Comedy Film - Page 9

Nosferatu@Cult Labs · #81 9th January 2016, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

When i was at school a few of us were heavily into American football. I decided the Redskins would be my team. It was the time of Jay Schroeder, Art Monk etal.

I picked up the rules really quickly, part in thanks to an excellent year book Marks and Spencer brought out in the mid to late 80's. There were around thirty of us heavily into it. We even used to play it during break and dinner time. I wasn't a bad thrower of the ball, but a better catcher. Some of the lads had real quarterback talent it seemed, always got the correct spin and distance on the laces during a throw.

I lost interest once we left school and the group broke up.

I knew some people who also into American football in the 1980s when I was at junior school, but didn't record the late-night highlights show, so didn't become interested until our cable provider (either NTL or Comcast) added Sky Sports Extra to the sports package and I became increasingly interested until I'm now at the point where, like tonight, I'll stay awake until the early hours in order to watch the games live.

Some of it is brilliant, but other aspects are infuriating, particularly the numerous rule changes, so even some fundamentals (such as the definition of 'catch') are far from clear.

Anyway, there is something about this game that makes it work theatrically, possibly the broad range of participants, from defensive/offensive tackles weighing in excess of 320lbs to the quick, shifty receivers, who weigh half that amount! There's also the very wide demographic, from smart, rich kids to those from a very deprived background, all on the same team. There is also the 'violent chess' aspect of the game, which can be distilled into many battles within the game (cornerback on receiver, defensive tackle on offensive guard, linebacker on running back, plus all the coaches, personnel managers, and owners in competition with each other, sometimes on the same team) so there are multi-levels of drama to be mined for storylines. As such, TV shows like Friday Night Lights (and the film version) work really well, as do films including Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues, and even Jerry Maguire.

Demdike@Cult Labs · #82 9th January 2016, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I knew some people who also into American football in the 1980s when I was at junior school, but didn't record the late-night highlights show, so didn't become interested until our cable provider (either NTL or Comcast) added Sky Sports Extra to the sports package and I became increasingly interested until I'm now at the point where, like tonight, I'll stay awake until the early hours in order to watch the games live.

Some of it is brilliant, but other aspects are infuriating, particularly the numerous rule changes, so even some fundamentals (such as the definition of 'catch') are far from clear.

Anyway, there is something about this game that makes it work theatrically, possibly the broad range of participants, from defensive/offensive tackles weighing in excess of 320lbs to the quick, shifty receivers, who weigh half that amount! There's also the very wide demographic, from smart, rich kids to those from a very deprived background, all on the same team. There is also the 'violent chess' aspect of the game, which can be distilled into many battles within the game (cornerback on receiver, defensive tackle on offensive guard, linebacker on running back, plus all the coaches, personnel managers, and owners in competition with each other, sometimes on the same team) so there are multi-levels of drama to be mined for storylines. As such, TV shows like Friday Night Lights (and the film version) work really well, as do films including Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues, and even Jerry Maguire.

Yes it works far better than association football in the film sense.

I think it's because they can now get a camera down and dirty in the thrust of the action. Horse racing is also great cinema. See Secretariat, sea Biscuit etc for fine examples.

Nosferatu@Cult Labs · #83 9th January 2016, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Yes it works far better than association football in the film sense.

I think it's because they can now get a camera down and dirty in the thrust of the action. Horse racing is also great cinema. See Secretariat, sea Biscuit etc for fine examples.

That's a good point, so boxing, wrestling, and martial arts are cinematically similar. In the NFL, you have the added advantage of those participants being college graduates, some of them very clever, and capable of reading and understanding incredibly complex playbooks. I'm a New England Patriots fan and Matt Patricia, their defensive coordinator, and Cameron Fleming, one of their offensive tackles, both have college degrees in aeronautics and astronautics! When you look into how complicated the game is, and the necessary time and application to play it at a high level, that's when you realise the 'dumb jock' stereotype (as in something like Daria) is far from true.

Inspector Abberline · #84 12th January 2016, 06:44 PM

Jabberwocky (1977)
Im a big fan of Terry Gilliam medieval monster fest,from its Evil Dead pov shots of Terry Jones being eaten (probably a warning to Terry that Gilliam is directing this none of that collaboration nonsense) to the dirt and mud and bodily functions that this film doesn't shy from.Warren Mitchell taking a dump out of his window any one? And the extrodinary array of cast members from regular Python faces to the cream of British comedy Harry H. Corbett, John Le Mesurier to truly old school Max Wall,In fact allot of the fun in this film is spotting all the different faces amongst the mud blood and codpieces. I wonder if this must of had some influence over the creators of early Blackadder,its tone is much in the vein of silly Python meets British sitcom.Monty Pythons Holy Grail is obviously a classic,but Jaberwocky holds up as a much better film because it manages to give medieval Britain a sense of reality amongst all the stupidity and lunacy. Michael Palin as Dennis Cooper is the love lorn son of a barrel maker who seeks his fortune at the local castle.Here Palin really shows that out of the Pythons he probably was the better actor or a close second at least to Graham Chapman.Gilliam's first proper solo directorship,has all his trade marks,historical violence and elaborate set pieces that don't always work mainly due to budget restrictions.He would obviously rectify this with his next film Time Bandits,and fill it with knights ,giants and Sean Connery.The Jabberwocky himself does kind of look like a large Jim Henson style puppet but Gilliam films it in such he manages to get away with it. Not as family friendly as say Time Bandits ,with its bodily functions and goblets of blood being strewn around,but I think its immensely funny and wonderful fantasy film that captures all the best bits of Python while adding a touch of realism of sorts.

out 5

Inspector Abberline · #85 17th January 2016, 07:59 PM

The Return Of The Pink Panther (1975)
Cato your fly is undone and so my friend are you as Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) where upon he kicks Cato in the head and he tumbles through the doorway.With all the best will in the world Return of the Pink Panther is just one long jump from one one slapstick gag to another,with the story of the stealing of Pink Panther diamond almost secondary. With Christopher Plummer as Sir Charles Lytton taking over from David Niven and Catherine Schell as Lady Claudine Lytton as the films love interest,story wise were just retreading the first Pink Panther, with the twist being Sir Charles Lytton is trying to clear his name.Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards were at the time in a bit of a decline career wise,which apparently was why United Artists didn't produce this entry in the franchise and was produced by Sir Lew Grade instead. Although it wouldn't be until Being There (1979) that Sellers would impersonate Stan Laurel for his inspiration for the character of Chance the Gardener,there's no doubt that there is a touch of Laurel and Hardy with allot of the gags with also a bit of Warner Bros Looney Tunes lunacy thrown in with Clouseau driving a van with Acme Pool services written on the side. Dreyfus: Compared to Clouseau, Attila the Hun was a Red Cross volunteer! This is also the start of Herbert Lom as Commissioner Charles Dreyfus decent into madness as he tries his very best to kill Clouseau and also manages to shot himself in the face with his own gun when he mistakes it for his cigarette lighter. Return Is one of those movies where you lose count of your favourite moments,Monsieur Guy Gadbois walking across the disco floor only to get punched by a girl dancing or the minkey fiddling with Clouseau's truncheon.In the words Clouseau "Cato, things are very fishy in Denmark."

gag · #86 18th January 2016, 06:39 PM

Life of laurel and hardy do you think these two are ideal or would you prefer someone else?
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly to play Laurel and Hardy in biopic | Film | The Guardian

Nosferatu@Cult Labs · #87 18th January 2016, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gag

Life of laurel and hardy do you think these two are ideal or would you prefer someone else?
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly to play Laurel and Hardy in biopic | Film | The Guardian

It seems, at least on paper, to be solid casting decisions. Both actors can do comedy and pathos (see John C Riley in Boogie Nights), something needed for a film like that, but I'm gonna keep an open mind.

Demdike@Cult Labs · #88 24th January 2016, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

On the Buses (1971) Hammer Film Productions
On the Buses became Britain's top box-office film of 1971
making a profit to Hammer of £532,000. Its box office gross was nearly 28 times the amount of its budget.
As a social commentary on the early part of the 1970's On The Buses would make very confusing viewing for the proverbial Alien looking to see what are recent history was like. Ugly middle aged men with bad teeth chasing young women in mini skirts, and managing to have sex with some of them. In the 1970's being sexiest, and being racist was something that seemed to ingrained into the nations psyche, You can't condone it nor can you ignore it, its just there like flock wallpaper and safari suits. So when a woman is referred to as a bird or a black gentleman is called chalky, what are we supposed to do smash the television in and call Jeremy Corbyn around for some cake and brain washing. We can no more change what happened on television in the 1970's than we can change the British colonization of Africa in the 1800's.What has this got to do with the On the Buses movie, F$%k knows it just that its been a long day. Mean while back at the bus station Stan (Reg Varney) and Bob Grant - Jack Harper are having a terrible time with a bunch of newly hired bus drivers ,only this time they have hired WOMEN bus drivers. Back at the Butler household Olive (Anna Karen) finds herself pregnant, much to the surprise of Michael Robbins as Arthur Rudge. Stan is also facing a dilemma as he is having trouble with the birds, er I mean women. Its not sophisticated or clever and has absolutely nothing to say about mankind and the universe we live in , so it must be the crumpet.

out 0f 5

Just ordered this thanks to your review Inspector.

Need head seeing to!