dixie-18

IMDb member since October 1999
    Lifetime Total
    10+
    IMDb Member
    24 years

Reviews

Saturday Night Live: O.J. Simpson/Ashford & Simpson
(1978)
Episode 12, Season 3

Best skit ever
This episode of Saturday Night Live features the very best skit ever to air on the show. The Samurai Night Fever skit was a fantastic Samurai take off on Saturday Night Fever. The Samurai character was a reoccurring one from time to time, Belushi would insert the Japanese Samurai character into various situations in New York City. John Belushi (in Samurai outfit)plays Tony, the role John Travolta made famous, and as much as I hate to say it, guest host OJ Simpson plays his brother the priest,who is tired of being black. Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci), Garrett Morris, Bill Murray all add the the skit. The skit concludes with Samurai dancing the night away at the local Brooklyn disco. The laughs keep on coming in this skit, and you really hate to see it end. After almost 30 years, it remains the funniest skit ever on SNL!

Honor Thy Mother
(1992)

True Story
This film is not about D & D at all. The other comments focused on D&D because they are devoted players of the silly game. These boys who committed the murder lived 12 miles from me, and they were not motivated by the game, but were motivated by greed. This telling of the story based on Jerry Bledsoe's book is very accurate, and a decent movie. The other version, based on Joe McGuiness' book, is very different. That book was commissioned by Bonnie Von Stien to help show that her son was just a regular kid. McGuiness has proved to be untrustworthy when it comes to the facts, and he can be bought to write whatever you want!

Caddyshack
(1980)

Still funny in 2006!
I just watched it again, and it is just as funny as ever. Yes it is a cousin of ANIMAL HOUSE, but it also a child (or grandchild) of the Marx Brothers. This film works for many reasons: The cast is a strange mixture, but each cast member is riot. Many say Bill Murray steals the show, and it is hard to dispute, but Murray was pretty new to the movies then, and so was Rodney Dangerfield. Bill was hot from Saturday Night Live and Rodney was still primarily still doing stand up. Ted Knight was famous from the Mary Tuler Moore Show, but not really known for feature films. Chevy Chase, in my opinion, was a supporting player, as was Michael O'Keefe, and Sarah Holcomb. This was Harold Ramis' first time as director, and he really delivered. Ramis also had a writing credit,and he was really on a roll at that time....ANIMAL HOUSE in 1978, CADDYSHACK in 1980, STRIPES in 1981, and GHOST BUSTERS in 1984. These four films are among the best comedies Hollywood offered in the 1970s and 80s! I recently saw Ramis discuss this film and he remarked how difficult it would normally be to direct 4 such strong comedians in same film, but he also remarked how great each was, and how professional they were.

Blind
(2004)

Awful!
I would award this film 0 stars if IMDb allowed. Clearly the comment entered in April 2005 was done so by the director or his mom. To call the players actors is an insult. This is very childish, and not worth your time. If you rent this one, you will waste your money. All the players seem to have the skills of average junior high school actors. The writing is about the same level. there is no doubt the director and others worked hard, but this proves that just anybody cannot make a film.

I would go so far as to say that not only is this film not worth renting, it is not worth watching on free TV, you will only be wasting your time, if not your money.

Further Prophecies of Nostradamus
(1942)

Junk
..........or maybe its junque. Anybody who believes that Nostradamus was able to predict the the future is actually weak between the ears. His little jingles are just double talk, and it is all a real stretch to jump from what he wrote, to modern times. Do not waste your time. Most all of the stuff people claim nowadays were "predictions" are just situations where they twist his writings to fit some event that occurred in the last two centuries. This short subject does the very same thing, and I must say that whoever dreamed this stuff up must have spent thousand and thousands of hours working on it. Please do not waste your time. TCM sometimes shows this on television to fill a few minutes in their schedule, they should find some old Tom & Jerry cartoon in place of this stuff!

Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004)

Propaganda
Michael Moore is the Joseph Geobbels of the 21st Century. Before this film was released, Moore stated it was 100% true, and he would sue anybody who said otherwise. So far, plenty of people have publicly stated a great deal of this film is no more than Moore's personal opinion. He has not sued anybody, nor will he. Moore is just a lap dog of the Democrat Party, and like typical Democrats he always appeals to people's fears, not their dreams.

Moore is among the greatest cheap-shot artists of all time. He will never permit the truth to stand between himself and the story he wants to portray as the "truth". He is a sad example of someone who attempts to portray himself as an artist, but is no more than the second coming of Geobbels himself.

Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
(1988)

One of the best
Local PBS station is showing this one tonight, and well worth seeing. This show was filmed for HBO (not MTV/VH1)in September 1988. They showed it in October, and sadly on December 6, 1988 Roy passed away. Roy was an absolutely incredible singer,who was often forgotten by the time the 1970's rolled around. He started getting noticed again in the 80's. David Lynch included Roy's hit "In Dreams" in his classic film Blue Velvet. People began to remember how great Roy was. In May 1987 he appeared on Saturday Night Live, and was the first singer to sing three songs! Most musical guests only get to sing two on SNL. His career was taking off again by 1988, his joint effort with Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison as the Traveling Wilburys was really heating up when Roy died.

If you like real rock and roll music, do not miss Black & White Nights.

Texasville
(1990)

Not up to par.
Very few sequels are worth watching. The Godfather Part II is the only one I can think of that is worth a dime. Like many sequels, Texasville should never have been made. When film reaches the heights of The Last Picture Show, any attempt to re-capture the magic is doomed to failure. I awaited the release of Texasville with great anticipation, but what followed was a great disappointment. The Last Picture Show is one of the 10 best films ever made. Texasville is not one of the best 1000. When Sam the Lion died, the whole town went down hill anyway.

The Onion Field
(1979)

Amzaing
I never saw James Woods in a film before the Onion Field. To this day I have never forgotten his performance. Whenever I see him, I think of The Onion Field. He often is cast as the bad guy, and he usually pulls it off very well. He was excellently bad in Once Upon a Time in America, The Getaway, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and others. The Onion Field was, however, absolutely a masterpiece performance by Woods. Greg Powell was an evil person, and Woods nails the role. This film does not seem to be on TV often any more, but is worth looking for. It is truly chilling.

About Face
(1952)

Weak re-make
This film is not bad, but a washed out version of "BROTHER RAT" (1938) that starred Ronald Reagan, Eddie Alber and Wayne Morris, three "rats" who are enrolled at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a real place. There are never any freshmen at VMI, they are deemed "rats", and the bond between them usually is a lifelong one. This film is a black and white classic that is fondly screend at VMI, in Lexington, to this day.

A Christmas Story
(1983)

Red Ryder
Like Ralphie, I longed for that Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. Like his mom, my mom told me I could not have one, since I would surely "put my eye out". This film is so full of the things we identify, we love it so. It always makes me feel like I am 10 again. Merry Christmas to all!

Bullitt
(1968)

One of McQueen's best!
Steve McQueen made quite a few good films, and a few great ones. This is one of his all time best! The anti hero cop, trying to do his best in the never ending war on crime (somewhat like Dirty Harry, the OTHER famous San Francisco cop.) Watch this one and you will understand why Steve McQueen is called the "King of Cool."

Maximum Overdrive
(1986)

Spoiler (perhaps)
This film is okay right up to the end. I really don't know how anything I say would spoil the ending. It is likey the worst ending to any film I ever saw. Very lame and unsatisfying. I understand that Mr. King did not like the first version of "Trucks", so he did this one himself.... Not worth the effort.

The T.A.M.I. Show
(1964)

A Hot Night at the Drive-In
This was a great show at the 360 Drive-In in Danville, Virginia. Back in the days of my youth, the T.A.M.I. Show packed the local drive in night after night. They also booked live bands and everyone had a great time.

I would dearly love to see this show again, and wonder if it is available for rental on VHS or DVD?

The Amos 'n Andy Show
(1951)

Funny stuff!
This was ( and still is) a funny show. It was removed from the air waves because the NAACP felt is was degrading. The truth is, it was not degrading to Black folks. The NAACP has managed to keep it off the air to this day. It is possible to rent some of these shows at local video stores. If you want to laugh, just rent them. They offer a timeless brand of humor, just as I Love Lucy & The Andy Griffith Show. Sadly, they are banned from modern television. The actors on this show were comedy legends. The people who like to rewrite history love to say that Julia was first TV show with blacks, yadda, yadda, yadda.... It gave everyday, regular work to loads of Black actors, who never had it before or after. Even Jesse Jackson pronounced it as non-racist in the PBS documentary "Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy"(1986). If Jesse Jackson himself says it is not racist, then what more can be said?

Bullitt
(1968)

One of McQueen's best!
Steve McQueen made quite a few good films, and a few great ones. This is one of his all time best! The anti hero cop, trying to do his best in the never ending war on crime (somewhat like Dirty Harry, the OTHER famous San Francisco cop.) Watch this one and you will understand why Steve McQueen is called the "King of Cool."

Field of Dreams
(1989)

If you don't know baseball it is alright!
This film is actually NOT about baseball. Anyone who has lost their father and left words unspoken can see this film is not about baseball. Baseball just is used as a vehicle. James Earl Jones & Bert Landcaster really are big pluses in the cast. Watch this film (if you can) with your dad! When it ends, give him a big hug. The day will come (sooner then you know) when you will not be able to hug him, and you will wish you did! In this film, Ray got a second chance.......Ray was lucky.

Blue Velvet
(1986)

Exciting!
Lynch, Hopper, Orbison, all of them, and more blend into an exciting stew that chills me each time I see it. This film can excite, disturb, amaze, and confound you. Each time I see it I find a different nuance. If you like to be thrilled and shocked, do yourself a favor and rent Blue Velvet.

The Last Picture Show
(1971)

A real gem......
This was among the best films of the 1970's. The fact it was shot in black & white was pure genius. The cast is incredible. Ben Johnson, finally got the Oscar, after all those films he made. Sam the Lion was the best role he ever had.......and he made the most of it. The sequel, Texasville, was awful, but this was a gem! It remains a gem today.

Body Heat
(1981)

Turner is amazing!
This is an almost perfect film. Incredible cast (Turner, Hurt, Roarke, et al) incredible writing & directing (Kasden). The lighting & music are just great, and the story has more turns and twists than a mountain road...

This is absolutely one of the best films ever made!

The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946)

A great film classic...
This film was the pinnacle of John Garfield's career, and Lana Turner NEVER looked more beautiful. The white hot pants alone are worth seeing this film for.

The remake with Lange & Nicholson was ok..........but it was NOTHING compared to the 1946 version! See it soon!

See all reviews