10 Favorite Films I Saw in 2015

I was able to see a lot of movies this past year. From classics to new releases - popular films and obscure titles - one thing most of the movies I saw had in common: they are light hearted. At the end of the day, when I have an hour or two to sit and take in a film, the last thing I want to do is use my brain. But here's a list of 10 of the best films that I saw for the first time in 2014.

Airport (1970; dir. George Seaton)

I got into a bit of a disaster film phase earlier in the year and watched a handful of classics in the genre, including all four entries in the Airport series. The first one is a real bang up of a motion picture with about 17 different storylines going on - some of them funny, some of them serious and a whole slew of great actors that I love. Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Maureen Stapleton...and even good ol' Gary Collins show up in this nail biter about an evening at an airport where just about everything goes wrong. It was really cool to see how much the beloved Airplane! (1980) borrowed from Airport in terms of style, pacing and some of the situations and characters. This is a really good movie, it won Best Picture for the year it came out. If you can handle the slower paced action films of the early 70's, this one certainly holds up and I highly recommend it. 

Bad Words (2013; dir. Jason  Bateman)

Jason Bateman finds a loophole in the National Spelling Bee's rules that allows him to enter as an adult and get revenge on the system that made him a looser in his childhood. Painfully funny and fantastic script, this is one of the few films that lays out a really solid story while never forgetting to be laugh out loud hilarious.
 

          Cinderella (2015; dir. Kenneth Branagh)

Kenneth Branagh makes awesome high culture Shakespeare pictures and he is an absolute master at making fantastic popcorn movies. This live-action translation of Disney's beloved animated Cinderella (1950) is both luxurious and playful. So many modern updates of fairytales and cartoons try to deviate from the original source material. Branagh's Cinderella delights in bringing the memories of the cartoon movie to life while filling in some holes and offering alternate vantage points on some of the key story elements. The result is a fresh take on an old tale that is every bit and magical and Disney as the animated film we all grew up with.  

Gone Girl (2014; dir. David Fincher)

Every year, one or two Oscar-worthy films make it into my DVD player. Gone Girl was just an intense thriller with twists and turns and surprises all over the place. A really well made movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was also cool to see supporting players Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Casey Wilson in such a high caliber dramatic production.

Inside Out (2015; dirs. Pete Docter & Ronnie Del Carmen)

Inside Out is Pixar running full throttle and doing everything right. Hysterical, touching and wildly creative, this film has everything going for it. There's also perfect cartoon casting with Amy Poehler as the optimistic Joy, The Office's Phyllis Smith as Sadness and even Mindy Kaling (who I usually cant stand) was really good as Disgust. Lewis Black as the fiery haired Anger is one of those rare moments when a comic's physical and creative voice are matched perfectly with an animated character. As with any really good animated film, this one plays equally to children and adults.

 

 

Jurassic World (2105; dir. Colin Trevorrow)

I was never really a fan of the original Jurassic Park but something about this movie looked like it would be a fun Summer afternoon with my kids and boy was I right. I really liked how they completely fleshed out the idea of a theme park this time, showing how a real working tourist attraction with living dinosaurs might actually work out. The performances are great, not only Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard but the really solid comedic pairing of Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus as well.

On The Town (1949; dirs. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and some other dude are sailors with 24 hours of shore leave in New York City. They step off the boat and then just go at it singing and dancing and chasing girls for two solid hours of entertainment. Unrelenting in it's energy, this was one of the first musicals to be shot on location and it's packed with great shots documenting what The Big Apple looked like in the late 40's. Man, I just enjoyed the hell out of every minute of this film.

 

The Peanuts Movie (2015; dir. Steve Martino)

This was my Facebook post the night I saw The Peanuts Movie: "When they announced years ago that they were making a computer animated Charlie Brown movie, I immediately thought of all the ways they were going to screw it up - like making them look like real kids and farting and crude humor. And then the teaser and eventually the trailer came out....and they relieved my worries somewhat but I still had no faith that a modern movie was going to do justice to a group of friends that have been so near and dear to my heart my entire life. I went into The Peanuts Movie tonight with very high expectations and very little confidence that I would be satisfied. I'm happy to report that every single frame of The Peanuts Movie is wonderful and magical. My boys (who have also grown up with these characters) laughed and giggled with glee throughout the entire movie. I was really proud that my kids loved a movie so simple and wholesome and that somebody created a movie worthy of the legacy of Charles Schulz."

 

Road to Bali (1952; dir. Hal Walker)

This is the year I discovered "the Road pictures," a series of seven super lightweight comedies made between 1940 and 1962. The films don't have much to do with each other but all star Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorthy Lamour. Hope and Crosby always play some sort of scam artists, Lamour is always a beautiful woman they run into somewhere along the way who helps them out of a pickle. The boys always come to blows over the heart of Lamour, there is always singing and dancing and there is never too much of a story. But if I had seen these movies when I was younger, my head would have exploded! There's ad-libbing, breaking the fourth wall, jokes about the movie studio, insults lobbed at each other, super corny bits and gags...they are all just great fun! I managed to track down 6 of the 7 films this past year. They were all really fun, but Bali is the one I saw first so it took me by surprise the most. 

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015; dir. J.J. Abrams)

The new Star Wars did so many things perfectly. It took key ingredients from the first film, reshuffled them and dealt them out with a deck of new ingredients which resulted in a movie which serves as a nice souvenir of all our childhood Star Wars memories and paves the way for new adventures (and merchandising) to come. Force Awakens needed to do about 50 things to live up to it's own hype and serve as a worthy sequel to what is easily the most loved film of all time. It delivered on all 50 of those points, added in another 30 things you didn't even realize you were looking for and then topped it off with about 50 things that made itself a unique and entertaining movie all it's own. Not only has Star Wars: The Force Awakens become the highest grossing movie of all time, it has set the stage for a new wave of nostalgia films that will pay homage to film franchises of the past while attempting to move forward with new chapters. The ripples of the film go far beyond the box office numbers and toy isle sales.

 

 

Honorable Mentions/Almost Made The List: Let's Be Cops (2014) was nothing new, but it was just about the laugh out loud, gut busting, funniest movie I've seen in a long time! Tina Fey narrating the Disneynature documentary Monkey Kingdom (2015) is an inspired idea that accompanies a compelling and fascinating story about a group of monkeys in Asia. Another documentary, I Am Big Bird: The Carol Spinney Story (2014) traces the amazingly cool life of the guy inside the Big Bird suit. And while at 58 minutes it's hardly a movie, but of course I ate up every minute of The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown (2015) even if professional wresting wouldn't by first choice of subject matter for the first new piece of Flintstones animation in 14 years.

 

 

What were your favorites that you saw in 2015?

Treasures From The Bottom of the Dresser

I've had this button since before I can remember...

I'm pretty sure my parents bought this on a very early visit to the park when I was maybe just an infant. I can remember this hanging on a cork board outside our basement playroom when I was very little. I haven't seen the pin in years and then just this week it turned up in an envelope of stuff from my childhood home. Pretty cool button, no doubt, but the back of the button gives us s little piece of Amusement Park Obscura that I love...

Check out the original price tag sticker from a very early 70's Kings Dominion gift shop. Super cool! 

I also unearthed this sweet pressed penny...

In case you're not a connoisseur of fine tourist attraction souvenirs such as myself, a pressed penny 

Is created by dropping two quarters and a penny into a machine, turning a crank and smashing and imprinting a picture onto your authentic U.S. one cent piece.

  Now, the mystery here is figuring out which park this came from. The design of Fred is from a mid-90's make over of Fred, with the bigger nose and playful pose. Most of the Hanna-Barbera elements were removed from Kings Dominion during the 90's which leaves that the coin could also be from Universal Studios Florida. Universal hosted their own Hanna-Barbera attraction in the 90's, so it's possible it could be from there. I don't remember getting it anywhere...so who knows where it came from. It's cool and looks great buried under my socks in my dresser. 

Dueling "Weird Al" Lists

 As you know by now, "Weird Al" Yankovic released his 14th studio album, Mandatory Fun, a few weeks ago and for the first time in Al's 30 year career, he has the #1 album in the country. I thought it would be a good time to finally make a "Weird Al" list here on WWoB and I asked my good friend Brian From CA to come up with a list of his own. Brian is the only other true Al aficionado that I have ever met. Funny side story, both Brian and I had the same first concert experience when our dads took us to see Weird Al and The Monkeys at Meriwether Post Pavilion in 1987...10 years before Brian and I ever met! Good times!

So here's a list from me and then from Brian of our Top 10 Favorite Weird Al Songs! Brian is a professional writer in the video game industry and his list is written better than mine, so I'll dump mine on you first!

Ed's List:

10.  “Eat It”
As with most people, this is where it all started for me! I was in the 5^th grade when “Eat It” became the hit that it was. I had always loved the little parody songs that would play on the wacky morning shows on the radio, but here was somebody doing a whole album of crazy songs. I got the record album and just about wore the grooves out in the thing listening to it over and over again!  Every time I hear this song, it takes me right back to the center of my childhood and the beginning of my life-long love of Weird Al.

9.  “Amish Paradise”

I think “Amish Paradise” (a parody of Coolio’s Gangster’s Paradise) is Al’s most well crafted parody. Contrasting the original song’s lyrics about growing up on the city streets with the trails and tribulations of raising a barn and making butter in the Amish community is nothing short of brilliant. The song also packs a joke into just about every line of the lyrics.

8. “Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung”

Going all the back to the closing track of Al’s very first album, there’s just something in the simplicity of this little ditty that has always amused me. An ode to a dying friend lying in a iron lung, the sound of the iron lung played by the air release valve on Al’s accordion. Any use of the accordion in any song gets points in my book, perhaps this is the most ingenious use of the instrument – ever! 

7. “This Is The Life”

From Weird Al’s third album, Dare to be Stupid, is this ode to greed, success and self-worship all set to the tune of a 1930’s speakeasy piano. It also helps that the song served as the theme song to the 1984 film “Johnny Dangerously” – a hilarious & forgotten gangster comedy.

 

6. “Albuquerque”

I get the feeling that if Al were to just put out an album of music that he wanted to make, and didn’t worry about parodying popular songs or hitting on certain trends, this is the kind of music we would get – a rollicking, all-over-the-place, high energy music extravaganza that just pushes on for way longer than the average song.

5. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”

One of the few songs in the world that really speaks to me, this rambling ballad is a tribute to all the tacky road side attractions that I begged my parents to stop at on family vacations. 

4. “Good Old Days”

Instead of packing in as many jokes as possible into a song, it also pays off the have a slow build. There’s only maybe three or four jokes in this song but the way it’s structured and layed out has always left me in stitches. I actually have always wished I could play guitar just so I could go to a coffee house and perform this song.

 3. “Your Horoscope For The Day”

A series of tragic events awaits each and everyone of us, no matter what month you were born in. Another example of Al just letting loose and doing what he wants to do.

2. “Happy Birthday”

What separates a true Weird Al fan from the casual listener is having all the lyrics to a punk rock parody, like this classic,  firmly cemented into your brain since you were 10 years old.

1. “Bedrock Anthem”

I’m a huge Flintstones fan!  When Al’s 1993 album Alapalooza came out, my friend that worked at a record store was so excited to break the news to me that Al did a song about the Flintstones.  The tune is actually a duel parody of Red Hot Chili Peppers hits starting with a few seconds of Under The Bridge and then quickly moving into Give It Away. Gotta be honest with ya, never heard the original Give It Away but I sure love what Al has done with it. With audio clips from the original television series and cringe worthy puns, this a perfect song in my universe. The song is also featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 live action Flintstones film, however it is not actually heard in the movie.

 

 

Brian’s Top Ten Al Hits

 

10. “You’re Pitiful”

This song was only released online back when that was still a pretty novel thing to do. According to the internet, James Blunt gave his blessing for Al to use the parody on his Straight Outta Lynwood album but then Blunt’s record label refused. The intro to this song makes me laugh every single time I hear it, but I mainly chose it because I knew Ed was going to throw at least one “non-album” song on his list.

9. “Word Crimes”

I’m doing my best not to weight this list too heavily toward Mandatory Fun, which only released a few days ago. However, as a writer I have to admire a song about common grammar blunders, and it is an excellent example of Al taking a song that is basically unlistenable and turning it into something that I play regularly.

 

8. “Yoda”

As a kid I didn’t even realize this was a parody. I guess at age 8 I just wasn’t that into The Kinks?? I had to include a Star Wars song on my list, and since “The Saga Begins” is all about Episode I and “Yoda” is primarily about Empire, it wins. Also, props to Weird Al for suggesting that Luke will still be making these movies when he’s “old and grey.” Those lyrics were kind of sad through the 90’s and 00’s, but now have turned out to be completely accurate!

 

7. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”

Every now and then Al includes a 7 to 9-minute-long, random, rambling, epic song on his album, and they’re usually pretty great. This one, “Albuquerque,” and the new “Jackson Park Express” are a few examples. When my daughter was a baby and I was searching my brain for songs I actually knew the words to so I could sing her to sleep, I was surprised to discover “Biggest Ball of Twine” was on the list. Especially since the whole list was only like four songs. So it gets the nod.

 

6. “I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead”

Al has always kept his material pretty clean and family-friendly, while maybe inching into PG-13 territory here and there. Occasionally, though, he is capable of razor-sharp satire, and this song is the best example. This is young, angry Al eviscerating California hippie and yuppie culture. I reached all the way back to Al’s first album for this one, in 1983. And to this day I’d still rather have a Big Mac or a Jumbo Jack than all the bean sprouts in Japan.

 

5. “My Own Eyes”

In case you’re someone who has far more of a life than me or Ed, which is entirely possible, let me explain the many sub-genres of Al’s music. There’s the Parody (obviously), the Polkas, which mash up several songs with (mostly) their original lyrics, Al’s own Original Songs… and then there’s the Style Tribute. That’s where Al writes all the music and lyrics, but the entire song is presented as if it was written by an established band. I had to include at least one on the list, and this tribute to the Foo Fighters is my absolute favorite. As a Foo Fighters fan, I can hear their DNA all up in this song. Great driving music!

 

4. “UHF”

Possibly the best “end-credits” song ever written, “UHF” was the theme for Weird Al’s movie of the same name. As kids, my brother and I were delirious with excitement to see Weird Al on the big screen. Pretty sure my mom wanted to claw her eyes out the whole time. Luckily the running time was only 97 minutes! I can’t wait to play this rocking tribute to the UHF dial for my daughter someday, so I can then try to explain to her what “UHF” is. …Also what a “dial” is.

3. “NOW That’s What I Call Polka”

Had to include a polka on the list, and while there are many excellent choices, ultimately I had to go with his latest effort. Even though it’s a little on the short side, this was the first time in three decades of dedicated Al listening that I knew 100% of the songs in the polka. Seriously! I recognized every single song!

 

2. “White and Nerdy”

I was already a big fan of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’,” and Al’s take on the hip-hop instant classic did not disappoint. Not only did he squeeze every ounce of comedy potential out of the white and nerdy concept, but Al also released an amazing video with even more jokes in it! It also proved once and for all, and I say this without an ounce of irony, that “Weird Al” Yankovic can spit mad fire on the mic.

 

1. “Dare to be Stupid”

Even though this always felt like an original to me, it’s actually a Style Tribute to Devo. In fact, Al recreates Devo’s style so well I think he actually surpasses the original artists! Even Mark Mothersbaugh admitted that Al’s song was so beautifully executed that “I hate him for it, basically.” While it has its roots in the 80’s, it always sounded timeless to me and it sort of feels more like Al’s official theme song than any of his other work. And, of course, and I know Ed’s been waiting for this, “Dare to be Stupid” gets the number one spot on my list because of its inclusion in the 1986 animated masterpiece “The Transformers: The Movie.”

Pebbles Flintstone Costume - The Real Deal

Yabba-Dabba-Goo!

I'm very anxious to dress my daughter up in every Disney Princess costume we can get our hands on, but for her first Halloween I thought it was the perfect opportunity to dress her as the infant daughter from my All-Time Favorite TV Show, Pebbles Flintstone. Not only is she the perfect age as Pebbles was in the original television series, but she would make an awesome compliment to my super awesome Fred costume that my mom and I made 20 years ago. (Yes, I still have it!)

Before we get into Pebbles, let me tell you about my Fred Flintstone costume. My mom and I made this back in 1993 for a costume contest when I was in college. Taking a cue from all the Star Wars, Star Trek and Superhero nerds out there, I wanted my costume to be as accurate as possible. So, in the days before the internet - my mom and I designed the costume with various shots of Fred on VHS, paused on the TV while we jotted down notes. I also had a few old books that stayed true to the original design that we used. So many costumes of Fred Flintstone put an animal print on the tie and put the spots all over the outfit, when in actuality he only had a few. The spots shapes and placement on my Fred costume are modeled after the appearance in several episodes. Also, Fred's tie is pure blue and was always drawn the same way, even though you can't see it in the above picture, the tie is cut to resemble Fred's own tie.

The major difference in my costume versus the 1960's cartoon Fred is that we added some small sleeves so that my fat, ugly arms weren't fully exposed. Hey, I was in school - people make fun of that kind of stuff! But we tried to make the sleeves as minimal as possible and added a smaller version of the jagged cut that is found at the bottom of Fred's outfit.

Anyhow...the costume (along with a friend as Wilma) went on to win First Prize at the Halloween Dance costume contest that year. I've held on to this work of art for many years...I've worn it for various other Halloween events as well as in parades and even at the opening night of The Flintstones live-action movie in 1994.

Now...let's move on to Fred's daughter, Pebbles...

When we first started looking at Pebbles costumes to buy they all came in one of two varieties: a green top or an animal print top. Neither of these felt right to me, yet every picture I found of Pebbles in a book had her in the green top. I popped in a DVD and went to the episode where Pebbles was born. (Still one of the most watched episodes in TV history.) In the first few episodes that Pebbles appears in, she's in a pink baby outfit but fast forward to the next season and she's always seen wearing a brownish/orangish top with diamond and crescent shapes all over...similar to her father's wardrobe.

This time I had the help of the internet for some visual reference. I found a color picture from an actual episode and this nice black & white sketch, which is a later drawing of Pebbles but the basic look of her outfit is the same.

Now, I have absolutely no sewing skills but I figured this outfit was simple enough that I could pull it off. I went to a craft store and found a shade of brown that I was happy with. I them bought enough fabric which was double the length of my 6 month old daughter. My plan was to have enough material that the entire outfit would be the same piece of fabric, avoiding the need to sew shoulders and sleeves. I also purchased a small amount of black material to make the spots. I could have colored them on with a permanent marker, but the actual spots made of fabric look so much better. Also at the craft store I picked up a bottle of Fabric Glue a.k.a. Liquid Stitch which will take the place of any sewing that needed to be done.

Ready to make the costume (a day before the Halloween party we were going to,) my first instinct was to just trace my daughters outline onto the cloth but then I got the idea to take a dress of hers and trace that instead. I used a dress that's a bit big on her, I also folded up the sleeves for the Bedrock fashionable sleeveless look. I actually traced the dress once onto a piece of fabric that was folder over to create a two-ply effect. I also did not trace or cut out a hole for the head just quite yet.

Since I free handed the area around the arm holes/sleeves, I folded the dress across from left to right and lined up the arm holes and trimmed both sides together so they came out evenly. I cut a small hole for a head, using the fold in the double-ply fabric as the shoulders of the outfit. I didn't want the head hole to be too big for my baby so I tried it on once and it was not going over her head. I cut a small slit in the neck line on the back of the dress to give a little leeway, and that did the trick. I was planning on using a safety pin to close up the slit, but it turned out the costume didn't need it.

I used the fabric glue down the sides of the dress from under the arm holes to the bottom of the dress. Unlike Fred, Wilma and Barney, Pebbles' outfit does not have the jagged zigzag cut at the bottom. Actually, her dress usually doesn't come all the way down past her tummy. My version is a little longer, I thought about cutting it but decided to just leave it long since it was cold outside at this point in time.

The shapes on her dress are a mixture of random patterns. I like the look of the shapes in the black and white sketch pictured at the top. They have a very 1960's Hanna-Barbera feel to them, but they were hard to cut out and look that good so I just cut random shapes from the black fabric. I went with 5 on the front and an additional 3 on the back.

London as Pebbles with her cousin Lucas in his Chewbacca costume

The bone in her hair is a bone hair clip that I found in the Caveman/Cavegirl section of the Halloween store. Since my daughter does not yet have enough hair to support a hair clip, we went with clipping the bone onto a headband of hers. I suppose an animal print headband or a brown one matching the costume would have been most appropriate but I used this pink one that we had, not only because the bow was small and the bone covered it nicely but I thought the pink added a slight touch of femininity to sell that she was a baby cavegirl. In the cartoon Pebbles always wore a black diaper cover with her dress. Since it was chilly out, we opted for black leggings and a long sleeve t-shirt underneath to keep her warm.

I'm pretty proud at the way it turned out considering I had no idea what I was doing with the materials I bought. The fabric cost $4.00, if that. The bone hair clips were $7.00 for a pack of two, fabric glue was $5.00, we had the shirt and I bought leggings (which she can wear with other things) at Target for $6.00.

Besides all the work put into the costume, it was really cool to get to add my daughter to my Fred costume and obsess over a 50 year old cartoon just a little bit more!

A New Flintstones Movie Is Announced!

To me, this is bigger movie news than Star Wars Episode VII! Earlier this week, World Wrestling Entertainment and Warner Bros. announced that they are teaming up to bring a new Flintstones animated movie to screens in early 2014! While it's not quite the way I'd love to see The Flintstones return to the spotlight, it's still great news that Fred and the gang will star in their own Direct-to-Video movie. Scooby-Doo has been making new movies at a clip of one a year for the past 15 years, so perhaps this will be the beginning of a string of new Flintstones movies. In fact, Scooby-Doo's next movie due out next spring is the first co-production between WWE and WB. In that film, Scooby and the kids help solve a mystery at Wrestlemania. The film also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the iconic wrestling event.

Here's the press release for The Flintstones:

WWE and Warner Bros. Head to Bedrock STAMFORD, Conn. May 29, 2013 – Warner Bros. and WWE Studios (NYSE:WWE) today announced they are once again teaming up; this time to co-produce a Flintstones animated movie to be released in early 2015.

Fred, Barney and the whole Bedrock gang join up with Vince McMagma (Vince McMahon), and WWE Superstars and Divas including John Cenastone (John Cena®) and CM Punkrock (CM Punk®) as part of the very first WWE main event. “WWE is family-friendly entertainment, so partnering with Warner Bros. on a Flintstones/WWE project was a natural extension of our Scooby Doo deal,” said Michael Luisi, President, WWE Studios. “This new, animated feature allows us to showcase our brand with young fans and loyal Flintstones enthusiasts alike.”

“Warner Bros. is thrilled to continue our partnership with WWE Studios as we begin production of the latest Flintstones animated feature,” said Jeff Brown. “Our recent production collaborations have proven successful and we have the utmost confidence that the latest tag team between the WWE Superstars and The Flintstones will deliver the same results.”

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will handle worldwide distribution on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and digital download. The film will be co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation and WWE Studios. WWE will utilize its extensive global reach through its television, digital media and print assets to market the release of the film."

I don't watch wrestling at all, but was very much into the WWF (WWE) when I was a kid. I'm excited about this movie just to get some new Flintstones material out there. There hasn't been anything new since a 2001 Cartoon Network special and the 2000 live-action feature "Viva Rock Vegas!"

The Scooby-Doo movies have been good. The last few I've seen have been really well done including this years "Scooby Doo and the Mask of the Blue Falcon" which not only tied in the old Hanna-Barbera series Blue Falcon, but also had references to The Flintstones.

You best believe whenever this film's release date is announced, I'll clear my schedule to check it out on release day!