You can’t even be mad at Adam Sandler anymore. If he’s not trying to break out of his comfort zone, all we can really do is watch the slow painful death of his career, while he brings Netflix down with him. Sandler silently stumbles in to “The Ridiculous 6” with an obvious bored, half asleep performance, and leaves the film with a cool pay day and the hope that at least one or two of his remaining fans will love what he’s put out in the form of this hideous western comedy that doesn’t even try to re-invent the wheel. Netflix doesn’t seem to be demanding much from Sandler, so it’s apparent here that Sandler isn’t even working toward offering nothing we haven’t already seen in the last fifteen years ad nauseum. Almost like a contractual obligation, “The Ridiculous 6” is a greatest hits compilation of no brainer Sandler tropes that fill up the required two hour run time.
Tag Archives: Adventure
The Dungeonmaster / Eliminators: Double Feature [Blu-ray]
Scream Factory continues to deliver for fans of the Empire Pictures and Charles Band era, with a double feature Blu-Ray set featuring two of their most entertaining titles from their heyday. While I’d be hard pressed to call these films masterpieces, they’re nonetheless entertaining and novel genre films that attempt to market on a particular trend. Charles Band was always savvy about aspiring to make films for his company that touched on current cinematic trends and the double feature here from Scream! Factory covers the gamut of pop culture trends quite well.
Dutch (1991)
Back in 1991, I was a big fan of “Married with Children,” and loved Ed O’Neill. He was raucously funny as the blue collared Al Bundy, whose life was an endless series of misfortunes, so a big screen career seemed only a natural next step. I never caught “Dutch,” however I do fondly remember it as the failed big screen feature of O’Neill’s that became a consistent running joke on his hit sitcom. You can even see a “Dutch” standee during an episode where Al and Peggy are in a video store, promising a free copy for all customers. Oddly enough, “Dutch” isn’t that bad.
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987) [Blu-Ray]
If there is one big flaw that keeps “The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” from being either really bad or really good, is that it’s never quite sure what to make of itself. The tonal imbalance and wildly inconsistent mood keeps the movie bipolar and surreal. It’s too gross for kids, and too tame for adults, so it’s right in the middle of nowhere. “The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” is based on the wildly popular series of stickers that were direct spoofs of the popular eighties franchise The Cabbage Patch Kids. The series of stickers presented buyers with their own disgusting, offensive, and grotesque versions of Cabbage Patch characters, and for many years they were a staple for folks that appreciated humor with a bad taste.
Northpole: Open for Christmas (2015)
Yes, primarily Hallmark have used the “Northpole” movies to sell whatever kitschy Christmas ornament they’re touting for the year, but they’ve accidentally built a neat Christmas movie series I want to see more of. Years ago, I would have really loved the adventures of Clementine the Elf, and her quest to restore the Christmas spirit in one unhappy soul. Right now, she’s still a charming Christmas heroine played by the always adorable Bailee Madison. Madison doesn’t even have to do much to look like an Elf, as she’s given pointy ears, and achieves the rest with her wide smile, and large saucer eyes.
Twenty Years Later, “Toy Story” Still Works As the Beginning of a Saga
I was lucky enough to be one of the folks that went to see “Toy Story” in theaters back in 1995 when Pixar premiered their newest animated adventure. It was an amazing experience then, and it is still one of the best movie going experiences of my life. Back then, the very notion of a motion picture completely computer animated was absurd and made people gasp in shock, even when Pixar boasted about creating a large realistic world. Just producing Homer Simpson in computer animation for a segment of “The Simpsons” cost a lot of money and took immense man hours, just think of a movie based around the medium. “Toy Story” is gladly not a film you’d expect to be computer animated since Pixar takes great pains to unfold a world that’s charming, magical, and grounded in enough reality to enjoy.
Batman: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
I’m no longer sorry I didn’t fork down almost three hundred smackers on the “Batman” series starring Adam West. While the series will always have a place in my heart for being one of the gateways in to my obsession with superheroes, the nostalgia for the show is fuzzy at best. Watching it as five year old, compared to watching it twenty seven years later is a vast difference. I can appreciate the show for its camp and surreal take on Batman, but I can’t argue for its quality. Especially considering that season three is when the writers and producers began scrambling to inject some new blood in to the series. As with most series involving superheroes, you either have to keep thinking of new ideas, or you will dip in ratings and risk repeating yourself.







