Posts by Jeremy Butler

I grew up hearing about Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. It was more about his television credits and hosting accomplishment. I’d say hosting the Academy Awards 19 times, which to my understanding is a record that still holds up to this day, is something to be proud of. Hell, his next closest competitor is Billy Crystal, who is still ten behind him. Then there is Lucille Ball, who is obviously most notable for her popular television series, I Love Lucy. I hear about these comedic icons all my life and now through Fancy Pants, the second of four films that these two collaborated on. I got to see them in action. And while there is much about the film’s brand of comedy that went over my head, it was easy to see the appeal of these two, as individuals and as a comedic pairing. Based on a musical by the name of Ruggles of Red Gap, Hope stars as Humphrey, real name Arthur Humphry, a struggling American actor masquerading as British to be part of a British acting troupe. When another British actor enlists the cast to pose as an aristocratic family in order to impress visiting Americans, Effie and Agatha Floud (Ball), Humphrey, pretending to be the family butler

When the MCU announced their intention to move forward with this sequel despite the tragic demise of Chadwick Boseman, I voiced my displeasure loudly. As far as I was concern, there could be no Black Panther without Chadwick Boseman. Additionally, it just seemed unnecessary. The first film was masterful and complete. It didn’t require a sequel. We could have just preserved the integrity of the first film by letting it stay untouched. However, that is not how the business works. If there is a dollar to be made, there isn’t anything that won’t be diluted down for that sake. I realize that sounds harsh, but if I’m being honest, that is what Wakanda Forever felt like to me. This not to say that there weren’t some good, genuine moments that brought me back to my feelings that I had while watching the first one. It is also worth mentioning that I found the film to have paid Boseman the proper respect that I believe he deserved, both with a powerful moment of silence at the beginning of the film, as well as a funeral processional for his character that was fit for a king that he was in film and in real life. It just still wasn’t enough. The elements to make it great were there, but the story leaves a lot of things incomplete and unresolved despite having a runtime of nearly three hours.

So whenever I am reviewing a movie, I try to identify positive things about the film. Even if I end up not liking the movie overall, I at least try to make sure to point out aspects that I think the film did well, a performance that was particularly strong, or a piece of dialog that resonated with me. It’s part of my process to ensure that I am delivering a balanced review. Even if the film isn’t my favorite, it still has the potential to provide some positive ray of light into my experience.  However, I’m not so sure that I will be able to do that this time around, as Guardians of Time was a film that I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. Now in the interest of fairness, it is abundantly clear that I am not the target audience for this film; that demographic appears to be steered towards the early elementary school crowd. I’d say no higher than second or third grade. Any higher and the production quality is not likely to hold up with them. Then again with this generation, given the technology that they have at their fingertips, it may not hold up with them now.

I must confess that I missed the boat on the original film, so going into this film I had reservations regarding my ability to properly review this film given that I haven’t seen the original. These concerns were made irrelevant by the revelation that this film, Orphan: First Kill, is actual a prequel to the first film. In this film, we get to see the events that led Leena Klammer to become what several people in the film call her: a monster. In 2007, Klammer is a 31-year-old psychiatric patient with a rare hormonal disorder called hypopituitarism that gives her the appearance of a 10-year-old child. After orchestrating an escape from the Saarne Instituute in which she manages to kill at least two people, Leena researches missing American girls and finds that she bears a resemblance to a girl named Esther Albright, and hatches a diabolic plan. However, it is not long before she realizes that in this seeming ordinary role that she has managed to slither into that she is not the only one with blood on her hands.

So this is not a movie that I would say aged well with time. However, if you could put yourself in the mindset of the time period of its release (1987), I could see the appeal. Lori Singer of Footloose fame and Anthony Edwards of ER fame star as married couple Roxy and Aaron Walston, whose life and relationship becomes strained in rural North Carolina in the post-depression late 1930s, when a young drifter named Jack Ruffin (Bruce Abbott, Re-Animator) comes to their tobacco farm to be a farmhand. Roxy, a shelter girl who married young and had a child is unable to resist the temptation that is Jack Ruffin. As expected, things do not end well. Based on a 1984 novel, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, the film shows the tragic results of the affair, which in this modern setting may appear cliché, but during that time likely would be engaging.

Not crazy about the title. Personally, I think that the title of the novel on which this film is based  would have been better suited given the film’s plot. Based on a 1989 Sara Bird novel by the name of The Boyfriend School, this 1990 comedy tells to story of Gus Kubicek, a depressed and overweight cartoonist who is in love with a woman that won’t seem to give him the time of day. I’ve heard some excuses for getting out of having to go out with someone, but lying and saying you have to have dental surgery; that’s pretty low. Despite seeing numerous movies that utilize the “judging a book by its cover” trope, I still was able to see the appeal of the film, as soon as I was able to put myself into the mindset of the film’s time period. By doing this, I was able to avoid perceptions of it being cliché. This was a necessary measure to take, especially if you would like to be able to enjoy the film in 2022. Even so, I’m still not a big fan of the title.