DOUBLE-EDGED URGENT-COMEDY PERFECTION OF 'THIS IS SPINAL TAP'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hOA7JIaUmn1a7hyh1Ll_2xbeSqYS2xzhLzD-OZ4BnXZnU3vZycZTNDvWqI6hema7Fd73jeMOqXjR5ODghiLocLur91C2AnyeLhvznozF9urnjVoXDcZnZmq3CPYpJ-s0bUy7vIu6zmbfih3wqHraFJyal5pKnWIrctXdmBHUOjdxf6Opnegjb7G4CW6M/s1832/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-13%20at%205.30.23%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1832" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hOA7JIaUmn1a7hyh1Ll_2xbeSqYS2xzhLzD-OZ4BnXZnU3vZycZTNDvWqI6hema7Fd73jeMOqXjR5ODghiLocLur91C2AnyeLhvznozF9urnjVoXDcZnZmq3CPYpJ-s0bUy7vIu6zmbfih3wqHraFJyal5pKnWIrctXdmBHUOjdxf6Opnegjb7G4CW6M/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-13%20at%205.30.23%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rob Reiner's THIS IS SPINAL TAP Year: 1984 Rating: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The fictional heavy metal band SPINAL TAP is so legendary that it's sometimes forgotten that Rob Reiner's directorial debut THIS IS SPINAL TAP, written and performed by his old friends Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, was initially a neglected diamond in the rough...<br><br>Other than a few exceptions, like Woody Allen's 1969 crime satire TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN and the more befitting RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH, the mockumentary device wasn't common when TAP began gaining an immense cult following during the 1980's video boom...</p><p><span></span></p>

bruno kirby, christopher guest, eighties, fred willard, harry shearer, heavy metal, howard hesseman, june chadwick, michael mckean, mockumentary, music, tony hendra

DOUBLE-EDGED URGENT-COMEDY PERFECTION OF 'THIS IS SPINAL TAP'

Rob Reiner's THIS IS SPINAL TAP Year: 1984 Rating: ***** The fictional heavy metal band SPINAL TAP is so legendary that it's sometim...

STAGED NOSTALGIA FOR 'SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAbg0y9rosGuX-CL6_fXSsC76Lo_JyDhrjkrNEkOHnmHfRbRWZhu_oSWdlrb95oHzmhlgcw9iHPhZOqFlwu39zT0SSl8iegNvkrqeGCvL5rZpG2XEY18Ad148mAiJEvsxPa2VeDiQd8qEx-qvyjnKoHEJ5w35Ow05KePR-1FsOgPjaWSA6J4Cyaj2kiak/s1254/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-12%20at%209.45.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAbg0y9rosGuX-CL6_fXSsC76Lo_JyDhrjkrNEkOHnmHfRbRWZhu_oSWdlrb95oHzmhlgcw9iHPhZOqFlwu39zT0SSl8iegNvkrqeGCvL5rZpG2XEY18Ad148mAiJEvsxPa2VeDiQd8qEx-qvyjnKoHEJ5w35Ow05KePR-1FsOgPjaWSA6J4Cyaj2kiak/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-12%20at%209.45.04%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2025 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Rob Reiner's completely unanticipated sequel to THIS IS SPINAL TAP wants to play it both ways: on the one hand, the fictional Heavy Metal group hasn't played together for years, their music is forgotten, and they have insanely mundane/downright bizarre jobs, like making cheese or creating background themes to cellular on-hold services...<br><br>But at the same time, while the old boys are reunited in a homey New Orleans studio, anticipating one big reunion show, they're visited by and jam with the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John (who both consider them "legendary") with a sold-out crowd singing along to their lyrics, even somehow understanding the ironical nuances of their stage show (like the size of <i>Stonehenge</i>)...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

2025, christopher guest, comedy, elton john, harry shearer, michael mckean, mockumentary, music, new, paul mccartney, rob reiner, sequel

STAGED NOSTALGIA FOR 'SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES'

Year: 2025 Rating: ** Rob Reiner's completely unanticipated sequel to THIS IS SPINAL TAP wants to play it both ways: on the one hand, th...

SUMMARY REVIEW OF 'D.A.R.Y.L.' BECAUSE THE POSTER IS COOL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5urqPQGH8uXMWVTQgqXWED4iX5uM4RKWX9arYImmgtTX_NgUpHAbZfAe3cGkpHJgheqnDG68HLtqLbDGcT6Bu-kam4bE9vn_aTG4F0sBoXdbX_QhFKT99I9FwhbiiuXPhXlGTBmmoE-3/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-09-23%252Bat%252B9.56.46%252BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1045" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5urqPQGH8uXMWVTQgqXWED4iX5uM4RKWX9arYImmgtTX_NgUpHAbZfAe3cGkpHJgheqnDG68HLtqLbDGcT6Bu-kam4bE9vn_aTG4F0sBoXdbX_QhFKT99I9FwhbiiuXPhXlGTBmmoE-3/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-09-23%252Bat%252B9.56.46%252BPM.jpeg" width="398"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of those better movie posters than the movie movie YEAR: 1985</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Young Daryl has some sort of amnesia and very special powers. He can play piano without having played before and can hit a baseball right out of the park. The scenes involving Daryl (played nicely by Barrett Oliver between an inspired, performance in THE NEVERENDING STORY and lifeless turns in both COCOON films), his foster parents, and his buddy, Turtle — our comic relief here — are part of a fun and semi involving 1980's sci-fi kids flick. Then, something happens...<br> <br> Fifty minutes through — just as the audience is getting into the rhythm of a very laid-back fish-outta-water story — Daryl is picked up by his real parents i.e. the scientists that "created" him. His name is spelled D.A.R.Y.L., which stands for "Data Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform" and. at this point, it's all downhill and keeps going until you just don't care if little D becomes a pile of scrap metal, or if he finds a new life as a <i>real boy</i>. More family fun and less formidable military evil and this would have been a terrific movie. But Reagan was in the White House, and for Hollywood, the government was always up to no good (until 1992 when all was good in the jungle). Either way, Michael McKean fans will like him in a "normal" part, which he never did back then.  <br>

barrett oliver, chase, cult, eighties, kids, michael mckean, military, science-fiction

SUMMARY REVIEW OF 'D.A.R.Y.L.' BECAUSE THE POSTER IS COOL

One of those better movie posters than the movie movie YEAR: 1985 Young Daryl has some sort of amnesia and very special powers. He can p...

PENNY MARSHALL W/ SPINAL TAP ON 'LAVERNE & SHIRLEY'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXMEbTuR6IuERcE6EasfxpvVD8uYJygm13UYHs3xVUK5IglC0l5fH5gQHgX5LmZlcmSu4jmhj4p7Zghg5FFOtLG17AYDxIce80tfmkbnHR0g8zlZ71tNI6p-G6jeKwQ9BdZ6JK8Rv7f1B/s1600/11.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXMEbTuR6IuERcE6EasfxpvVD8uYJygm13UYHs3xVUK5IglC0l5fH5gQHgX5LmZlcmSu4jmhj4p7Zghg5FFOtLG17AYDxIce80tfmkbnHR0g8zlZ71tNI6p-G6jeKwQ9BdZ6JK8Rv7f1B/s1600/11.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Penny Marshall with a Richard Nixon voting Christopher Guest on Laverne & Shirley</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> We all know MICHAEL MCKEAN from SPINAL TAP started as Lenny on LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY. But on the third season the other Tappers turned up: HARRY SHEARER as a newscaster and CHRISTOPHER GUEST as a med student supporting Nixon: unlike Laverne (and the show's writers, producers, directors, and Hollywood).<br> <br> Later, Laverne and Shirley meet the boys at a bus stop and find out they're womanizers (like JFK!). And at the end of the episode, the main cast sings a tune with McKean on acoustic guitar. And not "Big Bottom." <br>

christopher guest, david l. lander, michael mckean, penny marshall, seventies, TV

PENNY MARSHALL W/ SPINAL TAP ON 'LAVERNE & SHIRLEY'

Penny Marshall with a Richard Nixon voting Christopher Guest on Laverne & Shirley We all know MICHAEL MCKEAN from SPINAL TAP started...

CHEVY CHASE STARRING IN 'MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJ9eZGC3v_IILIInplGPPqezI35UECsIYxPjTXmUvY0kCUFXfzwR8BY9_GTiSmIXD5syXDknphEEbtVY1-sW_DepbeiWP6ECfa5qcsz-t4Q9CmZFIY7E-1bVocbXdqmL0KOU8whGTWwg/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJ9eZGC3v_IILIInplGPPqezI35UECsIYxPjTXmUvY0kCUFXfzwR8BY9_GTiSmIXD5syXDknphEEbtVY1-sW_DepbeiWP6ECfa5qcsz-t4Q9CmZFIY7E-1bVocbXdqmL0KOU8whGTWwg/s400/1.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Still Decent Special Effects for the Chase/Carpenter collaboration preCGI</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This is a Cornelius Production. Run by Chevy Chase. He obviously knew what director was good enough to put his movie on the big screen... <br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFynn6PBl8s1Ky0vTHQRxCotNMIOecj7_5LlpvsimbSU8obVlz0oQDojL-e18Z52gBV9FWcvBXmn1fqLHUe3ai_bpMZKAmTKtm66jYTakR9Gu4RFkiGxo_Zrj0O0t8m-Ml-BiPiVCqDS5a/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-30+at+3.43.53+AM.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFynn6PBl8s1Ky0vTHQRxCotNMIOecj7_5LlpvsimbSU8obVlz0oQDojL-e18Z52gBV9FWcvBXmn1fqLHUe3ai_bpMZKAmTKtm66jYTakR9Gu4RFkiGxo_Zrj0O0t8m-Ml-BiPiVCqDS5a/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-01-30+at+3.43.53+AM.jpg" width="123"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1992</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In fact, anyone familiar with cinema from the 70's and 80's had most likely heard of John Carpenter. But teaming up with Chase seems, and is, a strange concept. "Escape from New York... It's Saturday Niiiiight!" But the initial plans made more sense as Chase was intended to work under GHOSTBUSTERS director Ivan Reitman, who was no stranger to working with former groundbreaking SNL cast members. However, he dropped out after hearing it would be a comedy and mostly drama...<br> <br> So the HALLOWEEN icon/Master of Horror was ready to play slave to the kind of uptight studio suits he'd usually be free from and, instead of adding the usual "John Carpenter's" before the title, he was willing to be a hired-hand for Chevy Chase's science-fiction labor of love albeit one that took its source with dignity without being a satire, and best yet, providing both actor and director a genuine challenge: Chase being serious, and Carpenter providing him a serious enough platform for that make sense. As one would imagine from its maligned reputation, there are some flaws... like a melodramatic narration that makes you forget how well he flowed words in FLETCH since he has to be deadpan without the usual subtle punchline. His tone falters trying to reach the necessary fevered pitch and the corny dialogue didn't help ("I felt... panicky"). And the fact, as a performer, Chase, who looked both in-shape and too thin (a bit on the sickly side), was in a sort of purgatory phase given his last few projects (Carpenter, too, was running dry of his former greatness)... But as purgatory goes, MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN isn't too shabby: Before computer-animation went all-out, the early nineties often relied on what looked somewhat weak and contrived, even then, paling to the hands-on 80's prosthetics from the likes of Rick Baker, Rob Bottin and hell, even Jim Henson. But they did a decent job here despite the limitations...<br>

chevy chase, daryl hannah, franchise, michael mckean, nineties, sam neill, science-fiction

CHEVY CHASE STARRING IN 'MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN'

Still Decent Special Effects for the Chase/Carpenter collaboration preCGI This is a Cornelius Production. Run by Chevy Chase. He obvious...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 109 PIMENTO

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIHhBXNDzLvMxOgY1XQzKUK5_dc8WF6FisxKMyJ6sbiVt2lyZ_dJr1TjdFQ7xRP4htmdkpEYDKuo8BQFs1ZldgMUsb26g9jaZ3za_D-yIO73SWKlC0pYqL9lG0OwR73_ap_GeB5_8WPA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIHhBXNDzLvMxOgY1XQzKUK5_dc8WF6FisxKMyJ6sbiVt2lyZ_dJr1TjdFQ7xRP4htmdkpEYDKuo8BQFs1ZldgMUsb26g9jaZ3za_D-yIO73SWKlC0pYqL9lG0OwR73_ap_GeB5_8WPA/s1600/1.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E9 Grade: A–</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Michael McKean is sort of a Working Icon. He never fell off the map, and always continued to find jobs after his airhead Lenny from LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY made him a star. And the moody rhythm guitarist David St. Hubbins from SPINAL TAP killed the stereotype of merely being Squiggy’s tall friend. But in BETTER CALL SAUL, his character… Jimmy McGill’s older, more responsible and legitimate lawyer brother Chuck… is a little too unique for his own good. Suffering a self-imposed allergy to electricity is downright vapid. He should have shaken that by now because it’s getting just too distracting to make him a worthy character... Like at the end of this one where he more than proves his worth as a dramatic actor...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvT0Rx5I6ga84uj5vt6PlT9ku6gnVexfxejY9aDHVPrYhbXhLYD33sCsACCw2nZAAM0XLriySkaZ1S71qbDeJoAJP9drMbXrGDVT4sM474T3FeeBTq2qEnlrJXBjqbMmqg5mseKPAakc/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvT0Rx5I6ga84uj5vt6PlT9ku6gnVexfxejY9aDHVPrYhbXhLYD33sCsACCw2nZAAM0XLriySkaZ1S71qbDeJoAJP9drMbXrGDVT4sM474T3FeeBTq2qEnlrJXBjqbMmqg5mseKPAakc/s1600/2.jpg" width="103" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MM's 2nd icon</td></tr> </tbody></table> Not that Chuck's problems hinder Mike and his… let’s call it a <i>skit</i> as most of the show's scenarios play out with a beginning, middle and end. Herein Mike and two other hired bodyguards display their individual worth, and it’s obvious to any BREAKING BAD fan who will come out on top. Leading to the birth of the unbreakable Mike we all know, love and equally fear – and thus bringing Michael Mando's drug cartel thug back into the mix, fulfilling his opening credit status he’s been mostly absent from throughout the first season, which is nearly at an end.<br /> <br /> Overall, PIMENTO, describing a particular cheese Mike has in his lunch bag, is not a bridge episode, which is leading to next week’s finale... The main purpose, along with Mike progressing into thug/bodyguard status, occurs during the pivotal “Et Tu Brute” moment between Jimmy and Chuck, thus establishing our hero's existence mirroring his brother’s embroidered logo on a jacket decades earlier… LONE WOLF.

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, jonathan banks, michael mckean

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 109 PIMENTO

E9 Grade: A– Michael McKean is sort of a Working Icon. He never fell off the map, and always continued to find jobs after his airhead ...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 108 RICO

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWWUPCB2d2a-McJu6UP8v4c7TUz10H5rorbH9G_76WbnWdn0fDjdXnVm_aIwMMVPqQBc6CdOVYCuFFETG4Wfy8xSTYdfNHQ9bllj1Cqmzw6Fy1O4mLtjesTKBgXEdctLWUjQiUuqVmMk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWWUPCB2d2a-McJu6UP8v4c7TUz10H5rorbH9G_76WbnWdn0fDjdXnVm_aIwMMVPqQBc6CdOVYCuFFETG4Wfy8xSTYdfNHQ9bllj1Cqmzw6Fy1O4mLtjesTKBgXEdctLWUjQiUuqVmMk/s1600/1.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Episode 108 RICO</td></tr> </tbody></table> Now we really get to see Jimmy McGill being a lawyer aka defender of the people, and, it seems, without any angles... <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXijkCAVz_QsWHSFF7bMFlxcSl03-Vnewn-vaolli6EJ0spZ4Iu0WhpbxMJlyGKRRmLiIsNvjO0BTdK-vZGBlGYRoRhak5s2egaEED5kHSRoK9EKV2xhiZpGVB3dbRLQd9qy1yeponEzg/s1600/better-call-saul-episode-108-main-chuck-mckean-jimmy-odenkirk-590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXijkCAVz_QsWHSFF7bMFlxcSl03-Vnewn-vaolli6EJ0spZ4Iu0WhpbxMJlyGKRRmLiIsNvjO0BTdK-vZGBlGYRoRhak5s2egaEED5kHSRoK9EKV2xhiZpGVB3dbRLQd9qy1yeponEzg/s1600/better-call-saul-episode-108-main-chuck-mckean-jimmy-odenkirk-590.jpg" width="114" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grade C+</td></tr> </tbody></table> But an important connection occurs as his older, once successful lawyer brother Chuck, still ill but getting slightly better, teams for a case against a franchised old folks home overcharging their residents, who are Jimmy’s Elder Law clients… <br /> <br /> Suspend disbelief as Jimmy starts piecing together piles of shredded documents… And yet it’s more realistic when Chuck actually pulls off the impossible jigsaw – being such an enigma, this extraordinary accomplishment seems more legitimate: Speaking of which, as Jimmy straightens out, Mike morphs into the crooked gun we knew in BREAKING BAD and, as a whole, like Sunday's WALKING DEAD, this BETTER CALL SAUL Episode 108: RICO is more of a bridge than a worthwhile crossing… Hinting at a possible cure for Chuck – but with such a vapid “disease” to begin with, who gives a flying...

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, michael mckean

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 108 RICO

Episode 108 RICO Now we really get to see Jimmy McGill being a lawyer aka defender of the people, and, it seems, without any angles... ...

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 105 ALPINE SHEPARD BOY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZV-4q6Pkjzbr3LqMjA0w6iElS5_0cG3avSxmtQuZdpVKPN5LyxnbnectYngpJNfAB9fhgDbnlp8HSjkAhvYkzvNgxvz6q44_I69gYXJFt5RTlfotu4oqObPAXczEb3PptKsONiplap8/s1600/photo-176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZV-4q6Pkjzbr3LqMjA0w6iElS5_0cG3avSxmtQuZdpVKPN5LyxnbnectYngpJNfAB9fhgDbnlp8HSjkAhvYkzvNgxvz6q44_I69gYXJFt5RTlfotu4oqObPAXczEb3PptKsONiplap8/s1600/photo-176.JPG" width="230" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Episode 105 Grade: B–</td></tr> </tbody></table> A building episode includes an intriguing cliffhanger, a big revelation and the first BETTER CALL SAUL with a title longer than one word, ALPINE SHEPARD BOY is a reference to a statue during a string of low-rent and/or misleading jobs Jimmy McGill gets as benefits of HERO, which is ironic since the entire purpose of all that work was to make more money with real clients – nothing doing…<br /> <br /> Beginning with Michael McKean as the mysteriously bizarre Chuck McGill, Jimmy’s older brother lawyer who suffers from what we finally discover is called ELECTROMAGNETIC HYPER-SENSITIVITY, and it’s not very… legit…<br /> <br /> Either is one scene that, involving an unintentionally perverted toilet bowl a married father wants to patent, seems readymade for show-fans to quote at the Tuesday morning water cooler. (Jimmy even shares the experience with his pseudo-girlfriend a few minutes later... just in case we missed something.) But most of the episode is searching for an outlet – pun intended given Chuck’s illness; yet it’s true... While an intriguing glimpse into Jimmy’s kitschy progression, getting clothing tips from a MATLOCK rerun, and a niche for doing wills for the elderly (Elder Law)… including THE THIRD MAN theme playing with orchestration at an old folk's home… the best is saved for last: And it’s about time real light is shed on Mike, Jonathan Bank’s tough crooked ex cop and the only other connection to BREAKING BAD. Now we’re getting somewhere since Mike was one of the best BAD characters, and that’s a show with many great characters. And while ALPINE is mostly weird and offbeat – resembling something from the Coen Brothers universe (the toilet bowl voice sounded like the creepy Asian dude from FARGO) – there’s something real edgy to wait for. To look forward to.

2015, bob odenkirk, cable, jonathan banks, michael mckean

BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 105 ALPINE SHEPARD BOY

Episode 105 Grade: B– A building episode includes an intriguing cliffhanger, a big revelation and the first BETTER CALL SAUL with a titl...

SHORT CIRCUIT 2 WITH DIRECTOR INTERVIEW

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQr6hyphenhyphenFcVQLrDIbP9zbSsqKS84zwP1JdX4wdnhrLii8tzr6VXPF28FNziQgYzHmElq6MJMVhTSHK8pdzrTF6i6_fIK_TUlMFJENTgtJsFSK7SfQpJ5Ez-6PgD9yHriSmLomNI1qd6TCWc/s1600/short+circuit+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQr6hyphenhyphenFcVQLrDIbP9zbSsqKS84zwP1JdX4wdnhrLii8tzr6VXPF28FNziQgYzHmElq6MJMVhTSHK8pdzrTF6i6_fIK_TUlMFJENTgtJsFSK7SfQpJ5Ez-6PgD9yHriSmLomNI1qd6TCWc/s640/short+circuit+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1988 cast: Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Jack Weston, Cynthia Gibb rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>SHORT CIRCUIT 2 REVIEW</u>: It's rare a sequel exceeds the original, especially with a comedy film, but this does in leaps and bounds: The lovable robot, sought after by the typically typecast evil military in the first film, is shipped to Indian scientist Fisher Stevens in New York, taking to the streets of The Big Apple and wanting desparaetly to be human like everyone else. But Number Five, now Johnny Five, has other problems: including bank robbers and helping his creator romantically connect with a lovely, ambitious climber (Cynthia Gibb) set to buy toy versions of himself... or rather, itself... from Stevens and seedy partner Michael McKean, still a nice guy despite his falling to the dark side of Capitalism c/o main baddie Jack Weston. Leading to an action-packed "aerial" climax with fantastic stunt work the likes of a serious action flick.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL-qlxlg-OTXfkUsht6yXWzzk-S1Ngwofi_km7FDUXt4XN7QyyTo2uJ3TuoEtGev7N2N0ARApdITVeyF99x29eZuCWpaCwdt6_1tzt-39bEHWaWtV81q6d4ndCBmNdgHbEZCoZ9p6IW0/s1600/short+circuit2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL-qlxlg-OTXfkUsht6yXWzzk-S1Ngwofi_km7FDUXt4XN7QyyTo2uJ3TuoEtGev7N2N0ARApdITVeyF99x29eZuCWpaCwdt6_1tzt-39bEHWaWtV81q6d4ndCBmNdgHbEZCoZ9p6IW0/s640/short+circuit2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Fisher Stevens returns with a joining on board Michael McKean</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Sans the technical backstory and preachy undertone of the original, there's more of the robot this time around, having a fun time lost in the big city thanks to director Kenneth Johnson, who successfully adapted THE INCREDIBLE HULK to television, doing for Johnny Five what he did for The Hulk... Adding, through interesting low-angle shots and character-driven perspective, depth and humanity to what had been, in both the Robot and Hulk's origins, merely child's play.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWomdjiQif85U226CmyZ51uZSFJeAVp_owdgAxvAACXulyNbY7PVFB3xXqOCCniCfyXMxwSeM2nhGEaiJrY59TT9vZkMWm1gjSjOPYD8rUXihMlinmBU0yAeKEEUl3D0_qu-PSRJ_yeU/s1600/short+circuit+2--.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWomdjiQif85U226CmyZ51uZSFJeAVp_owdgAxvAACXulyNbY7PVFB3xXqOCCniCfyXMxwSeM2nhGEaiJrY59TT9vZkMWm1gjSjOPYD8rUXihMlinmBU0yAeKEEUl3D0_qu-PSRJ_yeU/s640/short+circuit+2--.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><u>A BRIEF INTERVIEW WITH SHORT CIRCUT 2 DIRECTOR KENNETH JOHNSON</u></b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>In SHORT CIRCUIT 2, how did you humanize the robot, Johnny Five? </b></span><i>I always knew that the visuals and the sight gags would play very well, but I worked very hard with the talented writers to mine all of the human emotion that was central to Johnny's character. Then when the amazing puppeteers Rob, Gord and Trish came on board they really brought Johnny to life in a way that was so realistic and enchanting that everyone fell in love with him. </i><i>People would visit the set and have complete conversations with Johnny, totally unmindful of the puppeteers, who were only a few yards away: </i><i>After the movie was over I experienced a very strange period of mourning... because I could still talk to each of the people I had worked with.. But Johnny... who was a combination of their talents... was gone... It was a bit like a dear friend had died. I still feel a sadness to this day.</i><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqt-NY7TM8jTqBw-fGRPAHhVFNhRX74wp-wZcwVfSKEaRI9r0ovztCWsX0yXF2E89xmzHmpb1RRM5-8Cn0_X3S0CxjMIR4HsHc2MJ-1MLAllF4MpjsP6gumB9w5HnSw2XpYvpSJV9KRwA/s1600/kennethjohnson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqt-NY7TM8jTqBw-fGRPAHhVFNhRX74wp-wZcwVfSKEaRI9r0ovztCWsX0yXF2E89xmzHmpb1RRM5-8Cn0_X3S0CxjMIR4HsHc2MJ-1MLAllF4MpjsP6gumB9w5HnSw2XpYvpSJV9KRwA/s640/kennethjohnson.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><u>MORE WITH WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR KENNETH JOHNSON</u></b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXvR7rXGyab1juiJLKHxgEsbeKL7sabrZMWRovIfH57Mam6ukTZtnt5SCWvaMysm1WagKVadoThh-63n5sa6rvKK-Iz65b8eIdgDOouI-xUBcOjZLsovxf_Fqo0YdHG1jIByAIQmqATEZ/s1600/18222221_312176755878174_6855269802335523531_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXvR7rXGyab1juiJLKHxgEsbeKL7sabrZMWRovIfH57Mam6ukTZtnt5SCWvaMysm1WagKVadoThh-63n5sa6rvKK-Iz65b8eIdgDOouI-xUBcOjZLsovxf_Fqo0YdHG1jIByAIQmqATEZ/s320/18222221_312176755878174_6855269802335523531_n.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>On the way of the house, oh yeah!</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">What were some of your favorite sci-fi books or authors and sci-fi movies growing up? </span></span><i>Heinlein, H.G. Welles, Philip Wylie, Jules Verne, Orwell... Forbidden Planet, War of the Worlds...</i><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: #cccccc;"><span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span></span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">When you wrote the first draft of “V” – did you outline it before you began to write or did the story sort of come together as you were writing it? </span></span><i>There is a very thorough 60-odd page story outline that completely details everything.</i></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How much of “V: The Final Battle” did you write? And did you see the weekly television series? </span></span><i>Though I supervised the writing of the 6-hour sequel, I left Warners over creative differences before it was produced. To this day I have never seen it, except for one minute by accident, in which I saw them make every wrong choice possible, so I knew I'd never survive watching the entire thing...  </i><i>And I never saw any of the series at all, but my friends who were in it said it was pretty awful and certainly missed the essence of what I had been attempting to create.</i></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy52jGQ9x-DO44szpaAtvsVeMeZU2kVTOsHSPf_h7OzuBp-hmGPMASQ2ZBax93DqELDtY-ZwXD8eel5gI9zEOdlubxtXY-d7H82iAV8-XX3eWgoKOnjlWBidpnlAsfjNDNckb8WrnVZSk/s1600/short+circuit+2-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy52jGQ9x-DO44szpaAtvsVeMeZU2kVTOsHSPf_h7OzuBp-hmGPMASQ2ZBax93DqELDtY-ZwXD8eel5gI9zEOdlubxtXY-d7H82iAV8-XX3eWgoKOnjlWBidpnlAsfjNDNckb8WrnVZSk/s640/short+circuit+2-.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Thanks Kenneth Johnson for the memories of working on this underrated sequel... Good job fella!</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> </div>

comedy, cynthia gibb, eighties, fisher stevens, kenneth johnson, michael mckean, sequel

SHORT CIRCUIT 2 WITH DIRECTOR INTERVIEW

year: 1988 cast: Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Jack Weston, Cynthia Gibb rating: ***1/2 SHORT CIRCUIT 2 REVIEW : It's rare a seque...

YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE

<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsFJryyA529b5EhOzEH4r5oLl9CYOHFHTLbXqeyP_3idNskuTFTqn01XYI4iO-KixTJkJdxpY3hZGQ6EFao5OVtnSotUmlZg3rCnSbmgBu8wd53Bbz2oQayT2MQlYUSccNJsVRofIaAc/s1600/YOUNGDOCTORS.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604790329176020034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsFJryyA529b5EhOzEH4r5oLl9CYOHFHTLbXqeyP_3idNskuTFTqn01XYI4iO-KixTJkJdxpY3hZGQ6EFao5OVtnSotUmlZg3rCnSbmgBu8wd53Bbz2oQayT2MQlYUSccNJsVRofIaAc/s200/YOUNGDOCTORS.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 178px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE<strong><br />year:</strong> 1982<br /><div><strong>cast:</strong> Michael McKean, Sean Young, Harry Dean Stanton<br /><strong>rating:</strong> ***<br /><br />Garry Marshall's hospital comedy, where an ensemble of interns strive for love and advancement, works and it doesn't. As a joke-after-joke "Airplane!" clone it isn't funny enough, but the characters are involving: like Michael McKean is an uptight intern with a troubled past who falls for gorgeous Sean Young, and vice versa. Other stories include Dabney Coleman, as the jerky chief of staff, going broke or a mob boss stalked by a zany hitman (Michael Richards), while the mobster's son (Hector Elizondo), in drag, is hit on by a love-lorn intern. Many other stories occur while Sean Young's dying of a rare disease - and only McKean, with a phobia to operate, can save her. Since you'll care about these people, the many missed jokes won't matter. </div></div>

comedy, dabney coleman, eighties, garry marshall, harry dean stanton, larry flash jenkins, michael mckean, michael richards, sean young

YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE

title: YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE year: 1982 cast: Michael McKean, Sean Young, Harry Dean Stanton rating: *** Garry Marshall's hospital c...