Category: Trivia

The All-Time Best Comedies

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Matthew Jackson at Mental Floss posted his choices for The 30 Best Comedy Movies of All Time.  I’m a big fan of lists, more for the discussion they create than any definitive ranking.  Jackson’s list is what resonates with him.  My list, or your list would be different.

I’ve seen 23 of Jackson’s 30 listed films.  My favorites from his top 30 are Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.

Movies that didn’t make his list but would have made mine include…

  • Arsenic and Old Lace
  • Christmas Vacation
  • A Christmas Story
  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
  • The Great Race

And that’s just off the top of my head.

“Columbo: Prescription Murder” Trivia

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My wife and I are working our way through the Columbo series and really enjoying it. Columbo is experiencing a revival of sorts with the series running in several places and more social media posts about it.  I watched and enjoyed Columbo when it first aired, but it is all new to my wife.

Columbo first appeared in a tv movie in 1968.  It wasn’t until 3 years later that the series of Columbo tv movies started.  It then ran from 1971 – 1978; 1989 – 1995; 1997 – 1998, 2001; and 2003.

Getting back to the first Peter Falk Columbo: Prescription Murder, Me-TV takes a look at 7 Things You Never Noticed about the Columbo pilot, Prescription: Murder.  Here are my three favorite facts and thoughts about each…

  • Peter Falk does not appear until 30 minutes into the story.  (This is one of the things that made the Columbo series unique.  The star doesn’t appear until well into the movie and viewers know who the killer is.  What makes it fun is watching how Columbo figures it out. – Craig)
  • Lt. Columbo had more stylish footwear.  (At this point, Falk had not worked out all of Columbo’s unique traits – the crumpled, old raincoat, the scuffed shoes, his beat-up foreign car and more. – Craig)
  • This was not the first time Columbo had appeared on TV.  (Bert Freed first played Columbo in an episode of an anthology series.  Freed is probably best remembered from his role in Billy Jack or any of his dozens (and dozens) of guest appearances on popular tv shows from the 1950s through the 1980s.  – Craig)

The Best Boxing Movies of All-Time

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Christina Newland at Paste Magazine took on the monumental task of ranking The 50 Best Boxing Movies of All Time.  Her list is a pretty good one, including several lesser known films (and some silent movies).  Before you click over, here are her top five compared to mine (using just her list) and then some overall comments.

Newland

Zablo
1. Body and Soul (1947) 1. Rocky (1976)
2. Raging Bull (1980) 2. The Set-up (1949)
3. Rocky (1976) 3. Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
4. Fat City (1962) 4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. The Set-up (1949) 5. Rocky Balboa (2006)

Most folks know of my appreciation of the Rocky series so I thought it only right that my best boxing movies using Newland’s list, start and end with Rocky movies.

Looking at Newland’s top five – Usually the top spot in boxing movie lists is held by either Rocky or Raging Bull, so I give her props for picking Body and Soul.  That’s a good film, but it wouldn’t make my top five.

All of my top five are films I can watch and re-watch.  Outside of the Stallone films, I’ve probably watched The Set-Up the most.  It is such a great movie, if you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend you give it a view.

“Smokey and the Bandit” – Trivia

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The fine folks at Me-TV posted 8 Quick Facts about Smokey and the Bandit.  Before you click over… Smokey and the Bandit holds a special place for me… 

First, it’s a funny movie.  You’ve got Burt Reynolds (the #1 box office star of the time), Jackie “the Great One” Gleason and Sally (ain’t she just too cute) Field in a silly car chase movie that works every time if you’re looking for a good time.

Second, it brings back tons of great memories.  Here’s one – my now deceased brother-in-law, loved Smokey and the Bandit. Randy could do a hilarious impersonation of Jackie Gleason as Bufford T. Justice.  If you could have been there the night he ordered a Diablo Sandwich and a Dr. Pepper and “make it fast cuz I’m in a gol-darn hurry” — we, along with the waitress couldn’t stop laughing… which of course just encouraged him to continue.

And here are my three favorite Smokey and the Bandit facts with my thoughts…

It was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite movie.  I find this hard to believe, but if true, I’d loved to have had the chance to watch and then discuss Smokey and the Bandit with him!

It was based on real life.  I’d read before that Sherriff Buford T. Justice’s name was based on a real police officer’s name.  Can you imagine?

It beat Star Wars at the box office. The caveat is that this was just for one week and Smokey and the Bandit was in over ten times as many theaters.  But, still it did win for the week. (And I actually prefer Smokey and the Bandit to Star Wars!)

 

Horror Movies to Amp Up Your Heart Rate! (“It’s the big one, Elizabeth!”)

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Michele Debczak at Mental Floss posted the results of a survey to determine The 10 Horror Movies That Are Most Likely to Get Your Heart Racing.  I thought this was an interesting angle to look at horror movies.  Here’s how they got their list…

To compile their list of the most terrifying horror flicks, GIGACalculator.com showed movies to 150 first-time viewers while tracking their heart rates. The film selection was determined by a survey of 2500 self-proclaimed horror fanatics prior to the study.

Before you click over for the full story, here are the rankings of the top ten compared to how I would rate them.

Michele Debczak

Craig

1. Hereditary (2018)

1. The Descent (2005)

2. Saw (2004)

2. A Quiet Place (2018)

3. The Babadook (2014)

3. Us (2019)

4. Insidious (2010)

4. Saw (2004)

5. A Quiet Place (2018)

5. The Exorcist (1973)

6. The Descent (2005)

6. Insidious (2010)

7. Us (2019)

7. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

8. It (2017)

8. It (2017)

9. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

9. The Babadook (2014)

10. The Exorcist (1973)

*. Hereditary (2018)

* I haven’t seen Heredity so I didn’t include it in my list.

I’m surprised John Carpenter’s The Thing didn’t make the list.

Kurt Russell Trivia!

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Photo by Gage Skidmore

Jake Rosen at Mental Floss presents 8 Fascinating Facts About Kurt Russell.  Here are three of my favorites…

2. KURT RUSSELL PASSED UP A CHANCE TO BE IN STAR WARS TO DO A TELEVISION WESTERN. (Since he hadn’t been offered either of the Star Wars roles he was up for, he made the right decision.  A bird in the hand… – Craig)

5. KURT RUSSELL WAS PAID TWICE HIS GOING RATE FOR STARGATE BECAUSE HE WAS CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE TO DISLIKE.  (Who doesn’t like Kurt Russell?  I went to see Stargate and didn’t particularly like it.  I went because I like Russell, so it was money well-spent by the Stargate producers. – Craig)

6. KURT RUSSELL MAY HAVE STEALTH-DIRECTED TOMBSTONE. (Turns out that Russell may have directed Tombstone the way that Stallone directed Rambo, First Blood: Part Two! – Craig)

“The Descent” – Trivia for this Under-rated Horror Movie!

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Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects reminded me of a very good and very under-rated horror movie with his piece, 21 Things We Learned from ‘The Descent‘ Commentary.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each…

10. Claustrophobia is a big aspect of the film’s fear, but Marshall had no clue how many people were affected by it until he started showing the film to audiences. (My wife does have a bit of claustrophobia and it was getting to her.  I don’t have any issues with closed in places and it was also getting to me! – Craig)

14. The sequence where the women see the crawler for the first time, via the night vision camera, was actually their first real glimpse of the creature. Marshall had kept the performers separate so the women wouldn’t see the costumed beasts beforehand. They had the lights off and brought the performer in, and then revealed him as the visibility returned — it went over well with screaming and running on the part of the cast.  (The Descent has one of the best monster reveals! You’ll love it! – Craig)

19. The young performer playing the “child” crawler also plays a child zombie in 28 Days Later (2002). (That kid has two of the best films of the decade on his/her resume! – Craig)

The All-Time Best Final Horror Movie Scares

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Valerie Ettenhofer at Film School Rejects came up with The 10 Best Final Scares in Horror Movie History.  I looked at her list at came up with my top three:

  • Carrie (1976):  I saw Carrie at a midnight movie with my girlfriend.  I thought the movie was over except for the credits when Carrie’s hand reached out of the grave and grabbed her friend.  I came out of my seat and am pretty sure I let out a yell.  Not my most macho moment.
  • Friday the 13th (1980): Another late night movie, but this time I was watching alone.  My wife was in bed asleep and I was on the couch and it was well past midnight.  I thought the movie was over, again except for the credits.  I walked over to turn off the tv (no remote in those days – at least for us) and the kid/monster came out of the water to grab the girl.  I backed up so fast you’d have thought it was reaching through the tv for me.
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): I saw this on cable and thought it was ok.  I like the original a lot better, but I have to give credit to the final scare.  It still gives me chills to think about it.

The All-Time Best TV Bromances

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The fine folks at Me-TV decided to take a look at The 10 most timeless TV bromances that all friends should aspire to.   Their list was a good one.  Sadly it is no longer available. 

But we still have three favorites from their list (and my thoughts), followed by some that didn’t make the cut but should have.

  • James T. Kirk and Spock – ‘Star Trek‘ came in at number 8.  I would have put them in the #1 spot.  Kirk and Spock’s friendship was never in doubt despite them often having different points of view.  Probably the most “equal” friends on the list.
  • Andy Taylor and Barney Fife – ‘The Andy Griffith Show‘ came in at #4 and would have gotten my #2 spot.  Another great example of male friendship.
  • Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton – “The Honeymooners”  got the top spot on the Me-TV list.  Ralph and Ed were great friends although Ralph wasn’t above taking advantage of Ed when it served him best.

Here are some bromances that I would have included…

  • James West and Artemus Gordon – “The Wild, Wild West” would have been in my #1 or #2 spot.  
  • Matt Dillion and Festus Hagen – “Gunsmoke“.
  • Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza – “Seinfeld“.
  • Walter White and Jesse Pinkman – “Breaking Bad“.
  • Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter – “The Big Bang Theory“.
  • Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali – “The Big Bang Theory“.

Who did I miss?

Ranking Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Sci-Fi Movie!

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Phil Pirrello at Syfy.com took on the task to Rank Every Sci-Fi Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie.  I decided to play along.  Below is the chart comparing our rankings and some thoughts after.

Phil Pirrello

Craig

9. Terminator: Salvation (2009)

** Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

8. Terminator: Genisys (2015)

8. The Running Man (1987)

7. The Sixth Day (2000)

7. The Sixth Day (2000)

6. The Running Man (1987)

6. Terminator: Salvation (2009)

5. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

5. Terminator: Genisys (2015)

4. Predator (1987)

4. Total Recall (1990)

3. Total Recall (1990)

3. The Terminator (1984)

2. The Terminator (1984)

2. Predator (1987)

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  • I haven’t seen Terminator: Dark Fate, yet so I didn’t include it in the ratings.
  • I was surprised The Running Man rated so high for Phil.  I’m not a fan of it.
  • Seems neither of us are fans of The Sixth Day.
  • I was surprised Phil didn’t rate Predator higher.
  • I almost rated Terminator at #2 and Predator at #3.

Update: Craig’s Medical Emergency

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I went to my doctor/surgeon for a follow-up this morning.  Originally, I was scheduled to go in tomorrow, but one of my incisions started to look infected so, he brought me in a day early.  My vitals (blood pressure, temperature, oxygen levels) were all great.

So was the incision.  There were no signs of infection.  The doctor said that what we thought was infection was just a material expected to be found in surgical recovery wounds.  He removed the drainage tube from my side.  I felt like I was in a magic act when he took it out – he kept pulling and pulling until a tube about 1 1/2 – 2 feet long was removed from my side!

My doctor said that he has shared my charts, scans, etc. with a few other doctors and they agreed that it was lucky that I had not been sent home with meds.  One of the doctors with 30 years experience said he would have definitely sent me home based on the evidence they were seeing.  That could have proven fatal!  Hopefully, this will help others in a similar circumstance in the future.

The doctor said I am recovering at a great pace.  I won’t have to see him again unless something develops.  Fingers crossed that won’t happen.  So this should be my last medical update.  Thanks again for all the prayers and kind thoughts.  I hope to be back to full interaction on the site and message boards soon.

best,

Craig

Craig’s Medical Emergency

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I was admitted to the emergency room on Sunday, September 20th at 7pm after suffering from excruciating stomach pain for five hours.  It didn’t take long before I was given a room and they began to poke, prod, administer blood tests and scans to determine the cause of my pain. 

This went on until Tuesday morning.  Results showed my white blood cell count was high, but scans were inconclusive as to the exact problem.  It could be my gall bladder, an ulcer, diverticulosis, or something else.  The meds they gave me to control pain helped for about three hours, but another dose couldn’t come for five hours.  I hadn’t ate (ok, since I had no appetite) or drank (I would have loved some water) since Sunday afternoon.  The reason for no food or water was in case I needed to be rushed to surgery.

I met with my doctor who said that they couldn’t determine the exact cause of the issue but were leaning towards the gallbladder.  There were two courses of action to consider:  1) Continue to bring down the infection and control the pain through medication.  When appropriate I would be released to go home to continue with the meds.  I would follow-up regularly with his office and then when things were clear we would move forward to remove the gallbladder.   2)  Go in now and remove the gallbladder.

He was leaning towards the first option but wanted to consult with a colleague with more experience. 

When my doctor returned from his consultation his opinion had changed.  Due to the intense pain, white blood count, etc., it was probably best to go ahead and remove the gallbladder.  I was all for it.  The doctor said that since the scans didn’t show any trouble spots things should go smoothly.  If they did, the surgery would be done arthroscopy and take about one and a half hours.

A little over three hours later I came out of surgery.  When the doctor got in he discovered that my gallbladder had basically exploded,  That was why nothing was showing up on the scans!  Gangrene had set in.  That is why the surgery took so long.  He said he had done over 500 gallbladder operations and mine was in the top three worst.

I seemed to be on a fairly quick road to recovery once out of surgery.  My white blood cell count returned to normal and the pain was what you’d expect from surgery.

I’m home now and feeling better day by day.  I’ve got a drainage tube in my side and there is still discomfort from movement.  I can’t sleep in my bed and it’s hard to get comfortable but those are minor complaints compared to where I was.  I return to the doctor for a check-up on Thursday and I’ll keep you posted.   

Thank each of you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers.  

COLUMBO: “Just One More Thing…”

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Not quite two weeks ago I posted that my wife and I had been watching and enjoying Columbo.  We still are.  It seems that many of the folks who stop by here have a fondness for Columbo as well.  One of them, Papa Stas, even directed me to a site called The Columbophile: The blog for those who LOVE Lieutenant Columbo.

The Columbophile has everything that a Columbo fan would want including an episode guide, episode rankings, Columbo facts, links to resources including where you can view full episodes, gifts and more!  Before you click over, let me share three of the facts I learned while there…

  • Peter Falk won 4 Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Lieutenant Columbo in 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1990.
  • In 1997, Murder by the Book was ranked at No. 16 in TV Guide‘s ‘100 Greatest Episodes of All Time’ list. Two years later, the magazine ranked Lieutenant Columbo No. 7 on its ’50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time’ list.
  • Peter Falk had a sometimes fractious relationship with Universal. During the filming of Season 1, and believing the studio was trying to renege on an agreement to let him direct an episode, Falk was even barred from the set. Filming of Dead Weight and Lady in Waiting was affected.

The Best Action Film for Each Year of the 1980s!

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Ben Sherlock at ScreenRant decided to take on the task of determining The Best Action Movie From Each Year In The ’80s and then he ranked them.  Ben’s list is a good one and it got me thinking about the best action movie I’d choose for each year in the 80s.  So here we go…

  • 1980:  The Empire Strikes Back.  This one surprised me since I’m not a big Star Wars fan.  Truthfully, there wasn’t a lot of competition for the 1980 title and I ended up going with Ben’s choice.

  • 1981: The Road Warrior.  Ben selected Raiders of the Lost Ark.  1981, was for me, one of the toughest years of the decade because we had so many films in the running.  I considered Raiders, of course, but I also looked at Escape from New York and Nighthawks before deciding on The Road Warrior.  All of the others had merit and are great films, but for pure action, give me The Road Warrior.
  • 1982: First Blood.  Ben and I agreed again.  First Blood it is

  • 1983: Sudden Impact.  Again, Ben and I agree.  I was surprised because going in, I didn’t think that Sudden Impact would be my top action film for the year, but 1983 wasn’t a strong year for action films.  Sudden Impact is good, but not great, yet it still got out votes.

  • 1984: Terminator.  Again, Ben and I agree.  The only other contender in my view was Red Dawn and Terminator is so much better.

  • 1985: Rambo: First Blood, Part II.  Ben went with Jackie Chan’s Police Story.  I considered it as well as Commando and Runaway Train but ultimately went with Sly Stallone returning as John Rambo.

  • 1986: Aliens.  Ben and I are back on the same page.  Aliens was so amazing, how could any other film get the nod?

  • 1987: Lethal Weapon.  Ben went with Robocop.  I considered that and Predator.  1987 was a tough year with three great action films but ultimately I went with Lethal Weapon.

  • 1988: Die Hard.  Ben and I agreed that Die Hard was the best for 1988.

  • 1989: Lethal Weapon 2.  Again Ben and I were on the same page.

  So Ben and I agreed on 7 of the 10 films.  I’d be curious as to how many you agreed with and were there films you would have picked that I didn’t even consider?  Comments below!

“Yakuza” Starring Robert Mitchum

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Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects presents 35 Things We Learned from Sydney Pollack’s The Yakuza Commentary.  I like the Yakuza and think it was ahead of its time as far as the subject matter.  Having a legend like Robert Mitchum as your star doesn’t hurt either.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorite comments…

He (Director Sydney Pollack) loved Brian Keith and describes him as a sadly underrated actor for most of his life.

(I 100% agree.  Growing up I just knew Brian Keith from the tv sitcom Family Affair where he played good old Uncle Bill.  It wasn’t until I became an adult and started seeing Keith in westerns and crime movies that I realized his talent.  – Craig)

He (Director Sydney Pollack) was concerned that American audiences “don’t really like to read subtitles,” and Warner Bros. was hoping he could avoid using them all together.

(I think that subtitles, so you can hear the natural dialogue, adds  depth to a film.  Would The Godfather or Godfather II lost something without them?  I think they would have.  – Craig)

“He was capable of a lot,” says Pollack about Mitchum, “but you had to push him.” He thinks the actor, who often referred to himself as “an actress,” didn’t consider himself to be all the good without being ridden hard. “He was a real mule. He would give you what you wanted, but you had to beat him.”

(Mitchum comes off as a tough guy in film and I think that was just a reflection of his true life persona.  I also think that he and guys like Bogart felt that acting wasn’t a manly profession, but it was their calling. – Craig)