“Pain don’t hurt.” Really? That “brilliant” quote is the philosophy of Dalton, Patrick Swayze’s character in the ridiculously bad 80s action film, Road House. The extraordinarily laughable movie was screened this past weekend at Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s indy theater the Nitehawk Cinema under the talented mockery of the Raspberry Brothers. Like Mystery Science Theater 3000, they’re a group of three whose sole mission at the Nitehawk is to provide comedic and often insulting audio commentary on the week’s specially chosen movie.
They conquered Hollywood for eight glorious seasons. The boys from Queens made money, courted numerous beautiful women and left an indelible impression on American pop culture. Entourage is a show that not only defines a generation, but it gives hope for people worldwide that they too can achieve success. Everyone dreams of wealth and/or fame. It’s something all people wish for and some actually do achieve. The cast of HBO’s immensely popular show proves through their characters that if you are ambitious or lucky enough or both, you too can make your dreams a reality.
Well, they’re back. The Minions of Gozer have returned for another fun-filled weekend of Ghostbuster-shadowcasting. The venue is the same and so are the performers. Taking place once again at the popular downtown theater, the IFC Center. The Minions of Gozer are a talented group of actors who regularly perform the legendary 1984 sci-fi comedy Ghostbusters simultaneously as it plays on the screen. Think Rocky Horror Picture Show and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s in store. This time the Minions are mixing it up a bit for Pride Weekend by calling this show their Gender Bender Edition. The male roles will be played by women and the female roles will be played by men. It promises to be a very interesting weekend, to say the least.
Music is one of Earth’s oldest and most respected forms of art. For centuries, people have been entertained by soothing sounds which often contain meaning for audiences to enjoy. John Mellencamp is one such artist who has delighted many with his old school heartland rock. Amateur filmmakers Kurt Markus and his son Ian followed Mellencamp on one of his concert tours in 2009. The documentary they shot, John Mellencamp: It’s About You is a beautiful account of a musician’s journey, from artistic creation to connecting with audiences and fellow artists.
Whenever one watches a terrible movie, one is tempted to make sarcastic comments and insult whatever ridiculousness is being shown onscreen. It’s pretty much a natural reaction or instinct people have when they see something so ludicrous. This is the basis for the comedy team that is The Raspberry Brothers, three men who know what bad cinema is and how to make said bad cinema tolerable to watch. Think of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and you’ll have better idea of what these jokesters do. Their latest conquest is Road House, a Patrick Swayze action spectacle that certainly deserves the Raspberry touch.
Sweden is known worldwide for its fantastic film industry. The Swedes know how to entertain and this is extremely evident in their high-budget film-to-TV program, Arn: The Knight Templar – The Complete Series, a series which follows Arn, a young boy who grows into a noble knight. Arn is the most expensive production in Swedish cinema with a total budget of US $30 million. The complete series is now out on Blu-ray and it is a truly wonderful piece of Medieval entertainment.
Over the years, Adam Sandler has established himself as a strong comedic talent. From his early days at Saturday Night Live to his numerous drug/sex films, the man is basically Hollywood royalty. His latest film, That’s My Boy follows the standard Sandler formula, containing gross-out humor, nudity, substance abuse and over-the-top goofball characters. Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison has been cranking out this type of lowbrow tripe since 1999. Sometimes they get lucky and manage to squeeze out a watchable film but unfortunately, That’s My Boy isn’t one of them.
Classical music is one of the earliest forms of entertainment. Before electricity, talented people would perform in front of others and generate beautiful music with their musical instruments. The instruments were extensions of the players’ very beings and the violin is one type of this extension and a truly marvelous one at that. PBS has just released a very interesting documentary on DVD called Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona and if you are a violin connoisseur or just curious about the subject, then this DVD is definitely worth checking out.
Entertainment legends come and grace audiences with their mesmerizing looks as well as with their incredible talent. It takes a lot to achieve this status but when these special performers do reach that mark, it is up to the audience to accept this truly wonderful gift. One such gift is wrapped in the timeless package that is Carol Channing. She is a musical theater icon and a true Broadway legend. A new documentary is out chronicling her career called Carol Channing: Larger Than Life and it is definitely worth checking out.
In recent years, the found footage genre has established itself as a very lucrative and interesting form of entertainment. Horror and action tales seem to benefit the most from the genre. Films are often shot in this voyeuristic and exciting style. Television doesn’t follow in this trend too often and that is why ABC’s recently failed action/thriller series The River is a curious thing. The show aired and ended in the blink of an eye but that blink was actually not that bad. With a colorful cast of characters, an engaging and suspenseful story and the producing talents of Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity films) and the legendary Steven Spielberg, it’s pretty unfortunate that this gripping short-lived series simply came and went. Or should we say drowned?
Film reviews and interviews with critic (and Ghostbuster) Randy Unger!! New Episodes Air Mondays at 11 AM EST on Manhattan Neighborhood Network! MNN.org Lifestyle Channel
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