HBO's Camping Hits the Snooze Button

Camping
2018 | 30 Min | MA | Comedy | HBO


Creators: Lena Dunham, Jenni Konner

Stars: 

Jennifer Garner

David Tennant

Juliette Lewis

Synopsis:

A man's camping trip with his wife and friends spirals out of control. A U.S. adaptation of the British series, 'Camping'.

Camping should be a great show. The series has a phenomenal cast, and is the product of two writers, Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, who gave us the runaway hit "Girls". Unfortunately, Dunham and Konner weren’t able to duplicate their previous success.

There are good performances and sharp jokes embedded in this campfire story if you stick around long enough to appreciate them. One of the better (or not) is Juliette Lewis as she relishes the opportunity, to derail Garner's scheduled-to-death outing provide Camping with some of its energetic sequences. All though at times it is hard to understand what Lewis charter was trying to do she is clearly here to drive this truck even tho its a Garner vehicle and for me that was the problem. 

Jennifer Garner, bless her, commits to the character. She does her best to be the person who seems to vacuum up the joy in any space she inhabits. Kathryn needn’t be likable for Camping to succeed, of course, however, Kathryn is all sharp edges, with no warmth or vulnerability to ground her. Despite Garner’s best efforts, the premise that a group of people would willingly spend this much time with her borders on unbelievable, especially on a weekend that’s supposed to be a relaxing getaway in the woods. Aside from their child, it’s hard to understand why her husband (his birthday is the reason behind the trip) is still with her. She is selfish, controlling, and cruel, blaming her abrasiveness on chronic pain and myriad illnesses real and imagined. She invents medical excuses for the fact that she and her husband haven’t had sex for two years. and the sexual tension plays off as a downer and unwanted tension that I think was to play off as a joke.

The cast at least offers some welcome and occasionally humorous insight, mostly due to the unbridled hippie magnetism of Lewis. She gets Carleen to cut her extremely long hair, she offers dangerous pills to the already teetering Joe, she enthuses to Joe’s daughter that being gay means that she’s likely headed for a great sex life. All Kathryn offers are screeches and accusations and physical ailment descriptions that not only make the other characters tense, but she can also kick up the blood pressure of the viewer, and not in a good way. In fact, I want to ditch both of them and make it a bro getaway instead.

I really wanted to like Camping but it's a waste of a fine cast and a dull setting. One possible upside for the series is that Camping might inspire people to go camping themselves, just to get away from the TV for a while.

2 out of 5 Stars

Hi, Cruel World

Kidding
2018 | 30 Min | MA | Comedy | Showtime


Creator: Dave Holstein

Stars: 

Jim Carrey

Frank Langella

Judy Greer

Synopsis:

Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, is an icon of children's television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him - who also anchors a multimillion-dollar branding empire. But when this beloved personality's family - wife, two sons, sister, and father - begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through the crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope. The result: a kind man in a cruel world faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Right up until its final moments, Kidding, the Showtime series starring Jim Carrey as the Fred Rogers-esque Jeff Piccirillo (a.k.a. Mr. Pickles), brings back the dark comedy that has been missing through the past few years. The balance between the brightness of the show within the show, Mr. Pickles’ Puppet Time, and Jeff’s slow breakdown over the death of one of his sons and his subsequent separation from his wife is mostly weighted towards tenderness. The essence of the lessons Mr. Pickles teaches is simply to be good to each other.

Jim Carrey's Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless mind was always my favorite of his that finally drug me into is world and seeing him in a dark role was so financing. For me, Carrey is a much better actor in a Drama setting rather than his early comedy roles. And Kidding has you sucked into his sad dark mind from the first few minutes until the dark end of season one. 

Kidding, when it works, which isn’t always, wrestles with the difficulty of goodness and the strictures of persona, of having to pretend to be happy when you are so unhappy and the difficulty of treating other people and yourself decently when you are so sad. You owe it to yourself to "binge" your way through Showtimes Kidding as its a breath of fresh air.

4 out of 5 Stars

In Store K-Mart Christmas Music From 1974

Well, its here the Christmas Season is truly upon us. For most of you, the Christmas Music has grown old and every shopping outlet you step foot into has it blasting! So when I found this K-Mart loop on youtube for 1974 I could not wait to share it. So if you're not to sick of Christmas Music yet let this play in the background while you read up on those other blogs. And Merry Christmas everyone.

Naughty Christmas Funnies **Not Safe For Small Eyes**

Oh boy, I sure hope I do not need to go to confession after this one.

May you have had a blessed and chilled Christmas and remember to laugh a little.

Prince Of Peoria A Christmas Moose Miracle

Prince Of Peoria A Christmas Moose Miracle
2018 | 25 Min | G | Family | Netflix

Creators:

Devin Bunje

Nick Stanton
Stars:

 Gavin Lewis

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Theodore Barnes

Synopsis:

Teddy gets snowed in at a bowling alley, which may cause him to miss the Festival of Lights for the very first time. Fear not, though, because Emil "insists the Christmas moose will save the day.

Oh, Netflix next time you want to make a TV show about Peoria Illinois do some scouting will you? We just do not have mountains in this wonderful flat state. I know the Griswald'ss made the same mistake picking up a Christmas tree but come on now. Now don't get me wrong they get a lot right in fact the Festival of Lights Parade is one of the biggest of its kind in Illinois and we all take the trek to go see it but it's also in East Peoria. And to make my ears cringe more they drop a street name in the mix and again it is on the other side of town!! Ugh. Ok, I will stop knit picking A Christmas Moose Miracle is actually pretty good. 

For a Christmas special this one was done very well and can be watched on its own. We have watched a few episodes and its a neat show heck not to many shows take place just south of where I live so why not? You get a really cute story that is modeled after those Disney show formula that ends with an overload of sweetness. You can even grab your teens for this one I promise this one will have you believing in the Christmas Moose. 

3 Ninja Santa's out of 5

We Wish You A Merry Christmas 1994

We Wish You A Merry Christmas
1994 | 30 Min | Family | Perennial Pictures

Directors: 

Russ Harris

G. Brian Reynolds

Writers: 

Russ Harris

G. Brian Reynolds

Starring: Scott Tyring, Jerry Reynolds, Rachel Rutledge

Synopsis:

A turtle named Harold was unfortunate enough to be born without a shell. Because of this, despite having many talents because of his lack of one, every other turtle looks down upon him. As such, a vulture aptly named Monsieur Volture helps Harold get over his depression by finding him a shell, ultimately giving him an army helmet from the dump. But while this does gain Harold respect (While going under the uninspired alias, 'Bob'), things take a surprising turn when he finds himself needing to sacrifice his new identity to save a drowning child. As such, he gives up his new shell and rescues the kid, and while some of the citizens have trouble trusting him at first, they soon realized that what makes him different just helped him save a life. As such, Harold is finally accepted for who he is as it turns out this was Volture's plan all along.

Man how I love running into these little gems! The other night my daughter and I were just surfing the streaming sites for something a little different to keep the holiday spirit flowing. Thanks to Amazon we ran into We Wish You A Merry Christmas that originally premiered on Fox Family Channel in December 1996. The cartoon seems to be a bit of a spin on It's A Wonderful Life as good old Bob is sick of being different. 

With a heartwarming story, a few Christmas jingles sprinkled in the bulk of laughs come from Bob trying to find a shell to fit in. After setting on an Army Helmet Bob is instantly accepted into the turtle family. Bur quickly learns that he needs to accept himself the way he is. Sure it's a simple story but is delivered in such a cute way. If you have Amazon Prime check out this Christmas Special that I'm sure most of us missed.

With so much to like about We Wish You A Merry Christmas is hard not to add it to your seasonal viewing.

Bob, we give you 3 Ninja Santa's out of 5

2018 Xbox Year In Review

Man, I would have thought I played way more video games than 112 hours worth!? And it cracks me up that Stardew Valley was still my most played game last year I racked up over a hundred hours on that one alone. I guess in 2019 I better up my game playing.

And for RBI Baseball coming in second is so odd to me I really hated that game at first. Being a White Sox fan your team already stinks so it was super frustrating to play. I have since picked it up again to play a bit and the glitches seem to be fixed so you just might see this on next years list.  I do need to jump back into Graveyard Keeper that is a fun game.

So what kept you busy in 2018 and what do you plan on playing in 2019? 

He's been beaten, bullied, and burned... And that's just the beginning of his story

To Hell And Back: The Kane Hodder Story
2018 | NR | 1hr 48 min | Documentary | Epic Pictures

Director: Derek Dennis Herbert

Stars: 

Kane Hodder

Mike Aloisi

John Carl Buechler

The emotional story of Kane Hodder who survived a harrowing childhood and near-death accident to become one of the films biggest and most beloved horror icons.

Holy shit where do I begin? To Hell and Back is an incredibly harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying growing up. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. If one of the worlds strongest man does not bring you to tears watching his life story then you better check your heart.

I do not remember a time I have ever been this moved by a tragic story with a rather sweet outcome. I knew the story about how he was burned and how he overcame that but wow what he went through makes you wonder how he is alive today. But I never knew about the bullying when he was younger and that alone makes you choke up. Even my wife stopped what she was doing and was sucked into this man's life. 

Photo credit Blu-Ray.com

 

It certainly starts off as a horror fan's dream, giving viewers a montage of Hodder’s cinematic kills from Jason to 2008’s BTK and beyond. As a documentary its a very workable, talking-heads format. Hodder and guests are interviewed on some nice sets, but it stays true to its familiar documentary structure. However, it keeps you intrigued with some extra bits, like Hodder visiting locations from his past, his early roles, and so on. One of the best parts would be the fans talking about meeting him and how he would put you in a choke hold for your pictures. In fact, I will never forget when Steve met him and how he put Steve in a choke hold lifting him out of his power wheelchair! Steve as both scared and amazed. 

Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell, Robert Englund, and Cassandra Peterson, To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder and punches you in the gut and yet is one hell of an inspiring documentary. To Hell and Back is a uniquely human story about one of cinema's most vicious monsters. This is a must-see for fans of Kane, Horror, or Humanity!

5 Bloody Brains out of 5 a must watch!