Tag Archives: Comedy

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)

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Arbie: I’ll believe in the supernatural when I see it, talking sandwich.

So I sat down at my chair, popped in the movie and sat prepared to watch another shit fest from Troma. I’m somewhat of an anti-Troma pusher, so I was not looking forward to this. And my eventual reactions were a varying degree of disgust, horror, disbelief, and amusement. I laughed. And I laughed a lot. I’d even go so far to say that “Poultrygeist” is quite excellent. It’s something of a demented twist that it took Native American chicken zombies to finally get me to like a Troma movie, and trust me I had no intention of enjoying “Poultrygeist,” so much. But from the ridiculous opening to the horribly catchy musical numbers, Lloyd Kaufman has created a very memorable bit of horror comedy that may just lure more anti-Troma individuals like me.

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Kick-Ass #2

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With the morbid sense of humor Mark Millar puts on the page with “Kick Ass,” and his propensity for punishing Dave Lizewski at every turn for generally being a complete moron worthy of an early grave, I think this series will finally end with someone shooting Dave in the face and killing him in that stupid costume. And damn it if he doesn’t deserve every thing he gets for being such a brainless imbecile. Sorry, people but Millar’s writing sucks me in so much, I just want to call Dave a stupid whipper snapper and smack him with my cane. I want to kick his ass, as it were.

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Speed Racer (2008)

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The Wachowskis aspire for something unusual and awfully contradictory with “Speed Racer.” They want an intentionally animated live action film, but a film that also looks as realistic as possible. They want a family film, but this is a film that may not be appealing to all children, and they want a story that simple but also quite complicated. Just when you think you’ve seen all of Spritle and his monkey, there’s an unusual tale about corporate corruption. Maybe it’s because of all the contradictions and hapless surrealism that I responded to “Speed Racer” with such enthusiasm. I know it won’t be for everyone, and it definitely has its own flaws present, but speaking as someone willing to meet the Wachowskis halfway, everything involving Speed and Racer X made for some interesting drama.

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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

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hkgbThe original “Harold and Kumar” became one of my favorite comedies of all time after an attempt at giving it a fair chance while on cable television one night. Since then it’s been a constant favorite, and on a replay whenever boredom strikes. Even though it was a prime example of product placement, the stoner classic is utterly hilarious and serves as a testament to the talents of John Cho and Kal Penn. “Guantamo Bay,” though, inadvertently serves as an argument against sequels to any and all films. If some director had attempted to mimic the success of “Harold and Kumar” with less comedic punch, and much more forced social overtones, “Guantanamo Bay” would be pointed at, almost immediately. Because frankly, the only thing offensive about this sequel is that every race joke is horribly unfunny, while so blatantly setting up part three, that it’s almost insulting.

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Southland Tales (2006)

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southland_talesActing off the pretense that it’s smarter than we all think, for approximately two and a half hours, Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” is proof positive that “Donnie Darko” was a fluke and he is a one trick pony, and an insufferable one to boot. And alas, Kelly will always ride on the reputation that precedes this rancid pile of garbage and anything else on the way out of his mind. Here, Kelly taps the “Donnie Darko” well again. There are chapters, spirituality, a disjointed series of sub-plots, visual flourishes all with a touch of self-awareness that kicks us in the face every single second. And in the process, Kelly also manages to beat us over the head with political commentary that is warranted but so clumsily delivered he often seems to try too hard.

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The Hottie & the Nottie (2008)

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“The Hottie and the Nottie” is nothing but a big game of “pretend” that director Putnam asks his audience to play along with, but… we can’t. Pretend Paris Hilton is hot, pretend Paris Hilton is one of the most desirable women on the planet, pretend the CGI used to cover Hilton’s fugly features isn’t there, pretend even with an utterly disgusting but sweet woman, that Paris hilton would be the better alternative, pretend this movie is funny, pretend this movie isn’t one of the worst comedies ever made. I can’t even pretend Paris Hilton is good looking, so from the start even with the body doubles (how did she get that ghetto booty?!) and trick camera angles, this “comedy” is a tall order and attack on my senses from the first twenty seconds. Because, a movie where Paris Hilton is a bombshell is less comedy and more Science Fiction.

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Garto (2007)

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Garto_1Worthy of Pixar, Luis Gomez Guzman’s film “Garto” is such a wonderful bit of simplistic conflict, and minute adventure that it’s hard not to love it thoroughly. “Garto” is a mostly silent short computer animated comedy revolving around a green lizard named Garto who is so bored, he decides riding on the back of a passing oversized Bee will be fun. The problem is that the bee is not letting him grab a ride, and Garto will not relent in his mission for some fun.

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