Posts Tagged ‘Movies’
Movies I Saw In Theaters – Love at First Bite [Movies]
There are a lot of movies I saw in theaters when I was a kid that I wouldn’t take my kids to see now. One of them is the George Hamilton / Susan St. James non-classic ‘Love at First Bite.’
‘Love at First Bite‘ is a parody of Dracula movies. I saw it in theaters, despite being about 8 years old at the time. Either my mother or my father took me, I don’t remember. Probably my father, since he was more likely to take me to something like this.
I don’t remember much about ‘Love at First Bite’. Judging by the clip, it looks like there wasn’t anything in there that was overly questionable for a young man to see or hear. I think I heard an s-word. Ooo! They say “shit” in the animated ‘Transformers’ movie and ‘Short Circuit’, both movies that were intended for kid audiences.
So why wouldn’t I take my kids to see ‘Love at First Bite’?
For one thing, there are a lot more choices now. Tons of movies specifically meant for kids, and also all of the films and television shows that I love and now want to watch with my children.
Also, the way we consume media has changed. Going to a movie theater is no longer an easy way to spend a couple of hours with a child. Well, it’s still easy, but it costs a fickin’ fortune. In Manhattan, adult movie tickets are typically $12.50, kids are about $7.50. That’s too much.
If ‘Love at First Bite’ were made today, it would probably have a lot more sex and explicit language. This comment from YouTube is telling (and unlike most comments from YouTube, doesn’t call anyone gay):
Ah yes, I do SO miss the days when comedy could just be silly and funny and didn’t have to be “edgy”….thanks? for this blast from the past !
‘Edgy’ is rightly in quotes. The word is so overused that it doesn’t mean anything anymore.
That’s from ‘The Hangover’, which is rated R. ‘Love at First Bite‘ was rated PG. If they remade ‘Love at First Bite‘ today, I imagine they would go for an R. You know. To get the kids in.
To be clear, I’m not knocking ‘The Hangover’ or the current wave of R-rated comedies. I actually think it’s better for movies like that to get a R-rating, which is meant to tell parents that a movie isn’t appropriate for children under 17. That doesn’t stop parents from bringing kids to movies like ‘Kick-Ass’ of course, but that — stupid parents — is a different topic.
I also don’t think my kids would be damaged by seeing ‘Love at First Bite‘. I think I’m more uptight about what they see, although my butt enclenches when it comes to superhero movies. Both of my boys have seen ‘Iron Man’; the youngest hasn’t seen ‘Iron Man 2′ because I decided it was too much for him (he’s pretty young). A lot of that is because of the intensity of ‘Iron Man 2′. For much of the movie, Jon Favreau puts his foot on the gas and doesn’t let up for long stretches, which was a lot of fun to watch but could potentially freak out a little kid.
That’s something that older movies didn’t do as much. We watched ‘Star Wars’ recently, and I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of things. One was how well it holds up. (I did have to explain to my son that Han shot first, despite what George Lucas edited into the movie after the fact.) Another was how it manages to be fun and exciting without being INTENSE. Or, to borrow from a YouTube commenter, ‘edgy’.
In some ways, that lack of ‘edge’ makes ‘Star Wars’ more kid-friendly than a lot of what passes for kiddie fare these days. ‘Star Wars’ doesn’t insert overly intense music during key scenes or employ schlocky horror movie techniques intended to get the heart pumping. It just starts a good story.
‘Love at First Bite’ (although I admit I can’t remember a lot of it) does the same kind of thing. That’s probably one of the reasons I can’t remember it. It wasn’t traumatizing. Another movie, ‘The Twilight Zone’, I walked out of and will never forget. The girl with no mouth. Here’s the clip. I just watched it for the first time since 1983 when I saw it in theaters, and I really regret doing so. Um, here’s the clip. But be warned. It’s still really fucking scary.
That’s a horror movie, of course. But my point is that if a movie doesn’t have stuff like that in it, scenes that are intended to be frightening or ‘edgy’, odds are it won’t be something that your cause your kids to flip out.
(Shit. I can’t believe I watched that clip of the girl with no mouth from ‘The Twilight Zone’. I’m really not happy right now. Dammit.)
A better way to look at this could be that if I were a parent in 1979, I should be OK with taking my kid to see ‘Love at First Bite’ in theaters. But today’s equivalent of ‘Love at First Bite’, whatever that is, not so much.
Love at First Bite DVD image from Amazon.com
‘Up’ Four-Disc Blu-ray DVD Combo $17.99 at Amazon [DVD Deals]
For those among you who didn’t hate ‘Up’, or even if you did hate it but have kids that liked it, you can get the Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo at Amazon.com for only $17.99.
I loved ‘Up’, although I personally think ‘Coraline’ should have won the Best Animated Feature Oscar — more on that later.
Folks Who Hated The Best Picture Nominees
People who hated the Best Picture nominees for this year’s Academy Awards.
Like ‘Up‘:
‘The vision of Carl and Ellie’s marriage, which consists largely of their beaming at one another, holding hands and having picnics, even well into old age, looks more like a denture adhesive commercial than a real romantic partnership.’ – Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
Now there’s a quote for the ad.
How could anyone hate ‘Up’? ‘Cars’ maybe. But ‘Up’ was a lot of fun.
Best Picture Nominees: One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure – Cinematical.
J.D. Salinger Was Captain America’s Dad
J.D. Salinger’s other legacy is giving birth to Matt Salinger, who played Captain America in a crappy Captain America movie
That’s right. J.D. Salinger was Captain America’s dad.
Sort of.
If you’ve never seen the unreleased ‘Captain America’, it’s worth a peek. Especially since you can just watch it for free via Hulu, rather than searching for it at your local video store, which is what I did many years ago.
Actually, you can watch Matt Salinger as Captain America right here. Ain’t technology grand?
J.D. Salinger And Captain America: Where ‘Catcher In The Rye’ Meets Comics [MTV Splash Page]
‘Defendor’ Movie Looks Like Good Dopey Fun [Movies]
I’m a big Woody Harrelson fan and it looks like the new movie ‘Defendor’ is putting him to good use. Here’s the trailer:
The truth is, I’ll give anything with a superhero theme a chance. I’m one of the six people who paid to see ‘Mystery Men’ in theaters. Unlike that flick, ‘Defendor’ actually looks like it could be funny.
‘Defendor’ trailer: Some of our favorite snarky stars, bad spelling, good fun | EW.com
The A-Team Trailer
So. Um. They made a movie based on the The A-Team. The TV show. Here’s the trailer:
Liam Neeson is a good enough actor to sort of overcome the fact that this is completely ridiculous. But — and I know that I am risking the wrath of the new ‘B.A.’ Baracus by saying this — Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is no Mr. T.
I’m not going to say “raping my childhood” because I agree with Amelie Gillette of The A.V. Club (aka The Hater) — it’s a stupid thing to say. We’re talking about a fucking TV show that, if there had been more than three channels back then, might have received the same lack of viewers as “Pepper Dennis.” (OK, that’s an exaggeration. But you know what I mean.)
Although a lot of what he did was grunt and growl, Mr. T was a huge part of popular culture back in the day. (In fact, this was before it was called “popular culture,” a phrase that I think both elevates and diminishes. But that’s another topic.)
Remember the Silver Spoons episode “Me and Mr. T“? I do. Here’s a minisode version from YouTube:
I’m all for saving time, but the minisode skips my favorite line, where Mr. T says his name (link goes to Hulu) and causes the teacher to have a nervous breakdown. “First name… is MISTER. Middle name… is that PERIOD. Last name… is T.”
I know. Whatever. I might even see the movie. But why not come up with, say, a new idea?
The A-Team Trailer – Trailer Addict
Movies I Saw When I Was A Kid – The Blues Brothers
I’m not sure if I would let my kids see this movie yet. But I saw it. And I turned out OK.
Here’s the trailer for the classic John Belushi / Dan Aykroyd film “The Blues Brothers.”
Jane Fonda in Barbarella
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. They wouldn’t get away with it. Which is too bad. Because Jane looked hot in “Barbarella“.
More Barb stuff after the jump.
Zachary Quinto Can’t Do Spock Fingers
Quinto is a great Spock. But what’s up with this? Read more »
