Saturday Top 5: Cartoons

Like almost every kid, I loved Saturday morning cartoons. Times have changed now with cable and satellite. There are now literally hundreds of channels with cartoons playing 24 hours a day somewhere. There is even a network dedicated to cartoons. But they just aren’t the same anymore. We had very special cartoons 25 years ago, and earlier. You don’t have to get up early on Saturday to catch your favorite cartoon. And there are also cartoons that kids like to watch but are not meant for children. Cartoons like Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Ren and Stimpy are vulgar and have no business being watched by little ones with impressionable minds. I digress. It’s funny that when Trav or I show Kourtney and McKenna a cartoon that we watched when we were little, they love it. Yet those types of cartoons are considered useless today because they don’t have tolerance or environmental messages around them, or their comical violence is too much for kids. Well, here are my top 5 favorite cartoons from my childhood. Some of them came from even before my childhood, but were still running or rerunning when I was a youngin.

Honorable Mention:

The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, GI Joe, The Smurfs (I was just a little guy)

#5. Tom and Jerry – I was confused by this cartoon, because in some episodes they were friends and others they were always trying to kill each other.  Still a great cartoon!

#4. Super Friends – Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, and the weirdo Aquaman made up the main characters, but the Wonder Twins and Gleek and many others were also part of the crew who fought against the Legend of Doom.

#3. Transformers – The transformers were so cool! I loved watching new episodes on Saturday’s, and even years after, I loved watching the reruns after school.  After Optimus Prime died, it was still good, but it just wasn’t the same.

#2. Woody Woodpecker – This little smart mouthed bird was always giving someone a hard time, and his laugh is quite annoying.  Droopy, Chilly the Penguin, and that mean walrus made guest appearances.

#1. Looney Tunes – Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Tasmanian Devil, Pepe Le Pew, Wyle E. Coyote, the Road Runner, Speedy Gonzalez, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, and other characters made this the greatest cartoon ever.  It isn’t even close!  I especially liked Bugs’ sarcastic/confident personality.  He never let anyone get the best of him.  A lot of the humor was over my head as a kid, which was one reason I am sure this was such a great cartoon.  It was funny for kids, but adults got a laugh too.  And there has never been a better show to promote classical music.  Playing in the background of most of the Looney Tune shows was a nice orchestral piece, many times it was actually a well known piece.  I would love to own a set of Looney Tunes cartoons on DVD.  I know it is something I can still watch and get a kick.

Friday Bottom 3: The Movie Sequel

Don’t you love my Top 5 and Bottom 3 lists having to do with movies? It’s like a sequel. You know it’s going to stink, but you have to go see it anyway. These are the worst sequels/prequels ever made. In order for a movie to qualify for my list, the original at least had to be entertaining. There will be some discussion about a movie or two that should have been included in the list, but I don’t believe anyone will argue that these should have been left off because of their quality. In fact, if you disagree with these selections, you are wrong and should face a civil penalty.

Dishonorable Mention

Next Karate Kid – Truly only the first movie in this series was good. Wax this one off, please.

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd – Some may disagree that the original was good. Personally, I believe the original Dumb and Dumber to be a quality film which touches on everyone’s inner desire and ambition to succeed, and stirs an emotion not easily described. Well, it could also be the hilarious ex-lax and toilet scene that makes the original great, so I could be wrong. But, the lack of talent and thought in writing part two left you with just a silly mash up of horrible jokes and stupid humor.

Jaws: The Revenge – This one was so close to making the bottom three. It’s saving grace was that the Jaws 3-D sequel before was almost as bad, so this one could hardly be much worse. Both were plain awful, but this one was as big a stinker as Mount Trashmore.

Drum roll please….

#3 Rocky V – I am very grateful that Sylvester Stallone redeemed himself in the last installment. In Rocky V, they tried to do something different. Rocky was not fighting for money this time. He was retired, and he had developed a talented fighter. His protege (sorry I couldn’t find the accents) turns against him, and a caricatured Don King waving a flag and saying “Only In America” watches in the background as grandpa Rocky kicks some Tommy Morrison tail! It’s really much better to picture it in your head than to watch it on a movie screen.

#2 Speed 2: Cruise Control – I liked the first Speed flick. It was fun, fast-paced, with some action, and a nasty villain. The second was just an attempt to capitalize off the success of the first. The acting and storyline were so laughable! Did Sandra Bullock’s career ever fully recover?

#1 Batman and Robin – Holy Stinker, Batman! There has to be a purpose in a movie with good material like the Batman and Robin comic heroes turning out to be more like a Broadway show. Someone was trying to bankrupt Warner Bros. Pictures. The villains were not scary, the good guys were not likable, and the plot seemed like it had been written by a 13 year old. That is a bad combination for a movie with a budget the size of most countries’ GDP. I think they spent all their money on the almost A-list cast and uniforms and forgot to pay for a story, special effects, or sets. Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Chris O’Donnell, Alicia Silverstone (who was actually a big name at the time), Vivica Fox, and Elle McPherson were all cast in this joke without the Joker. This may be the worst movie ever made, unless you are a pothead in which case you may have actually enjoyed it.

Saturday Top 5: Movie Remakes

The Bottom 3 from yesterday featured the worst remade movies. Today, I will be looking at my 5 favorite remade movies.

Honorable Mention:

Shaft 2000 – I can’t say that when it comes to “Blacksploitation”, I am a purist. Shaft took a pretty good action film from 1971 with some great music and modernized it a bit. But, it was a good thing they left the music in it! It was definitely worth the time and effort needed to make a movie.

#5. Dawn of the Dead 2004 – I enjoy a good zombie flick occasionally. This movie took a classic horror film from 1978, modernized it a bit, and brought a little life and action. Either version is watchable, but in this case, the remake is actually a better film and stands on its own.

#4. The Man Who Knew too Much 1956 – In 1934 Alfred Hitchcock directed “The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)”. Though it was not a bad film, it suffered from budget issues, writing, and a lack of talent on the acting side. In 1956, Al got a second chance at this movie and turned it from a good movie (1934) to a classic gem. The biggest differences were Hitchcock’s experience and expanded knowledge base, but most importantly, the talent. Doris Day and James Stewart brought this movie and the story to life. The 1956 version is still very watchable.

#3. The Wizard of Oz 1939 – This classic movie was remade from the 1925 version which had some plot differences and was actually a remake from a 1910 encarnation which was a silent film version of a stage musical from 1902. Of course, nobody really knows much about the silent film, but at the time it was apparently pretty big. The classic we all know was very expensive to film, the largest budget of its time. It was huge. To this day, it is watchable. But, there is something about it. When you watch it, it comes across as a little dark and mysterious.

#2 King Kong 2005 – This remake, I believe, was actually needed. The sound and visual CGI effects have advanced to the point where it’s actually difficult to tell the difference between what is real and what is computer generated. Ignoring the 76 remake which make the bottom 3, this movie improved on the original in bringing Kong to a more personable and almost human quality. You actually start to like this creature. Also, the added comedic elements were enjoyable. The action scenes, for the most part, were well thought out and thrilling. As for the dramatic points, you definitely had time to get to know the characters including the heroine and the villain, so the movie was more than a visual experience.

#1. The Dark Knight (Batman) – This total reworking of the Batman movie from 1989 starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson was excellent. It had a couple snags, but overall it accomplished what it set out to accomplish. The movie was dark, the acting was superb and it transformed the characters from cartoonish to gritty and human. It had some very heavy moments that were not in the 1989 film, and the Joker was cast in a more evil, cold-hearted, and murderous role than the 1989 version. Of course, the Joker stole the show this time around. The effects and action far surpassed the movie from less than 20 years ago. Also, due to Batman Begins, and the amount of time spent on character development, you really came to know all the characters involved. As an action movie, it was almost perfect. As a comic hero movie, it WAS perfect. As a remake, it took a good movie and made it great.

Batman

Last night I went up to Dolphin Mall’s Cobb Theater to catch The Dark Knight.  It was a very good movie, but I am struggling to understand how it received enough votes on a reputable site to make it the #1 rated movie of all time.  The acting was great from all parties.  Bale, Ledger, and Oldman were excellently cast, with Ledger’s Joker stealing the show.  It was dark (The Dark Knight).  I can’t exactly say it was a happy movie, and there is no way a child should watch this movie.  There are a few portions of the movie where you have to totally suspend reality to enjoy the film.  But that is understandable with a comic book super hero movie. One of the things that made it a very good movie, was the way it turned the movie on its head, making you love and hate characters at the same time.  The audience was both horrified and humored by the Joker.  I would go see it again, but I would not say that it is one of the greatest movies ever made.