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362,930 | 4,888,011 | 59,646 | 10 | If you thought that you knew scary , think again . . . | Fear plays a factor in most of Roman Polanski's movies that I've seen , but in none more so than in the blood-freezing " Repulsion " . His first English-language movie casts Catherine Deneuve as London manicurist Carole Ledoux . She lives a sexually repressed life in her sister's apartment . When her sister and brother-in-law go out for a few days , Carole irrevocably degenerates into a totally chaotic state . Some people may call this movie a psychological thriller . I would like to assert that calling this movie a psychological thriller would be like calling " The Graduate " a sex film or " 2001 : A Space Odyssey " a science fiction film . Without any special effects or gratuitous violence , they create an environment of fear like I've rarely seen in movies . It seems a little bit as if Catherine Deneuve as this beautiful young woman trapped in a horrific state sort of precedes Mia Farrow's role in " Rosemary's Baby " ( although this one induces much more fear ) . So just watch " Repulsion " and you'll see what a horror movie can really be . And it just might save your life . |
364,654 | 4,888,011 | 105,793 | 10 | I learned how to spell a certain body part by watching this movie . . . and I still remember the ad shown before " The Addams Family " | As Mike Myers is now best known as Austin Powers , it's easy to forget that he started out as Aurora , Illinois , goof-ball Wayne Campbell . " Wayne's World " is just as funny today as it was back in 1992 . I'd never seen the " Saturday Night Live " skit before the movie came out , but that didn't hurt anything ; the movie is a hoot whether or not you've seen the " SNL " skit . As for the other characters , Garth Algar ( Dana Carvey ) is my favorite . How he comes up with some of those things I'll never know . Maybe Cassandra ( Tia Carrere ) and Benjamin ( Rob Lowe ) weren't totally necessary , but even they had their moments . But the best scene is definitely when they're filming and Wayne is reading the questions off of the cards ; it's quite possible that you'll die laughing when that scene comes up . But the point is , this flick is a modern comedy classic . I still remember how everyone in school went around saying " Not ! " after it came out . I also remember when my parents and I went to see " The Addams Family " in the theater and there was an ad featuring Wayne and Garth promoting their own movie . We'll always have to remember these things . . . |
363,151 | 4,888,011 | 114,478 | 10 | This is what indies are all about ! | This gem of a movie about a Brooklyn cigar shop , its owner , and various customers , is especially good because it shows how everyone has done something wrong , but they all atone for it . And they all have their own quirks . Owner Augustus Wren ( Harvey Keitel ) takes the same picture every day , writer Paul Benjamin ( William Hurt ) knows how to weigh smoke , and Cyril Cole ( Forest Whitaker ) is looking for his son . Among the other great performances are Stockard Channing as secretive Ruby McNutt . Probably the movie's best aspect is the soundtrack . Released right before Jerry Garcia died , it features some of his songs , plus music from various other artists , old and new . " Smoke " was truly one of the best movies of 1995 . |
364,453 | 4,888,011 | 44,079 | 10 | camera angle | It all begins when tennis star Guy Haines ( Farley Granger ) and Bruno Anthony ( Robert Walker ) meet on a train . Bruno suggests that they perform tit-for-tat murders , but Guy thinks that it's a joke . Unfortunately , it turns out not to be . And after Bruno carries out his part of the " deal " , he expects Guy to do likewise . " Strangers on a Train " makes interesting use of camera angle . The opening scene shows cars arriving from opposite sides of the screen , and then the two men get out of the cars and start walking in different directions , implying that they're not the same sort of people . After Bruno murders Guy's wife , he calls to Guy from behind a gate casting a shadow on him ; it looks as if he's in jail . When Guy walks over to where Bruno is , it is as if he has entered the same realm as the murderer . As for the possibility of whether or not Bruno was gay , that is a possibility ; I read something about the " murderous gays " in Alfred Hitchcock's movies ( they may or may not have been gay ) . But the point is , Hitchcock created another addition to his pantheon of masterpieces . Oh , and I guess that this isn't really related , but does it sway our opinion of the movie knowing Marion Lorne ( aka " Bewitched " ' s Aunt Clara ) played Bruno's mother ? |
363,701 | 4,888,011 | 86,129 | 10 | she's sick of these mother - ( censored ) snakes coming out of this mother - ( censored ) toilet | Bob Clark's untimely death in a car crash a few days ago brings to mind his career , including " Porky's II : The Next Day " . This one hilariously continues the get-laid-at-any-cost adventures of the teenage boys portrayed in the original movie . The actual plot has their school putting on a production of Shakespeare plays and getting threatened by the Ku Klux Klan , an angry clergyman , and hypocritical politicians . Of course , it's all an excuse for any crazy idea that they can dream up . I nearly laughed myself hoarse during the restaurant scene , not only at what was happening but also trying to imagine how much fun they must have had filming it ! Anyway , it's just a pleasure to watch , particularly with what happens in the cemetery , and the whole end sequence . This was a sequel that equaled its original . And if you remember the " electric sex " from " A Christmas Story " , check out the Shakespeare performance here ! Just hilarious . To play off of what another Porky famously said : th-th-th-that'll never be all , folks ! In conclusion : Bob Clark , wherever you are , we'll always remember you , if only for the " Porky's " movies . Bob Clark directed flicks as different as the " Porky's " movies , " Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things " and " A Christmas Story " . The things that we see in life . . . |
363,519 | 4,888,011 | 94,737 | 10 | Happy 50th , Tom ! | As today is Tom Hanks's 50th birthday , I thought it appropriate to review one of his funniest movies . " Big " portrays a boy who wishes to be big , and gets turned into an adult ( Hanks ) , thereby having to learn on his own how to navigate the adult world . As a previous reviewer noted , the movie also does a good job showing how he comes to realize that it is better to experience childhood before growing up . But even aside from all that , you gotta figure that Tom Hanks must have really had fun playing the role , especially in the scene right after the boy grows up overnight . It just goes to show what a great director Penny Marshall is ; in fact , she later directed Hanks in " A League of Their Own " . Also starring Elizabeth Perkins , Robert Loggia , John Heard , Jon Lovitz and Mercedes Ruehl . You know , it seems like ever since Tom Hanks got into serious roles , people have forgotten how great his comedic ones were . I can't understand why " Joe vs the Volcano " and " Bonfire of the Vanities " are regarded with such scorn . |
362,614 | 4,888,011 | 36,402 | 10 | God bless Ameri-Bugs ! | Still in his relative infancy , Bugs Bunny becomes a superhero out to fight an anti-rabbit cowboy . I really liked the scene of the two of them on the horse . Maybe the wartime themes make us cringe a little bit nowadays , but they're not vicious by any stretch ( although I hear that some Looney Tunes cartoons were ) . Maybe this wasn't the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoon in history , but it's definitely worth seeing . Anyone can plainly see why the Looney Tunes cartoons from the ' 40s and ' 50s were some of the best cartoons in cinema history ( I can't say the same for their modern cartoons ; for starters , no more Mel Blanc ) . A real classic . |
362,963 | 4,888,011 | 79,579 | 10 | You usually don't expect to see some of these things . | The second Best Foreign Language Film winner from the Soviet Union was something impressive . " Moskva slezam ne verit " ( called " Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears " in English ) starts out portraying three college friends in 1958 , and picks up twenty years later . In 1958 , Katya ( Vera Alentova ) is motivated , hard-working and bright , while Liudmila ( Irina Muravyova ) is manipulative , shallow and scheming , and Antonina ( Raisa Ryazanova ) is shy and simple . They're all from the countryside , but all looking to get jobs in the city . Over the next few days , Antonina ends up with one Nikolai , and these two are the most traditional ; Liudmila ends up with hockey player Sergei . Katya , meanwhile , gets filmed for a TV project on the factory by cinematographer Rudolph , who ends up getting her pregnant . They try to talk things over at a park bench , but he just leaves . Twenty years later , the movie focuses on Katya's redemption , one might say . She is now the director at the factory ( and even gets to drive to work , practically unheard of in the USSR ) , and her daughter Alexandra is doing quite well . Granted , Katya's successful in her public life , but what about privately ? It looks as though her personal life will remain empty until she meets one Gosha ( Alexei Batalov ) , an honest , outspoken , perceptive fellow . She does meet Rudolph again - and this time he's going by his real name Rodion ( he called himself Rudolph because western names were popular in the ' 50's ) - but she leaves him at the bench . This movie makes an interesting use of duality . There are two meetings in the park ; Rudolph / Rodion leaves Katya the first time , but she leaves him the second time . Rudolph / Rodion makes two speeches about how TV is the wave of the future and will eliminate theater , movies , and books . There are two trips to the countryside . Katya twice falls asleep crying . Katya is twice filmed for a TV interview by Rudolph / Rodion ; she's working at the factory the first time , and she's the director the second time . And finally , there are two scenes where people dance to " Besame mucho " . And watch how they use the alarm clock in the middle of the film . Among other things , how Gosha and Rudolph / Rodion bond at the end is classic for Soviet cinema . And , we get to see remnants of the ' 50's and ' 70's that even we in the west can understand : as teenagers , the girls swoon over movie stars ( and their socks looked kind of like bobby sox ) , and people wear colorful clothes in the ' 70's . A classic in every sense of the word . |
364,489 | 4,888,011 | 434,409 | 10 | five'll get you ten | When " V for Vendetta " came out , maybe reviews called it the first pro-terrorist movie of the post - world . And seeing what kind of society the movie portrays , it's hard not to sympathize with the terrorist ( or is he a freedom fighter ? ) . The movie portrays an arch-totalitarian England sometime in the future . Because of the wars waged by the United States , the whole world exploded into war , the US got reduced to a third world country , and the fascistic Adam Sutler ( John Hurt ) seized power in England . Imposing devout Christianity on everyone , he rules with the slogan " England prevails ! " . However , Sutler's days just might be numbered . A masked man known only as V ( Hugo Weaving ) seeks to overthrow this dictator on November 5 , to commemorate Guy Fawkes trying to blow up parliament . V had gotten disfigured some years earlier from an explosion in a chemical plant where he was a test subject , and thus wears this mask . One night , V rescues young Evey Hammond ( Natalie Portman ) from Sutler's thugs , and slowly but surely draws her into his world of rebellion . As it is , Evey has a reason to go along with V : her parents were political activists murdered by Sutler's forces . So what will this all come down to ? I must say that this movie really draws you in . While uneasy about supporting terrorist activity , one realizes that there's no alternative . Naturally , that brings up the issue of the current state of the world . Is Sutler Bush , we may ask . ( No , Sutler actually has a brain . ) I think that my favorite line in the movie is " We report the news , not fabricate it . That's the government's job . " All in all , this gives movies based on graphic novels a really good name . I wholeheartedly recommend this movie . Also starring Stephen Rea , Stephen Fry and Tim Pigott-Smith . |
364,957 | 4,888,011 | 94,721 | 10 | Now this is life after death ! | You gotta figure that only Tim Burton could come up with this ! An ultra-zany story of rural couple Adam ( Alec Baldwin ) and Barbara Maitland ( Geena Davis ) , who accidentally get killed and witness a tasteless couple moving into their house , forcing them to hire " bio-exorcist " Beetle Juice ( Michael Keaton ) , is truly something else . With a new joke almost every minute , the movie never gets dull . And how about that soundtrack ? " Day-O " in the most morbid comedy ever ? Yep , it's all here . Great support from Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones as the tasteless couple , Winona Ryder as their disaffected daughter Lydia , and Sylvia Sidney as afterlife counselor Juno , make this one of the coolest movies of 1988 ! |
364,523 | 4,888,011 | 59,573 | 10 | Shelley Winters , RIP | In one of the many movies showing him as a morally firm black man , Sidney Poitier plays Gordon Ralfe , who develops a relationship with blind white girl Selina D'Arcy ( Elizabeth Hartman ) - much to the chagrin of her racist mother Rose-Ann ( Shelley Winters ) . Winters , who died today , won her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar for " A Patch of Blue " . She created a really nasty bigot in her role , and she certainly deserved the Oscar . Maybe Poitier got typecast from these kinds of roles , but that's better than getting typecast in ridiculous action movies . Maybe this wasn't his best movie , but it's still really good . |
364,377 | 4,888,011 | 44,154 | 10 | Let's go sailing ! | People who say that some of what the Looney Tunes cartoons show is inappropriate for children have apparently forgotten something : they weren't originally intended for children . They were produced for the cinema , to be shown before feature films , and so they could show anything that they wanted . " Tweety's S . O . S . " has that bad puddy tat Sylvester finding Tweety aboard an ocean liner and boarding the ship to try and get him . But two things work against Sylvester : Granny is vehemently protecting the canary , and Sylvester easily gets seasick ( we don't see him throwing up , but with his green face , they make it perfectly clear that he was doing just that ! ) . And then of course , the seemingly cute Tweety has a bad-ass streak . It's just great to see how these cartoons weren't afraid to go all out ; whatever they thought about showing , they showed . We need to understand that cartoons weren't always supposed to be cute entertainment for children . Really funny . |
363,100 | 4,888,011 | 70,788 | 10 | Keep rockin ' and rollin ' ! Speaking of which , why isn't the sequel available on DVD ? | Probably the best portrayal of the ' 50s rebel culture has working-class Brit Jim MacLaine ( David Essex ) with a chip on his shoulder - due to his father abandoning the family - and doesn't care about school ; he's into rock ' n ' roll . His friend Mike ( Ringo Starr ) is no more responsible but gets Jim some jobs . But after everything , Jim sees fit only - and I mean ONLY - to play music . Aside from the fact that this was a really good movie , I should identify that there was a sequel called " Stardust " . I've never seen that one , as it's never been released on DVD . WHY NOT ? ! Considering how good this one was , why can't the latter get released on DVD ? ! |
363,972 | 4,888,011 | 110,719 | 10 | so much for changes in Russia | One unfortunate reality of post-Soviet Russia was that the people's welfare didn't change much from Soviet times . As we see in " Window to Paris " , most people are still as depressed as ever , while they are encouraged to go after money . Then , everything changes for music teacher Nikolai Chizhov ( Sergei Dontsov ) after he finds a window that leads to Paris . He and his friends are naturally quite amazed at what they find . This movie has one of the funniest discussions of Elvis Presley and Edith Piaf that I've ever heard . So watch this movie . You're sure to love it . It's sort of a precursor to " Being John Malkovich " . |
363,471 | 4,888,011 | 50,634 | 10 | Let's face it : the Russians do a better job at making war movies than we do | If you believe that any given war movie can make you really feel the war , you need to see " Letyat zhuravli " ( called " The Cranes are Flying " in English ) . It tells the story of Veronika ( Tatiana Samoylova ) and Boris ( Aleksey Batalov ) , who are in love on the verge of WWII . They are walking along the waterfront , watching the cranes fly by , when the war starts . Boris is promptly sent off to war . Veronika hides out with a family and ends up marrying the son , whom she does not love . Boris , meanwhile , continues trotting through the countryside , fighting the Nazis and experiencing all the horrors of war , until he he runs out of energy . When Veronika - working in a military hospital - receives this news , she refuses to accept it , until Boris ' body arrives home on one of the trains . Simultaneously , the radio announces that Germany has surrendered and the Allied Powers have won the war ; the Soviet Union lost 27 million citizens , but it's the start of a new era . This movie did a very good job showing the human impact of the war not only in the battlefield , but also how it affected the civilian population . This is definitely a movie that everyone should see . |
363,623 | 4,888,011 | 102,926 | 10 | A most unusual treat . | The Silence of the Lambs will have to go down in history as one of the most ingenious movies of all time . After a string of bizarre murders , FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling ( Jodie Foster ) is hired to interview psychopath Hannibal " The Cannibal " Lecter ( Anthony Hopkins ) to find the perpetrator . In the process , we get to learn some very interesting things about both Starling and Lecter . The main thing is that , despite how vile Lecter is , we can't help but admire him . And I don't mean just because he's helping Clarice ; something about the guy , you just gotta love him . In case you're squeamish , I should remind you that this movie contains some very ugly scenes . But don't worry , director Jonathan Demme knows how to handle them . This masterful combination of acting , directing and writing helped " The Silence of the Lambs " win the top five Academy Awards , putting it in a league with only " It Happened One Night " and " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest " . Watching the movie , you will agree that the movie deserved these awards . In fact , you just might want to have an old friend ( over ) for dinner . |
364,069 | 4,888,011 | 97,576 | 10 | The 3rd time IS the charm ! | After " Temple of Doom " went off in another direction , Steven Spielberg got the trilogy back on track with " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " . The plot of course has the eponymous archaeologist ( Harrison Ford ) and his father Henry ( Sean Connery ) battling Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail . The hot babe this time is Dr . Elsa Schneider ( Alison Doody ) , while Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies return as Marcus Brody and Sallah , respectively . My favorite scene ? Hard to say ; this movie had so many cool scenes . OK , so the Indiana Jones movies were basically escapism , but well-done escapism . You won't be disappointed after seeing this movie . |
363,165 | 4,888,011 | 80,354 | 10 | Robert Forster before " Jackie Brown " , John Sayles before " Lone Star " , and other stuff | Fun , satirical horror flick reminding us of the dangers of flushing our aquatic pets down the toilet . In this case , a flushed alligator ends up in the sewer , where he gets exposed to a chemical and grows to behemoth size and moves above ground to look for people too stupid to pay attention to their surroundings . When will these dopey characters ever learn ? ! What I noticed when watching the movie was the presence of Robert Forster some years after " Medium Cool " and many years before " Jackie Brown " . I guess that he had to do something in between . And it may be surprising that John Sayles was involved with these sorts of movies early in his career , but I consider it perfectly justified ; there were far worse movies with which he could have been involved . Anyway , it's a nice way to pass time . The sequel was lower but not dreadfully terrible . I wonder whether or not Sue Lyon ( the ABC / NBC reporter ) was the same Sue Lyon who played Lolita . |
364,441 | 4,888,011 | 80,339 | 10 | Remember not to call him Shirley ! | By now , everyone must know about " Airplane ! " . A spoof of the disaster movies of the 1970s replete with every gag imaginable . Whether it's the announcers arguing over the red zones and white zones , the obnoxious solicitors , the jumping artificial heart , the oddly named crew , the automatic pilot , or the various media sources around the world , the goofiness just keeps on coming . The relationship between Ted Striker ( Robert Hays ) and Elaine Dickinson ( Julie Hagerty ) basically takes a back seat to the outlandish one-liners ( " We have to get this woman to a hospital . " " A hospital ? What is it ? " " It's a big building with patients , but that's not important now . " ) If you ask me , humor doesn't have to reflect the real world ; a bunch of wacko gags works just fine . And that's just what " Airplane ! " is . I guess that you could say that Leslie Nielsen ( himself a veteran of " The Poseidon Adventure " , a typical disaster flick ) was getting honed for the " Naked Gun " movies . |
363,965 | 4,888,011 | 80,319 | 10 | for anyone who's ever hated their boss | Ever wanted to take revenge on a really creepy person ? Well , Jane Fonda , Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton do just that in " Nine to Five " . After their undesirable-in-every-way boss ( Dabney Coleman ) threatens to have them arrested after a misunderstanding ( it's a long story ) , the three take him hostage and institute progressive policies in the office . Especially a hoot is the mixture of characters : Jane Fonda is the mousy newcomer , Lily Tomlin is the goof-off , and Dolly Parton is the hillbilly . No matter what happens , they always have a solution , even after a bizarre mix-up in a hospital . I recommend this to everyone . |
364,829 | 4,888,011 | 41,779 | 10 | See it , thou knave ! | In " Rabbit Hood " , Bugs Bunny makes mincemeat of a guard after trying to steal some of Prince John's royal carrots while Little John idiotically claims that Robin Hood is coming . Knowing that this is Bugs Bunny , you can probably guess what sorts of tricks he has up his sleeve ( or wherever he keeps them ) . Cartoons like this just go to show that the creators really reached their apex in the late ' 40s and early ' 50s . I learned from " Bugs Bunny Superstar " that Bob Clampett , Chuck Jones , and that whole crowd liked to act out their cartoons during lunch breaks . I can imagine how much fun they must have had acting this one out ! All in all , a great cartoon . It shows that entertainment just needs to be clever . |
364,077 | 4,888,011 | 89,907 | 10 | So this is Louisville . . . | Okay , so this is a zombie movie . As we all know , that means lots and lots of gore . And in " The Return of the Living Dead " , they play it to real cool effect . The plot of course has a pair of chemical plant employees accidentally opening a container , and a series of events brings all the cemetery residents back to life , meaning that Louisville , Kentucky , is overrun by brain-eaters . As with " Army of Darkness " , you can't ( in fact , shouldn't ) take this movie seriously ; it's intended as a joke . I remember when Joe Bob Briggs ' show " Monstervision " showed this movie , he actually had Linnea Quigley as a guest ( she plays Trash , the girl who strips in the cemetery ) . All in all , one cool movie . Clu Gulager may be the most interesting B-movie actor of all time . |
364,800 | 4,888,011 | 444,698 | 10 | I'm talking to you-tah | After political documentaries were all the rage in 2004 , " This Divided State " looks at the result . A Utah college's decision to let Michael Moore speak there sparks emotions on both ends of the political spectrum . One of the professors tries to get the college to stop Moore from coming , and the college invites Sean Hannity for the opposing viewpoints . One can certainly see the polarization inherent in our society these days . You can also see what a creep Sean Hannity is . Michael Moore praises the college for not backing down . A protester noted that the police made them take the poles off of their signs , but allowed people to carry guns into the hall . All in all , one thing that I can say with absolute certainty is that I do not want to live in Utah . |
364,459 | 4,888,011 | 120,483 | 10 | vintage Bill Murray | Bill Murray plays goof-ball Wallace Ritchie in London to visit his brother Jimmy ( Peter Gallagher ) for his own - read : Wallace's - birthday . Since Jimmy is having guests over , he knows that he needs to keep Wallace out of the way . The only problem is , Wallace accidentally gets mixed up in an espionage ring , leading to some embarrassing situations for everyone - mainly because Wallace believes the whole time that it's a play . As with most of Bill Murray's movies , the plot isn't totally important - it's an excuse for Bill Murray to act crazy . And he does just that in " The Man Who Knew Too Little " . Joanne Whalley co-stars as secret agent Lorelei . |
363,969 | 4,888,011 | 110,598 | 10 | revenge . . . revenge | Some people just live their lives in agony , but few can compare to bored , abused Muriel Heslop ( Toni Collette ) . Things just plain suck for her . But that's all about to change . You see , she's getting married . . . and then some . I saw " Muriel's Wedding " in an Australian Cinema class . It's the sort of movie that you just have to see wherever you can . I don't just mean that it's interesting to see Toni Collette before she became famous in the States through " The Sixth Sense " and " Shaft " ; everything about this movie is great . Muriel is the type of woman who seems delicate , but she can get nasty if needs be . . |
363,932 | 4,888,011 | 120,402 | 10 | A bright spot in a summer of " The Lost World " , " Speed 2 " , and " Batman and Robin " . | When " Ulee's Gold " came out , it seemed as though Peter Fonda had been off of the radar for many years . But he made a comeback here as Florida beekeeper Ulysses Jackson , having to raise his granddaughters after their father gets put in jail and their mother can't take care of them . A triumph for all involved . This movie was truly a breath of fresh air when it came out in summer , 1997 . That summer saw such " scum-sucking corporate products " ( to use Peter Travers's description of " Armageddon " ) as " The Lost World " , " Speed 2 " , and " Batman and Robin " . Once again , we see that the small indie flicks are better remembered . Thank God . |
365,398 | 4,888,011 | 28,346 | 10 | No wonder people like drugs so much ! This movie makes them look fun ! | My rating is of course because " Reefer Madness " is so bad that it's good . And boy is it ! Meant as an anti-marijuana propaganda film , the whole thing basically makes marijuana look fun . The plot has some wholesome teenagers getting duped into smoking marijuana and turning into lunatics ( thereby idiotically implying " One puff and you're hooked ! " ) . The first mistake that the movie makes is calling marijuana a narcotic ; anyone should know that marijuana is a weed . Obviously , the law-and-order types have always used this type of propaganda to arrest anyone whom they don't like . But anyway , " Reefer Madness " is unintentionally hilarious . " That ' 70s Show " once did a spoof of it , portraying Red imagining Eric getting addicted . For the record , there's no such thing as marijuana addiction ; people just like smoking it . And who wouldn't want to try some after watching this movie ? ! |
365,649 | 4,888,011 | 59,170 | 10 | girls gone wild | As I'd never seen a Russ Meyer film , I figured that I might as well start with what is probably his most famous one . If Meyer believed that a movie just needed to have speed , sex and violence , then he sure accomplished it with " Faster , Pussycat ! Kill ! Kill ! " ( although it's quite tame by today's standards ) . Is there any real point to the movie ? No , not really . But the movie doesn't pretend to be " The Seventh Seal " or " 2001 " . This is all about the women and their tight clothes , the sort of thing that'll most appeal to teenage boys . Overall , I bet that they had fun filming this ; it would have certainly been fun to be around those babes ! . With movies like this , life will never get boring . A true classic . |
365,498 | 4,888,011 | 120,391 | 10 | disturbing equals true-to-life | In one of many great British movies , a man ( Bob Hoskins ) helps working-class youths try to make something of themselves in an economically depressed town in England . It is the first time that they can ever be anything greater . But then tragedy strikes and the whole thing falls apart . The gritty " 24 7 : Twenty Four Seven " is no ordinary make-something-of-yourself story . The grainy black and white cinematography makes you feel like there's sandpaper rubbing against your face , and they certainly don't sugar-coat anything here . It's a movie that I recommend to everyone . Just don't expect anything " nice " . A very good debut from Shane Meadows . |
364,539 | 4,888,011 | 41,959 | 10 | Orson Welles's 3rd great movie | The Third Man functions as a sort of half film noir , half look at post-WWII Vienna . The plot centers on Holly Martin ( Joseph Cotten ) learning of his friend's ( Orson Welles ) death in Vienna , meeting various and sundry strange people , and getting a big surprise at the end . Probably the movie's strongest aspect is the zither music . You can feel it moving the film along , almost as much as the mysterious setting does . But when they set up the trick at the end , it's especially neat how they set it up ! Even if you know what's going to happen , you still have to admire what they did . Anyway , it's one of Orson Welles's many great movies , along with " Citizen Kane " and " The Lady from Shanghai " ( I have as yet never seen " Touch of Evil " ) . Definitely check it out . Also starring Alida Valli . |
364,433 | 4,888,011 | 103,074 | 10 | this is what modern classics are all about | I may not know anyone named Thelma , but whenever I meet someone named Louise , I will probably be tempted to remember " Thelma & Louise " . This story of two women ( Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis ) who have to go on the lam after one of them kills a rapist in chauvinistic Texas truly shows the potentials of life . I guess that the main question is not whether or not " Thelma & Louise " is a women's empowerment story ( although it certainly is ) . Really , it looks at our deep-down capabilities . Solid performances by Sarandon and Davis , not to mention Harvey Keitel and an up-and-coming Brad Pitt , and solid direction from Ridley Scott make this one of the best movies of 1991 . |
365,681 | 4,888,011 | 90,094 | 10 | 1980s time capsule | In this ultra-gross-and-proud-of-it B-movie , some people discover a strange substance bubbling out of the ground . They taste it ( yes , they find something on the ground and just eat it ! ) , like it , and decide to start marketing it as The Stuff ; it quickly becomes the most popular food of all . But , sure enough , a detective ( Michael Moriarty ) hired by the candy companies discovers that The Stuff turns people into obedient zombies before completely dissolving their innards . So , only he , an advertising executive ( Andrea Marcovicci ) , and a boy ( Scott Bloom ) can stop The Stuff from taking over the world . A completely ridiculous idea ? Absolutely . But one might interpret " The Stuff " as a parable about excessive consumerism brainwashing people into brand loyalty . There's also a scene in which Paul Sorvino's right-wing yahoo of a colonel claims that in the case of the Vietnam War , we lost the war at home ( so it was perfectly OK to invade their country ) . But I mostly saw the movie as a 1980s time capsule . There's the over-synthesized music for the TV commercials , the impossibly polite suburban family , and more . Of course , most people into these kinds of movies will probably agree that the coolest scenes are when people spit The Stuff out after it dissolves them . Director Larry Cohen ( who also directed the killer baby vehicle " It's Alive " ) pulls no punches . All in all , this is quite a treat . Sort of an updated " Invasion of the Body Snatchers " . Also starring Danny Aiello and former " Saturday Night Live " cast member Garrett Morris . |
362,895 | 4,888,011 | 250,494 | 10 | Who says that blondes have to be dumb ? | If you've never heard of " Legally Blonde " and you only see a few ads for it , you'll probably get the wrong impression . This is not some half-formed , oh-I'm-so-totally-hot story . This is Reese Witherspoon showing that she can be hilarious and biting in the same movie . It all begins when fashionista Elle Woods ( Witherspoon ) is about to get married when groom-to-be Warner Huntington III ( Matthew Davis ) jilts her and heads off to Harvard law school . Not about to get railroaded over , Elle follows him there , and decides to enroll herself . At this point in the movie , we can safely assume that the SoCal , vegetarian , pink-clad Elle probably won't totally fit in with the stuffy Harvard people ; however , she's not about to let anything stop her . Elle has certain plans , and she'll do whatever she has to in order to carry them out ( don't worry , it's nothing illicit ) . You can tell that everyone had a great time with their roles . And you'll have a great time with this movie . Part satire , part pure fun , they pull out all the stops . And there's one part that , in my opinion at least , says that in fact it is a good idea to allow fashion fetishists to participate in trials . All in all , Reese Witherspoon has acted in some great movies in the past few years . |
365,579 | 4,888,011 | 110,773 | 10 | Is he Armenia's most famous director ? | In case you've never heard of Sergei Paradjanov - 1924-1990 - he was an Armenian movie director in Soviet times who was imprisoned for " same-sexuality " . " Paradjanov : A Requiem " features him talking about his movies ( I saw it on the B-side of " The Color of Pomegranates " ) . Like many directors , he goes to great lengths to talk about the artistic aspects in his movies . I thought that it was fairly interesting , but maybe all these years of famous people being hacks and blow-hards have desensitized us to any commentary . Among other things , when Paradjanov won an award , he dedicated it to his recently deceased friend Andrei Tarkovsky . Sergei Paradjanov was truly an interesting man . |
364,814 | 4,888,011 | 50,449 | 10 | Holy mother of . . . ! They said it ! | In case you've ever doubted just how in-your-face the Looney Tunes cartoons were , just check out " Gonzales ' Tamales " . In this one , Speedy Gonzales - who , as you may have noticed from other cartoons , is a total playboy - is seducing the female mice , and making the male mice very angry . So , they get Sylvester to go after him . Needless to say , Speedy knows just how to avoid getting caught . Anyway , the real " gotcha " moment comes towards the end . Speedy was singing " La cucaracha " . Since I knew what the lyrics were , I listened to see if the people making the cartoon would use them . Sure enough , it ends with " marijuana que fumar " ( meaning " marijuana to smoke " ) ! To think that in the midst of the strict McCarthyism world of the 1950s , they sneaked in something about Mary Jane ! Only the Termite Terrace crowd could do that ! Overall , a really funny cartoon . |
364,877 | 4,888,011 | 306,047 | 10 | a " signs " of " rings " to come | My rating assumes that you decided that you like " Scary Movie 3 " before you saw it . And it doesn't disappoint . Spoofing " Signs " , " The Ring " and " 8 Mile " ( among other things ) , it's another gag-a-minute comedy from the director of " Airplane ! " . But how could it not be , starring Leslie Nielsen ? I think that my favorite scene was either the part with Simon Cowell , or the news room scene ( I'd like to try that someday ) . In conclusion , just remember that " SM3 " is a joke . Anna Faris reprises her role as Cindy Campbell ( so she has these movies to her resume , as well as " Brokeback Mountain " ) . The rest of the cast includes Charlie Sheen as the farmer discovering crop circles , and various people have small roles . Remember , all completely silly . |
363,348 | 4,888,011 | 120,321 | 10 | Yeah , what is the deal with John Wayne's teeth ? | For years , Hollywood movies portrayed Indians as bloodthirsty savages who deserved the genocide that the white people committed against them . Then , there was the " Little Big Man " and " Dances with Wolves " mold : going a little overboard on portraying them as virtuous , even if they showed what the white people did to them . With " Smoke Signals " , Native Americans finally got to speak for themselves on the silver screen . The movie portrays young Victor Joseph ( Adam Beach ) traveling to Phoenix to retrieve the ashes of his deadbeat father ( Gary Farmer ) . He has to travel with Thomas-Builds-The-Fire ( Evan Adams ) , with whom he has never been particularly friendly , but they realize their friendship along the way . Overall , this movie is like a kick in the groin to the John Wayne mold ( the Duke even becomes the butt of jokes in one scene ) . Around the time that I saw this movie , I read Sherman Alexie's novel " Indian Killer " ; it had the same sort of humor that this movie has . Strange that even after the indigenous people see their land stolen and most of their people exterminated , they can still laugh , but they can . More than anything , it's just great that the Indians are finally getting their say in movies . Also starring Irene Bedard , John Trudell ( happy birthday , John ! ) and Tom Skerritt . |
362,749 | 4,888,011 | 212,346 | 10 | You'll be having the time of your life watching this movie ! | Drop Dead Gorgeous implied that beauty pageants can make for great humor , but " Miss Congeniality " takes it to a whole new level . Starring Sandra Bullock as a sarcastic FBI agent participating in the Miss America pageant to thwart an attack , the movie pulls no punches . I think that my favorite part is when her trainer ( Michael Caine ) asks her why New Jersey is called the Garden State . I couldn't have come up with a better answer myself ! All in all , it's great to see them mocking the Miss America pageant . I agree with a previous reviewer's scathing comments about it ( a bunch of stupid models saying how they're going to save the world ) . You're sure to love this movie . Also starring Benjamin Bratt , Candice Bergen , Ernie Hudson and William Shatner . |
364,455 | 4,888,011 | 120,382 | 10 | it would be just like a corporation to do this to someone | Truman Burbank's ( Jim Carrey ) life is a TV show . Nothing about his idyllic small town is real , but rather created for him to live in . And he doesn't know about any of it , because a cabal of slimy people have successfully kept him there his whole life . Until one day when he starts to get suspicious that there's something going on . The movie not only shows the corporation completely manipulating someone's life , but might also be interpreted as a metaphor for being a prisoner of TV . I've never seen a Peter Weir movie that I didn't like , and " The Truman Show " further backs that up . This movie really deserved an Oscar . |
365,827 | 4,888,011 | 33,260 | 10 | Hedy Wamarr ? Bawbwa Stanwyck ? Owivia de Haviwand ? Did children recognize those names in 1940 ? | On one level , " A Wild Hare " is a historical reference as it was the first teaming of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd . But even ignoring that , it's still a hoot , with that " wascawy wabbit " making mincemeat of Elmer . There's just one thing that raises my eyebrows nowadays . Elmer asks about Hedy Lamarr , Barbara Stanwyck and Olivia de Havilland . Did six-year-old children in 1940 know who those women were , cuz I sure didn't recognize those names when I was six . Oh well , it's still a great cartoon . Always a classic . And it sure wasn't the wast time that that wascawy wabbit twicked Elmer Fudd . Olivia de Havilland . Just yesterday , I saw " The Adventures of Robin Hood " , and let me tell you : she looked hot in those dresses ! |
364,939 | 4,888,011 | 110,955 | 10 | If this is what happens , then kidnap me ! | In what may be his funniest role to date , Denis Leary plays kidnapper Gus , who takes wealthy Connecticut couple Lloyd ( Kevin Spacey ) and Caroline Chasseur ( Judy Davis ) hostage one Christmas Eve , only to have them drive him absolutely nuts due to their bad marriage ! As Gus puts it : " I kidnapped my f - - king parents ! " We might say that Spacey's role here was a predecessor to his character in " American Beauty " - I can certainly see a similarity - but that's missing the point . The point is to watch how the people here go from one embarrassing situation to the next . The dinner scene really blows everything out of the water . Overall , " The Ref " is looking at the falsity of the suburban lifestyle , but they do some hilarious things to show it . I would say that " The Ref " and " Gremlins " are my two favorite Christmas movies ever . Also starring Glynis Johns and Christine Baranski . |
365,168 | 4,888,011 | 50,371 | 10 | I will assert that I prefer Andy Griffith's movie roles to his TV show . | Everyone probably knows about the dangers of fame and / or fortune . " A Face in the Crowd " does a really good job with it . Lonesome Rhodes ( Andy Griffith ) is a nobody in a backwards town who gets turned into a superstar almost overnight . But as time goes by , his burgeoning greed and egotism begin to take over , possibly irrevocably . Griffith turned in a top-notch performance here , as did supporting players Patricia Neal , Anthony Franciosa , Lee Remick and Walter Matthau . Elia Kazan's direction and Budd Schulberg's script are beyond superb ( it almost makes one forget what a creepy thing Kazan did to get into movies ) . This is a movie that everyone should see . |
362,840 | 4,888,011 | 120,770 | 10 | Like " Dude , Where's My Car ? " , it shows that movies can be stupid and funny at the same time . | Just imagine every dopey duo ( e . g . , Bill and Ted ) and imagine them trying to get into a cool club , and you basically have " A Night at the Roxbury " . I had never heard of Will Ferrell before this movie came out , but he did a hilarious job here and has of course seen his career proliferate since . He and Chris Kattan play slacker brothers Steve and Doug Butabi , trying to get into a club . Well , that's the official plot ; but like other such movies , it's basically an excuse for a bunch of crazy situations . I've seen some of the " SNL " episodes that had this skit . My favorite one was the one with Sylvester Stallone . It ended with something that I'm probably not allowed to write here . |
363,643 | 4,888,011 | 128,445 | 10 | I guess that school just sucks for some people ! | OK , I don't mean that seriously . It's just that when you see what Max Fischer ( Jason Scwartzmann ) goes through , you're truly going to be shocked . He's a student in a prep school in Houston whose life is about to get irrevocably turned upside down , more or less through his acquaintance with the school's main benefactor Herman Blume ( Bill Murray ) . With " Rushmore " , Wes Anderson started what proved to be his troika of great indie films - followed by " The Royal Tenenbaums " and " The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou " - which of course all starred Bill Murray . Murray's character here is much like his characters in " Lost in Translation " and " The Life Aquatic " : a burnout on the verge of a major shocker in his life . A real treat of a movie . |
364,437 | 4,888,011 | 41,598 | 10 | Bugs Bunny is the best | When I try to decide which is the best Looney Tunes cartoon ever , it's a shoo-in between " Long-Haired Hare " and " What's Opera , Doc ? " . In " Long-Haired Hare " , Bugs Bunny is singing some songs and playing instruments to accompany them , when overstuffed opera singer Giovanni Jones smashes Bugs ' instruments and ties him up . Bugs affirms to the camera " Of course you realize this means war . " So , when Jones is performing at the Hollywood Bowl , Bugs plays all sorts of tricks on him . Best of all are the hand directions . This is a veritable triumph-of-the-underdog story . You just can't go wrong with the classic Bugs Bunny cartoons . Perfect . |
364,948 | 4,888,011 | 120,812 | 10 | buddy comedies ever after | Obviously , " Rush Hour " is mostly just another buddy comedy , but there's so much hilarious dialogue between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker , that it's all worthwhile . When a consul's daughter gets kidnapped , Tucker gets hired to take the case , but Chan gets brought in from Hong Kong to assist . Naturally , they have a very hard time cooperating . I guess that a major aspect of these movies is that you shouldn't try to take them seriously ; just accept them as completely crazy . With Chan doing his martial arts and Tucker being a loudmouth , it's a great time from start to finish . Also starring Elizabeth Pena , Chris Penn , and Tom Wilkinson . I liked the sequel equally . |
364,181 | 4,888,011 | 59,017 | 10 | The West just gets wilder and wilder ! | Before she became a political activist / Oscar winner , Jane Fonda starred in the wacky " Cat Ballou " , as the gun-slinging title character . Seeking to avenge her father's murder , she hires Kid Shaleen ( Lee Marvin ) and gets a lot more than she bargained for ! That's the plot , but more important is the movie's pace ; it's basically an excuse for a series of wild gags . Maybe not as wild as " Blazing Saddles " , but zany nonetheless . Narrating are Professor Sam the Shade ( Nat " King " Cole , in his final role ) and The Sunshine Kid ( Stubby Kaye , whom you may remember as Marvin Acme in " Who Framed Roger Rabbit " ) . Dwayne Hickman also co-stars as loser Jed . . . who might not be a loser after all . A very funny movie in every way . |
363,619 | 4,888,011 | 110,912 | 10 | There's nothing fictional about this movie's high quality . | Pulp Fiction has partly gone down in history as the movie that revived John Travolta's career , but it's more than that . A look into the lives of several criminals , it's likely to shake up almost anyone . The first time that I ever saw the movie , my dad ( who'd already seen it ) sent me out of the room for the scene where Bruce Willis . . . well , I won't spoil it in case you haven't seen it . Also , while we were watching it , I was cracking up at the language - I can't even count how many curse words they used . This is one movie that will probably never get shown on network TV - they would probably have to cut more than half the movie ( including Samuel L . Jackson's wallet ) . All in all , director Quentin Tarantino created a real masterpiece here . Top-notch acting ( that spawned some famous lines ) and a great script combined for a real treat . Uma Thurman's scene might make some people's skin crawl , but if not , then enjoy . |
362,558 | 4,888,011 | 72,354 | 10 | You'd better believe that these vampire babes bite . . . hard ! | To the pantheon of erotic 1970s horror flicks we can add " Vampyres " , about hot lesbian vampires Fran ( Marianne Morris ) and Miriam ( Anulka Dziubinska ) who thumb rides from unsuspecting travelers , take the travelers to the English estate where they dwell , and go into full orgy mode . In a way , much of the movie seems like an excuse to show Fran and Miriam naked . . . but believe me , there's every justification for that ! Especially that shower scene ! Sure enough , those goddamn censors the world over decided to cut the coolest scenes . Shame on them ! How dare they butcher a movie about vampire vixens having sex with unsuspecting men before making a meal of them . All in all , I would consider it an honor for these two babes to drink my blood . . . particularly if they would drink it out of certain areas ! This movie is a must-see for fans of 1970s Euro-horror . Also check out the interviews with Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska in the special features ; aside from offering insight into the movie's production , they're still really hot thirty years later ! |
363,451 | 4,888,011 | 59,026 | 10 | You won't end up saying " Good grief ! " | Charles Schulz's death a few years ago ( in fact , a few weeks after " Peanuts " ended ) , brought to mind his creations . Obviously , " A Charlie Brown Christmas " was one of them . And it remains a classic to this day . The plot of course has Charlie Brown getting put off by the commercialism surrounding Christmas and looking for the holiday's true meaning . I really liked the tree scene . With the way that Bill O'Reilly and company like to claim that there's an " anti-Christmas " war going on with people trying to replace " Christmas " with " holiday " , it's good to know that Charles Schulz and company could always find something meaningful to do . |
363,775 | 4,888,011 | 110,932 | 10 | Might " Jeopardy " be rigged ? | I was rooting for " Quiz Show " to win Best Picture for 1994 ( although I've since sided with " The Shawshank Redemption " ) . Portraying the real-life story of a rigged 1950s game show , the movie captures 1950s TV the same way that " Good Night , and Good Luck . " does . We also see how after they get tired of letting one person win , they switch to another person . It makes one wonder whether such things might happen on " Jeopardy " . As it was , this movie came out right after I had first heard of Robert Redford ( I had just seen " Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid " ) . This one certainly affirmed what a great presence he is one the screen , whether in front of the camera or behind it . Ralph Fiennes , Rob Morrow , John Turturro , Paul Scofield , David Paymer , Hank Azaria and Mira Sorvino are all splendid in their roles ( Martin Scorsese and Barry Levinson also make guest appearances ) . |
365,490 | 4,888,011 | 41,554 | 10 | Forsooth ! Friz Freleng hath created another hilarious cartoon ! | Halt thee , knave ( or wench ) ! I shall tell thee a story of a classic Looney Tunes cartoon . OK , I'll cut the Medieval talk , but my point is that " Knights Must Fall " is just great , as Bugs Bunny torments Sir Pantsalot in a Medieval jousting contest . As you may imagine , there's a dynamite gag , but Bugs also does lots of stuff with various kinds of metal . He makes jousting look as fun as " A Knight's Tale " made it look , maybe more so . All in all , this is one of many cartoons showing that they don't make ' em like they used to . It's a pleasure watching these time and again . Forsooth ! |
363,853 | 4,888,011 | 367,594 | 10 | drooling and drooling more | Johnny Depp may be the most interesting actor of his generation , and " Charlie and the Chocolate Factory " reaffirms that . The story of course has destitute Charlie Bucket ( Freddie Highmore ) winning a trip to confectioner Willy Wonka's ( Johnny Depp ) factory . Probably the neatest aspect is how they've reworked Willy Wonka . Due to an overbearing , anti-candy dentist father ( Christopher Lee ) , Willy has resulted a socially awkward wacko who looks like Jim Morrison and Tina Louise had an illegitimate son and occasionally utters aphorisms that may or may not appeal to everyone . As for the other characters , the Oompa Loompas ( Deep Roy ) just love to sing about spoiled children getting their comeuppances , and Charlie's grandfather Joe ( David Kelly ) makes an interesting counterbalance to the young cast . My favorite scene ? Gee , that's a tough one . I guess that any one of the other children getting their comeuppances made for something cool : the perpetually obese Augustus Gloop gets sucked into a pipe , the overachieving Violet Beauregarde turns into a blueberry , the spoiled-beyond-repair Veruca Salt gets thrown down a garbage chute by a bunch of squirrels , and the video game-obsessed Mike Teavee gets transferred into a TV . Anyway , " Charlie and the Chocolate Factory " is one movie that's bound to please everyone . Tim Burton really knows how to handle this sort of material . |
364,140 | 4,888,011 | 103,241 | 10 | better than anyone might expect | Bill Murray really does his best when playing outright wacky characters like the one in " What About Bob ? " . In this case , he's a mentally unstable psychiatric patient who follows his psychiatrist ( Richard Dreyfuss ) on vacation and practically takes over . In a way , the whole movie's sort of silly , but it shows how the psychiatrist is basically a pompous dweeb and Bob is the world's most lovable person , if not quite all there . It's really neat towards the end , how the psychiatrist starts losing his mind in frustration . All in all , it shows that Frank Oz is quite capable as a director , and that Murray and Dreyfuss are two of the greatest actors of our era . Also starring Julie Hagerty , Charlie Korsmo and Roger Bowen in his final role . |
364,206 | 4,888,011 | 89,606 | 10 | Lasse Hallstrom shows shades of his later movies | After I had seen " The Cider House Rules " and " Chocolat " , I took some interest in Swedish-born director Lasse Hallstrom , and so I decided to check out one of his movies from his native country . " Mitt liv som hund " ( " My Life as a Dog " in English ) really impressed me . This story of abandoned boy Ingemar hits the perfect balance between sentimental and gritty , with one scene that was probably there for a little comic relief ( you'll know what I mean if you see the movie ) . Probably the most effective scene is when Ingemar talks about Laika , the Soviet space-dog . Just as happened to Laika , Ingemar didn't want to have to go through this , it was done to him . And both Laika and Ingemar got left in limbo . Both were victims of cold , abstract forces . Anyway , this is definitely one that I recommend . In my opinion , Hallstrom's American movie most like this one was " What's Eating Gilbert Grape " , about a destitute family in Iowa . Both are worth seeing . |
363,174 | 4,888,011 | 418,773 | 10 | southern comfort | I knew almost nothing about Phil Morrison's " Junebug " when I started watching it ( save what I read on the DVD case ) , and I would say that knowing nothing made the movie all the more impressive . Embeth Davidtz plays Madeleine , an art dealer in Chicago . While visiting a client in North Carolina , she and husband George ( Alessandro Nivola ) decide to visit George's family : father Eugene ( Scott Wilson ) , mother Peg ( Celia Weston ) and brother Johnny ( Ben McKenzie ) . This , in my opinion , is where the movie takes a major turn . I would expect this situation to result in a clash of cultures story , but there's something new here . What we see is that , although George's family pretty much ignores Madeleine , Johnny's pregnant wife Ashley ( Amy Adams ) immediately befriends her . Trapped in an unhappy marriage , Ashley always tries to maintain a sense of optimism , which increases upon her acquaintance with Madeleine . But eventually , something has to change the direction that things appear to be taking . Seeing everything from Madeleine's point of view - as the outsider in this family - creates for me a sense of voyeurism . Madeleine sees everything happen , all the while understanding that she can't change how the family is . The film has a slow pace , but that's appropriate for this sort of movie : the characters need time to develop . And above all , the characters aren't clichés ; far from just being a gaggle of ignorant yokels , the family has its issues to deal with , doing what they can to get by . Anyway , this is certainly one that I recommend . All the cast members do a great job , not to mention fine direction and writing . Perfect . |
365,696 | 4,888,011 | 120,735 | 10 | sooner or later , we're all eighteen with a bullet | Guy Ritchie made his mark on the world with the madcap " Lock , Stock and Two Smoking Barrels " , about organized crime in London's underbelly . I remember that when it came out was right after Columbine , so some people got irked by the violence , but I suggest that you ignore that and luxuriate in the pure hilarity . As great as the plot - maybe better - is the soundtrack . The song " 18 with a Bullet " may have also reminded people of Columbine . But anyway , this is a movie that you're sure to like . Ritchie followed it up with the equally great " Snatch . " , but unfortunately followed that up with the dreadful " Swept Away " remake . But this one is a hoot . |
363,694 | 4,888,011 | 72,431 | 10 | Pronounce it right , Herr Doktor ! | Can you imagine the first time this movie came out ? Everyone must have died laughing ! The plot of course has self-deprecating Dr . Frederick Frankenstein ( Gene Wilder , and you know how to pronounce the name ) suddenly deciding to carry on his grandfather's work with the help of wisecracking Igor ( Marty Feldman , and you know how to pronounce it ) and the very sexy Inga ( Teri Garr ) . Peter Boyle is a hoot as The Monster , as is Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher ( cue horse sounds ) , Kenneth Mars as Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp ( you may recall the screwy arm ) , and of course Gene Hackman as the Blind Man ( espresso , anyone ? ) . Mel Brooks really pulled off a great one here , spoofing every Frankenstein movie from the ' 30s . " Young Frankenstein " is a classic ! |
363,756 | 4,888,011 | 120,737 | 10 | One ring - and three great movies - to rule them all . | A pop culture phenomenon , " The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring " is unlike anything that you've ever seen . The plot of course has several hobbits and humans joining up in Middle Earth to destroy a ring that corrupts whomever possesses it ; in the process , they have to fight off evil beings . The movie is beyond impressive . In fact , there isn't any adjective that can do it justice . You have to see it to believe it . Peter Jackson adapted J . R . R . Tolkien's novel to the screen as a work of art that would otherwise be unfathomable . I've never read the novel , but I can say that Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , John Rhys-Davies , Liv Tyler , Cate Blanchett , Christopher Lee , and Ian Holm , interpret the characters with a style and quality that we usually associate only with history's most distinguished actors and actresses . This is THE movie to see , and parts 2 and 3 were equally good . A masterpiece in the true sense of the word . |
364,367 | 4,888,011 | 120,741 | 10 | I did not have sex with that woman , but I am wearing her underwear . | My rating assumes that you're not actually going to bother looking at this page unless you've decided that you like " Jane Austen's Mafia ! " before you've seen it ( I found it pretty funny ) . For anyone else , it's the sort of spoof that - as many reviews said at the time - is destined to sleep with the fishes . A gag-a-minute send-up of history's most famous mafia movies , there's clearly nothing sacred to the people behind this flick ; the whole Sicily sequence makes that clear ( well , what can you expect from the director of " Airplane ! " ? ) . Where Leslie Nielsen seemingly would be is Lloyd Bridges ( in his final role ) as the aging , clumsy don . So , in conclusion , you'll only take interest in this if you accept any kind of humor , no matter how low . But you may be hungry for Italian food after watching it . Also starring Jay Mohr , Billy Burke , Christina Applegate , Olympia Dukakis and Vincent Pastore . And remember : soup is good ! |
364,909 | 4,888,011 | 110,877 | 10 | Burning Patience | Right after I saw " Il postino " in 1995 , I got really into Pablo Neruda , and I read the novel " Burning Patience " , on which the movie is based . While I will say that I liked the book better - they set the movie twenty years earlier than the original story happened , and they set it in Italy - I won't deny the movie's power . Not just in showing the friendship between humble postman Mario Ruoppolo ( Massimo Troisi , who died the day after they finished filming ) and Neruda ( Philippe Noiret ) , but also how it looks at post-WWII Italy and how the people were trying to put their lives back together . In that sense , Mario's burgeoning love for Beatrice may be a sort of allusion to Italy's eventual resurrection from its destruction in WWII . I think that my favorite scene was Mario recording the various sounds ; I would say that it displayed his full artistic potential that he had developed through his friendship with Neruda . But anyway , it's a really great movie , the sort of thing that gives you new faith in life and love . What happens at the end certainly mirrors what happened in Chile right before Neruda died . I recommend it to everyone . |
363,586 | 4,888,011 | 97,366 | 10 | It stars Chevy Chase . What else do you need to know ? | Chevy Chase returns as goofy reporter Irwin Fletcher . This time , he inherits a Louisiana mansion and decides to move there . On the way , he expects the mansion ( and the South overall ) to be a " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah " world , but finds just the opposite when he arrives . To complicate matters , he finds himself involved in a murder plot , gets chased by the Ku Klux Klan , and various other mishaps . Oh come on ! I shouldn't have to explain " Fletch Lives " to you ! The very presence of Chevy Chase should identify that it's a hilariously wacky good time ( remember , he was funny before his failed attempt at a TV show ; and he did play a good role in " Orange County " ) . I don't care what anyone says ; Chevy Chase is truly one of the funniest people in history . |
365,701 | 4,888,011 | 120,655 | 10 | In nomine Jay , Silent Bob , et spiritus . . . uh , I mean everyone else in Kevin Smith's movies . . . | Everyone likes a movie that irks religious people , but " Dogma " is beyond that . Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play Loki and Bartleby , fallen angels who plan to reenter Heaven and thus undo all existence . So , some loyal angels call upon Bethany Sloane ( Linda Fiorentino ) to stop them . From there , Jay ( Jason Mewes ) and Silent Bob ( Kevin Smith ) have some great lines , as do thirteenth apostle Rufus ( Chris Rock ) , Metatron ( Alan Rickman ) , Serendipity ( Salma Hayek ) and Cardinal Glick ( George Carlin ) . Jason Lee plays Azrael , the evilest demon imaginable . Mostly , the movie is an excuse to be wacky and have references to comic books . I think that my favorite scene was in the restaurant right after Serendipity tells everyone that she was responsible for 19 of the top twenty highest-grossing movies of all time . You will probably be blown away by what follows . I haven't seen the DVD , but apparently , one of the special features is a Sunday School teacher telling us that we'll go to Hell if we watch " Dogma " . Well , if that's the case , then tell Satan that I'm on my way ; I LOVED this movie ! |
362,854 | 4,888,011 | 32,904 | 10 | The Philadelphia Story vs " High Society " | In the role that affirmed her as possibly the greatest actress of her generation , Katharine Hepburn plays heiress Tracy Lord , about to get married yet again . When her ex ( Cary Grant ) reenters her life , it throws everything into flux , but when a reporter ( Jimmy Stewart ) enters , all bets are off . Above all , I wish to assert that " The Philadelphia Story " is more interesting than the musical remake " High Society " ( which I just saw two days ago and reviewed on IMDb . com yesterday ! ) . The latter is good as a reminder of how hot Grace Kelly was , but this one is all about the craziness factor . A real classic . |
363,117 | 4,888,011 | 41,711 | 10 | After hearing Charlie Dog say " shut up " , who wouldn't want to go around saying it ? | Watching " Often an Orphan " , it's surprising that Charlie Dog didn't become a regular Looney Tunes character . In this cartoon , he gets abandoned by his master and starts pestering Porky Pig to adopt him . When Porky refuses , Charlie launches into an emotion-manipulating monologue about the horrors of city life . It later turns out that Charlie is smarter than Porky . So , maybe this wasn't the best Looney Tunes cartoon ever , but it's great just because of how Charlie says " Well then shaddup ! " Only Mel Blanc could create a voice like that . Worth seeing . And I guess that you could say that Porky puts on a few " pounds " at the end . |
365,824 | 4,888,011 | 173,716 | 10 | How many movies has the MPAA censored today ? | John Waters continues his trashing of " traditional " Americanism with the raucous " Cecil B . DeMented " , in which an indie filmmaker ( Stephen Dorff ) kidnaps an air-head actress ( Melanie Griffith ) and makes her star in his anti-Hollywood flick in which they go around attacking anything associated with Tinseltown - especially family-oriented stuff . And the best part : he's working with a budget of zero ! It's like the Patty Hearst story taken one step further ( Ms . Hearst even appears in the movie ) . This seems like the sort of movie that had probably been in the works for years . Regardless of anyone's opinion of " Forrest Gump " and " Patch Adams " , we can likely agree that they don't need to get extended . A really funny , great movie . Also starring Mink Stole and Kevin Nealon . Choosing the " Flintstones " sequel over a Pasolini movie . I bet that some people would do that . |
362,833 | 4,888,011 | 58,938 | 10 | Elke Sommer . . . hubba hubba | My rating of of course applies only if you're a horny teenage boy . Considering that the movie stars Elke Sommer , I probably don't need to explain the plot ( the sexual exploits of a bunch of women ) . I can also note that Virna Lisi , Monica Vitti and Gina Lollobrigida co-star , and . . . you know something ? Let me explain in the next paragraph . The skin flicks of the 1960s were cool , but what they should have done in , say , 1966 was make one big movie starring Marcello Mastroianni , Dick Van Dyke , Audrey Hepburn , Steve McQueen , Sean Connery , Buck Henry , Tippi Hedren , Larry Hagman , Robert Reed , Elizabeth Montgomery , Tina Louise , Barbara Eden , Paul Naschy , Sophia Loren , Bob Denver , Connie Hines , Jack Nicholson , Natalie Wood , Elliott Gould , Elke Sommer , Faye Dunaway and Sandra Dee all having a big orgy ( if you don't know who some of those people are , then shame on you ) . I would have paid to see that kind of movie ! Just kidding ! It's probably sort of weird that I know who every one of those individuals is ! But I still would have paid to see that kind of movie . |
363,803 | 4,888,011 | 120,679 | 10 | She's still my favorite artist . | Salma Hayek does a perfect job playing Frida Kahlo . We see her tortured life and manage to feel it . Like " Ray " and " Walk the Line " , this is a warts-and-all portrayal . Maybe the movie didn't go into her politics as it could have ( her last public appearance was protesting against the CIA's overthrow of Guatemala's Pres . Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 ) , but it did a really good job otherwise . " Frida " certainly deserved its Oscars for Makeup and Original Song . I think that Hayek should have gotten Best Actress . Also starring are Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera , Ashley Judd as Tina Modotti , Antonio Banderas as David Siquieros , Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller , and Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky . A truly great movie . |
365,729 | 4,888,011 | 120,684 | 10 | . . . vs " Apt Pupil " | Ian McKellen had never been part of my cinema vocabulary before 1998 . That year , he played two very impressive - and dissimilar - roles . The first was the role of a Nazi fugitive in " Apt Pupil " ; in that case , you fear his character , but at the same time can't help but admire him . The other role was in " Gods and Monsters " of homosexual movie director James Whale , the brains behind " Frankenstein " and " The Invisible Man ( although the movie stresses " Frankenstein " and " The Bride of Frankenstein " ) . Specifically , " GAM " focuses ( apparently in a fictionalized way ) on Whale's last few days alive , and his relationship with his gardener Clayton Boone ( Brendan Fraser ) . We might assume that since Whale was gay , he may have tried to directly come on to Boone . This doesn't happen in the movie , although there are scenes where it looks as though Whale is more than a little interested in Boone . How a certain scene tenses you up a little bit is a testament to the movie's strength . " GAM " also goes so far as to show different periods of Whale's life . At one point , he is recounting to Boone his childhood in abject poverty in England , and we get to see it . Another scene shows his service in WWI ; as Whale affirms , no war movie can ever accurately depict the battlefield ( " They never got the smell . " ) . There is also a memory of him directing " The Bride of Frankenstein " . These all add to the movie's quality . Overall , this is certainly a movie that I recommend . McKellen affirms himself as one of this era's greatest actors , and Fraser shows that he can do a good role when he tries . Also starring are Lynn Redgrave as housekeeper Hannah , and Lolita Davidovich as Boone's wife Betty . Definitely worth seeing . |
363,539 | 4,888,011 | 120,694 | 10 | things work when mother and daughter co-star | Probably the main reason that we can hold " Halloween H20 : 20 Years Later " in high regard is simply because it brings back Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis ) . But there's something else : it takes a cue from " Scream " , going for a mildly campy approach ( in one scene , they even watch a scene from " Scream 2 " ) . Unlike most horror flicks , there's no gratuitous sex . They definitely chose to focus on Laurie - even going so far as to include some character development . As for Michael Myers , he still goes around killing anyone who gets in his way ; watching him , I almost wanted to root for him . An obvious difference between this one and the previous installments is the absence of Sam Loomis , as Donald Pleasance had passed on . Well , they still know how to make the movie come out good . As for the rest of the cast , Josh Hartnett as Jamie Lee Curtis's son didn't really catch my attention . Michelle Williams catches my attention now more than she did when the movie came out , due to her roles since then ( namely " Brokeback Mountain " ) . But one of the most impressive people in the movie is Jamie Lee Curtis's horror veteran mom Janet Leigh , driving her car from " Psycho " ( and she still looks hot after all these years ! ) . Also starring Adam Arkin , LL Cool J and Adam Hann-Byrd . So anyway , you're sure to like this movie . And it just might save your life . Because we're all entitled to a scare . . . |
364,074 | 4,888,011 | 120,689 | 10 | This was the last movie that I saw in 1999 . . . | . . . and I'd say that it was a perfect way to end the 20th century ( unless you say that the 20th century ended in 2000 ) . For years , movie adaptations of Stephen King novels bungled everything , but with " The Green Mile " in the hands of the man behind " The Shawshank Redemption " ( also about a prison ) , it clearly had to be good . In case you've never read the novel - which I highly recommend - the plot has prison guard Paul Edgecombe ( Tom Hanks ) overseeing death row in a Louisiana penitentiary in 1935 . When a very large African-American named John Coffey ( Michael Clarke Duncan ) arrives , Paul witnesses some events that no one could ever imagine . This is the only which comes to my mind that I would classify as both haunting and heartwarming at the same time . Haunting because the prison's bleak environs drain all hope ; heartwarming because of what happens in this particular prison . Both Hanks and Duncan turn in pitch-perfect performances , as do the other cast members . Bonnie Hunt as Paul's wife Jan , trying to cope with the effects that her husband's job has on their personal life ; James Cromwell as Warden Hal Moores , doing everything to carry out his job but depressed by numerous factors ; Doug Hutchison as despicable guard Percy Wetmore , who likes nothing more than to be as cruel as possible ; David Morse , Barry Pepper , and Jeffrey DeMunn as fellow guards Brutus " Brutal " Howell , Dean Stanton , and Harry Terwilliger , respectively ; Sam Rockwell as vicious inmate " Wild Bill " Wharton ; Michael Jeter and Graham Greene as fellow inmates Eduard Delacroix and Arlen Bitterbuck , respectively ; Patricia Clarkson as the warden's wife Melinda , afflicted by an awful disease ; Harry Dean Stanton as loopy janitor Toot-Toot ; and Dabbs Greer as the elderly Paul Edgecombe . Gary Sinise all appears as Coffey's lawyer . An . |
365,625 | 4,888,011 | 165,078 | 10 | incredible | I had only heard a little bit about " Wandafuru raifu " ( called " After Life " in English ) when it came out , but I was blown away by the movie . Focusing on some people in Japan considering what will be the memory that they take with them when they die , the movie really holds you . The story is somewhere between metaphysical and psychological , but incredible nonetheless . I don't know director Hirokazu Koreeda or any of the cast members , but if this is any indication , they all must be masterful . All in all , you have to see this movie . You may never feel the same about life or death again . |
363,930 | 4,888,011 | 120,577 | 10 | And did what corporations always do . . . | When " 54 " got released , many critics claimed that it was just another attempt to get into the ' 70s nostalgia that had swept the country . It's more than that . The movie shows New York's Studio 54 , an unusual club where young people danced to disco and could meet celebrities , as seen through the eyes of employee Shane O'Shea ( Ryan Phillippe ) . At the end , he talks about , how after the government closed the place down , a corporation took it over and did what corporations always do : make the place safe and sterile . Steve Rubell ( Mike Myers ) built it up into a most unique hangout , and the corporation drained the life out of it . So don't trust the critics . This was a really good movie . |
364,625 | 4,888,011 | 50,176 | 10 | the devil made him do it | In case people have forgotten the Tasmanian Devil , " Bedevilled Rabbit " reminds us of him . When Bugs Bunny gets parachuted into Tasmania ( where's that ? ) , Taz quickly gets hungry and sets his sights on Bugs . Sure enough , Bugs is way ahead of Taz , and always can pull anything seemingly out of thin air to play all sorts of tricks . If these cartoons were nothing more than excuses to pull all sorts of crazy gags , then they played it to great effect . It's great to watch them go all out time and again . Truly classic . There will never be any cartoons like these again . Oh , and in case you don't actually know : Tasmania is the island south of Australia . |
365,216 | 4,888,011 | 32,976 | 10 | Hitch comes to Hollywood | Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood movie won Best Picture and Cinematography ( unfortunately , he didn't take home a Best Director Oscar ) . " Rebecca " portrays widower Max de Winter ( Laurence Olivier ) and an unnamed woman ( Joan Fontaine ) getting married . But on their honeymoon , she discovers that the memory of Max's first wife is apparently haunting him in multiple ways . And servant Mrs . Danvers ( Judith Anderson ) isn't exactly what she seems . The possible common Hitchcock theme that one can see in this movie is the murderous gays : there's the possibility that Mrs . Danvers is a lesbian . I don't know whether or not Hitch was a homophobe , but one can see the theme . Either way , " Rebecca " remains a classic . |
363,167 | 4,888,011 | 50,194 | 10 | Termite Terrace's folks needn't be anonymous ( especially since AA is essentially a religion ) | Birds Anonymous is one of the many classic Looney Tunes cartoons that comes across funnier when you're an adult than when you're a kid , as you understand what it's spoofing . In this case , the target is Alcoholics Anonymous , as Sylvester enters an organization that helps cats break their bird addiction . But it's not that easy for him to think about anything other than Tweety ( it's hard to deny that felines really develop dependencies on avians ) . They hit it right on the nail with this cartoon . The meeting early on shows cats talking about how their bird addictions were running their lives into the ground until the organization saved them . And when the organization's rep Sam catches Sylvester trying to eat Tweety , Sam goes off on a speech about how this one snack will open Sylvester's addiction back up ! I actually think that it's really good that they spoofed Alcholics Anonymous . Once , I was watching Penn & Teller's show , and they said that AA is basically a religion . Aside from the fact that a " 12-step program " is a rather dogmatic idea , AA apparently hasn't changed it's modus operandi since its creation in 1935 . But if AA helps people break their addiction , then it probably balances everything out . Anyway , this is a really funny cartoon . Like I said , it becomes funnier once you're old enough to understand it ( as do many if not most of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons ) . It certainly deserved its Oscar . |
364,633 | 4,888,011 | 120,603 | 10 | Sophie's Choice transferred to the post-slavery era , and unfairly ignored | Clearly , the racism of this country led people to ignore " Beloved " ( to add insult to injury , 1998 had a piece of Hollywood crap like " Armageddon " as one of the top grossing flicks ) . This one tells the story of Sethe ( Oprah Winfrey ) , a former slave in 1877 Ohio who many years earlier killed her daughter ( Thandie Newton ) rather than let the girl get sold into slavery . The girl's aura has haunted Sethe's house ever since . But things might be different now that Sethe's former lover Paul ( Danny Glover ) has arrived . When the movie came out , a review said that the cinematography made the house look like it was moving . I would agree with that . I would also add that much of the movie might make you feel like your blood is freezing . But there is an element of hope : at the end , we hear some people talking about Jesus , but it could be any Jesus ( maybe they're returning to their African roots ) . Although I compared " Beloved " to " Sophie's Choice " , I would say that this one is better , in that she's stronger . Anyway , this is a movie that I recommend to everyone . We Americans have an obligation to deal with our racist history , and this movie shows it . Also starring Kimberly Elise , Beah Richards , Irma P . Hall ( of " The Ladykillers " ) , Jason Robards , and even Wes Bentley in a small role . Oh , and by the way , I saw this the same day that I saw " Shadrach " , which also deals with slavery . I think that " Beloved " director Jonathan Demme executive produced " Shadrach " . |
363,110 | 4,888,011 | 41,661 | 10 | So his name is Claude . . . | I never even knew that the cat in " Mouse Wreckers " was named Claude until I read about it on this site . But either way , Claude really suffers here , as New York-accented mice Hubie and Bertie pull a series of tricks to scare him out of the house . Probably the coolest gags are the stunt with the rope , and then the whole end sequence . Still , I can't help but wonder why it is that cats always have to bear the brunt of abuse at the hands of cartoon characters . It seems like there should have been some cartoon in which a cat makes mincemeat of a dog or something . But still , this is a great one . Claude really could have used some pineapple upside down cake at the end ! |
364,997 | 4,888,011 | 120,601 | 10 | They did it . . . they really did it ! | One has to wonder how they came up with the idea for this movie , but that could distract from the movie itself . " Being John Malkovich " is so hilarious in every way , that I can't even describe it . You have to see it to believe it . As one of the many movies ( along with " The Blair Witch Project " , " The Sixth Sense " and " American Beauty " ) which affirmed that 1999 was to my generation what 1967 was to my parents generation ( thanks to " Bonnie and Clyde " , " In the Heat of the Night " and " The Graduate ) , this is one movie that you can't afford to miss . It may have very well been the coolest movie of 1999 , and it certainly affirmed John Malkovich as one of the great actors of our time . |
364,168 | 4,888,011 | 50,210 | 10 | Just why did Shirley Temple's ex star in these kinds of movies ? | My rating of course only applies because I assume that only ' 50s-B-movie fetishists would even take any interest in " The Brain from Planet Arous " . But previous reviewers have noted that this movie takes a slightly different approach : criminal brain Gor comes to earth to inhabit a man's body and thereby rule the universe , while police brain Vol arrives in search of the criminal brain ( meaning that most of the brains on Planet Arous are good guys ) . Therefore , even non-fetishists should take some interest in this movie . The characters are pretty much what one would expect : the men are all hot-headed , while the one woman is desperate . The main character Steve March is played by John Agar , aka Shirley Temple's first husband . I also saw him in " Journey to the Seventh Planet " ( although I paid slightly more attention to the hot babes in that one ) . Maybe he starred in ' 50s and ' 60s B-sci-fi movies because his reputation as Shirley Temple's ex limited his opportunities ( actually , I don't know whether that limited his opportunities ) . Also starring are Joyce Meadows as Steve's hubby Sally Fallon , Thomas Brown Henry as her father John , and Dale Tate as the voices of Gor and Vol . If this had ever gotten shown on " MST3K " , Mike or Servo or Crow probably would have said " If Planet Arous has a brain , why didn't the people behind this movie ? " But I personally didn't think find this a bad movie . Like any ' 50s sci-fi flick , you have to accept it for what it is . |
363,436 | 4,888,011 | 72,305 | 10 | American history , French-style | Marco Ferreri's " Touche pas a la femme blanche " - " Don't Touch the White Woman " in English - could easily be an extension of " Little Big Man " or a movie version of " A People's History of the United States " , although it came out a few years before Howard Zinn published his famous book . It portrays the US government's crusade to exterminate the Indians , reenacted in 1970s Paris ( complete with references to Pres . Nixon , and even Watergate ) . Marcello Mastroianni makes a chilling Gen . Custer , but Michel Piccoli is quite funny as Buffalo Bill : he sounded as though he was trying to put on an American accent while speaking French ! I read about how Marco Ferreri played a major role in the changing Italian cinema of the ' 60s and ' 70s . Certainly this film shows that . Specifically , as the United States had been taking a different look at its own history - our own glasnost and perestroika , you might say - Europe was also challenging the American cultural myth ( no surprise there ) . I definitely recommend the movie . Also starring Catherine Deneuve and Ugo Tognazzi . |
364,155 | 4,888,011 | 385,004 | 10 | One day , when I'm an old man , I'll still be telling about when I saw this movie . | Yimou Zhang continues his saga of super-impressive , mind-blowing fantasies with " House of Flying Daggers " , about a man releasing a warrior from prison so that she can . . . well , I don't think that I can do the movie justice by trying to describe it . This is one of those movies that you actually have to see . During these few years since she broke out in " Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon " , Zhang Ziyi has really had a great resume , and this movie is another magnificent addition . The climactic fight scene is beyond what anyone could imagine , but that's why these movies are so great . Like I said , you have to see this movie to believe it . . . and believe it you will . . |
362,849 | 4,888,011 | 120,630 | 10 | Even for someone who doesn't like Mel Gibson . | As I have a very low opinion of Mel Gibson , it is especially noteworthy that I liked " Chicken Run " . Made by the same people who make the " Wallace and Gromit " cartoons , it portrays a gaggle of hens trying to break out of a British farm - some scenes even spoof " Stalag 17 " and " The Great Escape " - with the help of American rooster Rocky ( Gibson ) . With the perfect blend of humor and suspense ( and in a cartoon no less ! ) , this is one movie that's sure to please everyone . I really liked the constant " holiday " comments , and that end sequence was a hoot . Also starring Julia Sawalha , Miranda Richardson , Jane Horrocks , Imelda Staunton , and Timothy Spall . |
363,428 | 4,888,011 | 102,456 | 10 | one of those movies that you don't usually expect | In the early 20th century , the English government moved several people from India to Uganda to build the railroad . Some of the Indians stayed and became lawyers , physicians , etc . When Idi Amin came to power in the early 1970s , he expelled all non-black Africans . Some of the Indians moved to Mississippi and began running motels . " Mississippi Masala " focuses on this . Mina ( Sarita Choudhury ) is the daughter of an Indian family who fled Uganda for Mississippi . She develops a relationship with Demetrius ( Denzel Washington ) , a local man . Her family does not approve of her dating a black man , and Demetrius ' friends don't like him dating an Indian woman . The movie shows many things , in particular how both the blacks and the Indians were displaced from their ancestral lands . Also , it shows how the blacks are racist towards the Indians and vice versa . As Demetrius reminds Mina's father : " Your skin is just a couple of shades from mine . " Regardless of whether or not these sorts of things happen a lot , the movie does a very good job with it all . |
363,263 | 4,888,011 | 51,189 | 10 | This may very well be the best Bugs Bunny cartoon ever . | At first , you can't quite figure out what's going on : lightning flashes , the clouds open , and a menacing shadow moves majestically . Then , we see that it's just Elmer Fudd dressed like a Germanic warrior . He sings gracefully : " I'm hunting wabbits . . . " When he finds a hole in the ground , he belts out ( to the tune of " Ride of the Valkyries " ) : " Kill the wabbit , kill the wabbit , kill the wabbit , kill . . . " Naturally , when Bugs Bunny hears this , he's quite nervous . So , in his typical fashion , he dresses up as Brunhilde and proceeds to seduce Elmer . It's working until Bugs ' wig falls off . Elmer promptly summons the weather to " stwike the wabbit " . What is so great about this cartoon is the way it exposes young children to classic opera . I certainly got exposed to Wagner through this cartoon . Regardless of how you look at it , " What's Opera , Doc ? " embodies , manifests and exemplifies what classic cartoons are all about . Excellent . |
363,035 | 4,888,011 | 165,710 | 10 | as this movie proves , the ' 70s will NEVER die | One of the great things about movies that look at times past is the way they poke fun at individuals who didn't get into popular culture . In this case , four friends in 1970s Michigan worship KISS , but one's mother is a fundamentalist Christian who believes that KISS stands for " Knights In Satan's Service " . In a way , " Detroit Rock City " is sort of an excuse to be crazy . Whether it's the scene where the four friends hide out in the girls ' bathroom and listen to the girl in the neighboring stall , or the part where they finally arrive at KISS's concert , this movie has something for everyone . Everyone who loves the ' 70s , that is . |
363,567 | 4,888,011 | 120,036 | 10 | events that led up to other unpleasant things | Part of what makes " Rosewood " so hard to watch - but I recommend it very much - is not only that it really happened , but also the thought that the events portrayed may have partly been the root of what happened in Florida in 2000 . With this vicious racism so deeply ingrained in our society , it's no surprise that Florida's government deprived a number of African-Americans of their right to vote . For more information about these sorts of things , read James Loewen's book " Lies Across America : What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong " . But anyway , this is a great ( and I would say under-appreciated ) movie . Jon Voight , Ving Rhames , Don Cheadle , Michael Rooker and Muse Watson all do a great job in their roles . Definitely one of John Singleton's really good ones . |
364,806 | 4,888,011 | 72,081 | 10 | So will Steve Martin be able to equal Peter Sellers ? | The upcoming release of the " Pink Panther " remake brings to mind the original series , including this one . When the famous diamond gets stolen for a second time , Insp . Jacques Clouseau ( Peter Sellers ) gets put on the case , and I shouldn't have to tell you what sorts of things he does , especially since this movie turns him into an even bigger doofus than previously . As Sir Charles Litton , Christopher Plummer does approximately as good a job as David Niven did . But the movie is all about Clouseau . One can only imagine how the people behind the camera must have cracked up watching him do these things . " The Return of the Pink Panther " is a comedy classic . Oh , and there's also that scene in the bedroom ! Hah ! |
364,994 | 4,888,011 | 358,273 | 10 | this shows why the great movies always come out at the end of the year | Before " Walk the Line " came out , some people thought that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon would be miscast as Johnny Cash and June Carter . They were not miscast at all . Not only do they both do a great job playing the roles , they do their own singing . This movie does as great a job with its subject as " Ray " did . It makes perfect sense that Phoenix and Witherspoon have received Academy Award nominations ; I'd say that they deserve to win . This movie is a masterpiece in every way . Up in that great music house in the sky , Johnny and June must be proud to know that this movie did such a great job portraying their lives . Perfect . |
364,387 | 4,888,011 | 111,127 | 10 | seri ( al ) ously cool | John Waters continues his trashing of " traditional " Americanism with the dark but masterful " Serial Mom " . Kathleen Turner plays Baltimore housewife Beverly Sutphin , who loves her family but also likes to kill people who don't adhere to certain social norms . You read that right . After all , this is coming from the man who gave us Odorama . Anyway , Beverly doesn't like it that a neighbor doesn't recycle , or that a boy doesn't wear his seat-belt , or that some neighbors interfere with her husband's birdwatching plans , or that the principal objects to her son's admiration of horror flicks . What a great way to trash the suburbs . But after all this , the movie starts looking at how we can use the media to get our way . The point is , this is something that could only come from John Waters . If it's gross , then Waters is doing his job . Also starring are Sam Waterston , Ricki Lake , Matthew Lillard , Mink Stole , Patty Hearst and Suzanne Somers . A camp classic . |
364,745 | 4,888,011 | 102,510 | 10 | How do they come up with these things ? ! | This one has Lt . Frank Drebin ( Leslie Nielsen ) trying to stop villain Quentin Hapsburg ( Robert Goulet ) from kidnapping a solar power advocate . That's the plot , but the movie is of course an excuse for a series of gags , many of which just pop out from the sides . And of course there's Frank's relationship with seductive Jane Spencer ( Priscilla Presley ) . One of their scenes might make you recall a certain scene from " Ghost " , and then what follows . . . well , all that I can say is : HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THESE THINGS ? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I guess that the movie's only weird aspect is seeing O . J . Simpson as Nordberg . But if we can ignore that , the rest is a hoot , especially the opening sequence , the outlines of people's bodies , and the zoo scene . Just great . |
363,286 | 4,888,011 | 111,112 | 10 | many ways to look at Ireland | I have liked every one of John Sayles's movies that I've seen , and " The Secret of Roan Inish " is no exception . The movie mainly focuses on ten-year-old Fiona going to live with her grandparents in Donegal , Ireland , and learning family stories . But there were two aspects that I found particularly important . One was the focus on how England sought to destroy the Irish culture . Students weren't allowed to speak their native language in school , and Fiona's grandparents have to give up their house to an English family . But there was also the focus on seals . Aside from the story about the woman who could turn into a seal , there's Fiona's disappeared younger brother : might the seals be raising him ? Rarely have I ever seen such a mystical and edifying look at the relationship between humans and animals . All in all , this is the sort of movie that could only come from John Sayles . It's about as far from a Hollywood movie as you can get , and I recommend it to everyone . You just might want to take a trip to the Emerald Isle after watching it . |
401,407 | 7,743,887 | 72,587 | 1 | No , My Dear ! | ' Don't Drink The Water ' hadn't exactly set the world on fire , yet what did Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney do next ? Another spin-off , this time from their series ' Romany Jones ' which had starred the late James Beck ( ' Private Walker ' from ' Dad's Army ' ) and Jo Rowbottom . ' Yus My Dear ' chronicled the further exploits of Wally and Lil Briggs , the argumentative Cockney couple played by Arthur Mullard and Queenie Watts . The Briggs move into a council house after the gypsy caravan site they'd lived on for so long is redeveloped . Moving in with them is Wally's ( previously unmentioned ) layabout brother Benny , played by a constantly grinning Mike Reid ( in his first acting role ) . Each week , crafty Benny managed to separate Wally from his hard-earned bricklayer's wages . The opening credits showed Wally putting pound notes in Benny's outstretched palm . You had to wonder why a man of his obvious talent for con trickery didn't aim slightly higher than a close relative who was , after all , poor himself . But Wally , being incredibly thick , fell for the scams every time . In one episode , Wally and Lil put up Benny's stripper girlfriend Molly for the night , on the condition that she slept in his room while he crashed out on the sofa . The following morning , it was revealed Benny had used a ladder to get into the room , and thus have his wicked way with Molly . If the premise was intended to evoke comparisons with ' Hancock's Half-Hour ' ( Wally and Benny instead of Hancock and Sid ) , it failed miserably . The show ran out of plots after only two weeks ( 19 episodes were made ) . Arthur Mullard sang ( or rather , bellowed ) the title theme ! Critics ripped it to shreds . But they were absolutely right for once . Were we really supposed to be amused by the sight of a dimwit continually being conned by a silver-tongued rogue ? Strangely , it got to number one in the ratings , edging out ' Coronation Street ' , but , after two seasons , it thankfully ended . Don't be fooled into thinking ' Yus My Dear ' is a forgotten comedy classic - its a bad show which wasted a lot of very talented performers . The Briggs were seen to rather better comic effect in ' Holiday On The Buses ' ( 1973 ) . |
400,918 | 7,743,887 | 198,197 | 1 | Its Make Your Mind Up Time ! | There has been renewed interest in Hughie Green recently thanks to a B . B . C . - 4 play called ' Most Sincerely ' starring Trevor Eve . The ex-'Shoestring ' actor gave a decent performance , if not quite capturing the sheer awfulness of the real Green . To say that I did not like him would be an understatement - the man raised verbal diarrhoea to an art form , and had an annoying habit of rolling his eyes , rather like ' Private Frazer ' from ' Dad's Army ' during one of his ' we're doomed ! ' monologues . Each week Hughie came on to the sound of Bob Sharples ' big band and in that sickly way of his introduced singers , comedians , magicians , novelty acts such as Tony Holland ( the musical muscle man ) , that bald guy who whacked himself on the head with a tray while singing ' Mule Train ' ( which caused untold headaches among British children when they tried to copy him ) and blokes who made plates spin on wooden sticks to the ' Pick Of The Pops ' theme . Then there was the legendary Brooks Aehron , who skilfully recreated Jerry Lewis ' ' Typewriter Song ' . It is easy to mock these individuals now , but there was a certain fascination to be had from them , like watching a dog chasing its own tail . Let us not forget that ' OpKnocks ' was responsible for creating a great many stars , among them Freddie Starr , Les Dawson , Lena Zavaroni , Little & Large , Mary Hopkin , Freddie ' Parrot Face ' Davies ( remember him ? ) , Peters & Lee , and Pam Ayres . You may or may not like these people , but the fact is they managed to have more enduring careers than those of the twerps thrown up by ' The X Factor ' and ' Pop Idol ' . Each act would be prefaced by a ' sponsor ' - a member of the public or sometimes a celebrity ( ' Emmerdale Farm ' actor Fraser Hines being one ) . From time to time these sponsors gave Hughie gifts . Bob Monkhouse was ordered to resign from ' The Golden Shot ' after being suspected of taking bribes , yet Hughie was doing it openly on air . Sometimes the acts had a familiar look about them . One was Adam Daye , an impressionist whose repertoire ran to Kenneth Williams and . . . er , that was it . Daye went on ' OpKnocks ' months after being seen in L . W . T . ' s quick fire comedy show ' Who Do You Do ? ' . Comedian Pat Tansey got nowhere on ' OpKnocks ' and went on its rival , A . T . V . ' s ' New Faces ' - which he won . But when a tabloid newspaper pointed out he had been on Hughie's show , the ' New Faces ' production team had no choice but to disqualify him . One element of ' OpKnocks ' I disliked were the child performers . As soon as you saw some freckle-faced kid dancing and singing Shirley Temple-style you knew he / she was going to win . Grannies and granddads would go " Ah , isn't he / she cute ? " , before writing to Hughie in their millions . One such performer was Stephen Smith , who banged drums while his Dad - Jimmy - played the organ . They originally appeared under the name ' Jimmy Smith & Son ' , but a week later - after the first of many wins - relaunched themselves as ' Stephen Smith & Father ' . Little Stephen's facial expressions whilst drumming suggested latent psychopathic tendencies . His favourite subject was his teeth . I used to wonder how a child could lose so many choppers in one week . It had to be that bigger boys were jealous of his success and were knocking them out with their fists . I knew how they felt . Another group of precocious youngsters were collectively known as ' The Weltons ' , whose speciality was performing the same song every week . I felt sorry for the adult acts unlucky enough to appear on the same shows - they needed their big breaks there and then , but did not get them because of sentimental old folks voting for these brats . At the close of each edition , the acts would be paraded for the viewers one final time as the legendary ' clap-o-meter ' - a device designed to measure audience applause , not sexually transmitted diseases - came into play . " Remember , folks ! " , said Hughie , " The clap-o-meter is just for fun ! " . But time marches on and eventually the powers-that-be ( Jeremy Isaacs and Philip Jones ) decided that Hughie should go . Not only was the show hopelessly outdated even in 1978 , but what did for him was his using it as a platform for his far-right political views . In fairness he only did it twice , but that was enough . Hughie politely asked the British public not to go on strike in future , before a choir struck up with ' Stand Up & Be Counted ' . All around the nation you could the collective sound of raspberries blown . Hughie's patriotism led him to do other bizarre things , such as televising ' OpKnocks ' from the British submarine base at Holy Loch , Scotland one week as a warning to the U . S . S . R . in case they were thinking of attacking Britain . Though Hughie reassured fans that he had no plans to retire , he was barely on the box after ' OpKnocks ' ended . A decade later , it was revived - by the B . B . C . - but without Hughie . They brought in Bob Monkhouse and later former winner Les Dawson to front the show . Hughie was given the courtesy credit of ' Consultant ' . Unsurprisingly , the new-look version was better than the old , even if it did give us Rosser & Davies . And I mean that most sincerely , folks . |
400,610 | 7,743,887 | 977,667 | 1 | Has Chris Taken Liberties With The Truth ? | It had to happen . Noting the success of the Michael Moore anti-Bush polemic ' Fahrenheit ' , someone in the U . K . has tried to cash in by fashioning a similar movie attacking Tony Blair's Government . The trouble is there's not enough evidence to support the extraordinary claims it makes . Yes , the arrest of Maya Evans and Milan Rai for reading out the names of Iraq war victims opposite the Cenotaph in Whitehall was regrettable , as was the detaining of Walter Wolfgang under the terrorism laws for heckling Jack Straw's speech at a Labour conference ( you must remember that the security men were keen to avoid a repeat of the previous year's conference when Blair was heckled by Tory infiltrators ) , and Gloucestershire police preventing a bus load of anti-war demonstrators from protesting outside RAF Fairford , but do these and other incidents combined paint a picture of a totalitarian government hellbent on destroying cherished freedoms ? No is the short answer . It is easy to make a film of this kind . You scour the news archive , cherry pick the bits that best serve your agenda , interview malcontents , string them together , overlay ominous sounding narration and music , and hey presto - you've got yourself a conspiracy movie . The only M . P . ' s to appear are Boris Johnson , Ken Clarke and Clare Short . Is Chris having a laugh or what ? Ask yourself this - if ( as Chris claims ) we really do live in a police state , why hasn't the Government suppressed this film and thrown its creator in jail ? No mention of Britain under Thatcher , of course , when trade unions were banned from G . C . H . Q . , when police stopped and searched cars during the 1984 Miners ' Strike to block pickets from travelling around the country , when the G . L . C . was abolished simply because the P . M . did not like it , when Clive Ponting nearly went to jail for speaking the truth about the sinking of the Belgrano , when Trident protesters at Greenham Common were smeared as Communist sympathisers , when miners were beaten senseless for trying to protect their jobs , when London saw the worst riots in its history thanks to the hated poll tax and when Thames Television lost its franchise because it made a programme - ' Death On The Rock ' - the Tory Government did not like . More recently , we have had Section 28 . That , Mr . Atkins , was a true police state . When the evidence is not deemed strong enough to support his argument , he brazenly distorts the truth . For instance , he claims Blair has taken away an ancient right to protest near Parliament . That right never existed . Its true that , in the wake of the London bombings , security has had to be tightened up and one expects that . Which is the greater evil - having one's right to demonstrate curtailed or being murdered by fanatics ? In all the palaver over identity cards , it seems to have been forgotten that the Tories were once keen on the idea . So come off your hobbyhorse , Chris . There's an interesting documentary to be made about civil liberties , but this is not it . I note that ads have been appearing on pro-fox hunting websites . When it comes out on D . V . D . it should be double billed with Channel 4's ' The Great Global Warming Swindle ' , another steaming pile of lies and half-truths . If you're thinking of seeing this , don't bother . CODA : Its April 2009 , and the Right are accusing President Obama of destroying ' civil liberties ' in America . He's done a lot in four months , hasn't he ? The lie doesn't appear to be having any effect there . I only wish the same were true here in Britain . |
401,492 | 7,743,887 | 318,627 | 1 | Alice In Zombie Land ! | It used to be the case that zombie movies were purely the preserve of filmmakers with low budgets and no stars , now it seems everyone is making them . In ' Resident Evil : Apocalypse ' , a virus escapes from a top secret facility known as The Hive , infecting the inhabitants of Raccoon City , and a small group of survivors have to battle their way through an army of flesh-eating zombies to freedom . One of the reasons why George A . Romero's early ' living dead ' pictures worked so well was due to their documentary approach . No matter how far fetched the premise , you felt as though you were watching real people caught up in a terrifying situation . The main characters in this film , however , are anything but ' real ' , consisting mainly of young , good-looking people well acquainted with the martial arts , armed with weapons Rambo would be jealous of , and who never tire . No sooner have they wiped out one gang of zombies with karate kicks and expertly aimed shots than they are ready to wipe out another without so much as pausing for breath . Hence the suspense factor is nil . Milla Jovovich reprises her role as ' Alice ' , and admittedly she looks great crashing through a church window on a motorcycle ( or rather her stunt double does ) , but the script gives her no opportunity whatever to establish , much less develop a character . She is as every bit as inhuman as her opponents . Like many modern horror movies , it over-relies on C . G . I . for effect . The action scenes are shot and edited in the style of an M . T . V . rock video ; bullets fly out of guns in slow motion , people do back flips and execute perfect leaps over fences , and Milla still manages to look sexy no matter what happens . The appearance of ' Nemesis ' is a hoot ; resembling nothing less than one of Clive Barker's ' Cenobites ' with a Schwarzenegger complex . If you can sit through the scene where it uses a rocket launcher to wipe out the S . T . A . R . S . without laughing , you are made of stronger stuff than I . Alexander Witt must have thought that the visual trickery was enough to carry the film , and decided not to bother with such trifles as a strong plot , believable characterisations and dialogue . Did anyone understand that ending ? I certainly didn't . For a superior example of a zombie picture , check out the original ' Dawn Of The Dead ' . |
401,158 | 7,743,887 | 73,972 | 1 | Once upon a time there were three bad actresses . . . | The ' 70's was a golden age for American television with groundbreaking shows such as ' Roots ' , ' M . A . S . H . ' and ' All In The Family ' . ' Charlie's Angels ' was a huge step backwards . Even as a testosterone-fuelled teenager , I found it mindless and demeaning to women . Nobody in the show could act , the violence was cartoonish , the marshmallow theme tune set my teeth on edge , and the Identikit plots rarely rose above the tenth-rate . Each week , the animated ' Barbie ' dolls that made up three-quarters of the regular cast went undercover to trap some one-dimensional villain , which of course was a pathetic excuse to get them into make-up and sexy clothes . Farrah Fawcett-Majors matured into a fine actress , but only after quitting . Her teeth and hair did most of the acting . Cheryl Ladd , her replacement , was no better . Her debut episode featured one of the most ridiculous scenes ever broadcast on television - Ms . Ladd having to strip naked in the middle of a street so as to gain entry to an exclusive nudist camp , much to an elderly security guard's glee . The girls came and went , but the show's entertainment value remained zero . Amazingly , its regarded now in some quarters as a proto feminist tract . ' Cagney & Lacey ' it was not ! |
401,342 | 7,743,887 | 73,964 | 1 | The Original ' Sorry ' | The A . T . V . sitcom ' Big Boy Now ! ' played like a middle-class version of ' Steptoe & Son ' , only with the gender of the parent reversed . The late Leslie Crowther had worked with writer Ronnie Taylor before on the popular ' My Good Woman ' , co-starring Sylvia Syms . ' Big ' cast him as ' Tony Marchant ' , a middle-aged man too embarrassed to tell his domineering elderly mother Heather ( Fabia Drake ) he has grown up . Each week , Tony would meet an attractive woman and begin courtship , only for Mummy to scupper his chances of marital bliss . Crowther was miscast , and wasn't helped by Taylor's joke-free scripts or the obvious ( and annoying ) canned laughter . You had to wonder why Tony didn't push Mummy down the stairs , and plead justifiable homicide . Critics tore it to shreds , but the ratings were good . A . T . V . finally saw the light , however , axing it after two seasons . |
401,344 | 7,743,887 | 72,489 | 1 | The Cuckoo Schmaltz | This Granada sitcom gave Lewis Collins his first taste of television stardom . He played wealthy ' Gavin Rumsey ' , on the rebound from a failed marriage , who moves in with the poor but happy Chris and Fliss ( yuck ! ) Hawthorne . Er , why ? With his money , why doesn't he get a place of his own ? His presence disrupts the smooth day-to-day running of the house , ' dolly birds ' are soon flitting about , and expensive gadgetry is installed . David Roper ' Chris was so irritating one wondered why Fliss didn't ditch him and run off with the better-looking Gavin . Beautiful Diane Keen did her best with a role which gave her nothing to do other than push a pram and look bewildered . Collins ' Gavin seemed a try-out for his later role as hard-man ' Bodie ' in ' The Professionals ' . The late Geoffrey Lancashire wrote the less-than hilarious scripts ( he also worked on ' The Lovers ' ) . In 1980 , the show was briefly revived , with Ian Saynor replacing Collins , but it was just as limp as before . |
401,645 | 7,743,887 | 83,504 | 1 | Wogan At His Most Woeful | The best thing to be said for ' Eldorado ' was that it displaced Terry Wogan's thrice-nightly ego trip . For the benefit of those fortunate enough to have never seen it , let me explain . Each edition began with hideously garish opening titles in which Tel's surname loomed like Godzilla over the London skyline , backed up by a tinny B . A . Robertson synth tune . Tel ( and wig ) then walked on to tumultuous applause ( this was before he had the plastic knee fitted ) , tossed off some lame quips , which he prefaced with : " Well , here we are again , me darlings , another great show for you . " . At which point he would sit next to his guests , and for the next half-hour did not let them get a word in edge ways . His favourite topics of conversation were money ( during the height of unemployment in the ' 80's , Tel described his salary as ' peanuts ' . Three million people would have been happy earning those ' peanuts ' ) , and the dire U . S . soap ' Dallas ' , with which he was hopelessly besotted . When he had Victoria Principal on the show once , he asked her : " what did you have for Christmas dinner ? " even though it was being recorded months in advance . The confusion on La Principal's face gave the game away . On another edition , he upset veteran comic George Burns by asking a question about his deceased wife Gracie Allen . On yet another , he put Italian / American singer Tony Bennett's nose out of joint by saying he looked like a member of The Mafia . Tact was not his strong point . Tel's right-wing sympathies came to the fore when he openly encouraged the audience to jeer Neil and Glenys Kinnock , yet when Tory chairman Norman Tebbit appeared , it was like watching a reunion of old army buddies . Labour M . P . Tam Dalyell was roundly insulted after reiterating his belief that Margaret Thatcher lied to the House Of Commons over the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War . Tel sniggered as he introduced then-Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Roy Hattersley , but Michael Heseltine was greeted like a long-lost brother . George Best made headlines by going on the show drunk , which made one wonder ' why did no-one remove the free beer in the Green Room ? ' . Likewise the late Anne Bancroft's non-interview could easily have been avoided . Clive Anderson , Kenneth Williams , Ben Elton and Joanna Lumley stood in for Tel occasionally and they showed him up for the smarmy , ineffectual bore he is . His success was not approved by everyone though - the late T . V . journalist Bernard Falk once described him as an ' overpaid Irish gob artist ' and Tel responded on air by calling Falk an ' ee-jit ' . Such childish name calling was beneath Falk , but you could see his point . |
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