Reviews

Not once did I see "Academy Award nominee" labeled on this film, but I was nevertheless amused at the SNL actors' performance as traveling salesmen.

After Tommy Callahan III (Farley) father (Brian Dennehy) checks out, he is the now the heir to the old man's nearly bankrupt auto-parts business, much to the chagrin of the more deserving and heir-apparent Richard Hayden (David Spade, in another sidekick role). But the elder Callahan's new bride/widow attempts to steal the company from her stepson which forces Spade and Farley to team up, sell the parts needed to save the business, and well, two SNL actors, what do you expect? They make for a brilliant combination, and although many of the scenes were silly at times, I found them funny which made for an enjoyable picture.

The courageous tale of a young boy diagnosed with a brain tumor and the fight to keep him alive through treatment, and what else, the get-well cards, hence the title. Sounds like sentimental, award-winning material, doesn't it? It does. But there are several holes which couldn't save this cheap picture show.

Catherine Oxenberg portraying the real-life Marion Shergold is just awful; her "emotion" was completely forced, the "accent" made me cringe, and it made me wonder if her authentic British counterparts jeered at her during filming. Aside from her god-awful performance, the storyline completely dragged--I fell asleep twice on my sofa--and regardless of what the millions of cards did for the terminally ill bugger, I was left empty and unsatisfied. This could have been much better.

I loved this show when it was on, so I bought the DVD when it finally came out. But what do you know? The geniuses at Fox canned the program in 2002 and aired recycled episodes held out by NFL broadcasts that were touted as "all-new," until the effective cancellation in August 2003.

It revolves around Philip J. Fry, a loser New York pizza-delivery boy who on New Year's Eve 1999, delivers a pizza to a cryogenics lab, mistakenly falls in a capsule, is frozen in time, and travels to the year 2999. We are now in "New New York" and shortly after he is unfrozen by lab assistants, meets the moderately sexy Taronga Leela, a cyclops who talks like a human-being, looks like one, but then again, she only has one giant eye. Right after, he encounters Bender, a smart-mouth cigar-smoking, beer-swilling robot with his signature catch-phrase "Bite my shiny metal ass!" Fry then discovers his great-great-great(30X) grand-nephew, the senile Professor Hubert Farnsworth, head of the Planet Express space-delivery program. He'll hire the trio and then we'll meet the others.

From there, it gets better, with the lobster-crab-octopus creature (Dr. Zoidberg), a Martian-Chinese girl (Amy Wong), and the brilliant Jamaican bureaucrat, (Hermes Conrad). (Fellow watchers, gotta love Zapp and Kif).

I loved the show for its far-out humor, futuristic concepts, and Matt Groening's alien language, but then-again, it's Fox.

Bernie Mac and wife Wanda (Kellita Smith) never wanted to become parents. They live in their beautiful Encino home (about 20 minutes NW of L.A.) with celebrity neighbors, plush surroundings, and the continuous money flow from Bernie's stand-up comedy and Wanda's presidency of AT&T. Unwelcome news arrives as he learns that his druggie sister is in rehab, so his nieces Vanessa and Bryana (Camille Winbush, Dee Dee Davis) and nephew Jordan (Jeremy Suarez) are flown in from Chicago to live with their rich aunt and uncle for the time being. Right away, Bernie and Vanessa are at each other's throats (she's a teen and all), Jordan is a pain with his asthma, variety of other sicknesses, and weird behavior and Bryana, well she's five; what five-year old girl isn't annoying? Wanda enjoys the company of her only nieces and nephew, but leaves the majority of all errands (and problems) to Bernie. He tries to fill his avuncular duties as pain-free as possible, but with three kids, it's tough.

The show is funny, and every episode will most likely deal with Bernie and one of his family members. I love his humor, his "private time" with the camera, and the story lines in general. (Mac family reunion, in particular). Some episodes have been a little too dramatic for me, but more importantly, they remain funny and fresh.

Little Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall) is down on his luck. He needs money. Badly. He attends a little brat's birthday party and after seeing all his big-spending friends and the birthday boy, decides it's time for a change. Now we know his own special day is approaching. His thrifty father provides him with an $11 check, and as he goes down to his local bank to cash it, a recently-released thief named Carl Quigley(played convincingly by Miguel Ferrer) runs over his little bicycle. Eager to avoid the police, Quigley gives the kid a blank check and takes off. The check has fallen into the wrong hands, as Preston fills it in for a cool $1m and what do you know, has no trouble cashing it! Things get worse for the boy after a spending spree, as the money will eventually disappear, and a certain someone will be longing for that fortune.

I enjoyed Brian Bonsall's and Karen Duffy's little friendship, along with friendly limousine driver Rick Ducommun, but the plot is way too basic, and my opinion remains the same now, as it did in 1994, when I first saw the film.

The Gecko brothers (played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) will make you laugh, make you cry, or do just about anything else, as they take Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and his two kids (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu) hostage in the Southwest after a successful bank robbery. For the freedom they so desire, they decide to flee to Mexico in Fuller's RV and when they finally are south of the border, they stop at the first bar they see for a drink; unfortunately, the dark, dank pit is inhabited by blood-sucking vampires. The "Titty Twister" is full of vampire-like bar-employees and truckers who desire the fresh meat that arrives every so often. Extreme, gory violence ensues as the Gecko Brothers and Fullers try to defend themselves and prevent from becoming vampires along with the seemingly only sane and non-vampire at the bar, Sex-Machine (Tom Savini).

The violence and music made me laugh, and I enjoyed every minute. Cheech Marin has multiple roles and director Robert Rodriguez makes his signature move (family-member roles) by casting cousin Danny Trejo as one of the bar patrons.

I never had my doubts on seeing this film at my local theatre back in 1994, and didn't expect anything special. Just another kiddie football movie with the down-on-its-luck ragtag, underdog squad of little losers... well, you get the idea.

Rick Moranis (where in God's name has he been these past few years?) plays the role of Danny O'Shea, the non-athletic younger brother of Urbania Ohio's (the setting) pride and joy, Kevin O'Shea (Ed O'Neill), former Heisman Trophy winner, and the constant talk of the town, a true All-American. He runs an elite team of pee-wee football players, which draws the attention of his brother.

Danny assembles his own team (rejects of Kevin's squad, daughter in hand and all) and together, challenge Kevin's Cowboys to a match, and thus the aptly named Giants, for which they provide a "giant" effort when they finally do square off, provide light entertainment and a few scattered chuckles for the audience.

There are some "thematic elements," present, but its safe enough for all ages.

We travel to fictional Quahog, Rhode Island, home of fat, drunken buffoon Peter Griffin, sultry wife Lois, dumb, but kind-hearted son Chris, teenage drama queen Meg, Stewie, the British-sounding baby bent on world domination, and Brian, the dog; the dog that talks sophisticated, drinks sophisticated...

Almost every episode is hilarious, and creator Seth MacFarlane does not hesitate to add celebrities committing acts of, let's say, unusual doings, (Luke Perry as Adam West's homosexual bed-mate, Keanu Reeves as a brain-dead washout) but that does not interfere with the intelligence and consistent humor of a show somehow always teetering on the brink of cancellation. Controversial acts that add to the hilarity include the kidnapping of the former pontiff, (JP2, RIP) among many others. VERY ENJOYABLE, NOT TIRED.

During the show's debut in 2003-2004, I would quickly turn off my television set when that ukulele started to strum at the opening credits.

I was dead wrong at what I would eventually envision.

After viewing several episodes, I found this to be a witty, and sometimes delightfully funny program. Droll, hardworking, and recently widowed Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) has to endeavor with his father's (Jeffrey Tambor) imprisonment (in part to his real-estate company trading practices) his pampered mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), twin sister Lindsay, younger brother Byron "Buster" Bluth and his out-of-work oldest brother magician GOB. (or George Oscar Bluth II, pronounced "Jobe"). After George Sr. is sent to prison, the unbearable family members turn to Michael to head the corporation and handle their funds. Through it all, Michael has a son, George Michael, a timid and rather confounded young man who idolizes his daddy, has a mild infatuation with his only cousin, Maeby (Lindsay's daughter), and is in charge of the semi-popular Bluth frozen banana stand at Newport Beach's Balboa Island.

Not to mention the unexplainable Carl Weathers guest appearances, Ron Howard's uncredited narration, and brother-in-law Tobias' acting attempts, this program deserves its merit.

I saw my first ever episode out of complete boredom. After that however, I never looked back. The characters can be hilarious in their own way (except Stephnie Weir). Current seasons introduced Stuart, Ms. Swan, and the stupid, but funny Lorraine Swanson. Earlier, the Reality Check and Vancome Lady were brought on. The first few seasons were the best and one will not forget the "Lowered Expectations" or "Cabana Chat" skits. Many sketches (like Saturday Night Live) can be beaten into the ground, but aside from that, I'll laugh.

If you don't laugh, then by all means, watch something else.

9/10.

While I did not particularly enjoy the premise of this film, I did find several promising moments. Unfortunately, there were not enough.

Will Ferrell plays Ron Burgundy, a television anchorman for "San Diego's most popular news network." (apparently Channel 4) Alongside are his on-screen pals Champ Kind (Koechner) Brian Fantana (Rudd) and the rather bland Brick Tamland (Carell). The quartet seem to have happy times, rivaling with fellow anchor Wes Mantooth (Vaughn) and his news crew, until Ch.4 station boss Ed Harken (Willard) announces that the news needs more diversity (much to the dismay of the gentlemen). Along comes Veronica Corningstone (Applegate) who eventually becomes Ron's co-anchor whose promising deliverences and super talent drive Burgundy into unemployment after his Teleprompter misreading.

With several cameos (Ben Stiller, Jack Black) and Burgundy's talking dog, it just didn't give me that much needed spark.

5/10

Now everybody knows Shaq should stick to basketball. This movie wasn't as horrific as pointed out but I've seen better. A 5,000 year old, rapping, seven-foot genie trapped in a boom box is suddenly awakened by a 12 year old New York boy with nothing better to do. He grants the kid three wishes (all which are not that great) and through it all, a friendship develops. Shaq--or Kazaam-- is discovered at a nightclub, becomes a temporary success, while somehow Max is unhappy with his life. His father is involved in selling bootleg tapes and is involved in some kind of scheme with Malik, the Middle Eastern owner of the club. Max's final wish is for his daddy to have a second-chance. The wish is granted, Shaq is released from that stupid boom box, becomes free, and runs off with Asia-Moon (some woman in the club).

You know, I really believed that one was enough. I could barely tolerate John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in the 1978 original. No, they just had to continue. Newcomer Maxwell Caulfield plays a Briton--Michael Carrington--who moves to the U.S. and what do you know, the sequel returns to Rydell High in 1961, when the class is about to graduate. He's in love with Stephanie (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is in a club that can only date the Greasers (hence the title) but then the preppy love and music ensues... ugh. This had to be the breaking point, but I continued to sit, bored out of mind, and finish the tedious musical.

Beware!