budman-4 Reviews

X-Men (2000)

Hollywood Gets It Right

[10/10 · 15 July 2000]

I can count on one hand the number of superhero films that were any good (Superman 1 & 2, Batman Forever, The Mask Of Zorro). But Hollywood got this one right. Despite minor changes from the comic book, this movie IS heart and soul the X-Men. It's also thought-provoking and even emotionally moving in spots. Highest recommendation!

Beach Peach (1950)

Popeye's nemesis is not Bluto this time.

[10/10 · 25 April 1999]

Popeye's nemesis is not Bluto this time around, but a handsome muscle-bound lifeguard who gets all hot and bothered by Olive Oyl in her bikini. Occasionally in the Famous Studio cartoons, The Sailor Man would vie with "one shot" villains for Olive's affections. See also "Pre-Hysterical Man", "Snow Place Like Home", "A Wolf In Sheik's Clothing". "Beach Peach" is an entertaining cartoon. The lifeguard's tattoos coming to life and blasting Popeye across the beach is a scene that has stayed in my memory since childhood.

The Royal Four-Flusher (1947)

The quintessential Famous Studios' Popeye cartoon

[10/10 · 25 February 1999]

The quintessential Famous Studios' Popeye cartoon: Olive and Bluto The Count go ga-ga over each other; Bluto humiliates Popeye and gets him out of the way; A willing Olive accompanies The Count to his penthouse; The Count tricks Olive into putting on a strait jacket(!!)and proceeds to chase her around the apartment; She yells for help; Popeye eats his spinach and...well, you know the rest. A very entertaining cartoon.

Popeye for President (1956)

With a title like that, you expect a lot more than is given.

[3/10 · 25 February 1999]

With a title like that, you expect a lot more than Popeye and Bluto helping Olive out with farm chores so she can get to the polls. How about Popeye kicking out Congress?? Single-handedly building new roads?? How about Bluto trying to frame him in a scandal?? How about entertaining us??!!

Jitterbug Jive (1950)

With the current swing music revival going on, people should give this cartoon a look.

[10/10 · 25 February 1999]

With the current swing music revival going on, people should give this cartoon a look. Cool hep cat Bluto in a zoot suit comes to Olive's party. A square Popeye annoys Olive, who wants her party to be full of jivey music and Bluto, who wants to make out with his cute hostess. A fast moving, music-filled cartoon with an exciting climax.

Olive Oyl for President (1948)

Olive sings her version of "I Enjoy Being a Girl".

[10/10 · 23 February 1999]

Olive sings her version of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in this fanciful, entertaining cartoon which gives us a glimpse into the way her mind works. Very well done.

Godzilla (I) (1998)

not as bad as everybody says it is

[7/10 · 5 December 1998]

This film is not as bad as everybody says it is. It was an okay way to spend a couple of hours. Look, when I go to a film entitled, "Godzilla", I'm not expecting Shakespeare!! It was slow in spots and the acting stunk, granted, but I defy anyone to say they were bored from the time our heroes entered Madison Square Garden until the end of the picture.

Mister and Mistletoe (1955)

An intriguing idea, well executed

[10/10 · 4 December 1998]

This cartoon takes an intriguing idea, Bluto disguising himself as Santa Claus in order to spend Christmas Eve necking with Olive Oyl, and executes it well. Bluto's methods of getting rid of Popeye - stuffing him in Santa's sack, zapping him with an electric train, etc., fit the theme. How a cartoon series' "holiday episode" should be done - keeping everyone in character and with a minimum of artificial sentiment that doesn't fit. Not to mention that the idea of a handsome Santa snuggling with a cute girl is strangely romantic somehow. Watch the cartoon and have a Merry Christmas.

The Island Fling (1946)

unfortunate racial stereotypes, but good cartoon.

[10/10 · 4 December 1998]

This cartoon is rarely broadcast these days because it contains racial stereotypes. This is too bad, because it's a good Robinson Crusoe/desert island romance spoof.

Insect to Injury (1956)

The Paramont/Famous Studios' Popeye worked best as a hero when he didn't fight Bluto

[10/10 · 4 December 1998]

The Paramount/Famous Studios' Popeye worked best as a hero when he wasn't fighting Bluto (or some other guy) over Olive Oyl. Bluto (or the other guy) often outclassed The Sailor Man and got lots of encouragement from fickle Olive, so we sometimes felt that Popeye was the interloper, horning in on someone else's romance. Not very heroic. But here, in this picture, Popeye takes on a swarm of marauding termites in a battle of wits that would do even the Warner Brothers cartoon characters proud. And we root for Popeye the whole way. A very inventive cartoon and one of the studio's best. I paricularly liked the termites forming a jack to lift the lid off of their trash can trap.

Parlez Vous Woo (1956)

Why doesn't Olive drop Popeye and go out with Bluto?

[10/10 · 3 December 1998]

A romantic cartoon in which Bluto disguises himself as "The International", Olive Oyl's favorite, suave television star. He does such a great job wooing her, thoroughly turning her on, and even beating Popeye in a duel for her hand that one wonders why she's so upset when she finds out who he really is. Wouldn't a more realistic response be, "Bluto Honey, let's go over to the love seat and you can pretend to be the International again"? This cartoon is the culmination of the Paramount/Famous Studios' re-vamp of Olive to make her more attractive. Here she is, by cartoon standards, drop dead gorgeous.