The Tonight Show - The Sixers' Losing Streak

The 76ers tied an NBA record by losing 26 games in a row and Jimmy has some fun with it in his monologue.



Incidentally, they could only tie the record, they couldn't break it. On Saturday, the 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons easily to end the streak.

MST3K to Return to TV (In a Way, Maybe)

As you probably already know, after "Mystery Science Theater 3000" was cancelled, Mike Nelson took the essence of the show online in the form of Rifftrax. As the online "show" has become more popular, a TV version felt somewhat inevitable. And so it isn't too surprising that a three episode Rifftrax TV show will begin airing April 1st. What is surprising, however, is that according to Zap2it, the robots Crow and Tom Servo will be returning. The article doesn't say whether Mike Nelson will be reprising his role as Mike Nelson.

Little else is know about the show except the word is that it's going to be mocking TV programming rather than movies.

First off, the prospect of the robots returning is huge. That's the part that would really make it feel like a MST3K comeback. The main reason that's so exciting is because it's so surprising. A word of warning: I have a feeling that the article is simply getting that part wrong, unfortunately. That's a copyright issue.

Only 3 episodes? According to Charlie Bucket, it's not enough. But the main thing is, if it goes well, it opens the door for the possibility of a real series.

Watch for all three 1-hour episodes of the show "Total Riff Off" on the National Geographic Channel (I have to check to see if I get that) starting at 8PM on April 1st.

The Tonight Show - Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon is on the show to promote his show "The Following" and it just so happens to be the 30th anniversary of the release of the movie "Footloose".

Here's where it gets a little strange though. Apropos of nothing, Jimmy reveals that there's a Tonight Show rule that dancing is not allowed. It's unclear whether he just declared that himself or if it was a pre-existing rule but either way, dancing is against the rules. So then this happens...

Youtube Irony

I can't really explain this without giving it away so I'll just say here's some irony via youtube (or maybe "serendipity" is a better word):



Incidentally, the interviewer at the beginning is Steve Merchant, co-creator of The Office.

Peanuts Teaser Trailer

This caught me by surprise...



Let's face it, there are a million ways that they'll screw this up... but for the time being, I'm excited.

The Tonight Show - Ice Cream Date

When the monologue turns to the subject of Tinder, the whole show takes a slight detour...



Later in the show we got a small update on the date but it was still very vague and I'm not sure of the situation. I was wondering about the girl to her right. She seemed to be with them and was left alone but Jimmy didn't inquire about the full story.

Movie Review: The Bridge (2006)

The Bridge (2006)

The Golden Gate Bridge is the suicide "capitol of the world". Documentary filmmakers filmed it for a year, capturing actual suicide footage and then interviewed the friends and family members of the deceased to learn their story. The film is the fullest exploration of suicide I've ever seen - it explores mental illness, the causes of suicide, the warning signs and the pain that's left for the living.

The most harrowing story (and the one that made me watch the movie) is a man who decides to kill himself and realizes he's made a huge mistake the second his hands let go. It's absolutely chilling. But he survives to tell others his experience.

Obviously, with this subject matter, the movie is extremely intense. It's an experience that's not for everyone... and it's not something that I'm going to watch on repeat... but it is well made and powerful.

8.5/10.

2014 Cardboard Classic

Preston and Steve's tradition continues... the 2014 Cardboard Classic. People create sleds out of nothing but cardboard, tape and glue and then ride them down a ski slope.

IMDB 250 - Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

This movie is 3 hours, 44 Minutes and 29 Seconds long. Feel free to stop reading the review now because that pretty much tells you all you need to know.

"Lagaan" is a movie about an Indian town in colonial times who challenges the Evil British to a game of cricket. If the villagers win (in a game they don't know anything about) they will not have to pay the back-breaking taxes levied on them. If they lose, they'll have to pay triple.

I say "The Evil British" because the movie makes sure to avoid all nuance and subtlety. The Good Guy is good all the time and is never not good. The Bad Guy is a mustache twirling baddy who has no redeeming qualities. In one of his first scenes, the main bad guy ("Captain Evil") meets a vegetarian and makes him eat meat. But it's against his religion, the man protests, and besides what does Captain Evil even get out of it? Nothing, but he's just pure evil and, as we need to keep the movie under 4 hours, he needs to be established as pure evil.

Following the Good Guy everywhere is the terrifically attractive Love Interest who makes her affections obvious. The Good Guy doesn't seem to notice or care. What is he thinking? Will they ever be together? Then mid-way through the movie he declares that he loves the Love Interest. Why did he not say anything before this? Because that wouldn't be contrived enough for this story.

Of course the movie ends with the climactic BIG GAME... The Big Game... of Cricket. In between song and dance numbers, the movie packs in every cliche from every terrible sports movie ever made by humans. Heightening the action slightly is that it's cricket and I have no idea what's going on. At the midway point of the match the score is 273-3 and it's not looking good for our heroes but there's always a chance that they'll make a miraculous comeback. And at that point in the movie, I knew I was nearing the end and looked at the time... still an hour left. Have you ever "neared" the end of a movie and there was still an entire hour left to go?! I have.

4/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 380.

Freestylin' with The Roots #1

For the first time on The Tonight Show, it's time to freestyle with The Roots:

Randy Newman & The Roots

Randy Newman was on the Tonight Show and used The Roots as his backing band. With a nod to the fact that The Tonight Show has moved from L.A. to New York, they performed "I Love L.A."

Randy Newman's songs are famously sarcastic but "I Love L.A."

Embedding doesn't seem to work but you can see the video here.

IMDB 250 - Underground (1995)

Underground (1995)

My first impression watching "Underground" was that it reminded me a lot of "Black Cat, White Cat" and it turned out that it has the same director. So that's a private victory for me.

"Underground" is a Yugoslavian film that follows a group of characters from the beginning of World War II, to the end of the war, through the Cold War until the Yugoslav Wars. It doesn't play the comedy as comedy or tragedy as tragedy, it simply presents life as a series of strange, chaotic and unpredictable events.

I feel I've been saying things like "it's not a bad movie, it just didn't do anything for me" way too often lately. So, I'll skip that. It doesn't help that as charming as some of this movie is, it's almost 3 hours long. I remember liking "Black Cat White Cat" though.

5/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 379.