Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is a stupid fun action flick with big monsters punching big robots in their big faces. It’s a fun, if inconsistent ride through a detailed and expansive mythos. What it lacks in story, character, and (sometimes) logic, it makes up for in PUNCHING MONSTERS IN THE FACE!!!* Monster + Punch = FACE!!!
*Monsters were punched in the face in the making of this movie.
Jim and A.Ron have seen Captain America: Civil War, and they really, really liked what they saw. It was fun, weighty, maybe a bit long with the usual seeming plot holes (which comic fans can probably fill), but nothing that comes close to threatening to stop the runaway hype train that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We give you a fairly detailed non-spoiler review, before considering the many highly entertaining trailers that ran up front, and then finally, getting around to our no holds barred spoiler section. You’ll have to be a Club member to get the spoiler take, and read on to find out how you can sign up!
Dr. Brandon Devito has commissioned us to watch the 1997 comedy/thriller mashup, “Grosse Pointe Blank”, starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver. It tells the tale of a hitman with a troubled conscience, or maybe just a feeling of ennui that has him returning to his home town for his tenth high school reunion and coincidentally reuniting with his old sweetheart. The action is surprisingly great, the sound track is fantastic, the fashion is decidedly 90’s, and the tone is quirky and all over the place, but it only hit one of us in just the right place.
Special thanks to Dr. Ken for the gutsy call to have us do a commissioned podcast for a black and white 60’s Western film, “The Man Show Shot Liberty Valance”. Directed by the great John Ford, and starring John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart, this movie is both insanely fun to watch and, believe it or not, serves as a great primer on American politics. It might just be the tonic you need during an especially intense political season. And I can’t stress this enough, this film is crazy entertaining. If you care at all about Westerns or classic Hollywood film-making, and haven’t already, make the time to watch this film.
Pan’s Labyrinth is a mythical and mystical juxtaposition of two engaging universes. In one, a brooding tyrant rules with a cruel and iron fist – representing, perhaps, one of the greatest villains in movie history. In the other, a cadre of beautifully grotesque creatures guide a young girl through a world falling apart. This sister film to del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone is a master work of cinema, and in many ways may be Guillermo’s opus. Join us next week for Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
Special thanks goes to Alafia McMurty for commissioning a podcast on the 1985 sci-fi comedy classic, “Back to the Future”. Starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, we’ve seen this movie a million times and love every second. Please enjoy the following mammoth podcast that covers nearly every aspect of the film, from the absurd to the poignant to the sublime.
Hellboy is a detailed, wild ride that appeals directly to Levi and Eric’s geeky sensibilities. It also represents a unique and outstanding entry into the comic book genre. Plus, there are plenty of del Toro-isms to go around. Lovecraftian monsters? Check. Catholic symbolism? Check. Glowsticks? Check. Hellboy is a big story that goes down smooth. Bravo, Guillermo. Join us next week for Pan’s Labyrinth.
Special thanks to Glenn Seubert for commissioning this podcast on the 1964 British film “Zulu”. Directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker and a very young Michael Caine, it depicts a fictionalized version of a real life stand off between 100 British soldiers and 4,000 Zulu warriors in the battle for South Africa. The film is gorgeous in it’s look and especially color palette, and the lead performances by Baker and Caine are interesting as two soldiers vying for power and making tough decisions under an extremely daunting challenge. We both cry out for more cultural and historical context for this film, and while Jim had problems with some aspects of the film being dated, I enjoyed it for the throw back to a classic age of cinema that it is.
The Russian import “Hardcore Henry”, directed by Ilya Naishuller and starring Sharlto Copley and Haley Bennett, is either some brilliant, imaginative, humorous, over the top action flick, or it is an over-long, boring, tedious, graphic waste of time that may or may not make you physically ill. Or maybe it’s both? Jim and A.Ron debate the film’s merits accordingly.
Thanks go to Dan G, perhaps better known as the forum denizen DancesWithWookies, has selected the 2007 minimalist sci-fi/philosophic film “The Man from Earth” for his commissioned podcast. Directed by Richard Schenkman and written by the late Jerome Bixby, it asks us to entertain the idea of a 14,000 year old paleolithic man who has managed to adapt and survive to our modern day. His winding tale through history may intrigue or infuriate you, depending on your appetite for detail or willingness to engage with the ideas and concepts of the film, and move beyond the limitations of it’s budget and construction