Directors Christian Hurley, and Ben Oliphint’s horror comedy is a movie that I bet they had a ton of fun filming. They emphasize this idea with the credits including bonus blooper reel. Sadly, none of the fun translated in to actual entertainment for me, even when I tried to see it at its level. But the movie is eighty two minutes in length (not counting the closing credits), and the mayhem doesn’t actually begin until a half hour in to the movie.
Tag Archives: Comedy
Road House (2024)
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
After years and years of talking about it, Hollywood finally pulled the trigger on a remake of iconic Patrick Swayze 1989 cult ciassic. The once Southern fried martial arts film about a brotherhood of bar bouncers is taken on by director Doug Liman who tries his best to help his version stand on its own two feet. While original star Patrick Swayze sadly died years ago, there are no appearances from other former stars. That’s okay, because on its own, “Road House” 2024” is a damn good time. It’s overlong, but it’s a lot of fun and has a good sense of humor about itself. In a (so far) lackluster movie year, that’s all I need.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare Splitter (1948)
Hare Splitter (1948)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Champin
The premise for “Hare Splitter” feels like someone took an old script for “Tom and Jerry” and retooled it for Bugs Bunny. One of my main problems that completely hinders “Hare Splitter” for me is that the whole short feels too much like it’s cribbing from the MGM formula. All that’s missing is the rambunctious mouse or angry yard dog. It too often feels like Tom and Butch should be the ones taking center stage instead of Bugs and his one and done rival Casbah. Too much of the short here feels like the animators were borrowing from Fred Quimby or Tex Avery (before his move to MGM), creating a premise that feels so far removed from what we’re used to seeing with Bugs Bunny.
Bad Movie Monday: Troll 2 (1990)
I saw the original Troll many many moons ago, in the mythical faraway fantasy age of the late eighties, and it’s probably my favourite Harry Potter movie of all time. Har-Har. Go to the film’s IMDb page and look up the names of the characters to understand my rapier wit sarcasm. Troll stars Michael Moriarty, Noah Hathaway, Sony Bono, June Lockhart, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, and Phil Fondacaro. A pretty solid cast. It was directed by late great special effects artist John Carl Buechler and was written by the legendary Ed Naha. Google him, you’ll see why I call Naha legendary. The original film even has a kinda sorta naked Elaine Benes in a few scenes. What’s not to like? So today, of course, I’m going to review it’s sequel Troll 2. Sigh.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Manny Gould
Robert McKimson is one of my all time favorite directors for the Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny, if only because his shorts always end up being so off the cuff and bizarre. But not bizarre in the Bob Clampett sense, but bizarre in original and outside the box. There’s just something so out of bounds about “Hot Cross Bunny” that even when I was a kid, I couldn’t get over the unusual energy of the short. When I was a kid, “Hot Cross Bunny” was one of the many shorts on constant rotation every Saturday morning on “The Bugs and Daffy Show” and I always got a kick out of it whenever it came on.
Bounce House (2023) [Cinequest 2024]
Callie + Chris’s short apocalyptic film watches like if Wim Wenders decided one day to direct his own post-apocalyptic flick. And I mean that as a compliment because while “Bounce House” isn’t too concerned with action, it does deliver to us the idea of what monotony would look like at the end of the world. Once it’s all gone down and you’re alive: then what? Do you keep living or find something else. “Bounce House” is more about the absurdity of the end of the world and basically waiting around for some kind of new development that may or may not ever come.
#DoudouChallenge (2023) [Cinequest 2024]
The team of Julie Majcher, Alexandra Delaunay-Fernandez, Sixtine Emerat, Marine Benabdallah-Crolais, and Scott Pardailhé-Galabrun creates one of the most entertaining and cutest animated shorts I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a complex yet simple adventure that masterfully comes full circle within a small time frame. So much about “#DoudouChallenge” reminded me of Pixar while also establishing its own hilarious style and niche, in the process.