Movie Madness is almost officially underway! Huzzah!

Starting tomorrow, YOU the Reel Nerds fans will begin casting your votes in the tournament to decide which of my 16 movies is the best.

But, before festivities get underway tomorrow, I wanted to provide you with all the in-depth stats and analysis on these first four match-ups.

In case you missed my Sunday Selection Announcement post — which you should read if you haven’t — or forgot all the movies, here’s the full bracket:

Tomorrow’s match-up is 1-seed Casablanca vs. 4-seed Fiddler on the Roof, both in the Old School genre.

Below, we have an in-depth look at all the movies in the Old School genre and Romance genre. I’ll be doing a similar post for the eight films in the Animation and Superhero genres in the next few days.

So, I recommend that, before casting a vote in this tournament, you read this post so you know everything you need to about these eight films.

First Round Match-up on Thursday, March 19:

Casablanca vs. Fiddler on the Roof

1-seed Casablanca:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8.5 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
• Roger Ebert: 4 / 4
• Won Academy Award for Best Picture

Synopsis: Based on an unproduced stage play, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country.

Strengths: An incredibly popular and well-known film; memorable characters and quotes; people will probably vote for it even though they’ve never seen it simply because it’s “iconic”

Weaknesses: Has been called “melodramatic” and “overrated” by some; there are people out there who’ve heard about it and/or seen clips, but have never watched the full thing

4-seed Fiddler on the Roof:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
• Roger Ebert: 3 / 4
• Won Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical)

Synopsis: Oscar-winning adaptation of the Broadway musical about life among the Jewish community of a pre-revolutionary Russian village. A poor milkman, determined to find good husbands for his five daughters, consults the traditional matchmaker – and also has a word with God.

Strengths: Generally well-liked by those who’ve seen it; catchy songs and beautiful instrumentals; memorable characters, sequences and imagery

Weaknesses: I don’t think that many people have seen it; not everyone likes musicals

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First Round Match-up on Friday, March 20:

The 10 Commandments vs. Charade

2-seed The 10 Commandments:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 7.8 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
• Amazon: 4.8 / 5
• Won Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

Synopsis: Enjoying a life of ease in the court of Egypt’s pharaoh, Moses (Charlton Heston) discovers his Hebrew heritage and, later, God’s expectations of him. He dedicates himself to liberating his people from captivity and — with the aid of plagues and divine intervention — manages to lead them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. A greater challenge comes in the form of the golden calf idol, however, and it takes an unforgettable visitation by God on Mount Sinai for Moses’ mission to prevail.

Strengths: Amazing performances and visual effects; familiar story; used to be syndicated on TV a lot and subsequently has a special place in many people’s hearts; pretty racy for a 50s movie

Weaknesses: Bible epic; almost 4 hours long

3-seed Charade:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 7.9 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
• Metacritic: 83%
• Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)

Synopsis: After Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) meets dashing Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband’s World War II cronies who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.

Strengths: stars Cary Grant AND Audrey Hepburn; very well-paced with lots of twists and turns; best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made

Weaknesses: Other than the Nerds, I don’t feel like a lot of people under 50 have seen it

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First Round Match-up on Saturday, March 21:

The Princess Bride vs. Juliet, Naked

1-seed The Princess Bride:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8.1 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
• Roger Ebert: 3.5 / 4
• Won Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film

Synopsis: Based on the William Goldman novel, a fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other.

Strengths: A classic beloved by millions; Mandy Patinkin is a national treasure; Cary Elwes should be in the Smithsonian — we’re going to steal him from England; mega-quotable; has elements of action/adventure and comedy so it’s not purely a romance/romcom

Weaknesses: One of my former coworkers had never seen it before and when she finally did, she thought it was overrated???

4-seed Juliet, Naked:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 6.6 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
• Metacritic: 67%
• Has received no major awards or nominations

Synopsis: Annie breaks up with long-time boyfriend Duncan, a teacher who is obsessed with former 1990s rocker Tucker Crowe. Life takes an unexpected turn when an acoustic demo of Crowe’s hit album, Juliet, arrives in the mail.

Strengths: Rose Byrne is freakin’ cute as a button; the film is overall very earnest and charming; doesn’t follow typical romcom formula; based on a successful book; You’ve Got Mail but better; doesn’t use Liar, Revealed trope

Weaknesses: no one’s seen or heard of it (It’s on Hulu!); people might look at the title and think it’s a dirty movie

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First Round Match-up on Sunday, March 22:

You’ve Got Mail vs. Sabrina (1995)

2-seed You’ve Got Mail:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 6.6 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 69%
• Metacritic: 57%
• Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)

Synopsis: Struggling boutique bookseller Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) hates Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), the owner of a corporate Foxbooks chain store that just moved in across the street. When they meet online, however, they begin an intense and anonymous Internet romance, oblivious of each other’s true identity.

Strengths: stars America’s sweethearts Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; has Greg Kinnear in a supporting role; 90s nostalgia; references Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice multiple times

Weaknesses: Romcom where a creepy and manipulative guy is “rewarded” with the girl at the end; 90s fashion

3-seed Sabrina:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 6.3 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 65%
• Metacritic: 56%
• Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)

Synopsis: Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond) is a chauffeur’s daughter who grew up with the wealthy Larrabee family. She always had unreciprocated feelings for David (Greg Kinnear), the family’s younger son and playboy. But after returning from Paris, Sabrina has become a glamorous woman who gets David’s attention. His older, work-minded brother Linus (Harrison Ford) thinks their courtship is bad for the family business and tries to break them up — but then he starts to fall for her too.

Strengths: Harrison Ford absolutely kills it in this movie and he looks mega-sexy doing it; ALSO has Greg Kinnear in a supporting role (I swear I didn’t plan that); John Wood also has a supporting role; one of Paul Giamatti’s first movies; music by John Williams; Paris is a major motif — almost to the point where it’s a character in its own right — and they clearly shot on location; 90s nostalgia; has two very well-done character arcs; very funny (my friend Gerry saw it for the first time recently and he was laughing basically the whole time)

Weaknesses: Julie Ormond isn’t the best Sabrina, to be honest (Audrey Hepburn did it better in the ’54 version); 90s fashion; doesn’t reference Pride & Prejudice at all

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To cast you vote in the tournament, go to the Reel Nerds’ Facebook or Twitter pages every day starting tomorrow (Thursday the 19th)!