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tarnower
Reviews
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
One of my favorite movies of all time
I always watch this movie when I can. There's so many perfect situations in it.
Most of the reviews have gone over the family dynamic involved. People nowadays don't know the significance of ground breaking movies in those days. This movie may have been the first glimpse of a reunited family that didn't step out of a Norman Rockwell painting. They have real life problems with finances, fidelity and maintaining a cohesive family unit.
There are some perfectly defined moments in the film. Hobbs marveling at a 50 year old light bulb, or the maid quitting because she misunderstood him when he said he was going to get "some sun on the beach".
The one scene that chokes me up every time is when Stewart shows O'Hara the $5 bill that Fabian returned to him after the dance.
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
My mother is in this movie
When I was a kid in the early 1960s, this movie came on TV and I watched it with my mother. She said she was an extra in the scene where the dance hall is torn down by the monster. There's a fairly good shot of her for a second or two.
She told me that Don Sullivan hit on her. Not bad for a mother of 4. When he asked her out, she said, "I'll have to ask my husband first", and he just walked away.
My Mother the Car (1965)
I was hooked
I was about 10 when this show was on, and I watched as many episodes as I could.
That said, I ROTFL in a "Get Smart" rerun I saw a while back. The bad guy is dying and:
Max (reassuringly): "Help is on the way."
Bad guy (in great pain): "I'll never make it, but do one thing for me."
Max (compassionately): "What?"
Bad guy: "Tell me 'My Mother the Car' is coming back on TV."
Max (with a puzzled look): "Why?"
Bad guy: "Then I won't mind going so much."
That pretty much summed up the opinions from the rest of my family when I tried to watch this show.
Between Time and Timbuktu (1972)
I'd love to see this again
I saw this movie only once in the mid-70s at the Student Union in college. I must have been the exact right target demographic. I've never had an easier time to "suspend disbelief" because this movie doesn't try to justify its content, it's just fun to watch. Maybe it was because at the time I had recently read all (most?) of the books that this movie borrowed from, and I felt it resonated with my mind's eye version of the written stories.
I agree with many of the other writers that Mr. Vonnegut should remove his objections to the redistribution of this highly enjoyable film.
I have a very small DVD collection, mainly because there are so few movies I care to see more than once, but I'd buy this one.
Blow Dry (2001)
Karate Kid meets Shampoo
You can just see the writers of this movie wondering how best to parody the formulaic martial arts competition movies. So, they found the complete antithesis to kickboxing, namely hairdressing. The movie includes the has-been master who's been chewed up and spit out by the industry, being drawn back in to thwart the evil doers who will stoop to any depths to win.
The movie is fun to watch. Lots of good actors. Keep the perspective that this is a farce, and just sit back and enjoy.