The 2021 Mid-Year Random Awards: A Celebration of Bathroom Fights, Sweaters, and Pistachio Eating
The Movies, Films and Flix Random Awards are back! Since 2010, we’ve loved handing out random awards because they award moments and movies that typically wouldn’t win anything (we also love randomness). Sit back, relax and enjoy the 2021 mid-year Random Awards.
Best Album Covers Award – The Edgar Wright directed The Sparks Brothers is one of my favorite films of 2021. It also features the best album covers.
Best Baby Gang Award – You will love watching Little Noi, Dyan, Pan and Uka engage in some legit shenanigans in Raya and the Last Dragon.
Best Moment Involving a Motorcycle Landing on the Wing of a Plane Award – Infinite is an insane film that features a samurai sword wielding Mark Wahlberg using a motorcycle to jump on the wing of a cargo airplane.
Best Tunnel Award – Godzilla vs. Kong features a tunnel (not the Hollow Earth tunnel) that goes from Florida to Hong Kong. It’s insane, and must’ve cost trillions of dollars.
Best Bathroom Fight Award – Nicolas Cage fights an evil animatronic gorilla in Willy’s Wonderland. It’s amazing.
Best Sedative Bot Fight Award – The Alejandra Aja directed Oxygen features Mélanie Laurent wrestling with a sedative bot that looks like a robot snake (it’s quite scary).
Best Sweater Award – Once again, The Quiet Place franchise features some glorious sweaters. This time Djimon Hounsou gets to rock a sweet sweater.
Best Bit About Posing Award – Watching Florence Pugh and Scarlett Johansson argue about “superhero posing” is wonderful in Black Widow.
Best Demián Bichir Hat Award- Chaos Walking is bonkers, but it features a great Bichir hat.
Best Alien Squish Award – The Tomorrow War features a glorious alien squish noise. It’s wonderful.
Best Cardigan in a Pool Hall Award – Jason Statham wears a cardigan in a pool hall in Wrath of Man. It’s weird, and awesome.
Best Pistachio Eating Award – Without Remorse features Michael B. Jordan eating pistachios for a long time. I couldn’t find a clip. Watch the movie, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Best Magnets Award – Fast 9: The Fast Saga features A LOT of magnet usage.
David Cross (@ItsMeDavidCross)- Award Wieners Movies Review Podcast – Best Use of the Term “Hunky Boys” Award – Psycho Goreman is an insane film that features a giant murderer talking about hunky boys. It’s very funny.
Adam Hodgins – GoFigure Youtube Show – Best Picture About a Tournament, But Not Actually Featuring a Tournament Award – Mortal Kombat has way too much setup, and no tournament. It’s odd.
Aaron Neuwirth (@AaronsPS4) – Out Now With Aaron and Abe Podcast – Best Drum Solo Award – Stevie Wonder has a wonderful drum solo in Summer of Soul watch it.
Zanandi (@Zanandi on Twitter) – Best That’s Not What A BREAD SLICER is For Award – Fear Street Part One: 1994 features a head being sliced into many pieces. It’s gnarly.
Jonny Numb – The Last Knock Podcast (@JohnnyNumb) – Most Dynamic Duo Deserving of their Own Franchise Award: Barb & Star (from BARB & STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR) are the best, and they need more movies.
Jay Cluitt (@LifevsFilm) – Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Best Furby Attack Award – The Mitchells vs. the Machines features a glorious moment that involves a gigantic Furby attacking the hero family.
Best Use of a Time Loop to Solve Problems Award – The Map of Tiny Perfect Things might be the most underappreciated movie of 2021, it needs a bigger audience. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
I Need a Herd of Sheep-Fish Award – Luca features the best sea sheep (AKA fish) of 2021. You will love them.
Effing Kitty Bracelet Award – Nobody is the best action film of 2021, and it proves that you should never steal a kitty bracelet.
Sign Me Up for the Town Tour Award – Werewolves Within is the best horror comedy of 2021, and you will love watching Sam Richardson battle werewolves and crazy townsfolk.
Seagull in the Sand Award – Jamie Dornan deserves an Oscar for his singing in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.
I Just Want My Mom Award – Watch Plan B on Hulu, it features two very likable teenagers engaging in some fun R-rated antics.
Best and Most Precise Spoon Placement Award – Paul Walter Hauser is so good in Cruella. How good? He’s so good his spoon placement is inspired.
Swimming Pool Musical Number for the Ages Award – In The Heights features a gigantic musical number that takes place at a pool. It’s wildly impressive and must’ve taken lots of work.
Most Epic Basement Witches Lair Award – The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is home to a beautifully massive villainous lair. You will love it.
Best Kills in a Time Loop Movie (Bryce Mitchell) – The Frank Grillo starring action film Boss Level features some of the cheekiest murders you’ll ever see in a time loop movie.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 375: Tango and Cash, Kurt Russell, and Monster Trucks
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 John (@MFFHorrorCorner on Twitter) discuss the 1989 film Tango & Cash. Directed by several people (seriously), and starring Kurt Russell, Sylvester Stallone, Teri Hatcher, and Jack Palance. the movie focuses on two awesome cops becoming even more awesome. In this episode, they discuss prison breaks, sleeveless shirts, and villainous lairs. 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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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 53: Shark Hostages, Scott Adkins, and Selling Injuries
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Jay and Mark are joined by Courtney Small (@SmallMind on Twitter) to discuss the fifth chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss shark hostages, Scott Adkins, and selling injuries. Enjoy!
Here’s where you can find all of Courtney’s podcasts/reviews. Follow Courtney on Twitter!
@thatshelf
@POVmagazine
@CinemaAxis
@Radio_Regent
@ChangingReelsAC
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The Tomorrow War: A Fun Science Fiction Blockbuster That Features Chris Pratt Punching Aliens
Quick thoughts: B+ – The Tomorrow War is a very fun science fiction popcorn film that features cool monsters, unique twists, and a solid performance from Chris Pratt and Yvonne Strahovski. Also, with news about a sequel in the works, it looks like it’s been a success for Amazon.
Directed by Chris Mckay (The Lego Batman Movie, Robot Chicken), The Tomorrow War is a big budget science fiction film that focuses on soldiers traveling to the future to prevent deadly monsters called “White Spikes” from destroying the world. It’s a wild idea that involves time travel, science, and swarms of aliens ripping ill-prepared soldiers in multiple parts. While many reviews have cynically (and lazily) focused on its obvious similarities to Edge of Tomorrow, Alien, Prometheus and Starship Troopers, just know that The Tomorrow War is an absolute blast that goes places you might not expect, and features Chris Pratt punching an alien in the face.
The film focuses on what happens when people from the future create a rickety time travel system (that’s held together by duct tape and luck), so they can travel back in time to recruit soldiers (who get drafted and are ill-prepared) to help them fight an alien species who are steamrolling everything in the future. The future folk get lucky when Dan Forester (Chris Pratt) is drafted and sent to the future to rescue some research in Miami that could possibly be used to wipe out the aliens. Why are the future folk lucky? Dan is a skilled former soldier, who forcefully has to leave behind his wife Emmy Forester (Betty Gilpin – I wish she had a bigger role) and daughter Muri (Yvonne Strahovski), so he can use his skills in the future war. After he, and fellow “soldiers” Charlie (Sam Richardson), and Dorian (Edwin Hodge) successfully complete their mission in Miami, he is introduced to Colonel Muri Forester, who happens to be his grown up daughter. Together they kidnap a large female alien, and they research how to kill the very hungry aliens (who only want chaos). The rest won’t be spoiled, just know that it features snowmobiles, J.K. Simmons, and Will Smith references.
It’s nice seeing Chris Pratt playing a regular guy who isn’t super smarmy or sassy. He is 100% believable in this role, and it’s nice seeing him be capable, kind and tough (zero pelvic sorcery here). Also, as a fan of the NBC show Chuck, it’s cool seeing Yvonne Strahovski in full-badass mode. She’s totally believable as a tired colonel who is trying to keep the rest of humanity alive despite terrible odds. Strahovski and Pratt have solid chemistry, and you buy into the father/daughter dynamic between the two. The true standout of the film is Sam Richardson, who between Werewolves Within, and The Tomorrow War is having a lot of success battling monsters. Richardson is a breath of fresh air, and you’ll grow to love his character who keeps surviving despite massive odds.
Final thoughts: Ignore the similarities to many other films, and just enjoy Chris Pratt punching aliens.
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Quick Thoughts: Grade – B – Fear Street Part One: 1994 is a fun slasher film that combines 1990’s horror nostalgia, mean kills, and likable characters to create a memorable experience.
Fear Street Part One: 1994 is the first of three films directed by Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon – watch it!) that will be released on Netflix in 2021. Janiak shot the three films back to back to back, and all three have stories that revolve around teenagers battling a cursed witch named Sarah Fier who ran amok in the 17th century. The R-rated slasher film was inspired by author R.L. Stine’s wildly successful Fear Street series that have sold over 80 million copies and topped the New York Times Bestseller List for weeks at a time. The more adult themed books by Stine provide plenty of fun material for future installments, and the series is kicked off promisingly with Fear Street 1994. What’s fun about the movie is how it celebrates nostalgia but still is its own thing, with its own wildly intricate storyline. Another bonus is the fun gore that Janiak (seriously, watch Honeymoon) fought to include. In a recent interview with IndieWire, she said “Right away, I was like, these have to be R-rated slasher movies, I was thinking about being 10 and 11 and sneaking to the video store and renting things I wasn’t supposed to rent, like ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’ That was an important part, always, for me.”
The trilogy starts off in 1994 with a Scream-esque opening that features Maya Hawke (this film’s Drew Barrymore) being killed inside of a shopping mall while she’s closing up the bookstore she works in. The cat-and-mouse game features shots directly lifted from Scream, and it lets you know what to expect during the 107-minute running time (1990s music, movie references, blood). From there, we meet Deena (Kiana Madeira), her younger brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), her ex-girlfriend Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), and two high school drug dealers named Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger) who live in Shadyside, Ohio, a meca for serial killers who have been terrorizing the town for hundreds of years. The majority of the teens in town suspect that something paranormal is afoot, but the adults and sheriff don’t buy the theory, and thus it’s up to the teenagers to solve the mystery after they disturb the grave of Sarah Fier during a melee between them and the residents of Sunnyvale (the nice section of town).
What makes Fear Street Part 1: 1994 so entertaining is that it has a mean streak. There are unexpected character deaths that probably won’t entertain hardcore horror hounds who grew up on 1980’s (and late 1970s) slasher cinema, but, will excite young kids who are just getting into horror and haven’t watched A Serbian Film yet. Also, the glossy digital cinematography by Caleb Heymann (Stranger Things, The Mortuary Collection) contrasts well with the surprise head slicing, and he finds fun ways to make the movie visually exciting with overhead shots, cranes, and inspired shots that subvert horror tropes.
The performances are all solid, and the standouts are Kianna Madeira and Fred Hechinger (watch News of the World, he has a small but memorable role), who find ways to make their characters likable and three-dimensional during all the killing. There really are no weak links, and the only complaint about the movie is that it adds layers and layers of plot atop a film that doesn’t really need it. Fear Street 1994 could’ve been streamlined to create a tight 90-minute film, but you probably won’t mind spending a few more minutes with the likable actors and memorable killer(s).
Final thoughts: Watch Honeymoon
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Mark and Nathan discuss the 1999 film Desert Heat (AKA Inferno), Directed by John G. Avildsen (Rocky, The Karate Kid), and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Pat Morita, Jaime Pressly, and Danny Trejo, the film focuses on what happens when a group of dumb people steal JCVD’s motorcycle. In this episode, they discuss drunk acting, spin kicks, and movies with multiple titles.
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!
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Quick thoughts: Grade – B- – Fast 9 is wildly silly, occasionally unfocused, and lots of fun. Director and writer Justin Lin has created a truly bonkers film.
If you are looking for a film that has a total disregard for logic, gravity, human life, and focused storytelling, Fast 9 is the movie for you. The 10th installment in the Fast & Furious franchise will put a smile on your face as it goes to space, destroys hundreds of cars, and features some glorious flashbacks that fill us in on Toretto family history. It comes nowhere near the quality of Fast Five or Furious 7, but it does go out of its way to make sure the audience gets its money’s worth.
Fast 9 focuses on what happens when Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew battle his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena), who wants to put together a mysterious device that will make him rich (there’s more to it than that, but it gets overcomplicated). To battle Jakob, Dom, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris Bridges), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Mia (Jordana Brewster) travel around the world and engage in car chases, fist fights, and action scenes that go wildly over the top. During these battles, supporting players such as Queenie (Helen Mirren), Han (Sung Kang), Twinkie (Shad Moss), Stasiak (Shea Whigham), Earl (Jason Tobin), and Cipher (Charlize Theron), pop up to blow stuff up, or move the plot along to its next bonkers location. It’s a lot, and the 60% Tomatometer score is understandable because the film is nowhere as focused as its predecessors – and it legitimately becomes a superhero bonanza that has forgotten how grounded the franchise used to be (don’t worry, the characters are aware of this).
While watching, you might find yourself saying “what, huh, when, where, why?…..Yes!” a lot, because it goes places that are extreme by Fast & Furious standards. During the 143-minute running time, you will see Dom Torreto attach a car tire to a swinging rope, defeat dozens of henchmen with ease, and wear a plethora of sleeveless t-shirts. The action can get a bit oppressive, but it’s nice to see Nathalie Emmanuel and Jordana Brewster contributing more to the plot, as they get standout moments to drive around, contribute jokes, and get in on the action. Also, it’s really cool to see Sung Kang and the Tokyo Drift crew back in the fold after Han was supposedly killed off in Tokyo Drift. It’s always been annoying watching Jason Statham in the Fast franchise, because his character Deckard Shaw supposedly killed Han (and many other innocent people), and yet somehow became an honorary member of the Fast family. Han’s return makes Statham’s character much more appealing, and opens up new and exciting doors for future Fast movies
Final thoughts: F9 is a blast, but it goes to such extremes that I’m a bit worried about future installments because I really don’t want bigger sequels.
Here are my updated rankings (Yes, I love 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift a lot).
- 2 Fast 2 Furious
- Tokyo Drift
- Fast & Furious 6
- Fast Five
- The Fast and the Furious
- Furious 7
- Fast and Furious
- F9
- The Fate of the Furious
- Hobbs and Shaw
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John’s Horror Corner: The Superdeep (2020), an awesomely gross, very creepy Russian Sci-Horror creature feature.
MY CALL: Great for fans of Sci-Horror and those who appreciate gross special effects, grosser creatures, and honoraria to The Thing (1982). MORE MOVIES LIKE The Superdeep: Well I must direct you to the recent Russian Sci-Horror Sputnik (2020). But more infectious horrors that must be kept from reaching the rest of mankind consider Gaia (2021), The Color Out of Space (2019), Life (2017), Splinter (2008), The Ruins (2008), Oats Studio’s Zygote (2017), Harbinger Down (2015), Leviathan (1989), The Thing (1982) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).
After an “incident” of sorts, Anya (Milena Radulovic) is sent with a research and military installment to investigate what happened in a superdeep underground research facility. The access doors to the cavernous environs’ greatest depths of the station have been welded shut and bear the scratchy writings of missing victims reading “insatiable hunger” and “help us” and “demons are here.” Already I feel as if I’m wandering into a subterranean iteration of The Thing (1982) with warning vibes that smack of Event Horizon (1997)… and I LOVE this feeling. Deep at the bottom of this borehole, abyssal recesses were punctured that housed something… something infectious.
Set in the USSR 1984, the opening shots of the arctic tundra with a helicopter approaching a snow-besieged facility feel undeniably inspired by The Thing (1982)—as will be the case for many other aspects of this film. When Anya and the team find a presumed-dead lab assistant (Darya Shagal) emerging from the dark caves, something is very wrong with her. She has been infected by a symbiotic, fungus-like growth that echoes H. R. Giger’s artwork that brought us the creatures and ship design in Alien/Aliens (1979, 1986). Like so many movies that clearly inspired it, the urgency placed on our protagonists is that this infection must not reach the surface; the rest of mankind.
The visual effects are a disgusting gory delight. There are gooey squishy mold gardens on floors, bodies nearly turned inside out with their bioluminescent fungal growths like a body horror Chia Pet, bubbling pustules erupt geysering gouts of fungal spores, and a disturbing creature concept lurks at the end.
The story isn’t riveting nor is it original. In fact, its components are very clearly borrowed and retold with the rather cool real-life scientific spin of the ant-Cordyceps fungus symbiosis (i.e., parasitosis). But you know what? I still think it’s well done, well shot, well (or well enough) written, very stimulating, very creepy, and loaded with incredible effects. Moreover, while a story told and retold and borrowed again and again, this film makes some serious efforts to deliver magnificent shots, to add additional higher concept biology to the well-established infection paradigm of The Thing (1982), and to spin a solid ending, even if a tad cliché.
Director Arseny Syuhin’s first feature film strikes me as a wild success. I thought everything about it was well done, and some familiar horror tropes were defibrillated with visceral flavor.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 52: Clever Kills, Angsty Shark Music, and the Tremors Franchise
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 Harmony M. Colangelo (@Veloci_trap_tor on Twitter) to discuss the fourth chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss river monsters, angsty music for sharks, and the Tremors franchise.
Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 373: Airplane!, Bad Fish, and Classic Comedies
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 discuss the 1980 film Airplane!. Directed by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and starring Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays and Leslie Nielsen, the movie focuses on the hijinks aboard a Chicago bound airplane. In this episode, they discuss disco dancing, drinking problems, and the film’s legacy. Enjoy!
f 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.
Movies, Films & Flix 