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Reviews
The Champions (1968)
powerful nostalgic memories
My siblings and I stumbled upon The Champions when our local station aired re-runs of it one summer in the 1970's. We absolutely adored it. There was something so exotic and mysterious about it, especially when compared to the usual American re-runs (Petticoat Junction, Green Acres... you get the idea). It had a similar feel to The Avengers (not too much of a surprise, since it was also British and in the spy/adventure genre).
I would love to see it again now -- hopefully it holds up. I've mentioned this show to others and no one has ever heard of it, so I began to wonder if I'd imagined its whole existence. But the wonder that is the web has allowed me track down information about it. Hopefully it will find a new generation of fans.
Scrooged (1988)
it's just not that funny
I haven't read all the comments, but I notice that many folks are wondering why this movie has negative reviews, thinking some people can't handle its "dark" nature or Frank Cross' nastiness. In fact, I love dark comedies and think Frank Cross is the movie's saving grace (Bill Murray's brilliance manages to shine through mediocrity once again).
I think the problem is that this movie just not nearly as funny as it thinks it is. Much of it is tedious and labored. Some think Carol Kane is hilarious, but I found her downright annoying (I think she is better in less broad comedic roles). And the level of violence is just gratuitous and takes way too much away from the comedy. The only time it is effective in creating comedy is in the opening sequence for the Lee Major's movie. Isn't it ironic that the movie starts out making fun of violence for violence sake, and then proceeds to become the very thing it makes fun of.
This had potential to be a very good movie, but did not succeed due to some of the factors cited above. I did not enjoy it much upon second viewing, whereas I can watch "Groundhog Day" over and over again.