The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 428: Desperado, Robert Rodriguez, and Guitar Case Rocket Launchers
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).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Adam (of the GoFigure YouTube Show) talk about the 1995 action classic Desperado. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and a bunch of throwing knives, the movie focuses on a mariachi’s epic quest for revenge. In this episode, they also discuss action movies, rocket launchers, and the career of Robert Rodriguez. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Montana Story is a beautifully filmed exploration of grief and moving on. Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague are both very likable and they create a lived in familial relationship that you’ll find yourself invested in.
After Columbus, After Yang, Support the Girls, and The Edge of Seventeen, Haley Lu Richardson has been on quite the tear in very interesting and unique films made by exciting directors. What’s neat is that both Columbus and Montana Story feature her engaging in conversations while standing near interesting architecture or beautiful vistas that add to the gravitas of the discussion. Directors Kogonada (Columbus, and the excellent Wes Anderson visual essays), Scott McGehee, and David Siegel (they directed The Deep End, What Maisie Knew, and Montana Story) both made very smart decisions about where to film and the end results are both worth watching. This may seem like a random point to make, but in both films I found myself smiling as the camera organically and matter of factly finds a staircase that leads to nowhere, or a gigantic pit that is hidden by the surrounding mountains.
Montana Story focuses on the relationship of Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) and Cal (Owen Teague – Far less angry than his It 1 & 2 character), two siblings who have returned home to their family’s Montana ranch because their father is in a coma after a stroke. The two haven’t seen each other in years as Erin moved east to open up a farm-to-table restaurant in New York, and Cal moved to Cheyenne where he works for the city as an engineer. While back home, they learn that the money from the sale of the house and all the property will go to the bank as it’s been mortgaged beyond belief. This doesn’t seem to bother them as the house is filled with bad memories that stem from the alcoholic and abusive father who prior to the stroke worked as lawyer who helped a mining company dig a stupidly large hole in the ground (I bet Zach Braff’s character in Garden State would’ve loved to scream near the cavernous hole).
While back home they meet Ace (Gilbert Owour), their father’s nurse, who informs them that the medical equipment that surrounds him in the house’s study are the only things keeping him alive. With his demise imminent, Erin and Cal have to tell Valentina (Kimberly Guerrero), the family’s longtime ranch caretaker that the bank is taking everything and she’ll be left with nothing. The reunion is bittersweet as they’re forced to start selling off their deceased mother’s car, and figure out what to do with Mr. T, their father’s 25-year old horse. The rest of the film focuses on Erin’s decision to take the horse back to New York. The decision leads to an excellent scene involving her buying a truck and trailer from their neighbor Mukki (Eugene Brave Rock – really good) who runs a horse ranch and has some extra vehicles hanging out on his property. It’s a 100% honest deal, but the decision is 100% impractical as the truck soon breaks down near the gigantic hole in the ground that Erin hates so much. What’s neat is that instead of screaming at each other about past pain, the two discuss Dante’s Inferno while standing near the source of most of their terrible memories. I don’t want to spoil the ending (there are no twists or huge revelations, but it’s better not to know), just know that the siblings find catharsis and have something to build upon in the future.
The cinematography by Giles Nuttgens (Hell or High Water, What Maise Knew, The Deep End, Swimfan, Enola Holmes) is impressive because he knows he’s surrounded by beauty and never acts like it. Nuttgens lets the scenery speak for itself, and doesn’t try to find a precious shot or sweeping camera move that says “look at that mountain!” I also really like the way Nuttgens frames the conversations and interactions because they look beautiful and always feel like they serve the story instead of looking cool and inorganic. It’s an all around top notch production that I hope finds an audience because there is so much out there right now and I’m not sure how many people have the patience to enjoy all the great things that Montana Story offers.
Final thoughts – Montana Story is an immersive and engaging drama that I hope people find and embrace.
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: The Twin (2022), one part tense family therapy, one part Scandinavian folk horror.
MY CALL: This was decent. I’m very apprehensive of Netflix and Shudder originals, and this was by no means great. But it was pretty good—creepy, emotionally uncomfortable, well made and it held great atmosphere with a satisfying ending. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Twin: For more “family therapy” horror, go for Relic (2020), The Dark and the Wicked (2020), The Lodge (2019), Hereditary (2018), Pyewacket (2017), The Witch (2016), Goodnight Mommy (2014), The Babadook (2014), The Uninvited (2009), The Good Son (1993), Pet Sematary (1989) and The Stepfather (1987).
Grief stricken after the tragic loss of their son, Rachel (Teresa Palmer; Lights Out, Warm Bodies, The Grudge 2) and Anthony (Steven Cree; The Awakening, A Discovery of Witches) move with their surviving twin son across the world to Finland in hopes of escaping everything that reminds them of their loss. Everything, except their surviving son Elliot (Tristan Ruggeri; The Witcher).
Elliot and his father find optimism and hope in their new land. But Rachel remains mostly broken, wearing a weak veil of potential Babadookery. A former rectory, their home is huge and gorgeous, on a stunning plot of pristine land.
As soon as they move into their home, Elliot wants another bed in his room for his (deceased) brother. When Elliot makes a wish based on the local Scandinavian folklore, he starts talking to himself while playing in his room. Sure, innocent enough. But a local woman (Barbara Marten; The Turning) warns Rachel about an all-too credible dream she had and the townsfolk throw them a welcome festival that smacks of a Pagan rite. Then as they adapt to their new life, Elliot is behaving ever more strangely.
Themes of grief and guilt run strong while folk horror vibes tickle my expectations. Some scenes of parent-to-child directed anger (and vice versa) are mildly challenging to watch, but nothing like Hereditary (2018), Goodnight Mommy (2014) or The Babadook (2014).
Truly, this film is very capably made, well-acted, and gorgeously shot. However, the majority of the film is a very basic connect-the-dotting between one familiar trope after another. Thankfully, the final act brings to the table a couple less familiar turns that lead to some very satisfying scenes and revelations. So I’d say director and co-writer Taneli Mustonen (Lake Bodom) has fared well. This was entertaining. Not great. But pretty good.
Share this post:
The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 427 – Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dip and Judge Doom
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).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Niall Moore (@elniallo on Twitter) discuss the 1988 blockbuster classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, and hundreds of animated characters, the movie focuses on what happens when a surly detective and an animated rabbit team up to solve a crime. In this episode, they discuss deadly dip. Jessica Rabbit, and the insane amount of work that went into making the movie. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) – Review – A Delightful Film That Features a Bunch of Fun Surprises
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a lot of fun. There’s loads of cheeky non-Disney cameos, big laughs, and a wild amount of welcome nostalgia. If you’re looking for a Who Framed Roger Rabbit meets The Lonely Island mashup, it doesn’t get any better.
I have no idea why, but Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers went completely under my radar until I received the screener for it. After reading the synopsis, combing through the stacked cast of voice talent, and learning that Akiva Schaffer directed it, I knew I was in for a treat. I’m a big fan of the Schaffer and Jorma Taccone’s films Hot Rod, Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping, MacGruber and The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience, so I knew the experience would be an entertaining one. The movie doesn’t disappoint as it combines old school animation techniques, with CGI characters, and sprinkles in likable actors who try their best to be 1/10th as good as Bob Hoskins was when he acted next to nothing in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (he should’ve received an Oscar nomination – Listen to our WFRR episode!).
The movie takes place in a universe where Chip (John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) are actors who appeared in the show Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, which aired from 1988 until1990. The duo met in elementary school and formed a bond because they were the only chipmunks in the school and didn’t have any other friends. The two lived in a suburbia where animated and human characters coexist and you see tiny two-story homes (that are quite large for the chipmunks) next to regular-sized homes meant for humans. It’s the kind of world where chipmunks have chipmunk-sized cars that drive alongside regular-sized vehicles, and there are skyscrapers meant for rodents that stand next to regular skyscrapers. This isn’t a segregated world like in Who Framed Roger Rabbit where the toons have ToonTown, and the humans have their own area, this is a fully united world where I kept worrying that the tiny lead characters would be squashed at any moment. Oh yeah, it’s worth noting that Dale undergoes CGI surgery to look less two-dimensionally animated. It’s a beautiful idea that makes me smile whenever I think about it.
The plot revolves around Chip and Dale reuniting to help a friend after decades of not speaking to each other. After finding success with Rescue Rangers in the late 80s and early 90s, Dale, tired of playing second banana to Chip, drops Rescue Rangers, and accepts the lead role on a spy show that didn’t make it past its pilot episode. Without Dale, Rescue Rangers was canceled, so Chip left show business and became a successful insurance salesperson who enjoys listening to heavy metal music. Decades later, the two are reunited when Monterrey Jack (Eric Bana) is kidnapped by shady businessman Sweet Pete (Will Arnett), and his uncanny valley-eyed henchman Bob the Warrior Viking (Seth Rogen – very funny) and forced to act in Pete’s knockoff movies (Think Dip and Snail: Helping Officers level knockoffs) because he couldn’t pay back his cheese debts (I love this movie). What follows is a Los Angeles-based detective film that features terrible whale raps, wild amounts of cameos, and a detective named Ellie (Kiki Layne) who may or may not be as helpful as she seems.
Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers isn’t afraid to get weird, and has a very playful side that showcases the vocal talents of Samberg, Mulaney, Arnett, and J.K. Simmons. The idea of animated characters being forced to act in cheap knockoff movies is inspired, and the amount of mockery aimed at Disney is surprising because it’s a Disney movie. It’s nice that the film relies on funny gags that involve Sonic the Hedgehog and his teeth from the wildly maligned first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, and a gumby character who keeps getting things stuck in him. There’s so much going on that a second viewing is almost mandatory if you like the movie.
Final thoughts – Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a delight.
Share this post:
MY CALL: It may not have had the budget to be recognized as such, but for me this is a horror Star Wars (1977) or The Fifth Element (1997) or Legend (1985) as it creates a world I want to spend more time exploring. Great and diverse monster make-up, an excellent and compelling epic story, intriguing world-building and a civilization-razing war. If you haven’t seen this yet, do yourself the favor. MORE MOVIES LIKE Nightbreed: For more of Clive Barker’s world-building horror, I’d recommend the double feature of Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988).
Based this on his novel “Cabal,” director and writer Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions) is no stranger to crafting underworlds and populating them with twisted angels or sin-feeding fiends rich with mythology. And this film offers a diverse menagerie of monstrosities to scratch any monster movie lovers’ itch. But it also captures a strong sense of dark fantasy adventure.
Haunted by mysterious nightmares of monstrous, demonic humanoids from a world called Midian, Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer; Hellraiser V: Inferno, Fire in the Sky) keeps his therapist Doctor Decker (David Cronenberg; Jason X) concocting hypotheses to explain Aaron’s guilt, his sins, or his need to escape himself. Oddly manipulative and presumptive of Boone’s dreams, Decker feels like he could be a villain of sorts in a movie entirely his own. A subplot has a zipper-masked murderer summarily slaughtering families in their homes, following patterns described in Boone’s dreams. Decker suggests Boone turn himself in for the crimes.
After his tragic death, Boone awakens somehow alive and is welcomed to Midian, which is like a horror Neverland but with ancient laws like a religious faction led by a sage (Doug Bradley; Hellraiser I-VIII, Wrong Turn 5) you’d find in undead Shaolin Kung Fu movie. So many things about this movie smack of a dark fantasy about the rise of a cursed hero. Their underworld civilization is well-realized, a mixture of ancient and medieval, complete with a temple to Baphomet in the most abyssal recesses and prophecies painted on walls—some of which seem to parallel Boone’s recent history.
This film pulls no punches. We see a man slice open his own face and peel his scalp from his sinew-covered skull while screaming and holding chunks of hairy scalp in his desperate hands. Latex wound work is graphic, mangled and oozy. The monsters come in all shapes and sizes like a horror Star Wars cantina, with all manner of mask and face make-ups, prosthetics, odd appendages, some amorphous, even some puppetry.
The plot yanks Boone back and forth between his new life in Midian, and his former human life with his girlfriend. Amidst this, many humans begin to discover the existence of freaks dwelling below the surface and desire to exterminate them to Biblical scale, and with only the soulless ferocity that we may compare to genocide.
The magic of this movie for me, like a standalone horror Star Wars, is that so many of the characters and creatures of Midian are memorable, have their moments, or have their representation of something of Midian’s way of life.
We are led into an action-packed finale pitting men against unnaturals, creating a collapsing fiery hellscape of Midian’s cavernous city. The battle manages to capture grand scale, and the desecrated ruins of the aftermath smack of Revelations steeped in sacrilege. Yet keeping this story more in line with fantasy than horror, is that the unnaturals are our protagonists and, despite the razing of their only sanctuary, we end with the hope that their new savior will rebuild with them. So this is basically an “episode one” for a dark fantasy adventure epic where the “monsters” turn out to be the heroes with a prophesied, Christ-like savior who must help them rebuild their civilization after their own Revelations-like war with the evils of man. Epic concepts!
Whether you love horror or hard-R fantasy, I offer my strongest recommendation. In many ways, as I’ve said again and again, I liken this to a chapter of horror Star Wars. It packs big concepts and paints a detailed world. It truly hurts me that this was not part 1 of a grand trilogy helmed by Clive Barker’s genius.
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Antiviral (2012), a cultural sickness manifests in this “okay” Sci-Horror Medical Thriller.
MY CALL: Director Brandon Cronenberg’s first film shows great promise in conceptualization and filmmaking, but fails to deliver in terms of story development. A decent movie I guess, but it definitely disappointed my expectations of suspense and horror. MORE MOVIES LIKE Antiviral: For more medical horror, I’d recommend Fresh (2022).
The Lucas Clinic for the True Connoisseurs has the blaring bright whiteness of scenes from American Psycho (2000) or the Resident Evil sequels’ (2002-2016) laboratories or even Sci-Fi settings like Solaris (1972, 2002). The unrealistically clean and bright décor cultivates a sense of complete artificiality.
New client Edward (Douglas Smith; Ouija, The Bye Bye Man) is an obsessive fan of celebrity Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon; Dream House, Maps to the Stars). During Edward’s consultation with Lucas technician Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones; The Last Exorcism, Byzantium, Get Out), Syd preys on this fixation, eliciting strong emotional and infatuated responses as if deliberately psychologically intoxicating his client as foreplay… before the penetration of the syringe encapsulating a virus. Not just any virus, but the precise extracted strain of Herpes carried by the actress. And why? So that Edward could feel as if he contracted it from her, from her kiss, and feel more connected to her.
As the Lucas company profits selling celebrity viruses to their fanfare, Syd has found a way to beat the company’s security for his own interests. Only… when something goes wrong with his health, Syd faces a unique medical mystery that baffles his colleagues (Malcolm McDowell; ; Halloween I-II, 31) and co-conspirators (Joe Pingue; Maps to the Stars, Dream House) alike.
Director and writer Brandon Cronenberg’s (Possessor) first feature film is not without its merits, but it fell far short of my expectations. Where is the body horror? This story begins rather provocatively, but middles and ends into less interesting tedium with little development. What is intended as thrilling mystery ultimately falls rather flat for me, unfortunately. And whereas this film was never anything near riveting, transformative or wowing, it remains a shame that after such a titillating start it would reduce to this. It began with so much conceptual promise.
Share this post:
The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast -Episode 426: Pitch Black, Vin Diesel and Death Planets
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).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Norbert begin their Riddick trilogy series with the 2000 creature feature Pitch Black. Directed by David Twohy, and starring Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Keith David, Cole Hauser, and some hungry monsters, the movie focuses on what happens when a group of travelers crash land on a planet at the absolute worst time. In this episode, they talk about prison eye surgery, Keith David, and the career of Vin Diesel. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
MY CALL: This film is extremely violent, extremely bloody, extremely cruel, and extremely graphic. I love it! MORE MOVIES LIKE The Sadness: This would best double feature with Train to Busan (2016). For more non-zombie murderous outbreak movies, consider the likes of 28 Days Later (2002), The Signal (2007) and The Happening (2008).
I’ll give the obvious warning to those who don’t like subtitles, this is a foreign language movie—Mandarin Chinese. At least at the time I saw this, I had no access to English audio.
Quite deliberately parallel to our own COVID realities, this is about a viral pandemic in Asia over which doctors are fearful of mutations and the public is skeptical of the public health “scare tactics” employed during a major election year. The virus is claimed as a media treasure trove of hoax misinformation. That is… until a novel mutation hits the population.
This virus now induces a 28 Days Later (2002)-like rage, where a bad case of rabies from Hell infects the populace to act on the very worst they can fantasize to such end that Train to Busan’s (2016) zombie outbreak feels civil in comparison.
Those infected with this virus seem to access the darkest, most insidious fantasies, urges and compulsions in their subconscious and act on them, devoid of conscience or morals or social awareness. We witness someone dump the contents of an oily scalding kitchen fryer on a man’s head and then claw off his softened blistering melty flesh; we see disturbing things happen to disturbed elderly people; limb-breaking torture with a smile; throats and noses and Achilles’ tendons are viciously torn by animalistic biting; and exploding and slimy bludgeoned macerated heads! Director and writer Rob Jabbaz (Lake Bodom) does well making us feel it when innocents suffer.
All the while, we follow our protagonists Jim and Kat as they try to navigate the infernal chaos and reach each other, relying on the help of the rare remaining compassionate passerby. Excepting some short breaks, this movie is a non-stop deathgasm of gory violence. Gouts of blood jettison across the screen as killers’ faces are awash with sanguine ecstasy. The blood looks REALLY GOOD! And the sludgy blood and latex wound work is outstanding.
This film is extremely violent, extremely bloody, extremely cruel, and extremely graphic. I love it! Completely unfettered murderous madness. Now we know what induced that horrifying “death orgy” montage in Event Horizon (1997). Clearly, they just caught a case of Lovecraftian madness and slipped into the infernal depravity of their subconscious Purge Night after contracting this virus.
For gorehounds and extreme horror fans, this is high well-produced delight. It’s very well made, and unrelenting in its violence.
Share this post:
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s 2000 autobiographical novel L’événementl, The Golden Lion (highest prize at the Venice FIlm Festival) winning Happening is an expertly crafted piece of filmmaking by director Audrey Diwan.
In order to make Happening feel like a thriller, Diwan and her cinematographer Laurent Tangy decided that they’d use a cramped 1.37:1 aspect ratio that boxes in the main character Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei – who won a César Awards for Most Promising Actress). The decision was smart because whenever I think about the film I see close ups of Anne as she struggles to get an illegal abortion in 1963 France, while simultaneously keeping up with her college exams which will play a big role with her future as a writer. Beautiful beaches seem claustrophobic, idyllic country roads seem lonely, and dancing at bars feels incredibly un-important. The sole focus is on Anne, and her tense journey.
The film tightens the vice around Anne as the movie breaks itself up into chapters that show us just how far along she is and just how far behind she is at her school studies. With no support, she’s on her own as she doesn’t want to tell her parents, or her friends, who suggest “it’ll be the end of the world” for the single, middle-class Anne. Doctors are no help because if they give her any assistance they could be prosecuted and either go to jail or lose their practice. So, the desperate Anne decides to hunt down Mme. Rivière (Anna Mouglalis), a woman who assists women with their abortions (for 400 francs). From there, things get even more harrowing as Anne painfully deals with the aftermath.
Happening works so well because of Anamaria Vertolomei who is able to convey about 47 different emotions without saying a word. There are no visible weights on her shoulders, but it appears as if the weight of the world is pressing down on her as she walks around her beautiful rural town. Her performance is filmed in long takes that see her dealing with unhelpful friends, lying doctors, and a male schoolmate named Jean who suggests they have sex because she can’t get pregnant twice. Throughout the film she tries to abort the child herself (it doesn’t work obviously, and leads to nothing but pain), while publicly keeping up a stoic demeanor as the world closes in on itself. The cinéma vérité style is used well as the camera feels like a ghost that follows Anne around and is privy to all the private moments that the world never sees. This makes Vertolomei’s performance more impressive as she’s on camera 99% of the time and has to seem totally natural as a film crew surrounds her. You can tell that Anne just wants to scream at the world, but that would end with her being ostracized and potentially put in jail, so instead she sells her belongings (to get the 400 francs), and internalizes a large amount of anger.
I don’t want to give away the ending, but I do think it handles the sadness, loneliness, and desperation of Anne incredibly well. Nothing is easy here, and the movie never lets us forget that.
Final Thoughts – It’s definitely worth a watch and I think it will be an awards contender later this year.
Movies, Films & Flix 