Comfortable and Furious
Mel Brooks knocks it out of the park with huge knockers and riotous hilarity.
Gene Wilder
Peter Boyle
Terry Garr
Marty Feldman
Madeline Kahn
Gene Hackman
Cloris Leachman
Kenneth Mars
It is no secret that comedies are a genre of movies that are overlooked, underestimated and treated with a yawning disdain by many reviewers and moviegoers alike. Reading any Top (Whatever) list of the Best Comedies of all time will reveal a swath of disagreement, if not downright hostility over the inevitable picks and omissions.Tastes vary […]
Agata Kulesza
Agata Trzebuchowska
Dawid Ogrodnik
Jerzy Trela
Adam Szyszkowski
I thought that I had already watched the two best movies of the year in Birdman and Boyhood, but after watching this beautiful and haunting film, I’m not so sure. Ida was set in the drab and joyless country of Poland, around 1962, at the height of the Cold War. Ida was a young woman […]
The Christmas season has wound down and the reflection begins. We all have our favorite Christmas movie classics, but what about some of those memorable and Ruthless characters that made the movies what they are? I proudly present my Top Ten Christmas movie characters. *Honorable Mention* He probably should be included in the Top Ten, […]
Michael Cain as Scrooge
Kermit as Bob Cratchit
Ms. Piggy as Mrs. Cratchit
Gonzo as Charles Dickens
Statler & Waldorf as The Marleys
Anyone who has been reading Ruthless Reviews faithfully knows that I have already reviewed a half-dozen versions of this Christmas classic. The Muppets animation hybrid is the most underwhelming of the lot of remakes of the Dickens novel that I have reviewed. The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992) takes a slightly different approach to the Carol, […]
Santa from outer space does battle with Satan while children toil as slaves in Santa’s sweatshop.
Hundreds and hundreds of forced labor kids.
To wind up the Christmas reviews of 2014, I have Santa Claus (1959) as I must review something that is truly horrible, even more horrible than the Christmas season itself, which is well upon us. I probably don’t even have to watch this horror show to review it, in fact, I don’t even have the […]
Ebenezer Scrooge is a money lender who does not celebrate Christmas. Scrooge reflects on his life and behavior, experiences redemption, emerges a believer in Christmas and a generous and changed man.*
Alastair Sim
Kathleen Harrison
Mervyn Johns
Hermione Baddeley
Michael Hordern
George Cole
There are over a dozen renditions of the Dicken’s classic, A Christmas Carolť, or Scrooge, and I have reviewed several of them here at Ruthless. There is one omission, A Christmas Carol (1951) and this particular edition may very well be the best of the best, when all things are considered. At Ruthless, we love these musty old […]
Boris Karloff
Thurl Ravenscroft
The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a charming little short animation that was written by Dr. Seuss and narrated by the late great Boris Karloff. The absolutely fabulous Grinch Song is not sung by Boris Karloff, but actually credited to Thurl Ravenscroft of Tony the Tiger Frosted Flakes, (they’re GREAT!!) fame. You cannot […]
Voices of people who are probably now dead
Virtually everyone is familiar with the comic strip Peanuts created by the late Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000), as well as the ancient animated Christmas TV special. The main character is Charlie Brown, who lives in a bizarro world, where the landscape is bleak and snow-packed during the winter season. His peers are either cruelly ruthless […]
Ben Kingsley
Ray Winstone
Ian McShane
Amanda Redman
“I am just going to have to turn this opportunity down.” “No, you’re just gonna have to turn this opportunity yes!” sociopath (noun) A person who is completely unable or unwilling to behave in a way that is acceptable to society. Don Logan The movie begins innocuously enough, with retired gangster and safe cracker […]
Michael Keaton
Emma Stone
Edward Norton
Naomi Watts
Zach Galifianakis
Amy Ryan
Lindsay Duncan
Have your bladder empty and your popcorn handy before you plop your butt in your theater seat for this one. You also will need to buckle up, as you are immediately thrust inside the labyrinth of a dark theater where the ride is relentless. Don’t plan on relaxing for a moment either, as this masterpiece […]
