Tag Archives: Comedy

Random Film of the Week(end): The Devil Within Her

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the devil within herBad horror movies come in all types, but 1975’s The Devil Within Her (or I Don’t Want to Be Born) gets its own special place in film history for a few reasons. As you’re watching it and being completely baffled, amused and probably annoyed at what’s onscreen, you’ll probably wonder just what the hell got some very talented actors to commit to such an incredibly dumb movie. Just get a good look at that poster to the left and yes, your brain is popping already, right?

Then again, trying to make sense of this complete and utter mess is nothing but futile, as the movie does possibly the worst job at explaining its craziness in the first place. A “possessed” baby with super strength, a killer dwarf (or is it the baby?), a few bizarre murders (some of which are hilarious and/or unexpected), strippers, an exorcism and plenty of baffling dialog make this one an instant classic (provided you’ve got a good sense of humor)…

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Stop The Wayback Machine! Mr. Peabody & Sherman (and Rocky & Bullwinkle) Are Coming Back? Eeek.

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The Old Gang File this entry in the “Wait, what?” Department. Hmmm… on ONE front, this is truly awesome news, as I’m as old as the hills and LOVE Jay Ward’s humor and these characters to death. That said, I’m all too curious as to just WHO the Hecuba this new comic series (and upcoming Dreamworks animated movie) are targeted at.

I’d bet only those very-oldsters like me and whatever college-agers who happen to get a knowing chuckle from the old cartoons will even give a damn, while the Generation “Why” kids that get dragged to this will be sitting there texting for an hour and a half or so. Or worse, sitting there with their arms folded with a cranky “I’m going to kill you in your sleep!” look on their ungrateful faces because some parental unit tried to get them to like something THEY loved as an impressionable kid or young adult.

Of course, I’m betting that instead of historical figures from the past we old folks learned about in school, IDW might tap into more modern and a lot less “historical” figures from pop culture or other time periods that, frankly speaking, won’t be as funny to mine for the old show’s offbeat (and intentionally incorrect) pokes. Ugh… now I have memories of that eyeball and brain searing take on The Three Stooges from a few years back…

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Random Film of the Week(end): The Palm Beach Story

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You’ll probably need to watch Preston Sturges’ The Palm Beach Story at least twice if you’ve never seen it before. The second time will be to catch some of the rapid-fire dialog you missed the first time out from laughing so hard as your brain attempts to keep up with the wild setups and payoffs the movie hits you with. Sturges’ gift for well-timed comedy direction comes through excellently in yet another gem he also wrote and you have to give the man major credit for letting his actors fly through scenes (and sometimes the scenery) as if they were tossed around sets by small cyclones. Of course, having some great actors throwing those lines around helps quite a bit… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: IT’S ALIVE

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Larry Cohen’s brilliantly cheesy (yet pretty freaky) 1974 horror flick is a campy and bloody good time for genre fans, but it also managed (and still manages) to be an interesting bit of debate material if you watch it with someone who takes its messaging too seriously. I say keep it down with the heated discussion and try not to get caught up in real-life arguments about big pharmaceutical companies using people as guinea pigs with horrifying results and/or the usual pro-life and pro-choice issues, camp out on the sofa with some popcorn and beverages and enjoy this one for what it is. Buried under that bloody good fun and Bernard Herrmann score is a classic that got a few funky sequels made, all of which are worth checking out (despite being of slightly to moderately lesser quality as time went on). That and hell, the 70’s vibe in this one is in full effect thanks to some fine casting and scenery chewing by the principals… and that REALLY hideous monster baby…

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Random Film of the Week(end): Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

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Like a few too many people who didn’t initially “get” it, I absolutely hated Beyond the Valley of the Dolls the first time I saw it back in the early 1980’s. Of course, I went in expecting one thing (I’d never seen a Russ Meyer film before) and yes, got something else entirely. Yes, I was probably a wee bit too young to grasp the wild blend of comedy, drama, morality play and plenty of under-dressed female and male flesh bouncing and wiggling about. But it only took a few years and a more maturely snarky perspective to see what I was really missing. Before then, I’d always given anything Roger Ebert said about movies the hovering eyebrow (as in “What does HE know, he co-wrote that crappy movie!”). After I started liking this beautiful, campy mess co-written and directed by Russ Meyer, it became of the first flicks I’d recommend to friends or anyone wanting to see something “out there” and it’s still ahead of its time in many respects… Continue reading →

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Trailer: My Conflict of Disinterest Is Somewhat Activated…

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Hmmmm… Not sure how I should feel about this, as I think if you REVIEW games for a living, you don’t necessarily NEED to be in one. Granted, the folks at Penny Arcade get a free pass because they do so much for charity and all. But I guess TAVGN gets a big, sloppy pass as well because he’s so damned popular and good at what he does that the bulk of his fan base will buy this up as soon as it’s available. Granted, if the game is “bad” (and not intentionally, mind you), he’ll hear about it (but probably shrug it off completely). I’ll play this at some point but probably not review it, as it’s a bit strange trying to do that and not feel as I’m fitting into someone’s master plan… Well, we’ll see… You can’t muck up this kind of “retro” that much anyway. Hopefully…

Two More Reasons To Grab Message From Space On DVD…

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Sure, it’s not the best sci-fi flick out there, but there’s a certain crazy exuberance in these clips that makes Message From Space pretty hilarious in its own right. Yeah, I like bad films as well as great ones, so sue me. or at least watch this one and some of the others I recommend from time to time. You’ll get an education on cinema and not have to pay too much to some silly film school where all you’ll learn is you’ve gone into debt and no one will hire you to work on a feature film because you spent too much time in class listening to some old guy telling you there’s nothing better than Citizen Kane. Which is true in some respects, but there are a LOT of great (and not so great) movies in other genres worth seeing…

Random Film of the Week: Message From Space FINALLY Gets A DVD Release!

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Message From SpaceWay back in 1978, if you somehow STILL didn’t see Star Wars even when the film got its big re-release (or was still running in some theaters), this was another one of those “replacement” flicks you may have gotten taken to instead (or had to settle for if it was running at a theater nearby the one where Star Wars was playing). Famed Japanese director Kinji Fukusaku (Battle Royale) whipped up a first-rate “B” movie that yes, takes a lot of inspiration from George Lucas’ space opera, but also adds bits from anime and Japanese samurai flicks plus a few other things and the result is an instant cult classic (well, in my book). The effects team did some pretty amazing things in the model shots that give many of them a more kinetic look than what ILM did earlier, but the tradeoff is the acting in the latter film sticks to everyone mugging it up for the camera in their own ways… Continue reading →

THIS IS THE END Trailers: Oh, Don’t Give Me Hope, Hollywood!

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Heh. OK, this disaster comedy whatever is probably going to do a ton of business when it hits theaters on June 12, but I know there are some who just want Hollywood to break off and float away into the ocean. I’m not one of those folks, mind you, but I do wish these writers and other creative types could come up with something a good deal more original than retreading Irwin Allen flicks and adding more modern humor and celebrities I could care less about if they did fall into a hole somewhere in real life. Eh, I’ll catch this on cable when it pops up in… let’s say January of February of next year. Er, provided we’re still here and not sucking down atomic dust from a few of those “now they’ve got a decent range!” North Korean missiles. Duck and cover, indeed…

Random Film of the Week(end): It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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Soon after hearing about Jonathan Winters’ death two days ago, I had the realization that we’re running out of truly great NATURAL comedians that made us laugh without resorting to juggling expletives or putting themselves in the public eye constantly in an ego-feeding frenzy. Granted, trying to get today’s short attention spanners out there to sit down and watch Winters’ best work is going to be a hard sell, but I think Stanley Kramer’s 1963 comedy classic kills a few birds with one stone.

Yes, the movie is too long by today’s standards (hell, it was too long for 1963 standards), but it’s packed to the gills with comedians and comediennes from a huge enough slice of history that you could see the careers of some beginning and ending with this one zany epic. The story of a bunch of wildly assorted strangers chasing down a dead robbery suspect’s stolen loot is still required viewing for anyone who considers him or herself a fan of comedy and the film works so well because no one gets away without taking a few lumps or a pratfall or three… Continue reading →