Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) – Peter Segal

Not half as clever as the previous films, Naked Gun 33 1/3 is Leslie Nielsen’s final turn as Police Squad!’s Frank Drebin. Now retired and living with Jane (Priscilla Presley), Frank finds himself called out of retirement yo join his team one last time in an effort to stop a terrorist attack on the Academy…

Death at a Funeral (2007) – Frank Oz

Frank Oz directs this uproariously funny film that puts the ‘fun’ in funeral, and amps up the hilarity by setting it in England. There’s just something horrendously funny about things going wrong around Brits, as they try to maintain some manner of decorum, dignity and civility. Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) is mourning the loss of his…

The Naked Gun 2 1/2 – The Smell of Fear (1991) – David Zucker

Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) and the members of his Police Squad! are working in Washington and soon finds himself embroiled in another case. And encountering Jane (Priscilla Presley), who backed out of their relationship after the end of the first movie. Once again, Jane is involved with the baddies. This time around, it’s Quentin Hapsburg…

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) – David Zucker

What with the reboot/sequel bringing comedic laughs back to the theatre, I thought I would take a look at the original The Naked Gun, which followed on the oh-to-short Police Squad! series. Leslie Nielsen is back as Frank Drebin, and if you were worried this movie wouldn’t be funny almost forty years later, you can…

Northern Exposure (1995) – The Mommy’s Curse, and The Quest

Maggie’s (Janine Turner) mother, Jane (Debra Mooney) arrives in town, with her new beau, Leland (Linden Chiles) still believing that Maggie and Joel (Rob Morrow) are still engaged and there’s a wedding in the offing. The Mommy’s Curse was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, this episode debuted on 1 February, 1995. While that…

Northern Exposure (1993) – Duets, and Grosse Pointe, 48230

Ed (Darren E. Burrows) is delighted when his spirit guide, One-Who-Waits (Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman) returns, and reveals that he has finally found Ed’s father! Duets was written by Geoffrey Neigher this episode was first broadcast on 18 January, 1993. One-Who-Waits leads Ed to Pete (Gordon Tootoosis) who works construction and Ed signs up as…

Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) – Susan Cooper

I found this book on a list of fantasy series. I had never heard of it, and while it claims to be a young adult series, the main characters are all children, it’s a damned entertaining ride, and sets up the adventure that will sprawl over five novels. Simon, his sister Jane, and younger brother,…

The Substitute (1996) – Robert Mandel

Its action sequences are flawed, and don’t look anywhere as near as cool, and sharp as they could, but 1996’s The Substitute (which spawned three increasingly bad direct-to-video sequels) is packed with familiar faces. The cast is led by Tom Berenger, and includes Raymond Cruz, Luis Guzman, William Forsythe, Rodney, A. Grant, Ernie Hudson, Marc…

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – Robert Longo

William Gibson wrote the screenplay for Johnny Mnemonic based on one of his short stories, but you get the impression it changed a lot from what he had written to what ended up on the screen. A lot of the tech seems to be glossed over, and with an hour-and-a-half runtime, this film feels like…