Blues Brothers

Briefcase Full of Blues
$5.98
If you're real serious about The Blues, this is not for you.
But if you have a sense of humor, and know anything about the original Saturday Night Live, this will give you a way out of these crazy times for 40 minutes, or so. Let yourself go and listen to these two crazy guys having fun with an amazing backup band.Briefcase Full of Blues

The Best of the Blues Brothers
$14.98
Good music. I enjot listening to the Blues Brothers. They give a little different interpretation to some of the classic songs. Surprising how good Belushi and Aykroid are as singers.

Blues Brothers Sunglasses
$0.90
These glasses are great for the few days you'd expect them to last considering the price point. They aren't even close in quality to the $100 brand name shades which they replicate. However, I'm using them for one five hour party (indoors, at night...). I bought two just to make sure they'll make it through the night. Hey, they're still cheaper than the gas station version which is just as questionable in quality. For my regular use sunglasses, I'm sticking with really expensive brand name models. As far as that goes, I've had the same pair of Oak**y shades for about 8 years...

Blues Brothers 2000
$9.99
After 18 years, Elwood is finally getting released from prison (though 18 years from 1980 is 1998, so why on earth was this called 2000? I know Blues Brothers 1998 just sounds stupid but they could've always had gone with Blues Brothers 2). There really is no semblance of plot, though there is an objective and that's to get to Queen Moussette's Battle of the Bands. What plot there is, well, its pretty much the first film all over again. What song opened the first film? A song by Taj Mahal. What opens this film? A song sung by Taj Mahal. Does Aretha Franklin sing to get her husband to stay in the first? Yes. Does she sing again in this to get him to stay? Yes. Do cast members sing snippets of the end credits song in both? Yes (more so in this than the last). I'll stop the list there as I'd hope you get the point. One thing they harp (3 characters give their condolences) on in the beginning is the absence of John Belushi, and knowing that trying to get a new actor to play Jake would be like spitting in the face of the Brothers' fans, the character is also conveniently "gone", as no one in this movie actually says the word dead. Even when The Penguin tells Elwood about Curtis, she doesn't say dead. It sounds like I'm rambling about this but it just bugs me. Just say the guy's dead! John Goodman is a decent replacement for Belushi and can sing well but its a shame that once Cab is in the picture he's pushed to the sidelines in terms of singing (but he pretty much does that to Elwood when he's introduced). Joe Morton is also pretty good but I think his inclusion into the band only happened because the director wanted to recreate the church scene again. And then there's J. Evan Bonifant as Buster. I just don't like him, he adds nothing to the story and with that, makes four leads in the band which, I think is too much. There are too many WTF moments in this compared to the previous one like Elwood being able to hide in the car. Literally. The car going underwater (that's a little more extreme than all the fantastical stunts from the first) and all the magic elements in the last thirty minutes of the film. They don't belong in there. And whereas the first film had great car chases, the one's featured here are not as memorable. I think the only thing they accomplished was beating the record they set from the first. The music on the other hand is the only standout in this. So many great singers and musicians together in one film that you'll probably never see that happen ever again in cinema. All in all, this isn't a terrible sequel but it isn't good as the first. It's just OK.