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These are the posts for Sunday, the 30th day of April in the year 2006 of the common era.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

Speaking of your parents, were they alive, how do you think they’d feel? Proud? Or concerned that your attitude shows, at best, a pathological need for attention, at worst, psychotic death wish.

The Harry Potter films have been, on the whole, getting progressively better with each installment. The first step was ditching the more commercially-minded American director Chris Columbus in favor of two filmmakers whose work you would not normally associate with these fantastic elements. For this fourth chapter, they chose British director Mike Newell, probably best known for the violent mob drama Donnie Brasco.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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Director:  | Released:  | 157 min. | Rated:  | Genres:  | Franchise: 

Two for the Money (2005)

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

I don’t want your money. I want your bookie’s fuckin’ money.

I liked this movie almost every time that Tom Cruise made it back in the eighties. (more…)

Director:  | Released:  | 122 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

High Anxiety (1977)

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup.

The films of Alfred Hitchcock were such a genre unto themselves that it was probably inevitable that Mel Brooks would have a swing at them and, while Brooks does connect with the ball, this film is anything but a home run. More like a dribbler back to the pitcher.

High Anxiety

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Director:  | Released:  | 94 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

The Twelve Chairs (1970)

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

Remember the famous Russian proverb: “The hungrier you get, the tastier the meal.” On the other hand, the French have a proverb: merde!

As the least well-known of Mel Brooks’s early films, The Twelve Chairs stands well apart from the others. It’s not a spoof of other films nor is it a balls-to-the-wall farce like The Producers. While it has its slapstick elements, it also has a kind of sweetness and elements of character drama not normally found in Brooks’s filmography.

The Twelve Chairs

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Director:  | Released:  | 94 min. | Rated:  | Genres: