My aunt first told me about Blazing Saddles sometime in the 1980s but all she mentioned was the famous fart scene. A group of cowboy marauders are sitting around a campfire eating beans when one of them, Lyle (Burton Gilliam), leans over and lifts up his leg a little and lets one out. Then, theContinue reading “‘Blazing Saddles’ Turns 50”
Tag Archives: comedy
‘Self Reliance’ Still Needs Some Help
A movie like Self Reliance only works if the protagonist is both likeable and little bit detestable. I think of Griffin Dunne in Martine Scorsese’s After Hours in which he plays what we think is a hopeless romantic but is actually quite an arrogant selfish person. Even though he’s put through the ringer, you kindaContinue reading “‘Self Reliance’ Still Needs Some Help”
‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark
Filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard once said, “The way to criticize a film is to make another film.” In 1971, when Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs was released during the Christmas holiday season, it shocked audiences and divided them. Based on the novel The Siege at Trencher’s Farm, it starred Dustin Hoffman as a meager intelligent mathematician whoContinue reading “‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark”
‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed
There was a joke on a Family Guy episode in which they did some Seth MacFarlane self-parody with the line is “Yeah, he watched TV in the 80s. We get it.” When Family Guy burst on the scene in 1999 after the Super Bowl, it reflected a growing change in movies and TV that decadeContinue reading “‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed”
Nic Cage Can’t Save ‘Retirement Plan’
The Retirement Plan is another one of those action comedy thrillers where a person is secretly a government agent or in this case retired agent who can kill someone with his bare hands as if it’s nothing. And said agent is estranged from a family member who never knew the truth but needs the helpContinue reading “Nic Cage Can’t Save ‘Retirement Plan’”
Comedy Troupe Search For ‘Treasure Of Foggy Mountain,’ Find Off-Color Humor
I had never heard of Please Don’t Destroy before watching their movie The Treasure of Foggy Mountain. But their brand of humor seems to be common to a lot of movies that have becoming out. They mostly bust each others balls for a 90-minutes movie, telling dirty jokes but still remain good friends at theContinue reading “Comedy Troupe Search For ‘Treasure Of Foggy Mountain,’ Find Off-Color Humor”
‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Is A Wonderful Storytelling Achievement
Every now and again, a movie is released that isn’t favored by many critics and doesn’t do well at the box office but finds its audience, respect and admiration later. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opened on Christmas Day in 2013 to polarizing reviews. Produced on a huge budget of $90 million, it madeContinue reading “‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Is A Wonderful Storytelling Achievement”
Christmas Shows Were Never The Same
Most TV shows revolving around Christmas had to have some time of goody-goody golly-jolly theme to them. Even The Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories had holiday-themed episodes but they still tried to tell a story with a moral to them. And by the time the 1980s rolled around, most Christmas-themed shows were hokey with storiesContinue reading “Christmas Shows Were Never The Same”
Zane Says 