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Reviews
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Punch-Drunk Love is why films are better than documentaries.
I saw this movie last night and it affected me on many levels. It is beautiful, it sounds good, it is very colorful, and emotionally it has teeth. I think that Punch-Drunk Love is a wonderful example of why a good fictional film is more palatable than a good documentary. We have an artistic vision, beautiful sets and colors, costumes that work, and none of the distracting background elements of a documentary. Plus, Sandler is a better at playing Barry Egan than most people in that emotional dilemna are good at being themselves. PT Anderson has captured the essence of many things in this movie, which I feel at heart should have been twice as long, though it doesn't bother me that it isn't. It is the careful development of the many essences, so juicy and ripe in Magnolia and Boogie Nights, that he leaves out to trim it to 90 minutes. I'm actually kind of glad that he did, because the DVD will probably allow me to fill it in. And I'm predicting a Punch-Drunk Love Redux, ala Apocalypse Now, for the year 2015. But a lot is left out. For instance, who is Emily? She's probably as interesting a person as Barry, but we don't get to know her well enough. What really matters, though, is that I loved watching the movie and I want to see it again.
And did anybody else notice that a Mr. Show alum played the most vocal of Barry's sisters?
Gus (1976)
The worst/best movie Disney ever made...
Once I was watching TV late at night and this stupid-looking movie came on. It was Gus. I can't believe movies like this could be actually pitched to an executive, but I guess Disney can never be underestimated. As I began to watch it, I became enthralled: a mule kicks field goals from any distance and never misses. Alas, the mule gets kidnapped before the BIG GAME and he must be retrieved. Boy was I surprised when he was airlifted back onto the field after an unpleasant yet unbelievable scene involving a supermarket. Don Knotts plays a terrible coach too, but Gus steals the show here. If you want to watch a movie that never should have been made, check out Gus.
Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995)
A little show I like to call really good, really nice.
I had HBO for many years, and was able to watch it at will (generally). Mr. Show came on one time, and I laughed at it because it was damned funny. Then I watched it again, this time on purpose. It was even funnier. Bob and Dave, even though I confused their names with their faces, are so original and are such good actors, that their first-rate satire and jokes come off as smoothly as when a composer is able to play all of his instruments at the same time. It's fair to compare this show to Monty Python, because the entire genre is borrowed from those chaps, but also because it is almost as creatively done. The State on MTV also came close to Monthy Python and rivals Mr. Show for creativity. Mr. Show has curses in it, so right away, thats good too.
The Full Monty (1997)
I saw it for free and still felt ripped off.
It takes a lot to ruin a free movie, and the Full Monty had plenty of awful and cliched crappy dialogue. The story is a pathetic attempt at humour, and considering England is capable of producing Monty Python, I do not see how anybody who has ever laughed at a clever movie could find even a sole laugh in this monstrosity. None of the characters were interesting nor well-developed and the plot was painfully predictable. What a waste!