What have you watched lately?

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

I saw Raging Bull on Wednesday and it was (obviously) really fucking good. Tonight I saw a bunch of shitty experimental films that I assume you had to be on acid to understand.

[anarky]

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

Needless to say this wasn't one I picked myself.

I've finally given up on keeping Anarky Jr from Elmo. Somehow, with only seeing Sesame Street a few times, she knows the character more than her own parents. Okay, not that bad, but let's just say the marketing is very, very effective. Since Elmo doesn't totally ruin Sesame Street (the neutered Count and Oscar do more for that, though unexpected references to things like Arrested Development sorta make up for it), and it's still educational, I let her watch it.

Elmo in Grouchland is kinda what you'd expect: a feature-length (albeit a very short feature) adventure of these Muppet characters, with just enough sophisticated humor thrown in to keep the parents from banging their heads in. (How many kids are going to "get" a marquee showing Sharon Groan starring in Basically It Stinks? Or know why Bert says "Gone With the Wind" when Ernie says no one likes a movie with a sad ending?)

It's not bad, but it's not great, either. Bits of audience participation are so spread out, I bet most kids forgot they were supposed to be participating. Fourth-wall intrusions by Bert and Ernie are funny at first, but get old fast. One especially bland musical number with Vanessa Williams goes on for what seems like thirty minutes too long. The villain (played by Mandy Patinkin, who is channeling DeNiro so strongly it's obvious the part was written with DeNiro in mind) gets his comeuppance, but doesn't really seem to learn that sharing is a good thing.

So it's less mind-numbing than Pokemon, but I'd still rather watch a good cartoon (say, something by Pixar). And, since it's only about 10-15 minutes longer than the average episode, and the episodes actually use the Muppets to teach letters and social skills rather than just have them going off on crazy adventures, it seems better to just watch the show.

For $5 at most stores (only, so far as I'm aware, available in foolscreen, not that it matters much here), though, it can give a kid an Elmo fix when the show's not on.

[Ran]

We have Grouchland and a few other Elmo's World DVDs. It has been a while since the kids watched it. I'll agree with your Mandy Patinkin/Dinero assessment. I forgot Vanessa Williams was in it.

[anarky]

The Last Starfighter was on this morning. I've not seen it since before JJL was born. No lie. It's really held up quite well. I expected it to be hopelessly dated, and, though it shows its age, it's a fun movie with a fairly solid story. I had no idea any movies that old used CG so extensively without looking shitty like Tron. Nor that Grig (the alien) was played by a guy pushing 70 at the time. If it's a cheap DVD, I'll have to get it.

Looks like $10 at amazon.com, so maybe in a $5 bin near me. I'll definitely snag this.

Looks like they also made a musical based on it in 2004. I can only think of three words to describe my reaction to that: "What the FUCK?"

[UKWildcat]

I haven't seen The Last Starfighter in probably 15 years.

[anarky]

Yeah, I really wasn't trying to sound snide when I said I've not seen it in JJL's lifetime, though this is probably something like my 7th viewing overall. Remember when HBO had a small but excellent pool of movies they showed all the time?

I'd kill to see Midnight Madness on HBO now. It used to be on every frigging month. All I have is that "Leon!" bit as an interstitial in Robot Chicken.

[kidhuman]

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Pretty funny movie. I liked it.


The Strangers - Real creepy movie. Will freak you out since it can happen to anyone and is based on a true story

[Diabolical]

Sarah Marshall was awesome.
But The Strangers sucked Snigtad's balls. Even the wife thought so, and she tends to like crappy movies like that.

[anarky]

Thanks to having a two-year-old who can say "Lion King," I've gotten to watch that movie twice in the past three days.

As much as I love a lot of Disney movies, that blows them all away by light years. On the off chance any of you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It has an unusually complex story that owes more to the Bible, Hamlet, and Joseph Campbell than to cheesy fairy tales, and some of the most gorgeous animation ever produced. My second favorite would be a toss-up between Lilo & Stitch or The Nightmare Before Christmas, and neither of those is even in the same ballpark.

[vynsane]

haahha, yeah... she'll grow out of it, but not for a while. our little one has stopped asking for NEEEEEMOOOOOO on a consistent basis, but at the end of the day i think we've seen it a couple thousand times since she began her obsession.

now she asks for "simsims" (simpsons) and "frock" (fraggle rock) on a more even basis with finding nemo. but nothing holds her attention like nemo. i tried monster's inc. but she wasn't having it. she turned to me with an incredulous look and said "nemo" like "what is THIS crap you put on? that's not what i requested!"

[anarky]

Kung Fu Panda and Secrets of the Furious Five (the 30-minute bonus movie on the second disc). Both were far better than I expected, and I highly recommend them.

[Double_G]

Kung Fu Panda and Secrets of the Furious Five (the 30-minute bonus movie on the second disc). Both were far better than I expected, and I highly recommend them.

Yep. "Kung Fu Panda" was pretty good. I loved the turtle character (Master Ugway?) and the Wuxi finger hold part was classic. But was the bonus movie CG or 2D animated?

[anarky]

Both. It's Po in the present (CG that fits perfectly with the movie), telling stories about the Furious Five that are set in the past (stylized 2D, similar to Po's dream from the beginning of the movie). Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Randall Duk Kim, and David Cross reprise their roles. Viper, Tigress, and Monkey are re-cast, though in an interesting choice, Monkey is played by Jackie Chan's son, Jaycee. Seth Rogen did not return as Mantis, but the voice was adequate.

Speaking of David "I don't turn any movie down, no matter how good I can be and how shitty the movie obviously will be" Cross, I just saw about 30-40 minutes of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It's relatively painless, but not as good as just watching the old show in re-runs (except that they don't re-run it). A few laughs, a lot of groans. Jason Lee was turning in the worst acting job of his career, though Mr. Cross was excelling as much as one could with the material.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Saw Quantum of Solace. Twice.


Also saw Role Models. Fuckin' funny. Funnier than Pineapple Express and Zack and Miri put together.

[anarky]

Superbad. Fuck, did this one ever live up to the hype! Not a big Seth Rogen fan, but he had me fucking rolling in this, as did everyone else.