Catching the Classics

Movie Madness 2022: Selection Sunday Announcement

Well, we’ve had so much fun the past two years, we’re just going to keep this thing going!

In case you missed it, in 2020, because the post-season college basketball tournaments were canceled, I thought, “What better way to keep the crazy competitiveness of March alive than with a movie tournament?”

So, I introduced Corinne’s Movie Madness.

A special thank you to Brad for the excellent graphic!

Just like the basketball tournaments, we had a field of competitors facing off in one-on-one competitions. You, the Reel Nerds fans, decided which of the two movies in a given match-up advanced to the next round, and eventually crowned The Princess Bride as Movie Madness 2020’s champion.

Then, last year, I got my fellow Nerds involved for a Disney Animation tournament. Of all the amazing 16 movies, I’m happy to say that Beauty & The Beast (1991) won last year’s crown.

This March, we’re going to attempt to answer the question that has haunted comic book movie fans for years: DC or Marvel?

The competitors and bracket mechanics

Unlike the basketball tournaments, this one is very selective. Only 16 films qualified for a coveted spot on the bracket. No doubt you’re wondering exactly how I picked 16 films out of dozens of DC and Marvel movies.

Essentially, once I decided on this year’s “DC vs. Marvel” theme, I played around with exactly how the bracket would be divided. Long story short: with some help from the Nerds, I picked out eight DC movies and then picked out eight of what I considered to be their Marvel counterparts.

These movies have all come out in the last 20 years — sorry, no Batman ’89 — and were all live-action movies that were released in theaters. That means Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and other animated movies are disqualified.

I’m also excluding the four movies that appeared in Movie Madness 2020 — The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wonder Woman and Marvel’s The Avengers. We already know how much those movies are loved, and I wanted to give other CBMs a shot at the Movie Madness crown!

So, with those discounted, I thought of eight DC movies and tried to find a spread of main characters, tones, conflicts and themes. Then, for each DC movie, I found what I considered its counterpart. Either it came out the same year, and/or had similar tones, plots, themes, or impact on how their respective studios made CBMs going forward. In one case, a DC/Marvel pairing had the same director.

Weirdly, the stars aligned so that Batman and Spider-Man will be facing off in one part of the bracket, and Superman and Captain America will be facing off in another. The others I arranged kinda randomly in the other two sections.

However, because of the weird formatting, we’re not doing “seeds” or rankings for each movie this year. It would’ve complicated things much more than necessary.

How you participate

Just like the college basketball tournament, Movie Madness will start Thursday, March 17!

That day, we will post the first match-up on the Reel Nerds’ Twitter page so you can cast your vote! Simple as that.

For instance, on March 17, it’ll be our first Batman/Spider-Man match-up; whichever movie receives more votes before midnight will advance to the next round. (If there happens to be a tie, I’ll cast the deciding vote.)

Eight days later, we will advance to the second-round match-ups, and the procedure will be the same until a movie is crowned the winner. If I’m counting right, our championship match-up should be on March 31.

Announcing the field

Here is your full field:

  • Thursday, March 17: Batman Begins vs. Spider-Man 2. The two came out a year apart, and while they had wildly different tones, they both had a profound impact on the world of CBMs and the superhero genre.
  • Friday, March 18: The Batman vs. Spider-Man: No Way Home. Both of these movies are still in the theaters, and critics and fans have loved both of them immensely. It’s interesting to see that despite each being set in a different universe than the two in the previous match-up, they both build on the tones and themes their predecessors set.
  • Saturday, March 19: Shazam vs. Deadpool. The two have similar tones and kind of the same style with fourth-wall breaks (although Shazam’s are more subtle) and cameo-ing characters from other parts of the same universe.
  • Sunday, March 20: The Suicide Squad vs. Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s the James Gunn showdown!
  • Monday, March 21: Joker vs. Logan. Or as I like to call it: “What happens when a comic book character known for wearing a bright costume gets thrown into a dark and grim world?”
  • Tuesday, March 22: Aquaman vs. Black Panther. Both movies deal with kingship and an outsider challenging the “rightful heir” to the throne. Plus, they have somewhat similar tones, compared to other competitors.
  • Wednesday, March 23: Man of Steel vs. The Winter Soldier. Not only did the movies come out a year apart, but both take a character known for being an American icon and general do-gooder and throw them into a world filled with gray morality and genocide-level stakes.
  • Thursday, March 24: Batman v. Superman vs. Captain America: Civil War. The movies came out the same year, and had a similar premise of beloved heroes going head-to-head.

Thus, on Friday, March 25, we will start the second round and on March 31, we will have our championship showdown.

Let’s decide once and for all: DC or Marvel!

Cast your votes!

Catching the Miyazaki Classics (BONUS) – Whisper of the Heart

Amazon.com: Whisper of the Heart (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo): Yoshifumi  Kondo, Screenplay And Storyboard By Hayao Miyazaki: Movies & TV

Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, perhaps best known for his work with Studio Ghibli, has gained popularity around the world for his creative and imaginative animated feature films. While they were originally released in Japanese, all of them have been dubbed into English with prominent voice actors and Hollywood stars. Over the past few months, I’ve watched and reviewed the English-dub versions of each of Miyazaki’s 11 films as writer and director.

And, as I discussed at the end of my CtMC series recap last year, this will be the first of three bonus posts to review the three films that Miyazaki wrote but didn’t direct. They are: Whisper of the Heart (1995); The Secret World of Arrietty (2010); and From Up On Poppy Hill (2011).

Now, after a year, I’m finally finishing these bonus posts with Whisper of the Heart (1995).

Synopsis: Based on a late-80s manga, the film follows junior high student Shizuku (voiced by Brittany Snow) as she’s on the cusp of young adulthood. She’s preparing to go to high school, but seemingly doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life beyond reading. After forming a connection with a boy at her school, she’s inspired to start writing and draws on her love of fairy tales and some memorable scenes at a local antique store to craft her very own fantasy story, “Whisper of the Heart.”

Spoiler-free review: So, the reason it took me so long to finally write this is because I watched the film a year ago, meant to write this review, didn’t, and then by the time I finally could, I was too far removed to do it justice. So, I finally decided to rent it again last week and now I can give you the review you’ve all been waiting for. This is ultimately a very dull movie. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments — the animation and music are both of the typical Studio Ghibli quality — but it’s slow, uneventful, and hollow. Granted, I think I liked it better when I watched it a year ago, but I think this was a bad one to end the bonus series on.

Letter grade: C-

Full review and critique: (Warning: here be spoilers!)

I think the root of the problem is that there’s no real conflict in this movie.

The only thing we have that resembles conflict is Shizuku figuring out what she wants to do with her life, because that does have a few stakes involved given that she starts devoting more time to writing and her grades drop. However, that comes in the last 20-30 minutes of the film.

Additionally, so much of the runtime is spent on Shizuku walking or running or people playing or singing a rendition of John Denver’s “County Roads” (it’s like a whole thing in the movie), and ultimately nothing happens. I have no problem with “slice of life” movies, like “Ladybird,” but there have to be more compelling elements than what we have here.

The few sequences where we see inside Shizuku’s imagination as she’s writing her book and imaging scenes from it would make for a much better movie than what we have here. The scenes we get building up the relationship between Shizuku and her love interest are also pretty good, but he leaves two-thirds of the way through the film and only returns at the very end. And the first scene in the antique shop is also well-done, and I wish the whole movie would’ve been of a similar quality.

Overall, I think tweens and teens might like this film best, as it might speak more to their insecurities, the transitions and decisions they face, and their need to discover what they can accomplish when they set their mind to it.

Again, I don’t think the film is worthless, just boring and a bit padded. I honestly think it would’ve worked best as a short film.

Personally, I think Miyazaki and his colleagues at Studio Ghibli do best when adapting or creating more fantasy-based stories. So it makes sense that something more grounded and everyday is going to be one of the lesser (although still not bad) movies in their filmographies.

Catching the Classics: 100 Movies to See Before You Die

Since I’ve been doing the “Catching the Classics” segment for almost two years, I figured it was about time to flip the script and share with all of you the movies that *you* might be missing out on — the ones that you need to see at some point in your life.

You might notice that a lot of these are no-brainers. Your Star Wars OT, your Lord of the Rings trilogy, your Princess Bride, Alien, Jaws and Die Hard. Thus, if you’re a big movie fan the way the Nerds and I are, you’ve probably seen more than half of these movies already. But, as I learned recently, you’d be surprised at how few of these the “average person” has seen.

I compiled the list by going through the AFI Top 100, the IMDB Top 250, and my own movie collection to identify 100 movies that are 1) high-quality and 2) culturally relevant in some way. To clarify: I only included movies I’ve seen, so no Godfather Part II or anything like that.

I also tried to keep it generally accessible for all people. You’ll notice I don’t have much in the way of horror or really violent action movies. That’s because 1) I don’t watch a lot of those, so 2) I don’t feel comfortable ~demanding~ that other people watch them either. Thus, most of the movies on here are PG-13 or lower.

If you paid attention to Movie Madness at all, it’ll come as no surprise that my 100 movies span a variety of genres. We have modern classics, Old Hollywood classics, superhero movies, musicals, comedies, dramas, animation, etc.

Unlike the AFI Top 100 or IMDB Top 250 lists, I broke mine down by genre instead. Much easier that way. Admittedly, there is some overlap. For instance, should Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse be classified as an animated movie or a superhero movie? I put it in the animation category because it needed more entries, but just be aware that there really isn’t much rhyme or reason on why those “overlap” movies are in one category over another. Also, the “Miscellaneous” category contains a lot of films that could probably be in “Modern Classics,” but the modern classics were the first 17 films I thought of while the miscellaneous ones were things I threw on there at the end. There’s also no significance to their ordering within the categories — it’s just merely the order that I thought of them in.

For the record: I came up with my first 60 films very easily. After that, I flipped through the other lists and various articles about “Best Musicals” and whatnot to get ideas. Once I got down to my last 10, it was really hard to pick which ones to officially go on the list while others fall into obscurity.

Again, remember: these are movies that I enjoy and that I think are important movies to watch from a technical and/or cultural standpoint.

Without further ado, here’s the list by category / genre:

Modern Classics

  • The Original Star Wars Trilogy (3)
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (3)
  • The Back to the Future Trilogy (3)
  • Indiana Jones: Raiders & Last Crusade (2)
  • Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
  • The Matrix
  • Jurassic Park
  • The Princess Bride
  • A Christmas Story
  • The Sandlot

These are all pretty obvious. I guess the one thing of note is that I only put the good Indiana Jones movies on here, because Temple of Doom and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull aren’t good. Fight me.

Old Hollywood Classics

  • Casablanca
  • A Raisin in the Sun
  • How to Kill a Mockingbird
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Rear Window
  • North by Northwest
  • Charade
  • Gone with the Wind
  • Roman Holiday
  • Some Like it Hot
  • It Happened One Night

Again, pretty obvious. The only one I’ll note is Gone with the Wind.

I struggled a lot as to whether I should put it on the list, given its controversial nature. I watched this movie a lot as a kid, so I’d become numb to its bullshit until recent discussions really made me examine whether I should support it. I think that if someone goes into it with the right mindset — that these people and their way of life are not to be glorified, that this was a film that was set and made in a different time, and that we need to learn from those things and improve — I think it’s still worth watching. Plus, my fellow Wichitan Hattie McDaniel won her Oscar for this movie. And while the role she plays and the drama around the awards ceremony itself was racially charged, I hesitate to throw the baby out with the bath water, as it were.

Also, as I said recently on the podcast, the only really good character (of the main four) is Melanie. When you really look at Scarlett, she seems to be more of an anti-heroine. She’s a terrible person who only grows more ruthless and selfish as the story progresses; but because she’s living through literal hell — at least for the first two-thirds of the movie — the audience feels they need to root for her. So, while it’s important to pay attention to how POC are treated in the movie and how The South is portrayed, I think people can still appreciate the technical aspects and become invested in the story of these four people who survive a war only for their lives to be torn apart by each other’s selfishness and weak-willed natures.

Dramas

  • The Silence of the Lambs
  • Parasite
  • The Prestige
  • Unforgiven
  • Pan’s Labyrinth
  • Arrival
  • Remember the Titans
  • The King’s Speech
  • A Few Good Men
  • Good Night & Good Luck
  • The Post

I like The Prestige the most out of Nolan’s non-Batman movies. I know everyone loooooooves Inception, and I admittedly need to revisit it, but I think it’s a bit overblown. And I never saw Interstellar or Dunkirk so…. *shrugs*

Otherwise, we’ve got a variety of genres even within this “drama” category. We got some sci-fi, some thriller, a sports movie, historical/period dramas, fantasy, action… and of course, I had to throw a few movies about journalism in there for good measure. Notice how I’ve got one about broadcast journalism (GN&GL) and one about print journalism (The Post).

Superhero Movies

  • Batman Begins
  • The Dark Knight
  • Iron Man
  • The Avengers
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Captain America: Civil War
  • Black Panther
  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Avengers: Endgame

I don’t think anyone’s going to complain about the movies that are on here, but I anticipate complaints about the movies that AREN’T. But, honestly, I don’t care. The DC movies aren’t very good outside of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, although admittedly Batman ’89 is a hallmark for live-action superhero movies.

Also I condensed the 20-plus MCU into seven films… that’s a pretty admirable feat, if I do say so myself. And, arguably, you don’t even need Black Panther; but it’s a good movie, so it’s a must-watch.

Musicals

  • My Fair Lady
  • Fiddler on the Roof
  • The Sound of Music
  • Singin’ in the Rain
  • The King & I
  • Mary Poppins
  • Oklahoma!
  • High Society
  • Annie — any version
  • The Sister Act duology (2)

You all knew I was gonna put My Fair Lady on this list, so why not have an entire category for musicals?

Not much here to explain, as most of these are pretty iconic. I put High Society on here instead of The Philadelphia Story, because I like it better. The story actually lends itself pretty well to the musical format. Also, Louis Armstrong, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in a movie together!!! Can’t get much better than that.

I put Annie on here, although which version of Annie doesn’t really matter. They all have their pros and cons. I personally always liked the one with Carol Burnett and Tim Curry the most, but it’s not a hill I’m going to die on. As long as they have all the iconic songs, it doesn’t matter what version it is.

And, I put the Sister Act movies on here, because they’re just kinda fun and more jukebox musicals than something like My Fair Lady. It’s something different even though it exists in the same genre as the others.

Comedies/RomComs

  • Clueless
  • Legally Blonde
  • Mean Girls
  • Juliet, Naked
  • My Big Fat Greek Wedding
  • Crazy Rich Asians
  • Sabrina — either version
  • You’ve Got Mail

I don’t think there’s a single comedy or romcom on the AFI Top 100 List. And if there’s any on the IMDB Top 250, there’s not that many. Thus, I pretty much had to will this category into being, rather than going off pre-existing lists. Granted, that wasn’t too hard, considering I did an entire post about romcoms already.

Anyway, these are all good movies that are worth watching, and I’m ready to fight anyone who thinks otherwise.

Disney & Pixar Animated Movies

  • Snow White
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Beauty & the Beast
  • Aladdin
  • The Lion King
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Zootopia
  • The Toy Story trilogy (3)
  • Up
  • Coco

This is another category that might not be controversial for the movies that are in it, but rather for the movies that aren’t. But, honestly, if I could make some person who’d never seen any animated movies sit down and watch any Disney and Pixar movies I choose, these would be the ones. They pack the most punch both technically and emotionally, although any Pixar movie is obviously gonna be a tearjerker.

Other Animated Movies

  • Shrek 1 & 2 (2)
  • Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 (2)
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • The Prince Egypt
  • Princess Mononoke
  • Spirited Away
  • Your Name.
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

Of course, some Miyazaki movies are going to be on there along with Spider-verse. Dreamworks tends to fly under the radar compared to Disney, but they’ve arguably put out more high-quality movies in the last 10 or 15 years than Disney has (not including Pixar). So, don’t sleep on Dreamworks!

Miscellaneous

  • Jaws
  • Alien
  • Die Hard
  • Star Trek (2009)
  • Mad Max: Fury Road
  • Edge of Tomorrow
  • Knives Out
  • Jojo Rabbit
  • Titanic
  • Jane Eyre — any version

Again, I know many of these can go in the “modern classics” category, but I had enough there already and I was trying to round out a couple of genres I don’t have on this list. We got some horror, some sci-fi, plenty of action, and a bit of mystery as well.

Again, with Jane Eyre, there might be versions I like better than others and ones I’d recommend over others; but ultimately, there are no bad versions. Watch the one with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles; or the one with Michael Fassbender; or the one with George C. Scott. Doesn’t matter. All the best versions are miniseries anyway, so the movie ones are more or less the same level of ‘doable’ even though they all have their pros and cons.

Corinne’s Movie Madness: Previewing the Final Films!

Well, ladies and gents, four films are left, and there are only three more match-ups until we crown the Champion of Movie Madness.

Starting tomorrow, you — the dear listeners/readers/followers of the Reel Nerds Podcast — will have to make some very difficult decisions, because the four remaining films are some of the best ones ever made, period. Combined, they average an 8.5 rating on IMDB and a 96.5% score on Rotten Tomatoes; and all of them appear on the IMDB Top 250 list.

While our last match-up is technically still underway as I write this, here’s a look at the updated bracket:

As we enter the Final Films round, please note that I’ve updated the stats and done more of a head-to-head match-up analysis, along with predictions.

So, let’s take a look at our last four movies:

Final Films Match-up on Tuesday, March 31:

OLD SCHOOL vs. ROMANCE GENRES

Casablanca vs. The Princess Bride

1-seed Casablanca:

  • #50 on the IMDB Top 250 List
  • IMDB rating: 8.5 / 10
  • Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
  • Won Academy Award for Best Picture

Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Fiddler on the Roof 8-2 in the first round, then beat 3-seed Charade 11-6 in the Round of 8

1-seed The Princess Bride:

  • #235 on the IMDB Top 250 List
  • IMDB rating: 8.1 / 10
  • Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
  • Won Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film

Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Juliet, Naked 17-3 in the first round, then beat 2-seed You’ve Got Mail 20-2 in the Round of 8

FULL MATCH-UP ANALYSIS:

Of the four remaining films, Casablanca has received the fewest total votes on the Facebook page. That leads me to believe that people might think it’s a bit overrated. Granted, 18 people total voted in the Round of 8 match-up between it and Charade; but that’s a bit on the lower end. The other three films’ match-ups have been averaging 20 to 22 votes each round.

Honestly, I think Casablanca is going to have an uphill battle against The Princess Bride tomorrow.

After The Dark Knight, The Princess Bride has the second-most total votes cast for it throughout the tournament. This makes sense: it’s much newer and more pervasive in current pop culture than Casablanca is. It was syndicated on cable all the time, and probably still is. (IDK for sure. I don’t watch cable anymore.)

Meanwhile, Casablanca has perhaps received The Godfather treatment: It’s an older movie everyone talks about constantly, and if you haven’t seen it you feel like you’re missing out. But then you actually do see it, you might think, “That’s it? What’s all the fuss about?” And those who haven’t seen it only know it for the quotes and the frequently parodied moments, a la Saturday Night Live or something.

But, of course, for whose of us who have seen it, we love it. And no doubt many voters have seen and love both movies, just like me. It really is a tough choice. Even I don’t know which one I’d vote for, if I vote at all. (I probably won’t unless it’s to break a tie.)

Ultimately, I think it’ll be a close one, but I anticipate The Princess Bride is going to get the W tomorrow and advance to the tournament championship.

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Final Films Match-up on Wednesday, April 1:

THE ANIMATION vs. SUPERHERO GENRES

Spider-verse vs. The Dark Knight

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

  • #65 on the IMDB Top 250 List
  • IMDB rating: 8.4 / 10
  • Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
  • Won Academy Award for Best Animated Film

Tournament Recap: Beat 3-seed Kung Fu Panda 15-3 in the first round, then beat 1-seed Princess Mononoke 19-7 in the Round of 8

1-seed The Dark Knight:

  • #4 on the IMDB Top 250 List
  • IMDB rating: 9 / 10
  • Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
  • Won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Tournament Recap: Beat 4-seed Wonder Woman 23-1 in the first round, and — as I write this — it’s beating 3-seed Iron Man 20-2 in the Round of 8

FULL MATCH-UP ANALYSIS:

Sorry, Spider-verse. The Dark Knight is winning this one.

Granted, Spider-verse has received a lot more support than I expected. I was a bit surprised that it beat 1-seed Princess Mononoke by such a wide margin. I realize Mononoke is a bit niche, but did that many people really see Spider-verse? Then again, everyone I know who’s seen Spider-verse has loved and enjoyed it — except my mom, who thought it was too confusing.

But, it doesn’t matter, because The Dark Knight has steamrolled over everything, including Iron Man, which edged out The Avengers in the first round. And, that’s saying something. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rolls over both Spider-verse and (probably) The Princess Bride to win the whole thing. It definitely has the momentum and — considering that it’s received the most total votes in the tournament thus far — the fan support to win the whole thing.

Right now, The Dark Knight is the movie to beat, and of the three remaining films, the only one I could see giving it any trouble is The Princess Bride.

But, we shall see.

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So, which of these four is worthy of being crowned the Champion of Movie Madness?

You decide!

P.S. I’m not sure whether I’ll do any analysis preceding the final match-up on Thursday. That will depend on a variety of things. If I don’t, I think I gave you guys enough insight here as to how I think any given combination of final two films will go.

Corinne’s Movie Madness: Starting the Round of 8

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)

###

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

###

Corinne’s Movie Madness: Stats & Analysis for the Animation and Superhero Match-ups

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

###

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

###

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

###

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

###

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!

Corinne’s Movie Madness: Stats & Analysis for the Old School and Romance First Round Match-ups

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

###

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

###

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

###

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

###

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

Corinne’s Movie Madness: Sunday Selection Announcement

Well, the rest of the world might be canceled, but Reel Nerds soldiers on.

In light of the post-season college basketball tournaments being canceled, I thought, “What better way to keep the crazy competitiveness of March alive than with a movie tournament?”

Introducing: Corinne’s Movie Madness.

Just like the basketball tournaments, we will have a field of competitors facing off in one-on-one competitions. We’ll have stats and in-depth analyses ahead of the actual competition. But, because they’re movies and they can’t exactly shoot hoops, YOU will be the ones deciding which of the two movies in a given match-up will advance to the next round, and which movie will ultimately be the winner.

(Sidenote: A special thank you to Brad for the excellent graphic!)

The competitors

Unlike other competitions, this one is very selective. Only 16 films qualified for a coveted spot on the bracket. No doubt you’re wondering exactly how I picked 16 films out of thousands of good ones.

Easy… I just went over to my shelf and looked.

You see, unlike the other Nerds, I have a very small selection of movies, and thus all 16 competitors are films from my very shelves. This means that movies that I love but don’t physically own — such as Beauty & the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), the Star Wars saga, or Avengers: Endgame — won’t be competing. Shocking, I know, but that was seriously the easiest way to do it.

The bracket mechanics

So we have 16 competitors and — and rather than the four regions in the basketball tournaments (East, South Midwest and West) — we have four genres.

They are: Old School, Romance, Animation and Superhero.

And, just like the tournament, each movie has a “seed” or ranking within its genre. I gave the rankings based on a combination of how popular it has been culturally, how much I like it, how early in my life I was introduced to it, and how well-received it is right now.

How you participate

Just like the college basketball tournament had planned, I intend to kick-off Movie Madness on Thursday, March 19.

That day, we will post the first match-up on the Nerds’ social media pages and you go and vote for whichever you think is the better movie! Simple as that.

For instance, on March 19, it’ll be the 1-seed and the 4-seed in the Old School division; whichever movie receives more votes before midnight will advance to the next round. (In the case of a tie, the higher seed will win; so if you like the lower-seeded movie, get your friends to vote for it too.)

Eight days later, we will advance to the second-round match-ups, and the procedure will be the same until a movie is crowned the winner. If I’m counting right, we should have a champion on or around April 2.

Announcing the field

So, without further ado, let’s announce our bracket:

In the Old School genre, our 1-seed is that black-and-white classic Casablanca. The film is an early favorite to win the entire competition, as it’s beloved by millions and has a strong presence in pop culture.

It will be facing off against the 4-seed — a musical where a guy imagines what his life would be like if he were a rich man: Fiddler on the Roof. Another beloved film, but it’ll be hard for anything to beat Casablanca.

Also in the Old School genre is 2-seed Bible epic The 10 Commandments — the one with Charlton Heston. Ryan recently disparaged this movie on the podcast, but a lot of people watch it every Easter season.

Will they rally to defend it against 3-seed spy-thriller/romance Charade, starring two of the best-looking actors to ever grace the silver screen? We’ll have to find out this Friday.

Moving down into the Romance genre — and I have to clarify these are post-1970s romances/romcoms so as not to conflict with Old School — our 1-seed is unsurprisingly The Princess Bride. While it might have elements of comedy and action, let’s not forget that it is a kissing book. Or rather, movie.

In the first round, it will be facing off against little-known film that I can’t shut up about: Juliet, Naked. It’s a film you never saw and probably only heard about it through the podcast; but it’s on Hulu, so give it a watch before Saturday!

Our second match-up in the Romance genre will feature 2-seed You’ve Got Mail. Its plot seems kinda problematic nowadays; but it is Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and they can do no wrong.

It will be facing off against one of my favorite movies — a film that definitely surpasses the 1954 original (suck it, Gerry!) — 3-seed Sabrina (1995). Yes, the one with Harrison Ford. Who wouldn’t want to be a chauffeur’s daughter in his house, if you know what I mean? 😉

Moving over to the Animation genre, our dark horse 1-seed of the tournament is Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, Princess Mononoke. Yes, maybe it’s not the most popular animated movie of all time, but the people who’ve seen it won’t shut up about it (me included).

In the first round, it will be facing off against underrated 4-seed Space Jam. So Michael Jordan’s acting isn’t the best… so what? When else are you gonna see Bugs Bunny team up with one of the greatest athletes of all time to defeat some aliens in a basketball game?

Also in the Animation genre is a recent Academy Award winner: 2-seed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. More than a year after seeing it, I’m still learning new things about it that make me like it even more. Thanks, YouTube!

Its first-round opponent will be 3-seed Kung Fu Panda. A funny, emotional and clever film that features an animation style that was arguably ahead of its time. What’s not to love about this movie?

And in our final division, the Superhero genre, our 1-seed is Christopher Nolan’s dark comic book epic The Dark Knight. It also enters the competition as a heavy contender, even though my mom will tell you she liked Mamma Mia! better.

In the first round, it will be up against 4-seed Wonder Woman. My copy of the movie is still in the packaging… Yikes.

And our final match-up of the first round will be Superhero genre‘s 2-seed The Avengers (2012) against 3-seed Iron Man. Those two are neck-and-neck in terms of popularity, it seems, both in my heart and in current pop culture. So, which one will get the W?

Here is your full field:

Which of these 16 films will be crowned the Champion of Corinne’s Movie Madness?

You decide!

Check the website this Thursday for your First Round Stats & Analysis and then visit the Reel Nerds social media pages to cast your vote!

Catching the Classics: Parts 11-20 (RECAP)

My little weekly experiment is now officially a year old! (Actually a little more than.) And, because I’m recording Part 30 this week, I decided I would put together another recap post for all of you. And, I plan to do another for Parts 21-30 here in the next few weeks.

While the first 10 iterations were a bit rough, I feel like we — that being me and the Nerds — started to get into a rhythm with these next 10. I picked out a pretty diverse set of movies; I was recording my little sound blurbs in a timely manner; and I set a weekly reminder for myself to send them to Nerds every Friday evening. And the Nerds became very good about regularly including them as part of the show.

So, because I don’t want to transcribe everything I said about these movies on the podcast, the blurbs below are a condensed version of my various voice recordings that I sent the Nerds.

I don’t have time to go back and find every single episode that these CtC iterations appeared on, but I can tell you that CtC-Part 20 was during Reel Nerds Podcast Episode 392: Dead Cat Walking (Pet Sematary review).

And, a quick note: the ratings for all the movies are out of five stars. So 5 stars is perfect, 4 stars is really good, etc.

Also, SPOILER WARNING FOR ANY/ALL OF THESE MOVIES!

So, without further ado, here are recaps of the next 10 iterations of Catching the Classics (with Corinne!)

Catching the Classics – Part 11: Shaun of the Dead

Overall, wow, this is such a good movie! I was blown away by how tight the writing is, how much everything connects, and how everything comes back into play at some point. The gore effects were convincing, but not super disturbing. It’s probably more rated R for the language and not so much for the gore. It’s probably on a similar level to Zombieland in that respect.

Of anything, the writing really stood out to me as a very efficient and direct film. It puts you right into the action; and the opening scene is a great way to introduce your characters succinctly.

Shaun of the Dead: 4 or 4.5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 12: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Surprisingly, I didn’t know too much about the movie — basically that it was about aliens and that it was directed by Steven Spielberg. And, while I understand it’s a very popular movie in many circles, I didn’t care for it.

There were a few good sequences, don’t get me wrong. One example I can give is when the aliens come to abduct the kid at the farmhouse. And another is the shot of the alien’s ship flying over the truck while the main character is surprised and confused about it. But, overall, I feel like a lot of other ‘alien encounter’ movies do this same premise but far better.

Two major problems with the movie are how unlikable the characters are, and how it ultimately feels long and boring. The last 30 minutes or so — where the aliens come in to the human base at Devil’s Tower — takes forever, and really doesn’t make a lot of sense when you stop to think about it. Why did the aliens abduct all those humans? Why are they giving them back now? Why are these other humans, like our main character, deciding to go with them? How did the humans and the aliens arrange for this little exchange? Wouldn’t the government be upset with the aliens for abducting all those other people earlier? Why would they think it was okay for our main character and the others to go with the aliens now?

So, all in all, the movie didn’t land for me whatsoever, giving this series its lowest-rated movie so far:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 2 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 13: The English Patient

This is a movie that the Nerds said was going to be long, drawn-out, boring and horrible. And, really, it wasn’t as bad as they had led me to believe. Sure, some parts of it were long, but I’d be willing to watch it again some day. Maybe not anytime soon, but some day.

While I knew the basic premise and some of the cast members, I was pleasantly surprised at how it all came together. I enjoyed the score, the overall look and cinematography, the costumes, the sets, and the performances. It’s a very beautiful movie all around.

I really didn’t mind that things were told out-of-order, but one thing that bugged me about the story was how it felt like there were scenes missing sometimes. One example is after Colin Firth’s character finds out about his wife’s affair with Almasy, we never see any fallout from that until the sequence with the plane. And there seemed to be a big gap in the timeline between when he found out about the affair and then tried to kill himself and/or Katharine and/or Almasy. But, there was no buildup to this weird homicidal/suicidal rage. Why decide to do that now? So, it probably would’ve helped to see the immediate fallout of him finding out. Did he share any tense scenes with Katharine or Almasy? Granted, the movie is 3 hours long so you can’t get bogged down in the weeds, but it would’ve helped to have those scenes, because otherwise, it feels like there are pieces missing to this story.

The biggest drawback, though, is how unlikable the characters are. I’m not rooting for the main couple to be together, because she’s already married and I can’t root for people whose relationship — by definition — is deceitful and unethical. Also, not sure why the scene where she tells him about the thimble was made out to be this big reveal. She told Almasy multiple times throughout the movie that she was in love with him, but that she couldn’t be with him because she was already married.

Also, side note, I was far more invested in Hana and Kip’s relationship than I was in Katharine and Almasy’s. I’m so thankful Kip didn’t die in that scene where he’s defusing the bomb.

The English Patient: 3 or 3.5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 14: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

I remember watching Rat Race as a kid, which I believe is a remake of this movie. And, to be honest, I think I like Rat Race better. (I haven’t seen it in years, but I enjoyed it when I was young.) Overall, the film has some great stunt-work and comedic bits, but it’s way too long.

The premise is an interesting idea, and you see how it all unfolds from the initial five men who go down to see the dying guy at the beginning. But, the filmmakers easily could’ve cut the movie down 45 minutes or an hour, and it would’ve been just fine. Many of the bits go on for far too long, to the point where they’re no longer funny — they’re just awkward.

I also didn’t appreciate the way the movie treated its female characters. The mother-in-law is unbelievably annoying, to the point where it’s exhausting; her daughter gets one nice moment in the state park, but that’s it; and the dentist’s wife is beyond dull — so dull that they could’ve replaced her with a sack of potatoes and it would’ve been more interesting. And, then the police captain is certainly a product of his time — ogling his female coworker in one of his first scenes.

Now, I actually watched the movie with my mom when I was home on vacation. She recorded it as part of a “car race” double-header on Turner Classic Movies. The other movie in the doubleheader was The Great Race, which I grew up on and enjoy far more than this movie. Also, it treats its female characters with actual respect — giving them agency, personalities and senses of humor. And for another movie about a car race — although a more formal one than Mad World‘s — it keeps the plot moving, and characters aren’t lingering in any one location for too long. Which isn’t the case here.

In summary: just go watch The Great Race instead, because it’s a much better movie!

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: 2.5 or 3 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 15: Sixteen Candles

The only reason I watched this movie was because someone on the Screen Junkies’ Movie Fights had tried to make the case that this was the worst romcom of all time. He had argued that the movie is terrible because it portrays date-rape and sexual assault in a very casual way, in addition to being misogynist/sexist, racist and homophobic. And, I have to say that I agree with most of that.

Initially, it started off well, though, with the opening sequence at the main character’s house. There are a few funny bits of dialogue and sequences with her parents and grandparents. Overall, the movie has some comedic elements that still land, but, the actual plot and content hasn’t aged well.

My biggest grievance was with the male love interest (pictured above with Molly Ringwald’s character). He comes off as super-creepy in his interactions with her, but he’s somehow even worse when he’s dealing with his current / soon-to-be-ex girlfriend, whom he “trades” to ‘the nerd’ for his crush’s underwear. Ugh.

I had fun with it, weirdly, but it was more in research sort of way since the whole point was to see how poorly it had aged.

Sixteen Candles: 2 or 2.5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 16: Pretty in Pink

Another John Hughes movie! Even before I watched it, I knew James Spader and Molly Ringwald were in it; that there was a character named Ducky; and that it was another John Hughes teen-romcom.

On the whole, it’s far less problematic than Sixteen Candles. Initially, I found Ducky’s obsession with Andie and his inappropriate comments to her and other girls very problematic; but by the end, you could see that he had grown and realized he shouldn’t force a relationship with someone who didn’t want to be in a relationship with him.

I was also definitely rooting for Andie and Blaine; I thought they were remarkably mature and honest with each other for 18-year-olds. The whole part where Andie confesses that she doesn’t want him to see where she lives — I thought that was a great moment for her.

One thing that irked me the whole time was the continual emphasis on the characters needing to fit in with their high school social strata. It makes sense in most other teen-romcoms and ‘coming of age’ movies, because they’re usually underclassmen. But, here, they’re graduating in a few weeks. So who cares what your friends think about the person you’re dating! After graduation, you don’t have to see any of these people ever again. (And you probably won’t anyway.)

So, yeah, I really enjoyed it. I’d definitely watch it again, especially because James Spader is in it. Yes, he’s a douche bag, but he plays a douche bag as only James Spader can. 😉

Pretty in Pink: 3.5 or 4 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 17: The Truman Show

Of all the movies I’ve watched for the CtC series thus far, I think this is the one that has aged the best. While I knew the premise and the ending beforehand, I immensely enjoyed this movie’s setup, characters, and writing.

It has a perfect mix of drama and comedy. One sequence that stands out to me is when he’s trying to leave town in the car with his “wife,” and he goes through the roundabout, then makes her drive over the bridge, and then drives through the fire line. It’s both hilarious and is a dynamic scene that keeps the energy up.

And, even though I knew how it ended, I was so engulfed in the finale where the creator/creation dynamic between Truman and Christof culminates. You can see that Christof looks at Truman with genuine paternal feelings, but he’s only a father to Truman in the most unethical way possible. And, of course, are his attempts to stop Truman driven more by his feelings, or is it because he doesn’t want the show to end? I believe it’s more of the latter, but you can see the mixture of both in Ed Harris’ performance.

Also, this might be my favorite Jim Carrey performance ever, but then again, I haven’t seen him in most of his dramatic stuff. So I have a small sample size.

By the end, I wanted to see more than just Truman walking through that door at the end. I wanted to see him actually encounter the ‘real world’ for the first time, reconnect with Sylvia, and maybe go to Fiji. But, I know that’s not the story they were trying to tell. It’s about “The Truman Show” (the show within the movie) and not just Truman. It was about the experience of the show, what it means for the world of entertainment, what it’s done to Truman and his psyche, and those who watch it.

So, I’m happy to say that this movie has earned the CtC series’ third-ever perfect rating:

The Truman Show: 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 18: Se7en

This was another entry where pop culture osmosis ruined basically every plot point of the movie — the premise behind the murders, the characters’ motivations, and the ‘twist’ ending. I think this is to the movie’s detriment, because my experience as a first-time watcher was ruined given that the cool build-up and suspense was gone. I didn’t love it or hate it; it was okay. It was worth watching, but I doubt I’d watch it again.

Overall, the performances were great — Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Gwyneth Paltrow. And while Kevin Spacey is a problematic human being, to say the least, he can play a creepy and privileged white guy really well. Weirdly, the part of the movie I liked the best was the credits at the beginning. Also, shout-out to Howard Shore — his music worked well at building up the tension in several scenes.

Se7en: 3 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 19: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Let me say right off the bat that I’ve never seen the first Terminator or any movie in the franchise, except for Terminator: Salvation, weirdly. And while I don’t remember much from it anyway, pop culture osmosis had already ruined many of the movie’s plot points for me, such as which time-traveling character is the bad guy and which one is the good guy. And, that the film ends with the T-800 “dying” voluntarily to preserve the timeline, and that John Connor was really broken up about it.

In actually watching it, though, I felt like the movie was really long. The last action scene, in particular, seems to go on forever. But, I did like how the movie gave you just enough exposition — not too much or too little — about what had happened in the previous Terminator movie, which would help people like me to catch up. The adult actors do a great job; the kid isn’t the best but he’s not terrible. The best part for me was the second act where John and the T-800 are bonding — it reminded me a lot of the Iron Giant. And, as an aside, the effects hold up really well.

T2: Judgment Day: 3.5 or 4 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 20: Night of the Living Dead

While I recognize its value as a cultural touchstone, it was hard to get past the low production value and awkward acting. I wondered at the time whether it was an independent film — and the Nerds later confirmed it is — but with these, I like to judge films on their own merit, without looking over IMDB trivia or special features or directors’ commentaries, etc. If it’s a “classic,” it should hold up to modern audiences without giving you a bunch of context, right? (Now, granted I have cheated on this a few times. I think I looked up some background on Grave of the Fireflies, which I cover in Part 29. But, from now on, I’ll try to refrain from doing that, because I want to be consistent in how I approach these films.)

My overall impression of the movie, though, is a cross between The Twilight Zone and Birdemic. It has the philosophical ambition of a Twilight Zone episode, because it wants to capitalize on paranoia and mob mentality, which is prevalent in much of TZ. I really like how it examines the psychology of these characters as they face the crisis of a zombie epidemic. I really enjoyed the second act when the guys come up from the cellar and have a conversation with the main character as to who’s in charge, who they should listen to, etc. And, I liked the opening scene with Barbara running away from the cemetery during the initial zombie attack.

But, at the same time, it’s weighed down by a low production value, occasional wooden acting, and filming techniques that sometimes reminded me of an awkward student film. I was frustrated at the 180 Barbara’s character did — from intelligently running away from the zombies and taking refuge in the farmhouse, to just sitting on the sidelines while everyone else made the decisions.

I don’t generally like horror movies because I get really tensed-up, which is what happened during the initial sequence in the cemetery and Barbara running away; but by the third act, it all felt incredibly cartoonish and I didn’t even care anymore.

So, while it was a movie that generated a lot horror tropes, and I feel conflicted about my overall experience in watching it, the weaker points really hold it back from getting a higher rating from me:

Night of the Living Dead: 3 stars

Catching the Classics: Parts 1-10 (RECAP)

Because Catching the Classics started on the podcast about a year ago, and I’ll be submitting Part 30 here in a few weeks, I decided it was finally time to go back through all my emails and voice recordings and put together a little recap post for all of you.

Now, the early days of CtC were a bit rough. I was sending in emails, whereas now I send in little voice recordings every week. (Fun fact: I usually record them in my pantry.) So, of these first 10-ish entries, the first six or so will be pulled straight from the emails I sent the Nerds — and I haven’t really edited them at all, so hopefully they’re intelligible. But, then everything from Part 6 onward will be a condensed version of whatever it is I said in my voice recording that played on the podcast episode.

I don’t have time to go back and find every single episode that these CtC iterations appeared on, but I can tell you that CtC-Part 10 was during Reel Nerds Podcast Episode 378: Water Bored (Aquaman review).

So, without further ado, here are recaps of the first 10 iterations of Catching the Classics (with Corinne!):

Catching the Classics – Part 1: Steel Magnolias

The only thing that I knew going into this movie was that it was a “chick-flick” (and I use that term lightly), and that something sad happens. Even when I sat down to watch it with my friend who’d seen it before, she suggested we get a box of tissues ready.

Overall, I wasn’t too thrilled or too bored with it. It was okay. I think I’d give it maybe a B- or C+.

I think the cast is eclectic, but talented. I thought Sally Field really held the whole movie together, and her performance in that cemetery scene was absolutely heart-wrenching. I actually liked the time-skips, and thought it was a good way to see these characters address different, but connected challenges over the course of three or four years.

There were definitely some funny moments that made me and my friend laugh out loud. And, I liked how these women were all unique enough that they didn’t feel like stereotypes or cookie-cutters. They had their own personalities and goals. 

On the flip side, I had a problem with this movie’s character structuring. I think they were trying to go for a more ensemble-type feel, except that some of the characters got more attention and development than others. And, yet, none of them seemed to get so much attention or development that any of them could be considered the main character.

I also thought the ending was a little disjointed. Annelle is about to have her baby, and they rush her off to the hospital… and that’s it? Why not go another five minutes, show us the women coming to see Annelle in the maternity ward and then do a cheesy freeze-frame with all of them huddled around Annelle as she’s holding the baby? That’s how I would’ve done it.

And, I can definitely tell that this movie was based on a play. I felt like the dialogue was really stilted sometimes, and I kept thinking to myself, “Who talks like that?” Lots of high drama in close quarters — it works in stage plays, but comes off a little melodramatic here.

Overall, as I said, I didn’t either love it or hate it. I’d probably watch it again, one of these days. And, I will say that having the box of tissues handy was a good idea.

Steel Magnolias: 3 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 2: Scarface (1983)

Now, I knew a lot more about Scarface going into the movie than I did with Steel Magnolias. I, of course, knew the famous line “Say hello to my little friend,” that it was about a cocaine kingpin in Miami, and that Al Pacino was in it.

I know it’s an incredibly popular movie, especially among men, but I personally wasn’t a fan of it.

I do think there are a lot of elements about it that are very well-crafted. I think Pacino’s performance was excellent, especially considering how much of the movie he had to carry. We saw every aspect of Tony — broken and scared, desperate and ambitious, arrogant and vicious, and soft and vulnerable.

There were also some sequences, especially toward the end, that expertly built up the tension. The scene where they’re driving in NYC stands out to me. I also appreciated a lot of the unique camera movements, which were enough to engage you but not so frequent that they annoyed or overwhelmed you.

I also thought the guy who played Manny did an excellent job and I loved Tony’s mom. She was probably my favorite character, and I wish we would’ve spent more time with her.

There were also a few moments that made me laugh out loud, to the point where parts of the movie felt like a dark comedy.

However, this movie feels incredibly long. It’s nearly 3 hours. I know that’s not as long as any of the Lord of the Rings movies, but I actually care about those characters. Here, everyone’s kind of a douchebag and I know they’re all gonna die at the end, so I’m not as invested in their journey as I am in, say, Frodo’s.

I didn’t realize the movie started with us seeing Tony after he first comes to the US and gets his start in the drug biz. I thought we were going to get introduced to him as a kingpin already. But, of the movie’s three sections, I enjoyed the middle one the most. Seeing him go from Frank’s inner circle to kingpin was more interesting than watching him go from immigrant to flunky, or watching his inevitable downfall in the third act.

Additionally, compared to today’s culture, this movie feels incredibly dated when it comes to portraying POC and handling its female characters.

I was blown away by how underdeveloped Elvira’s character is. When Tony is working for Frank, she rejects Tony multiple times and doesn’t seem at all interested in him. And yet, she ends up marrying the guy… for some reason….??? Why? Was it for his money? For the cocaine? After being so unhappy in her first marriage to a drug lord, what was she expecting would be different with another? I felt like she was just there to be arm candy.

And, Tony’s sister… I also thought his behavior toward her seemed overly creep and borderline incestual, so I’m glad she called him out on that.

Anyway, I can see why people — men, especially — seem to like this movie. It’s a modern-day adaptation of the Greek tragic hero but with a shit-ton of drugs and violence. Again, it’s not for me, but it’s definitely made an impact on pop culture and that makes it at least work checking out.

Scarface (1983): 3 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 2.5: Blazing Saddles

After watching Scarface last week, I decided to spend the accidental buffer week with Blazing Saddles.

I’m 90 percent sure I’ve seen it before, but couldn’t quite remember as it’s probably been 10-plus years.

Anyway, very good movie. It took a while to get going, as the first 20-30 minutes seemed kind of slow. But once Bart shows up to town, I think that’s where it really kicks off.

I loved how he got an opportunity to outwit his antagonists, rather than just beating them with pure brawn. It was a nice change of pace.

And I loved the ending. That fight / dance scene is hilarious, and was probably my favorite part.

Blazing Saddles: 4 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 3: Jurassic Park

Because this film is so pervasive in pop culture, I knew so much about it: all the famous lines, the major scenes, and which characters live and which die. It felt like I’d seen like half of this movie already; I just needed to watch all the stuff that’s in between the famous scenes.

Despite all that, I couldn’t believe how well this movie held my attention. I genuinely had fun. Granted, some of the tense scenes where the kids or Alan are in danger… I already knew they were going to live so a lot of that tension was gone. But it was, overall, a really good movie. (Surprise!)

The film is paced pretty well. The set-up doesn’t take too long so we can spend most of our time on these characters interacting in the park. Hell, you could probably cut out that scene where the lawyer goes to the Dominican Republic and it would work just fine.

There were maybe a few times at the end where it started to drag, but it still moves pretty well.

I also really noticed Spielbergs style in this. The camera movements. The different lighting choices, like when they turn off the power and use the flashlights. It was all really well done. Kept me engaged and helped build the tension while keeping the action going.

None of the characters seemed too bland, but neither were they complex, which is fine. It’s a two-hour action movie, so I don’t need them to be. I thought the actors did well and seemed to fit their parts. I liked Grant’s arc of warming up to the idea of kids, and Hammond’s sad realization that his park wasn’t just unsuccessful but dangerous.

I do have a few minor criticisms:

I felt like the ending could’ve been done a little bit better. They just fly off, safe and in one piece… but what about the park? What was Hammond going to do with it? I think it would’ve helped bring the themes (man vs nature) and his character development full-circle if we could’ve had a scene at the end with him saying that the park should be closed and he should’ve never tampered with nature, or something of the kind.

Also, I know the film is called Jurassic Park, and no doubt the trailers and marketing gave it away when it came out in 1993, but I wish they would’ve kept you guessing about whether there were dinosaurs. We see the scene at the beginning with the raptor and the guy getting killed and everyone’s wearing JP hats. Huh. I wonder what creatures might be in a park with a dinosaur logo on it…….? (Can you sense the sarcasm there?) Maybe just generic security guard outfits and Jeeps, etc., to keep the reveal safe until the group sees the dinosaurs for the first time.

Also, I thought Tim was pretty useless at following directions and Lex’s constant screaming was annoying.

And there are a few scenes where the effects don’t hold up, but for the most part, they still look great. And the animatronics and puppets(?) are pretty damn convincing.

Overall, I can see why so many people love this movie. And maybe I’ll never love it like they do, but I really enjoyed watching it.

Jurassic Park: 4 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 4: Unforgiven

Going into this movie, I didn’t know anything about it other than some of the cast members (Eastwood, Hackman, Freeman), that it was a Western, and that Eastwood won his first directing Oscar for it.

I do wanna say real quickly: I was raised on Westerns. More of the John Wayne Westerns than Clint Eastwood ones, but I’m no stranger to the story of the gunslinger, revenge, outlaws and general make-your-own-way attitude of the Old West.

But after watching Unforgiven

Ho. Ly. Shit.

I feel simultaneously speechless and that I could write a freaking 3,000 word essay on how well this movie tackles so many themes and aspects. Masculinity, the morality and practicality of murder, the role of writers chronicling The West, and the role of women on the frontier.

While I won’t say much more than that, because I’m still processing everything this movie has to offer, I do want to state for the record that I would LOVE to see a prequel to this where Will is an outlaw and then meets Claudia and starts to reform himself.

Maybe I’ll feel differently in a week or two, after I’ve had a chance to think about it more… But for now, I’ll say:

Unforgiven: 5 / 5 stars

I would’ve given it that rating anyway, but the fact that most of the badass characters are from Kansas definitely helped.

Catching the Classics – Part 5: Monty Python’s Life of Brian

So, going into this movie, I knew it was a Monty Python production — obviously — and that it was a parody of Bible Epics / Passion plays. I think I had seen the “What have the Romans ever done for us?” and the conjugation/graffiti scenes.

Overall, it was okay. I really enjoyed the first half. I laughed out loud at the stoning scene, and considering I’m not one for gallows humor, that says a lot. And I laughed so hard at the “Caesar Augustus Memorial Sewer,” I had to pause the movie.

But, once it takes up the ‘Brian as the Messiah’ angle, I definitely felt there were parts of it that would be offensive to Christians. Granted, I’m sure that’s what the creators were going for, but I wasn’t a fan. Also, there were a few instances of nudity, which I wasn’t expecting, and it wasn’t really necessary. And, I felt that Pilate and Biggus Dickus’ lisp thing goes on for too long — so much so that it lost a lot of its steam. By comparison, the cleric in The Princess Bride doesn’t have as many lines and his is far more hilarious. Sometimes, in comedy, less is more.

So, yeah, kind of a mixed bag from me. As I said, there were parts of it I really enjoyed. And while it is true that there were a lot of people during Christ’s time who claimed to be the Messiah, here, I felt like they were doing it just to make fun of Christians. On the whole: I think Holy Grail is a better and funnier movie. As is Blazing Saddles, since I just watched that a few weeks ago.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian: 3 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 6: The Green Mile

Unfortunately, the ending was ruined for me, along with a few other major plot points and the overall premise. But, I still really enjoyed it, to the point where I like it better than Shawshank Redemption.

For a 3-hour movie, it doesn’t really feel like it. There are maybe a few scenes where it starts to drag and loses its momentum, but it kept me engaged and interested. When they introduce the mouse, for instance, I thought it would really start to drag, but then you start to see why Mr. Jingles is so important, and it all makes sense.

I was confused as to what John Coffee was supposed to be — an angel, an alien, or a person with superpowers. Different aspects of the movie lead you to think one thing and then others make you think something else. But, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter, and that’s what I walked away with by the end of it.

The Green Mile: 4 or 4.5 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 7: Miniseries The Thorn Birds

This is the second-most-popular miniseries of all time in the United States. Definitely a water cooler moment for folks back in the day.

Thankfully, I didn’t know too much going into it. I had seen a clip on the internet that ruined one of the bigger plot points of the latter part of the series, but there’s still plenty that I didn’t know about. It’s like a 7-hour miniseries, so there’s plenty to get through. But, because it’s a miniseries, you don’t have to sit down and watch it all in one sitting. It was actually made for the exact opposite reason. So, there’s more freedom to watching it — even though it’s longer — than there is to watching a 3-hour movie in one sitting.

Because it’s a little more obscure a quick plot summary: Set in Australia in the 1920s / 30s at the start of the miniseries, a rich elderly woman has her brother’s family come to stay with her, as they’re due to inherit the estate when she dies. The woman befriends her parish priest, who also befriends her brother’s family, particularly the daughter, Meggie. The elderly lady becomes jealous of the priest (Fr. Ralph) spending so much time with her poorer relatives, particularly Meggie, that she decides to revenge herself on them when she dies. Which she does… and then like five more hours of drama ensue.

Overall, the best part of the miniseries is the performances. The two leads are great, as is the actress who plays Mary Carson, the old lady.

Admittedly, this miniseries isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed it. I’d probably watch it again. It does feel a bit long sometimes, but I feel like it keeps the momentum going for the most part.

The Thorn Birds: 4 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 8: The Scarlet Pimpernel (both the 1934 and the 1982 versions)

This is the grand-daddy of modern superhero films! The original book was a major influence on Zorro, which in turn was a big influence on Batman, and you can definitely see that in both of these films. A lot of the themes and motifs feel as though they’re pulled straight from The Dark Knight trilogy, when — in fact — it’s the other way around.

The overall story is about Sir Percy Blakeney, an English baronet who works to save French aristocrats during the French Revolution, and both versions have a mixture of superhero, spy, and romance elements while also being a period drama. So… you know I’m going to love it!

I watched the 1982 version first, and I like it better even though it’s an hour longer than its predecessor. It gives the audience more backstory for the main characters and SHOWS you their connections with each other — whereas, the other version TELLS you about their connections, because it’s so much shorter. Also, I think this cast gives better performances than the 1934 cast. Anthony Andrews, who plays Sir Percy in the ’82 version, really cranks up the silliness of his character to 11 during the appropriate scenes, which help contrast when he’s serious in other scenes much better. And Sir Ian McKellen is a much better Chauvelin than whomever plays him in the ’34 version.

But, the 1934 version certainly has its merit. From what I can gather through a bit of online research, I think it’s more faithful to the original novels. And, it has pretty good production value for its day; the costumes and set designs are all great. Plus, it being a black-and-white movie gives it a more classic Hollywood feel and helps to soften or highlight the actors’ features as needed. By contrast, the 1982 version seems to have very muted and muddy-looking colors.

On the whole, both are worth watching, but I would recommend the 1982 version over its predecessor.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934): 4 / 5 stars

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982): 5 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Holiday Bonus: White Christmas

(I talked about this on the Bonus: A Nerdmare Before Christmas episode.)

Like Blazing Saddles, this doesn’t technically meet the criteria of a CtC film, because I had seen it before. But, it was only once during an all-night event while I was in high school, so I watched it kind of sporadically while I was sleep-deprived and hyped up on sugar.

In revisiting it, I get why people like it, but I’m not one of them. I remember not really liking it the first time either, but I figured it was because I was sleep-deprived. I still got really bored with it on the second go-around.

There are a few aspects about it that I enjoy. The cast members are all very charming, and a few of the song-and-dance numbers are enjoyable rather than meandering. And, of course, Bing Crosby is always a win!

But, on the whole, I’m not a fan. Too many of the song-and-dance numbers go on for far too long, and the characters are all a bit caricature. And, arguably, it’s not even that Christmas-y. It’s almost incidental that the plot takes place at Christmas.

As much as I like musicals, this is one of those that focus more on the dance numbers at the expense of the music and the story that I really dislike.

White Christmas: 3 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 9: The Godfather

Of all the movies on here, this is the one (and maybe Jurassic Park) is the one that had been the most hyped-up and that I had the most ruined for me simply through pop culture osmosis. I knew all the famous scenes — the wedding, the baptism/shoot-out at the end, the horse head in the bed, etc. Plus, it has a reputation of being this beloved classic. I mean, it’s #2 on the IMDB Top 250, for crying out loud! So… it had a lot to live up to. Plus, I’ve seen so many movies that either drew inspiration or directly parodied the movie or at least its iconic moments. In short: it never could’ve lived up to the hype.

So first, let me tackle what I liked about it:

All the performances are great — Al Pacino and Marlon Brando, especially. And, apparently, Robert Duvall is in this movie?! He gets the Silent MVP Award — or the Boo Radley Award, if you will — for his performance. It also has a nice feel to it. You can see that the style looks as though it’s transitioning out of Old Hollywood. It still has that graininess, dustiness and color to it that makes it seem like it’s from ‘the old country.’ And, I appreciate that it’s set more in the ’40s and ’50s, rather than in the ’70s, which is when it came out.

Now, my biggest criticisms of the movie are about its runtime and its character arcs. Michael is not given much screen time in the beginning, but is given more as the film goes on. Fine. But, the problem is that his character arc is so drastic, but the film seems to hand-wave over the most important bits of it. Michael stepped up to help his family’s “business” because his father was sick and injured, and then he went into exile and eventually lost Apollonia in the car explosion. But, then when we see him again, he’s suddenly back in the States and very involved in his father’s dealings. There are ultimately a few big scenes missing from Michael’s arc, namely when he comes back to the States after Apollonia dies. Did he want to join his father in the business? Did he feel like he needed to as a way to get revenge for losing Apollonia? Did Vito ask him to help, and Michael was reluctant? We have no idea! A lot of it is implied and not shown, making it believable but not earned.

Meanwhile, Vito gets a really good arc, because it’s gradual and organic. You can see how and why Vito starts to change from his old ways. But, the problem is, it comes at the expense of Michael’s arc. The movie should’ve spent less time on Vito and more time on Michael, or at least, Vito’s should’ve been completed earlier in the movie. That way, it would’ve given us more time to focus on Michael’s descent as he takes over more of the business. Michael’s arc isn’t as organic or at least as well-executed as Vito’s is, which is bad, considering how radical his transformation was compared to Vito’s by the end of the movie.

As for the for the runtime, this movie is 50 percent weddings, funerals and baptisms. There are several scenes that absolutely have been cut. And the longer it went on, the more frustrated I became. Why does the movie insist on showing me so many of these things that don’t matter and then it doesn’t show me the things that do matter! It’s 3 freakin’ hours long and there are still scenes missing.

It’s not a bad movie, by any means. It’s certainly an influential movie, and I’m glad I’ve seen it now. If anything, it got me to care enough that I was invested in these characters and their arcs and how they played out. It’s just frustrating that the execution was… off, IMO.

I liked it better than Scarface, but not as much as I liked The Green Mile. And, both of those are 3 hours long, just like this movie is, so I feel like that’s pretty comparable.

The Godfather: 3.5 / 5 stars

Catching the Classics – Part 10: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Overall, this movie was delightfully fun. I expected it to be over-the-top and melodramatic, and it was. And, I think the fact that I knew that going into it helped me enjoy it a lot better. I had seen some clips it of it previously, and I knew that Dracula and Mina had some weird romance — which was the only major change from the original novel. I haven’t read the entire novel, but I didn’t mind the change. It gave some reason as to why Dracula would go to England and why he would seek out Lucy and then Mina; and it gave him some complexity besides just being a monster in a Gothic horror novel.

I also find it hilarious that I ended up watching two Francis Ford Coppola-direct movies back-to-back, and I like this one a lot better than The Godfather. But, then ‘movie based on classic English literature’ is more in my wheelhouse than ‘mobster/gangster crime movie.’

The performances are great for the most part. Keanu Reeves is a little off, but I like Anthony Hopkins in a lot; and I think Gary Oldman did a great job considering he had to play a creepy weirdo with a strange accent with a faceful of a makeup for most of the movie.

So, you have to appreciate the film for what it is: artsy, fun, a little overblown, a little melodramatic sometimes. There wasn’t anything about it that I hated other than the final scene — SPOILERS — Dracula’s death, where they try to do this shoehorned-in ‘the power of love will redeem you’ thing, which didn’t land for me at all.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: 4 / 5 stars

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