list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Austin_Powers_International_Man_of_Mystery/110941/default.aspx Title: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Year: 1997
Director: Jay Roach
Plot: Less a parody of the early James Bond film than a parody of the films that parodied the early James Bond films, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery stars Mike Myers as Austin Powers, by day a hipster fashion photographer in mid-'60s swingin' London and by night a crime-fighting secret agent. Austin's wardrobe is pure Carnaby Street at its most outrageous, his vocabulary is crowded by the cool lingo of the day ("Groovy, baby! Yeah!!"), and he's irresistible to women, despite the fact that he can be charitably described as "stocky" and has teeth that strike fear into any practicing dentist. When his nemesis, the arch-enemy Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), has himself cryogenically frozen and sent into space, Powers also has himself put on ice so he can be thawed out when Dr. Evil returns. Come 1997, Dr. Evil returns to Earth and is back to his old tricks, so Austin is thawed out and returned to active service -- though he soon discovers his style doesn't play so well 30 years on. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Hurley as Austin's sidekick, Vanessa Kensington; Michael York as his boss, Basil Exposition; Robert Wagner as Dr. Evil's assistant, Number Two; and Seth Green as Dr. Evil's troubled son, Scott Evil. Ming Tea, the swingin' pop band that periodically backs up Austin, includes real life pop-rockers Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a mild box-office hit but an even bigger success on home video, which led to the 1999 sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 83
Number of Lists: 76
Number of blog posts: 5
Number of discussion threads: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Tue, 12 May 2009 01:51:03 GMTAustin Powers: International Man of Mystery1997Jay RoachLess a parody of the early James Bond film than a parody of the films that parodied the early James Bond films, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery stars <a href="/players/P____51621/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Myers</a> as Austin Powers, by day a hipster fashion photographer in mid-'60s swingin' London and by night a crime-fighting secret agent. Austin's wardrobe is pure Carnaby Street at its most outrageous, his vocabulary is crowded by the cool lingo of the day ("Groovy, baby! Yeah!!"), and he's irresistible to women, despite the fact that he can be charitably described as "stocky" and has teeth that strike fear into any practicing dentist. When his nemesis, the arch-enemy Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), has himself cryogenically frozen and sent into space, Powers also has himself put on ice so he can be thawed out when Dr. Evil returns. Come 1997, Dr. Evil returns to Earth and is back to his old tricks, so Austin is thawed out and returned to active service -- though he soon discovers his style doesn't play so well 30 years on. The supporting cast includes <a href="/players/P____34075/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Elizabeth Hurley</a> as Austin's sidekick, Vanessa Kensington; <a href="/players/P____78072/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael York</a> as his boss, Basil Exposition; <a href="/players/P____74078/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Wagner</a> as Dr. Evil's assistant, Number Two; and <a href="/players/P____28493/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Seth Green</a> as Dr. Evil's troubled son, Scott Evil. Ming Tea, the swingin' pop band that periodically backs up Austin, includes real life pop-rockers Matthew Sweet and <a href="/players/P____94606/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Susanna Hoffs</a>. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a mild box-office hit but an even bigger success on home video, which led to the 1999 sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide83Tag Target (>10)76543http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t69477rfq60.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Austin_Powers_International_Man_of_Mystery/110941/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_December_8_Good_Old_Fashioned/625/38151/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Smooth_J
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 12/9/2008 6:23:40 PM
Body: I feel like Austin Powers is the greatest of all espionage movies (I'm sorry, I said it...). I laugh every single time I see that one..."Russian intelligence, are you mad?!" I'm sorry rjsprague, but I think Quantum of Solace had a case of the sucks. The story took second pier to an angry James Bond, killing people for fun and throwing his friends in dumpsters and stealing their money. Some scenes were great, such as the opera house one, and the entire desert sequence. But there was no cohesive story holding anything together, and nothing was really solved besides Bond's heartache. There was no sexual tension and no great villain--Mathieu Almaric was decreased to a bit part with no memorable scenes. I'm sorry for the rant, but Bond was completely compromised in that one. I guess that's what they get for choosing Marc Forster to direct an action movie...he was completely out of his element. The Constant Gardener was a decent exercise in spydom concerning pharmaceuticals...Ralph Fiennes is great in that one, as is the typically underwhelming Rachel Weisz(?). On the subject of John le Carre movies, has anyone seen The Spy Who Came in From the Cold?
]]>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:23:40 GMTSmooth_JWeekly Theme12/9/2008 6:23:40 PMI feel like Austin Powers is the greatest of all espionage movies (I'm sorry, I said it...). I laugh every single time I see that one..."Russian intelligence, are you mad?!" I'm sorry rjsprague, but I think Quantum of Solace had a case of the sucks. The story took second pier to an angry James Bond, killing people for fun and throwing his friends in dumpsters and stealing their money. Some scenes were great, such as the opera house one, and the entire desert sequence. But there was no cohesive story holding anything together, and nothing was really solved besides Bond's heartache. There was no sexual tension and no great villain--Mathieu Almaric was decreased to a bit part with no memorable scenes. I'm sorry for the rant, but Bond was completely compromised in that one. I guess that's what they get for choosing Marc Forster to direct an action movie...he was completely out of his element. The Constant Gardener was a decent exercise in spydom concerning pharmaceuticals...Ralph Fiennes is great in that one, as is the typically underwhelming Rachel Weisz(?). On the subject of John le Carre movies, has anyone seen The Spy Who Came in From the Cold? http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_November_24_Cyborgs_Androids/625/37590/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 11/24/2008 4:27:43 PM
Body: Focusing on robots is entirely too immense for a single week, so therefore I have dedicated this week's theme to that subset of mechanical beings that strive to be like those humans that created them. I'm talking the humanoids; the mechanical freaks that sometimes look too human for their own good and need to be destroyed for just that reason. Who doesn't love the android C-3PO in Star Wars? How about the sexbots in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery? And of course that loveable visor wearing badass Robocop! Let's get talkin'!
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:27:43 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme11/24/2008 4:27:43 PMFocusing on robots is entirely too immense for a single week, so therefore I have dedicated this week's theme to that subset of mechanical beings that strive to be like those humans that created them. I'm talking the humanoids; the mechanical freaks that sometimes look too human for their own good and need to be destroyed for just that reason. Who doesn't love the android C-3PO in Star Wars? How about the sexbots in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery? And of course that loveable visor wearing badass Robocop! Let's get talkin'! http://www.spout.com/blogs/tenenbaums/archive/2008/11/16/37355.aspx Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 11/16/2008 3:30:36 PM
Body: An overall bad experience. Though there are a few glimmers of hilarity, you'll spend the entire film wishing that it was a new Austin Powers movie. It'll also make you feel bad for Mike Myers, since you know he's better than this. These bad feelings will then make you feel guilty for feeling bad for Myers because you know he should know better than to make this movie. You know? You don't deserve to put yourself yourself through this one.
]]>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:30:36 GMTTenenbaumsTenenbaums Blog11/16/2008 3:30:36 PMAn overall bad experience. Though there are a few glimmers of hilarity, you'll spend the entire film wishing that it was a new Austin Powers movie. It'll also make you feel bad for Mike Myers, since you know he's better than this. These bad feelings will then make you feel guilty for feeling bad for Myers because you know he should know better than to make this movie. You know? You don't deserve to put yourself yourself through this one. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/3/36913.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/3/2008 5:00:53 PM
Body: A man was arrested in London last week for imitating James Bond. He wasn’t going around and ordering vodka martinis though, he had numerous fake IDs, replica guns, and even a personalized wallet styled after From Russia With Love. That’s dedication right there. We’ve had James Bond imitators in the movies for more than 40 years, but sadly none of them have ever been arrested. Although thankfully, a few of them have been entertaining. Check out the James Bond knockoffs in the list below, as we ramp up towards Quantum of Solace. Our Man Flint The United States didn’t have a dashing and cool super-spy hero like Britain’s James Bond, so in 1964 James Coburn stepped into the role of Derek Flint. Flint was an ex-spy for Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage… I kid you not) who was lured out of retirement and forced to battle three mad scientists who wanted to control the world’s weather. At one point, he meets up with an agent 0008, who looks and dresses like Sean Connery. The movie spawned a sequel, In Like Flint, and later helped inspire Austin Powers. The Matt Helm Movies Between 1966 and 1969 Dean Martin starred as Matt Helm in The Silencers, Murderers’ Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. He was a wisecracking super-spy who often found himself in comedic situations. Although the books these movies were based on were fairly serious, the producers decided not to try and compete with James Bond and made these a lot lighter. These movies were also cited as direct inspirations for Austin Powers, and later for the 1970s James Bond films, which often copied the set pieces from the Helm films. Dreamworks currently holds the rights to the Matt Helm series, and is apparently working on a new adaptation. Casino Royale Long before Daniel Craig stepped into the tuxedo as James Bond, there was an original James Bond spoof of Casino Royale in 1967. Produced as a comedy by Columbia Pictures, this movie features six different James Bonds in an effort to throw off his enemies, and is most famous because Peter Sellers (as Jimmy Bond) walked off the set and didn’t return to finish his role. Although most of this was blamed on uneasy feelings between Orson Welles and Sellers, the movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers portrays it as Sellers trying to play the role seriously, and walking off when people wanted him to play it slapstick. OK Connery This actually happened. Italian producers hoping to cash in on the spy craze of the 1960s wrote this James Bond parody where James Bond isn’t available, so they use his kid brother. What’s even more bizarre is that they used Sean Connery’s actual brother Neil in this film, and his character is named Connery, although his lines were all dubbed by an American actor. Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee reprise their roles as Moneypenny and M in this movie, it was released in the U.S. as Operation Kid Brother, and was later razzed on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Operation Double 007. Truly bizarre. Spy Hard This Leslie Nielsen movie tried to ride in on the Naked Gun coattails, but just showed us a fairly tired and overused character. Nielsen played Agent Dick Steele (ouch), and would go on to play the same bumbling character with different names in other movies, but this one is especially bad. You know it’s a bad sign when Mr. T, Hulk Hogan and Pat Morita are your “guest stars.” The best thing about this movie is the James Bond-esque opening title sequence from Weird Al Yankovic. Which also belabors the point about guest stars. Johnny English Most people know Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, and they either love him or loathe him. I fall in the former camp, which is probably why I enjoyed this parody of the Bond films so much. The character was actually based on another Atkinson role, Richard Latham from the Barclaycard ads in the UK. He works for MI6 and is actually a bumbling spy wannabe who constantly makes mistakes. Many of the gags from the commercials made it into the movie, and last year Atkinson said on British TV that a sequel is in the works. Austin Powers Easily the most famous parodies of James Bond, the Austin Powers franchise is three films long, and during junkets for The Love Guru earlier this year Mike Myers said that he has an idea for a new Powers movie, so chances are you’ll see the crushed velvet suit and bad teeth once again. Myers has said that his inspirations included Our Man Flint, the Matt Helm movies, Vincent Price’s movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Michael Caine in The Ipcress FIle, and plenty of others. While it’s obviosuly an amalgam of many roles, the James Bond influence is the strongest throughout all of these films, as evidenced by the subsequent titles The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:53 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/3/2008 5:00:53 PMA man was arrested in London last week for imitating James Bond. He wasn’t going around and ordering vodka martinis though, he had numerous fake IDs, replica guns, and even a personalized wallet styled after From Russia With Love. That’s dedication right there. We’ve had James Bond imitators in the movies for more than 40 years, but sadly none of them have ever been arrested. Although thankfully, a few of them have been entertaining. Check out the James Bond knockoffs in the list below, as we ramp up towards Quantum of Solace. Our Man Flint The United States didn’t have a dashing and cool super-spy hero like Britain’s James Bond, so in 1964 James Coburn stepped into the role of Derek Flint. Flint was an ex-spy for Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage… I kid you not) who was lured out of retirement and forced to battle three mad scientists who wanted to control the world’s weather. At one point, he meets up with an agent 0008, who looks and dresses like Sean Connery. The movie spawned a sequel, In Like Flint, and later helped inspire Austin Powers. The Matt Helm Movies Between 1966 and 1969 Dean Martin starred as Matt Helm in The Silencers, Murderers’ Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. He was a wisecracking super-spy who often found himself in comedic situations. Although the books these movies were based on were fairly serious, the producers decided not to try and compete with James Bond and made these a lot lighter. These movies were also cited as direct inspirations for Austin Powers, and later for the 1970s James Bond films, which often copied the set pieces from the Helm films. Dreamworks currently holds the rights to the Matt Helm series, and is apparently working on a new adaptation. Casino Royale Long before Daniel Craig stepped into the tuxedo as James Bond, there was an original James Bond spoof of Casino Royale in 1967. Produced as a comedy by Columbia Pictures, this movie features six different James Bonds in an effort to throw off his enemies, and is most famous because Peter Sellers (as Jimmy Bond) walked off the set and didn’t return to finish his role. Although most of this was blamed on uneasy feelings between Orson Welles and Sellers, the movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers portrays it as Sellers trying to play the role seriously, and walking off when people wanted him to play it slapstick. OK Connery This actually happened. Italian producers hoping to cash in on the spy craze of the 1960s wrote this James Bond parody where James Bond isn’t available, so they use his kid brother. What’s even more bizarre is that they used Sean Connery’s actual brother Neil in this film, and his character is named Connery, although his lines were all dubbed by an American actor. Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee reprise their roles as Moneypenny and M in this movie, it was released in the U.S. as Operation Kid Brother, and was later razzed on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Operation Double 007. Truly bizarre. Spy Hard This Leslie Nielsen movie tried to ride in on the Naked Gun coattails, but just showed us a fairly tired and overused character. Nielsen played Agent Dick Steele (ouch), and would go on to play the same bumbling character with different names in other movies, but this one is especially bad. You know it’s a bad sign when Mr. T, Hulk Hogan and Pat Morita are your “guest stars.” The best thing about this movie is the James Bond-esque opening title sequence from Weird Al Yankovic. Which also belabors the point about guest stars. Johnny English Most people know Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, and they either love him or loathe him. I fall in the former camp, which is probably why I enjoyed this parody of the Bond films so much. The character was actually based on another Atkinson role, Richard Latham from the Barclaycard ads in the UK. He works for MI6 and is actually a bumbling spy wannabe who constantly makes mistakes. Many of the gags from the commercials made it into the movie, and last year Atkinson said on British TV that a sequel is in the works. Austin Powers Easily the most famous parodies of James Bond, the Austin Powers franchise is three films long, and during junkets for The Love Guru earlier this year Mike Myers said that he has an idea for a new Powers movie, so chances are you’ll see the crushed velvet suit and bad teeth once again. Myers has said that his inspirations included Our Man Flint, the Matt Helm movies, Vincent Price’s movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Michael Caine in The Ipcress FIle, and plenty of others. While it’s obviosuly an amalgam of many roles, the James Bond influence is the strongest throughout all of these films, as evidenced by the subsequent titles The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Forever_Young/Re_Top_5_Films_of_the_90s/85/35726/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Forever Young
Post Date: 9/30/2008 4:56:32 PM
Body: [quote user="filmgal81"] ( Originally posted on the 80s Movies board, but i think it fits better here) Picking up where Seely left off, I'd like to start a list of the Top 5 Films of the 90s. Again, not necessarily cinematic genius, but films that epitomize how you remember the 90s ( or a particular part of the 90s). Here's mine: 1) Edward Scissorhands - does anything scream 90s like this film? Early Johnny Depp, the Rebel Without a Cause like angst of the early 90s personified in Tim Burton's creation about a man forever on the outside of the "perfect" world ( a theme that also reverberates throughout many of his later films) 2) Singles - A film complete with long hair, plaid shirts, and the Seattle grunge music scene- classic! 3) House Party- on the lighter side, there was this fun film featuring a very popular rap duo named Kid n Play. The fashion, the music, the dancing, blatant sexual references...also classic! 4)Dances with Wolves - & 5) Wyatt Earp - 90s actors of the moment paying tribute to our frontier past. [/quote] Ah, thank you for posting! This group has been sleepy lately, so it's nice to know people are still interested. And a good topic...but... I have a question: are we talking our five fave films in general from the 90s? Or our five fave teen flicks? Since this is the group devoted to those guilty pleasures we call the teen movie, I'll approach it from both vantage points, but if you like Top 5's, the Top 5 group is the best place to play this game. Still, we're open to all here - So: top 5 teen flicks from the 90s (not as good as from the 80s...but yeah). 1. 10 Things I Hate About You - I admit it. I like it. I mostly like Heath before his superstardom, but the whole massively guilty pleasure is just fun to watch. Even when you're sick! 2. Clueless - As if! Whatever happened to what's her name? You know, the star? 3. Never Been Kissed - Is Drew Barrymore believable as Josie Grossie? Hard to say, but another massively guilty pleasure. 4. Election - Overachiever hell by Reese Witherspoon. 5. Now and Then - The female version of Stand By Me for the 90s! Now, to pick my favorite movies of the 90s. That's considerably harder - I mean, it was a good decade and all, but I don't think my favoritest films include many from the decade. I'm trying to think back to my movie collection; ironically, it dances around the 90s quite dramatically. Let's see if I can pick five... 1. Forrest Gump / Apollo 13 - I put these Tom Hanks movies together because this was during the Tom Hanks era, when he couldn't escape a year without an Oscar nod. I like Philadelphia too, but I liked these movies more. Forrest sees it all - it's funny and touching and yes, he's not a smart man, but he knows what love is! And Apollo 13 still tenses me up, and I already know the outcome (I have seen it a few times, after all, in addition to, well, history). 2. Schindler's List - It's hard to watch, but it's the artistic pinnacle of the decade without question. 3. Pulp Fiction - QT exploded onto the map with this quintessential film, and John Travolta had a second coming. It's violent, profane, and overtly sexual (not to mention the unadulterated cocaine use), but it's one of the best told yarns on film. 4. American Beauty / The Usual Suspects - Two of my favorite movies starring one of my favorite actors. Kevin Spacey, playing the duplicitous Verbal Kint or hysterically sardonic Lester Burnham, pretty much rocked my world, and I've watched these movies multiple times and own them both too. 5. The Sixth Sense - Shyamalan seems to offend many nowadays, but no one can deny the thrills and chills factor of this, his very first film, about seeing dead people. And for good measure, my top 5 honorable mentions for the decade: Wayne's World / Austin Powers - It was Mike Myers' decade, after all. Toy Story - A masterpiece but oddly not my favorite Pixar anymore. The Mask / The Truman Show - It was Jim Carrey's decade too, and these two films exemplify his wacky acting schizophrenia. The Silence of the Lambs - Almost made my top 5, but I can't watch it repeatedly. Hannibal scares me. And he should. Titanic - Oh shut up. You know you loved it the first time you saw it. It was only after Celine Dion's painfully worded ballad and James Cameron's self-indulgent "I'm the king of the world" nod that you decided you were too cool to like it. Besides, the production values on the film are astounding. I get cold just watching those poor people drown in the icy Atlantic.
]]>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:56:32 GMTpippin06Forever Young9/30/2008 4:56:32 PM[quote user="filmgal81"] ( Originally posted on the 80s Movies board, but i think it fits better here) Picking up where Seely left off, I'd like to start a list of the Top 5 Films of the 90s. Again, not necessarily cinematic genius, but films that epitomize how you remember the 90s ( or a particular part of the 90s). Here's mine: 1) Edward Scissorhands - does anything scream 90s like this film? Early Johnny Depp, the Rebel Without a Cause like angst of the early 90s personified in Tim Burton's creation about a man forever on the outside of the "perfect" world ( a theme that also reverberates throughout many of his later films) 2) Singles - A film complete with long hair, plaid shirts, and the Seattle grunge music scene- classic! 3) House Party- on the lighter side, there was this fun film featuring a very popular rap duo named Kid n Play. The fashion, the music, the dancing, blatant sexual references...also classic! 4)Dances with Wolves - &amp; 5) Wyatt Earp - 90s actors of the moment paying tribute to our frontier past. [/quote] Ah, thank you for posting! This group has been sleepy lately, so it's nice to know people are still interested. And a good topic...but... I have a question: are we talking our five fave films in general from the 90s? Or our five fave teen flicks? Since this is the group devoted to those guilty pleasures we call the teen movie, I'll approach it from both vantage points, but if you like Top 5's, the Top 5 group is the best place to play this game. Still, we're open to all here - So: top 5 teen flicks from the 90s (not as good as from the 80s...but yeah). 1. 10 Things I Hate About You - I admit it. I like it. I mostly like Heath before his superstardom, but the whole massively guilty pleasure is just fun to watch. Even when you're sick! 2. Clueless - As if! Whatever happened to what's her name? You know, the star? 3. Never Been Kissed - Is Drew Barrymore believable as Josie Grossie? Hard to say, but another massively guilty pleasure. 4. Election - Overachiever hell by Reese Witherspoon. 5. Now and Then - The female version of Stand By Me for the 90s! Now, to pick my favorite movies of the 90s. That's considerably harder - I mean, it was a good decade and all, but I don't think my favoritest films include many from the decade. I'm trying to think back to my movie collection; ironically, it dances around the 90s quite dramatically. Let's see if I can pick five... 1. Forrest Gump / Apollo 13 - I put these Tom Hanks movies together because this was during the Tom Hanks era, when he couldn't escape a year without an Oscar nod. I like Philadelphia too, but I liked these movies more. Forrest sees it all - it's funny and touching and yes, he's not a smart man, but he knows what love is! And Apollo 13 still tenses me up, and I already know the outcome (I have seen it a few times, after all, in addition to, well, history). 2. Schindler's List - It's hard to watch, but it's the artistic pinnacle of the decade without question. 3. Pulp Fiction - QT exploded onto the map with this quintessential film, and John Travolta had a second coming. It's violent, profane, and overtly sexual (not to mention the unadulterated cocaine use), but it's one of the best told yarns on film. 4. American Beauty / The Usual Suspects - Two of my favorite movies starring one of my favorite actors. Kevin Spacey, playing the duplicitous Verbal Kint or hysterically sardonic Lester Burnham, pretty much rocked my world, and I've watched these movies multiple times and own them both too. 5. The Sixth Sense - Shyamalan seems to offend many nowadays, but no one can deny the thrills and chills factor of this, his very first film, about seeing dead people. And for good measure, my top 5 honorable mentions for the decade: Wayne's World / Austin Powers - It was Mike Myers' decade, after all. Toy Story - A masterpiece but oddly not my favorite Pixar anymore. The Mask / The Truman Show - It was Jim Carrey's decade too, and these two films exemplify his wacky acting schizophrenia. The Silence of the Lambs - Almost made my top 5, but I can't watch it repeatedly. Hannibal scares me. And he should. Titanic - Oh shut up. You know you loved it the first time you saw it. It was only after Celine Dion's painfully worded ballad and James Cameron's self-indulgent "I'm the king of the world" nod that you decided you were too cool to like it. Besides, the production values on the film are astounding. I get cold just watching those poor people drown in the icy Atlantic. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/21/34239.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/21/2008 4:01:18 PM
Body: This week, thanks to The Rocker, we can add another fictional band to the long list of music groups created solely for the movies. They’re called Vesuvius, and they’re an ‘80s hair band with a hit song titled “Promised Land.” As part of the film’s marketing, the track was offered as a free download for play on Rock Band (see the clip above). But if you ask me, the wrong tune was used in the promotion. Another song from the soundtrack, also credited to Vesuvius, is called “Pompeii Nights,” and it’s definitely the better of the two. I’m not surprised, though. While most people favor the songs of Spinal Tap, a once-fictional band that has become popular enough to evolve into a “semi-fictional” performing act, I’ve preferred such gems as “The Whites of Their Eyes” by PEZ® People, from The Big Picture. Also co-written by This is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, and sung by McKean, this song is apparently so underrated that I can’t even find an audio sample, let along a YouTube clip of the fake band’s music video, which was directed by fictional filmmaker Lydia Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Fortunately, for the benefit of this list, the rest of these under-appreciated tracks have a few fellow fans. “Howard the Duck” by Cherry Bomb, from Howard the Duck I’m still certain that I was this movie’s biggest fan. While growing up, I owned a VHS copy, the comic book adaptation and the novelization, and I still watched the edited version whenever it showed up on commercial television. Unfortunately, though, I never owned the soundtrack, which is, unsurprisingly, out of print (though available on eBay). It’s okay, because the catchy theme song has forever been lodged in my head. Performed diegetically by a fictional Runaways-inspired band, the Razzie-nominated “Howard the Duck” features vocals by actress Lea Thompson and funk legend George Clinton, plus Joe Walsh on guitar and Thomas Dolby, who co-wrote and produced all of Cherry Bomb’s songs, on synthesizer (off screen the song is credited to “Dolby Cube”). Cherry Bomb had four songs in the movie’s soundtrack, and some were definitely better than others. “Hunger City” is also kinda catchy, but that’s possibly only because it sounds reminiscent of Hall & Oats’ “Family Man.” Meanwhile, I absolutely love the slower “Don’t Turn Away,” which, unlike the title number, lacks Clinton’s vocals and Walsh’s guitar playing; yet it makes up for it with a little harmonica part performed by none other than Stevie Wonder. Perhaps its just my being a fan of ‘80s girl groups like The Go-Gos (check out Thompson doing a duet with Belinda Carlisle here) and The Bangles, but I could really have gone for a full album, and maybe a tour, a la Spinal Tap, from Cherry Bomb. “BBC” by Ming Tea, from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery As far as fictional ‘60s bands go, Ming Tea is by far my favorite over such groups as The Oneders, aka The Wonders (from That Thing You Do!) and The Rutles (from All You Need is Cash), the latter of which is only as good as the Beatles tunes they spoof. Of course, I do like to think only of this poppy number from the first film, as well as the “psychedelic scene breaks” from the first and second films and ignore the relatively ‘90s-sounding “Daddy Wasn’t There” from Austin Powers in Goldmember, which seems like a reject from one of Matthew Sweet’s later albums (Sweet is a member of and co-songwriter for the fictional Ming Tea). Again, part of my love for Ming Tea could be due to my love for The Bangles, whose Susanna Hoffs was a member of the fake group (she is also the wife of Jay Roach, who directed all three Austin Powers movies). Someday I’d like to see another Nuggets box set featuring only fictional garage rock bands like Ming Tea, The Archies, etc. “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” by The Riverbottom Nightmare Band (or simply The Nightmare), from Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas Speaking of The Archies, if a fictional rock band from a cartoon can have a hit song continually played on oldies radio, why can’t this fictional rock band from a Muppet TV special get the same treatment? Is it because the vocals are actually pretty terrible? Is it because they’re the villains of the story? Maybe The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” was the #1 pop song of 1969, but this eponymous tune was written by Oscar-winner Paul Williams, who also gave us such memorable songs as “(Just an) Old Fashioned Love Song,” “The Rainbow Connection” and The Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Plus, if it’s any consolation, RNB’s keyboardist, a bear named Chuck, could totally kick Archie’s ass. Also worthy of radio play, though it’s probably not quite as underrated: “Can You Picture That” by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, from The Muppet Movie (and also co-written by Williams). “Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye” by The Juicy Fruits, from Phantom of the Paradise I’m not always a big fan of this doo-wop revival kind of glam rock, but I really like this track from Brian DePalma’s musical, favoring it over such “real” tunes as Gary Glitter’s cover of Dion’s “The Wanderer” and “made-up” songs as those in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Maybe it’s because this song is also penned by Paul Williams? Technically, because the movie bombed and is still hardly celebrated (at least compared to TRHPS), the whole soundtrack should be on this list. “Two-Way Romeo” by The Bang Bang, from Brothers of the Head I don’t think anyone else even saw this faux rock documentary (it’s not funny enough to be considered a mockumentary), let alone paid attention to its better-than-necessary soundtrack. Basically the song is by British pop-punk band Crackout (or members of the band, anyway), but it’s pretty authentic sounding for the film’s ‘70s setting. “Never Did No Wanderin’” by The Folksmen, from A Mighty Wind Part of my disappointment with this movie was that the songs are actually pretty good — and not necessarily funny. Silly, yes. Witty, yes. But not exactly over the top, laugh-out-loud funny, the way I prefer Christopher Guest movies to be. Yet I would actually go see The Folksmen before I would go see Spinal Tap, which features the same three actors (Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, who in fact opened for themselves by having The Folkmen and Spinal Tap tour together in 2001). If they didn’t perform their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” though, I would be very dissatisfied. Much of the non-Folksmen songs on the soundtrack are actually pretty lame, including the Oscar-nominated “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.” I believe that had it all been more upbeat, a la The Folksmen’s “Old Joe’s Place” (which, along with “Blood on the Coal,” was actually introduced on Saturday Night Live way back in 1984), “Corn Wine” and “Never Did No Wanderin’” it could have been as successful an album as the O Brother, Where Art Thou? CDs. “Sweat of My Balls” by CB4, from CB4 The more memorable song from this near-mockumentary might be “Straight Outta Locash,” yet like the songs by The Rutles, it’s too clear a redo of a preexisting song (N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton”). I guess I’m not that knowledgeable about rap music, but I had always thought “Sweat of My Balls” was actually original. Turns out, it’s actually a parody of Kool G. Rap’s “Talk Like Sex.” Well, since that song is also underrated (enough that I’d never heard of it), I stand by my inclusion of the less familiar-sounding CB4 track. “My Peanuts” by N.W.H., from Fear of a Black Hat I am at least aware that this song, which comes from a film similar to — though much less successful than — CB4, is a redo of Run-DMC’s “My Addidas.” But it’s so damn ridiculous that I wasn’t able to make the connection between the songs until many years after first seeing the movie. Just imagine how popular peanuts would be if the National Peanut Board used this rap in advertisements. “(Just Around the Corner to the) Light of Day” by The Barbusters, from Light of Day It’s not uncommon for a song written for a movie to become a real-world hit. And when it’s written by Bruce Springsteen, as this one was, you almost expect it to be a success. Yet despite the fact that both Springsteen and Joan Jett, who stars in the film as a member of the fictional Barbusters, have made the tune a staple of their respective live concert sets, it still doesn’t get the kind of general attention paid to, say, “On the Dark Side” from that other ‘80s bar band movie, Eddie and the Cruisers. Why isn’t this played heavily on classic rock radio? And by “this” I of course mean the version featuring Michael J. Fox and, yes, Michael McKean (man, he loves the fictional bands). “It Don’t Worry Me” by Albuquerque, from Nashville This is just a solo singer (played by Barbara Harris) rather than a whole group, but she’s still fictional and the song was still written for the film. And it’s sung during what may be the best film ending of all time (hence its appropriate position at the end of the list). Somehow Keith Carradine won an Oscar for writing the most boring tune in this Robert Altman classic (“I’m Easy”), while this song, also written by Carradine, is clearly more enjoyable. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:01:18 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/21/2008 4:01:18 PM This week, thanks to The Rocker, we can add another fictional band to the long list of music groups created solely for the movies. They’re called Vesuvius, and they’re an ‘80s hair band with a hit song titled “Promised Land.” As part of the film’s marketing, the track was offered as a free download for play on Rock Band (see the clip above). But if you ask me, the wrong tune was used in the promotion. Another song from the soundtrack, also credited to Vesuvius, is called “Pompeii Nights,” and it’s definitely the better of the two. I’m not surprised, though. While most people favor the songs of Spinal Tap, a once-fictional band that has become popular enough to evolve into a “semi-fictional” performing act, I’ve preferred such gems as “The Whites of Their Eyes” by PEZ® People, from The Big Picture. Also co-written by This is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, and sung by McKean, this song is apparently so underrated that I can’t even find an audio sample, let along a YouTube clip of the fake band’s music video, which was directed by fictional filmmaker Lydia Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Fortunately, for the benefit of this list, the rest of these under-appreciated tracks have a few fellow fans. “Howard the Duck” by Cherry Bomb, from Howard the Duck I’m still certain that I was this movie’s biggest fan. While growing up, I owned a VHS copy, the comic book adaptation and the novelization, and I still watched the edited version whenever it showed up on commercial television. Unfortunately, though, I never owned the soundtrack, which is, unsurprisingly, out of print (though available on eBay). It’s okay, because the catchy theme song has forever been lodged in my head. Performed diegetically by a fictional Runaways-inspired band, the Razzie-nominated “Howard the Duck” features vocals by actress Lea Thompson and funk legend George Clinton, plus Joe Walsh on guitar and Thomas Dolby, who co-wrote and produced all of Cherry Bomb’s songs, on synthesizer (off screen the song is credited to “Dolby Cube”). Cherry Bomb had four songs in the movie’s soundtrack, and some were definitely better than others. “Hunger City” is also kinda catchy, but that’s possibly only because it sounds reminiscent of Hall & Oats’ “Family Man.” Meanwhile, I absolutely love the slower “Don’t Turn Away,” which, unlike the title number, lacks Clinton’s vocals and Walsh’s guitar playing; yet it makes up for it with a little harmonica part performed by none other than Stevie Wonder. Perhaps its just my being a fan of ‘80s girl groups like The Go-Gos (check out Thompson doing a duet with Belinda Carlisle here) and The Bangles, but I could really have gone for a full album, and maybe a tour, a la Spinal Tap, from Cherry Bomb. “BBC” by Ming Tea, from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery As far as fictional ‘60s bands go, Ming Tea is by far my favorite over such groups as The Oneders, aka The Wonders (from That Thing You Do!) and The Rutles (from All You Need is Cash), the latter of which is only as good as the Beatles tunes they spoof. Of course, I do like to think only of this poppy number from the first film, as well as the “psychedelic scene breaks” from the first and second films and ignore the relatively ‘90s-sounding “Daddy Wasn’t There” from Austin Powers in Goldmember, which seems like a reject from one of Matthew Sweet’s later albums (Sweet is a member of and co-songwriter for the fictional Ming Tea). Again, part of my love for Ming Tea could be due to my love for The Bangles, whose Susanna Hoffs was a member of the fake group (she is also the wife of Jay Roach, who directed all three Austin Powers movies). Someday I’d like to see another Nuggets box set featuring only fictional garage rock bands like Ming Tea, The Archies, etc. “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” by The Riverbottom Nightmare Band (or simply The Nightmare), from Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas Speaking of The Archies, if a fictional rock band from a cartoon can have a hit song continually played on oldies radio, why can’t this fictional rock band from a Muppet TV special get the same treatment? Is it because the vocals are actually pretty terrible? Is it because they’re the villains of the story? Maybe The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” was the #1 pop song of 1969, but this eponymous tune was written by Oscar-winner Paul Williams, who also gave us such memorable songs as “(Just an) Old Fashioned Love Song,” “The Rainbow Connection” and The Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Plus, if it’s any consolation, RNB’s keyboardist, a bear named Chuck, could totally kick Archie’s ass. Also worthy of radio play, though it’s probably not quite as underrated: “Can You Picture That” by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, from The Muppet Movie (and also co-written by Williams). “Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye” by The Juicy Fruits, from Phantom of the Paradise I’m not always a big fan of this doo-wop revival kind of glam rock, but I really like this track from Brian DePalma’s musical, favoring it over such “real” tunes as Gary Glitter’s cover of Dion’s “The Wanderer” and “made-up” songs as those in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Maybe it’s because this song is also penned by Paul Williams? Technically, because the movie bombed and is still hardly celebrated (at least compared to TRHPS), the whole soundtrack should be on this list. “Two-Way Romeo” by The Bang Bang, from Brothers of the Head I don’t think anyone else even saw this faux rock documentary (it’s not funny enough to be considered a mockumentary), let alone paid attention to its better-than-necessary soundtrack. Basically the song is by British pop-punk band Crackout (or members of the band, anyway), but it’s pretty authentic sounding for the film’s ‘70s setting. “Never Did No Wanderin’” by The Folksmen, from A Mighty Wind Part of my disappointment with this movie was that the songs are actually pretty good — and not necessarily funny. Silly, yes. Witty, yes. But not exactly over the top, laugh-out-loud funny, the way I prefer Christopher Guest movies to be. Yet I would actually go see The Folksmen before I would go see Spinal Tap, which features the same three actors (Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, who in fact opened for themselves by having The Folkmen and Spinal Tap tour together in 2001). If they didn’t perform their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” though, I would be very dissatisfied. Much of the non-Folksmen songs on the soundtrack are actually pretty lame, including the Oscar-nominated “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.” I believe that had it all been more upbeat, a la The Folksmen’s “Old Joe’s Place” (which, along with “Blood on the Coal,” was actually introduced on Saturday Night Live way back in 1984), “Corn Wine” and “Never Did No Wanderin’” it could have been as successful an album as the O Brother, Where Art Thou? CDs. “Sweat of My Balls” by CB4, from CB4 The more memorable song from this near-mockumentary might be “Straight Outta Locash,” yet like the songs by The Rutles, it’s too clear a redo of a preexisting song (N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton”). I guess I’m not that knowledgeable about rap music, but I had always thought “Sweat of My Balls” was actually original. Turns out, it’s actually a parody of Kool G. Rap’s “Talk Like Sex.” Well, since that song is also underrated (enough that I’d never heard of it), I stand by my inclusion of the less familiar-sounding CB4 track. “My Peanuts” by N.W.H., from Fear of a Black Hat I am at least aware that this song, which comes from a film similar to — though much less successful than — CB4, is a redo of Run-DMC’s “My Addidas.” But it’s so damn ridiculous that I wasn’t able to make the connection between the songs until many years after first seeing the movie. Just imagine how popular peanuts would be if the National Peanut Board used this rap in advertisements. “(Just Around the Corner to the) Light of Day” by The Barbusters, from Light of Day It’s not uncommon for a song written for a movie to become a real-world hit. And when it’s written by Bruce Springsteen, as this one was, you almost expect it to be a success. Yet despite the fact that both Springsteen and Joan Jett, who stars in the film as a member of the fictional Barbusters, have made the tune a staple of their respective live concert sets, it still doesn’t get the kind of general attention paid to, say, “On the Dark Side” from that other ‘80s bar band movie, Eddie and the Cruisers. Why isn’t this played heavily on classic rock radio? And by “this” I of course mean the version featuring Michael J. Fox and, yes, Michael McKean (man, he loves the fictional bands). “It Don’t Worry Me” by Albuquerque, from Nashville This is just a solo singer (played by Barbara Harris) rather than a whole group, but she’s still fictional and the song was still written for the film. And it’s sung during what may be the best film ending of all time (hence its appropriate position at the end of the list). Somehow Keith Carradine won an Oscar for writing the most boring tune in this Robert Altman classic (“I’m Easy”), while this song, also written by Carradine, is clearly more enjoyable. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/16/31288.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/16/2008 5:01:14 PM
Body: The best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:01:14 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/16/2008 5:01:14 PMThe best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/eagle795/archive/2007/8/24/18714.aspx Post By: eagle795
Post To: eagle795 Blog
Post Date: 8/24/2007 9:58:00 PM
Body: Mike Myers spoofs James Bond. I’m not a Bond fan, but I know enough about it that I got all of the jokes in this one. The sequels in this series have kind of been “ehhh”, but as per my rule of thumb the original is almost always better anyway.
]]>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:58:00 GMTeagle795eagle795 Blog8/24/2007 9:58:00 PMMike Myers spoofs James Bond. I&rsquo;m not a Bond fan, but I know enough about it that I got all of the jokes in this one. The sequels in this series have kind of been &ldquo;ehhh&rdquo;, but as per my rule of thumb the original is almost always better anyway. http://www.spout.com/groups/Best_movie_quotes/Re_Guess_The_Movie_Quote/17/2870/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Best movie quotes
Post Date: 9/8/2006 1:31:56 PM
Body: I know I've seen this movie, but it's not hitting me as obvious, so I'll offer a guess....Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery?
]]>Fri, 08 Sep 2006 17:31:56 GMTpippin06Best movie quotes9/8/2006 1:31:56 PMI know I've seen this movie, but it's not hitting me as obvious, so I'll offer a guess....Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery? http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:30 GMT15682208Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/crime/MemberTagFilms.aspxcrime
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]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:21:00 GMT18064274Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Guilty-Pleasure/MemberTagFilms.aspxGuilty-Pleasure
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]]>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:25:46 GMT9449131Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spy/MemberTagFilms.aspxspy
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]]>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:02:54 GMT217638109Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/parody/MemberTagFilms.aspxparody
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