Mike Myers

Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, and at least a couple of others. I can't understand the appeal of movies about apparently otherwise normal people who go out of their way to accept complete idiots (Talladega Nights; You, Me, and Dupree; Austin Powers; Dumb and Dumber; ad infinitum). At least the supporting characters in the Three Stooges shorts treated the leads like the twits they were.

RIP, George Carlin!

It has also been shown that most real comedians are actually very disturbed and angry individuals in their real lives.

Now it is all about who hires the best writers and who can read the script with better timing.

otherwise would not get a showbiz career. Saturday Nite live gave good and bad comedians a big break.

With the possible exception of Carrie Underwood, which American Idol contestant would make in the record industry?

RIP to George Carlin. Even his act was very topical and firmly lodged in a generational niche. Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, they just failed to have any appeal to me. Most have their 15 minutes of fame and continue to try and drag it out to years and it just doesn't work anymore. I'm more interested in Carlos Mencia or Dennis Miller, at least they have new material and tackle real and recent events. Most are like the Smothers Brothers and the MOM LIKED YOU BEST routine, it doesn't work past the first 10 seconds. Dana Carvey is a vert talented impersonator and that's as far as it goes. Some comedians would be no where without good writers or talented special effects people. The best place I've seen these "actors" is in the many voice overs that are filling the screen with animated movies that attract the younger set but are filled with adult material the goes over the heads of the immature audiences that convince the parents to pay the $7.50 for the ticket to see it on the "big screen". I haven't been to see a movie since the release of the Episode One of Star Wars. No more need to pay the bucks when I can experience the event on a big screen TV with surround sound and a PAUSE button.

for deer camp. yeah, I liked it. for the most part.

I buy movies all year long and put them in a pile, but don't take the shrinkwrap off till we get to camp. B-)

but boring as he11 and not funny.

and there hasn't been a good ventriloquist in a long time. Love that guy.

Mencia and Rock top my list, too. Raw - raunchy on regular occasion - but they get to roots.

She frequently wonders, "If these are the ideas that get 'green lighted', what do the rejects look like?"

I know a lot of his fans were disappointed in his decision to leave the show, but honestly, I think it was the right decision. He had pretty much 'attacked' just about any racial-based societal ill possible. Going forward, he would have probably fallen into the same trap as Leary and Clay.

moving to Southern CA just to enjoy his show... :D

Time to check the batteries in the remote, because that channel is getting changed.

as it seems many movies are written around the latest effect that is out.

CG was the best and worst thing to happen to the movies.

Well, that and generations that never learned to write well because our pathetic school systems concentrated on "literature" instead of writing. Thankfully, the focus is going back, and so in about 20 years we should be able to get good movies again. B-)

Everything I have read indicates the three biggest movies to come out in the last two weeks all suckass. not because of the acting, but because the stories are so lame. (happening/luvguru/getsmart)

The Jocks where the kids that could do no wrong; girls adored, guys wanted hang out with... The oddballs where the ones that eventually moved on and left town.

(The coolest kid in school pumps my gass when I'm back in town.)

On the subject of commedy I can only say one name; George Carlin. His early stuff is as applicable now as it was then and his new stuff just keeps on going.

Larry can be a little hit or miss but the other's in the blue colar commedy tour can alway make me giggle with a few very valid points.

"I didn't know how many it would take to kick my azs but I knew how many they where going to use."

I've just hear too many "get'er'dooone" from everybody and there dog to apreciate most of Larry's material.

Dice Clay; funning at first, novelty wore off quick.

Leary; some good material but his presentation get's tiresome.

Bill Hicks; similar material to Leary but presented well.

Eddy Izzard; haven't rewatched his standup in a while but it's pretty timeless.

Robin Williams; I'm just shocked I didn't list him until now.

Eddy Murphy; still makes me laugh but there's been no new material from him outside movies.

.. I could go on and on.. really, I don't know if there was a point to this post but kudos to anyone who can devine a point out of it. ;)

.. Wait, I think I had a point.. Things like the Myers movies fall into the category of slapstick or lowbrow humour. It's being silly funny rather than whitty. There are some great commedians around still but you don't usually find them in what makes the mainstream popculture lineup.

Everybody loves Raymond too though.

I always thought so.

Sure, there were some good points, but it was NOT the rave of the nation like it was pushed off to be.

Or maybe it just speaks to how poorly everything else out there is, that it WAS thought of so highly? It was in comparison to.

tooltime was stale and predictable.

Now, the first season of "The MAN Show" was GREAT! B-)

I thought the Seinfeld TV show was great, except for the last episode, which I thought was a crap ending.

Never a big fan of Allen, except in the Disney stuff, where he obviously didn't control the writing.

Seinfeld on the other hand has not done anything worthwhile since TV - haven't seen the Bee movie though, maybe I missed something.

James

Was actually (IMHO) very, very good.
Although, I admittedly took my 5 year old daughter and have an affinity for computer animated movies of the same ilk.

I think you hit on several points here.

He has charisma. Of course, so does a car wreck. You can't help but be drawn to look. But you'll regret it.

The Stooges were confined by their time and therefore had to be a little witty. Today's "anything goes" approach allows Myers to push the boundries of even the worst taste, something he seems all too happy to do.

I should have said, "My wife -used- to watch a ton of movies." She hasn't seen one this year because been nothing released that appeals to an educated, literate 40-ish woman with no taste for the display of genitalia or internal organs. Me, the last thing I saw was 'Ratatouille'.

As regards CG, I think it's the most over used weapon in a director's arsenal. It's used on the theory that effects trump story, and the more effects, the better. If I see more than three CG's in a 30-second promo, I'm probably not going. I work with computers for living; if I wanted to see a bunch of CG, I'd learn how to do it myself.

is the "attractive" actor/actress to play the lead. hopefully the CG effects and "hot" factor of the leads will distract you from the paper thin plot and sub-retarded dialogs.

what did you think about the effect in 300 to give the characters an almost comic book feel to it?

Did you think it added to it or took away?

I thought it was cool, but would hate to see much more of it....

Kind of like a voicebox with a rock band. Sweet emotions was cool, but would have HATED if Perry would have used it regularly.

So if you are trying to make a movie out of a comic book, you may have to use lots of CG to replicate the style.

But I wasn't a big fan, would have preferred something more like Troy, which looked more real.

James

Evidently, the rest of the class is catching up to us, if the reviews and sales on Love Guru are any indication! :)