Quick Thoughts: Blues Brothers 2000

For this week's watch along over in my Discord, the featured film was Blues Brothers 2000. Makes sense since the original Blues Brothers film was featured last week.

So right toff the bat, here is a big question, as Elwood doesn't learn about Jake's death until a day after he gets out of prison and is waiting to be picked up.Now we know all the member of the band got out before Elwood did, but the question is, when would have Jake be released and when did he he did within the continuity of the Blues Brothers universe? If we go by date of John Belushi's death of March 5, 1982.... then that means no one told Elwood that Jake died until 1998... which is like a total dick move.

Okay, now I will admit I'm someone who does not have an issue with the character of Buster Blues... however, I am very much aware of how the studio (in this case Universal) pretty much forced the character into existence along with a number of other 'creative' notes that basically neutered what John Landis and Dan Aykroyd were hoping to accomplish with the sequel. Universal's meddling of things basically is what leads to the Joe Morton being in the film instead of Jim Belushi, because the studio, who didn't want to do the film to begin with and insisted on various details, wanted the film out in theaters in early 1998. Belushi ended up being unavailable because he was committed to a show on ABC (and this was before the show According to Jim). Within the context of Blues Brothers lore, Jim Belushi was already portraying the character known as 'Zee' in concert with the Blues Brothers band along side Aykroyd and John Goodman as Might Mack, in particular with the opening of the House of Blues clubs around the United States in the mid-90s, and the Belushi was also apart of the Blues Brothers Half Time show at the Super Bowl in 1996. So with Belushi being unavailable and a studio, the part of 'Zee' was re-written to create a tribute to the legendary Cab Calloway who played Curtis in the first film, with the character being called Cabel 'Cab' Chamberlain. The obvious parallel and Belushi connection is certainly seen in the Revival Tent / John The Revalator sequence will Cab is 'transformed' and the character performs the same backflip sequence Jake does in the first film when he has his realization at the Triple Rock Church.

Some people, probably most notably the idiot known as The Nostalgia Critic, aka Doug Walker, takes issue with the number of musical numbers in Blues Brothers 2000, and to a point that is kind of understandable. But when you look at in the context of how old many of performers were in Blues Brothers 2000 and how many have since passed away, the film becomes more an awesome time capsule and showcase of some of the greatest music performers of all time. Just take a look at the Louisana Gators Boys line up that includes BB King, Issac Hayes, Koko Taylor, Steve Winwood, Clarence Clemons, Bo Diddley and others, then realize throughout the rest of the movie there is Eddie Floyd, Junior Wells, Aretha Franklin, Sam Moore, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Lonnie Brooks and you realize... Blues Brothers 2000 is rather special and I'm serious when I say, the collection of musical talent featured in it will never be equaled.

That said, I do take one small issue with the Soundtrack to the film... in particularly with some versions of songs performed by the Blues Brothers band not being on it, particularly the version of Green Onion heard after the Bluesmobile runs out of gas. Live recording of Green Onions appear on the Made In America and The Blues Brothers & Friends Live album, but I would love hear the full version of it the band recorded for this movie. Not to mention the band's version of Last Night was also pretty good.... Now don't get me wrong, the sound track album is great, but we probably could've done without John Popper's Harmonica Musings and Let There Be Drums by the Carl LaFong Trio... but that's just my opinion.

Quick Thoughts; The Blues Brothers

Last week we didn't do a watch along over in my discord channel, but I believe we made up for it in a big way this week with The Blues Brothers starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Released in 1980, it is without debate the greatest movie based on characters created for Saturday Night Live, and probably the greatest musical comedy of all time. Yes that's right, The Blues Brothers is a musical, with entire sequences of characters breaking out into song and dance routines. Anyway, the version we watched this we was the extended cut which added in a lot of scenes and details to make the narrative of the plot move a lot smoother, and explaining various details that were not a part of the original theatrical cut, which also meant a number of the music performances were longer as well.

One of the first thoughts that came to mind this week was, is there a better driver in a work of fiction than Elwood Blues? Think about it, in the world of the Movies and TV shows, Elwood is pretty much untouchable with his skills as a driver with a 1974 Dodge Monaco Sedan that was modified for police use and that's it. Probably the closest would be Nicholas Cage's character of Randall Raines in Gone in 60 Seconds with what was done with a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500. For those who will bring up any of the characters in the Fast and Furious Franchise, lets also point out the cars they mostly used were heavily modified within the context of that universe.

Movie forward, in regards to Carrie Fisher's character 'The Mystery Woman'... where and how does she get every weapon she intended to use to take out Joliet Jake? Think about it, she uses a rocket launcher, a flamethrower, an assault riffle and takes down part of a city block with demolition charges! Hell how did she set that up!Also of note, I still love the fact that the name of the salon 'The Mystery Woman' is at when she is reading up on how to use the flamethrower is called 'Curl Up & Dye'.... sometimes the simplest puns are the best.

One of the extra scenes in the Extended cut involves Curtis telling the Band that Jake and Elwood intentions and motivations for getting the band back together and donating the money from the Palace Hotel gig to cover the taxes of the Orphanage... and while it gives even more context to the Band continuing to play as Jake and Elwood make their escape, it does raise a question. What if instead of saying 'We're On A Mission From God', Jake and Elwood explained to the band as they were recruiting them their intentions.Yes some of the set ups for things like Aretha Franklin' 'Think' out, but I think if that is moved up to be earlier than it was with Elwood saying 'We're On A Mission From God', she'll still go forward into song and then follow that with Jake explaining the situation, it would take some of the awkwardness of Matt Guitar Murphy just walking out on her with Blue Lou Marini following shortly after. Plus It would put a moral dilemma on Mr. Fabulous Alan Rubin's character in the fancy restaurant that he doesn't want to leave his job. Hell if anything, all these circumstances involving the Nazis, the cops and the Good Ol Boys can still work as is

Anyway, that's my quick thoughts here on The Blues Brothers.... maybe next week we'll watch Blues Brothers 2000?

Quick Thoughts: Ghostbusters II

For the Halloween watch along in my discord this past week, the film selection was Ghostbusters II, the 1989 sequel to Ghostbusters... and while it is in many ways a re-telling of the first film, it does has a number of things that stand out about it that make it a positive viewing experience after 30 years. 

First and foremost is that the GB2 actually continues the story from the first film and shows time has passed. The fact that first thing we see when the film starts is 'Five Years Later'... and then Dana with her baby on a chilly November/December evening says a lot when you think about. Not to mention it does give a strong follow up to things that happened in the fist film that most people gloss over. Let's remember, government agencies in their first film started to raise questions about the Ghostbusters, obviously first and foremost was the EPA... and there is a line in GB2 from Winston to Ray stating 'You conjured up a 100-foot Mashmellow Man'... meaning that the Ghostbusters were probably interviewed about what happened on top of central park west, leading to wonder if Ray's unintentional 'pop in there' moment was what caused the city, county and state of New York to shut the Ghostbusters down. Second, it actually gives everyone something to do, meaning Winston has moments to shine... even though his absence and lack of involvement with anything to do with the initial investigation into the circumstances of Dana's baby is something that still bothers me to this day.Speaking of said investigation, the whole situation involving little Oscar is never an afterthought, it is the center focus of the film with the pieces gradually falling into place for our heroes.

On the negative side is the amount of cut content from the film, some of which we see the montage that takes place after the court room scene, such as Louis and Slimer's interactions, which included Louis learning how to use a proton pack, as well as Ray being possessed by Vigo while driving the Ecto-1A after starring into the eyes of the Vigo painting at the art museum. As I mentioned before some elements from the first film are basically re-told, primarily Venkman and Dana's relationship, but one could argue that Venkman needed to mature quite a bit from where he was as a character in the first movie. The Ghostbusters not being in business at the start of the film could be counted as a negative, or at least the reason for it because by 1989, in the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, they established that there was periods of time when ghost activity would be pretty low for one reason or another, and that could've and should've been the reason why they had some odd jobs here and there.

One more thing of note, when Dana goes to Egon to get help following the opening of the movie, Egon's experiment regarding human emotions (the arguing couple and the child given the puppy) basically lays out the entire premise of the film regarding positive and negative vibes. I wonder how many people actually realize that.

Quick Thoughts: Ghostbusters

For yesterday's watch along, the featured movie was Ghostbusters (1984) starring Bill Murrary, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver, with Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Annie Potts in key supporting roles. Now what can one say about Ghostbusters that hasn't already been said, it's a classic, it's a movie that lead to a cartoon that many folks my age grew up watching, toys and comics, video games. Sure it was not aimed at kids but we were drawn to it because it was something unique and special... and I'm really hoping the next film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife which was pushed back to 2021 due to Covid-19, will be able to remind the world of that particular fact while continuing to bury the existence of the 2016 abomination.

Of course while re-watching it yesterday,  there were somethings that obvious stood out to me, and one is the constant reminder of just how tall Sigourney Weaver is, particularly in scenes where she's paired off with Rick Moranis and when she first goes to Ghostbusters HQ and looking down at Annie Potts who is sitting behind the reception desk. Whenever I try to think of another film that unintentionally (or intentionally) draws attention to Weaver's height, I fail to think of one, either because she ends up in movies where everyone she is sharing the screen with is around six-feet tall, or there is a lot of 'Tom Cruise style trick photography' being used to make her co-stars seem taller than they really are.

Now while some of the special effects hasn't aged as well as one would expect for a film that is going to be 40 years old in 2024, there was something that certainly looks increasingly dated and that's the sound stage set for Gozer's temple at the end of the film, where one can actually there is no depth to the surrounding New York skyline which is really noticeable on certain lighting effects. Also when the Ghostbusters are stumbling around when the structure is being shaken, it looks a little more silly than intended because the camera is incredibly still, so the illusion is a bit broken.

It's in regard to the continuity / editing of the film... while the pacing of the original Ghostbusters is fine, one does noticed that the montage that takes place following the Sedwick Hotel segment and some of the following scene don't exactly line up the way one expects if one is paying attention. The real noticable case is when Winston is hired, the film cuts to another scene and then back to Janine telling Peter that Peck from the EPA is in his office, which when you look at it one would assume it would've been continuous scene. I get why it's done, but it does make for a bit awkward timing.

Quick Thoughts: Hudson Hawk

This week over on my discord channel, we watched Hudson Hawk, a 1991 action-comedy starring Bruce WIllis, Danny Aiello and Andie MacDowell. The film sees Willis playing the role of Eddie Hawkins, a cat burgular who on the day he gets out of prison gets roped into a caper involving relics belonging to Leonardo da Vinci being mastered minded by Darwin and Minerva Mayflower (played by Richard E. Grant and Sand Bernhard) who want to dominate the world. It's very over the top and has a very quick pace, so if you're not paying attention to minor details you will get totally loss and feel like it's too much (much like how Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert were when they reviewed it 29 years ago)

The strength of Hudson Hawk as a film is the fact that from the first scene till the last scene, everything has a pay off. In the opening minutes we given a narration about da Vinci working on a bronze horse but needed more of the metal because it became scarce due to a war, so he creates a machine to turn lead to bronze, but the end result is lead being turned to gold. As if sensing the implication of such a device, da Vinci ponders what to as he takes the key components, goes to his work shop and we see him look at the codex, a scale model of the horse statue he was going to be working on and a model of his helicopter. All of which become key items in plot that Eddie is tasked to steal. Also in the opening we see a glider that becomes quite key in the film's climax as well as a woman posing for Mona Lisa who has really bad teeth, which is picked up as soon as the film transitions to 1991 when we see Eddie getting out of prison and the check out clerk has the same bad teeth. There are numerous sets ups and call backs so nothing feels wasted at any point in time.

In regards to how this film is written, there is a lot of snappy dialog and quite of few one-liners, with nearly every major character having a time to shine. Some would argue that this film would've been better if only the characters played by Willis and Aiello were the only silly one with everyone else playing it straight, but when you take into account that James Coburn's character is almost a direct reference to the 'Flint' films he starred in, and how everything as a nice pep to it, I can't really imagine this film being done in a different form or fashion. Besides a lot of dialog becomes running gags that all end up having payoffs (example Aiello's character of Tommy Five-Tone asking if he missed anything is said towards the beginning of the film and at the end) so it wall connects.

One final thought here, as something did occur to me when watching Hudson Hawk today was how off the charts Sandra Bernhard's performance of Minerva Mayflower is, she comes across as a live-action Disney villain to the point where you want to see and hear more dialog from her. She basically steals the movie from the moment she struts into the auction house a fourth of the way into the film. It makes me wonder why no one tried casting her to play a lead villain after this as she could've really set a high standard for antagonists in live-action Disney-styled films.

Quick Thoughts: Zorro The Gay Blade

Growing up, I watched a lot of movies that most people probably either never heard of or can believe that I was allowed to see as a kid. One of those movies is Zorro The Gay Blade, starring George Hamilton as the twin sons of the original Zorro, one of whom is much more flamboyant than the other, as they battle against the tyranny of Captain Esteban (played by Ron Leibman). In terms of a plot, ZTGB does fall in line with every other Zorro film of a masked vigilante fighting on behalf of the people against corrupt leaders who exploit their positions for their own game, but unlike other everything else Zorro related this movie is a comedy.

From the opening narration (done by Frank Welker) which established the connection between ZTGB and 1940's The Mark of Zorro, everything plays out as one would expect, Diego Vega is summoned to return home by his father only to learn his father had died, learns of his legacy and takes up the mantle of Zorro, while seeing his childhood friend Esteban going mad with power as the new Alcalde. On his first night out as Zorro, Diego is injured but the arrival of his twin-brother Bunny Wigglesworth (changed from Ramon Vega) allows for Zorro to remain a thorn in Eseban's side until Diego is healed up. 

Of course the name of Bunny Wigglesworth is gonna stand out... and that ties into the title, turns out their father thought Ramon wasn't man enough and sent him off to the British Navy.... and well the Navy makes men and they certainly made Bunny. While the character comes in about half way into the movie, Bunny does have sizeable impact with the first appearance being wearing a plum version of the classic Zorro attire, and apparently had several costumes made (we only see the Gold, Orange and Dark Blue on screen), and his flamboyant personality certainly leaves an impression and easily sets up my favorite scene in the film, the second costume ball. Esteban sets a trap using his wife's new necklace as bait, but apparently details for the theme of the ball was changed and all the male guests arrived dressed as Zorro, including Diego, which allows Bunny to dress in drag and go as Diego's cousin Margarita, who Esteban becomes smitten with upon seeing her setting up the little chaos that leads to the theft of the necklace in question.

Now this is a Zorro film and there is plenty of action, the first proper scene of the film sees Diego fighting off a handful of enemies, there's a one on one fight against the Alcalde's top tax collector, the first costume ball turning into a fight, Bunny's first time out as Zorro and of course the big epic brawl at climax of the film. The fencing is actually pretty good and when I think about movies that I have seen that had good sword play, the only other one that comes to mind is Robin Hood Men In Tights. Then again, sword play in movies has basically become a lost art and the closest most people have seen are the Star Wars films with the light saber duels.  When it comes to the music.it's fine, the big bombastic theme serves nicely to open up the credits be used for fight scenes, but the romantic theme and other incidental music is kind of on the meh-side. If memory serves me right, I think it was nominated for worst film score in the 1981 Raspberry Awards, which may have been a bit harsh. 

Having watched this for the first time in a long time this week, I still enjoyed Zorro The Gay Blade for what it is, a fun film is a homage to what came before it while being unique in its own way.

Quick Thoughts: Young Frakenstein

When people talk about the greatest movies of a certain genre, there is often a lot of debate, and as time marches onward, the status and reputation of films from an older generation changes. Hell take this year for example as a sudden shift in culture basically saw Gone With The Wind, one of the greatest films of all time, basically being banned from being broadcasted on television and via a streaming service! For me this raises some questions, as it relates to some comedies, and I kind of wish I had this in mind when talking about Blazing Saddles a few weeks ago, but it popped back into my head after another Mel Brooks comedy, Young Frankenstein, was apart of my weekly discord watch alongs.

In particular there is one scene where The Creature kidnaps and has its way with Elizabeth towards the end of the film, and while its done for a comedic element and a call back to a joke earlier in the film about how the Creature would have to be larger than a normal person to be brought to life, meaning it would have an "enormous schwanzstucker", it makes me wonder of if that scene at a some point is going to end up being edited out of future releases of the film. I know it's silly to think that, but it has crossed my mind. Of course as with any comedy there are probably numerous things in Young Frankenstein most folks would find questionable in terms of content, but obviously that one scene is the biggest one that comes to mind. 

That said, when one compares Young Frankenstein to the five Frankenstein films that came before it (which is referenced within the movie), it certainly comes across as a movie that fits within the same universe. The props, music and general tone easily match that of the earlier films, which was intentional from the outset as it was made it the same style, using as much of the original props and set reconstructions that could be made. Gene Wilder gives a incredible performance and carries the film from star to finish, with Marty Feldman getting quite a number of great one liners. What is funny to me is some of the reviews that exist about the film, one of which criticizing that the plot wasn't original.... I'm guessing some people don't know what the word parody means, as it's supposed to make light of something already existing and lifting heavily from the source material is expected, it's why most of Mel Brooks' films and things like Airplane and the Naked Gun are fondly because of they capture the spirit of what they are needling. 

Quick Thoughts: Demolition Man

This past Saturday as apart of my weekly watch-a-longs in my Discord Channel, we watched Demolition Man, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes... and of course over the years many have come to realize that this movie was way ahead of its time, and is probably more relevant today than it was back when it first came out. Everyone knows the plot, John Spartan (Stallone) is released early from cyro-prison to once again capture Simon Phoenix (Snipes) who has been enhanced to take down a supposed threat to a 'perfect society'.

In terms of action, with the exception of the rather small explosion of the cryo-prison at the end of the film, everything holds up quite nicely, nothing is too over the top and there are lot of practical stunt work done where you could see anyone who is in good enough physical shape would be able to do such feats. A lot of the comedy and wit is still quite clever, from various one liners in reaction to what's going on or full on exchanges that explains the rules of the in-film universe..Sandra Bullock (who plays Huxley) certainly is a great foil for Stallone's Spartan in that regard.

Now there are those who uses this film as an example of Government overreach, and to an extent that is true if you're looking at how dangerous and restrictive Conservatives have become in recent years. Think about it, the extreme-right have basically been wanting to restrict as many personal freedoms as possible that go against their ideals in order to create an 'order society', in terms of restricting access to information, entertainment and basically wanting to turn back time to the 1950s. Yes there are those on the extreme-left that could describe as well, but let's be honest, it's often those on the right saying things are immoral while basically doing them behind closed doors. They don't want you to think, they don't want you to question the status quo.... hell this could probably be summed up by the rant of Edgar Friendly (played by Denis Leary):

"You got that right. See, according to Cocteau's plan, I'm the enemy. Cause I like to think, I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind if guy who wants to sit in a greasy spoon and think, "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?" I want high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon, butter and buckets of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in a non-smoking section. I wanna run through the streets naked with green Jello all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to. Okay, pal? I've seen the future, you know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sittin' around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake singing "I'm an Oscar-Meyer Wiener". You wanna live on top, you gotta live Cocteau's way. What he wants, when he wants, how he wants. Your other choice: come down here, maybe starve to death"

Hell, that is really quite relevant to today when one considers that later today (at the time of this writing) there is going to be a President Debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, where Trump basically will be appealing to those on the extreme right to not question his lack of integrity and competence and that anyone who does is the enemy.

Quick Thoughts: The Whoopee Boys

I firmly believe everyone grew up with a movie that they watched repeatedly and as they grow older can go back to that movie time and time again, and enjoy it, even if out of date. For me I have several that fit that description, but the one most won't believe is a little 1986 film called 'The Whoopee Boys', which stars Michael O'Keefe who is best known for his role in Caddyshack, and Paul Rodriguez, one of the most quick-witted stand up comedians of the 80s and 90s.

The general plot is that Jake and Barney (played by O'Keefe and Rodriguez respectively) are two con-men who make their way down to Palm Beach looking for a big score. They meet an heiress named Olivia (Lucinda Jenney) who is looking to get married to inherent a fortune to save her school, and with Jake falling in love with her, but she's not quite willing to marry him because her uncle has to approve of her choice of husband. Jake and Barney head off to a charm-school to get the skills and traits they needed for Jake to pass himself off as the perfect gentleman to get the girl and save her school while dealing with the typical snobbish rich elitists. 

The Whoopee Boys is very much a 'Slobs versus Snobs' movie, but we don't get much time spent with the antagonists, other than Strobe (Stephen Davies) who gets a couple of scenes to really push forth he's the villain, but outside of the revaluation that Jake and Barney are not who they seem to be to set up the films climax, the result of Olivia and Jake ending up together is never in doubt. This is also in part due to the charm school aspect of the movie where a number of secondary characters are introduced and used as allies to help our heroes.

That said, there is a sense of improvisation with this movie, as Paul Rodriguez has a series of one-liners that exists from the start of the movie all the way through the credits song at the end, and it seems as if a number of his lines were quite off the cuff because it always seems like when he speaks anyone else on camera with him appears to be seconds of way from cracking up. In does get to a point where it sounds as if several of his lines were recorded in post-filming because there are times he doesn't quite sound the same and as if something was dubbed in.

One final note, the sound track of this movie screams early to mid 80s, particularly with music heard during the three montages, which are anchored by Stages by ZZ Top (during the opening), That Was Then This Is Now by The Monkees (during Jake and Barney helping around Olivia School) and I Still Believe by The Call (during the trip to the Phelps Institute). It's really a nice selection of tunes to fit the narrative of the film. The question of if a film needed more than two montages is always a question, but since one was an intro, another was used for character development and the third was the transition to next act, I think the use of them in The Whoopee Boys actually works nicely. 

Quick Thoughts; Under Siege

This past Saturday (9/12), over on my Discord channel, we did the weekly watch along and this time around the feature was Under Siege, starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey and and Erika Elenaik. It's probably the most 'fun' of the peak-Segal films, as for one he actually has some decent 'character' moments, the whole of idea behind his character of Casey Ryback is that he's a complete bad-ass ex-Navy Seal who is serving as the ship's cook, and like many other action stars of the era, Segal actually delivered some one-liners with a bit of charm that gives the impression that hey, he could act a little bit.All the action scenes involving Seagal all showed him as the unstoppable stereotype he actually sees himself as, and comes across as being really dry, in particular one on one fight scenes.

The real star of the show is of course Tommy Lee Jones as Strannix, and I forgot how over-the-top and off the wall TLJ's performance is as Under Siege predates Batman Forever by a couple of years, and I'm firmly convinced now more than ever, that TLJ should have gotten a turn as The Joker. The ease he goes back and forth from serious to craze and back again is just remarkable, and you take his character as a true threat that under any other circumstances you know he would succeed. Gary Busey also delivers in his role of Commander Krill, his best scenes are his interactions with TLJ as there was some nice chemistry there. In terms of how they interacted in scenes with Seagal, it's hard to judge as amazingly, each had one scene with the 'lead', 

The actor who got the most screen time with Segal was Erika Elenaik who probably most people remember from her time on Baybatch. In Under Siege, Elenaik played Jordan Tate, a Playboy Playmate who basically got caught up in the middle of everything. Not only was she gorgeous to look at, but she had this way of just portraying that she can't believe the nonsense coming out of mouth of Segal's character. She kind of falls into that plucky side-kick role, but also provides a bit of comic relief at times when the film needs it as the tension of the plot builds up. 

Now there is something about Under Siege that bothers me to this day, and that's when we get to see Segal and TLJ's characters meet on screen, where there is thus realization they know each other. Yes as a Navy Seal, Casey Ryback would've been involved in some covert operations, as would Strannix, she he was an ex-CIA operative. However, the stuff Ryback's character would've been in involved in would have been Government sanctioned, while Strannix's missions would've been more 'under the table' as a driving point for his motivations was the fact the CIA tried to take him out when a operation was canceled. So the odds of them meeting or being aware of one another prior to the in-universe events of the story, does not come across as likely to me. 

 

Quick Thoughts; Pulp Fiction

For this week's watch along over on my Discord Channel, we'd watch Pulp Fiction, which is probably the only film directed by Quentin Tarantino that I can say I enjoy from beginning to end that I can actually sit and re-watch. Not saying he makes bad movies, far from it, but Pulp Fiction hits the right beats with me that makes it very enjoyable.

The dialog is very sharp, and I can appreciate good writing and this movie has so many great lines that a major part of the official soundtrack for the film included lines from the film. I'll forever have the opinion that great writing will help an actor deliver a great performance, and Pulp Fiction is a prime example of it.

Now some people have some issues with Pulp Fiction because all the events are seen out of order, but that is a big part of what makes the movie great, because there is such a wide range of characters, that there was no way this film could work if seen in the natural order of events. Well in my opinion it wouldn't work as well... because the way characters are introduced and are not seen again would make things very disjointed and a lot of the callbacks and references made would lose meaning.

A lot of folks have the opinion that Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta or Bruce Willis give the best performances in Pulp Fiction, and a strong case can be made for all three, but I can't help but feel that Uma Thurman gets overlooked, because her scenes are primarily associated with Travolta, but in there scenes she's the one bringing the personalty to his laid back / chilled vibe. Plus she blows him out of the water in the Jack Rabbit Slim dance contest. 

With these quick thoughts said, next week's planned watch along is Under Siege starring Steven Seagal and Tommy Lee Jones!

Quick Thoughts: Men In Black

For this week's watch along over on my discord channel, the movie was Men In Black starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, and safe to say unlike it's sequels it certainly holds up. Sure a lot of things are quite dated with it, such as the existence of the Twin Towers and the New York Mets playing in Shea Stadium, basically dating the film to be prior to 2001, but the pacing of the movie along with the score certainly keeps a viewer invested. 

Actually, the pacing is what's really key with Men In Black, because when you really break it down, it takes place over the course of a handful of days. There isn't a montage to show a large passage of time other than to show James Edwards suiting up to become Agent J, and there is a gradual increase of urgency when plot elements like the Galaxy on Orion's Belt and the presence of the Bug alien being revealed. 

In terms of the actors themselves, Tommy Lee Jones basically has the same approach as he used in many films in 90s, but when he's not as stoic and straight-laced, there are signs of some goofiness as best seen in his turn as Two-Face in Batman Forever. Will Smith was at the height of his 'charm' at this point, with snappy one-liners and enough comedic moments to make one take notice that he's at his best when he has someone to play off of. Vincent D'Onofrio probably steals the show with all the physical acting to portray the movements of the Bug hiding in a Human body, such as various unique and awkward contortions of the arms that just make him come across as obviously alien.

One more note, I have to mention the animated series which unlike the follow up films, did include the character of Laurel Weaver as Agent L, to this day it annoys me that the character was not in Men In Black II because of how old Linda Fiorentino was combine with wanting to bring back Tommy Lee Jones. I understand why, but considering the animated series placed Laurel in a lab setting at MIB HQ, that would have worked great in the sequels. 

Anyway, the plan for next Saturday's watch along is Pulp Fiction! 

Quick Thoughts: Jackie Chan's First Strike

This week's Discord watch along was Jackie Chan's First Strike, starring of course Jackie Chan. It's been a long time since I sat down and watched it, so this was a real treat. Something that totally got my attention was how similar the limited music is to that of The Living Daylights, as the hook heard in the opening credits is very close in tone. Of course this movie has a spy plot and a couple of lines referencing James Bond so I can't be too surprised now that I think of it. 

The ADR dubbing is fine for the most part, but there are times where it can get really silly, most notably with some of the henchmen.Granted we were watching the New Line Cinema version of JCFS, so the dubbing was from the late 90s, which means it wasn't quite as sharp as things are today. 

Of course, Jackie Chan's stunts are the real highlight of this movie, in particular the ladder fight. Something that always sticks out about Chan's films is that since he did pretty much all of his own stunts, you get to see the effort going into every movement he makes, and be amazed at how coordinated everything is, while also keeping in mind that in the end credits there are going to be some outtakes involving the mishaps that happened along the way.

Quick Thoughts: Blazing Saddles

This week's watch along over on my discord channel, was Blazing Saddles, starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, and for those that don't know it's Mel Brooks' legendary satire of Westerns, which for a long time was the top genre of film here in the United States. Perhaps these days Blazing Saddles would be consider to be too 'taboo' to show because of the use of certain phrases, I mean hell some people have issues with Kindergarten Cop for crying out loud! 

Now thankfully, Blazing Saddles is a film that really can't be touched by today's Hollywood in terms of a remake after the debacle that was Ghostbusters in 2016, because you can't remake or reboot comedy, because what makes it good is the initial spirit behind the idea. If Blazing Saddles was remade, it would've have anything of what made it works, the sharp wit, timing the ability to both offend and making people laugh. There is just so much about this movie that cannot be recreated.

That said, next week's watch along will be Stargate starring Kurt Russel and James Spader. If you need my discord channel link, let me know.