‘Muppets Take Manhattan’ (1984) takes the felt-and-foam performers to new levels
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Jim Henson’s creations go to the big city in a fun musical that could stand to have more music.
Musical
‘Muppets Take Manhattan’ (1984) takes the felt-and-foam performers to new levels
‘The Producers’ (1967, 2005) maximizes its one joke, and then some
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie reviews): It’s too much for me, but the one joke (you can get rich from a flop) is funny, and the films are nice bookends to Brooks’ career.
‘The Muppet Movie’ (1979) is pure cinematic bliss
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): The film gives an origin story for “The Muppet Show’s” characters and showcases amazing puppetry.
‘Blues Brothers’ (1980) is an absurdly bombastic crowd-pleaser
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Landis, Aykroyd and Belushi aim to be the comedy kings, and they hit their target with a rocket launcher rather than an arrow.
‘Phantom of the Paradise’ (1974) is De Palma’s ambitious pop opera
Frightening Friday (Movie review): Some will get into the groove of this “Phantom of the Opera” for the ’70s, others will be bored. I was somewhere in between.
‘Anna and the Apocalypse’ (2017) is fun … until the end
Frightening Friday (Movie review): “High School Musical” meets “The Walking Dead” in this riff that starts off fun but chooses the wrong tone later.
‘West Side Story’ (2021) an ugly tale presented with false beauty
Movie review: Steven Spielberg grandly resurrects the classic stage musical, and it’s unclear if its lack of fresh appeal is accidental or intentional.
‘In the Heights’ not quite great, but hard to hate
Movie review: Based on the stage musical, “In the Heights” has simple arcs and lacks a breakout song, but its people and places are easy to embrace.
‘Wicker Man’ (1973) a thrilling piece of daylight horror history
Frightening Friday (Movie review): “Midsommar” fans should dig this thrilling template of daylight horror.
The top 100 ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ songs, ranked
Music rankings: Judging the song itself, the choreography and the performances, here are my selections for the top 100 “CXG” songs.