Lamar's Reviews

By: Bob & Sheri / Cumulus Podcast Network
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  • How did your favorite movie score on Lamar's scale? Find out!
    2022 Bob & Sheri / Cumulus Podcast Network
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Comedy & Humour Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Lamar Reviews - "Wednesday" (Airdate 12/16/2022)

    Lamar Reviews - "Wednesday" (Airdate 12/16/2022)
    Dec 16 2022
    Lamar Reviews - "Wednesday" (Airdate 12/16/2022) There are two groups of people in this world, one group that watched the Addams Family, and the other watched the Munsters. You may try to say that some people watched them both, to that I say, “Pick a side! Get off the fence! You can’t have it both ways! I am without a doubt, in the Addams family group. It was way ahead of its time as far as edginess, the casting was spot on, and it was and still is hilarious. To this day it still holds up. Each character had its own quirks, and they all played off of each other flawlessly. Lisa Loring played Wednesday in the original TV show. Christina Ricci did a fantastic job playing Wednesday in 2 movies in the 90s, so the Wednesday bar, was set very high. Jenna Ortega has just done an Olga Korbut Dead Loop Back Flip, off that bar.   The series starts off with Wednesday in public school responding to her brother Pugsley, being bullied by some athletes. Wednesday’s revenge boarders on attempted murder and she gets expelled and sent to Nevermore Academy, a school for students that are not like other students. This school is a mixture of werewolves, vampires, mermaid sirens, telepaths, and such. Her parents, Gomez and Morticia, played by Luis Guzman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are very excited, because this is where they both went to school and where they met and fell in love. Just to make sure Wednesday is ok, they send Thing to stay with her. We actually don’t see much of the rest of the Addams family. Gomez and Morticia are in just a couple of episodes, Uncle Fester, played by Fred Armisen is only in one episode, and we barely get a glimpse of Lurch. The name of the series is Wednesday, and she is what it is about.   Because of her run in with the athletes at the other school she is required to go to counseling, and she does not get along with the headmistress, Larissa Weems, played by Gwendoline Christie, who happened to attend the school with Morticia, and they were frenemies at best.   The storyline is a season long mystery involving a big toothy monster, plus visions that Wednesday gets about the school being destroyed, and her part in it. All the while the pressure of the sarcastic, scornful Wednesday having a roommate that is bubbly and way too friendly, and having 2 boys vying for her affections, of which she has none. The school, like Hogwarts is divided in houses and they have all kinds of competitions. And there is a great episode where Wednesday awkwardly winds up attending a school dance.   Ortega’s performance with her non-blinking stare, along with her acid wit delivered with the appropriate eyerolls is fantastic, and the fact that this is directed by Tim Burton, takes it to the next level.   There are 8 episodes, 45 minutes long, Rated TV-14   Yes, this has a written for teens vibe, but just like Stranger Things, it appeals to all ages. Don’t just take my word for it, Wednesday has had over 1 Billion hours of viewing in the first 28 days.   With these kinds of numbers there is no doubt that there will be another season. And you can look forward to seeing Jenna Ortega’s career keep getting bigger.   My Score: 5 Budweisers and 2 finger snaps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • Lamar Reviews - "Violent Night" (Airdate 12/9/2022)

    Lamar Reviews - "Violent Night" (Airdate 12/9/2022)
    Dec 9 2022
    Lamar Reviews - "Violent Night" (Airdate 12/9/2022) I have a few favorite Christmas movies I watch at some point, during the Christmas holidays. Elf, the original Grinch with Boris Karloff, not the new animated one, and certainly not that repugnant drivel that Jim Carey embarrassed himself in. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and the ultimate Santa Claus movie, Miracle on 34th Street. But Violent Night might make the list, we’ll see. It has Santa Claus, albeit a little on the weathered side, not so jolly since fewer and fewer people believe in the Christmas magic, and most kids have become greedy, ungrateful, and self-centered, and are only interested in video games.   We are introduced to Santa, played by Stanger Things’ David Harhour, sitting at a bar, taking stock of his life and job, enjoying a few beers. When asked how long he has been a Santa, he replies, “Longer than I can remember, I’m pretty sure I started it.” Over a thousand years ago he was a Norseman raider and a ruthless warrior, that wielded a hammer named Skullcrusher. Later he became Santa Claus because of Christmas Magic, that he himself still does not completely understand.  We also meet a little girl named Trudy, played by Leah Brady, and her divorced parents, Jason and Linda, played by Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder. Jason’s dysfunctional family is mega rich and everyone is controlled by his mother Gertrude, played by Beverly D’Angelo. It seems that they have 300 million dollars in cash in a large vault, and a large group of thieves lead by, code name Scrooge, played by John Leguizamo. Santa arrives as this is starting to happen, and he wants no part of it. As he is getting ready to get back in his sleigh, and head to the next house, he sees Trudy. He looks her up on his list and she is not only on the nice list, but the list of her qualities convinces him to stay and help her. It doesn’t take long for Jolly Ole Saint Nick to turn into a hammer swinging, ass kicking, Viking!   The movie is just shy of 2 hours, Rated R for strong bloody violence, a lot of it, language and some sexual references.   The movie easily could have sucked, but it didn’t. It is a compilation of Die Hard and Home Alone. Santa and Trudy communicate through walkie-talkies like John McClane and Urkle’s dad did in Die Hard, and Trudy sets up booby traps for the bad guys like Kevin did in Home Alone. I kept waiting for Santa to utter his version of “Yippee Ki Yay, Mother Trucker!”, but he didn’t. But make no mistake, Santa Claus did not disappoint. The violence was extremely vicarial, but comedic at the same time. My ribs are sore from Carla elbowing me to stop laughing and cackling out loud. For me it was like riding a roller-coaster, I could not quit laughing.    Harbour did a great job playing Santa as reluctant hero, that became not so reluctant as the movie progressed. John Leguizamo is no Alan Rickman, but then who is? The big surprise was Cam Gigandet as Jason’s sister’s boyfriend, Morgan Steel, an out of work, action star. He was great.   Believe it or not, among all the split skulls, icicles through the eyeballs, and general bloody deaths, there were some tender moments, some life reflections, a few reconciliations, and warm Christmas message of hope for all.   My Score 4 Christmas Cookies and a cold glass of milk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • Lamar Reviews - "The Menu" (Airdate 12/2/2022)

    Lamar Reviews - "The Menu" (Airdate 12/2/2022)
    Dec 2 2022
    Lamar Reviews - "The Menu" (Airdate 12/2/2022) I have spent my life being in love with food. It has been the center point in my life. I love making it, as much as I love eating it. My mantra is, there is a best way to make every food taste the best it possibly can, and there is no such thing as “too much trouble” to accomplish that. I love the dining experience, whether it is a really good bacon cheeseburger in some hole in the wall joint, or a dry aged bone in ribeye in a place where you have to make reservations two weeks in advance, and they call green beans haricot vert. I love it all! So, when I see a movie titled The Menu, I’m in. When I see in the preview the Head Chef is played by Ralph Fiennes, and it also has Anya Taylor-Joy, from the Queen’s Gambit, I knew I had to see it.    Turns out this is a dark thriller, not quite horror, but also a good dose of dark comedy, especially if you get the food references. Fiennes plays Chef Slowik, who has worked his way up in the culinary world to the point of having his restaurant on an Island that can only be accessed by boat. The fact that it is not easy to get to only enhances the exclusivity. Only 12 people are allowed for a dinner, and each plate cost $1250.00. Each course has a story to go along with it, and is not to be “eaten”, they are to be “tasted”. For me this is code for, “your gonna want to stop at a drive thru on the way home”.   The people eating at this meal are, a once famous actor that nobody recognizes now, played by John Leguizamo, and his assistant Felicity, played by Aimee Carrero. Lillian, a big-time food critic, played by Janet McTeer, and her kiss up editor, Ted, A couple of regulars, Richard and Anne, played by Reed Birney and Judith Light. Three co-workers from a high-end tech company, and Slowik’s mother. And finally, A foodie named Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult, who is a fanboy and feels like this is the greatest night of his entire life, and his date Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who turns out is a last-minute substitute for his girlfriend that broke up with him.   The diners are all there for different reasons. But they all have one thing in common, they are pretentious jerks. The only one that is not, is Margot. She was a last-minute substitute, that Chef Slowik had not planned for. She is a problem for him. He has planned this meal down to the last detail, and she is not supposed to be there.   The movie is 1 hour 47 minutes, Rated-R for violent content, language, and sexual references   This movie is about how out of hand the high-end restaurant business has come. They are not selling food, they are selling a lifestyle, and the food critics help them do it. This industry is directed at the people who have the money and don’t mind spending it, and as soon as a restaurant becomes “impossible” to get into, these people’s lives depend on getting in. This allows the restaurant to give them an ounce of some meat that was flown in from an island halfway around the world, put it on a plate, throw on a sprig of green something, and drop a few drops of different colored sauces in a pattern, and charge $150.00 for it.   The movie is clever, well written, and the scenes where Chef Slowik and Margot and together, are, dare I say, delicious, to the point of being succulent!   My Score: 5 Ice Cold Budweisers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    7 mins

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