Back what seems like a thousand years ago, my first job had dirt cheap DVD packs that I absolutely needed to buy. Were they anything good? Typically no. These packs included things like the Prey of the Jaguar and The Conspiracy of Fear two-pack that I've already talked about here. One such pack was a "Horror Classic" pack of 5 movies featuring the legendary Mr. Bela Lugosi. So things like 1931's Dracula or even Plan 9 from Outer Space? Uh... no. More like his utterly forgotten films that fell into the public domain like The Devil Bat and today's film, The Gorilla, a slapstick "horror"* comedy that only has one redeeming element: Patsy Kelly.
slapstick
Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure (2011)
I think this little game has gone on long enough, don't you? Since I started reviewing all the Beethoven movies, I've been playing coy with how many films are actually in the franchise. For those keeping track this is the 7th film so far, and I'm happy to announce that this is the penultimate one. Yup, Beethoven's Treasure Tail is the 8th and final movie--as of time of writing--so we're so close to being done! I'm almost free from this self-imposed prison of having to rewatch these films! We just have to get through the one that decided it was time for Beethoven to talk.
Beethoven’s Big Break (2008)
We are six movies into this damned franchise. The series has gone on so long that this film is a reboot, showcasing a completely different dog with the same name and behaviors. Why did I do this to myself? The inevitable plan for reviewing all 14 Air Bud and Air Buddies movies is to cover them once a week, so why did I think marathoning Beethoven movies would be a good idea? I'm going to finish this--mostly out of spite--but then no more animal themed movies until at least November. Except maybe Pig.
Beethoven’s 4th (2001)
Were you aware there was a fourth Beethoven film? I can't really say that I did before buying the complete Beethoven DVD collection for a friend. But are you ready for a bigger shock? Not only is this not the last movie about this particular big dog, but it's not even the last of the numbered movies. But the franchise reboot is a post for another day; today we're still with the new Newtons from Beethoven's 3rd and the worst version of the dog. Oh joy.
Beethoven’s 3rd (2000)
The Beethoven movies are apparently lucrative. The first film, Beethoven, was popular enough that a sequel, Beethoven's 2nd, was quickly made for release the next year. Sure, the second one didn't get very good reviews, but that never really stopped anyone before. It did seem to put off any more sequels for while, though; Beethoven's 3rd came out 7 years after its predecessor. It was straight to DVD and had none of the original cast. But how do you tell the story of this particular dog, beloved by his family, if you don't have that particular family? Why, you mail him in a crate to relatives!
Beethoven (1992)
Once upon a time, I found out that a friend of mine was a big fan of the movie Beethoven. You know, the one about the big, slobbery dog? Anyway it turns out it had more sequels than you would expect, so I bought him a DVD collection as a gift to him and punishment to everyone else at Movie Night. But then COVID hit and Movie Night disbanded for over a year. But once we started back up, the Beethoven movies were back on the menu! Until a few weeks ago when more COVID shenanigans started preventing us from watching the final film. I'm not saying that this DVD collection started the coronavirus, but I do think it's a cursed object, here to inflict suffering and ruin unto our world.
Haunting Me (2007)
I want you to know that there are times when I go above and beyond for this blog. Netflix has the Oh My Ghost films, a Thailand horror/comedy series starring a group of aging kathoeys--kind of like drag queens, kind of like trans women, kind of a third gender option... Similar to "baklâ" in the Philippines, which I talked about in the ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh post. But I wasn't satisfied with those films, because there's a piece missing. Oh My Ghost is marketed as the first of four films, but it's actually the second of something like six. The first is Haunting Me, AKA Hor Taew Tak, translated to something like Taew's Dormitory is Broken. But Netflix doesn't have Hor Taew Tak, so I spent far too much time searching before finding it on AsianCrush. Let's hope that's a trustworthy website, cause we're continuing Pride Month by taking about haunted ladyboys from Thailand!
Godspell (1973)
Did everybody have a good Easter? Or if you don't celebrate, a decent regular Sunday? I spent the day with family members I haven't seen in a year because of, you know, everything, and then came home to watch a movie adaptation of a musical about a hippie clown Jesus. I was born after the 70's, so Godspell never really showed up on my radar. Yeah, the signature song song "Day by Day" did ring some bells, but I'm pretty sure I had previously heard the Shirley Bassey version. So why watch this? Beyond the spectacle, I wanted to see it for purely gay reasons.
The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in “For Love or Mummy” (1999)
Growing up, my grandfather loved Laurel and Hardy. He watched their shorts and movies all the time and even had a framed letter written by Stan Laurel. And Grandpa Bud would make us watch Laurel and Hardy with him most visits, so while I’m no expert, I do know about the comedy duo. And with that knowledge I can say that my grandfather would probably hate this.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Mummy Mondays have reached the last movie in the Universal Classic Monsters group: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. The horror genre is tossed aside in favor of comedy (and random dance and singing interludes). And you know what? It works.
Chwineka Watches 