Cambo's Pop Culture Palace

reccomendations

2007-11-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

This is where I tell you about some cool stuff. I'll start out with a couple of imports. 1st is Spaced. It's a show that ran in England from 99-01, if I'm not mistaken, and it's the same guys who later did Shaun...& Hot Fuzz. It's a great show. Scrubs totally ripped off it's use of weird little cutaways & dream sequences. It also features just about everyone who was in Shaun & Fuzz. It's very funny & a great stoner show. It is a bit hard to come by here, but Visart Video has the entire 1st season on VHS. Next is Little Britain. It's a sketch comedy show, much like Monty Python by way of Kids..Hall. It is narrated by Tom Baker, and Anthony Head from Buffy plays the prime minister. It's a lot of fun. Very bawdy and a bit gross at times(vomit & fat suits) it will make you laugh...I promise.

As far as movies go. The Darjeeling Ltd. was really good. Very talky, but also very funny and sincere. I loved it. Fido was very funny. A farce set in the 1950s where zombies are kept as pets/servants. Billy Connelly plays Fido. And finally I just recently saw Mean Streets again. It had been several years, but it still holds up nicely. If you've never seen it you really should. And just released on dvd all tarted up w/bonus features is Spider Baby by Jack Hill. It's one of Sid Haig's 1st and one of Lon Chaney Jr.'s last. It's creepy and weird and awesome. I won't even go into a description.

TTFN

Remakes

2007-11-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

A whole lot of remakes have been made lately, and there is a big kafuffle amongst cinephiles. Most people seem to be of the opinion that they all suck and they demean the original. I see their point, but they aren't all bad. The Hills Have Have Eyes was actually pretty good. The second one sucked. Dawn Of The Dead was pretty darned solid, and fuck anybody who says Peter Jackson's King Kong wasn't fucking amazing. That may have seemed a bit harsh but I think it's an amazing film and if you haven't seen it you really should.

Also let's not forget that many remakes did indeed surpass their predecessors. Some examples would be James Whales' Showboat, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and John Carpenter's The Thing

So, in summary, yeah for every one King Kong we get three The Stepford Wives, but that's life...Deal with it. If it looks like it's gonna suck, chances are it will, so don't go see it and don't rent it when it comes out on dvd, and maybe there will be more good remakes....but probably not

Kurt Russell

2007-11-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Everyone is always talking about Jodie Foster, and justifiably: she's a child actress who avoided all the trappings and pitfalls of life. Yeah, it's impressive, but Kurt Russell started out just as young, and has made a ton more movies. He also got his start at a young age in Disney movies. Great timeless movies like The Barefoot Executive and The Strongest Man in the World.

In the early 80s he shed his wholesome image in The Thing, and then Escape From New York. He's still kicking ass on the screen, most recently in the underappreciated, in my opinion, Death Proof and Sky High, which is a very solid little superhero movie. Yeah it's a Disney family movie, but it's pretty funny and it also has Bruce Campbell, Kevin McDonald and Dave Foley from K.I.T.H and Linda (still hotter than shit) Carter and Cloris (also still hotter than shit) Leachman....Yeah.

So in summary Kurt Russell is pretty baddass.

That 70s Toon

2007-11-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

There is a show called Wait Till Your Father Gets Home that aired in the early 70s. It's essentially a lot like Family Guy by way of Happy Days and All In The Family. I'm pretty sure it was for prime time. I assume it was because it's a bit bawdy.

I think the 1st season is available on dvd and it airs on the Boomerang network. It's cool to watch because it seems to have inspired, in some way, many of today's animated show. There is a neighbor that is pretty much Dale from King of the Hill and Stan from American Dad. Hippie and free love jokes abound in this trippy little show...check it out.