Like the original series, Seth Gordon’s “Baywatch” is an anomaly. With the original television series, it was a silly, and moronic action drama that most people weren’t sure should be laughed at, or taken seriously. The same can be said for the movie which itself is never sure if it wants to mock the original series, or create an earnest action movie around the frame work of the show. The Baywatch lifeguards work outside of their jurisdiction and seem to work hard to remind audiences that it’s incredibly far fetched for lifeguards to be investigating gang members and drug smugglers, so the film hops back and forth from slapstick satire to straight laced action comedy.
Tag Archives: Comedy
CHiPS (2017)
“CHiPS” was never a masterpiece of a cop show, but it definitely had its merits. It was a fairly mediocre crime show about two high way police officers going on various adventures revolving around highways and roads of all kinds. What Dax Shepherd does is gut the premise to deliver a generic buddy cop comedy that is also one of the worst movies of 2017. I’ve never seen a movie so ashamed of its own source material (despite “Wild, Wild West”), before. “CHiPS” seems to not only work hard to ignore the fact it’s an adaptation, but also seems to punish the audience for investing time in it. Shepherd’s direction is listless and uninspired, his performance and everyone else is phoned in, and the three man penned script is void of anything interesting or remotely comedic.
Mercury Man (Ma noot lhek lai) (2006)
Your enjoyment of “Mercury Man” may be dependent on your enjoyment and tolerance of superhero movies as a whole. Thailand’s attempts to deliver a big screen marquee superhero for movie lovers is a mixed bag that I managed to enjoy overall–if only for its effort and intentions on aspiring to be as great as popular heroes like Spider-Man. There’s reason why it’s not considered a classic by mostly everyone, but I liked that it shook up superhero tropes here and there. “Mercury Man” is the story of courageous but irresponsible firefighter named Chan. He has no idea how to get his life together, and always attempts to play the hero. After a failed prison break results in a fire, Chan tags along with his unit, and is caught in the crossfire of international criminals who stab him with an ancient relic.
The Bootleg Files: Malice in the Palace
BOOTLEG FILES 595: “Malice in the Palace” (1949 Three Stooges short).
LAST SEEN: It is on YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On too many public domain labels.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There was one, but it was lost amid the cheapo duped versions.
In some ways, bad comedies are more interesting than good comedies. Because when a comedy fails, it is can be a fascinating exercise to pinpoint just where things began to go wrong and to wonder whether the wreckage could have been prevented with tweaks here and there.
Vicious Lips (1986)
It’s really hard to find anyone who does eighties neon pop surrealism like Empire Pictures. If you want to soak in everything about the decade from the bright colors, weird synth music and massive hair, look no further than films like “Terrorvision,” “Bad Channels” and or “Vicious Lips.” Your experience with Albert Pyun’s rare cult film may vary depending on your love for the decade, but sans the nostalgia goggles, it’s only a moderately entertaining experience that it limitless in its oddities. Something of a mixture of “Rock and Rule,” “Jem and the Holograms,” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Albert Pyun throws so much imagery at the audience and there’s never any kind of substance soaked up.
Beatriz at Dinner (2017)
Beatriz is a healer, a holistic health practitioner, whose car breaks down at a wealthy client’s house after she gave her a massage. The client invites her to stay for a celebratory dinner party her husband and herself are hosting that night. Like a fish out of water, Beatriz has dinner with three extremely wealthy couples with whom she has little to nothing in common.
Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017)
Steve is the only licensed detective in Venice a place he calls home and where he belongs heart and soul. When his dog gets taken during a robbery, he goes all out to him back.