Is there a comedy more perfect than “Airplane!”? I ask you. It’s in the list of the five perfect comedies ever made, and is definitely one of my top ten comedy films of all time, as well as one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s a film that appeals to folks who appreciate subtle comedy, raunchy comedy, silly comedy, and comedy that doesn’t require any thought at all. There are sight gags, puns, word plays, double entendres, and gratuitous nudity. There’s action, romance, suspense, stunts, and two jive talking passengers no one understands. There’s Kareem Abdul Jabar being Kareem Abdul Jabar, Peter Graves being a lunatic, Leslie Nielsen delivering the most genius deadpan comedic performance of his career, Lloyd Bridges who has an unusual history with recreational substances, and Ethel Merman for some reason.
Tag Archives: Comedy
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD) (2011)
“The Big Bang Theory” is currently my favorite sitcom on television and in its fifth season, it’s managed to show that its characters have evolved greatly since the pilot. Only four years ago, the series was very much about four geniuses who learned how to socialize thanks to their sexy and ditzy neighbor. And now in its fifth season, the characters have grown, changed, and evolved.
The cast grew from an original five in to seven characters, and the once womanizing obnoxious Howard Wolowitz is a man on the verge of marriage and experiencing a major step forward in his career as an engineer. As with all the seasons of the series, this season is ripe with geek references and major geek guest stars, and it doesn’t let its fan base down a bit.
The Room (2003)
My love for The Room has not been an easy road. It took months of fine tuning, refinement, some conformity and skipping doses of my meds to get down to the level of Tommy Wiseau and his unmitigated cult masterpiece. Whether you’ve seen the movie in its true form, whether you’ve seen it play on the April Fool’s Day airings on cable television here in America, whether you were there during the great tirade of Wiseau on online critics, “The Room” and its charms are almost impossible to ignore. It’s a movie so bad, so inept, so unbelievably painful, it’s almost impossible to comprehend anyone thought it would be great on-screen, “The Room” is a film I constantly quote to this day–ohai Mark!
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
I’m of the opinion that had this film been created under its original title “Simon Says,” that it could have been a wonderful action thriller with a new franchise start. But as a continuation of the “Die Hard” series it’s a strong and unique sequel. Sure it drops off in the climax, but for the first half of this action thriller, “Die Hard with a Vengeance” is a unique and fresh new direction for a series in a rut. The first film is a classic, and the second is arguably entertaining, so it’s interesting that this film chooses instead to mostly be cerebral in its delivery and villain. Rather than John McClane crawling around ducts and hiding in corners, he spends the entirety of the film running around a crowded New York city during the summer trying to defuse brilliant bombs.
Armageddon (1998)
One of the many aspects about filmmaking that Michael Bay never perfected is subtlety. None of his films are ever about the more quiet and inconspicuous moments in story and characterization. “Armageddon” as a whole is an often loud, bright, irritating and occasionally intrusive film that attempts to assault every inch of an audiences attention before ever managing to tell its story. It’s one of the many reasons why “Pearl Harbor” was considered a cinematic disaster. I’m horrified to fathom what would ever happen if Bay ever made a film about 9/11 or the Titanic.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Ultraviolet]
I’m one of the very few people who actually enjoyed “Journey to the Center of the Earth” for what it was. It was nothing more than a ninety minute roller coaster ride with 3D specks that took the audience through some fun sights and sounds. “Journey 2” is basically the follow-up practicing that very routine all over again. It’s intent is to take you through the various dangers and awe inspiring wonders of the mysterious island before actually telling a story or exploring its characters. One thing it does have going for it, is that it makes reading and compiling information look sleek and exciting. If Dwayne Johnson is doing it, maybe the young audience this film appeals to, will.
True Lies (1994)
Shortly after the Columbine Massacre, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided that he was done with movies about guns. For a long period where his popularity was waning and he attempted to appeal to conservative audiences, Arnold placed a fatwa on guns in his movies. in at least three of his films, he completely avoids the use of firearms, and he’d made the decision to exclude the sight of firearms in promotional materials for his films. I mean for the love of god, in his horrible schlock fest “The 6th Day,” he keeps from killing a thug in front of his child, and walks off with the criminal lecturing him about gun violence before bringing him down off-screen!