Gokaiger 17: The Amazing Silver Man

 this episode deals with the addition of the sixth member of Gokaiger.  Navi tells them they need to find a "silver man" which leads to much silliness.

Who's On First?

the best thing that baseball has given to the world, no question. having said that, I do enjoy actually playing baseball. I believe this version is from "The Naughty Nineties". it never fails to make me laugh.

The Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s

OK, I have finally had time to read a reasonable amount of entries in this book.  it's pretty amazing, and a lot of hard work went into it.  Dr. Craig D. Reid has done an amazing amount of research for this tome and it's a labor of love.

he's a pretty amazing guy as well, all things said.  and he's a resident San Diegan, so that's cool as well.  perhaps I could visit him sometime and talk movies and kung fu. 

The Hunger Games (2012)

which ones live?

I have read all three books in this series, and found them mostly enjoyable.  I probably should have read the first one again before I saw the movie, but meh.  I don't own the books and don't want to borrow it again.  I'll think about reading the second one, but I have over a year until it's released.

my other complaint is 20 minutes of trailers?  that sucked.

I liked the movie overall.  I hate, loathe and otherwise detest "shaky cam" and this movie has far too much of it.  it's not as bad as some movies have been, but it almost always detracts from the overall story.  and overuse is a cheap cinematic trick, to try to establish "realism", which is dispensed as soon as the hover airship shows up.

top 5 Beaker moments

only Beaker could make "Feelings" into a good song. and it's not even number one! I think Beaker got the loudest laugh when I saw "The Muppet Movie" way back in 1977. it's toward the end, if you want to see if you agree. Animal helps.

009-1

Cyborg 009 had a big influence on me when I was a kid, and I never saw a single episode or read a single comic.  how could I, they were in Japanese and were not to be seen in Colorado.  I read about the comics in the Encyclopedia of Comics.  it just intrigued me to no end.  I drew comics based on what I thought it might have actually been like, and many of my own superheroes had cybernetic devices.

it didn't hurt that both the "Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" were still airing on television and were still very popular.

I Married a Witch (1942)

this is a very clever and funny little movie. Veronica Lake is a great actress. I think this was the first movie I ever saw her in, and she holds her own in comedy chops.

Crossover Classics

This is the collection of the first four stories marvel and dc did together.
I covered the first (and still best) story here, but haven't read the two middle ones (Supes and Spidey vs Dr. Doom and the Parasite, Batman and the Hulk vs the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds) in ages.  the final one, Teen Titans and the X-Men sure makes me miss those teams.  even if Wolverine was turning into Batman by then.  his brown and tan costume is much better than the blue and yellow one.  these days I don't even know who is on what team.  and that's just sad.

anyway...

The Three Stooges: "Swinging the Alphabet"

like there would only be one Stooges clip this month! ha! the boys were accomplished showmen, and very good musicians as well. Larry was a wonderful violin player, which usually was played for laughs and a destruction of a violin.

Famous Monsters #262

from my pal August (his blog here: The Good, the Bad, and Godzilla 続・夕陽の呉爾羅 is awesome) news on this ever so cool new issue of Famous Monsters:

YOU AXED FOR IT... and you got it! Last year’s "Colossal Kaiju Invasion" issue went over so big (it sold out before we even got them in stock!) that we’ve listened to your pleas and have brought the dream team back together for another run at the big boys. From GODZILLA and GAMERA to VARAN and the latest in the SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO/STARBLAZERS series, we cut right to the heart of the best in classic Japanese Monsters and Sci-Fi. August Ragone returns as contributing editor along with his all-star ota-krew, ready to drop knowledge in abundance. There will only be one cover for issue 262 by the master of giant monsters Bob Eggleton! 

this will be another awesome issue. order it from Captain Company now!

Statler and Waldorf

the two hecklers from the Muppet Show. when I first was watching it I really wanted to see these guys get their much deserved comeuppance. this did happen with Fozzy and a guest star (and I don't remember the comedian) in one of the seasons. that was very funny.

what is on a derby ref's mind

love the haircut, too!

from the awesome blog "You Picked a Fine Time To Leave me Loose Wheel", this is one of Electra Qtion's best drawings.  the blog is really great as well.

and as a derby ref, I can say it's all true, though some parts are more true than others.  I am not a jam ref, so I rarely get to look awesome doing that.  sure made me laugh, though.

Waynes World Foxy Lady

this is such a funny sequence. ever notice how when something resonates in real life it makes it funnier? Donna Dixon is a babe, I've liked her since "Bosom Buddies". hopefully I can find a clip from that show for later on.

Seven Alone (1974)

this is a movie I've never heard of or seen before.  it's based on a real life family that made it halfway across the country after their parents died along the way.

wow, what a happy movie!

actually, it's got a fair share of lighter moments, so it's not all gloom and doom.  the photography is really nice, all the Wyoming country shots are quite pretty.  the music is kind of nice, in that generic 70s soft rock sort of way, if you like that sort of thing.   bleah.

Jiminy Glick Interviews Tom Hanks

man, I really loved watching Jiminy on his own show. it was so off the wall, and off the cuff, and he played it so well. but when they made him into an actual movie I couldn't watch more than 20 minutes of it. the character couldn't take being fleshed out (so to speak).

Kung fu book

Just got this in the mail. It's pretty amazing so far.  I'll have a better review of it soon. it's from my era of kung fu movies, so I'm sure I'll love it.

Headcrusher vs Facepincher

I had forgotten how funny this skit was. this is always fun as well, if someone else knows about it. the Kids in the Hall were never quite as popular as SNL, but most of them are still acting.

green tentacled monster

these are from the movie "Equinox" which I watched, appropriately enough, on the spring equinox.  I chose the original version this time, since there are two.  it's shorter, which helps. though I feel the theatrical version is superior to the original cut.

Abbott & Costello - you're 40 she's 10

ha, not the bit you expected, was it? can't have too many skits on sports right away now, can we? this is another one of their really funny one. Bud and Lou tended to rely on more verbal humor than slapstick for their best bits.

Get A Life!

not the lame TV show from the 90s, this is one of the funniest skits on SNL ever. and best Star Trek themed one ever. there are so many golden moments here. this is one skit that just easily wrote itself, I would imagine. still, several of the cast had to be fans of the show, as they knew a lot of trivia.

Football or baseball

it's no secret that I think baseball is one of the most boring sports to watch. car racing and golf are close as well. anyway, there have been a couple of really funny baseball bits (Abbott and Costello will be here) and there's this:

Gatchaman 6 and 7

 6. The Great Mini-Robot Operation:

Galactor creates a lot of these cute little robots to steal gold bullion from around the world.  that must be how they afford all the nifty gadgets and henchmen.

Word Association

this is still incredibly funny. I doubt it would even be shown today at all. Chevy Chase can actually be funny with the right material and a good co-star. mostly his popularity mystifies me.

Ghostbusters - Adventures Of Louis

for our laughs today we feature Louis Tulley, the CPA in the building where Dana lives. brilliantly played by Rick Moranis, the part was originally supposed to go to John Candy. that would have been quite different, for sure.

'Josie and the Pussycats' Inspiration Josie DeCarlo Dies

this sad news came across the wire today.  Hanna-Barbera produced a lot of "kids and dog/cat/car/ghost/etc solve mysteries/etc" after Scooby Doo first aired in 1969, but Josie and the Pussycats (and it's sequel) were always my favorites of the bunch.  so in honor of the late Josie DeCarlo I'll be reviewing my favorite Josie episode.

Grumpy Old Man

it gets harder and harder to not sound like this grumpy old man. how sad is that? why, in my day, you couldn't watch videos whenever you wanted to, you had to stay up til all hours or set your alarm. by then you were bleary eyed with sleep and often times missed half of whatever it was you wanted to watch cause you went to the bathroom!

Evil Brain from Outer Space (1964)

the first time I saw this evil mutant was in the rather anemic "It Came from Hollywood" (1982).  that movie deserves it's own entry sometime in the future.

the clips of Starman battling this mutant were attributed to Atomic Rulers of the World, but since I had seen that movie, I knew there was no battle in it.  so I was puzzled.  in fact, even on wiki it's still attributed to that movie instead of the proper one, Evil Brain from Outer Space.  it would be several years before I finally got to see this movie.

The Kids from Caper - "Phantom of the Drive-In"

this is actually the third part of the episode. anyway, this show, "The Kids from C.A.P.E.R." ran on NBC starting in the fall of 1976. it was done by Don Kirshner, and fashioned after the Monkees. the Kids were sleuths and crime fighters, and told corny jokes and sang pleasant if bland and innocuous pop songs. it has a small and loyal following. the acronym was odd, as that fad had faded years before.

Brains... evil brains!

Time for some more Starman!

Ghostbusters - He Slimed Me

Venkman vs Slimer... it's odd how Slimer took over the Ghostbusters cartoon after a time, since he only had a couple of scenes in the first movie. anyway, this is one of the many great scenes in this movie. I saw it ten times in the summer of 1984, as that was the "go to" movie if I were down.

Docter Evil tells Scott to Zip it

I do enjoy the Austin Powers movies, but I liked the first one the best, when Austin was the joke, rather than being part of the ongoing story. there's a sweetness about the first one missing in the other two, even if they are funnier. and I'm no real fan of gross out humor, which became inexplicably popular about 1998 or so. ugh.

Prince Planet

Say, where's my dvd set of Prince Planet? this is from my phone, still figuring it out.

Three Brothers fight each other in Dragons Forever

I can only imagine what the Three Stooges would have been like had they been able to use kung fu. the carnage with all those weapons would be hilarious to watch. a three-sectional staff in Curly's hands... that's comedy gold there.

Tim Conway's Elephant Story

"The Carol Burnett Show" was a one of those shows that everyone watched when I was a kid. it was just something we all watched, kids and parents, usually together. when I watch clips now I am amazed at what they got away with that went over my head at the time. some of the sight gags are wonderful as well.

The Muppet Movie: Steve Martin Cameo

this is the way a cameo is supposed to work in a movie- where the guest star is funny, but adds to the movie instead of taking it over (see, or rather don't see "Mars Attacks" for example of bad cameos at work). Mr. Steve Martin works well with Kermit and Piggy.

Attack From Space (1964)

I have written about Starman before, but never reviewed an actual movie.  there are four, and I plan on doing a review of all of them.  I wish I had seen all of them while I was growing up, though.  I would have just loved them, though wondered why DC Comics hadn't gone after them, since they already had a "Starman" from the 40s.

this one is a good one (well, they are all pretty fun).  the Sapphireans are out to destroy the Earth while conquering the galaxy.  the men of the Emerald Planet send Starman out to stop them.  this DVD set is really great, and highly recommended.  August Ragone has some really informative notes which make it a must for any fan of the genre.

1966 Batman - The Bomb

I think they wrote the entire movie around this one joke. it's so funny. and that line is perfectly delivered. people who don't like this Batman just didn't get it at all.

Church Chat Oct 24, 1987

man, this is still funny to this day. and oddly enough, with certain presidential candidates, sounds far too familiar.

Caveman - Invention of Music

this is one of my favorite comedies. it even has a dinosaur in it, along with a "horned lizard" and a pteranodon. what more could you ask for? well, it's pretty darn funny as well.when I saw it the first time the theater was packed.

Whose Line: Colin Newsflash

I love both incarnations of "Whose Line is it Anyway?". enjoyed the British version when it was on Comedy Central, especially any time the wonderful Ms Josie Lawrence was on. she's still hot.

Gents Without Cents aka NIAGARA FALLS

it's always fun when someone says "Niagara Falls" and actually can say "slowly I turned, step by step..." this is a famous vaudeville bit, and has been done by Lucille Ball, Abbott and Costello and many others. none are quite as good as this one though. I suspect it's because I saw it first.

Destroy All Monsters blu ray

not from the blu ray release

just finished watching the movie and some of the extras on my first ever blu ray purchase.  fitting, since Destroy All Monsters was also my first DVD purchase.  I kind of like that, even though I am in general against the whole "double dipping" purchases.  but for this movie, I'll make an exception.  it is my favorite Godzilla movie.

the truth about Rachel

this was the best thing anyone ever said to Rachel on "Friends". I hadn't realized how evil she was until this particular moment, but Hugh Laurie says it succinctly and to the point. I still can't figure out why anyone would want to like her.

Bob and Doug in court

so the topic for the day is the movie. the McKenzie Boys starred in their own movie way back when and it's beauty. even got tricked got some good actors to be in it as well, eh. this scene is slightly reminiscent of the Three Stooges court scene from "Disorder in the Court" but no way would they ever copy anyone else eh.

The Young Ones - Hands Up, Who Likes Me?

"don't look at me, I'm irrelevant."

Davy Jones on the Brady Bunch

well, it's from a comedy tv series, so I think this little tribute to Davy Jones is fitting. he passed on yesterday.

Southern Knights #10

"Knights and Shining Armor"

the battle rages on between the Southern Knights and the Guardsmen, I mean the armored Viper agents.  one of them is called "Iron Maiden" which has to be an homage to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents character.  of course, put any woman in a metallic costume and that's pretty much the first name everyone is going to call her.

What Steve Martin Believes

this is so funny. some of the humor is a bit dated, but overall it holds up well. Mr. Steve Martin is so funny, I wish he still did stand up.

Ed Grimley gets a visit from the Devil

it's comedy month! this will feature one comedy bit every day, hopefully all of my favorites. and perhaps some of yours, give me a break!