Hundreds of Beavers is a gift. It’s brilliantly funny, and pays wonderful homage to the cartoon shorts of yesteryear, including their dark level of violence, the magic of Melies, the creativity of silent films, and the ability of a movie to take you in and captivate you even with its odd trappings. Jean Kayak (Ryland…
Tag: silly
Fast X (2023) – Louis Leterrier
Let’s be honest, The Fast and The Furious franchise jumped the shark awhile ago. Was it before the nuclear sub? Maybe. But as we close in on the end of the saga (maybe) the series has gone full comic book with Fast X. If Vin Diesel’s Dom is Batman then Jason Momoa’s character, Dante, is…
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) – Trish Sie
There’s, arguably, a good film and story in Pitch Perfect 3, something about the family we’re from and the family we find, but from the opening sequence, which involves an exploding yacht, I knew this one was going to be a mess. There’s some wonderful ideas, casting John Lithgow in the role of Fat Amy’s…
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…
The Addams Family (1991) – Barry Sonnenfeld
I remember enjoying The Addams Family from Barry Sonnenfeld when it came out in 1991, as it brought back memories of watching the original show on TBS in the evenings. I loved Raul Julia’s portrayal of Gomez, the family patriarch, and consequently, I figured it was time for a revisit. It’s definitely not aimed at…
Hill Street Blues (1987) – Norman Conquest, and Sorry Wrong Number
While Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) and Goldblume (Joe Spano) review officers for promotion alongside Mike (Richard Herd) Lt. Norman Buntz (Dennis Franz) is left in charge of the precinct for the day. Norman Conquest was written by Steve Bello from a story by Bello, Neil Eglash, Jonathan Lemkin and Micheal I. Wagner and it was…
Galactica 1980 (1980) – The Night the Cylons Landed Part I, and Part II
Troy (Kent McCord) and Dillon (Barry Van Dyke) pawn off the spacekids on Jamie (Robyn Douglass) when a new cylon fighter gets drawn into Earth orbit and is going to come down near New York, just in time for Halloween. The Night the Cylons Landed was a two-parter. The first episode aired on 13 April,…
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) – Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks skewers the legend of Robin Hood with his 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. None of the versions created are safe, and Cary Elwes is perfectly cast as the iconic hero that from its opening moments takes shots at everything, nothing is safe. Using the classic tale of Robin of Locksley coming…
Cocaine Bear (2023) – Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat. But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There…
Muppets From Space (1999) – Tim Hill
I’m not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised by Muppets From Space. I remember seeing some of the trailers when it was first coming out, and to me it looked like a big silly misstep. The muppets had really figured something out by interpreting literary classics with a Henson twist, but this seemed like…
The Mind Reels 