Turtle Tale

Turtle Tale

Totem Films

November 7, 2015

Children's, Sports Comedy

DVD
D+

Three or four forgettable plot lines.  Luc Campeau directed.

McHale's Navy

McHale's Navy

Universal

April 18, 1997

Comedy
DVD
D+

Who was asking for this one?  I mean, at least Beverly Hillbillies was wildly popular in its day.  Also, it's weird to have Penthouse jokes in a "family film."  Bryan Spicer directed.

Big Bully

Big Bully
Warner Bros.
January 26, 1996
Comedy
DVD
C+

Well, this is better than you might expect-- it was a box office bomb and earned Tom Arnold a Razzie Award for Worst Actor*-- which is not to say it's good, but I found it mildly entertaining.  There are a bunch of plot holes (like why does a tiny little town have such a huge middle school?), and certainly Carol Kane could've been used more effectively.  (Don Knotts's age of 71 is used to good effect though.)  But the movie held my interest throughout and I did want to see what would happen next, despite the odd twists and turns.  And that's more than I can say about most of the movies on this blog.

Steve Miner directed.


*I may be wrong, but I think that Tom Arnold is the first performer to appear in four movies on this blog, not counting people who have a collection devoted to them, like Alec Guinness.

Beethoven's Christmas Adventure

Beethoven's Christmas Adventure
Studio Unknown
October 4, 2011
Children's, Comedy, Fantasy
DVD
C-

This seventh entry in the franchise was straight-to-video, but it's not as bad as I expected, especially considering I've never seen any of the others.  Not that it's good-- not with jokes about drool and a queeny mall elf-- but the teen hero (played by Munro Chambers) is better than necessary and it's not surprising the actor went on to various incarnations of Degrassi.  

John Putch directed.  Note that this is the third movie with Tom Arnold (here voicing the dog) that I've rejected, although that's not his fault.

National Lampoon's Barely Legal

National Lampoon's Barely Legal
Barely Legal Productions LLC [seriously, that's what it says at Wikipedia]
15 May 2003 [at the Cannes Film Festival!]
Comedy
DVD
D+

Horny teen virgins, all male, decide to make a porno.  About as good as you'd expect.  Tom Arnold plays the main character's father.  David Mickey Evans directed.

Amor a Primera Visa AKA Pulling Strings

Amor a Primera Visa AKA Pulling Strings
Studio Unknown
8 November 2013
Romantic Comedy
DVD
C

Well, this is definitely a case of "it's not you, it's me," or rather, "no eres tu, soy yo."  I don't understand enough Spanish to follow this bilingual movie when the DVD doesn't have English subtitles.  I liked what I understood, including the surprising cameos of Arnold and Channing.  Incidentally, the Spanish title fits in an ironic way, although I can see why "Love at First Sight" wasn't chosen for the American title.  Pitipol Ybarra directed.