You've seen the parodies ... or ... have you? If not, time to do some catching up. One of my favorites is when Hitler finds out his so-called "friends" aren't going to Burning Man after all.
But have you seen ... the movie? There are about 150 other minutes of film you could catch up on.
I saw the DVD on the rack as I scoped out the one-last-dying-breath Hollywood Video, and yes, I found it hard to watch the fateful scene of hubris personified without cracking up and thinking of poor Hitler being banned from XBox Live.
You probably read about it in the papers already, so I'm not spoiling anything (and hopefully prepping you and the kids) by pointing out that nearly everyone in the Third Reich's inner circle ends up being shot, killed and murdered onscreen ... except for Hitler. He is given respectful privacy when he reaches the end. Kinda ironic, wouldn't you say?
Showing posts with label Harrison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harrison. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
UHF
Harrison came back to town and pulled this one off the shelf. I had found it on the racks at the gasping-for-breath Hollywood Video. He thought it was simply another collection of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's music videos. Kids today!
No, really, there's a storyline. 'Weird Al' somehow is put in charge of a TV station, and of course puts a janitor (Seinfeld's 'Kramer') in charge of a kids show. Luke from "General Hospital" is simply beguiling in his Thomas Dolby-from-outer-space supporting role. Parodies of Indiana Jones, MTV, "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre," and "Network" are joined at birth by cameos from Dr. Demento, Emo Philips, Billy Barty... good fun.
The double-sided disc had a terminal case of skipping and scratches on the "widescreen" side, so we had to finish watching it in Pan'n'Scan. Just like on UHF stations back in the day.
Hey, I caught a continuity error: When Weird Al Rambo jumps into the helicopter (um, where'd that helicopter come from again?), he adjusts the rear-view mirror. But when the outside shot shows the chopper taking off .. there's no rear-view mirror!!! WTF?!
In other words, if you have enjoyed both "Airplane!" and "The Simpsons" for their non-stop kaleidoscopic pop culture riffs, you'll like this. And if you have seen, or even heard of, "Kentucky Fried Movie" or "Drive-In," you'll love it....
No, really, there's a storyline. 'Weird Al' somehow is put in charge of a TV station, and of course puts a janitor (Seinfeld's 'Kramer') in charge of a kids show. Luke from "General Hospital" is simply beguiling in his Thomas Dolby-from-outer-space supporting role. Parodies of Indiana Jones, MTV, "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre," and "Network" are joined at birth by cameos from Dr. Demento, Emo Philips, Billy Barty... good fun.
The double-sided disc had a terminal case of skipping and scratches on the "widescreen" side, so we had to finish watching it in Pan'n'Scan. Just like on UHF stations back in the day.
Hey, I caught a continuity error: When Weird Al Rambo jumps into the helicopter (um, where'd that helicopter come from again?), he adjusts the rear-view mirror. But when the outside shot shows the chopper taking off .. there's no rear-view mirror!!! WTF?!
In other words, if you have enjoyed both "Airplane!" and "The Simpsons" for their non-stop kaleidoscopic pop culture riffs, you'll like this. And if you have seen, or even heard of, "Kentucky Fried Movie" or "Drive-In," you'll love it....
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cos some watery tart threw a sword at you!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saving Private Ryan
I knew that the first half-hour was as real and as intense as it gets. I wasn't expecting the last 45 minutes to be the same. Shows what I know.
Harrison put a hold on this disc through his Seattle Public Library account and waited for ... how many months? Years? I think he's been waiting to see this since approximately the last century.
There are still 46 holds on 33 copies at SPL. Now I need to return it so that everyone else who's been waiting has a chance to see it.
Harrison put a hold on this disc through his Seattle Public Library account and waited for ... how many months? Years? I think he's been waiting to see this since approximately the last century.
There are still 46 holds on 33 copies at SPL. Now I need to return it so that everyone else who's been waiting has a chance to see it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Saved!
Repeat viewing of a disc I bought for one dollar at a FOSPL sale, which Harrison wanted to see.
A pro-spirituality, anti-Religion, teenage sex comedy. What will they think of next?! I reminded Harrison that this was satire, and had to remind myself too. The school principal isn't really a bad guy ... he's just following His orders.
Shame what they did to one of my favorite Beach Boys songs, giving it a sheen of production values it didn't require. The warmth of the original vocals and instrumentation, if it were explored, would've lent a layer of subtext that the film was looking for. Still...
"Looking at her,
it's like life is too amazing
to be this random and meaningless
consequence of the universe.
There had to be a God...
or something out there.
Something inside.
You just have to feel it."
For all its unsure, halting, "I Know This But I Don't Really Know It" teenage angst, that's exactly how I feel sometimes.
God Only Knows.
A pro-spirituality, anti-Religion, teenage sex comedy. What will they think of next?! I reminded Harrison that this was satire, and had to remind myself too. The school principal isn't really a bad guy ... he's just following His orders.
Shame what they did to one of my favorite Beach Boys songs, giving it a sheen of production values it didn't require. The warmth of the original vocals and instrumentation, if it were explored, would've lent a layer of subtext that the film was looking for. Still...
"Looking at her,
it's like life is too amazing
to be this random and meaningless
consequence of the universe.
There had to be a God...
or something out there.
Something inside.
You just have to feel it."
For all its unsure, halting, "I Know This But I Don't Really Know It" teenage angst, that's exactly how I feel sometimes.
God Only Knows.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Religulous
Also one of the first movies I saw at the beginning of 2009, this time a repeat viewing at the request of Harrison.
Bill Maher sure is Über-snark personified, ain't he? Making fun of everyone whether they deserve it or not -- Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Scientologists ... OK, most of them deserve it. As a spiritual, non-religious person who celebrates both Christmas and Beltane, I know I would deserve it. But all of that overshadowed the beginning of the film, which I hardly remembered from the first viewing.
When Maher sits down with his sister and mother and goes over his own family's religious history, the humor and openness shone through again. And it reminded me that spending one's formative years in the same house with his mom and dad (a Jewish nurse married to a Catholic newsman) would've led any somewhat average smart-ass kid to become as snarky as he did. Maybe that's why he and director Larry Charles put that part at the beginning of the movie -- so you'd understand *why* he feels this way.
Bill Maher sure is Über-snark personified, ain't he? Making fun of everyone whether they deserve it or not -- Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Scientologists ... OK, most of them deserve it. As a spiritual, non-religious person who celebrates both Christmas and Beltane, I know I would deserve it. But all of that overshadowed the beginning of the film, which I hardly remembered from the first viewing.
When Maher sits down with his sister and mother and goes over his own family's religious history, the humor and openness shone through again. And it reminded me that spending one's formative years in the same house with his mom and dad (a Jewish nurse married to a Catholic newsman) would've led any somewhat average smart-ass kid to become as snarky as he did. Maybe that's why he and director Larry Charles put that part at the beginning of the movie -- so you'd understand *why* he feels this way.
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