MetaFilter posts tagged with parody and movies

Matt Helm

Joe Beese — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:37:37 -0800

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers. ... The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960... A movie series was made in the mid-to-late 1960s starring Dean Martin... the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them. - Wikipedia (links may be mildly NSFW) We reported earlier this year that the messy breakup of Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures may have killed the director's opportunity to bring the swinging, pulp fiction super-spy, Matt Helm, back to the big screen... a source close to the project tells us a new director has his hands on the project — none other than Gary Ross, writer-director of "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit"... - The Playlist The first - and by all accounts the best - of the Dean Martin films is The Silencers. It can be viewed in its entirety here. Don't miss the opening credits - featuring Elmer Bernstein's razzmatazz score and a bombshell performance by Cyd Charisse. (previously)

Cinematic Renderings of Broadcast Television

hexatron — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:03:37 -0800

Once upon a time, movies were made that parodied broadcast television, advertisements and all. I knew there weren't many, but really, this was all I could find: The Groove Tube Tunnelvision Kentucky Fried Movie UHF Amazon Women on the Moon (Links are to YouTube trailers of variable quality) They were all made in two short periods: 1975The Groove Tube 1976Tunnelvision 1977Kentucky Fried Movie 1987Amazon Women on the Moon 1989UHF and being composed of short segments, are easily reconstructed from youtube-posted fragments for the careless-of-©. I still remember surprisingly large parts of these. The whole reminisce came from a chance reference to Brown-25. There were some almost-totally-below-the-radar entries (in imdb) supposedly constructed similarly, but who knows?: 1972 (or maybe 1969) Dynamite Chicken 1975 The Boob Tube 1977 The Boob Tube Strikes Again but that seems to be all of them. A big Mad no-prize for any sensible additions to the list. The IMDB discussion of The Groove Tube showed an interesting generational divide--if you are a member of the 1-letter gens (X or Y) you will detest these films. Otherwise, I suppose you will detest genX or genY.

Big in a New Light

adrober — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 23:29:45 -0800

Remember that Shining trailer from a few weeks back? Now they've done it with Big. (embedded WMV)

Make Mine Shoebox

Steve_at_Linnwood — Fri, 04 Feb 2005 11:35:16 -0800

Have you ever wondered about the exciting world of greeting cards? With this recently unearthed educational film, you too can capture a glimpse of the glamourous world of manufactured expressions! via Waxy's Links

There really is no hope for humankind

Shoeburyness — Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:26:35 -0800

Quote Some Reviews of some very bad movies, and wrap it all up in a pretty package that parodies the movie's posters. Hilarity ensues. (I'm not being sarcastic. I woke my spouse up out of bed laughing at this-- and I was in the kitchen.) It's a feature of Moviepoopshoot.com, which has evolved from a promo site for a Kevin Smith movie. I guess we'll know if Smith really has a sense of humor if we see the Critical Mess treatment given to Jersey Girl, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, or Mallrats.

Ten Years In Ten Minutes

Shadowkeeper — Thu, 05 Jun 2003 06:47:11 -0800

Here's a fine way to start a Thursday: pour a cup of joe, settle into your ergonomic chair, and enjoy 80s Ending, a funny little film by Douglas Jordan. Six minutes long, well worth the watch.

plinth — Thu, 18 May 2000 14:09:37 -0800

Courtesy of myboot, a pretty fuuny Matrix spoof. You may want to try one of the mirrors on the source page as the file is 22M.