Posts Tagged ‘Comedy’

Pierre Etaix: Criterion Collection DVD Review: Affordable Pricelessness

Posted: 20 May, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Pierre Etaix: Criterion Collection DVD Review: Affordable Pricelessness

For many of the “average” citizens living within the confines of the continental United States of America, the concept of viewing French comedy is on-par with sitting around in coffee shops drinking itsy bitsy cups of coffee whilst talking about art and folk music: that which is perceived by the ignorant, uneducated masses who have been raised under the impression that NASCAR and Coors Light make the world go ’round to be artsy-fartsy-hippie-liberal-faggoty stuff. Of course, what they fail to realize is that – as Morrissey once crooned – America is not the world. And both NASCAR and Coors Light suck, too. But that’s irrelevant, really – as is just about everything I have said up until now. Read the rest of this entry »

Carnival in Costa Rica DVD Review: An Endless Unfunny Rom-Com Musical

Posted: 5 May, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Carnival in Costa Rica DVD Review: An Endless Unfunny Rom-Com Musical

In case it has slipped past both your central and peripheral paths of vision in recent years, the residents of the United States of America don’t really care for its neighbors beneath it. Apparently, they feel they’re, well – beneath them. Canadians? Kosher – so long as they don’t talk politics or health care. Mexicans? Never. Not in a million years. Who cares if they do all of the menial tasks most of the USA’s own citizens feel are a tad too tedious: they still don’t like them. And that goes doubly so for those lazy, happy-go-lucky Costa Ricans – who are something of the subject of the awful 1947 Twentieth Century Fox Technicolor romantic comedy musical, Carnival in Costa Rica. Note how I say they are “something of the subject” – this is because there’s nary an actual Costa Rican in the entire dreadful picture. Read the rest of this entry »

John Dies at the End DVD Review: Hey, Thanks for the Spoiler Alert!

Posted: 22 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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John Dies at the End DVD Review: Hey, Thanks for the Spoiler Alert!

Every filmmaker has some sort of visual signature that can be easily recognized in their works. Sometimes, such as in the instance of Alfred Hitchcock, it’s a brief walk-on role that you have to look out for (to say nothing of his directorial style, but that’s quite literally beside the point in his case). For others, it’s the tendency to repeat the same damn scene in every movie they make – such as that no-talent hack Michael Bay and his frequent usage of something exploding on a freeway as the camera pans away. And then there are directors like the great Don Coscarelli. Actually, there’s only one Don Coscarelli: I can’t imagine another moviemaker in this universe who would be capable of pulling off Phantasm, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep. Read the rest of this entry »

Blu-ray Review: A Haunted House (2013) – A Hate Crime Against Humor

Posted: 21 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: A Haunted House (2013) – A Hate Crime Against Humor

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: A Haunted House (2013) – A Hate Crime Against Humor on Blogcritics.

Even in today’s age of using-all-things-digital-like, there is still a heavy usage of a once-everyday item that continues to be employed by the writers working within the film and television medias: the 3×5 index card. The reason for utilizing such a thing is simple: it assists those who have been handed the often-unenviable responsibility of coming up with something creative in assembling what they feel is the perfect story with the ideal elements. Where does Bob go after he walks out of the lounge at midnight? A quick toss of the dart onto the wall lands on the 3×5 card reading “Zimbabwe” — and so it is written. Well, it could be written that way; needless to say, it takes at least an iota of talent or the slightest inkling of discernable taste in order to achieve this method of storytelling. (more…)

The Marriage-Go-Round DVD Review: James Mason, ’60s Swinger at Large!

Posted: 14 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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The Marriage-Go-Round DVD Review: James Mason, ’60s Swinger at Large!

Adapting a work from one form of entertainment to another is not an easy task. Imagine, if you will, what might happen were one to add a Descriptive Video Service audio track to a film like Koyaanisqatsi. Or if Cannibal Holocaust were turned into a bloodless Broadway musical. Something would inevitably get lost in translation, making way for that age old adage about capturing lightning in a bottle. But what happens if you hand that magical glass container over to someone – say a complete and total dumbass – and they go and punch holes in the lid so that the poor lightning can breathe? Well, if you’re looking for a good example, The Marriage-Go-Round should more than suffice. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! DVD Review: Oh, Brother!

Posted: 14 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Oh, Men! Oh, Women! DVD Review: Oh, Brother!

If someone were to voluntarily stroll up to me and willingly make it a point to talk to me about the classic War of the Sexes genre of romantic comedies that highlighted many a headliner at cinemas of yore, chances are they would invoke the holiness of those oh-so-dated-yet-timeless Doris Day/Rock Hudson vehicles. Were such a conversation with a complete stranger to occur, however, my first thought would not stray towards the appeal of either aforementioned lead performer. Instead, I would grin with delight over the very thought of the quintessential War of the Sexes co-star, Tony Randall – one of the few male comedic performers in history to be able to make me laugh without having to do anything – and who is preceded in my book of greatness only by Avery Schreiber. Read the rest of this entry »

Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence DVD Review: Or, Before They Were Stars: The Movie

Posted: 3 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence DVD Review: Or, Before They Were Stars: The Movie

Everyone remembers the late great actor Glenn Ford for a different reason, whether it be his roles as Pa Kent, Mr. Eddie’s Father, Dr. Faraday, or – on perhaps a more famous note – as the lead of many a fine cowboy or film noir protagonist. But what of his films before he became a big star? Well, thanks to the Fox Cinema Archives, we can at long last view Glenn’s very first major role – as a feller named Joe Riley in the 1939 film Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence - without having to scour hundreds of television listings and trying to figure out how to program our modern-day recording devices in advance. Read the rest of this entry »

DVD Review: The Bowery Boys – Volume One

Posted: 11 March, 2013 in Movies/TV
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DVD Review: The Bowery Boys – Volume One

Article first published as DVD Review: The Bowery Boys – Volume One on Blogcritics.

In all the annals of classic comedy, there is perhaps no greater resonating sound to perk up the ears of a truly knowledgeable film aficionado than that of The Bowery Boys. Or The East Side Kids. Or the Little Tough Guys. Oh, and the Dead End Kids, too. You see, over the course of 21 years, this ever-altering-yet-constant group of youthful (later to become not-so-youthful-in-age, but in spirit) male actors managed to make a whopping 88 (officially) feature-length films as well as three Saturday Matinee Serials for a total of four different studios. Though several of the faces (and names) changed throughout that 21-year period (23 if you count their stage work), the true constants of the formula(s) usually relied on the talents of leads Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, and Gabriel Dell to deliver the goods. (more…)

Blu-ray Review: Guns, Girls and Gambling – Been There, Done That

Posted: 8 March, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: Guns, Girls and Gambling – Been There, Done That

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Guns, Girls and Gambling – Been There, Done That on Blogcritics.

In the mid ’90s, mainstream cinema and the direct-to-video market alike both experienced a significant change in their product — due largely in part to the worldwide success of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, a movie that dared to toss out the traditional formula of ABC filmmaking in favor of a more nonlinear style of storytelling. Granted, any well-read (or well-viewed) disciple of film knows that Tarantino did not solely create the genre of hip features. There were numerous avant-garde artists before him — most of whom did it far better than he could have ever hoped to, but whose methods of moviemaking did not become as hugely popular in the fact that they simply weren’t as popular. (more…)

DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season

Posted: 28 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season

Article first published as DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season on Blogcritics.

Many individuals out there believe the Road to Hell is paved with the good intentions of others. It that were true, one might have every right to argue about the belief that the equally-talked about Stairway to Heaven could very well be lined with bad television network decisions. All those really good and/or promising series that received a unwarranted, swift chop of the ever-dreaded “Exec Axe” are there, embedded within the steps leading up to eternal glory to entice you with the promise that they just might be alive and well up there. Ironically enough, sources indicate that Highway to Heaven is not among those titles, but I’ve been assured by the Amazing Criswell that Eureka is. (more…)

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