This movie was delightfully entertaining when the schtick was new, plus lots of good guest appearances and some very fun crashing of cars. It also led to some catchphrases that lasted for quite a while… I hate Illinois Nazis… We’re on a mission from God…etc.
The Blues Brothers is among my all-time favorite movies. The first time I saw it in 1980 (granted, I was 16), I could barely breathe from laughing so hard. To each his own I guess.
Sunday double feature at chéz Wheelz yesterday:
Dear Mr. Watterson (2013)
A documentary about the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and its famously reclusive creator Bill Watterson.
It’s a very sweet love letter to C&H, but it doesn’t dig very deep, and - spoiler alert - Mr. Watterson does not make an appearance. At times, it’s more about the filmmaker than his subject.
The best part was all the other comic strip artists talking about Watterson’s legacy and influence. Worth watching for that.
Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)
Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg play a divorcing couple who remain best friends while trying to work out their residual feelings for one another.
It’s an interesting idea, the leads are both pretty good, and the plot doesn’t unfold as predictably as you might expect. But the tone is uneven, pinballing from romcom to drama to gross-out cringe comedy. Not terrible, but had the potential to be much better. And it felt a lot longer than it’s 92-minute run time.
Ennio, documentary/tribute to Ennio Morricone. Covers his beginnings as a trumpeter, then studying composition at a conservatory, and some of the composers he studied under. When he began composing soundtracks, it was considerd a step below serious music. He kept saying he’d stop doing movie music, but never did, and eventually earned the respect of pretty much everybody. After five Oscar nominations without a win, he got an honorary Oscar in 2007, then won for The Hateful Eight in 2016.
About ten years ago I splurged on a fourth-row ticket for a performance of his works in New York City, but he had to cancel for health reasons. I don’t think he ever toured in the U.S. after that, so I missed my chance.
At some point in the early 1980s when action blockbusters really started taking, the pacing of films sped up a lot. BB was definitely of the older, slower model (which for some reason featured a lot of footage of people driving).
So no, it’s not a wacky comedy with lots of guffaws.
And also:
If you want to see what it would look like with fast-paced slapstick hijinks, watch Blues Brothers 2000. And then understand why the original is a classic and the sequel was a bomb.
I would argue that these are good. Or at least that I enjoyed them.
- An American Werewolf in London
- Trading Places
- Coming to America
- Spies Like Us
I would also add National Lampoons Animal House and Kentucky Fried Movie (which in effect birthed the Zucker Zucker Abrahams movies).
I watch tons of movies and these need to go on my “haven’t seen yet” list even though they are pretty famous. I’ve seen:
- Airplane - absolute genius. Pure, brilliant comedy all the way through
- Airplane 2 - Cute, less funny.
- Top Secret! - Joke: The Movie, and almost all the jokes are hilarious.
- Naked Guns - pretty funny, Police Squad was terrific, too.
- Baseketball - Underrated, but it’s not Airplane or Top Secret. Funnier than expected, though
ZZA films (and series), well, they are only a few, they realised quite early on that three of them directing and writing a film meant they had to split the money three ways, so really only ones with all together are: Airplane (not 2), Top Secret!, Police Squad (TV series, and not all writing, but the other writers are good) and Kentucky Fried Movie (writers, not directors).
After that they went their own ways, with various successes, and not all comedies, they wrote and/or directed these additional ones:
Jim Abrahams: Hot Shots, Hot Shots part deux, Ruthless people. Naked guns 1-3, Scary Movie 4.
David Zucker: Naked Gun 1-3, Ruthless people, BASKetball, Scary Movie 3-5.
Jerry Zucker: Naked Gun 1-3. First Knight, Ghost, Rat Race.
I realise now that the ZZAs were all involved with the Naked Gun movies, it appears they all wrote them together, but David Zucker Directed the first two, and someone else did the third.
Inception
My third or fourth viewing, possibly the perfect mixture of Nolan’s weirdness and accessibility. Saw it on Max.
The Judge
Robert Downey Jr, Billy Bob Thornton, and Robert Duvall star in a 2014 legal and familial melodrama. Was a pleasant two hours, so goes on the recommendation pile for those who like legal or familial melodramas.
Netflix as of now…
Uncut Gems
Holy shit, this movie has lived in my head rent-free since Inna and I saw it Sunday night. I would pay full price to see a 45 minute short called Uncut Gems: The Next Day, watching the fallout from the events in this film. What a ride!
Warning: not for the faint of heart or for those who like movies where the protagonist comes out better in the end than they were in the beginning.
Again, a HBO Max film.
I watched this a couple of weeks ago. Thoroughly enjoyed it. All 3 of the lead actors did a fine job, I thought.
Creepy, atmospheric, some jump scares and great production values. Better than I expected. Works as a standalone movie – you don’t need to have seen the original. Recommended.
That’s interesting. Clooney often plays kind of a sleaze, and I couldn’t even finish this film because the sleaze quotient was so high, and it’s kind of put me off watching Clooney ever since. He came off as more of a sexually harassing creep than a charming flirt IMO.
Plus Jennifer Lopez tends to bring down the quality of anything she’s in. I hadn’t seen her in anything since The Cell, so I continue to not be impressed.
(I couldn’t get past the scene in the trunk. So not very far into the film.)
Yeah, it’s almost EXACTLY the same plot (swap russian mafia for Illinois Nazis, etc.) with better production values, but the jokes aren’t as funny. The soundtrack is PHENOMINAL! Dr. John’s version of “Season of the Witch” is the best I’ve heard.
Haven’t seen it in a while, but I LOVED Ruthless People. I’m willing to bet it doesn’t live up to my memories, but there were a few memorable scenes - the one with Judge Reinhold selling a young guy speakers; the one with Judge Reinhold and the spider; Bette Midler chewing up scenery. Great movie.
Agree with all this.
Dune part 2 this past weekend. Director, Denis Villeneuve, stays faithful to the source material.
Yeah…except the sister and the length of time lived and learned in the desert.
“This movie modified to fit into the chronological aspect ratio.”
Bad Boys for Life Two hours of stupid. A couple of mild chuckles, but otherwise the dialog was just. . .bad. I’m used to bad gun handling and the like, but firing a rocket launcher from inside of a helicopter requires a suspension of disbelief that I just can’t handle. Don’t waste your time.
“The more you spend, the more you save!”
I saw Ruthless People when it was released and thought it was hilarious. “I’ve been kidnapped by Kmart.” Said by Bette Midler’s character after her husband refuses the initial ransom demand, preferring life without her.
“This could very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth. Perhaps we should shoot him.”
BTW, as I remember, the movie was produced by Disney after the takeover by Michael Eisner and it was an attempt at making a movie cheaply, by using actors who were willing to work for less.