Popcorn in Bed - City Slickers

 

Similar to "Twins," another wide-release, crowd-pleasing, mainstream movie that we don't get anymore, it seems.

A little depressing that the Billy Crystal character has a mid-life crisis when he's younger than I am. Of course he also thinks his life sucks when he has a steady job, a wife and kids. Best not think about it too much.

Popcorn in Bed - Twins

Another delightful look back at an 80's classic.

Cassie's final thoughts in this reaction include the sentiment that "They don't make movies like this anymore." That got me thinking... I think I agree. Yes, that's become a trope but I believe it to be true. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why. It's not Shakespeare, it's not the smartest or most elaborate movie of all-time, it's just a simple, fun, buddy comedy. In fact, I don't know if I'd even call this a "smart" comedy - this is a not-stupid, charming, general-audience pleasing light comedy. That's the bar we seemingly aren't able to reach.

Am I blinded by nostalgia? Was there a fundamental change of culture? Have studios decided they're not profitable? (And even if the latter is so, a movie of this type could easily be done independently.)

This is the movie equivalent of the secret formula of Coca-Cola. I intuit that it should be reproducible yet no one is reproducing it.

And one more mystery while we're here...

The movie makes it clear that the engine/suitcase is worth $5 million. The movie makes it abundantly, perfectly clear that the engine/suitcase is worth $5 million. And then at the end, Devito says that by turning it into the authorities, they got a $50,000 reward when they could have had $4 million. 

I've wondered about this for decades. Is that an obvious mistake or are they implying that Vincent is still dishonest, and muddling the happy ending?

Best of the Worst - Christmas or Chance

Buckle up, this year's Best of the Worst Christmas episode is nearly 2 hours long. But it's worth it, I think.

LiteWeight Reacting - Rocky

Yes, I've found another girl on Youtube watching the Rocky franchise. And while I don't expect anyone to still be with me on this pointless journey, it has to be noted.

Let it be noted that the pattern continues: women love Rocky.

Let it be noted that this is the first girl who appreciates the character of Mickey.

Let it be noted that this is the first girl who actually shows anything resembling tolerance of the character of Paulie.

I also want to re-state how impressed I am by their ability to intuit film analysis while watching a movie for the first time. As many times as I've seen "Forrest Gump," I never connected that Jenny prays to become a bird and then, during a certain climactic scene, "Free Bird" is played - she registered that. Even more impressive, she connects Lt. Dan saying "If you're ever a shrimp boat captain, that's the day I'm an astronaut." with the detail that when Dan gets prosthetic legs he mentions that they're "titanium alloy, it's what they use on the space shuttle". I believe I've heard people point out the irony that both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise would both be playing astronauts together in "Apollo 13" but I've never heard anyone make that connection before. And on one watch. Impressive.

An Incomplete History of the Concert Film

Another great one from Polyphonic if you're into the topic.

My review of "Woodstock". 

My review of "The Last Waltz".

I should have made a review of "Stop Making Sense" by now.

Popcorn in Bed - Forrest Gump

Cassie and Carrie watch "Forrest Gump."

You can read my thoughts on the theme of the film (or one of the themes of the film) here.

Popcorn in Bed - Duel

 

 Girls watching "Duel"? Sign me up.

Duel seems to be one of those rare movies where it's both a classic and underrated. 

RLM - Ranking the Films of Joe Dante (Part 2)

Ranking the films of Joe Dante continued. Another great movie discussion.

I don't have the same relationship with the "Gremlins" movies that other people seem to have. It's probably that I didn't see them when I was a kid, I watched them later, so that may be it. I love "The 'Burbs" though and I'm glad to see it high on the list.

RLM - Ranking the Films of Joe Dante

Even if you aren't a Joe Dante fan, this is just a fun movie discussion.

Mr. Plinkett's What Happened To Star Wars?

 

I largely agree with Mr. Plinkett, aside from the fact that I have no opinions on "Andor" and "The Acolyte" because I haven't seen them. I am an old Star Wars fan who is not passionate enough to continue through the crap and also not passionate enough to complain about the crap. I've made my peace with reality, although this review brings the mourning back to the surface, ironically enough.

I miss the humorous Mr. Plinkett videos. This is solid anal-sis but it's a bit depressing, to be honest.

Clue is Coming Back to Theaters

 

Clue is being re-released to theaters to mark its 40th anniversary. Check showtimes here.

The movie will reportedly be shown for 3 nights (August 24-26), with a different ending each night. Though when I search my area for show times it has more than 3 dates, so... repeats, I guess.

Popcorn in Bed - Bringing Up Baby

Absolutely delightful.

And now I'm looking forward to "The Philadelphia Story" which DOES star Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Best of the Worst - Star Slammer, Talos, and The Apple

RedLetterMedia's "Best of the Worst" Episode 141.

I won't spoil it but the ambition and execution of what they do at the end is what elevates this episode above the average.

The Restored Original Cut of Dirty Work

As you may know,  "Dirty Work" was supposed to be an R movie but the executives intervened and made it PG-13. Now Vinegar Syndrome has re-created the original cut and released it.

I'm not much of a fan of "Dirty Work." As much as I love Norm, and I love Chris Farley, it's an "Ok" movie that doesn't live up to the talents of either. So my first instinct toward buying this is to pass. But then again, maybe that's exactly why I should buy it. Maybe I don't like it because I've only ever seen the wrong version.

Re:View - Back to the Future

 

Mike and Jay look back at "Back to the Future."

Best of the Worst - Plinketto #12

The boys watch 3 movies based on the randomization of a not-so-legally-distinct Plinko board.

Of interest to me, and perhaps to you, they watch "The Peanut Butter Solution" which I covered myself here. It's fun to see that our thoughts mesh well. Of particular note: we both compare "The Peanut Butter Solution" to "Rosemary's Baby," which is wildly specific.

RLM - The Future of AI Cinema

Mike and Jay discuss the state of AI in cinema and what it means for the future.

Rad References in Hot Rod

 

In a previous post I mentioned that "Rad" is available on AltaVod and that one of the special features is an interview between Jorma Taccone (of The Lonely Island) and the cast. Jorma makes it clear that he is a huge fan and says he put "a ton" of "Rad" references into his own works. I thought it would be fun to go through some of them.

First, the phrase "set to jet" used in the "Rad" dance scene is in "MacGruber."

"Hot Rod" and "Rad" are both bike movies, culminating in a big event at the end with crowded bleachers. 

Rod's uniform often has a big star on it, reminiscent of Cru's outfit for the big race.

Both Rod and Cru get special outfits before the big race replete with stars.

Rod's friends' "Team Rod" t-shirts, are clearly referencing "Rad Racing." In both movies, the friends wear them to show support in the big climactic event.

Wesley's "Charming-Check, Witty-Check, etc" shirt is recreated for Richardson in "Hot Rod."

And in both movies, the villains drive a red corvette.

There may be more references that I didn't catch and there are other cases where it's hard to tell the difference between a reference and a coincidence.

Finally, there's a similarity that's a bit of a riddle. In "Hot Rod," Rod gets gifted a new bike in honor of the big event at the end. When Cru is gifted a new bike for Hell Track only in the deleted scene that I grew up with and remembered. Did Jorma watch the same version that I did or is this just a complete coincidence?

Rad on AltaVod

Unbeknownst to me, a special "Superfan" edition of "Rad" was released on AltaVod in 2020. It includes "original bonus footage and an exclusive Q&A with the Rad cast, moderated by The Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone." I bought it, mostly to define exactly what the bonus footage is.

Before the bonus footage, obviously there is a remastered version of the movie. It looks good.

Bonus footage. First, there is the aforementioned interview with the cast. It includes Bart Conner, Bill Allen, the co-writer of the script Sam Bernard and the producer/actor Talia Shire. It's a fairly standard interview with many of the stories and factoids that we've heard already. There's one notable thing within it and I'll be making a post about that later.

Secondly, there is a promotional "making of" film from the time of the movie's release. Aside from the novelty of a 1980s documentary (it reminds me of "Plymouth International Ice Spectacular"), it's mostly just filler: how the movie was made, who's in it, constructing Hell Track, footage from the set. There is one gem. It contains an alternate angle of "Hollywood" Mike Moranda's second dramatic exit of the day. That is the gold nugget in the tons and tons of dirt. Will we ever again uncover more footage of his iconic wipeout? I doubt it. I would share a screenshot but the image is interlaced and so the still looks so bad it's not worth sharing.

Finally, there are interviews with Bart Conner, Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin and Hal Needham. The interviews were conducted at the time that the movie was being made. Aside from the fact that interviews with Hal Needham seem fairly rare, and you learn a little bit more about the actors, it's standard stuff.

And that's it. The movie and special features are all combined into a single video file, which is annoying, but in keeping with the experience of a VHS.

Best of the Worst: Terror Squad, Back from Hell, and Traxx

A really solid "Best of the Worst" where they discover "Traxx" - perhaps an all-timer.