You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
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The MFF podcast is back and we are partaking in a massive two-part podcast special in which we attempt to figure out the greatest cinematic sea beast. We compiled 16 monsters, collected over 40 listener questions and drew up a tournament bracket that will whittle out the winners from losers. If you are into cinematic sea monsters (or even just a couple of them) you will love every second of this in-depth podcast that explores every facet of their existence and hunting tactics. This pod was months in the making and we guarantee you will never look at cinematic sea monsters the same ever again.
Will the Sando Aqua Monster from The Phantom Menace win?
As always, we answer random listener questions and discuss if there is actually an octopus in The Goonies (the answer will blow your mind). 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 pod!
You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
As promised here is the trailer for Cold Skin. It looks dope.
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MFF Special: How Much Ground Did Nic Cage Cover While Dressed as a Bear in The Wicker Man Remake?
I love The Wicker Man remake because of its over-the-top acting and a once in a lifetime moment involving Nic Cage running amok in a bear suit. Very rarely have movies confounded me like The Wicker Man and it has left me with several questions that I needed to answer.
- How far does he travel while wearing the bear suit?
- Where did he learn to fight? The dude knocks out three people and knocks down two people with six total strikes.
- Could I map the island to learn how far he traveled?
- How did a parade of slow-moving people manage to travel in a group to another location to wait for Nic Cage after he frees his daughter Rowan?
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I will never know how he learned to be such an efficient striker but I figured I could map the island and track his bear-suited movements. After watching the movie again I quickly realized that director Neil LaBute had no interest in making anything easy on me. The geography of the island is never 100% established and nothing makes geographical sense, but if you know my dumb data you know I try my best to combine all the clues to make an educated guess that is somewhere close to what is featured in the movie. There is no actual way to ever know how far Nic Cage traveled while dressed as a bear but the following is the best guess I was able to put together.
THE WICKER MAN, Nicolas Cage, Erika-Shaye Gair, 2006, (c) Warner Brothers
Here are some assumptions that I have about the island:
- Nic Cage covers a lot of ground during his investigation. However, he never notices that they are building a massive statue that he will eventually burn in. Thus, the statue must be on the opposite side of the island because he has covered most of the coastal trails on the Lodge side of the island and had been to several homes/barns and a graveyard, old church, school, apothecary and a very large bee farm and witnessed nothing being built in a large field that is about 200 yards from the water (thanks, crane shot at the end).
- After leaving Willow’s (his ex-who got him to the island) house he comes across some men loading wood onto a wagon. This means there is an adequate road system for transporting supplies via wagon. When we see the statue later those pieces of wood look very familiar. I love that they are collecting wood for the large wooden creation while Cage is running around like a maniac.
- The island isn’t massive, but it is big enough to make bicycles a viable transportation option. However, there are no bicycles or houses in sight during the finale so it must be a remote part of the island.
- In the time it takes for Cage to run from the cemetery to the Summerisle residence his once soaked clothes are now dry. This means the distance is at least two miles through trails and wooded terrain.
- If the length of the island is over two miles and Cage’s journies took him relatively deep inland (up hills, through trails etc..) it makes sense that it would be at least one mile to the opposite side of the island.
Here is what happened
Towards the end of the movie, the island’s denizens start their journey to supposedly light a little girl on fire because they need a sacrifice for their crops. They start at Sister Summerisle’s (Ellen Burstyn) home and make their way inland through the bee maze and into a forested area. When they reach the forested trail, Nic Cage comes from the trees and meets up with his ex-fiance Willow (Kate Beahan). They finally stop at a forested area where this happens.
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Where did Nic Cage come from?
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Nic Cage came from the lodge/bar that he was staying at while he was doing his illegal and loud investigation. The lodge is located centrally near the coast and is a solid base for everything that happens. Once he gets the bear suit on he runs up a hill and through the forest in an effort to meet up with the parade of cultists and Miss-bee-havers.
Because of the location of the Lodge in relation to where the cultists traveled I’m guessing Nic Cage had to travel 1800 yards (5400 feet) while dressed as a bear. How did I figure this out? Since he starts his journey on the coast he needs to move inland and over and down several hills and eventually cut off the roving group of honey lovers. Once he gets with them they travel for several hundred yards until they get to the burning site. He then runs about 50 yards to knock out an unsuspecting lady and rescue his “daughter” Rowan. They then run away into the woods where he takes off the bear suit. The distance covered is easily 1800 yards because he runs through the woods, travels along a trail, and eventually walked further with the parade before he made a final sprint to knock a lady out.
It’s impossible to know the exact number and I was initially a little disappointed that I couldn’t factually say something like “Nic Cage ran two miles in 14 minutes while disguised in a bear suit.” However, I still love the fact that he traveled over a mile while dressed as a bear and I’m 100% certain that my incorrect guess is pretty close to the actual distance Nic Cage ran.
If you liked this random post make sure to check out my other stuff! Also, a big thanks to Brian Raftery at Wired for interviewing me about this dumb data.
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- A Closer Look at Movies That Feature the Words Great, Good, Best, Perfect and Fantastic
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- Cinematic Foghat Data
- Explosions and Movie Posters
- The Fast & Furious & Corona
- Nicolas Sparks Movie Posters Are Weird
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- The Cinematic Dumb Data Podcast
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- What was the Guy’s Blood Pressure in Dawn of the Dead?
- Why Were There So Many Lemons in National Treasure?
- How Far Does The Rock Jump in the Skyscraper Poster?
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You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
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The MFF podcast is back and we are talking about the most influential films of the 1960s. The 1960s featured some truly groundbreaking movies that revolutionized international filmmaking and still have a lasting effect today. We put together a list of 10 films from each year and researched the crap out of them to let you know how they influenced modern day cinema. Get ready to hear us talk about Breathless, The Apartment, Night of the Living Dead, Dr. Strangelove and Dr. No.
They’re coming to get you, Barbara.
As always, we answer random listener questions and discuss why wizards don’t get punched in the face more. 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 pod!
You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
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The 2018 MFF March “Mad Movie” Madness Bracket
March Madness is upon us so I felt it was necessary to figure out which movie with “mad/madness” in its title would reign supreme in a single elimination tournament. I compiled a list of 32 movies and I ranked them according to their Tomatometer/IMDb User Score average. I then set up the bracket much like the NCAA does (#1 vs #32 in first round etc..) and set about making my predictions.
There are some upsets in the list and I feel like I’ve gone out on a limb picking Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior over Mad Max: Fury Road in the final. The way I see it is Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior took the template from Stagecoach and created an action classic. Mad Max: Fury Road is a better film but it borrowed the gameplan from its predecessor and when it comes down to it I believe The Road Warrior will hit all the clutch shots on the way to the fictional championship.
I took a couple risks by picking #15 In the Mouth of Madness and #13 Mad Dog and Glory to make it so far in the tournament because I am a huge fan of John Carpenter and Bill Murray. They may be outmatched but if you’ve watched Space Jam or Rushmore you know to never bet against Bill Murray (until he goes head to head with Mad Max).
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Here is the bracket below! Leave a comment and let me know who you think should win.
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You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
The MFF podcast is back and we are talking about The Oscars, cinematic push-ups and Annihilation! This is a very special episode because we are joined by Zachary Beckler the director of the award-winning Interior (and occasional MFF contributor). I’ve known Zachary for 16(ish) years and our history goes all the way back to working at an AMC theatre before stadium seating was a thing. We also wrote a very weird script about vampires living with their parents, and we made some truly odd short films that focus on retired drug dealers and creepy people earing Doritos. In this uber-exciting pod, you will hear us wax poetic about some unique science-fiction movies and discuss Interior.
You should watch Interior on Amazon Prime.
As always, we answer random listener questions and ponder whether or not The Shape of Water should’ve won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. 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 pod!
You can download the pod on Itunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
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The thing I appreciate most about The Babysitter is you know the tone and vibe almost immediately. It knows exactly what it is (shallow) and delivers a lot of pop culture references, blood, and jokes that are in no way subtle (It’s basically the movie version of somebody revving their car for 90 minutes). Director McG (Charlies’ Angels, This Means War, Chuck) has done enough brightly colored romps to know they need to be breezy, fun and smart about how dumb they are. Initially, I was surprised at its 75% Tomatometer score but after watching I can totally see why the brisk 85-minute movie would get favorable reviews. It is a refreshing little thing that knows what it is and goes about its business in a fun and unpretentious manner.
The Babysitter focuses on a twelve-year-old kid named Cole (Judah Lewis) having to battle his beautiful babysitter and her crew of teenage demonic cultists after he catches them murdering a kid in his house. Cole initially thinks he hit the babysitter jackpot with his long-time babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving) because of her perfect looks and knowledge of all things science fiction. While she babysits the two talk about movies, eat pizza, swim in his pool (gratuitous bikini shot) and dance around the house listening to Foghat.
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Being that this is a horror comedy full of violent death and blood we soon learn that Bee isn’t perfect and she plans on drugging Cole, murdering a random teenager she invited over to the house (while Cole sleeps) and using their blood in a ritual. The problem is Cole didn’t drink the drugged shot of booze she gave him earlier in the night so he calls the cops after the first murder and things go crazy from there, as Bee and her cultist friends try and fail to kill Cole. What follows feels like a combination of Home Alone and Scream that features impaled necks, stabbed heads, explosions and a breast with a bullet wound.
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The standout of the film is Samara Weaving who after Mayhem, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Ash vs. Evil Dead has proven herself to be a game performer who brings something interesting to each role. She always has chemistry with the other actors and her various roles have proven she can be good in any genre. Weaving has a lot of fun here and I like her Eva Green/Margot Robbie vide. The rest of the cast seems to be having blast and I enjoyed the cultists’ various interactions with Cole and you can tell they enjoyed spouting cheeky dialogue and playing vapid bad guys who die violently.
The Babysitter is a fun and shallow little horror comedy that was made to entertain and has no intention of rising above its trashy roots. There is something refreshing about watching a movie that knows what it is and despite its clunkiness, it makes for a solid background watch that is fun if you let it.
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The Florida Project: An Absorbing Film That Features A Fantastic Performance From Willem Dafoe
The Florida Project is a fantastic film that stays with you because it finds warmth and heart in a place that everyone avoids. I grew up on the west coast of Florida in a small town called Hudson that was more country than a tourist trap. I wasn’t in a situation like the kids in Florida Project but I do remember spending my days riding around on my bicycle through the empty streets and hanging out in the wooded areas around my house. I was basically a free-range kid and seeing the areas around Orlando that aren’t dominated by Disney felt very familiar to me. I would say two of the most authentic “Florida” movies are The Florida Project and Spring Breakers. They are completely different and Spring Breakers has a very heightened aesthetic but I love how they were able to shine a different light on spring break and Orlando.
The Florida Project focuses on the denizens of The Magic Castle Inn & Suites. The Inn is located just outside the Disney parks and is home to townies and the occasional very confused tourist. The Inn is run by the kindhearted yet stern Bobby Hicks (Willem Dafoe) who has to deal with a litany of issues due to the collection of people that make their home at the Inn, and the fact that it is summer and bored kids have nothing better to do than cause trouble and annoy him. The main character is a tiny six-year-old dynamo named Moonie (Brooklynn Prince) who spends her days spitting on cars, exploring abandoned homes, mooching free ice cream and hanging out with her friends. She lives with her single mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) in a one-bedroom hotel suite and is occasionally called into action to help her mom sell stolen cologne, Disney wristbands, and other tchotchkes that help them pay their weekly rent.
The many abandoned homes provide fun for the kids.
The beauty of The Florida Project is that Moonie is still young and doesn’t know she is poor or her mom is loving but incapable of holding down a job, and makes money in dubious and destructive ways. The world is open to her and the backwoods of Orlando provide her and her friends room to explore and be kids. I won’t say her behavior is good because her mom lets her get away with murder, however, since she is so young her actions aren’t malicious or mean. She is an unsupervised kid who is being a kid and I really liked that director Sean Baker (Tangerine) films her without judgment or snobbery. The Florida Project showcases a slice of life in a very tiny area of Florida and it feels organic, kind and real. There is no judgment aimed at the characters and in the end, they all come across as likable and broken people who show real love and compassion while still being incredibly messed up.
I wish he won the Oscar
My favorite part of The Florida Project is Willem Dafoe. His performance is all heart and as the film progresses you begin to like him more and more. I don’t know why he puts up with the 24/7 job but he does his best to look after the tenants while having the patience of a saint. It seems like he loves the Inn and feels like it’s his duty to fight a losing job in order to protect a few people. Whether it be getting rid of bedbugs, fixing the ice machine and keeping the little children safe from gross predators he is always working and always likable. I think it is my favorite performance of 2017 and I can’t think of the last time that I’ve liked a character more.
The Florida Project is a beautiful film that showcases a tiny slice of life in a massive city and I think it is a must watch.
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Based on the popular Japanese Manga series and directed by Takashi Miike (his 100th film) Blade of the Immortal is an epic experience that starts with a massive sword battle and ends with another massive sword battle. Words can’t describe all the carnage inflicted and that is a testament to Takashi Miike who throughout his 100 film career has learned to direct on a massive scale while still creating likable characters and non-repetitive slaughter. His 2010 movie 13 Assassins is one of my favorite action movies because it takes a stock concept (13 against many) and finds ways to keep you invested with its likable characters, horrible villain and a finale that leaves you breathless. He does the same with Blade of the Immortal and I love how he is able to blend immortality, limb loss, revenge, political intrigue, mysticism and epic battles into a cohesive two-hour film.
Blade of the Immortal revolves around a samurai named Manji (Takuya Kimura) who receives immortality after wiping out about 100 ronin who are looking for a bounty on his head. The huge battle left him only one eye and a lot less blood, but he is “saved” by a mystical nun who grants him immortality via sacred bloodworms that keep him young and repair his wounds. The movie then fast-forwards to 50 years later and focuses on a renegade group called Itto-ryu lead by a badass named Kagehisa Anotsu (Sota Fukushi) attacking a fencing school and killing everyone in it except for a young girl named Rin Asano (Hana Sugisaki). Rin vows revenge and teams up with Manji in a quest to become a warrior and take out the Itto-ryu.
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My favorite moments in Blade of the Immortal feature Manji engaging in one-on-one combat with members of the Itto-ryu after he becomes Rin’s bodyguard. Each of the encounters are different and the movie starts to feel like a video game where the bosses keep getting tougher-and-tougher. Manji has to make his way through a guy with decapitated heads on his shoulders, a badass female samurai and an immortal who is older than he is. Throw in several other cool-looking killers and an army at the end and you have enough blood and violence to satiate you until the next Takashi Miike film. There is a bit of carnage fatigue and there are so only so many henchmen that can be murdered before tedium sets in, but I was never bored and the experience left me happy and wanting to watch 13 Assassins again.
If you are looking for a fantastic action film that features lots of carnage and cool characters you should check out Blade of the Immortal.
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Mute: An Interesting Miss by Director Duncan Jones
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Mute is worth watching because director/writer Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) took a massive swing and missed. I like that Jones went down swinging and didn’t strike out by watching pitches fly past him as he stood motionless. Mute is dripping with earnestness and I think it was hurt by the recent releases of the better Blade Runner: 2049 and Altered Carbon because it felt way too familiar when compared to them. I think this film was such a passion project for Jones (16-years in the making) that he never took a step back to reread the script or take any advice from Netflix or other producers/writers. Thus, we get a spiritual sequel to Moon that doesn’t successfully build a new world or tell an interesting story but you can still feel the love behind the camera.
Mute revolves around a mute bartender named Leo (Alexander Skarsgard) searching for his missing girlfriend in a futuristic Berlin. Due to his Amish upbringing and beliefs, he was never able to have surgery to fix his voice after a childhood injury. Thus, he lives a simple life that involves pouring drinks in a club owned by criminals which often gets him involved in altercations with people he shouldn’t be messing with. Things go south when his girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh) goes missing and it starts him on a noirish mission to find her and protect her from some very dangerous people.
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While Leo is searching for his girlfriend we are introduced to a pair of black market surgeons who specialize in fixing up mobsters who have been injured while on the job. Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux) are AWOL from the American army and they are hiding out in Berlin making a lot of money via illegal surgery and working a side-hustle involving performing cybernetic surgery on children. Bill is desperate to get out of Berlin with his daughter and is waiting for the papers to come through so he can get out of town. While he is waiting, he has to keep Duck in check because of Duck’s interest in young children (it gets weird) is getting too extreme and could risk both of their freedom.
Eventually, all the puzzle pieces fit together and it leads to an underwhelming conclusion that doesn’t justify the two-hours of setup. There could’ve been more detective work and it felt like the chess pieces moved around with no regard for a checkmate. Mute needed a tighter script or more time to establish the world, relationships and reason for villainy. When the movie ended I hadn’t felt like I wasted two hours and I didn’t have the vitriolic response that many critics had. I just wished it featured the quality of Moon and Source Code and showcased the heart they had.
The best parts of Mute are the committed performances of Skarsgard, Rudd, and Theroux. You can tell they trusted Jones and they went all-in with his weird little vision. I’d love to see more bad Rudd because with his recent Ant-Man bulking up and nice guy mannerisms he could totally be a solid villain, Also, Skarsgard went out on a limb and committed himself to his silent and unshowy performance which forced him to be totally different from his Tarzan, True Blood and Big Little Lies characters.
If you are a fan of Duncan Jones I recommend Mute because it needs all the support it can get and I still think he has a lot of quality stories to tell.
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Only the Brave: A Fantastic Film That is Full of Emotion, Depth and Solid Performances
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I really wish I would’ve watched Only the Brave in the theaters. It looks amazing and under the direction of Joesph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion) the $38 million budgeted movie hits above its weight and delivers a memorable gut-punch of an experience. I can’t think of the last time that I became so engrossed in a story that I knew the ending to. I love how Kosinski let the story unfold and you can feel the influence of the screenwriters Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle) and Ken Nolan (Blackhawk Down) are all over the film. Only the Brave is a stirring fact-based story that features a stacked cast, lots of heart and some jaw-dropping shots.
Only The Brave tells the behind the founding, certification, and training of an elite group of firefighters called the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Founded by Eric “Supe” Marsh (James Brolin – fantastic as always) the crew became an elite collection of brave men who battled massive fires in Arizona and the surrounding states. The journey to getting a Type 1 certification (badass status) was a long and arduous process that took years but their hard work and forward-thinking leaders created a solid crew including Jesse Steed (James Badge Dale), Chris Mackenzie (Talor Kitsch) and Brendan “Donut” McDonough (Miles Teller). The catch-22 is their new certification put them on the front lines where they battled massive ground fires that were unpredictable and deadly. Thus, everything leads to a gut-punch of an ending that feels earned because of the care it spent to make you cry like a baby.
I would’ve loved more backstory for some of the characters (because I like the actors) but I understand why the plot focuses mainly on Josh Brolin and Miles Teller’s characters. The highlight of Marsh’s story is his relationship with his wife Amanda (Jennifer Connely). The two actors have fantastic chemistry and I appreciated how Connely broke free of the stock “wife” role and was able to play Amanda as a headstrong, fierce and understanding woman who challenges her husband and can take care of herself. You won’t see any “phone wife” in her performance and Only the Brave reminded me of how awesome she was in Requiem for a Dream, Beautiful Mind, Little Children, and Dark City.
The casting of Miles Teller was very inspired and I loved his performance of a drug addict who realizes he needs to grow up when an ex-girlfriend tells him she is pregnant and doesn’t want him in her life. Teller’s performance feels naturalistic and every twitch seems organic and not like an actor throwing around fake twitches in an effort to appear like a recovering addict. Teller finds a way to underplay the role while still making him feel real. It’s the kind of performance that is so good that nobody realizes how good it is because it isn’t showy or grandiose (think of Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies).
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It hurts my soul that it only made $28 million domestically because it is a crowdpleaser that features likable people and real heart. The approach to the material felt fresh and immediately after the movie I read everything I could about the making of it and how Kosinski was able to make it look so great on a smaller budget. The talent behind the camera was as stacked as the cast, and once you get into the film you will be very impressed with the CGI, camera work by cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and editing by Billy Fox (The Crazies, Straight Outta Compton).
Only the Brave is one of my favorite films to be released in the last couple years and it is worth a watch. I recommend you watch it and share how awesome it is to your friends.
Movies, Films & Flix 