This was the greatest spoof of musicals I ever saw. I am one of the few who liked Moulin Rouge because of its "Plan 9 from Outer Space" quality. The "narrator" played by Allen Cumming was like the narrator character in George of the Jungle; not just telling the facts but giving his opinions and effecting the story. In 1936 if the film had been made this way maybe more of a message would have been delivered. The original was silly and based on my times riding the school bus in High School obviously not based on actual observation of marijuana users. (NO, I AM NOT A USER AND NEVER HAVE BEEN) The film takes every stereotype of white America in the 1930's and uses it to the hilt. That poor Asian lady suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable when the "Fu Manchu" drug dealer gives Sally something for the baby was something the 1903's film makers wouldn't have even considered. One male chauvinist pig issue: Why didn't Ana Gastyer get undressed like the rest of the ladies?
Reviews
11 Reviews
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
(2005 TV Movie)
It was an homage to musicals and the alleged educational films
6 March 2008
The rare occasion where the screenplay is better than the book
18 November 2007
The original book "The Off Islanders" is pretty lame. The story reads like a "MASH" sequel book; I had hoped that it would be more like "Rally Round the Flag, Boys"; but it was rather dull. The screen writers had a chance to make it more entertaining and Alan Arkin as Rozanov and his conversations with "Whitaker Walt" are a scream. The island regulars including Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters are also a real hoot. There are precious few people on Martha's Vineyard speaking in the traditional New England accent and John Phillip Law is not very believable as a soviet sailor. Theodore Bikel is not used enough to really let the audience enjoy his presence. Watch for "Jody" from Family Affair dangling from the side of a church steeple.
Moonstruck
(1987)
At Last, a film about Italians in America without the Mafia
30 August 2007
I am sorry about the delay in posting about this movie. I have only recently learned how to do these postings. Moonstruck shows Italians as people and not cartoon gangsters. The most famous portrayer of gangsters in the 1930's was Edward G. Robinson; who was so far from Italian it's funny. Then the stories were reduced in importance due to WW2, with the Italian mob making a comeback with Mario Puzo's books and Francis Coppola's movies. It is great to simply see a family with an ordinary business living through ordinary issues, and no "Goodfellas" anywhere in sight. Yes, I know Cher is Armenian; but all those years married to Salvatore Bono must have left an impression about Italian-American families. Olympia Dukakis; ethnically Greek, however those of us who grew up in Chicago lived in neighborhoods where Greeks and Italians lived side by side and the only differences were the choices of meats and wine. She was deserving of her Oscar.
Spy Chasers
(1955)
General Burkhalter Meets Sach; and loses
12 August 2006
This Bowery boys entry is one where the production code was slightly ignored as the "Mata Hari" character loses a dress and is not wearing a slip; she's wearing a teddy. The Old Production code prohibited showing the female form that revealingly, but that was a crazy idea. Leon Askin was here and playing a version of the middle European villain he always played; whether it was in Hogan's Heroes, What did you do in the War Daddy?, or One,Two, Three. The difference here was he was not facing Bob Crane or James Cagney; he lost to Huntz Hall. It is light hearted fare and should be taken as what it is, a B-movie and the equivalent cinematically of a hot dog.
Invasion Quartet
(1961)
Saw twice as a kid and never forgot this wonderful World War II Comedy
2 March 2006
This was a film I saw while quite young on WGN in Chicago. The opening sequence of animation was as good as the recent movie Valiant. The premise of a British Army Rehabilitation Hospital in the early days of World War II as a basis for a funny movie may seem strange but Spike Milligan and the gang make it work. One of the more memorable moments was the evaluation board meeting patients and deciding the ability of the patients to return to active duty; this was made funny by the Chief of Staff of the Hospital being an ob/gyn in civilian life. He approaches all his patients as if he was still in the maternity ward. The men demonstrate the so called bicycle exercise to show fitness and say "It helps restore your figure afterwards". The lead characters are an English officer who has lost a leg, a french officer who has lost a hand, an English demolitons expert recovering from PTSD, and a colonel who is in charge of the local Home Guard as he was thought too old to fight in World War II. The one legged englishman and the one handed french man swap uniform jackets to fool the board and it works until the french man shakes hands with the president of the board and loses his prosthetic hand. The two jacket swapers then dream up their own covert operations force and name it SOD(too English a piece of slang;now I get why it was funny). The movie is a prequel spoof of the Guns of Navarone; a rag tag group is out to silence German coast artillery piece wreaking havoc on the innocent civilians and allied forces. The Germans are portrayed in a manner befitting the best Mel Brooks could dream up.
The Legend of Zorro
(2005)
Roger Ebert is an idiot
15 February 2006
This is a movie which was incredibly well done. The new villain was right out of the old "Wild Wild West". The continuity errors were a little intriguing: References to a "Confederate Army" in 1850 when the states didn't secede until 1861 and showing a Henry Repeating Rifle at least 10 years prior to its existence while no one carries a Colt Revolver which did exist at the time is rather odd. The performance by Antonio Banderas as Zorro vexed by the 2 sides of his existence was wonderful. The depiction of the "chinatown" area where acupuncture takes place was also interesting. The polo/joust sequence was rather funny. Ebert focused on the marital argument aspect of the scenes between Zorro and Elena; this is the same critic who also thought Moulin Rouge should have been best picture. Moulin Rouge was fun; but in an Ed Wood kind of way not because it was good. The legend of Zorro was a pleasant evening's diversion for my daughter and I and I hope there will be more movies by this team on this great story line.
Homework
(1982)
Bait and switch in the worst way; and the bait wasn't that fresh either.
31 January 2006
This movie was billed as the next best thing to "Private Lessons". The movie was marketed on the misperceived sex goddess status of Joan Collins. She never goes Mary Kay LeTourneau. All you get to see is a really weak teen soap opera. My sister, her fiancé,and I went to this movie and left it with the same reaction we had to Porkies; a triumph of marketing for not a lot of movie. Joan Collins does some flashbacks of her youth and then she was an active participant in romance; it was a low level rip off of the Graduate. The teen band sequence was a bad version of the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland OK kids, let's put on a show. The end was not even very climactic; the two male leads walking out of a movie theater and talking of trying to make a movie just like when they started a band.
Attack
(1956)
Forgotten unsung WW II classic
19 October 2005
A forgotten movie where Jack Palance gets to play a good guy for a change. Robert Strauss is up to his usual tricks as a gruff groundpounder. As a WW II re-enactor; the hand carved foregrip for a bazooka is memorable touch, but they don't show the need to tie the wires around the leads. Eddie Albert; a veteran of the landing at Tarawa as a navy hospital corpsman has a tremendous performance as Captain Cooney who seems to have a childhood similar to Christina Crawford. The final scene where William Smithers is prepared to stand up for what he did to save the men in his command from Cooney is a true example of what the Greatest Generation was all about.
Great Material, Faithfully Filmed,and a great action film
19 October 2005
I didn't get to see Return of the King on the silver screen, so I had to borrow from a friend. As soon as I got home,I watched it. WOW, I had never seen a movie with so much story to tell and action to carry that story. Aragorn, revealed as the heir to the throne of Gondor, receives Anduril from Elrond and takes the Paths of the Dead. Frodo and Sam, with their guide Gollum, move closer to Mordor. The Black Gate is shut and the only way into Mordor is the Pass of Cirith Ungol, the lair of Shelob the spider. Pippin, after having looked into the palantir, is taken to Minas Tirith. After having sworn service to the Steward, he can tell that Denethor's two sons were treated differently. Boromir, the oldest and favorite, and the one he wants to go to the Council of Elrond. At first, Boromir doesn't want to go, Faramir offers to go in his brother's place. If Denethor knew one of his sons was going to die, he would have sent Faramir, no questions asked. At the end, all the love stories(Namely the obvious love story that we see going on in Fellowship of the Ring),all those loose ends are tied. Overall, Return of the King was a magnificent end to a good trilogy. (And, Tolkien has stopped turning over in his grave).
March or Die
(1977)
La Legion not so Etranger; Solid Action film.
19 October 2005
Forgotten film by Gene Hackman. This was the truest depiction based on the histories of the Legion of the so called "Beau Geste" period. The book didn't have as happy an ending but both are satisfying. The film has some interesting moments in its final battle scene where the Legionaires are running around using Lewis Light Machine guns as Tommy Guns. Catherine DeNeuve was reduced to window dressing unfortunately. And surprise of surprises; Ian Holm,who is so English, plays the Berber Leader, El Krim. Morocco is a long way from the Shire. Terence Stamp is surprising as a blond gypsy who rises to the military way of life after avoiding all discipline and authority.
It wasn't Indiana Jones, SO WHAT!!
19 October 2005
When I walked into the theater to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, I didn't expect much of anything. Other people have complained that it wasn't as good as Indiana Jones. You can't have Indiana Jones without 4 people participating: Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and lastly, John Williams. Yes, I said John Williams, his music truly sets the mood for the movies. Sky Captain is more like the adventure serials such as "Crash Corrigan" or " Buck Rodgers". Jude Law is not Harrison Ford. He has played other heroes in movies such as Enemy at the Gates. Giovanni Riblisi has played heroes too,(Wade, in Saving Private Ryan). As a Harry Potter fan, I appreciated a chance to see Michael Gambon for more than a few seconds. The movie is not for everybody, but there is a small cult of loyal fans. You need to test this movie out, but not by throwing something.
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