Category: Movies

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” starring Tom Cruise – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Although I prefer movies to not be split up, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One does have my attention,  Deal me in.

In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

“Self Made Maids” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Self Made Maids (1950)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard

Tagline: Oh Baby… It’s the Stooges’ Screwiest Comedy!

The Plot…

The boys are artists in love with models named Larraine, Moella and Shempetta.  The girls accept our guys’ marriage proposals.  The problem will be getting the ladies’ father to agree.  Let the fun begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Self Made Maids is unique in that the Stooges play all the characters!  Larry, Moe and Shemp play the artists, their girlfriends and their children.  In addition, Moe plays the girls’ father,  Larry and Shemp appear as a couple in a painting.

While playing one of the girls, Moe actually tripped, twisted an ankle, hit his head and needed crutches to get around the next day.  Filming continued.

Self Made Maids (1950) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“EXTRACTION 2” | Second Official Trailer!

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Deal me in!

PREPARE FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE. Chris Hemsworth is Tyler Rake in EXTRACTION 2 – only on Netflix, June 16.

Hemsworth reunites with director Sam Hargrave, with Joe and Anthony Russo’s AGBO producing and Joe Russo writing. Golshifteh Farahani reprises her role from the first film, with Daniel Bernhardt and Tinatin Dalakishvili also co-starring.

This is a sequel to the first film that was based on the graphic novel ‘Ciudad’ by Ande Parks, from a story by Ande Parks, Joe Russo & Anthony Russo, with illustrations by Fernando León González. EXTRACTION 2 is produced by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Mike Larocca, Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Newall and Sam Hargrave, with Angela Russo-Otstot, Jake Aust, Benjamin Grayson, Steven Scavelli, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as executive producers.

“Love at First Bite” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Love at First Bite (1950)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre and Al Thompson. 

Tagline: The Stooges Go Romantic in a Riot of Fun!

The Plot…

The boys are celebrating.  Their wartime sweethearts are to arrive this afternoon.  The boys decide to have a celebration drink.  One thing leads to another and our guys become angry drunks.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Flashbacks where the individual Stooges remember their sweethearts just isn’t as funny as the boys working together.

Love at First Bite (1950) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Hugs and Mugs” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Hugs and Mugs (1950)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka and Kathleen O’Malley. 

Tagline: Howl As The Stooges Spring To New Fun Highs!.

The Plot…

The boys run an upholstering shop.  They bought a warehouse full of stuff because the renters never kept up with the cost of storage.  It turns out the renters were three dames in prison.

Now the women are out and after the valuable stolen pearl necklace that was hidden in the warehouse goods.  They’ve headed to the Stooges’ shop and plan to get the necklace using whatever means they must.  To make matters worse, the girls’ partners in crime have followed with plans to get the necklace for themselves.  Our boys are in for it!  Let the hijinks begin.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The boys re-use one of their popular gags when a sofa spring attaches to someone’s rear.

During the filming of Hugs and Mugs, the Stooges were presented with the Exhibitor’s Laurel Award for being the top two-reel moneymakers of 1948.

Hugs and Mugs (1950) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Punchy Cowpunchers” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Punchy Cowpunchers (1950)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Edward Bernds

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Jock Mahoney, Christine McIntyre, Kenneth MacDonald, Dick Wessel, Vernon Dent, Emil Sitka, Heinie Conklin and Blackie Whiteford. 

Tagline: You’ll salute the Stooges for their screwiest comedy ever.

The Plot…

A small town in the old west has been taken over by the Dillon Gang.  Led by, uh, Dillon (MacDonald), the crooks are making life miserable for everyone.  Elmer (Mahoney), is a heroic cowboy, but realizes he’ll need help running the Dillon Gang out of town.  So Elmer rides to the nearest US Cavalry fort to get assistance.

Meanwhile at the fort, the Sergeant is trying to turn our boys into soldiers.  You can imagine the success he’s had.  When the fort commander says that soldiers are needed for a potential suicide mission to run the Dillon Gang out of town, the Sarge volunteers Larry, Moe and Shemp.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Punchy Cowpunchers is not our usual Three Stooges short.  It features a soundtrack and gives supporting cast members ample opportunities for comedy.  This is especially true for Jock Mahoney who looks the part of a handsome cowboy star of the era, but is played dimwitted and clumsy.  Mahoney was a stuntman before becoming a star and he gets multiple gags showing his talents.

This is writer/director Edward Bernds favorite short that he did with The Three Stooges.

Punchy Cowpunchers (1950) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Boobs in Arms” (1940) starring The Tree Stooges / Z-View

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Boobs in Arms (1940)

Director:  Jules White 

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Richard Fiske, Bobby Barber, Lynton Brent, Charles Dorety and Philip Van Zandt. 

Tagline:  Mad buffoons in a barrage of laughs!

The Plot…

The boys are door to door salesmen.  When a woman invites them inside, her crazy, jealous husband returns home.  He attacks the boys who fight back.  In fear for their lives, Larry, Moe and Curly run away with the husband in pursuit.  Our guys find sanctuary in an Army recruiting office.  Before they know it, the Stooges are “in the army now.”  Imagine their shock when they learn that the drill sergeant is the jealous husband!  Let the hijinks continue!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Richard Fiske who played the jealous husband/army drill sergeant was drafted to fight in World War II.  He was killed in France in 1944.

The extended scene where the boys try to rescue their drill sergeant while high on laughing gas is a hoot.

Boobs in Arms (1940) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Dunked in the Deep” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dunked in the Deep (1949)

Director:  Jules White 

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Gene Roth

Tagline: Ahoy. Stooges!  The merriest stowaways to ever sail the briny!

The Plot…

The boys’ neighbor, Mr. Bortch (Roth) is a Russian spy.  Our guys have no clue.  So when Mr. Bortch asks Larry, Moe and Shemp to bring watermelons to the ship he is sailing on, they do.  The watermelons contain top secrets.  The boys don’t learn all this until the ship has left port and they are trapped with Bortch in the hold!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dunked in Deep would be remade by the Stooges in 1956.  It was titled Commotion on the Ocean and re-used footage from the original.

The voice on the radio at the start of the short is Moe Howard’s.

Dunked in the Deep (1949) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Vagabond Loafers” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Vagabond Loafers (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, Kenneth MacDonald, Symona Boniface, Dudley Dickerson and Herbert Evans.

Tagline: The Stooges go plumbing for leaks…and laughs!

The Plot…

A rich couple are throwing a dinner party to show off their expensive new painting.  When a leak is discovered, the butler calls Night & Day plumbing owned and operated by Larry, Moe and Shemp.  The boys go right over to fix the leak.  Little do they know (and they know very little about plumbing), they’re about to get caught up in a plot to steal the painting.  Let the hijinks begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Vagabond Loafers is a remake of the Stooges’ A Plumbing We Will Go (1940) and borrows footage as well.  It was so popular it would be remade again by our boys in 1956’s Scheming Schemers.

Not counting re-used stock footage for later shorts, this is the last Stooges’ appearance for both Symona Boniface and Dudley Dickerson.

Vagabond Loafers (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“God is a Bullet” starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for God is a Bullet starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx.  The poster looks old-school and the trailer does it’s job.  Not only do I want to see the movie, I’ve put the book on my list for future purchase.

Inspired by true events and based on the best-selling novel GOD IS A BULLET written by Boston Teran, the film follows detective Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. Bob takes matters into his own hands and infiltrates the secretive cult to try to save his daughter. With the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), Bob and Case go down the rabbit hole with The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx) to save his daughter and find closure for Case from the cult – and its maniacal leader (Glusman) – that took so much away from her.

RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023

CAST: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe, Jamie Foxx

“Fuelin’ Around” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Fuelin’ Around (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, Vernon Dent, Philip Van Zandt, Hans Schumm and Jock Mahoney.

Tagline: The Stooges cook up a brand new formula… for laughs!

The Plot…

They boys are putting in new carpet for Professor Sneed (Sitka).  The Professor is working on a top secret rocket fuel that foreign agents want to steal.  Wouldn’t you know, the bad guys mistake Larry for the Professor, and think Moe and Shemp are his assistants.  They kidnap our guys and set a deadline; either Larry gives them the rocket fuel formula or they will be executed.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Emil Sitka plays Christine McIntyre’s father.  Sitka was three years younger than McIntyre.

The extended scene with the Stooges, the Professor and his daughter trying to escape the jail cell (and Jock Mahoney as the guard flirting with McIntyre) is the highlight!

Fuelin’ Around (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Heavenly Daze” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Heavenly Daze (1948)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Zion Meyers

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent, Sam McDaniel, Symona Boniface and Jules White (voice).

Tagline: The Stooges AT THEIR Howlingest Best!

The Plot…

Shemp has died and is waiting outside the pearly gates hoping to get into heaven.  It looks like he’s come up short and may be taking the down elevator.  Shemp is given one chance at heaven.  He must return to earth invisible to all and reform Moe and Larry.  It won’t be easy, because Larry and Moe are about to scam some rich business prospects.  Can Shemp save his and the other two Stooges’ souls?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

There’s a cool Easter Egg for fans of The Jack Benny Program (and I am one!).  It involves a train going from heaven to earth and one of the stops is… “Cuc…..amonga.”

There’s mixed stories about a gag that went sideways.  A fountain pin flies across the room and sticks in the middle of Larry’s head.  The stunt misfired and actually did hit Larry’s head.  Some say that Moe was so made that he chased Jules White (the director) around the set.  Others say, Larry was stuck in the forehead, but Moe didn’t go after White.

Heavenly Daze (1948) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Fiddlers Three” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Fiddlers Three (1948)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent, Virginia Hunter, Philip Van Zandt and Al Thompson.

Tagline: Hilarity Reigns…when THE STOOGES make merry for Old King Cole!

The Plot…

Moe, Larry and Shemp are the famous “fiddlers three” for Old King Cole (Dent).  Our boys want to get married, but the King has ruled that until his daughter, Princess Alicia (Hunter) marries Prince Gallant III of Rhododendron there shall be no marriages allowed.  Working behind the scenes the diabolical magician Murgatroyd (Van Zandt) has his own plans of his own to marry the princess.  It will be up to our boys to foil Murgatroyd’s plans.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When Shemp hears that guards have kidnapped the Princess he says, “Let me at ’em, I’ll tear ’em limb from limb. Let me at ’em!”  Moe responds, “Well, what’s keeping you?”  Shemp, “Me.”

The Stooges would rework Fiddlers Three using plot elements and footage for the 1954 short Musty Musketeers.

Fiddlers Three (1948) rates 2 of 5 stars.