Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Showing posts with label comedy movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy movies. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

13 Going on 30 (2004)

This is one of my favorite movies

Summary

-Geeky, unpopular girl Jenna Rink makes an unusual wish on her 13th birthday. It comes true when she wakes up to be a 30 year old woman working for a successful fashion magazine








Cast

-Jennifer Garner: Jenna Rink

-Mark Ruffalo: Marty Flamhaff

-Judy Greer: Lucy Wyman

-Andy Serkis: Richard Kneeland

-Kathy Baker: Bev Rink

-Phil Reeves: Wayne

-Sam Ball: Alex Carlson

-Joe Grifasi: Mr. Flamhaff

-Mary Pat Gleason: Mrs. Flamhaff

-Lynn Collins: Wendy

Did You Know?

-The first scene Mark Ruffalo did was the "Thriller" dance. He was terrified of doing the dance, but Jennifer Garner had "infectious" enthusiasm, so he went through with it. Andy Serkis was in London at the time and had to do the scene separately

-Christa B. Allen was chosen to play the 13 year old Jenna Rink. Jennifer Garner was happy because she felt that Allen really symbolized Garner at that age. Later on, Allen would appear in the 2009 film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, playing a younger version of Jennifer Garner's character

-When Jenna Rink, at 13 goes into the closet for "seven minutes of heaven", there are actual photos of Jennifer Garner in her younger years on the back of the door

-As Jenna Rink softened and came closer to her true self, her clothing colors became warmer thanks to production adjusting her wardrobe. While Lucy Wyman (Judy Greer) gets more ruthless, her fashion style becomes more aggressive

-A lot of the child-like observations Jenna Rink had were completely improvised by Jennifer Garner. For example, when Alex Carlson (Sam Bell) wanted to play sexual games with Jenna, she suggests Battleship instead

-There is a photo of Madonna on Jenna's vanity table on the day of her 13th birthday. When she is 30 years old, she has that same photo, only now it's signed in her work office

-When Jenna Rink's secretary answers the phone, there is a man on the other end saying "Put that little b---- on the phone. Tell her to call Todd." This is director Gary Winick's voice

-Sean Marquette, who played young Matt, wore a fat suit for the movie

-At the time of filming, Jennifer Garner was 31 years old. She spent time with teenagers to remember how to behave as one

-The celebrities on Poise's Wall of Shame are real celebrities

Friday, May 1, 2026

Javier Bardem

This Spanish-born actor can seemingly do any role perfectly

Birth Name: Javier Angel Encinas Bardem

DOB: 3/1/1969

Where: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Trademark

-His deep voice

Trivia

-He brought his mother Pilar to the Oscars and dedicated his Oscar, which he won for the film No Country for Old Men, to her

-He married actress Penelope Cruz in a private ceremony at a friend's house with just family present

-His original interest was in painting. He studied at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Madrid. When he decided he would never be a talented painter, he worked a number of odd jobs, including bouncer, writer, construction worker and even a stripper

-He and Penelope Cruz became a couple while working on the 2008 film Vicky Christina Barcelona

-He is sometimes confused for actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan because they both so closely resemble each other

Filmography

Numbered Days (1994)

-Lisardo

Ecstasy (1996)

-Rober

Second Skin (1999)

-Diego

The Dancer Upstairs (2002)

-Rejas

Collateral (2004)

Felix

Goya's Ghosts (2006)

-Lorenzo

No Country for Old Men (2007)

-Anton Chigurh

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

-Florentino Ariza

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

-Juan Antonio

Eat Pray Love (2010)

-Felipe

Skyfall (2012)

-Silva

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

-Captain Salazar

Thy Kingdom Come (2018)

-Father Quintana

Dune: Part One (2021)

-Stilgar

Being the Ricardos (2021)

-Desi Arnaz

The Little Mermaid (2023)

-King Triton

Dune: Part Two (2024)

-Stilgar

F1: The Movie (2025)

-Ruben Cervantes

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

This is the sequel to the highly successful film

Summary

-Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) learns more about her mother's past while in the process of opening the Hotel Bella Donna





Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Andy Garcia: Fernando Cienfuegos

-Celie Imrie: Vice Chancellor

-Lily James: Young Donna

-Alexa Davies: Young Rosie

-Jessica Keenan Wynn: Young Tanya

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Omid Djalili: Greek Official

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Stellan Skarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Cher: Ruby Sheridan

Did You Know?

-Cher chose Andy Garcia to play the role of Fernando over other selected actors

-During filming in November 2017, Dame Julie Walters was given a day off to attend Buckingham Palace for an investiture ceremony, where she would receive her Commander of the Order of the British Empire honor from Queen Elizabeth II. The cast and crew gathered together to welcome her back by singing "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from the musical South Pacific

-On the day she came home from the hospital, after giving birth to her daughter, Amanda Seyfried's agent informed her that this movie was successfully greenlit and would begin production. She thought it was a practical joke

-After appearing in this film, Cher released an entire album of ABBA covers called Dancing Queen

-Despite them playing mother and daughter, Cher is only three years older than Meryl Streep

-This is the film debut of Nina Sadoski, who is Amanda Seyfried's daughter

-Early in the film, when Sophie is addressing invitations to people for a party she is planning, one is to c/o Epstein Martin. This is a reference to The Beatles, specifically of the surnames of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and their record producer George Martin

-The movie does not state whether Sophie and Sky ever got married between the 2008 film Mamma Mia! and this film or whether they are partners for life. Since they are both not wearing wedding rings, it implies they are not husband and wife

-Out of all of the cast members, Cher is the oldest one, having been born on May 20, 1946. She is three years older than Meryl Streep, born June 22, 1949, who plays her daughter, and ten years older than Andy Garcia, who was born April 12, 1956, who plays a long lost love

-Sophie names the hotel Bella Donna. This term has two meanings. In Italian, it means "Beautiful Woman". It's also the name, in Latin, for deadly nightshade, one of the most dangerous plants in the Eastern Hemisphere that contains atropine and scopolamine

Mamma Mia (2008)

This popular film uses the music of Swedish band ABBA

Summary

-Donna is a hotel owner preparing for her daughter's wedding with help from two old friends. While bride to be Sophie invites three men from her mother's past to her wedding to determine which one is her biological father






Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Stellan Skaarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Meryl Streep: Donna

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Ricardo Montez: Stavros

-Norma Atallah: Irini

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

Did You Know?

-Stellan Skarsgard said about this movie "It was absurd to ask me to be in a musical. I can't sing, I can't dance. And I saw it was also Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, and they can't sing and dance either, so I felt a little safer there."

-Meryl Streep saw the musical in October 2001 with her daugter Louisa. She wrote letters to the producers, praising them for bringing a bit of happiness and light into New York City after the recent 9/11 terrorist attacks

-On an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, Colin Firth was asked the question "If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" He responded with "I personally thought you were very good in Mamma Mia"

-All of the cast members did their own singing

-Stellan Skarsgard explained why he flashed his bare backside. "We decided that I should be cooking on the boat. I thought I should have an apron on. The director (Phyllida Llody) did not know that I would be naked under there, and have those butt tattoos. So when the camera rolled, I turned around right in front of it. The cameraman jumped and screamed, while Phyllida keeled over laughing."

-The boat Bill Anderson captains features the flag of Sweden, the native country of both Stellan Skarsgard and ABBA

-Three of the members of ABBA are from Sweden, just like actor Stellan Skarsgard, who plays Bill Anderson. The other member of ABBA is Anni-Frida Lyngstad, who is Norwegian

-Initially Cher was offered a role in this film, to play Tanya Wilkinson. Because of commitments to concerts, she couldn't do it. She did appear in the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing Ruby Sheridan

-Colin Firth poked fun at the James Bond series by saying "I'm Bright, Harry Bright" when he was standing next to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce had played the role of James Bond in at least four films of the series. Meanwhile Firth starred in his own series of spy films, Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017

-In the original musical on stage, Bill Austin was an Australian character. This was a tribute to ABBA's popularity in Australia. For this movie, Bill's last name was changed to Anderson, to make it Swedish, like Stellan Skarsgard, who plays that character and like the group ABBA

-Actor Bill Nighy was considered for one of the roles of the fathers

-Colin Firth (Harry Bright) actually used to play guitar in a band

-This was the first movie shot on the new 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios after a fire that happened when the 2006 film Casino Royale finished up. The stage was used for the song and dance numbers that could not be filmed in sunny Greece

-The song at the wedding scene, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was considered inappropriate for a wedding because it's about divorce. "Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can do. Knowing me, knowing you, we just have to face it this time we're through. Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go."

-In the film, using the real ages of the actors, when Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) was born, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) was 36, Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard) was 34, Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) was 32 and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) was 25

-Donny Osmond was considered for the role of Sam Carmichael. This role went to Pierce Brosnan

-This film surpassed the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire as Pierce Brosnan's highest-grossing film in the world. But, domestically, Mrs. Doubtfire is still highly successful

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Mark Ruffalo

For those who are fans of the Marvel movies, he played Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk

Birth name: Mark Alan Ruffalo

DOB: 11/22/1967

Where: Kenosha, Wisconsin

Trivia

-His mother Marie Rose was a hairdresser and stylist while his father Frank was a construction painter

-In 2002, he was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a benign brain tumor, which resulted in partial facial paralysis. He has since recovered

-Spent nearly a decade bartending before entering the show business world

-He was scheduled to appear in the 2002 film Signs. Unfortunately, he had to drop out due to a brain tumor that was discovered. After undergoing brain surgery, he suffered from partial facial paralysis. He has since fully recovered

-He had a brother named Scott who committed suicide on Dec. 8, 2008 outside his Beverly Hills home. It was discovered he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head

-All three of his siblings, Scott, Tanya Marie and Nicole, are all hairstylists

-Prior to playing the role of the Incredible Hulk, he was a fan of the comic series and television show, just like his predecessor, Edward Norton

-He and Benicio Del Toro were classmates at the Stella Adler Drama School in Los Angeles

-He can successfully play the bass guitar

Filmography

Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1995)

-Christian

The Dentist (1996)

-Steve Landers

54 (1998)

-Ricko

You Can Count on Me (2000)

-Terry

The Last Castle (2001)

-Yates

Windtalkers (2002)

-Pappas

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

-Stan

13 Going On 30 (2004)

-Matt Flamhaff

Collateral (2004)

-Fanning

Rumor Has It...(2005)

-Jeff Daly

All the King's Men (2006)

-Adam Stanton

Zodiac (2007)

-Inspector David Toschi

Reservation Road (2007)

-Dwight Arno

Shutter Island (2010)

-Chuck Aule

Date Night (2010)

-Brad Sullivan

The Avengers (2012)

-Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

Now You See Me (2013)

-Dylan Rhodes

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

-Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

-Dylan Rhodes

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

-Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

-Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

-Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025)

-Dylan Rhodes

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

This is a sequel to the highly popular film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Summary

-Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) dreams of opening a second location for his Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. And not a moment too soon as well. Two fresh arrivals have come, creating a problem for his original hotel, which only has one room vacant








Cast

-Dev Patel: Sonny Kapoor

-Maggie Smith: Muriel Donnelly

-Danny Mahoney: Car Valet

-David Strathairn: Ty Burley

-Judi Dench: Evelyn Greenslade

-Bill Nighy: Douglas Ainslie

-Celia Imrie: Madge Hardcastle

-Ronald Pickup: Norman Cousins

-Diana Hardcastle: Carol Parr

-Fiona Mollison: Susan

-Richard Gere: Guy Chambers

Did You Know?

-The character Ronald Pickup tells a joke revolving around the Archbishop of Canterbury at the expats club. Ironically, he plays the archbishop on The Crown

-Rumor has it that Colin Firth and Helen Mirren were supposed to join the cast

-Douglas Ainslie (Bill Nighy) is seen reading the poem "Ulysses". This is the same poem that Evelyn Greenslade (Dame Judi Dench) was seen reading in the 2012 film Skyfall, where she played M

-Dev Patel is of Indian heritage, but he was born and raised in Britain. His parents are of Indian heritage, but they were born in Kenya

-Evelyn Greenslade (Dame Judi Dench) makes a claim that she is only nineteen days younger than Muriel Donnelly (Dame Maggie Smith). In real life, Maggie Smith, who was born on Dec. 28, 1934, is nineteen days younger than Dame Judi Dench, who was born on Dec. 9, 1934

Monday, November 3, 2025

25 Iconic TV Shows Transformed Into Movies

For some reason, some people think that TV shows need to be made into movies. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Jeff Mezydlow on the MSN.com page YardBarker has compiled a list of iconic TV shows that were made into movies

It's all a matter of personal opinion. Whoever wrote this seems to give their opinion strongly. I consider it a matter of personal preference. One person might like it and another may not. As long as you like it, who cares what everyone else thinks

1. The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)

-Penelope Spheeris, who directed Wayne's World, tried her hand at a movie adaptation of the much beloved TV series The Beverly Hillbillies. About a bunch of down home, good hearted folks from the Appalachia region who strike oil and get rich. The TV show was massively successful, but many think the film version was goofy, but in a bad way. Some think that comedic actor Jim Varney as Jed Clampett was not a good idea

2. Car 54, Where Are You? (1994)

-This TV series ran for a few seasons during the 1960s, at a time when police shows were starting to become popular. The movie, however, was a flop. It was thought that adding big names like Fran Drescher (The Nanny), David Johansen (post-New York Dolls) and John C. McGinley would make it work. It didn't

3. The Flintstones (1994)

-The much beloved cartoon about prehistoric life was made in to a 1994 film and was actually very successful. The sequel to it didn't fare very well, but it was during the summer and people like seeing movies during the summer. The movie seemed a lot more mature in content than the family friendly cartoon was. John Goodman and Rosie O'Donnell, cast as Fred and Betty, didn't seem right for the roles

4. Sgt. Bilko (1997)

-The film was a total bomb. It was inspired by the 1950s show of the same name starring Phil Silvers. In this film, Dan Akyroyd, Phil Hartman and Steve Martin appear. Martin plays the main character. Overall, the film did not do well

5. McHale's Navy (1997)

-The original TV show was a funny, lighthearted program of the 1960s. The film version didn't do so well. Ernest Borgnine from the original series starred in it, but other than him, Debra Messing also starred in it along with Tom Arnold, who played the lead role. To this day, this movie has become forgotten

6. Leave It to Beaver (1997)

-Many think the movie wasn't good, despite the high ratings from a lot of film critics. To any fan of the show, Jerry Mathers will always be Beaver, no matter what role he's playing. The parents in the film, Ward and June were played by Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley

7. Mr. Magoo (1997)

-Leslie Nielsen is one of those comedians who can pull off physical humor in addition to sarcastic humor. When he was cast as Mr. Magoo, the much beloved cartoon character in a film version, the movie was okay at best, but not good

8. Lost in Space (1998)

-The TV series of the same name from the 1960s was incredibly popular, especially when other generations started discovering it via streaming services. Sci-fi films usually go over well with audiences, depending on the storylines. This one, however, didn't fare well among the more popular sci-fi movies. Some think it was the casting of certain actors or actresses to blame for its low ratings

9. The Avengers (1998)

-When people hear "The Avengers" nowadays, their mind might automatically go to the Marvel movies starring the characters Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man, certainly not the original TV show from the 1960s. The Avengers was a 1960s British spy TV program centering around two characters-John Steed and Emma Peel. The film was a total disaster. It starred Ralph Fiennes as John Steed, Uma Thurman as Emma Peel and Sean Connery as a villain trying to control the weather

10. The Mod Squad (1999)

-During the late 1960s to early 1970s, cop shows were booming. There was a wealth of options for cop shows, such as Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Mod Squad, CHiPS, etc. On the original television program The Mod Squad, Michael Cole, who played Pete, Peggy Lipton, who played Julie and Clarence Williams III, who played Linc, just looked cool while fighting crime. The movie version, however, simply couldn't compare to the original. Claire Daines, Giovanni Ribisi and Omar Epps just couldn't compare with the original

11. Wild Wild West (1999)

-The original TV show was a sci-fi / spy series. Many think that the film should have done better simply because Will Smith is in it. Not everything he is in will be box office gold. Film critics all but bashed the film. The film version of the classic TV show stars Will Smith and Kevin Kline as two Secret Service agents ordered to protect then president Ulysses S. Grant

-I thought the movie was good. It was a little goofy in some parts, but that keeps things interesting. It's all a matter of personal opinion

12. Inspector Gadget (1999)

-The film version of the highly successful cartoon series did fairly well at the theaters. Matthew Broderick was cast as the lead role and while there were some good choices for fellow cast members, apparently that was not enough to save the film from being good

13. Dudley Do-Right (1999)

-The original cartoon was a spin off of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Dudley Do-Right is a much beloved character in Canada. It was said that Brendan Fraser didn't give the character his due diligence and even the jokes in the movie seemed forced, not natural. This film was said to be a total bomb

14. S.W.A.T. (2002)

-The original program centered around the SWAT team of a police department. The film version, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and Jeremy Renner, didn't provide much in the way of action despite the star power

15. I Spy (2002)

-The original series starred comedic actor Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. The film version starred Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson in the lead roles with Famke Janssen along for the ride. One of the thorns in people's sides about this film is that it didn't have much in common with the original TV show. While it's never a bad thing to change things up, fans expected a little more similarity to the TV show

16. Starsky and Hutch (2004)

-It seemed like a good idea at the time. Make a film version of the ultra-popular 1970s cop show. The only problem is that Ben Stiller, who played Starsky and Owen Wilson, who played Hutch, seemed to try far too hard to be like the original pair. The original pair were cool, calm and collected, what some might call "smooth operators." The film version of the detectives were a little too out there and simply not as good as the original. The only thing that made this movie somewhat bearable was the fact that Snoop Dogg took on the role of CI (confidential informant) Huggy Bear

-I can say I saw this and it was not good. The only thing I liked about it was that the original actors, Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) and David Soul (Hutch) appeared at the end

17. Fat Albert (2004)

-Bill Cosby's life might have fallen apart because of the sexual assault allegations, but Fat Albert is one of the great animated series on TV. When it was considered as a movie, it was a good idea at the time. But many feel that the film version of the much beloved cartoon series simply didn't compare to the original

-I actually liked this. It was funny and whimsical, something that we need more of in today's world

18. The Honeymooners (2005)

-This movie simply didn't do good. Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps took on the roles of Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton. Gabrielle Union took on the role of Alice and Regina Hall took on the role of Trixie. The pranks and hi-jinks pulled by Ralph and Ed might have been updated but it simply couldn't compare to the much beloved black and white series

19. Bewitched (2005)

-Will Farrell is a master of comedy. When he's given a chance to re-enact a movie version of a TV show, that is where he seems to falter. In the film Bewitched, he plays Jack Wyatt, an actor playing the role of Darrin Stephens. The whole idea of a show within a movie is simply too confusing. Nicole Kidman and Will Farrell actually received awards for Worst Screen Couple for this film

20. The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

-Simply put, the movie didn't fare well. Many remember the show as being a down to earth, simple but good show for the time. The movie version simply couldn't compare to the original show. Johnny Knoxville, who played Luke Duke, was a lot better than Sean William Scott, who played Bo Duke. Sean William Scott had just gotten off of the fame of the American Pie series. Jessica Simpson played their sister Daisy Duke, who was, by many, considered a useless character in the movie. The TV show version of Daisy Duke was better. Not only that, but Burt Reynolds played local criminal Boss Hogg. Simply put, this movie didn't fare well

-You're better off just watching the original show and appreciating the unique charm it offers

21. Aeon Flux (2005)

-This sci-fi TV show grew to be a popular show on MTV during the 1990s. Why not cash in on its fame and make a movie? It starred Charlize Theron in the lead role, with a storyline centering around a virus that results in people reinventing themselves for further survival. Dull would be a word best used to describe this

22. Land of the Lost (2009)

-This much beloved NBC Saturday morning program about dinosaurs should not have been made into a movie. Will Farrell already had a bad credit to his name with Bewitched. Now he has Land of the Lost to his name as well. The premise was traveling through a time warp to the era of dinosaurs. Farrell's character Rick Marshall and his friends go through a story that is better left on the TV screen. Critics consider it to be one of the worst mainstream movies ever filmed

23. The Last Airbender (2010)

-This movie is based on the popular children's anime program Avatar: The Last Airbender. There was much rejoicing and celebrating when fans heard that there was to be a movie version of their favorite program. When it came to making the movie, a lot of technical difficulties started popping up. The production seemed rushed and the audience felt denied a chance to draw opinions about the characters. Not only that, but with it taking place somewhere in Asia, many felt it was offensive to feature mostly Caucasian actors and actresses rather than including cast members of Asian descent

24. CHiPs (2017)

-In the late 1970s, early 1980s, CHiPs was a popular cop show starring Erik Estrada (Ponch) and Larry Wilcox (John) as two California Highway Patrols. The film version simply could not compare. Dax Sheppard took on the role of John while Michael Pena took on the role of Ponch and the storyline seemed messy, all over the place

25. Baywatch (2017)

-This was a guilty pleasure for most. It centered around a group of lifeguards working and living in California. It shouldn't be shocking that a movie would be made of this popular 1990s program. Dwayne Johnson played the role David Hasselhoff played on the show. But even having Dwayne Johnson or Zack Efron in the movie was not enough to save it. The plot was messy and weak and the jokes or attempts at humor seemed weak at best