Eight films have been eliminated, but eight are still fighting for the honor of being voted the Champion of Movie Madness.
Tomorrow, the rubber is gonna meet the road and the cream is gonna rise as you — the dear listeners/readers/followers of the Reel Nerds Podcast — will begin crowning the winners in each genre as these remaining eight films face off.
While our last match-up is technically still underway as I write this, here’s a look at the updated bracket:
You’ll note the asterisk next to 2-seed The Avengers (2012) in the Round of 8. When I first posted this, it had a slight lead over 3-seed Iron Man. But, of course, Iron Man ended up winning. So, just ignore the Avengers thing on the bracket right now, and I’ll update it for the next round.
Right now, the films to watch out for are 1-seeds Casablanca, The Princess Bride and The Dark Knight. All of those won their first-round match-ups very easily (poor 4-seeds); and thus, each of them definitely has enough of a following to reach the finals. I have a feeling that Princess Mononoke will struggle against 2-seed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. I could see that match-up going either way on Sunday.
Alright, so let’s take a look at the Stats & Analysis for the Round of 8:
Round of 8 Match-up on Friday, March 27:
OLD SCHOOL GENRE
Casablanca vs. Charade
1-seed Casablanca:
Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Fiddler on the Roof 8-2** in the first round
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
** = Facebook poll results; Twitter results won’t be counted at all during this exercise because they are very low and half the time, I was the only person who voted in them
3-seed Charade:
Tournament Recap: Beat 2-seed The 10 Commandments 6-2 in the first round
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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Round of 8 Match-up on Saturday, March 28:
THE ROMANCE GENRE
The Princess Bride vs. You’ve Got Mail
1-seed The Princess Bride:
Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Juliet, Naked 17-3 in the first round
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???
2-seed You’ve Got Mail:
Tournament Recap: Beat 3-seed Sabrina (1995) 14-5 in the first round
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
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Round of 8 Match-up on Sunday, March 28:
THE ANIMATION GENRE
Princess Mononoke vs. Spider-verse
1-seed Princess Mononoke:
Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Space Jam 14-8 in the first round
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
2-seed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse:
Tournament Recap: Beat 3-seed Kung Fu Panda 15-3 in the first round
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, 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
Weaknesses: My mom didn’t like it – she said it was confusing (for the record, IDK what she’s talking about)
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Round of 8 Match-up on Monday, March 29:
THE SUPERHERO GENRE
The Dark Knight vs. Iron Man
1-seed The Dark Knight:
Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Wonder Woman 23-1 (!!!) in the first round
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
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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