Mobsters, monsters, and a whole lot of stress on both ends
Analyze This
Robert DeNiro had already proven himself as a talented actor before this movie came out, winning Oscars for Raging Bull and The Godfather Part II, so it seems only fitting that one of his best roles as Vito Corleone was lampooned to all hell in Analyze This.
There's really not much to say about this movie aside from the obvious: it's funny as hell, and the sequel is a mere shadow of what this movie accomplished. It showed us that dramatic actor Robert DeNiro could not only make fun of himself, but do it so well that we wanted (and got) a whole lot more a few years later with Meet the Parents, another great comedy with a shitty sequel.
Of course, the movie's not just about Paul Vitti (DeNiro), a neurotic mob capo who's slowly breaking down due to stress--it's about Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), the psychotherapist who's bullied into helping Vitti through his problems. Crystal looks thoroughly harried and freaked-out for the most of the movie, and rightfully so. Lisa Kudrow, who I normally dislike, doesn't overstay her welcome at all and the whininess that would drive me nuts anywhere else save Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion is very well-executed here, especially with the line "'cause you've got problems."
All in all, I tend to just forget the sequel ever existed--it wasn't a horrible movie, but it had a lot to live up to because the original was so damn good.
Army of Darkness
Despite this movie commonly being called Army of Darkness, its true (and much, MUCH cooler) title is Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness--a lot of changes were made to the original cut, but honestly, I enjoy the theatrical version much better, and I'll explain why later.
For those who haven't seen this movie... well, shame on you. For those of you who haven't seen Evil Dead and its sequel (Army of Darkness is the third in the series), that's a bit more understandable, so here's the quick-and-dirty summary of the first two movies: there's an evil book called the Necronomicon, bound in flesh and inked in blood, that can summon, well... evil. At a cabin in the woods, the Necronomicon's evil is unleashed on poor retail worker Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his friends, and Ash is the only survivor. Hell, Ash even chops off his own hand to stop the evil spreading into him. In the end, Ash is sucked into a portal created by the Necronomicon, which leads us to the start of Army of Darkness...
...where Ash has been transported to the Middle Ages.
Now, this is usually where most people would freak the fuck out and die immediately, but Ash is made of so much asskick that he proceeds to lay the smackdown on the entire community, including a zombie that happens to know martial arts. Yes, a fucking karate zombie, and Ash murders it with his hand--sorry, the stump that he can attach a chainsaw to.
If you like "good" movies and think that camp and corniness of any kind is something that should be purged from this world, then get the fuck off this page and continue your self-masturbatory trip through the wonderful world of class. Army of Darkness is a bad movie done so well that it is in fact a very good movie--the Harryhausen-style stop-motion effects are a shining example of this might-as-well-be-dead special effects style, and the makeup effects remain consistent, especially in the scene where Ash's face is stretched by a fake Necronomicon.
Probably my favorite part of this movie is Ash's very one-sided "fight" with a graveyard full of skeletal hands that kick the living shit out of him Three Stooges-style, leading to the rising of the Deadite army and a gigantic medieval battle, castle siege and all. The movie stays fun from beginning to end, and is constantly referred to as one of the most quotable movies of all time, but I swear to fuckin' Christ if I hear somebody else say "this is my boomstick" without knowing any other quotes from the movie, I'll explode into gory chunks.
Besides, "hail to the king, baby" is a better quote anyways.
Coming next: Bad Boys and Bad Boys II. This'll be fun, considering that Bad Boys II is two and a half motherfucking hours long.
Robert DeNiro had already proven himself as a talented actor before this movie came out, winning Oscars for Raging Bull and The Godfather Part II, so it seems only fitting that one of his best roles as Vito Corleone was lampooned to all hell in Analyze This.
There's really not much to say about this movie aside from the obvious: it's funny as hell, and the sequel is a mere shadow of what this movie accomplished. It showed us that dramatic actor Robert DeNiro could not only make fun of himself, but do it so well that we wanted (and got) a whole lot more a few years later with Meet the Parents, another great comedy with a shitty sequel.
Of course, the movie's not just about Paul Vitti (DeNiro), a neurotic mob capo who's slowly breaking down due to stress--it's about Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), the psychotherapist who's bullied into helping Vitti through his problems. Crystal looks thoroughly harried and freaked-out for the most of the movie, and rightfully so. Lisa Kudrow, who I normally dislike, doesn't overstay her welcome at all and the whininess that would drive me nuts anywhere else save Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion is very well-executed here, especially with the line "'cause you've got problems."
All in all, I tend to just forget the sequel ever existed--it wasn't a horrible movie, but it had a lot to live up to because the original was so damn good.
Army of Darkness
Despite this movie commonly being called Army of Darkness, its true (and much, MUCH cooler) title is Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness--a lot of changes were made to the original cut, but honestly, I enjoy the theatrical version much better, and I'll explain why later.
For those who haven't seen this movie... well, shame on you. For those of you who haven't seen Evil Dead and its sequel (Army of Darkness is the third in the series), that's a bit more understandable, so here's the quick-and-dirty summary of the first two movies: there's an evil book called the Necronomicon, bound in flesh and inked in blood, that can summon, well... evil. At a cabin in the woods, the Necronomicon's evil is unleashed on poor retail worker Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his friends, and Ash is the only survivor. Hell, Ash even chops off his own hand to stop the evil spreading into him. In the end, Ash is sucked into a portal created by the Necronomicon, which leads us to the start of Army of Darkness...
...where Ash has been transported to the Middle Ages.
Now, this is usually where most people would freak the fuck out and die immediately, but Ash is made of so much asskick that he proceeds to lay the smackdown on the entire community, including a zombie that happens to know martial arts. Yes, a fucking karate zombie, and Ash murders it with his hand--sorry, the stump that he can attach a chainsaw to.
If you like "good" movies and think that camp and corniness of any kind is something that should be purged from this world, then get the fuck off this page and continue your self-masturbatory trip through the wonderful world of class. Army of Darkness is a bad movie done so well that it is in fact a very good movie--the Harryhausen-style stop-motion effects are a shining example of this might-as-well-be-dead special effects style, and the makeup effects remain consistent, especially in the scene where Ash's face is stretched by a fake Necronomicon.
Probably my favorite part of this movie is Ash's very one-sided "fight" with a graveyard full of skeletal hands that kick the living shit out of him Three Stooges-style, leading to the rising of the Deadite army and a gigantic medieval battle, castle siege and all. The movie stays fun from beginning to end, and is constantly referred to as one of the most quotable movies of all time, but I swear to fuckin' Christ if I hear somebody else say "this is my boomstick" without knowing any other quotes from the movie, I'll explode into gory chunks.
Besides, "hail to the king, baby" is a better quote anyways.
Coming next: Bad Boys and Bad Boys II. This'll be fun, considering that Bad Boys II is two and a half motherfucking hours long.