Margot Robbie’s run on the awards circuit won’t extend nearly as far as many think she’s deserving of, as the actress was snubbed (if that’s even a thing) by the Academy Awards. When the nominations were announced, there was immediate uproar and disbelief over both Robbie and director Greta Gerwig missing out in their respective categories for Barbie. Some thought Robbie didn’t make the cut because of Barbie’s genre, while others truly felt the star didn’t give as high-caliber of a performance as the eventual nominees. Some, however, may not have been able to see just how complex the performance was. Now, Robert Downey Jr. – who is on his way to his first Oscar for fellow summer blockbuster Oppenheimer – is defending Robbie, saying she isn’t getting nearly enough credit for her work.
Speaking at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation event (via Indiewire), RDJ noted, “It never fails to impress and remind me how little you need to do to be effective…Just the simplest version of expression, that’s what the camera wants. The closer the camera gets, the more it wants it. Time and time again, it’s demonstrated that it’s super effective…Margot Robbie is not getting enough credit, in my opinion…America [Ferrera] has this amazing speech. And by the way, she nails it! I’m watching it and go, ‘Wow, that was a really tough one. That’s like a one-act play. The whole movie hinges on it.’ But it’s the cuts away to Robbie so actively listening that I realize Greta [Gerwig] is really on to something here. But it’s Robbie who had to trust, and it’s hard when someone who has the fucking two-page passage, and they go, ‘OK, now let’s jump in and get Bob,’ and you’re like, ‘I’ve been listening to this all day and now I have to make it work!’”
While Margot Robbie will have to root on fellow Barbie stars Ferrera and Ryan Gosling (both nominated in the supporting categories), she does have a nod for producing the Best Picture nominee. Outside of an Oscar nomination, Robbie has been recognized consistently throughout awards season, earning nods from the Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA, with the Golden Globes of course putting her in the Musical or Comedy category. Which brings up another point: the Academy is far from keen on comedy, as it hardly gets recognized and when it does it’s normally in the supporting categories, as if the Academy is saying in code that comedy will never be the prestige attraction of drama (or, the lead categories).
There is definitely a case that Margot Robbie was deserving of a Best Actress nomination for Barbie, worthy of bumping a name from the list of five. She – with help from Gerwig, as RDJ suggests – brings some poppy laughs early on but shows that there is a lining of tragedy in both the character and our society as she views it, making Barbie far more intricate than the plastic doll we all expected when the project was first announced.
Do you agree that Margot Robbie hasn’t gotten enough credit for Barbie? Was she snubbed? Share your thoughts below!
The Boys actress Erin Moriarty has returned to social media following disparaging remarks made by commentator and podcaster Megyn Kelly over alleged plastic surgery.
Despite the damage Kelly’s comments did, Erin Moriarty posted on Instagram to show camaraderie with and lend support to her followers who have also been victims of harassment. “Dropping in to say 1) I love you all 2) v grateful to be holding my little dude [her dog] again and 3) to [those] that came forward to talk to me, were vulnerable enough to share: you are f***ing amazing…Stories that should be heard FAR more than mine…I do believe we have a long way to go. In the meantime: talk to me. I wanna hear. Safe zones, empathy and/or sympathy, and catharsis: a medicinal combo. Trust me.”
The issue stems from an attack from former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who cited Erin Moriarty as an example of women who rely too much on plastic surgery, adding that there was a trend of women transforming themselves into a “fake version”. On the image Kelly used in her case, Moriarity responded, “[I] got my make up done that day and it involves major contouring and I remember leaving and feeling pretty.” She added that the claims were “disgustingly false”, furthering saying that the “before” photo Kelly used was from actually from close to a decade before, misleading viewers.
Kelly herself was the victim of online harassment due to her outfit at the 2016 Republican National Convention, being labeled an “escort” and a “whore” on social media; this shaming itself was extremely wrong, so it’s disheartening to see one woman who was victim of verbal abuse dish it out to another. Unfortunately, Erin Moriarity has been no stranger to harassment, addressing trolling from The Boys fans that made her feel “silenced”, “dehumanized” and “paralyzed.”
Megyn Kelly’s allegations of sexual abuse against Fox News CEO were depicted in the 2019 film Bombshell. Charlize Theron, who played Kelly, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
What do you make of Erin Moriarty’s recent social media post? What do you expect the outcome to be? Give us your thoughts on the issue in the comments section below.
When Prue Halliwell was killed off in the third season of Charmed, there was only one name to blame as far as fans were concerned. No, it wasn’t Shax but rather Alyssa Milano, whose reported behind-the-scenes feud with Shannon Doherty led to her onscreen sister dying in the season finale, “All Hell Breaks Loose.” Now, Milano is speaking out against the claim, saying she didn’t even have the pull to have someone removed from the show.
In an Instagram post, Alyssa Milano wrote of the allegations against her over the Charmed drama, “This was so long ago that any retelling of these stories from anyone is just revisionist history. I will add, though, with absolute certainty-everything was documented. There was a professional mediator (I was told Holly [Marie Combs] and Shannen would not participate in any mediation) and an on-set producer/babysitter who were both brought in to investigate all claims. It was then recommended by this mediator, after collecting testimony from cast AND crew-what changes should be made if the show was going to continue. The studio, Aaron Spelling, and network made the decision to protect the international hit that was Charmed. I did not have the power to get anyone fired. Once Shannen left we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful.”
The post came off of Alyssa Milano having been asked about the situation by a fan at MegaCon. It was there that the actress — who played Phoebe Halliwell — circumnavigated the question a bit, never really saying it was untrue that she got Doherty fired but also saying the entire situation has been unfortunate for both the cast and fans. “I will just say that I’m sad. And I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans. I’m the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day, almost a quarter of a century later, still happening.”
Alyssa Milano also added that she wished people could move on, as it only conjures up bad memories from making Charmed. Still, she does hope for a reunion, saying, “Do I wish that we could all sit on a stage? Yeah, because again, this was like almost a quarter of a century ago. How is it possible to continue to hold on to that? And I’ve, you know, I think been very upfront and taken accountability for and apologized for, whatever part I played in the situation. And I’ve been very forthcoming about that. And so I don’t know how else to fix it. I even don’t know if I could put myself out there any more than I already have to try to fix it. But yeah, it’s heartbreaking.”
The last quote does stand in a bit of contrast to Alyssa Milano’s follow-up on social media, as she says she has taken responsibility, even though she would later deny any wrongdoing. Regardless, it is unfortunate to the legacy of Charmed — which ran eight seasons — that such a dark cloud hovers over its reputation.
However Alyssa Milano’s comments are interpreted and received by Charmed fans, it does seem unlikely that the leads will ever join up again. Instead, we got a reboot that, yes, led to a feud between the writers of both versions. Perhaps Cursed might have been a better title…
Were you a fan of Charmed? Do you see the feuds ever coming to an end?
It can’t be denied that as far as martial arts movies go, the best ones come from Asia, particularly Hong Kong during their action heyday, which was arguably the 70s, 80s and first half of the ’90s. That said, martial arts movies were also making a foothold in the States at the time, thanks mainly to Bruce Lee-mania following the release of Enter the Dragon. Before that movie, very few actors in Hollywood seemed like they were credible martial artists, except maybe James Coburn, a student of Lee’s, who pulled off some pretty good-looking moves in the otherwise silly Our Man Flint movies. Steve McQueen also had training but didn’t use martial arts on screen.
Up to then, though, the most notable uses of martial arts in movies usually revolved around Judo, with James Cagney showing off some good moves in the film Blood on the Sun, while Spencer Tracy – who was HEAVILY doubled, demolished Ernest Borgnine in the classic thriller Bad Day At Black Rock with only one arm.
But, in the seventies, fight sequences started to get better, with the Asian influence especially notable in Blaxploitation movies because many of the stars, including Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly, had legit training. When Chuck Norris came along towards the end of the decade, you also started to see mainstream stars dip their toes into martial arts. Still, sometimes the results weren’t pretty, such as when Richard Burton uses drunk-fu to beat up a racist in the abysmal melodrama The Klansman (check out my choice for the worst fight scene ever right here).
In the eighties, fights in American movies started to get good. However, the way they were shot often didn’t quite match up to what was happening in Hong Kong, with a great example being the climactic fight between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon. Both actors had been extensively trained in a variation called Jailhouse Rock, which was popular in prisons, but there was too much rain and close cutting to showcase the movies.
That said, there were some great American martial arts movies then – and loads of great ones are being made now, so here’s our list of the best American martial arts movies ever made. Note that movies like The Matrix or John Wick, which married martial arts with gunplay, didn’t make the list, with this dedicated more to straight-up martial arts mayhem.
Honorable Mention: The Undisputed sequels:
So, if you know action, our mentioning these sequels probably established us as somewhat legit, as director Isaac Florentine and his leading men, Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins, brought something new and fresh to the DTV world. The first two sequels, Undisputed 2 and 3, are arguably more famous than the now obscure Walter Hill movie they’re sequels to.
10. Kill Bill:
Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill pushed the envelope for martial arts mayhem, but then again, being a student of film, should you expect anything else? Tarantino had Yuen Woo Ping as a choreographer plus, The Street Fighter himself, Sonny Chiba, along with the very proficient David Carradine (who only really shows off his moves in a deleted sequence opposite Michael Jai White), and Uma Thurman. For my money, the best fight sequence in the film is the first one, where Thurman goes at it with Viveca A Fox, but the House of Blue Leaves sequence is also a classic.
9. Big Trouble in Little China:
At the time, this movie was a box office flop, but years later, people finally caught on and started digging the fact that John Carpenter was making a beautiful Hong-style action fantasy movie in the vein of Mr. Vampire and Zu Warriors. The martial arts in this beats anything happening in American action movies at the time, even if much of it is wire-fu in the classic WuXia fashion.
You can’t do a best American Martial Arts movie list and not include Steven Seagal. Granted, he never really made a pure martial arts movie in his heyday, but the ultra-violent aikido style he broke out in Above the Law and those first few movies were highly influential on American action movies of the area. At his best, Seagal was excellent, but it could be argued that the lean and mean Seagal was only ever present in those first five movies, with everything after Under Siege going downhill. Too bad.
7. Revenge of the Ninja:
Cannon Pictures did more to bring Ninja’s into the mainstream than any other movie studio. While their first Ninja movie, Enter the Ninja, is a joke, the sequel, Revenge of the Ninja, which elevated the first movie’s bad guy actor, Sho Kosugi, to a hero, is a slick movie and the best of their loose Ninja Trilogy. The director, Sam Firstenberg, also did a great job with the first two American Ninja movies, thanks to the untrained Michael Dudikoff being a gifted mimic and athlete, who, likely, could have been a JCVD-level star had Cannon put more money into his movies.
6. Best of the Best:
While the notion of casting James Earl Jones as the coach of a national martial arts team is almost as silly as the fact that the out of shape Chris Penn plays one of their best fighters, Best of the Best is still one of the most legit martial arts films of the era. It mixes the sports genre with martial arts. It gets the attitude of competition better than a lot of other films of this ilk, with it emphasizing sportsmanship and the surprising bond you establish with your opponent, no matter who wins. Philip Rhee is a terrific lead in this, thanks to the fact that his skills are legit. Still, Eric Roberts, despite no training, also acquits himself very well, thanks to the fact that he took the choreography very seriously and got himself into peak physical shape.
5. The Last Dragon:
Martial Arts movies had a significant cult status in the inner city, and The Last Dragon is Motown’s tribute to the genre, with a young black marital artist named Taimak, our likeable lead, Leroy Green, aka Bruce Leroy. The music is excellent, as are the fights, with the movie stolen by Julius Carry as Sho’nuff, the shogun of Harlem. Carry wasn’t trained, but he proved to be a good mimic, and attitude is everything sometimes.
4. Kickboxer:
While often overshadowed by Bloodsport, Kickboxer helped bring Muay Thai into the mainstream, and the movie features Van Damme at his best, with terrific training sequences, an incredible final battle between JCVD and Michel Quissi’s Tong Po, and Van Damme shaking his ass in a bar fight. Also, who could forget the opponents wrapping their hands in bandages and dipping them in broken glass, which was sent up brilliantly in Hot Shots Part Deux
3. Bloodsport:
More JCVD, with this the movie that made him a star. We’ve talked about this a lot on JoBlo, but it introduced the term kumite into the mainstream and also showcases a wide variety of different styles of martial arts. This is a movie made by people who genuinely know the genre
2. The Karate Kid:
While I maintain that the fights in these movies were never great, with Ralph Macchio’s fight skills leaving a lot to be desired (he’s better as a martial artist on Cobra Kai – which has AMAZING fights), this movie did more for martial arts as a practice than any other movie on this list. It led to an explosion in Karate schools across North America, and, thanks to the gentle discipline and philosophy of Mr. Miyagi, proved that karate, and martial arts in general, is an art form that can help a lot of people discover an inner strength they never knew they had.
Bruce Lee’s only American movie, it came out posthumously and was such a cultural phenomenon that it led to a kung-fu craze that was so big, within a year, you had Roger Moore’s James Bond kung-fu fighting his way through The Man with the Golden Gun. Lee’s so damn good in this, but John Saxon also acquits himself well in the fight scenes; Jim Kelly, in some ways, is almost as iconic as Bruce is with his massive afro.
So that’s our list – special thanks to EJ Tangonan, who edited this video, for helping brainstorm this list.
Movie fans were devastated when we found out last year that Bruce Willis had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which itself had progressed from aphasia, a disorder which affects communication skills. And while he is officially retired, we do still get the occasional glimpses of those better days.
In an Instagram post from ex-wife Demi Moore celebrating daughter Tallulah’s 30th birthday, we see Bruce Willis in seemingly good spirits, standing alongside both Moore – who he was married to from 1987 to 2000 – and their youngest daughter.
This is definitely a heart-warming photo, which joins a number of others that family members have posted since Bruce Willis’ condition was made public.
When Bruce Willis’ family announced his diagnosis and subsequent retirement, the actor had already been starring in a steady stream of direct-to-video movies, presumably most of which were well below his talents. But with so many more in the pipeline – the actor starred in more than two dozen from 2019 to 2023 – it was believed he was stockpiling as a sort of retirement fund for his family.
The decline in Bruce Willis’ health had reportedly been witnessed on numerous movie sets prior to the official public announcement. This announcement read, in part “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family, we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities”, thus he would be “stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him…This is a really challenging time for our family, and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support…We are moving through this as a strong family unit and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”
This “family unit” has been strong throughout the heartbreaks and burdens. So, too, has support from those in Hollywood and his wealth of fans. Bruce Willis’ condition can hopefully lead to more awareness of frontotemporal dementia, which, according to Alzheimer’s Association, currently affects upwards of 60,000 people in the United States.
Here’s hoping we continue to get uplifting photos of Bruce Willis in the near future. In the meantime, leave your positive vibes below.
The numbers are in, and while, they’re less dire than we were predicting; in the end, Argylle had a disastrous opening for Apple Films/ Universal. It ended up rallying to about $18 million, higher than the $16.5 million Deadline predicted yesterday. However, it’s still a poor opening for a movie with a $200 million price tag. Vaughn had been open about combining this franchise with The Kingsman films to launch a super spy multiverse, but it looks like the franchise is DOA before it even starts.
While the fact that Argylle was designed as a streaming film may have some saying the box office result doesn’t matter, the more concerning part is the C+ Cinemascore, which suggests audiences thoroughly disliked this caper. Part of the negative reaction might be the bait-and-switch advertising campaign, marketed as a Henry Cavill/ John Cena/ Duo Lipa-led spy romp, but in reality, none of those stars has a substantial role. Instead, the movie focuses on Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell’s characters, which I found refreshing (it seems audiences don’t agree with me).
Whatever the case, neither Universal nor Apple can be too happy with this opening, and some are thinking the result may change their commitment to big-screen theatrical runs.
In better news for big-screen action fare, Amazon/MGM’s modestly budgeted Jason Statham flick, The Beekeeper(which we loved), continues its better-than-expected box office run. It came in third this weekend with $5.1 million, dipping only a modest 22% in its 4th week at the box office. It was just edged out by the big-screen release of the Christian show The Chosen, which made over $6 million. The Beekeeper is now closing in on $50 million, with a $60-70 million end in sight, even though the film is already available for rental on digital platforms. What’s the lesson here? If you make a legitimately good film, word of mouth can propel it to a solid finish, with it seeming likely this will get a sequel.
Another movie benefitting from good word-of-mouth is Wonka. The Timothee Chalamet-led prequel earned $4.7 million this weekend, which was good enough for a fourth-place finish, pushing it past the $200 million mark. This wound up being the biggest hit of the holiday season.
Illuminations’ Migration has also done relatively well, passing $106 million at the domestic box office with a $4.2 million finish. While it’ll end its run on the lower end for Illumination in terms of box office gross, word-of-mouth must have been good for it to last so long on the charts.
Finally, the Mean Girls musical came in at number 6, with a $3.85 million finish and a $66 million running total. While it will still end its run under the $86 million total of the original film, it still performed exceptionally well at the box office and should do even better when it hits streaming.
Lower on the top 10, the holiday romcom Anyone But You has overcome terrible reviews (including ours) to have a running total of $76 million, with a seventh-place finish of $3.27 million. Award hopefuls American Fiction and Poor Things have seen award season boosts, earning around $2.1 million this weekend. Meanwhile, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes close to ending its run with a 10th-place finish at $1.8 million and a finish of $120 million – which is a disaster for a superhero film.
Next weekend sees the release of the horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein, which seems on track to have a modest opening. Likely, the box office won’t bounce back until Valentine’s Day when the Bob Marley biopic, One Love and Sony’s Madame Web open. Even still, the year’s first blockbuster likely won’t come until March when Dune Part 2 opens.
We all have our favorite ways to watch a movie. For some, the theatrical experience is only complete with the perfect seat. For others, it’s the right snack. And for others still, it’s that ideal time of day or night to get that flick going. Greta Gerwig recently made her case on that final habit, saying the best times to watch a movie are 10 a.m. and 4 p.m…So what is the best time to start a movie?
Appearing on The Criterion Channel’s Adventures in Moviegoing series, Gerwig said, “I’ll make a pitch for watching a movie at 10 a.m. What’s great about it is, when you’re done watching the movie, you go get lunch, you talk about it, the day is still young, it’s not even 1 p.m. and you’ve already had a whole other life. And you’re totally awake and ready to be absorbed.” Gerwig also gave a shoutout to 4 p.m. “because then you get dinner afterwards.”
But when you watch a movie also sometimes depends on what you’ve got queued up. If it’s a horror film, the closer to midnight the better (unless it takes place during the day: Midsommar and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are afternoon films). On the other hand, classic Hollywood films always feel cozier in the morning. And if it’s a comedy, really anything goes.
These are all under controlled scenarios within your own home and you won’t necessarily get these options at the cinema, who will pick when you watch the movie, thankyouverymuch. There are benefits like discounted tickets on earlier shows, but for some films it might be worth the premium ticket price to wait until dark. With this, the film’s runtime also plays a significant factor in when you can watch it at the cinema.
Personally, generally speaking I’m on board with a 10 a.m. start time to watch a movie, whether at home or at the theater. 4 p.m. isn’t my bag as it interferes with the day. Sure, you can grab a bite afterwards like Gerwig said, but I feel the post-movie conversation – and meal – will be far better at, say, 8:30 p.m. than 6:30 p.m.
When do you think is the best time to watch a movie at home? Do you prefer morning, afternoon or night? Give us your ideal start time below!
The concept of the Kevin Smith horror movie Tusk came out of an episode of Smith’s SModcast podcast in which he and his co-host Scott Mosier started out joking about the idea of a walrus-themed body horror movie and then, in the midst of the banter, Smith was inspired to actually make the movie. (And I’m very thankful that he did.) Smith’s horror anthology KillRoy Was Here started out in a similar way. It has its roots in an episode of the Edumacation podcast, where Smith and co-host Andy McElfresh “accidentally brainstormed a Christmas horror anthology” that would revolve around the child-eating creature known as Krampus. Smith and McElfresh wrote a script and were moving ahead with the film, which was first called Comes the Krampus! and then re-titled Anti-Claus, but then it got abandoned when Michael Dougherty’s Krampus movie was released. It only sat dormant for a few years before Smith decided to rework it into something else: KillRoy Was Here.
The script was rewritten. The Christmas element was ditched. Smith had revealed the names of the Anti-Claus stories (The Krampus vs. The Third Grade, Hitler’s Krampus, Mask Masker, The Proposal, and wrap-around The Bad Babysitter), and judging by those, it appears most of the stories were replaced. Krampus was swapped out for a new character called KillRoy, inspired by the “Kilroy was here” graffiti that became popular during World War II, showing a long-nosed man peeking over a fence. In this case, KillRoy started out as a Florida man named Roy Huggins, who was a soldier in the Vietnam War, not World War II, and when he was captured by enemy soldiers he got loose, killed a whole lot of people, and cannibalized one of the corpses. He had to be locked up in a mental institution, and when the place caught on fire Roy was left to burn. Now he’s a supernatural being who stalks the Florida swamps, and his burns have left him looking a lot like that figure in the Kilroy graffiti. They say he has a psychic connection to kids, and if someone says his name three times he’ll show up with his machete and start hacking away at anyone who has wronged a child.
With a cool, original character to build his movie around, Smith went into production on KillRoy Was Here, which was made on a minuscule budget as a project with film students at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida (thus the Florida setting). The budgetary limitations could be spotted in the trailer, but it was a promising project, a horror anthology that was likened to Creepshow. Smith fans and genre fans alike were intrigued to check it out… But very few would have the chance to.
KillRoy Was Here is famous (or infamous) for being the movie that Smith decided to release as an NFT, and it’s not clear how well that release worked out. The investors might have gotten a nice amount of cryptocurrency out of it, but releasing the movie as an NFT seems to have been the equivalent of dropping it into a void, as far as viewer engagement online is concerned. Although there are 1000 NFT copies out there, only a few reviews have shown up on sites like Letterboxd and reddit, and the single review currently on IMDb was written by someone who saw it at a film festival in the theatre Smith owns. There’s a chance that over a thousand people have seen KillRoy Was Here, and yet only maybe ten have said anything about it. Clearly, there’s little overlap between those who are into NFTs and those who enjoy discussing films online. Although the movie was officially released a year and a half ago, there has been so little said about it, there are probably many fans who aren’t even aware that it was ever released at all. For some of those who are aware, the concept of NFTs is so off-putting and/or incomprehensible, they’ll never have access to it anyway. Unless it’s released in another format someday, KillRoy Was Here is practically a “lost film” at this point. The Kevin Smith movie that only a fraction of his fans have seen.
Even for those who have the NFTs, there’s a piece of the film that hasn’t been seen in full. It’s a deleted segment called The Lost Chapter, and it was split into ten parts that were dropped randomly throughout the various NFTs. It’s likely that no one will ever see this segment in its entirety, unless they go on a KillRoy NFT buying spree or the movie gets a more traditional release someday, where the segment could be included as a deleted scene or reintegrated into the movie. I have my fingers crossed for the traditional release option, because I would gladly add a copy of KillRoy Was Here to my physical media collection, to keep the Kevin Smith Movie section complete. I’m a Smith fan and a horror fan, so this movie is right up my alley. But I’m also a collector, so I would love to have a copy of KillRoy Was Here that I could hold in my hands. If that’s not feasible, at least drop it onto a streaming service so more film fans can check it out. That’s not only bringing entertainment to a wider audience, it’s also a bit more profit for the investors.
It’s a shame that KillRoy Was Here has been locked away, as it was a fun concept with franchise potential. I’m sure it would find a following among fans of Smith and the horror genre, if only more people could see it.
While we wait to see if there are going to be any further, more traditional releases of the film, the only way to see KillRoy Was Here is to purchase an NFT (now on the secondary market) or get an NFT savvy friend to show you their copy.
The joke that makes The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear great is relatively subtle. In fact, as a child, watching this movie over and over again, it went over my head. Only recently, after releasing the episode of Revisited dedicated to the original Naked Gun and discussing the sequels with a friend, did he clue me in on why the sequel is so funny. The whole point of the movie is that the bad guys, a conglomerate of nuclear, coal and oil industry baddies, want to prevent Richard Griffith’s Dr Meinheimer from presenting a speech to the president urging a change to the country’s oil policy. Meinheimer is kidnapped and replaced by a double to stop this speech from happening. Our hero, Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin, has to save Meinheimer so he can present his speech, which he eventually does. But, the best joke is the fact that when Meinheimer gives his speech, it’s so dull that everyone listening to it, including the present, falls asleep and never hears it, making the whole plot totally meaningless.
And that, my friends, is why The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear is a gem. Granted, nothing comes close to the original, but it’s well worth a revisit and holds up pretty well. The first movie was one of the biggest box office hits in 1988, making a follow-up a no-brainer. While Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker passed on making Airplane 2, they had no such qualms about bringing back Drebin for another instalment. However, Jerry Zucker’s involvement would be limited, as he had become one of the hottest non-comedy directors in town by then. The previous year’s Ghost was a blockbuster (and seems like it might get remade soon), so he was only on board as an executive producer. The same goes for Jim Abrahams, who did two milder comedies, Big Business and Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, before making another comedy blockbuster for the summer of 1991, Hot Shots, which came out just a month after this. Both were hits.
David Zucker directed this, with Pat Proft, who had co-written the first film, helping him with the screenplay. While more scattershot than the first film, it’s still quite funny, even if it is arguably more dated than the first film in its reliance on George Bush humour, with John Roarke nailing the impression.
At the time, the energy debate was in full swing, with words like the “ozone layer” making their way into the headlines, while ecological disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, wound up being satirized in the film. The whole cast returned, with OJ Simpson’s Nordberg getting an expanded role after his comic performance won raves in the first film. Again, Nielsen is in top form, playing a role that always fits him perfectly. Around this time, Nielsen was fully embracing his new comedy stardom, showing up on talk shows in full Drebin mode, with his handy fart box never too far from his reach. Nielsen was so in love with the role that, in some ways, he played a part in all of his personal appearances until the day he died. Indeed, they even played Ira Newborn’s theme from The Naked Gun at his funeral as he was laid to rest. It’s beautiful because I don’t know any actor who has ever had more fun in a role than Nielsen in these movies.
This one sees Drebin in Washington receiving a prestigious award from the president for “most drug dealers killed” (clip – when he says he accidentally backed over the last two, but they turned out to be drug dealers anyway). Inexplicable, his entire Police Squad unit is with him, and when someone tries to blow up a renewable energy depot, Drebin and the gang are called in to investigate. Of course, Priscilla Presley’s Jane, who left Frank sometime after the first film, now lives and works there and is dating a smoothie named Quentin Hapsburg, played by the famed Robert Goulet – whom Frank is convinced is behind the whole scheme. Of course, Frank – despite his stupidity – is right.
As in other movies, the thin plot is just an excuse for hijinx, most of which are funny, including a great sequence set at the Blue Note Jazz Bar for the depressed. Priscilla Presley is again the perfect foil for Nielsen, looking dynamite as a redhead, and their chemistry is spot on. Both George Kennedy and OJ Simpson get more to do in this one, as they get in on the action with Drebin as he tries to foil the evil big energy syndicate.
The funniest bits in the movie include a lengthy homage to the pottery scene in Ghost, which was made by one of the directors of the first film – Jerry. It features what will become a running gag in the series, where anytime Drebin’s body is shown in closeup, it is that of a hulking, Schwarzenegger-style bodybuilder, a reference to a then ongoing scandal where Hollywood actors were using body doubles. It climaxes – pun intended – with the greatest ever montage on phallic sequences ever put to film. I also love the faux ads for oil, coal, and nuclear power (the two-tailed dog always made me crack up). While he’s no Riccardo Montalban (who is), Robert Goulet seems to enjoy sending up his image as the movie’s villain – making perhaps the first time a bad guy was ever named after infamously inbred Austrian royalty. Richard Griffiths is also funny in this, with his dual role as Dr Meinheimer and his double, Earl Hacker, a Texan. Once again, Weird Al Yankovic turns up in a cameo (say your prayers) while
The movie was a smash hit at the box office, outgrossing the first film and notably knocking Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from the top spot at the box office. It was the tenth biggest hit of the year and helped cement Nielsen’s fame as the world’s funniest senior citizen.
Everyone loves a good shark movie. Ever since Jaws hit theaters and broke box office records in 1975, it’s been a reliable horror movie genre. While everyone knows Jaws is by far the best shark movie ever, there are loads of other movies out there that should make you just as afraid to get in the water. We’re gonna need a bigger boat as we travel these dangerous waters of shark films.
Ok. Already I’m cheating, but I mean . . . come on. This has one of the best shark scenes in cinematic history. During an early scene of the movie, a woman decides to go for a swim in the lovely Caribbean waters when a tiger shark appears. As she hides among some of the terrain on the ocean floor, she quickly finds she is not alone. A zombie has found his way into the depths. As she swims away, the zombie turns its attention to the shark. What ensues is one of the greatest shark fights on film, and it’s real.
This movie has a little bit of everything. Vietnam war veterans, evil strip club owners, and telepathic connections to sharks. What more do you need? Sonny is in Vietnam and is saved by a mako shark as he is being stalked by the enemy. He decides he loves sharks and is given a magic medallion by a shaman that lets him telepathically communicate with his beloved creatures. When he moves to Florida, he runs afoul of the owner of a local aquarium and a strip club owner who wants to use sharks in one of his acts. They try to convince Sonny to use his powers to help them, but instead, he declares war on those that try to hurt them. Ironically, for a movie that’s pro-shark, many of the tactics used off screen during filming were cruel, with sharks having had their teeth removed prior to filming.
The cheesy shark film that started a phenomenon! This low-budget horror film seemed destined to follow the other such films that end up on the SyFy Channel, but this one caught on with audiences who fell in love. There ended up being six of these films made over five years. A freak weather accident causes a hurricane off the coast of Los Angeles and picks up a load of deadly great white sharks. It drops them on the unsuspecting public as the city is drenched. Finley has to fight his way to Beverly Hills to make sure his family is safe. The cultural impact of this movie immediately made it one of the best shark movies.
Another tale that proves that humans should not genetically meddle with ultimate killing machines. Scientists in an underwater laboratory begin altering the DNA of a group of mako sharks. Now they are larger and way more intelligent than they should be. The group funding the project show up to question if it should move forward, but they all end up trapped in the base as a tropical storm rages above. The sharks get loose and begin wreaking havoc upon anyone they lay their eyes on. A fun movie that will have you pumping your fist in the air.
Made during the newer 3D craze, this film tries to make the best use of it by sticking you in a supermarket with sharks. A tsunami hits the coast of Australia, trapping a group of people in a quickly flooding grocery store. Among them is former lifeguard Josh who found a new profession after a shark attack. As they begin to wonder when the storm will let up, they realize that the flooded store has a twelve-foot-long shark patrolling its aisles. Now they must figure out how to survive and not become a cleanup in aisle five. Now if only The Meg 2 was in 3D.
Proving that you should never go sailing with your friends. A group sets out for a fun day of sailing when the boat hits a rock. This opens up the bottom of the ship, and the group has to decide what to do. One of them recommends they try and swim to a nearby island as the overturned boat is being pulled out to sea. As they swim, they are being hunted by a great white shark. They are being picked off one by one as they try to make it to land.
So not only are you being hunted by a shark, but you’re also trapped on the ocean floor? Sounds like a nightmare. This is precisely what happens to the two sisters as they go on vacation. They decide to do a cage diving excursion, but the cable holding onto the cage snaps. As they settle onto the bottom of the ocean, they see that sharks are starting to appear. Now they only have one hour of air left and can’t leave the cage as the sharks try to wait them out. Can you imagine cage diving and seeing a megalodon just show up like in The Meg 2?
A surfer hears about a secluded beach that is supposed to be the ultimate destination to catch some waves. When she heads out, she quickly finds a shark hunting in the area and attacks her. She ends up on a rock only 200 feet from shore but can’t safely make it back without becoming a shark dinner. As she sits trying to figure out what to do, she realizes that high tide is coming soon and the rock she is safe on will be underwater. A great thriller that is tense throughout.
Maybe the most terrifying thing about this movie is that it’s based on a true story! It will keep anyone out of the ocean. A young couple books a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean. They have such a great time that they are the last to surface in their group. To their dismay, they find that the rest of their group has left them behind after a botched headcount. The couple is left to float out in the ocean and see that sharks could soon be the biggest problem. This one will make your stomach clench the whole time you’re watching it. Beware.
It had to be right? This film not only changed the summer movie season forever but also terrified people of getting in the water. Sadly it also caused a worldwide problem when people began hunting sharks due to fear of this movie becoming a reality. Sheriff Brody thinks a shark may be patrolling off the coast of his small town and tries to convince the mayor to shut the beaches down. He refuses to do so because the July 4th weekend would be an economic disaster. Of course, then a giant shark shows up and kills a little boy. A team is assembled to hunt the shark down and kill it, but not before it takes out most of the crew and sinks their boat. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible.
Honorable Mention: Jaws 2 (1978)
While making a sequel to Jaws was an act of pure commerce, the first one they did isn’t half bad. This time, a great white stalks a bunch of teens, and despite saving Amity just a few years before, no one believes Brody when he warns them that a shark is on the loose. This benefits from Roy Scheider reprising his role and the classy director of Jeannot Szwarc. That said, the new two Jaws movies are REALLY bad. Wanna know just how bad? Watch the two videos below:
What do you think are some of the best shark movies? Let us know in the comments.
