What old media are you watching? - Since new media isn't worth watching

Destacado
1000082410.jpg

The Odd Couple started life as a hit stage play, then became a sitcom franchise nobody asked for, starring Jack Klugman (I think? Yeah, the guy from Quincy, M.E.) and Tony Randall. Then decades later it got this belated sequel with elderly Matthau and Lemmon, and also a reboot with two women, two black men, two gay men ...

1000082417.jpg

From what little I’ve seen, none of these remakes are really worth your time.

Matthau and Lemmon originated these roles on stage, and it’s maybe the most human Walter Matthau ever seemed. He dials back the shtick and actually finds moments of real tenderness. Nearly the entire plot takes place inside Oscar’s absurdly lavish Manhattan apartment. He's “the best paid sportswriter" in New York or something equally retarded.

1000082412.jpg

The movie starts off with Lemmon’s Felix attempting suicide after his wife leaves him. He skips his weekly poker game, which sends Oscar and the rest of the gang out to find him. When they do, Oscar is the only one who actually feels pity, so he takes Felix in, but it doesn’t take long for Oscar to realize why the wife bounced: Felix spends his time spraying ammonia at Oscar’s face mid-sandwich, polishing floors obsessively, and policing Oscar’s apartment like it's a health inspection.

1000082421.jpg

Oscar tries to set Felix up on a double date to loosen him up. Felix ruins it by sobbing about his divorce like a woman. Eventually they settle into domestic warfare.

1000082408.jpg

Side note: Matthau’s weird accent has always confused me. Simpsons fans will recall Dan Castellaneta originally based Homer’s voice on him.

The movie wraps up exactly how you’d expect: Oscar and Felix absorb parts of each other’s personalities and Felix pulls himself together. The moral: friendship is worth the pain.

1000082420.gif

It’s a safe comedy that holds up because these are two comedy veterans at the height of their powers.
 
Última edición:
Doing my annual King Of The Hill rewatch, the original run was so fucking good man.

Absolute kino TV.
 
Última edición:
Watching OG Night Court and for a comedy series, it has a lot of dramatic scenes in it and those dramatic scenes highlight how the new show completely fails at its goal of being a sequel to this show. I'll use the Wheeler's first appearance in Wheels of Justice since the clip is available. Now, for those that haven't seen this episode recently, the Wheelers are actually the comedic contrast to the dramatic down on their luck schmucks. The general gist of the plot is the city is having a government shutdown, so city employees aren't getting paid until the budget is passed. Then the Court got a case of Breaking & Entering where a mother and her teenage son broke into their own apartment and the douchebag landlord pressed charges. They were found guilty and fined, but not put in jail, which would have been more merciful as it also happened to be winter. The son got desperate and tried to rob a convenience store and he got shot. This news drove Harry into despair and he quit to become a pool player. He came back when Dan gave him a pep talk.

Now, Nu Night Court never has these kinds of scenes and the characters in them lack emotional depth except for old Dan Fielding and that was only in the first episode of the new show. Most of the time, no one ever has this kind of emotional breakdown that Harry had to endure or Mac singing in a cowboy bar because he was in severe debt or Selma dying. Nu Night Court has cuck Clerk has an unrequited love with Abby and Gurgs trying her best to be charming and funny. And before you say that Harry Stone also had unrequited love for his Legal Aid attorneys, the difference is Harry couldn't act on it because of professional ethics and conflict of interests. Abby Stone isn't even aware of her clerk's feelings because he's such a non-entity and he left the show to be replaced by some other guy.

Nu Night Court is mostly welfare for aging comedians and NBC alumni. Its problem is that it isn't that funny or dramatic because the characters are so one-dimensional.


 
This is technically a videogame, but I watched a playthrough of a private detective Marlow story and it was peak


Also Lee van cleef movies where he's the hero and kicking ass. Always a pleasure.
 
An older film, it's 1985's The Protector, directed by James Glickenhaus, what was one of the earlier attempts at a big introduction to American audiences for Jackie Chan, which left Chan disgruntled and swearing off dealing with Hollywood for awhile. I mean, watching it a while ago, I could see why this movie failed with audiences and pissed Chan off, but even with his faults as a director, James Glickenhaus was capable of delivering good setpieces, and as an Eighties Action Film it's not bad, but it's not a good Jackie Chan movie. Considering we got Police Story and decades of Jackie action, I think The Protector can be enjoyed on its merits instead of as “a failed Chan Hollywood movie”.

Its an odd film. All the Jackie Chan-isms are there but at about 50% speed, oddly shot at times, hilariously committed to 80s Cop Action Film grit. The movie starts off in a grimy, The Warriors-esque NYC, the stunts and action don’t disappoint once the film moves to Hong Kong. Glickenhaus at least knew when to sit back and let Chan do his thing, and Chan and his partner played by Danny Aiello bounce off each other pretty well.

There's an HK version Chan oversaw and had released in HK theaters, it changes the feel and intensity of the fights, removes some of the 80s crime-action grit but brings more of Chan's touch to the fights, and I think there might be some fights in it that were cut out of the US version.
 
Reminded recently of the short (Two seasons, eleven episodes in all) TV series tailored for the American cable TV market, based on Raymond Chandler's oft-portrayed (in film, TV, radio, etc.) private investigator Phillip Marlowe. The series was released on DVD years and years ago, but episodes have been posted here and there online. One of the great strengths of this series, besides the period setting details was one of the better actors to play Marlowe, Powers Booth.

 
Commander X dijo:
Considering we got Police Story and decades of Jackie action, I think The Protector can be enjoyed on its merits
Presiona para expandir...
1000085656.jpg

Kinda sobering watching the Police Story featurette. Fung Hark-On as the lead henchman is Mads Mikkelsen-maxxing.

Then they cut to the modern interview and he’s this bald uncle who looks like he sells tires in Kowloon. Time is the real villain! (:_(
 
Última edición:
Woke up and watched some of the old Witch Hazel Bugs Bunny shorts with my kid, because I was feeling in a Saturday morning in October kind of way. That lead to me researching the character a little and reminding myself how crazy a crush I have on June Foray.
June_Foray_1952.jpg

Damn, I love talented bitches with unusual faces.
 
I recently discovered an old 90's detective show called Furuhata Ninzaburō, which people seem to call "Japan Columbo". It's quickly becoming my all time favorite series, and the entire thing is available with fan-made subtitles (minus one episode... the 3rd special, which is some kind of "mockumentary")

For the majority of episodes, Furuhata essentially solves the case within the same day the crime takes place (other times it takes like a few days). He's the kind of autistic that never misses even the minute of details and essentially knows who did the crime, so throught the episodes he gathers as much information out of them as possible, but he does it in such a genuine way, like being friends with them, and even staying in their homes (a couple episodes he cooks for them in their own kitchen).

The only thing I don't like is how near the end he breaks the fourth-wall to talk to the audience to tell them that he knows who did it and how he's going to solve the case. Like, just do it, don't tell me with words on how you're going to do it, show me instead. It looses the impact the show has when you break character like that.
 
Over October I fully rewatched all 3 seasons of the Spawn animated series. Hadn't seen it since I was in high school, and I didn't remember how gory and sexually explicit it was haha. It was great though, especially the first and last seasons.
 
not so much intentionally but I have on Cozy TV with late Married With Children (Lucky and a computer) and coincidentally on a synchtube of Thanksgiving stuff was a Macy's parade with an ad for IBM's aptiva line prominently featuring Mechwarrior
 
Captain Syrup dijo:
The Odd Couple started life as a hit stage play, then became a sitcom franchise nobody asked for, starring Jack Klugman (I think? Yeah, the guy from Quincy, M.E.) and Tony Randall. Then decades later it got this belated sequel with elderly Matthau and Lemmon, and also a reboot with two women, two black men, two gay men ...
Presiona para expandir...
And don’t forget “The Oddball Couple” a DePatie-Freleng cartoon version about a posh cat and messy dog

 
Última edición por un moderador:
1000091247.jpg

Paul Feig is such a hack. Every movie he makes is a two-hour Target commercial and every line sounds like a gay man consoling his friend over mimosas. ("...sweetie, he doesn’t deserve you.”) All the best lines come from the villain. She’s coded to be evil, so she’s allowed to actually be funny. You can't direct comedy if you're afraid of hurting people's feelings, Paul.

1000091251.jpg

Melissa McCarthy is like a Miss Moneypenny–type desk-bound assistant thrust into spy life. She volunteers to go undercover after Jude Law dies. The first half of the movie is actually OK, as she's much better at that sort of character than being “The Bourne Expansion.” That whole “I’m screaming and falling off things” shtick gets old.

Jude's accent is pretty solid. But Feig makes him play an American for no reason. He comes back like in GoldenEye but instead of a dramatic reveal he just outstays his welcome.

1000091255.jpg

Jason Statham shows up too, playing himself but dumber. He's like I once locked myself in a suitcase full of bees. Allison Janney is typecast as the bitchy boss and Morena Baccarin shows up for 5 minutes.

1000091257.gif

Here’s Chummy from Call the Midwife. She is cute, but what’s the point of her character? She’s supposed to be comic relief but she's so gushy that it looks a little lesbianic.

1000091259.png

Peter Serafinowicz plays the over-the-top Eurotrash pervert whose only motivation is wanting to fuck Melissa McCarthy. I can’t even hate him. Ah, but my friend, when she has the bright red leepsteeck and the chins start doing, how you say, ze wave pattern, ees like my eyes and my body, they go on strike together.

Bobby Cannavale. One of the most consistently annoying actors. I remember seeing him as a kid trying to be dramatic and just thinking, “wow, this guy can’t act for shit.” He must have thought, Maybe I’ll try comedy instead. 20 years later he still sucks ass.

Melissa McCarthy’s husband shows up in every one of her movies. It’s turning into a Stan Lee situation where it’s less and less funny each time.

1000091261.jpg

Result: Three stars and that's being generous. That’s like when you’re hungover and you just let FX run whatever’s next after The Martian.
 
Última edición:
The wife's been on a Miami Vice kick
the musician guest stars are very distracting
like, we're supposed to be concerned about Alvarado The Big Drug Kingpin and then it turns out it's Frank Zappa
 
XYZpdq Jr. dijo:
The wife's been on a Miami Vice kick
the musician guest stars are very distracting
like, we're supposed to be concerned about Alvarado The Big Drug Kingpin and then it turns out it's Frank Zappa
Presiona para expandir...
Remember that show Third Watch? That was for guys who fall asleep holding the remote like it’s a gun.

I watched it once. The season 5 finale villain was Gene Simmons. And he didn’t change anything about himself. Shows up as a crime kingpin with that ratty ass ponytail and the little beard which looked like a child drew on him during a bumpy bus ride.

Then they throw in Tia Texada as this rogue cop and the facial expressions in that scene are truly amazing, my mom walked past the TV while I was watching it and assumed I’d booted up one of my zombie games.
 
Destacado
Debes iniciar sesión o registrarte para responder aquí.
Atrás
Top Abajo