Glenn Walker is a writer who knows pop culture. He loves, hates, and lives pop culture. He knows too freaking much about pop culture, and here's where he talks about it all: movies, music, comics, television, and the rest... Welcome to Hell.
The Secret World of Arrietty ~ Probably one of the most wonderful things Disney has done in recent years, outside of their Cruise Line and keeping Marvel Comics from going under is obtaining distribution rights for Studio Ghibli. Those of us in the genre audience who have loved the breathtaking work of Hayao Miyazaki can now share it with the rest of the world.
The newest import from the Land of the Rising Sun, via Disney distribution is The Secret World of Arrietty, also known as Kari-gurashi no Arietti, is based on "The Borrowers" novels by Mary Norton, which have provided inspiration for many television and film projects. The Borrowers are tiny folks who live in the floorboards of your house and only take what they need.
Here they live in a house soon occupied by a sickly boy who sees them right away, especially a high-spirited young Borrower girl named Arrietty. A tentative friendship blooms in this smaller than usual (pun unintended) Ghibli film. It is wondrously animated and tells a touching story with a surprising voice cast. Amy Pohler didn't annoy me and Carol Burnett slips easily into a villain role.
Like all the Miyazaki and Ghibli films, this is a joy to watch, a wonderful adventure and character story, highly recommended.
Remember back in the 1970s when variety shows were all the rage? Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson, Sonny and Cher (both together and separately), the Captain and Tennille and even Donny and Marie were the kings of the genre.
The networks got so desperate for that type of entertainment, variety shows were given to just about anyone. Among the oddities were TV family the Brady Bunch, mimes Shields and Yarnell and one-hit wonders the Starland Vocal Band.
Well, Fox has got something coming that's no 'afternoon delight' - "Osbournes Reloaded," part variety show, part reality TV and part game show, this mutant blatantly sucks off the several years off the radar "The Osbournes" reality show from MTV.
Fox, where reality lives, not originality. That said, I will still be hand for this train wreck. Misery loves company.
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! ~ I know this formula pretty well. I saw The Grinch. Jim Carrey plus Dr. Seuss equals disaster.
Don’t get me wrong, this flick looks amazing. There have been some serious leaps in technology made in CGI with this movie. The depiction of water alone in Horton is incredible. The problem is that the movie is far too long and squeezes far too many unnecessary elements and characters into it. In most cases the humor is built for groans rather than laughs and I seriously doubt the little ones will sit still for any of this. Jim Carey and Steve Carel try far too hard, but on the other hand, the voice work of Carol Burnett and Charles Osgood is very much welcome. The film naturally provokes comparison to the made for TV cartoon of the same name, which at a mere 26 minutes, is vastly superior. I have to say, with that in mind, this version would have been a lot better had it only been 26 minutes long.
Good as a free rental on fast forward, but I’m afraid even the kids will be bored. All that, and it completely ruined a perfectly good 1980s REO Speedwagon song.
TV Crunch last week posted a list of the top (or is it bottom) twenty-five worst sitcoms ever. Check here for their thoughts. Here’s the list itself, and some of my thoughts below.
25. “Veronica’s Closet” – This catches Kirstie Alley at her hottest in my opinion, before “Fat Actress” and after “Cheers.” Hot yes, but funny? I’d have to say not. Bad show or not, Kathy Najimy rocked the closet.
24. “Charles in Charge” – Chachi and Bibleman. Need I say more really?
23. “The Nanny” – When Fran Drescher would laugh, it was charming and cute. But when she pretended to laugh, it was like a nail gun in the ear. On this one it was more the latter than the former.
22. “Webster” – The poor little kid wanted so bad to be Gary Coleman. Even now, and that says a lot.
21. “All-American Girl” – I liked this show a lot. Margaret Cho rocks, and any sitcom that has Quentin Tarantino on has my vote. It’s a shame that the network tortured Margaret and destroyed the show.
20. “Babes” – Want to kill the inherent comedy and acting skills of the great Wendy Jo Sperber? Put her in a show where the only joke is that she’s a fat girl. I’m sorry, but even in the politically incorrect world that Fox was so at home in at the time, there are really only so many funny fat jokes.
19. “Mr. Belvedere” and 18. “Family Matters” – Are we sure these weren’t the same show?
17. “The Ropers” – How to kill two shows at once. To make the series they removed the funniest part of the “Three’s Company” ensemble and gave them their own show. The problem was without the rest of the cast the other was no longer funny. And of course, when “The Ropers” got canceled, both Norman Fell and Audra Lindley got screwed, as their contracts said they couldn’t return to “Three’s Company.” Good old ABC.
16. “Life on a Stick” – I remember this one and thought it had potential. But what do I know? I also like Godzilla, comic books and talk radio.
15. “It’s a Living” – This was kind of like an adult version of “The Facts of Life” in that the female cast just got older and fatter as the show went on. Never cared for this one, and I remember the piano player was pretty obnoxious.
14. “Shasta McNasty” – If it had had Gary Busey instead of Jake Busey, this would have been a runaway hit.
13. “George” – If only it were an infomercial for the Foreman Grill it would have not only been more entertaining, but more folks would have watched.
12. “Harry and the Hendersons” – Proof that Bigfoot really isn’t as funny as he should be.
11. “We’ve Got it Made” – The world is a much more lonely place without Teri Copley on television.
10. “Double Trouble” – Can’t you just see the network pitch meeting? “Hey, guys, let’s remake “The Patty Duke Show” only we’ll just take out all the funny parts…”
9. “Perfect Strangers” – An example of ABC trying to recreate the frenetic comic success of Robin Williams on “Mork & Mindy.”
8. “My Two Dads” – Is this the poor man’s “Full House?”
7. “Baby Bob” – Oh come on, you mean we weren’t sick of Look Who’s Talking by this time?
6. “Mama’s Family” – Like “The Ropers,” this is another example of destroying an existing ensemble success. This popular skit from “The Carol Burnett Show” was neutered when Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were removed from it.
5. “Cavemen” - This one is a disgrace. Not only was it based on some really annoying Geico commercials… but the commercials were funnier and more entertaining than the show itself.
4. “Woops!” – This is another early effort from Fox, and this one I actually liked quite a bit. To my mind (and don’t laugh) this was an intellectual version of Gilligan’s Island, only the seven were survivors of a nuclear war. Given a chance, I think this could have been really good.
3. “Yes, Dear” – How did this bastard child of Everyone Loves Raymond survive six seasons?
2. “Homeboys in Outer Space” – What began as an American version of Brit scifi-comedy hit “Red Dwarf” mutated into this mess. Man oh man, why couldn’t the WB have just shown the old “Red Dwarf” reruns?
1. “Small Wonder” – The secret that no one talks about is that VICI really was a robot…
I have to say that this is a somewhat reasonable list but many were left off that deserved their rightful place among the worst. The first that comes to mind would be “Life with Lucy,” featuring a very aged Lucille Ball doing pratfalls and stunts that would make Chevy Chase blush. The problem was every time she did one, the reaction of the audience at home was the same – horror – just like that old lady who couldn’t get up on the Life Alert commercials.
Harvey Korman of "The Carol Burnett Show" and Blazing Saddles, among many many others, including other Mel Brooks films, and most notoriously, "The Star Wars Holiday Special."
Joseph Pevney who directed more than a few episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, including the classic "The Trouble with Tribbles." He also directed many series throughout the 1960s, 70s and into the 80s, as well as one of my favorite films, Man of a Thousand Faces, a biopic of Lon Chaney.
Alexander Courage who composed the original theme to the "Star Trek" TV series. His work has also appeared in Annie Get Your Gun, Gigi and Jurassic Park.
