For this likable, very funny gem of a series; you can get some of the first episodes with commentary on it as well. Some of the points I would add to the previous reviews: the cast of comedians who made an animated appearance on the show was a virtual who's who of stand up comedy, especially as some of them (Ray Romano, Conan O'Brian) would become very famous. Also Laura and Ben are classic examples of the slacker and entitled generation. . . I love how Laura, after refusing to do some perfectly reasonable request that falls the slightest bit outside her receptionist job, then says "Can I have a raise?". Finally, Kevin Meany's riff on staying in hotels during the second season was one of the funniest things I have ever heard, particularly paired with the shows oddly offbeat yet endearing style of animation. Overall this reviewer thinks the DVD set is a great addition to anyone who wants the simple pleasure of putting on a DVD for amusement and to see a guileless comedy series.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Fun with Dick and Jane
(1977)
While being on call one day
5 July 2009
I watched the remake on my DISH TV, and was impressed with what a piece of S*** it is. This in turn inspired me to re-watch the original, and was equally impressed with how funny it was, and, in this overleveraged recessionary time, how prescient it was as well. Who can resist a movie in which a televangelist is robbed at gunpoint? And who pursues them, preaching all the while (I wont give away how the protagonists escape). The social commentary was dead-on right, it was deliciously un-PC, and I wish they made more movies like this in these moronic, over-CGI'd, lame-brain, Hollywood-should-be-ashamed-of-themselves times.
Oh my, the filter here says I actually have to write ten lines of text. Well here goes. Jane Fonda, George Segal, and Ed McMahan are both very well cast and very effective - This is a great movie for those who think Jane Fonda can't do comedy. And pardon me for pointing out the obvious in that Ms Fonda has more acting ability in her left big toenail than Ms Leoni has in her entire corpus. Furthermore, Jim Carrey's act is not unlike Jerry Lewis: Real funny the first time, funny the second time, mildly amusing the third time, and ready to be turned off any further times thereafter.
Really the one reason for existence in dimwitted remakes - they make us appreciate the original.
Oh my, the filter here says I actually have to write ten lines of text. Well here goes. Jane Fonda, George Segal, and Ed McMahan are both very well cast and very effective - This is a great movie for those who think Jane Fonda can't do comedy. And pardon me for pointing out the obvious in that Ms Fonda has more acting ability in her left big toenail than Ms Leoni has in her entire corpus. Furthermore, Jim Carrey's act is not unlike Jerry Lewis: Real funny the first time, funny the second time, mildly amusing the third time, and ready to be turned off any further times thereafter.
Really the one reason for existence in dimwitted remakes - they make us appreciate the original.
Fun with Dick and Jane
(2005)
I am watching the original as I write this
5 July 2009
With George Segal and Jane Fonda, and I have to say, that watching the original brings out what a piece of crap the remake really is. The original film had real acting, funny lines, and chemistry between the stars. plus, as a recession movie, it was very well timed. The remake has watered down histrionic Jim Carrey, clichéd bad guys and a wholly illogical plot. And no discernible chemistry at all between Carrey and Leoni.
It really pisses me off, the dreck that is being peddled these days by the movie industry, with moron product, thinking we wont know any better
It really pisses me off, the dreck that is being peddled these days by the movie industry, with moron product, thinking we wont know any better
I Am Legend
(2007)
Made me want to read the book
15 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I share the disappointment of many of the people posting here about the weak quality of a movie which otherwise had potential. . .Absolutely the culprit in my mind is lazy scriptwriting and directing.
There are so many plot holes in this film I could fill five pages, but I suppose I'll just list one: how on earth do the mutated humans survive for three years? You would think that given their state of regression they would be unable to survive the first NY winter that happened. For that matter, how is it that Will Smith's character is the ONLY surviving human in NY? What makes him so good? You would think that the small percent of immune people would have long ago band together, particularly as they have the advantage of unlimited daytime travel. For that matter, how does one get into Manhattan when all the bridges have been destroyed in an effort to quarantine the island?
Other, more intelligent films like '28days' have dealt with this neatly, or invoked the supernatural. To do neither is, I submit, laziness and an attitude of 'build bigger CGI's, no one will care about the rest. Well, I care.
I watched the movie on HBO, so at least I didn't waste the price of admission or DVD rental. But he real thing is, now I am inspired to go and actually read the book. You know, reading, an activity that is actually good for one.
There are so many plot holes in this film I could fill five pages, but I suppose I'll just list one: how on earth do the mutated humans survive for three years? You would think that given their state of regression they would be unable to survive the first NY winter that happened. For that matter, how is it that Will Smith's character is the ONLY surviving human in NY? What makes him so good? You would think that the small percent of immune people would have long ago band together, particularly as they have the advantage of unlimited daytime travel. For that matter, how does one get into Manhattan when all the bridges have been destroyed in an effort to quarantine the island?
Other, more intelligent films like '28days' have dealt with this neatly, or invoked the supernatural. To do neither is, I submit, laziness and an attitude of 'build bigger CGI's, no one will care about the rest. Well, I care.
I watched the movie on HBO, so at least I didn't waste the price of admission or DVD rental. But he real thing is, now I am inspired to go and actually read the book. You know, reading, an activity that is actually good for one.
The Civil War
(1990)
They don't come better than this
20 January 2008
I have watched this several times now, especially as the remastered DVD came out a few years ago. To my mind, it is still the best war documentary I have ever seen, and I am sure it has spawned an entire generation of civil war buffs.
Particularly moving is the end of episode seven, when the origin of Arlington National Cemetery is described. Again and again, the human cost f the war is made explicit, and it sort of comes together at that point.History doesn't get any more poignant.
Any person who has any sense of the history of the country should own the series, and I completely agree with Shelby Foote when he says that any real understanding of our country has to be based on an understanding of that tragic conflict
Particularly moving is the end of episode seven, when the origin of Arlington National Cemetery is described. Again and again, the human cost f the war is made explicit, and it sort of comes together at that point.History doesn't get any more poignant.
Any person who has any sense of the history of the country should own the series, and I completely agree with Shelby Foote when he says that any real understanding of our country has to be based on an understanding of that tragic conflict
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