Paul (2011)

This homage to the Science-Fiction blockbuster films of the 1980s is written by and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of Spaced fame. The duo play a couple of comic book nerds from Great Britain who are on a road trip in mid-western America to visit places of extraterrestrial sightings. During their journey they encounter an actual alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogan). Wise-cracking Paul is on the run from the United States Government. It seems that after over 50 years of being a secret specimen for the Feds, his usefulness has come to an end. The two friends agree to help Paul escape from the Washington agents (which includes Jason Bateman) and get him to his rendezvous with his people.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Three Ages (1923)

This is the first feature that Buster Keaton wrote, directed, produced and starred in. The film is structured as a satire of D.W. Griffith's film Intolerance in that three different time periods are being presented concurrently: prehistoric, ancient Rome, and present. The plot of each of the sub-stories is the same: Buster Keaton plays a loser who is competing for the attention of a woman (Margaret Leahy) with an Alpha-Male (Wallace Beery). Of course there is lots of signature physical comedy typical of a Keaton film.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

William Canfield (Ernest Torrence), is known on the river as Steamboat Bill. He is an old riverboat captain that has been running his ship for years and unfortunately it shows. Recently he has been losing his business to J. J. King (Tom McGuire) a rich man who not only has the nicest paddle-boat in town, but owns just about every other business in the area as well.

One day Canfield gets a visit from his son whom he hasn't seen since he was born. Expecting someone rugged like himself, Canfield is disappointed when Junior (Buster Keaton) turns out to be a tiny, skinny weakling. Canfield does his best to make him over, but Junior just doesn't measure up.

Things get complicated when Junior starts showing interest in King's daughter Kitty (Marion Byron). It seems that Junior and Kitty knew each other up in Boston at University. While their fathers bicker, the couple try to get them to make peace.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Meaning Of Life (1983)

When I saw this movie in the theater when it was initially released, it was my first real exposure to the guys of Monty Python. Needless to say, it totally blew my mind as I had never seen anything like it in my life. It still works.

Like their debut film "And Now For Something Completely Different", this film is basically a series of unrelated sketches. Unlike that film, these vignettes are brand new and are utterly inappropriate for television viewing. It includes Michael Palin as a Catholic father with too many children singing about how "Every Sperm Is Sacred"; John Cleese as a public school teacher trying to teach bored schoolboys the ins and outs of sexual intercourse; and the now classic Mr. Creosote (Terry Jones) exploding after having a "wafer-thin" after-dinner mint. What's your favorite?

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Shut Up And Shoot Me (2005)

British man Colin Frampton (Andy Nyman) wants to kill himself after his wife dies in a freak accident while they are vacationing in Prague. He pays his hired driver Mr. Zeman (Karel Roden) to do the deed for him. Unfortunately the method that Zeman utilizes does not do the job so Colin shows up at his house expecting him to get it right. When Zeman decides to exterminate Colin by angering a gangster that is sure to annihilate him, things get really hairy as the body counts mounts. Regretfully, Colin never seems to be one of the deceased.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Invention of Lying (2009)

This film written, directed and starring Ricky Gervais takes place in an alternate reality. It is a world where the human race has never learned to tell a lie. There is no fiction, no religion, everyone is up front with what they are thinking. Suddenly one day, chubby loser Mark Bellison (Gervias) tells an untruth and it changes his life forever. He uses his new power to not only improve his own life, but the lives of other unhappy people. Things get complicated though when he tells his dying mother about a life after death. Unexpectedly, Mark becomes a kind of Messiah. He also becomes very rich and famous. However, this celebrity does not bring him what he wants most, which is to marry Anna (Jennifer Garner). No matter what Anna feels for Mark, she does believe him to be her perfect genetic match. And as much as Mark wants to be with her, he cannot lie to her.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

What's Good For The Goose (1969)

British comedian Norman Wisdom stars as Timothy Bartlett, a boring middle-class banker whose life is a predictable routine. After the sudden death of his boss, Timothy is next in line to go to the banking conference being held in Southport. On the way down south, he reluctantly picks up a couple of young hitchhikers, Nikki (Sally Geeson) and Meg (Sarah Atkinson). However he can't get Nikki out of his mind and goes to all the local hip spots hoping to find her. Fortunately, he does run into her and her mod friends and quickly becomes part of the scene. During this midlife crisis he not only has an affair with the young nymph, but dons the hippie clothes and attitudes of the youth of the day. Nevertheless, it all must come to an end when the week is up and Timothy must return to his real life.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Killing Cabos (2004)

Very funny Mexican film that starts off quite surreal before settling into an entertaining adventure taking place over the course of one crazy night. Jaque (Tony Dalton) and Mudo (Kristoff) have the unclothed, unconscious body of their tyrannical boss Cabos (Pedro Armendariz, Jr) in the trunk of their car. After being rear-ended by a crazed, cross-eyed bus driver, they call their friend Ruben (Joaquin Cosio) to help them sort out the situation. Ruben was once know as "Mascarita", a masked Mexican wrestler, but don't ever call him that or he'll beat the crap out of you. Ruben shows up with his bodyguard Tony The Cannibal (Silverio Palacios) who helps him get out of some scrapes with a team of aggressive rugby players. And finally, there's vicious Botcha (Raul Mendez). He thinks that he has kidnapped Cabos. Not only has he got the wrong man, but he can't even get any response from the family when he contacts them threatening to kill him if he doesn't get retribution.

Alternate Titles: Matando Cabos

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Comedy starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby as two working class friends. One night they decide to go uptown to Zenobia's, a posh gambling hall/nightclub. While having an advantageous winning streak at the crap table, the club is suddenly invaded by a gang of masked men who rob all the customers of their money and their valuables after making them strip down to their underwear.

The next day things look worse when Poitier finds out that a winning lottery ticket is in the wallet that was robbed from him the night before. Together the two friends are determined to find out who was behind the robbery and get the wallet back. They end up employing the services of a crooked detective (Richard Pryor), a poseur politician (Roscoe Lee Browne), and a Godfather-like mob boss (Harry Belafonte) before finally finding the culprit.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Bunny And The Bull (2009)

This surreal film is written and directed by Paul King, the director of The Mighty Boosh TV series. The story concerns Stephen (Edward Hogg), a recluse for the past year whose days are precisely-timed routines. One day his pattern is disrupted by unforeseen circumstances and he is forced to remember the past events that lead him to this point. He reminisces about the trip he took through Europe with his friend Bunny (Simon Farnaby), a party guy who likes to drink and pick up women. In the course of the trip they come across many interesting people including an unforgettable hobo (Julian Barratt) who likes to drink dog milk. They also meet Eloise, a young Spanish woman (Verónica Echegui) who hitches a ride with them back to Spain. Always the gambler, Bunny bets that he can fight a bull, and gets lessons from Eloise's brother (Noel Fielding). However, this may be one wager that he can't win.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Kelly's Heros (1970)

Definitely not your typical WWII movie.

Clint Eastwood stars as Pvt. Kelly. His platoon is fighting the war post D-Day in the farmlands of France. He has the fortune to capture a colonel of German intelligence from whom he learns that there is a fortune of gold bars in a bank in Clermont, 30 miles inside enemy lines. Kelly decides that he is going to get that gold and recruits the rest of his unit to help him. It doesn't take much for them to convince Sgt. Big Joe (Telly Savalas) to go along with this insane caper. Kelly also gets the help of some experts including supply Sergeant Crapgame (Don Rickles) and crazy beatnik Oddball (Donald Sutherland) who has three Sherman tanks at his disposal. When Major General Colt (Carroll O'Connor) finds out about a company of American soldiers who have made it far into enemy territory, he heads out there himself to award them medals, not realizing what their real incentive is.

Available: Amazon, Netflix

Watermelon Man (1970)

Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) was your average white, middle-class American man. Well, he had his quirks such as his early morning exercise regimen and racing the bus to the bus stop. But other than that he had a good job as an insurance salesman and a happy home life with his wife and kids (including a very young Erin Moran). However one day this all changed when Jeff woke up to find that he was now a black man. At first he thought it was too much sunlamp. But as he and his wife (Estelle Parsons) found out, it was permanent.

Being a Melvin Van Peebles film, this black comedy obviously makes comments on the race issue of United States at the time. It also has a typical Van Pebbles soundtrack that is great but also does include Melvin's singing.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Other Guys (2010)

This cop buddy film stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as the losers of the NYPD. To be honest, that is not saying much since all the police are pretty stupid and don't really know what they are doing (including their captain played by Michael Keaton). The duo decide to make a name for themselves and go after a banker (Steve Coogan) who has not applied for the proper building permits. However, they end being involved in something huge after the money man is kidnapped away from them. Seems that he owes a huge amount of money to investors and is planning something big to swindle the money away from someone else.

This movie definitely has its funny moments. There are lots of little clever bits going on. Unfortunately they don't work stuck all together in a movie that seems a bit disjointed and schizophrenic.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Doubting Thomas (1935)

Mrs. Pampinelli (Alison Skipworth), the town matron, is putting on a theater production. However, one of the actresses has just become a widow and she needs a quick replacement. Mrs. Brown (Billie Burke) has acting experience and is more than delighted to take part in the local play. Conveniently her husband, Thomas Brown the sausage king (Will Rogers), is out of town, otherwise he would strictly forbid her to be involved. However he does get wind of the fiasco and concocts a plan to prevent her from pursuing any ideas of an acting career.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Rocker (2008)

Back in 1986 Robert Fishman (Rainn Wilson) was the drummer of a heavy metal hair band called Vesuvius. Unfortunately, he was kicked out of the band when they finally got signed to a record label because the president of the company wanted one of his relatives to be the drummer.

Fast-forward twenty years and Vesuvius is now highly successful and world-famous. "Fish" is in a dead-end job with no place to live because he is still bitter about it. However he gets his second chance when his teenage nephew (Josh Gad) has to ask him to be the drummer for his band, A.D.D. The band is good and quickly become successful. So successful that they have the opportunity to open for legendary Vesuvius.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Cop Out (2010)

Comedic buddy cop film starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. There were no opening credits so we didn't know that this was directed by Kevin Smith. But that's okay, I would rather have not know that he directed it, it might have influenced me negatively.

So yeah, this is a buddy cop film so don't expect anything more. However, it does have Willis and Morgan in it so it is rather funny...at least for the first hour or so. After that it loses steam and becomes something unspectacular, but again, that's okay.

The story in a nutshell: The guys screw up a bust and are suspended without pay. Bruce Willis' character has to pay for his daughter's expensive wedding, so he decides to sell an expensive baseball card that he owns. Unfortunately, as he is getting the card appraised, it is stolen by some thieves. In trying to get the card back, the pair get involved with a ruthless Mexican drug dealer. Of course it all ends happily and it wasn't so bad a ride getting there.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Tom Dick And Harry (1941)

Ginger Rogers (as a brunette) is a hopeless romantic who can't decide who she wants to marry: Tom, Dick or Harry. Tom (George Murphy) is a car salesman who has been going with Ginger for a while. He is ambitious and plans on moving up and making lots of money. Harry (Burgess Meredith) is a mechanic who goes on a date with Ginger when she mistakes him for a millionaire. Dick (Alan Marshal) is the millionaire, just like the one that Ginger always dreamed that she marry.

Available: Warner Archive Collection

Delicatessen (1991)

Stylistic, French film that seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world, although everything looks and feels like the early 1950s.

Food seems to be at a minimum with grain and corn being used as currency. A butcher who runs a boarding house keeps his tenants fed by continually hiring a hapless handyman and then eventually butchering him. His latest victim, however, has caught the eye of the butcher's daughter and she does what she can to save him. Directed by the team of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet who did City Of Lost Children. 


Available: Netflix, Amazon

More Than A Secretary (1936)

Jean Arthur runs a secretarial school for young women. A bit of a matronly type, she gets discouraged that many of these women use her school to get a job so that they can snag a rich executive husband. She decides to work as a secretary herself for one of her more demanding customers, a publisher of a health magazine (George Brent). Of course she falls hopelessly in love with him.

Typical thirties romantic comedy, I still enjoyed it. Some nice bit-part characters include a totally dizzy blonde named Maizie (Dorothea Kent) and Lionel Stander (of "Hart To Hart" fame) as the boss' faithful (and more rational) assistant.

Available: DVDsEntertainment, OLX, ScootersMovieShop

Lord Love A Duck (1966)

On the surface this film seems to be a typical 1960s teen-comedy love story. However, do not be deceived. It is a biting satire that is years ahead of its time. After every scene, we were left scratching our heads and wondering "What the Hell was that about?"

The story concerns Alan "Mollymauk" Musgrave (Roddy McDowall) and Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld) who are about to start senior year in High School. New friends, Alan will do anything for her. And the way that he gets things done is what eventually gets him into trouble. Terrific cameos from Harvey Korman as the school principal and Ruth Gordon as the mother-in-law.

Available: Netflix, Amazon