The Truffle Hunters: A Charming Documentary That Introduces the World to Some Unique Characters
Quick thoughts: The Truffle Hunters will put a smile on your face, and introduce you to a world of charming truffle hunters who all have their own reasons for hunting truffles.
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters focuses on the hierarchy of the truffle hunting world in Italy. The documentary introduces us to Aurelio, Angelo, and other specialists who scour the Italian woods and countryside in hopes of finding large truffles they can sell. It’s an intriguing world full of secret hunting spots, poisoned dogs, and men who just can’t stop looking for truffles. It’s a blast watching the process as we get to see the hunters, and their dogs spending their days and nights walking through wooded terrains in hopes of finding truffles. Then, we get to see them sell them to Giancarlo, a middle-man, who then sells them at higher prices to restaurants, or auctions, in which a man named Carlo sells them to wealthy looking people who line up to smell each pungent treat.
Another neat aspect of the documentary is that it spends time with each of the personalities who spend the majority of their time covered in mud. The majority of the men are on the older side, and they are extremely secretive and paranoid about their hunting grounds and process. They all have trusted dogs, who smell out the truffles, and are occasionally in danger as other hunters leave poison behind to kill them (don’t worry, you never see a dog dying, but it is stressful). Each character is lovingly framed, and they must’ve trusted Dweck and Kershaw because the directors were given access to their private moments that involve arguments with their spouses who just want them home more. In one of the best moments, we are treated to a former hunter doing some casual typing and wine drinking. It’s a random moment that never feels exploitative as it’s super charming and captures a fun and organic seeming moment.
What The Truffle Hunters really has going for it, is the neat cinematography that embraces static shots, and isn’t afraid to strap a GoPro to a dog for a semi-queasy moment of truffle hunting. It’s a beautiful looking documentary that was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography by the American Society of Cinematography, and you’ll be constantly charmed by the framing of the locations and characters who hunt for the truffles.
If you are looking for an excellent documentary that introduces you to a neat world inhabited with likable characters, you will love The Truffle Hunters.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 40: Talking to Tania Raymonde and John Pogue About Deep Blue Sea 3
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This is a huge episode! Jay and Mark were joined by Tania Raymonde and John Pogue, the star and director of Deep Blue Sea 3, to talk about the extremely fun shark film. If you haven’t watched Deep Blue Sea 3 yet, make sure to watch it, then listen to this fun conversation. In this episode, they discuss underwater chainsaws, potential sequels, and the cinematic shark-punching club. Enjoy!
Watch Deep Blue Sea 3! You will love it.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 357: The Dark and the Wicked, Goats, and Bryan Bertino
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Mark and Zanandi (@ZaNandi on Twitter) discuss the excellent horror film The Dark and the Wicked. Directed by Bryan Bertino, and starring Marin Ireland, Michael Abbot Jr. and Julie Oliver-Touchstone, the film focuses on what happens when an estranged family comes up against something truly dark and wicked. In this episode, they talk about atmospheric horror, jerky demons, and the filmography of Bryan Bertino. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Godzilla vs. Kong: A Fun Popcorn Film That Will Introduce the Mainstream to Director Adam Wingard
Quick thoughts: Godzilla vs. Kong is a wonderful popcorn film that does a lot in under two hours
Starting with 2014’s Godzilla, the Legendary and Warner Brothers produced Monsterverse films have steadily built towards a very fun battle royale. Godzilla vs Kong is a perfect popcorn film in that it features a fun final fight, likable humans (finally!), and a story that makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it. The best thing about the movie is that it packs in a whole lot of story in under two hours, which is a breath of fresh air because most blockbusters need 150 minutes to tell the same exact story.
Directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest), and written by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) and Max Borenstein (Godzilla: Kong: Skull Island) Godzilla vs. Kong focuses on what happens when people won’t let Godzilla do his thing. After saving the world twice by defeating the two MUTOs and King Ghidorah in Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the world’s government and Monarch still don’t trust Godzilla after he attacks a mysterious factory owned by the Apex company. Normally, saving the world twice would buy a gigantic monster some trust, but since the attacks are deadly, the world is put on alert, and nefarious plots are put into effect.
Meanwhile, King Kong is tucked away inside a gigantic dome (built by Monarch) on Skull Island, that keeps him safe from battling Godzilla. After the Godzilla attacks, Apex CEO Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) and his daughter Maia (Eiza González) hire Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), to travel to Skull Island, so he can convince Kong expert Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), that Kong needs to travel to Antarctica, so he can enter the Hollow Earth to retrieve a mythical power source that can be used against Godzilla. From there, the two monsters fight, many things are destroyed, and Millie Bobby Brown, Julian Dennison and Bryan Tyree Henry find themselves trapped inside an underground rail system that travels from the United States to Hong Kong.
The final fight, which has been well covered in the film’s movie trailers, is wonderfully coherent and makes logical sense (I’d love to write more, but I don’t want to wreck anything). Yes, there’s a wild amount of property destruction and death, but if you’ve been watching King Kong or Godzilla since 1933, you know that the two of them always leave messes in their films, so the final battle here isn’t anything different. In the end, it is one of the best giant monster fights of recent memory, and it stands alongside the best fights in Godzilla vs. Destroyah or King Kong (2005).
Godzilla vs. Kong is a wonderful popcorn film, and it hopefully will reignite talks of further sequels featuring the two likable heroes.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 356: Darkman, Sam Raimi, and Helicopter Explosions
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Mark and David (of the Award Wieners Movie Review Podcast) discuss the 1990 film Darkman. Directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and Larry Drake, this bonkers movie focuses on what happens when a scientist survives an explosion, becomes a maniac superhero, and attempts to take down a crime boss. In this episode, they discuss 1990’s superhero cinema, Sam Raimi, and helicopter explosions. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 39: Going Full Chuck, Cardigan Sharks, and Serum Viscosity
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Jay and Mark are joined by DJ Valentine (@TryingToBeDJV) to discuss the third chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 2 DVD. In this episode, they talk about Bill Nighy shepherding trees, serum viscosity, and cardigan sharks. Enjoy!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 355: Joe Dirt, Auto Trader and Fireworks
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Nathan discuss the 2001 film Joe Dirt. Directed by Dennie Gordon, and starring David Spade, Christopher Walken, Brittany Daniel and Adam Beach, the movie focuses on the adventures of Joe Dirt, a super plucky guy who is trying to find his parents after they left him at the Grand Canyon. In this episode, they discuss positive heroes, bad jobs, and Christopher Walken’s dancing. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Dead Pit (1989), one of the weaker zombie-ish B-movies of the 80s.
MY CALL: For all its effort, this movie remains unimpressive and highly forgettable, even if somewhat entertaining. I just kept expecting it to get better… and it never did. This movie had a lot of untapped potential considering the films that director Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) helmed in the following years.. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Dead Pit: For more doctors behaving badly, check out Re-Animator (1985) and sequels, Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Dr. Giggles (1992), Boxing Helena (1993), or The House on Haunted Hill (1999).
At the State Institution for the Mentally Ill, the twisted Dr. Ramzi has been abducting patients and taking them down into a secret underground crypt beneath the hospital. Deep in these catacombs, he performed experiments on them and piled their cadavers into a foul pit. Upon discovery of these foul crimes against humanity, his superior Dr. Swan (Jeremy Slate; The Lawnmower Man) confronted Ramzi, shot him dead in his own pit, and then sealed the secret entrance from the world for 20 years.
The very day that amnesiac patient Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson; The Vineyard) is admitted, an earthquake creates a fissure re-opening the cryptly basement and freeing the apparently still alive and now undead Dr. Ramzi to wreak havoc on the hospital once again. Oh, and for whatever reason, Jane has some sort of psychic connection to the hospital. No clue why. But the 80s did love psychic stuff in 80s movies.
When she’s dressed for bed (which is most scenes of this movie, it seems), Jane looks like the star of a softcore Penitentiary Girls movie. I think a producer must have liked her a little too much, because she always looks the instigator of a sex scene that never happens. And in that spirit, this movie features what I can only describe as a “mean-spirited” wet T-shirt contest scene. It is laughably raunchy, but clearly not meant to be funny either.
In the first half of the movie the gore is okay and the death scenes are completely forgettable. Like most 80s horror, the last third of the movie packs most of the punch. In the present case, the evil doctor resurrects his past patients as twitchy zombies with low budget zombie trappings that begin to ravage the hospital staff with weak zombie violence.
The deaths that ensue were very gory, even if on a very tight budget. But really, for all its effort, this movie remains unimpressive and highly forgettable, even if somewhat entertaining. I just kept expecting it to get better… and it never did. After all, evil doctor movies just open themselves up to crazy medical experiments and reanimated mania. I feel this movie had a lot of untapped potential. Especially considering the films that director Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) helmed in the following years.
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John’s Horror Corner: Project Nightmare (1987), a super low budget and completely forgettable Sci-Fi film.
MY CALL: For a very low budget movie so hard to find and which I never knew existed, this is decent enough in concept, but completely neutered in execution. I’d never recommend it. But there’s nothing aggravatingly bad either. It’s just boring. Don’t trust the incredibly misleading movie poster art!
After awakening to the destruction of their tents and campsite, Jon and Gus have no idea what happened and cannot seem to navigate to the nearby towns that they know should be there. They also believe that they are being stalked by… something. This something manifests as a visible but incorporeal colorful force in the sky and among the trees. More of a “presence” than a thing really.
As they journey on foot in search of civilization, they encounter a kind reclusive homeowner who takes them in for the night and a stranger with a flat tire. These two characters begin as completely normal, but eventually wander into the abstract. Unfortunately, like the incorporeal presence following them, these abstract concepts never find any satisfying development in the movie. Sure, they’ll be explained. But through expository dialogue we will be “told” not “shown.”
Trippy dream sequences feel like a film student’s psychedelic head trip laced with guilt and hidden meaning. We want to believe this will head somewhere meaningful… it doesn’t. Generally sluggishly paced and with no excitement to be found, eventually an underground facility is discovered where some form of mind control or induced delusion is underway in a government experiment station. Too bad this experiment wasn’t as compelling as Cube (1997), Source Code (2011) or The Belko Experiment (2016).
Director Donald M. Jones (Deadly Sunday, Murderlust) had all of the ideas, but none of the money to see them realized on screen. This has an interesting enough Sci-Fi premise for 1987, but the film is just a boring slog. Not a slowburn, mind you—just painfully boring. This would have been better in the hands of David Cronenberg, who essentially tapped into this notion (but much darker and more perverse) with Videodrome (1983).
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Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Thrilling Film That Features Snyder’s Uncompromised Vision
Quick thoughts: Zack Snyder’s Justice League is what happens when a director is able to release their fully realized vision. I like it a lot, and will watch it again.
After years of speculation, wild theories and fans clamoring for “The Snyder Cut,” it’s a relief that Snyder’s four hour film has finally been released on HBO Max. It’s a wildly ambitious movie filled with slow-motion, moody songs, and some wonderfully realized shots that will undoubtedly make some beautiful GIFs. The nice thing is that it doesn’t feel like a four hour film as Snyder fills it to the brim with more character development and visually impressive action scenes that feel much more coherent than anything Joss Whedon included in the 2017 Justice League movie. It’s still incredibly polarizing, and it’s understandable why people wouldn’t be onboard with this super long movie that is 100% earnest in its delivery. Basically, if you like Snyder, or if you appreciate uncompromised visions, you will enjoy this movie.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League focuses on what happens when powerful creatures attempt to take over the world after Superman dies, and leaves behind a vulnerable earth. The attackers are led by Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), an axe-wielding titan who has a chip on his shoulder after he betrayed his bosses (Darkseid), and has become an attack dog who travels around the galaxy and conquers planets. HIs plan is to find three Mother Boxes (AKA MacGuffins), that if united, will give Darkseid enough power to conquer the galaxy with ease.
In his way are Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). The squad was recruited by Batman and Wonder Woman, as they realize they’ll need a squad to combat what’s to come because they can’t do it on their own. Pretty quickly they realize they’re overmatched, as Steppenwolf and his Parademons are a well-oiled fighting force who hand it to them during their first battle. This leads them to bring back Superman from the dead, so he can put a super-beating on the jerky invading force. What happens next, I won’t spoil because there are some fun surprises and neat moments I don’t want to wreck.
The best part about The Snyder Cut is that Cyborg, The Flash and Steppenwolf are given much more to do. It’s refreshing to watch Ray Fisher actually play a fleshed-out character after he barely registered in the 2017 film, and Barry Gordon (AKA The Flash) is much more than the plucky comic relief that contributes nothing to the actual story (but gets some jokes). Both characters have a welcome three-dimensions as they deal with working minimum wage jobs, learning their abilities and saving people from car crashes. Also, Steppenwolf is a much better villain this time around as he’s given a backstory and actual motive for murdering so many people. The former titan wants to be on the good side of Darkseid, and he goes about his murderous exploits like a monster determined to be the employee of the month.
In the end, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an exhilarating experience loaded with copious new footage and characters who are actually characters. It’s easy to understand why it isn’t for everyone, but if you can accept the earnest tone, and slow-motion, you might find yourself enjoying the epic movie.
