Tag: comedy
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Cult Classics: Better Off Dead
Lane Meyer wishes he were dead. He tries over and over–self-immolation, carbon monoxide poisoning, jumping from a bridge, even hanging. But like most things in his life, it never quite goes his way. Did I mention this is a major plot point in an 80’s teen comedy? Better Off Dead isn’t just another teen movie […]
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Cult Classics: UHF
Who doesn’t love “Weird Al”? I know I do: the first record I ever independently bought was In 3-D in 1988 from a flea market when I was 6. I’ve lost a lot of great vinyl albums over the years due to either lending them out to the wrong people or as casualties of broken-up […]
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Perfect Movies: Back to the Future
Is this yet another Gen Y/early “Millenial” (ugh) article about the movies people of my age watched as children back in the 1980s? Of course it is. To clarify: I do not identify as a Millenial. I have previously written on this site about my dislike of how people of my generation have been conflated […]
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10 Great Weird Cult Films To Watch
Weird, bizarre, or just plain odd: many films have been made in history that push the boundaries of normalcy and present an utterly unique vision to audiences seeking outre cinema. But for every acclaimed Eraserhead or El Topo, there are dozens of films that slip through the cracks and fall into the often difficult-to-find realm […]
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Perfect Movies: The Princess Bride
Who would we, as a collective spirit, be without our stories? Fiction is one of the most complex and influential inventions in human history: our ability to create entire worlds, characters, and plots that have never been nor ever will be–and make it seem like real life–is an incredible feat of the imagination that the […]
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Cult Classics: Cabin Boy
Chris Elliott’s comedic schtick is not for everybody. Having first launched his career as a writer and performer on David Letterman’s old late night show in the 80’s as an absurdist figure who would do bits playing odd characters with names like “The Panicky Guy” and “The Guy Under The Seats,” usually ineffectual characters who […]
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Cult Classics: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
B-movies are like catnip to the well-attuned film fan. This low-budget dubious genre of film was first created by studios back in the day of double features, when cheaper, less-publicized films were produced to play before the main feature. When the “double feature” concept was phased out in the late 1950s, this casual label remained […]
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Best Streaming Comedy June 2017
As the month of June winds down, there are still plenty of films left unseen on the “Big 3” streaming services. Comedy is subjective, but I picked some titles that I think everyone can enjoy–well, most of them. I’ve given warnings of the ones that may have some “questionable” content, at least. But on the […]
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Cult Classics: Repo Man
What is punk? Is it a style, a music genre, or an attitude? Director Alex Cox argues that it’s all three–but only the the latter is the genuine article–in Repo Man, a film about a young Los Angeles punk named Otto (Emilio Estevez) who has a day that seems to confirm how much bullshit everything […]
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Perfect Movies: Blazing Saddles
There are great films that change the landscape of cinema: your Citizen Kanes and Godfathers and Days of Heavens and such and such. Then you have films that are moving depictions of the human condition and of overcoming adversity to find one’s place in the world: The Color Purple, for example, and another film I’m […]
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Cult Classics: Big Trouble in Little China
“You know what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like this?” “Who?” “Jack Burton. Me!” Jack Burton and his truck, The Pork Chop Express, barrel into San Francisco’s Chinatown with a delivery while he gives a monologue over the CB airwaves that summarizes his character and general attitude: “When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac […]
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Perfect Movies: The Blues Brothers
“We’re on a mission from God.” And it’s not just a boast or else some tough-sounding phrase when spoken with a thick Chicago accent: Jake and Elwood Blues are literally chosen by God to save the orphanage they grew up in. Not that either of them are religious or even particularly good people: Jake just […]
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