Some selected movies presented without any real connection. Certainly not related to taking a week off of reviews.
Number theory
Author: temporalparadox
The Caddy
Before watching the movie:
I don’t really know much beyond that this is a Martin and Lewis movie. I guess Jerry Lewis is the good golfer posing as his friend’s caddy because he can’t handle the attention of the crowd. But he’s hopeless as a caddy. Laughs ensue.
Looks like they both have love interests? I guess there’s room for some subplot around the slapstick and friend arguments.
I’m not sure I’ve seen enough of Dean Martin to know what to expect from him. He’s clearly the straight man of the duo though.
Continue readingCongo
Before watching the movie:
So much as I thought I knew what this was about, it seems I completely misunderstood this movie. I had the idea this was some kind of action drama about conservation, like fighting poachers or something. Maybe a military operation in the jungle.
What this actually seems to have something to do with is a new species of killer gorilla and also a signing gorilla, and the preview I saw looked a lot funnier than I expected. So I’m completely at a loss for what to expect now, besides Tim Curry and Ernie Hudson being in it.
Continue readingMajor Payne
Before watching the movie:
One more that I never heard of until I saw it floating around my sources. Damon Wayans terrorizes some JROTC kids as their drill instructor, so it sounds like fun. As the instructor is the protagonist, it sounds like a bit of the inverse of movies like Sgt. Bilko and Stripes.
I’m sure there will be one or two kids with an interesting quirk, but I don’t have high expectations for a memorable bunch, just a generic group of misfit boys trying to get the ex-Marine off their backs.
Continue readingThe Toy
Before watching the movie:
I’ve seen many stories about an obscenely rich person obtaining living characters as a personal plaything for themselves or their children, but I doubt any of them were direct references to this story so much as just yet another commentary on how rich people live in a completely different world.
I think Jackie Gleason is primarily known for playing a decidedly blue collar guy, so it seems like an unusual choice to cast him as the eccentric millionaire. However it seems like most of Richard Pryor‘s movies in the 80s were about him reacting to finding himself in impossible situations, so the dissonance of agreeing to something bizarre he doesn’t believe in because he needs the money fits that pattern.
Continue readingUnder the Same Moon
Before watching the movie:
I didn’t know this movie existed before I watched it, so all I had to go on was that a lot of it is in Spanish, it’s about border crossing for family and Eugenio Derbez is in it. And I seriously can’t come up with more to say about it.
Continue readingWar of the Satellites
Before watching the movie:
I probably know about as much about this movie as Roger Corman did when he decided to make it. Earth is about to start launching satellites and aliens disapprove, and it’s all very “hey, remember Sputnik?”
It sounds more interesting to watch than to write. The effects and action sequences will probably be hilarious but also the best part. It looks like even though the United Nations is standing in for the United States, they still manage to let the United States be the most American part of the Earth.
I like going into movies completely blank on them until I have to write about my nonexistent preconceptions.
Continue readingFools Rush In
Before watching the movie:
I very vaguely recall a movie with this title being around back then, but I don’t remember anything about it. I didn’t even remember it was one of the movies they tried putting Matthew Perry in.
I see it’s another movie titled after a song they can easily license. It could be a direct reference to the proverb, but as it’s a love story, it’s going to be a reference to the love song.
I definitely did not know this is about a rushed relationship between an American guy and a Mexican woman and the problems created when their lives and families catch up with their choices until now.
Continue readingThe Shaggy Dog
Before watching the movie:
While I’d seen brief promos for this movie before with other Disney home video rereleases, I never really got an idea of what it was like beyond somebody turning into a dog. I did see the Tim Allen remake, but if that draws on anything past the “human turned into a dog” idea, it looks like it has more to do with the sequel The Shaggy D.A. I do see that where that remake used genetic research as the catalyst for the metamorphosis, I’m kind of amused that this is just “a magic ring”. Or rather, a magic ring the Borgias had, because dropping random historical names makes things sound more legitimate.
I know a few more details now but I still don’t really know what shape the story will take. It’s always nice to see Fred MacMurray though.
Continue readingYour Tax Dollars At The Movies
Despite election cycles, the world is all politics, all the time, and it is only the privileged few who can avoid that, perhaps especially during an administration mainly built on not constantly drumming up controversy. So there’s always time to consider American government through the movies.
1776: Begin at the beginning, and sit down, John. Gridlock is eternal.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: The little guy with a heart who’s chronically too rare in the machinery of government.
The Manchurian Candidate: Back when it was easier to imagine a foreign government brainwashing and grooming future American leaders than just tuning the minds of the electorate through online advertisements and fake accounts.
All the President’s Men: Somehow Watergate is when cynicism about government corruption became standard, though it’s always been with us.
Wag the Dog: When there seems little else to do about the state of affairs, why not laugh about it?
Yesterday's Movies 