Claire's blog

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: A.C.O.D. (2013) [“adult child of divorce”]

Clio: 4.6/5 stars, 8.3/10.
Carolyn: 4.6/5 stars, 8/10.
Native ratings: 2.9/5 stars Netflix, 5.7/10 IMDB.

Carolyn: This turned out to be better than we were expecting.  I thought the premise sounded like it could be entertaining, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Clio: Indeed… I was resisting this movie quite a bit, as I’m so fucking sick of other peoples’ divorces. I was sick of it when I was a fucking kid, and I’m more sick of it now, as now I get to deal with others’ drama directly. So I figured it wouldn’t be as funny as I’d hoped because of that. I also figured that since Carolyn & I have been together for decades, as has/had our parents… That some of this simply might not resonate through me due to a lack of personal experience.  I also figured that since it was all about families… Well, I’m not really much of a family guy, and families in movies can be annoying.

I’m pleased to report I was wrong on all counts. This took awkwardness to an enjoyable level. People dug themselves into holes; deeper and deeper. Adam Scott’s face makes my fist want to hit it repeatedly, and it didn’t ruin the movie. His fucking, scrunched-up trollface didn’t ruin the movie. It worked for portraying a neurotic child of divorce. Who had a book written about him. A best-selling book. Yea… This movie really deals with repressed childhood anger, and that indeed resonated with me.

But most of all? I laughed a lot, which was the purpose for watching a comedy movie. Yay. The end.

Directed by Stu Zicherman.
Written by Ben Karlin (4 eps of Space Ghost Coast To Coast, The Daily Show) & Stu Zicherman (Elektra).

Adam Scott (Step Brothers, Knocked Up, Parks And Recreation, 2 eps of Six Feet Under, 1 ep of Robot Chicken, 1 ep of Childrens Hospital, 1 ep of NTSF:SD:SUV::, 1 ep of Drunk History) as Carter.
Richard Jenkins (the dead dad from Six Feet Under, Fun With Dick And Jane, The Cabin In The Woods, Let Me In, The Broken, How I Got Into College, Wolf, Me,Myself & Irene, Step Brothers, Turbo, Stealing Home) as Hugh.
Catherine O’Hara (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone movies, Frankenweenie, Where The Wild Things Are, Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Dick Tracy, SCTV, 4 eps of Six Feet Under, 1 ep of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Melissa.
Amy Poehler (Blades Of Glory, Shrek 3, Mean Girls, Wet Hot American Summer, Saturday Night Live, Horton Hears A Who!, Parks And Recreation, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, 5 eps of Arrested Development, 3 eps of Undeclared, 2 eps of Wonder Showzen, 2 eps of The Simpsons, 1 ep of Napoleon Dynamite-TAS) as Sondra.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Death Proof, Grindhouse, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Smashed, Final Destination 3) as Lauren.
Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine movies, Kick-Ass movies, The Croods, Superbad, 19 eps of The Office, 5 eps of Robot Chicken, 1 ep of Childrens Hospital) as Trey.
Ken Howard (13 eps of Dynasty, 2 eps of Curb Your Enthusiasm, 1 ep of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Office) as Gary.
Valerie Tian (Percy Jackson 1, Jennifer’s Body, Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Juno) as Kieko.
Sarah Burns (I Love You Man, 8 eps of Drunk History) as Margo.
Jessica Alba (Dark Angel, Machete movies, Fantastic Four movies, The Ten, Idle Hands, Little Fockers, 1 ep of The Office) as Michelle.
Jane Lynch (Afternoon Delight, Wreck-It Ralph, The Three Stooges, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Glee, Shrek Forever After, 15 eps of The L Word, 3 eps of Neighbors From Hell, 2 eps of Arrested Development, 2 eps of Father Of The Pride, 2 eps of The Cleveland Show, 1 ep of The Spectacular Spider-Man, 1 ep of The Simpsons, 1 ep of News Radio) as Dr. Judith.
Jamie Renell (The Change-Up) as Tyler.
Vickie Eng (The Change-Up) as Mrs. Kobayashi.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311060/combined

VIDEO: MOVIES/COMICS: REVIEW: R.I.P.D. (2013)

Clio: 5/5 stars, 8.6/10.
Carolyn: 5/5 stars, 9/10.
Native ratings: 3.2/5 stars Netflix, 5.6/10 IMDB.

Mike Judge was a voice? Weird.

Anyway, this was Men In Black, but with Ghosts instead of Aliens.  That REALLY sums it up. COMPLETELY. NOT MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID.  Every aspect of the MIB forumula was used here. Same formula, different values.

And it’s a good formula. We love it. We’ve watched all 4 movies, and all 65 episodes of the animated series — which was awesome, and went right under most peoples’ radar.

So given that we like this formula, we obviously found it VERY entertaining. This was a fun movie, and 3-D made it more fun. The cast was great. The special effects were great. There was comedy, action, a plot. The characters were interesting.

So, while seeming quite derivative, this was sitll a win.

Based on a comic, which is popular nowadays. (Was MIB a comic? Was the comic inspired by MIB?)

Directed by Robert Schwentke (Red, The Time Traveler’s Wife).
Written by Phil Hay (Aeon Flux, Clash Of The Titans (2010)), Matt Manfredi (Aeon Flux, Clash Of The Titans (2010)) & David Dobkin (Jack The Giant Slayer).

Starring
Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, the original Tron movie and the new Tron movies, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Iron Man, How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, Tideland) as Roy.
Ryan Reynolds (Adventureland, Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Van Wilder, The Proposal, The Change-Up, Turbo, The Croods, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, The Amityville Horror, Waiting) as Nick.
Kevin Bacon as Hayes.
Mary-Louise Parker (Nancy Botwin from Weeds, Red movies, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Fried Green Tomatoes) as Proctor.
Stephanie Szostak (Iron Man 3, Dinner For Schmucks, 1 ep of The Sopranos) as Julia.
James Hong (Mr. Ping in the Kung Fu Panda movies, Jackie Chan Adventures, Hot To Trot, 2 eps of Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2 eps of Archer, 2 eps of Bonanza, 1 ep of Home Improvement) as Nick’s Avatar.
Marisa Miller as Roy’s Avatar.
Robert Knepper (Percy Jackson 2, Transporter 3, Carnivale) as Stanley Nawicki.
Mike O’Malley (Deep Impact, 28 Days, 43 eps of Glee, 3 eps of Baby Blues, 1 ep of Axe Cop) as Elliot.
Devin Ratray (Side Effects, Home Alone 2) as Pulaski.
Larry Joe Campbell (Pacific Rim, 5 eps of Weeds, 1 ep of Friends) as Officer Murphy.
Piper Mackenzie Harris (1 ep of Newsreaders) as Nick’s New Avatar.
Toby Huss (Kahn Souphanousinphone, Sr. in King Of The Hill, Carnivale, Bad Milo, Bedazzled, 4 eps of The Venture Bros., 4 eps of Harvey Birdman, 2 eps of Beavis & Butt-head (2011), 1 ep of NTSF:SD:SUV, 1 ep of Childrens Hospital, 1 ep of Adventure Time, 2 eps of Kung Fu Panda, 1 ep of Brickleberry) as Various Deado (voice).

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790736/combined

[IMDB link]

RATINGS:
Clio: Netflix: 3/5 stars. IMDB: 7/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 3/5 stars. IMDB: 7/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 2.9/5 stars, IMDB: 3.1/10.

CLIO’S THOUGHTS: I don’t know if it’s the long break we took in between 1-6 and 7, but I felt like this one was an improvement. It’s largely lauded as the worst of the series; the dud that killed it. But in fact, I think it was just too soon. It was overload. There was too much. It was possibly already too late before this movie came out.

But watching it after a long break? (We watched 1-6 in two weeks or so, many months ago.) I think that improved the experience.

Anyway, this one felt less formulaic! It’s definitely not the worst of the franchise! Yeah, there were a lot of bad/fall-flat jokes, especially in the beginning… But ultimately, it broke the formula a bit, and was a more interesting movie than the last few. Harris actually becomes useful! And works on the same team as the people he worked against in 1-6. He’s still a jerk, but a useful one, now. He’s not quite as bumbling; he simply has no respect. The comedy is still there, though this movie is slightly more serious. And that’s okay. We needed some change.

Plus, they are in RUSSIA!! It looks suspiciously like America, but with more moustaches and hats and fur coats.

Plus, some of the cast: See Cornfed from Duckman before he was Cornfed, Ron Perlman before he was Hellboy, and Christopher Lee before he was Count Duku[la]!!

Anyway… I see no reason to write off this final installment the way so many do. I think they were looking for redemption where none was to be found. It is what it is, and was actually slightly more enjoyable to us than both Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach and Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.

CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: This did seem to be less formulaic than the others. It was entertaining, and it seemed to have its own feel, yet still felt like a Police Academy movie.

PEOPLE:

Directed by Alan Metter (Back To School).
Written by Randolph Davis (1 ep of Tales From The Crypt) and Michele S. Chodos.

Starring:
From the previous movies:
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
G.W. Bailey (Police Academy 1,4-7 Short Circuit, Mannequin, 14 eps of MASH, 1 ep of Soap, 1 ep of Nip/Tuck) as Lt. Harris.
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.

New people:
Christopher Lee (Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings movies, Death in The Color Of Magic, The Golden Compass, Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode 2 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars pilot movie, Alice In Wonderland, Corpse Bride, Sleepy Hollow, Gremlins 2) as Commandant Rakov, the leader of the Russian police force.
Ron Perlman (Hellboy, City Of Lost Children, Pacific Rim, Percy Jackson 2, Alien 4, Titan A.E.) as Constantine Konali, the Russian bad guy.
Claire Forlani (Mall Rats) as Katrina, the Russian translator.
Charlie Schlatter (Ferris Bueller in the Ferris Bueller TV series, G.I. Joe: Renegades, 3 eps of The Batman, 1 ep of Jackie Chan Adventures, 1 ep of The Life & Times Of Tim, 1 ep of The Boondocks) as Cadet Connors, obligatory good-looking kid in order to be able to have a love interest.
Gregg Berger (Cornfed from Duckman, Odie from Garfield & Friends and The Garfield Show (2008), Kay from Men In Black:TAS, Grimlock in The Transformers, The Angry Beavers, Toxic Crusaders, Mysterio in Spider-Man-TAS (1990s), 6 eps of Life With Louie, 5 eps of Rugrats, 4 eps of The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, 4 eps of Batman Beyond, 2 eps of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 2 eps of Batman: The Brave And The Bold) as Lt. Talinsky, Russian policeman. (more…)

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)

Clio: 3/5 stars, 6/10.
Carolyn: 3/5 stars, 6/10.
Native ratings: 3.1/5 stars Netflix, 3.9/10 IMDB.

Hank (the cop) from Breaking Bad AND Chloe from Smallville are both in this movie, though almost nobody (including us) will notice this.

Carolyn’s thoughts: This was more like The Pink Panther about a theft gang on a stealing spree. The team are brought in to help Captain Harris catch the thieves, and then Commandant Lassard is framed so they try to clear his name. Still going.

Clio: Yup. Still going. These Police Academy movies get really unremarkable, but at least this one had a sort of mystery plot to it that the others didn’t have. That helped stave off the rate of decay of the franchise a bit…

Directed by Peter Bonerz (29 eps of Home Improvement, 12 eps of Friends, 11 eps of Wings, 9 eps of Alf, 3 eps of Just Shoot Me, 3 eps of Joey, 2 eps of Newsradio, 2 eps of Shit My Dad Says).
Written by Stephen Curwick (Police Academy 5-6, 5 eps of Family Ties, 2 eps of Growing Pains, 1 ep of Who’s The Boss?).

Starring
From the previous movies:
Bubba Smith (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
George R. Robertson (Police Academy 1-6, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.
Marion Ramsey (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.
G.W. Bailey (Police Academy 1,4-7 Short Circuit, Mannequin, 14 eps of MASH, 1 ep of Soap, 1 ep of Nip/Tuck) as Lt. Harris.
Lance Kinsey (Police Academy 2-6, Loaded Weapon 1) as Proctor.

From the last movie:
Matt McCoy (Police Academy 5-6, 4 eps of Carnivale, 2 eps of Seinfeld, 1 ep of Six Feet Under) as Nick, Lassard’s nephew, pretty much Mahoney’s replacement.

New people:
Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan from Smallville) as Little Girl. This was her film debut.
Dean Norris (Hank the cop/brother-in-law from Breaking Bad) as cop in gym. Not even credited. No, we didn’t notice him.
Kenneth Mars (Triton in The Little Mermaid, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, 26 eps of Malcolm In The Middle, 9 eps of Pirates Of Darkwater, 4 eps of Life With Louie, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of Lois & Clark, 1 ep of The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest, 1 ep of The Angry Beavers) as The Mayor / The Mastermind
Brian Seeman (2 eps of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Murphy Brown) as Flash
Darwyn Swalve (Barton Fink, Summer School, 1 ep of The A Team) as Ox
Beans Morocco (Bob The Janitor in Police Academy 5, New Nightmare, Once Bitten, 6 eps of Growing Pains, 2 eps of Mork & Mindy, 2 eps of Laverne & Shirley, 1 ep of Soap, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Mad About You, 1 ep of Caroline In The City, 1 ep of Murphy Brown) as Bank President

From previous movies:
Bruce Mahler (Police Academy 1-3,6, Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.
Billie Bird (Police Academy 4,6, 2 eps of The Wonder Years, 1 ep of Cheers, 1 ep of Max Headroom, 1 ep of Murphy Brown, 1 ep of Who’s The Boss) as Mrs. Feldman. She played Mrs. Feldman in Police Academy 4. I guess it was a different character altogether, but I didn’t remember to notice her.
Arthur Batanides (Police Academy 2-4,6, 5 eps of Happy Days, 4 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 3 eps of The Odd Couple, 2 eps of Wonder Woman, 1 ep of Star Trek) as Old Man Kirkland.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098105/combined

Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)

Carolyn’s thoughts: They tried to mix it up a bit by changing the setting and putting them into Miami Beach.  Still the same formula, but entertaining enough.  No mention of what happened to Mahoney.

Claire’s thoughts: Exactly. They’re still doing it… But they’ve lost Steve Guttenberg for good. Strangely… I didn’t really notice. With or without him, it’s pretty much “same shit, different instance”. It works. It’s still working. It’s good that they made this. It’s good that we watched it. But it’s not very special. It’s another episode of The Simpsons at this point. I’m fine with that, but the only reason to watch Police Academy 5 is that you watched Police Academy 1 through 4.

Directed by Alan Myerson (12 eps of Laverne & Shirley, 8 eps of The Larry Sanders Show, 5 eps of Newsradio, The Single Guy, 2 eps of Friends, 2 eps of Ned And Stacey).
Written by Stephen Curwick (Police Academy 5-6, 5 eps of Family Ties, 2 eps of Growing Pains, 1 ep of Who’s The Boss?).

Starring
From the previous movies:
Bubba Smith (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
George R. Robertson (Police Academy 1-6, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.
Marion Ramsey (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.
G.W. Bailey (Police Academy 1,4-7 Short Circuit, Mannequin, 14 eps of MASH, 1 ep of Soap, 1 ep of Nip/Tuck) as Lt. Harris.
Lance Kinsey (Police Academy 2-6, Loaded Weapon 1) as Proctor.

From the last movie:
Tab Thacker (Police Academy 4-5) as House, the fat cadet.

New people:
Matt McCoy (Police Academy 5-6, 4 eps of Carnivale, 2 eps of Seinfeld, 1 ep of Six Feet Under) as Nick, Lassard’s nephew, pretty much Mahoney’s replacement.
Janet Jones (A League Of Their Own) as Kate, Nick’s female police officer love interest.
Rene Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Pirates Of Darkwater, Benson, 4 eps of Avatar: The Last Airbender, 4 eps of Justice League, 2 eps of Young Justice, 1 ep of Men In Black-TAS, 1 ep of Family Guy) as Tony, the main bad guy.
Archie Hahn (John Tucker Must Die, Gremlins 2) as Mouse, a henchman.
James Hampton (Teen Wolf series, 3 eps of Full House, 2 eps of Punky Brewster, 1 ep of Hope & Gloria, 1 ep of Valerie) as Mayor of Miami.

Missing from this movie, but will be returning:
Bruce Mahler (Police Academy 1-3,6, Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.
Arthur Batanides (Police Academy 2-4,6, 5 eps of Happy Days, 4 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 3 eps of The Odd Couple, 2 eps of Wonder Woman, 1 ep of Star Trek) as Old Man Kirkland.
Billie Bird (Police Academy 4,6, 2 eps of The Wonder Years, 1 ep of Cheers, 1 ep of Max Headroom, 1 ep of Murphy Brown, 1 ep of Who’s The Boss) as Mrs. Feldman. IMDB says she plays Mrs. Stanwyck in Police Academy 6. Same character, different name, or different character altogether? Hmmm.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095882/combined

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)

Claire: 3.2/5 stars, 7/10.
Carolyn: 3/5 stars, 7/10.
Native ratings: 3.2/5 stars Netflix, 4.6/10 IMDB.

Carolyn’s thoughts:  This had a similar scattered feel that the first movie had, but it seemed to have an even looser plot than the other movies.  Basically, this is just the first movie, but with civilians learning to be cops, but not actually get to be cops.  These are definitely starting to wear out their welcome.  This is the last one with Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) in it.

Claire: Yup, it’s all getting to be a blur. This one’s still absolutely comparable with the first 3, but it’s starting to feel like episodes of a TV series, what with the repetitions, fomulaicness, catch-phrases, etc.

Directed by Jim Drake (Night Court, SCTV, Dave’s World, 5 eps of Who’s The Boss, 5 eps of Newhart, 1 ep of Valerie).
Written by Gene Quintano (Police Academy 2-4, Loaded Weapon 1).

Starring:

From the previous movies:
Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy 1-4, 3 Men And A Baby movies, Cocoon, Short Circuit) as Carey Mahoney.
Bubba Smith (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
George R. Robertson (Police Academy 1-6, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.
Marion Ramsey (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.
Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed.
Colleen Camp (Police Academy 2,4, Four Christmases, Last Action Hero, Sliver, Wayne’s World, Clue, Apocalypse Now, Speed 2, Plump Fiction, 3 eps of Roseanne) as Kirkland.
Jackie Joseph (Police Academy 2,4, Gremlins, 8 eps of Josie & The Pussycats, 3 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 1 ep of Full House, 1 ep of Designing Women, 1 ep of Newhart) as Mrs. Kirkland.
Tim Kazurinsky (Police Academy 2-4, Plump Fiction, Hot To Trot, 2 eps of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Sweetchuck.
Lance Kinsey (Police Academy 2-6, Loaded Weapon 1) as Proctor.
Andrew Paris (Police Academy 2-4, 3 eps of Happy Days) as Bud Kirkland.
Arthur Batanides (Police Academy 2-4,6, 5 eps of Happy Days, 4 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 3 eps of The Odd Couple, 2 eps of Wonder Woman, 1 ep of Star Trek) as Old Man Kirkland.
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.
Scott Thomson (Police Academy 1,3-4, Twister, Ghoulies, 1 ep of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose) as Chad Copeland.
Brian Tochi (Police Academy 3-4, Leonardo in all three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, Revenge Of The Nerds 3, 10 eps of Johnny Bravo, 4 eps of Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2 eps of The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Samurai Jack) as Cadet Nogata.

New people:
Sharon Stone as Claire Mattson. So young.
Derek McGrath (Mr. Mom, 4 eps of Cheers, 2 eps of Star Trek: Voyager, 2 eps of Family Matters, 1 ep of Married With Children) as Butterworth.
Billie Bird (Police Academy 4,6, 2 eps of The Wonder Years, 1 ep of Cheers, 1 ep of Max Headroom, 1 ep of Murphy Brown, 1 ep of Who’s The Boss) as Mrs. Feldman. IMDB says she plays Mrs. Stanwyck in Police Academy 6. Same character, different name, or different character altogether? Hmmm.
David Spade as Kyle. This was his first role?!?!?!?!
Brian Backer (Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Money Pit, 1 ep of Growing Pains) as Arnie, Kyle’s friend.
Tab Thacker (Police Academy 4,5) as House, the fat cadet.
Corinne Bohrer (Joysticks, 2 eps of Herman’s Head, 1 ep of Friends, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ned & Stacey, 1 ep of Will & Grace) as Laura, Zed’s love interest.
Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb (Raising Arizona, Naked Gun 33 1/3, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 1 ep of Married With Children) as Zack.
Michael McManus (The Kentucky Fried Movie, 4 eps of Night Court, 2 eps of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Mr. Belvedere, 1 ep of Doogie Howser MD, 1 ep of Coach) as Todd.
Jack Creley (Videodrome, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, 1 ep of Friday The 13th: The Series) as Judge.
Tony Hawk as a skateboarder. (IMDB trivia says he was fired from being David Spade’s skateboarding double because he was too tall, so apparently, he was just a guy skating with them.)

Missing from this movie, but will be returning:
Bruce Mahler (Police Academy 1-3,6, Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093756/combined

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)

Claire: 3.4/5 stars, 7/10.
Carolyn: 3.4/5 stars, 7/10.
Native ratings: 3.2/5 stars Netflix, 5.0/10 IMDB.

Claire’s thoughts: A good thing was more new characters, and old character in new roles. Bobcat Goldthwait made a hilariously-weird street thug, and now he gets to be a hilariously-weird cop.  Getting to use a character in two roles strikes me as both brilliant AND lazy, which are both hallmarks of good low-budget filmmaking.

Unfortunately, at this point, the franchise is becoming a bit formulaic and repetitive.   Some of the jokes are the same jokes.. Again.   And the jokes just aren’t that funny (in 2014, when I’m writing this) to bear repeating 3 times. Maybe they were in 1986, but they aren’t in 2014.

Carolyn’s thoughts:  This one wasn’t as good as the first 2, but it was still entertaining.

Directed by Jerry Paris (Police Academy 2-3, 238 eps of Happy Days, 18 eps of The Odd Couple, 3 eps of The Munsters, 3 eps of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, 1 ep of Laverne & Shirley).
Written by Gene Quintano (Police Academy 2-4, Loaded Weapon 1).

Starring
From the previous movies:
Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy 1-4, 3 Men And A Baby movies, Cocoon, Short Circuit) as Carey Mahoney.
Bubba Smith (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
Bruce Mahler (Police Academy 1-3,6, Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
George R. Robertson (Police Academy 1-6, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.
Marion Ramsey (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.

Returning from the second movie:
Art Metrano (Police Academy 2-3, 5 eps of Bewitched, 2 eps of Fantasy Island, 1 ep of Herman’s Head, 1 ep of 21 Jump Street, 1 ep of Punky Brewster) as Lt. Mauser.
Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed.
Tim Kazurinsky (Police Academy 2-4, Plump Fiction, Hot To Trot, 2 eps of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Sweetchuck.
Lance Kinsey (Police Academy 2-6, Loaded Weapon 1) as Proctor.
Andrew Paris (Police Academy 2-4, 3 eps of Happy Days) as Bud Kirkland.
Arthur Batanides (Police Academy 2-4,6, 5 eps of Happy Days, 4 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 3 eps of The Odd Couple, 2 eps of Wonder Woman, 1 ep of Star Trek) as Old Man Kirkland.

Returning from the first movie:
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.
Debralee Scott (Police Academy 1,3, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, 6 eps of Welcome Back Kotter, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Mrs. Fackler.
Scott Thomson (Police Academy 1,3-4, Twister, Ghoulies, 1 ep of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose) as Chad Copeland.
Brant von Hoffman (Police Academy 1,3, 1 ep of Arrested Development, 1 ep of Laverne & Shirley) as Kyle Blankes.
Georgina Spelvin (Police Academy, porn star) as The Hooker.

new people:
Shawn Weatherly (19 eps of Baywatch, 1 ep of Dukes Of Hazzard, 1 ep of Happy Days) as Cadet Adams.
Ed Nelson (6 eps of Gunsmoke, 1 ep of Dynasty, 1 ep of CHiPS) as Governor Neilson.
Brian Tochi (Police Academy 3-4, Leonardo in all three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, Revenge Of The Nerds 3, 10 eps of Johnny Bravo, 4 eps of Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2 eps of The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Samurai Jack) as Cadet Nogata.
David Huband (Wrong Turn, 2 eps of Puppets Who Kill) as Cadet Hedges.

Missing from this movie, but will be returning:
Colleen Camp (Police Academy 2,4, Four Christmases, Last Action Hero, Sliver, Wayne’s World, Clue, Apocalypse Now, Speed 2, Plump Fiction, 3 eps of Roseanne) as Kirkland.
Jackie Joseph (Police Academy 2,4, Gremlins, 8 eps of Josie & The Pussycats, 3 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 1 ep of Full House, 1 ep of Designing Women, 1 ep of Newhart) as Mrs. Kirkland.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091777/combined

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)

Claire: 3.6/5 stars, 7/10.
Carolyn: 4/5 stars, 8/10.
Native ratings: 3.2/5 stars Netflix, 5.5/10 IMDB.

Carolyn’s thoughts:  I think I liked this ever so slightly better than the first one, but I couldn’t pinpoint why.  Maybe it was because it didn’t seem as scattered, and there was more of an underlining plot to follow.  Bobcat Goldthwait is so weird!

Claire thoughts: I actually feel like I didn’t quite like it as much. I guess the novelty of #1 wears off by #2. And I have to watch 5 more of these?!?  When I think back, it’s an enjoyable and entertaining movie, as much as #1. I just didn’t seem to get quite as much out of it.

Directed by Jerry Paris (Police Academy 2-3, 238 eps of Happy Days, 18 eps of The Odd Couple, 3 eps of The Munsters, 3 eps of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, 1 ep of Laverne & Shirley).
Written by Barry W. Blaustein (Police Academy 2-5, The Nutty Professor movies, 41 eps of Saturday Night Live) & David Sheffield (Police Academy 2-5, The Nutty Professor movies, 53 eps of Saturday Night Live).

Starring
From the first movie:
Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy 1-4, 3 Men And A Baby movies, Cocoon, Short Circuit) as Carey Mahoney.
Bubba Smith (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
David Graf (Police Academy 1-7, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Michael Winslow (Police Academy 1-7 and the series, Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
Bruce Mahler (Police Academy 1-3,6, Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.
George Gaynes (Police Academy 1-7, Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
George R. Robertson (Police Academy 1-6, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.
Marion Ramsey (Police Academy 1-6, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.

New people:

Colleen Camp (Police Academy 2,4, Four Christmases, Last Action Hero, Sliver, Wayne’s World, Clue, Apocalypse Now, Speed 2, Plump Fiction, 3 eps of Roseanne) as Kirkland, Tackleberry’s love interest.
Howard Hesseman (Gridlock’d, Halloween 2 (2009), WKRP In Cincinnati, 7 eps of Soap, 3 eps of That 70’s Show) as Pete Lassard.
Art Metrano (Police Academy 2-3, 5 eps of Bewitched, 2 eps of Fantasy Island, 1 ep of Herman’s Head, 1 ep of 21 Jump Street, 1 ep of Punky Brewster) as Lt. Mauser.
Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed.
Julie Brown (Plump Fiction, Clueless and the Clueless TV series, 6 eps of Animaniacs, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 2 eps of Laverne & Shirley, 1 ep of Six Feet Under) as Chloe. She was supposed to be a love interest, but her scenes were cut off. And TOTALLY UNRECOGNIZABLE from usual – she has short brunette hair instead of her lovely, long, red hair she ended up with when she became an MTV personality. I believe in middle school I decided that if there was an afterlife, I would spend much of it in her cleavage.
Peter Van Norden (The Naked Gun 2 1/2, 1 ep of Caroline In The City, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Vinnie Schtulman.
Tim Kazurinsky (Police Academy 2-4, Plump Fiction, Hot To Trot, 2 eps of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Merchant.
Ed Herlihy (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure) as Dooley.
Sandy Ward (Airplane 2, 11 eps of Malcolm In The Middle, 2 eps of Seinfeld, 1 ep of Lois & Clark, 1 ep of Dream On) as Sistrunk.
Lance Kinsey (Police Academy 2-6, Loaded Weapon 1) as Proctor.
Arthur Batanides (Police Academy 2-4,6, 5 eps of Happy Days, 4 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 3 eps of The Odd Couple, 2 eps of Wonder Woman, 1 ep of Star Trek) as Old Man Kirkland.
Jackie Joseph (Police Academy 2,4, Gremlins, 8 eps of Josie & The Pussycats, 3 eps of The Dick Van Dyke Show, 1 ep of Full House, 1 ep of Designing Women, 1 ep of Newhart) as Mrs. Kirkland.
Andrew Paris (Police Academy 2-4, 3 eps of Happy Days) as Bud Kirkland.

People who are missing from this movie, but will return in later movies:
Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy 1,3-7, The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde. Thank god. These movies just aren’t the same without her tits.
Debralee Scott (Police Academy 1,3, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, 6 eps of Welcome Back Kotter, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Mrs. Fackler.
Scott Thomson (Police Academy 1,3-4, Twister, Ghoulies, 1 ep of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose) as Chad Copeland.
Brant von Hoffman (Police Academy 1,3, 1 ep of Arrested Development, 1 ep of Laverne & Shirley) as Kyle Blankes.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089822/combined

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Police Academy 1 (1984)

Claire: 4/5 stars, 8/10.
Carolyn: 4/5 stars, 7/10.
Native ratings: 3.5/5 stars Netflix, 6.6/10 IMDB.

They should use Michael Winslow more. But I guess he’ll be back in the other movies.  Wait…That was Kim Catrall??

That was fun. Reminds me of Stripes, but with police instead of military, and funnier.  I grew up on these movies, but I haven’t seen one in over 20 years. All 7 movies finally being available in HD means it’s time to watch them again, and remember what the fuss was about.

Pretty damn funny! Not a cinematic masterpiece, but we both laughed out loud. A lot. The movie was outrageous and out of touch back then, but now it’s even more strange. A relic. And damn, 30 years ago was definitely more homophobic. The movie was a truly a product of its time.

But anyway… The only thing I actually remember from watching this when I was younger… Is the bossy blonde academy instructor, and her tits. DEFINITELY worth returning to.

I’d really forgotten about all these quirky characters. They should make an adult cartoon about these guys.

Carolyn’s thoughts:  This was entertaining and fun.  A little fast-paced, and a little bit scattered, but it got us laughing out loud several times.  I didn’t remember much from when I saw this as a kid.

Directed by Hugh Wilson (2 eps of WKRP In Cincinnati).
Written by Neal Israel (Real Genius, Look Who’s Talking Too), Pat Proft (Scary Movie 3-5, Naked Gun movies, Hot Shots movies, The Star Wars Holiday Special), and Hugh Wilson (33 eps of WKRP In Cincinnati).

Steve Guttenberg (3 Men And A Baby movies, Cocoon, Short Circuit) as Carey Mahoney.
Kim Cattrall (Dee in Producing Parker, Samantha in Sex And The City, Star Trek 6, Porky’s, Big Trouble In Little China, Mannequin, 2 eps of The Simpsons, 1 ep of Duckman, 1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Rugrats) as Karen Thompson.
G.W. Bailey (Short Circuit, Mannequin, 14 eps of MASH, 1 ep of Soap, 1 ep of Nip/Tuck) as Lt. Harris.
Bubba Smith (1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Moses Hightower.
Donovan Scott (Back To The Future 3, 1 ep of Eagleheart) as Leslie Barbara.
George Gaynes (Henry in Punky Brewster, Wag The Dog, 1 ep of Sliders) as Commandant Lassard.
Andrew Rubin (2 eps of The Odd Couple) as George Martin.
David Graf (1 ep of Dream On, 1 ep of Ferris Bueller, 1 ep of Night Court, 1 ep of MASH, 1 ep of Family Matters) as Tackleberry.
Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil’s Rejects, Laverne & Shirley, 2 eps of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Sgt. Callahan, the hot blonde.
Michael Winslow (Spaceballs, Gremlins, 3 eps of The Love Boat, 1 ep of Family Guy, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Larvell Jones.
Debralee Scott (Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, 6 eps of Welcome Back Kotter, 1 ep of The Love Boat) as Mrs. Fackler, who jumped on the car.
Bruce Mahler (Fridays, 3 eps of Seinfeld, uncredited in Loaded Weapon 1, uncredited in Dick Tracy) as Doug Fackler.
Ted Ross (Stealing Home, 1 ep of Benson, 1 ep of The Cosby Show, 1 ep of The Jeffersons) as Captain Reed.
Scott Thomson (Twister, Ghoulies, 1 ep of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose) as Chad Copeland.
Brant von Hoffman (1 ep of Arrested Development, 1 ep of Laverne & Shirley) as Kyle Blankes.
Marion Ramsey (1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, 1 ep of Robot Chicken) as Laverne Hooks, the quiet one.
George R. Robertson (National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, JFK) as Chief Hurnst.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087928/combined