The Return of Spinal Tap (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)While nothing, absolutely nothing, can compete with the original "This is Spinal Tap" for comedic genius, this DVD is a brilliant work in it's own right. While it is true that the majority (maybe 75 percent or so) of the film is a live show shot in the Royal Albert Hall in 1992, there are numerous interludes and links to keep the satire quotient pegged.
All in all the music is performed well, but some of the newer materiel falls a bit flat compared to the "Smell the Glove" set. Songs like "Cash on Delivery" and "Clam Caravan", while vaguely amusing are not up to the normal Tap standards (although Nigel playing the clarinet is quite a sight), and the Rap version of "Sex Farm" was just plain annoying. Having said that, there are moments of inspired brilliance here. During "Stonehenge" they have the opposite problem they had in the original...the monument is too huge to get in the theatre. During "Big Bottom" all three play basses, which is not only funny to think about, but very funny to actually hear. The guitar pyrotechnics and way over the top soloing of Nigel Tufnel continue in "Diva Fever", a forgettable song without the solo. During this particular solo (during which Derek takes a cab and gets a huge meal at a restaurant, while David has a cucumber facial and pedicure) Nigel plays his guitars by throwing horseshoes at them, juggling while playing with his feet, etc.
Interspersed with the concert footage are numerous links, most of which are utterly brilliant. We learn that Nigel has invented a folding wine glass (he still needs the rubber hinges), and has founded 'Travel for Animals', an organization that allows animals (in this case his ferret, Trevor) to travel with their own passport. We learn that Derek goes on his father's telephone sanitizing service ('Sani Phone') business calls with him to help make ends meet, and has invested in not one, but two unbuilt London apartments, the net result of which is that he has to stay in a hotel while in London. David and his wife now work part time at a summer soccer camp in California and she runs 'Potato Republic', a store specializing in itchy Irish clothing. Additionally, David and Nigel visit their boyhood home of Squatney, and reminisce. All of these bits are inspired as are the guest spots featuring things like Mel Torme singing "Big Bottom" and a member of Primus with a picture of Derek tattooed on his bicep.
My only irritant with this DVD is that some of the songs are incorrectly named in the liner notes for some reason; for instance, "Big Bottom" is called "Bum Cakes" in the credits. All in all, I think this is a wonderful DVD, and is well worth the money. If you are a true Tap fan, you must own this!

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Superhero Movie (Extended Edition) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)SUPERHERO MOVIE bombed at the box office, but as a lifelong fan of the genre and movies like AIRPLANE, TOP SECRET, and NAKED GUN, I felt almost compelled to watch it. I doubt there will ever be another breakthrough spoof movie due to the fact that now there are so many of them. During the eighties and nineties, spoof movies came out every other year or so, now they come out every other month (Scary, Date, Epic, Disaster, etc). SUPERHERO MOVIE is not a great movie within the spoof genre, but it provides many good laughs and returns to the roots of what made the movies like Airplane and Naked Gun so great.
The DVD has a feature called "Anatomy of a Spoof" that among other things, gives director Craig Mazin's (a Zucker protégé and fan) philosophy of spoof movies. First, the actors need to play it straight, and second, the movie needs to have characters you care about and create an actual story within the genre you are trying to spoof. It this movie, all the actors play it straight. Drake Bell is Rick Ryker, the Peter Parker clone who gets bit by a Dragonfly and gets superpowers. Sara Paxton plays the love interest. Christopher McDonald is the evil Hourglass. Leslie Neilsen is the wise uncle. The plot follows the basic structure of Spiderman, and throws in Fantastic Four and X-men spoofs as well. The movie avoids trying to create comedy by recreating scenes from famous super hero movies. Director and writer Mazin really tries to make a story the viewers will care about, and many of the jokes are found in the dialogue.
Mazin knew what he was doing. He crafted an entertaining spoof full of witty dialogue. A few things brought the movie down. First, the glut of spoof movies took away any chance for this film to be original. Second, it seemed a limited budget took away from some of the special effects that could have been utilized. Third, Mazin just isn't as talented as the Zucker brothers. Still, this movie had some good stuff, including my favorite, Steven Hawking. This is a must see for fans of the genre. It's not perfect, but SUPERHERO MOVIE is definitely trying to follow in the footsteps of AIRPLANE, and that's more than can be said for all the Date and Epic movie spoofs.

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Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four will never be the same after this outrageously funny spoof of your favorite comic book movies!Drake Bell (Drake & Josh) stars as a nerdy high school student bitten by a genetically-altered dragonfly.He stumbles hilariously through the process of becoming a crime-fighter and as his new powers grow, so do the laughs.Sara Paxton (Aquamarine) and Christopher McDonald (Spy Kids 2) costar as the clueless damsel in distress and the comically intense super villain, along with Pamela Anderson and Leslie Nielsen.Going from superzero to superhero has never been this much fun!

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Land of the Lost (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Captain Kirk's nipples!"
...and if that quote didn't tell you the new big budget big screen "Land of the Lost" film isn't exactly directed at the Saturday morning TV crowd... I fondly recall spending those mornings in the 70's with Will, Holly, Dr. Marshall and the Sleestak, so when I heard Will Ferrell would be taking the lead I was content in the knowledge that the campiness of the original Sid and Marty Kroft show would be preserved. As fate would have it this preservation extends even to the cheesy theme song which Ferrell nearly performs in one scene...this theme song pretty much covers the series and movie's premise...the aforementioned characters, on a "less than" routine expedition via an earthquake and a tachyon gadget (this part is new) end up in a parallel space they call the "Land of the Lost" complete with prehistoric critters and lizardmen. Unlike the series they need to find Dr. Marshall's misplaced gadget in order to get home, this leads to lots of mishaps and sight gags. But as I mentioned, this is not your father's "Land of the Lost" this is a Will Ferrell, albeit watered down, but nonetheless, a Will Ferrell film, so as you'd expect there is overt crude references flying aplenty, including hot Sleestak-on-Sleestak action (not really on screen), nothing to cringe-worthy...although some drug and vague sexual jokes.
"LOTL" is bookended by a "TODAY" show sequence in which Matt himself interviews Dr. Marshall about is kooky space/time theories and then again later interviews a vindicated Dr. Marshall at the movie's end. Dr. Marshall is classic Will Ferrell, the pompous, dimwitted boob he plays soooo well, so you know precisely what you will get upon entering the theater. This time he is a nutty paleontologist who has a strange fixation on "Chorus Line" and comfort food binges. "Land of the Lost" is more "Elf" than "Anchorman", I guess. What is new here is the digital dino and big bug eye candy, not really the norm for a Ferrell film, more in the spirit of Ringo Starr's "Caveman" than "Jurassic Park" though (especially the cave-boy-speak).
The kitsch aside, if possible, "LOTL" includes some impressive sets, some true to the original show, like the Sleestak ruins and some less Kroft, but equally cool, parallel world Bermuda Triangle parallel world clutter ala desert complete with missing ships, planes and gas stations. Also true to the Kroft look are the Sleestak lizard people (one of which is voiced by Leonard Nimoy a.k.a Spock) who look largely unchanged, but I'd have bought a ticket just for them anyway.

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Comedic genius Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, who gets more than he bargained for when his expedition takes a wrong turn into the Land of the Lost. Now, Marshall, his crack-smart research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist named Will (Danny McBride), have no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in a world full of marauding dinosaurs, fantastic creatures and laugh-out-loud comedy!

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The Onion Movie (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is really really funny. It's not "the greatest thing ever made" but it's still pretty damned hilarious. It's a great parody. I rented it hoping it was exactly what it was: a variety of parodies with a plot mixed in. No, it's not the paper.........it's a movie based on the Onion style of viewing the world. If you have ever seen Kentucky Fried movie this will seem like an updated companion piece. You really need to go into watching this movie with these things in mind. It's just a good ride. The movie isn't high-brow humour that's meant to be the best in the world but you'll get a chuckle out of it. I've been waiting for this for a while since I saw a preview on another DVD I rented. I know all my friends who are ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker) fans will love this and I am going to buy it so we can all watch it.

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This just in...The Onion invades DVD! Based on the wildly popular newspaper hailed by The New Yorker as â??the funniest publication in the United States,â? The Onion Movie brings you uncensored, uninhibited, UNRATED news and views from around the world. In a stunning development, when Onion News anchorman Norm Archer (Len Cariou) is asked to compromise his journalistic integrity to please a new corporate sponsor, he doesnâ??t just get mad, he gets...angry. Taking aim at pop stars, prisoners, peace talks and, of course, high-testosterone action films, The Onion Movie delivers hard-hitting headlinesâ?"and side-splitting laughs!

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