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Post by Trey_Vore on May 18, 2021 18:03:10 GMT -5
Man... I don't think I can say how often my siblings and I watched Beethoven and the first sequel.
RIP Charles Gordin
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 14, 2021 8:37:03 GMT -5
Well... no one can say he didn't live a long life!
RIP Norman Loyd
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 10, 2021 4:06:46 GMT -5
Dude I apologize for not saying anything earlier just been a bit busy with some personal issues.
But I hope you had an awesome birthday.
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 9, 2021 3:55:39 GMT -5
Random Fact #4351:
When Mortal Kombat was introduced in 1992, one of the game's oldest antagonistic characters was the slimy criminal mercenary Kano. He was the archenemy of Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs and allied with the villains at least until they were no longer useful and then he would stab them in the back.
In his original characterization, he was American born and then orphaned by his mother in Tokyo, Japan. We did not have video games with elaborate cutscenes in the 16-bit era so all we really had to go on were tie-in comic books and TV shows. However when the game was adapted for a big-screen movie in 1995, he was played by English-born actor Trevor Goddard, who had made a career playing Australian characters, and as such he made Kano an Aussie.
This was not originally true of the character, however Ed Boon and John Tobias liked his characterization in the movie so much they retconned his backstory so nowadays he's an Aussie, which they do with more recent games and the 2021 movie.
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 9, 2021 3:43:08 GMT -5
It's about disappointing series finales, not saddest series finales.
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 6, 2021 8:48:26 GMT -5
You guys may not know this, but I currently don't have Disney+.
Good news is, soon I might!
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 3, 2021 5:43:47 GMT -5
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 3, 2021 5:42:23 GMT -5
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
Distributor: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation/Lord Miller Productions
Director: Mike Rianda
Cast: Abbi Jacobson (Katie), Danny McBride (Rick), Maya Rudolph (Linda), Mike Rianda (Aaron, Furbies, Talking Dog, Wifi Enthusiast), Olivia Colman (PAL), Eric Andre (Dr. Mark Bowman), Beck Bennett (Eric), Fred Armisen (Deborah), Doug the Pug (Monchi)
Runtime: 109 mins.
MPAA rating: PG (action and mild language)
This movie is about an aspiring film student named Katie who lives with her parents and her little brother in Michigan. She is on the path to go to film school but rather than fly there her parents insist on driving her there on a road trip. But when the world’s electronic devices go haywire and stage an uprising, the human race is in danger of being exiled into outer space and the only ones left is the Mitchell family, our only hope. With the aid of two malfunctioning robots, can the Mitchells last long enough to stop the robotic uprising and save the human race?
I didn’t know exactly what to make of this movie back when I saw some trailers for when it was originally called “Connected”. It appeared to be a big hodgepodge of ideas and I just had no idea if it was going to be released this year or if it was going to be held back like what happened to so many movies back in 2020. It was going to get a theatrical release, and it did in select theatres, but I was only able to see it through Netflix.
Now that I have just seen it, it’s time for me to give my thoughts on The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
Here’s a question: what would you get if you took a movie like National Lampoon’s Vacation and merged with Terminator 2: Judgement Day? You would have an idea of what it’s like with this movie. The story is that Katie is an aspiring film student that hopes to go to a college dorm and get away from her wacko family, but then ends up having to learn to appreciate them in order to survive. It does have some positive messages about teamwork and learning that family is what’s important; technology comes and goes but family is forever.
It also has some good messages about how filmmaking can be quite a transformative experience, and the family is always well-meaning if quirky. They have to bond and come to a better understanding of each other as this robot uprising could very well spell the end of humanity. Sure it’s not completely innocuous as they have jokes like how Katie makes a meme about her dad being licked in the mouth by the dog and the dad tells his son to use an empty bottle as a toilet but they always never lose sight of its intended messages.
I will say the animation is a little bizarre and does take some getting used to. They look like they are going for CGI-animation together with more of a cel-animation influence but they do make it work. They also use a bunch of wacky filters to make it look like it’s being told through memes which is a little weird, almost like you’re still watching Lizzie McGuire.
For the characters, you have Katie, an aspiring film student who is on her way to film school and is known for making mini-movies involving her dog, Monchi. She at first wants to get away from her family to be a famous filmmaker but doesn’t think something bad can happen from so much dependance on technology. She originally wanted to fly to her new college to meet with her new roommates but as a result of this uprising, they get captured; one probably should remember that old story of how I would be angry with my folks for not letting me do something with my friends, but then something awful happened to them and it could have been me if I just did what I thought I should have been allowed to do. Her dad, Rick, was more of an outdoorsman in the past that had to give up his woodsy lifestyle to be a parent. He’s overly behind the times and doesn’t fully understand technology, and of the movie’s characters he might be the strongest character. Her little brother Aaron is a dinosaur aficionado who has a possible crush on the girl next door, and is a rock for Katie being the one that understands her. Her mom, Linda, is a typical binding-glue type of parent that I feel does help prove that old adage of how even a mild-mannered person, when faced with a real threat can be an unstoppable force of nature. The two robots that malfunction, later calling themselves Eric and Deborah, are like the T-800 in that they were originally supposed to help round up the humans but then decide that due to a programming error they are now going to help the humans. I feel this is a good touch as they help with the theme of making your own path rather than be a worker drone. Dr. Mark Bowman is supposed to be the robots’ scientist who is on a mission to make the world better but his ideas soon go self-aware and rebel against the humans. The main villain of the movie is PAL, a smartphone that belonged to Dr. Bowman who is not pleased with how it is now considered to be “obsolete” and takes this to an extreme degree as it now thinks the humans are not worth saving and thinks they are better off dead, a plot point that I remember from the 1995 Sega Genesis game Vectorman. I take this development as a metaphor for not forsaking the people that care about you because terrible things can happen as a result. The only characters that I feel could have better might have been the Mitchell’s neighbors, who are just shown to be a perfect family and nothing else comes from that.
The only real issues I may actually have is that I’m not sure how well this movie is going to age. With it’s plugs for things like YouTube and meme jokes, not to mention plugs for Sony products (it is a Sony film, after all) and there’s even a sequence with Furbies that needs to be brought up. Sure it won’t age to the same degree as a movie like Ralph Breaks the Internet but this is an issue that I feel needs to be addressed.
Overall, I was happy with my time that I spent with The Mitchells vs. the Machines. It has plenty of good messages that will be relevant regardless of time and it does have a healthy dose of humor to make it fun. So yes, despite my initial doubts, I would recommend this movie.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
TreyVore rates it: B+
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Post by Trey_Vore on May 1, 2021 12:29:22 GMT -5
Um... I kinda dropped a few hints that it was getting a sequel, Belchic. Did you forget?
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 28, 2021 7:27:29 GMT -5
Okay, no prob.
Maybe the finale of Seinfeld was a bit of a dishonorable mention?
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 26, 2021 8:32:47 GMT -5
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Distributor: 20th Century Fox/Gracie Films
Director: David Silverman
Cast: Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grandpa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Barney Gumble, Mr. Teeny), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe Szylak, Chief Wiggum, Cletus, Professor John Frink, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Lou, Comic Book Guy, Capt. McAllister, Bumblebee Guy, Dr. Nick), Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Lenny, President Arnold Schwarzenegger, Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert, Otto), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders, Jimbo Jones), Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner, Crazy Cat Lady, Colin, Cookie Kwan), Albert Brooks (Russ Cargill), Russi Taylor (Martin Prince)
Runtime: 86 min.
MPAA rating: PG-13 (irreverent humor throughout)
Following an accident involving a sinking barge at a Green Day concert, Lake Springfield is considered to be protected. Meanwhile, during a church service, Grandpa Simpson has a prophesy that doomsday is coming which only Marge takes seriously. While Lisa and her potential new boyfriend Colin are pushing to clean the lake, Homer is just finishing up a dare game with Bart when he saves a pig from being butchered at Krusty Burger. Having done this, he gets himself a new pet. Within just 2 days, Homer’s pig fills up a giant silo with manure. Disgusted with this Marge tells him to get rid of the silo of dung but being that he’s in a hurry to get to a donut giveaway he cuts corners by not taking it to the dump but instead drops it in Lake Springfield, turning it into a toxic cesspool. EPA agent Russ Cargill then dupes President Arnold Schwarzenegger to encase Springfield under a big glass dome. The whole town of Springfield, enraged over Homer’s stupid mistake, ostracizes them. Escaping through a sinkhole in the backyard, the Simpson family moves to Alaska to reset their lives. With Homer and Marge’s marriage in jeopardy, Bart getting fed up with his dad’s carelessness and Lisa… having a crush, can Homer fix all these problems, make amends with his friends and neighbors, get rid of the glass dome and stop Russ Cargill from destroying Springfield?
This movie is based on the popular, trendsetting and long-running mature Fox cartoon. If you know me, I am a proud fan of The Simpsons. A long-running show for a reason, it’s a series that in its prime was a show that people would run home and make way to watch due to its biting satire of human condition, American culture, society and television. The Simpsons was a highly successful show that would help define the 1990s, win several awards and revolutionize comedy and television. The Simpsons have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Homer’s “D’oh!” is now recognized as a proper term in Webster’s Dictionary. I make it a tradition to watch “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”, the first Christmas episode, every time the holidays come. I own the series’ existing DVD boxsets, several video games, a gym bag full of comic books and quote the show to make people laugh. I even have an autographed picture of the Simpson family that I got from the Wizard World con in Chicago; at only $300 I honestly felt like I was stealing it!
That being said… I do love the show. But I admit it’s been running for far too long. The first 8 seasons, that being the series’ beginning in 1989 until the end of Season 8 in 1997, are the show’s best seasons and they still hold up, with Seasons 9 through 12 (1997-2001) being “Bad by the series’ standards” and starting with Season 13, the first post-9/11 season, as being the time when the show went from being “Bad Simpsons” to “Bad Television”.
Then the movie was announced and I remember it being hyped with much anticipation, with movie plans dating all the way back to Season 4 with “Kamp Krusty”. It got fast food promotions and 7-Eleven stations would momentarily be rebranded as a “Kwik-E-Mart”. I even remember hearing that the filmmakers would not even tell their kids about the movie as they knew they would leak spoilers out to their friends for street cred. So, much hype surrounded this movie. I knew I had to see the movie being the Simpsons junkie that I am. When July 2007 came it was met with great reviews, and would prove that cel-animated films can still be profitable, as it did outgross Lilo and Stitch at the box-office and be the highest-grossing film based on an animated TV series not rated G or PG. The only other cel-animated movie that it did not outgross was The Lion King.
When I saw the movie in that time period, I will admit I did not love the movie, but I did like it. Maybe it was just that my expectations were so high. It also could have been the fact that I remember back in 1999 Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace had impossibly high expectations to fill and all this hype was bound to disappoint. Then again, maybe it was the fact the Simpsons were getting a movie when the show was long since past it’s prime was a factor. I felt like if the Simpsons were going to get a movie it was probably coming in about 10 years late; it probably should have come during the time when Disney was giving us Hercules, not Meet the Robinsons. You know, 1997 not 2007.
On the other hand, we also got Transformers in 2007. That movie was about a popular toyline/cartoon from the 1980s that’s at least three years older than The Simpsons but that didn’t seem late at all.
Now that I’m revisiting this movie for the first time in a very long while, it’s time for me to give my honest thoughts on the much-anticipated Simpsons movie.
For one, they needed to use a bigger and stronger story than what they had done in the past. At least for the episodes you were supposed to take seriously, they did a more ambitious plot with the family being Springfield’s only hope from having the town being turned into a new Grand Canyon. They never lose sight of the fact it’s supposed to be funny and they do plenty of pop culture references and callbacks to some of the show’s best times. The show has appearances from virtually every major, minor and even one-shot characters make an appearance in the movie and that is all stuff I love to see and appreciate being a longtime fan of the show.
However, while all that is well and good, this is a double-edged sword. If you’re not a major fan, these callbacks won’t mean nearly as much. You could argue that the Simpsons can get away with it, being such a popular and long-running show, but it needs to be said. The downside to this is, there is plenty plot points that you probably remember the series having done before and better. I can make a checklist of it:
Homer and Marge’s marriage in jeopardy? Check.
Bart fed up with his father’s clumsiness? Check.
Lisa meets a boy she likes? Check.
The family gets ostracized by the town? Check.
They go on vacation? Check.
Homer gets a new job? Check.
The family gets a new pet? Check.
Again, if you are not an avid follower of the show, you probably won’t notice this. But I did, since I’m such a hardcore fan.
For the jokes they give, they are pop culture related jokes that you would expect. There’s some good jokes, like how they satirize things like Night of the Living Dead, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Spider-Man, Labyrinth, Harry Potter and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, but there are others that really do suggest its time. Like how they joke about Titanic, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Erin Brockovich, Brother Bear, Happy Feet, Grand Theft Auto… in the end there will be jokes that just… don’t hold up the way they should.
The animation looks like how you probably would expect them to look, crude, yet charming. They do some slight upgrades, like how when they would use a greater degree of shadows, and the animation does its job just fine.
For the characters, you probably know who they are. Unfortunately, along with that it comes with the fact that… I’ll just say there is something wrong here. For one, the series had a set of leading characters you fondly remember. However, by this time they had undergone some changes, and not exactly changes you would consider good. I’ll start with Homer. In this movie, Homer’s… well he’s kind of a jerk. He starts the movie making no secret of his feelings about church, gives Bart a hyper embarrassing dare and then doesn’t seem to mind that he turned a part of the environment toxic as long as he got a donut, not really taking responsibility for his actions. Sure he saves a pig from being killed and eventually comes around to do the right thing, but do you remember how the South Park movie had a ridiculous idea for a greater conflict? Well, here he just does something stupid, and is almost responsible for a city-wide Holocaust. He seems like he’s skating a line between being a character and being a plot device. For Marge, she is supposed to help represent the movie’s intended message of “A man should listen to his wife”. They use plenty of Biblical allegories to help illustrate this fact and Julie Kavner was actually nominated for an Annie Award for her performance as Marge, her break-up video that Homer watches is pretty effective and she got plenty of praise for it. However, some of her choices seem a bit contrived. For one, she was in church and just happened to be the one person who believed the ramblings of a senile old man. These ramblings she reads very seriously and thinks everyone really is in grave danger. I... find this logic questionable, to say the least. The only character I truly did find sympathetic is Bart. He’s put through hell on his own level and you don’t blame him if he’s looking for a different father figure. Sure, he does reconcile with his dad, but he’s really the one family member that doesn’t feel permanently screwed up. The main antagonist is Russ Cargill, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He’s supposed to be the villain of the movie who’s sanity is a bit questionable, being that he’s okay with destroying a town and killing everyone inside. All for the sake of the environment, which Homer recklessly damaged. It’s harsher when you take into account something similar happened in Flint, Michigan. The other characters from the show are all there and get a character beat or two, which is nice if you’re a fan like me, but will be lost on you if you are not.
I didn’t say anything about Lisa because she doesn’t really add much to the movie. She wants to help clean Lake Springfield and falls for an Irish kid, and that’s about it. The series’ episodes always had an “A plot/B plot” structure, but Lisa’s role just feels so minimal it feels like you could just cut her out of the movie and all you’d really be losing is a joke that depends on a double standard to be funny. I hate those.
Plus, what the hell happened to Homer's pig after they escaped?
…this might be my way of saying, there’s a bit of Broken Base here, but it doesn’t feel like this movie has aged well.
There is still fun to be had with The Simpsons Movie, it’s still got some laughs in the tank but at best I can say it’s probably on par with the show in it’s declining years. Once the sequel comes, I’ll be in line for it. I don’t feel it lived up to the hype, but as it is it’s flawed but enjoyable.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
TreyVore rates it: B-
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 26, 2021 4:19:18 GMT -5
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
Distributor: Paramount (USA)/Warner Bros. (International)/Comedy Central Films
Director: Trey Parker
Cast: Trey Parker (Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Philip, Mr. Garrison, Mr. Hat, Randy Marsh, Clyde Donovan, Ned, Christophe, additional voices), Matt Stone (Kyle Broflovsky, Kenny McCormick, Saddam Hussein, Terrance, Big Gay Al, Stuart McCormick, Jimbo Kearn, Gerald Broflovsky, Butters Stotch, additional voices), Mary Kay Bergman (Wendy Testaburger, Liane Cartman, Sheila Broflovsky, Sharon Marsh, Carol McCormick, additional voices), Issac Hayes (Chef Jerome McElroy), George Clooney (Dr. Gouache), Brent Spiner (Conan O’Brian), Eric Idle (Dr. Vosknocker), Mike Judge (Kenny’s unmuffled voice)
Runtime: 81 min.
MPAA rating: R (violence, strong profanity, crude sexual humor, gore)
In the town of South Park, Colorado, four third-grade friends, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovsky, Kenny McCormick and Eric Cartman, are on their way to see the new Terrance and Philip movie, “Asses of Fire”. However, they can’t pay money to see it because they are not old enough and the movie is rated R. Dragging a bum in to act as a chaperone, they love it and encourage other kids to see it, causing their language becomes a lot more explicit than before. While not much is made over the fact Kenny is accidently killed (as was a running joke on the series), he goes to Hell and is tormented by Satan, who’s having problems with his gay lover Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile their parents think something has to be done and Kyle’s mother thinks they should blame Canada, Terrance and Philip’s home country. However, if their blood hits American soil, it will trigger the Apocalypse. With the kids being the world’s only chance, and Cartman having a V-chip implanted in him that shocks him whenever he curses, can they stop the ongoing war and prevent the Apocalypse?
This movie is based on the popular mature animated series from Comedy Central. Make no mistake, I am indeed a fan of mature cartoons. It’s always cool to see something meant for legal adults and they can be very witty, proving animation isn’t strictly for kids. Chances are, if it was a mature cartoon and it got popular, I liked it. I liked The Simpsons, I liked Beavis and Butthead, I liked The Critic, and Duckman, I liked King of the Hill, Family Guy, Futurama, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, American Dad!, The Boondocks, Robot Chicken, Bob’s Burgers, Bless the Harts… I do have a fondness for mature cartoons.
However, I have to draw a line somewhere, and where I draw a line is South Park. My answer is while I know that shows like Beavis and Butthead and Family Guy are shows that find humor in stuff like bare butts, farting and getting kicked in the nads, there is always some sort of mature context behind it, so I’m aware that despite what they may do for comedy, it’s meant to be seen as mature; it’s something that elementary school kids won’t understand, they probably won’t want to watch a show like this if they could watch SpongeBob. With South Park though, this series has plenty of controversial content; there’s copious amounts of violence, profanity, gore, sexual innuendos and fart jokes and it would push the boundaries of what we see on TV today, but it’s being juxtaposed with these cutesy looking characters that have infantile issues and screechy voices that causes me to think this didn’t need to be mature, it could have been a show for little kids. Does that mean if I was to take something like Caillou or Peppa Pig and stuff it full of profanity and toilet jokes, that’s all I’d have to do to get it rated TV-MA?
Not to mention because the episodes have such a short production cycle—it only takes about a week for them to go from planning to having an episode ready for air—that’s another problem. The episodes they make can, when first run, be very timely and relevant and score some big laughs, but after about a few months, they start to look like an old newspaper you forgot to throw out. That always results in episodes that have a great start, but don’t hold up in syndication. I actually rewatched some of the oldest episodes to get an idea and if they have episodes where they are still joking about things like America’s Funniest Home Videos, American Gladiators, Independence Day, the American 1998 Godzilla and Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, I have the feeling there’s really no point in buying this on a DVD boxset or something being that it was hilarious at first but has no life in reruns as they feel like products of their time, like the movie’s joke on how when Bill Gates originally introduced Windows 98 it crashed. They most certainly do NOT hold up.
However, at the time, there was a lot of anticipation for this movie. A big screen animated film about a popular mature cartoon that debuted in June 1999 on a Wednesday (which was when the show was originally airing) was as well a revenge lay for Parker and Stone against the MPAA. Their earlier movies, BASEketball and Orgazmo, were respectively rated R and NC-17 and disappointed at the box-office. So, they would do this to strike back at the MPAA as big bird flip.
That said, I’ll start with something a little more out there for this review. The movie’s title is “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut”. That’s already a lie because technically, the movie IS cut. In its original form, this movie was rated NC-17. However after massive fighting with the MPAA, it was cut just short to being a movie that would be rated R. Probably so they could sell more tickets. Hypocrites.
For the movie itself… oh boy. Now I can see why I only paid $2 for a used DVD. It was cheaper than renting it from iTunes.
For starters, I am not loving the idea of South Park being a musical. If this is supposed to be a parody of Disney Renaissance, isn’t that kinda proving my earlier thoughts? The songs aren’t even that good! Sure jokes and comedy but one would think they would try for something that kids wouldn’t immediately get. The movie’s story is pretty ridiculous but also something extremely familiar. I will get into that as I go. For now I’ll just say I have a friend that once told me being a fan of the show he liked the movie but felt there was too much singing!
I’m also going to say this: when it was on TV, at the time they couldn’t originally just go right out and use the more explicit profanity so they had the censor beep instead. That originally was funny, because you knew what was being said, they just can’t actually use it. But to take that censoring out to go right out and use the stronger profanity doesn’t make it funny. It leaves nothing to your imagination and just leaves me saying “Whatever…”
For now, I’ll say the animation is as expected. One would think they would up the animation quality a bit but it’s the same as the series and that’s not exactly good. They still have the same crap animation like on the show, but when you’re watching it on TV for free, that’s one thing. This, on the other hand is crap animation that should have been free. It just looks like a series of fat blobs of flat color that just is repulsive to look at. There are even instances where the scene fades out like they are still going to commercials. You should not have to pay money for animation quality this poor!
For the characters? Well, if you’re a fan of the show it will hold a lot of appeal. You have Stan the straight character, Kyle the intelligent one, Eric Cartman the fat douche and Kenny… well he’s just there for the series’ then-running joke of having a character that dies in every episode. The other characters are there too to give support, but no one gets to be any more than a two-dimensional character. The movie, being a comedy, is going to have jokes that of course be funny, but it was praised for moments where they would try to elicit gasps rather than laughs. This type of thing would NEVER be acceptable in this day! Plus, the whole Saddam Hussein and Satan being gay lovers bit is not at all funny. I understand it was the show’s quota to be envelope-pushing, but this isn’t funny because… well, at the time, he was alive and we were enemies of his, so it made sense to demonize the Iraqi dictator. But now that he was tried and executed in 2006?
…that joke hasn’t gotten better with age.
Now, the story. Oh. Boy. Do you remember how in the first season of the show, the sixth episode was called “Death”? And how it drew some complaints? Well, in that episode, the kids were supposed to be fans of “Terrance and Philip”. Despite what it may look like, Terrance and Philip are not supposed to be parodies of Beavis and Butthead. Rather, while you as a viewer, are watching South Park? Terrance and Philip is THEIR South Park. In that episode, the parents were complaining about the show and killing themselves for a stupid reason. The show drew some ire for the fact that while the kids you’re supposed to like love their show, the critics are just idiots that crap all over each other. The show had some complaints over the fact that it was encouraging fans to mock and dismiss criticism of the series.
Now, shouldn’t I be trying to tell you about the movie’s plot rather than one episode of the show? Well, here’s the thing: I was under the impression that Terrance and Philip were just cartoon characters on their show, like how Itchy and Scratchy are on The Simpsons. But no, they are flesh and blood characters in the show’s world and actually appear together with the “human” characters! This does not make sense beyond pushing the fans vs. idiots argument! They did something royally lazy in that the movie is like that one episode, just with more explicit profanity. In that one episode, the critical parents are killing themselves over a Terrance and Philip show, while in the movie they are going to war over a Terrance and Philip movie! This story is a mess, not to mention the whole dramatic impact of the fact that the world is in danger and scores of people could die means absolutely nothing due to the fact Kenny getting killed is A FREAKING JOKE!!! Wouldn’t that mean they would all just come back next week and make the same stupid mistake all over again? Some people never learn…
Do you know how Trey Parker and Matt Stone once said they considered the first three seasons of South Park to be “Old Shame”? Well, being that this movie came after Season 2 but before Season 3 it wouldn’t surprise me if this movie was Old Shame as well. The only people I can honestly recommend this movie to are die-hard South Park fans. If you’re a fan of the show, go wild, knock yourself out. I paid just $2 for this movie’s DVD but in all honesty I felt like they were just trying to get rid of it and I did them a favor! Now that this review is over, I am done with this movie forever. You’re going down to South Park? I’m checking out.
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
TreyVore rates it: D-
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 25, 2021 9:26:18 GMT -5
Beavis and Butthead Do America (1996)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures/MTV Films/Geffen Pictures
Director: Mike Judge
Cast: Mike Judge (Beavis, Butthead, Tom Anderson, David Van Driessen, Principal McVicker), Bruce Willis (Muddy Grimes), Demi Moore (Dallas Grimes), Robert Stack (Agent Flemming), Greg Kinnear (Agent Bork), Cloris Leachman (Old Woman)
Runtime: 81 min.
MPAA rating: PG-13 (profanity, sexual humor, drug use)
One morning, Beavis and Butthead wake up to find that someone broke into their house and stole their TV. On a hunt to find it, they find themselves at a motel where a criminal named Muddy Grimes is offering them $10,000 to head out to Las Vegas and kill his wife. His choice in terminology causes them both to think he wants them to have sex with her, and they are on board. Arriving in Las Vegas, Dallas leads them on a wild goose chase after sewing an X-5 virus unit, a potential doomsday weapon, into the butt of Beavis’s pants and tells them to hop a tour bus to meet her in Washington D.C. So with the ATF agents hunting them, can Beavis and Butthead figure out what’s going on, turn over the virus, bring Muddy and Dallas to justice and maybe even score?
This movie is based on the popular and controversial animated series on MTV. I’m sure that some point in time, we all have some memory, good or bad of Beavis and Butthead. Simultaneously popular and controversial, it is unquestionably a series with polarizing opinions. Some people loved it because it was so funny and envelope-pushing, other people hated it because they found it to be immature and annoying. Then again, there is also the controversial stories about someone having blown up a cat and that long-standing accusation story about that 5-year old boy that never once watched the show who set a bed on fire and wound up killing his 2-year old sister. That said, the world now is a little different thanks to Mike Judge. Nowadays, there is no denying they are cultural icons in perfect sync with the stereotypical MTV-loving slacker.
It’s easy to trash these two teenage metalheads who are lazy, immature and in need of discipline, direction and role models. But d**n if it wasn’t funny; there was enough cleverness to really make their stupidity hilarious and unlike what say, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels did with Dumb and Dumber, didn’t take that lifestyle and glorify it. Plus, it is just so funny as they would go and be our outlets for some of us who would never do some of the dumb stuff they do.
Coming in during a time when Mike Judge (simulteanously creator and harshest critic) was about to end his metalheaded duo’s series to start the more conventional King of the Hill, it made about four times it’s budget and really gave the WB the not-warmest Christmas during 1996. Beavis and Butthead stole plenty of audiences from seeing Mars Attacks! and My Fellow Americans, and even Space Jam seemed to underperform. There were even stories that kids would rather have passed on seeing the lowest common denominator of seeing Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes play basketball against aliens to see Beavis and Butthead on the big screen. Is it wrong?
Anyway, now we have a new movie coming, I felt it would be time to see Mike Judge’s brainchildren back in action. I do remember seeing this movie all the way back in 1996 and loved it, but how does it fare now?
The movie starts with an appropriate parody as it begins with a Godzilla-esque parody which is an appropriate analogy alongside their introductory parody of the cop shows from the 70s. Beavis and Butthead are on the attack and we’re all in trouble; they want their TV dammit!
The movie’s story is that it is essentially a road movie that escalates into a potential doomsday scenario for the entire country. The whole time, they don’t lose sight of making fun of the metalhead teenager trope who is completely oblivious to everything beyond what immediately appeals to them. You know, TV, metal music, nachos, parties, scoring. Or how they bypass seeing the Grand Canyon to watch a donkey taking a dump or not bother with Old Faithful to play with automatic urinals. Very satirical and never once lost its bite. Thankfully, the movie also avoids being overly topical and making meta jokes about random behind the scenes issues; they never once made a joke about the Monica Lewinski scandal or the fact that Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Muddy and Dallas’s voice actors, were married at the time. They wisely chose not to make a joke about Bill Clinton about to leave the White House as he did in fact serve a second term in office.
The movie still maintains the same look of the show with a slight upgrade in quality. It looks like how you would probably expect, with a slightly superior quality. They also do an admirable job with capturing the look of various American cities and locals while doing the series’ traditional locales justice.
For the characters, Beavis and Butthead are completely intact. Mike Judge may have initially expressed some concern that Beavis and Butthead would not be able to sustain a feature film but thankfully that wasn’t the case, they don’t get old and maintain plenty of opportunities to do their classic schtick in a wide variety of locals. Of course opinions vary vastly on them, but regardless they are cultural icons; though I will say that a little Cornholio goes a long way. Muddy and Dallas are a pair of dueling criminals who are truly dangerous and want to kill each other. They are very well voiced as well as Bruce Willis and Demi Moore have some solid martial chemistry together that doesn’t depend on in-jokes to be funny. Another character is Agent Flemming and Agent Bork, the lead ATF agents hot on their trail. As a character Agent Flemming is almost like Robert Stack in animated form. He’s fully aware of the danger that American teenagers can cause while Bork is more like a bouncing board. The movie also has the series’ regulars Tom Anderson, David Van Driessen and Principal McVicker, who really just show up to do their schtick. In fact, Tom Anderson and David Van Driessen may go and remind of characters that Mike Judge would create later, namely Hank Hill and Gerald Goode. Things don’t work out quite so well for them though! The movie does not have any characters you really should see as role models but that goes beyond the movie’s scope; it’s not a movie meant for grade school kids. The movie thankfully does not require familiarity with the series or its characters to work; the only thing that may be a dividing factor is the fact that some people simply hate the show.
Beavis and Butthead Do America is a movie about series that adheres to one very specific era so ruthlessly you would probably be afraid that it would age like crap, but amazingly that isn’t the case; the movie still holds up very well. You have to hand it to Mike Judge, he knows how to make cartoons that are built to last. Still funny, still satirical and still relevant, Beavis and Butthead Do America is reliably entertaining as ever. I even remember seeing Siskel and Ebert’s review of the movie and they gave it two thumbs up; I will agree! Beavis and Butthead rule!
Side note of trivia is, it’s been proven that teenagers that grow up listening to 80s heavy metal become well-adjusted adults.
Beavis and Butthead Do America (1996)
TreyVore rates it: B+
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 23, 2021 20:05:57 GMT -5
I did not hear on this, but we probably should have seen this coming. Guess this also means we might be getting “The Star” on Disney+ too! Might that be because it was partially made by the Jim Henson Company? |
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Post by Trey_Vore on Apr 21, 2021 8:41:43 GMT -5
Yeah, I own a bootleg DVD of the series. I have an idea.
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How you holding up?