If I Could Turn Back Time...

I wouldn't have watched several of the movies I've watched over the past few months. It is so disappointing to wait through all of the build-up and finally sit down to watch a movie that simply doesn't measure up to the hype. I feel it is my civic duty to take some time to warn you about a few movies...and to complain, in general about the ones we have to choose from.

For starters, there's Juno. I couldn't even bring myself to watch this one because of its cutesy little trailers which I thought, glorified teen pregnancy. Why make a comedy about a pregnant, teenage girl? This movie seems to be making light of a very serious situation. This fact and the irreverant use of the word "shenanigans" were enough to make me boycott the film. Stupid...yes.

Next, there was Good Luck, Chuck. Well, what can I say about this movie except that if I had been in the market to spend a half an hour looking at nothing but Dane Cook's ass, I would have been thrilled. Sadly, the funniest parts of the movie were those which were included in the trailers. If they had tried to assemble a film from just those clips, it might have been fine, but they took it too far and as a result, it was a big disappointment.

The third disappointment I encountered was "Knocked Up." I'm not even sure why this was supposed to be funny, but let's just say that it missed the mark. Once again, irresponsible behavior made into a neat little film that lasts about a half an hour too long. This entire movie was only slightly more entertaining than a Cher video.

How about my fourth pick, Superbad? This one was not only not funny, it was disturbing. Young people, high school age, I guess, talking incessantly about having some sort of sexual encounter. And they weren't using a mild-mannered "Sixteen Candles" sort of dialogue, but in the most raunchy, disgusting language they could possibly use. I was embarrassed to even be watching this one and I'm not easily embarrassed.

I'm not sure what has happened to the film industry over the last five years or so, but whatever it is, I don't like it. Every once in a while, there's a good one, but more often than not it's a real crap shoot. Lest you think I have absolutely nothing good to say, I want to share with you my list of movies that I think everyone should watch at least once. You'll see, I really do have a sense of humor and I'm not just some old prude who likes to give young filmmakers a hard time.

My List...the top 15

Airplane!
Undercover Brother
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective
Caddyshack
Spaceballs
Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery
The Jerk
There's Something About Mary
The Nutty Professor (Eddie Murphy)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Top Secret!
The Three Amigos!
Dodgeball
Friday
Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby

If you haven't seen these, I recommend you check them out when you have some time. They are worth your time. The others, not so much.

Until next time...



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George Carlin

Upon hearing the news of comedian George Carlin's death, I had to take a moment. He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest comedic talents who ever lived. A sharp witted, intelligent, thinking man's and woman's comedian. Through his comedy, he was able to pick up on the subtle similarities and the not so-subtle differences between each and every one of us and make us laugh when we realized just how stupid we really are sometimes. He was an inspiration to those of us who enjoy good old fashioned sarcasm. He will be missed. Here's hoping you will smile when you think of his list of cuss words or his "stuff." Some of my favorite George Carlin clips are included below:


George Carlin STUFF


George Carlin - The Little Things


George Carlin - Phrases and Sayings


Ten Commandments




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Tomato!

Sorry, I just had to title this post like that. I've noticed, as most everyone else has, that with the big salmonella scare most restaurants have taken tomatoes off of their menu. It made me remember the line from that cheesy movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. You know, the one where the narrator says something like, "...the very mention of the word strikes fear in the hearts of many..." and then we see this guy sitting in the middle of a library and he looks around very carefully and smiles before saying, "Tomato!" Ok, I realize that it's probably one of those "you had to be there" kind of things, but I found it quite funny years ago. Actually now, I find it a tad creepy.

My point is, I like tomatoes and I'm terribly upset that we can't have any right now. Well, not terribly, I guess I'm just a little peeved. Mildly inconvenienced. Sadly, these are the things which trouble me. I don't really have anything substantive to add to the conversations that may be going on regarding tomatoes, I really just wanted to share my recollections of the Killer Tomato Movie and to share this with you...

The Clip

Have a great day!


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