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The Three Stooges - Shemp Years / Re: Cuckoo On a Choo Choo (1952)

« Last post by metaldams on Today at 01:03:39 PM »

I have a few alcoholics in my family and what’s even worse is they’re too prideful to even admit it.  I have a few glasses of red wine a month and that’s it.

Alcoholism in real life is obviously not funny, but I can find humor in almost anything in comedy.  Shedding light on the dark side of life can be catharsis for me.

I have a W.C. Fields avatar for Pete’s sake.  I find the drunk humor in this short to be just fine.  The mileage of others may vary and I’m cool with that.

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Stooges DVD/VHS/Home Video / Re: Three Stooges shorts coming to Blu-ray this summer

« Last post by Dr. Mabuse on Today at 11:58:06 AM »

When comparing the DVD releases of Marx Bros movies like Duck Soup vs. their Blu-Ray releases, I’ve realized that Blu-Ray CAN do so much! 

No complaints about the Blu-ray upgrades of the first four Marx Brothers films (especially "The Cocoanuts" and "Animal Crackers"), but my DVD of "Duck Soup" looked and sounded better. In fact, there were audio-distortion issues at the beginning of "Just Wait Till I Get Through It" that need to be fixed in future Blu-ray releases.

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General Discussion / Re: Crappiest Cartoon Studio

« Last post by metaldams on Today at 11:44:36 AM »

This thread has been brought back up, causing me to read an almost twenty year old comment about me in the campus dining hall.  Holy shiitake mushrooms, the Internet is a strange thing.  I’m reading this now as a guy slightly closer to fifty than forty.

Interestingly, my comment from twenty years ago about cartoons is still accurate.  No change. 

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The Three Stooges - Shemp Years / Re: Cuckoo On a Choo Choo (1952)

« Last post by Count Jerome “Curley” von Gehrol on Today at 10:42:46 AM »

The worst thing that a Three Stooges short can be is not entertaining — or even worse, boring — and that pretty much sums up Cuckoo on a Choo Choo for me.

Like Daddy Dewdrop said, any time the boys are split up/don’t work as a semi-cohesive unit, the short usually suffers — and boy, does it suffer! (Although not as much as the audience does…)

And also like Daddy Dewdrop, I’ve never found the “comedy drunk” character funny whenever one shows up. I had a couple of alcoholic relatives when I was quite young, but they were distant enough that they didn’t have much direct impact on my life (aside from my mother’s rigid disapproval of them). For whatever reason, I’ve always been a natural-born teetotaler (probably from seeing people my age act like complete asses when they were drunk, plus I can’t stand the taste of most alcoholic drinks), so I’ve never seen the appeal of drinking. (But that being said, the older I get, the more I understand why so many people DO drink…)

Anyway — sermon over! Like I said, I’ve never found the “comedy drunk” a funny character (a lot of them crop up in Bewitched, a sitcom practically swimming in hard liquor), so for as good as Shemp is at portraying one, his performance leaves me cold. And don’t get me started on Larry’s take on Marlon Brando — I feel bad for his fellow retirees at the Motion Picture Country House who were constantly subjected to it in the facility’s movie room at Larry’s request!

Even though this short is at the bottom of my “Shemp List”, I still rank it higher than the four Fake Shemp shorts…

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

Funnily enough, your reasons for avoiding alcohol are very similar to mine. In fact they mirror my thoughts perfectly. I can not stand the taste of most alcoholic drinks (champagne is the worst) and the stupidity that many people tend to display when drunk is another major turnoff. Not to mention that it infuriates me when that stupidity puts other people in danger.

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Stooges DVD/VHS/Home Video / Re: Three Stooges shorts coming to Blu-ray this summer

« Last post by metaldams on Today at 08:57:13 AM »

When comparing the DVD releases of Marx Bros movies like Duck Soup vs. their Blu-Ray releases, I’ve realized that Blu-Ray CAN do so much! 

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

The Marx Brothers films, especially THE COCOANUTS, were in much worse shape than after they got restored on blu ray.  The Stooge films, comparatively to Paramount Marx or the Hal Roach catalogue, have been cared for pretty well.  I don’t doubt the Stooge films look better in HD.  I just don’t think it’s as necessary as some other films.

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Stooges DVD/VHS/Home Video / Re: Three Stooges shorts coming to Blu-ray this summer

« Last post by QuinceHead on Today at 07:50:16 AM »

I'm happy with my DVD set. Blu-ray can only do so much.

When comparing the DVD releases of Marx Bros movies like Duck Soup vs. their Blu-Ray releases, I’ve realized that Blu-Ray CAN do so much! 

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

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The Three Stooges - Curly Years / Re: Violent is the Word for Curly (1938)

« Last post by QuinceHead on Today at 07:48:01 AM »

 

So... Violent Is The Word For Curly ...truthfully, I do find this short enjoyable. The opening bit of super service is classic, as a great intro to our beloved boys. The plot goes at a good clip until Mildew, then, it increases in speed, but, in a good way. I always crack up at how the Stooges are treated as if they're super smart intellectuals, which we know they're not. But, it's nice to see them try to be super smart. Swinging the Alphabet is a great and catchy song. I could go on and gush to the nth degree, but, I won't. That would just be overkill. I give it a ninety nine out of ten pokes.

So, in Stooge terms, you’re saying it’s putrid? 

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The Three Stooges - Joe and Curly Joe Years / Re: Fifi Blows Her Top (1958)

« Last post by metaldams on Today at 06:09:42 AM »

This short is... BAD!! Now, do I think it's the worst of the Joe era? No, but, it's a serious contender for not just one of the worst during the Joe Besser era, but, one of the worst Stooge shorts ever made, period. While there are a few decent gags, it doesn't save this short for me. While I have made it a personal point to watch every one of the one hundred and ninety shorts at least twice. This is one I can't see myself watching again. While Cuckoo on A Choo Choo from 1952 is my least favorite Shemp short, since posting my initial thoughts, I've only slightly softened on it, because on a second rewatch, it's bad, but, it's not 'Oh my god, what the hell did I just watch!' kind of bad.  Fifi Blows Her Top borders on that line. Very closely. The stock footage is a let down, as it's from shorts I'd rather watch. The only thing that keeps me from completely not rewatching it again is the few gags that are decent. But, it's not one I'm actively seeking out. I'd rather see a short subject starring Metaldams and Paul Payne. At least the two moderators of this forum would most likely make something more enjoyable than this. On my scale of pokes, which goes from 0 to 190 (Ha! See what I did there! With 0 being skip, no questions asked, unless bored and want to have a glass of wine with and nitpick the hell out of it to 190 being top tier Stooge short firing on all cylinders.), I give this a 9. Not the worst, but, not that good either.

Paul Payne and I were formerly the comedy team of Brown and Carney in a past life.  We came back as lowly message board moderators as our punishment.

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The Three Stooges - Joe and Curly Joe Years / Re: Fifi Blows Her Top (1958)

« Last post by J_Kasumi on May 22, 2024, 11:20:37 PM »

This short is... BAD!! Now, do I think it's the worst of the Joe era? No, but, it's a serious contender for not just one of the worst during the Joe Besser era, but, one of the worst Stooge shorts ever made, period. While there are a few decent gags, it doesn't save this short for me. While I have made it a personal point to watch every one of the one hundred and ninety shorts at least twice. This is one I can't see myself watching again. While Cuckoo on A Choo Choo from 1952 is my least favorite Shemp short, since posting my initial thoughts, I've only slightly softened on it, because on a second rewatch, it's bad, but, it's not 'Oh my god, what the hell did I just watch!' kind of bad.  Fifi Blows Her Top borders on that line. Very closely. The stock footage is a let down, as it's from shorts I'd rather watch. The only thing that keeps me from completely not rewatching it again is the few gags that are decent. But, it's not one I'm actively seeking out. I'd rather see a short subject starring Metaldams and Paul Payne. At least the two moderators of this forum would most likely make something more enjoyable than this. On my scale of pokes, which goes from 0 to 190 (Ha! See what I did there! With 0 being skip, no questions asked, unless bored and want to have a glass of wine with and nitpick the hell out of it to 190 being top tier Stooge short firing on all cylinders.), I give this a 9. Not the worst, but, not that good either.

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Stooges DVD/VHS/Home Video / Re: Three Stooges shorts coming to Blu-ray this summer

« Last post by Dr. Mabuse on May 22, 2024, 09:34:27 PM »

I'm happy with my DVD set. Blu-ray can only do so much.