Hucklebug, Episode 132: Shout-outs, movies (Bet: The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, Burn After Reading; Stennie: Swimming With Sharks, Play Time, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), lowlights & highlights, fuck-offs & you-rules, Harrison Ford Award, Five Greatest Movie Endings of All Time, Ever!
Music: “The Hucklebuck,” performed by (respectively): Frank Sinatra, Chubby Checker, The Radiators, Canned Heat, and Frank Sinatra again.
Links! See videos of part one and part two of ThePete & Siskita & Jay’s appearance on episode 131 of the Hucklebug at thepete.com!
My own favorite endings (spoilers abound, unless I can hold back):
Sanjuro – the staredown, which seems like it takes forever, and the quickest swordfight ever and a gush of blood.
The Killing – the first time I saw it I loudly exclaimed, “ah no!” as the suitcase flew open and all the money went flying in the air.
Dead Or Alive – the Takashi Miike movie. A “can you top THIS?” scenario taken to extremes, literally.
The 400 Blows – startling, at least.
The Seventh Victim – something happens at the end that wasn’t supposed to happen, and if you’re not paying close attention to what’s going on, you’ll miss it. It’s one of those.
The Blues Brothers, Animal House – Jailhouse Rock, and Senator Blutarsky. I mean, c’mon…
And that’s all I could think of.
Sheesh, how could I forget?
City Lights
I agree with Mike on the Blues Brothers ending. Great movie, great ending.
I also enjoyed last week’s HB. I just didn’t comment about it.
My movie ending favorite is predictable: Wings of Desire.
Ok, who would you rather see walk into a room – Obama or Mikey. Tough choice, eh?
And please – Obama counts as a president from ILLINOIS. It doesn’t matter where he was born. After all, Illinois’ state motto is “Land of Lincoln.”
I’d join in on the film club! I think you guys should just agree on the movie though. If you open it up to suggestions, you’ll open up a can of worms.
Burn after Reading? I was totally disappointed. I didn’t hate it or anything, but I was expecting more.
GO TO THE DOCTOR, BET! NOW! Passing out is not normal.
We haven’t had a parental update in the longest time. How are the mothers?
Blago: It is his hair. It is eating his brain. Did anyone else see the press conference he gave in front of his house after he was tossed out? Strange, strange man. Now he’s selling his house in the neighborhood, which is good. I mean, who wants him as a neighbor? But he didn’t ever move to Springfield because he didn’t want to move his children out of the ‘hood or change their schools. And now? He’s moving.
I am very sorry to hear about Steve Martin winning the Harry, but I couldn’t agree more. However, you know he was the executive producer of Traitor, which I thought was a very good movie. He’s becoming like Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen – his movies are better when he’s not in them.
Congrats Steelers! Great game all around. Lived in Pittsburgh in the 70s when they won four, which is the only reason I have any semblance of compassion for Terry Bradshaw.
Glad you liked FU, Penguin. Found it because it was a finalist for the 2008 Weblog Awards.
Michelle’s right about Obama. He’s from Illinois until he’s linked to corruption, then we disown him entirely. Although corruption is the distinguishing factor of Illinois politics.
Blago My Eggo got lucky that he grabbed the last plane back from Springfield before the State Senate voted. Would they fly him back if he had already been removed as Governor, or would he have to fly coach into Midway like the rest of us?
Film Club: Great idea. I’d love to join in. You guys can decide, but I think it’d be wonderful to get listener suggestion, especially if it rotated around. (Rushing to put This Is England in the Q.U.U.U.)
All of the above film finales are fantastic. Here’s a few I thought of. I’ve cheated by lumping them into categories. Spoilers!!! For some really old movies!!!
1a. Dr. Strangelove – Peter Sellers can walk…
1b. Being There – …on water.
2a. The Graduate
2b. Midnight Cowboy – Dustin Hoffman rides the bus twice.
3. Local Hero: Back from Scotland. A ringing phone box.
4. Shane: “Shane!”
5a. The Vanishing (1988) –
5b. Diabolique (1955) – Two classic endings from foreign films that you really shouldn’t spoil. And, surprisingly, the American remakes aren’t really as good.
6. The Silence of the Lambs – truly one of the great exits ever by Hannibal, until they kept bringing him back.
4.5 stars for Khan?? 🙁
I’m glad last week was so good for everyone, though I don’t think it was because of myself, Siskita and Jay—I think it was because of you fine ladies that somehow manage to deliver funny stuff week after week after week!
Jay agrees with me.
Now, which movie do I need to see? “Silent Running”, btw, is a kinda-low budget scifi film that has a cult following. I’d love to do a movie-of-the-month with you guys.
Telling George W. Bush to fuck off will never get old.
Agreed with you guys about Steve Martin getting the Harry. Siskita and I were walking through a subway station this weekend and saw ads for the new Pink Panther movie (I like to call it PP) on the walls and just shook my head asking aloud: “What the fuck? Who watches that useless shit?”
I think the Harry should be a bronze statue of Harrison Ford dressed like a pee-pod.
Also have to agree on the Oscars.
To its credit, the “Italian Job” remake doesn’t try to recreate the great ending of the original—it’s just everyone living happily ever after.
My favorite ending has to be the ending of “Das Boot”. How else can the most heavy war movie ever made end? JUST after everyone survives…the worst possible thing happens.
But in sync with Bet, “Cinema Paradiso” makes me BALL like a little girl. OMG. That’s a close second to “Das Boot.” The ending of “Das Boot” makes me feel honored to have seen it in the theater. God bless the New Beverly!
DEAD OF NIGHT IS IN MY TOP TEN FAVORITE MOVIES, BET! I think I might have to make you my new BFF!
Watching it now probably won’t have the same effect, though. It doesn’t age well just because there have been so many other creepy dummy-movies. But I do recommend you find a copy of that movie and watch it.
It’s an anthology movie—essentially, it’s a prototype for the Twilight Zone series. A man arrives at a country home—he’s been hired to do some architectural work, but as he enters the home, he suddenly realizes he’s dreamed of that moment. He then predicts each new character who enters the movie. From there, it becomes each new person explaining their own experiences with the paranormal. But I saw this movie for the first time in film school. The ending freaked us all out and still gives me the chills when I watch it. Though there is comedy in it that I think doesn’t fit.
Oh yeah and Jay wanted me to pass on a message to you both:
“YEAH!”
I’m also not someone who cries at films, but CINEMA PARADISO just gets me bawling. what a phenomenal film.
I’ve always thought the ending to WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was just pitch perfect. It’s not just the major event, but how that event is handled, and how two characters with a prickly relationship come to an understanding.
Without looking at IMDB, I could not remember anything Steve Martin has done in the last five years except for SHOPGIRL which I thought was a meandering, miscast mess.
Bet, do keep us updated on your illness/condition. I was quite alarmed by the information you shared on the last podcast.
A suggestion for the film club: make a list of films you haven’t seen so that no one has to watch a film over again. As discussed previously, it’s a special treat to discover something new, some new director, or new actor.
FUCK OFF to tax credits for giving birth to more people. Why do people get tax credits for having children? I think it should be the reverse. I should get tax credits for not adding to the population and straining the environment. I’m against pregnant women getting better parking spaces or receiving time off from work. When do I as a single, divorced woman with thankfully no children get paid leave that is not vacation time? If people want to have children, that’s their choice, but I resent them being rewarded for it.