It's kind of weird to wake up, eat breakfast, and go into my home office for a film festival. Here's what I watched on the last day of this year's Charlie Chaplin Days. The Whiz Bang Talent Show, Trivia Quiz, Lookalike Contest and Goodtime Hour! As with Saturday, I started with a 10:00am Zoom event. … Continue reading The Last Charlie Chaplin Days of 2020
Category: Comedy
Saturday “at” Charlie Chaplin Days
There are problems with virtual film festivals. You don't run into old friends or meet new ones. And when you get up and walk out of the theater, you just might enter a kitchen needing to be cleaned. Nevertheless, here it goes. Meet David Robinson I started my viewing at 10:00am on Zoom with a … Continue reading Saturday “at” Charlie Chaplin Days
Crime and comedy in Lucky Grandma
B+ Comedy thriller Written by Angela Cheng and Sasie Sealy Directed by Sasie Sealy It's rare for a comedy to turn into a thriller - especially a thriller that forces you to feel the losses that result from violence. And yet, writer/director Sasie Sealy manages that task with surprising flare. But she couldn't have done … Continue reading Crime and comedy in Lucky Grandma
Saul Bass and the Big Comedies
Before Saul Bass, a film's opening credits were something to get done with as fast as possible (yes, and now the closing credits seem to go on forever). But Bass changed that in the 1950s. Using animation, slow motion, soft focus, and every trick in the printer, he made those credits fun, or exciting, or … Continue reading Saul Bass and the Big Comedies
Comedy bargains at VUDU
You need to laugh in times like these. Vudu, one of the major pay-per-view streaming services, is offering 43 comedies at low prices. For April, you can rent one of these movies for $2. If you like one of them enough, you can own the streamer for $7. But for the most part, these aren't … Continue reading Comedy bargains at VUDU
The alleged Mick Travis trilogy…but mostly about O Lucky Man
When is a trilogy a trilogy, and when is it just three different movies? The Lord of the Rings is clearly a trilogy. John Ford's cavalry is just three westerns set amongst horse soldiers. The Criterion Channel is currently offering what they're calling Lindsay Anderson's Mick Travis Trilogy. The films: If…. (1968) O Lucky Man! … Continue reading The alleged Mick Travis trilogy…but mostly about O Lucky Man
The humor comes from real life in Come As You Are
A- Comedy road movie Written by Erik Linthorst Directed by Richard Wong Three youngish, disabled men take a road trip to lose their virginity. Why a road trip? They discovered the existence of a brothel in Montreal that caters to men with disabilities. They also need to get away from their over-protective parents. This is … Continue reading The humor comes from real life in Come As You Are
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, & George Cukor give us a Holiday – thanks to Criterion’s new Blu-ray
The 1938 romantic comedy Holiday doesn't seem quite crazy enough to be called a screwball. The laughs don't pile up the way other such comedies of the period do. But it has something else - a believable romance between intelligent people discussing their lives and their loves, and how they became the people they are. … Continue reading Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, & George Cukor give us a Holiday – thanks to Criterion’s new Blu-ray
Marriage Story is all about the divorce
A- Comedic drama Written & directed by Noah Baumbach This sad, heartwarming, and yet deeply funny film should be called Divorce Story. You know from the start that the marriage is over. If you've ever gone through a divorce, especially if there are children involved, you'll recognize the events and the emotions. In fact, you'll … Continue reading Marriage Story is all about the divorce
Keaton’s Our Hospitality on a new Blu-ray
Three years before he made The General, Buster Keaton mined the antebellum South for comic gold in this almost gentle comedy inspired by the Hatfield/McCoy feud. Our Hospitality places Buster in the home of a family sworn to kill him. What keeps him alive? The cordial Southern manners that forbid murdering a guest in your own home. … Continue reading Keaton’s Our Hospitality on a new Blu-ray
