Brad_Dharma Reviews

Room Service (I) (2018)

One of the most brilliant short comedies I've seen in a long time.

[10/10 · 26 March 2019]

I just caught this film at the NoHo Cinefest in Los Angeles. I can't praise it enough. It had the whole audience rolling with laughter. It is a well-crafted story with impeccable acting from its three actors.

Arresting Behavior (1992– )

I remember this show!!!!!!

[9/10 · 22 January 2007]

I've been trying to track this show down for awhile. I couldn't remember the title of it. As I recall, it was the first show that parodied COPS (way before Reno 911). I think there were at least two episodes aired. One of the funniest bits involved a woman who locked her baby inside a car. The one officer comes up and smashes the window in with his mag light next to the baby. The woman screams and the officer says "You should be proud, did she see those reflexes when he turned his head?" Another bit involved an overweight cop who was chasing a thief carrying a T.V. and the thief out ran him. All the other cops poke fun at him. It would be great to track this show down and see it again.

The Pity Card (2006)

I managed to see this

[10/10 · 8 June 2006]

I was in the kitchen of the office where I work, and for some reason two people who worked in the same building were screening it. I figured it was some sort of pilot for HBO. It was shot digitally and concerned two guys who were discussing a date one of the guys had been on. Since it had been raining, he took his date to the Holocaust Museum and made her very depressed. She had never heard of the Holocaust and was devastated. I wasn't surprised to see Bob's name at the end of it, because it was very much his brand of humor. It was really funny and I would recommend it if you get a chance to see it. I assume it is playing in film festivals at the moment.

Torque (2004)

The worst movie of the year

[1/10 · 16 January 2004]

Just to give you an idea of how bad this film really is: My friend Jason laughed so hard that he coughed up blood, then vomited in the parking lot. This "movie" is the most horrible thing to ever be released in theaters. I'm not saying it will be the worst, because "3Fast,3Furious" is undoubtedly on the way. The last 15 minutes of the film become a Pixar film, motorcycles do ninja kicks, and two characters actually stand in front of opposing Pepsi and Mountain Dew billboards before fighting. Its a soul-shattering experience. I recommend you not only skip this film, but skip any film that would ever be show in that same theater after it leaves.

Encyclopedia Brown (1989– )

Kick ass show holmes

[18 October 2002]

HBO had many great shows on in the mid eighties that I watched religiously. Encyclopedia Brown was my favorite book series as a kid and I loved the fact it translated well into television. The basic premise was a 10 year old kid that solved crimes amongst the people in his town. It was perfect for that point in time when HBO really cared about the younger viewers. They don't have as much family oriented programming as they once did.

David Spade: Take the Hit (1998 TV Special)

Funny as Hell

[7/10 · 5 September 2002]

I am not the biggest fan of David Spade, it's the constant smarminess (if that's a word), but I caught this special on hBO a few years ago and I laughed my ass off. He exudes a different type of humor in his stand-up. He pokes fun at himself as a nerd in highschool his family. It is worth taking a look at.

Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002–2003)

Kinda Like Ally Mcbeal, but good

[8/10 · 19 March 2002]

I think it is great to see a talent like Andy Richter with his own show. I laughed my ass off through the entire first episode and I hope it stays on the air for awhile. The show is about a guy whose daydreams as we see how his day goes, whether it be hearing Etta James' "At Last" playing while he see the receptionist he has a crush on or thinking about wearing a suit of puppies. The best thing is that is done in a cinematic format, as opposed to the sitcom format which has gotten old. It is like Ally Mcbeal, but actually good and funny. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Monster's Ball (2001)

AN account of the pain we must suffer in our lives, allowing us to grow.

[1 March 2002]

A running theme of death in this film is obvious to anyone who has seen it. It is not the type of meaningless death that runs rampant in many of the Hollywood films that are released. Monster's Ball presents the product of death and how it causes us to either grow or recede. Billy Bob Thornton plays a racist correctional facilities employee who lives with his troublesome son (Heath Ledger) and invalid father (Peter Boyle). Halle Berry plays the wife of a death row inmate (Sean Combs). A series of events ensues as a direct result of her husband's execution that brings Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton together. They seem to share the pain of loss in their lives, and it allows them to bond on a different level. It puts aside race and social class allowing two human beings to come together. The film also lends the message that as long as we have eachother to help us when times are at their worst, life will be alright. I give the film 4 and half stars, out of five.

Apt. 2F (1997)

A very funny MTV show

[30 December 2001]

I remember this show did not last very long on MTV, but it had a lot of promise. I felt the best thing about the show was that it had many guest appearances by former members of "The State". I saw Michael Showalter and David Wain on a few episodes. It was that same type of State humor in more of a sitcom form.

Squirt TV on MTV (1996– )

great talk show

[27 July 2001]

I remember seeing a few episodes of this show when it was on MTV. It was really funny and always had the real cool guests, better than most talk shows. Kevin Smith was on there with Joey Lauren Adams plugging Mallrats. They showed clips from the movie at every commercial break. I also remember the host would give out weird gifts to guest, like one got a copy of some obscure Japanime film. It was just a great talk show for a generation of film buffs , like the show would have random clips from The Warriors in one episode. I wish it had lasted longer than it did.

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

I was disappointed, but more in the audience

[3/10 · 5 July 2001]

Scary Movie 2 is not a good movie in the sense of being a film scholar an constantly analyzing everything. It is the type of movie where you just go to have fun. I had a good time during it, but it wasn't until I got home that realized it wasn't very good. I though the references to other films were really funny, but I was sitting in an audience predominantly filled with people who knew nothing about the films being spoofed and just laughed when Marlon Wayans said something in a high voice. It spoofed films like Hannibal, What Lies Beneath, Hollow Man, but I and a few friends of mine were the only ones who found them funny. It reminded me of the ending to the film's predecessor, Scary Movie, that ended with a spoof on Usual Suspects that was hilarious. Scary Movie 1 is much better, but Scary Movie 2 is funny because of David Cross and Chris Elliot. I love the shriveled hand gag. If you are not looking to think for (It felt like the movie was about an hour long) however long the movie was, then go see it. It has a few laughs

Clean Slate (1994)

Dana Carvey is truly an underrated talent

[6/10 · 18 June 2001]

This movie is one of my favorite comedies. I saw it before I knew that Dana Carvey was Garth from Wayne's World (this was before my great interest in Cinema and now know everything about films in the '90s and '00s). I found it to be very entertaining and have seen it many times since. I love it when an ex-SNL actor is able to star in a movie that is not based on a Character they did on SNL (Mike Myers in So I Married and Axe Murderer, Adam Sandler in Billy Madison, and Chris Farley, David Spade in Tommy Boy). Carvey has this charm about him as seeming like a regular guy. He does not seem like the Hollywood type. I think he is highly underrated and I hope he can find his niche again. Clean Slate is the comedy version of Memento, or Memento is the serious version of Clean Slate. I heard that Adam Sandler was producing a script Dan Carvey wrote, so I hope something comes of that.

Sam's Song (1969)

A miss even for De Niro fans

[27 May 2001]

I found this at the video store under the name "The Swap." Strangely enough there was no type of swapping or anything swapping related going on in the movie. It tried very lazily to be a film noir, it had the femme fatale, actually a few of them. The somewhat dark hero, a guy who just got out of prison. I can't say De Niro was bad in it, it was just a bad film around him. He is in it about as much as The Rock is in Mummy Returns.

Little Nicky (2000)

A different take on a comedic role for Sandler

[1/10 · 8 April 2001]

I had not been looking forward to this film when I first saw the previews because I thought it was not typical Sandler. That turned out to be one of the best things about it. I thought the voice he had for Nicky was hilarious and able to be easily mimicked between me and my friends. Rhys Ifans played a hopefully star-making performance as one of Nicky's brothers. Another thing I should note about the film is it's use of current music which I can not stand in most movies. For some reason, most of the music in the film seemed to fit. When Nicky is in Heaven and they start playing Filter's Take My Picture, something in my mind clicked that this was right. The song fit in with the atmosphere created for Heaven. The funniest part in the movie which gets a 10 out of 10 is the beginning of the film starring the highly underrated Jon Lovitz. I did laugh my ass off at many parts of the film (like Nicky's Face on Scarface's in a clip shown by police) but Jon Lovitz had me me rolling with his peeping tom character. Sandler redeems himself from Bulletproof.

Still Not Quite Human (1992 TV Movie)

What ever happened to Jay Underwood?

[6/10 · 24 March 2001]

The Not Quite Human Trilogy is a guilty pleasure for me. They are not great movies, but like Airborne or am Ernest movie, if it is on at 2 in the morning, it keeps your attention. In this installment, we find Chip and father still living together (apparently the sister Robin Lively has more important things to do with her career than be in this movie) but this time we get two Alan Thickes for the price of one. wow! (he said sarcastically). Apparently, an evil millionaire has kidnapped the real Dr. Carson and replaced him with an Android. Mild hilarity ensues, a pick-pocket and female cop are just thrown into the plot for no reason. Whatever happened to Jay Underwood anyway? He was an okay actor (The Boy Who Could Fly was good and Invisible Kid was funny). He has made bad choices in his career(don't get me started on Fatal Affair). I would like to see someone give him another chance. Oh well, Also Recommend Sleepstalker (straight to video horror flick) and that Napa commercial I have seen Jay on.

The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983)

A Taste of a Surrealist Master

[9/10 · 16 March 2001]

Terry Gilliam has proven himself as an incredible director of dream imagery. the context of his films exist in an unreality complete with sarcasm and satire. Crimson is the perfect example of Gilliam's attitude towards the structure of big business (Brazil also exists on this level). It mixes comedic violence and well-crafted sets to create a intro for The Meaning of Life. Look for Matt Frewer in the meeting room and Michael Palin outside the window.

Eerie, Indiana (1991–1992)

One of my favorite shows

[9/10 · 16 March 2001]

I remember watching this show when I was younger and a year or two ago, catching the re-runs on Disney channel. It was like an Outer Limits for kids. Every week it was original with great special guests like Matt Frewer, Henry Gibson, even Tobey Maguire as a lovelorn ghost. The follow-up to the show was Fox's Eerie, Indiana, the Other Dimension which could have been an interesting idea, but was not as good as its original. My favorite episode was when the town found out that the owner of the general store was actually a maniac and had tied up the original owner in the basement. The original owner was played by John Astin. I wish they would release them on DVD.

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)

I should have hit stop

[1/10 · 24 February 2001]

I rented this movie because Robert De Niro is my favorite actor (he and Al Pacino) I swear, i almost threw up this movie was so horrible. First of all people bug me because I am biased since it is a kid's movie. I disagree, i have taken my nephews to kids movies ten times better than this mind-numbing escapade. I used to love the Rocky and Bullwinkle show (especially Fractured Fairy Tales) but this was insult to the show I remember. I also hated the cornball acting from Piper Perabo (could we expect anything less). I hope large numbers of people at Universal were fired after this movie got released. For other bad movies, I also recommend Dude, Where's My Car, and The 10th Kingdom.

Fortress (1985)

2nd greatest TV movie of all time

[10/10 · 12 January 2001]

I saw this movie on tv when I was younger and spent years looking for it on video. I finally found about 2 years ago and watched it again. This is the 2nd greatest tv movie ever (behind Assault on Precinct 13). The fact that the villains faces are covered by masks the whole time really adds to the fear and suspense in the plot. Films about regular people being thrust into situations they are not prepared for are my favorite types of film (i.e. Breakdown,Naked Prey, and even Castaway if you want to go for a more recent film). I think it gives a bigger sense of humanity to the characters. If you can find it, I extremely recommend that you see it.

The Naked Prey (1965)

Early effective action thriller

[7/10 · 12 January 2001]

I just caught this on AMC a few days ago because my dad said it was really good. After viewing, I put it on my top ten list of all time. For a man who never really wanted to be an actor, Cornel Wilde was very convincing in his role. It was one of those films that was so enthralling, you really had a good time watching. The man in clay scene was disturbing. Also recommend Fortress(TV 1986) and Breakdown(1997)

Deadly Blessing (1981)

A pre-Nightmare on Elm Street work by Craven

[4/10 · 26 November 2000]

I recently viewed this film while being on a Wes Craven kick, trying to watch all of his films. I was very confused by this film because I thought that the Hiites had more to do with the plot than they actually did. The movie actually could have done without them because....well, watch the ending and you will see for sure. I will give Kudos to Craven for the creepy snake in the bathtub scene and the casting of Michael Berryman (Pluto from The Hills Have Eyes). Watch if you absolutely love Wes Craven. Also recommend Last House on the Left.