gives him a toy . Paul Frees is appropriately mean as Burgermeister Meisterburger who bans toys in Sombertown ( When I was a kid , his burning all the toys in front of the children was particularly sad to me ) . And Robie Lester as Jessica who eventually becomes Mrs . Claus is very sweet in her transformation from frosty to warm when Kris gives her a doll . Rankin / Bass was the name you trusted to give you a perfectly doll-animated Christmas special . ( Two more that come to mind are Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Year Without a Santa Claus ) So , to quote Nat King Cole , " to kids from 1 to 92 " , I highly recommend Santa ' Claus Is Comin ' to Town !
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454,426 | 11,228,318 | 1,122,417 | 10 |
Smell of Success is another hilarious episode of " Pushing Daises "
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This is the funniest episode of " Pushing Daises " yet ! I'll just mention what this show has : murder by scratch-n-sniff , rival authors , rival colleagues , Paul Reubens , " Follow the yellow hose " , Olive in a mermaid outfit , Olive's cleavage , and Chuck's aunt Vivian singing , " Morning Has Broken " . There's plenty more I haven't mentioned but one more thing I have to say is : Thanks , ABC , for giving this whimsically funny series a full-season pickup ! Also glad to know the ratings have gone up . Every week this show just keeps getting better . Now if only the writers ' strike ends soon ( with the writers getting what they want ) so we can get that full season in bloom ASAP !
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455,056 | 11,228,318 | 59,026 | 10 |
A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the best holiday specials ever !
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On December 9 , 1965 , the first broadcast of what would become a holiday classic would debut : A Charlie Brown Christmas . From the beginning song , " Christmastime is Here " , we hear Charlie Brown talking about always getting depressed during the holidays with friend Linus who responds , " Lucy's right , of all the Charlie Browns in the world , you're the Charlie Brownest . " Somehow , this leads to Charlie directing a Christmas play but no one's paying attention . ( It's here that the unofficial Peanuts theme , " Linus and Lucy " is introduced ) He and Linus then decide to get a Christmas tree with Brown getting the smallest , weakest-looking one . After everyone laughs , C . B . , feeling defeated , asks , " Is there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about ? " Linus then goes on stage , asks for spotlight , and tells of the birth of Jesus . After he finishes he says , " That's what Christmas is all about , Charlie Brown . " ( I've always wondered how someone who knows about Christmas ended up believing in the Great Pumpkin ) Chuck then takes the tree to his dog Snoopy's home , gets depressed when the light from his dog's decoration basically kills the tree , and leaves . The rest of the gang then comes to put the rest of the lights on the now beautiful Christmas tree as Charlie comes back , looks at what his friends have done , and gets greeted with , " Merry Christmas , Charlie Brown ! " as they all sing , " Hark the Herald Angel Sing " . . . Charles Schulz , Bill Melendez , and Lee Mendelson should be commended for making such a meaningful and poignant Christmas special that addresses both the commercial and religious aspects of the holiday with a little bit of sophisticated humor . And Vince Guaraldi's jazz score is some of the coolest I've heard in an animated cartoon . Most of all , at a time when adult actors were still doing children's voices , the producers insisted on using real kids approximately ages 7-10 to voice the Peanuts gang bringing a down-to-earth quality to the Charlie Brown specials over the years . So here's to over 40 years of one of the most popular holiday specials ever . Merry Christmas , Charlie Brown indeed !
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455,197 | 11,228,318 | 11,223 | 10 |
Get Out and Get Under is an excellent Harold Lloyd short from Hal Roach
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Get Out and Get Under is Harold Lloyd's first film after an exploding accident that caused him to lose a two fingers and a thumb in one of his hands requiring him to wear a prosthetic glove in movies for the rest of his career . This is a very funny short in which Harold is hurrying to get to the theatre for his performance . Lots of hilarious scenes concerning ways to fix his car , his dealings with a kid ( Ernie " Sunshine Sammy " Morrison of the original Our Gang ) who keeps hanging around while he's working , a dog , some engineers of a train ferry the car accidentally goes on , a parade , a banana peel ( no surprise there ) , a steep hill , a water tower , a fire hydrant , a " road closed " sign , and some motorcycle cops . His leading lady is played by his eventual wife , Mildred Davis . Produced and directed by comedy mastermind Hal Roach . The music I heard in this version was provided by Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks Orchestra . Highly essential viewing for silent movie comedy fans especially those of Harold Lloyd .
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454,330 | 11,228,318 | 1,198,187 | 10 |
The Babysitter is one hilarious adult themed short !
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Just watched this on Atomfilms . com . This was a pretty hilarious comedy short about an-18-year-old blond babysitter reluctantly being left in charge of a much older-than-her offspring whose girlfriend just left him . To entice her to stay the guardians ( one of whom I recognized as Molly Hagan from " Herman's Head " ) offer her $100 . Things are strained until this " offspring " offers some beer . . . Directed by one David H . Steinberg ( is he related to the comedian with the similar name ? I gotta check him out ) , things start slow until the events after the beer . And wait till you see the surprise ending ! Like I said , it's on Atomfilms . com . I highly recommend this one !
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454,865 | 11,228,318 | 178,016 | 10 |
Der Schneemann is a wonderful vintage animated short from Germany
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Just watched on YouTube as linked from Saturday Morning Blog this German cartoon known in the U . S . as The Snowman or Snowman in July . Whitey Snowman comes to life one winter day and enjoys running in the snow and ice skating . When he falls in the ice river , he comes back much thinner but gains all his weight by rolling in the snow . He also loses his head at one point but gets it back quickly . Then at home , he looks at a calendar and wishes it was July . So he hibernates in a fridge ( guess the idea of suffocating in there doesn't pertain to snowmen ) and waits for the coming spring . . . This was a very touching and amusing cartoon that I had read about but didn't get to see until now . I liked seeing that dog snatch Whitey's butt in the beginning before he threw back a snow that reattached said butt and when that bug in the spring segment skied on the snowman . The version I saw had an English-speaking narrator that made the short quite entertaining from beginning to end . So on that note , I highly recommend Der Schneemann which was directed by one Hans Fischerkoesen . P . S . There seemed to be some of that 3-D like tabletop background one usually associates with Max Fleischer . Additional P . S . - I just watched the original German version that had different music and had the snowman singing in that language at the end . Still excellent .
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454,516 | 11,228,318 | 1,134,097 | 10 |
Good Ol ' Charles Schulz is a fine episode of " American Masters "
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Just finished watching " Good Ol ' Charles Schulz " , an episode of the PBS series " American Masters " . This celebrated cartoonist had long been a hero of mine because of the way he made universal the insecurities of everyday life by putting them in the leading character of his long-running comic strip " Peanuts " , one round-headed kid named Charlie Brown . We follow Mr . Schulz as he grew up as the only child of Norwegian-immigrant parents who rarely spoke much or shown much affection , then through a courtship with a woman named Donna who became the inspiration for Charlie Brown's Little Red-Haired Girl crush , his first wife Joyce who became Lucy in the strip , his second wife Jeanne , and finally his cancer and death . We also get interviews with his children , some friends , some art instruction colleagues like one actually named Linus , fellow cartoonists Jules Feiffer and Lynn Johnston , and his partners in the animated Charlie Brown specials-Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez . In between all of this , we are shown panels that illustrate some aspects of Charles Schulz ' life that brought out some of the most profound humor in him . During the whole 90-minutes , one gets the feeling that despite his success , Mr . Schulz always wondered if he truly was loved by all the people that praised him or was it simply because of his fame . Hopefully , any mail he received after he announced his retirement shortly before he died in 2000 put any doubts he had to rest . This was a wonderful special that truly honored the life of Mr . Schulz . May " Peanuts " , which has rerun his classic episodes for millions of readers for the last 7 years , always be in the hearts of anyone who's ever felt like Charlie Brown ( which may be most of us ! ) .
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455,128 | 11,228,318 | 424,517 | 10 |
A Tuna Christmas is a nice change-of-pace from the usual holiday fare
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Having long seen this video on display in my local library and wanting to see anything that fits the Christmas season , I decided to check out A Tuna Christmas out of curiosity . Joe Sears and Jaston Williams are the only actors playing a multitude of characters that live in the small Texas town of Tuna as they all prepare for Christmas . It begins at a radio station then goes to a woman with two grown twins-a girl and a boy-at a house then to a diner then back at the radio station . . . and many other stuff that is impossible to describe . The humor comes naturally and is always based on characterization as opposed on one-liners . Ed Howard co-wrote with Sears and Williams a sort of Robert Altman-style of pacing that seems more improvised than scripted . Nice spreading of various holiday songs provided by mainly country artists like Randy Travis or Buck Owens throughout many transitions . Taped live at a theater in Dallas , A Tuna Christmas was a most enjoyable play that provided plenty of laughs with some touching drama near the end . If I ever come across its predecessor , Greater Tuna , I'll certainly check that out !
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455,143 | 11,228,318 | 56,592 | 10 |
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest movie experiences ever
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In commenting on African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month , we're now at 1962 with the release of the movie version of Harper Lee's novel , " To Kill a Mockingbird " . The crux of the story is lawyer Atticus Finch's ( Oscar-winning performance of Gregory Peck ) defending black farmer Tom Robinson ( Brock Peters ) against the testimony of Mayella's ( Collin Wilcox Paxton ) accusation of her rape by him . These scenes are some of the most touching and intense I've ever seen of a movie made while there was still a Production Code in effect ( though the rules of that Code were relaxed by this time compared to the ' 30s and ' 40s ) . Peter's testimony and , especially , Peck's closing statement were especially touching . Since we're talking about black performers , here's a few more I'd like to mention from this movie : Estelle Evans as Peck's housekeeper for his kids-this actress is the sister of Esther Rolle from " Good Times " , David Crawford as Tom's son David , Jester Hairston-who I remember from " Amen " - as Tom's father Spence , Kim Hamilton as Tom's wife Helen , and Bill Walker as the Rev . Sykes who says perhaps the most famous line in the movie , " Jean Louise , stand up , your father is passing . " ( I had earlier misquoted this line in a review of the " Our Gang " comedy , Young Sherlocks , which starred his wife , Peggy Cartwright , as a child ) Others in the cast are Kim Stanley who's Scout as an adult in narration , Alice Ghostley and William Windon in their film debuts , and , as the children , John Megna-brother of Connie Stevens-as neighbor boy Dill , Philip Alford as Finch's son Jem , and Mary Badham-whose brother John would become a movie director-as Finch's daughter Jean Louise , better known as " Scout " . Then there's Robert Duvall in his scene stealing turn as the silent Boo Radley . What else can I say about this movie produced by Alan J . Pakula , directed by Robert Mulligan , with screenplay adapted by Horton Foote except this is one of the best ever made in my lifetime ! Everyone I've just mentioned was just superb and the score by Elmer Bernstein was a most wonderful addition to this great movie from 1962 . Kudos to Ms . Lee for the only novel she ever published that turned out to be one of the most exhilarating movie experiences I've ever had . So on that note , I definitely recommend To Kill a Mockingbird .
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455,076 | 11,228,318 | 1,025,163 | 10 |
The House That Ahmet Built is one of the most essential docs of music history
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This American Masters episode showcases the wonderful influence of Ahmet Ertegun , the founder of Atlantic Records . Since the label's founding in 1947 , some of the most popular Rhythm and Blues and Rock ' n ' Roll artists have worked for Atlantic . Among them : first artist Ruth Brown , Big Joe Turner , Ray Charles , Bobby Darin , The Coasters , Aretha Franklin , The Rolling Stones , Phil Collins and many more . Also covered are many of the Atlantic crew like engineer Tom Dowd , producer Jerry Wexler , and songwriters Mike Lieber and Jerry Stoller . Mostly , this two hour documentary covers Ahmet's life from his childhood in Turkey to his moving to the United States as a teenager when he experienced some of the most happening sounds of Harlem to his discoveries of some of the greatest musicians the world has ever known . Atlantic artist Bette Midler narrates this loving look at her boss that manages to capture Ertegun's essence just before he died after falling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert last December . Well worth seeking out for anyone interested in the history of Rock ' n ' Roll .
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453,826 | 11,228,318 | 235,502 | 10 |
Jubilo , Jr . is an excellent " Our Gang " short with honest sentimentality
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This Hal Roach comedy short , Jubilo , Jr . , is the twenty-ninth entry in the " Our Gang / Little Rascals " series . In this one , the title character walks through a field and sees three tramps singing " That Old Gang of Mine " . As he sits with them , he reminisces about his boyhood days when his parents were poor . On his mother's birthday , the father refuses to buy her something since he felt he spent too much on Christmas . So Jubilo resolves to get a job that paid enough for $3 . 00 for a hat he sees through a store window . His first offer is to dig a hole for a dollar but the man who requested it was an asylum escapee . His friends , who had previously been turned down for baseball , offer to pay for covering the hole back up . Next , Jubilo hopes to get paid for carrying cement but , after the man refuses , he ends up dropping it in the muddy water with the rest of the gangs ' feet now stuck with the cement on the way home ! Finally , he decides to hold a circus with Joe posing as a strongman and Jackie posing as a Chinese juggler with balls attached to his head from strings . The profits only reached $2 . 70 so Jubilo reaches to the coin hidden on the refrigerator top for the rest of the balance . On the way home after the parents looked for the missing coin , the father spanks him before everything is explained and all is forgiven . And while the mother knows the hat is a bit fancy , she wears it to church the following Sunday . As Jubilo finishes his story , he's called back by director Charley Chase for the next take . Noticing the flower on his coat for his mother's birthday , Chase says , " You'll have to take that off , Mr . Rogers . " Will Rogers obliges then , with the take done , his mother arrives in a limousine and shows off that same hat she got from him all those years ago as they laugh and then Will introduces his crew to her after one last look at his old gang as we fade . . . While Leonard Maltin and Richard W . Bann were a bit confused by the way this story turned out in their definitive book about Hal Roach's Rascals , I was willing to take it as the way Will's ( fictional ) life was in the context of the short . Certainly , Mickey Daniels is excellent as the title character as a young man . Loved the way Mary , in flirting with Mickey , suddenly does a " pshaw " every time he ditches her . And some of the scenes I mentioned in the synopsis were quite funny in this very sentimental short . So on that note , I highly recommend Jubilo , Jr . P . S . The grocer that Jubilo ( Mickey Daniels ) offered to work for was his father , Richard . And , once again , kudos to the YouTube poster who added the music of the " Little Rascals " composer , LeRoy Shield , to this short .
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455,133 | 11,228,318 | 495,112 | 10 |
Frosty the Snowman and Peter Cottontail are wonderful recently discovered UPA rarities
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I recently discovered on Mark Evanier's site as linked from Cartoon Brew a couple of UPA animated holiday shorts that are on YouTube . One was Peter Cottontail which for some reason is not listed on IMDb . That one played the whole song and depicted visually the entire premise down to the hunter that shot the rabbit's tail . This one , Frosty the Snowman , features the title character's fun with some kids before he leaves so he won't melt away . Both had a chorus that featured no musical accompaniment , just them singing in the standard jazzy style of the period . These were longtime annual staples on Chicago kid shows for years . As a longtime animation fan , these were pleasant surprises . Definitely worth a look .
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454,135 | 11,228,318 | 966,897 | 10 |
Parasite ends Heroes ' second cycle
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As Peter and Issac still grieve over the dead Simone , Issac gets angry at Peter for her death and still blames him as Peter gets away . Hiro still gets himself thrown out of the Las Vegas hotel even when he says he's with Linderman . Mr . Bennet explains to his boss that he can't remember anything from the previous day . When he comes back to his wife , she reminds him of what he told her about everything about himself and Claire before the Hatian guy wiped his mind . HRG's boss had retained Matt to read his mind but Matt got nothing and he's upset that the boss is not letting him go . Hiro gets Nathan to get him inside the hotel . Nathan has a deal with the FBI to turn in Linderman . A woman named Candace comes to HRG's room and tells him Thompson , his and her boss , have an assignment for him . They go to Issac's where he suddenly sees Simone back alive seconds after seeing her lay dead just before he answered the door . Then she turns back into Candace who can change into anybody . She and HRG convince him to go back to painting . With some help with drugs , he does . He does not like what he sees . The Hatian man is supposed to send Claire to Canada to assume a new name with a new family . But Claire manages to ditch him at the airport and flies to New York to look for Peter . She finds his mom who is at the door with the Hatian waiting with her . She calls Claire by her name and says she's her grandmother . Hiro finds the hotel museum curator and asks for something , then as the curator leaves , Hiro uses the computer and ID's the sword which opens the drawer that it's in . Hiro gets it and gets caught by the curator who presses an alarm that alerts the guards . One of them turns to be Ando who teleports with Hiro to New York only to find it already ruined . HRG goes back to his wife and finds she's Candace in disguise and she's with Thompson and some of his men . Nathan is found by Jessica , who just killed the FBI men , and has his wire taken out by her . When Nathan fights her , she turns back to Niki who warns him about Linderman . Nathan confronts Linderman and tries to kill him but backs down . During all this , Mohinder and Sylar ( who Mohinder thinks is the guy Sylar stole powers from ) , are trying to contact some people from the list but Mohinder is exhausted so Sylar tells him to relax . Sylar is drinking tea Mohinder served him and suddenly feels faint . Mohinder knows who he is and pulls a gun on him to exact revenge for his father's death ! After he shoots , the bullet stops near Sylar's face . Sylar has managed to use his mind to keep from getting hit and by the end of the episode when Peter arrives , Mohinder is hanging on the ceiling with blood spilling . Sylar prepares to cut Peter's brain as we see some of Peter's hair falling . . . Wow ! What a way to end another cycle before the next batch of episodes come April 23 . Nice to see Ian Gomez , who previously played Javier on Felicity which also featured Heroes ' Greg Grunberg , as the curator . There's also Life as We Know It's Missy Peregrym as Candace and Malcolm McDowell , who I know mainly from A Clockwork Orange , as Linderman . It's going to be a long wait until then but it'll be a nice way to think about what might happen before the next batch airs . Until next time . . .
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455,178 | 11,228,318 | 512,834 | 10 |
Angel : City of . . . helps in saying goodbye to the W
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Sunday , September 17 , 2006 marked the official end of the WB network . It was marked by the showing of the following pilots : Felicity , Angel , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and Dawson's Creek . Angel follows the character from BtVS to L . A . where he's been saving various women from vampires by killing them . As the pilot begins , we hear Angel in voice-over talking about the city and why he left Sunnydale to a stranger in a bar . Josh Holloway before he reached stardom in Lost comes in and picks up a woman . We follow him outside where he reveals himself as a vampire to her with a couple of other ones waiting with him . Angel interrupts and manages to slay them all then tells the women he just saved to go away before the opening credits . Later on , we meet Doyle , a demon whose migraines inform Angel of various potential victims and also from Buffy , Cordelia Chase , who moves to L . A . to search for acting stardom . David Boreanaz , Glenn Quinn , and Chrisma Carpenter are fine in the above mentioned roles and while the episodes were originally supposed to be self-contained , like Buffy it's the serialized story lines that we remember . Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt's writing and Whedon's direction are excellent for a genre series pilot and the darker tone sets it apart from Buffy though the humor is quite similar , refreshingly so . In showing Angel on its last broadcast day , the WB is paying tribute to the quality genre series that they helped flourish with . So here's to you WB , may your spirit live on in the CW . . .
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453,977 | 11,228,318 | 34,870 | 10 |
Dr . Seuss ' Horton Hatches the Egg is an excellent Bob Clampett cartoon
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This afternoon while I was waiting for Enchanted to begin , there was a preview for the new computer-animated feature , Horton Hears a Who ? with the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell . After going home and checking out the Cartoons , Model Sheets , and Stuff blog , I discovered the presence of another Horton tale from Dr . Seuss that I remembered from childhood called Horton Hatches the Egg that became a Warner Bros . - Bob Clampett cartoon . Anyone who's read HHtE will be glad to see how faithfully Bob adapted both the story and drawings to his short while adding some of his own gags and a ditty called " The Hut-Hut Song " . One of those gags had a fish that looks like Peter Lorre and as he sees the elephant sitting on an egg on a tree in a boat moving in the sea for the circus , well . . . Oh , watch the cartoon . And kudos to Mr . Clampett for making such a wonderful Dr . Seuss animated cartoon . The Cartoons , Model Sheets , and Stuff blog linked this from Daily Motion .
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454,133 | 11,228,318 | 68,359 | 10 |
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is another great Peanuts holiday special
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Charlie Brown and his little sister Sally are planning to go to Grandmother's place for Thanksgiving dinner but Peppermint Patty invites herself , Marcie , and Franklin to the Browns expecting one themselves . Linus suggests making one before going to Grandma's so Snoopy and Woodstock start getting the table and chairs . As Peppermint Patty and friends arrive , she's disappointed at getting popcorn , toast , pretzels , and jellybeans instead of turkey , mashed potatoes , and pumpkin pie . Marcie apologizes on her friend's behalf before Patty also says she's sorry . Chuck's grandmother then calls and invites everyone over . . . Another great Peanuts holiday special that's as much a classic as the Great Pumpkin and Christmas one . I especially liked the " Little Birdie " song sung by the late great Peanuts score musician Vince Guaraldi . Snoopy's battle with a lawn chair during this number is the most hilarious scene in the special . As with the Christmas special , Linus recites a wonderful story of Thanksgiving's beginnings with great heart and sincerity . Unfortunately , ABC cut the scene of Snoopy and Woodstock walking to Charlie Brown's house in Pilgrim outfits and the tag of Snoopy and Woodstock pulling the wishbone with the bird falling backwards with the broken wishbone . So my rating of 10 here is based on the original unedited broadcast .
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455,021 | 11,228,318 | 565,840 | 10 |
The Big Little Jesus is a touching Christmas episode of " Dragnet "
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Having just seen the more tragic " Dragnet " holiday episode - " The Big . 22 Rifle for Christmas " - I'd thought I'd check the more positive-influenced one called " The Big Little Jesus " . In this one taking place on Christmes Eve-which is the same day of when this was broadcast in 1953-Friday and his partner Frank Smith ( this time played by Ben Alexander ) have promised Father Rojas ( Harry Bartell who was born in New Orleans in my home state of Louisiana ) to recover the stolen baby Jesus statue for the church nativity by the Christmas Day mass the next morning . I'll stop there and just say that this was a more lighter episode concerning the holidays as evidenced by Friday and Smith's banter about presents in the beginning scenes and that the ending was one of the most touching in the series history . Also appearing are Walter Sande , who died in my birthtown of Chicago , Illinois , as Captain Bernard and child actor Billy Chapin as Joseph Hefferman . His sister , Lauren , would later become one of the stars of the hit show " Father Knows Best " . Now I'm going to watch the remake for " Dragnet 1967 " . . .
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454,162 | 11,228,318 | 178,057 | 10 |
The Tender Game is a wonderful showcase for jazz great Peterson and animator Hubley
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The Tender Game is one of two animated shorts scored by the recently departed Oscar Peterson that Amid at Cartoon Brew showcased as linked from YouTube . John Hubley directed with wife Faith Elliott as editor and Robert Cannon and Emery Hawkins as animators . It's basically a boy-meet-girl story as abstractedly depicted to the strains of the song " Tenderly " as sung by Ella Fitzgerald in the beginning with Peterson and his Trio providing the rest of the instrumental bridge . What wonderful feelings are played on screen as advanced by both the music and the way the characters move to the rhythm ! Hubley gives a romantic dream-like vibe throughout with compelling aid from Ms . Fitzgerald and Peterson . Highly recommended for both jazz and animation buffs .
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455,116 | 11,228,318 | 417 | 10 |
A Trip to the Moon may be Georges Melies ' most memorable film
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Long considered Melies ' masterpiece , A Trip to the Moon is certainly his most memorable . Take that iconic rocket-in-the-moon's-eye image . That picture survives to this day because of its appearance in books about movies and sci-fi literature . There's also the fact that this was the first time that anyone had filmed an adventure that took place in outer space . And the way they defeated the moon " selenites " by simply hitting them ! Must of been wishful thinking to some enemies on Georges part . There's also some fascinating sequences of animated stars with faces on them followed by snow falling while the rocket passengers were sleeping . Obviously , we've come a long way in movie fantasy from Melies ' day . But because this film came WAY before moon landing existed , it's still incredibly intriguing seeing how people thought space travel might be like then . MOST definitely worth seeing for Melies enthusiasts and silent film lovers !
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454,446 | 11,228,318 | 43,581 | 10 |
Gerald McBoing-Boing deserved its 1950 Oscar win
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If there's one cartoon that helped to put UPA on the map more than any other , It's Gerald McBoing-Boing . This tale of a little boy who only speaks in sound effects has kept its charm for the last 57 years . Besides the effects , loved the music , the abstract animation and backgrounds , the narration by Marvin Miller , pretty much everything . And it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short of 1950 . Glad to have seen it on YouTube after reading about this Dr . Seuss story for so many years . And Rocky and Bullwinkle creator Bill Scott also contributed , how awesome ! Hope to see the subsequent shorts made in the series , if not on YouTube , then maybe in a DVD collection . Now I guess I'll watch another UPA short there . . .
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454,235 | 11,228,318 | 206,312 | 10 |
Animated short Special Delivery contains one hilarious twist after another !
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Just discovered on Thad's Animation Blog this weirdly funny Oscar-winning short directed by Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon . It seems Alice is going out and tells husband Ralph to shovel the walk before he goes to work . He doesn't and when he returns home , he finds the mailman lying dead on the icy pathway . What Ralph does afterwards and the consequences that result changes all three lives ( well , two of them anyway ) forever . . . With the exception of the organ music and the narrator who delivers his lines in the same monotone style throughout , this animated short is silent . Despite the brief running time , Special Delivery has so much going on that every twist the narrator tells and the animators show us earns more laughs than the one before . The only other thing I have to say is I'm so glad I live in a place where it doesn't snow . ( though occasionally there have been exceptions . . . )
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455,131 | 11,228,318 | 495,201 | 10 |
Suzy Snowflake is another classic holiday stop-motion animated short
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Like a previous song " Hardrock , Coco , and Joe " , " Suzy Snowflake " was made into a stop-motion animated short by Centaur Productions . As with the previous one , the choir sings with no musical accompaniment . They are the Norman Luboff Choir with Norma Zimmer singing lead . She would eventually be a " Champagne Lady " for Lawrence Welk . This was a pretty amusing short about the title character who makes snowmen . Loved the scene of a human innocent bystander accidentally becoming one . As with the above and a couple of UPA shorts , Frosty the Snowman and Peter Cottontail , they were all licensed by the song publishing company Hill and Range and were staples of kids ' Chicago TV for years . As with the others , this one is definitely worth a look .
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454,757 | 11,228,318 | 46,000 | 10 |
See Leslie Caron's Oscar-nominated role in Lili
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Lili is a romantic fable expertly visualized by director Chuck Walters and the MGM studio art department . Leslie Caron deserved her Oscar-nomination for her title character role . Kudos also to Mel Ferrer as the puppeteer who could only express his love to Lili through his characters . I also liked Jean-Pierre Aumont and , yes , Zsa Zsa Gabor as the magician Lili has an unrequited crush on and the woman assistant eventually revealed to be his wife . Look also for pre-Gunsmoke Amanda Blake in an early sequence . Wonderful dance sequences and use of the song " Hi-Lili , Hi-Lo " . One of the most awesome coming-of-age / showbiz movies ever made . Great for young and old alike .
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453,867 | 11,228,318 | 403,387 | 10 |
Oral Hygiene is one weird short !
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Oral Hygiene is a modeling clay depiction of a skeletal skull lip-syncing to the short's title recording by Bongos , Bass , and Bob , one of whose members was Penn Jillette ( presumably before he teamed with Teller ) . Animator David Fain has fun having various skulls with small arms and legs dancing and brushing and flossing to this unique tune . You also see some modeling clay ( each with one eye ) stepping up to the music . So snap your fingers to this entry from a Volume 5 videocassette of The International Tournee of Animation of 1992 . You'll be glad you did . This film was made at Cal Arts , the animation school founded by Walt Disney .
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455,120 | 11,228,318 | 499 | 10 |
The Impossible Voyage is a fascinating Melies version of Jules Verne
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After the success of A Trip to the Moon that had the iconic moment of the rocket lodged in the moon's eye , Georges Melies made The Impossible Voyage and had a train go into the sun's mouth . Then we see the passengers get all hot so someone gets all the ice but then all of them , except one who stayed outside the train , now gets frozen ! How they get unfrozen shouldn't be too hard to guess but I won't reveal here . There's also some good slapstick pieces involving fire and steam and luggage in the beginning . Wonderful use of color-tinting throughout . Like A Trip to the Moon , The Impossible Voyage is based on a Jules Verne tale and is just as fascinating as the previous film . By all means , if you're a Melies enthusiast , seek this one out .
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454,055 | 11,228,318 | 41,618 | 10 |
Magic Fluke is another funny Fox and Crow cartoon from the newly formed UP
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Just discovered this , the second Fox and Crow cartoon made by UPA for distribution by Columbia . With the Crow narrating , we're treated to him and the Fox as swing musicians at a nightclub just as the Fox gets an offer to lead a live symphony orchestra . He drops the Crow right then . Much later , the destitute Crow comes upon a large hall and sees the Fox once again , now a successful conductor . But no one can find his baton so the Crow steals one from a magician nearby and gives it to his old pal who leads in the same music that Bugs Bunny played in Rhapsody Rabbit years back . Like in that earlier short , some disaster results since the wand of the Fox is indeed magical as we witness the tricks that result . . . Quite hilarious , this cartoon , that it seems a shame that after one more cartoon , Punchy de Leon , the Fox and Crow were no more . I suppose UPA , being such an independent unit , didn't want to handle characters created by anybody else and went about creating their own like Mr . Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing . But those characters probably wouldn't have had a chance if Columbia hadn't made them use their most successful creations at the time first .
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454,849 | 11,228,318 | 759,572 | 10 |
Heroes : Genesis is definitely great pilot for new series
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From the Star Wars-like crawl in the beginning to the sight of a young man at the top of a tall building in New York imagining he can fly to a teacher in India being told after class that his dad died to a woman stripping on the internet in Las Vegas and having a mirror image that acts opposite of what she does to Japan where an office drone discovers he can control time and teleport to a teenage girl cheerleader in Texas who has skin that heals quickly even after she jumps off a tall stair or saves someone in a fire . . . whew , a lot to take in one episode and there's a few other characters and events I have not mentioned yet . But I loved what I've seen so far and I'm way excited to see what happens next especially when one of my favorites , Greg Grunberg , makes an appearance in the next episode . Heroes is definitely must see for the new season on NBC !
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454,868 | 11,228,318 | 33,597 | 10 |
The Field Mouse was another excellent M-G-M cartoon by Hugh Harmon
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Just watched this M-G-M cartoon produced and directed by Hugh Harmon on YouTube . It's about these children mice on a farm doing work for their mama and grandpop . The mom catches one of her offspring , Herman , sleeping late and wakes him up by spanking him . After he cries to Grandpa , the ground starts shaking . The tractor is on the way ! And Herman and Grandpa get caught up in it ! No laughs here ( well , maybe near the end ) but a very thrilling chase ensues as one worries whether the two will make it . Those scenes inside the tractor and other machines are really well done . Oh , and I liked Mel Blanc as the voice of Grandpa especially when he's singing . And some of the most exciting scenes were animated by Don Williams . So on that note , I highly recommend The Field Mouse .
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454,763 | 11,228,318 | 87,521 | 10 |
Jumping is one of the great animated shorts from Osamu Tezuka
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Directed by Osama Tezuka , Jumping is one of the best entirely hand drawn animated shorts from the late ' 80s . After the title sequence with the credits quickly going up and down , we see point-of-view jumping shots going from the suburban neighborhood to some forests to some seascapes to over some tall city buildings to many war-torn areas to a giant mushroom cloud to hell twice with both times the devils trying to get you with their pitchfork to finally back to the beginning neighborhood where we hear a little child joyously crying , happy to be back in familiar terrain . Then the credits again jump as we fade to black . . . This short is most highly recommended to any animation fan . I first saw this in a VHS collection called The International Tournee of Animation , Volume 1 when I checked it out in the Jacksonville Public Library in the late ' 80s in that city's downtown area .
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454,552 | 11,228,318 | 51,196 | 10 |
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter ? is Frank Tashlin's masterpiece
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First , let me mention a spoiler : Groucho Marx appears with Jayne Mansfield at the end as someone she used to know and was very much in love with . When she asks him why he never tried to kiss her , Groucho says , " I could never get that close ! " before his trademark raising-eyebrows-up-and-down . Because I knew of this beforehand , I decided to watch this on the 30th anniversary of Mr . Marx's death , which is today . Frank Tashlin has made one of the most satirical comedies of the ' 50s that makes great fun of television and the advertising industry . Tony Randall is great in the title role and Ms . Mansfield oozes both sexuality and humor in her over-the-top role . And there's a great cameo of her husband Mickey Hargitay . Kudos also to Joan Blondell , John Williams , and Henry Jones in support . Well worth seeing for anyone interested in all of the above .
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453,862 | 11,228,318 | 41,310 | 10 |
Dough for the Do-Do is basically Porky in Wackyland filmed in color this time
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Dough for the Do-Do is basically a color version of Bob Clampett's original black-and-white Porky in Wackyland with some changes done by Friz Freling . I actually haven't seen the first film version in its entirety yet so I wrote the previous sentence based on other comments I've read here . It certainly has many of the touches one usually associates with Clampett like the " rubber band " sequence ( with Mel Blanc's hilarious " music notes " that he would also use for Marvin Martian's trumpet ) . There's also a guy saying , " Let me out ! " constantly while holding just a jail cell window and a duck who looks like Daffy frequently saying , " Mammy ! " Porky is perfectly perplexed throughout the whole short as he tries to get the " last of the Do-Dos " . Loved the bird's constant " Do-do " sounds . Well worth seeing .
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453,861 | 11,228,318 | 43,479 | 10 |
Chuck Jones ' Drip-Along Daffy is a very funny spoof of westerns
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This cartoon from director Chuck Jones and starring Daffy Duck ( " western-type hero " ) and Porky Pig ( " comic relief " ) is a hilarious spoof of westerns that dominated kiddie matinées for years . Daffy is the new sheriff in town assigned to get rid of Nasty Canasta . A favorite sequence is Canasta ordering a certain drink that requires the bartender to wear a steel mask as the liquid is so poisonous that the ice run away in fear ! When Daffy gets his glass , he gives it to Porky who seems all right after swallowing it . Daffy then gets another serving , takes it , then gets a funny look on his face as he suddenly starts to recite " Mary Had a Little Lamb " with Porky then saying the next line with the same look ! There's a twist ending that vindicates Porky that I won't reveal here . All in all , Drip-Along Daffy is one funny cartoon .
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454,295 | 11,228,318 | 24,404 | 10 |
The Old Man of the Mountain is a great Calloway / Fleischer cartoon
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This was another awesome collaboration between the Fleischers and Cab Calloway . During the live-action credits sequence , dig the drummer who throws his drumstick up in the air twice and catches it both times ! Then hear Cab sing the title song with the orchestra playing throughout as Betty goes up to meet this bizarre old man who has designs on her . Both the music and the animation go together perfectly and I was feeling such a high watching this that I never wanted it to end but I was very relieved when it did so I could catch my breath ! In fact , rewatching this on my old VHS of " Betty Boop-Special Collector's Edition , Vol 1 . " , I have a new appreciation for the animators at the Max Fleischer studio . So on that note , The Old Man of the Mountain is highly recommended . P . S . Absolutely love the duet between the old man ( Calloway ) and Betty ( Mae Questel ) .
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455,023 | 11,228,318 | 565,697 | 10 |
The Big . 22 Rifle for Christmas marks an initial " Dragnet " holiday offering
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Christmas cheer has been emphasized all these years on radio , television , and most especially , the movies despite attempts to have more dysfunctional families in these holiday staples recently . For " Dragnet " s initial attempt at doing a holiday episode , however , they focused on a tragedy . First done on radio taking place on the date that was also the name of the broadcast day-December 22 which was the airdate in 1949 - " The Big . 22 Rifle for Christmas " was later filmed for the second television season before airing on December 18 , 1952 . In both , Joe Friday ( Jack Webb ) and his partner ( Barton Yarborough as Ben Romero on radio , Herb Ellis as Frank Smith on TV ) investigate a missing child with blood residue and a bullet being the clues in his backyard . Another child who he played with is also later missing . I'll stop there and say besides Webb the other performer who appeared in both the radio and TV version here was William Johnstone as one of the boys ' father . ( Interesting note : His surname was Morheim on radio and Martin on TV . ) Both versions were compellingly presented but there were some noticeable differences . Like on radio , the partner talked to one of the boys while here it's Friday meaning Ellis doesn't do much here . There's also one visual addition : as Johnstone slams his door , a Christmas ornament from a wreath falls and breaks . Most chilling in both versions is the last line from Joe : " Don't get a kid a gun for Christmas . " I'm sure even the N . R . A can't disagree on that ! With that said , " The Big . 22 Rifle for Christmas " episode of Dragnet explores just how traumatic childhood tragedy can really be though at least here some forgiveness is visited to the parties involved . . . P . S . I have to mention that Olan Soule , who played Ray Pinker here , had acted on stage in my birthtown of Chicago before going on radio in 1933 .
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454,606 | 11,228,318 | 818,673 | 10 |
False Alarm is an irony-laden sex comedy short I found on atom . com
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This is another short I found on atom . com under the heading " Sexy Comedy " . A man on the internet is arrested in his own apartment for being a child sexual predator . But he explains to the female detective , her partner , a fellow officer , a newspaper reporter , and his mother that he was just looking for someone who likes " golden showers " which is a semi-legal sexual practice of peeing or being peed . After all that is cleared , the female detective gets curious and tries it on her former culprit and finds she likes it ! Then there's an irony after the end credits . . . This was another hilarious short concerning humiliation surrounding taboos and other such stuff that I found on this comedy site atom . com . If you read between the lines of what I just wrote , you have probably guessed what the ending after the end credits is but the way it's presented doesn't seem too offensive unless you really don't find anything that I just described funny . . .
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454,419 | 11,228,318 | 208,558 | 10 |
Vinni Pukh i den zabot is another charming Russian Pooh short
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Another Russian Pooh story . This time the donkey , known from the Pooh stories as Eyeore , is sad because he has no tail . Pooh goes in search of one and finds it attached to a bell that hangs from the treehouse of one Owl . She ( yes , in this version it's a she ) is offered a bowl of honey from Pooh but she refuses to give the tail in return . Meanwhile , Piglet searches for a flower . I'll stop there and tell you that this short is twice as long as the previous ones at 18 minutes . The music , as usual , is charming and there's humor and sadness that should charm anyone , regardless of age or nationality , interested in all animation . Check it out on YouTube .
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454,596 | 11,228,318 | 236,769 | 10 |
Ryan Larkin's Street Musique is a wonderful collage of animated images
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Just watched this on the National Film Board of Canada site where they have about 300 of their material presented for your enjoyment . Having previously viewed and commented on a couple of shorts associated with animator Ryan Larkin , I was excited when Street Musique was presented on the NFB site twice in both French and English title form ( otherwise , it's the same film ) . Starting with black-and-white live-action of a fiddle player and a mandolin player performing on a downtown sidewalk , Larkin then does abstract line drawings on white that become images that are very hard to describe . He then does some watercolor ( at least that's what I think it is ) images that are likewise . All this is done to the music of those two players that matches the drawings perfectly . Nothing else to say except for anyone who loves abstract animation , I highly recommend Ryan Larkin's Street Musique .
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454,375 | 11,228,318 | 35,743 | 10 |
Despite stereotypes , Bob Clampett's Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs is his masterpiece
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This cartoon , Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs , has a unique place among the Warner " Censored 11 " cartoons : This one is highly inventive and very entertaining ! Oh , yeah , there's some unflattering stereotypes here like Prince Chawmin ' having a couple of dice for front teeth and the Queen being an ugly Mammy character ( who seems to speak with a male voice ) so jealous of So White she intends to have her " blacked out " but otherwise , it's so full of the fast pace of gags typical of Bob Clampett that you can't help but laugh your behind off ! And wait till you see Chawmin's face after constantly trying to bring So White back to life with his kisses ! Or the Dopey-looking dwarf's energy that he gives when doing the same thing ! There's also great use of jazz music that livens the short considerably . Perhaps the most interesting thing to point out here is that the storytelling Mammy in the beginning and end is Dorothy Dandridge's mom , Ruby , and So White is her older sister , Vivian . There's also a dated reference to killing Japs that I can excuse because of the wartime setting . So for all that , if you want to watch Warner Bros . cartoons at their wackiest as done by the highly creative Bob Clampett , I highly recommend Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs , stereotypes and all !
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454,731 | 11,228,318 | 32,109 | 10 |
Wanted : No Master is a purely hilarious Milt Gross cartoon
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This cartoon is so full of fast-paced " anything goes " humor that some things that would normally be now offensive , like putting something looking like blackface on a white character and having him talk in stereotypical " black talk " of the time , actually adds to some of the hilarity of a dog ( J . R . the Wonder Dog ) trying to get rid of his master ( Count Screwloose ) , because of how he keeps hogging the food at home , by getting him married to a rich frequent widow with loads of children . Despite the fact that the widow is homely , the dog fools his master initially when he pastes a classic beauty picture from another page over that of the widow's without him knowing . Milt Gross was probably an acquired taste at the time so one can't blame MGM for only letting him make two cartoons for them . Too bad , he'd probably be a cult figure today . . .
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454,173 | 11,228,318 | 45,095 | 10 |
Rock-a-Bye Bear is another great Tex Avery cartoon I just rewatched
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When Federator . com linked this cartoon from YouTube and mentioned the short's premise in the blog , I had to watch this again since I remember laughing at it so much in the late ' 70s when I was a kid watching the weekday afternoon " Tom and Jerry " show where Tex Avery's Rock-a-Bye Bear was showcased . In a nutshell , Spike the bulldog has a job to watch a bear stay hibernated during winter . Trouble is , another dog wants that job and since the bear is constantly shouting about wanting complete quiet and usually wakes up at the slightest noise , that other dog does everything in his power to make sure Spike loses his job . Fortunately , Spike always finds a way to go way outside to avoid the sleeping bear's ears . . . Just as hilarious as I remembered it and that bear-voiced by Daws Butler in a Southern loud mouth tone that sounds like a bellicose Huckleberry Hound-provides some of the cartoon's highlights along with all those tricks of that other dog . All I can say after that is , if you love Tex Avery , you'll definitely love this cartoon !
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454,154 | 11,228,318 | 952,263 | 10 |
Conjuction Junction is another cherished memory from " Schoolhouse Rock ! "
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With lyrics by Bob Dorough , Jack Sheldon ( who I just discovered was born in Jacksonville , Fla . , which is where I once lived for 10 years ) providing lead vocal and Terry Morrell backing vocal , " Conjunction Junction " is another great " Schoolhouse Rock ! " short animated musical that entertains while educating about the importance of " hooking up words and phrases and clauses " with and , but , or . The leading character is a train conductor who has those words printed on the side of the train cars . There's also a couple of hoboes who illustrate some of the verses . Done in a Big Band style , " Conjunction Junction " is one of the catchiest ditties I've ever heard in my childhood . And I love the ending line " I'm going to get you there if you're very careful . . . " Another gem I rediscovered on YouTube . Thanks , guys !
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454,807 | 11,228,318 | 245,503 | 10 |
This Guy is Falling is a wonderfully quirky short from the studio responsible for the opening credits of Juno
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Shadowplay Studios , the company responsible for the opening titles of the current hit Juno , is also responsible for this quirky computer animated short This Guy Is Falling , directed by Gareth Smith and Michael Horowitz . As a teenage couple in the front of a used car is arguing about the driver's ( a girl ) wisdom in her vehicle purchase , the boy next to her accidentally pushes a lever that suddenly causes the car ( and the other vehicles and people around them ) to go floating up in the air weightless . Among the people was another teenage passenger in the back seat who decides to leave them and find his girlfriend who's in danger of being weighted toward the propeller of a jet plane . I won't reveal anything else except that things get wonderfully weird and exciting after that with a twist that extends to a scene after the credits end . I found this on AtomFilms as linked from Cartoon Brew and recommended by Jerry Beck . Well worth seeing .
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454,818 | 11,228,318 | 56,841 | 10 |
Automania 2000 is a British look at future materialism gone amok
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Automania 2000 is a British animated short from Halas and Batchelor that depicts a future that is overrun by cars as the result of public demand for bigger and better ones . The effect is that cars stack up so much space in the world that people start living in them without going outside much . And then cars start reproducing themselves which cause even more girdlock . Partly humorous in tone owing to the cheery narration but pretty eerie visually , Automania 2000 is a compelling look at the not-too-distant time beyond the present that should give us lots to think about . Well worth seeing for animation fans . I discovered this unique short on YouTube through Cartoon Brew .
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454,058 | 11,228,318 | 449,059 | 10 |
Little Miss Sunshine was much better than last year's Best Picture winner
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If I was a member of the Academy and I had to pick Best Picture of the previous year with the choices between Martin Scorsese's The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine , I'd definitely pick the latter . This dysfunctional family road comedy-drama ( or dramady ) has some of the most realistic-funny dialogue I've watched from recent times . And the performances are all great from Greg Kinnear to Toni Collette to Steve Carell to Oscar nominated Abigail Breslin ( what a cute girl ! ) and , especially , Oscar winner Alan Arkin as the heroin taking grandpa who loves his grandchild and is so hilarious with his salty take on life ! Also loved Wallace Langham as the guy who played the music picked by the grandpa ( and didn't turn it off when some people got upset ) and , nice surprise here , Chloe O'Brien herself , Mary Lynn Rajskub as the lady who accompanies Olive ( Abigail's character ) to the stage . One of the best independently made movies I've seen in a while !
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454,159 | 11,228,318 | 45,062 | 10 |
Rabbit Seasoning is another hilarious Bugs / Daffy / Elmer cartoon
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Rabbit Seasoning is one of three cartoons that feature Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck / Elmer Fudd in a war of words and wits about whether it's rabbit season or duck season . Love Bugs and Daffy stirring up " pronoun trouble " with Daffy always the victim of Elmer's shotgun resulting with his beak always getting dismembered . Then there's the rabbit's cross-dressing that always gets Elmer in his love struck mode . Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese are always favorites of mine in the writer-director team category because of these hilarious hunting trilogy cartoons I've laughed at since I was a kid . And at least two of them end with Daffy's exclamation to Bugs : " You're despicable ! " Can't get better that that !
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455,049 | 11,228,318 | 32,071 | 10 |
Ugly Duckling is a sentimentally fine farewell in the Disney Silly Symphony series
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This was the last Disney Silly Symphony and a very touching one to end the series on . In this one , a white duck that stands out in the crowd honks instead of quacks so his family instantly rejects him . After similar reactions from birds and a wooden mallard , he finally gets accepted by swans who all also honk . The end . Very touching from beginning to end and it's great to see such beautiful animation throughout . Especially good were those scenes of his reflections in the water the title character sees himself in that were suitably scored here . This is perhaps one of the most sentimental cartoons made by Walt Disney Productions during this time . So with all that said , I highly recommend The Ugly Duckling .
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453,840 | 11,228,318 | 1,105,696 | 10 |
Peter Sellers ' offspring dominate this episode of " Somebody's Daughter , Somebody's Son "
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Just watched on YouTube this episode of the British documentary series " Somebody's Daughter , Somebody's Son " . This one looked at Peter Sellers ' children : Michael , Sarah , and Victoria . Michael and Sarah were the kids of Sellers ' first wife , Anne Howe , and Victoria was the child of him and second wife , actress Britt Ekland . Intersperced throughout were clips of many of Peter's movies as well as home movie footage of him with his first wife and their children . There's also several interview footage of Peter and Britt in press conferences and on location . Also discussed were Sellers ' third wife , Miranda Quarry , and fourth one Lynne Frederick who turned out to be his widow . None of the children liked the last one and while Michael ended up writing a book , which Sarah agreed to be interviewed for , about their father after his death , Victoria would be arrested several times as she grew up without him . The home movie footage where Sellers is really enjoying himself with his kids is the most fascinating part of this show and makes one wish he took better care of himself when his heart attacks became fatal . So on that note , this episode of " Sombody's Daughter , Somebody's Son " is well worth seeking out on YouTube .
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455,039 | 11,228,318 | 24,380 | 10 |
Walt Disney's The Night Before Christmas is excellent Silly Symphony cartoon
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When I was a kid growing up in the ' 70s , the only way you could see any Disney cartoons were on NBC's Sunday evening program The Wonderful World of Disney and they were usually limited to those starring Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Goofy , Pluto , and Chip ' n ' Dale . So I was wonderfully surprised to find on YouTube a Walt Disney Silly Symphony classic called The Night Before Christmas . Singer Donald Novis sings the beginning verses of that famous poem as we see several children sleeping and then Santa comes with his bag of toys coming to life decorating the Christmas tree . The toys are having lots of fun but while Santa plays the toy piano , the children wake up . The toys get into their boxes and Santa goes back up the chimney as all the kids unwrap their toys . The littlest one named Junior gets a cute Scottish dog as the singer croons the very last verses : " Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night . " By the way , this cartoon has a little butt cleavage with Junior that I was a bit surprised to see . I am thinking the Production Code eventually put an end to that soon enough ! Very enjoyable Silly Symphony that should put the Christmas spirit in anyone under 10 right away . Highly recommend to any Walt Disney animation buff .
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454,645 | 11,228,318 | 1,041,277 | 10 |
Four Monts Later is an awesome start for new season of " Heroes "
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As Mohinder is lecturing , a bald figure wearing glasses watches . Afterwards , he gets an autograph from Mohinder who threatens him when asked about his sister . Seems he wants to form a new organization with him . In Honduras , grown brother and sister are running . They later take a ride on a caravan that doesn't turn out well . In California , Claire and father Noah ( formerly HRG ) start a new life as Claire enters eleventh grade . She almost gets hit by an SUV driven by a boy she later befriends . In New York , Ando and Hiro's father find on a picture of father a symbol that tells him he has 24 hours to live . Mrs . Petrelli finds same on her picture as she and Hiro's father confront each other . Her son Nathan , now drinking and unshaven , mourns the loss of brother Peter . When Hiro is dropped in Japan in 1671 , he manages to stop arrows in mid-air from killing him . He then finds out his hero ( David Anders , formerly Sark from " Alias " ) is from England , fights for money-not honor , and lets a village burn while drinking . After an awkward dinner , Noah takes a call from Mohinder who tells him that the plan with his old building is set up . Matt Parkman , who's just been made detective , is now divorced and living in Mohinder's old apartment with Molly , who's now having recurring nightmares about someone . After Claire calls bio-father Nathan who says he can't help her , the boy she met at school is revealed floating at her window before he flies away ! On the rooftop of the building Hiro's father stands , an unknown assailant with sword confronts him as the two fall off just as Ando runs toward them with a sword he was to give the father . He screams as he finds the dead bodies down below . We're then in Ireland where three men open a storage space with someone chained inside . It's Peter ! As they get closer to him , he manages to strike them back with a lightning-like speed ! As the episode ends , we find he doesn't know who he is . . . What an awesome way to start the new season ! Everything's intriguing here and so far there's no dead spots . I do wonder where Micah , DL , and Niki / Jessica are but we'll probably find out next week . Speaking of which , in the previews of such , we see Sylar is back . Should make another fun season of " Heroes " indeed ! Until next time . . .
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455,020 | 11,228,318 | 565,669 | 10 |
The Christmas Story is perhaps the most touching episode of " Dragnet 1967 "
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Having just seen " The Big Little Jesus " episode of the original " Dragnet " , I just went on Hulu to watch the remake for " Dragnet 1967 " called here " The Christmas Story " . It's basically word for word and scene for scene with some additions like Bill Gannon ( Harry Morgan ) bringing a little pine tree in the office and Friday narrating about giving suspect Claude Stroup ( Bobby Troup ) his rights since this episode was made after the Miranda rights were established . Once again the priest whose baby Jesus statue was stolen was played by Harry Bartell . Other reprise of original supporting actors were Herb Vigran as a hotel desk clerk and Ralph Moody as Mr . Flavin , a pawn shop owner . In fact , I chuckled when he questioned how Friday knew his name and declared they never met before ! ( The answer was his name being on the store window . ) I should note here that altar boy John ( not Joe as in the original ) Hefferman was played by Barry Williams two years before he became Greg Brady on " The Brady Bunch " and that Bobby Troup was married to singer Julie London who earlier was once wed to Jack Webb . Also , Byron Morrow , who plays Captain Mack here , was born in my birthtown of Chicago , Illinois . As with before , this version of the " Dragnet " Christmas story was one of the most touching in the entire series history . Well worth seeking out . By the way , this originally aired on December 21 , 1967 .
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454,656 | 11,228,318 | 613,748 | 10 |
Peter Lorre is hilarious in Jack Benny Program role
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Paired on Universal VHS with the last episode ever with The Smothers Brothers . Peter Lorre is hilarious whether trying to convince Jack he's not who he's like in the movies or in the sketch in which he tries to hide his identity as a wanted man in a doctor's waiting room with Jack as one of the waiting patients and Mel Blanc as the doctor ! Joanie Sommers sings a wonderful love song that probably sold some records despite rock'n'roll already conquering the country ( and with the Beatles U . S . arrival the following year , the world ) . This was one of Mr . Lorre's last performances before his death the following year so it's a real treat seeing him with one of the most deadpan comedians ever ! By all means , check this one out !
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454,186 | 11,228,318 | 682 | 10 |
Fantasmagorie is a fascinating early animation short of chalk drawings
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Emile Cohl's Fantasmagorie is perhaps one of the earliest film depictions of animation , in this case it's chalk drawings on a black board morphing from one scene to another without any real connection except for the way lines keep moving to any shape or form Cohl can think of . And it all happens in the space of two minutes ! So , historically , this is one of the most fascinating animated shorts ever . Audiences might have been even more awestruck then than we would be now what with all the improvements that have happened in the nearly one hundred years since then . So for all of the above reasons , this short gets a 10 .
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454,806 | 11,228,318 | 1,001,574 | 10 |
Episode 210 or Caffeine marks an excellent season finale ( supposedly ) of " 30 Rock "
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In a nutshell : Jack and C . C . are trying to make their relationship work , Liz attempts to buy an apartment , Jack is also attempting to make a deal with a German company to merge , and after Tracy buys a coffee machine-Kenneth gets addicted . . . Lots of random funny stuff happened in this episode that I can't recall them all but I'll try : In the cold opening Jack sees Liz first when she and C . C . are waiting at the same time . This results in Liz being rushed then after Jack's assistant says his 11 : 10 appointment is here ( C . C . ) and Liz leaves , Jack tells C . C . his last one took too long ! Then there's Liz taking the meeting with the Germans , since Jack is with C . C . in a park , and she inadvertently , because her German's not the best , gets NBC bought by them ! Finally , after Kenneth realized he's been " sodomized " ( because he's now doing " New York " things like buying sunglasses ) he decides to leave to go back to Georgia . That gets Tracy and his entourage singing " Midnight Train to Georgia " with Jenna joining in ( to Tracy's consternation ! ) . Kenneth comes back , however , because his train is actually leaving at 11 : 45 ! Then to top it all off . . . well , just watch the episode when it next airs or wait for the season 2 DVD . Like I said , a very funny episode and a nice way to end this strike-shortened season . That said , I hope the WGA settles with the producers and studios soon with many of the writers ' demands met by the end of the season so we actually have a next one . So in the words of Liz : Blurg ! P . S . Kudos to the Golden Globes for awarding Tina Fey , Best Actress-Comedy or Musical TV Series .
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455,071 | 11,228,318 | 1,001,575 | 10 |
MILF Island is a most hilarious comeback for " 30 Rock "
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Yay ! After a three-months-long writers ' strike , 30 Rock is back with a new episode ! Okay , in a nutshell : While the staff is watching " MILF Island " , Kenneth alerts Liz to a Page Six column that reveals a " TGS " staffer called Jack a " first class moron " who " eats poo " . Liz gets called to Jack's office and , after hearing from him how successful " MILF Island " is , asks about the Page Six item . So Liz now has to find out which one of her staff talked to a reporter . After getting nothing but the finger from everyone , Kenneth confronts Liz alone and reveals he knows it's her ! While he lectures her about how wrong lying is , Liz threatens him calling him an " apple-faced baboon " . Back in Jack's office , Jack tells about his stuttering days as a child that forced him in a special class with another one who " played with himself by the corner " . Liz then reveals her own childhood malady of having an extra foot that left her pigeon-toed after amputation . Meanwhile , the staff have been held in Jack's waiting room in humid conditions hoping someone would break , but everyone just bickers . Kenneth , having enough , takes the blame to Liz ' surprise and satisfaction . With that done , Jack should relax but reveals to Liz he still feels like the stuttering boy and starts to revert to his childhood condition when Liz confesses right there . Jack , his fake stutter gone , says he knew it all along and has her agree to write a spin off of the " MILF Island " winner on condition of silence . As the program ends , we see Liz still is pigeon-toed as she's walking ! Oh , and during much of this episode , Pete has his hand stuck in a candy machine where he was attempting to score some snacks . . . What a hilarious episode to come back to ! I especially loved the way some of the " MILF Island " scenes were running parallel to the events at " 30 Rock " and particularly when Liz mentions about looking for No . 1 at the same time a character on " MILF Island " was saying the same thing ! I also loved Kenneth's movements of prayer concerning Liz . At this point , I have to say this was the funniest episode of any television episode of the season so far . Welcome back , " 30 Rock " !
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455,083 | 11,228,318 | 1,001,571 | 10 |
Hiatus marks a great season one end for 30 Rock
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We hear a voice-over of Kenneth saying " Previously on 30 Rock " as we watch scenes from the last episode . Jack's mother ( Elaine Stritch ) comes by Jack's office and mistakes Liz , who she likes , for Phoebe , who she doesn't . Tracy escapes to a Pennslyvania town where he goes under an assumed name and stays with Kenneth's cousin , Jesse ( Sean Hayes ) . With Floyd in Cleveland , Liz communicates with him on the internet but when the picture " breaks up " , Liz decides to do the same . So does Jack when he suffers a heart attack while simultaneously trying to make love to Phoebe and listening to his mother shout through the door . Tracy comes back to the show in time after Kenneth purposely injures himself so they can ride the emergency vehicle after getting stuck in traffic . Sitting in Jack's hospital room , Liz playfully threatens to pull the plug as we end 30 Rock's first season . . . Lots of funny stuff this episode with virtually everyone in the cast appearing . Hilarious performance once again from Chris Parnell as Dr . Spaceman with my favorite part being when , after checking Jack's prognosis , he appears with blood on his suit and says , " Don't worry , I was at a costume party when a dog attacked me . So I had to stab him ! " Also great were Stritch and Hayes in their guest roles . Not so great was Rachel Dratch as Tina's doctor but hopefully she'll do more recurring roles next season . Hope Baldwin returns next season since the show wouldn't be the same without him . Have a nice summer , Ms . Fey , you deserved it ! Bring on the next season !
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453,948 | 11,228,318 | 921,228 | 10 |
James Taylor got a wonderful tribute on Great Performances
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This was an all-star musical tribute to MusiCares 2006 Person of the Year : James Taylor . The Dixie Chicks started the evening with their rendition of " Shower the People " . From there came Bonnie Raitt , Jimmy Buffett on tape amusingly comparing himself and Taylor over the years , Sting , Sheryl Crow with David Crosby and Jackson Browne , Allison Krause , Cheech Marin introducing Dr . John and Taj Mahal , India Arie , a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen , and Carole King singing " You've Got a Friend " which she wrote and sang on her best-selling " Tapestry " album and then Taylor made a No . 1 hit , all during 1971 . He joins Carole here to delightful effect . Then after accepting his award , James sang a song that saluted Martin Luther King , " How Sweet It Is " with his family on stage and then ended the show with " Fire and Rain " . All in all , a glorious treat to such a glorious person .
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454,942 | 11,228,318 | 392,925 | 10 |
Yes , Virginia , There Is a Santa Claus is another charming animated holiday special from Bill Melendez
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He will continue to make glad , the heart of childhood . So answered New York Sun editor Francis Church at the end of his editorial to one Virginia O'Hanlon one day in 1897 to her question of is there a Santa Claus . Taking a break from the " Peanuts " specials , director Bill Melendez put the same charm he visualized in those on this one to sentimental effect with once again children voicing the kid characters . I loved the scene between that street cop Virginia asked about the red-suited man and that cop's superior on the phone and his reply to Virginia about what that superior said about Santa . And how nice was it to hear Jim Backus as the narrator here . Since I don't want to spoil anything , you'll have to watch this to find out who he's supposed to be in relation to the story . So , yes , that's a recommendation . . .
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454,901 | 11,228,318 | 1,001,590 | 10 |
Greenzo is the most hilarious episode of " 30 Rock " this season yet !
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Because the machine I recorded this episode on had to be returned , I had to go on nbc . com to watch Greenzo . This is the funniest episode of " 30 Rock " this season so far ! In a nutshell : Jack hires an out-of-work actor named Jared ( David Schwimmer ) to play an environmentally conscious character named Greenzo to appeal to kids on the " Today " show ( with an appearance by Meredith Vieira ) . A chipper Pete makes Jenna think he's having an affair which Liz doesn't believe . Kenneth sends invitations for his birthday party which initially only Liz accepts ( as she had the previous year ) . Tracy , though , resolves to make it an event by spreading rumors about various famous guests that he himself starts to believe in . What results is this : Jared gets too full of himself and is replaced by a Famous Politician , Liz finds Pete having an affair with his wife ( Paula Pell ) when she finds them in her bed , and Kenneth's party is an unmitigated disaster with everyone ashamed of themselves . . . I loved all the lines concerning Kenneth's party before the event , many of Schwimmer's concerning the environment , and especially Kenneth's admonishing everyone on their behavior at his party which , in quick-cut flashbacks , weren't as funny but when added to Kenneth's stern lines were pretty hilarious . Funniest visual was seeing Pete and his wife in Liz ' bed with the wife covering her breasts and seeing the pop-tart in that bed . Knowing Ms . Pell once wrote with Fey on SNL added to the humor for me . Everyone involved deserves a round of applause ! Oh , and that final line about the whale . . .
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454,206 | 11,228,318 | 1,001,584 | 10 |
Jack Gets in the Game is another hilarious episode of " 30 Rock "
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Jack invites Liz to his office to eat his $52 steak in front of him since his surgery has made him health conscious . While she's eating , he mentions Guiess ' retirement consideration and Jack wants his job . He then sees Liz finish the steak in two minutes . She says the dog ate some of it . Then quickly left . Jenna goes to Dr . Spaceman for weight reduction . He points to some clients on the wall which includes ALF and the unabomber . However , she changes her mind after a roller-disco fall on live television that results in her saying , " Me want food ! " , a writer's suggestion that was originally rejected by Liz , increases her popularity . Jack's rival for the chairman job , Devon , comes with Guiess ' daughter and tells him he intends to marry her despite being gay . While tailing his crush Kenneth , Kenneth slips about Jack's condition just as Jack comes in . So at Guiess ' dinner , Devon gives Jack his steak and lots of wine to goad him . Later at Guiess ' yard , Devon chokes on a hot dog which makes Jack make him promise to not make any more insinuations about his condition . Tracy sees Kenneth and his wife Angie flirting with each other but it's all a ruse to get them back together . In fact , according to Angie , Kenneth threw up right after kissing her . So the plan worked . Guiess tells Jack he knows about his health and tells him he's on the list and that he wants to eventually know his " secret family in Canada . " Liz moves on after using her wedding dress that she borrowed prop up a table that has two short legs on one side . . . Hope the synopsis I gave you was enough to tell you how hilarious this episode was . Everything was in fine form here and the guest turns by Rip Torn , Sherri Shepherd , Chris Parnell , and , especially , Will Arnett are welcome with the return of their recurring characters . Wish the ratings hadn't gone a little down after last weeks . Hopefully , NBC wasn't too worried about that . . .
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454,157 | 11,228,318 | 41,462 | 10 |
High Diving Hare is a hilarious Bugs Bunny cartoon from Friz Freling
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In this cartoon directed by Friz Freling , Bugs is the carnival barker announcing high diving daredevil Fearless Freep as the big attraction . Yosemite Same gets so excited he buys hundreds of tickets . Bugs gets a telegram saying Freep won't show because he's delayed by a storm . Sam ignores explanation and attempts to make Bugs do the dive . Several times . Now that you know the premise , I won't tell you the rest except to just watch . And the one scene where Sam says , " You notice I didn't say Richard . " is a reference to a then-current popular song called , " Open the Door , Richard " . Simply hilarious especially Bugs ' line at the end .
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454,657 | 11,228,318 | 613,721 | 10 |
Smothers Brothers guest on final Jack Benny Program
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This final regular episode of The Jack Benny Program starts with The Smothers Brothers singing what has long been Jack's Theme : Love in Bloom . Tom , of course , interrupts halfway through with Dick expressing annoyance throughout before completing their number . Jack then talks to the boys before they go to their skit : A " What If ? " concerning Jack's encounter with the boys during WWII . The skit ends with all three blown up then we see them ( or their dummies ) fall down at Benny's regular home stage and ( after editing ) reacting to what just happened . Jack and the brothers wave goodbye to us for what Jack must have thought was the last show of the season but turned out to be the final regular episode ever . He would only do occasional specials until his death in 1974 . This episode was amusing throughout and has no dated elements but low ratings made this Jack's only regular season on the NBC television network after fourteen years on CBS . I saw this on a Universal VHS with a hilarious Peter Lorre ep preceding it . By all means , seek this out !
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454,190 | 11,228,318 | 958,087 | 10 |
Great Old Amusement Parks is a great doc about park rides that were popular before Disneyland
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A fascinating look at many of the longest-running amusement parks in the United States of America , some in operation since the late nineteenth century . As expected , many Coney Island parks in Brooklyn are covered as well as some in the Midwest like the Holiday World in Santa Claus , Ind . ( This is the town that millions of " Dear Santa " letters go to every Christmas season ) . That park also has 4th of July and Halloween sections besides the Christmas section . Two of the most fascinating segments concerned the Playland park in Rye , N . Y . which has a real rough merry-go-round ride called The Derby Rider which is so fast that many employees who jump on while it's moving have to really rush on quickly and then just lean a certain way so they don't fall down ! Then there's a coaster in San Diego that had a contest one year in which several people literally stayed on ( excepting breaks , of course ) for several days ( maybe months ) with the last one to still be on to get the $50 , 000 from radio station Star 100 . 7 . Many interviewed told the narrator what dreams they had for the money . Many-in fact , five-of them were still there when the station called off the contest by Labor Day as they each got $12 , 500 and a trip for two to Hawaii . To sum up , if you love learning about vintage amusement parks that are still running to the present day , Great Old Amusement Parks is for you .
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454,138 | 11,228,318 | 944,244 | 10 |
Hard Ball is a very hilarious episode of 30 Rock
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Josh's contract is up and Jack wants to play hardball but Liz just wants to be fair to her friend . Jenna is posing for the " Sexiest Funny Women " section of Maxim but gets in trouble when she gets misquoted about " hating " the troops ( she thought she was being asked about theater troupes ) . Tracy asks Kenneth to be part of his entourage but fires his other two when he finds out how they let him win at everything . I'll just stop there and say this episode is almost as hilarious as Tracy Does Conan . Love Jenna's slips and falls during her Maxim shoot , Tracy and Kenneth's singing , the way Josh's negotiation went , and the way Jenna's patriotic number went wrong at the end . Rachel Dratch is , as usual , hilarious as a Jenna protester . The fact that not too many viewers are watching this show is bothering me . Hopefully , that will change by the end of this season .
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455,223 | 11,228,318 | 24,461 | 10 |
Fleischer's Popeye the Sailor is great animated start for Elzie Segar's comic strip character
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The Popeye character we know and love is already intact in this , his first animated appearance on film . So is Olive Oyl and Bluto . Betty Boop is also in this , in fact , she was put on in order to attract filmgoers already familiar with her but not with Elzie Segar's popular newspaper strip . It's already known that William Costello was the first voice of Popeye but very few know that a woman named Bonnie Poe was the first voice of Olive , in fact when I first saw this cartoon I already noticed how different she sounded from Ms . Oyl's usual voice ! Since she was also Betty Boop , Mae Questal probably didn't want to do two voices in the same cartoon or maybe the public would be confused since they both sound the same anyway ! Before Jackson Beck , William Pennell did Bluto , though I really can't tell the difference here . Fleischer-type gags abound throughout and , yes , we have the now-famous Popeye theme song and spinach finale introduced here . Well worth seeing for Popeye and animation fans .
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455,016 | 11,228,318 | 32,244 | 10 |
Bedtime for Sniffles was a cute Christmas cartoon from Warner Bros .
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In about 1 hour , 33 minutes , and 47 seconds , Santa Claus will be here ! So says Sniffles , a cute mouse from Leon Schlesinger Productions ( later Warner Bros . Cartoons ) during the ' 40s . He's trying to stay up late waiting for the bearded man in the fat red suit by drinking coffee , listening to the radio , etc . Will he succeed ? Chuck Jones , the one animation director during this period of Looney Tunes-Merrie Melodies that didn't go for straight gags , takes his own sweet time in finding various ways to get Sniffles ' attempting to stay awake as entertaining as possible for the next 6 minutes . Nothing hilarious here , just some mild chuckles but Jones succeeds in his goal . I was especially amused by one magazine ad that reminded the mouse of sleep that had a boy toddler in nightgown holding a candle with the slogan , " Time To Re-Tire " which was an actual one for the now-defunct tire company Fisk ( there was still one in the Baton Rouge area when I first moved there in 1975 ) . For fans of both Christmas cartoons and those made by the folks at Termite Terrace , I highly recommend Bedtime for Sniffles .
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454,819 | 11,228,318 | 360,861 | 10 |
Pan-tele-tron is an wonderful animated educational short
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Just saw this British animation short on Cartoon Brew . Pan-tele-tron is a pretty entertaining look at the way communication was achieved through the eras from wires to telephones to radio to television . Produced and sponsored by Phillips , this film has that wonderful ' 50s abstract look so common for this era . While you do see the Phillips logo at the beginning and end , there are no blatant product placements of their items anywhere in this animation short . Instead , you get a wonderful education of communications throughout the centuries and their inventors like Alexander Graham Bell and Marconi . Well worth seeing for animation and history buffs .
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453,746 | 11,228,318 | 56,965 | 10 |
Hear hilarious Mel Brooks in The Critic
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After years of hearing of the short narrated by Mel Brooks as a very old man , I finally got to see The Critic on YouTube . All that abstraction and Brooks as an 81-year-old Jewish man from Russia about to die soon has got me in stitches ! And that harpsichord music ! If you've only known Brooks as the co-creator of " Get Smart " or the director of such movie classics as The Producers , The Twelve Chairs , Blazing Saddles , Young Frankinstein , and Spaceballs ( I know some might dispute the last title ) or as the 2 , 000-year-old man with straight man Carl Reiner , then I highly recommend you seek out The Critic on YouTube and hope someone puts it out on DVD soon ! Also recommended to animation buffs especially Ernie Pintoff fans .
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453,911 | 11,228,318 | 1,083,969 | 10 |
Go Your Own Way is the best episode of " Swingtown " yet !
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Wow , " Swingtown " just got a lot more interesting ! How , well , in a nutshell : Trina invites Susan to a fund-raiser she and Sylvia , who's a lawyer , are having for an actor in trouble with the government . Turns out he's Harry Reems from the porn movie Deep Throat . Susan , not having seen the film in question , declines and gets Sylvia asking if she lets her husband have the opinions . Trina later checks on her new neighbor at Janet's Tupperware party and asks if she's all right . Susan explains she felt stupid in front of Sylvia . Trina says that's the last thing she expects to hear from her new friend and gives her the papers that tell of why Reems is being prosecuted . When hubby Bruce arrives home , he's upset that his wife didn't pick him up and that she wants to go to a porn party . Susan , in turn , wonders why she didn't get to see Deep Throat when Bruce went with his co-workers some time ago . Her hubby says it wasn't for her . Since she doesn't accept that , Susan goes to see the movie by herself and later tells Janet about it hoping she would go with her to the fund-raiser . Janet declines not wanting to associate with " filth " despite not having seen the movie either . Before getting back to that plot point , let's recap a few others : Tom began his first Tokyo flight and makes calls to Trina when he arrives there . He's not completely alone since his co-pilot brings a Japanese woman at his hotel along with other stewards and stewardesses . B . J . and Samantha buy a volleyball net using money Sam got selling a couple of her mother's " cigarettes " and later bond a little more when that mom goes to the Reems party . Laurie's ex-boyfriend tells her about seeing Teach leave her house and warns her he might not be one any longer . And Roger wonders what happened to his wife's " pot smoking-skinny dipping " self when she still insists on having sex every other Friday night ? Okay , with that out of the way let's go back to the party : Harry Reems is greeted warmly by everyone , even Janet who comes after all to mainly support Susan and manages to giggle at some of Harry's lines . Only Samantha's mom , Gail , unnerves Harry . Meanwhile , Bruce and Roger are at their bowling place celebrating their victory when talk turns to Susan and Janet and their going to the party . They quickly go there with Bruce demanding Susan leave while Roger offers Janet to do the same as a private screening of Deep Throat starts . Janet decides to watch the movie as Roger likewise stays with her but Bruce leaves in a huff . Trina leaves partway during the screening to comfort Susan who's wondering if Bruce is willing to accept the changes she's gone through lately . Trina , no doubt thinking what she's going through with Tom , says change is never easy for any couple . Sylvia , by this time , also apologizes for her behavior which Susan accepts . And with that , all seems to go well : After Samantha admits to B . J . she wishes she was perfect like Nadia Comaneci , B . J . tells her through the walkie-talkie to look through her window as he gives her a 10 . 0 . Laurie tells her ex to just let her go after reminiscing about how they met . Tom decides not to go to the " basement " since he wants to just be with his wife . After accepting Reems ' singed picture , Janet and Roger spontaneously make love back home . Well , almost all went well : After telling Bruce she wasn't trying to upset him with what she did but was simply making her own choice , Susan gives him a kiss but with hubby still upset she goes to the kitchen with daughter Laurie sitting there . When Laurie finds out her mother went to the party after all , all she says is , with pride , " Way to go , Mom ! " . . . This was an excellent episode about a real-life event that provided enough drama and humor to keep me entertained throughout . Loved Reems ' invitation to Janet and Roger to go to the " basement " , which Janet in the pilot had been appalled at earlier , and the couple's quick and polite decline . And that Janet wished Harry good luck ! Loved Samantha's smile when she got her score . Loved the way Laurie handled her ex's threats though once again I'm worried about her relationship with Teach . And the period songs they pick here are great though once again there's an anachronism : " Couldn't Get It Right " by The Climax Blues Band came out a year after the summer of ' 76 setting . Other than that , this was the best episode of " Swingtown " I've seen so far . So with that note , until next time . . .
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454,070 | 11,228,318 | 414,469 | 10 |
Ryan is an excellent tribute of Canadian animator by Chris Landreth
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When Ryan Larkin , the Canadian animator from the late ' 60s / early ' 70s died recently , Cartoon Brew paid tribute by showing Syrinx ( 1965 ) and this Oscar-winning short by Chris Landreth . It follows Landreth interviewing Larkin is a visual style that I can only describe as psychedelic with the florescent way each faces were colored and lighted . Various associates of Larkin like his longtime girlfriend Felicity comment on the artist's life and career like his troubled childhood with his father or his cocaine and alcohol addiction . Well worth seeing for various animation types of both Landreth and Larkin as displayed in clips of a couple of his shorts like Walking ( 1969 ) and Street Musique ( 1972 ) .
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455,018 | 11,228,318 | 512,035 | 10 |
The Christmas Story is a wonderful holiday version of " The Amos ' n ' Andy Show "
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Today , I decided to listen to the radio version and watch on Google Video the TV version of " The Christmas Story " episode of " The Amos ' n ' Andy Show " . Both are pretty much the same story word for word and scene for scene . Well , actually , the TV version has an additional scene of the birth of Amos ' child Arbadella ( Patti Marie Ellis ) who nine years later wants a talking doll for Christmas . Her uncle Andy , despite being broke , resolves to get it for her by becoming a Santa's helper in the Globe department store . There he encounters kids both kind and bratty . I'll stop there and mention that Alvin Childress as Amos really shines here especially when he explains to daughter Arbadella what " The Lord's Prayer " really means . Andy himself is more of a sympathetic character here then his usual more slightly naive portrayal . Both Lightnin ' and Kingfish provide their own brief amusements . All in all , both the radio and TV version of " The Christmas Story " are very worthy tales for the holiday season . By the way , the Paul Taylor Chrous provided the " The Lord's Prayer " song and " Silent Night " on the radio version from December 22 , 1944 . And I have to mention that Charles Correll-who played Andy on radio-died in my birthtown of Chicago , Illinois on September 26 , 1972 . Also Amos ' wife Ruby ( Jane Adams ) was added for the TV version .
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455,081 | 11,228,318 | 988,309 | 10 |
Five Years Gone is a very poignant episode of Heroes
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At the end of the last episode , Hiro and Ando had teleported to a devastated New York five years later and had encountered Future Hiro . Suddenly , Matt Parker , who's with Home Security , and his men have the present day Hiro arrested while Ando and Future Hiro escape . During interrogation , Matt receives a call . It's President Nathan Petrelli . He threatens to replace Matt if he can't get info out of Hiro ( of course he means the future one but neither know Matt has the wrong one ) . Petrelli has staff member Mohinder prepare for Plan B , the destruction of all special-powered people . Mohinder voices his opposition but reluctantly agrees to it as a last resort . Peter now hangs at a strip club where his girlfriend Niki performs in order to forget the tragic deaths of D . L . and Micah from the New York bomb that Peter reveals he caused but Nathan , his brother , put on Syler to protect him . Future Hiro finds him there to get him to help him take the other Hiro back . While Peter thinks this over HRG is now in charge of protecting other super-powered peoples ' identities in his version of the witness protection program . His daughter Claire now has black hair and is a waitress in a diner that HRG frequents . She is also engaged to a fellow employee there . Her father tells her to relocate again but she hesitates so she goes to her bio-father Nathan in his office . She starts to leave when she hears of his Plan B but Nathan uses his powers to stop her and cut her brain as it's now revealed he's actually Syler ! Matt finds the Future Hiro and almost arrests him but then Peter freeze-frames everything and has Hiro and Ando escape leaving a confused Matt . The next day is the 5-year anniversary of the New York bombing as Syler as Nathan addresses the nation downtown . Future Hiro , Peter , and Ando are now teamed up to get Present Hiro just as Mohinder and the Haitian are about to drug him . Mohinder , at the last minute , gives the needle to the Haitian instead as he helps P . H . escape . As Future Hiro reaches his other self , he's about to tell him how to teleport to the right era just as Parkman shoots him dead ! Hiro , shocked at seeing his future self die , suddenly has doubts but Ando tells him to not succumb to them as Hiro and Ando will themselves back to the present . " Now comes the hard part . " Hiro declares . . . During the whole episode , I felt myself become almost emotionally drained at the despair of the Future Hiro and Peter's revelation to Ando when F . H . is out cold that Ando's death during the bombing stripped Hiro of his optimism . That and Future Hiro's death really got to me . It was nice to know that Matt's wife and future boy were protected . After Peter's " death " at Sylar's hands in last week's episode , it was great to see them battle again here ! New York's 5-year bombing anniversary memorial seemed reminiscent of televised live anniversaries of every year . A very poignant episode . Only three more to go .
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453,900 | 11,228,318 | 988,307 | 10 |
How to Stop an Exploding Man an excellent season finale for Heroes
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As scenes from the last 22 episodes are flashed on screen , Mohinder narrates about purposes . Hiro searches for Ando who took the sword and is seeking Sylar . Hiro's father reluctantly agrees and gives his son his own sword . In Issac's apartment , Ando finds Sylar and attempts to kill him . Sylar banishes him to a window and tries to cut his head off just as Hiro teleports there and eventually succeeds in transferring himself and Ando back to their Japanesse offices where he leaves Ando with his own sword and takes his father's with him back to New York . Mohinder and HRG are pointing guns at each other as little tracker girl Molly looks under a bed and recognizes a passed out Matt Parkman as the cop who saved her way back . Matt vouches Molly's character as all three use her to identify Sylar's whereabouts . Peter takes Claire back to his brother-and her bio-father-Nathan who , in private with Peter , tries to talk him into keeping Claire out of the situation . When Peter refuses he goes back to find Clarie gone . As he searches , Peter teleports from one place to another and , as he passes out , finds himself back to when he was a nurse caring for Charles Deveraux who is visited by mother Petrelli and his daughter Simone who meets Peter for the first time . After past Peter leaves Charles and Mrs . Petrelli , current Peter overhears his mother and Mr . Deveraux discuss the upcoming bombing and debate the merits of the Petrelli brothers . After his mother leaves , Peter is startled to hear Charles acknowledge his current self's presence and asks if he's dreaming or traveling through time . Charles says it doesn't matter and there is a reason for everything . At this point , Peter is awoken by HRG , as they prepare to go to the top of the Kirby building to stop Sylar . It's here that we find out HRG's-Mr . Bennet's-first name is Noah . In that building , Niki is propping bullet-ridden D . L . and leaves him at elevator promising to come back . She searches a room where she finds Candace-as-Jessica waiting to beat her . During the fight , Jessica in a broken mirror glass reveals to Niki she's not fighting her and convinces her to knock Candace out . She does as Candace turns to her real self . Micah , who was lying on the floor this whole time , vanishes as Niki hears his voice and opens to find him locked in a closet . They then leave to find D . L . It's at this point that Molly senses Sylar nearby as Mohinder and Matt leave to go to the elevator where Micah and Niki have arrived toward D . L . Molly tells Micah the elevator doesn't work but with his hand Micah fixes it as they all go to the top of the building . Up there , Peter and Sylar duke it out with Matt and Hiro helping out . Matt gets his bullets thrown back at him while Hiro's sword goes through Sylar's stomach but not enough to keep Sylar from throwing Hiro off the roof . Peter's hands are still lighting up , however , as he begs Claire to shoot him . Just then , Nathan appears and flies Peter off into space as the explosion detonates far , far , away . Mohinder , as narrator , sums it all up as " End of Volume One " prints on screen . Then we're in a grass hill as " Volume Two , Generations " is printed . Hiro lands here in what is 17th century Japan about to be surrounded by some samurai . Fade to black as the screen says for the last time this season , " To Be Continued " . . . A mostly wow finish with Claire going out the window several feet above then regenerating once again on ground one of the coolest effects ever . Loved seeing Richard Roundtree and George Takei again . Also loved seeing Niki hit Sylar with the parking meter . Maybe some inconsistencies but very enjoyable season finale nonetheless . Hope to be back next season . Until next time . . .
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455,082 | 11,228,318 | 969,430 | 10 |
. 07 % is another excellent episode of Heroes
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In the first new episode in over a month , HRG , in one cell , mind-communicates with Matt in another to get Ted from another cell as they plan their next move after escaping . Linderman shows Nathan his collection of paintings that were bought from Issac and talks of saving the world while looking at one with New York City being destroyed . Peter walks into Mohinder's apartment and finds him on the ceiling being held by Sylar . Mohinder watches as Peter and Sylar battle with various power skills ending with Sylar using shattered glass to kill the invisible Peter . Mohinder then takes Peter to Mrs . Petrelli before leaving . Nathan arrives in mourning then Claire , having just discovered Nathan is her bio-father , requests to be alone with Peter . As she pulls a shard glass from Peter's back of head , Peter suddenly wakes up . Peter convinces Nathan to talk to his newly found daughter . Nathan convinces Claire to go to Paris for a week , as suggested by his mother , during the final stages of his upcoming election in order to avoid a scandal . Linderman has a meeting with Jessica . He wants her ( actually Niki's ) son Micah for something . Jessica says , " No Deal . " ( Not an exact quote but you get what I'm saying ) When Linderman arrives at her house , she seemed to have changed her mind . After Micah is gone , however , Jessica turns back to Candace , the woman who can change into other people , just as the real Jessica arrives . After Issac gives a departing fan his final works and his sketch book , Sylar confronts him and succeeds in killing him just like in his painting : by chopping his forehead off . We then dissolve to five years later as we find Hiro and Ando to when we last saw them : in a devastated New York . Hiro then goes to Issac's apartment where we see string of various articles and photos representing a timeline before he and Ando go back outside where Hiro meets his future self . . . Awesome episode from beginning to end . Loved the whole sequence between HRG and Matt as Matt keeps following his orders and the way some jump cuts were made here . I have to admit I cried when Claire looked at the dead Peter and said , " I didn't even get to know you . " Hope Nathan keeps his promise of Claire coming back to the family after the election . The battle between Sylar and Peter was so rockin ' and intense , I was beside myself ! And the way they cut to Issac's painting of the chopped forehead just as it was actually happening should be scary enough to anyone under 12 watching . Poor Issac , rest in peace . Next week's episode , Five Years Gone , should be good .
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455,051 | 11,228,318 | 25,997 | 10 |
The Wise Little Hen is notable as the debut of Donald Duck
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Just watched on YouTube this Disney Silly Symphony that's important for one reason and one reason only : It's the debut of Donald Duck and that of his creator , Clarance Nash . In this one , it's the musical version of the moral fable " The Wise Little Hen " with Florence Gil voicing the one who asks Donald and his friend Peter Pig ( Pinto Colvig ) for help in first planting the corn and then harvesting them . The both fake bellyaches and when it comes time to eat the results . . . well , watch the short . Both entertaining and educational , The Wise Little Hen is highly recommend for fans of Disney and animation and especially that lovable short tempered duck ! And it's all because of Mr . Nash that we owe a heap of thanks so thank you , Clarance , wherever you are !
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453,891 | 11,228,318 | 148,352 | 10 |
Jasper's in a Jam is a most excellent musical George Pal Puppetoon
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Jasper's in a Jam is one of the most entertaining shorts from George Pal Puppetoons to feature a little black boy . Instead of the usual shanty that the Jasper shorts usually take place in , this one's setting is at a big-city apartment that has a pawn shop with various musical instruments . When Jasper finds himself trapped in this pawnshop , many of these instruments come to life . With music by Charlie Barnet and vocals by Peggy Lee , Jasper's in a Jam has some of the most coolest collage of melody and visuals from a doll-animated film . So it is with great enthusiasm that I recommend this short to any fan of Big Band music and to many George Pal completists , bar none !
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454,722 | 11,228,318 | 35,476 | 10 |
Tulips Shall Grow is another excellent George Pal " Puppetoon " short
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Like a few other shorts I just reviewed , Tulips Shall Grow was another one I just discovered on the Europa Film Treasures site . George Pal directed this " Puppetoon " after he moved to the United States and started to work for Paramount . In this one , a Dutch young man and young woman are enjoying themselves among the tulips dancing before an ominous team of war soldiers called " Screwballs " ( who are literally screws with bolts for heads ) wreak havoc in planes on windmills . The tragic happenings that follow truly pack a wallop before the inevitable happy ending comes and the message " Tulips Shall Always Grow " prints on screen . Once again , Pal outdoes himself in quality which became evident when this short got an Oscar nomination . Highly recommended .
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453,761 | 11,228,318 | 452,632 | 10 |
How to Eat Your Watermelon . . . provides unique insight on Melvin Van Peebles
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Having previously seen Sweet Sweetback . . . , Watermelon Man , his son Mario's Badaaaasssss ! , I took one look at this documentary on DVD at my local library and had to check this out quickly ! What a fascinating look at Melvin Van Peebles ' life and various careers ( as a side note , I was pleasantly surprised finding out here that he was born in Chicago , Ill . which is also my birthplace ) . From train conductor to Air Force pilot to French novelist to filmmaker to musician , Van Peebles seems to have done it all and I haven't even mentioned Wall Street trader ! However , because of his independent streak-Watermelon Man being his only Major Studio film-Melvin is not always respected . He's never out , however , and seems to treat his jobs like he treats women-one day at a time ! Nice insights from fellow filmmakers Gordon Parks and Spike Lee but the real treats are of his children Max , Megan , and especially Mario who had played his father in one of the titles I mentioned . While the Sweetback movie gets the lion's share of attention here , we also see snippets of Story of a Three Day Pass , the Watermelon pic , his televised musical play " Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death " , his musical movie-Don't Play Us Cheap-from the ' 70s , and the one he was shooting at the time-Bellyful . There's also some bonus features of some of his concert performances and of his commentaries he did for a New York TV station . The most hilarious of those was on his seeing " X-Rated " movies as a child which he defined as those that portrayed his race in a demeaning manner ! Witty and refreshing , How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company ( and Enjoy It ) is a must for a look at this multi-talented man .
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454,576 | 11,228,318 | 58,536 | 10 |
Rudolph , the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the most classic of Rankin / Bass holiday specials
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What can I say about Rankin / Bass ' initial doll-animated Christmas special Rudolph , the Red-Nosed Reindeer that hasn't already been said by many of the posters here ? Only that despite some now sexist notions of many of the adult male characters , this special seems very forward thinking in promoting individuality , represented by Hermie and Rudolph , as opposed to stifling conformity . Of course , the real reason this special has stood the test of time is because of the innocence of the Rudolph story that continues to charm both kids and adults who have never outgrown this classic every year . Burl Ives is at his most charming as narrator Sam the Snowman singing , besides the title song , " Silver and Gold " and " Holly Jolly Christmas " . Writer Romeo Muller has added such charming characters as Yukon Cornelius , Clarice the Doe , and the head of Misfit Toys , Charlie-in-the-Box . Having seen this for the first time since the ' 80s , I can still get touched when Santa says the famous line about Rudolph with his nose so bright won't . . . well , you know . So watch with some kids , or relieve your own childhood , and enjoy The Most Famous Reindeer of All on regular TV or VHS / DVD every Christmas . It sure wouldn't be the same without Rudolph !
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454,092 | 11,228,318 | 39,843 | 10 |
So You Want to Be in Pictures was a most hilarious Joe McDoakes short
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This is my fourth Joe McDoakes short that I've seen and so far the funniest one . In this one , Joe takes voice lessons from a record impersonating Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman . When he goes to Warner Bros . Studio ( the company behind this series , incidentally ) , he asks Jack Carson for directions which gets both confused . Then he encounters actor George O'Hanlon ( who's also McDoakes ) who speaks in his more normal voice that's not too far from his later Geroge Jetson and gets to the set where he automatically upsets the director . I'll stop there and just say how funny I found the whole thing and was fascinated by the movie star cameos provided near the end . The final scene was especially a hoot so on that note , go to YouTube if you want to watch So You Want to Be in Picutres !
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453,866 | 11,228,318 | 295,517 | 10 |
Photocopy Cha Cha is surreal and a little bit . . . erotic
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Chel White takes images , all from black-and-white photocopied pictures , and mixes them in a dissolving dream-like state to a somewhat familiar whistling electronic instrumental that blows your mind . Various men and women in stages of undress keep you in a sexy state of mind that you won't forget . I most certainly do not recommend this for children until they at least turn 18 ! This was a unique entry in The 23rd International Tournee of Animation available in a Volume 5 videocassette from 1992 . Definitely seek this out if you're looking for something unusual . Dedicated in loving memory of Duke Ellington and Perez Prado .
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454,288 | 11,228,318 | 58,557 | 10 |
Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a great British suspense film
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This was a British picture that I had long wanted to see so when I went to my local library and found this there , I quickly checked it out . Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough are perfectly chilling as the séance wife Myra and reluctant kidnapper Billy . Judith Donner , in her only role , brings a subtle naturalness as the child Amanda who they " borrow " from a wealthy couple . Also good were Mark Eden and Nanette Newman , who's married to the film's director Bryan Forbes , as the child's parents , Mr . and Mrs . Clayton . John Barry's score brings various shades in many chase scenes and some quietly chilling ones involving Myra and Billy . And Forbes brings measured tension in many point-of-view shots . The suspense involves psychological emotions that cut to the bone and brings a compellingly British flavor to the concluding scenes . So for all that , I highly recommend Seance on a Wet Afternoon .
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455,129 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,266 | 10 |
Corpsicle is one of the best episodes of " Pushing Daises " yet
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Because Chuck has left after finding out Ned inadvertently killed her father , Ned can't concentrate on the case at hand which is this : an insurance salesman is found dead this snowy day in front of a snowplow . When Ned touches him , this salesman says he was hit with " kindness " which was written on a bat with that word . This trail leads to a boy with no heart who's been refused a transplant by this company . When Ned asks Olive about Chuck , Olive reveals she's with her by answering Ned's questions with more of those . Wanting someone to confide in , Chuck reveals to Olive why she's still alive but Olive doesn't believe her . When Oscar from underground comes by The Pie Hole's roof , Chuck allows him to take a lock of her hair so he can find out about her . After some time has passed , Chuck feels better and when Oscar tells her he'd rather she told him about her unusual smell , Chuck takes back her hair . Oh , and with Olive making the pie for for Vivian and Lilly , she puts a little too much of the " vanilla " Chuck usually puts in resulting in Lilly , who ate the whole thing , revealing she is Chuck's mother . . . Another wonderfully whimsical episode of " Pushing Daises " that takes further steps in forwarding characterizations . Like that Emerson has a daughter he hasn't seen for a while . Or the revelation of Lilly . Hilarious seeing her hallucinations like that of a crab suddenly appearing ! Also loved Olive's constant mentioning of " bosoms " . Or Chuck's of " bum " in referring of Digby's hair there being cut . Paul Reubens is great as Oscar . And nice seeing Grant Shaud , formerly Miles Silverberg on " Murphy Brown " , as another insurance salesman . So much good stuff here , it's too bad this is the last episode before the writers ' strike went into effect . Hopefully , it will end before the season does . Until then . . .
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455,239 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,271 | 10 |
The Gallery Show is the best episode of " Samantha Who ? " I've seen so far
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In a nutshell : Samantha receives an invitation to ex Todd's photo gallery show . She goes to the apartment intending to tell him she's not going but Todd spills that Chloe didn't want Sam to come . So Sam tells him she's now dating someone named Rance . Moments later , after failing with Andrea and Dena's help to find someone suitable at the library , Sam finds someone trying to illegally unlock a car named Craig ( Jerry O'Connell ) . She's found her Rance ! At the gallery , her parents Regina and Howard are looking around with Howard bored throughout when they spot a picture of a naked woman with no head and her breasts covered by her arm . Howard stops at that then turns when Regina reveals it's their daughter . Meanwhile , Dena turns up at the wrong gallery that has a talking man in a glass cage because Andrea intentionally gave her the wrong instructions . The glass cage man gives her the right one after getting irritated at Dena's constant jabbering . Back at the real gallery , Craig offers to take her coat and purse which gives Sam a flashback of when her bad self was mugged . Guess who the mugger was ? So Sam tries to get him off the premises before anyone noticed just as she confronts Todd and Chloe . After the usual rounds of " I'm over you " , Sam tells Craig about their earlier encounter and Craig confesses stopping after encounter after she broke his arm . Just as things become okay with them however , the alarm sounds when Craig leaves temporarily prompting Sam to shout " Thief ! " Turns out Howard was stealing Sam's photo to keep anyone else from looking . That prompts Chloe to bare her breasts to Todd in a fit of jealousy . Oh , brother ! After Craig leaves for good , Todd admits to Sam he put the red dot ( meaning it had been sold ) on her display because he couldn't part with it so it seems they might be an item again . Just before they leave together , Dena finally arrives with Chapman to tell Andrea her new office will be in the copy room ! . . . Wow , this episode fired on all cylinders ! The lines were so hilarious here that I dare not quote them lest I spoil anyone's else fun . If anyone wonders if the girl - loses - memory - tries - to - be - better - person premise would actually work for the long run , the events happening here seems to be as good a place as any to apply in the affirmative . With only two episodes left , I can't wait to see how it all ends up this first season !
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455,066 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,270 | 10 |
The Butterflies is another hilarious episode of " Samantha Who ? "
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As Sam talks with Dena about her encounter with Todd in the last episode on her way to work , her boss , Mr . Chapman , walks by . He overhears Dena tell Sam to " let your heart be your dog " in comparing love and pets . When Sam gets on the elevator with Chapman , they both stay quiet until Chapman , about to exit , tells her , " I want her . Make it happen " . Sam is reluctant even after Andrea tells her about wanting new chairs that make butts comfortable . Then she realizes her mall project has attracted protesters because it's being built on a ground with rare butterflies in danger of extinction . So after Dena agrees to date Sam's boss and getting along so well with him as a result , Sam and Andrea give their requests which Dena relays to him . The result : Andrea gets her chair but Dena got convinced how good business the mall project is . Then Sam comes up with alternate plans that would spare the butterflies but all her boss can talk about is Dena and wants to know from Sam what her feelings are for him . Sam agrees on condition the mall project is delayed . She then convinces both lovebirds to hold back on their feelings and also tells Chapman about Dena's old boyfriend coming back . With both finding out the truth at dinner however , Dena admonishes Sam about her intentions and says the bulldozers are operating in the morning . Sam's joining the protesters gets her on the local news and while apologizing on-air to Dena as she and Chapman are about to make love , Dena accepts . With the dozers still going through however , Sam quits her job and waits with Frank the doorman for Todd , who brushed her off the last time by lying to her of a new photo job with the local paper , to come out . As he does and tells Sam of wanting to make it work with Chloe , Sam kisses him , then pushes him back saying , " Lose some sleep over that ! " She then leaves with her belongings as she encounters that rare butterfly which continues flying through the credits and the logos at the end of the program . . . Another hilarious episode of " Samantha Who ? " with highlights being the chemistry between Melissa McCarthy and Rick Hoffman . Their dialogue and facial expressions are so spot on here . Jennifer Esposito as Andrea is also compellingly funny here whether enjoying her new chair or the coffee machine as the result of Dena's newfound stature . Can't wait for the next episode so until next time . . .
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