Home for the Holidays (1995)

"Well, that was absurd, let's eat dead bird!"

Claudia Larson (Hunter) is having a bad day.  She was fired from her art restoration job, kissed her boss, and learned that her daughter Kitt (Danes) is planning to lose her virginity over the weekend.  She is flying back to Baltimore for Thanksgiving with her parents, which she is dreading.

Her parents, Henry (Durning) and Adele (Bancroft), are overbearing and overwhelming.  Henry plays the organ and washes any car that sits in his driveway.  Adele wears a red wig and wants to know everything that happens in the lives of her children.  That evening, Claudia's brother Tommy (Downey Jr.), arrives with his friend Leo Fish (McDermott).  The next day the Larson family gathers for Thanksgiving, including Adele's odd sister Aunt Glady (Chaplin), and Claudia's sister Joanne (Stevenson) and her family.  Can the family survive the holidays?


Many people dread heading home for the holidays, but watching this film will help you feel better about your own family.  This was the second film directed by Jodie Foster (following Little Man Tate in 1991).

Holly Hunter grounds the film.  She is sympathetic, but still strong.  The cast is filled with big name actors / actresses who give big performances.  It all works well here and is an enjoyable holiday film.

Home for the Holidays (1995) 103 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, language and brief drug use
Director: Jodie Foster
Starring: Holly Hunter as Claudia Larson
Robert Downey Jr. as Tommy Larson
Anne Bancroft as Adele Larson
Dylan McDermott as Leo Fish
Geraldine Chaplin as Aunt Glady
Steve Guttenberg as Walter Wedman
Claire Danes as Kitt Larson
Cynthia Stevenson as Joanne Larson Wedman
Charles Durning as Henry Larson

Police Academy

"You make me sick."

"Thank you, sir.  I make everybody sick."

The newly elected mayor has removed the law that restricts the qualifications for police cadets.  Her actions frustrate Police Chief Henry Hurnst (George R. Robertson) and other members of the police force.  Hurnst orders Commandant Eric Lassard (Gaynes) to accept all candidates, but encourages Lieutenant Harris (Bailey) to force the undesirables to quit.

The police academy is overwhelmed with cadets, who move onto the campus for the duration of their training.  Carey Mahoney (Guttenberg) enters the academy as an alternate to prison.  His father was a well-known and respected police officer, but Mahoney spends more time on the other side of the law.  He also recruits Larvell Jones (Winslow), who is a human beatbox.  They are joined by trigger-happy security guard Eugene Tackleberry (Graf), ladies man George Martin (Rubin), pushover Leslie Barbara (Scott), timid Laverne Hooks (Ramsey), gentle giant Moses Hightower (Smith), and wealthy Karen Thompson (Cattrall) among others.  Can they survive training wht Harris and Sergeant Debbie Callahan (Easterbrook) to officially join the police force?


Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, this film launched a film franchise.  The film was written by Neal Israel and Pat Proft.  They wrote the screenplay with Hugh Wilson, who also directed the film.  The film was produced Paul Maslansky, who was one of the few people to be involved in all 7 films (Police Academy in 1984, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment 1985, Police Academy 3: Back in Training in 1986, Police Academy 4: Citizens of Patrol 1987, Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach in 1988, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege in 1989, and Police Academy: Mission to Moscow in 1994).

The film is funny and makes the most of it's cast.  It launched the careers of many of the cast members.

In addition to the 7 films, Warner Brothers made a TV show, Police Academy: The Series.  It ran for 26 episodes from 1997-1998 and featured several cast members from the film franchise.

Police Academy (1984) 96 minutes
Director: Hugh Wilson
Starring: Steve Guttenberg as Carey Mahoney
Bubba Smith as Moses Hightower
Kim Cattrall as Karen Thompson
G.W. Bailey as Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris
Donovan Scott as Leslie Barbara
George Gaynes Commandant Eric Lassard
Michael Winslow as Larvell Jones
Andrew Rubin as George Martin
David Graf as Eugene Tackleberry
Leslie Easterbrook as Sergeant Debbie Callahan
Bruce Mahler as Douglas Fackler
Marion Ramsey as Laverne Hooks
Brant Von Hoffman as Kyle Blankes
Scott Thomson as Chad Copeland

Spider-Man: Homecoming

"You need to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."

After the Battle of New York, Adrian Toomes (Keaton) and his team are collecting Chitauri wreckage.  They are ordered away from the wreckage, but manage to keep one of the pieces.  Eight years later, Toomes is a successful business man, selling Chitauri powered weapons.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker (Holland) is recruited by Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) to help with an internal Avengers matter.  After the battle, he gives Peter a high-tech Spider-Man suit.  He doesn't think Peter is ready to be an official Avenger and has Happy Hogan (Favreau) monitor Peter and be his connection to the Avengers.  Peter continues to monitor the city as Spider-Man, while telling everyone in his life that he has an internship with Tony Stark.

No one else knows that Peter is Spider-Man: he hides the secret from his Aunt May (Tomei) and best friend Ned (Batalon).  He is a high school student, which keeps him busy by day, and Spider-Man keeps him busy by night.  The job gets a lot harder when Toomes advanced weapons hit the streets and put people in danger.  Can Peter protect his city and become a real member of the Avengers?


The character of Spider-Man was created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  It was one of the first comics to focus on a teenage superhero and became a huge success.  The character starred in numerous animated TV shows since 1967.

In 2002 director Sam Raimi brought the character to the big screen in Spider-Man, with Tobey Maguire as the lead character.  The film was popular enough for Sony to make 2 more sequels, Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and Spider-Man 3 in 2007, all starring Maguire and directed by Raimi.  A fourth film was planned, but never made.  In 2012 director Marc Webb made The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield in the lead.  The film offered a fresh take on the character and his origin story and featured a different villain from the Raimi trilogy.  It did well and they returned in 2014 with The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  The planned to build up the world of Spider-Man, with sequels and spin-offs, but ultimately those plans fell through.

In 2016 Sony Pictures (who own the film rights to the character) reached a deal with Marvel Studios to allow the character to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Tom Holland was cast as Peter Parker and made his debut in Captain America: Civil War.

Unlike the previous Spider-Man films, this one does not show how Peter gained his abilities.  It begins with the Chitauri invasion from The Avengers, and jumps to Peter's involvement in Captain America: Civil War.  He has the abilities and is trying to figure out how to be a hero.  Holland captures the humor and heart of the comic.  He is clearly a high school student, while also trying to be a hero.

Michael Keaton is menacing as Adrian Toomes, while also being very grounded.  Bokeem Woodbine is his right-hand man, Herman, also known as Spider-Man villain Shocker (the film also features Logan Marshall-Green as the other version of Shocker, Jackson Brice).  Jacob Batalon is funny as his best friend Ned.  And Tony Revolori is the perfect foil as Flash Thompson.  Marisa Tomei is good as Aunt May.  The other female characters are ok, but not as developed.  Peter has a crush on Liz, played by Liz Harrier, but the film doesn't focus on the romance.

An enjoyable Spider-Man film.  Holland is set to appear in the next 2 Avengers films: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4.  And they are planning to make a sequel to this film.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) 133 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes / Vulture
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
Zendaya as Michelle
Jacob Batalon as Ned
Laura Harrier as Liz
Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson
Marisa Tomei as May Parker
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz