Often times when a movie series has gone on as long as “John Wick” has, it offers diminishing returns. Thankfully, though the saga of “John Wick” has only amped up its game the further along it gets in the storyline of the “Baba Yaga” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” really is a massive step up. While the previous three films in the series have been monstrous, “John Wick Chapter 4” is thankfully something completely different while also it embraces what made the aforementioned movies so dazzling and engrossing. The narrative furthers Wick’s transformation in this world from an ex-assassin trying to live his life, as someone who is trying to re-claim his life.
The Bootleg Files: The Bob Hope Special – The Central Park Show
BOOTLEG FILES 827: “The Bob Hope Special – The Central Park Show” (1974 TV special).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There seems to be a rights issue that has yet to be cleared.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at the moment.
If you’ve been paying attention to some politically motivative smart alecks on social media over the past few weeks, you may have seen the photograph at the top of this article. This photograph was presented as a pushback to recent legislation in certain states that have taken a dim view of public presentations of drag humor.
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“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” Carries the Torch of the Classic Movie Well
Like it or not, “Grease” is now a universe, and it has its own extended timeline that begins with “Rise of the Pink Ladies” and ends with “Grease 2.” That’s not particularly bad thing, especially if you loved “Grease” as much as I do–even though I’ll never budge on “Grease 2.” I still consider that movie to be immensely awful. As for “Rise of the Pink Ladies,” it’s a very good prequel series. It’s flawed, sure, but at the end of the day, it might achieve its goal of bringing in a new generation of fans. The majority of “Grease” was spent mainly following around the T Birds and focusing on their struggles with rival gangs. Although the Pink Ladies are there a lot of the time, there isn’t real emphases on their whole group dynamic.
“Rise of the Pink Ladies” ventures to explore the origins of the female gang and why their members take the name so seriously.
Western Wednesdays: Idaho Kid (1936)
SYNOPSIS:
The Idaho Kid [Rex Bell] befriends an amateur holdup artist [David Sharpe], along the way they meet slovenly and dirty-faced Slagel [Charles King] who proposes the two men work the Hollister [Earl Dwire] range. It is soon revealed that Idaho is none other than Hollister’s own son. As it turns out, Idaho was raised by a rival clan called the Endicotts because his father disowned him. However, Idaho left the range at 10 years old, due to a feud between the Endicotts and the Hollisters.
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Five Great Movie Series Fours
With “John Wick 4” smashing the box office the last weekend much to many’s surprise, there seems to be no stopping the epic hit man on a rampage action series. With Keanu Reeves returning to the titular role to much acclaim, I thought I’d list other movie series with Part Fours that are also very good. There aren’t many movie series with great Part Fours, but I narrowed down some of the best, I think.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Any Bonds Today? (1942)
2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Any Bonds Today? (1942)
Directed by Bob Clampett
Written by Bob Clampett
Music by Irving Berlin, Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Virgil Ross, Bob McKimson, etc.
“The tall man with the high hat and the whiskers on his chin, Will soon be knocking at your door and you ought to be in, The tall man with the high hat will be coming down your way, Get your savings out when you hear him shout “Any bonds today?”
In 1942, the war effort was strong and America did whatever they could to promote patriotism and support for the armed forces during World War II. Among one of their tactics was to use one of the most popular cartoon characters of the time, Bugs Bunny, to promote the purchase of war bonds. In what is one of the most blatant uses of propaganda for the war, Warner implements the use of Bugs Bunny (a real testament to his popularity during this era) who appears in the ninety second musical short to encourage theater audiences to buy war bonds.
Heathers: The Musical – Live at The Other Palace (2022)
How do you take one of the most twisted, yet perfect dark comedies from the 1980’s and make it even better? You turn it in to a musical, apparently. I didn’t know there was even a “Heathers” musical up until about two years ago when snippets of the music appeared on social media. Although I loved the original 1989 Dan Waters dark comedy (it’s a childhood favorite), I was more than open to seeing what the musical had in store. In fact, I was quite optimistic, when all was said and done.