Classic American Movies

22/08/2025

New episode!

In a world of sequels, requels, remakes and reimaging, is there any surprise that “The Naked Gun” wouldn’t come back? Well, this one was really good and I had a blast watching and recording it! If you like slapstick and silly, then please go see this movie ASAP. It's fun, self aware and, dammit, it’s the movie we need today. Kick back and enjoy!
Check it out wherever you find finer podcasts:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TIiSnBEpC0c3OKzGSDd3h?si=R6twb1e_TYiOk2phbVxa5g

The Naked Gun Leslie Nielsen Liam Neeson Pamela Anderson Pamela Anderson

15/08/2025

New review at classicamericanmovies.com !
It would appear that Hollywood is taking a turn towards the adults with Zach Cregger’s latest thriller, “Weapons”. After “Barbarian”, I was excited to check out his follow up and I wasn’t disappointed!
Check out my spoiler light review:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/08/15/weapons/

★★★★★ For the horror and serious film hounds. Check it out ASAP.  Right now Hollywood is in a moment where they’re realizing that audiences don’t like $250 million mega blockbuster films that …

12/08/2025

New review at classicamericanmovies.com !
Amazon Prime has decided to make a commercial wrapped around a movie. “War of the Worlds”, much like the tagline suggests, is “ … worse than you think.” But what is the actual plot? Is Amazon showing us their company’s loyalty in times of an alien invasion while showcasing new technology. Well, yes, but the movie is a heaping pile of crap.
Check out my review for the seventh imagining of “War of the Worlds”:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/08/12/war-of-the-worlds/

★ Watch this movie just to say you’ve seen it. “There’s more important things to do other than worry about what’s in someone’s Amazon cart.” That laughably solid line is from Department of Ho…

07/08/2025

New review at ClassicAmericanMovies.com !
Following a lackluster few months at the box office (especially in the horror department), Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in Michael Shanks’ film that really brings folks “Together.” Riddled with lawsuits and being called a ripoff since the release of the first trailer in March, Neon has powered through with its release (and all but scrubbed the supposed movie it stole, “Better Half” off the internet). I feel the film was a great attempt, but without direction or care, it falls flat. At least all the good stuff was in the trailer.
Check out my review at:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/08/07/together/

★★ Stream it for Halloween season. Ever since last year’s smash surprise hit The Substance rocked theaters and award ceremonies with its artistic photography, well-crafted actors in self-awar…

03/08/2025

New review!
Happy is back and … uh … Happy-er than before. Is the long, long awaited sequel all that Sandler fans wanted and a bag of clubs? Well, I thought so.
Check my review at the link below:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/08/03/happy-gilmore-2/

★★★★★ Watch this ASAP (it’s streaming on Netflix) OK, so what exactly are you thinking this will be? I’ve read a lot of reviews (mostly mixed), but honestly, what were you expecting to see? G…

31/07/2025

New review at classicamericanmovies.com !

In short: stream it.
“Oh, Hi!” starts out very cute and seems like there is promise. The problem is that it never gets beyond that. The whole movie made me think that there is more somewhere but that somewhere never came.
Check out my entire review at the link below:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/07/30/oh-hi/

★★★ Stream it. Oh, Hi! (2025) **½  Stream it. The dating scene is just so crap.  It really is. You go out, wear nice clothes, pretend to put on a show, talk about yourself to someone who …

29/07/2025

I’ve finally made a movie review blog. It was gonna happen, I swear. But, you know, I got busy. Much like washing a dirty car: I just never got around to it. The podcast will still exist, but my movie reviews will be housed on www.classicamericanmovies.com . Catchy name, huh?
The movie review blog was created as opposed to using my Facebook and Instagram accounts mainly because Instagram only allows you to have 2000 characters, thus limiting the review. Also, you don’t own anything posted on social media so … yeah.
Some movies only require a short length (I do have two sections of reviews on Instagram dedicated to two sentence and three sentence reviews, after all) but others really do deserve their own in-depth analysis, much like my first review: Eddington.
The blog is very much in its infancy and I’m still working out all the bugs, but I feel pretty confident sharing it now. I have a lot of other movie-inspired writings that are unpublished and I plan to add them to the blog at some point. For right now it’ll be reviews. I’m also encouraging former guests who do their own writings to feel free to send me their work to be showcased on the Classic American Movies blog. Why not? I didn’t have an outlet for my writing and now I do. Why not share the wealth?

And now for the first review:
Eddington is very much the surprise film from Ari Astor. Love or hate his previous work, this movie is the first in I assume “mirror to society” films that will come out about the pandemic in 2020 and the world’s reaction. The insanity and unsureness of the time combined with lockdowns: What was it like? Well, it was five years ago and Astor displays these moments of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a small town sheriff squaring off with lousy but likeable Mayor in the town of Eddington, New Mexico.
Check out my review in the link below:
https://classicamericanmovies.com/2025/07/25/eddington/

#2020

24/07/2025

SPOILER REVIEW!!
I really feel like an apology is in order. If you’ve talked to me in the last month, then you’ve heard me sing the praise of the requel of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and how I was convinced it was going to be the hit of the summer. But, holy banana Hannah was I wrong. This movie not only was complete crap, it sucked and blew.
The movie I thought was going to be the hit of the summer turns out to be a giant stinker filled with unlikable characters, dumb dialogue (even for slashers) and dumber situations. The whole "Summer" is a mess of a movie and although I hate talking bad about movies, it’s impossible to talk good about this one.
Check out this week's episode where I do a thorough breakdown of the movie (mainly because I can’t believe how bad it was) and yes … THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS INCLUDING THE REVEAL OF THE KILLER!!
Check out me ranting and raving wherever you find finer podcasts:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/68ssI8PjhNA7yBFUDNGSw5?si=3p-kcHyLRsSJA_-3-HW55A

21/07/2025

Every once in a while I watch a movie that seems like I’ve seen it before.
“Oh, yeah, this one is ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Harry Potter’ but in the future, ” or “This is ‘The Thing’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’ in a barn” and so on. Rarely does a movie come across my review desk and I think “Oh … Well that was different.”
“Animale”, the second feature film written and directed by long time short filmmaker Emma Berenstan, who combines several “been there, seen that” stories and makes it her own. Think of a bunch of storylines that shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Really well.
Nejma (Oulaya Amamra) is trying to make a name for herself in the Camargue, France male-dominated sport of bullfighting. After a day of practice, Nejma and some other fighters go out drinking. All is well until she pops some molly, goes wandering off in the green pasture and wakes up with a violent hangover and a sense for no bull (pun intended).
As the days progress, the men who were closer to Nejma are mauled by a loose bull. Concerned for safety, but living in a tourism-fueled town ain’t easy. The mayor doesn’t want to close down because it’s bullfighting season (love that “Jaws” nod), but the fighters are concerned for their lives. All the while, Nejma’s becoming somewhat of a local star and will likely rake in some serious dough. This all comes to a horn-in-the-throat-gun-blasting-end which I can only describe as “The Moment of Truth” and “The Fly” on the set of “Yellowstone”.
Berenstan grounds her work in an absurd reality combining an underdog storyline with body horror and rape-revenege. It’s the kind of film that Cirio Santiago would have said “I should have thought of that!” It’s serious, violent and has a story that feels familiar, yet new. It’s impossible not to love this movie!
Check out “Animale” on VOD August 8th.

19/07/2025

I was talking to my friend Middy today and told him my thoughts on James Gunn’s kickstart to the new DC Universe. He’s a lifelong comic book enthusiast and I love slashers. The movies today have been saturated to death with spandex and leather clad heroes saving the world from a guy because they have a reason and I just want something else.
Anyways, Middy said “Stop wasting your time on superhero movies; not your thing. The best Taylor Swift song won’t be good to people who don't like Tavlor Swift.” That’s the best way I can describe my thoughts on the beginning, again, to the New DCU: It’s not my thing.
Because I know how difficult it is to make movies (especially one of this caliber), I won’t go on negatively. Instead, I’ll do a pro and con list.
Pro: It looks great! No matter how you feel about superhero movies, if they look bad (“Black Panther”) you’ll wonder where the money went. “Superman” looks and feels like it's a $225 million blockbuster movie. The casting is perfect. David Coreneswet as the titular character is sharp, sexy and kicks ass. Nicholas Hoult as the villain Lex Luthor packs a serious punch not seen since Gene Hackman. I love that there isn’t an origin story. Yeah, that may be playing it dangerous, but do you need to hear the story of Superman, again?
Con: Everything is a joke. I know Gunn made a name as a comic book director with “Guardians of the Galaxy”, and its self-deprecating humor, but holy Hannah, man: Chill out. Not everything is a joke. Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) was my favorite character because he was a perfect straight man. I liked The Justice Gang and wanted more, but I assume Gunn added them in hopes of making their own movie. If that’s the case: More Nathan Fillion! The story is OK, but which superhero movie has a solid one with grief, strife and overcoming the odds? “Tara Reid” is Supergirl … I dunno man.
Overall, “Superman” is exactly what one would expect out of James Gunn and comic books: It’s flashy, funny and nods to the comics without crossing the line. These movies are very safe and offer no sort of danger.
For general audiences this may sound like a good time; I will shake this one off.

03/07/2025

Link to new pod in bio!
If you’ve seen a movie in the last month, or have used an Apple product, then you’ve seen the trailer for “F1: The Movie”. I’m going to be honest and say that I didn’t have much hope for this. Brad Pitt as an aging driver showing a young hotshot (Damson Idris) the ropes on professional F1 Driving didn’t scream excitement for me. However, I was wrong! This movie with the tired trope of “passing the torch to the younger generation” was exactly what I needed in a movie right now. Combine that with razor sharp cinematography and a fun soundtrack and you have a kick ass time in the theaters!

Check out the pod on Spotify or wherever you find finer podcasts:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zhSB0kE7AGrdcOlyVC8KK?si=X1GpPssnSuWXrhFIz3P7CQ

F1

01/07/2025

Oh, “M3GAN 2.0” … I really wanted to like you. I loved the first one so much and had high hopes for a fun off-the-charts goofball sequel. Blumhouse started off strong in a horror market that didn’t exist for a major label. They quickly capitalized and now … they … uh … exist.
According to the trailer of “2M3GAN 2Furious”, Blumhouse’s lovable artificial intelligent robot is back with a fouler mouth and can kick even more ass. At least for whatever she’s programmed for.
In the first M3GAN (Model 3 Generative ANdroid) we’re introduced to a lifelike AI doll that was brought in to help raise Cady (Violet McGraw) after her parents passed and she was sent to her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). M3GAN (created by Gemma) is supposed to protect her at all costs and thus murders happen in the name of safety. I really enjoyed that one and was quite happy to see a super-camped up sequel was in the works.
Part two brings in Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) who is the latest in M3GAN-like technology which will be used in the AI war of the future to do all the dirty work. The government seems to think they have it in control, until they don’t and a mole is sniffed out. How did this technology leak and why? Will Amelia only do as programmed? Will it go rogue? All signs point to Gemma and Cady who may or may not be as innocent as they appear.
There’s a lot of intentionally ridiculous situations in “2.0”: Singing, dancing, kung-fu. Combine that with brilliant cinematography of Toby Oliver (Get Out, Happy Death Day, The Dirt) that shadows “Upgrade” and you have a blah popcorn flick that’s being released at peak summer viewing. There’s no aliens, or car chases (strike that, there’s one) and dialogue that sounded as silly as when writer/director Gerard Johnstone wrote it. The Blumhouse name is generally a hit or miss and they’re leaning towards dead-behind-the-eyes with “2.0”.
If you liked the first film, then you know what you’re getting into. All others: please log off.