MOVIE REVIEW: Ayoade's first film can't surface from mediocrity
2 Out of 4 starsIt’s quite rare, but every once in a blue moon a filmmaker will feel compelled to include a text introduction to their movie. Not to be confused with the usually misleading “based on real events” disclaimer, these proclamations provide set up, or in the case of recent Terrence Malick and Coen Brothers efforts, biblical quotes.
The most famous of these devices was George Lucas’ upward running scroll prior in the first “Star Wars” later parodied to great effect by Mel Brooks in “Spaceballs.”
For a rookie director to use this type of attention grabber is either the sign of a gargantuan ego or raging self-doubt with the material. For English native Richard Ayoade it’s both and neither. He states that the movie you’re about to see is the story of his life and we should sit back and enjoy it. This is odd as the story actually belongs to novelist Joe Dunthorne and the movie is anything but enjoyable.
In addition to being far too full of himself, Ayoade is unable to come up with a single instance of original storytelling with “Submarine.” But to his credit, he pilfers from some impressive sources. In addition to the Coens, he pinches from Hal Ashby, Wes Anderson, John Cassavettes and a few more maverick visionaries from the past.
“Submarine” is a coming-of-age story about ordinary Welsh teen Oliver (Craig Roberts) whose principal goal is to lose his virginity before his 15th birthday. Because he has little in the way of sex appeal, charm or finesse, this task is monumentally difficult and provides the film with the bulk of its considerable dramatic conflict.
The remainder of the tension rests in Oliver’s ability to keep his parents from separating. His father Lloyd (Noah Taylor) is a scientist of some sort who is hygienically challenged and appropriately aloof. Oliver’s mother Jill (Sally Hawkins), though now prim and proper was once a hippie type who is contemplating a return to her roots when an old flame conveniently takes up residence right next door in the middle of nowhere.
He’s Graham (Paddy Considine), a self-proclaimed mystic who sports a hideous mullet, practices Eastern-based self-defense moves in the oddest of circumstances and has an Asian trophy girlfriend. Graham, Oliver, Lloyd and Jill are all the kind of characters who exist only within the confines of art films invariably referred to as “quirky” and “offbeat.” None of them are very likable but all carry minor appeal due to their broadly written eccentricities.
Mel Brooks Quotes - News
in the case of recent Terrence Malick and Coen Brothers efforts, biblical quotes. The most famous of these devices was George Lucas' upward running scroll prior in the first “Star Wars” later parodied to great effect by Mel Brooks in “Spaceballs.
Seas learns that Savage and his men are “dead,” then tries to put the moves on a nearby blonde (Robyn Hilton, notable for playing the red-headed object of Mel Brooks' lust in Blazing Saddles). The blonde's first line is the first intelligible utterance
Said to be about “electricity and a three-foot guy with red hair” with a soundtrack boasting '50s rockabilly, folks like Mel Brooks and Francis Ford Coppola approached Lynch over the years to produce the film and it nearly happened in the early '90s
I am reminded of Mel Brooks and Harvey Korman in the classic film "Blazing Saddles" every time I read of the antics of our local civic leaders. Methinks somehow the irony will be lost on those who would most benefit.
Don't watch the classic movie Blazing Saddles or you'll sue Mel Brooks! He made fun of everybody. A person buys a ticket to Tracy Morgon and is shocked that he slurred gays??? I bet he slurred gays, straights, whites, blacks, etc etc.
Mel Brooks Quotes - Funny Quotes, Funny Sayings, Funny Jokes
About Funny Quotes Today
We have a great collection of funny quotes from movies, television shows, authors, funny topics and just about anything else you can think of. We also have a user section where you can submit your own funny quote to get listed. Please visit our submit a quote section if you find that we are missing a quote from any of our pages, or if you want to submit your own quote. Thanks and Enjoy!
I only direct in self-defense. Mel Brooks 
“I've been accused of vulgarity. I say that's bullshit.”
Mel Brooks quotesMel Brooks Quotes - Bookshelf
The Big Screen Comedies of Mel Brooks
This work is devoted entirely to Mel Brooks' work, good and bad, as a writer and director of big screen comedies.It's Good to Be the King, The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks
"It's Good to Be the King" traces the life and career of little Melvin Kaminsky, who began life as the adored youngest son of a Brooklyn Jewish family, thrown ...Get Smart
GET SMART A Comedy in Two Acts For Ten Men and Seventeen Women CHARACTERS MAXWELL SMART secret agent for CONTROL HELEN } MYRA , . , JANE students FRED J ...Familiar quotations, a collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and modern literature
First published in 1855 as a small booklet containing a mere 258 pages of quotes by 169 authors, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations has been completely revised and ...The 2,000 year old man in the year 2,000, the book : including how to not die and other good tips
To dan strone, George Shapiro, and Diane Reverand, without whose constant nudging* this book would not have been written. And thanks to all the people who ...News Article Directory
Mel Brooks Quotes - BrainyQuote
Quotes by Mel Brooks, Type - Comedian, Nationality - American, Date of Birth - June 28, 1926 - BrainyQuote
Mel Brooks quotes
Mel Brooks quotes,Mel, Brooks, author, authors, writer, writers, people, famous people
Mel Brooks Quotes
Mel Brooks Quotes and Quotations. We have the best collection of Famous Quotes by Mel Brooks.
Famous Quotes by Mel Brooks | Quotes Daddy
Mel Brooks largest online collection of Famous Quotes and Quotations | Page 1
Mel Brooks Quotes
Discover how to find free kindle books with quotes and other ... Mel Brooks in the director's Commentary : 'I'm both proud and ashamed of that line' ...