There’s a moment in Deer Woman where you realize John Landis is absolutely messing with you. Not in a Hitchcockian, master-of-suspense kind of way, but more like a drunken uncle hijacking Thanksgiving dinner to explain how sexy Native American mythology is. That’s the whole episode in a nutshell: weird, dumb, oddly charming, and possibly illegal … Read More “Masters of Horror – “Deer Woman” (2005): Antlers, Absurdity, and a Very Strange Boner” »
There are murder‑for‑money black comedies, and then there’s Susan’s Plan, a film so aggressively dumb it feels like it was conceived during a poker game between people who thought “irony” was a fancy salad dressing. Directed and written by John Landis, this 1998 direct‑to‑video disaster (retitled Dying to Get Rich) promised cunning plotting and noir … Read More “Susan’s Plan (1998): A Murder Plot So Stupid It Kills the Fun” »
Somewhere in the dark, smoky void between a bad idea and a drunken greenlight meeting, Blues Brothers 2000 was born. Not written. Not developed. Not conceived in any artistic way. Born—like a fungus that grew on a stack of unused Universal Studios press passes. It’s the kind of sequel that feels like it escaped from … Read More “Blues Brothers 2000”: A Sequel Nobody Wanted to the Movie Nobody Should Have Followed” »
It takes a special kind of creative ambition to produce a film called The Stupids and then deliver something even dumber than the title promised. Directed by John Landis—yes, that John Landis, the same guy who once gave us The Blues Brothers, Animal House, and An American Werewolf in London—this film is a catastrophic free … Read More “The Stupids (1996): A Movie So Dumb, It Gave the VHS Tape Brain Damage” »
If “Beverly Hills Cop” was a Big Mac with extra sauce and “Beverly Hills Cop II” was a reheated Quarter Pounder smothered in synth-pop and cocaine dust, then “Beverly Hills Cop III” is the Dollar Menu after midnight—lukewarm, rubbery, and handed to you by someone who just clocked out of caring. Directed by John Landis, … Read More “Beverly Hills Cop III (1994): Axel Foley Goes to Hellworld (and Takes Us With Him)” »
Innocent Blood is the cinematic equivalent of ordering a pepperoni pizza expecting a gourmet pie… and getting half pepperoni, half prosciutto, with olives scattered where they make no sense. John Landis’ 1992 mash-up of vampire horror, mobster mayhem, and noir-comedy can’t quite decide what it wants to be—but hey, it sure wants to look stylish … Read More “Innocent Blood (1992): A Vampiric Gumshoe with Just Enough Sauce to Savor” »
There are movies that miss the mark. Then there are movies that miss the building entirely, fall into a dumpster fire, and get sprayed down by a confused fireman named Vinny. Oscar is that movie—a big, bloated attempt at screwball comedy where everything is moving except the laughter. Directed by John Landis and starring Sylvester … Read More “Oscar (1991): When Stallone Traded His Boxing Gloves for a Clown Nose” »
By the time Coming to America rolled around in 1988, Eddie Murphy had already conquered the world—or at least Hollywood’s paycheck machine—with 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. He seemed unstoppable. So it must’ve sounded like gold-colored alchemy when someone whispered, “How about playing not one but seven characters, including a queen and … Read More “Coming to America (1988): Eddie Murphy Takes a Royal Dump on Good Taste (And Somehow Gets Richer for It)” »
There are movies that try too hard to be funny. Then there’s ¡Three Amigos!, a film that wears its stupidity like a bedazzled sombrero—and somehow makes it look good. John Landis, riding the tail end of his hot streak and nursing a hangover from Spies Like Us, somehow wrangled Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin … Read More “¡Three Amigos! (1986): When Three Idiots Rode into the Desert and Took Stupidity to Glory” »
There’s a special kind of disappointment reserved for comedies that star two legends and still manage to suck the air out of the room like a black hole in a tuxedo. Spies Like Us is that kind of disappointment. Directed by John Landis, who at this point had already played fast and loose with tone … Read More “Spies Like Us (1985): A Cold War Comedy So Cold It Froze the Jokes” »
