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From the 1990s through the 2000s, it was common to see over-the-top character comedies set in pro sports. Dodgeball, Baseketball, and Semi-Pro helped define over a decade of sports films, each parodying the larger sports complex in turn. The Gutter — directed by Isaiah and Yassir Lester — takes aim at the environment around sports superstardom. At the same time, it features enough absurd and boisterous comedy that it delivers the laughs. While The Gutter runs out of steam occasionally, leaning too heavily into tropes when it does, the overall result is a surprisingly fun comedy.

The Gutter Plot

Walt (Shameik Moore) struggles to maintain employment because he’s unwilling to change his style. After getting fired from several jobs, he finally catches on as a bartender at a local bowling alley, aptly named AlleyCatz. When the owner Mozell (Jackée Harry) needs $200,000 to save the alley, bar regular and former pro bowler...

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut hit theaters and instantly became the greatest movie musical (that co-stars a dildo-wielding Saddam Hussein) ever made.

To commemorate the anniversary, a sing-a-long version of the R-rated cartoon was released in multiplexes this week. And shout out to the folks who had to put up with the muffled sounds of fans belting out “Uncle Fucka” while they were trying to watch Inside Out 2 with their children.

What’s truly remarkable about the movie, in retrospect, is that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone originally intended for it to be a climactic end point for the show — a show that has now been on the air for 27 years. Which would explain why the film’s conclusion, including Kenny’s big face reveal, really does feel like an emotional goodbye to the world of South Park.

What exactly is BASEketball anyway? If you’re a child of a certain era, you know exactly what it is. If not, well, let me explain. In the late nineties, the hottest comic duo was no doubt Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Together, they had charted a unique path to stardom. Two University Of Colorado grads, the two had their beginnings in the early nineties when they made a micro-budget indie called Cannibal: The Musical, which, despite failing to get into the Sundance Film Festival, became kind of a calling card for them. It got them a unique job directing a corporate film about Universal Pictures for Seagrams, who were acquiring the company, thanks to the patronage of David Zucker, one of the directors behind The Naked Gun, Top Secret and Airplane, who was a fan of their movie. They parlayed their success into a low-budget comedy called Orgazmo, which...

We all know Trey Parker and Matt Stone from South Park, but what about all that came before it? Sure, some of us may have checked out Orgazmo to get an idea of what the boys were up to and maybe you even tracked down Cannibal! The Musical. But only the true die hard Parker and Stone fans have seen Your Studio and You. Styled after industrial movies of the 1950s – which would guide viewers through the process of any given corporation – Your Studio and You gives us a glimpse inside of Universal Studios…with exactly the sort of humor that fans would expect from Parker and Stone.

Released in 1995, Your Studio and You was a commissioned piece from David Zucker, who would go on to direct Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s BASEketball. Meant for internal studio use only, the 14-minute short begins by poking fun at “classic talking...

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are best known for creating the animated series South Park, which they have dedicated a few decades of their lives to – but as South Park marches on into its 27th season, Parker and Stone are also taking some time to work with rapper Kendrick Lamar and filmmaker / record executive Dave Free on a live-action comedy they have set up at Paramount Pictures. Parker and Stone are producing the currently-untitled film through their company Park County while Lamar and Free do the same for pgLang, and during the Paramount panel at CinemaCon today it was announced that the film is set for a July 4, 2025 theatrical release!

While speaking at CinemaCon, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins had this to say about the project: “I’m excited to announce that we’re going into production this summer on a live-action comedy from the creators of South Park and The Book of Mormon,...

What’s new on Amazon’s Prime Video in February 2024?

In light of Valentine’s Day, Prime Video nailed it. This February, the platform is bringing a variety of new shows and movies for you and yours. There is something for everyone — from the latest releases to classic romantic comedies to thrillers and more.

Rom-com “Upgraded,” starring Camila Mendes and Archie Renaux, hits the streamer on Friday, while a series adaptation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s steamy spy thriller “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is already taking the world by storm since its Feb. 2 debut with stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.

The platform will also debut 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” with Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson, last year’s animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and the well-liked 2014 indie “St.Vincent” with Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd.

And don’t forget about...

Prime Video’s big February drop is Mr. & Mrs. Smith! No, not the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie action movie, but a new TV series kinda based on it starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. The set up for the show version? Glover and Erskine are two strangers who both get jobs at a shady spy agency and are asked to get married so that they can pretend to be a couple undercover, but things get more complicated when they start falling in love for real. Uh oh!

If you’re in the mood for a movie or two this month, you can also check out the Prime debuts of Strays, Bottoms, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In the meantime, here’s everything coming to Amazon Prime Video and Freevee this month. Amazon Originals are accompanied by an asterisk!

New on Amazon Prime Video – February 2024

February 1

12 Angry Men...

Love is in the air this February at Prime Video! From the long-awaited espionage comedy series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” to Jennifer Lopez’s new album companion film “This Is Me…Now: A Love Story,” the streamer is days away from adding dozens of classic and fresh titles to its seemingly endless catalog, including the premieres of many more Amazon Originals like “The Second Best Hospital in The Galaxy,” “Five Blind Dates,” and “The Silent Service.”

Check out The Streamable’s top picks for February on Prime Video, and find out everything coming to the platform this coming month!

30-Day Free Trial $8.99+ / month amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in February 2024? “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” | Friday, Feb. 2

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star in the long-awaited spy comedy series about two lonely strangers who land a job working for a mysterious spy agency...

Chicago – Use the word “surely” in any conversation, such as “Surely …” and inevitably you’ll get the answer, “Blah Blah, and don’t call me Shirley.” One of a trio that came up with that famous riposte, David Zucker, was at the Chicago Humanities Festival as co-author of “Surely you Can’t be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!”

The book was written with the other two members of the legendary movie comedy creators nicknamed Zaz … for (David) Zucker, (Jim) Abrahams and (Jerry) Zucker. In 1980, the trio wrote and directed one of the most influential comedy movies of their generation, the deliciously funny farce “Airplane!,” forever changing comic sensibilities and satire. The book is a look back to a different time and place in American entertainment, and David Zucker appeared on its behalf as part of the ongoing Fall Chicago Humanities Festival on October 21st, 2023.

David Zucker and His Book...

"It's A Wonderful Knife" is a warm and fuzzy Christmas slasher that reimagines "It's A Wonderful Life" in a head-on collision with "Scream." Writer Michael Kennedy and director Tyler MacIntyre don't want to eviscerate Yuletide feelings like other Christmas horror movies, much in the spirit of George Bailey's uplifting seasonal journey. It's all bloody, decking the halls with gory delights, but there's also a wholesomeness at the story's core akin to self-affirming modern slashers like "Happy Death Day" or Kennedy's own "Freaky." Imagine a Hallmark holiday special that's hacked to bits by a psychotic killer, more along the lesson-teaching lines of "Krampus" than the repulsive(ly entertaining) violence in "Silent Night."

It's Christmastime in Angel Falls, and high schooler Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop) is hitting all the traditions. There's a tree lighting ceremony led by the town's egomaniacal developer, Henry Waters (Justin Long), and a boozy party for the local teens.

The summer movie season of 1998 actually began twelve months previously. While the Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World was still marauding around the multiplexes, a teaser trailer suddenly appeared showing a group of schoolchildren in a museum staring up in awe at the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Suddenly a gigantic lizard’s foot crashes through the ceiling and crushes the T-Rex as if it were an ant. Guess who’s coming to town…

Sony TriStar

Kicking off a marketing campaign like that, a full year before Godzilla rose up from the depths was pretty much unprecedented back in 1997. It signalled the arrival of the age of internet marketing. You could even download the trailer to watch at home if you didn’t mind waiting eleven hours for the privilege.

After months of hype, Godzilla finally arrived on Memorial Day. It was Roland Emmerich’s first movie since reinventing the...

Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher who made the Baseball Hall of Fame as an sometimes-controversial announcer and had a long-running syndicated interview program, died today of heart failure in Memphis. He was 81.

His death was announced by the Hall of Fame.

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McCarver’s long baseball career spanned four decades from 1959-80, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, for which he caught for a pair of all-time greats in Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, respectively. He was a two-time All-Star and won a pair of World Series with the Cardinals in 1964 and 1967.

But he probably is best remembered for his long stint as a network color commenter, covering two dozens World Series for ABC,...

Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher whose cerebral approach behind the plate over four decades led to a Hall of Fame career as a baseball broadcaster, has died. He was 81.

McCarver died Thursday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced. The cause of death was heart failure.

McCarver broke into the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959 at age 17 and took his final swings for the 1980 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. Blessed with a good eye and a disciplined approach in the batter’s box, he compiled a .271 batting average over 21 seasons and pushed the Cardinals to titles in 1964 and ’67.

The Memphis native, who also played for the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, developed a strong rapport with Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, earning two All-Star appearances and a spot in the Cardinals Hall of Fame.

In 2012, McCarver received the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting,...

There has never – not once – been an occasion where Netflix has asked us if we’re still watching and we haven’t been, but it still feels nice to be checked on! Every month, when it’s not making sure we’re still alive, the streaming service brings us loads of original content to feast our eyes on, and here at Den of Geek we like to give you a pretty comprehensive list of what’s being added in the weeks to come.

In May 2020, Netflix UK is offering Modern Family and New Girl binging opportunities, as well as old favourites like Labyrinth and The Blues Brothers. Alongside these are new seasons of Dead to Me and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which is wrapping up on the platform after delivering a glorious run of animated perfection. If you haven’t yet given the rebooted series a shot, now...

Jill Gascoine, the English actress who played Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in Brit series The Gentle Touch, has died at the age of 83.

The actresses’ son confirmed the news on Facebook in a post where he said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for 10 years. “Today was a thankful release,” he wrote. “The family is all well, and relieved that she’s not suffering any more.”

Gascoine is survived by two sons and her husband, the actor Alfred Molina, whom she married in 1986.

The actress played the role of Detective Inspector Forbes for 56 episodes of The Gentle Touch in the early 1980s; it was the first Brit TV drama to center on a female police officer. She reprised the part for spin-off series C.A.T.S. Eyes in 1985-87.

Her TV work also saw roles in shows including Z-Cars, General Hospital, Home To Roost, and, after relocating to Los Angeles, the...

Movies which centre their stories on competitive sports will always find an eager audience at the cinema. They are often filled with drama, heart-stopping action, and perfectly capture the ever swinging emotional pendulum of hope and fear.

And whether the sports are played in a high school gym or a stadium filled with thousands and millions more watching on at home, the conflict and fortitude necessary to win against the odds will always resonate with us. This is exactly what excites sports fans too, with the online sports betting community at an all-time high with NBA odds being constantly updated.

Here we celebrate the some inspirational Basketball movies.

Hoop Dreams

Few documentaries have captured the rawness of hope better than Steve James and Frederick Marx’s Hoop Dreams. Originally planned as a half hour PBS special on two African-American Chicago high schoolers as they chase their dreams of playing professional basketball,...

I’d like to alert you to a medical condition I have made up called Obvious Sportscaster Syndrome (Oss), also known as Commentator Mouth. Movies that display symptoms of Commentator Mouth include broadcasters in sports movies delivering painfully obvious and exposition-laden dialogue during boxing matches, football games or the like. Oss most commonly affects genuinely talented, real-life sports journalists making cameos in otherwise good films. And the worst cases of Oss range from mildly irritating to completely taking you out of the moment. Not once has the presence of commentators actually added to a movie, and sadly, there is no cure. The latest to come down with the disease is “Creed II,” contracting it from the first “Creed” film and as far back as the “Rocky” sequels. If you or a movie you love suffers from Commentator Mouth, you may see it represented in the list below:

“Creed” and “Creed II...