Films featuring
Dan Aykroyd

Into the Night (1985)

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Do we thank you, or what?

I’d say I fall in the “or what” category.

Into the Night

The hero of this film is an insomniac (Jeff Goldblum) who doesn’t really know where his life is headed. Watching Into the Night left me with a similar feeling, and I don’t necessarily mean that as a criticism. This whole movie seemed infused with that groggy, discombobulated feeling you get when you’ve been awake for thirty-six hours straight. (more…)

Director:  | Released:  | 115 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

Ghostbusters (1984)

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back.

Ghostbusters represents such a high water mark for not only the careers of those involved, but also for comedy in general, that it’s hard to overstate the level of accomplishment on screen. It’s difficult enough to make a good movie, not just a good comedy, but to produce a comedy classic while dealing with the complications of an ambitious special effects picture has to be some kind of cinematic grand slam.

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Director:  | Released:  | 105 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Wednesday, February 1st, 2006

It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

Regardless of whether or not I like the movie, The Blues Brothers has something serious to answer for. This is probably the film that convinced movie producers that sketch characters from Saturday Night Live could be successfully translated into movies. Therefore “Joliet” Jake and Elwood have to shoulder part of the blame for travesties like A Night at the Roxbury and It’s Pat.

The Blues Brothers

The problem is that the Blues Brothers weren’t sketch characters. They didn’t have a catch phrase and their only “schtick” was a genuine respect for the music that they covered. This gave screenwriters Dan Aykroyd and John Landis the freedom to craft an actual story around the characters. If the story is a little too slight to support two hours and thirteen minutes of running time, that doesn’t matter too much. Like their Blues Brothers appearances on SNL, this movie is mostly about the music.

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Director:  | Released:  | 133 min. | Rated:  | Genres: