Hey, man. It is that magical day when stoners everywhere celebrate 4/20 a.k.a Weed Day, Reeferween, National Doug Benson Day, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Despite the fact that the whole 4-20 police code thing has pretty much been put down to being hooey, the tradition has stuck and April twenty has become something of a celebration of the herbalist way of life. The most special moment comes but twice a day, four twenty A.M. and P.M. The latter will find a few hearty souls staying up to make it to the wee small hours while many others will fall asleep, snack food at their side, bong wobbling precariously in hand. The former, which if you caught this post as it came out then you know what time it is, is when the majority of the fans of the dank are sparking up in honor of the day. As a person who appreciates the stoner way of life, I wanted to get into the spirit myself. So I broke apart a few of my favorite stoner films, picked out the kindest scenes from each one, and I rolled them all up into this list of the Top 10 Stoner Moments in Film. Enjoy, and don't Bogart this list, my friend, pass it around to all your friends.


Your Highness is unfairly maligned when it comes to the humor on display in general and the stoner elements in particular. My favorite moment comes when Franco and McBride detour to see a wizard who turns out to be a mushroom shaped puppet, like the bastard child of a Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. The wizard proceeds to pass around the good bud before hitting the pair up for a hand job in return for his magical services. Hey, it's not the way that I like to interact with my dealer, but to each his own. While the example is extreme, anyone who has bought drugs has had to deal with someone who was creepy or wanted you to hang out and check out their collection of knives, feed their fish, or watch their kids for a minute when all you want to do is grab and go… and not in that way.

Despite starring a pre-crazy Dave Chapelle, I don't appreciate the charms of Half Baked. Perhaps it has something to do with the presence of Jim Brewer, who looks high all the time, but he doesn't actually get high. For some reason it bothers me that he’s cashing in on droopy eyelids. If I looked like I was on meth, but wasn't,  I wouldn't star in a movie about crazy hijinks on meth. That would be exploiting my methiness when there are plenty of actual meth head actors who need the work. Let me get back on topic here. There’s this one continuing joke throughout the movie with  a young pre-Daily Show Jon Stewart as the “Enhancement Stoner” Everyone has met a dealer who wants to know if you've done/seen/heard/eaten "on weed". He’s probably the same guy who told you about playing Dark Side of the Moon with Wizard of Oz (which is bullshit, but, man, Genius/Gza Liquid Swords and Ninja Scroll, on weed, that’s the real stuff.) While Half Baked was indeed a half baked stoner romp, for the “Enhancement Stoner“ alone it makes for a spot on the list.
Ralph Bakshi’s X rated film based off the R. Crumb comic has many outrageous moments. However, perhaps the first scene that really puts the film way out there is when Fritz, who’s been in a bag, goes down to the Crow bars looking for kicks. He gets more than he bargained for when he meets Bertha whose joints drive him into a sex frenzy before causing Fritz to inspire a riot. In the face of the drug experiences still to come in the film, it is a small moment, but a visually interesting one that sends the Cat off the deep end and into a dark, dark place. While most people don't go sex mad and cause a race riot, like many of the other moments I have picked, it is an extreme that brings up a issue of white and black separatism and the white “tourism” to black areas to get drugs/sex, etc. I don't have the space to fully explore the issue myself here, but see the flick and see what you think for yourself.


I don't like Borat. I can't stand Bruno. I didn't like Cohen in Les Mis or Hugo. However, give me an episode of the  Ali G Show, or better yet his film effort, and you can sign me up. The hip hop inspired character that has plenty of "respect" ends up getting more respect than he bargained for when he gets voted into Parliament. However when he has to break into the home of the evil Prime Minister (future Games of Thrones baddie Charles Dance) to foil an evil plot, he runs into a laser system a la Entrapment. With clever use of marijuana smoke, Ali G is popping and locking through the beams with his friends, including future Bilbo Baggins Martin Freeman, to save his hometown of Stains. Respect.



Homegrown is one of the finest stoner flicks out there, but I think it gets overlooked because it’s a thriller about the business of growing the crop rather than a goofy comedy about smoking the product. That doesn't mean it doesn't provide some solid stoner moments. My favorite involves the weed growers, Billy Bob Thornton, Hank Azaria, and Ryan Phillipe, sharing a hot tub and a few joints with a potential buyer played by Jon Bon Jovi. When the "You Give Love a Bad Name" singer muses that the weed is so good he can't remember how to stand, Azaria replies flatly with precise stoner logic, "Feet." It works precisely because it is stupid and it is real. The foursome crack up and smiles are exchanged, friendships are being formed. I can remember many I have formed over a stupid comment and a few puffs, and there are quite a few I can't because, um short term, whatever- memory you know, loss and stuff.


Why is this moment so great? Because it's freakin' Rupert Pupkin/ Travis Bickle/ Young Vito Corleone/ hitting the bong and having to be taught where the carb is by beach bunny Bridget Fonda. It's just fun to know what Bobby D looks like hitting a water pipe, and Fonda is the type of gal that every stoner guy dreams of passing to. (On the left hand side, naturally.) I have no justification for this pick. I just love it.


In the second straight Tarantino related entry, Brad Pitt sheds his pretty boy looks for a bit part as Floyd, the stoner roommate, in Tony Scott's True Romance. While his part is limited, it is memorable, and it launched a cottage industry for making bongs out of honey bears. When Pitt delivers the line to an empty living room moments after gunman have filed out, Floyd’s synapses can be seen firing with the stoner rage barely contained. Yeah, stoner rage. There is such a thing. It’s very low key, but it usually happens when confronted by sober people, or worse yet drunks, who treat smokers as if they are unable to think and relate to the world around them anymore. Those folks, they don't need to patronize me, man.


Richard Linklater's love letter to the 70's was near perfect, but the most perfect thing about it was the small  role filled by an actor named Matthew McConaughey. As Wooderson, Matthew oozed cool from his shag haircut to the weed pipe built into his belt buckle. Sure, he may have questionable intent with some high school girls, but he, like Jon Stewart's earlier character, knows everything is cooler with weed. The reason I love this moment is that I remember how shady and illicit the world of weed seemed to me in high school. I could put myself in the shoes of Wiley Wiggins’ high school kid, confronted by a super cool older dude, and wishing that you did have some weed because you would be a lot cooler if you did. Am I saying weed makes you cool? I won't say yay or nay, but there must be a reason that the standard broaching of the subject at parties or between acquaintances tends to go back to the query, “Are you cool?”


People will wonder why I put this moment so high up on my list. It's for the simple fact, out of all the stoner movies I've seen, this simple concern, looking high, rarely enters the picture. I'm pretty sure the Harold and Kumar pictures would come to a screeching halt if they fretted about how bloodshot their eyes were. Despite already being a world famous rapper, Ice Cube makes his character Craig a real guy with actual concerns apart from smoking weed, but concerning yourself with how high you actually look is something that anyone who has ever put a spliff to their lips can relate to. Sure, there are plenty of ways to look less high. Go somewhere outside and wear sunglasses. (Don't be inside wearing them because then you look like a douche or like you're trying to hide a black eye.) Use some Visine. Splash some water on your face. The problem is that it doesn't matter how high you look to the outside world. It’s all about the paranoia of how high you think other people think that you are. Once you get over that, that’s when you turn from Cube’s Craig to Chris Tucker’s Smokey.


I really could have picked almost any moment from almost any Cheech and Chong movie (that isn't The Corsican Brothers) to fill this slot. To this day, Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin still set the bar for stoner comedies, and you have to respect the work effort that these two put forward while indulging in massive amounts of ganja on a regular basis. You've heard of high functioning alcoholics? These were high functioning stoners. They're rare, but it happens. I mean how else do you think this got written? While it is expected, there’s just no one else to put at the top of a stoner movie list, and if you're a fan of the sticky icky and you haven’t daydreamed about having a joint like Cheech and Chong, well, you need to daydream more….on weed!

Well, I hope that sparks up everyone's 4/20, and until next year, remember that a friend with weed, or a list about movies about weed, is a friend indeed.  Have a great one, and light one up for the ol' Bugg today.

When I hear the song “Across 110th Street” by the immortal Bobby Womack, the first thoughts that come to my mind are the final scenes of Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown where Pam Grier makes her exit from the film to the strains of the song. Like so many things in QT’s films, there is a direct film homage he is working for, and this time the film itself shares a title with the song. In the early 70s, Blaxploitation films were all the rage, and Across 110th Street shares some values with that breed of film. However, thanks to the performances of two strong leads, a tight plot with substance, and some gritty camera work, Across 110th Street feels like it belongs beside a film like In the Heat of the Night more than The Monkey Shuffle or The Mack. With the same urban appeal that made films like The French Connection feel so very real, Across 110th Street invites the viewer to come up to Harlem and see how the racial barriers divide, insulate, and ultimately must be overcome. Plus, there’s shooting and Anthony Quinn socks a lot of people in the jaw. So worry not, there may be plenty of message, but there’s a whole lot more going on Across 110th.

Once again I hand over the reins of the LBL to my best pal Fran Goria. She's got a double feature of the often mustachioed master of the macabre Vincent Price to help us celebrate Movember. Remember, donations are still being accepted to aid the fight against prostate and testicular cancer by clicking on the icon on the to right, the auction is still underway for the Charles Bronson Icon of Awesomeness painting with all proceeds to benefit Movember charities. Now with that out of the way, I'll turn it over to Fran. 

Hi folks! I have a double feature for you tonight starting with 1970’s Scream and Scream Again, followed by 1969’s The Oblong Box. These films have a couple of things in common. They both star Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, they share opposite sides of a Midnite Madness Double Feature DVD, and they were both directed by Gordon Hessler. Hessler also directed a third film starring Price in 1970 titled Cry of the Banshee. My personal favorite bit of trivia about Hessler is that he directed many episodes of the TV cop action series CHIPS from 1978-1982, and the TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. Now with all that out of the way, the first of tonight’s features is…

If Hollywood lore is to be believed, and who am I to dispute it, when Clint Eastwood made Every Which Way But Loose, his buddy Burt Reynolds thought that Clint was stepping on his toes. Comedy, after all, was Burt’s bread and butter with a pair of Smokey and the Bandit films, The Cannonball Run, and Hooper already in the can. Burt told Clint that if Every Which Way was a hit that he’d try and one up Eastwood with his own “Dirty Harry” type character. Every Which Way was a success, and it lead Clint to do a sequel, Any Which Way You Can, before Burt could get his hard boiled cop going. In 1981, Burt finally brought his vision to life. Setting his cop tale, Sharky’s Machine, in Atlanta, Ga., near his real hometown of Waycross, Reynolds crafted a tale that was part “Dirty Harry”, but it’s hard to think that Eastwood’s character would ever be as introspective or sensitive as Burt’s Tom Sharky. So come with me to the land of many Peachtree Streets, where Southern charm meets up with big city sleaze, where one cop can make a difference, that is, if he has the right machine.

Bo bo boo bobo bo bo, boo bo bo boo bobo bo bo, boo boo boo bobo bo boo boo. If you don’t recognize the tune that I just wrote down then a) you’re prose tone deaf, b) you weren't around in the 80s when it reached #3 on The Billboard Hot 100, c) you have no capacity for joy and happiness in your life, or d) any combination of the above. Well, for those out there that don’t know it, that’s “Axel F.”, the main theme from Beverly Hills Cop, today’s Movember film selection featuring the mustachioed Eddie Murphy at the height of his powers. Joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980, the stand up comedian soon parlayed his success there into a film career making 48 Hours in 1982. When his co-star Nick Nolte proved too sick to host SNL as promotion for the film, Eddie became the first regular cast member to also host the show. His next film was Trading Places with SNL alum Dan Ackroyd, and this pair of hits catapulted Murphy into leading role territory. The result was a string of hits, including The Golden Child and Coming to America, that all began with one Detroit cop taking a trip to Beverly Hills. From there, a franchise and a superstar were born of the 80’s, but in the matter of a decade, Murphy and his character Axel Foley were struggling for survival. Today, I’m going to talk about all three films in the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy, each by a different director, but with one tune, one laugh, and one ’stache that holds them together.

Halloween is finally behind us, resting in its October grave for another 365 days, and with it, the Bigger and Badder monsters and all the assorted horrors of the spookiest of months fall into the LBL Vaults. Now we come to a month that means many things to many people. Fall is completely in swing and the leaves begin to fall. Thanksgiving is hanging around in just a couple of weeks, and that means that Christmas isn't too awfully far behind. November also brings in another important event, one I will be taking part in this year. Sometimes called No Shave November, the event known as Movember was originally founded by Australians in 2003. There were only 30 of them that participated then, growing out their moustaches, or Mo's in the Aussie parlance, and collecting funds from their friends to donate to Prostate and Testicular Cancer research and initiatives. In 2011, that number had grown to 854,000, and it had also spawned a number of spin off groups in other countries with a similar purpose. Here's a little blurb from Movember to tell you a little more specifically what the event is about 

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

So what does all this mean for the LBL this month? It means very simply that I will be both participating in the Movember event myself and joining in here at the Lair. While I am clean shaven today, the banner up top has sprouted quite a 'stache overnight, and throughout the month I will be turning the reviews toward all the best moustaches ever on film. So expect to see some Burt, some Sam, some Charlie, some William, maybe a dose of Franco, and many, many more of the mustachioed men of cinema. All I ask is that if you like what I am doing, please throw a few dollars in the donation jar which you can find by clicking on the "'Stache is King'" button at the top right. I've set a goal of $200.00 by the month's end, and I know you loyal Lair-ers will do your part. Every dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, etc. all helps.

I'll kick things off tomorrow with a review of a tough, mustache sporting fellow, but the real tough fellows out there are the ones who are fighting men's health issues like testicular and prostate cancers. While I have never known anyone personally with these issues, I have suffered from some health issues of my own in the last year. This gave me pause to think about the fact that I am getting older, and my health, and the health of all my pals, should be a concern. Hopefully, by raising awareness and donations for research, none of my friends or readers is every touched by these kind of issues. So while I do my small part, on my face as well as here at The LBL, I hope some of you will join me. Even if you can't donate, please, help me spread the word across the web by reposting this to your blog or social network. Thank you all for your time, and the next time you see me, I'll be helping make flavor savors into life savers.

Here we are, finally. It’s Halloween night, and after 31 posts in 31 days capped off with The Bigger and Badder Halloween Top 13, we've finally arrived at the end of the month and the countdown. While all the little kiddies are out trick and/or treating and ghouls, ghosts, and goblins come out to play, why not kick back for a while at The LBL with me and let’s get our giant monster obsession rockin’ one last time. Yesterday, I practically fell all over myself giving King Kong accolades for starting the popularity of the giant monster, but while the giant ape made some splash in 1933, it was during its 1952 release that it really caused major waves. One of those waves ended up lapping the shores of Japan, a country still reeling in the post-WWII era as they tried to find closure, purpose, and direction for their country. No other place in the world has known the true horrors and devastation of a directed, intentional nuclear blast save for Japan. So is it any wonder that the same year American filmmakers released their first nuclear powered monster movie with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, that the Japanese did them one better and created a monster that was a walking nuclear incident with Gojira (and I don't mean Godzilla, King of the Monsters, but more on that later.) It is Halloween, and a discussion of Gojira could get pretty heavy, pretty quick, but I’m going to try to keep it on the lighter side. After all of these films in The B&B H13 about fear, of nature, of man, of nukes and science, Gojira is a film that certainly touches on a number of fears, but it is really a story of hope.

For the penultimate entry on The Bigger and Badder Halloween Top 13, I am including two films in the same slot. Not only because they share a single title, but also because they both share distinct, though differing, views of a classic tale. The two films, as I'm sure you have already noticed are the original King Kong from 1933 and the remake from 1976. What you won't find is any further mention of Peter Jackson’s indulgent, bloated remake from 2005 because it’s a lot of old bleh, and the less said about it the better. On the other hand, the original King Kong is a triumph of screen trickery, acting, filmmaking, and story, and the ’76 remake updates the formula, the drive, and the symbolism of the tale for a modern age. Both films are still entirely as relevant today as when they were made, and I'm sure these two occasions will not be the only times this classic tragedy will be brought to the cinema. So come with me as I roll the screen on two classic monster movies, and discuss the creature known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

I remember very well when I first saw Tremors. I recall going to the theater my freshman year of high school not really knowing what to expect from a film that featured both Remo Williams and Alex P. Keaton’s dad, but the promise of Dune-esque giant sandworms was enough to get my butt in the seat. Tremors flopped upon that initial release, but in my heart, it was one of the movies of the year. Funny, exciting, and gory, it had everything that a teenage boy could want… except nudity, but you can't have it all. When Tremors came to VHS, it got a second life, and the franchise became popular enough to spawn several sequels which are surprisingly not that bad. Tremors was one of the first films to have a mainstream second life on home video that the box office would not have anticipated. With its wild creatures, a well rounded cast, and keen, sharp pacing, Tremors has always had a special place in my heart. So I invite you to come on into that special place, and join me as I dig into #4 on the B&B H13, 1990’s Tremors.