list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around A Christmas Story 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/A_Christmas_Story/40249/default.aspx Title: A Christmas Story
Year: 1983
Director: Bob Clark
Plot: Nine years after the Yuletide slasher flick Black Christmas, Porky's director Bob Clark once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps to laughs with A Christmas Story. Adapted from a memoir by humorist Jean Shepherd (who narrates), the film centers on Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), a young boy living in 1940s Indiana, desperately yearning for a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Despite protests from his mother (Melinda Dillon) that he'll shoot his eye out, Ralphie persists, unsuccessfully trying to enlist the assistance of both his teacher and Santa Claus. All the while, Ralphie finds himself dealing with the constant taunts of a pair of bullies and trying to not get in the middle of a feud between his mother and father (Darren McGavin) regarding a sexy lamp. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 128
Number of Lists: 92
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 10
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Tue, 12 May 2009 01:49:40 GMTA Christmas Story1983Bob ClarkNine years after the Yuletide slasher flick <a href=/films/260621/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Black Christmas</a>, <a href=/films/27096/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Porky's</a> director <a href="/players/P____13329/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Bob Clark</a> once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps to laughs with A Christmas Story. Adapted from a memoir by humorist <a href="/players/P___124081/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jean Shepherd</a> (who narrates), the film centers on Ralphie Parker (<a href="/players/P_____6213/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Billingsley</a>), a young boy living in 1940s Indiana, desperately yearning for a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Despite protests from his mother (<a href="/players/P____19211/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Melinda Dillon</a>) that he'll shoot his eye out, Ralphie persists, unsuccessfully trying to enlist the assistance of both his teacher and Santa Claus. All the while, Ralphie finds himself dealing with the constant taunts of a pair of bullies and trying to not get in the middle of a feud between his mother and father (<a href="/players/P___102103/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Darren McGavin</a>) regarding a sexy lamp. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide128Tag Target (>10)926104http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u49078kvo8l.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/A_Christmas_Story/40249/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/2/5/40271.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 2/5/2009 12:01:20 PM
Body: Are you one of the many sci-fi and comic book geeks who’d be more interested in Push were it not for Dakota Fanning? Sure, the precocious child star is now a teen actress (she’s about to turn 15), yet that probably makes you even more worried about her appearance in the movie. But what can you do? She’s literally everywhere this week – voicing the title character in the animated Coraline and starring in two new video releases, Hounddog and The Secret Life of Bees, both of which were released Tuesday. In the tradition of child actors continuing careers into adolescence, it’s only a matter of time before she ruins a movie that would have been better without her. We’ll have to wait until this weekend to see if that time is now, with Push, but in the meantime let’s take a look at some of the past offenders in this tradition. Most of the following former child actors (our definition: actors that began their career below the age of 13) have done great things in their adulthood, but each has done at least one film that could have been better without him or her. You may disagree with some of these picks, and you may think we’ve forgotten some (was Christian Bale really the worst part of The Dark Knight? did Mary-Kate Olsen’s disturbing kiss with Ben Kingsley take away from The Wackness?), so do share your own thoughts on former child stars below. We just ask that you keep your comments somewhat tasteful and law-abiding. BUtterfield 8 (1960) Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar for her performance in this film, and that’s basically the problem. Everyone knew then as they know now that she only won the award because she came down with a near-fatal illness weeks prior to the ceremony. Of course, she was nominated without such sympathy being the reason, so shouldn’t that mean the performance is still great? Well, that’s certainly debatable, but many critics today claim this to be one of the worst best actress wins of all time. So, if you go into BUtterfield 8 expecting an Oscar-worthy film, it’s going to be ruined for you. The Cat’s Meow (2001) Kirsten Dunst, who made her debut at age 7 in Woody Allen’s segment of New York Stories, got to work with another ‘70s cinema great, Peter Bogdanovich, in this comedic telling of an infamous Hollywood scandal. She portrays silent film actress Marion Davies, who becomes the catalyst in the scandal when her boyfriend, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann), discovers she’s having an affair with Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard). The irony is that Dunst is so annoying in the role that it’s hard to believe any guys would fight over her. Many Dunst fans continually defend her performance in the film, but if it’s not her acting that ruins The Cat’s Meow, it’s at least her singing, which can be heard during the closing credits. Donnie Darko (2001) Drew Barrymore may be the most adorable thing to happen to romantic comedies since Jean Arthur, but occasionally she tries to make us believe she can do other roles. Unfortunately, she’s just not fit for most jobs, and English teacher is certainly one of them. Somehow in Donnie Darko her awkward speaking voice is even worse than usual, and she comes off sounding like she knows this and is attempting to enunciate as best she can in spite of the problem. Well, Drew, there’s a reason Spielberg hasn’t cast you in a sci-fi flick since E.T., you simply can’t pull off the dialogue. Garden State (2004) Natalie Portman didn’t make her film debut until she was 13 (in Leon, aka The Professional), but she did begin acting three years earlier, so we’re allowing her to make the list. How can we not? There isn’t a Garden State hater out there who doesn’t blame Portman and her obnoxious, flaky love interest character for ruining the film. Yet she was once the young girl that made tons of these cinephiles relate to a questionably friendly Timothy Hutton in Beautiful Girls. A year after Garden State, fellow former child starlet Kirsten Dunst (see above) played a similarly obnoxious and flaky love interest in the similarly plotted Elizabethtown. But at least Dunst had Orlando Bloom to make her seem talented by comparison. Portman is all alone in her ruination here. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) Ron Howard, child star-turned-Oscar-winning filmmaker, has a special circumstance that warrants his inclusion on this list. Unlike the other nine, he managed to ruin a movie he wasn’t even involved in. Notice both the title and the date above. Or click on the link. That’s the old animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss holiday classic, which Howard ruined by directing his live-action version. You could also say that he ruined the book, and you could say that he ruined his own movie by making the latter so terribly horrendous. But it’s Chuck Jones’ earlier film that was most adversely affected by the release of 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (often listed simply as The Grinch), because how many children will now grow up with the ugly Jim Carrey-starring version instead of the wonderful Boris Karloff-narrated one? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Shia LaBeouf, like Natalie Portman, barely makes the child actor cutoff, but he needs to be included because we need to keep chastising him for ruining not only the latest Indiana Jones movie, but also the whole franchise. Maybe there were indeed other faults with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Plenty of people credit the “nuke the fridge” scene as the downturn in both the film and the series, for instance. But most of us were forgiving up until Shia swung through the trees like Tarzan. So, he’s clearly to blame. It’s quite a shame, too, because he’s pretty much the only thing that really saves the Transformers movies. Inside Man (2006) Jodie Foster has often seemed out of place in movies. She doesn’t feel right in period romances, such as Sommersby and Anna and the King, but she’s a good enough actress that she’s forgiven for such casting faults. As for Inside Man, well, even her Oscar-winning talent couldn’t keep her from appearing ill fit for her role. Part of the problem is the character itself, that of a woman who comes off far less intelligent and tough than she should (the same kind of character ruined The Bourne Supremacy a year earlier). You want Foster, a smart and strong woman in real life and typically on screen, to be more and do more. But she hardly contributes to the film and if anything slows it and dumbs it down too much. Hopefully the rumors are correct that her character will not return in Inside Man 2. Monster (2003) Christina Ricci is not really a good actress to begin with, but if you cast her opposite a great performance she comes off as seeming a downright terrible actress. This is what happened with Monster, in which Charlize Theron does her Oscar-winning best at becoming unrecognizable. Next to that transformation, Ricci just looks like Ricci, and a really untalented Ricci at that. For the amount of screen time Ricci’s lesbian love-interest character is allotted, Patty Jenkins really should have gotten someone better. Because not only does the performance end up awful next to Theron’s, it ruins a film that is otherwise worth watching for the acting. Silver Screen Confidential (1996) Scott Schwartz actually won an award for this adult film, in which he gives a non-sex performance. It wasn’t his first porn nor was it his last, but because of the recognition he received for this one, it’s being used as the exemplary title. While creepy people out there tend to count down to the day that female child stars reach the age of 18, probably in the hopes that the girls will quickly appear in their first legal nude scene, it is unlikely that anyone was waiting for the day the kid from The Toy, A Christmas Story and Kidco would enter a career in porn. To be honest, we haven’t actually seen any of Schwartz’s adult titles, but we can imagine his appearance is quite distracting to anybody who recognizes him as “Flick” while otherwise trying to get off watching Jenna Jameson. Still, Schwartz does star in his very own title, Scotty’s X-Rated Adventure, so maybe he’s somehow a draw? X-Men (2000) Anna Paquin is the prime reason why the Academy needs to stop allowing child actors Oscar nominations. Yes, Paquin was terrific in The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But then look what happened: she grew up to be an irritating starlet who could ruin a film by Spike Lee, Cameron Crowe or Gus Van Sant with just a single whiny-voiced line while playing the same nymphet character over and over and over. So what if she can claim to have confirmed her talent with a recent Golden Globe win (for TV work)? That still doesn’t take back the fact that she stunk up the first X-Men, one of her rare deviations from her typecast Lolita roles, enough to make it a huge disappointment. Fortunately with the sequels, not even her lack of talent could depreciate X2, and she was far from the worst thing about X-Men: The Last Stand. Thankfully she won’t be in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, nor will she likely be given her own spin-off. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:01:20 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com2/5/2009 12:01:20 PMAre you one of the many sci-fi and comic book geeks who’d be more interested in Push were it not for Dakota Fanning? Sure, the precocious child star is now a teen actress (she’s about to turn 15), yet that probably makes you even more worried about her appearance in the movie. But what can you do? She’s literally everywhere this week – voicing the title character in the animated Coraline and starring in two new video releases, Hounddog and The Secret Life of Bees, both of which were released Tuesday. In the tradition of child actors continuing careers into adolescence, it’s only a matter of time before she ruins a movie that would have been better without her. We’ll have to wait until this weekend to see if that time is now, with Push, but in the meantime let’s take a look at some of the past offenders in this tradition. Most of the following former child actors (our definition: actors that began their career below the age of 13) have done great things in their adulthood, but each has done at least one film that could have been better without him or her. You may disagree with some of these picks, and you may think we’ve forgotten some (was Christian Bale really the worst part of The Dark Knight? did Mary-Kate Olsen’s disturbing kiss with Ben Kingsley take away from The Wackness?), so do share your own thoughts on former child stars below. We just ask that you keep your comments somewhat tasteful and law-abiding. BUtterfield 8 (1960) Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar for her performance in this film, and that’s basically the problem. Everyone knew then as they know now that she only won the award because she came down with a near-fatal illness weeks prior to the ceremony. Of course, she was nominated without such sympathy being the reason, so shouldn’t that mean the performance is still great? Well, that’s certainly debatable, but many critics today claim this to be one of the worst best actress wins of all time. So, if you go into BUtterfield 8 expecting an Oscar-worthy film, it’s going to be ruined for you. The Cat’s Meow (2001) Kirsten Dunst, who made her debut at age 7 in Woody Allen’s segment of New York Stories, got to work with another ‘70s cinema great, Peter Bogdanovich, in this comedic telling of an infamous Hollywood scandal. She portrays silent film actress Marion Davies, who becomes the catalyst in the scandal when her boyfriend, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann), discovers she’s having an affair with Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard). The irony is that Dunst is so annoying in the role that it’s hard to believe any guys would fight over her. Many Dunst fans continually defend her performance in the film, but if it’s not her acting that ruins The Cat’s Meow, it’s at least her singing, which can be heard during the closing credits. Donnie Darko (2001) Drew Barrymore may be the most adorable thing to happen to romantic comedies since Jean Arthur, but occasionally she tries to make us believe she can do other roles. Unfortunately, she’s just not fit for most jobs, and English teacher is certainly one of them. Somehow in Donnie Darko her awkward speaking voice is even worse than usual, and she comes off sounding like she knows this and is attempting to enunciate as best she can in spite of the problem. Well, Drew, there’s a reason Spielberg hasn’t cast you in a sci-fi flick since E.T., you simply can’t pull off the dialogue. Garden State (2004) Natalie Portman didn’t make her film debut until she was 13 (in Leon, aka The Professional), but she did begin acting three years earlier, so we’re allowing her to make the list. How can we not? There isn’t a Garden State hater out there who doesn’t blame Portman and her obnoxious, flaky love interest character for ruining the film. Yet she was once the young girl that made tons of these cinephiles relate to a questionably friendly Timothy Hutton in Beautiful Girls. A year after Garden State, fellow former child starlet Kirsten Dunst (see above) played a similarly obnoxious and flaky love interest in the similarly plotted Elizabethtown. But at least Dunst had Orlando Bloom to make her seem talented by comparison. Portman is all alone in her ruination here. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) Ron Howard, child star-turned-Oscar-winning filmmaker, has a special circumstance that warrants his inclusion on this list. Unlike the other nine, he managed to ruin a movie he wasn’t even involved in. Notice both the title and the date above. Or click on the link. That’s the old animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss holiday classic, which Howard ruined by directing his live-action version. You could also say that he ruined the book, and you could say that he ruined his own movie by making the latter so terribly horrendous. But it’s Chuck Jones’ earlier film that was most adversely affected by the release of 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (often listed simply as The Grinch), because how many children will now grow up with the ugly Jim Carrey-starring version instead of the wonderful Boris Karloff-narrated one? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Shia LaBeouf, like Natalie Portman, barely makes the child actor cutoff, but he needs to be included because we need to keep chastising him for ruining not only the latest Indiana Jones movie, but also the whole franchise. Maybe there were indeed other faults with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Plenty of people credit the “nuke the fridge” scene as the downturn in both the film and the series, for instance. But most of us were forgiving up until Shia swung through the trees like Tarzan. So, he’s clearly to blame. It’s quite a shame, too, because he’s pretty much the only thing that really saves the Transformers movies. Inside Man (2006) Jodie Foster has often seemed out of place in movies. She doesn’t feel right in period romances, such as Sommersby and Anna and the King, but she’s a good enough actress that she’s forgiven for such casting faults. As for Inside Man, well, even her Oscar-winning talent couldn’t keep her from appearing ill fit for her role. Part of the problem is the character itself, that of a woman who comes off far less intelligent and tough than she should (the same kind of character ruined The Bourne Supremacy a year earlier). You want Foster, a smart and strong woman in real life and typically on screen, to be more and do more. But she hardly contributes to the film and if anything slows it and dumbs it down too much. Hopefully the rumors are correct that her character will not return in Inside Man 2. Monster (2003) Christina Ricci is not really a good actress to begin with, but if you cast her opposite a great performance she comes off as seeming a downright terrible actress. This is what happened with Monster, in which Charlize Theron does her Oscar-winning best at becoming unrecognizable. Next to that transformation, Ricci just looks like Ricci, and a really untalented Ricci at that. For the amount of screen time Ricci’s lesbian love-interest character is allotted, Patty Jenkins really should have gotten someone better. Because not only does the performance end up awful next to Theron’s, it ruins a film that is otherwise worth watching for the acting. Silver Screen Confidential (1996) Scott Schwartz actually won an award for this adult film, in which he gives a non-sex performance. It wasn’t his first porn nor was it his last, but because of the recognition he received for this one, it’s being used as the exemplary title. While creepy people out there tend to count down to the day that female child stars reach the age of 18, probably in the hopes that the girls will quickly appear in their first legal nude scene, it is unlikely that anyone was waiting for the day the kid from The Toy, A Christmas Story and Kidco would enter a career in porn. To be honest, we haven’t actually seen any of Schwartz’s adult titles, but we can imagine his appearance is quite distracting to anybody who recognizes him as “Flick” while otherwise trying to get off watching Jenna Jameson. Still, Schwartz does star in his very own title, Scotty’s X-Rated Adventure, so maybe he’s somehow a draw? X-Men (2000) Anna Paquin is the prime reason why the Academy needs to stop allowing child actors Oscar nominations. Yes, Paquin was terrific in The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But then look what happened: she grew up to be an irritating starlet who could ruin a film by Spike Lee, Cameron Crowe or Gus Van Sant with just a single whiny-voiced line while playing the same nymphet character over and over and over. So what if she can claim to have confirmed her talent with a recent Golden Globe win (for TV work)? That still doesn’t take back the fact that she stunk up the first X-Men, one of her rare deviations from her typecast Lolita roles, enough to make it a huge disappointment. Fortunately with the sequels, not even her lack of talent could depreciate X2, and she was far from the worst thing about X-Men: The Last Stand. Thankfully she won’t be in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, nor will she likely be given her own spin-off. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/18/38541.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/18/2008 12:01:26 PM
Body: Free. Totally gratis. No pay. If you’re reluctant to contribute to The Day the Earth Stood Still’s box office gross (or if you already have, and need a cleansing), we’ve unearthed some science fiction classics that you can view online, completely free of charge. The People That Time Forgot Made in 1977, this movie didn’t blow cash on the special effects. It seems like they poured everything into the cavegirl’s fake boobs and her fur-bespangled outfit. But, the acting and the story in this is actually pretty darn good. If you can get past the the terrible dinosaur costumes, this is actually pretty decent, and ripe for a remake. The Last Man On Earth The first of the many different adaptations of Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, this one stars Vincent Price and in my book is much better than Charlton Heston’s The Omega Man version. (Why Price and Heston never teamed up in a movie to fight monsters, I’ll never know.) Now instead of zombies, it’s vampires, and Price spends a lot of time stocking up on garlic and mirrors, and busies himself by making wooden stakes at home. The Phantom Empire Ray guns, aliens, sunken empires, and… Gene Autry? Probably not something you’ve ever seen in a list together. Probably because it’s not very good. You’ve got Gene stopping to sing songs and address his radio audience before saddling back up to fight the bad guys, and it feels like a big commercial for Gene Autry. But my dad got a real kick out of seeing this, and there’s probably someone in your family who will too. Pure nostalgic science fiction cheese. It’s a movie serial, with each episode about a half hour in length. You can watch the other 11 episodes right under the first one. The Thing While it’s not really as old as some of the other movies on this list, it’s definitely a classic. And even though it’s a remake of Howard Hawks’ 1951 The Thing, it doesn’t suffer from Hollywood remakeitis. It’s actually better than the original, and still one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. While I really don’t care for horror movies, I love them when there’s a touch of science fiction tossed in for good measure. Plus this isn’t the pretty boy, nice guy Kurt Russell, this is the ass-kicking, dialogue-shouting version. Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea This 1961 movie spawned a television of the same name that ran for four seasons, and if you can get past the extremely cheesy title song, you’ll find that it’s actually a pretty darn good movie. The Earth’s Van Allen radiation belt catches fire, and it’s up to brilliant scientists aboard the state of the art submarine the Seaview to fix everything. If that doesn’t sound like a recipe for adventure, then you really need to ask Santa for some new excitement genes at Christmas. Night of the Living Dead Normally zombies are just zombies. They fall under the category of “supernatural.” However, when those zombies are created by radioactive fallout, then you have science fiction zombies. That’s worth the cost of admission (which is free) any day of the week. This is the George Romero classic that started it all, and while it might not really say Happy Holidays, it sure beats watching A Christmas Story for the eighth time in a row. The Crawling Hand When an astronaut’s vehicle crashes to back to Earth and a teenager finds his severed arm, you’d tend to think “What sort of person would keep a thing like that?” When that arm comes to life and starts killing people, you think “Well, that’s what you get.” So this movie is straight up 1960s horror camp, but it’s an astronaut’s arm, so I’m calling borderline science fiction. Also, Alan Hale Jr., better known as the Skipper from Gilligan’s Island, has a beefy role in this. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians Yes, this is the same movie that you’ve probably seen on Mystery Science Theater 3000 before but it’s so bizarre and strange, that you need to see the original version for yourself to believe. Most of the MST3K guys (and gal) have reassembled themselves as Cinematic Titanic, and they re-riffed this movie from top to bottom. It’s painful but hilarious, and does indeed feature Santa Claus conquering the Martians… after a fashion. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:01:26 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/18/2008 12:01:26 PMFree. Totally gratis. No pay. If you’re reluctant to contribute to The Day the Earth Stood Still’s box office gross (or if you already have, and need a cleansing), we’ve unearthed some science fiction classics that you can view online, completely free of charge. The People That Time Forgot Made in 1977, this movie didn’t blow cash on the special effects. It seems like they poured everything into the cavegirl’s fake boobs and her fur-bespangled outfit. But, the acting and the story in this is actually pretty darn good. If you can get past the the terrible dinosaur costumes, this is actually pretty decent, and ripe for a remake. The Last Man On Earth The first of the many different adaptations of Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, this one stars Vincent Price and in my book is much better than Charlton Heston’s The Omega Man version. (Why Price and Heston never teamed up in a movie to fight monsters, I’ll never know.) Now instead of zombies, it’s vampires, and Price spends a lot of time stocking up on garlic and mirrors, and busies himself by making wooden stakes at home. The Phantom Empire Ray guns, aliens, sunken empires, and… Gene Autry? Probably not something you’ve ever seen in a list together. Probably because it’s not very good. You’ve got Gene stopping to sing songs and address his radio audience before saddling back up to fight the bad guys, and it feels like a big commercial for Gene Autry. But my dad got a real kick out of seeing this, and there’s probably someone in your family who will too. Pure nostalgic science fiction cheese. It’s a movie serial, with each episode about a half hour in length. You can watch the other 11 episodes right under the first one. The Thing While it’s not really as old as some of the other movies on this list, it’s definitely a classic. And even though it’s a remake of Howard Hawks’ 1951 The Thing, it doesn’t suffer from Hollywood remakeitis. It’s actually better than the original, and still one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. While I really don’t care for horror movies, I love them when there’s a touch of science fiction tossed in for good measure. Plus this isn’t the pretty boy, nice guy Kurt Russell, this is the ass-kicking, dialogue-shouting version. Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea This 1961 movie spawned a television of the same name that ran for four seasons, and if you can get past the extremely cheesy title song, you’ll find that it’s actually a pretty darn good movie. The Earth’s Van Allen radiation belt catches fire, and it’s up to brilliant scientists aboard the state of the art submarine the Seaview to fix everything. If that doesn’t sound like a recipe for adventure, then you really need to ask Santa for some new excitement genes at Christmas. Night of the Living Dead Normally zombies are just zombies. They fall under the category of “supernatural.” However, when those zombies are created by radioactive fallout, then you have science fiction zombies. That’s worth the cost of admission (which is free) any day of the week. This is the George Romero classic that started it all, and while it might not really say Happy Holidays, it sure beats watching A Christmas Story for the eighth time in a row. The Crawling Hand When an astronaut’s vehicle crashes to back to Earth and a teenager finds his severed arm, you’d tend to think “What sort of person would keep a thing like that?” When that arm comes to life and starts killing people, you think “Well, that’s what you get.” So this movie is straight up 1960s horror camp, but it’s an astronaut’s arm, so I’m calling borderline science fiction. Also, Alan Hale Jr., better known as the Skipper from Gilligan’s Island, has a beefy role in this. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians Yes, this is the same movie that you’ve probably seen on Mystery Science Theater 3000 before but it’s so bizarre and strange, that you need to see the original version for yourself to believe. Most of the MST3K guys (and gal) have reassembled themselves as Cinematic Titanic, and they re-riffed this movie from top to bottom. It’s painful but hilarious, and does indeed feature Santa Claus conquering the Martians… after a fashion. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_December_15_Ho_Ho_Ho/625/38428/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 12/15/2008 10:34:59 PM
Body: A Christmas Story Without a second thought, my favorite Christmas movie. I owe this movie SO MUCH for bringing my semi-dysfunctional family together every holiday season. Just about the time when everyone has had enough food and alcohol and the conversation begins to lull, I turn this movie on and all that hate and resentment for each other just melts away and another Christmas disaster is avoided. Thank you A Christmas Story! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Another film that seems to help subside all those eggnog induced rages with my family members. Home Alone Grew up with this movie and have loved it each and every time I've watched it. For some reason, it never gets old for me. Too bad that mischievous boy grew up to be a whole lot of crazy. Scrooged This is the only Scrooge inspired film that I like. Bill Murray is spot on throughout. A Nightmare Before Christmas Probably no explanation needed for this one. The Family Stone Didn't get too much attention during and after its release, but a great fractured family film.
]]>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:34:59 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme12/15/2008 10:34:59 PMA Christmas Story Without a second thought, my favorite Christmas movie. I owe this movie SO MUCH for bringing my semi-dysfunctional family together every holiday season. Just about the time when everyone has had enough food and alcohol and the conversation begins to lull, I turn this movie on and all that hate and resentment for each other just melts away and another Christmas disaster is avoided. Thank you A Christmas Story! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Another film that seems to help subside all those eggnog induced rages with my family members. Home Alone Grew up with this movie and have loved it each and every time I've watched it. For some reason, it never gets old for me. Too bad that mischievous boy grew up to be a whole lot of crazy. Scrooged This is the only Scrooge inspired film that I like. Bill Murray is spot on throughout. A Nightmare Before Christmas Probably no explanation needed for this one. The Family Stone Didn't get too much attention during and after its release, but a great fractured family film. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_December_15_Ho_Ho_Ho/625/38426/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 12/15/2008 8:36:32 PM
Body: Alright, so it's about a week and a half before Christmas and I'm trying to think of a new theme for this week. The problem is, all of these damn Christmas movies I've been seeing lately have really been distracting. So, screw it, let's go. I have been re-watching quite a few of them recently. It's a Wonderful Life is one of those that is really easy to forget just how incredible it is. If you haven't seen it in recent history, I suggest you refresh your memory................ or an angel will be set on fire. I was surprised at how well Gremlins stood the test of time. I hadn't seen this one since I was just a lil' whipper snapper and I had just as much fun with it this time around. And I was actually really taken aback at how much I still love A Christmas Story. I usually catch this one on tv just about every year but I never really sit down to watch it. Well I bought the dvd for the family last week and we all sat down to watch it. A fun time was had by all. Danny Boyle made a Christmas movie called Millions... I liked it.. I would also suggest that everyone check out Joyeux Noel. This is a Christmas movie that takes place in the trenches of WWI. It is absolutely one of the most endearing stories ever told. So, in a pinch - there you have it. I guess I'm really interested in hearing which holiday films (if any) actually put you in the spirit. Or are we all just a bit too old for that now? I know Christmas is an entirely different experience when your all grown up but I have to admit, watching Ralphie give a beat-down to the local bully while sreaming, "FRIGGLE FRAGGLE MACK'N DOG SMUCKERS JACKER SNACKER" brings it all back.
]]>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:36:32 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme12/15/2008 8:36:32 PMAlright, so it's about a week and a half before Christmas and I'm trying to think of a new theme for this week. The problem is, all of these damn Christmas movies I've been seeing lately have really been distracting. So, screw it, let's go. I have been re-watching quite a few of them recently. It's a Wonderful Life is one of those that is really easy to forget just how incredible it is. If you haven't seen it in recent history, I suggest you refresh your memory................ or an angel will be set on fire. I was surprised at how well Gremlins stood the test of time. I hadn't seen this one since I was just a lil' whipper snapper and I had just as much fun with it this time around. And I was actually really taken aback at how much I still love A Christmas Story. I usually catch this one on tv just about every year but I never really sit down to watch it. Well I bought the dvd for the family last week and we all sat down to watch it. A fun time was had by all. Danny Boyle made a Christmas movie called Millions... I liked it.. I would also suggest that everyone check out Joyeux Noel. This is a Christmas movie that takes place in the trenches of WWI. It is absolutely one of the most endearing stories ever told. So, in a pinch - there you have it. I guess I'm really interested in hearing which holiday films (if any) actually put you in the spirit. Or are we all just a bit too old for that now? I know Christmas is an entirely different experience when your all grown up but I have to admit, watching Ralphie give a beat-down to the local bully while sreaming, "FRIGGLE FRAGGLE MACK'N DOG SMUCKERS JACKER SNACKER" brings it all back. http://www.spout.com/groups/Christmas_Movies/Re_Favorite_Christmas_Movie/178/35912/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: filmgal81
Post To: Christmas Movies
Post Date: 10/5/2008 8:44:16 PM
Body: There are so many to choose from ( many of which have already been named multiple times). So, on top of all of the ones already mentioned, i am also a HUGE fan of the following: 1) Alf's Christmas Special (Part of the Season 2 DVD set) Seriously, if you've never seen this half hour special you should. Alf encounters three very different people, all who teach Alf that Christmas is not about what you can get, but "about giving of yourself." 2) Mickey's Christmas Carol 3) Jack Frost ( animated Rankin & Bass version) [quote user="superdrive0"] What's your favorite christmas movie? Mine is definitely A Christmas Story. I watch it all the time, even when it's not christmas. [/quote]
]]>Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:44:16 GMTfilmgal81Christmas Movies10/5/2008 8:44:16 PMThere are so many to choose from ( many of which have already been named multiple times). So, on top of all of the ones already mentioned, i am also a HUGE fan of the following: 1) Alf's Christmas Special (Part of the Season 2 DVD set) Seriously, if you've never seen this half hour special you should. Alf encounters three very different people, all who teach Alf that Christmas is not about what you can get, but "about giving of yourself." 2) Mickey's Christmas Carol 3) Jack Frost ( animated Rankin &amp; Bass version) [quote user="superdrive0"] What's your favorite christmas movie? Mine is definitely A Christmas Story. I watch it all the time, even when it's not christmas. [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/Re_WEDNESDAY_Eagle_Eye_Challenge/563/35523/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: RaeRae84
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 9/25/2008 1:48:30 AM
Body: [quote user="SkyPilot"] Wednesday Eagle Eye Challenge Hey, you guys are good at this! Eagle Eye (2008) (1) michelle monaghan Mission: Impossible III (2006) (2) tom cruise Vanilla Sky (2001) (3) new york Ghostbusters (1984) (4) ghosts A Christmas Carol (1939) (5) christmas A Christmas Story (1983) (6) narators The Sandlot (1993) (7) omens Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (8) main character lives with aunt and uncle The Wizard of Oz (1939) (9)melting villans Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 10. In each film besides Eagle Eye and M:I3, a character has a dream. (one word answer) [/quote]
]]>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:48:30 GMTRaeRae84Filmgaming9/25/2008 1:48:30 AM[quote user="SkyPilot"] Wednesday Eagle Eye Challenge Hey, you guys are good at this! Eagle Eye (2008) (1) michelle monaghan Mission: Impossible III (2006) (2) tom cruise Vanilla Sky (2001) (3) new york Ghostbusters (1984) (4) ghosts A Christmas Carol (1939) (5) christmas A Christmas Story (1983) (6) narators The Sandlot (1993) (7) omens Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (8) main character lives with aunt and uncle The Wizard of Oz (1939) (9)melting villans Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 10. In each film besides Eagle Eye and M:I3, a character has a dream. (one word answer) [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/WEDNESDAY_Eagle_Eye_Challenge/563/35477/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 9/24/2008 9:50:56 AM
Body: Wednesday Eagle Eye Challenge Hey, you guys are good at this! Eagle Eye (2008) (1) Mission: Impossible III (2006) (2) Vanilla Sky (2001) (3) Hint: watch the Vanilla Sky trailer. Where is Tom Cruise? Ghostbusters (1984) (4) A Christmas Carol (1939) (5) A Christmas Story (1983) (6) Hint: what would Fred Savage notice about these films? The Sandlot (1993) (7) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (8) The Wizard of Oz (1939) (9) Hint: think about the villains Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 10. In each film besides Eagle Eye and M:I3, a character has a _________ . (one word answer)
]]>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:50:56 GMTSkyPilotFilmgaming9/24/2008 9:50:56 AMWednesday Eagle Eye Challenge Hey, you guys are good at this! Eagle Eye (2008) (1) Mission: Impossible III (2006) (2) Vanilla Sky (2001) (3) Hint: watch the Vanilla Sky trailer. Where is Tom Cruise? Ghostbusters (1984) (4) A Christmas Carol (1939) (5) A Christmas Story (1983) (6) Hint: what would Fred Savage notice about these films? The Sandlot (1993) (7) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (8) The Wizard of Oz (1939) (9) Hint: think about the villains Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 10. In each film besides Eagle Eye and M:I3, a character has a _________ . (one word answer) http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_July_7_Foodie_Heaven/625/32210/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/7/2008 6:32:58 AM
Body: Moving along from the depressingly bleak visions of man struggling to survive after the apocalypse, let's spend some time examining films that revolve around humankind's love of food in all it's myriad forms. We all know at least one scene from a film that involves food (from the orgasm sandwich in When Harry Met Sally to the beggars feast in Viridiana or the Chinese restaurant Christmas dinner in A Christmas Story etcetera), but let's discuss those lesser in abundance films in which the entirety of the plot focuses primarily on food. Recently, Ratatouille seemed to bring out the gourmand in a lot of people (similar to what Big Night did more than a decade ago) while No Reservations just seemed to turn everyone's stomachs. Waitress brought about renewed interest in the realm of baking (pies in particular) and Tim Burton's re-imagined Charlie and the Chocolate Factory once again sent everyone's sweet tooth into a diabetic coma. While it could be argued that every zombie movie could be among this list, the best horror movies involving food have been Dumplings, which after watching has made the sound of someone slurping soup make my skin crawl, Blood Feast, which is a more visceral and straightforward version of Fried Green Tomatoes (without all that sappy crap), and of course Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in which food finally gets its revenge on us. On the documentary side of things we have Super Size Me and King Corn (and maybe the faux-based-on-real-events-exploitation-book-adaptation-movie Fast Food Nation). Lastly, some of my guilty pleasures have to be Waiting..., an amazing expose into the behavior of over-worked and under-paid restaurant employee's. Pieces of April, which centers around the amazingly stressful preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. What's Eating Gilbert Grape? which is surprisingly all about food when you think about it (preparing meals for his obese mother, the gentrification of small towns by Wal-Mart-like supermarkets and fast food restaurants, and the main character working in a grocery store and delivering "ice cream" to the local bored housewives). And The Last Supper which turns family dinners into Liberal Judgement Day. So now, where's the beef? I mean, what are some of your favorite foodie flicks?
]]>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:32:58 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme7/7/2008 6:32:58 AM Moving along from the depressingly bleak visions of man struggling to survive after the apocalypse, let's spend some time examining films that revolve around humankind's love of food in all it's myriad forms. We all know at least one scene from a film that involves food (from the orgasm sandwich in When Harry Met Sally to the beggars feast in Viridiana or the Chinese restaurant Christmas dinner in A Christmas Story etcetera), but let's discuss those lesser in abundance films in which the entirety of the plot focuses primarily on food. Recently, Ratatouille seemed to bring out the gourmand in a lot of people (similar to what Big Night did more than a decade ago) while No Reservations just seemed to turn everyone's stomachs. Waitress brought about renewed interest in the realm of baking (pies in particular) and Tim Burton's re-imagined Charlie and the Chocolate Factory once again sent everyone's sweet tooth into a diabetic coma. While it could be argued that every zombie movie could be among this list, the best horror movies involving food have been Dumplings, which after watching has made the sound of someone slurping soup make my skin crawl, Blood Feast, which is a more visceral and straightforward version of Fried Green Tomatoes (without all that sappy crap), and of course Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in which food finally gets its revenge on us. On the documentary side of things we have Super Size Me and King Corn (and maybe the faux-based-on-real-events-exploitation-book-adaptation-movie Fast Food Nation). Lastly, some of my guilty pleasures have to be Waiting..., an amazing expose into the behavior of over-worked and under-paid restaurant employee's. Pieces of April, which centers around the amazingly stressful preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. What's Eating Gilbert Grape? which is surprisingly all about food when you think about it (preparing meals for his obese mother, the gentrification of small towns by Wal-Mart-like supermarkets and fast food restaurants, and the main character working in a grocery store and delivering "ice cream" to the local bored housewives). And The Last Supper which turns family dinners into Liberal Judgement Day. So now, where's the beef? I mean, what are some of your favorite foodie flicks? http://www.spout.com/blogs/lopezdash/archive/2008/7/1/31954.aspx Post By: lopezdash
Post To: The Movie Blog
Post Date: 7/1/2008 11:09:26 AM
Body: I seem to be in the minority here, but I absolutely cannot stand this movie. I love my father. He's a great guy. But as soon as TNT starts airing this film on the first of December, I don't think he changes the channel. So as a child, I was forced to site through viewing after viewing of A Christmas Story. I must have watched it at thirty times each year, two or three times on Christmas Day alone. And as something of an experienced viewer, I can tell you that neither the story or the characters become more compelling after the second, third, or fourteenth time you watch it. And, seriously, what kind of parent would let their kids play with a gun? And in the snow, no less. Stupid kid deserved to shoot his eye out.
]]>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:09:26 GMTlopezdashThe Movie Blog7/1/2008 11:09:26 AMI seem to be in the minority here, but I absolutely cannot stand this movie. I love my father. He's a great guy. But as soon as TNT starts airing this film on the first of December, I don't think he changes the channel. So as a child, I was forced to site through viewing after viewing of A Christmas Story. I must have watched it at thirty times each year, two or three times on Christmas Day alone. And as something of an experienced viewer, I can tell you that neither the story or the characters become more compelling after the second, third, or fourteenth time you watch it. And, seriously, what kind of parent would let their kids play with a gun? And in the snow, no less. Stupid kid deserved to shoot his eye out. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/5/30545.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/5/2008 12:00:33 PM
Body: Back in February, I was almost completely against Kung Fu Panda, the latest from DreamWorks Animation, which opens in theaters tomorrow. And while I’m still not too interested in seeing it, I’ve grown a little more appreciation for Jack Black than I had while writing my review of the trailer. Yeah, he actually made me laugh in that brilliant Tropic Thunder viral video made for the MTV Movie Awards. Plus, I have to give Kung Fu Panda credit for not being as bad as Karate Dog, a 2004 made-for-TV movie from Bob Clark (A Christmas Story) featuring a talking dog voiced by Chevy Chase and a campy villain played by Oscar-winner Jon Voight. Think it couldn’t be that bad? Check out the fight sequence above. And then check out the trailer, which exposes the ripping off of a classic WB ‘toon (One Froggy Evening) and a classic French play (Cyrano de Bergerac). Its worst offense, though, is its title. Talk about racism, or at least Orientalism, or simply lazy Hollywood ignorance. Despite being set in Chinatown and having a dog that practices the Chinese martial art of Kung Fu, they went with a title that refers to the Japanese martial art of Karate, which has nothing to do with the movie. But I guess it sounds like The Karate Kid, so it made sense to whomever was in charge. Kung Fu Panda is looking pretty good all of a sudden. Other videos that make Kung Fu Panda look better than originally thought: this Blockbuster ad; this cute clip featuring one of those confused Kung Fu/Karate Hamster toys; this Kung Fu cow from the movie Kung Pow! Enter the Fist. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:00:33 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/5/2008 12:00:33 PM Back in February, I was almost completely against Kung Fu Panda, the latest from DreamWorks Animation, which opens in theaters tomorrow. And while I’m still not too interested in seeing it, I’ve grown a little more appreciation for Jack Black than I had while writing my review of the trailer. Yeah, he actually made me laugh in that brilliant Tropic Thunder viral video made for the MTV Movie Awards. Plus, I have to give Kung Fu Panda credit for not being as bad as Karate Dog, a 2004 made-for-TV movie from Bob Clark (A Christmas Story) featuring a talking dog voiced by Chevy Chase and a campy villain played by Oscar-winner Jon Voight. Think it couldn’t be that bad? Check out the fight sequence above. And then check out the trailer, which exposes the ripping off of a classic WB ‘toon (One Froggy Evening) and a classic French play (Cyrano de Bergerac). Its worst offense, though, is its title. Talk about racism, or at least Orientalism, or simply lazy Hollywood ignorance. Despite being set in Chinatown and having a dog that practices the Chinese martial art of Kung Fu, they went with a title that refers to the Japanese martial art of Karate, which has nothing to do with the movie. But I guess it sounds like The Karate Kid, so it made sense to whomever was in charge. Kung Fu Panda is looking pretty good all of a sudden. Other videos that make Kung Fu Panda look better than originally thought: this Blockbuster ad; this cute clip featuring one of those confused Kung Fu/Karate Hamster toys; this Kung Fu cow from the movie Kung Pow! Enter the Fist. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspxfunny
Number of films tagged: 607

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]]>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:38:24 GMT10862531340Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/hilarious/MemberTagFilms.aspxhilarious
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]]>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:51:56 GMT23013082Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/radio/MemberTagFilms.aspxradio
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