Only four days into this thing and we’re not even to the good stuff yet, peeps!

I’m still here courtside with more in-depth stats and analysis for the next four match-ups of the first round (AKA the Round of 16).

YOU, listeners/readers/followers of the Reel Nerds Podcast, must keep voting in the tournament to decide which of the 16 movies below is the best.

In case you missed my Sunday Selection Announcement post or forgot all the movies, here’s the full bracket (as of the start of the tournament on Thursday — some movies have been eliminated since then):

Tomorrow we start the match-ups on the right side of the bracket with 1-seed Princess Mononoke vs. 4-seed Space Jam, both in the Animation genre.

So, once again, before you go to the Reel Nerds’ social media pages to vote, take an in-depth look at the bracket’s Animation and Superhero genres, and make sure you know everything you need to about these eight films.

First Round Match-up on Monday, March 23:

Princess Mononoke vs. Space Jam

1-seed Princess Mononoke:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8.4 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
• Roger Ebert: 4 / 4
• Won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Film

Synopsis: In the 14th century, the harmony that humans, animals and gods have enjoyed begins to crumble. The protagonist, young Ashitaka, is infected by an animal attack and seeks a cure from the God of the Forest. In his travels, he sees humans ravaging the earth, bringing down the wrath of wolf god Moro and his human companion Princess Mononoke. His attempts to broker peace between her and the humans brings only conflict.

Strengths: one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most beloved films; beautiful imagery and complex story; memorable characters; amazing score and vocal performances; a well-crafted movie all around that tackles environmentalism in a complex way

Weaknesses: a little niche compared to popular Western animated films (Disney, DreamWorks, etc.); Billy Bob Thornton’s voice acting is … meh, but he’s not in the movie very much

4-seed Space Jam:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 6.4 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%
• Metacritic: 59%
• Won Grammy Award for Best Song for a Movie – “I Believe I Can Fly”

Synopsis: Swackhammer (Danny DeVito), an evil alien theme park owner, needs a new attraction at Moron Mountain. When his gang, the Nerdlucks, heads to Earth to kidnap Bugs Bunny (Billy West) and the Looney Tunes, Bugs challenges them to a basketball game to determine their fate. The aliens agree, but they steal the powers of NBA basketball players, including Larry Bird and Charles Barkley — so Bugs gets some help from superstar Michael Jordan.

Strengths: soundtrack is amazing; 90s nostalgia; any Bugs Bunny in the world is a good thing; did meta humor before Deadpool made it a ~thing~; when I rewatched it recently with my mom, she laughed so hard when Tasmanian Devil said “Lemony fresh”

Weaknesses: R. Kelly; Michael Jordan’s acting; Wayne Knight’s character is really annoying

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First Round Match-up on Tuesday, March 24:

Spider-verse vs. Kung Fu Panda

2-seed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8.4 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
• Metacritic: 87%
• Won Academy Award for Best Animated Film

Synopsis: Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.

Strengths: one of the best animated films of all time – fight me; lots of layers and things to notice in multiple viewings; has made me cry every time I’ve seen it, which is at least five times; a variety of characters to love; has a great mixture of humor and heart; absolutely gorgeous animation and amazing vocal performances; soundtrack is legit good and I don’t even listen to modern pop music or anything; I seriously downloaded four songs from this movie; actually won the Oscar for Best Animated Film

Weaknesses: my mom didn’t like it – she said it was confusing (for the record, IDK what she’s talking about)

3-seed Kung Fu Panda:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 7.5 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
• Google users: 92%
• Nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Film

Synopsis: Po might just be the laziest, clumsiest panda in the Valley of Peace, but he secretly dreams of becoming a kung fu legend. When the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung threatens Po’s homeland, the hapless panda is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and defend the Valley from attack. Training under Master Shifu, Po embarks on an epic high-kicking adventure as he sets out to thwart Tai Lung’s evil plans.

Strengths: very underrated animated film; just because it’s not a Disney or Shrek movie, everybody sleeps on this one; fucking amazing on every level; has made me cry multiple times; seriously, play “Oogway Ascends” at my funeral; my mom and sisters love this movie; we quote it all the time; “Noodles. Don’t noodles.”; lots of great messages for kids and adults to enjoy and appreciate; also has a great mixture of humor and heart; I too hate running up stairs, so I can relate to Po

Weaknesses: it was only nominated for Best Animated Film at the Oscars

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First Round Match-up on Wed., March 25:

The Dark Knight vs. Wonder Woman

1-seed The Dark Knight:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 9 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
• Roger Ebert: 4 / 4
• Won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Synopsis: With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

Strengths: amazing take on the Joker; Heath Ledger really brought that character to life in a memorable and unique way; I don’t think Aaron Eckhart gets enough credit for his Harvey Dent/Two Face, which is also amazing; I think Ledger’s Joker overshadowed him; great performances all around; expertly mixes tense scenes and big action set-pieces; did the ballsy move of killing off the love interest; I still can’t believe they did that; all around great superhero movie and great movie, period

Weaknesses: before Endgame, comic book nerds wouldn’t shut up about this movie, and may have overhyped it for everyday people; like it’s good; but is it really that good?; it’s like The Godfather – keep talking about it enough and it’ll never live up to the hype; no Rutger Hauer

4-seed Wonder Woman:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
• Google users: 89%
• Won AFI Awards’ Movie of the Year

Synopsis: Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

Strengths: lots of great scenes; amazing performances, especially Chris Pine’s; kickass theme for Wonder Woman; it was such a treat to see an iconic superhero finally brought to life in her own live-action film; I felt like, for the most part, they did the character justice; also, that fucking No Man’s Land scene, you guys!

Weaknesses: third act is very weak; villain spouts video-game dialogue at one point; effects are “eh”; killed off the hot guy; the whole bit in London feels off; weird pacing and/or editing sometimes; it has lots of speed ramps, which are sometimes OK and sometimes annoying; also doesn’t have Rutger Hauer, to be fair

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First Round Match-up on Thursday, March 26:

The Avengers vs. Iron Man

2-seed The Avengers (2012):

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 8 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
• Google users: 91%
• Won MTV Movie Awards’ Movie of the Year

Synopsis: When Thor’s evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a superhero recruitment effort to defeat the unprecedented threat to Earth. Joining Fury’s “dream team” are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Strengths: this was seriously so cool to see in the theater — having all these superheroes come together on the big screen for the first time was truly incredible; of course, now it happens every three movies, but whatever; that theme when they do the 360 shot is so badass; BUM BA BA BA BUM BA BA BUM; Loki is a great villain

Weaknesses: seems a little blase now, to be honest; Infinity War and Endgame kinda made this movie obsolete; hell, even before that, Civil War made this movie obsolete; I love The Avengers, but I love all three of those movies more, even though The Avengers did it first

3-seed Iron Man:

Stats:

• IMDB rating: 7.9 / 10
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
• Metacritic: 79%
• Won AFI Awards’ Movie of the Year

Synopsis: A billionaire industrialist and genius inventor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is conducting weapons tests overseas, but terrorists kidnap him to force him to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds an armored suit and upends his captors. Returning to America, Stark refines the suit and uses it to combat crime and terrorism.

Strengths: one of the greatest superhero arcs of all time – don’t @ me; RDJ! Jeff Bridges!; so many great moments, it’s hard to pick; that whole first act where he escapes from the cave is so much better now post-Endgame; just an all-around amazing movie that’s aged pretty well over the past 12 years

Weaknesses: Obadiah kinda seems like a lame villain in retrospect; I mean, it worked for the movie at the time, but it’s the one part of the movie that’s aged the worst, IMO; also I don’t know why, but I never really liked Pepper as a love interest; maybe it’s because RDJ and Gwyneth Paltrow don’t seem to have much chemistry; or maybe it’s that she was his assistant and she was the only person he felt he had a real relationships with other than Rhodey, which isn’t super healthy; I can’t exactly put my finger on what it is between them, but I’ve never been a huge fan of their dynamic

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Then, on Friday, we will begin our Round of 8 matchups with 1-seed Casablanca vs. 3-seed Charade. I’ll have plenty more stats and analysis as we get closures, so be on the lookout for that.

In the meantime, keep voting, everyone!