For many years now I have been obsessed with Chevy Chase. There is something about the characters that he plays in the majority of his movies that is classic. He always has a way of sneaking in some sort of comment or facial expression that just kills me every time. There are three movies that define just how pimp Chevy Chase really is, Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation and Fletch. I know that he has made several other movies that are pretty good. But, to me these three movies are the best. One because they are rated R so he can be kinda raunchy, two this was when he was in his comedic prime and three Chevy Chase is my hero.

I would have to say out of the three that Fletch is my favorite.

-sidenote-

Look how ridiculous Rodney Dangerfield looks on the cover of Caddyshack, I love it!! Ha!!

Jon

A couple of months ago, or maybe a year ago, my girlfriend purchased a couple of literary items from mcsweenys.net.  I really enjoyed these items, especially the packaging and design*, remarkable really.

So, recently I was visiting mcsweeneys.net, to see what was happening and I stumbled across a new publication, a publication right up my alley.  It’s a quarterly DVD magazine called Whophin.  Each issue includes short films, documentaries and animations, work that doesn’t have the blessed fortune of hitting your local Cineplex Odeon.

So being the impulse buyer I am, I decided to purchase an issue.  Picking an issue wasn’t a problem. I was going with issue No. 5.  The reason being it included a short film called House Hunting** that was adapted from a short story by Micheal Chabon, author of the first-rate novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.  As it turned out though, this wouldn’t be my favorite in the issue.

To be truthful, I’ve only made it half way through, but so far I’m enjoying everything my first issue of Wholpin.  The standout so far is the opening short Death to the Tinman, a tragic tale of limbs and love lost.  Not only is it well written and visually stunning, I also found out, upon further research, that it was written as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, detailing how the famed Tinman came to be heartless and well, made of tin.

Now Wholpin is not only an animal born from the result of a dolphin and whale mating, it’s a terrific source for unseen films delivered to your home.

Check it out: http://www.wholphindvd.com/

Regards,
H

* I’m a nerd.
** Directed by Amy Lippman, the co-creator of the life-altering series Party of Five.

I rented Donnie Darko the other day because I hadn’t seen it in a while. Watching this movie again made me realize how awesome it is. Then I got inspired to re-rent Southland Tales the other movie that was written and directed by the same guy (Richard Kelly). I realized that this movie is awesome as well. I started researching both of the movies online a little bit and soon discovered that the general public opinion is that Donnie Darko is badass and Southland Tales sucks. I disagree I think that both movie are badass and I think the reason that everyone doesn’t like Southland Tales is because they are missing the point. If you care enough to give this movie a watch or a second watch for that matter here are a few steps that might help you realize the genius of Southland Tales:

1. Get the full story!! The movie only consists of the second half of the story (chapter 4,5 & 6). Chapters 1,2 & 3 were released in a graphic novel which was written by Richard Kelly. Here’s the link to the first three chapters on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southland_Tales:_The_Prequel_Saga .

2. Realize that the actors in the movie were cast for a reason. The movie is trying to convey an end of the world vibe and how superficial and crazy everybody has become, so the acting and dialog are supposed to be cheesy and fake. Think of the movie as a B-Movie with a bunch of special effects.

3. Watch the movie more than once to analyze the story and the characters closely. The movie touches on some serious subject matter and intertwines itself with a lot of details. It deals with a lot of the issues that the world is dealing with today, but does it all black comedy style.

4. Richard Kelly is a Pimp and Pimps don’t make bad movies!! …Watch the movie and this will make sense.

If you follow all these steps I guarantee that you will love this movie!!

Jon