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Reviews
Memento (2000)
a gimmick that works
Note that this is not at all the first film to use the ending first, play backwards or nonsequential. It's not even the first about a character with that particular mental condition. Memento distinguishes itself by being the first (to my knowledge) to use the form for an entirely narrative rather than artistic purpose, but that doesn't make it better than other similarly unfolding stories like The Green Wall .
Stripped of its gimmick, Memento is a very good although nonspectacular mystery thriller.
Let's Bowl (2001)
dark and edgy, and still funny
A wholesome bowling competition with themes of sausage and polka music serves as a front for a very strange comedy show.
Wally Hotvedt is a man broken by failed relationships, and he finds creative and disgusting ways to spiral into depression.
Chopper is his announcing partner, who is well-loved, friendly, but often cruel when it comes to taking advantage of people.
The Queen Pins--unlike their showgirl counterparts on other game shows such as the famous Barker's Beauties on the Price is Right--take to taunting the contestants rather than encouraging them.
Ernie Jansen is the straight man of the group, leading the music section which includes a rotating cast of oddball acts such as Manplanet and the World's Most Dangerous Polka Band.
The skits are always humorously disturbing, and not just shocking for the sake of stirring up controversy (like many FOX programs). Of course, with a show that skews reality like this some people will just be confused.
Psycho II (1983)
completely different
If you go into this movie expecting the original you'll probably be disappointed. It's just not the same, nor does it try to be. And as a horror movie (which Psycho was not) it comes off very well.
As a side note, I would have liked to see a film adaptation of Psycho II as Robert Bloch wrote it.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
smart and hilarious
Viewers love it and critics (or people trying to sound like critics) hate it or dislike it at the least. If you try to measure it against the first Gremlins movie you're going to miss out, because this movie spends far more time spoofing the original than imitating it.
Gremlins 2 uses the "throw everything out there and see what sticks" philosophy of comedy. It's depends what you find funny but I think far more of the jokes hit rather than miss. And it's an approach that nobody ever faulted the Marx brothers for using.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Really Spectacular, watch it again and look more closely
Naturally, this works as a great kids movie that can also be enjoyed by adults. The cartoon effects work really well.
On another level, this is a satire about racism. The Toons in this movie are the same as the jews, the blacks, or any group that has been persecuted at some point. They have their own little ghetto in Toon Town. The villians of this movie are the humans who want to do some ethnic cleansing. There's some ironic twists in the story that notably reflect the Nazi movement in Germany, but could be applied to any form of racism. Really a great and funny film that gets less credit than it deserves.
The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
My Uneducated Opinion
**MAY CONTAIN IMPLIED SPOILERS**First, I must comment on what a horrible performance Theron turned in here. Usually, I just try to enjoy movies without analyzing them, but she completely ruined the experience for me. Otherwise a slow movie with a few plotholes. I believe pure water doesn't conduct electricity unless it has some form of electrolyte like salt or chlorine in it, which tapwater does not, but I'm probably wrong on that.
This movie could have carried some intensity if not for the ending. For me, that is the part that turned the entire thing into another piece of garbage.
Saturday Night Live (1975)
Missed some can't-miss prospects
Everyone has said how great or bad this show is and how much worse it has gotten in the past few years, and I agree to some extent with everything. I just wanted to point out a few people who have been misused. They are mostly in the last decade, as earlier generations seemingly had much fewer cast members to waste.
McKinney, Walls, Kightlinger, Mohr, Fallon and others could have been a lot more famous than they are now if SNL used them as more than just extras. Even Chris Rock was hardly used except when the script called for a black man. McKinney had already proved himself on Kids in the Hall, so it would be easy for SNL to transfer some of that shows fanbase to them if only they utilized Mark's talent. Maybe it was their own fault for not being able to come up with usable characters. But SNL really missed out on some of those.