Review of "Police Squad!" (1982)

Police Squad!" (1982)

Señor B.B. Stache greets you:

The Forefather of the Naked Gun Trilogy, complete with white OJ.

I first remember bumping into this zaniness from the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams, back in the early days at Comedy Central. Back in those days (the 90's) their programming consisted of Benny Hill reruns and the original MST3k, complete with bearded host.

Capt. Frank Drebin (played by the stone-faced, dead-pan filibuster, Leslie Nielson) is a process created first from the amalgamation of various stereotypical police television show protagonists (think Dragnet meets Starsky & Hutch the Show), boiled in a flask full of well-known police television show plots and scenarios. This is distilled, 3 times to produce the most pure policeman every made. Forget about Simon Pegg in Hot Fuzz (for now. save it for later). Frank Drebin is clueless at most times, a terrible driver, a terrible shot, macho yet sensitive and vulnerable. He is a master of the police investigative methodology (a.k.a - ask Johnny the Leathery Old Shoe-Shine Boy). This does not make him a bad cop. Cops get lucky also. Capt Drebin (notice he's a Captain here) has perfected it. Along with his partner, Nordberg, and the rest of force, perfectly parody the police drama over the course of 6 golden episodes.

The show is a treasure trove of hilarious dialog and quotable quote-ables. Most of the sight gags are a bit dated and silly. The magic never came from the sight gags,however. At its core was a nonsensical and straight-faced conversation and activities in the foreground, with crazy things occurring in the background. The movies can best be described as 90 minute compilations of the best gags from this series. Think of Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different.....

If you liked Airplane 1 & 2, Naked Gun 1,2,3, or Top Secret, then you will definitely enjoy this.

I always liked the series better than the movies, even though I saw the movies first. Why? 2 words : No O.J.

Review of "Shaun of the Dead" (2004)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Señor B.B. Stache greets you:
The Winchester Pub at the End of the Universe.

This movie has been in the top 3 most played media on my DVD player over the last two years (the first two being Criterion's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the episode of Family Guy when Brian become a drug sniffing police dog). It has all the right elements in the "w-right" proportions (sorry about the pun).

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a pre-Carousel everyman working at a dead end job. Translation : 29 year old appliance salesman. He lives with 2 roommates that are the antithesis of each other. One is Ed (Nick Frost), the overweight, slightly lecherous, fart-making, gorilla impersonating, pot smoking (coincidental) underachiever. The other is Pete (Peter Serafinowicz), who is a type A personality. Shaun also has a counterpart, his girlfriend ,Liz (Kate Ashfield), who has never met his mother and wishes they could spend more time alone together (without Ed - how oxymoronic). Diane and David are Liz's friends, a.k.a. Ed's counterpart. Rounding up the cast is Shaun's Mom and Philip "He's not my dad. He's my step-dad." (Bill Nighy).

Shaun can be characterized much like Ed Norton's Fight Club character. In the modern world, Shaun is just ordinary or worse, mediocre. In the extraordinary circumstances he has been placed in, he excels, or perhaps find a purpose. The information about what is happening is in the background of the movie (newspaper headlines, TV new reports, unusual people activities,etc.), however (in a fashion typical to modern man), tends to be ignored or dismissed until it has to be taken care of on a personal basis. It is an interesting commentary/relationship on the over-saturated senses of modern humans and the media creators. It is also in line with the "zombie" genre explanation of why things are happening.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright continue their writing/directing magic from Spaced. They bring along most of the cast with them as well (Nick, Pete, Jessica Stevenson, and a couple others now credited as "zombie" extras). The dialog is great. It is sharp, full of humor and double-sided. The two provide a lot of homage to everything from Grandmaster Flash & John Romero to John Carpenter & video games. The movie is a great mix of horror, comedy and dramatic moments. There were moments I shed some salty drops and others when I was spasming on the floor laughing. Humor in the face of bizarre and terrifying moments is the overwhelming theme.

There are more quotable quotes and scenes than I have the space or time to write out. Also, it might detract from you enjoyment of the movie. My three favorite moments would have to be :

1) Zombie Acting 101

2) The choreographed zombie beat-down to "Queen-Don't Stop Me Now".

3) Introductory title sequence where the mundane activities of the extras are choreographed to "I Monster-Blue Wrath".

If you haven't seen this movie, I don't know what else to say that will convince you that this is one of the best movies of the new millennium. I you have seen it, then bugger off. Maybe you should go back and see it one more time, since its obvious you haven't had your fill yet. Get stuffed !!

Review of "Runaway Train" (1985)

Runaway Train (1985)

Señor B.B. Stache greets you:
Manheim vs Ranken

I clearly remember the VHS cover of this movie at my local video store (the fore-mentioned mom and pop local video store). I also remember bits and pieces of it from late night cable. With all this exposure, one would think I would actually get to see the movie in it's entirety. Initially, I didn't expect so much passion and depth from this movie. It also seems like this might be an homage or definitely inspired by Jules Dassin's Brute Force.

The movie revolves around a "lifer" inmate (John Voight) at an Alcatrez-like prison in the wilderness of Alaska, run by an sob warden (crazy-eyed John P. Ryan). The warden had Manny (Voight) in a solitary cell, a cell that was welded shut, for three years. The warden is forced to release him after Manny wins his litigation in this matter. Everyone knows, the warden included, as to what Manny is going to do next. Escape or Die Trying !! The escape leads to a train yard and then to a train. Did I mention it takes place during an Alaskan winter ?

This movie has it all. It first starts out as a prison movie. It is very gritty and graphic. It then turns into a escape/heist picture, complete with sidekick (Julia Robert's brother). After the conductor falls off the train, it turns into the Towering Inferno disaster movie on a train. Through all this it is still an action movie. On top of all this, it layered with Shakespearean undertones mixed with Nietschian frosting. John Voight's performance as Manny is simply amazing. I would definitely characterize it as one of his best. Manny is the grit and the experience. He is juxtaposed by the relative innocence and idealism of his sidekick, Buck (Eric Roberts). The warden is the other major player. He acts as the pursuer and yet admires and fears Manny. They are more alike than each gives the other credit for. The train becomes a small stage (or maybe a petri dish) for the human race to play it's game out on.

The finale is filled with everything a heroic epic needs. There is sacrifice, glory, determination, perseverance, freedom and a little bit of sadness. We don't actually see the finale. We just fade to gray and white. I don't think anyone could have done it better. I highly recommend this movie for fans of true cinema.