I loved Hundreds of Beavers so I was eager to check out an earlier film from the creative duo behind it, Lake Michigan Monster. Sharing some of the film’s creative styles, it’s shot in black and white, made to look like a throwback to yesteryear, and has a goofy sense of humor that slides from…
Tag: goofy
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) – Dean Parisot
Bill & Ted came along at just the right time in my life. In 1989, I was a senior in high school, and the characters, their speech, and their general attitudes resonated with me. I joined them on their Excellent Adventure a couple of times in theaters, and in 1991 when they went on a…
The Cannonball Run (1981) – Hal Needham
They don’t make cast-packed comedies like The Cannonball Run anymore. That doesn’t mean it’s all good, but it is damned enjoyable. Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds were coming off Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper, and this road movie was a fun next step. Originally designed as an action film for Steve McQueen, when the…
TIFF24: Ick dir. Joseph Kahn
I had a great time with Kahn’s Detention so was ready to happily slip into his latest effort, Ick. A bit of a combination between Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, Night of the Living Dead and The Faculty, Kahn’s film suggests that there is a lot of fun to be had, but it…
TIFF24: It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This dir. Rachel Kempf and Nick Toti
It’s right there in the title, so if you aren’t into found footage films and the restraints (sometimes creatively solved) it puts on the horror subgenre, this may not be the one for you. I reality, Rachel, Nick and Christian are three good friends, and they’ve been making goofy horror movies together since they met,…
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) – Burt Kennedy
James Garner is at his charming best in Support Your Local Sheriff! Jason (Garner) rides into a small gold rush town, which we see spring up through the opening credits after Prudy (Joan Hackett) and her father, Olly Perkins (Harry Morgan) discover gold partway through a funeral – and that should tell you all you…
Magnum P.I. (2023) – Consciousness of Guilt, and Extracurricular Activities
Katsumoto (Tim Kang) turns to Magnum (Jay Hernandez) for help when a case he’s involved with falls apart during the trial, and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) wonders if she and Magnum spend too much time together and should see what it’s like when they spend a day apart. Consciousness of Guilt was written by Andre Jackson…
Magnum P.I. (2023) – The Retrieval, and Run with the Devil
Jin (Bobby Lee) is back in The Retrieval. Written by Gene Hong and Katie Varney, this episode first debuted on 1 November, 2023. Jin comes to T.C. (Stephen Hill) for some help when Jin’s ex-partner Bo (Kirk Fox) is released from prison, and wants his cut from a previous heist to pay for his protection…
Family Ties (1988) – The Boys Next Door, Sign of the Times, Return of the Native, and Father, Can You Spare a Dime?
Elyse (Meredith Baxter) and Steven (Michael Gross) are getting ready for their high school reunion, in The Boys Next Door. Written by Trish Vrandenburg, it first debuted on 6 March, 1988. Alex (Michael J. Fox) is wowed to find out that Elyse went to school with Roger Erdman (Robert Klein). He’s a multi-millionaire whose company…
Starman (1986) – The Return, and Like Father, Like Son
John Carpenter’s Starman resonated with a lot of people, and it seems that in the 80s spin-off series were happening fairly regular, there was Fame, Fast Times, 9 to 5, and Private Benjamin. There are a number of issues with the series but I was eager to dig into it and see how it stands…
The Mind Reels 