reviewId
int64 363k
588k
| userId
int64 33.9k
15.9M
| itemId
int64 1
1.42M
| rating
float64 1
10
| title
stringlengths 1
10.9k
⌀ | content
stringlengths 81
11.6k
⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
453,775 | 11,228,318 | 31,749 | 10 |
Porky Pig gets an education in Old Glory
|
I first saw this Porky Pig educational cartoon short on Buskin Bill's Storyland in the Bicentenial year of 1976 . I later saw it after James Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy on a Saturday night on that same channel of WAFB-9 , Baton Rouge , La . ( possibly on the 4th of July ) . Having recently seen it on YouTube , I must marvel at how bright the colors are compared to the washed-out tones I remember from way back when . Great use of having Uncle Sam telling our stuttering hero about the American Revolution and subsequent events with wonderful realistic animation throughout to make their point . Highly recommended to any child who wonders why history is so important to learn .
|
454,267 | 11,228,318 | 1,279,304 | 10 |
Take It to the Limit was an intriguing season finale to " Swingtown "
|
At the last episode's end , Susan realized Bruce lied about leaving his briefcase at his workplace where he was " going to " when she saw its place at home . So when he returns home and " explains " why he wasn't home past midnight , Susan gives him the keys to the car and doesn't return his kiss . At the Thompsons ' , Roger reveals Janet his accepting the landscaping job offer in Cincinnati and tells her to start moving . Janet doesn't seem too thrilled and is even less so when her male co-worker reveals that the editor wants to meet her about becoming the permanent author of " Dear Trudy " . Afterwards , Janet tells him she turned it down . As Laurie mulls with Doug at his apartment about what elective courses to take for her senior year ( she doesn't have to worry about college required ones since her summer school classes took care of that ) , a female friend of Doug's tells him of the Guatemala earthquake that a Peace Corps friend of his is at . Doug has suddenly turned somber . At the Deckers ' , Trina wakes to the smell of lobsters as Tom had crates of them delivered marking the annual Labor Day event . The smell is too much so some winds at the Millers ' where Doug is frustrated looking for reports on Guatemala on television and finding just game shows as Laurie gets held up calling a newspaper . Bro B . J . is also there looking at the lobsters and wanting to free them . Before that , he was at Samantha's with Ricky and Lisa waiting for Sam's and Lisa's moms . As we see the car that carries Sam's mother Gail and her sister Maggie , Gail sees her daughter's packed bags and yells at her sister as she leaves her in a huff . Maggie follows and explains how she doesn't want Sam to end up like they did and how good rehab was to her . During this fight , Sam and B . J . sit on the roof and hold hands . Later , Susan arrives at the bar seeking Bruce and finds Melinda as she confronts her about Bruce . Melinda reveals they didn't sleep together and that she and Bruce have a connection that Susan has lost lately . As Susan leaves , she finds Roger waiting looking for Janet . He tells Susan he's indeed accepted and wonders how Janet will handle the moving . Susan tells him she'll manage . Actually , Janet has by this time seen a new paper headline saying " Dear Janet " from her male co-worker Henry who tells her she " unturned " her new job down . Janet , thrilled at this , invites him for a drink . He says he has a date . With that female receptionist in accounting Janet asks . Henry replies with someone named Mike . Oh , Janet says , a little flustered but still happy for Henry . She later goes to Trina's , Trina points to the current September calendar and tells her it's 1976 , not 1953 , and that father doesn't always know best . So with that , Janet tells Roger that she doesn't want to move though her husband tells her that she may be the heart but he's still the head and their moving , case closed ! As the beach party begins , Tom reveals a fishbowl of keys meaning anyone who picks will go home with those keys ' owner . Bruce declines his since he and Susan are there just for the seafood . That gives Trina a little worry as she and Susan talk before she reveals her pregnancy and that she's going to terminate it without Tom knowing . Susan wonders with the Deckers open honesty why Trina is so secretive this time . As Roger and Janet briefly arrive , the male Thompson is congratulated by Bruce and Tom while Susan and her long-time best friend embrace missing growing old together . Before party's end , Bruce , as he watches keys taken one by one , holds Susan's hand but that hand abruptly pulls back resulting in a big confrontation outside of the crowd . Susan is upset over the lying while Bruce argues it was her idea when they committed to an open relationship . The wife then goes to the key bowl and randomly takes the owner of that key with her . When Laurie then goes to the house with mother alone there , Susan tells her daughter to come back soon after saying goodbye to Doug ( neither parent knows their daughter plans to go Guatemala with him ) . Laurie plans this with Doug even though we find that Doug's Peace Corp friend is fine and Doug just wants to help the victims . And Laurie is stubborn about going so Doug agrees saying he loves her . But when Laurie arrives , Doug is gone and his female friend tells her if she wants some consolation , she's on the second floor . Laurie then is handed a letter telling her to look under his pillow where his key is at so she'll always be allowed in his apartment . She cries in his bed . On the C . B . ' s B . J . and Ricky use as they talk to Samantha as she keeps moving , the frequencies become so muffled that static replaces her voice . Bruce meets Melinda at the bar and they kiss passionately . Susan , still home alone , gets a phone call . Silence before she asks , " Roger ? " Roger answers and tells her he couldn't get on the plane and will she come to this airport hotel . A knock on the door is answered and as The Eagles ' " Take It to the Limit " plays , we leave Susan and Roger eyeing each other as the scene fades . . . Wow , so much on this season finale of " Swingtown " . And that cast : Grant Show , Lana Parilla ( the Deckers ) , Jack Davenport , Molly Parker ( the Millers ) , and Mirimam Shor and Josh Hopkins ( the Thompsons ) . I also liked the kids though the one who played Laurie was partly irritating . Also enjoyed Liz Phair's theme song . Knowing creator Mike Kelley has a two-year contract with CBS , I like to think he'll finish this series but who knows ? So despite the uncertainly of the series ' fate , I'll just say until next time . . .
|
454,650 | 11,228,318 | 1,034,410 | 10 |
Respect Yourself : The Stax Records Story is one fascinating doc
|
Quick , what recording studio became known as " Soulsville , U . S . A " ? Stax Records . Founded by Caucasians Jim STewart and Estelle AXton , this Memphis-based company showcased some of the most soulful musicians on the planet and was colorblind concerning equal employment of black executives like Al Bell . Among the great songs chronicled here : " Last Night " - The Markeys , " Green Onion " - Booker T and the MGs , " Knock on Wood " - Eddie Floyd , " Soul Man " - Sam and Dave , original version of " Respect " - Oits Redding , " Shaft " - Issac Hayes , " Respect Yourself " - The Staple Singers , and many more from some of those artists . From the ' 60s through the ' 70s , Stax's rise and fall is chronicled by many of that label's participants I've mentioned with the bittersweet nostalgia that colors how unique that era truly was . And how fortunate we now are to have a museum and training institute built in Stax's honor . All in all , a very interesting documentary narrated by Samuel L . Jackson . Personal note : I was fascinated to learn that a cherished hit from my childhood , Rick Dees ' " Disco Duck " , was produced by Ms . Axton after the company she co-founded closed .
|
454,637 | 11,228,318 | 424,016 | 10 |
The Cunning Little Vixen was a wonderfully animated version of Leos Janacek's opera
|
Just watched this animated featurette of Leos Janacek's opera as directed by Geoff Dunbar on YouTube . It's mainly about a female fox who as a child gets taken from her mother to this man's house . Three months later as an adult , she escapes but not before killing all the chickens that her master and his wife had raised . Back in the forest , she meets a male fox and falls for him . After she gets pregnant , he agrees to marry her . . . I'll stop right there and say this was a pretty touching story of this lady fox and her adventures despite her brutal nature concerning other animals . Both the music and the voices chosen to verbalize the story are wonderfully played throughout . And Dunbar's animation provide some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in an animated project . So with all that said , I highly recommend The Cunning Little Vixen .
|
453,789 | 11,228,318 | 60,503 | 10 |
John and Faith Hubley's Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature was a pretty humorously entertaining Oscar-winning animated short
|
Just watched this Oscar-winning John and Faith Hubley-written and produced animated short distributed by Paramount on YouTube as linked from Cartoon Brew . The title's meaning is that two Herb Albert selections - " Spanish Flea " and " Tijuana Taxi " - are illustrated in animated form in their entirety . " Spanish Flea " has the title character annoying a donkey , chicken , a gangster and his girlfriend and other people at a hotel party . " Tijuana Taxi " has the driver trying to get his passengers to the plane on time . Both segments have compellingly humorous abstract line drawings set to the beat of the wonderful music . Don't want to say anymore except I highly recommend Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature .
|
455,017 | 11,228,318 | 613,545 | 10 |
Christmas Shopping Show episode of " The Jack Benny Program " is one hilarious holiday entry
|
Before I watched the Jack Benny holiday episode I'm reviewing here , I listened to a couple of episodes of his radio show that aired consecutive weeks on December 14 and 21 , 1941 . The first of those had Jack and Mary shopping for Christmas presents while Dennis and Rochester waited outside ( or maybe they shopped themselves ) . It's here that Frank Nelson appears as a floorwalker though he has yet to say , " Yeeessss ! " Anyway , the running gag concerns Jack's use of what a toy bird he wants to get Dennis sounds like . The following week has Jack planning his Christmas party which threatens to be ruined by his border , Mr . Billingsly who has a screw loose . Also , among the movie stars Jack invited was one Rodney Dangerfield who in this episode is a talked-about-only singing cowboy ! I wonder if the real one-who was 20 at the time and was then Jacob Cohen-ever heard this show and thought of it when he became a professional comedian . Both episodes were hit-and-miss concerning various gags but since the shows aired live , there were plenty of bloopers that Benny hilariously kept commenting on so they were a little less uneven . Now on to this TV episode . Jack and Rochester are shopping at a department store . Jack decides to get Don Wilson a $40 wallet . The person who's wrapping it up is a sales clerk played by Mel Blanc . Because of the various times that Jack keeps changing his mind about certain things , Blanc gets more upset every time he comes back . My favorite line of Blanc's concerning him is " The customer is always right . And this jerk is a customer ! " LOL ! I also loved the way Rochester keeps saying " No " when another clerk asks him what kind of person his boss is . There's also an amusing cameo of Richard Deacon-you know , Mel Cooley on " The Dick Van Dyke Show " - as another clerk talking to Dennis Day who sings " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer " here . And then Don himself has a bizarre cameo with Santa Claus ! Oh , and Frank Nelson is back as the floorwalker . I think I've said enough so all I'll now say is : Watch this show if you're a die-hard Jack Benny fan !
|
454,088 | 11,228,318 | 58,586 | 10 |
A Shot in the Dark marked the introduction of Inspector Clouseau's regulars
|
With Steve Martin's Pink Panther 2 coming a few days away , I thought I'd look back at the previous entries in the movie series before I watched the latest one . I'm now on the second entry , A Shot in the Dark , that was originally a mystery play with different characters . For many , this was probably the true beginning of Inspector Jacques Clouseau's adventures since here is where we meet his regular supporting cast of characters of Commissioner Dreyfus ( Herbert Lom ) , his assistant Francois ( Andre Maranne ) , and house servant Kato-later Cato ( Burt Kwouk ) . Also Graham Stark , who's Clouseau's partner Hercule here , would subsequently play other roles later in the series . This time , Clouseau is defending maid Maria Gambrelli ( Elke Sommer ) against a murder charge . Among his suspects are George Sanders and Tracy Reed . This is also the first time Clouseau mispronounces some words to comic effect . With Peter Sellers having more scenes here than in The Pink Panther , he mines his physical shtick to most of what he's able to do with only one or two instances where a stuntman is needed . Gotta dig those scenes at the nudist colony where Clouseau his to hide his frontal part with a guitar ! Also liked seeing Dreyfus talking on the phone to a woman saying he loves her before being informed of his wife on the other line . " Tell her I'm out of town . " the commissioner exclaims . And Herbert Lom is really funny whenever his right eye blinks every time Clouseau is mentioned ! With no Pink Panther in the animated credits or his theme song playing , we get instead a short little man with mustache and trench coat with his own Henry Mancini theme whose presence causes such a stir with the preview audiences that DePatie-Freleng would start a second cartoon series called The Inspector not long after The Pink Panther animated series was already beginning . There's just so much that's hilarious here but I'll just recommend this to anyone who loves Sellers and his character or great movie slapstick comedy in particular . Next up , Inspector Clouseau . . .
|
454,920 | 11,228,318 | 113,540 | 10 |
Kids would be provocative viewing for the age group depicted here
|
When I watched the beginning of this movie with Telly ( Leo Fitzpatrick ) deflowering a young girl who we found out later is one of many virgins he has used since they are " clean " , I can now understand why many parents who were members of the MPAA at the time would want to rate this NC-17 . Not that I'd actually support their stance since I would still want any adult with teenagers to have the option of taking them to or renting for their viewing this disturbing depiction of city kids having sex and male and female teens talking about it openly segregated by gender , but it's understandable for any adult who doesn't want his or her kid exposed to such depravity among the young . During the 24 or so hours that the film takes place , another girl Telly had sex with the year before , Jennie ( Chloe Sevigny ) , tries to find him to tell him she is HIV positive . Meanwhile , Telly and Casper ( Justin Pierce ) steal Telly's mom's money , help some friends beat an angry black teen , buy and smoke some weed , and go to a party at a friends ' house where Telly brings his next conquest . During this time , Jennie rides a taxi whose driver tells her to " stay happy since life's too short " bringing an ironic point that lasts throughout the picture . Also appearing is Rosario Dawson who plays Jennie's friend Ruby who tested negative at the same clinic building as her friend . Many parents may not want their growing children to be exposed to such a provocative view of teen life , but if teens do watch Kids , they may think before doing many of the things depicted here . . .
|
454,864 | 11,228,318 | 1,136,041 | 10 |
The Dumpling Paradox is the first excellent episode of " The Big Bang Theory "
|
As Leonard , Sheldon , Howard Wolowitz , and Raj Koothrappali play the TV video game Halo , Penny barges in and asks if she could stay for awhile as her cousin from Nebraska , Christi ( Brooke D'Orsay ) , makes herself at home in her apartment there . Turns out she can't stand her as Christi has a slutty reputation , especially with members of Penny's immediate family ! Hearing this , Howard goes to Penny's apartment and charms the socks off Christi so much they spend the night there . So Penny not only defeats Sheldon on Halo , she begs to stay overnight at his and Leonard's place to Sheldon's consternation ! Next day , Christi agrees to live with Howard who lives with his mother ! This upsets Sheldon's sense of equality later at a Chinese restaurant since instead of splitting for four , they have to split for three . When the following week , Penny gets asked to be a fourth partner on Halo again , she declines having already dressed up for dancing . So they all go to Howard's house where they overhear arguments between his mom and Christi . Not wanting to stay for that , Howard goes back for another round of the game . . . This is the funniest episode yet of " The Big Band Theory " . I must also mention how nice to see James Hong again as the restaurant owner here after seeing him as the wheelchair crime boss on " Chuck " a few weeks earlier . As always , most of the best lines came from Sheldon though Simon Helberg also has his share . So glad this is doing so well on Monday night on CBS ! Now let's hope the writer's strike ends soon so we'll see new episodes through the end of the season and not just til January . . .
|
454,627 | 11,228,318 | 33,356 | 10 |
The Art of Skiing is one hilarious Goofy cartoon short
|
Just watched this very funny Disney Goofy cartoon short on YouTube . In this one-as the narrator instructs on the fine art of dressing and then going skiing ( which he insists is pronounced SHEE-ING ) - the Goof does the opposite in every hilarious way one could think of and more . Director Jack Kinney and his animators milk every bit of humor and slapstick comedy out of this premise and provide a new bit for the humanized dog-his yodel . That yodel was not thought of by the character's original voice-Pinto Colvig who was at Fleischer in Miami at the time-but by his temporary replacement , George Johnson ( other yodels were recorded by Hannes Schrolle ) . That particular bit proved so popular that it became a recurring thing in subsequent Goofy cartoons . So on that note , I highly recommend The Art of Skiiing .
|
454,716 | 11,228,318 | 1,268,071 | 10 |
Figure Eight is one of several cherished memories I have of " Schoolhouse Rock "
|
I just rediscovered this animated musical short-part of the " Schoolhouse Rock ! " series that aired in between the cartoons on ABC Saturday morning-on YouTube . They bring such great memories of watching these educational but entertaining shorts while I was a kid during the ' 70s . This one-with lyrics by Bob Dorough as sung by Blossom Dearie-depicts a little girl dreaming of skating the figure eight while doing so on thin ice . Now , while she does fall down , she also gets up jumping while shaking as the music changes from solo piano ballet to up-tempo pop . And the beginning-with the children going to a one-room building-also began the " Schoolhouse Rock ! " series proper when I first watched these as a child . After all these years , these animated musical shorts are still worth seeing so on that note , I heartily recommend these for the new generation seeking fun in education . Guess I'll review another one . . .
|
453,792 | 11,228,318 | 65,901 | 10 |
Is It Always Right to Be Right ? is a relevant live-action / animated short even today
|
Just watched this Steve Bosustow Productions animated short on YouTube as linked from Cartoon Brew . It was the last one to win an Oscar for " Short Subject , Cartoon " before the category was changed to " Short Subject , Animated " . Narrated by Orson Welles , Is It Always Right to Be Right ? addressed the polarizing views of the nation as they were divided over the Vietnam War , Nixon's election , and the world in general . Mixed with limited animation and live-action footage , this short is relevant even today with the divisiveness of the recent presidential election . So on that note , I highly recommend Is It Always Right to Be Right ?
|
454,153 | 11,228,318 | 1,268,073 | 10 |
Interjuctions ! is another educational , yet entertaining , animated musical short in the " Schoolhouse Rock ! " series
|
With lyrics by Lynn Aherne and Essra Mohawk providing the vocal , " Interjections ! " is another great short animated musical for the " Schoolhouse Rock ! " series-the three minute segment that aired after many ABC Saturday morning programs during the ' 70s and ' 80s . When a boy gets a shot in the butt ( yes , that part is depicted ) , he says , " Ouch ! " When a beautiful lady gets insulted by a man's constantly courting her , she says " Well ! " Then says , " Hey ! You're kinda cute . " And then there's a football game when the player quarterback threw the ball in the " other direction . " You hear , " Aw ! " " Darn ! " and then " Hooray ! I'm for the other team . " ( You can probably guess what humiliation the last suffers there ) Like the other " Schoolhouse Rock ! " cartoons , this one is worth showing kids today when trying to make education fun for them . And just try not to smile when the " Halleujah " girl says , " Darn , that's the end " after the song suddenly ends . . .
|
454,743 | 11,228,318 | 45,315 | 10 |
Water , Water Every Hare is another fine Bugs Bunny cartoon from Chuck Jones
|
Six years after Hair-Raising Hare , Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese revisit the Bugs-encounters-an-evil scientist ( with neon letters saying " EVIL SCIENTIST " on his castle ) - and his pet monster premise with Water , Water Every Hare . In this one , instead of Peter Lorre , the scientist looks like Boris Karloff with green skin in an inside joke to his Frankinstein's Monster role . And the fully red-haired giant monster is named Rudolph here instead of Gossamer . This time , Karloff wants a brain for his giant robot so Bugs conveniently becomes the target . Of course , Bugs escapes both the scientist and Go . . . I mean , Rudolph and when ether makes everything go slow , Bugs escapes and then sleeps as the water that flooded his hole-in-the-ground takes him back there and as he wakes back up , he says , " Must have been a nightmare . " What happens after that brought big laughs from me ! This short was just as funny , maybe even more so , as HRH and , once again , I loved when Bugs turned into a gossip-chattering nail filer shooting the breeze with the fully red-haired monster who doesn't realize how crafty the rabbit really is . Most definitely recommended .
|
455,069 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,387 | 10 |
The Bat Jar Conjecture is another excellent episode of " The Big Bang Theory "
|
As Leonard , Sheldon , Howard , and Raj prepare for the Physics Bowl with Penny moderating , Sheldon keeps giving the answers even when someone else buzzes first . To make his rejection from the team easier , Leonard gives Sheldon a Batman cookie jar as a gift . In picking a new team member , Leonard reluctantly asks his one-night-stand girl , Leslie Winkle ( a welcome return from Sara Gilbert ) , to join . She refuses until she hears Sheldon is on the other team . On the big day , with Leonard , Howard , Raj , and Leslie representing the Pumonary Movement Sound ( PMS ) and Sheldon and three middle-aged ethnic custodial staff representing the Atom Ants ( AA ) , the game is on with Dr . Gablehauser presiding . With Penny in the audience sleeping through the quiz show , PMS and Sheldon alone keep answering questions correctly making it a close game with one more challenge for either one to win . It involves a chart that neither PMS nor Sheldon can figure out . Fortunately , the Russian janitor in AA who was a professor in his home country figures its solution correctly . Unfortunately , Sheldon's ego is such that he can't accept it as the official answer since it wasn't his meaning he forfeits and gives victory to PMS , which Howard celebrates by taking off his shirt in front of several girls in the audience ! Later , Penny challenges Leonard and Sheldon with her own Pop Culture quiz about " The Brady Bunch " , Britney Spears , the two-time People Sexiest Man Alive , and Tweety Bird's catch phrase . Many of these are answered wrong with " Star Trek " - related things though Penny lets the last one , " I taught I taw a Romulan " , fly making Sheldon the champion in his home while Leonard still shows off his trophy . . . This episode was on fire with Sheldon's arrogance once again making him venerable especially with Leslie ( who once made him cry like a girl ) challenging him . Great lines with just about everyone here with Gilbert especially hilarious in her put-down of Sheldon . My favorite part was the arguing about the team name when Sheldon was still part of them . Another team name suggested but rejected was The Bengal Tigers by Raj who , in rejecting Sheldon's Atom Ants , says Tigers don't get fried by a magnifying glass ! Chuck Lorre , once again , you rock ! With this and " Two and a Half Men " still going strong , you're certainly the renaissance man of sitcoms this season .
|
454,217 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,385 | 10 |
The Pancake Batter Anomaly is one of the funniest episodes of " The Big Bang Theory " yet
|
When Penny returns from her hometown in Nebraska , she tells Leonard and Sheldon that many of her immediate family had the flu . That signals Sheldon to keep away from her since he's a germaphobic . When Sheldon does get sick , Leonard decides to ditch him to watch a Planet of the Apes marathon at a cinema with Howard and Raj . So , ironically , Penny ends up taking care of Sheldon by rubbing vapor rub on him and singing a song his mother warbled to him . After Leonard found out on his cell phone , he and his buddies sneak back in with an upset Penny waiting . . . This was one of the most hilarious episodes I've seen this season ! From Sheldon's various sickness reactions to Penny's flabbergasted indignities to Leonard , Howard , and Raj's shenanigans , this was such a top-notch outing ! And I loved Howard's quoting of the " dirty paws off my popcorn " line from the first Apes outing since I watched this a few weeks after the originator of that one , Charlton Heston , recently died . One more thing , Chuck Lorre made his 200th vanity card here and tells us . . . how lonely he is . He can't be too much so since he now has two hit TV shows in a row !
|
454,971 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,390 | 10 |
The Coopeer-Hofstadter Polarization is a hilarious comeback for " The Big Bang Theory "
|
While Sheldon , Leonard , Howard , and Raj are being awestruck at the way they've used the internet to communicate with the world in order to turn on the lamp , stereo , and other electrical appliances , Leonard discovers a letter inviting him and Sheldon to share their scientific knowledge to an audience of fellow colleagues . Sheldon threw it away because he doesn't feel the need to share while Leonard decides to go and has Penny help with the wardrobe . Penny tries to patch things up with the two former buddies but inadvertently makes things worse . So with her , Howard , and Raj in the audience , Leonard presents his theories to a crowd of 25 before Sheldon reveals himself among them as they get into a knock-down fight in front of everyone . Suffice it to say , Howard sent his cell-phone version to YouTube which also accepted his same-place filming of him and a sleepy Penny with the caption of " his girlfriend " . We find out later that a couple of nerds in China have seen this and are also awestruck at their lamps turning on and off at will . . . With the strike finally over ( congrats to the writers for getting much of what they deserve ) , CBS presented an all-new Monday comedy lineup starting with this one in the middle of March . With this episode , " The Big Bang Theory " comes back funnier than ever ! Loved the references to Scanners whenever Sheldon tries to " blow " up Leonard's head . There's also a running joke told by Leonard that only Penny doesn't get . And how about those clothes Penny tries to discard or the model city of Kandor she discovers . All I can say is , bravo to CBS for renewing this very entertaining show for a second season . Oh , and loved Chuck Lorre's reference to producing two shows competing with a " deaf diva dancing her ( behind ) off " on his vanity card at the close !
|
453,933 | 11,228,318 | 390,981 | 10 |
Citizen King is essential viewing for anyone studying Dr . Martin Luther King
|
With today another celebration of the birth of Dr . Martin Luther King , I finally decided to watch the documentary made about his last five years that aired on " American Experience " that I taped four years ago . Following his Birmingham stint to his march in Washington , D . C . to his trips to the Johnson White House to his Nobel Peace Prize to his demonstrations in Chicago to protest poverty there to his opposition to the Vietnam War and his fallout with the President and finally to Memphis in support of the garbage strike there and his eventual assassination , we get compelling present-day testimony from many of his friends and colleagues like Andrew Young . Many news footage and home movies of Dr . King also abound to show how he presented himself publicly . While much of the current interviews still hold the reverend in high esteem , there's also some that mention his adultery and his occasional employment of Communists not to mention his not-so-cordial encounters with FBI chief J . Edgar Hoover . With all that I just mentioned , I'll just say that I highly recommend Citizen King .
|
454,857 | 11,228,318 | 1,127,389 | 10 |
The Grasshopper Experiment is another excellent episode of " The Big Bang Theory "
|
In Sheldon and Leonard's apartment , Raj Koothrappali introduces his parents on his computer screen to them and Howard Wolowitz . The parents tell their son about a grown Indian woman Raj knew previously as a fat child coming over for an arraigned marriage . Her name is Lalita ( Sarayu Rao ) . Penny comes over and asks for help in mixing drinks to prepare for her new bar tending job . In her apartment , Sheldon keeps ordering a drink with an unusual name that basically is Diet Coke while Raj , having drank her Grasshopper and had previously just whispered to his friends in order to communicate with any woman , opens up to Penny about his insecurity in meeting his future bride . When he meets Lalita later at Penny's bar , he does nothing but inadvertently insult her . Sheldon , however , when he meets her , charms her when he tells her she's the spitting image of a princess of an Indian folk tale his mother read from a book when her son as a child was often sick . Latita leaves with Sheldon which upsets a now jealous Raj . The next day , Raj tries to talk on computer screen to his upset parents alone while Sheldon reveals to Leonard that nothing romantic happened between him and Lalita . Later at the bar , Sheldon performs a " Fidler on the Roof " number on keyboard thanks to some alcohol Penny put in his Diet Coke . . . Another very funny episode of " The Big Bang Theory " that served as a nice showcase for Koothrappali and his Indian family and upbringing . Great performances from everyone here with special mention going to Ms . Rao for her great sense of humor . Now if only the writer's strike would end so this series could bloom to its full potential for the rest of the season . . .
|
454,802 | 11,228,318 | 87,150 | 10 |
Dim Sum : A Little Bit of Heart is Wayne Wang's slice of life of Chinese widow and her American-raised grown daughter
|
Dim Sum : A Little Bit of Heart is basically the touching story of a Chinese immigrant widow who becomes sad because she's told by a fortune teller that she would soon die , so she constantly reminds her last single daughter to marry and resolves to visit her homeland one last time . Kim Chew is the widow and her real-life daughter Laureen is the one who feels pressured to tie the knot . They both give good , wonderfully nuanced performances along with Victor Wong as the uncle who wants to marry Kim . Look for Amy Hill , who I remember as the Grandma in " All-American Girl " , as one of the other married daughters and Joan Chen as one of the young mah-jong players . Director Wayne Wang provides exquisite Chinese-American atmosphere in the Chinatown setting of California . Plenty of subtle humorous touches throughout . Nothing more to say except if you want to experience the Chinese-American way of life on film , Dim Sum is as good a place to start as any .
|
454,163 | 11,228,318 | 41,169 | 10 |
Begone Dull Care showcases Oscar Peterson jazz over images by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart
|
With the recent death of jazz great Oscar Peterson , Amid at Cartoon Brew showed his tribute by linking from YouTube two animated shorts scored by him . One was directed by John Hubley . This one , Begone Dull Care , was done by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart with the abstract paint done directly on film . Peterson provides three jazz pieces with the second one just played to white lines on black background and the other two mixed with that and various other colors , mostly red . Wonderful Jackson Pollock-like images that might have inspired many a trip during the ' 60s ! What a great tribute to a recently departed music genius from Canada .
|
453,884 | 11,228,318 | 60,550 | 10 |
It's the Great Pumpkin , Charlie Brown is still wonderful after all these years
|
Today , October 27 , 2006 , ABC showed It's the Great Pumpkin , Charlie Brown , for its 40th anniversary . After all these years , Linus still believes in the Great Pumpkin rising up from the pumpkin patch to give presents to all the boys and girls , Snoopy dresses as a WWI flying ace to battle the Red Baron , Charlie Brown cuts too many holes in his sheet and gets nothing but rocks from trick-or-treating , Lucy dresses as a witch , and Vince Guaraldi plays the most wonderful music ever made for an animated cartoon . This is still one of the best cartoons made from Charles M . Schulz's Peanuts comic strip and one of the best holiday specials ever ! Worth seeing by yourself or your whole family over and over again . God bless you , Mr . Schulz , wherever you are .
|
454,954 | 11,228,318 | 39,700 | 10 |
A Pest in the House is another hilarious Daffy Duck cartoon
|
With this cartoon the second consecutive Daffy Duck one I've seen in which he's in his prime , I've now completely recovered from the mediocre one he made with Speedy in the ' 60s I watched before them . He's a bellhop who unwittingly ( or maybe not ) disturbs a man who just wants quiet while he sleeps but keeps hitting Elmer the manager as a result of the duck's shenanigans ! And this guy's room number is 666 ! LOL ! Hilarious from beginning to end , this Chuck Jones entry just kept me guffawing in due time . I especially loved hearing Mel Blanc's singing as both Daffy and a drunk in the next room when they're both warbling ! A Pest in the House is well worth the time for anyone who loves classic Looney Tunes . P . S . How surreal was it to hear Arthur Q . Bryan as both Elmer and that man who threatens to " bust you right in the nose ! " ?
|
454,727 | 11,228,318 | 28,057 | 10 |
The Old Mill Pond is excellent tribute to African-American entertainers of the ' 30s
|
The Old Mill Pond is more of a tribute to the African-American entertainers of the ' 30s than any denigration of the entire race ( Stepin Fetchit caricature notwithstanding ) . Besides who I just mentioned , there's also frog or fish versions of Cab Calloway , Fats Waller , Joesphine Baker , Bill " Bojangles " Robinson , and Louis Armstrong . This Happy Harmonies cartoon from Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising is very entertaining musically with perfect characterizations all around . They all sound so much like the real thing that half of me thinks they could possibly be . If not , they're certainly very flattering impersonations . Even the lazy , shiftless Fetchit characterization gets an exciting workout here when he gets chased by a tiger as " Hold That Tiger " plays on the score . Highly recommended for fans of ' 30s animation and jazz music .
|
453,990 | 11,228,318 | 22,127 | 10 |
Mask-A-Raid is another bizarre early Betty Boop cartoon that comes highly recommended
|
Just discovered this early Betty Boop cartoon on YouTube courtesy of one of various cartoon blogs I've been looking up on . The author of this particular blog thinks the singing voice and mannerisms of Bimbo near the end sound a lot like Louis Prima and I have to heartily agree . This short being made pre-Code , there are lots of stuff that it wouldn't get away with after 1934 like Boop's skirt going up revealing her panty and someone helping skirt stay down with the help of a bobby pin . Lots of bizarre things involving some vintage songs happen that are hard to describe so all I can say is Mask-A-Raid is highly recommended for any fan of Max Fleischer especially during this period .
|
454,225 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,349 | 10 |
Senor Macho Solo is another excellently funny episode of " 30 Rock "
|
In this episode , Jenna auditions to be in the Janis Joplin movie Jack is producing , Tracy and Jack gets Tracy's wife Angie to sign a " post-nup " but when Angie says she'll be with her husband till he dies , they make out to everyone's consternation , Liz gets a date with a U . N . representative ( Peter Dinklage ) named Stewart when she touches his hair mistaking him for a child ( Stewart is a " little person " who doesn't know why Liz did what she did ) , and Jack falls for his mother's caretaker , a Puerto Rican named Elisa ( Salma Hayak ) . . . This was another hilarious episode of " 30 Rock " . Two of my favorite lines were when Kenneth the page asked Stewart , " How does it feel to live under the bridge ? " which gets Liz ' dander up until Stewart explains he lives in an apartment called " Under the Bridge " and when Tracy takes Jack's cell to find about Jack's testicle lump , Tracy says , " It's positive ! " to Jack's chagrin before explaining that it's positive news . And Liz ' constant " foot-in-mouth " mistakes concerning Stewart's size makes her failure to have a relationship with him endearingly pathetic . And how about Elisa telling her relatives at a park picnic about Jack's lump in her language ! There's lots more I'm not telling so I'll just say , " 30 Rock " is still one of the best comedies on television this season !
|
454,250 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,348 | 10 |
Christmas Special is a most excellent holiday episode of " 30 Rock "
|
Liz decides to become a secret Santa because her family doesn't want her , Jack makes everyone do a Christmas special because he doesn't want to be with his mother who he accidentally ran over with his car , and that mother , Colleen , is proving to be such a nuisance to her son . . . As in the last episode , someone says he / she isn't going to die . In " Reunion " , it was CEO Don Guiess , here it's Colleen . The back and forth between Alec Baldwin and welcomed back guest star Elaine Stritch are priceless . Seeing Dotcom and Grizz have more scenes were also pleasurable as they were last episode as well . And what a treat to not only see Jane Krakowski once again display her singing talents but Ms . Stritch as well . All I want to say now is , Merry Christmas to the cast and crew of " 30 Rock " . May the new year bring even more fans to this highly excellent comedy series !
|
454,251 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,347 | 10 |
A hilarious Reunion happened on this episode of " 30 Rock "
|
Liz reluctantly goes to her high school reunion with Jack along with her pretending to be former student Larry who apparently was very popular . It seems Liz was actually a " mean girl " ( nice reference to Ms . Fey's movie from a few years ago ) whom many former classmates ( including one who's gay ) didn't like . Meanwhille , Tracy and Jenna try to stop Kenneth from being the center of attention in the elevator rides since that's THEIR jobs . Oh , and the reason Jack pretends to be someone else at Liz ' reunion is because Don Guiess , having woke from his coma , is staying as network CEO and isn't planning to die soon . . . Another very hilarious episode of the sublime " 30 Rock " series what with moments from Don's mentally challenged daughter Kathy and a revelation from a former girlfriend of Larry's , not to mention the almost " Carrie " moment that Liz narrowly missed . Oh , and if that " former girlfriend " looks familiar , it's Janel Moloney , formerly Donna on " The West Wing " . All right , now I'm going review the Christmas episode of " 30 Rock " . . .
|
454,116 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,341 | 10 |
Believe in the Stars is another very funny episode of " 30 Rock "
|
Jenna and Tracy do a " Freaky Friday " , Jack fakes Synchronized Running during the Summer Olympics , Liz meets " Oprah " on an airplane , Kenneth has a crisis of conscience . . . . Lots of funny stuff are once again happening on " 30 Rock " what with Jenna miffed not getting compensated for her voice work on Tracy's porn video game so they turn it into a woman-vs . - black discrimination thing as they try to literally try each other's skin ( especially hilarious hearing Tracy telling how they wouldn't put some on " my butt " ) . And seeing Liz in a Princess Leia outfit with the cinnabun hair or confession to " Oprah " about her fears on an airplane in a stream-of-conscious mode is what makes Tina Fey such a comedic genius ! And seeing Kenneth actually being noble when he thinks the elevator is actually losing air . Jack McBrayer can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned ! So for that , I recommend this episode of " 30 Rock " .
|
454,708 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,332 | 10 |
St . Valentine's Day was another hilarious episode of " 30 Rock "
|
What a hilarious episode of " 30 Rock " this one was especially considering the Vanentines Day theme ! Jack wants to take Elisa to his favorite dessert restaurant but has to go to a Catholic church with her first . Liz has a disastrous first date with her doctor neighbor which isn't helped when he also has to look out for his troubled teenage daughter and his mother is taking a turn for the worse . And , in a nod to Cyrano , Tracy pretends to be Kenneth when a blind woman Kenneth's smitten with proves too much for the page to communicate with verbally . I'll stop right there and just say how once again the barbs run fast and furious that I just couldn't stop laughing ! My favorite line was Liz ' when she said about Elisa , " If I had those knockers , I'd be thanking God , too ! " ( By the way , Tina's cleavage got a nice show-off here too ! ) Oh , and if the blind woman looked familiar , you've probably seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall since in that one , Jack McBrayer was on a honeymoon with the same woman that he's dating here : Maria Thayer . Once again , you rock , " 30 Rock " !
|
454,631 | 11,228,318 | 65,976 | 10 |
Very glad to have finally seen Let It Be after so many missed opportunities . . .
|
Having never seen any VHS copies of this last Beatles movie and since it will probably be a very long time before it gets on DVD , I was stoked when I found out YouTube had this uploaded since the later part of summer 2007 and it was still there . All the things director Michael Lindsay-Hogg filmed were fascinating to me especially when Ringo played some piano with Paul or when John and Yoko danced or when Heather-a young pre-teen who's Paul's future wife Linda's daughter from a previous marriage-hung around the Apple Studios . ( Oh , and while I did know of George's argument with Paul over George's guitar playing from an outtake that was used in " The Beatles ' Anthology " , only Paul's explanation to him about that is in here . ) Then there's organ pianist Billy Preston who might have officially become the fifth Beatle had the group not split up some time after this film . The real exciting part was the legendary rooftop concert that caused some traffic and had Paul ad libbing some lines about getting arrested at the end of " Get Back " ! What a way to end the film and loved hearing mostly positive comments from the crowd below . So on that note , Let It Be is very essential viewing for all Beatles fans or just any that loves good music performed live on film .
|
455,247 | 11,228,318 | 1,248,335 | 10 |
The Funcooker is another hilariously great episode of " 30 Rock "
|
In this episode , both Liz and Jack have a bad day . Liz when she has to go to jury duty leaving no one in charge of her show , Jack when he has trouble thinking of a non-offensive name ( in any language ) for a little microwave product he's trying to sell . Oh , and Jenna and Tracy incur the wrath of a St . Patrick's Day organizer when Jenna falls asleep-because of her taking on both her show and a movie-and Tracy calls her an obscene name during the parade's festivities as the event is airing which now has him taking a huge fine from the FCC as well . Oh , and wait till you find out what the episode's title refers to . . . The title part is definitely the funniest part of this episode . And welcome back Chris Parnell as Dr . Spaceman who gives Jenna a solution that has her acting more weird than ever ! And after watching the network version , I went to Hulu to find out what dirty words Liz and Tracy said that had to be bleeped on NBC . Unfortunately , Hulu had them bleeped as well . As Liz would say , Blurg ! Oh well , at least Liz thinks her worst day became her best when she found out the little microwave works in the shower . . .
|
454,715 | 11,228,318 | 1,268,153 | 10 |
A Noun Is a Person , Place or Thing is another excellent entry in the " Schoolhouse Rock ! " series
|
Written and sung by Lynn Aherns , the ditty " A Noun Is a Person , Place or Thing " is an excellent composition with accompanying animation of a girl demonstrating her adventures via the four verses in a perfect amalgamation of sounds and images . Once again , " Schoolhouse Rock " has presented an entertaining way to make education fun for children in between the cartoons ABC presented on Saturday mornings during the ' 70s . Though perhaps a little dated with mentions of The Beatles , The Monkees , Chubby Checker , and that the drugstore record machine is only ten cents , " A Noun Is a Person , Place or Thing " still entertains overall with it's cheerful way of telling us how important it is to learn what nouns are and their usefulness it is to everyday language . So this musical animated short gets another 10 from me . Guess I'll review another one now that I just rediscovered from YouTube . . .
|
454,628 | 11,228,318 | 57,339 | 10 |
My Financial Career is another excellent animated short from the National Film Board of Canada
|
Just watched on the National Film Board of Canada site , this Oscar-nominated animated short by Gerald Potterton . It's a highly amusing tale of a young man's attempt to deposit some money at a bank for the very first time . The narration and its account of the reactions of many of the bank people provides much of the deadpan quality of humor that made me laugh in small bursts that became a little bigger with each absurdity that occurs . Much of that amusement is also provided by the child-like drawings . If you love animation and its many forms , Gerald Potterton's My Financial Career is definitely one I'd recommend . I discovered this one when Warren Leonhardt linked this from the NFBC site .
|
454,436 | 11,228,318 | 1,237,286 | 10 |
Swingus Interruptus is an excellent episode of " Swingtown " with some much needed humor added
|
Bruce confesses his kissing Melinda twice to wife Susan . While Susan wishes it hadn't happened , she doesn't yell at him like he wishes she would . In fact , since Brad-who's conducting interviews on open marriages for a book-and Sylvia have invited them to the Pendulum Club-which is basically an orgy place , Susan wants Bruce to go with them for the night . Trina tries to get back on Janet's good side by making some cupcakes . They share a laugh over the fact they're sticking on the pans . Later when Janet comes back to give some cooking tips to Trina , she sees Susan and almost gets jealous again before they all agree to go the the sex club together even though Trina and Tom's marriage is closed for now . While all this is going on , Laurie and Doug go her parents ' home to watch Ford get the Republican nomination and B . J . and Samantha go to B . J . ' s friend's house to play some Pong and later some Spin the Bottle which results in B . J . ' s friend and Samantha in the closet . Sam doesn't want to kiss this friend and neither does he but tries to wedge her and B . J . ' s friendship by saying how attracted to strays B . J . is . Then he forces a kiss on her forcing Sam to slap him and storming out with B . J . following . Back at the club , as Bruce is kept from going to the private orgy room by himself , Roger goes out followed by Janet in a state of daze . Susan then approaches her husband and says that Brad and Sylvia have agreed to go to their house . As they leave , Tom and Trina then offer to take Roger and Janet home but they decide to take their car . As Laurie and Doug are getting it on the couch , they're forced to hide in the liquor closet as her parents and Sylvia and Brad arrive . As the swinging couples smoke pot and prepare to swap partners-though Brad actually wants to make omelet during this time-a flabbergasted Laurie tries not to scream so she and Doug try to sneak out but they get caught as Brad , Sylvia , and Doug now leave with Bruce and Susan deciding to wait until morning to punish their daughter . Meanwhile as the Pendulum club people come to the Deckers , Roger and Janet arrive to bring a dress Janet wore back to Trina . As Roger is getting lap danced by a lady he met at the club , Trina and Janet come to an understanding with each other . Janet almost loses it when she sees what's happening to her husband and goes by herself before Tom comes to her , kisses her ( ! ) , and tells her she's a very beautiful woman and she shouldn't forget it . So Janet confronts Roger and tells he can stay while she leaves . Roger decides to go with his wife . As the episode starts to end , we see B . J . still chasing Sam to her home as she tells him she's not a stray . B . J . then kisses her which she doesn't slap him for . It's at this time that we see the guests of B . J . ' s parents ' home leave with much of the arguing between Sis and Mom and Dad being overheard by him and Sam . Sam-who has an alcoholic mother to deal with-sympathetically puts her hand on his pants leg in a reassuring mode . And with only the Lap-Dance Girl left , Tom and Trina put a blanket over her as they call it a night . . . Despite the reservations I've had with the Doug / Laurie pairing , their having to deal with the girl's parents and this other couple provided some needed laughs for the show . And it was very nice to finally see Sam and B . J . have a tender moment to themselves . And I hope the truce that Janet and Trina shared here stays put this time . And if Bruce is upset at his daughter , what's going to happen once he finds out about Susan and Roger ? What about Janet ? Well , I guess we'll find out tomorrow night ( unless many of you reading this are going to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Chinese Olympics instead ) , so on that note until next time . . .
|
454,438 | 11,228,318 | 1,237,285 | 10 |
Puzzlerama was another excellent episode of " Swingtown "
|
We begin with Susan in the Deckers ' pool . Tom is on one side and Trina , the other as they take turns caressing her . Roger ( ! ) then jumps in . As this happens , both Bruce and Janet-fully clothed , rise up in the water and make negative judgments on their spouses . As Susan calls her husband's name , she wakes up from her dream as Bruce tells her to go back to sleep as he leaves early for work . At the real Decker house , Tom and Trina prepare for their annual Puzzlerama game which Tom explains as a " truth-or-dare on a roller-coaster " involving neighborhood secrets to Susan and Bruce as they have breakfast with the kids . Before this sequence , B . J . - back from camp-is warmly greeted by Samantha who receives a " wish bag " from him . Sister Laurie watches and asks her brother if Sam wants to come in , which Sam politely declines . Laurie herself is on her way to help in the Carter / Mondale presidential campaign by helping Doug get signatures . This turns into a bet for who gets the most of them to do as the winner wishes for the rest of the night . Before we get back to the Puzzlerama game , we find Janet washing clothes as she finds swimming trunks that obviously isn't Roger's ( it's the one Tom gave him in the last episode during the pool party ) . Thinking they're Bruce's from the cabin episode , she gives them to Susan who later hides them in her drawer which is where Trina finds them when she puts the question discs there as well for her game . At the Decker party , Susan gives those trunks back as Trina gives back Susan's earring she misplaced from the Fourth of July party . Susan also tells her that Janet doesn't know about Roger's presence at the pool party as those two arrive and Trina takes the trunks off Susan's hands . Also arriving is Bruce's coworkers Moreno and Melinda and Gail-Sam's mother-who gooses Moreno as they decide to fool around . The rest participate as each receives a drink with a certain colored dot at the bottom with two with the same color picking the pairs . Susan is with Roger , Janet with Tom-who's told by his wife to keep an eye on her , and Bruce with Melinda though it was originally supposed to Gail who switched drinks to be with Moreno . Both Janet and Tom and Susan and Roger bump into Laurie and Doug in front of the grocery store where the Carter campaign takes place . Laurie awkwardly introduces her former teacher to her mom who seems to have figured out their relationship especially after her daughter mentions " similar interests " concerning Doug . Meanwhile , Bruce and Melinda mention about their previous night of which Melinda mentions he was the " perfect gentleman " which means nothing scandalous happened . Then they go to an adult newsstand for more of those discs hidden there where Melinda makes a pass at Bruce and he reciprocates ! Tom sees them and keeps Janet from finding out . He later warns Bruce about " dipping in the company ink " as Trina comes by . As Bruce leaves , Trina asks her husband about what happened as Tom mentions it possibly being revealed in next years party . During this time , Samantha is watching for people to give the party discs to in order to keep them from going inside finding out about her mom and Moreneo . B . J . stays with her to keep company . Just as things seem to end in a three-way-tie , Janet takes one more paper that reveals Tom's kimono gift to his wife after his affair . As Janet takes the discs from that gift , she knocks the box with Trina's pictures and finds the one with Roger in those trunks which she angrily confronts Trina with calling her a slut . After Susan and Roger tell the truth , Janet storms out . Roger later tells his wife how she always wants to be perfect and that's why he couldn't tell her everything . When Susan explains to Bruce the reason she didn't tell him about Roger , she says she respected his quest for secrecy . She promises her husband no more secrets though Bruce doesn't tell his despite also promising . Oh , and since Laurie won the petition drive , she goes to Doug's apartment and has her way with him . All that's left to say is with the party over , Tom and Trina are relieved they are still together as we fade on the hanging question mark in the house . . . Well , this was a very intriguing episode with the various couplings or not happening though my dread of Laurie and her former teacher has now reached the danger zone . Now all that's left is wondering what the aftermath is going to be though I hope Laurie doesn't get pregnant ( mabye someone will reveal she was on the pill or he had protection ) . The other teen relationship between B . J . and Samantha is what intrigues me and I hope gets more play as the weeks go on . Wow , Bruce is becoming more of a jerk here with his treatment of Melinda even if she's becoming a notorious flirt ! Do love the way she keeps smiling when Bruce again reminds her how he's married . Wonder how long that will last ? Tom's " dipping in the company ink " line no doubt is a reminder of why he's doing those Tokyo flights that's causing some strain with his wife . But they seem to be holding it together for now . And with Janet mad at both her husband and best friend Susan , how is their friendship going to hold up and with Bruce still being distant with his wife , how long will Susan and Roger succumb to temptation ? All intriguing questions and despite the Laurie / Doug storyline , Puzzlerama was an excellent episode of " Swingtown " that explored many of them . So on that note , until next time . . .
|
454,933 | 11,228,318 | 449,467 | 10 |
Babel is one of the most challenging films of the year
|
First off , I'd like to say that both Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza deserved their Oscar nominations for their roles in Babel this year . And Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett deserve thanks for lending their star power to this picture . Babel is a mostly compelling film about how four different stories taking place in the countries of Mexico , America , Morocco , and Japan are loosely connected . Some of the most interesting sequences concern a Mexican wedding that a nanny ( Barraza ) from that country takes her American charges ( one of whom is Dakota Fanning's sister , Elle ) to , and a Japanese deaf-mute teen's ( Kikuchi ) attempted seduction of the police detective when he arrives at her apartment . This movie can be frustrating to anyone who wants a conventional storyline but it mostly pays off at the end . It's certainly one of the most challenging movies I've seen this year .
|
454,539 | 11,228,318 | 439,682 | 10 |
Lomax the Songhunter is an excellent documentary
|
For years , I've heard about Alan Lomax and his folk recordings for the Library of Congress but it wasn't until I saw this documentary on the PBS series P . O . V . that I even had an inkling of what he did . This film is as good a start as any to learn about this important researcher and his preservation efforts among various folk artists around the world . We go to Italy , Spain , and , Ireland to hear various work songs and we see Lomax himself sing some of his favorites . He is shown in various times in his life up to just before he died in 2002 when he could hardly speak . And Pete Seeger recounts of his own discovery by Lomax . So if you love to hear unique music of various cultures , I suggest you definitely seek this one out .
|
453,993 | 11,228,318 | 20,414 | 10 |
Walt Disney's The Skeleton Dance deserves its scary classic status
|
Just watched this classic Walt Disney Silly Symphony ( the first ) on the Saturday Morning Blog as linked from YouTube . This was a mostly funny and atmospheric cartoon that must have really made an impact on the movie industry since after this there were a lot of cartoons that involved things that bump in the night . Animated by Ub Iwerks with music by Carl Stalling , The Skeleton Dance has four of those creatures having fun scaring fur out of cats and an owl before swaying to and fro , tap dancing simultaneously , and one playing the other like a xylophone . The most shocking part for me was when another played a cat's tail like a violin ! Excellent stuff all around so if you're in a Halloween mood , I definitely recommend The Skeleton Dance .
|
453,824 | 11,228,318 | 41,142 | 10 |
Awful Orphan is a really funny Porky Pig-Charlie Dog cartoon
|
This is one of several cartoons starring Porky Pig and directed by Chuck Jones that also stars Charlie Dog who is always trying to get Porky to accept him as a pet with the pig always refusing . Love hearing Mel Blanc give Porky a really evil laugh whenever he tries to get rid of Charlie . Also love many of the disguises of Charlie and one of Porky . But Charlie always comes back , more obnoxious than ever ! Plenty of hilarious visual gags and the turnaround at the end was really funny . Writer Michael Maltese really outdid himself this time . This is on disc 3 of The Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Vol . 1 . Well worth seeing for animation fans especially the Warner Bros . kind .
|
455,062 | 11,228,318 | 28,156 | 10 |
Rainbow Dance is another entertaining experimental Len Lye short
|
Ranbow Dance is another great abstraction animated short by Len Lye . This time there's a silhouette of Rupert Doone dancing in front of a rainbow in the beginning . Doone plays tennis later on in the short . All this is combined in a collage of images of color and various money bills , coins , and press clippings . At the end is an announcement : " The Post Office Savings Bank puts a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for you . No deposit too small for the Post Office Savings Bank . " The music is by Walter Leigh . Having seen most of these shorts on YouTube , I just can't get enough of these experimental shorts ! I can't believe I stayed up all night just to see anything by Len Lye , who I haven't heard of until today when there was an item in the Cartoon Brew . Maybe , I'll look another Lye short up . . .
|
454,429 | 11,228,318 | 1,139,160 | 10 |
Carol Burnett : A Woman of Character is another great episode of " American Masters "
|
A few weeks ago , I watched this wonderful documentary about the life and career of one the most talented comediennes ever : Carol Burnett . From her early life growing up with her grandma watching various movies to her early live performances on " The Garry Moore Show " and Broadway to her defining moments on her 11-year classic run of her own variety program " The Carol Burnett Show " , Ms . Burnett shows us how consistently entertaining she has been over four decades . We also see clips of " Once Upon a Mattress " her breakthrough Broadway triumph as first taped in black-and-white by CBS in the early ' 60s . Among the interviewees besides Carol are , of course , many of her show's regulars : Harvey Korman , Lyle Waggoner , Vicki Lawrence , and Tim Conway . Also interviewed : costume designer Bob Mackie , Tracy Ullman-who played Carol's role in the recent version of " Once Upon a Mattress " with Ms . Burnett playing the mean queen , Richard Kind-who appeared on a couple of failed attempts at reviving Carol's variety show , Garry Shandling-who had Burnett as a guest on " The Larry Sanders Show " , old friend Florence Henderson , Carl Reiner-a frequent guest on Carol's show , and many others I can't remember right now . One of the most valuable of clips here is one from " The Garry Moore Show " when Ms . Burnett first did a fall on live television : It was Neil Simon sketch with Carol as Jill who follows Jack after he falls out of a hospital window . After Carol did her fall on a mattress , she revealed to us she gasped a sign of relief which revealed to everyone within earshot she had never done this thing before contrary to what she told the producers . We then see her take several falls afterward in quick clips which shows how expert she became on this sort of thing . Also shown are clips of her movies like Pete ' n ' Tillie and Annie . For Carol fans , I highly recommended this to them as well as anyone curious about this great lady's versatility and attitude as well as entertainment ability !
|
454,755 | 11,228,318 | 985,674 | 10 |
Soundies : A Musical History is highly recommend for film and music fans
|
Singer Michael Feinstein hosts this special about Soundies , three-minute film shorts of the popular songs during the ' 40s that were played in video jukeboxes called the Panorams . We start with what is called the best of the best : Duke Ellington's " Hot Chocolate " which has various gymnastic-style dances of the Jitterbug . Formed by the Mills Publishing Company in 1940 , these music videos of the day takes us through the various big band sounds of Jimmy Dorsey , Fats Waller , Louis Armstrong , Gene Krupa , and The King Cole Trio featuring Nat King Cole . Since World War II began soon after , many of the films also showcase the patriotic nature of many of the tunes like " You're a Lucky Fellow , Mr . Smith " . We also see the earliest film debuts of Doris Day , Yvonne De Carlo , Walter Liberace ( best known by only his last name ) , Mel Blanc ( hilarious as a drunk in a Spike Jones Soundie ) , Dorothy Dandridge ( sexy in a jungle outfit ) , and Cyd Charisse . Wonderful recollections by Kay Starr and Les Paul along with commentary by Wynton Marsalis , Leonard Maltin , Hugh Hefner , and Joe Franklin add to the nostalgic flavor of the whole enterprise . Negative stereotyping involving African-American musicians of the day are also addressed here . Worth seeking out on DVD or PBS for anyone with an interest in musical film history .
|
454,041 | 11,228,318 | 923,975 | 10 |
Vau-Vau is one of a few animated shorts I've seen from Zagreb Films
|
Just discovered on Cartoon Brew linked to YouTube this unique animated short from a company called Zagreb Films . In Vau-Vau , a dog in the forest scares many small creatures like a bird , a snail , and a ball . Then he encounters a cat who tries to scare the dog back . Then they both go at it with smaller versions of themselves . . . Wholly done by one artist , Boris Kolar , Vau-Vau seems to have been decorated by a magic marker with black representing the dog and purple the cat . Wonderful orchestral music throughout especially when the flute is showcased . Anyone interested in unique animation forms from other countries should give this and others from Zagreb Films a chance . I'm now going to watch a couple more from Cartoon Brew . . .
|
454,582 | 11,228,318 | 902,012 | 10 |
Fallout is excellent end-of-the-year episode of Heroes
|
Peter is in the interrogation room questioned by FBI agent Audrey and mind-reading cop Matt . When Matt tries to read Peter's head , Peter ends up reading Matt's ending with a colliding block effect . Peter mentions that Claire , not the dead Jackie , was who Syler was after so Matt and Audrey leave to get her as Peter is left behind . Jessica hit Niki's ex-husband D . L . but the bullets went through him though Jess doesn't seem to know this yet ( she must have memory loss from when D . L put his hand through her previously ) . The next morning , D . L . and son Macah go to a cabin to settle down just before Niki comes nearby and sees her Jessica reflection on a puddle with Jessica saying how stronger she is for anyone , especially Niki , to take her on . Jess must have figured out by this time that D . L . was still alive and takes her gun and hides it as Micah finds her , thinking it's his mom , and takes her back to the cabin . As Micah calls to his dad , D . L . kicks the door open and attempts to knock out Jessica . Sometime after kicking down Micah , Niki comes back and turns herself in the the police . Back to the interrogation room , Claire is questioned with her father witnessing stopping short of revealing her powers since her dad doesn't want anyone else to know . Claire later stops by Peter's cell to tell him what a hero he is to her while her dad confronts Syler and calls him by his real name of Gabriel Gray . He later gets orders from above to keep Syler alive though Eden , with her powers of persuasion , mentions being able to make Syler kill himself without anyone being the wiser . Eden then visits Issac and gives him a cell phone and a card . Issac calls the number on the card and gets Hiro , still at the diner in Texas . They agree to meet at a bus station . At a nearby hotel room , Issac tries to paint without drugs for the first time as Hiro and Ando watch . The result is a scene of Hiro with a sword confronting a dinosaur . Hiro looks at that and says , " I gotta get me a sword . " Eden calls Mohinder in New York and confesses she lied to him , promising to tell him everything after she takes care of some business . She goes to Syler's cell and attempts to kill him , but he manages to break the glass between them and somehow quickly point the gun back at her instantly killing her . Before going home , Claire is assured by her dad that he'll take care to explain to her little brother about knowing her powers and is ordered to have the tapes Zack recorded of her to be destroyed . She does just that when Zack brings them , then goes to her brother who has no memory of the incident . Neither does Zack later on and he's now wondering why Claire is speaking to him since she's ignored him since sixth grade . Claire , now feeling alone , calls her dad who reassures her everything's all right . Just then his Haitian assistant , who was always silent previously , surprises Claire and reveals he's wiped certain memories of everyone she's been close to and was going to do the same to her but reneges this time . He only asks her , " Can you keep a secret ? " During this whole time , Peter has been having dreams or visions of his brother Nathan , Syler , and now of being back in New York with all the other heroes except his brother running away from him as he begins to explode . . . But wait , now he's back in present time feeling normal with Nathan embracing him and some of the others coming back . . . Wow , what a way to end the year before the month-long hiatus ! So Eden's now dead . Although I mentioned that Syler pointed the gun back at her , I now wonder did Eden purposely turn the gun around to keep him from getting her persuasion powers or did Syler manage to get some of Eden's powers before or after killing her ? When Matt shook hands with Claire's dad , he didn't recognize him but on a later stakeout he did recognize his Haitian assistant with him . So how long before he figures out that his mind's been wiped by the Haitian man ? And was Peter actually about to cause the bomb explosion or did he get close to that man who actually makes things burn sometime before ? I can't wait to find out all these things and more come January 22 , 2007 !
|
455,059 | 11,228,318 | 29,686 | 10 |
Trade Tattoo is Len Lye's most entertaining work
|
Trade Tattoo is one of Len Lye's most entertaining experimental shorts . Placed against documentary footage and silhouettes of various trains and workers quickly mailing various packages , it's a kaleidescope of images with various typed-words printed on screen like : " The rhythm of trade is maintained by the mails " over and over again . With music by the Lecuona Band , you can't help but be overwhelmed by all the collage of images that Lye bombards you with . Having been intrigued by Cartoon Brew's item of Lye's The Peanut Vendor on YouTube , I had to see the rest of his work just to find how innovative he really was . I'm very glad I did and I highly recommend to anyone who loves the experimental to seek all of Lye's work out !
|
455,155 | 11,228,318 | 440,963 | 10 |
The Bourne Ultimatum is the best in series so far
|
Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass do it again ! They provide great action while presenting a logical story and beautiful expository dialogue to help explain most of what is going on . Kudos also to returning cast members Joan Allen and , especially , Julia Stiles , who has more to do here and a better reason for her character to matter than she did in the first two . The relationship between her and Damon's character before his changed identity is a little ambiguous but very interesting . David Strathairn and Albert Finney also shine through here in their provocative roles . All in all , The Bourne Ultimatum is the best in the movie series so far !
|
455,043 | 11,228,318 | 74,787 | 10 |
Leisure is a wonderful Australian animated short that won the Oscar
|
This most deservedly Oscar-winning animated short from Australia in 1976 starts with a line drawing on white background of a man relaxing by him self . Then we see him working various jobs to achieve his leisure time . Then we go through a history of mixing work and leisure through photographs , paintings , illustrations , and other animated depictions in a collage of images all accompanied by a narrator and some flute and other music from the ' 70s . A very unique short that deserved its recognition , Leisure seems a wonderful ' 70s tribute to more innovative art forms of that adventurous decade . If you have Google Video and love animation , I definitely suggest you seek it out there .
|
454,100 | 11,228,318 | 853,635 | 10 |
Heroes : Collision moves the series along briskly
|
One thing I forgot to mention from the last episode , Niki the stripper took her son Micah to his grandmother's house where the grandma believes her son , Niki's ex-husband , is innocent of the charges he is in jail for . In the beginning of this episode , we find Matt the cop , after passing out in the bar after witnessing a black man as the only one he couldn't read the mind of , strapped to a machine with that black man and Claire's dad watching over him . Claire's dad tells the black man to " dig deep " just as Matt asks , " Who's Claire ? " Hiro and Ando are in Las Vegas where Hiro reluctantly uses his stop-motion powers to help Ando win at gambling . Hiro eventually gets knocked out by some guards while Ando stands helplessly . Mohinder tries to warn politician Nathan about some future crisis but gets the brush-off . Because of this latest humiliation , he wants to go back to India but gets sucked backed in by Nate's brother Peter who brings Mohinder's father's book with him . Peter mentions his possible ability to siphon other people's powers to a skeptical Mohinder . Meanwhile , as Claire wakes in the morgue , she magically heals her skin and leaves without notice . Back at school , she encounters another girl who confides in her that the quarterback had done to her what Claire had just experienced as that quarterback appears before Claire's eyes and blatantly flirts with another girl . Claire takes that quarterback for a speedy ride hoping to get him to apologize for his behavior with her . No dice . She speeds up till they crash into a brick wall . Niki is at the Vagas hotel doing her job when she encounters Nathan who is on a trip . As they get to a room , Nathan mentions he's married with two sons which seems to make Niki resists his advances . After she leaves , Niki encounters someone who wants some payment his now-dead cohorts didn't get . It is in the elevator that Niki switches to a more aggressive personality and threatens this someone with her heel . She tells this someone to " leave our child alone " . She then comes back to Nathan's room and is recorded on camera as she makes love to him . Peter convinces Mohinder to come to painter Issac's apartment to see Peter siphon Issac's ability to paint the future but the artist is too into his work to even answer the doorbell . As they get back on the train , Mohinder again displays his skepticism as everything stops except Peter , then a Japanesse man from the future greets Peter and says , " I am from the future , it's nice to see you without your scar . " It is Hiro , speaking perfect English , with a katana and long hair and no glasses ! Okay , so this has just got more interesting ! I liked all the developments though like many others I did wonder why Mohinder suddenly seemed to do a 360 degree turn in his personality . Hope to see more of Greg Grunberg as Matt next week and that he still has some of his mind-reading abilities intact . Oh , and to Claire : You go , girl !
|
454,097 | 11,228,318 | 853,636 | 10 |
Heroes : Hiros is another excellent episode of the best new series
|
At the end of the last episode , Future Hiro contacted Peter on a subway train with Hiro having stopped time for everything and everyone around them . He instructs Peter , " Save the cheerleader , save the world . " Then he leaves as everything moves again . In Las Vegas , Claire's dad and his black assistant are holding Peter's brother Nathan in custody but Peter manages to fly off before they can do anything to him . Present Hiro and Ando are thrown out of a car near a diner after being beaten by guards from a casino . Ando goes while Hiro stays at the diner . Hiro looks out the window and sees Nathan landing in the desert with nothing but his pajama pants . Nathan comes and orders some food and a shirt while Hiro introduces himself and mentions his powers . Nathan then offers Hiro a ride . Meanwhile , Matt the cop's wife is on the phone worried about her husband when she sees him on the couch waking up . He's been gone for a day and doesn't remember much . He reads his wife's mind and eventually fixes her dinner and they start to make love . Claire the cheerleader and the quarterback are in the hospital being treated for injuries . Claire tells her dad what happened at the bonfire . The dad confronts the quarterback and threatens him , then has his black assistant do something to his mind . When Claire tries to apologize to the quarterback for wrecking his car , the quarterback doesn't even know who she is . Niki the stripper returns home to find the police there looking for her ex-husband believing he's there . Ando trespasses and gets held for questioning . Niki lets him go then we find her ex hiding where no one has found him yet . Matt goes to a convenience store to get his wife some ice cream when he hears a customer's thoughts of robbing . He confronts him and convinces him to put his gun down on a shelf then takes the gun himself and frightens the customers before passing out . Ando and Hiro reunite and call Issac the artist at his home where Peter is finishing Issac's painting of the cheerleader running from something that's covered in blood . Peter answers the phone with Hiro on the other line but since it's Present Hiro technically they haven't even met yet . . . Another intriguing episode with some revelations that are sure to be answered in future installments . Most entertaining characters in this episode are Hiro and Matt . Most loathsome is definitely the quarterback . This is the best new series on television right now , so by all means check it out if you haven't seen it already !
|
454,489 | 11,228,318 | 1,401,252 | 10 |
Up Is Down is a wonderfully unique animated short from Millie and Morton Goldsholl
|
Inspired by June Brindel's children's short story " Luap " , designer-writer-director Millie Goldsholl's Up Is Down tells the story of a boy who walks with his hands with the result being his visualizing everything in a more sunny , optimistic view than the more coldly and cynically detached one of many of the adults that surround him trying to change him into their viewpoints by using all the experiments at their disposal . The abstract animation of the humans mixes with various fast-cutting of various photos that illustrate many of the turbulent events that illustrated the era this film was made in . Included in those pictures is one of the late Martin Luther King , Jr , who is dedicated in memory of in this provocative short . Along with the compelling narration of Hans Conried was the childlike music of Dick Boyell that made Up Is Down quite a statement of how polarizing opposite viewpoints can truly be and how one needs to find some middle ground to truly make things balance out . Produced by Millie's husband , Morton Goldsholl , Up Is Down is well worth seeing for animation buffs and those who agree with the message this short is sending .
|
454,065 | 11,228,318 | 950,189 | 10 |
Company Man is one of the best episodes of Heroes
|
The last episode ended as the Bennet family was being held hostage by Matt and Ted . This one almost exclusively keeps the focus on them . During the whole hour , Matt reads the minds of Mr . Bennet and Claire and finds out most of their backstories as a result . As a result , Matt shoots Claire , who is indestructible , then he and HRG take her to her room to talk things over about revised plans that don't include Ted . They let Ted stay while they go to the paper factory Claire's dad works at to get the needle that reduces the power of Ted's fire making . Ted has the mother and son tied up after the son tries to hit Ted with a baseball bat . When Matt and HRG return , they give Ted all the info he wants temporarily distracting him while Claire unties her mom and brother . Ted's thirst for revenge overwhelms him , however , so he flames up to the point of burning the house . The father tries to inject Ted but is led out of the house by Matt as Claire takes the needle to do it herself . She comes out burned but alive as she slowly heals herself and gets embraced by her family . Much of this is witnessed by HRG's boss who now wants Claire in the " organization " . Later on , HRG , Claire , and the Hatian man come to the bridge where , in a flashback , Mr . Bennet shot the invisible man and left thinking he died there . Now the Hatian man shoots Claire's dad below the fatal heart area and then wipes his mind . Claire cries and embraces her dad saying , " I love you " . . . Perhaps the best episode of the season so far with a more singular focus than we've been used to in the last few weeks . Fascinating use of black and white in the use of various flashbacks of the father's initial hiring and subsequent events of his adopting Claire from Hiro's dad ( welcome return of George Takei with amusing depictions of young baby Claire-with her half smile-and an under 12 , video game playing Hiro ) , his partnering with the teen-aged " mute " Hatian , getting assistance from his daughter in picking glasses , and the invisible man's shooting . Eric Roberts makes an appropriate creepy debut as HRG's boss . Great emotional performance from Hayden Panettiere . Next week should be just as , if not more , exciting . Until then . . .
|
454,737 | 11,228,318 | 42,871 | 10 |
Rabbit of Seville is a masterpiece of classical music and animation
|
When Bugs starts cutting a razor to Elmer's face , I couldn't help but think about the recent movie of Sweeney Todd , in which that character is a barber who literally cuts his customers ' necks . Luckily , the rabbit just gives his nemesis slashes . Loved hearing Mel Blanc as the rascally rabbit sing the altered lyrics to the famous opera as he keeps Elmer unconscious in the barber chair . Too bad Arthur Q . Bryan couldn't contribute his own Fudd voice to the proceedings but Chuck Jones made up for that when he made What's Opera Doc ? years later . Musically compelling as well as pretty hilarious , Rabbit of Seville is a gem among gems in the Jones-Michael Maltese cannon of Warner Bros . cartoons . Well worth seeing for classical music and classic animation fans .
|
454,074 | 11,228,318 | 401,997 | 10 |
Breach is excellent true-to-life story of Robert Hanssen
|
Breach is based on the true story of the capture of Robert Hanssen , an FBI agent responsible for many treasonous acts against the United States . Chris Cooper is excellent throughout in portraying a Catholic family man who goes to church constantly with his wife and kids while hiding his sexual perversions . Ryan Phillippe is Eric O'Neill , Hanssen's new assistant who is assigned by boss Laura Linney to keep tabs on Hanssen to use as evidence against him . Caroline Dhavernas as Eric's European wife who wants Eric to come clean about his job , Gary Cole as another agent , and Dennis Haysbert as Linney's superior round out the fine cast in a film that slowly but surely builds up suspense in the various ways of snooping that brings the bureau closer to catching Hanssen in the act of treason . Don't expect James Bond or Alias action here . Do expect an excellent drama about an agent who almost slipped from the FBI's hands .
|
454,385 | 11,228,318 | 31,502 | 10 |
It's the Natural Thing to Do is a hilarious Fleischer Popeye short
|
This is a Max Fleischer Popeye cartoon . As such , there is a lot more inventive humor than in the more formulaic Famous Studios ones from many of the same animators . I guess the real difference is in the presence of Max and his brother Dave , as usual credited as director . The short begins with Popeye and Bluto fighting outside . Olive Oyl , washing dishes inside , gets a telegram that she passes to the boys that says in essence to stop fighting and act more civilized as signed by the Popeye Fan Club . So they do while getting some food service that results in the three of them trying to balance various food and drinks literally on their hands ! They then try to make conversation about conversing and language . Eventually , it ends with a gradual slapstick scene that ends with them all singing , " It's the Natural Thing to Do ! " . . . Hilarious from beginning to end , it's a shame that perhaps because of the black-and-white imagery , this and other Fleischer cartoons have not been seen by many of the public in nearly 30 years . Perhaps this will be rectified when Warners finally releases a Popeye collection later this year . Anyway , if you're interested in seeing Popeye outside of the formula plots of the Popeye / Bluto / Olive triangle then It's the Natural Thing to Do is as good a start as any . . .
|
454,042 | 11,228,318 | 31,509 | 10 |
Jitterbug Follies is another funny Milt Gross cartoon from MGM
|
Jitterbug Follies is one of only two MGM cartoons to star comic strip characters Count Screwloose and J . R . the Wonder Dog as directed by their creator , Milt Gross . The other one was Wanted : No Master . In this one Screwloose and J . R . try to bilk some money out of a bogus talent contest but are forced by a couple of thugs for " Citizens for Fair Play " to put one on . So we see a hippo singing opera , Mother Goose singing big band as she strips to reveal a young woman with a short-skirted dress , an ostrich " fan dancing " , and a couple of penguins who keep going on stage attempting to sing despite constantly getting thrown out . Those gags make this one of the most creative cartoons for MGM before Tex Avery and Tom and Jerry put the studio on the animation map . Too bad Gross didn't make any more films after this one . You can see both this and Wanted : No Master on YouTube .
|
454,540 | 11,228,318 | 802,863 | 10 |
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has great homecoming on Saturday Night Live
|
On this May 13 , 2006 broadcast , the cold opening takes us to an alternate universe as we see President Al Gore address the nation on how well our country's been doing . Yes , that's the real Al Gore ! He then says , " Live from New York , it's Saturday Night ! " During the monologue , Julia Louis-Dreyfus mentions being on SNL from 1982 to 1985 and being the first female former cast member to host ( it's at this point that I wish they had shown some sketch highlights from her earlier period-like the spit-take talk show skit from her last show or The Julia Show when she talked about just herself even with guests Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis ) . She then mentions her new show , " The New Adventures of Old Christine " in which she talks about alternate titles like " CSI : Christine " . She then discusses the " Seinfeld Curse " leading to a film of her encountering Jason Alexander and discussing his being on the show . Jason leaves happily before getting hit by a car ! " Oh , well " , shrugs Louis-Dreyfus . Then a ceiling light almost hits her . " Curses " , says a taped Jerry Seinfeld up above holding scissors . Next comes Techpack , a commercial parody about carrying Ipod and other entertaining gadgets on a belt that could also carry a bomb . We then go to a restaurant where Louis-Dreyfus is joined by Amy Poehler , Rachel Dratch , and Maya Rudolph and a homeless guy ( Bill Hader ) outside the window makes obscene gestures to Poehler , Dratch , and Rudolph but not to Louis-Dreyfus who gets jealous at not getting the same attention as her friends . While I enjoyed this sketch , I half thought that maybe Louis-Dreyfus and Dratch should have switched places but that's just me . . . Next is a morning talk show skit where every technical thing that can go wrong does . Hilarious ! In the next sketch , Louis-Dreyfus plays a mom with a teenage daughter who is in a MySpace class with perverts and pedophiles portrayed by nearly the entire male cast . Very amusing . She then introduces Paul Simon who sings " How Do You Live in the Northeast ? " On Weekend Update , Tina Fey mentions George Bush approval rating going down " $3 . 00 a gallon " . Al Gore debates with Poehler about global warming . Finesse Mitchell talks about suitable prom wear . David Blane ( Andy Samburg ) talks about holding his breath at Update desk for 9 min . but only manages 22 seconds of it . On ' 70s game show Charades , first-time contestant Louis-Dreyfus is facing five-time champion Poehler in performing such pantomime bits like " licking two ice cream cones " or " seal blowing horns " . Both contestants seem to border on the sexual in their moves but the celebrity guests correctly guess Amy's charades while Julia's is described is either " fraternity party " or " stag party " ! After commercial , camera pans audience and there's husband ( and fellow former SNL cast member ) Brad Hall with their two boys ! Julia then portrays an actress who's reenacting an " Unsolved Mysteries " segment of a woman who's been abducted by E . T . , Dracula , and Gremlins with Col . Sanders to the rescue ! Kristen Wiig plays the woman who believes all this happened to her while Julia's character can't believe a word of it . Simon then performs , " Outrageous " . On An SNL Digital Short , Will Forte tries to convince Andy Samberg not to jump . . . then we find out Samberg is standing in front of Forte as the film ends with a picture of peyote with the announcer mentioning how the ad was sponsored by the Peyote Growers Foundation . Before the goodnights , we see a photo of former cameraman Al Camoin who died two days before this broadcast . Then Louis-Dreyfus thanks everyone and says , " I'm not gonna wait another 21 years to come back , I'll tell you that ! " as credits roll . Paul Simon makes his fourteenth appearance overall and first with Louis-Dreyfus . This was perhaps the best show of the season and what a homecoming for Julia Louis-Dreyfus ! Please , Lorne , if you can , bring her back as soon as possible !
|
454,826 | 11,228,318 | 123,297 | 10 |
Thundering Fleas is the most hilarious silent " Our Gang " short yet
|
This Hal Roach comedy short , Thundering Fleas , is the fifty-first in the " Our Gang / Little Rascals " series . Inspired by her older sister's upcoming wedding , Mary stages a mock one with Joe as the groom . He refuses to kiss her since he doesn't want the gang to laugh at him , however . They indeed do when Mary does the deed on Joe's lips . After one of them throws a shoe to Joe's face causing a track there , they point to Farina ( who had nothing to do with it ) who gets chased by the tracked-faced boy with dog Magnolia in tow . After Joe stops , Farina and the dog encounter a flea circus with the star attraction-Garfield . That flea ( which is amusingly animated here ) lands on Magnolia and decides to reside there with the dog now scratching herself . Along the way , Farina encounters a new friend , Scooter , who says his father is the vice-president of the U . S . They drop a bowl of fish with the amphibians jumping up and down . Scooter's mom then shows and sends Farina on his way . Meanwhile , Garfield's owner offers the rest of the gang $1 for finding his star flea . At this point , the rest of the owner's fleas are set free as Garfield tells his friends to " come on up " on the dog . It all ends in a hilarious disaster of Mary's sister's wedding . . . This has to be the most hilarious of the silent " Our Gang " comedies I've seen yet ! Besides what I've just mentioned , there's plenty of now familiar faces of other Hal Roach comedies that provide additional pleasure starting with the up-and-coming Oliver Hardy as the cop who's the first victim of the fleas as he loses his trousers and paints his bright white long johns black to prevent further embarrassment , Charlie Hall as one of the wedding musicians , Charlie Chase with a big walrus mustache that hilariously moves from side-to-side , and James Finlayson without his usual prop mustache as the preacher reacting with his familiar fisheye reaction when the groom shakes his head as if to say " no " before the fleas then also lands on the preacher . Once again , kudos to the YouTube poster who added the familiar LeRoy Shield music from the " Little Rascals " talkies for providing the topper for this very enjoyable " Our Gang " entry , Thundering Fleas .
|
453,994 | 11,228,318 | 146,309 | 10 |
Thirteen Days was a fine dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis
|
Earlier this month I visited my sister in Maryland , to see her first-born child , a boy , get baptized . While there , her husband showed this historical drama to me , my mother , and my other brother-in-law . We were all enthralled at the drama of what happened over 40 years ago being played on the just-unwrapped DVD . Seeing Keven Costner , as White House consultant Kenny O'Donnell , speaking in the same accent and mannerisms of the Kennedy brothers Jack ( Bruce Greenwood ) and Bobby ( Steven Culp who I didn't recognize as the same actor that played Rex on " Desparate Housewives " ) made me almost forget his movie star magnetism . Also fine in their real-life roles were Dylan Baker as Robert McNamara and Michael Fairman as Adlai Stevenson . Director Roger Donaldson takes his time in depicting the title's events that , no matter what one knows of the outcome , still provides some suspenseful turns as well as also explaining how and why certain results became . I was especially impressed at how Culp as Bobby was seeming so impatient with the way Stevenson as a UN ambassador was slowly taking his time with the Soviet premier . Maybe Donaldson was a bit much with a couple of shots of the nuclear film footage inserted but overall , I'd say Thirteen Days was an excellent depiction of how close to World War III our country was during what must have been very tense days of October 1962 .
|
454,183 | 11,228,318 | 1,062 | 10 |
Those Awful Hats is amusing early Griffith
|
A very amusing D . W . Griffith short featuring an appearance by future producer / director Mack Sennett . The entire 3-minute short , Those Awful Hats , takes place in a nickelodeon as we see an audience watching a movie up on the screen ( one of the earliest depictions of a film-within-a-film scene ) . Most of the action concerns ladies who won't take off their hats . There is one particular lady who gets so obnoxious about it a steel bucket takes it from her ! After the other ladies take theirs off , another lady keeps making a scene by keeping hers on , so that bucket then takes her up ! The end . Well worth seeing for fans of Griffith , Sennett , and anyone interested in early movie history . I managed to see this one on YouTube .
|
453,917 | 11,228,318 | 40,064 | 10 |
3 Godfathers is underrated John Ford-John Wayne classic
|
What movie do you think of when you see or hear the names of John Ford and John Wayne ? Stagecoach ? She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ? The Searchers ? The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ? How about 3 Godfathers ? If you haven't heard of the last one , by all means search for it ! This story of three outlaws on the run who accidentally find a dying mother with infant is quietly touching from beginning to end . It is dedicated to Harry Carey , an actor both Wayne and Ford had worked with who died before filming and whose son Harry Carey , Jr . played one of the outlaws . There's also Ward Bond as the Marshal tracking Wayne and his cohorts . The music is beautiful and Ford makes great use of silences and silhouettes . As great a movie as any of the above classics from the Ford-Wayne collection !
|
454,810 | 11,228,318 | 190,435 | 10 |
See Greater Tuna for the eccentric characters played by Jaston Williams and Joe Sears
|
After seeing A Tuna Christmas on a VHS tape I checked from the library several weeks ago , I went back and found that play's predecessor , Greater Tuna , on DVD there . Once again , it was authored by Ed Howard and the show's stars ( and only players ) , Joe Sears and Jaston Williams . And once again , some of the same characters they played there appeared here starting with the morning radio personalities who inform the small town of Tuna , Texas of the local happenings . We go on from there to a woman who has a depressed daughter who didn't make cheerleader tryouts ( again ) to a man who died in a bathing suit to another man who claimed to see a UFO to . . . Oh , just watch it . The humor is mostly gentle if a little outrageous as the play goes on . As I said before , this was the kind of thing that could have been a movie directed by Robert Altman . So on that note , Greater Tuna is highly recommended .
|
454,134 | 11,228,318 | 875,355 | 10 |
Homecoming is another awesome episode of Heroes
|
All the cheerleaders seem to snub Claire because she injured the quarterback , especially co-captain Jackie . They're all gathered together in assembly outside to find out who the homecoming queen is . To everyone's surprise , it's Claire . Her friend Zack and many of his geeky and freaky friends cheer her on . Meanwhile somewhere in the desert , Jessica-the alter ego of Niki-is preparing rifle target practice with a friend in order to find Niki's ex-husband D . L . who is still with their son , Micah . Micah keeps telling his dad they need to go back since he knows about Jessica . In New York , Nathan finds Simone with one of Issac's paintings and splashes it black before Peter arrives . When he does , Simone gives him a photo of it which depicts a dead Peter lying on stairs with the clock at a certain time . In India , Mohinder looks for and encounters the boy from his dreams and asks what path to take . " You already know , " the boy says before going back to his soccer game . Peter calls Hiro's number and gets Ando who is still waiting for Hiro to come back from trying to save dead waitress by going back six months . They later meet and introduce themselves before Peter leaves for the homecoming game in Claire's school . Because he knows his daughter is in danger , Claire's father has grounded his daughter from going to the homecoming . Zack later sneaks up to Claire's window to take her away . Claire meets Peter as he looks at news clipping of Jackie taking credit for saving that fireman weeks ago when it was actually Claire who deserves it . Claire doesn't mention any of this to Peter as she leaves for the game . She encounters Jackie and they fight over Jackie's ego vs . Claire's honesty . Just then a cloaked figure who is named Syler comes to Jackie and slices her head , killing her . He also knocks down Claire who manages to escape and bumps into Peter who warns her to go as Peter tries to take Syler down as they both fall over a ledge knocking them both down . Her father is waiting for her as Claire embraces him but she goes back to Peter who , having the ability to absorb other people's powers when near them , puts himself together much like Claire does as she comes by . In India , having dreams of the boy again , Mohinder witnesses his father having the same conversation with a fellow professor as he just had with him about the boy being the figment of his imagination . Once again , the boy tells him he's known what path he'll take . So he's going back to New York . In Las Vegas , D . L . and Micah decide to go back but they find out Jessica's aiming at them in another car . And while Ando's still waiting we see Hiro in his place . It's now six months earlier and Hiro is at the waitress's birthday party . As her fellow workers take her picture , she motions Hiro to come to her side . . . Wow , I've gotta say to Claire when she knocked Jackie down after she teased Zack , you go girl ! And how awesome that Peter finally met Ando and Claire . And give Eden points for refusing Claire's dad request to get more info from Issac and persuading Syler to not go near her just as the black assistant comes by to possibly erase some of Syler's mind . Can't wait for next week , till next time . . .
|
454,271 | 11,228,318 | 443,706 | 10 |
Zodiac was an excellent drama about the search for a real-life serial killer
|
When my dad decided to watch Zodiac , he asked if I wanted to join him . I agreed to even though the movie was 162 min . I was so enthralled I didn't care about the length after a while . Director David Fincher provides the most compelling drama of this real-life serial killer despite most of the scenes leading to several false leads and one man's complete obsession to get the right man . Jake Gyllenhaal is that obsessed man , a cartoonist named Robert Graysmith whose Eagle Scout demeanor leads to his determination of finding what makes this killer tick to the point of following reporter Paul Avery's ( Robert Downey , Jr . ) files and later browbeating police inspector David Toschi's ( Mark Ruffalo ) time . This then leads to a strained marriage with Melanie ( Chloe Sevigny ) . Also of note are performances of Anthony Edwards ( Inspector William Armstrong ) , John Caroll Lynch ( suspect Arthur Leigh Allen ) , Brian Cox ( lawyer Melvin Belli ) , Richmond Arquette , Bob Stephenson , and John Lacey ( other Zodiac killer suspects ) . The whole thing just enthralled me from beginning to end and I especially was on the edge of my seat when Graysmith visited this man's house who used to work at a theatre where a Zodiac suspect was a projectionist . So on that note , I highly recommend David Fincher's Zodiac .
|
453,835 | 11,228,318 | 1,245,104 | 10 |
Presto is another excellent Pixar animated short
|
This is the second of five Oscar-nominated animated shorts I've watched from last year . It's from Pixar and was originally presented before their feature WALL-E which I have yet to see . A magician's bunny just wants a carrot but his master keeps taking it away from him so during the performance with the master on stage with his own hat and the bunny at the side hidden by curtains holding the sorcerer's hat that serves as the connection between where the magician's hand goes , the bunny does all kinds of tricks of his own on his master while the audience thinks it's all part of the act . . . Reminiscent of the wacky stuff done by Tex Avery , Bob Clampett , and Frank Tashlin in the ' 40s , Presto provides non-stop slapstick that gets more outrageously funny with each gag before the crescendo that satisfyingly comes . And dig the beginning logo credits done in the way they might have been if this short really was made during that Golden Age of animation . In short , Presto is magnifico !
|
454,794 | 11,228,318 | 882,999 | 10 |
Jack-Tor is funniest ep of 30 Rock yet
|
Movie star Tracy Jordan has not gotten used to the constant rehearsals so he skips out whenever he can . In addition , Liz finds that he rarely follows the script or even Emergengy Exit door signs making her think he's illiterate . Meanwhile , the network exec Jack Donaghy has asked for a product placement for GE , the parent company , in the show . Liz writes a sketch that makes fun of product placements and asks Jack to appear in it since he did the GE instructional video that was shown to the writers . Two of those writers , in order to shake up Jenna , tell her that Jack plans to fire an actor in order to make budget cuts . Jenna tries to flirt with Jack's boss to keep herself from getting sacked . Liz confronts Tracy about his lack of reading skills and mentions he could get help . Since it means he can skip rehearsals , he agrees . An intern who worships Jack requests Liz and her producer not to put their boss on live TV , then shows them the long rehearsals on the GE instructional tape that took 129 takes and two days . Liz finds Tracy may have played her on the illiteracy thing and vows to catch him by putting " smallest penis " on his poster . He finally gets caught when he sees a sign saying " Lesbians wanted " and only sees Liz and the producer in the room . Liz gets Tracy to agree to follow the scripts as written . She also gets Jack to just be himself on camera and not to look at it . He later replays video of his line about firing a couple of castmembers . Jenna found out Jack's " boss " was actually an extra , having misunderstood a scene that originally looked like Jack and the " boss " were talking to each other but , in actuality , was Jack talking through an earpiece while the extra was speaking on a pay phone angry at the Extras Guild . Jenna vows to get even with the writers but only gets one of them naked on the roof before leaving him by himself . Later , she does a sexy sketch that she doesn't know is not airing . . . Even though this was a super-sized episode , I hardly saw any filler . Funniest scenes were when Liz refused to sell out , she and the other characters were suddenly plugging the Snapple drinks culminating in a walk-on by someone wearing a Snapple costume . I also loved Tracy's sudden outburst of his acknowledgement of his " illiteracy " to everyone after being told of being allowed less rehearsal time as a result . I said last week's was the funniest yet . I now stand corrected . Hope 30 Rock does well following Scrubs on Thursday next week .
|
455,052 | 11,228,318 | 25,200 | 10 |
The Grasshopper and the Ants was a fine Disney Silly Symphony that starred the voice of Goofy : Pinto Colvig
|
Just watched this Disney Silly Symphony on YouTube . In this one , a grasshopper fiddles away singing , " The World Owes Us a Living " while the worker ants prepare for the winter storage . The queen of them warns the grasshopper of what will happen if the grasshopper doesn't prepare himself but he pays her no mind . Then the blizzard comes . . . If the voice of the grasshopper sounds familiar , that's because it's the same one that will voice the eventually popular Goofy : Pinto Colvig . He provides ample charm here despite his character being somewhat lazy in nature . And when he does learn his lesson , he changes the words to reflect that learning . I'm sure the Depression audience that watched this in theatres came away with that attitude as well and possibly whistled that tune going out . Uncle Walt himself probably liked it as well since it became-with a few note changes-Goofy's theme as well . So on that note , I highly recommend The Grasshopper and the Ants .
|
454,551 | 11,228,318 | 486,655 | 10 |
Stardust is an underrated humorous fairy tale of the summer movie season
|
While I don't consider myself a big fan of fairy tale movies , Stardust intrigued me based on seeing Michelle Pfeiffer in the trailers as a villain ( especially since I was about to see her as the bossy Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray ) . Boy , is she so convincingly evil here as a witch , especially with her age-ugly makeup in the beginning and end ! Robert De Niro is also great as the pirate captain who's forced to hide " in the closet " to protect his " reputation " ! Just about all the actors like Claire Danes , Rupert Everett , Ricky Gervais , Peter O'Toole and many others do fine work here . While Danes and Pfeiffer are classic beauties , there's also stunning faces of Sienna Miller , Olivia Grant ( as Girl Bernard ) , and Kate Magowan especially when we first meet her . Newcomer Charlie Cox is fine as the lead Tristan and he looked so much like his father Dunstan as a young man that I thought that was him in early scenes with Magowan ( actually Ben Barnes ) . Many comments have compared this to The Princess Bride and while I can see some resemblances , the main difference was that with PB , you always knew it was just an imaginary tale as told by an old man to his grandson . Stardust makes you believe , for the most part , that what you're seeing and hearing could have actually happened even with all the hilarity that happens throughout . So on that note , I highly recommended Stardust .
|
454,468 | 11,228,318 | 824,332 | 10 |
35 Years Later-Freedom River is still relevant today
|
I just saw on YouTube an interesting animated short called Freedom River which depicts how the people inhabiting near this red , white , and blue sea start planting crops to feed their families and show their pride . Then that pride becomes arrogance as they turn away strangers who look different from them and they start throwing things in the river that make them turn away from the reality of how ugly they've become with themselves . This short is basically telling us that only WE can turn things around . Orson Welles is very effective with his narration in presenting this parable about the Vietnam War and pollution that was so prevalent during the year ( 1971 ) this short was made . Worth a look to find how timely this short is even today with the environment , immigration , and the Iraqi War dominating the headlines .
|
454,712 | 11,228,318 | 1,375,140 | 10 |
This final episode of " Late Night with Conan O'Brien " caps 16 excellent years for the carrot-topped host
|
With this final " Late Night " episode , Conan O'Brien said goodbye to Studio 6A , Rockefeller Plaza , and New York as he now prepares to go to California and take over " The Tonight Show " on June 1 . During this final original telecast , the tall , pale , red-haired host showed his favorite segment of all : his interviewing and later playing with various members of a baseball team reenacting the sport as it was during its beginnings in the 19th century . Quite hilarious especially when Conan flirts with a shy brunette ! As he had throughout the week , O'Brien then took apart his set and gave parts of it to the excited studio audience . The " surprise guest " that was promoted for this particular show turned out to be none other than Andy Richter who frankly was no surprise to me since I thought , well who else but the sidekick from the first seven years who helped Conan get over beginning nerves all those early days ? Great to see them together again , not to mention all those clips like when Conan tricked Andy into appearing with Matt Lauer on " Today " stark naked ! After final musical guest The White Stripes perform , Conan then thanks all the people who helped him in his success among them : David Letterman , Jay Leno , Lorne Michaels , etc . Our last image of him is of giving every audience member a piece of his set that was just dismantled by various crew members . Oh , and Will Ferrell also appeared during the monologue as former President George W . Bush before again stripping to his leprechaun undies ! You've given us 16 entertainingly hilarious years from New York City , Mr . O'Brien . Here's hoping more from you in California in a few months . . .
|
454,994 | 11,228,318 | 1,236,458 | 10 |
Do-Over was a more than adequate welcome back for " 30 Rock " s third season
|
First off , kudos all for Alec Baldwin's Emmy win as well as Tina Fey's 3 . They were all deserved ! Now for the third season premiere , Liz tries to get in good with the adoption representative ( Megan Mullally ) while Jack tries to get his job back as Devin ( Will Arnett ) threatens to shut the network down . With Ms . Fey as writer , one shouldn't be surprised at the many disastrous things that happen during both plots as they threaten to collide to hilarious results . Don't feel like revealing any scenes right now but I will reveal Liz ' last line to Jack : " Glad to have you back . " And very glad this show is back for another season . The ratings went a little up for this first episode of the new season possibly because of Ms . Fey's additional exposure on her old " SNL " grounds as Vice President candidate Sarah Palin ( which I though was funny as hell ! ) . So on that note , Welcome Back , " 30 Rock " ! P . S . The line Liz says to Jack was actually , " I just like seeing you in there . " I just found out ( and remembered ) courtesy of the TV Guide TV blogs .
|
454,612 | 11,228,318 | 1,245,069 | 10 |
The Mousetrap is the best " T : TSCC " episode so far this season !
|
When I wrote the comment for the last episode , I forgot to mention that Sonya Walger-who is best known to " Lost " fans ( like me ) as Penny there-returned as Charlie's wife Michelle . She gets kidnapped here by Cromartie in order to get to John . This is a very intense episode that's nail-bitingly suspenseful throughout . Great performances by all involved especially by Ms . Walger and Dean Winters as Charlie . There was also another appearance by Busy Phillips as the pregnant house owner who brought some needed humor in the beginning . Oh , and I once again have to mention how mature Brian Austin Green has become in his acting compared to his juvenile " 90210 " - days . The Mousetrap is the best episode of " Termnator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles " so far this season . Very highly recommend !
|
455,190 | 11,228,318 | 141,924 | 10 |
Another Classic Felix Cartoon
|
This is another Felix cartoon worth preserving that you can see on YouTube . It starts with a mouse about to walk a rope tied to a ship being chased by Felix . After they both get on , a sailor unties the rope leaving them stuck in ! As the ship sails , Felix gets seasick . The ship lands in Holland . Felix flirts with a human Dutch girl . Her boyfriend catches them and throws the cat out but not before Felix gets a pump from a nearby car and pumps the boy's pants up causing it to hoist the boy to the sky . Felix then takes a banjo and serenades the girl . It bothers a big man in a nearby house who throws a shoe that hits Felix's head . Felix uses the shoe as a boat and an exclamation point above his head as an oar ! He goes to the man's house and finds a bottle of milk he'd like to drink . The man tells him he can't have it unless he waters the plants . Before doing so , Felix accidentally backs unto a table of gin which knocks the gin into a water spray can ! The cat picks that spray can and sprays some flowers that keep asking for more . Then he sprays a tree trunk that gets drunk and starts staggering all over the place ! The man is furious at this and chases Felix all the way to a windmill . Felix dispatches his tail and uses it to spin the windmill fan which forces the man's clothes off and the man himself to blow away . Felix laughs as we iris out . It's easy to see why Felix was such a phenomenon during the ' 20s , since pre-Mickey Mouse there hadn't been such an animated character with such personality . By all means seek this one out !
|
455,061 | 11,228,318 | 51,634 | 10 |
Free Radicals is another amazing Len Lye short
|
Along with A Colour Box and The Peanut Vendor , Free Radicals is another highly exciting experimental animated short by Len Lye . Seeing chalk white lines constantly moving on a black background with African drums playing throughout makes for one of the most unique experiences I've ever seen in animation history . How is it I've never even heard of this guy until today when I looked up Cartoon Brew and there was an item about The Peanut Vendor ( an early experimental stop-motion from the early thirties ) that depicted a monkey and various uses of his tail . The item took me to YouTube which also had Free Radicals and A Colour Box and I was blown away by all three shorts ! To anyone with a taste of the unusual , I suggest you seek all them out !
|
454,730 | 11,228,318 | 38,060 | 10 |
The Screwy Truant is hilarious Tex Avery cartoon from MGM
|
When I was a kid watching the Tom and Jerry show on weekday afternoons in the late ' 70s and early ' 80s , I watched most of the cartoons they aired that was from the ' 40s including those starring Droopy or Barney Bear . For some reason , however , they never either showed or I never saw any Screwy Squirrel cartoons made during the same time . So The Screwy Truant is the very first one starring this admittedly unappealing , both visually and personality-wise , character I've ever seen . Despite that , I loved the " everything but the kitchen sink " ( actually , don't think too much about that one ) humor of the entire premise of the title character playing hooky and getting chased by the truant officer with all the fast-paced wackiness you can only expect from the one and only Tex Avery . Absolutely nothing is sacred , certainly not " Little Red Riding Hood " or jokes related to WWII air raid uniforms . So to anyone who loves great animation and great laughs , The Screwy Truant is for you !
|
455,132 | 11,228,318 | 496,313 | 10 |
Hardrock , Coco , and Joe : The Three Little Dwarfs is a charming stop-motion holiday short
|
The Hill and Range song publishing company , which also licensed UPA animation to film shorts of songs " Peter Cottontail " and " Frosty the Snowman " that became staples of kids ' shows on Chicago TV , asked a stop-motion company named Centaur Productions to make one of Santa's elves that are the names in the title above . The chorus , which sing with no musical accompaniment , tell of their travels with the big red-suited man as he goes on his holiday rounds . Wonderful visualization that captures the song perfectly . By the way , the head of Centaur was a man named Wah Ming Chang who would later work on some Disney projects as well on George Pal's Tom Thumb . He would also design Elizabeth Taylor's jewels and headdress in Cleopatra and some " Star Trek " props like the communicators and , in one episode , Tribbles . Definitely worth a look .
|
453,982 | 11,228,318 | 1,156,294 | 10 |
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir may be just right for the holiday spirit
|
With the dearth of Christmas variety specials since the deaths of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope , I have looked more and more at PBS for any Christmas music specials that help me get in the holiday mood . This year was the first I decided to watch one with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in its entirety . It starts with plenty of garland-flowered young girls dancing up the aisles as the various male and female choir members sings of holiday cheer . Many of the songs are led by a beautiful woman , in both looks and charms , named Sissel . Such a wonderful display of music and enchantment that perked up whatever depression I might have experienced up to that time . So to anyone feeling a need to get in the right Chirstmas mood , this special from PBS that's also now on DVD may do it for you .
|
454,780 | 11,228,318 | 46,811 | 10 |
Bugs and Thugs was one of my favorites as a kid
|
Bugs goes to the bank to get a carrot among many in his deposit box . At the same time , Rocky has robbed it and is about to get in his car with Mugsy as the driver when Bugs comes in first mistaking it for a taxi . When Rocky comes in with his bags of money , the rabbit at first thinks it's laundry . He wises up and attempts to call the police at a nearby gas station but is caught by Mugsy before he can complete it . It all results in one of the funniest police captures in cartoon history ! This was one of my favorites as a little kid and seeing it today on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Vol . 1 brought back great memories of watching this on " Bugs Bunny and Friends " which aired every afternoon at 3 : 30 pm central time on WRBT-TV , Baton Rouge , La . ( It's now WVLA ) . Kudos once again to Friz Freling .
|
455,054 | 11,228,318 | 60,346 | 10 |
The Drag is both entertaining and educational in showing the dangers of smoking
|
Nominated for the 1966 Oscar , this animated short from the National Film Board of Canada depicts a man on a psychiatrist's couch who's telling him about how he came to start smoking in order to join the " cool " crowd and after finding about the cancer scare has a difficult time stopping . Filled with background collages of various cig ad slogans as well as many figures the protagonist tries to emulate , this jazz-scored animation project is both entertaining and educational in showing how difficult it really is to kick an addictive habit as illustrated by a dream sequence when he tries for the first time . So for that reason , The Drag is highly recommend .
|
454,357 | 11,228,318 | 1,055,793 | 10 |
Queen's Gambit is the best episode of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles " so far
|
Sarah gets a call from Andy Goode , the guy whose house she blew up when she realized his computer-Turk-would be in Skynet's future , and finds out he made a new one that's being entered in a chess contest with Japan with the winning country getting a contract with the military . With John and Cameron in tow , Sarah watches as the American picked by Goode seems to be winning but at the last minute the Japanesse woman wins by default . At school , Cameron asks John about all the notes the girl who committed suicide , Jordan , is getting . He replies , " Somtimes crying's not enough . " Cromartie , in the form of an FBI agent that he killed , arrives at Charley's house asking about Sarah Conner . Charley explains he knows a Sarah Resse not a Sarah Conner . After the agent leaves his card , his wife Michelle says she knows by his " tell " when he's lying . So he tells her the truth about seeing John when he broke in while she was gone . After Andy got angry at his partner for losing , he later turns up dead as Sarah discovers him as such just after seeing someone come from his room accidentally hitting her . She then confronts him knocking him down just as some cops arrest him . Later , when she goes to his cell in disguise , she finds out from him he's her former lover's , and John's father's , brother Derek . Back at school , the guidance counselor asks Cameron about Jordan since Cameron is the last person Jordan saw . He gets Jordan's last words from her in Jordan's own voice that must have given him some chills . He then lets her go . After Sarah gets Derek out of jail , another Terminator breaks in his door and finds him gone leading to a chase that climaxes this episode . Needless to say , Cameron defeats the Terminator after he loses him arm and gets a button in his head screwed off . She also tries to fix the wound the Terminator shot on Derek who initially resists because of what she is before Sarah says , " She's on our side . " The wound is too big so Sarah tries to use her tazer to find the nearest doctor but John goes instead and finds Charley who appears stunned at seeing Sarah before working on Derek . . . This was a very exciting episode with a tighter plot and more interesting characterization . I am also impressed at the development of Agent Ellison with his finding that Terminator's hand near the end of this episode . Also , how cool is it seeing former " Beverly Hills , 90210 " player Brian Austin Green as Derek ? The stubble on him pretty much made me forget he was once David Silver . Also , it was once again cool to see Sonya Walger-Penny on " Lost " - as Charley's wife Michelle . Hope her character doesn't die too soon . And it was nice to see Cameron become a little more human first by trying to get Sarah to write her feelings about Andy's death by offering her a pencil ( of course , Sarah breaks them ! ) , then seeing Cameron herself sitting at a desk with paper on them . And that chase that I referred to was the most exciting I've seen on this series so far ! So in summary , Queen's Gambit was the best episode of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles " I've seen right now . Until next time . . .
|
455,057 | 11,228,318 | 60,345 | 10 |
Dr . Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! is highlight of Chuck Jones ' animation career
|
Chuck Jones ' animated retelling of Dr . Suess ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! has been an annual TV holiday staple for the last 40 years despite the recent live-action version starring Jim Carrey and directed by Ron Howard . Anyone who loves Suess and Jones and animation should definitely love this definitive version of someone who's meaner than Scrooge simply because he wants to take Christmas away from everyone . Boris Karloff lends his iconic voice as both the narrator and title character . June Foray is perfect voicing the little girl Cindy Lou Who as she wonders why the Grinch is taking the Christmas tree . Thurl Ravenscroft , Tony the Tiger himself , is appropriately bombastic singing " You're a Mean One , Mr . Grinch " throughout . Albert Hague , best known as the music teacher in both the TV and movie Fame , brings wonderful music to the three songs with lyrics by Suess . And Eugene Poddany is fine scoring the rest of this wonderful holiday special . As for Jones , who else would you get to bring such a witty book on film than the one who always gets Bugs Bunny to say after being provoked , " Of course you know , this means war ! " Welcome Christmas , everyone , indeed !
|
454,355 | 11,228,318 | 1,055,794 | 10 |
Dungeons & Dragons was another cool episode of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles "
|
This episode begins when the last one ended : With Charley attempting to fix Derek Reese who can't lay still because he thinks Cameron wants to harm him . We then see flash-forwards of the future he came from with Kyle , his brother and the father of John Connor with Sarah , and other rebels trying to avoid the Skynet machines that flash lights on them . We see them get captured and chained in an abandoned house and then somewhere down the road , Kyle disappears , presumably to where Sarah lived before John was born . . . Back in the present , Sarah tells Charley everything ( well , almost . He figures on his own Kyle's connection with John ) and while he doesn't understand , he accepts . He does think that Cameron , while hot on the outside , is a " very scary robot " on the inside as he sees her about to burn the exoskeleton of the Terminator from the last episode . We also once again see the part from his head that she puts in her pocket . What's up with that ? Back in Derek's flash-forward , he's encountering Cameron here who is also in the protect mode there but because of his harsh treatment by other machines immediately tries to shoot but is prevented so from a superior . After demanding a few times , he finally gets to see future John but he looks like his younger self . That's because by this point we flash back to the present with that John waking Derek up and telling him what a great hero his brother was without revealing his relation to him with respect to his mother . In the last flash-forward scene , Derek and his comrades are teleported to the present Los Angeles naked where the ruins they came from are replaced by the still-standing buildings from perhaps a time before any of them were even born . Oh , and before that , we find out that Andy Goode was chained with Derek and Derek actually killed him when he went to his room . With that , this episode ends . . . Another awesome episode with some cool gore scenes that lives up to the " Viewer Discretion Advised " warning that always appears in the beginning of this program . Compelling use of closeups and lighting for the future segments and good exposition dialogue between Charley and Sarah . By the way , Sarah looks particularly luminous in those close-ups . Is Cameron's mentioning of some machines " going bad " a foreshadowing of what is going to happen to her especially after getting some parts from the destroyed Terminator following her statement that " all parts must be destroyed " ? ( or was that Sarah that said that ? ) Oh well , since I don't want my head to keep on spinning ( or exploding ! ) , I'll just say Dungeons & Dragons was another excellent episode of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles " .
|
454,510 | 11,228,318 | 1,055,797 | 10 |
What He Beheld was excellent for what became the season finale of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles "
|
This episode begins sometime in April of 2011 , Judgement Day . We see a teen boy throw a ball for his younger pre-teen brother to hit . They're Derek and Kyle Reese as kids . Then we see nuclear planes fly above . Their world is about to end . Flash to present day as Sarah plans to find Sarkissian , the one who was sold the Turk by Dimitri . We see this guy , Sarkissian , going to the boy who sold Sarah the fake IDs trying to find her whereabouts . He manages to wipe out his gang after initially denying knowing her . During a field trip to a museum , John reveals to Cameron that it's his birthday and his mother has forgotten . Cameron then finds a person she recognizes as one looking for John and tries to get to him only to be told to stay in her group . We find out later she eventually killed him and put him in a random car trunk . When John's friend hears this from her , he laughs thinking she's joking and then asks her to go to prom with him . She hesitates before John , in a hurry , tells her to say , " Yes . " She does with an attitude . John's friend is over the moon ! Agent Ellison meets with Charley Dixon and asks about Sarah Connor . Dixon denies knowing then goes to Sarah's to tell her Ellison might believe her about the machines mission . She doesn't care and tells Charley to forget about her and John . The woman who had guarded Carlos , the one who dealt in fake ID's , goes to the Connors ' house and leads them to Sarkissian's whereabouts . He had earlier met Sarah and blackmailed her into giving more money so he would keep shut about her fugitive status in exchange for the Turk , which we later find out he sold . Now knowing she was double-crossed , the Connors , Reese , and Cameron go to his office and Derek , despite Sarkissian holding John and Derek holding a girl not his daughter , shoots him with no mercy though he does cover the girl's eyes before doing so . A little before that , Derek wishes John a happy birthday and gives him a nice surprise : A glimpse of him and Kyle as kids younger than the ones at the beginning playing ball with Kyle , John's father , briefly looking at him . It's at this point that Derek reveals he knows of the relation between Kyle and Sarah . As the episode reaches it's climax , we see Ellison raiding the motel that Cromartie inhabits . Then , one by one , in a beautiful single shot underwater to the score of a Johnny Cash tune , all the SWAT team drops down to their death as we here the muffled shots coming . When Cromartie confronts Ellison , he is spared . Sarah reveals to her son she knew about his birthday and plans are made to go out before they get interrupted . The last scene is of a man who was the clerk at the internet café who is the real Sarkissian passing by Cameron as she is starting her SUV . Suddenly , it explodes ! . . . Well , this was a very exciting episode to end the season though it really wasn't supposed to be the last one of such since this was only the ninth of what was going to be an initial 13-episode run . I laughed when Cameron said " Yes ! " to John's friend when he asked about the prom . That was a genuine human moment for me . All the other cool scenes I've already described as such above so on that note , I definitely hope Fox renews this show for another season and am so glad the writers ' strike is over ( and that they got much of what they deserved ) . Until next time . . .
|
454,976 | 11,228,318 | 46,828 | 10 |
Carmen Jones was a shining highlight for Oscar-nominated Dorothy Dandridge
|
In reviewing African-Americans on film and television , in front of and behind the scenes , for Black History Month , I had always intended to start from their earliest available work all the way to their latest by the end of February . We're now at 1954 and the release of Carmen Jones . Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge , who were the leading players previously in 1953's Bright Road , sizzle as Army man Joe and the very alluring title character . They're accompanied by a very capable supporting cast : Olga James as Joe's spurned nice girlfriend Cindy Lou , Pearl Bailey as Frankie and Diahann Carroll as Myrt-two of Carmen's best friends , Joe Adams as boxer Husky Miller , Brock Peters as Sergeant Brown , and-in a nice surprise for this " Amos ' n ' Andy " fan-Roy Glenn and Nick Stewart as Rum Daniels , Husky's manager and Dink Franklin , Daniels ' associate . In fact , my favorite scene was the " Whizzin ' Away Along De Track " number as performed by Bailey , Glenn , Joseph E . Crawford ( Dink Franklin's singing voice ) , Bernice Peterson ( Myrt's singing voice ) , and Marilyn Horne ( Carmen's singing voice ) . When I looked up Stewart's IMDb listing , I was also pleasantly surprised to find out he also appeared in the other All-Black musicals I reviewed-Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather . Anyway , despite the dubbed singing for many of the players ( which also includes LeVern Hutcherson for Joe and Marvin Hayes for Husky Miller ) , this was one of the best movie musicals I've ever seen , certainly of the kind that had lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II . And Ms . Dandridge deserved her Oscar nomination as Best Actress-the first time such a nod was given to a woman of color . Only thing left to say is I highly recommend Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones .
|
454,448 | 11,228,318 | 697,139 | 10 |
Midnight Express Special is an excellent episode of SCTV
|
On Sunrise Semester , Edith Prickly ( Andrea Martin ) plugs her passport photo business with her cousin ( Robin Duke ) the participant . Funniest scene is when Duke gets blown by a giant fan that probably wasn't necessary . Oh , and she's drunk the whole time ! On a Mamorex tape spot , Ella Fitzgerald ( Joe Flaherty ) is confused if Rickie Lee Jones ( Duke ) and Tom Waits ( Rick Moranis ) are live or on tape . On the Great White North , Bob McKenzie ( Moranis ) discusses the topic of whether to bowl while loaded . Brother Doug ( Dave Thomas ) seems to be saying no since his ball went over three lanes and he puked in the gutter to where the guy who fixed the pins got it . Doug then asks his brother to impersonate the " little guy " which Bob does a little embarrassingly . Next , Bill Needle ( Thomas ) comes on and complains about being limited to three seconds just as he's being grabbed off . Then SCTV President Guy Caballero ( Flaherty ) comes on and mentions a show from Turkey being aired on the network via satellite and needing $10 , 000 " per person " to keep such shows on the air . The show is " Midnight Express Special " hosted by Abbott ( Eugene Levy ) and Costello ( Tony Rosato ) in faux-wrinkled black and white footage mixed with recreations of the movie Midnight Express . Guests John Denver ( Moranis ) , Anne Murray ( Duke ) , and Randy Newman ( Thomas ) all get frisked by the Turkish guards . Abbott and Costello were also supposed to introduce The Band but Costello keeps getting them mixed up with The Who , Yes , and The Byrds . There was also a network promo for Today , Tomorrow and Yesterday . . . This is a very funny episode with the highlight being the " Who's On First " takeoff I just mentioned . Also loved Bob and Doug McKenzie who were the Wayne's World of the day , i . e . two characters who were very popular outside of the show . I watched this on SCTV : Best of the Early Years on DVD . Well worth the purchase .
|
454,222 | 11,228,318 | 1,003,116 | 10 |
This Pete Seeger documentary is excellent in most every way
|
Just watched this on " American Masters " and all I've got to say is : What a great documentary on a great man ! What a chronicle of Seeger's journey in music and activism from playing and riding with Woody Guthrie to going overseas to getting married to singing first with the Almanacs and then The Weavers to getting blacklisted for his views on the public stage and network television to getting invited on the Smothers Brothers show and being allowed to sing the anti-war song " Waist Deep in the Big Muddy " to having annual concerts on saving the Hudson River from pollution to getting various awards late in his life ( like the presidential medal from Bill Clinton and the Kennedy Center Honors ) to just enjoying life , this is one of the most life-affirming and enjoyable music documentaries I've ever seen . As another one of his songs goes , " To everything turn , turn , turn " . . . indeed !
|
455,107 | 11,228,318 | 148,507 | 10 |
My Daddy the Astronaut is one of the best of the Shamus Culhane-directed cartoons from Paramount cartoon studios
|
Just watched this Paramount Fractured Fable on YouTube . Made in the waning days of the Famous / Paramount cartoon studios , this Shamus Culhane-directed cartoon was unique in that it was basically done in a style of a child's crayon drawing as animated by Al Eugster . With accompaniment from Winston Sharples ' harmonica and an unknown child's narration , this was a very amusing tale of one boy's father who becomes an astronaut after initially flying planes and then after all those physical test rides and the spaceship journey without any sickness involved , when he takes his son to a carnival the dizziness starts ! That's all I'll say except how the irony continues as the boy keeps mentioning how fine he is during the rides while his dad keeps getting sicker and sicker ! So on that note , I highly recommend My Daddy the Astronaut .
|
453,984 | 11,228,318 | 655,448 | 10 |
Santa Claus gets hilarious riffing on " Mystery Science Theater 3000 "
|
Well , this one was even funnier than the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians episode of " MST3K " . Besides Santa , there's also Pitch the Devil ( loved Mike and the ' bots comments on his dancing , " He really seems to enjoy pantaloons too much ! " LOL ) , and Merlin the Magician . This being a Mexican production , the little girl is named Lupita and " Feliz Nadivad " is printed on the store window . There's a couple of good Holiday songs especially written for the show . Those white mechanical reindeer are some of the most creepiest I've ever seen in a movie and one of them has a really creepy laugh that gets laughed at in derision by the Satellite of Love gang . Oh , and there's also a bulldog that gets distracted by a doll cat that runs on skates ! " The Hot Wheels cat ! " LOL This was one weird movie that deserved all the catcalls by the " MST3K " gang . And it's from schlockmeister producer K . Gordon Murray . That info alone should warn you about this American-dubbed picture's quality . So for any die hard " MST3K " fans , Santa Claus is definitely recommended .
|
454,732 | 11,228,318 | 141,869 | 10 |
Swing You Sinners is one of the most surrealistic Fleischer cartoons ever !
|
Bimbo , who gets his comeuppance for stealing chickens , encounters various talking gravestones with faces , many farm animals , a walking barn , and plenty of spooks and ghosts in one of the most musically jazzy surrealistic cartoons I've ever seen . Both the music and the animation makes you wonder how much drugs were taken to get the images that were presented here in the pre-Code era . Everything presented here is so unusual , so collage-like , that there's no way this would pass muster on Saturday morning television . Anyone with a love for both jazz and Fleischer animation should definitely check this one out . Hard to imagine Disney doing something like this , even when he made Fantasia .
|
453,794 | 11,228,318 | 1,391,622 | 10 |
Pussycat seems to be a unique claymation short by Takena Nagao
|
This clay animation short by a Japanese artist named Takena Nagao is filled with unsubtle sexuality ( but no nudity ) and plenty of gore involving the female title character in a tight dress , a business pig , and a stalker wolf . This guy Nagao seems to be the Quentin Tarantino of clay animation shorts ! There is another short of his on YouTube called Chainsaw Maid which also has plenty of gore that-because of the clay-is very comical to me . Unfortunately , this short that I'm reviewing now is the only one of Nagao's that's listed here on IMDb . So I'll just say if you love offbeat things involving animation , Pussycat should fit the bill . And one more thing , this short is definitely not for children !
|
453,802 | 11,228,318 | 1,035,913 | 10 |
Chuck Versus the Nemesis is the funniest action-packed episode of " Chuck " yet !
|
This episode takes place on Thanksgiving and Black Friday the next day so I'll just mention some tidbits here : With Bryce now revealed to be alive , Chuck gets in the interrogation room with him and has to prove he's the real one to Bryce by talking in Klingon which he's rusty at . At Ellie's Thanksgiving dinner , Anna shows jealousy at seeing Morgan's looks at Ellie as well as the way he's REALLY enjoying her food . Chuck also is envious watching secretly Sarah and Bryce ( who's unbeknownst to everyone else ) kissing in his bedroom , so much so he's tells Casey in encoded form about it . Chuck says " pineapple " to warn his fellow employees of an emergency as he's being held up by some enemy agents threatening to kill everyone in sight . Morgan awkwardly seeing Bryce and saying how he reminds him of Chuck's old roommate who he thinks is a " douche " . And then seeing Jeff hit on the head a couple of times after revealing how he liked being hit by a pineapple by his dad during his childhood . The episode ends with Sarah having to choose between two calls : One from Bryce on a classic antique phone made for mansions or on her ipod phone from Chuck . What to pick ? . . . Most hilarious and action-packed of " Chuck " yet ! With all my favorite characters and thousands of soccer mom shoppers contributing to the fun ! Very glad to know NBC gave this one a full-season pickup . Hope the writers ' strike ends before the episodes run out .
|
472,520 | 11,423,174 | 384,537 | 1 |
where the hell am i ?
|
this movie had two things going for it . the beginning credits was one . can you guess the other ? if you said : the end credits , you win . your prize : the best advice you'll ever receive . wait for it - - avoid this movie . this thing just went on and on and on - - and on . i still don't ' have any clue what the hell its about , and i'm damn sure not risking the loss of another two hours of my life on the slim chance i can figure it out . i feel like i spent two hours in a black hole , and it just sucked me in more and more each second . i'm still not sure how i managed to escape its pull , but i'm glad to back on planet earth . truthfully , my friend and i only kept watching because we thought the end would make it somewhat worthwhile . however , we quit watching before the end , because it just took too long to get there . if you must watch this movie , your best bet would be to get really drunk or stoned , and then it might make some sense . i'm kidding of course . or am i . . . ? oh . yeah , in case you were wondering , i didn't like this movie . o
|
472,893 | 11,423,174 | 288,477 | 1 |
beyond pointless ( a true crap fest in every way )
|
this movie bit the big one , and i mean that in the worst possible way . it starts off really slow and boring . then , they decide to give us a sequence containing buckets of gore , with people dying horrible deaths . bad enough , but . . . the method in which they are dispatched ( pretty much all at the same time ) a mass killing if you will , is beyond the realm of plausibility even for a movie . add to that , the lack of realism in the scene i . e poor makeup effects , with really fake looking blood . what's next ? well , back to being slooooww and borrrring again and bad acting , in fact almost no effort put forth . oh , and really bad dialogue to boot . things did not improve from this point , so i quit watching before the end . i almost felt sorry for the actors , but not quite . they at least picked up a paycheck ( hopefully not too large of one ) from this mess , while the viewer merely loses a good chunk of their life . Julianna Margulies ( a talented actress ) is wasted in this movie , as is Gabrriel Byrne . summing up , we start off with a real yawner , followed by a gore / crap fest . ( ie bad makeup effects , fake looking blood ) next we have another yawn fest , with cheese ( The dialogue hehe ) and , finally a clinic on bad acting . all this for the price of admission or rental to one movie . very impressive . and that's having only seen maybe half the movie . wow . less than
|
473,566 | 11,423,174 | 120,458 | 1 |
had potential , until after the beginning credits rolled
|
wow , what a mess . bad acting , bad special effects , dumb plot . this one has it all . Donald Sutherland in particular should be ashamed for having the worst fake accent ever . none of the actors seemed to want to be there . maybe they all owed a debt to somebody , and this was the only way to pay it . this thing was a really dog through and through . who green lights this crap ? don't they screen movies before releasing them . i can't believe i sat through this cesspool . i guess i was hoping it might improve . there's 90 minutes of my life i'll never get back , and neither will you if you subject yourself to this so called movie . watch this movie at your own peril . so , if you like a movie with good acting , good special effects and a good plot-look elsewhere , i beg you . , though it deserves much less
|
472,660 | 11,423,174 | 439,815 | 1 |
if you miss one movie this decade-it should be " Slither "
|
can you smell that ? it's the stench from this so called movie . i realize that this movie is supposed to be a horror comedy . however , it is missing two important elements . horror and comedy . i cannot believe any actor could be convinced by any agent to appear in this bomb . they should all fire their agents . i never once laughed during this movie , nor was i even remotely scared . i was scared however , that if i didn't get the disc out of my player , the thing would spread and fry my player's circuits . then it might spread throughout my house infecting everything in its path . from there it would spread outside and eventually take over the world . thankfully , i removed the menace from my DVD player in time . otherwise i don't think i could have handled the guilt involved with inflicting such a dreadful disease on the unsuspecting public . truly a waste of celluloid . i'd say Slither was a " z " movie , but that is giving it higher praise . it may have aspired to such lofty heights , but it fails miserably in that ( or any ) regard . much less than out of 10
|
473,813 | 11,423,174 | 433,386 | 1 |
pretty much as dreadful as the first one
|
i was hoping this movie would be better than the first one , which i thought was dreadful . overall , i think it is a bit better , but not very much . the only thing better about it is it has slightly more eerie and creepy , vibe , but just slightly . however , other than that , this movie is dreadfully boring and not really scary at all . it's also annoying at times . i also never really connected with the characters , so it was kind of hard to care about their fates . there are also a few things that don't quite make sense . there a few illogical moments , even in the context of this movie . i don't know if there will be a Grudge 3 or not , but it wouldn't bother me if they never made another one . i gave the first Grudge 1 star and overall , this one isn't really any better . as a result , i give " The Grudge 2 "
|
473,126 | 11,423,174 | 104,997 | 1 |
AKA Night Caller ( 1992 ) don't bother answering this call
|
i don't know what they were thinking . by they , i mean anybody even remotely connected to this disaster . i've seen so bad movies , i've seen so really bad movies , and then there's this . but i will say one thing . whoever wrote the script has manged to put what could possibly the most inane dialogue over written , onto the screen . there is nothing good about this movie , either from a technical standpoint or any other standpoint . whoever allowed it to be made and then released should have been fired immediately . there are a few fairly well known names in this movie . actually i hesitate to use the word movie . it's more like a collection of random scenes that have no relation to another and make less than 0 sense . anyway , i fail to see why anyone with any dignity would appear in this . i got it really cheap , and i still got ripped of . even if i had gotten this movie for free , i would still have been ripped off . this is an absoluter
|
473,715 | 11,423,174 | 83,530 | 1 |
more tedious than the first one , and that's saying something
|
somehow , i managed to get through all 84 minutes of airplane 2 . however , i found it more tedious than airplane 1 , which i thought was impossible . i think i cracked a smile once during the first one , but not even close in this one . the jokes were even more stale and unfunny . i'm sure there are people who have enjoyed and will enjoy this movie , but i am not one of those people . interestingly , ken finkleman wrote and directed this movie and would years later go on to create and write the very funny show the newsroom . but i digress . after watching airplane 2 , i decided i have to do something fun and entertaining . so ' i'voe booked myself into a four day insurance seminar . maybe i'll get more laughs out of it . unless you're a hardcore fan you should avoid this movie . out of 10
|
473,302 | 11,423,174 | 85,636 | 1 |
awful stand alone movie ( and i mean awful )
|
on this suckiness scale , this movie ranks right up there . it's a stand alone movie that has nothing to do with the rest of the Halloween series . i didn't like much about this movie . i actually felt dirty after watching it . thankfully , it's not all that memorable . but i remember all i need to about it . it sucked . myself , i didn't see that point . i know without a doubt that i will never view this movie again . there are only a handful of movies i can say that about ( so far , any way ) . i'm not sure of the exact running time . it's somewhere between 96 and 99 minutes . coincidently , its also between 96 and 99 minutes too long . this is just my opinion , of course , and some people will disagree with it . the only thing i can suggest is , after watching it for awhile , and you find it's not very good , turn it off . it doesn't get better . for me , Halloween III : Season of the Witch is an abysmal
|
472,859 | 11,423,174 | 367,153 | 1 |
unbelievably sick and awful ( in the worst way )
|
what a horrible , horrible movie . i thought i was watching a snuff film . you have to be emotionally unhinged to enjoy this piece of excrement . low budget and it shows . the camera lingers for a very long time on all the killing scenes , way too long . the acting is poor , the plot is ridiculous and full of inconsistencies and holes you could drive a couple of semi trucks through . but really the movie is just pointless , gratuitous gore and violence . this dog may be worse than hostel . it's definitely a close race . if you're even slightly well adjusted , you will have no use for this bomb . if you do enjoy this film , i hope i never live next door to you . i felt so dirty after watching this thing , i had to take a shower right after to cleanse myself . and i may never get the stench out of my house . truly , truly , sick and demented ( and not in any good way ) filth
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.