"Take myself, subtract movies, and the result is zero"
- Akira Kurosawa
We here at film babble are ignoring supposed big summer blockbusters like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW & TROY to focus on smaller fare like SUPER SIZE THIS and COFFEE AND CIGARETTES. We're just those kinda geeks I guess. Anyway we got lots of movie babble-blurbs and lots of crazy-ass-action to let's get to it.
DVDS IN RECENT RELEASE
RIPLEY'S GAME (2002) Dir. Liliana Cavana. Decent sturdy thriller but it could use a little more wit. Many lines are basic and stiff. Which is a surprise considering these are based on Patricia Highsmith's wickedely witty Tom Ripley novels. John Malkovich plays the same character that Matt Damon did in THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) but as somebody on the message board on IMDB stresses this is not a sequel. Dennis Hopper also tackled the character in Wim Wender's THE AMERICAN FRIEND (1977). A dry dull game Ripley plays this time around.
- Bertie Shaffer
OSAMA (2003)Dir. Siddiq Barmak. Beautiful but disturbing as Hell. The basic line that this is the first movie made in Afganistan since Taliban fell is news enough but to experience this movie is to witness as harrowing a depiction of oppression and indignity that's ever graced the silver screen. Marina Golbahari plays the title character - a 12 year old girl firced to pose as a boy in order to support her hungry mother and grandmother. The ruse doesn't last long and she is exiled to a worse fate. Watch at your own peril.
- Sarah Warner
MONSTER (2003) Dir. Patty Jenkins. Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of Aileen Carol Wuornos a Floridian serial killing prostitute who had been exectued in 2002. Argubly she derserved to win because as Roger Ebert and many other critics gushed she completely inhabits the role and it's fascinating to watch. Unfortunately the movie that houses Wournos' story is uneven and routinely presented. There are many effective moments like when teen lesbian Christina Ricci and Theron go roller skating and fall in love with each other to the tune of Jounrey's "Don't Stop Believing" (yep, they're just that kind of 80's white trash) so ultimately I recommend it. For footage of the real Wuornos check out Nick Broomfield's (yes the twit who made the silly docs BIGGIE AND TUPAC and KURT AND COURTNEY) AILEEN : LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER. Watching that or MONSTER will make you want to take a shower and that's a film babble gurantee.
- Bertie Shaffer
ELEPHANT (2003) Dir. Gus Vant Sant. A meditation on a Columbine style high school shooting that feels anticlimatic and left me short. The look and feel is convincing but ultimately this is a afterthought project with a muddled sense of purpose. Nice acting though from a cast of unknowns - Alex Frost and John Robinson particularly.
- Anderson Moran
21 GRAMS Dir. Alexandro Gonzalez Inarritu. From the same team responsible for AMORES PERROS (2000). For a movie that got a few Oscar nominations and a round of good critical notices this flick seems to have been thrown onto DVD with the same loving care as GIGLI - no extras per say. Not even a trailer except for other films (I hate that). The story here is 3 characters whose destinys of course intertwine and unsurprisingly is told out of sequence. How Indy! You have to pay close attention to absord the subtle details so that may lose a bunch of viewers right off. If that doesn't the grainy washed out film stock might. So anyway this goes back and forth in time the narrative surrounding an automobile accident killing a man and his 2 daughters and the aftermath his widow(Naomi Watts)faces as a haggard pale proffesor (Sean Penn) is in need of a heart thansplant. Benecio Del Toro plays an ex-convict whos to blame for the accident. Any more I would tell you would give away this film's secrets. Basically this is Penn, Del Toro and Watts embroiled together in a tale of intrigue and blood! Almost poetic. And as Chris Guest said in A MIGHTY WIND - "Almost."
- Daniel Cook Johnson
EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS - BBC 2002 Dir. Kenneth Bowser.
"When Blake said that the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom...it also leads to the grave" - Kris Kristofferson
William H. Macy's narration delicately explains one of the greatest or at least most interesting film making eras in this documentary adaptation of Peter Biskind's bestseller. Covering the same material and even sharing a number of the same film clips as DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE the story should be familliar to film babble blog readers. Simply put to those just tuning in - the French new wave headed by Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard influenced a band of movie brat outsiders who broke into the studio system after years of B-movie exile. Maverick cheapie teen-expoitation king Roger Corman mentored Peter Bogdonovich, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper and countless others to become the "New Hollywood". They made what were called "Now movies" like BONNIE AND CLYDE, EASY RIDER, THE GODFATHER, MEAN STREETS, and HAROLD AND MAUDE to name 5. By the mid 70's the careers of many of the principle players were in decline while these straight laced film nerds from Malibu - Steven Spielberg and George Lucas cleaned up with JAWS and STAR WARS which this thesis proposes was the end of the era. Whether or not that's true we get many fascinating anecdotes about crazy set antics, infidelities, and of course more stories about that damn mechanical shark. Good stuff indeed. Check out the cool DVD bonus interviews with many of the targeted directors and actors plus a realing talk with author Biskind. Required viewing for all film babble blog students.
- Daniel Cook Johnson
"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion." - Kitty Farmer played by Beth Grant (DONNIE DARKO 2001)
More later...
is the Green Art Nail
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Monday, May 24, 2004
Happy Birthday Bob Dylan!
"When will this rotten summer end? In a film, it'd already be over. Fade-out, cut to storm. Wouldn't that be great?"
- Salvatore played by Marco Leonard (CINEMA PARADISO 1989)
Since today is Bob Dylan's 63rd birthday we here at film babble are celebrating with lists, fun facts and the usual movie blather. First off we admit that his Bobness has had a career in movies that honestly is pretty spotty. This isn't surprising considering the biggest news lately about who many consider one of the best songwriters ever and a figure deserving of a nobel prize is that he appears in a Victoria's Secret ad ogling underwear models as his 1997 song "Lovesick" plays. That got more press than the release of his last album! So let's take a look at the poet prophet's acting career :
1. PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID 1973. Bob actually makes the most of a small part and gets a hit out of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" to boot. His character's name is Alias. How apt.
2. RENALDO AND CLARA (1978)This was never commercially available on videotape and now isn't on DVD. It's only been available on limited panned screenings and fuzzy as Hell bootleg copies. It's a weird movie (Ronnie Hawkins plays Dylan, Dylan plays Renaldo, and all the women end up looking like whores or something like that) that can broken into two parts - confusing drama and disjointed concert movie. A later cut made it into mostly concert movie but apparently that didn't save it from being just an important work in heated Dylan geek circle debates only.
3. HEARTS OF FIRE (1987) Bob plays over the hill ornery former rock star Billy Parker. Dylan's worst movie by far in his worst period by far. Joe Eszterhas (BASIC INSTINCT, SHOWGIRLS, BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN) wrote it. Need I say more?!!?
4. BACKTRACK AKA CATCHFIRE AKA DO IT THE HARD WAY (1990) A Dennis Hopper movie but it's fitting that the last flick on this Bob round-up had Joe Eszterhas because Allan Smithee (the common pseudonym for directors whose film was clearly taken away from her/him and recut heavily against her/his wishes in ways that completely altered the film) is also credited. Bob does a brief cameo as a welder/conceptual artist. I think. Don't quote me on that.
5. MASKED AND ANONYMOUS (2003)Bob plays Jack Fate - another over the hill formerly relevant musician who walks through a majorly incomprehensible movie nightmare. An A-list cast (Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Bruce Dern, Val Kilmer, and even Ed Harris in black face!) and a great soundtrack can't save this mess.
So Mr. Spokesman for a generation (a label I've always hated and am sure he hates too) hasn't exactly lit up the silver screen as an actor but his legendary songs have enhanced many a film. Check out the top five best uses of Dylan's music in the movie :
1. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) "The Man In Me" set to a bowling montage that opens the Coens loosest effort perfectly captures the spirit of the Dude (Jeff Bridges) and the rambling world he inhabits.
2. HIGH FIDELITY (2000) "Most Of The Time" has John Cusack yet again in the rain soaked by nature and his love life dilemnas. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here WIth You" also features in a love scene with Lisa Bonet.
3. THE WONDER BOYS (2000) Bob won the Oscar for "Things Have Haved" - a great slab of later day Dylan that along with "Shooting Star" and "Not Dark Yet" illustrate the burned out mind frame of Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas).
4. NEW YORK STORIES (1989)Martin Scorsese's segment LIFE LESSONS artist Nick Nolte blares Bob and the Band's live "Like A Rolling Stone" from Before The Flood from a paint splattered boom-box to inspire his passion-fuelled painting.
5. FLASHBACK (1990) Dylan's stately cover of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" briefly redeems this lame Dennis Hopper/Keifer Sutherland hippy meets yuppie comedy.
* HONORABLE MENTION - AMERICAN BEAUTY (2000) Kevin Spacey blares "All Along The Watchtower" as he smokes pot and works out.
So until Marty Scorcese's Dylan Anthology project and Todd Haynes weirdly named I'M NOT THERE : SUPPOSITIONS ON A FILM CONCERNING DYLAN (seriously!) both supposedely due next year the best Bob as himself and as true performer are undoubtedely :
DON'T LOOK BACK
(1967) D.A. Pennebaker's grainy black and white documentary of Dylan's 1965 solo tour of Britain contains the definitive picture of young Bob. Some critics think Bob comes off as an asshole here as he seems to be putting on everyone from rival musicians to newpaper reporters but I think he's hilarious and clearly enjoying his moment in the Sun. Though no song is heard from start to finish there's lots of good music and the DVD nicely contains the audio of a few complete songs as well as director commentary and a few other treats. If you only see one Bob movie...
THE LAST WALTZ (1978) Scorcese's fabulous flick of the Band's farewell concert at Thanksgiving in 1977 only features Bob for a few songs but what a few songs! He looks odd with an beach hat barley containing scragglier than usual hair but sings a concise "Forever Young" then blazes through "Mama Let Me Follow You Down". Bob didn't allow his whole set to be filmed. I have never understood why. Another great DVD though.
UNPLUGGED(1994 - SONY DVD 2004) This however is a very disapointing DVD of a great performance. There were 2 nights of Bob and his great touring band doing over an hour sets including several songs like "Hazel" and that didn't make the broadcast and should have been included here. This just has the program as it was originally released in 1995 on videocassette. A shame indeed but it's still an essential disc in my book - the versions of "Shooting Star" and "Dignity" alone keep the proceedings from being a by-the-numbers hits set. Bob looks cool with sunglasses and polk-dot shirt too.
CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH (1972) - This ground breaking benefit concert organized by George Harrison has cool tunes by Ravi Shankar and Eric Clapton among others but all of them SUCK compared to the 5 song set by Bob! He does definitive versions of his classic '60s songs. A must see.
There are too many lost obscure Bob movies and bootleg videos out to go into but I'll just say that his EAT THE DOCUMENT (1968)about the infamous electric tour of England in '66 - which he himself edited is screaming for a proper release. Maybe someday.
So Happy Birthday Bob! Keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew...
More later...
- Salvatore played by Marco Leonard (CINEMA PARADISO 1989)
Since today is Bob Dylan's 63rd birthday we here at film babble are celebrating with lists, fun facts and the usual movie blather. First off we admit that his Bobness has had a career in movies that honestly is pretty spotty. This isn't surprising considering the biggest news lately about who many consider one of the best songwriters ever and a figure deserving of a nobel prize is that he appears in a Victoria's Secret ad ogling underwear models as his 1997 song "Lovesick" plays. That got more press than the release of his last album! So let's take a look at the poet prophet's acting career :
1. PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID 1973. Bob actually makes the most of a small part and gets a hit out of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" to boot. His character's name is Alias. How apt.
2. RENALDO AND CLARA (1978)This was never commercially available on videotape and now isn't on DVD. It's only been available on limited panned screenings and fuzzy as Hell bootleg copies. It's a weird movie (Ronnie Hawkins plays Dylan, Dylan plays Renaldo, and all the women end up looking like whores or something like that) that can broken into two parts - confusing drama and disjointed concert movie. A later cut made it into mostly concert movie but apparently that didn't save it from being just an important work in heated Dylan geek circle debates only.
3. HEARTS OF FIRE (1987) Bob plays over the hill ornery former rock star Billy Parker. Dylan's worst movie by far in his worst period by far. Joe Eszterhas (BASIC INSTINCT, SHOWGIRLS, BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN) wrote it. Need I say more?!!?
4. BACKTRACK AKA CATCHFIRE AKA DO IT THE HARD WAY (1990) A Dennis Hopper movie but it's fitting that the last flick on this Bob round-up had Joe Eszterhas because Allan Smithee (the common pseudonym for directors whose film was clearly taken away from her/him and recut heavily against her/his wishes in ways that completely altered the film) is also credited. Bob does a brief cameo as a welder/conceptual artist. I think. Don't quote me on that.
5. MASKED AND ANONYMOUS (2003)Bob plays Jack Fate - another over the hill formerly relevant musician who walks through a majorly incomprehensible movie nightmare. An A-list cast (Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Bruce Dern, Val Kilmer, and even Ed Harris in black face!) and a great soundtrack can't save this mess.
So Mr. Spokesman for a generation (a label I've always hated and am sure he hates too) hasn't exactly lit up the silver screen as an actor but his legendary songs have enhanced many a film. Check out the top five best uses of Dylan's music in the movie :
1. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) "The Man In Me" set to a bowling montage that opens the Coens loosest effort perfectly captures the spirit of the Dude (Jeff Bridges) and the rambling world he inhabits.
2. HIGH FIDELITY (2000) "Most Of The Time" has John Cusack yet again in the rain soaked by nature and his love life dilemnas. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here WIth You" also features in a love scene with Lisa Bonet.
3. THE WONDER BOYS (2000) Bob won the Oscar for "Things Have Haved" - a great slab of later day Dylan that along with "Shooting Star" and "Not Dark Yet" illustrate the burned out mind frame of Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas).
4. NEW YORK STORIES (1989)Martin Scorsese's segment LIFE LESSONS artist Nick Nolte blares Bob and the Band's live "Like A Rolling Stone" from Before The Flood from a paint splattered boom-box to inspire his passion-fuelled painting.
5. FLASHBACK (1990) Dylan's stately cover of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" briefly redeems this lame Dennis Hopper/Keifer Sutherland hippy meets yuppie comedy.
* HONORABLE MENTION - AMERICAN BEAUTY (2000) Kevin Spacey blares "All Along The Watchtower" as he smokes pot and works out.
So until Marty Scorcese's Dylan Anthology project and Todd Haynes weirdly named I'M NOT THERE : SUPPOSITIONS ON A FILM CONCERNING DYLAN (seriously!) both supposedely due next year the best Bob as himself and as true performer are undoubtedely :
DON'T LOOK BACK
(1967) D.A. Pennebaker's grainy black and white documentary of Dylan's 1965 solo tour of Britain contains the definitive picture of young Bob. Some critics think Bob comes off as an asshole here as he seems to be putting on everyone from rival musicians to newpaper reporters but I think he's hilarious and clearly enjoying his moment in the Sun. Though no song is heard from start to finish there's lots of good music and the DVD nicely contains the audio of a few complete songs as well as director commentary and a few other treats. If you only see one Bob movie...
THE LAST WALTZ (1978) Scorcese's fabulous flick of the Band's farewell concert at Thanksgiving in 1977 only features Bob for a few songs but what a few songs! He looks odd with an beach hat barley containing scragglier than usual hair but sings a concise "Forever Young" then blazes through "Mama Let Me Follow You Down". Bob didn't allow his whole set to be filmed. I have never understood why. Another great DVD though.
UNPLUGGED(1994 - SONY DVD 2004) This however is a very disapointing DVD of a great performance. There were 2 nights of Bob and his great touring band doing over an hour sets including several songs like "Hazel" and that didn't make the broadcast and should have been included here. This just has the program as it was originally released in 1995 on videocassette. A shame indeed but it's still an essential disc in my book - the versions of "Shooting Star" and "Dignity" alone keep the proceedings from being a by-the-numbers hits set. Bob looks cool with sunglasses and polk-dot shirt too.
CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH (1972) - This ground breaking benefit concert organized by George Harrison has cool tunes by Ravi Shankar and Eric Clapton among others but all of them SUCK compared to the 5 song set by Bob! He does definitive versions of his classic '60s songs. A must see.
There are too many lost obscure Bob movies and bootleg videos out to go into but I'll just say that his EAT THE DOCUMENT (1968)about the infamous electric tour of England in '66 - which he himself edited is screaming for a proper release. Maybe someday.
So Happy Birthday Bob! Keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew...
More later...
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Political Documentary Power
"That's part of your problem: you haven't seen enough movies. All of life's riddles are answered in the movies." - Davis played by Steve Martin (GRAND CANYON 1991)
Because of the recent controversy over Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 911 or maybe because we're just simply bored we here at film babble thought we'd give a shout-out to some other political documentaries in recent circulation:
UNCOVERED - THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR
THE FOG OF WAR : ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. McNAMARA Dir. Erroll Morris.
JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE (2002)
POWER AND TERROR : NOAM CHOMSKY IN OUR TIMES (2002)
Those oughta tide you over 'til Moore's obviously anti-Bush and anti-war cinematic diatribe gets proper backing and makes its way to our town.
More later...
Because of the recent controversy over Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 911 or maybe because we're just simply bored we here at film babble thought we'd give a shout-out to some other political documentaries in recent circulation:
UNCOVERED - THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR
THE FOG OF WAR : ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. McNAMARA Dir. Erroll Morris.
JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE (2002)
POWER AND TERROR : NOAM CHOMSKY IN OUR TIMES (2002)
Those oughta tide you over 'til Moore's obviously anti-Bush and anti-war cinematic diatribe gets proper backing and makes its way to our town.
More later...
Monday, May 10, 2004
AIRPLANE! & Its Many Children
"Life's like a movie, write your own ending"
- Kermit the Frog (THE MUPPET MOVIE 1978)
So we at film babble have been going nuts over the sequel summer to come as evidenced in our last post. Every genre represented and every cliche exploited - it is going to be a long hot summer. One genre that we babble bloggers all agree must end is represented by the arrival on DVD of SCARY MOVIE 3. You know the genre - the AIRPLANE-MAD-MAGAZINE-DERIVED-JOKE-A-MINUTE spoofs (see list below)that seem to appear every several months and have inane scatalogical humour in place of real satire.
AIRPLANE! AND ITS MANY CHILDREN:
For those of you just tuning in - fellow comedy writers/performers Jerry and David Zucker along with Jim Abrahams created a franchise around a bunch of cheap jokes and lame sight gags. It started when the Zuckers and Abrahams (ZAZ for short) took their stage show from the Kentucky Fried Theater in Milwaukee to Hollywood to make THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE. KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE begat AIRPLANE! which begat :
POLICE SQUAD (TV SERIES-1982) After his straight-man to a perfection performance in AIRPLANE! Leslie Neilsen stars as Detective Frank Drebin in a dead-on parody of '60s and '70's cop shows. Unfortunately this blueprint would later be bred dry.
TOP SECRET (1984) - File this under "what were they thinking?!!?" I mean the idea was to mix Elvis movie musical fluff with Nazi spy dramas, right? RIGHT?!!? I dunno but Val Kilmer does his ernest best to fend off prison anal sex jokes and a misguided BLUE LAGOON take-off. At least it has that one surreal sequence with Peter Cushing, otherwise what a dog patch!
THE NAKED GUN (1988)/ NAKED GUN 2 1/2 (1991) / NAKED GUN 33 1/3 : THE FINAL INSULT (1994) Detective Drebin (Nielsen)returns from sitcom cancelation pergatory in 3 movies that get progressively worse and are most notable for having O.J. Simpson as his cop partner punching bag. Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, Anna Nicole Simpson, and Robert Goulet chime in with pop culture icon plug-aways and the jokes - the very definition of hit or miss - just keep coming. First Film recommended only.
HOT SHOTS (1991)/ HOT SHOTS PART DEUX (1993) While the Zucker Brothers did other less jokey projects (GHOST, RUTHLESS PEOPLE) Jim Abrahams never left the always go for the funny fold. His Charlie Sheen fronted TOP GUN spoofs also took on RAMBO, NO WAY OUT, BASIC INSTINCT among countless other targets to better success than a number of later day Zucker efforts. Surprisely both flicks hold up today - on a silly stupid level mind you - the Saddam Hussein look-alike alone but add a clueless war-time President played by Lloyd Bridges and you'll get sucker punched into the next decade.
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH (1996)- Hip hop high school dramas like DANGEROUS MINDS get a beating in a movie that actually lets Jon Lovitz take the lead - a romantic heroic lead at that. Problem is among the cheap throwaway gags herein - who was even paying attention? Only David Zucker of ZAZ was involved here.
Some of the ZAZ team appear as writers or producers of the following offspring of AIRPLANE! but some titles are unrelated hangers-on or copycats. Most notably AIRPLANE 2 : THE SEQUEL which ZAZ not only had nothing to do with - they made a pact never to see it. It was a blatant cash-in you see. Much like the majority here :
YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE (1982) - One of the first to use lame slogans like "in the tradition of..." or ad copy along the lines of "does to soap operas what AIRPLANE did to disaster movies". Wishful thinking - this Gary Marshall directed hospital farce didn't een come close despite the talents of Michael McKean and Sean Young.
JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY - This time out it's '30's-'40's gangster movies getting the joke-a-minute treatment. Try joke every 30 minutes more like.
CAVEMAN - Dawn of man comedy starring Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach. Dennis Quaid and Shelly Long hold up the rear. And what a rear it is.
I'M GONNA GET YOU SUCKA! - The Wayans Brothers pre-IN LIVING COLOR take on Blaxploitation movies from the '70's using the ZAZ mold.
FATAL INSTINCT : The less said the better.
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON I : Ditto
JANE CHAMPION'S MAFIA!: Jim Abrahams should have known better. The genre has barely 2 breaths left.
BASKETBALL (1999) This ill-fated collaboration with the Stone brothers of South Park fame is barely a blink on the comedy radar. Remember it? I didn't think so.
WRONGFULLY ACCUSED
SPY HARD - Leslie Nielsen cashes in on his ZAZ-created non-persona. Why not?
Coming up the Wayans steal from the Zuckers and the Zuckers get their revenge - SCARY MOVIE style when FILM BABBLE BLOG continues.
AFTER THESE MESSAGES...
- Kermit the Frog (THE MUPPET MOVIE 1978)
So we at film babble have been going nuts over the sequel summer to come as evidenced in our last post. Every genre represented and every cliche exploited - it is going to be a long hot summer. One genre that we babble bloggers all agree must end is represented by the arrival on DVD of SCARY MOVIE 3. You know the genre - the AIRPLANE-MAD-MAGAZINE-DERIVED-JOKE-A-MINUTE spoofs (see list below)that seem to appear every several months and have inane scatalogical humour in place of real satire.
AIRPLANE! AND ITS MANY CHILDREN:
For those of you just tuning in - fellow comedy writers/performers Jerry and David Zucker along with Jim Abrahams created a franchise around a bunch of cheap jokes and lame sight gags. It started when the Zuckers and Abrahams (ZAZ for short) took their stage show from the Kentucky Fried Theater in Milwaukee to Hollywood to make THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE. KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE begat AIRPLANE! which begat :
POLICE SQUAD (TV SERIES-1982) After his straight-man to a perfection performance in AIRPLANE! Leslie Neilsen stars as Detective Frank Drebin in a dead-on parody of '60s and '70's cop shows. Unfortunately this blueprint would later be bred dry.
TOP SECRET (1984) - File this under "what were they thinking?!!?" I mean the idea was to mix Elvis movie musical fluff with Nazi spy dramas, right? RIGHT?!!? I dunno but Val Kilmer does his ernest best to fend off prison anal sex jokes and a misguided BLUE LAGOON take-off. At least it has that one surreal sequence with Peter Cushing, otherwise what a dog patch!
THE NAKED GUN (1988)/ NAKED GUN 2 1/2 (1991) / NAKED GUN 33 1/3 : THE FINAL INSULT (1994) Detective Drebin (Nielsen)returns from sitcom cancelation pergatory in 3 movies that get progressively worse and are most notable for having O.J. Simpson as his cop partner punching bag. Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, Anna Nicole Simpson, and Robert Goulet chime in with pop culture icon plug-aways and the jokes - the very definition of hit or miss - just keep coming. First Film recommended only.
HOT SHOTS (1991)/ HOT SHOTS PART DEUX (1993) While the Zucker Brothers did other less jokey projects (GHOST, RUTHLESS PEOPLE) Jim Abrahams never left the always go for the funny fold. His Charlie Sheen fronted TOP GUN spoofs also took on RAMBO, NO WAY OUT, BASIC INSTINCT among countless other targets to better success than a number of later day Zucker efforts. Surprisely both flicks hold up today - on a silly stupid level mind you - the Saddam Hussein look-alike alone but add a clueless war-time President played by Lloyd Bridges and you'll get sucker punched into the next decade.
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH (1996)- Hip hop high school dramas like DANGEROUS MINDS get a beating in a movie that actually lets Jon Lovitz take the lead - a romantic heroic lead at that. Problem is among the cheap throwaway gags herein - who was even paying attention? Only David Zucker of ZAZ was involved here.
Some of the ZAZ team appear as writers or producers of the following offspring of AIRPLANE! but some titles are unrelated hangers-on or copycats. Most notably AIRPLANE 2 : THE SEQUEL which ZAZ not only had nothing to do with - they made a pact never to see it. It was a blatant cash-in you see. Much like the majority here :
YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE (1982) - One of the first to use lame slogans like "in the tradition of..." or ad copy along the lines of "does to soap operas what AIRPLANE did to disaster movies". Wishful thinking - this Gary Marshall directed hospital farce didn't een come close despite the talents of Michael McKean and Sean Young.
JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY - This time out it's '30's-'40's gangster movies getting the joke-a-minute treatment. Try joke every 30 minutes more like.
CAVEMAN - Dawn of man comedy starring Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach. Dennis Quaid and Shelly Long hold up the rear. And what a rear it is.
I'M GONNA GET YOU SUCKA! - The Wayans Brothers pre-IN LIVING COLOR take on Blaxploitation movies from the '70's using the ZAZ mold.
FATAL INSTINCT : The less said the better.
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON I : Ditto
JANE CHAMPION'S MAFIA!: Jim Abrahams should have known better. The genre has barely 2 breaths left.
BASKETBALL (1999) This ill-fated collaboration with the Stone brothers of South Park fame is barely a blink on the comedy radar. Remember it? I didn't think so.
WRONGFULLY ACCUSED
SPY HARD - Leslie Nielsen cashes in on his ZAZ-created non-persona. Why not?
Coming up the Wayans steal from the Zuckers and the Zuckers get their revenge - SCARY MOVIE style when FILM BABBLE BLOG continues.
AFTER THESE MESSAGES...
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Another Summer Of Sequels & Remakes
"I don't take the movies seriously, and anyone who does is in for a headache."
- Bette Davis
SEQUEL SEASON IS IN SESSION!
This summer no less than 80% of all releases are sequels to successes of summer's past. Here's some of the most notable :
SPIDERMAN 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - This presumably pure popcorn flick is highly awaited by us here at film babble after such a great trailer. Hope it delivers.
SHREK 2
THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2 - The world was dying for this one. Way to go Gary Marshall!
BEFORE SUNSET - It is odd to do a sequel to a little seen independent flick - let alone one of Richard Linkletter's lesser efforts - BEFORE SUNRISE. Still, film babble's Spidey-sense tingles that it might be worthwhile.
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY Apparently the BOURNE IDENTITY was the most rented movie of 2003. So here's a sequel. Good for them.
ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH VOLUME 2
HARRY POTTER 3-D
ALIEN VS. THE PREDATOR
EXORCIST : THE BEGINNING
REMAKING THE GRADE
15% of the remaining releases this summer are remakes of cult classics. The cream of the crop :
THE STEPFORD WIVES
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE - Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep do their best to answer the question - remake the perfect classic - why? Doubt they'll have a convincing answer
SOUL PLANE - AIRPLANE with black people! That's the pitch. Seriously. Snoop Dog stars.
More later...
- Bette Davis
SEQUEL SEASON IS IN SESSION!
This summer no less than 80% of all releases are sequels to successes of summer's past. Here's some of the most notable :
SPIDERMAN 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - This presumably pure popcorn flick is highly awaited by us here at film babble after such a great trailer. Hope it delivers.
SHREK 2
THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2 - The world was dying for this one. Way to go Gary Marshall!
BEFORE SUNSET - It is odd to do a sequel to a little seen independent flick - let alone one of Richard Linkletter's lesser efforts - BEFORE SUNRISE. Still, film babble's Spidey-sense tingles that it might be worthwhile.
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY Apparently the BOURNE IDENTITY was the most rented movie of 2003. So here's a sequel. Good for them.
ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH VOLUME 2
HARRY POTTER 3-D
ALIEN VS. THE PREDATOR
EXORCIST : THE BEGINNING
REMAKING THE GRADE
15% of the remaining releases this summer are remakes of cult classics. The cream of the crop :
THE STEPFORD WIVES
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE - Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep do their best to answer the question - remake the perfect classic - why? Doubt they'll have a convincing answer
SOUL PLANE - AIRPLANE with black people! That's the pitch. Seriously. Snoop Dog stars.
More later...
Sunday, May 2, 2004
Fictitious Film Presidents A-Z (Well W Actually)
"All I do all day long...is dream about movies." - Joseph Bonnano
"I don't really care for movies - they make everything seem so close up." - Macon Leary (THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST)
The weird unexpected brief cameo of Billy Bob Thorton playing the President of the United States in the mawkish cringe-fest of LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) inspired us to take a list of our favorite fictitious film presidents. Film babble presents :
THE MEN WHO WOULD BE KING - FICTITIOUS PRESIDENTS A-Z (well W actually)
“We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president.”
- Michael Moore
Fictitious presidents exist in a parallel movie universe where the year is never specified and many times their political party is implied - not stated out loud. They are also by design a comment on the current President at the time of said movie - the Clinton era seemed to inspire the most mock Presidential performances - DAVE, THE CONTENDER, and The West Wing TV show being notable examples. The least unimaginative entries here aren't even named - they're simply just The President. If you're going to have the leader of the free world as a character in your movie - GIVE HIM A NAME!!!!
Here goes:
AKYROYD, DAN – President William Haney – MY FELLOW AMERICANS (1996)
ALDA, ALAN – US President - CANADIAN BACON (1995)
ANDREWS, TOD – President Jeremy Haines – PRESIDENT’S PLANE IS MISSING, THE (1973 TV MOVIE)
I haven’t seen this one but love the title and damnit at least they named the Pres!
ATHERTON, WILLIAM – President John Fields – EXECUTIVE POWER (1997) Banner year for movie Presidents. This one is unimaginative as the title.
BERGEN, POLLY – President Leslie McCloud – KISSES FOR MY PRESIDENT (1964)
BRIDGES, JEFF – President Jackson Evans - CONTENDER, THE (2000)
BRIDGES, LLOYD – President Thomas 'Tug' Benson - HOT SHOTS PART DEUX (1993)
CROMWELL, JAMES – President Robert Fowler – THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (2002)
DOUGLAS, MICHAEL – President Andrew Shepherd – AMERICAN PRESIDENT, THE (1995)
DREYFUSS, RICHARD- The President - FAIL SAFE (Remake - 2000)
HONORABLE MENTION - Presidential candidate Senator Bob Rumson - AMERICAN PRESIDENT, THE (1995)
FONDA, HENRY – The President – FAIL SAFE (1964)
FORD, HARRISON – President James Marshall - AIR FORCE ONE (1997)
FREEMAN, MORGAN – President Tom Beck – DEEP IMPACT (1996)
GARNER, JAMES – President Matt Douglas – MY FELLOW AMERICANS (1996)
HACKMAN, GENE – President Allen Richmond - ABSOLUTE POWER (1997)
HONORABLE MENTION - Ex-President Monroe Cole - WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (2004)
HOLBROOK, HAL – President Adam Scott – KIDNAPPING OF THE PRESIDENT (1980)
KLINE, KEVIN – President William Harrison 'Bill' Mitchell - DAVE (1993)
LEMMON, JACK – President Russell O. Kramer – MY FELLOW AMERICANS (1996)
MARCH, FREDERIC – President Jordan Lyman – SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)
MARSHALL, E.G. – The President – SUPERMAN II (1981)
NEWHART, BOB – President Manfred Link – FIRST FAMILY (1980)
NICHOLSON, JACK – President James Dale – MARS ATTACKS (1996)
NIELSON, LESLIE – President Harris – SCARY MOVIE 3 (2003)
PLEASENCE, DONALD – President of the United States – ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981)
PULLMAN, BILL - President Thomas J. Whitmore – INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
ROBBINS, TIM – The President – AUSTIN POWERS : THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (1999)
SELLERS, PETER –President Merkin Muffley – DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
SHEEN, MARTIN –President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet - WEST WING,THE NBC TV SERIES 1999-PRESENT
HONORABLE MENTION – Presidential Candidate Greg Stillson – DEAD ZONE (1983)
THORTON, BILLY BOB – US President – LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)
WARDEN, JACK – President Benjamin Turnball Rand – BEING THERE (1979)
WATERSON, SAM – The President - SHADOW CONSPIRACY (1997)
More later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
