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Reviews
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (2003)
Funniest series ever on television
My wife and I found it impossible to be depressed while watching this show. Seriously. This show has helped us cope through some pretty rough times including deaths in the family, financial hardships, and even medical setbacks. It's just so silly and constantly funny that you don't have a chance to think about anything other than what's happening on the screen in front of you. The speedy dialog of quick quips and the steady stream of cartoon-like violence with the contestants created one of those things that comes but once in a lifetime. MXC is a true television treasure! If this show doesn't make you laugh, something may be seriously wrong with you.
The Ice Pirates (1984)
One of the best sci-fi spoofs ever!
Keep in mind that this was years before "Red Dwarf" was a TV series. This was back when sci-fi spoofs were things like the movie "Dark Star" or the TV series "Quark". "The Ice Pirates" is leagues above those. It also parodies all those classic swashbuckler films.
This film is still one of my favorite classic comedies of the 80's. I first saw it when it came out in the theaters in '84 when I was a high school senior. I laughed my ass off. I still do. I remember a lot of my friends who had seen it, too, back then would go around saying, "The school has herpes," as a reference to one of our favorite lines in the film. Plus, the end sequence is the best parody of a certain classic sci-fi film and a famous cartoon show (I don't want to name any of it here to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it) and had me laughing with tears in my eyes the first time I saw it on the screen.
Oh, and another thing - I firmly believe that Matt Groening borrowed the look of the alien in the restroom for the "time-sniffing" aliens that appeared in several episodes of "Futurama".
If this film doesn't get a chuckle out of you, check your pulse. You may already be dead on the inside. But seriously, if you want a laugh, check it out.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Utterly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I held off on watching this film for nearly two years because of so many bad reviews when it came out in 2019. But due to spending the past sixteen months in relative isolation due to the problems brought on by the 2020 pandemic, I was finally running out of new shows or movies to stream that I had any interest in seeing. Then "Doctor Sleep" popped up in a "recommended viewing" list and I figured ,"What the heck? I'll give it a shot."
I'm very glad I did. I was a teenager when Kubrick's "The Shining" came out and, already having been a huge fan of Kubrick by then, I enjoyed the hell out of "The Shining". I was never a Stephen King fan and hadn't ever read the book that was the inspiration for the movie. I've watched it countless times since then and it still holds up. Well, zoom up to present day and I found that "Doctor Sleep" played very well off of the storyline of Kubrick's "The Shining". It not only offered a reasonable display of the affect that the experience from the first movie had on one of its surviving characters but it also played up on it and evolved the character tremendously. I'm being careful here to not have any spoilers, of course.
As a sequel, a film should meet certain criteria. It should build upon the original film's storyline. It should show a progression of the remaining characters, story, or locations. And it should also include something new to the overall tale and not just be a rehash of the same plot all over again (I'm looking at you "Lethal Weapon" movies). "Doctor Sleep" hit on all three points with a bullet.
The homage to the first film was not only done very well but with almost a love letter to Kubrick's vision. You can tell that Mike Flanagan tried hard to offer up at least a touch of Kubrick and in some scenes, you almost feel that you're back at Kubrick's Overlook Hotel back in the 70's all over again. There is that constant sense of dread throughout which is very core of the essence of anything having to do with "The Shining". There are no moments where the audience is given a break from the intensity of the tale by laughing at some casual moment in the film. No, the pacing is smooth and steady all the way to the build-up when the story takes an unexpected, yet fantastic, sudden turn to carry things through to the finale. I honestly found myself rooting and cheering on the inside while firmly affixed to the images playing out before my widened eyes.
If you are a true fan of the original film and can approach this sequel with an open mind and eyes of wonder, then don't put it off any longer - watch this movie now!
And a special kudos to Kyliegh Curran for her portrayal of Abra. When Abra first appeared on the screen, I thought, "Oh great, we're about to drop back into the 80's where nearly every on-screen hero has a 'cute, wise-crackin', little kiddie' as a sidekick." Kyliegh proved me wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance! Every actor delivers in this film. And Flanagan got every ounce of story out of them and on the silver screen.
In a word, "Excellent!"
Yellowbeard (1983)
Python, Brooks, Cheech & Chong and more take on Treasure Island!
What do you get when you put together some of the alumnus from Monty Python, Mel Brooks' films, Cheech & Chong, and more treasured comedic performers? You get "Yellowbeard"!
This is a wonderful farce on "Treasure Island" and one of my all-time favorite films. I've watched it numerous times to the point that I can nearly recite the entire film from start to finish from memory.
The blend of British and American humor isn't to everyone's taste, but I rate this comedy right up there with "Murder By Death" for its great wit and amazing cast.
Give it a watch when you need a good laugh!