Bamboozled (New Line Platinum Series) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I finally saw this film recently after reading an editorial that mentioned this film in regards to how the racial stereotypes perpetuated in Minstrel shows continue this day in any rap video you see. This film is a much needed eye opener, a satire with a deeper message. The use of satire is often necessary to bring to people's attention the underlying truth that most cannot accept at face value. This film perfectly draws out on our society's racism and race relations.
A few years ago, I remember coming across an advertisement for a Minstrel show that my church congregation put on in the 1950s. Considering that there are few African American members of my church to begin with, it was a complete shock to me who these nice elderly people could do such a thing. With "Bamboozled", Spike concludes the film with an excellent montage of images from movies, TV shows, cartoons that all featured the worst stereotypes of African Americans as bug-eyed, big lipped, ants-in-pants, cannibalistic animals, who sang and dance, shucked and jived, all kinds of terrible traits. These images were taken from Shirley Temple movies and films with Bing Crosby, Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland. It was an eye opener. Even Warner Brothers cartoons of my recent youth (1970s) contained racist images in the guise of Bugs Bunny in some of his antics.
I've been meaning to watch all of Spike Lee's films someday, as I like the statements he tries to make in his films. He has amassed an interesting body of work, though some were more successful than others. For me, "Malcolm X" and "Do The Right Thing" are his best works, and this one would be third, ahead of "Jungle Fever". I loved the performance of Michael Rapaport as the cool talking head honcho of CNS Television, who has an expressive way with words and sounds more "black" than the faux intellectual nerdiness of Damon Wayans, who plays Pierre Delacroix, which we learn in the film is a pretentious name he gives himself to distance himself from an embarrassing past. I also liked Jada Pinkett Smith in this film, as Delacroix's assistant who doesn't agree with the direction he's taking with his show idea.
The premise is that Delacroix can't quit his job, so he comes up with a plan to make the most racist show he can imagine that will cause CNS to fire him. He proposed a new Minstrel Show for the New Millennium, featuring two African American street performers (the excellent Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover) in black face make up. Rapaport's Mr. Dunwitty loves the idea and claims that the show would be even bigger than "Friends". They shoot the pilot show to an unsuspecting audience who don't know if its okay to laugh. Tommy Davidson plays "Sleep n Eat" and Savion Glover plays Mantan, the tap dancing idiot. Their variety show features schtick anyone who has ever seen "Hee Haw" would be familiar with...lame brain one liners, idiot people, and exaggerated stereotypes.
The satire is that the studio execs love the show and pick up 12 episodes, and when it airs on TV, it becomes an instant smash show. Soon audiences are showing up each week in black face and proclaiming their pride in being "n------", even though nearly all of them are white. The film is so over the top, poking fun at our double standards (how many claim not to be racist because they listen to rap or watch basketball). The truth is...we expect African Americans to entertain us (in music and sports), but beyond that, we don't take them seriously as people. True, the hip hop community is quite influential in the language and style of our advertising and pop culture, but how many African American CEOs and Mayors and Governors and Senators are there? In the financial matters of our country, we still impose a glass ceiling on anyone not part of the white male demographic...so what is our minstrel show of today? Spike Lee made a point in the commentary track that you don't have to wear black face to have a minstrel show. It goes on without people being aware of it. For that reason, I'm grateful he made this film. Just seeing the disgusting collectibles from the past century (such as the "jolly n----- bank" or the Aunt Jemima dolls) is a reminder of our racist past. We mustn't forget even as we move on to greater inclusion and burying old stereotypes, allowing people to be who they are regardless of race.
I want to give this film 5 stars, but because the film veers into a strange tangent for about 10 minutes near the end of the film, I simply thought Spike Lee got lazy with how he wanted to end this film. It was a cheap and lazy way to go, even though he explains his reason on the commentary track. I disagree, because if done right, his ending would have punched up the meaning of this film. I'm at least glad that the montage at the end saved this film on a somewhat redeeming note. If anything, this film serves as a reminder of our recent history and how overt racism really was. The film succeeds as an awakening to the forms into which the Minstrel Show of the last century has morphed into something a little bit different, but accomplishing the same devastating effect. I know I'll never be able to look at another rap video in the same way again. Thank you Spike Lee!

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Spike Lee directs this sizzling satire on race and racism within the modern media world. Starring Damon Wayons (Major Payne TV's In Living Color) and Jada Pinkett-Smith (Set It Off Scream 2 The Nutty Professor)Running Time: 136 min.System Requirements:Starring: Damon Wayans Jada Pinkett-Smith Michael Rapaport Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover.Directed By: Spike Lee.Running Time: 136 Min. Color.This film is presented in "Widescreen" format.Copyright 2000 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:COMEDY Rating:R UPC:794043519727

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Team America: World Police - Unrated (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Trey Parker and Matt Stone have a unique ability to blend the nuanced with the obvious, to mix cerebral humor with cheap sight gags and fart jokes. If this appeals to you (watch an episode of "South Park" if you are unsure), and you don't mind having your sacred cows slaughtered and made into taco fillings, this film is a must-see --for repeated viewings.
Mad dictator Kim Jong Il plans to subvert Hollywood and become the megaproliferant of the stars. Who can stop him? Only Team America, a gang of ultra-right wing marionettes who think Rush Limbaugh is suspiciously liberal. But don't fret, conservatives: Hollywood pinkos and Michael Moore take a beating, too. Nothing is sacred to Parker and Stone.
Puppets were a mad choice for a medium, but they are done hysterically. I don't know what had me laughing more, the whiskey glass soldered to the team leader's hand, or the thought of the splinters and friction fire from marionette sex!
The sound track alone makes this film worth it. "Freedom isn't Free" could have been a real country hit and Kim singing "I'm so ronery" had my wife blowing her cola out her nose in the theater!
If you are straight-laced, have a poor sense of humor and can't admit it, or can't laugh at yourself, this may not be you're film. If you've got a slightly warped sense of humor, you'll love this!

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In TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, a group of marionette puppets form Team America, an international police force dedicated to maintaining global stability. Discovering that a power hungry dictator, Kim Jong II, plans to destroy the world and is brokering weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, the team enlists the undercover help of Broadway star Gary Johnston and embarks on a harrowing mission to save the world.Opposed to this, is the Film Actors' Guild, or F.A.G., whose members include puppets representing actors Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.In spite of the lack of support they receive, the team sticks to their plan of saving the world and putting an end to terrorism.

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Wonder Showzen - Season Two (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)You're hard-pressed to find genuine avant-garde on television, but this definitely counts. Wonder Showzen has made me laugh harder than anything in my entire life, except perhaps George Carlin.
A few of the episodes in Season 2 have very low re-play value, and are almost as annoying as they are inventive, but even they are worth watching once. The rest, however, are keepers through and through. (And the same could be said for Season 1, too, actually.)
(Also: one of the reviewers compared the Clarence's "word on the street" routines with Tom Greene and some other flavor-of-the-month's "word on the street" bits, but this is not a very apt comparison, for reasons that will quickly become clear after watching them.)

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The absurdist comedy of Wonder Showzen is back with all of your favorites in nauseatingly delightful abundance-the puppets, the cartoons, the kids, the madness.Relive all those Saturday mornings spent in front of the tube in your jammies, with a demented twist of course, as Chauncey, Wordsworth, Clarence and the gang deliver more smartly subversive fun.Sing along now, "Kids show….. kids show……"

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Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" is a meta-musical, because unlike "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" it works best based upon your knowledge of the original cinematic text, anti-drug propaganda, and certain aspects of 20th century American history. In the 1936 film "Reefer Madness" a school principal tells a group of parents the cautionary tale of two high school kids, Bill Harper and Mary Lane, who attend a party at the apartment of shady adults Jack and Mae where joints are given away free to get the kids hooked. Mary's kid brother Jimmy runs somebody down high on weed and Jack ends up framing Bill for shooting Mary.
For "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" the story remains basically the same, although now the Bill and Jimmy are combined so the kid in trouble is now Jimmy "the Cannibis Killer" Harper (Christian Campbell), which is an economical change. But the more significant change is that instead of an academic figure the lecture is now given by a person (Alan Cumming) with obvious but unnamed connections to the forces of government who are overly concerned with the need for vigilance. Although much is made of William Randolph Heart's efforts to stomp our marijuana because hemp producers threatened his logging interests, the lecturer is decidedly a figure of the 1950s in terms of fear mongering, casting aspirations regarding patriotism, and emphasizing decency. One of the best elements in the film's satire has an audience member taking exception to some wild claim that the lecturer has made. But every time Mr. Kochinski (Stephen E. Miller) finds something far fetched, the lecturer hits back by quoting cold hard "facts" from Heart's newspaper.
For me the part where I knew that creators Kevin Murjphy and Dan Studney were cooking with grass in this one was when they took the scene from early in the original, where Jimmy and Mary are doing their adolescent take on some lines from "Romeo & Juliet," and turn it into a running joke because Mary (Kristin Bell) is a blonde this time, which means she does not know it is a tragedy and keeps hoping that she and Jimmy end up with the same sort of happy ending Shakespeare wrote about (Jimmy assures her they have six kids). Bell provides the standout performance in the musical, which surprised me a bit because she was so lackluster at the Emmy Awards this year. No wonder they make sure her character is around for the big finish even though she is dead (being happy but hemorrhaging blood will do that to you).
Overall the production numbers are better than the songs, which means you will be more interested in watching "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy" or "Little Mary Sunshine" over and over again than in singing along (there are not subtitles for the DVD but you can turn on close captioning to get the lyrics if you insist on doing so). Beyond the two leads, both of whom are reprising their original off-Broadway roles, the rest of the cast gets to pop up in supporting roles throughout the show, so keep an eye out for that. The cast includes Steven Weber as Jack, Ana Gasteyer as Mae, John Kassir as Ralph (the piano player who laughs maniacally at the drop of a hat), Amy Spanger as Sally ("She fell down!"), Christian's kid sister Neve Campbell as Miss Poppy, and Robert Torti as Jesus. Kassir and Torti are the other two original cast members (although the other roles played by Torti are now done by Weber).
The original "Reefer Madness" is included on this DVD, so you can (re)familiarize yourself with the source material (I had already rented the original on a DVD that also included "Marijuana" and "Assassin of Youth," but I appreciate the effort). There is also SHOWTIME's short featurette on the history of the musical and the cable version, and a commentary track with directory Andy Rickman, producers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and cast members Christian Campbell and Amy Spanger. Throw in the requisite Cast Biographies, Photo Gallery, and Coming Soon trailers for more SHOWTIME original movies and programming. Be aware that the CD out there is for the off-Broadway show and not the soundtrack for this version.

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Based on the propaganda film from 1936 that has become a cult hit, Reefer Madness is the height of camp entertainment! Framed as a "documentary", a straight-laced high school principal (Alan Cumming) seeks to impart his wisdom about the demon weed by telling a frightful tale about the fate of two innocent teens who fall under the spell of the drugs. Filled with outrageously funny and musical performances by Neve Campbell, Christian Campbell, Kristen Bell and Steven Weber, Reefer Madness is the feel good event of the year!

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Moral Orel, Vol. 1, The Unholy Edition (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's from Common Sense Media:
"Created by Dino Stamatopoulos, a writer known for his regular contributions to adult comedy shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien and TV Funhouse, this sinfully clever stop-motion series packs a wallop of a message in a short amount of time -- and, in essence, that's part of the problem. In fact, so much controversial humor peppers the show's 15-minute run that the shock value of the humor could overshadow the program's subtle message.
So while adults are more likely to see MORAL OREL for what it is -- a biting social satire mocking religious fundamentalism and hypocrisy within the Christian church -- kids (even some older teens) probably won't be able to appreciate the true sophistication of the humor. (And in case you were wondering, young children definitely won't get the joke.)
Borrowing its distinctive animation style from classic Rankin-Bass shows like Davey and Goliath, Moral Orel follows the often-shocking misadventures of 11-year-old Orel Puppington (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence), a devoutly Christian boy who tries his best to live life by "the book" but often misinterprets God's teachings. Week after week, Orel's good intentions lead to disaster.
But instead of learning from his mistakes, Orel is usually led astray by his pseudo-reflective father, Clay (Scott Adsit), whose advice is rarely helpful and always misses the mark. For example, at the end of an episode chronicling Orel's brief addiction to crack cocaine, Mr. Puppington cautions Orel that crack "is a gateway to slang," prompting the boy to solemnly vow: "When I do drugs, I'm going to speak properly." Parents should be aware that those are the types of "lessons" kids could inadvertently learn from watching this show.
Fans of Moral Orel will undoubtedly enjoy South Park and will probably also get a kick out of revisiting old episodes of Davey and Goliath for some pointed comparisons. Other recommendations include Strangers with Candy, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons."
And a Common Sense Note states:
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that while this satirical Cartoon Network comedy is animated, it's part of the Adult Swim line-up for a reason: It's rife with graphic humor and isn't appropriate for young children. (For example, when the 11-year-old Orel takes a drag from his very first crack pipe, he snaps at his talking Jesus figurine and tells him to shut up.) Troubling content aside, however, the show can serve as a way for parents and older teens to talk about the pitfalls of religious fanaticism -- although families who are deeply religious may find the program offensive.
Families can discuss the ways in which religious dogma can be misinterpreted by those with good intentions. Does a person who is considered to be religious always act morally? What statement are the creators of this series making about the state of modern-day Christianity? How does this cartoon compare with Davey and Goliath, the early 1960s animated series it gently parodies?

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In Moral Orel, a 15-minute stop-motion, animated series created by Dino Stamatopoulos, Orel, an 11-year-old boy who loves church, just wants to do God's work. His unbridled enthusiasm for piousness and his misinterpretations of religious morals, however, often lead to disastrous results - including self-mutilation and crack addiction. But no matter how much trouble he gets into, his reverence and faith keep him cheery to the bitter end. The DVD contains 15 uncensored episodes from the first and second seasons, along with all-new uncensored bonus materials! DVD Features:Additional ScenesFeaturette:Behind-the-scenes FeaturetteOther:God's Chef - Director's Cut Unedited Version Original Opening Credit animation End Credit Animation

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Reno 911 - The Complete Third Season (Uncensored) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Comedy Central's Reno 911 is one of those rare shows that shouldn't work, and yet it surprisingly does. As the third season of the show opens, the inept officers of the Reno, Nevada sheriff's department are freed from prison and leading new lives, only to be re-united again and eventually re-instated as cops, much to their dismay. The improvised jokes and gags come as fast and furious as a long time fan of the show would come to expect, yet pretty much everything here still manages to feel fresh. Thomas Lennon (Dangle) and Robert Garant (Junior) are still the funniest attractions of Reno 911, and even when a new recruit (Mary Birdsong) joins the force, the show still keeps rolling along. There's plenty of other hilarity that ensues throughout the season, including Weigel (Kerry Kinney-Silver) planning to wed her serial killer boyfriend; not letting a little thing like him sitting on death row spoil her plans of matrimony. All in all, the third season of Reno 911 only improves everything that the surprising Comedy Central hit has laid out, and while these cops are definitely not the best, you can't deny that they're not the funniest.

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Buckle up for another ride with the officers of Reno Nevada’s Sheriff’s Department in this third season DVD of the hit Comedy Central Series.From a stint in prison to an accidental cat killing to close encounters of the S.A.R.S. kind, you can expect nothing but foolish choices and utter mediocrity from these hapless law enforcers!

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The Color of Magic (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the second attempt to make a movie out of a Terry Pratchett novel and it succeeds rather well. In this case, the movie is based on the first two novels in the 'Discworld' series, 'The Colour of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic'.
Rincewind (David Jason), an inept wizard, is expelled from Unseen University. On a dare, he snuck a look at the Octavo, the book used to create the world, and one of the eight great spells lodged in his head.
At the same time, Twoflower (Sean Astin) arrives in Ankh-Morpork to "look at it". He's the Discworld's first tourist and he travels with the Luggage, a box made of sapient pearwood that moves about on hundreds of little legs and will follow it's owner everywhere.
After conning Twoflower, Rincewind is dragged to the Patrician's palace and ordered by Lord Vetinari (Jeremy Irons) to guide Twoflower safely through the city.
Twoflower, introducing the concept of fire insurance to Ankh-Morpork, inadvertently causes the entire city to burn down and he and Rincewind escape and Rincewind is plunged into several life threatening situations which he survives by sheer luck.
The good parts of this movie are Jeremy Irons as the Patrician and Tim Curry as Ymper Trymon, second in command of one of the eight orders of wizardry at the university. Both play their roles with relish and Curry's performance is as good, if not better, than that of Cardinal Richelieu in 'The 3 Musketeers'.
The bad parts? Well, a lot of the good scenes in both novels are left out. There is no travelling shop, no Hrun the Barbarian, no flying rock and no Tethis the sea troll. There is also no gingerbread cottage or broomstick flying.
Also, they unfortunately chose a white actor to portray Twoflower, when it's made clear in both 'The Colour of Magic' and 'Interesting Times' that Twoflower is Chinese. A real shame, but Sean Astin does a fantastic job at portraying Twoflower's attitude of looking at the world through rose coloured glasses.
And they got Cohen the Barbarian's (David Bradley) teeth wrong.
Although this movie takes a while to get going, it does get funnier as it goes along and there are some great one-liners. "I am having a near Rincewind experience."
Christopher Lee reprises the voice of Death, as he did in the animated versions of 'Soul Music' and 'Wyrd Sisters' and he has some of the best parts in the movie.
Aside from the little annoyances, the movie is quite good, the actors are superb, it's got all the wittiness you'd expect from Pratchett, and I loved it.

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Inside a magical realm known as Discworld, a naive tourist is on holiday until a terrible fire breaks out, forcing him to flee along with an incompetent wizard.As the clueless pair set out on a magical journey across the disc, neither realizes that they are merely pawns in an elaborate board game being played by the Gods. After encountering a pair of barbarians, they take a trip to an inverted mountain housing dragons that only exist in imagination, survive a fall off the edge of the disc and attempt to beat the wizard\'s former classmate to a collection of spells that could save Discworld from total destruction.

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TRAILER PARK BOYS - SEASON 7 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 7th and possibly final season of Trailer Park Boys has some bizarre moments that top anything that has come before. The presence of Sebastian Bach alone signals hilarious trouble. The loss of Trevor and Cory is handled well enough (Twiggy Alien Cory does an admirable job, but it's Philadelphia Collins that really creates some laughs with his huge belly and love of greasy burgers).
Bubbles loses his mind bit by bit and some episodes end with great "what the heck??!!" moments. All in all, it's a shame this could be the end of the show, but only because they were still capable of creating consistently funny episodes leading to a great closing episode.

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Julian, Ricky and Bubbles are at it again! Season 7 revolves around the Boysâ cross-border shenanigans: the cheap price of dope in Canada means the guys have to look for opportunities south of the border to make a profit. Bubbles decides he needs a hobby and starts collecting model trains. At a train convention he meets Sebastian Bach, ex-frontman of Skid Row, guest starring as himself. Bach likes Ricky's dope, and is willing to pay a premium for it if the Boys can deliver it to him in the States. Country music singer George Canyon stars as a forest ranger in hot pursuit of the Boys as they hatch a scheme to sell dope in the U.S.

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The Life of Python (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great way to become aware(or re-aware) of just how great the Pythons still are. There are plenty of clips and new interviews with all of them which are informative and funny. There's even on-set footage of "Holy Grail" and a so-so 10 min May Day film. The best parts though, are the new skits performed by the Pythons(except Idle), a Palin tour through Pythonland, and one of the German episodes of the Flying Circus. It's great to see that they have not lost their ability to be completely irreverent and silly, and it's neat to see what the spots where they filmed their most famous skits look like now. Also the German episode is surprisingly one of the funnier episodes of Circus I've seen. Unfortunately this DVD does have a few flaws that keep it from being the fitting tribute that they deserve. First of all, what is Meatloaf doing on here? They could have at least found someone who has something to do with Python to do this-like Steve Martin or Kevin Kline. I don't even want to think of Meatloaf, then alone see his ugly mug on a Python tribute. Also this was made by A&E, who put absolutely NO effort into their DVD's. Why is the other German episode not included? I know it's in German, but I CAN READ SUBTITLES. The fact that they have a second DVD that has nothing but a 42 minute episode on it is ridiculous. This DVD may have flaws, but it is definately worth getting because, unless by some miracle they all decide to give it one last try, this is the best we're going to get.

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The Life of Python--exclusive new material and classic bits! VOLUME 1: "Its...The Monty Python Story"--This outrageous BBC Productioncelebrates 30 years of Python with new Monty Python sketches, a plethora of guestappearances and the funniest funeral you’ll ever attend. VOLUME 2: "A Veritable Potpourri of Python" contains: *Pythonland--Journey with Michael Palin in search of the locations where the best- known Python sketches were shot. *The Lost Python Mayday Special--A fun and fusty relic from the 1971 Pan EuropeanMay Day Festival, freshly dug from the BBC rubbish bin.*From Spam to Sperm: MontyPython’s Greatest Hits--Sing along with Meat Loaf, the songs we were grounded forsinging as kids. *Exclusive animated South Park tribute. VOLUME 3: "Monty Python’s Fliegender Zirkus #2"--One of the famous "lost" Germanepisodes never before available in the U.S.Yes, Monty Python is funny in German!

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Masters of Horror: Joe Dante - Homecoming (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm amused by the reviews here--from either political side--that take this as anything more than what it is. IT IS A HIGHLY ENTERTAINING SATIRE! I do not ascribe to the political beliefs put forth by this piece, that has never been a prerequisite to good entertainment. But is it funny?--oh, YES! Highly recommended as one of the finest Masters of Horror segments. Whether your Republican, Democrat, or completely uninterested in politics--this is an amusing poke at the political process taken to absurd proportions. I swear it won't corrupt or subvert you.

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It’s a few weeks before the Presidential election and an unpopular war still rages overseas. But when the Republican administration wishes that our dead troops could return to tell America how proud they were to serve their country, veterans begin to rise from their flag-draped coffins for the most horrific reason of all: to vote.Are they gloriously resurrected heroes or braindead zombie dissidents? And even if the administration can devise the proper spin in time to steal their re-election, will an army of men and women killed for a lie finally show our nation the true face of hell? Jon Tenney (THE CLOSER), Thea Gill (QUEER AS FOLK) and Robert Picardo (STAR TREK:VOYAGER) star in this provocative stunner from director Joe Dante (GREMLINS,THE HOWLING, PIRANHA) that The Village Voice calls "jaw-dropping…easily one of the most important political films of the era!"

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Drawn Together - Season 2 (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's great. One of the few shows willing to push the envelope and still maintain integrity and deliver an excellent moral message. Seriously, though, this show is awesome - it's witty and always fresh, and I've never seen an episode that dragged, if anything they may have put in too many jokes. If they don't come back with another season I may have to go to Comedy Central and stab Carlos Mencia in the eyeball.

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Drawn Together is back for an outrageous second season. This time around we answer almost all of the unanswered questions left by season one; like what happens when an Asian battle monster tries to drive a car, can animation and live action co-exist peacefully and what’s that smell in Captain Hero’s closet?. Remember, this is the incredible true story of eight cartoons from all walks of life who have to deal with each others quirks, differences and insane necrophilia fantasies. From Clara, the racist fairy tale princess, to Foxxy Love, the sassy, sexy musician to Woldoor Sockbat the... whatever he is, these housemates fast learn the art of loving, punching and coming dangerously close to copyright infringement.So sit back, grab some snacks, maybe some tissues (you know why) and let Drawn Together soothe what’s left of your souls.

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American Virgin (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I always like to say that it is best to review a movie in the context of what it is trying to be. I have a different set of expectations for a Hollywood Blockbuster than I do for something from the Sundance Film Festival and I have a different set of expectations from a romantic comedy and an erotic thriller.
Unfortunately, I don't think that American Virgin knows what it wants to be. Given the Cast (Mena Suvari, Bob Hoskins, Robert Loggia) one might expect a sophisticated comedy. Given the subject matter and setting (a porn producer fighting his rival for the film rights to his daughter's deflowering) as well as the supporting cast (several actual actors from the worlds of porn and erotica) one might expect a campy late-night, Cinemax sexual slapstick. The Trailer and description suggest a dark comedy about sexuality in American society. The film tries to be all of these at times and ends up falling short constantly.
As a serious comedy, it immediately fails. Suvari apparently made this film before her break through roles (in fact, its original title, "Live Virgin" was apparently changed to capitalize on her success in "American Pie" and "American Beauty", both far better films). Hoskins and Loggia have both performed a slew of better roles. The film simply isn't as well plotted and performed as one might hope a mainstream comedy would be.
As a titillating farce the film equally fails. The comedy tries to alternate between situational ironies, one-line zingers, visual sight-gags and slapstick hijinks. Its failure to commit to one and follow through causes confusion in the viewer and calls attention to the films other failures and inconsistencies. In a lower budget film, these failures might be covered up through the misdirection of constant nudity or frequent sexual interludes, but contrary to what one might think upon reading a synopsis of this film, there is only brief nudity (by characters that one wouldn't even consider in supporting roles) and only the smallest hint of sex or eroticism (it almost doesn't bare mentioning).
Most disappointing is the films inability to be the dark and poignant comedy that given the subject matter it could have been. There is a message of social commentary buried deep (very deep) inside all of the other non-sense that occurs. But it is only barely explored and all but lost amid the confusion of the rest of the film.
I won't go so far as to give the film a 1, because there are a few laughs to held, and because the film is trying to do something somewhat ambitious. I can't recommend it as any more of a curiosa worth owning to complete Suvari's trifecta of virginal roles with the word American in the title or as a film worth dissecting in a fit of boredom. It is truly sad that this couldn't be so much more.

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AMERICAN VIRGIN - DVD Movie

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'Allo 'Allo - The Complete Series Five, Part 2 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I like watching this with a glass of wine late at nite in the dark. No one will watch it with me and that is ok.It is a spoof of ww 2 occupied france. The jokes are broad and the stereotypes are over the top but I don't care it is funny in the silliest way. Everybody in france seems to want to get down rene's pants. ( Which is so ludricrus and hilarious because rene is bald, chubby and kinda whiney.Even a certian german officer who acts so gay you wonder if it is a put on to get ahead constantly comes onto him. Some of the gags get old like the bad dressing in drag, but most do not. Like Officer crabtree butchering the french language .

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Rene Artois is a man on the run. Acting as a pawn for the French Resistance, he spends his days running from the Gestapo, the Generals, and naturally, from all of the women who desperately yearn for his affection. But unfortunately for Rene, he is also running out of time! If he wants to make it out of France alive, he must fake the death of the undertaker, fit a million Francs down Lieutenant Gruber's trousers, and diffuse a bomb disguised as a Christmas pudding. But will Rene's own antics catch up with him when he least expects it? Or is he quick enough to elude his friends and enemies before its too late? Find out in this hilarious BBC comedy classic!

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Smothered - The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 2002 documentary "The Great Smothers Brothers Censorship Wars" tells the story of how one of the most popular comedy variety shows on television in the Sixties went to far and was axed by the network. Tom and Dick Smothers were a popular comedy and folk singing team: Tommy played both the guitar and the role of dullard while Dick played bass, sang the tenor parts in the arrangement, and tried unsuccessfully to keep his brother in line. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" first aired on February 5, 1967 going up against the #1 show on television, "Bonanza." The show finished 16th in the Nielsens and helped knock the Cartwrights out of the top spot the following season. The show was a hit with younger viewers, who liked the irreverence of the show, which poked fun at every sacred cow they could find, aided and abetted by Pat Paulsen's "editorials."
As this documentary shows, the Smothers Brothers were having trouble getting things past the CBS censors almost from the start. When Paulsen ran a joke campaign for the presidency, CBS kept him off the air fearing the real candidates would demand equal time, but the two key blows were an appearance by folk singing legend Pete Seger, who sang the Vietnam protest song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and a pair of comedy "sermons" by comedian David Bernstein. The technical reason for canceling the show was the failure to provide a tape on time to be cleared by the censors, but the motivation was clearly the anti-war, left-wing, and outspoken guest stars. Tommy Smothers could yell about the First Amendment all he wanted, but in the end CBS replaced the show with "Hee Haw," a lesson that was lost on no one at the time, which was, you should remember, Richard Nixon's first term in the White House.
The documentary is fairly balanced, with talking heads from both sides, some of which will be recognizable to young viewers (e.g., Steve Martin, a Smo Bro writer). For those of us who fondly remember Leigh French, Bob Einstein, and Mason Williams, this is a nice walk down memory lane, albeit through some bad times. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was my favorite television show and when we left for Japan where my father was stationed it was the last television show I watched the night before the flight over. The documentary does assume that you know about the comedy of the Smothers Brothers, because that takes a back seat to the behind the camera conflicts between CBS and Tommy Smothers. Of course, in the television climate of today with what is available on cable the problems of the Smothers Brothers seems rather nostalgic, but there is still a chilling aspect to the tale when you recall the protests against the war, the assassinations of Kennedy and King, and the movement against dissent by the establishment at the end of that decade.
The great irony of course was that it was CBS that would be the network that would decide to air "All in the Family," which both ushered in an age of "relevant" prime time programming and constituted a de facto absolution for Tommy Smothers. Unfortunately, when the Smothers Brothers were let back on the air (on NBC) they were produced by Joe Hamilton, Carol Burnett's husband, who tried to force them into the mold of his wife's successful comedy variety show. By the time Tommy took over the producer's role the show was doomed by the half dozen shows he put on at the end were as fine as anything the format had seen and I am glad that when I met him several years ago I was able to tell him exactly that.

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An incredible slice of America’s media and pop-culture history, SMOTHERED tells the story of the censorship struggles of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the Emmy Award winning television program, broadcast on CBS from 1967 until it was prematurely stru

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The Best of Primetime Glick (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Primetime Glick" has got to be one of the stranger spin-off ideas in television history: a character rescued from the short-lived "Martin Short Show" gets a late-night-style interview show on Comedy Central and makes it big. In it, Martin Short plays the title character, an overweight, hyperactive, half-fawning, half-obtuse interviewer that sits down with one or two of Hollywood's biggest comedic talents every week for interviews that are played as real - as long as the interviewees can keep from laughing.
In this collection, we get five episodes from the first season (2001) of "Primetime Glick" which actually amounts to half the season. Why they couldn't just give us the first five episodes of the season instead is beyond me - maybe they're using the release to gauge consumer interest. Anyway, along with four really funny episodes featuring Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Dennis Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, Janeane Garofalo, basketball star John Salley, Conan O'Brien, Eugene Levy - and a surprisingly bad episode featuring Kathy Lee Gifford and Darrell Hammond doing his "SNL" Dick Cheney - the disc also includes added material from the Seinfeld, Martin, Gifford, O'Brien and Garofalo interviews (in some cases longer and funnier than the stuff that was put in the episode) and a few other goodies from Comedy Central - a "Glick" segment featuring Julia-Louis Dreyfus, a "South Park" segment and a "Crank Yankers" segment.
In all, this show has been a pleasant surprise treat for me, and I was pleased at how good the DVD was given the rather low price. I hope that Comedy Central will get around to releasing full seasons at some point, but until they do, this is a surprisingly good "Best of" collection.

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Item Name: The Best of Primetime Glick; Studio:Comedy Central

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The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is black comedy, a devastatingly funny, satiric look at "reality" TV a la Jerry Springer, with crazed guests and equally crazed backstage doings at a TV show. Jennifer Saunders is sensational, and all others in the marvelous cast are also brilliant. Each episode of the six can be enjoyed by itself, but it's best to see them all in sequence. The last episode is the best half-hour I've ever seen on TV.

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LIFE AND TIMES OF VIVIENNE VYLE:SSN1 - DVD Movie

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Creature Comforts America - The Complete Season One (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Creature Comforts" comes from the same company that produces the wonderful claymation "Wallace & Gromit" shorts and movies like "Chicken Run." Episodes consisted of scenes of claymation animals speaking with the voices of regular people talking about their everyday lives.
A British version has become very popular in the UK but unfortunately the American version just didn't catch on. CBS pulled the series after only three weeks on the air due to low ratings.
Why? The show wasn't really intended for kids and I suspect many adults didn't watch it because they thought that it was for children. A producer on the series also shared with me that the length of the show (30 minutes) might have been a problem. The UK episodes are about 10 minutes long which may be the ideal length for something like this.
The project took months and months to complete so it's nice that the fans and general public will now have a chance to see all seven episodes.


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CREATURE COMFORTS AMERICA:SEASON ONE - DVD Movie

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