79 - Joe Dirt

Connection To THE MASTER OF DISGUISE - Both made by Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison.

This movie is an absolute classic...

Well not really, but compared to The Master Of Disguise it is, with a likable enough lead (surprising since he's played by David Spade), and Christopher Walken at one point dancing in it.

Most of Joe Dirt's story is told in flashback to a radio DJ (SNL alumni Dennis Miller) in California, where Joe now works as a custodian, the film is basically a story of random events, it's sort of like a white trash Forrest Gump (though it doesn't place him in any point in famous history), even a girl he loves Brandy (Brittany Daniel) that gets away. In recount the story of his journey to the DJ unbeknownst to him he as become an overnight sensation. Among his adventures include getting captured by Buffalo Bob (complete with putting lotion on it's skin) and working at a school as a janitor with a former mob boss (Walken) in the witness protection program.

I did like Spade here, it feels so rare playing somebody who isn't snarky (like 99% of his work), his character here is more good natured and self deprecating (he even jokes temporally that he slept with his sister), while I've said the female lead in some of the comedies with a bit of loser lead are always clearly too good for them I didn't actually feel it so much with Brandy, though my experience of Daniel was Sweet Valley High and a brief arc in Dawson's Creek so maybe I don't feel the same I did for her initially as some other actresses.

In the rest of the cast we have cool smaller role for Walken who is just fun when on screen and Jaime Pressly also pops up as the already mentioned sister, I should mention the cast also features Kid Rock as the films jerk, yeah he's not really much of an actor.

Overall, I'm not going to pretend it's a great film but it has it's moments and is better then Master Of Disguise by miles. Some of the enjoyment though might be on how much you think of Spade.

78 - The Master Of Disguise

Connection To I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER - Jennifer Esposito.

Thank God it was only 80 minutes... that is all I have to say, and while it doesn't plum the depths of Disaster Movie (there was less eye rolling here and I made it past 5 minutes without wanting to switch if off). The Master Of Disguise was mean't as a starring vehicle for Dana Carvey, and it's a shame it's a rancid turd of a movie because I think he's a talented bloke.

The movie was likely designed to show off Carvey's skill of impressions (and voices) - and you can't deny he's good at that though his Eddie Murphy doesn't particularly like Eddie Murphy then a plot was just thrown together to try and tie it up, and Carvey plays Pistachio Disguisey, who doesn't realize he from a family that are masters of disguise  until Brent Spiner kidnaps his parents and then he finds out his heritage then it's basically a series of scenes of him doing impressions of famous people/characters/others including Quint from Jaws, Tony Montana (I should mention this is mean't to be a kids movie), Shrek (was it a nod or accidental) and George W. Bush, while his dad James Brolin as a number of celebs play him when he's in disguise including Bo Derek (more on her in a bit) and Jesse Ventura.

The love interest here as in all Happy Madison movies (I should have mentioned here) is a girl who's too good looking and has too nice of personality to fall for the main hero, in this film's case it's Jennifer Esposito, who is a good looking woman in my opinion. Spiner, as the villain though gets to have flatulence as one of his main characteristics, so yeah not his proudest cinematic moment...

The worst scene for me is when Pistachio misunderstanding and taking what the exclusive Turtle Club's name literally and acts as some part human/turtle, the scene is just so cringe-worthy.

Back to Bo Derek for some reason she was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzies, this seems unfair she barely does anything (I am not a fan of that award ceremony anyway), so yeah I'm calling it out as crappy.

Overall, not funny, a series of scenes that if they had any humour would have just flown by but instead we're stuck with a crappy vehicle for somebody too talented for it.

77 - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Connection To CAN'T HARDLY WAIT - Jennifer Love Hewitt.

I mentioned in the post Seventy Five Films, about a couple of films I desired to revisit which included Shanghai Knights and this movie - Josie and The Pussycats was the last movie I'd watched before then and decided to go Can't Hardly Wait for 76 which features Jennifer Love Hewitt, you would guess I did this on purpose to get the chain to go that way to get to this film, but no it didn't occur to me at all at first, I was close to putting on Not Another Teen Movie (which spoofs part of Can't Hardly Wait) before my memory came back on JLH in this movie.

I really don't know why I have a desire to revisit this movie, it's maybe because I've watched a few late 90's horrors this month (Halloween H20, The Faculty), and they've both had a Kevin Williamson connection which I guess goes to show the impact Scream and he had on horror of the late 90's, and of course the original I Know What You Did Last Summer was written by Kevin Williamson - which I like to think he'd written years before and put in a draw until the studios came knocking and he just dusted it off but anyway this is Williamson-less and without spoiling the outcome of the first movie as two returnees in Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.

My memory told me it wasn't a particularly good movie but watching it now, honestly despite it's faults I actually enjoyed watching it and for this purpose of just this write up I'm just going to put a spoiler mention here then talk about it freely from now on.

Yeah, the all getting lured to the Bahamas doesn't really need to happen, since the guy whose revealed to be the son of Ben (the guy who they ran over in the first movie) as already integrated himself well enough into Julie's (Hewitt) life, but I guess it makes a nice change of scenery and an excuse to include a tropical storm in a slasher movie.

We have an whole bunch of hotel staff, to mostly acts as victims though Jeffrey Combs is fun as his usual creepy self and Jennfier Esposito to me is always easy on the eyes, we also have an uncredited Jack Black complete with dreadlocks and fake accent, which I know the first movie had extra kills (2 I can remember) this kills off at least 7 or 8 who had no idea what they really did last summer, speaking of one of the victims, a work colleague of Prinze Jr who initially doesn't go to the Bahamas is John Hawkes, who is enjoyable and gets killed off way too quick - Prinze Jr must have had a different schedule because really his scenes are only with the others at the beginning and end.

I probably have to say that Freddie Prinze Jr. might be one of the least interesting actors in modern cinema, I felt like I've yet to see him light up the screen, maybe somebody reading this as seen something I haven't seen is just bland here, however it's maybe because at the time I most associated her with Moesha (which I didn't like) but Brandy Norwood really grew on my on performance here and cuteness (was never really into her)

the makes knew Hewitt had some assets so she wears tight clothing couple of times,she even strips to her bikini for a sunbed (which the handle gets tied up and she is trapped - marking the second film I've watched for this blog with that happening - the other was Killer Workout)

Overall, better then I remember or I just prefer it more now, though it's often predictable it does it's job well enough as a post-Scream slasher.

76 - Can't Hardly Wait

Connection To JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS - where to start the directors/writers Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan as well as the actors Seth Green, Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison, I'll cheat a little bit and go for Elfont and Kaplan rather then any of the actors.

I'll always have a soft spot for teen comedies even though now it's been 12 years since I last could call myself a teen - though I'm probably close to the ages of some of the actors that tend to be cast for teen, maybe even younger in some cases (wasn't Stockard Channing like 60 when she made Grease - I like Stockard Channing I don't know why I am picking on her), every few years or so comes one that I end up really liking such as Clueless, Mean Girls or Easy-A (these are examples and not the complete list)

This is a preface I perhaps I could have put at the beginning of a teen movie I've already covered, but hey ho, and while I don't believe Can't Hardly Wait is a classic of the genre, the film deserves to better known then it is -

The film mostly takes place over 1 night at a party - a very PG-13 party... literally, scenes and characters where cut to to tone it down the characters include crying drunk girl (Jennifer Elise Cox) and Stoned Girl (Amber Benson), who both still can be glimpsed briefly in the final film.

The film is basically about a high school graduation party and it's various misadventures of the characters who attend it, we have Ethan Embry whose liked Jennifer Love Hewitt for years and plans to pour his heart (in a letter) at the party, her very recent ex-boyfriend Peter Facinelli is also at the party and is trying to convince his friends to dump their girlfriends, we have Lauren Ambrose's snarky friend who gets stuck in the bathroom with gangsta wannabe Seth Green (the two used to be friends) and we have geek Charlie Korsmo vowing to get revenge on Facinelli. These are the principal stories but there are lots and lots of characters seen many of them are familiar faces which I'll get to in a bit.

All these characters are enjoyable to see on the screen and particularly in two of the strands go exactly the way you expect but it's not a bad thing at all, among the other actors who pop include Jaime Pressly, Selma Blair, Jason Segel, Freddy Rodriguez, Erik Palladino, Sara Rue, Clea DuVall, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison, Jenna Elfman, Jerry O'Connell and Melissa Joan Hart, who I like a lot is stuck with one of the weaker minor-subplots of desperately trying to get her yearbook signed, there's also the other minor-subplot of the girls house who is trying to stop is getting wrecked that is also on the weak side.

It occured to me that with Green, Segel and Benson in the cast - that is all her 3 major TV love interests in one film (Kennedy didn't count), besides that Paige Moss appears who in Buffy was the the lead to Green/Hannigan spiting up (Channon Roe, Nicole Bilderback, Clea DuVall and Eric Balfour all have appeared in Buffy too)

Overall very cool teen movie, I actually prefer it to American Pie, which is the year after and ends with a graduation party so there's a link there and would sooner revisit this, I enjoyed many of the characters even those that make fleeting appearances, so I recommend the film.

75 - Josie and The Pussycats

Connection To SIN CITY - Rosario Dawson

I feel like I should put this bit first before I go any further - I have so much affection for this movie. When I first saw this movie it was love at first sight.

The fact that the IMDB rating is 5.3 and a 53% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes (which I guess is the exact same score) makes me think only a small number of people will think it's average will some would have gave it a poor score, whilst others have give it a high score.

I know I heard of the Hanna Barbara cartoon before seeing the film for the first time I can't really remember if I ever saw it, me thinks it must have been on Cartoon Network or similar at one point in the UK and I have seen it (but to be fair certain Hanna Barbara cartoons can merge together).

While the film takes digs at advertising and the like, you could make an argument that it would have hit the nail right on the head if they didn't use actual real companies but still I guess it adds a sense of realism in the film that's not really there otherwise.

The film opens with the boy band Dujour (featuring Seth Green, Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison) performing Backdoor Lover, which does indeed sound like a genuine boyband song from around the time the film was made in 2001, on a plane ride to Riverdale, the boys tell their manager Wyatt (Alan Cumming) that they noticed an hidden message strange in their recording, Wyatt decides to parachute out the plane and let the plane crash, in which he lands in Riverdale's home town and needs a new group to latch on, it's then he comes across the girl band then called The Pussycats and begins use them as the new vehicle for doing sublime messages to youngsters.

The pussycats are played by Rachael Leigh Cook as Josie, Rosario Dawson as Val and Tara Reid as Melody - and Say what you want about Reid and the subsequent decade plus but she's absolutely adorable here as the air-headed Melody, I am not saying the makers of Victorious took the character for Cat but you can't certainly see the similarities. I liked the relationship between the three girls and the jealousy of Val towards Josie is built up well throughout the film.

The film villains are Cumming and Parker Posey, I enjoyed them and it seems like there was having a lot of funny going a bit OTT, though the film is usually better when the Pussycats are the screen, Posey has an awesome scene with a Senator. The best Pussycat related scene is probably the TRL scene.

Overall, the songs are catchy (I really like Pretend To Be Nice) and it's very funny even now after multiple viewings, the girls are pretty too look at and like I said have great chemistry, it's just a shame it didn't set the box-office alight and we got a sequel. I still love this film some 12 years after first seeing it.

74 - Sin City

Connection To THE FACULTY - director Robert Rodriguez (also actors Elijah Wood and Josh Hartnett) but the director is the one I'm going with.

I thought since this was the year the long awaited Sin City - A Dame To Kill For is released I thought it was worth revisiting a film I really dug when I first saw it back in 2005, I think I've seen it once again in the extended form in 2006 but this is a revisit to the original cinematic cut.

I didn't really talk about the director Robert Rodriguez (co-directing with the comic creator Frank Miller here) on the entry for The Faculty and I mean't too say something on my opinion of him. My opinion on him is that a lot of his films there is something holding them back from being truly great - From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Machete films like that on paper sound a touch better then the execution, these are not bad films, though he's made them as well, I think my genuine opinion is Sin City is the only film that as reached it's potential as far as I am concerned, and that's why I'm excited for it's belated sequel.

I don't read many comic books (or graphic novels) really, but I do enjoy films based on them, from the superhero to stuff like Ghost World I've loved numerous films that have started life there, so I never know how closely something follows to the comic, but Sin City moreso then many more I am under the impression is the closest you'll get to a shot by shot remake of a comic, Rodriguez purposely co-directed with the creator Miller to get this and he stuck to using the comic panels as storyboards.

I enjoy films with multiple stories (though the previous film that Robert Rodriguez did with 3 other directors including Quentin Tarantino who guest directed here - Four Rooms - was a film I didn't think too highly of) because I think said it in the write up to Nightmares that stories don't necessary out stay there welcome, there's really 3 stories here plus bookends featuring Josh Hartnett (who I said I wasn't a big fan of as an actor but this the 4th film I've watched this month with him in).

Firstly, we get the makings of the final story with Bruce Willis, a good cop saving a little girl from a vile rapist who he shoots both the weapons of (his hand with a gun in and his genitals), but he ends up getting framed and put in prison while the girl grows up to be Jessica Alba and the guy he shot - The Big Yellow Bastard (Nick Stahl) though she's a little old for him wants to put a notch on the bad post. In the first full story Mickey Rourke is Marv who wakes up next to a dead hooker (Jaime King) and vows to get revenge for her since she showed him love when nobody else would because of looks (even other hookers) and in the second story Clive Owen faces of with Brittany Murphy's psycho ex-Benicio Del Toro which could end up causing a war between the hookers, the gangsters and the cops.

The all star cast is pretty darn great, the stand outs including Mickey Rourke, who it's weird they said The Wrestler was his big comeback because he was so awesome here, also stands out are creepy as hell we have Elijah Wood and of the female cast - Brittany Murphy... I miss you so much, I had such a soft spot for you starting with Clueless (rollin' with my homies) I just love how she plays her role the way she speaks it, and among others Rosario Dawson also shines and Jessica Alba is pretty darn good as Nancy.

It's probably been said multiple times by people before but it's such a benefit to the movie that it literally looks like a live action comic-book, I loved the colour scheme of the movie, mostly black and white except for flashes of colour including blood, clothing and The BYB. Going back to the actors there was some fun minor roles in there as well.

Overall, while it features an lot of violence that might turn people off but I really liked it, I am really looking forward to the sequel. I was glad to revisit after so long.

72 - Taken

Connection To POISON IVY 2 - Xander Berkley

"I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want...", this speech that Liam Neeson delivers to his daughter's kidnapper in Taken as in six shorts years already reached iconic status and single handedly change Neeson into an action star.

Taken for me was a thrill ride, the beginning is pretty much just to set up a non-stop revenge thriller, Neeson goes around beating up or killing the people responsible for taking his daughter (Maggie Grace), which is not personal they just picked the wrong girl with the wrong father.

Whether you except this premise I think can alter your enjoyment, the idea might be far-fetched - she happens to be on the phone with her highly trained dad the moment they come into get her, his ex-wife's new mister happens to have a private jet that can clear and get him to Paris quickly, and little things like the reflection on a photo helps him in his quest - 

I always assumed his daughter's friends death (who is taken the same time), was just death by plot convenience, she dies so you don't have to worry about her after her scene, because after all it's not her story. Things that didn't really work for me is the sub-plot at the beginning of Neeson doing security for a singer played by Holly Vallance that is randomly picked up at the end and I don't know I felt like the finale could have been something better.

Overall very enjoyable if perhaps relies on things like coincidence a little too much, Neeson is cool as fuck here though and he's on screen a good percent of the time.