Angie Tribecca Season 1 on Hulu (Good Lockdown Binge Watch)

I was looking for an easy binge-watch on Hulu and stumbled across Angie Tribecca.   Created by Steve Carell and his wife Nancy of The Office fame,  Angie Tribecca stars Rashida Jones also of The Office and Parks and Recreation fame.

Everything in the world is so serious and scary right now as we shelter at home to deal with this virus situation.   So Angie Tribecca was a perfect little diversion.  If you need something silly and stupid to make you laugh this is a great easy binge-watch.  4 seasons of 10 half-hour episodes Angie Tribecca is a TV show that is a throwback to the once popular genre of Airplane style spoofs.  

To be completely honest it is basically a reboot of the short-lived Police Squad tv show that spawned the Naked Gun movies and a bunch of Airplane style films.   The best films in this genre were Airplane and Naked Gun,  many lesser rip-offs pretty much killed the genre off as a viable film genre.   The spirit of that original Police Squad show is alive and well in this Police spoof.   Season 1 was a fun quick watch that may serve as a good diversion from what is happening right now in the real world.   If you like this show --search out the original Police Squad as well.

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The Private Eyes 1980 7+ out of 10 (Murder Mystery)

The Private Eyes 1980   7+ out of 10

I recently revisited The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again on Disney+ and reviewed them over on my Disney blog  The Mouse Minute.  This venture sent me down a Don Knotts / Tim Conway rabbit hole that lead me to this film which for some reason I had overlooked all these years. 

The Private Eyes is a murder mystery detective spoof starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway as rather bad detectives.   Basically, think of the classic A Shot in the Dark, but instead of Peter Sellers you get the comedy duo of Tim Conway and Don Knotts trying to solve a murder mystery in a mansion that includes hidden passages and possibly a ghost.  All of the employees in the mansion are possible suspects of course including the hunchback.

This was a fun murder mystery comedy.  Tim Conway and Don Knotts work so well together as bumbling incompetent detectives.  The movie has the feel of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (a Don Knotts Haunted house movie)  meets Abbott and Costello.  The film has some really good physical comedy and thrives on the chemistry these two actors have together.  If you are a fan of films like the Pink Panther series and the movie Clue you will definitely enjoy this murder mystery spoof as well.  Check out the trailer for the film below.

For my thoughts on the Apple Dumpling Gang films go here

https://themouseminute.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/the-apple-dumpling-gang-1975-6-out-of-10-disney-family-film-34/ 

https://themouseminute.wordpress.com/2020/04/05/the-apple-dumpling-gang-rides-again-1979-7-out-of-10-disney-family-film-35/

Flashback Friday Movie Review: Gumball Rally 1976 5 out of 10

Gumball Rally 1976    5 out of 10

A group of drivers take part in an illegal cross country road race.

The movie was inspired by an actual race called Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea- Memorial Trophy Dash.  This race inspired several films including Cannonball also 1976 , Cannonball Run 1981 and it's sequel.  The official tagline heads  " It's a hilarious coast to coast, 180 mile an hour,  go -for- broke, outrageous road race with the world's most  expensive cars. And it's all just for the glory and a gumball machine"    The problem for me is that I found the film neither hilarious or outrageous at any time.  As a cross country road race type film it may have been one of the first.....But definitely for me doesn't stand out as one of the best.  It was a decent film--but was really missing the humor that the poster suggests and that later similar films pulled off.  And other than a section where a couple cars raced down the water channel....the racing wasn't all that interesting either.

If you are a fan of this style of film it may be a rental---but I'd watch of the other funnier road race films first.

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Thoughts on The Last Man on Earth: TV Show

Bill Hader stars as The Last Man on Earth.   This is a very original show that displays the talents of this ex SNL cast member.  It is weird and quirky and a little risky.   After seeing the trailer for this show I immediately thought.  " How and the hell are they going to make a TV show out of this?"   The premiere episode and its follow up aired back to back and I thought it was really unique and interesting show.  Still I wonder how will they be able to make a weekly show out of this concept?   It seems like it would be great as a fun independent film - but a series???   If it does succeed it will be because of the talents of Bill Hader and Kristen Schaal of Flight of the Conchords fame.    

The story follows Phil Miller as the title Last Man on Earth who spends the first 2 years roaming the USA in search of another person and then descends into a drunken stupor in a mansion that he trashes like a crazy hobo.  He has no running water so - decides to poop in the pool and spends his days reading dirty magazines and drinking out of his margarita pool.  He is so lonely that he has begun talking to soccer balls with faces on them like Tom Hanks in  Castaway until he finally decides to end his lonely life.   This all happens in the first episode.  Right as he is about to kill himself he meets a female and it isn't exactly what he was hoping for.   I found these 2 episode entertaining and yet --I still can't see how they could sustain story lines with the limited potential of only having to characters.

Check it out and let us know what you think....Maybe we will discuss it on our next Podcast.

Watching the silly things Bill Hader's character does also makes me think of the question..... How would I spend my time if I was the Last Man on Earth?

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Let's Be Cops 2014 8+ out of 10

Let's Be Cops  2014  8+ out of 10

The trailer for this comedy looked funny and the movie for once actually lived up to the trailer.  Damon Wayons Jr. and Jake Johnson star as two pals that feel like they are going nowhere in their lives.  Jake's character is literally going nowhere and Damon's character is working as a game designer at a video game company that can't seem to speak up to get his ideas heard.   They dress up as cops for a Costume party that wasn't really a costume party and end up getting addicted to being fake cops.  It is a disaster waiting to happen (They could totally go to jail for this).   Jake's character ends up taking it a step further and buys a cop car on Ebay and drages Damon deeper into their fake roles.    The movie had some genuinely funny scenes including having to break up a girl fight and the naked Sumo Wreslting takedown.  The chemistry between the actors is great, of course they already work together on the silly sitcom "New Girl" on Fox.   As a fan of "New Girl" this movie almost felt like an extension of those same characters - just taken to a rawer, crazier level.   If you are a fan of that TV show --it is a sure thing you will like this movie.

 The third act of the movie gets serious as their adventures as fake cops takes them into dangerous territory as they uncover an evil gang.  This tonal shift actually worked while and despite the film getting more serious than any of the trailers would have suggested it didn't take away from the film.  The very end of the film was able to bring things back to a fun comic level and the extra scenes during the credits were a blast as well.  

 I would love to see the Jake and Damon in another movie together.

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Blended 2014 6 out of 10

  Blended 2014  6 out of 10

The box office shine has definitely fallen off of Adam Sandler lately.  This movie would have been a guaranteed box office hit about 5 years ago with the re-teaming of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. On screen duo that worked so well in The Wedding Singer and even better in 50 First Dates.  The duo still has a strange and yet delightful onscreen chemistry --but this time nobody showed up at the box office.

I remember loving the trailer for this comedy and wanting to see it when it came out in the theaters---but I never got around to it.  It was a good family comedy about a couple of single parents that hate each other at first and then predictable fall in love after being forced to spend a African vacation together.   The movie had some funny moments and some sweet moments as the couple grew to like each other.  Their characters actually fit as a family as they both added something to each others lives.   The problem is that all of the best moments from the film were in the trailers --so there really weren't any surprises .   All in all it was good, but not great and definitely not on the level of the over the top too silly too believe, yet great  Just Go With It  which you can read my thoughts on below.

 http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2013/07/just-go-with-it-2011-8-out-of-10.html

Here is the trailer for the film which has all the best parts

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Paul 2011 6 out of 10

Paul 2011   6 out of 10

If you replace Elliot with two British Sci-Fi nerds and you replace ET and his Reeses Pieces with a Pot smoking Alien-----then you have Paul.  The movie is a comic retelling of the ET that tries to be an edgier take on helping an alien get back home again.  

The movie was good, but not great.   

The Cast

 The movie had a great cast of comedy pros which included Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in their third movie collaboration  (Shaun of the Dead,  Hot Fuzz).  It also features the talents of Kristen Wigg and Jason Bateman which I felt were completely squandered in this film.  And then there is Paul the Alien as voiced by Seth Rogen.  All give decent preformances, but it felt like a lot was left on the table.

The Plot

Like I mentioned it was basically a pot smokers/geek version of ET.  The two British nerds stumble across Paul they Alien while out traveling the US UFO areas in an RV. They have to help Paul get to a spot that his Alien pals can rescue him.  It was a decent plot that just should have been funnier. I felt that the comedy was very watered down from what you would expect from a Seth Rogen as pot smoking Alien movie.   I really feel that this movie left a lot of comedy potential that didn't make it into the film.

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 2013 6 out of 10

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone  2013   6 out of 10

I found Burt Wonderstone to be good, but not really incredible.  

I liked the premise of the movie and loved the posters, but expected a little more from the movie .   It stars Steve Carell  as Burt Wonderstone  and Steve Buscemi as Anton Marvelton as   two  Vegas magicians whose  Siegfried and Roy/ David Copperfield like act is getting old.  A newcomer in the form of Jim Carrey comes into town with a David  Blane/ Chris Angel type act that threatens  Burt's career and friendship with his partner.   A magician's battle of magic acts occurs after Burt loses his gig at Bally's.    The movie was enjoyable, but the plot is  too predictable  (It felt like a movie that Will Ferrell should have been in).  

With the talents of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell the magician's battle could have been more Incredible.    Watching this movie I again thought......I would much rather have seen another season of Michael Scott on the office instead of whatever 2 movies Steve Carrell could do in that same amount of time.  And I also wondered......what happened to Jim Carrey?   He used to own the box office...and now is playing second fiddle to Steve Carrell.   That being said the movie does have moments,  just nothing incredible to be worthy of its title.

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Thw Wrong Box 1966 5 out of 10

The Wrong Box  1966   5 out of 10

Apparently it was the Wrong Box.   This British comedy had and all star cast of British Comedians from the 1960's,  but failed to live up to the talent of the actors in the film.   The plot centered around an inheritance from two brothers that are all that remain from a contest that each of the parents  of a group of boys invested in.  The last survivor gets the entire fortune.  The one dying brother keeps trying to kill off his clueless brother, while the clueless brothers adopted kids think he is already dead and are trying to hide the fact until the other brother dies so they can collect the money.   There is a love story as well that is unimportant to the plot.   With a cast that includes  Michael Caine, Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and Peter Sellers it should have been funnier than it was.   Peter Sellers actually still shines in the movie as a down on his luck doctor with a bunch of cats that Peter Cook goes to in order to get a death certificate.  The movie comes off like a less inspired episode of Three's Company and comes to a zany end that just didn't impress.   

Here is Peter Sellers from the film.

Knight and Day 2010 7 out of 10

Knight and Day 2010  7 out of 10

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in this action/spy/comedy.  Cruise basically plays  a  comic book version of his Ethan Hunt Mission Impossible character and Diaz stars as the random girl that gets caught up in his adventures.  The film was fun despite being like a cartoon version of a spy film.  It is more a comedy than a true action film although there is quite a bit of action in the film.   It starts out with a silly bit of action on an airplane where every passenger other than Cameron's character is an agent trying to kill Cruise's character.   He takes each one of them out while Cameron is in the restroom completely unaware of the Austin Powers like melee happening aboard the plane.    The action was  so over the top to the point of complete unbelievability (especially with some of the bad CGI), but yet it was still a fun film as long as you don't take it seriously.   The drawback of being so over the top silly is that you definitely never feel that the characters are ever really in danger like say in a Bond film where characters can die.  If you can embrace the silly cartoonish nature of the film then the bad CGI running of the bulls on a motorcycle actually becomes an enjoyable scene.  If you are looking for Mission Impossible 3 you may be disappointed, but if you just want a fun silly action comedy than check it out.

The Great Race 1965 7 out out 10

The Great Race  1965  7 out of 10

A car race that goes around the world.   Two arch rival daredevils   race around the world in this madcap adventure by Blake Edwards that stars a great cast.   The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis)  clad all in white and his nemesis Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon)  clad all in black (with sinister mustache included) battle it out in this silly adventure comedy with  Peter Falk and Natalie Wood along for the ride.   It is fun film that I revisited after probably about 20 plus years after a friend recently suggested it as a possible movie he would like to see  remade.    This movie was clearly the inspiration for Dastardly and Muttly and those Hanna Barbara  Wacky Race adventures you may remember having seen as a child.   The highlights of the include a  good old Western town bar fight scene, a terrific sword fight in a castle and a great pie fight near the end.  The cast was great especially Jack Lemmon as the villain and a drunken prince in one of the stops they make along the way.   Check out this fun adventure/ comedy.

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Here is the Wacky Races intro to jog our memory

Get Him to the Greek 2010 4 out of 10

Get Him to the Greek  2010    4 out of 10

Another so-so average modern comedy.   They just don't make them like they used to.   Starring Jonah Hill as a record company employee that needs to get his musical idol  played by Russell Brand (playing himself as usual) to a big anniversary concert.   Insert drug and partying too much jokes here and absolutely nothing else.  The whole movie is just a series of quotes about how drunk and drugged out Russell Brand's character is....  Hilarious???  NOT so Much.  The whole look at how stoned and drunk I am bit just didn't strike me as funny.   Sure the movie had a moment here and there that had a laugh --but the storyline was just uninspired and predictable and not really that enjoyable.  Russell Brand is a one trick pony and his trick is getting old really fast.