Pass on by where the discussion of movies, TV shows, video games, and everything in between is non-stop.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
TMNT Episode Review: S2E1 The Mutation Situation
Good news, guys. We've gone to the next level reviewing TMNT 2012 episodes on our associated site The Comic Book Cast. Please check it out and subscribe to them. If you're a comic book fan, you'll love them!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Movie Review: Nacho Libre
The year is 2006. Brokeback Mountain, Cars, Borat, and Snakes on a Plane debuted in theaters. Ben 10, Psych, Ugly Betty, and Hannah Montana debuted on TV. 2006 for Nickelodeon was the beginning of its low point for the network. There were no new Nicktoons and live action shows that debuted and game shows were pretty much dead when Nickelodeon Studios shut down a year prior. With the exception of one preschool show and one show consisting of puppets, the remaining reviews from Nickelodeon will consist of 3 Nickelodeon movie reviews. The first one that came out in theaters was Nacho Libre which debuted on June 16, 2006.
The movie is loosely based on the real life of Reverend Sergio Gutierrez Benitez, a reckless man obsessed with alcohol turned Mexican Roman Catholic priest who disguised himself as a Mexican luchador so he can be able to support the orphaned children. From 1973 to 2011, Rev. Benitez went by the luchador name of Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm) and competed in many wrestling matches sporadically. Nowadays he's retired from wrestling and is still a priest at the orphanage while another young man going by the name of Fray Tormenta Jr. continues the legacy. Many forms of entertainment was inspired by Fray Tormenta, specifically video game characters such as King from Tekken, Tizoc from Fatal Fury, Leon from F-Zero, and Greco from Chrono Cross.
With the success of Jared and Jerusha Hess writing and directing Napoleon Dynamite, they were brought in by Paramount to write and direct a film based on Fray Tormenta. Jack Black, who was becoming a popular comedic actor around the 2000's with films such as Shallow Hal, Orange County, and School of Rock, was brought in to play as the main roll and with that. Does the film deserve the championship belt or should they throw in the towel? This is Nacho Libre.
The movie begins with Ignacio, an orphan boy in Mexico, who dreams of being a luchador. However, the other friars deny him of this saying that the Lord forbids wrestling. With that, he trains as a cook using limited amount of ingredients and spices and makes a bland bean soup with tortilla chips. Years later, Ignacio grows up serving the orphan boys the soup with chips telling them that despite the food tasting terrible, they should be thankful that they have it in the first place. Ignacio feels like he never got any respect due to a superior friar mistreating him and calling him worthless. One day, a nun named Sister Encarnacion moves into the orphanage to teach the kids. Ignacio falls immediately in love with her and wishes to talk to her, however the superior friar tells him to go into town to pray for a man sick with pneumonia. Thinking the man is dead, he gives a eulogy in front of his wife while the man wakes up. Ignacio then picks up the tortilla chips for the orphanage when a dirty, homeless man steals the chips and runs away.
Feeling discouraged with lack of money to feed good food at the orphanage, Ignacio decides to become a luchador to get money winning fights. He finds the dirty, homeless man who stole the chips earlier and fights him for revenge. Afterwards, Ignacio asks him to be his luchador partner, but he refuses. He then convinces him that if they win, they would receive 10,000 pesos. The homeless man, whose name was Steven, accepts Ignacio's offer. That night, they disguise themselves and call themselves Nacho and Esqueleto to keep their identities secret. Unfortunately, they lost the fight, but they receive a little bit of money for participating in the fights. The money that Ignacio earned is used to buy better ingredients for the orphanage. No one knows about Ignacio being a luchador with the exception of a chubby orphan boy named Chancho. Chancho and the other boys watch the luchador matches on TV secretly from the friars knowing and as time passes, Chancho dresses up as a luchador and wrestles the other boys. Sister Encarnacion stops the boys from fighting while Ignacio rushes in and tells them that wrestling is wrong despite Chancho knowing of Ignacio's secret.
As time goes on, Ignacio and Steven continue to lose luchador fights and wonder how they can start winning so they can be able to make bigger funds for their goals. Ignacio heads over to a gypsy named Emperor to give him advice on how to win more fights. Emperor tells him to climb a mountain and retrieve an eagle egg and eat it. With that, he would gain enormous power. Ignacio struggles with his task, but was able to accomplish it. Afterwords, they try their "new" power, but they still lose fights. So they decide to get advice from Ramses, the champion luchador, by sneaking into his party. It doesn't succeed very well with Ramses refusing to give Steven advice with his manager saying that the championship luchador tournament called the Battle Jam coming up will have Ramses win. With that, Ignacio and Steven decide to compete in the tournament without Ramses' help. They win most of the battles, but end up losing to a strong luchador named Silencio.
Things turn for the worst when Ignacio's robes went on fire during praying and reveal his luchador outfit. The friars are shocked to see that Ignacio had been wrestling and order him out of the orphanage. Ignacio leaves telling them that the money he would win would go to the orphanage so that he can take them on trips. With that, he heads to the wilderness. Steven finds Ignacio at the wilderness telling him that Silencio can't fight Ramses due to an injury so Ignacio has a chance to fight him for the prize money. With that, Ignacio has the determination to fight once again. That night, Steven gives Sister Encarnacion a letter from Ignacio telling her that he is still alive and fighting at the tournament telling her to see him fight despite her not liking wresting. Also she confesses his love for her as a brother of God since they took an oath of celibacy when joining the church. We then cut to the fight where Nacho and Ramses fight for the tournament championship with Nacho winning so far until Ramses cheated the fight and unmasks Nacho. With Nacho unmasked and feeling discouraged, he looks up and sees Sister Encarnacion and the orphans cheering him on. Nacho then has a flashback of the eagle that he saw earlier remembering when he ate the eagle egg and it gives him the strength to fight again and defeat Ramses and win the tournament.
The movie concludes with Ignacio using the prize money to buy a bus to take the orphans on trips and Ignacio and Sister Encarnacion smiling and acknowledging each other.
When the movie first came out, it came in second place in the box office with Cars leading it. It was a commercial success making $99 million dollars overall despite mixed reviews with critics and viewers. As for me, while there are a few things that make it entertaining, there are too many flaws in this movie that weigh this movie down. First off is Jack Black himself. His Spanish accent is terrible with it sounding Italian a few times and he acts too much like Jack Black and not enough like the character he's suppose to portray as. Also the way that Steven is portrayed seems rushed and convenient to the plot when in the beginning of the movie he didn't believe in God and hated orphans with him quickly baptized by Ignacio and the plot progression make him change his mind. I wish that we would have gotten a little bit of more development with Steven other than just being Ignacio's luchador sidekick. I can also say the same about the other characters in the movie. They seem really tacked in with little to no development. The orphans, with the exception of Chancho, are barely see, the superior friar gets no screen time after Ignacio is revealed to be Nacho, and there's no backstory of our main villain Ramses other than being an obstacle that Ignacio needs to achieve in order for him to win the prize money. The scene in which Ramses removed 's mask should have ended the fight right there. Anyone who has seen a real luchador fight or even Mucha Lucha knows that the removal of a luchador mask represents dishonor and the fighter's defeat. Yet, only when Sister Encarnacion and the orphans show up that Nacho feels to fight again. It may be a nitpick to some, but to me, that pretty much ruins one of the most important rules of luchador fighting.
The worst part of the movie is the relationship between Ignacio and Sister Encarnacion. It seemed that the writers wanted to add in something else to give the story substance, but forgot until the end of the movie that Catholic friars and nuns are celibate to God. This relationship is absolutely pointless and leads up to nowhere. If they would have cut out this plot point out of the movie, almost nothing would have changed, especially since Sister Encarnacion has little to no screentime or character development in this entire movie. I think that bringing in the same people who wrote and directed Napoleon Dynamite didn't work for this film. It doesn't have the same charm and subtle humor that Napoleon Dynamite had. There were no memorable quotes, characters, or scenes that pop into my mind when watching Nacho Libre. I can see some traits of the characters from Napoleon Dynamite in the characters of Nacho Libre a little bit, but it wasn't executed as properly. I felt that they were trying to catch lightning in a jar twice with different characters, a different setting, and a different storyline, but it didn't mesh well with the overall project.
I felt that the story of Rev. Benitez should have been told legit as a serious dramatic film as oppose to a comedy because I think that there's something in there that can be told that could be a true inspiration for many people. They're not a lot of Mexican heroes in pop culture and Fray Tormenta is still being told today. If they would have giving Nacho Libre the same love and attention that Million Dollar Baby did in 2004, Cinderella Man did in 2005, and Rocky Balboa did in the same year that Nacho Libre came out, I think it would have been a stellar film. I know that someone could take this really fascinating story and make into a possible Oscar winning film. What it is now is a lackluster comedy with too many wrong things going for it missing the potential to be something worthwhile checking out.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as we look into another Nickelodeon movie with Barnyard.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
The movie is loosely based on the real life of Reverend Sergio Gutierrez Benitez, a reckless man obsessed with alcohol turned Mexican Roman Catholic priest who disguised himself as a Mexican luchador so he can be able to support the orphaned children. From 1973 to 2011, Rev. Benitez went by the luchador name of Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm) and competed in many wrestling matches sporadically. Nowadays he's retired from wrestling and is still a priest at the orphanage while another young man going by the name of Fray Tormenta Jr. continues the legacy. Many forms of entertainment was inspired by Fray Tormenta, specifically video game characters such as King from Tekken, Tizoc from Fatal Fury, Leon from F-Zero, and Greco from Chrono Cross.
With the success of Jared and Jerusha Hess writing and directing Napoleon Dynamite, they were brought in by Paramount to write and direct a film based on Fray Tormenta. Jack Black, who was becoming a popular comedic actor around the 2000's with films such as Shallow Hal, Orange County, and School of Rock, was brought in to play as the main roll and with that. Does the film deserve the championship belt or should they throw in the towel? This is Nacho Libre.
The movie begins with Ignacio, an orphan boy in Mexico, who dreams of being a luchador. However, the other friars deny him of this saying that the Lord forbids wrestling. With that, he trains as a cook using limited amount of ingredients and spices and makes a bland bean soup with tortilla chips. Years later, Ignacio grows up serving the orphan boys the soup with chips telling them that despite the food tasting terrible, they should be thankful that they have it in the first place. Ignacio feels like he never got any respect due to a superior friar mistreating him and calling him worthless. One day, a nun named Sister Encarnacion moves into the orphanage to teach the kids. Ignacio falls immediately in love with her and wishes to talk to her, however the superior friar tells him to go into town to pray for a man sick with pneumonia. Thinking the man is dead, he gives a eulogy in front of his wife while the man wakes up. Ignacio then picks up the tortilla chips for the orphanage when a dirty, homeless man steals the chips and runs away.
Feeling discouraged with lack of money to feed good food at the orphanage, Ignacio decides to become a luchador to get money winning fights. He finds the dirty, homeless man who stole the chips earlier and fights him for revenge. Afterwards, Ignacio asks him to be his luchador partner, but he refuses. He then convinces him that if they win, they would receive 10,000 pesos. The homeless man, whose name was Steven, accepts Ignacio's offer. That night, they disguise themselves and call themselves Nacho and Esqueleto to keep their identities secret. Unfortunately, they lost the fight, but they receive a little bit of money for participating in the fights. The money that Ignacio earned is used to buy better ingredients for the orphanage. No one knows about Ignacio being a luchador with the exception of a chubby orphan boy named Chancho. Chancho and the other boys watch the luchador matches on TV secretly from the friars knowing and as time passes, Chancho dresses up as a luchador and wrestles the other boys. Sister Encarnacion stops the boys from fighting while Ignacio rushes in and tells them that wrestling is wrong despite Chancho knowing of Ignacio's secret.
As time goes on, Ignacio and Steven continue to lose luchador fights and wonder how they can start winning so they can be able to make bigger funds for their goals. Ignacio heads over to a gypsy named Emperor to give him advice on how to win more fights. Emperor tells him to climb a mountain and retrieve an eagle egg and eat it. With that, he would gain enormous power. Ignacio struggles with his task, but was able to accomplish it. Afterwords, they try their "new" power, but they still lose fights. So they decide to get advice from Ramses, the champion luchador, by sneaking into his party. It doesn't succeed very well with Ramses refusing to give Steven advice with his manager saying that the championship luchador tournament called the Battle Jam coming up will have Ramses win. With that, Ignacio and Steven decide to compete in the tournament without Ramses' help. They win most of the battles, but end up losing to a strong luchador named Silencio.
Things turn for the worst when Ignacio's robes went on fire during praying and reveal his luchador outfit. The friars are shocked to see that Ignacio had been wrestling and order him out of the orphanage. Ignacio leaves telling them that the money he would win would go to the orphanage so that he can take them on trips. With that, he heads to the wilderness. Steven finds Ignacio at the wilderness telling him that Silencio can't fight Ramses due to an injury so Ignacio has a chance to fight him for the prize money. With that, Ignacio has the determination to fight once again. That night, Steven gives Sister Encarnacion a letter from Ignacio telling her that he is still alive and fighting at the tournament telling her to see him fight despite her not liking wresting. Also she confesses his love for her as a brother of God since they took an oath of celibacy when joining the church. We then cut to the fight where Nacho and Ramses fight for the tournament championship with Nacho winning so far until Ramses cheated the fight and unmasks Nacho. With Nacho unmasked and feeling discouraged, he looks up and sees Sister Encarnacion and the orphans cheering him on. Nacho then has a flashback of the eagle that he saw earlier remembering when he ate the eagle egg and it gives him the strength to fight again and defeat Ramses and win the tournament.
The movie concludes with Ignacio using the prize money to buy a bus to take the orphans on trips and Ignacio and Sister Encarnacion smiling and acknowledging each other.
When the movie first came out, it came in second place in the box office with Cars leading it. It was a commercial success making $99 million dollars overall despite mixed reviews with critics and viewers. As for me, while there are a few things that make it entertaining, there are too many flaws in this movie that weigh this movie down. First off is Jack Black himself. His Spanish accent is terrible with it sounding Italian a few times and he acts too much like Jack Black and not enough like the character he's suppose to portray as. Also the way that Steven is portrayed seems rushed and convenient to the plot when in the beginning of the movie he didn't believe in God and hated orphans with him quickly baptized by Ignacio and the plot progression make him change his mind. I wish that we would have gotten a little bit of more development with Steven other than just being Ignacio's luchador sidekick. I can also say the same about the other characters in the movie. They seem really tacked in with little to no development. The orphans, with the exception of Chancho, are barely see, the superior friar gets no screen time after Ignacio is revealed to be Nacho, and there's no backstory of our main villain Ramses other than being an obstacle that Ignacio needs to achieve in order for him to win the prize money. The scene in which Ramses removed 's mask should have ended the fight right there. Anyone who has seen a real luchador fight or even Mucha Lucha knows that the removal of a luchador mask represents dishonor and the fighter's defeat. Yet, only when Sister Encarnacion and the orphans show up that Nacho feels to fight again. It may be a nitpick to some, but to me, that pretty much ruins one of the most important rules of luchador fighting.
The worst part of the movie is the relationship between Ignacio and Sister Encarnacion. It seemed that the writers wanted to add in something else to give the story substance, but forgot until the end of the movie that Catholic friars and nuns are celibate to God. This relationship is absolutely pointless and leads up to nowhere. If they would have cut out this plot point out of the movie, almost nothing would have changed, especially since Sister Encarnacion has little to no screentime or character development in this entire movie. I think that bringing in the same people who wrote and directed Napoleon Dynamite didn't work for this film. It doesn't have the same charm and subtle humor that Napoleon Dynamite had. There were no memorable quotes, characters, or scenes that pop into my mind when watching Nacho Libre. I can see some traits of the characters from Napoleon Dynamite in the characters of Nacho Libre a little bit, but it wasn't executed as properly. I felt that they were trying to catch lightning in a jar twice with different characters, a different setting, and a different storyline, but it didn't mesh well with the overall project.
I felt that the story of Rev. Benitez should have been told legit as a serious dramatic film as oppose to a comedy because I think that there's something in there that can be told that could be a true inspiration for many people. They're not a lot of Mexican heroes in pop culture and Fray Tormenta is still being told today. If they would have giving Nacho Libre the same love and attention that Million Dollar Baby did in 2004, Cinderella Man did in 2005, and Rocky Balboa did in the same year that Nacho Libre came out, I think it would have been a stellar film. I know that someone could take this really fascinating story and make into a possible Oscar winning film. What it is now is a lackluster comedy with too many wrong things going for it missing the potential to be something worthwhile checking out.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as we look into another Nickelodeon movie with Barnyard.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Movie Review: Yours, Mine, and Ours
To conclude 2005 in the Nickelodeon tribute, we take a look at a movie produced by Nickelodeon Movies. It was a remake based of the 1968 film Yours, Mine, and Ours starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. It's loosely based on the true story of Frank and Helen Beardsley having a rocky relationship with getting their 20 children together (ten from Frank, 8 from Helen's first marriage, and 2 from Helen and Frank). The children don't want them to get together since they liked their lives before and they do everything they can to break their parents' relationship. Desilu Productions, the same company that Desi Arnaz founded that produced I Love Lucy bought the rights to Helen's stories to make it into a motion picture. The movie, while it was a massive commercial success, received mixed reactions when it first came out, mostly due to the fact that it had little to nothing to do with the original source material.
However, as time passed, critics and viewers enjoyed it saying that it was a very entertaining movie with the main praises going to Lucille Ball's performance and the hilarious stunts the children did in the movie to break the parents apart. It was because of this movie, it inspired The Brady Bunch despite another movie with a similar premise Cheaper by the Dozen debuting 18 years before in 1950. Nonetheless, without Yours, Mine, and Ours, we wouldn't have one of the most beloved TV shows of all time.
So with that, what can go wrong? Well, in 2003, a remake of Cheaper by the Dozen debuted starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt and it was a commercial success despite the negative remarks. With the announcement of a sequel, Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies made a remake of Yours, Mine, and Ours on November 23, 2005 to compete with Cheaper by the Dozen 2 which came out a month later. Is the remake better than the original? Will they follow the original source material? Let's see and find out. This is Yours, Mine, and Ours.
The movie begins with Frank Beardsley (played by Dennis Quaid) moving into a new house with his family consisting of 8 kids in Connecticut and Helen North (played by Rene Russo) and her 10 kids. They are both single due to Frank and Helen being widowed. Each of them go on dates in a restaurant with different people, but they meet up with one another being old high school sweethearts. Later on, they meet up at a 30 year high school reunion. They talk about what they're up to nowadays with Frank being an Admiral at the Coast Guard and Helen being a handbag designer. They immediately fall in love all over again, even with Frank and Helen revealing how many kids they have. The revelation doesn't strained their relationship as they decided to get married and move all their kids in a new house by the lighthouse where Frank and Helen had their first kiss. With that said, they decide to take the kids on a sailboat ride for them to get to know one another. But after a minor mishap with Helen squirting sunscreen on her face and Frank helping her to clean it off, the kids immediately don't like one another as each of them are annoyed with each of the clashing personalities. Since Frank and Helen raised their kids in a different way, each of them share their distinctive traits: Frank is a Coast Guard Admiral who raised his children in a disciplined matter so the kids are disciplined and Helen is a free spirited artist so her kids are free spirited in different ways from art to using the video camera to music. The kids from each parent hate one another because they are too different so they decide to have a plan to split them up so that their lives would return back to normal. They all agree.
So the plan starts with Frank's children causing a huge mess with the Frank's schedule at the chalkboard and Helen's children being disciplined with Frank's oldest son William, and ending it with a huge food fight and paint fight. The plan seem to work so far with Helen and Frank slowly getting strained with their relationship. However, they rekindle and have a family meeting saying that from that point on, there will be agreements with each other's way of raising their kids. Meanwhile, Frank's superior offers him a job to take his position as Commandmant at Washington, D.C. and Helen having the offer of making new handbags for a big company. While Frank declined the offer at first, Helen is excited about it so she gets to working on her handbags. However, the kids decide to clean her studio and more of the relationship begins to falter. As time goes on, the kids start to get along and help each other with their activities. But they still don't want to live with one another, so they decide to have a massive party/food fight that goes out of control. With that, Frank decides to take the job as Commandmant and breaks up with Helen saying that the chaos is too much for him to handle. The kids decide that they made a huge mistake and decide to bring them back together again. The older kids go after their dad while the younger kids mess the house bringing it into disorganization. When Helen gets back, she learns that the kids were behind the fights. Frank learns from the older kids about everything and the movie concludes with Helen shining the lighthouse bringing Frank back home, getting remarried again, and everyone living happily together as a family.
When the movie first came out, it was hugely panned by critics and audiences despite the movie making $72 million dollars at the box offices. It even has a rating of 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, the same percentage that The Last Airbender has. Overall, this is a very predictable, underwhelming, schmalzy movie with characters being one dimensional and bland with nothing that makes them standout outside of doing things that tie into their character. As for the performances, they're okay. Nothing really stands out from either actor or actress, with the exception being Rene Russo who did a good job as Helen and the nanny who took care of Frank's kids. This remake was even further from the original source material than the original movie was. Even though the original changed a lot of things from the book, it was able to stand out from the performances by Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball and there were a lot more funny moments in it. It seemed that this version of Yours, Mine, and Ours was made just to grab onto the success of Cheaper by the Dozen and it shows from the overbloated amount of kids with little to no personality and the wacky, crazy shenanigans to try to entertain the audience but failing to do so. Yours, Mine, and Ours is one of the most unnecessary remakes I've ever seen and I don't recommend checking it out.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as we go into the year 2006 and look into another Nickelodeon movie with Nacho Libre.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
However, as time passed, critics and viewers enjoyed it saying that it was a very entertaining movie with the main praises going to Lucille Ball's performance and the hilarious stunts the children did in the movie to break the parents apart. It was because of this movie, it inspired The Brady Bunch despite another movie with a similar premise Cheaper by the Dozen debuting 18 years before in 1950. Nonetheless, without Yours, Mine, and Ours, we wouldn't have one of the most beloved TV shows of all time.
So with that, what can go wrong? Well, in 2003, a remake of Cheaper by the Dozen debuted starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt and it was a commercial success despite the negative remarks. With the announcement of a sequel, Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies made a remake of Yours, Mine, and Ours on November 23, 2005 to compete with Cheaper by the Dozen 2 which came out a month later. Is the remake better than the original? Will they follow the original source material? Let's see and find out. This is Yours, Mine, and Ours.
The movie begins with Frank Beardsley (played by Dennis Quaid) moving into a new house with his family consisting of 8 kids in Connecticut and Helen North (played by Rene Russo) and her 10 kids. They are both single due to Frank and Helen being widowed. Each of them go on dates in a restaurant with different people, but they meet up with one another being old high school sweethearts. Later on, they meet up at a 30 year high school reunion. They talk about what they're up to nowadays with Frank being an Admiral at the Coast Guard and Helen being a handbag designer. They immediately fall in love all over again, even with Frank and Helen revealing how many kids they have. The revelation doesn't strained their relationship as they decided to get married and move all their kids in a new house by the lighthouse where Frank and Helen had their first kiss. With that said, they decide to take the kids on a sailboat ride for them to get to know one another. But after a minor mishap with Helen squirting sunscreen on her face and Frank helping her to clean it off, the kids immediately don't like one another as each of them are annoyed with each of the clashing personalities. Since Frank and Helen raised their kids in a different way, each of them share their distinctive traits: Frank is a Coast Guard Admiral who raised his children in a disciplined matter so the kids are disciplined and Helen is a free spirited artist so her kids are free spirited in different ways from art to using the video camera to music. The kids from each parent hate one another because they are too different so they decide to have a plan to split them up so that their lives would return back to normal. They all agree.
So the plan starts with Frank's children causing a huge mess with the Frank's schedule at the chalkboard and Helen's children being disciplined with Frank's oldest son William, and ending it with a huge food fight and paint fight. The plan seem to work so far with Helen and Frank slowly getting strained with their relationship. However, they rekindle and have a family meeting saying that from that point on, there will be agreements with each other's way of raising their kids. Meanwhile, Frank's superior offers him a job to take his position as Commandmant at Washington, D.C. and Helen having the offer of making new handbags for a big company. While Frank declined the offer at first, Helen is excited about it so she gets to working on her handbags. However, the kids decide to clean her studio and more of the relationship begins to falter. As time goes on, the kids start to get along and help each other with their activities. But they still don't want to live with one another, so they decide to have a massive party/food fight that goes out of control. With that, Frank decides to take the job as Commandmant and breaks up with Helen saying that the chaos is too much for him to handle. The kids decide that they made a huge mistake and decide to bring them back together again. The older kids go after their dad while the younger kids mess the house bringing it into disorganization. When Helen gets back, she learns that the kids were behind the fights. Frank learns from the older kids about everything and the movie concludes with Helen shining the lighthouse bringing Frank back home, getting remarried again, and everyone living happily together as a family.
When the movie first came out, it was hugely panned by critics and audiences despite the movie making $72 million dollars at the box offices. It even has a rating of 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, the same percentage that The Last Airbender has. Overall, this is a very predictable, underwhelming, schmalzy movie with characters being one dimensional and bland with nothing that makes them standout outside of doing things that tie into their character. As for the performances, they're okay. Nothing really stands out from either actor or actress, with the exception being Rene Russo who did a good job as Helen and the nanny who took care of Frank's kids. This remake was even further from the original source material than the original movie was. Even though the original changed a lot of things from the book, it was able to stand out from the performances by Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball and there were a lot more funny moments in it. It seemed that this version of Yours, Mine, and Ours was made just to grab onto the success of Cheaper by the Dozen and it shows from the overbloated amount of kids with little to no personality and the wacky, crazy shenanigans to try to entertain the audience but failing to do so. Yours, Mine, and Ours is one of the most unnecessary remakes I've ever seen and I don't recommend checking it out.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as we go into the year 2006 and look into another Nickelodeon movie with Nacho Libre.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Old School Lane Discussions: Top 10 Worst SNICK Shows
In this top 10, Patricia counts down the top 10 worst SNICK shows. Which shows from Nickelodeon ruined Saturday nights for millions of kids? Let's find out.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Old School Lane Channel Trailer
We have our own YouTube channel trailer. Please share this video with your friends and subscribe to us. Thanks guys!
-Patricia and Kevin
-Patricia and Kevin
Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 21: Interview with Caseen Gaines
In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia brings back the first person they've ever interviewed in Old School Lane: book author/pop culture enthusiast Caseen Gaines. This time, they discuss about his upcoming book: A Christmas Story: The Behind The Scenes of a Holiday Classic.
Old School Lane visits the Slimed! and A Christmas Story book events
Hey guys, Patricia here. Just got back from my trip to NYC where Kevin and I
went to two book events: the Slimed! book event at 92Y and the A
Christmas Story book event at Solas Restaurant. Both events were a lot of
fun in different ways. First the Slimed! book event.
When arriving at 92Y, the line was already long. It was crazy because Kevin and I wanted to get there a few hours early to get good seats. Now that's what I call true old school Nickelodeon fans.
Next up, we went inside to see if we could get some VIP tickets, we were so lucky to get the last two. With that, some of the special guests who were appearing at the event were already there talking, mingling with other people, or getting drinks at the small bar. Kevin and I knew who we were going to see first.
Marc Summers, the host of Double Dare and What Would You Do? was going to be the showrunner for the book event. Kevin and I interviewed Marc last year for the Nickelodeon tribute discussing about his years hosting Double Dare, What Would You Do?, and being an executive producer for a couple of Food Network programs. He remembered us interviewing him and we once again thanked him so much for the wonderful thing he did hosting Double Dare. He is one of our childhood heroes and it was amazing meeting him face to face.
The next person we met was Harvey, who was the announcer of Double Dare. Not only was he just the person who would announce the show and tell the contestants what they won, but he also would interact with the audience and tell a bunch of funny jokes alongside with Marc and Double Dare assistant Robin Marella. Robin made it to the event, but unfortunately, we weren't able to have met her. But it was great meeting Harvey nonetheless. Plus we got Harvey's autograph.
Next we met two cast members from one of our all time favorite Nickelodeon sitcoms The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Michael Maronna who played Big Pete, and Hardy Rawls who played the dad. We also got their autographs.
Next we met Vanessa Coffey, who was the vice president of animation for Nickelodeon and was the main forerunner for the original three Nicktoons Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Not to mention, she was the one who came up with the concept of 11 minute cartoon segments, which is now a staple in cartoons. We didn't recognized her, but she was impressed with Kevin's Doug doll. Since there never was an official Doug doll for Nickelodeon, Disney released Doug merchandise when they bought the rights from Jim Jinkens, the creator of Doug. But speaking of which, Jim Jinkens showed up and Kevin was absolutely floored! As you know, Kevin is a huge Doug fan and he was so excited to finally meet the man who created one of his all time favorite cartoons.
Plus, we also met the voice of Skeeter Valentine, Mr. Dink, and who did the Doug soundtrack, Fred Newman. Fred was also the host of a kids' talk show host from Nickelodeon called Livewire back in 1980 and he's currently the sound effects man for the popular radio show A Praririe Home Companion. He even did the Skeeter voice and honked at us. It was amazing! Plus we gotten Jim and Fred's autograph.
The next following people we met were Jessica Gaynes from Wild & Crazy Kids and Sean O'Neal from Clarissa Explains it All before we were called to take our seats for the main event. Plus, we gotten their autographs as well.
For the next three hours, Kevin and I sat in the front row seats watching the people behind the #1 kids' network. There were a few panels that occured: there was the panel that contained the people who brought Nickelodeon from being almost bankrupt to the #1 network with the first creative director Scott Webb, the director of various Nickelodeon shows Bob Mittenal, the half of the advertising company Fred/Alan Inc. Alan Goodman, and more. The second panel had the co-creator and cast of You Can't Do That on Television, the third panel had the cast of Doug, which included Jim Jinkens, Vanessa Coffey, Doug creative director and creator of Clarissa Explains it All, Fred Newman, the voice actress for Patti Mayonaisse Connie Shulman, and the voice of Doug, Roger, Ren, Stimpy, and hundreds more Billy West. Afterwards, Fred Newman and Doug musician Dan Sawyer played music from Doug which everyone sang out loud. Next, the panel of Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and a misc. panel concluded the event with joyous cheers from 900 people on their teens, 20s, and 30s reliving their childhoods. For those who missed the event, watch it right here! You can even see Kevin and I on our seats.
Next was the afterparty where we met Nick Arcade host Phil Moore. Despite Kevin and I making fun of him in Casual Chats episode 1, he was one of the funniest person on the event.
Next, we finally met the man himself, Mathew Klickstein. At the event, we slowly became good friends with him. He also autographed our book.
Next, we met and talked to Nick Arcade creators Karim Miteff and James Bethea, Salute Your Shorts actor Tim "Trevor" Eyster who was Sponge and Are You Afraid of the Dark? actor/meterologist Ross Hull who was Gary. He told us that not only did he remember our interview with him last year, but our interview was his all time favorite. It was a long 4 hour event, but it was worth it and one of the best nights I've ever had.
Next was the A Christmas Story book event at Solas Restaurant. It was small, informal, and much more quiet. It was much needed since being around over 1000 people for 4 hours was very tiring. I met Caseen Gaines for the first time face to face. As some of you know, he was the first person we've ever interviewed for Old School Lane when he talked about his first book Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse. Surprisingly, Mathew Klickstein and Jessica Gaynes showed up at the event and for the next 3 hours, we were talking about the movie, the book, and their upcoming projects. It didn't feel manipulating, it felt like I was talking with real friends. With that, I truly felt like I made some while I was there.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as Kevin and I discuss about the two books, our experiences with the events, and continue with the Nickelodeon tribute.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
When arriving at 92Y, the line was already long. It was crazy because Kevin and I wanted to get there a few hours early to get good seats. Now that's what I call true old school Nickelodeon fans.
Next up, we went inside to see if we could get some VIP tickets, we were so lucky to get the last two. With that, some of the special guests who were appearing at the event were already there talking, mingling with other people, or getting drinks at the small bar. Kevin and I knew who we were going to see first.
Marc Summers, the host of Double Dare and What Would You Do? was going to be the showrunner for the book event. Kevin and I interviewed Marc last year for the Nickelodeon tribute discussing about his years hosting Double Dare, What Would You Do?, and being an executive producer for a couple of Food Network programs. He remembered us interviewing him and we once again thanked him so much for the wonderful thing he did hosting Double Dare. He is one of our childhood heroes and it was amazing meeting him face to face.
The next person we met was Harvey, who was the announcer of Double Dare. Not only was he just the person who would announce the show and tell the contestants what they won, but he also would interact with the audience and tell a bunch of funny jokes alongside with Marc and Double Dare assistant Robin Marella. Robin made it to the event, but unfortunately, we weren't able to have met her. But it was great meeting Harvey nonetheless. Plus we got Harvey's autograph.
Next we met two cast members from one of our all time favorite Nickelodeon sitcoms The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Michael Maronna who played Big Pete, and Hardy Rawls who played the dad. We also got their autographs.
Next we met Vanessa Coffey, who was the vice president of animation for Nickelodeon and was the main forerunner for the original three Nicktoons Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Not to mention, she was the one who came up with the concept of 11 minute cartoon segments, which is now a staple in cartoons. We didn't recognized her, but she was impressed with Kevin's Doug doll. Since there never was an official Doug doll for Nickelodeon, Disney released Doug merchandise when they bought the rights from Jim Jinkens, the creator of Doug. But speaking of which, Jim Jinkens showed up and Kevin was absolutely floored! As you know, Kevin is a huge Doug fan and he was so excited to finally meet the man who created one of his all time favorite cartoons.
Plus, we also met the voice of Skeeter Valentine, Mr. Dink, and who did the Doug soundtrack, Fred Newman. Fred was also the host of a kids' talk show host from Nickelodeon called Livewire back in 1980 and he's currently the sound effects man for the popular radio show A Praririe Home Companion. He even did the Skeeter voice and honked at us. It was amazing! Plus we gotten Jim and Fred's autograph.
The next following people we met were Jessica Gaynes from Wild & Crazy Kids and Sean O'Neal from Clarissa Explains it All before we were called to take our seats for the main event. Plus, we gotten their autographs as well.
For the next three hours, Kevin and I sat in the front row seats watching the people behind the #1 kids' network. There were a few panels that occured: there was the panel that contained the people who brought Nickelodeon from being almost bankrupt to the #1 network with the first creative director Scott Webb, the director of various Nickelodeon shows Bob Mittenal, the half of the advertising company Fred/Alan Inc. Alan Goodman, and more. The second panel had the co-creator and cast of You Can't Do That on Television, the third panel had the cast of Doug, which included Jim Jinkens, Vanessa Coffey, Doug creative director and creator of Clarissa Explains it All, Fred Newman, the voice actress for Patti Mayonaisse Connie Shulman, and the voice of Doug, Roger, Ren, Stimpy, and hundreds more Billy West. Afterwards, Fred Newman and Doug musician Dan Sawyer played music from Doug which everyone sang out loud. Next, the panel of Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and a misc. panel concluded the event with joyous cheers from 900 people on their teens, 20s, and 30s reliving their childhoods. For those who missed the event, watch it right here! You can even see Kevin and I on our seats.
Next was the afterparty where we met Nick Arcade host Phil Moore. Despite Kevin and I making fun of him in Casual Chats episode 1, he was one of the funniest person on the event.
Next, we finally met the man himself, Mathew Klickstein. At the event, we slowly became good friends with him. He also autographed our book.
Next, we met and talked to Nick Arcade creators Karim Miteff and James Bethea, Salute Your Shorts actor Tim "Trevor" Eyster who was Sponge and Are You Afraid of the Dark? actor/meterologist Ross Hull who was Gary. He told us that not only did he remember our interview with him last year, but our interview was his all time favorite. It was a long 4 hour event, but it was worth it and one of the best nights I've ever had.
Next was the A Christmas Story book event at Solas Restaurant. It was small, informal, and much more quiet. It was much needed since being around over 1000 people for 4 hours was very tiring. I met Caseen Gaines for the first time face to face. As some of you know, he was the first person we've ever interviewed for Old School Lane when he talked about his first book Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse. Surprisingly, Mathew Klickstein and Jessica Gaynes showed up at the event and for the next 3 hours, we were talking about the movie, the book, and their upcoming projects. It didn't feel manipulating, it felt like I was talking with real friends. With that, I truly felt like I made some while I was there.
That's all for now. Tune in next time as Kevin and I discuss about the two books, our experiences with the events, and continue with the Nickelodeon tribute.
Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.
-Patricia
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