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jrfranchi
Reviews
Quark (1977)
A running commentary while watching the DVD.
I'm watching the DVD now. I am less than impressed so far. The humor is a bit off, the music is cheesy rip-offs and the acting is weak. Tim Thomerson stands out as extra terrible. It is amazing how well he has stayed employed. The Barnstable Twins are about as bad actresses as you would expect. It was fun watching Conrad Janis. Richard Kelton actually appears to be fairly good.
I don't know why, but I watched all 8 episodes yesterday. I would recommend you pass on watching it again. Rent Get Smart instead. That has held up very well and the acting and writing and humor was far better. If you want Sci-Fi humor rent Red Dwarf.
Watching Quark did inspire me to see if the Wild Wild West is available yet. It is and I added it to my Q.
Ross Martin of Wild Wild West played a Ming the Merciless like villain in Episodes 5 & 6. (7 was the final but the first was 0).
Pushing Daisies: Dummy (2007)
I just re-watched this episode.
It is just as good the second time. This show is simple amazing, poetic, whimsical and ultimately lovely.
The scene recounting Janine and Bernard first sighting of each other is simply incredible and beautiful writing.
The narrator recounts that: "Bernard remembered her hair Redder, her sweater tighter and her smile, ... well her smile he remembered just right" That line is so amazing to me. If it was from the Princess Bride, people would be repeating it constantly.
The music underscores every scene to perfection. This is not a TV show as much a series of miniature movies.
Lines likes this are classic: Narrator: At that moment, the Pie Maker felt a mixture of happiness and trepidation. Ned: Why is it always a mixture?
This is quickly becoming my favorite show since Northern Exposure.
Grindhouse (2007)
Great Action Packed Thrill Ride that Lived up to the Hype.
I love this movie. I liked both movies. I did like "Planet Terror" better. I thought it was going to be a spoof of Zombie movies, instead it was a tribute that outdid the source material in the same way the Indiana Jones outdid the movies it was a tribute to. Total Kick ass and well done.
The blond Doctor and her problem getting into the car was one of the best parts. Despite all the gore, her scene had more of the theater gasp than any other.
This was the first time I ever found Rose McGowan really attractive. She was extremely hot and actually looked pretty at the same time.
Who is Freddy Rodríguez and why was he so damn good? Jeff Fahey was great as J.T. & the scene with his brother (Michael Biehn) and the recipe was pretty good.
I thought Tarantino as an actor was good in "Deathproof" and bad in "Planet Terror".
Danny Trejo and Cheech had the best cameo's in what I thought was the best Trailer. I would actually like to go see "Machete" if they make it.
I roared at Nicolas Cage's part.
Zoe Bell looked like she had a huge amount of fun playing herself.
It took me a while to recognize Lee was the pretty actress that played Gwen in Sky High opposite Kurt Russell again.
Anyway, I really enjoyed both movies and the trailers. "Don't" was really funny.
What's New, Scooby-Doo?: The Unnatural (2003)
The Gang visits a Baseball Ballpark.
Freddy wins the Meet Luis Santiago Contest. He is on the verge of breaking the home run record and of course someone or something does not want him to break the record.
Look for the cartoon cameo by Mike Piazza.
--------- minor spoilers -------------
The ghost of the Home Run king is the one that wants to stop the record from being broken.
The current stadium is built over the sunken remains of the old stadium.
It was a an OK episode.
Hoodwinked! (2005)
Hoodwinked is surprising good, my kids loved it. (No Spoilers)
I took my wife and kids to see Hoodwinked today.
I would gave it a 7.
The theater was packed, and there was much laughing during the movie and applause at the end.
It is a great twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story. Animation is sub-par but humor was good. Best character was the hyperactive Squirrel voice by writer/director Cory Edwards who I never heard of before.
David Ogden Stiers was excellent as the frog Detective. I hope the sequel gets made.
Jim
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968)
Disappointing film, not really worth watching.
Jerry was cardboardish and unfunny. Good effort by Terry-Thomas, his scenes were funny. Jacqueline Pearce as Jerry wife was attractive but added nothing to the film. There was generally poor writing & directing. I was surprised to see Jerry Paris (the dentist neighbor from the Dick Van Dyke Show) was the director and not Jerry Lewis himself.
The unseen pilot of the Plane to Lisbon on the British Air Company that has no offices had some funny lines. I particularly like the line were they cruising " somewhere between 8,000 and 30,000 feet." I cannot really find any reason to recommend watching this movie, it is not campy and doesn't even show off Jerry's typical shtick.
Harvey (1950)
Perfect film, look for lighting
A perfect film, overwhelmingly loved. I would like to point out the lighting in the film is wonderful. The best scene to look for is as Mr Dowd is sitting in the alley behind the bar speaking to the Doctor & nurse and the use of shadows and indirect lighting bring a strength to the scene that is usually only noted for Citizen Kane.
Stewart is so great in so many films and this is among his best roles.
This is screwball comedy that is somehow low key and without slapstick. I cannot think of any film that is similar to this since Peter Sellers did "Being There" in 1979.
They should not remake this film, but if they did the only acceptable actor would be Tom Hanks.
Erik the Viking (1989)
Underrated
Not a great movie but very good & very watchable. I've seen it 3 times now over the last twelve years. Several very funny laughs and amusing throughout. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Tim Robbins or the Pythoner's