National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)

National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)

[4] Chevy Chase and Bevery D'Angelo return as the Griswolds from the first Vacation movie, this time dragging the kids (recast Jason Lively and Dana Hill) on a whirlwind European tour. Perhaps due to intense acrimony between Chase and director…
The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk (1979)

[6] Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner team up for this absurdist, serendipitous comedy about a poor country boy who leaves his family to discover what the big city has to offer him. Martin's character is an oblivious man-child whose…
Move Over, Darling (1963)

Move Over, Darling (1963)

[7] Doris Day and James Garner star in this remake of 1940's My Favorite Wife, about a woman (Day) who returns home after five years lost at sea only to discover she's been declared dead and her husband (Garner) has…
Christmas Vacation (1989)

Christmas Vacation (1989)

[7] Christmas is coming and Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is determined to have the best old-time family holiday gathering ever, complete with an amazing house lighting display, the biggest Christmas tree ever, and extended family filling the house with Christmas…
A Night at the Opera (1935)

A Night at the Opera (1935)

[6] Groucho, Chico, and Harpo (but not Zeppo) provide classic comic relief in a series of vignettes tied together in a loose narrative involving a wayward socialite (Margaret Dumont) and a pair of opera-singing lovers (Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones).…
Horse Feathers (1932)

Horse Feathers (1932)

[5] Groucho Marx plays the dean of a university in desperate need of a football win. His son (Zeppo) convinces him to recruit two football players at a local bar, but of course, Groucho recruits the wrong people (Chico and…
Monkey Business (1931)

Monkey Business (1931)

[4] I want to like a Marx Brothers movie. Really, I do. But this is the third for me (after their earlier efforts, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers) and so far, no dice. In this, their first film written specifically…
Animal Crackers (1930)

Animal Crackers (1930)

[4] Groucho, Chico, Zeppo, and Harpo are back for their second big-screen soire. This one hangs loosely on a stolen painting plot, with Groucho playing a returning safari hunter at a rich aristocrat woman's house where all the action takes…
The Cocoanuts (1929)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

[4] The Marx Brothers made their feature film debut with The Cocoanuts, a filmed version of their popular vaudeville act of the same name. The scenario is centered around a Florida hotel where the brothers try to swindle people in…
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

[7]

Gizmo the cute Mogwai is back, and he gets wet again — this time in a New York City skyscraper run by a Donald Trump-like billionaire. Billy Peltzer and Kate Beringer (returning stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates) both work there and re-team with their furry companion just in time to do battle with another army of nasty gremlins. This sequel to the 1984 original is more a madcap comedy than a horror movie, with none of the fable quality or dark atmosphere of the first film. The script is meager enough to allow for large blocks of gremlins shenanigans that overwhelm the movie. This is good if you like monster mayhem, bad if you like a little more in your creature features. While the animatronics and special effects are far superior to those in the first film, director Joe Dante (The Howling, Explorers) indulges in a display of technological prowess that spirals into a busily boring mess before things are over.