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FRANCHISE ME - Discussion Thread - Page 3

post #101 of 311

I would read the shit out of a HOME ALONE Franchise Me, phlegm-wad!

post #102 of 311

Do both.  It's not like you need to eat or sleep or anything....

post #103 of 311
Thread Starter 

Actually, if I followed Muppets with HOME ALONE I could indeed also do SNDN. Or visa versa.

 

Though SNDN is getting pretty fringe. Not a single entry in the franchise is available Netflix. Is that too obscure?

post #104 of 311

No more obscure than Leprechaun (in terms of Netflix availability) and we loved the hell out of that run.  I say go for it.

post #105 of 311

You know I'm pretty sure when I was a kid (like 7 or 8) I read a non-goosebumps R.L. Stine book called Silent Night, Deadly Night 2, but I can't seem to find anything about it anywhere. Is it connected to the movies or did two dudes just have the same great wordplay idea?

post #106 of 311

Would you entertain the thought of a guest and do the GHOSTBUSTERS franchise with me?

post #107 of 311
Thread Starter 

Not entirely sure what yooz mean. ???

post #108 of 311
Thread Starter 
post #109 of 311

The best thing about Muppets from Space is this clip

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F40E5MBEU8

post #110 of 311
Thread Starter 

That's homophobic!

 

I kid.

post #111 of 311

Yeah, I thought Pepe got annoying in some of the TV movies, but here he's definitely a highlight. As usual, you're dead-on about what works about the movie and what doesn't. Incidentally, the show Pepe and Bobo debuted in, Muppets Tonight, actually had some solid episodes. It was an ultimately failed attempt to resurrect the Muppet Show for the 90s, but it was still pretty funny, and the guest stars were ridiculously game for anything (even Garth Brooks managed to be a highlight when they made him do Tevye).

 

Also, did you enjoy Hulk Hogan's ridiculous cameo as much as I did?

post #112 of 311
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Spider View Post

Also, did you enjoy Hulk Hogan's ridiculous cameo as much as I did?


As someone who stopped following pro-wrestling around 1990, I was more confused than anything. I had to look him up on-line to learn that he was briefly changed into a villain.

post #113 of 311

Even if you aren't going to do a write-up on it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Muppet Wizard of Oz and Kermit's Swamp Years.

 

Anyway, I agree, Muppets From Space is extremely half-baked and it's no wonder that everything they've done until now has ended up on TV or gone DTV.

post #114 of 311

Eh, I don't really follow pro wrestling either, but I was still delighted to see his delightfully hammy persona.

post #115 of 311
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken View Post

Even if you aren't going to do a write-up on it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Muppet Wizard of Oz and Kermit's Swamp Years.

 

Anyway, I agree, Muppets From Space is extremely half-baked and it's no wonder that everything they've done until now has ended up on TV or gone DTV.


Never saw SWAMP YEARS. I watched part of OZ when it aired, but didn't finish it. You already know my feelings about having a human protagonist. I mean, structurally, like LABYRINTH, the OZ story lends itself naturally to having a human enter a puppet world, but well, let's just say that Ashanti is no Jennifer Connely (a controversial opinion, I know). But I can't give an informed opinion on it, as I only watched enough to determine I'd rather watch something else. This Franchise Me has gotten me interested in revisiting a lot of the Henson Company stuff I missed, but when this came out I'd pretty resoundingly given up on the franchise.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Spider View Post

Eh, I don't really follow pro wrestling either, but I was still delighted to see his delightfully hammy persona.


He is delightful. I would've preferred to see Piggy fight him instead of Josh Charles.

 

post #116 of 311

The fuck is Josh Charles anyway?

post #117 of 311
Thread Starter 

He was on SPORTS NIGHT. The Aaron Sorkin thing before WEST WING.

 

The celebs in MUPPETS FROM SPACE leave something to be desired, for sure.

 

 

post #118 of 311

Ah, I see. As far as celebs in Muppets from Space go, Jeffrey Tambor and Hulk Hogan are certainly the highlights (although Tambor's not really a "cameo"). But then Tambor has the ability to steal anything he appears in.

post #119 of 311
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joshua Miller View Post


 


Never saw SWAMP YEARS. I watched part of OZ when it aired, but didn't finish it. You already know my feelings about having a human protagonist. I mean, structurally, like LABYRINTH, the OZ story lends itself naturally to having a human enter a puppet world, but well, let's just say that Ashanti is no Jennifer Connely (a controversial opinion, I know). But I can't give an informed opinion on it, as I only watched enough to determine I'd rather watch something else. This Franchise Me has gotten me interested in revisiting a lot of the Henson Company stuff I missed, but when this came out I'd pretty resoundingly given up on the franchise.

 

Yeah, Oz is pretty atrocious.  I was surprised to find that I actually liked Swamp Years when I caught it on TV last summer.  It is by no means a great movie, but it wasn't bad either.

post #120 of 311
Thread Starter 
post #121 of 311

Awesome review, Joshua. I can't wait to see this once it hits my shores.

 

So what's next on your hit list? Twilight? Ninja Turtles? The Crow?

post #122 of 311

He says HOME ALONE at the end.

 

I presume this will include the straight-to-television fourth film? Or are we neglecting television?

My memory is foggy, but I understand a lot of people associated with the third film went on to much better things, so I would be intrigued about that.

 

Also, throw in a future vote for BEETHOVEN.

post #123 of 311
Thread Starter 

Oo, TMNT would make for a good Franchise Me. I'm doing HOME ALONE next, for Xmas funzies.

post #124 of 311

Recently watched Home Alone with a bunch of friends during a potluck.  Ahhh, memories.  I still kinda love the movie.  It was probably the first movie I went to go see MULTIPLE times at the theater during its lengthy theatrical run. 

Not a great start for a movie fan, eh?  Hahahahah

 

Watching it again, I was struck by how pretty the film is.  For a movie that wasn't HOOOOME ALOOOOONE when it was first being made, it's a handsome early 90s production.  The nice hazy glow that most of the film has (on the blu-ray transfer anyway) have the effect of softening the arguably harsh Christmas colors.

 

Or maybe I'm letting John Williams' fantastic score color the whole thing.

 

Wow... TMNT and Home Alone?  Joshua's really going to hit me in my nostalgia-spot.

post #125 of 311

I can't re-watch those movies without thinking of the brain damage bills racked up by those poor Wet Bandits. They seriously got fucked up. Even as a kid, there was a point where I was like, "Enough, Kevin."

post #126 of 311

Hahahahah, that kind of concern NEVER crossed my mind.  It was all a cartoon to me.

 

Favorite pain?  When the little white ornament explodes under Daniel Stern's feet as he tries to slowly make his way out of the corner where the tree is.

post #127 of 311

"Home Alone" is a good choice. Was Ebert the only other person who thought the third one was pretty good? It was funny watching Siskel's shocked disgust when Ebert said this was the one "that finally got it right". Didn't seem likely after it recast Culkin and the villains. Whatever the flaws of the first two were, Culkin's star presence clearly carried them.

 

I don't remember it at all now, but I know I dug the third installment the one time I saw it. I think one thing I appreciated was more eclectic villains (including a woman!) since Harry and Marv were really stale after two movies. Also, I think the traps weren't quite as extreme, and therefore more fun to watch. Some of the shit that happened to Harry and Marv was fucking brutal.

post #128 of 311

Lightweights, all of yas!

post #129 of 311

Not ashamed to admit the Roberts Blossom moment in the church in Home Alone still stabs me in the goddamned heart every time. Fuck you so very much, John Williams.

 

Only thing I remember standing out from Home Alone too is a sorta-brilliant transition between the Grinch cartoon, and Tim Curry's diabolical grin.

 

Bring that series on.

 

On topic though, thank goodness Im not the only one whose heart just fucking shattered during that moment where Fozzy asks Kermit if everything's going to be okay. Still the best moment in that film.

 

Great writeups on all of these, Joshua.

post #130 of 311

You know what I noticed for the FIRST TIME while seeing it this Thanksgiving?  In all the times I've seen Home Alone in my lifetime, I had never noticed that Kevin had that tiny TV in the kitchen (that he used to play Angels With Filthy Souls) connected to two (relatively) HUGE speakers on each side of it. 

 

So weird that I never noticed that.

post #131 of 311

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Naisu Baddi View Post
Some of the shit that happened to Harry and Marv was fucking brutal.


By the end of the second one, Kevin is throwing bricks off a building at their heads.

 

I do NOT understand who that is funny to.

post #132 of 311

I laughed when I was a kid, but the bricks in the 2nd one definitely came across as too brutal.  Even with the cartoony tone, what is clever about simply hurling bricks with deadly accuracy?  At least paint-cans swinging on a rope has some resemblance to a cartoon.

post #133 of 311
Thread Starter 

A charming tale about a violent little boy who wishes his family dead on Xmas.

 

http://www.chud.com/75720/franchise-me-home-alone/

post #134 of 311

Its funny how this one felt all 'warm and cartoony' whereas the second one really took on a bit of a mean-streak to it (I remember the traps in the second one being much more violent and painful looking)

post #135 of 311

Sorry, but I want to subject you to The Crow franchise. Do eet. 

post #136 of 311

Yet another stellar entry!  I can't wait to read your take on Home Alone 2.

post #137 of 311

Weird. None of the violence Home Alone 2 came off as anything but hilarious to me. I think I may have found the brick throwing part the funniest thing about it when I was a kid. I found Pesci branding his hand on the doorknob in part 1 to be much more brutal. Other than Ebert throwing a hissyfit at the time this is the first I've heard of anyone thinking it was too much.

 

I think I might even prefer two to one, if I'm being totally honest. Tim Curry and the Angels with Even Filthier Souls bit put it just slightly ahead. A shame they couldn't get Culkin to do a third one. They could have turned this into a Bond type franchise with a different locale each film. Maybe a crossover movie with Dutch? The possibilities were endless!

post #138 of 311

I think it was mostly the Electrocution part that got to me. Its been a long time since I saw it but I remember thinking 'wow..this is a bit of a jump from the first one'. Still cartoonish for sure.

post #139 of 311
Thread Starter 
post #140 of 311

I truly believe that this is the most articulate piece of writing on Home Alone 2 in existence!

 

hehehehe

 

I love that you went back to the issue of the wealth of the McCallisters.  But really, everything is great stuff.

 

I don't have any desire to revisit this one.  I watched the first two movies a couple of years ago, and I found Culkin's performance to be UNBEARABLE.  I wanted to kill him.  And really, he doesn't do anything significantly different from the first movie.  It's just that the same performance became obnoxious when delivered from a slightly older/bigger Culkin.  What felt genuine (if still mannered) in the first movie now felt like a feature-length performance that belonged in a soup ad.

post #141 of 311

As a kid I remember really liking this. To the point where I stole my sisters 'talk back' or whatever that mic thing Kevin had was called. Now, not as much. The first is still great, but this one doesn't age nearly as well.

 

Oh and one point though, I think the whole 900 dollars on room service bit, was meant to mean that Kevin had been piling up the room service on credit (to make it seem as though kevin just thought it was all free or something), without realizing it. It could play either way, but that's how I always read it.

 

 

post #142 of 311
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Jarvie View Post

Oh and one point though, I think the whole 900 dollars on room service bit, was meant to mean that Kevin had been piling up the room service on credit (to make it seem as though kevin just thought it was all free or something), without realizing it. It could play either way, but that's how I always read it.

 

 


I think that is an entirely legit reading. They don't show us precisely what he's thinking either way. Though my point was more about the below the surface implications if one actually stops and starts to think about the movie. He knew the hotel itself cost money. He gets what a credit card is, even if maybe not what room service is. This is the problem with Kevin as a character in the second film, the clumsy balance they're trying to maintain between him being an adorable clueless kid getting by with luck and being a smart-beyond-his-years kid who knows the score and is outwitting adults.

 

post #143 of 311

And in HOME ALONE 3, they try and return to the wholesome tone of HOME ALONE 1, but they aim everything at toddlers and tone the violence down, which made it a very painful thing to sit through. 

 

A better HOME ALONE 3 might have been this: Kevin, an up and coming criminal in his mid 30's, has to commit one more robbery to get enough money to flee town.  The house he breaks into is in a rich neighborhood with only a 10 year old boy inside. Should be easy pickings for Kevin, but there's a catch...  He's robbing the house of his own son-- the son he never knew he had with the Pigeon Lady from HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK.  Zaniness ensues.

 

 

post #144 of 311

I won't be surprised at all if we see a Home Alone reboot/sequel in the next few years focusing on an adult Kevin and his inevitably misplaced son.

post #145 of 311

I agree.  It's only a matter of time before the studio turns its eye to this franchise as a potential reboot success.

post #146 of 311

I always liked Phantasm 3's take on this series.

post #147 of 311
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sequelcast View Post

And in HOME ALONE 3, they try and return to the wholesome tone of HOME ALONE 1, but they aim everything at toddlers and tone the violence down, which made it a very painful thing to sit through. 

 

A better HOME ALONE 3 might have been this: Kevin, an up and coming criminal in his mid 30's, has to commit one more robbery to get enough money to flee town.  The house he breaks into is in a rich neighborhood with only a 10 year old boy inside. Should be easy pickings for Kevin, but there's a catch...  He's robbing the house of his own son-- the son he never knew he had with the Pigeon Lady from HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK.  Zaniness ensues.

 

 


I say instead of criminals, he has to defend his house against Romero-style zombies.

 

post #148 of 311

This is Peter McCallister.  THUH FAAAAAAAAATHERRRR.

 

CREDIT CARD?  YOOOOOU GAAAAAAWT ITI!

 

 

post #149 of 311

Before everyone starts fanfictioning the place up and someone writes that rule 34 required Wet Bandits slash piece, I wanted to jump in and once again congratulate you on a great column. I had honestly never given that much thought about the material wealth of the McCallister family, but in retrospect is a very interesting way of looking at it. Well done!

post #150 of 311
Thread Starter 
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