New MFF Final Fights Episode – Examining the Epic Final Fight in Captain America: Civil War
Mark and DJ Valentine (@TryingToBeDJV on Twitter) discuss the final fight between Captain America (Chris Evans), The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. It’s a excellent brawl that features boot punching, bloody faces, and a sophisticated fight narrative.
Make sure to follow DJ on Twitter, and check out the Simplistic Reviews Podcast.
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Holler (2020) – Review: An Authentic and Confident Film That Features a Standout Performance From Jessica Barden
Quick Thoughts: – Grade – A – Holler tells a funny, unique, and confident coming-of-age story that feels authentic and unpredictable.
Directed and written by Nicole Riegel, Holler is an excellent coming-of-age story that focuses on a high schooler named Ruth (Jessica Barden) stuck between her life in the rural town of Jackson, Ohio, and potentially going to college, and leaving her older brother Blaze (Gus Harper) and drug-addicted mother (Pamela Adlon) behind. The best thing about Holler is that it eschews melodramatic plotlines, and doesn’t look down on the residents of Jackson. You can tell that Riegel grew up in the area because she gives the town and its surrounding areas complete authenticity, and doesn’t lean into idealized small town life, or “holy crap, this place is terrible,” vibes. Most importantly, Riegel has made a movie that doesn’t go where you’d expect, and despite some familiar situations, the movie goes to places that feel new and fresh.
The casting is spot-on too, as Barden who has been putting in solid work in movies like The Lobster, Hanna, and Mindhorn (Capoeira!), carries the film on her shoulders with an effortless ease (which must’ve been a lot of work, because she’s so good). On paper, Ruth feels familiar as she’s a smart kid who desperately needs to leave her hometown, but she’s hesitant to leave because of her family (who want her to go to college). However, she’s an entirely new creation because she takes no sh*t, is fine with thievery, and is comfortable in both scrap yards and libraries. Barden drew on her working class background to find the character, and you can tell she loves Ruth, because she plays with her smarts, resilience, and naivety.
The movie centers around Ruth and her brother Blaze being hired by Hark (Austin Amelio – watch Everybody Wants Some!!), the owner of a local scrap yard, who needs help bringing in more scrap. Their well-paying job is to strip abandoned businesses, homes or warehouses of iron, copper, steel, cables and anything else that can be sold. The job is dangerous and illegal, and they occasionally find themselves hiding from armed owners or security guards who don’t want their precious copper pipes being stolen. It’s dangerous work that really has no long-term future, but Blaze plans on making enough to catch up on late bills, and make sure Ruth can head to college. In other movies, there would be shoot-outs, foot chases, and dangerous men, however, Holler largely avoids the obvious and instead focuses heavily on the resilience of Ruth. It’s neat watching her read books that she hides in the scrap yards, or watching her find creative places to sleep to get out of the bitter Ohio winter cold. Also, the location selection is inspired, as local roller rinks (the pizza they are eating looks like roller rink pizza – it’s neat), scrap yards, and functioning plants are used to maximum effect, and add to the realness of the movie.
If you get a moment, check out this interview that Barden and Riegel did with RogerEbert.com. It’s an enlightening read, and well worth your time.
Final Thoughts – Watch Holler and appreciate the unique and confident storytelling.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 382: The Suicide Squad (2021), Nom Noms, and Polka Dots
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 Megan discuss the 2021 superhero film The Suicide Squad. Directed by James Gunn, and starring Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis, the movie focuses on a new(ish) group of villains embarking on a suicide mission that finds them battling a justifiably angry kaiju. In this episode, they discuss exploding heads, hallway fights, and likable characters. 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.
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Jolt (2021) – Review: A Disappointing Movie That Relies Too Much On Unnecessary Style
Quick Thoughts – Jolt – D – Despite featuring game performances, Jolt is let down by a script that is too focused on stylized dialogue that kills the momentum and flow. The end result is decent, but only because Kate Beckinsale, Jai Courtney, Stanley Tucci, Laverne Cox and Bobby Cannavle (the cast is stacked) commit to the insanity.
On paper, an action movie about Kate Beckinsale going on a rampage because her “boyfriend” Justin (Jai Courtney) is killed by an arms dealer, sounds fun. However, the overly-stylized camera shots, Pulp Fiction-esque dialogue, choppy editing, and stunt doubles who wear distracting wigs (it’s bad), make it an exercise in style over substance. Which is a shame because Beckinsale is an action legend, and the movie unnecessarily saddles her with super powers that come from her intermittent explosive disorder, that gives her superhuman powers of destruction. The story relies on the jolts she gives herself to curb her violent tendencies, but they are never important, or even reliable, which makes them just an element of plot that feels shoehorned in.
Jolt is the type of movie where the villains begin conversations by saying “Do you like Lobsters?” and then break into monologues about them (while smacking the lobster they are eating loudly). After they are done with their monologue, Beckinsale promptly tells them that the speech was “really boring,” which is 100% true, and it makes you wonder why you had to listen to a lobster monologue in the first place.
It’s easy to understand why cinematographer Jules O’Loughlin (The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Angel Has Fallen) loaded Jolt with upside down, spinning, and stylized shots, as the script and action are all highly stylized. However, the majority of the shots are pointlessly stylized and they mostly result in dizzying effects that do nothing for the story. Much like Snake Eyes, the action movie is let down by its action, but it doesn’t have any likable characters (you like the people in Snake Eyes), so you’re left wishing Beckinsale had a better vehicle to star in.
It also hurts that excellent actors like Laverne Cox, Stanley Tucci and Bobby Cannavale have nothing to do but spout stylized dialogue, and constantly be one step behind Beckinsale (and catch babies that are thrown at them….). All of the pieces seemed to be there for a fun film, but they weren’t cut right, so the jigsaw puzzle never fits together the way it should. The end result is an uneven action film that doesn’t know what it is.
You should check out director Tanya Wexler’s fantastic 2019 film Buffaloed instead. It’s lightyears better than Jolt, and features beautiful performances from Zoey Deutch and Jai Courtney (playing a character called Wizz), who are both wonderful and funny.
Final Thoughts: Skip Jolt, and watch Buffaloed instead.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 58: Freddy Beluga, Shark Movies, and Spin Kicks From Hell
You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!
Please make sure to rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Jay and Mark are joined by Kevin Kulp (@KevinKulp on Twitter) to discuss the 10th chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 blu-ray. In this episode, they talk about spin kicks from hell, trash compactors, and Kevin’s shark movie list that you can find on Reddit (see his Twitter page for link). Enjoy!
Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.
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Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – The Dry is a wonderful example of how to tell a whodunit in under two hours. The Australian setting, and solid performance from Eric Bana, makes this a mystery worth watching.
Based on Jane Harper’s 2016 international best seller of the same name, The Dry tells the story of what happens when Aaron Falk (Eric Bana), a Melbourne based federal agent returns to his childhood home to attend the funeral of his friend Luke, who died in a murder-suicide that involved him killing his family and then shooting himself. Like all good mysteries, the locals aren’t happy to see him, as 20 years prior, he and his dad left the town because the locals suspected he and Luke were involved in the death of their classmate Ellie (Bebe Bettencourt). His initial overnight trip is extended when Luke’s parents convince him (by using a lot of guilt) to stay around and investigate whether Luke actually killed his family. During his investigation, he teams up with local sergeant Greg Raco (Keir O’Donnell) and their quest leads them face-to-face with dozens of hostile locals who still hold a grudge against him for his supposed misdeeds. Since it’s a mystery, Aaron also meets up with his old friend Gretchen (Genevieve O’Reilly), who clearly isn’t sharing everything she knows about the current murder, or what happened 20 years ago.
What’s so great about The Dry is how it’s able to wrap up a murder mystery in two hours, and not feel like a fast-forwarded mystery condensed for time. The pacing is deliberate, yet never slow, and it’s neat watching Aaron deal with the “sins” of his past, while trying to figure out why the recent tragedy happened. All the actors put in strong work, and director Robert Connolly does a fine job of keeping the film moving while still allowing quiet moments that showcase the talents of his actors. The cinematography by Stefan Duscio (Jungle, The Invisible Man) might be the true MVP of the film as the wide shots of vast Australian terrain, and handheld work during tense situations give the movie a vice-like feeling of tension. To top everything off, the adapted script by Harry Cripps and Connolly doesn’t waste any time, but still allows The Dry to have all the time in the world to tell its mystery. It’s rare when a deliberately paced thriller feels like it’s moving at a breakneck pace, and that is really impressive.
Final Thoughts – The Dry is solid on every level, and if you are looking for a solid mystery, it doesn’t get much better.
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Random Data – What’s the Ideal Amount of Teeth-to-Body Blood Consumption in Vampire Movies? A Random and In-Depth Study
While watching Park Chan-Wook’s 2009 film Thirst, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a lot of blood consumption. Since Thirst is one of my favorite vampire films, I began to wonder if it’s better for vampire films to feature copious amounts of teeth-to-body blood consumption, or, if vampire movies are better when there is no teeth-to-body contact. Basically, are vampire movies better if they feature vampires drinking blood like they were at a spring break blood party (For instance, the attack in From Dusk Till Dawn), or do audiences and critics prefer vampire movies that feature vampires drinking blood from chalices because they don’t want their clothes destroyed (I love the blood popsicles scene in Only Lovers Left Alive)?
To answer this random question, I watched 82 vampire movies over the course of 18 months, and came up with some fun results. Here’s a breakdown of how I did it, and what were my methods.
- I used a stopwatch (and time stamps for) to count the amount of seconds spent drinking blood (if it was 39.6 seconds, I rounded up to 40 seconds)
- The vampire’s teeth had to make contact with the body of their victim. In Dracula (1931), he’s always about to bite a neck…but it’s never shown. Implied blood sucking wasn’t counted.
- I did not count the moments involving drinking blood from cups or slurping blood off of floors. A person or animal had to be bit.
- I only considered vampire movies with at least 15 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. This prevented me from watching thousands of vampire movies
- I originally felt like 50 live-action vampire movies would give me enough data. However, I am a maniac, so I ended up with 82 vampire films. Thank you Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Sundance, Showtime, Starz, Tubi (great resource for free films), Crackle, HBOmax, and my local library.
Interesting tidbits – The 82 vampire films average 41.39 seconds of teeth-to-body blood consumption, and they have a 56.1% Tomatometer average and a 6.2 IMDb audience score average.
Really interesting tidbit – It’s neat that the Tomatometer and IMDb average rankings are the exact same. Critics and audiences seem to be on the same page.
Results
1st Place – Winner – Vampire movies featuring no “teeth-to-body” blood consumption
- 9 movies – Black Sunday, Dracula (1931), Lifeforce, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Horror of Dracula, The Last Man on Earth , The Monster Squad, Twilight: New Moon, Vampyr
- Tomatometer Average – 75.1%
- IMDb User Score Average – 6.8
With Dracula (1931), Vampyr, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Horror of Dracula and The Monster Squad in this category, it’s easy to see why it’s #1. Many of these films feature death and destruction, however, they don’t feature a vampire chomping into flesh and taking a drink. I love that these films have the highest Tomatometer average.
If you haven’t watched Only Lovers Left Alive, do it now. It’s wonderful.
2nd Place – Vampire Movies Featuring 60+ seconds of “teeth-to-body” blood consumption
- 18 movies – Underworld: Evolution, Yakuza Apocalypse, Fright Night (2011), Blade, Blood Red Sky, Near Dark, Shadow of the Vampire, Vampire’s Kiss, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Let Me In, Let The Right One In, Daybreakers, Blade 2, From Dusk Till Dawn, Thirst, Interview With the Vampire, The Addiction, Queen of the Damned
- Tomatometer Average – 66.4%
- IMDb User Score Average – 6.7
I call these movies the “Super Drinkers” because they feature a lot of blood consumption. Queen of the Damned, The Addiction, Interview the Vampire, Thirst, and From Dusk Till Dawn (lots of background blood drinking) are the five with the most blood consumption.
The reason this category is Fresh is because it’s home to Near Dark, Shadow of the Vampire, Let Me In, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Let the Right One In. That’s a huge lineup of amazing vampire movies that aren’t afraid to let their characters chug a Big Gulp’s worth of blood.
3rd Place – Vampire Movies Featuring 1-29 seconds of “teeth-to-body” blood consumption
- 34 movies – Nightwatch. Son of Dracula, The Lost Boys, Cirque Du Freak, Buffy the vampire Slayer, Ganja and Hess, Once Bitten, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part Two, Freaks of Nature, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Hunger, The Little Vampire, Bordello of Blood, Nosferatu, Bloodsucking Bastards, Dracula Dead and Loving It, Stake Land, Underworld: Blood Wars, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part One, Twilight: Eclipse, Blade: Trinity, Vampires in the Bronx, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Martin, What We Do in the Shadows , Underworld, Fright Night (1985), Afflicted, Dark Shadows, Van Helsing, Def by Temptation, The Vampire Lovers, Underworld: Awakening, Vampire in Brooklyn
- Tomatometer Average – 51.6%
- IMDb User Score Average – 6
This is where things start going downhill. A 50.4% average isn’t bad, but it proves that vampire films that feature just a little bit of blood consumption, are like the brave vampire films that feature zero or a lot of blood drinking. We get cool movies like Martin, Vampires in the Bronx, The Hunger, Fright Night, The Vampire Lovers, and What We Do in the Shadows. But, now there are more movies like Once Bitten, Dracula: Dead and Loving It (which I love), Dark Shadows, and Cirque du Freak weighing down the average. It’s definitely a mixed bag category.
If you haven’t watched them yet, I totally recommend The Hunger, Vampires in the Bronx, Martin, What We Do in the Shadows and Afflicted.
4th Place – Vampire Movies Featuring 30-59 seconds of “teeth-to-body” blood consumption
- 21 movies – Daughters of Darkness, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Nadja, Priest, Dracula (1979), Dracula Untold, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Rise: Blood Hunter, Cronos, Byzantium, Vampire Academy, Dracula 2000, Innocent Blood, Vampires Suck, Bloodrayne, Vamps, 30 Days of Night, Twilight, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Blacula, Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
- Tomatometer Average – 46.5%
- IMDb User Score Average – 5.8
It seems like movies that fall somewhere in the middle of all the blood drinking don’t fare too well with critics and audiences. Dracula Untold, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Vampire Academy, Vampires Suck, Bloodrayne, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Rise: Blood Hunter helped drag the average below 50%. It’s the only category that doesn’t cross 50%, and the average numbers fall in line with the average amount of blood consumption (42.4 seconds). It’s interesting, audiences and critics seem to want either less or more.
You should check out A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Cronos, 30 Days of Night, and Nosferatu the Vampyre. They are all excellent.
There you have it! Vampire movies that feature no teeth-to-body blood consumption have better Tomatometer and IMDb averages.
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Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – The English-language remake of the 2014 French ilm La Famille Bélier, is loaded with excellent performances, likable characters, and a lot of heart. It will put a smile on your face, and hopefully it will be remembered when awards season rolls around.
While it would’ve been nice to see CODA getting a wide theatrical release, knowing that Apple paid $25 million for the distribution rights after it premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, is good enough. The Siân Heder (GLOW, Orange is the New Black) directed/written film totally deserves its 95% Tomatometer Score, and hopefully it isn’t buried due to the Apple+ release (like On the Rocks). After watching the various Sundance interviews and reading up about the film, it’s clear that a lot of love went into the creation of it, and that the cast loved being on screen together as the chemistry is solid.
CODA (AKA child of deaf adults) focuses on the exploits of Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones = excellent), a senior in high school who is the only hearing member of her family composed of her parents Frank (Troy Katsur) Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and her brother Leo (Daniel Durant). She spends her mornings fishing with her dad and brother, aboard their commercial fishing boat, then she heads to her high school where she’s occasionally too busy to change and is made fun of for smelling like fish. Problems arise when she decides to join the school choir, and her talents are noticed by teacher Eugenio Derbez (Bernardo Villalobos – he’s so good), who invites her to take private lessons in the evenings and weekends, in hopes of her being accepted into nearby Berklee University. The problem is she’s the full-time translator for her family, as she’s needed at the boat to make sure someone is at the radio, and doctor appointments where she’s forced to hear about her parents sex lives, and it’s consequences (it’s a fun scene).
It’s a wild amount of stress for the teenager, and to make things worse, she also has to sing a duet with her crush Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo – SING STREET! Watch it now), and be there for her family as they attempt to start their own business selling fish. Despite all the stressful situations, CODA is brimming with life and authenticity as we’re taken into a world the majority of the populace has never been. Watching the everyday interactions of the Rossi family as they struggle to pay bills, deal with local bullies, and struggle to cope with only one member being able to hear, is a lot of fun, because, sadly, it’s never really been shown as authentically before. Also, Heder grew up in Massachusetts, and she’s able to create a believable atmosphere that feels lived-in and genuine. The producers trusted Heder to create something different from the original film, and she succeeded by casting Matlin, Katsur and Durant, who are all excellent, and hopefully like Matlin, will have a chance to win an Academy Award.
What’s really cool is that Jones spent nine months learning American Sign Language, and she also started taking vocal training to prepare for her singing heavy role. It’s wild that she never really took singing lessons before, which just proves how talented she is (her singing is legit). Also, bringing in Academy Award winning actress Matlin proved to be a wise decision, as she fought for the rest of the cast to be deaf actors, which was wise because the film benefits by having Katsur and Durant, who are excellent and add a level of authenticity to their roles.
Final thoughts: Watch CODA today. It’s authentic, loaded with heart, and worth a watch
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 381 – Deep Rising, Sea Monsters, and Dangerous Shoes
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 Jay (of Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast) discuss the 1998 cult classic Deep Rising. Directed by Stephen Sommers, and starring Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Kevin J. O’Connor, and Wes Studi, the movie focuses on what happens when a group of mercanaries battle an ancient sea beast aboard a luxury ocean liner. In this episode, they discuss lunkhead henchmen, shoe attacks, and why this movie deserves a large audience. Enjoy!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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What…If? (2021) – First Three Episodes Review – A Fun New Marvel Show With Lots of Potential
Quick Thoughts – The first three episodes of What If…? prove the show is a fun experiment that opens up the MCU world to different storylines.
After watching the first three episodes of What If…? I’m definitely excited to see more because I love what Marvel is doing with the show, and how they’re handling the aftermath of the Loki finale that opened up a world of timelines. There is a freedom to the episodes, as creator A.C. Bradley is able to tell thousands of the different stories that feature characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s also cool that many of the actors do the voicework, which makes everything seem more official and part of the canon. It helps the Marvel boss Kevin Feige is onboard making sure the actors, creators, and animators get as much support as possible to make this an A+ product. Here’s how creator A.C Bradley breaks down the series.
“When it came to creating these episodes and which characters we wanted to make sure we gave them diversity. I was not allowed to do just 10 episodes of Tony Stark, although I could’ve. It was kind of making sure we represent as many of the first three phases of Marvel as humanly possible and giving room for cameos while bringing back as many of the actors. The only other mandate was, “Don’t do what’s in the movies,” and “Have as much fun.” Show Marvel and show the fandom how big and vast and weird the multiverse can get.”
The first episode focuses on what would happen if Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) took the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s a lot of fun to watch Carter battle Hydra, and see what happens when a woman takes a super serum that was meant for a man. You can tell that Bradley has an affinity for her as she’s said “She’s (Carter) the woman who was not supposed to be in the room. She’s the woman who is supposed to be on the sidelines, pining for Steve Rogers. And we’re like, “No. We’re gonna show a woman who knows her worth, and sees how that changes the world.” It’s a neat idea, and there is a welcome dose of wish fulfillment in seeing Carter take the hero role and get her time to shine as a superhero.
It would be a shame to spoil the other episodes (the trailers have already shown way too much), just know that they involve surprise cameos, a decent amount of destruction, and some really cool moments that tweak and change what we’ve seen so far in the MCU. When you think about it, it’s a brilliant idea because everything can be canon because they exist in the multiverse. This idea gives the episodes more importance because they aren’t unofficial “what if” scenarios that feel like fan fiction, they are official MCU approved stories that utilize the voicework of most of the actors.
To top everything off, the animation by Stephan Franck is excellent, as he drew inspiration from Lady and Tramp (1955), Norman Rockwell, and Tom Lovell to create a look that is “kind of heroic, hyper-realized, super-idealized look that feels iconic” while not being “pushed or cartoony.” Also, they went out of their way to make the 3D animation look like 2D animation, and the end result is unique and somewhat old school.
Final thoughts: The first three episodes of What…If? are a lot of fun, and it will be neat to see where this series goes (a second season is already confirmed!). Let’s hope Luis (Michael Pena) gets his own Ant-Man spinoff episode!
Movies, Films & Flix 