Category Archives: Seth Green

1999 Films, Adventure, Burt Bacharach, Camp, Charles Napier, Comedy, Elizabeth Hurley, Elvis Costello, Fred Willard, Heather Graham, Jay Roach, Jennifer Coolidge, Jerry Springer, Kevin Durand, Kristen Johnston, Michael York, Mike Myers, Mindy Sterling, Rebecca Romijn, Rob Lowe, Robert Wagner, Satire, Seth Green, Steve Wilkos, Tim Robbins, Verne Troyer, Will Ferrell, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me-1999

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Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me-1999

Director Jay Roach

Starring Mike Meyers, Heather Graham, Michael York

Scott’s Review #1,454

Reviewed December 7, 2024

Grade: C

The silly comedy franchise Austin Powers, which gripped the nation in the late 1990s, never tickled me pink like it did so many others. International Man of Mystery debuted in 1997 and provided a smirk or two, but the follow-up ran out of gas by using more or less the same schtick as the first in the series.

I’ll never forget people mimicking taglines like ‘Yeah, baby’ to delightful laughter during this time, which I found more irritating than humorous.

Mike Meyers is talented and gives his all in the title role and two others. He infuses his natural comic talents into ridiculous, over-the-top, loud characters. He also does triple duty and portrays the main villain and henchman.

He deserves props for solid performances with mediocre writing.

Poor Heather Graham, excellent as ‘roller girl’ in Paul Thomas Anderson’s brilliant Boogie Nights (1997), is reduced to a scantily clad love interest. Besides being eye candy, her character has little worth to offer, undoubtedly frustrating to the then-rising star.

The film isn’t a total failure since the visuals and makeup are to be admired. Colorful sets and groovy designs replicate the 1960s in zany design, making watching the film better than listening to it.

It also serves as a modest treat for James Bond fans since the satire and parodies give credence.

Jay Roach, the director, must have advised his actors to perform as outrageously as possible, especially Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, and Mindy Sterling, and Meyers does so on his own.

Blessedly, the running time is one hour and thirty-five minutes.

In the second installment, British super spy Austin Powers (Meyers) must return to 1969, as arch-nemesis Dr. Evil (Meyers) has ventured back to that year and successfully stolen Austin’s “mojo,” set up a powerful laser and aimed it at Earth.

With the help of gorgeous agent Felicity Shagwell (Graham), the newly single Austin must now contend not only with Dr. Evil but also Evil’s vicious, pint-size attack clone, Mini-Me (Verne Troya).

The point of the franchise is to spoof the legendary James Bond series while incorporating a Swinging London, free-love vibe, which on paper sounds good. However, the situations play more like sketch comedy or Saturday Night Live setups than a flowing screenplay.

Even the title greedily borrows the title of the 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me Bond film.

As with many comedy or romantic comedy films, screenwriters Mike Meyers and Michael McCullers desperately incorporate bathroom humor and countless sly sex sequences for laughs.

Also, keeping with a popular theme of comedy films, celebrity cameos run rampant. Jerry Springer, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, and others appear as themselves.

I like the Bond references and themes the best, but the jokes mostly don’t work.

To its credit, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) is not as bad as its follow-up, Goldmember (2002), but the gags fall flat most of the way.

Oscar Nominations: Best Makeup

2016 Films, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Andrew Bowen, Anthony Scott Burns, Ashley Greene, Ava Acres, Dennis Widmyer, Gary Shore, Horror, Jocelin Donahue, Kevin Kölsch, Kevin Smith, Lorenza Izzo, Madeleine Coghlan, Michael Gross, Nicholas McCarthy, Ruth Bradley, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart, Seth Green, Sophie Traub

Holidays-2016

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Holidays-2016

Director Anthony Scott Burns, Miscellaneous

Starring Jocelin Donohue, Sophie Traub, Seth Green

Scott’s Review #460

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Reviewed August 7, 2016

Grade: A-

While perusing my Netflix streaming new release options, I stumbled upon an intriguing choice with an interesting premise.

Eight horror vignettes are all set in a holiday theme named Holidays (2016). The description of the stories harkens back to the days of the beloved Showtime Masters of Horrors series (2005-2007) that featured macabre horror shorts.

Not all eight offerings are spectacular, but the ones that stand out are dynamic, if not creepy.

Set in chronological order, Holidays begins with a story centered on Valentine’s Day- a clear homage to the horror classic Carrie (1976).

A taunted female teenager nicknamed “Maxi-Pad” by her cruel nemesis is encouraged to dive into the high school pool by her male coach to retrieve a brick, presumably to conquer her fear of swimming or water.

The coach, who Maxi is in love with, requires a heart transplant, so Maxi goes to morbid lengths to assist him and exact revenge on her tormentor.

In Father’s Day, a young female teacher receives a mysterious cassette tape from her long-estranged father, leading her on an adventure in an abandoned area to locate her father, wonderfully voiced by actor Michael Gross.

The audiotape’s voice tones and static sound add to the intrigue and suspense of the story.

Along with the Valentine’s Day story, the Christmas and New Year’s Eve segments are my favorites, as each is exceptional and creative.

On Christmas Eve, a young father (Seth Green) attempts to buy his son the last virtual reality device, but when he leaves a stranger to die to obtain it, he becomes haunted by the device.

On New Year’s Eve, a male serial killer looks for his next victim, a lonely woman desperate for an online date, but once they return to her house for sex, who becomes the hunter, and who becomes the victim?

Other holidays featured in stories that are either too bizarre to make perfect sense or less compelling but still worth mentioning are St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, and Halloween.

I adore this film’s clever holiday theme. I wonder which holiday will come next and how it will be incorporated into the story. It is terrific fun.

Specifically, the Christmas story reminds me of a classic Twilight Zone episode in which the main character betrays an unknown stranger for personal gain, which leads to guilt and conflict.

A few of the stories focus on the traditions of the featured holidays, like the legendary snakes of St. Patrick’s Day or the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, as a frightened young girl becomes terrified of the folklore involved.

This is incorporated with the legend of the Easter bunny delivering candy, as the confused girl cannot separate fairy tales from reality. This makes me wonder if the director’s point was to question the silliness of religion if one dissects it enough.

Other themes are revenge, as in the Halloween and Valentine’s Day episodes.  Both feature bullying in one way or another, each getting their due in the end.

I wish more anthologies like Holidays (2016) were made, as watching this feature was a fascinating, late-night joy.

2014 Films, Adventure, Benicio del Toro, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Djimon Hounsou, Glenn Close, Gregg Henry, James Gunn, John C. Reilly, Josh Brolin, Ralph Ineson, Seth Green, Super Hero, Vin Diesel, Wyatt Oleff, Zoe Saldaña

Guardians of the Galaxy-2014

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Guardians of the Galaxy-2014

Director James Gunn

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana

Scott’s Review #281

70301645

Reviewed October 9, 2015

Grade: C-

The summer blockbuster hit of 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel comics film popular among fans and critics alike, disappointed this viewer.

Too many superhero films are overly conventional, by the numbers fair, and this one contains these characteristics. Presumably targeted for teens (I would think), the film has cute jokes and decent special effects, but a bland, mediocre screenplay that lacks edginess.

Handsome Chris Platt plays Peter Quill, a space pilot from Earth, abducted by a pirate group named the Ravagers. Now a grown man, Peter attempts to steal a mysterious and powerful Orb known for special powers, for monetary gain.

The Orb is desired by many, including the evil Ronan, and his daughter Gamora.

Predictably, events turn into a battle of good vs. evil as Peter and Gamora (who turns good) team up with misfits Drax (a strongman), Groot (a tree), and Rocket (a raccoon) to thwart intentions by Ronan of destroying a peaceful planet, Nova Empire.

The meat of the story involves the team’s journey from imprisonment and escape to their efforts to save the world.

As traditional with these types of films, there is inevitable romantic chemistry between Peter and Gamora, who at first are rivals, but slowly develop a fondness for each other when it is revealed that she is plotting against Ronan and his valiant efforts.

The strengths are the 1970s soundtrack a cassette player and the Walkman, unheard of in today’s modern world, to the story.

I love how this is not simply backgrounded music but referenced throughout the film in various situations.

For example, Peter comically explains to a clueless bad guy what his treasured cassette tape consists of and how he cannot bear to part with it.

The creative sets and bright colors are other positives to Guardians of the Galaxy. The Xander planet is portrayed as clean and progressive, which counterbalances the dark, dreary nature of where Ronan and his entourage live.

However, the film is too conventional and not edgy or out of the ordinary story-wise. Let’s take the hero for example. He is clean-cut, all-American, and is humorous. But, why exactly is he the hero? He inevitably saves the world but makes him go from a pirate who is a thief to a golden boy leading a team to save a relatively unknown planet.

There is, of course, a scene involving a backstory of his mother dying of cancer and his regret over not taking her hand one final time. This is assumed to make him kind-hearted and one of the good guys.

This feels forced to me and what we have seen time after time in superhero films. The message I received from the film was basic- the powerful, strong, masculine guy with a sense of humor mixed in for good measure, saves the world from the bad guys while including a bunch of tag-along.

This is fine albeit predictable.

I was left with some questions. What were Ronan’s and Tharos’s motivations? They were simply evil with not much explanation as to why. What led them down this path? Did they each want theirs to be the only planet remaining in the galaxy?

A tender moment towards the end of the film, when one of the team members dies, is done in a rushed way that was a missed opportunity for more emotion.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is a mediocre superhero/action film that might have been better if further fleshed out. This film left me forgetting about it soon after the credits rolled.

Oscar Nominations: Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects