Well, "Psycho" referenced the idea that there were more bodies buried in the swamp. So Norman could off a few more people before that happens.

"Plus, if they introduce Marion, then we'll have to see all the stuff we've already seen." Again, we didn't see Marion in a relationship with the guy who ran the local hardware store, or learn much about their situation (other than that they needed money to start out on) that would explain her decision to risk…

The remake of Psycho didn't work because it was, literally, a shot for shot remake (with a couple of dumb exceptions), ineptly executed by Gus Van Sant with a hilariously miscast Vince Vaughn.

Mathnet was a much, much more effective parody of Dragnet, and far more entertaining as well.

Remakes, adaptations, and franchises have been staples of Hollywood right from the very beginning. Current complaints go more towards the proportion of remakes to new material, and especially the budgets they get allocated, as opposed to what goes towards new material. Also, there's a bit of a distinction between…

I remember Jonny Lang writhing, wincing, and squirming his way through his number like he was having a particularly difficult bowel movement. I subsequently got that mental image whenever I heard his music. I suspect a number of other people had the same impression.

And they do a song and dance number as such too! But by that point we've already learned that the Blues Mobile is capable of acting as a submarine, and have been treated to a performance of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" featuring Muppet ghost cowboys. In other words, beyond the point where it's even worth remarking upon.

That would've made a lot more sense - Elwood's spent his prime either running from cops/pissed off rednecks/Illinois Nazis, or behind bars. He's too tired and too old for this sh*t, and with his brother gone his heart's just not in it. Maybe he decides to retire to the orphanage and take Cab Calloway's old job as…

I guess you could get even more real: "Jake died doing speedballs with a groupie. It came at the end of a weekend bender, instigated by his decision to try and jump start his stalling career by signing onto a project which he came to feel would be demeaning to him and his reputation."

I believe that scene was actually filmed at one of their locations. But, having been in a couple of them, they do appear to have different layouts (the decor is always a southern "outsider art" look). Or I should say it was - I haven't visited one in at least a decade or longer.

On a very fundamental level, any story that places the character of Elwood Blues at the center of the action was bound to go nowhere. Elwood was the dopey, quiet guy in the background who served as sidekick/counterpoint to Belushi's Jake, who was the classic Belushi "instigator of chaos and mayhem" character. And…

Yeah, I don't think there's any dispute Landis was phoning this one in, but the film wouldn't exist in the first place without the persistent efforts of Aykroyd, and there probably wouldn't have been all the House of Blues corporate tie-ins, either. So he gets the primary blame.

Or maybe, "Egon got zapped by a Tesla coil. It wasn't a pretty sight."

On that basis, shooting 35mm film may actually be cheaper than shooting digital. A roll of Eastman 16mm Double-X retails for around $150 online, while a good quality DSLR is like, twice that. Plus, the film canister is already roughly shaped like a clay pigeon.

"'Just because' is not usually sufficient justification for doing
something that costs significant resources in my book. It's the
mentality of a toddler."

When you say "16mm," do you literally mean the old standard 16mm, as distinguished from Super 16? Because no, I don't think anybody makes regular 16mm film or equipment any more. Super 16 is still used for a number of projects.

"Yet Easy Rider’s also a lot more critical of its own audience that its reputation suggests." And its audience has responded in kind by mostly ignoring those criticisms and, and by reducing the movie to a few iconic clips and quotes that serve to demonstrate what fun-loving, authority flouting badasses they once were.…

No, that would be the episode "Rock Devil Rock" (also featuring a cameo by Elvira) which aired on Halloween, 1982, and boldly took on the phenomenon of "shock rock" acts such as Alice Kooper or Kiss about four or five years after that trend had already peaked.

A lot of shows from the era were more than a little condescending but overall relatively benign or good-natured about hippies. They usually didn't go into full-out moral panic mode like CHiPs & Quincy did. Excepting maybe the '60s Dragnet, the phenomenon of weekly TV series basing a whole episode around moral panic…

One day A.V. Club will give CHiPs' "Battle of the Bands" the sort of thorough, exhaustive analysis that a work of such monumental stature truly deserves. That, and maybe the "Roller Disco" two-parter. When CHiPs did a special episode, it really swung for the fences.