Hello all. Mark here.
I recently unleashed part one of my 25 favorite performances of this decade (so far) list. It was a random collection of random performances that formed an eclectic mix. I was stoked to see the support for the post and I was pleasantly surprised at all the Paul Walker Hours love. It has been fun writing the post because I’ve been able to revisit some amazing performances. It was surprisingly easy picking out my ten favorite because I’ve been championing these roles for a long time. They’ve stood out from the pack and transcended what could be stock characters. What I love is the performances seem effortless but must have been grueling. I am still amazed at what these actors were able to accomplish as they took solid material, put their spin on it and created some amazing performances.
Here are the top 10! Enjoy!
10. Jason Clarke – Zero Dark Thirty
Whenever Clarke pops up in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Lawless, White House Down, Great Gatsby or Terminator: Genysis I always think “Dan from Zero Dark Thirty!” Clarke’s role as a CIA intelligence officer is a fantastic example of an actor at the top of his game. I loved the way Dan comes across as a “bro” in the interrogation room until he starts waterboarding you. This guy is amazing at his job and he knows how to deal with each suspect differently. Dan is scary, monstrous, charming, intelligent, driven and can blend in anywhere. The way he switches on and off between interrogations speaks wonders of Clarke’s performance . With his limited screen time Jason Clarke stole the show.
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9. Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
Imperator Furiosa is a marvel of a creation. In the six months that Charlize Theron spent filming in the African desert she and George Miller created a character for the ages. She is a one-armed badass who has no problem going head to head with a guy called Immortan Joe. She drives a massive war rig, commands respect from her subordinates, battles Mad Max and can shoot a gun like a pro. Charlize Theron is one of my favorite actresses and I loved her in Young Adult, Arrested Development and Mad Max. In movies like Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman she was stuck in the icy villain role. In Max, Furiosa has a warmth to her that goes along with her effortless badass.
What I love most about Theron’s performance was nothing was forced. Sometimes when tasked with playing a post-apocalyptic war rig driver the actor would go over the top with bluster, bitchiness and a weird deep voice. Theron’s Furiosa wears her heart on her sleeve and doesn’t quite know what she is getting into. She is obviously respected by her peers and Immortan Joe respects her enough to send his entire War Boy party after her. Furiosa at times seem close to tears but has no problem skeet shooting the foes that come at her.
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8. Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
She is like a southern gothic novel heroine come to life and starring in a movie called A Streetcar Named Blue Jasmine. Blanchett’s performance is on a level that pretty much nobody can reach. She deserved the Oscar and owned every second of this film. Her mental decline is a thing of beauty as Blanchett juggles intelligence, stupidity, stubborness and insanity in rapid succession. I will let Roger Ebert sum up the performance.
Blanchett fabulously goes above and beyond her duties as the wilting faux flower of the title. From her sweat-drenched underarms during a particularly intense meltdown to her mesmerizing slit-eyed sensuality whenever Jasmine gets her way, the actress is a tour-de-force tinted-blonde tornado that elevates her every encounter with a member of the movie’s estimable ensemble.
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7. Brendan Gleeson – Calvary
Calvary starts with a confessional scene in which Brendan Gleeson’s character Father James is given a week to live. The camera holds on Gleeson’s face as his potential killer tells him to get his affairs in order. The killer hates the church because of past sexual molestation and wants to take it out on a good man. What follows is a beautifully bleak film that is wholly original and remarkable.
Father James is a good man who came to faith later on in life. He is a widower, former alcoholic and father of a troubled yet loyal daughter. You can tell he won’t take any sh*t yet is too smart to allow himself to be shaken. He has come from a rough life and that is what makes him so effective as a priest. There isn’t judgement in his eyes. He understands the world yet you can see that it tires him.
Brendan Gleeson is amazing in Calvary.
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6. Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon – The Trip
The Trip was a wonderful surprise. It topped my list of favorite 2011 films and is a mainstay on my Netflix queue. Watching Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan bicker for 90 minutes while traveling though Northern England never gets old. Their impersonations and understanding of each other make for a dynamic duo who have been perfecting their shtick since 2005’s Tristram Shandy. The two are so immensely likable that you could spend hours listening to their Michael Caine impersonations.
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5. Emily Blunt/Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow
Emily Blunt was an effortless badass who wasn’t simply a Tom Cruise love interest. Her character wasn’t a plot device and I loved that. She imbued a soul and personality into a character that was stuck in what seems like a very uncomfortable costume. What I love about the performance is that you 100% bought every moment of alien smooshing and Tom Cruise killing. Blunt gave humor, physicality and stoicism to a character that could have easily been one-note.
Tom Cruise did something that many A-listers won’t do. He played a big time weasel who dies many times, get squished often and takes a backseat to a badass partner. There wasn’t much ego to the role and I loved how his character changed so dramatically. After Jack Reacher I was worried that Cruise had become so ego-inflated that he was untouchable in films. However, Edge of Tomorrow was a course correction that proved Cruise had no problem sounding silly whilst being crushed by a truck.
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4. Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Only Lovers Left Alive
Tilda Swinton is amazing in everything. In Snowpiercer she is a bonkers right hand man to a bonkers train conductor. In Only Lovers Left Alive she is the definition of cool as an ancient vampire. In We Need To Talk About Kevin she is a white-collar suburban mom who is stuck raising an evil little punk. The roles differ greatly and are all characterized by totally different traits. Swinton can be weird, earthy, chill, evil, frustrated, motherly and hostile. She has been this decades MVP.
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3. Sean William Scott – Goon
Doug Glatt is an earnest wrecking ball that has a heart of gold and fists of fury. He fights for his team, respects women and will take a punch to the face when he deserves it. Goon is one of my favorite films and it is anchored by a heartfelt Sean William Scott performance. You can tell Scott believes in the role and you believe in him 100%. The character could exist in the real world and you cheer for Doug Glatt as he fights his way up to the big leagues.
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2. Brendan Gleeson/Don Cheadle – The Guard
You know, I can’t tell if you’re really motherf**kin’ dumb, or really motherf**kin’ smart.
With these immortal words you fall in love with The Guard. Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson look like they loved every second they spent together on-screen. Brendan Gleeson plays Sgt. Jerry Boyle who teams up with Cheadle’s Agent Everett to take down some literate criminals. Their banter and frustration with each other is amazing and I still have no clue why Cheadle wears his fantastic suits in small Irish pubs. You will love every second of Jerry trying to piss off Everett while they hunt down snarky criminals. Just imagine Cheadle and Gleeson during this exchange.
FBI agent Wendell Everett: I have two boys. Stocken is five years old and Hughie has just turned three months old. I’ve got a picture of them.
Sergeant Gerry Boyle: Don’t want to see it.
FBI agent Wendell Everett: Excuse me?
Boyle: I don’t want to see it. Babies all look the same. The only time a baby doesn’t look like every other baby is when it’s a really ugly baby. So unless you’re about to show me a photo of a really ugly baby then I don’t want to see it.
Everett: That’s pretty f**king rude.
Boyle: Maybe it is maybe it isn’t.
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1. Michael Shannon/Jessica Chastian – Take Shelter
Take Shelter is a heartbreaking film about a man trying to protect his family. Is the world ending or is he getting his first symptoms of genetic paranoid schizophrenia? Take Shelter glued me to my seat and I sat through the credits trying to absorb what I had just watched. Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories, Mud) is a unique director who has a firm grasp of blue-collar life and the importance of family. His direction alongside the performances of Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain create a wrenching film that lingers long in your memory. The final song by Ben Nichols is heartbreaking as well. Take Shelter is cinema at its most beautiful and absorbing.
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain are incredible in this film. They find the right balance of compassion, paranoia, frustration and dedication. The final moment of the film always puts a tear in my eye and I’m still amazed that Chastain and Shannon are able to capture so much with no dialogue.
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What performances do you love? Let me know!
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John’s Horror Corner: Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), another exceedingly creepy chapter in this franchise.
MY CALL: I consider this movie a major disappointment in terms of storytelling. But it certainly has its merits in the creepy and scary department. Watch at your own risk. MOVIES LIKE Insidious: Chapter 3: Poltergeist (2015), Insidious (2010) and Insidious Chapter 2 (2013).
I am not a fan of these films. If you are, I strongly recommend reading Mark’s reviews of the Insidious films instead of mine. Mine will probably just upset you…much as this franchise continues to upset me. I enjoy these franchise films for creepiness and scares but abhor their poor storytelling. 
The Insidious franchise has never done much for me. Some people love it and praise these films up and down as the next best thing…I’m not one of them. Directed by James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence, The Conjuring), the first installment (2010) succeeded in introducing us to fantasticly written and acted characters for whom we cared, great shots and stellar scares–but somehow to its detriment, the movie felt like three different movies forced together one after the other. It began like a mix between a weird haunting and a Lifetime movie about a home invader, moved on to some really cool build up as we learn what the problem is, and them degenerates into great scares but off-kilter storytelling as we dive into The Further. This could have been done splendidly, but I found no sense of smoothness in the transitions; individual scenes felt strong but they struck me as hastily sutured together to form a Fankensteinian stitch-work horror of storytelling. In its defense most of the cast was amazing, however the story lacked any sense of synthesis and the overexplanation of The Further (and simply trying to show it to us rather than leaving it a mystery) really depleted my interest in the film.
Insidious Chapter 2 (2013; also directed by James Wan) continued to follow Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Rose Byrne (28 Weeks Later) down an even more shakily-told storyline whose tone inexplicably shifted to near farcical at times with an insanely possessed Patrick Wilson grinning like the mounted Evil Dead 2 deer head. I liked parts of Chapter 1 very much, but nothing about Chapter 2 brought me any pleasure and I was hardly entertained. Despite the presence of solid actors and a proven director, I was relieved to hear that Wan was stepping back for Chapter 3 and that we would start anew with a largely different cast.
Now with a new first-time director (Leigh Whannell, who wrote the first two installments), we venture into this incredibly unnecessary prequel which serves little more purpose than to re-introduce us to the psychic medium Elise (Lin Shaye; Ouija, A Nightmare on Elm Street), show us how she teamed up with her paranormal investigator Geek Squad duo, re-visit The Further, and tell us a new story. It pains me (but doesn’t shock me) to say that in all these endeavors this film failed–however, the female characters and general creepiness make this more than simply watchable.
The budget is low and this is most obvious during the scenes in The Further. I maintain the film didn’t need to take us there and “show” us The Further again, or in the first place.
Insidious Chapter 3 suffers from the same snags as the Poltergeist (2015) remake. From the start these films assume we already care instead of giving us a good reason to care. Sure, you can show me a struggling widower raising his kids or a family facing some hard times. But you don’t earn my sympathy and manifest urgency just by putting that on screen and then dropping these families into bad supernatural situations–and that’s all we get here.
Hey, Elise? Did you find the soul of the story in there? It seems that a demon stole the soul and life from this plot.
Teenager Quinn (Stefanie Scott) helps her struggling father (Dermot Mulroney; The Grey, Stoker) to take care of the house and her younger brother. Their dynamic is stale but we understand the situation and its challenges well. We learn that after the loss of her mother Quinn tried to “contact” her spirit and, in doing so, caught the attention of something insidious.
Quinn and her father end up seeking the help of Elise, our recurring franchise medium who also has her very own insidious demon’s maligned attention (The Bride in Black from Chapters 1 & 2) from trying to contact her dead husband. Specs (Leigh Whannell; Cooties, Saw) and Tucker (Angus Sampson; Mad Max: Fury Road) return and here is where they first team up with Elise.
The evil spirit after Quinn is The Man Who Can’t Breathe. A disturbing sight to be sure, this antagonist adds a major creep factor and some significant scares. To that end, I’ll say that the insidious spirits of all three films have always been exceedingly successful at making audiences uneasy and it is for this reason that—however much I whine about them—I’ll go see every Insidious film they make. The greatest (if only) success of this film is the creepy tone and its ability to catch me off guard with good jump scares. Not simply loud noises. But jump scares–but well-staged jump scares arriving after a creepy, tense build-up. Kudos for that. Being a grumpy critic at times, this really kept me from regretting the film.
An evil spirit steals “half her soul.” HALF! Really? We’re meant to just let that one go. Okay, fine. Which half?
Was it the half that had the better writing for this film?
I was especially reeling with discomfort during the scene (NO SPOILER here, it was in the trailer) when the possessed Quinn kicks her leg casts to crumbs and then walks on them…with bone crunching sounds. Yikes! So wrong! Painful to watch.
Sadly, the abrupt turns in the story (many of which leading to dead-end characters we never should have met or notions that add nothing to the story) left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a finale that wasn’t satisfying. But Elise and Quinn were both well-played and, upon further reflection, this will remain in my eyes an excellent scary movie night, popcorn flick.
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Proudly sponsored by the audiobook company Audible, your new MFF podcast episode is here!
You can stream the pod at the Sharkdropper website, listen to us on with your mobile app OneCast, or download the podcast on Itunes.
If you get a chance please REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
We hope you enjoyed our previous episode: The George A. Romero Zombie Special.
SUMMARY: This week the MFF crew discusses the spectacular George Miller action-gasm Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), share a general disgust for the Poltergeist (2015) remake while reminiscing the 1982 original, and answer silly Friday the 13th questions about Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake. This episode is pretty much nothing but spoilers and loads of smarmy comments. You have been warned. 😉
We also answer such important questions as…
“Why we’re worried about The Rock reprising Kurt Russell’s role in the possible Big Trouble in Little China remake?”
“Why on Earth do they keep re-opening Camp Crystal Lake?”
“Is Fury Road‘s Max actually Feral Kid?”
“What does Jason Voorhees eat?”
“Why doesn’t anyone care what happens to the family in the Poltergeist remake?”
This is exactly how we felt about the remake, too, Sam.
This week’s podcast is based on the following articles:
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), mechanical arms, Valhallan cults, flamethrowing guitars and the best action movie of the decade!
5 Reasons that Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is the best thing ever!
Mad Max: Fury Road: A Beautiful R-Rated $150 Million Gamble That Cannot Be Replicated
John’s Horror Corner presents: Critically comparing the Poltergeist (2015) remake to the original Poltergeist (1982)
Sit back, relax and learn about everything you missed.
If you haven’t seen some of these movies, be comforted that we will geekily inform you as to why you should watch them.
You can stream the pod at the Sharkdropper website, listen to us on with your mobile app OneCast, or download the podcast on Itunes.
If you get a chance please REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
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John’s Horror Corner: Zombeavers (2015), bringing us mutant rabid animatronic zombie beavers in this fun cheap campy horror
MY CALL: This movie is dumb. Really dumb. But it’s also gory, campy, bad in a good way and full of laughs and weird things like werezombeavers. MOVIES LIKE Zombeavers: Looking for more self-aware horror that will make you laugh? Try Black Sheep (2006), Cabin Fever (2002), Cabin Fever 2 (2009), Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014), Shark Night 3D (2011), The Boneyard (1991), Critters (1986), Gremlins (1984), Ghoulies (1985), Piranha 3D (2010), Piranha 3DD (2012).
This flick dutifully pays homage to the likes of Piranha 3D (2010), which feels like an Academy Award winner next to this. It answers what happens when an inexperienced director teams up with two inexperienced writers, none of whom having written or directed anything in horror? Certainly nothing amazing, but perhaps something that’s still worth the price of admission at the very least…as long as you brought beer, that is. That’s what Zombeavers is. It’s the very least…the very least that it takes to watch a movie and not hate, regret or dislike it to the point that it cannot be enjoyed.
This movie is definitely funny (and fun in general), but there are scenes that I feel may not have been intentionally funny (although this film is very self-aware of its quality and tone). The acting is deplorable, the writing is horrendous, there’s basically no story nor any clever shots to boast. Yet I didn’t mind.
Perhaps a product of the film’s own self-awareness, no time is wasted before leaping into some lakeside nudity. It may not be raining breasts in terms of the gratuitous nudity, but they got to it right away for those who care. Later in the film we’ll endure some quintessentially tasteless sex scenes (brief nudity at most) that feel like a one-way ticket to pound town on frat row. The sex dialogue is pretty funny.
The highlight of the film is animatronic beavers, which are delightfully bad. After being exposed to some sort of toxic waste that was dumped in their lake, these rabid twitchy zombie beavers remind me of the glorious creature effects of the 80s. Their spastic movements are reminiscent of evil Muppets or shaky-limbed gremlins. While they are surely funny to watch, something about them remains menacing. Really—I think the twitchiness makes them appropriately off-putting. I’m somewhat reminded of the mounted deer head in Evil Dead 2 (1987) crossed with the trickster gopher from Caddyshack (1980).
As you can see BELOW, the shots very tasteful.
As if directly copying scenes out of Night of the Living Dead (1968), the zombeavers break their way through boarded up windows in the panicked victims’ vacation house and the deck of the tanning raft. The beavers are pretty smart. They chew through phone lines and know when to regroup.
If the cheap zombeavers were the best aspect of the film, the gore came next. The rubber guts and torn latex flesh is thankfully abundant as throats are bitten and bodies sundered.
Quite a pleasure was the transformation of a bitten girl into a werebeaver zombie (or werezombeaver?)—not unlike what happened in Black Sheep (2006). These infected victims behave as if they caught a beavered up version of the Evil Dead’s (2013) contagious zombie demonism. After being infected, a young woman twerks her tail—YES, she grew a beaver tail—and terrorizes her friends with her buck teeth which pushed their way through her front teeth. She even bites off a guy’s penis in the spirit of Piranha 3D (2010). Yikes!
Clearly this flick has a good sense of humor. At one point a guy throws his girlfriend’s dog in the water as a decoy for the beavers and when the zombeavers break their way through the cabin floor, it’s like a game of Whack-a-Mole.
That poor dog. SMH
The ending (and opening) scene is gloriously stupid, along with the outtakes at the end. My favorite outtake was the dog in the water being chased by the zombeaver props.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the more recent movies listed above in “MOVIES LIKE Zombeavers.”
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Hello all. Mark here. Sometimes you need to watch cheeky monster movies. They won’t win any Oscars but they will put a smile on your face and satiate your need for B-movie mayhem. When a B-movie can juggle gore, humor and decent characters it becomes a thing of beauty. We here at MFF love monster movies like Tremors, Piranha 3D and Deep Blue Sea. So, I decided to dig through Netflix and find five monster movies that exemplify all that is good, bad and glorious. The list includes Zombie Beavers, Cops that are werewolves and pleather wearing witch hunters. These films will be perfect for late night viewings.
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Grabbers
Grabbers is fun, charming and rewatchable. It is a little Irish film that focuses on villagers who have to stay drunk to stay alive. The best thing about Grabbers is that it is immensely likable and doesn’t become a one-note shlock fest. It follows in the foot steps of Gremlins, Attack the Block and Tremors with its infusion of horror, comedy and oddness. You will cheer for the eventual drunk heroes as they battle ill-tempered aliens.
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WolfCop
WolfCop tells the age-old tale of an alcoholic police officer turned vigilante werewolf cop. This soon to be Canadian cult classic is a simple little thing that knows what it is and gives people what they want. What do people want? They want a cop to turn into a werewolf and battle shape shifting small town inhabitants. Wolfcop never takes itself seriously and even as faces are being ripped off the likability is evident. It is 75 minutes of blood, beer and boobs.
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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Hansel and Gretel is the story of a good looking brother/sister duo who kill copious amounts of witches. They travel around the supernatural woods in search of death and pleathor pants. They help peasants rid themselves of swamp, bog, tree, water and sand witches that eat kids, enslave nice trolls and feed one of the heroes so much chocolate he becomes a diabetic. There is something fantastic about A-list actors acting in a B-movie that was directed by a horror maestro. Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) knows his way around gore, humor and blood explosions. You will have fun with Hansel & Gretel.
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The Colony
The Colony is a wonderful type of dumb. The characters are barely two-dimensional, the bad guys do spin kicks and there is a whole lot of narrating. The film rivals AVP in it’s ice age shenanigans and misunderstanding of frost bite. However, I kinda enjoyed it. It The modestly budgeted Canadian production has a charming personality despite not featuring anything original. The bumps and bruises make it a perfect late night shlock fest that you and your cinephile friends will appreciate.
The most memorable part of this film is the bad guy who must be some kind of paranormal. He loves flying through air ducts and surviving explosions. In the film, he survives three separate explosions with nary a scratch. Fishburne drops dynamite in the outpost (nothing). Fishburne blows up a bridge and kills 75% of the bad guys (nothing). Bill Paxton shoots a gas canister killing the rest of the bad guys and the villain slides into an air duct (unscathed). His clothes aren’t burnt and he only becomes hungrier. During the finale he is hit in the head by a steel pole at least 37 times (not an exaggeration). He shakes it off and finally succumbs to getting his head chopped in half. Where did this dude come from? How did he become the leader of a cannibalistic tribe? Does it hurt shaving your teeth into spikes? When did he make the move to cannibalism? Was it an easy choice? Why is that scar so strategic?
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Zombeavers
Zombeavers is gloriously underwritten, self-aware and cheeky. It is loaded with everything that makes for a perfect midnight movie. There is nudity, profanity, beaver puns, bikinis and death via Zombeaver. Shakespeare this ain’t. However, if you gather your friends, stock up on beer and embrace the mayhem you will have a fun time with this film.
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Hello all. Mark here.
If you’ve been reading MFF for sometime you know that we champion certain films, actors and performances. You will also know that our lists are always random and don’t stick to the rules of normalcy.
For instance, after much soul searching I decided Kurt Russel’s sleeveless shirt in Big Trouble in Little China was better than all of Kurt Russell’s other sleeveless shirts.
The following posts examines my 25 favorite performances of this decade (2010-2015). It is an odd collection that will leave you scratching your head and hopefully having a new appreciation for some of the actors. These are performances that are stuck in my mind and proved to be pleasant surprises or supremely underrated. For the list I’ve stayed away from the massively rewarded performances and spread the love around to people you wouldn’t expect. Maybe that is why these are my favorite performances. They went under the radar (for the most part) and carried films on their backs.
25. Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn – Killing Them Softly
Scoot and Ben are total dirtbags in Killing Them Softly. Their scenes buzz with a spectacularly dirty energy that pushes Killing Them Softly to the next level. Both of these actors are fantastic and they’ve never been better than in this film. Their robbery scene is a masterclass in suspense and their drugged filled storytime might be one of the funniest and absurd things I’ve seen in years.
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24. Jean Dujardin – OSS 117: Lost in Rio.
He may be known for The Artist but I love Jean’s performance in the OSS films. This opening sequence is pure glory and showcases his charm, smarm and dance moves.
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23. David Koechner/Sara Paxton – Cheap Thrills
David and Sara make for fantastic villains. They are smarter than they seem and expertly bring the pain to unexpected schmoes. Who are they? Are they really together? They performances are layered and it was a fantastic surprise watching David Koechner give the world something different.
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22. Paul Walker – Hours
Paul Walker was fantastic in Hours. The final scene will break your heart and prove the guy was moving towards legit acting. If you haven’t watched Joyride, Running Scared and Flags of our Brothers check them out now. Also read this article by Vulture that perfectly sums up Walker’s career. I love this excerpt.
It’s the final shot of the film that destroys you: Having passed out, unable to keep his daughter’s incubator going, our hero is taken away on a stretcher. But just as the film fades out, he’s reunited with his baby, who has finally learned to breathe on her own, and he cries tears of joy. The scene would have been powerful before Walker’s death; after his death, it’s totally devastating.
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21. Ice Cube – 21 Jump Street
Don’t mess with Korean Jesus! He’s busy, with Korean sh*t. Cube’s scowl worked perfectly in the 21 Jump Street world and I loved every second that featured Cube. Watching him react to Jonah Hill telling him that he slept with his daughter is pure gold.
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20. Min-sik Choi – I Saw the Devil
I can’t recommend I Saw the Devil because it is way too insane for mass consumption. It is a draining experience that is anchored by an incredible performance by Min-sik Choi. He embodies evil and his performance is so layered. Choi is one of my favorite actors and I don’t think any body else could pull off this performance.
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19. Jake Gyllenhaal – Prisoners
Loki is a fantastic character and Gyllenhaal should have been nominated for an Oscar. Loki is a tattooed detective that is loaded with ticks, guilt and buttoned up shirts. The guy has seen some things and he brings a superhuman amount of effort to each case. There is something really cool about a guy that has tons of demons helping other people out.
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18, Eva Green – 300: Rise of an Empire
Eva Green owned every second of 300. She straight up went for it and seemed to be having a blast. I love when actors/actresses own their roles and dive into absurdity with zero self consciousness. Green gave us a fantastic villain who is way more layered than she had any right to be.
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17. Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Gary Oldman is the only human alive who can outsmart the smartest people in the world. His spymaster character hides behind his thick glasses and is the very definition of controlled restraint. I lost an Oscar pool because I predicted he would win the Oscar even though he had no chance. His performance was so good I lost an Oscar pool.
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16. Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
Before McC was winning Oscars he was staring in this batsh*t crazy film. Directed by William Friedkin (French Connection, Sorceror, Exorcist) the movie allows McC to unleash his good looks and charm on the dumbest family alive. He oozes menace and should have won the Oscar for this instead of Dallas Buyers Club. The final shot will punch you in the gut and will renew your faith in the McConaissance.
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15. TJ Miller – She’s Out of My League
TJ Miller was born to steal scenes. In She’s out of my league he plays in a Hall and Oates cover band and makes glorious comments about people wearing their hats backwards. I could watch Miller sing, dance and trade barbs with Krysten Ritter all day. She’s Out of My League is an incredibly uneven film and when it starts teetering into dumb Miller comes back in and pushes it into fun.
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14. Samuel L. Jackson – The Kingsman
The guy wants to destroy the world but he hates the sight of blood. I love it when Sam Jackson plays something other than Sam Jackson. I loved his explanation of the villainous lisp he used in the film (the director initially hated it!)
Having watched all those Bond films and other genre films of that nature, all the bad guys have something that’s very specific that separates them from other people. Or that makes people dismiss them as a villain as opposed to going, ‘he’s an evil guy’.’ So speech impediments are something that I understand because I stuttered when I was a kid, so people kind of dismiss you and go, ‘You can’t be interesting because you sound funny. So I’m sure Valentine had used that as a motivational tool in a certain kind of way because people had dismissed him.
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13. James McAvoy – Filth
I don’t know how I could recommend Filth to non-cinephiles but I will fully praise McAvoy’s performance to everyone. McAvoy navigates the world with a mixture of angst, anger and feigned bluster. Mentally, he has gone off the rails and as the film progresses you begin to feel bad for the guy as his story becomes rather tragic. McAvoy juggles the mental collapse well and remains sympathetic even as he is doing terrible things. This isn’t a stylized bad guy who is evil to be cool. He is a sad man who needs help and will never get it.
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12. Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Olsen is incredibly watchable with her unique features and ability to quickly yet subtlety float between naivety, anger, paranoia and girlishness. You never feel like she is acting. It doesn’t feel like some actress pouting in front of the camera whilst the director pans slowly over a wide shot. Olsen’s Marcy May is a person who is smart enough to escape a cult but still shell-shocked by all the things she has seen. Imagine harboring the verbal and mental scars of two years of horror while trying to act normal at a swanky dinner party.
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11. Everybody in Warrior
Tom Hardy is a force of nature. Joel Edgerton is a rising star and Nick Nolte is the best he has been in years. What I loved about Edgerton’s character is that he is a teacher/fighter/bouncer who fights for family. I used to be a teacher/bouncer and it is great to see similar characters making it big.
Keep your eye out for Part 2! What performances would you add? Let me know!
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MY CALL: A decent classic, but a classic may often feel dated. Keep your expectations low and this may be very entertaining. OTHER HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: Some other fun, decent and/or clever anthologies include (in order of release date): Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Uncanny (1977), Creepshow (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Creepshow 2 (1987), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Campfire Tales (1997), 3 Extremes (2004), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012), The ABCs of Death (2013), V/H/S 2 (2013), The Profane Exhibit (2013) and The ABCs of Death 2 (2014).
Based on comic book stories Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, this British anthology begins when five strangers accidently take an elevator to the “subbasement” of a building only to end up trapped in a room where they all have no choice but to sit, pour a drink and chat to pass the time. The theme of conversation is that each of them inexplicably shares the recent experience of a grave dream that felt so real that it was as if it really happened. They take turns goading each other to share their dreams, which clearly seem disturbing to each story teller.
The stories involve murderers, double crosses, being buried alive, vampires and voodoo vengeance. Perhaps due to the dated style, these horror stories will bring you no sense of horror today. Also, unlike its Tales from the Crypt (1972) predecessor, these stories largely do not seem as iconic or particularly interesting. This film has a lower IMDB (6.6 vs. 7.0) and Rotten Tomatoes (51% vs 70%) scores. They’ll still make you smile, though. Think of them more as campfire stories than facets of a horror film.
There are five short stories, one for each stranger…
Midnight Mess is about a man who hunts down his missing sister to a quiet little town with the intention of murdering her for her recently inherited fortune. During his trip, he his warned by several locals that “they” come out at night. Confused by this warning, and clearly not heeding it, he goes about his business and finds out the hard way that he should have listened.
“Your fangs look so legit.”
“Thank you. Yours, too.”
This short story is unforgivably dumb and made me think twice about continuing with the movie. I’ll admit that I giggled at the final scene…but it was bad. Thankfully, the stories get better.
The Neat Job features an obsessive-compulsive neat freak who, without getting to know her, marries a woman so he would have someone to take care of him. Unfortunately she lacks his unhealthy attention to detail and order, which creates much tension between them and leads to dire consequence for one of them.
This story was an absolute delight and by far my favorite of the anthology. It is rich with dark comedy as we see his obsession blossom before his now fearful wife, who is driven mad by his mania. Truly a pleasure.
This Trick’ll Kill You is about a magician and his espoused magician’s assistant on vacation in India to discover a new trick for his act. He discovers a mystic woman with a magical rope trick that he absolutely must have—but it’s not for sale. Desperate for success on stage, he will do anything to possess the secret of the trick.
This one was a mixed bag. It started out very interesting only to later reveal that there was nothing behind the story; no clever twist or turn. It was entertaining, but conceptually simple to the point of disappointment.
Bargain in Death provides the answer to “what could possibly go wrong?” A man decides to fake his own death (using some metabolism-slowing drug of sorts) to cash in on an insurance policy. The catch is that his friend will cash in the policy and then dig him up from his grave before he suffocates in his coffin.
It’s not as predictable as it sounds. A bit random and a bit entertaining, but the story is nothing special.
Drawn and Quartered combines some interesting ideas used in later horror films/stories. An artist who is financially cheated by his agent wants revenge so he “buys voodoo” to bestow him with the ability to control fate. Whatever happens to his art, happens to whatever was painted. Destroy the painting, destroy the model. The catch? The artist must now protect his own self portrait.
This was an interesting story and the fun was in the anticipation. The only short story better fitting to end this film would be The Neat Job, the two of them clearly being my favorites.
This is a classic horror anthology not to be missed. It may not be dripping with gore and the stories may seem simple by today’s standards, but it’s easy to see what makes this a beloved horror classic.
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MY CALL: An excellent and classic anthology featuring some familiar tales. OTHER HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: Some other fun, decent and/or clever anthologies include (in order of release date): Black Sabbath (1963), The Vault of Horror (1973), The Uncanny (1977), Creepshow (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Creepshow 2 (1987), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Campfire Tales (1997), 3 Extremes (2004), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012), The ABCs of Death (2013), V/H/S 2 (2013), The Profane Exhibit (2013) and The ABCs of Death 2 (2014).
Based on comic book stories Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, this British anthology begins as five strangers on a catacombs tour who end up trapped with a robed monk who reveals the dark secrets of why each of them is there. This “crypt keeper” (Ralph Richardson; Time Bandits, Rollerball, Dragonslayer) seems all too knowledgeable about their sins and reveals how they all came to be here today.
The stories involve crazed madmen, zombies in various forms, prophetic dreams, twisted wishes and some very, very angry blind men. Perhaps due to the dated style, these horror stories will bring you no sense of horror today. They will, however, make you smile as they are nice little horror stories whose concepts have been used over and over again in past decades. Think of them more as campfire stories than facets of a horror film.
There are five short stories, one for each stranger in the crypt…
And All Through the House stars Joan Collins (Empire of the Ants) a trophy wife who murders her considerably older husband on Christmas Eve to make herself a rich widow. While this may sound evil enough already, she executes her plan with her daughter asleep (or is she?) upstairs. That same evening we hear radio announcements of a recently escaped psychopath wearing a Santa Claus suit…and all get what they deserve.
This short story is an absolute delight in its simplicity and it has been retold on Tales from the Crypt, season 1, episode 2 (1989) and then replayed by Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).
Reflection of Death changes pace for the worst with a less engaging tale of a man sneaking away to leave his wife and family for his mistress. The man awakens from a bad dream revealing his future (much as with a “ghost of Christmas future”) only to relive it. A clever idea at the time (over 40 years ago), but now a trope too played out to hold up.
Poetic Justice finds Peter Cushing (Horror of Dracula, The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein) as the elderly Arthur Grimsdyke, the kindest widower living only for his dogs and the local children whom he entertains with homemade toys. Arthur’s neighbor takes action to part Arthur from the things he loves most along with his formerly saintly reputation and happiness. This predictably leads to Arthur’s death and revenge.
Wish You Were Here will feel most familiar, being based on the now-troped-up popular story of the Monkey’s Paw. In this story a formerly wealthy man finds himself deep in debt and forced to sell his assets. After breaking the bad news to his wife, she suddenly notices some strange text etched in an antique Asian statuette that offers three wishes to its owner, but offers a warning as well. Not heeding the warning his wife hastily wishes for riches…only to find grave consequence. Subsequent and more careful wishes to solve her error only make things worse.
We find more use of the Monkey’s Paw concept in The Monkey’s Paw (2013; which I DO NOT advise watching) and the Wishmaster (1997) movies…among many others.
Blind Alleys is by far my favorite short of the anthology and the one that stuck with me in the 20 years since I first saw this movie. A selfish (to the point of being cruel—except for when it comes to his dog) retired veteran takes a job as a superintendent of a home for blind men. As the “officer in charge” he budgets himself steak, brandy and fine art for his office as the elderly blind men freeze through the winter with little meat to warm their plates. When their requests are not met and a fellow resident dies after succumbing to illness in the cold, the blind seek revenge in a way that just makes my toes curl in delight…a way that makes me think “and this is before the Saw films came out.”
This is a classic horror anthology not to be missed. It may not be dripping with gore and the stories may seem simple by today’s standards, but it’s easy to see what makes this a beloved horror classic.
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Proudly sponsored by the audiobook company Audible, your new MFF podcast episode is here!
You can stream the pod at the Blog Talk Radio website, listen to us on with your mobile app OneCast, or download the podcast on Itunes. If you get a chance please REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
We hope you enjoyed our previous episode on All things James Bond.
SUMMARY: This week the MFF crew discusses George A. Romero’s zombie filmography, cultural impacts of progressive casting and social commentary, undead eating habits and a zombie origin involving blueberry pie and space yeast. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead are discussed in depth, followed by brief assessments of Romero’s subsequent zombie films. As always, there will some be spoilers and loads of smarmy comments. You have been warned. 😉
We also answer such important questions as…
“Why can you contract zombiism from a bite, but not from having zombie blood splattered in his face?”
“Why don’t the Day of the Dead zombies of south Florida eat the alligators?”
“Did Day if the Dead make “Bub” too smart?”
“How could yeast from Venus or well-aged blueberry pie possibly be involved in the origin of zombiism?”
Sit back, relax and learn about everything you missed.
If you haven’t seen some of these movies, be comforted that we will geekily inform you as to why you should watch them.
You can stream the pod at the Blog Talk Radio website, listen to us on with your mobile app OneCast, or download the podcast on Itunes.
If you get a chance please REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
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Mad Max: Fury Road is a $150 million spectacle that totally deserves its 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I don’t think we will see another R-rated insane fest like this again. When will we ever see a cadre of elderly female bikers kicking butt and wiping out post apocalyptic war boys? It is a marvel of practical effects that blend with beautiful CGI to create something insanely enjoyable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more cohesive and coherent film that involves baby death, overweight milk maids and ultra violence. It is loaded with iconic characters and moments that will linger long in your memory.
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What I love about Mad Max: Fury Road is that it feels like an incredibly expensive hand made film. Every stunt feels like it hurts and I can only imagine how long it took to accomplish each stunt. George Miller wanted everything on his set to be functional and it all looks f**king amazing. The world is fully fleshed out and I’m amazed at the skill and care that each character receives. Films like this can never be recreated because they left no blueprint. Charlize Theron stated that their would be days when there was no script and director George Miller was shooting from the hip. Fury Road works because the crew worked their asses off for six months in the deserts of Africa. It is a labor of love that feels totally fleshed out.
Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa is a miracle of a creation. Theron’s Furiosa worked her way through the ranks in a male dominated world and became the right hand woman to Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Joe has control of a massive water supply and is basically god to his radiated followers. He has an army of totally loyal war boys who are dying of radiation sickness. They are convinced that in dying they will end up in Valhalla and they go down in glorious blazes of glory. To add to their suicidal tendencies these War Boys are really good at what they do. They’ve fine tuned vehicular carnage and have no problem risking their lives in order to take down their enemies.
Things pop off when Furiosa drives away with Joe’s five wives. They are an odd and nubile bunch driven to the brink of sanity as they are locked away and forced to take part in anything Immortan Joe wants. The rescue sparks off a chain of events that involves several gangs all dying spectacularly in order to bring back some healthy women. I love how the group started off as bratty and became three-dimensional people who form unlikely relationships and prove their worth..
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How did Max get mixed up in the kidnapping plot? The film starts with Max being captured and becoming a hood ornament/blood donor to a War Boy named Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Nux is a fantastic driver and he eventually gets ahead of the rest of the war party and attempts to take Furiosa down. However, events unfold that introduce Max and Nux to the women and they all end up forming a weird alliance. From there we get to watch Elderly female bikers wreck shop, Furiosa brawl with Max and War Boys go boom.
Mad Max: Fury Road represents something rare in Hollywood. I still can’t believe somebody gave George Miller $150 million to make an R-rated epic stuffed full of weirdness. Miller filled the movie with blind guitar players, gout footed warlords and a man child played by Australian giant Nathan Jones.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a beautiful action film and should be appreciated for the gamble it took. The project wore on everybody but they held strong as the determined director created an action masterpiece. I have a feeling that Furiosa will join the Sarah Connor, Ripley, Rita Vrataski and Artemisia ranks. Theron’s portrayal balances emotion and stoicism and cannot be labeled. I sat in awe as the one armed Furiosa battled Max, shot down War Boys and genuinely kept her sh*t together.
You need to watch Fury Road and check out co-writer John’s two posts he wrote about the film.
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Movies, Films & Flix 