The Great, Big, Quarantine Catch Up

I'm not going to get political or anything on here but, with much of the world shut down it's safe to say that I've had a bit more time on my hands than usual. Now, with so much time I have been able to catch up on some T.V. shows that I had pushed to the back burner and luckily Nintendo has blessed the world with the gem that is Animal Crossing: New Horizons. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been watching a whole bunch of movies. It's been a little while since my last post (again the world is in a weird place right now) and I thought it might be an interesting change of pace to do an overview of what movies I've watched lately. 

Of course, being stuck inside it's been the perfect opportunity for a few marathons. This past weekend rewatched the three Godfather films. The first two are obviously considered great movies but, I'm starting to gain more appreciation for the often disregarded third film in the trilogy... It's still not great but, I liked it more since the last time I saw it a few years ago. I also went on a little bit of a Tim Burton kick for a few days and rewatched some of his early films. Beetlejuice, Batman, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands... these are all good movies and got me thinking "What happened to Tim Burton? All he makes is crap now". Maybe that'll end up being the topic of a separate post in the future. 

In terms of movies that I hadn't seen before, I finally got around to watching Rocketman. I didn't have time to see it when it was in theaters last year but, better late than never. When the movie goes into big musical numbers it's a lot of fun but, the rest of the time it's a pretty paint-by-numbers biopic. Overall, liked it and it's probably in that 3.5 out of 5 range for me. I also watched Mirrors 2. I never saw the first Mirrors but I found this one in a bargain bin and with the quote on the back of the blu-ray case " They can't run... they can't hide... the can't even look in the mirror!" Well, that's all I needed. It's a schlocky horror movie. Not good but, I had fun with it. Another horror movie I decided to watch was The Exorcism of Molly Hartley. It's far from the worst exorcism movie I've seen (that honor is held by Exorcism of the Dead) but, I still wouldn't recommend this one. Turning away from horror, I finally watched a film that had been sitting in the stack of movies on my desk for months, Machine Gun Preacher. The film is based on a true story about an ex-biker gang member who starts helping poor kids in Africa. It's fine. The title is way better than the movie.

Finishing up, here are a few miscellaneous favorites that I've rewatched over the past few weeks. I highly recommend all of these so if you're like me, stuck at home waiting for the world to go back to normal, these are some solid films to help pass the time. 

- Field of Dreams, a feel good movie and there's no real baseball on T.V. right now. 

- Gone with the Wind, it's an all-time classic and the 4hr-runtime isn't a big deal when there's nothing else going on. 

-Top Gun... I just really like this one.

- The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese movies are always worthwhile.

- Spartacus, like Gone with the Wind, it's a long one but, worth it. 

- The Muppets from 2011. Good songs, and funny jokes. A perfect distraction.

- The Man Who Knew Too Much, I personally prefer the 1956 version with James Stewart and Doris Day but, the 1934 original is a great movie as well. 

-And finally Moon. It's great, I love it, and more people need to see it.

80's Month Day 27: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Well, '80's Month' is quickly coming to a close and today's movie is 1982's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The film is based on a stage play of the same name (which I've never seen so I won't attempt to compare the two), and it's a bit of an odd but fun movie. 

 

The movie is about a whorehouse in Texas (as the title would suggest) which has been nicknamed the "Chicken Ranch". The Chicken Ranch, which has been a fixture in the community for years, is run by a woman named Mona (played by Dolly Parton) who just wants to run a nice establishment. She's involved with the town Sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd (played by Burt Reynolds) which only complicates matters later in the film. There are a few musical numbers in the movie and, while they're not those sort of stuck in your head all day tunes, some of them are pretty entertaining. The Sneakin' Around sequence in particular is a lot of fun. 

Well, despite this local brothel never causing any trouble and being generally excepted by the community, a "watchdog" reporter named Melvin P. Thorpe (played by Dom DeLuise) aims to rid Texas of this immoral establishment. Eventually, after butting heads with the Sheriff on numerous occasions, Thorpe does get what he wants in the end and the Chicken Ranch is shut down. This isn't one of the funniest Dom DeLuise roles, but I don't think it's really supposed to be. A lot of the funniest lines actually come from Ed Earl's Deputy (played by Jim Nabors).

Overall, if you like Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton and the occasional musical number, then you'll probably have a good time with this one. I really like the movie, but I wouldn't call it any sort of masterpiece. It's one of those rare films that I'm really not sure how good it is but, I enjoy it. 

So, a 3.5 out of 5 seems like a fair rating.

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Today's Movie: It's Always Fair Weather

 Released in 1955 It's Always Fair Weather is a musical-comedy about three soldiers/best friends, Ted Riley (played by Gene Kelly), Doug Hallerton (played by Dan Dailey) and Angie Valentine (played by Michael Kidd) who have just finished serving in World War II together. Before going their separate ways, they meet at their favorite bar and vow to reunite exactly 10 years later at the same spot. 

There's a nice montage showing what they've been all up to over those years and how their lives didn't go quite as planned: Riley wanted to be lawyer, but instead has become a fight promoter and gambler. Hallerton, planned to be a painter, but ended up in advertising. Finally, Valentine who wanted to become a gourmet chef, is now owns and operates a hamburger stand.
 All three men keep their promise to meet at the bar years later and quickly realize that they don't have the same connection that they used to, and actually dislike each other. While at lunch, they encounter some people from Hallerton's advertising agency, one of which is including Jackie Leighton (played by Cyd Charisse), who Ted Riley is immediately attracted to. Jackie quickly gets the idea of putting the three men on TV as a feel-good piece on a show hosted by Madeline Bradville (played by Dolores Gray). There are a few obstacles and funny situations that come up along the way but, when all is said and done, they regain their friendship and it ends on a happy note.

Overall, this a really fun movie. The song and dance numbers are all solid, with the "Baby You Knock Me Out" and "I Like Myself" scenes being the two that I find particularly entertaining. If you're a fan of musicals, especially the classic MGM ones, then this is definitely a film worth checking out.
I give this one a 4.5 out of 5


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La La Land (2016)

La La Land is the recently released musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. This was one of those films that I didn't necessarily have high expectations for, but I was looking forward to checking it out for sure.

 So, is it any good?

Well, it does come off a little bit of a pretentious a few times. That's not to say the movie isn't bad by any stretch, I actually really liked it but, there are moments when the songs and 'artistic vision' seems to take precedent over plot. It's a tricky balance that very few musicals walk flawlessly. The film contains a pretty basic story that you've seen before, you know where it's going, and there is a fair amount of romantic-comedy fluff.  However, I found myself willing to forgive some of those tired plot points because Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling both give such solid performances. Both of the main characters are likeable, and they do seem to have good on-screen chemistry. I thought the first 10-15mins or so were by far the weakest part of the film, but it gets on track pretty quick.

The song sequences are good, for the most part, and there's definitely a tune or two you'll probably find yourself humming as you leave the theater. The "A Lovely Night" scene in particular was one of the highlights of the movie for me. The cinematography throughout is solid and there are a few really outstanding moments.

Overall, I found it very entertaining. I don't think it's one of the all-time great musicals but, if you generally like that type of film, I say check it out.

I give this one a 4 out of 5.

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Singin' In The Rain (1952)

Singin' In The Rain, for those who don't know, is a musical released in 1952 and it stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor. It also happens to be one of my favorite movies.

Gene Kelly plays Don Lockwood, a silent film actor who rose to fame starring alongside leading lady Lina Lamont (played by Jean Hagan). But, when 'talkies' become the new hot thing, all the studios jump on the bandwagon. A romance also soon starts between Don and a talented, though unknown, actress named Kathy Selden (played by Debbie Reynolds), and the "You Were Meant for Me" scene between the two is one of several really memorable moments early on.

Well, it's quickly decided that the latest Lockwood and Lamont picture The Dueling Cavalier is going to be the first 'talkie' for Monumental Studios. There's just one problem; in addition to being both dumb and pretty insufferable, Lina Lamont has an atrocious voice, and an early screening of the film is met with a less than ideal response. Fortunately, Kathy and Don's best friend, a musician named Cosmo (played by Donald O'Connor), have the brilliant idea to dub over Lina's lines using Kathy's voice and to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical. It's here, during the heart of the film that we get two of the best song and dance sequences: The "Good Morning" scene with the three dancing and singing through Don's house, and the iconic "Singin' In The Rain" scene with Gene Kelly at his best, joyfully dancing with his umbrella down the street in the rain.

 The next day, Don and Cosmo pitch the idea of a musical re-titled The Dancing Cavalier to the head of the studio and filming begins.

At the premiere, The Dancing Cavalier is a huge success and the audience, not knowing Lina's voice was dubbed over, cheer for her to sing a song live. Don, Cosmo, and the head of the studio tell her to just lip sync while Kathy, hidden behind the curtain, sings the actual song. While Lina is pretending to sing, they raise the curtain, exposing Lina as a fraud and Kathy as "the real star of the film". The film ends with Kathy and Don in front of a billboard advertising their new film, Singin' in the Rain.

This isn't just arguably the best musical ever made but, also one of the great films of all-time. It's fun, the comedy works, the characters a very likeable, the songs are catchy, the choreography is top notch... I challenge anyone to watch it and not crack a smile. 

It's an absolute joy and a true classic.
 I give it a 5 out of 5.

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Ranking The Muppet Movies

I've been a huge Muppets fan for my entire life, so in this entry I'm going to be ranking the Muppet movies.

That being said, this will only be a ranking of Muppet films that had a theatrical release, so not included will be TV movies like “Muppets Wizard of Oz” or direct-to-video/DVD movies such as “Kermit’s Swamp Years”. Additionally, although characters from things like Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock were developed by the late Jim Henson the only films that qualify are the ones that center around the group of characters that are referred to as "The Muppets"; Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, etc. So films like Follow That Bird and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street also won't be on this particular list.

#8 Muppets from Space -1999

Keep in mind that I love all of these movies so it's not to say this one isn't enjoyable, it's just not the strongest of the bunch. There are some funny moments, but the central plot of Gonzo being an alien may have worked better as a subplot in another Muppet movie.

#7 Muppets Most Wanted -2014

The direct sequel to 2011's The Muppets was a decent follow up. However, the cast isn't as strong, the songs aren't as memorable, and the story lacks the heart of it's predecessor. A fun movie but there are better ones.


#6 The Muppet Christmas Carol -1992

The #5 and #6 picks basically came down to a coin flip honestly. They're both based on classic stories, both are a ton of fun, and I highly recommend both. For a story that's been told and retold as many time as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this is actually my favorite film version of that story.


#5 Muppet Treasure Island -1996

 While this one only came in at #5, it's not to say that it isn't worth watching. It's jam packed with wall-to-wall jokes, and I think it's actually one of the funniest of all the Muppet movies. Plus, Tim Curry as Long John Silver is just amazing.


#4 The Great Muppet Caper -1981

Though not quite as strong or as well remembered as the previous film The Muppet Movie or the film that would follow this one The Muppets Take Manhattan,this one is still really enjoyable. There are probably more really funny moments between Kermit and Fozzie in this one than in any of the other films.


#3 The Muppets -2011

After Muppets from Space, there was a pretty significant gap between big-screen Muppet films but when Kermit and the others finally returned to theaters it was well worth the wait. The Muppet brand of humor is as strong as ever in this one and both Jason Segel and Amy Adams are fantastic.


#2 The Muppet Movie -1979

Not only is this a solid movie, but it showed that people will go see a major motion picture starring Muppets because the movie is fun and full of lovable characters. This is the foundation for all the Muppet movies. Although Jim Henson passed away in 1990, the spirit and tone of all the films that have come since then, have always circled back to what made the original so great.


#1 The Muppets Take Manhattan -1984

Every Muppet movie needs three key ingredients good songs, humor, and heart and this one has the best balance of that. They're all really enjoyable, but if you're only going to watch one Muppet movie this is the one I'd recommend.

Tonight's Movie: Across The Universe (2007)

Ever since this film came out in 2007, I've found that people I talk to about it always seem to have a mixed-bag of reactions.

I'm just gonna go ahead and show my cards up-front with this one; I really enjoy this movie. I think it's fun and entertaining even though I acknowledge at points it's more spectacle than substance.

Those that lean toward disliking  it unusually cite the fact that the love story is a bit clichéd (which it is) and that some of the characters are kinda bland (a fair point). Also, much of the enjoyment to be had in the movie does rely on you liking the Beatles, as the film is a musical with a soundtrack made up entirely of Beatles songs. Even all the character's names are references to Beatles songs (Jude, Lucy, Sadie, etc).

To some this is a little overkill but, for me, it does feel like a good balance between being its own thing and being a sort of Beatles tribute.

So, why do I like it?

For starters, it looks pretty incredible. This is the type of film for which HD tv's and Blu-Ray players were invented.  Additionally, in this movie I don't mind the clichéd love story. There is so much going on both musically and visually, that I think the generic love story fits well because doesn't over complicate things in an already busy film. Also, as stated before, the movie is a musical and I really like the soundtrack. And while some of the characters are forgettable, I really like Jude (played by Jim Sturgess). I also think that Jo-Jo (played by Martin Luther McCoy) is a cool Jimi Hendrix-esque supporting character.

All in all, if you're not a fan of the Beatles, or musicals in general, then this may not be one that interests you, but I happen to really like it.

4 out of 5

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A Look Back At Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Overall, Elvis Presley's movies are hit or miss. This 1964 musical is one of the good ones, maybe even his best.

Elvis plays Lucky, a race car driver (that can also sing, dance, and play the guitar for some reason) who needs a new motor for his car so he can win the big Las Vegas Grand Prix. Opposite Elvis is Ann-Margaret who plays Rusty and she's a lifeguard/dancer/love interest in the film.

The plot is a bit formulaic and predictable. He's interested in her, she initially wants nothing to do with him, there's some singing and dancing, and by the end they're married.
It's not exactly a movie you put on if you feel like watching a psychological thriller.

What it does offer is an enjoyable, lighthearted, musical set in Vegas, and it absolutely delivers. The big race at the end is a ton of fun. There are plenty of good song and dance sequences like the 'The Lady Loves Me' scene around the hotel pool, which is one of the movie's highlights.

It's a good time and an all around solid movie.
I give it a 4 out of 5.


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