Celluloid Freaks

Review: Argo (2012), dir. Ben Affleck

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:52:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

The brilliance of Ben Affleck is that he recognizes the impact of sound in movies better than many of his contemporaries. There is a moment in Argo, which I saw in theaters, where a single gunshot punctures your very sense of security in your seat. You know it’s coming. You dread it. But that ability to foresee it makes it no less shocking in the hands of a competent filmmaker.

Argo tells a stripped-down version of a true story played out behind the scenes of the Iranian hostage crisis, as the CIA plans a stunningly complicated and yet fascinatingly credible rescue mission by utilizing a CIA asset who works in the film industry to help put on a fake movie, set to film in Iran. The opening of Argo is tense despite knowing the end result, because Affleck keeps the momentum rolling through perfect timing of intercutting and showing the progressively dire situation deteriorate.

The film is able to maintain a languid pace at times by always keeping the danger of discovery and failure dangling over the heads of the hostages, who are posing as the fake film crew in Iran. What Affleck and the editor have accomplished is an incredible feat of narrative storytelling, as the one side of the story, filled with tense and sober intrigue in Iran, is interwoven with an absurd and at times openly comedic story of putting on a fake film production in Hollywood. One crucial scene mixes both of these stories, with both tones playing simultaneously, and manages to be absurd and horrifying at the same time, in exactly the way it was meant to.

The story is simplified, in many ways to the detriment of real heroes who were left out of this telling of the story, and there are times where it is obvious that events were heightened for dramatic tension and suspense, but otherwise there is little to be said about Argo that isn’t high praise. Argo represents another high point in Affleck’s directing career, coming after the equally compelling The Town and the masterpiece that is Gone Baby Gone. I have yet to see the widely panned Live by Night, so I might sit that one out to keep my faith in Mr. Affleck’s directorial abilities.

Rating:
«««½
(3.5/4)

Celluloid Freaks will Return in... My Mid-30's

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 22:34:00 -0700

My fellow Freaks,

Eight years is a very long time for anything. I’m finding it hard to believe that it has been almost eight years since I’ve last updated Celluloid Freaks. There was nothing related to film that caused me to stay away. So why did I stop?

It may sound trite, but life got in the way. A series of personal complications including major depressive disorder and a long journey toward self-realization made it difficult to continue the task of seeing a new movie almost every week. So why did I come back? Because of COVID-19, is the short answer, but only part of it.

I have come to the realization through this quarantine that the constant negative feedback loop of life needs to be broken in order for life to have meaning beyond mere survival. My life is undoubtedly better than it was in the Summer of 2012, without a doubt; however, the ability to navigate the day-by-day chaos has become harder.

And my life has been undeniably better since then. When I was 27, I lived in my parents’ basement and I worked at a pet supply store, and had a serious drinking problem. Today, at 34, I own a home, I am months away from graduating law school, I have come out as transgender, and I am married to my soulmate, who I’ve been with for six blissful years.

So, I am coming back in part because I believe it will allow me to focus on something that brings me joy, and allow me to put all of the horror of current events in the back of my mind, for my own sake.

There is another reason I’ve decided to come back. And this is the triggering event. Last December, the very first guest on a test episode I put together, film journalist Charlie Allbright, passed away. It was devastating. I cared deeply about him and we had developed a lovely friendship since we became acquainted in 2009. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss him and his updates about the squirrels he was training, and knowing that he isn’t there any longer is a stabbing pain in my heart. He was one of the very first people I came out to, and little did I know at the time, we had that in common, as he came out to me very soon after.

Knowing that I won’t get to hear his voice, see his face, watch the adventures he had with his squirrels, or ever do a follow-up episode reviewing the entire Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy, is the push that made me want to open this back up again. I feel as if returning to my passion for film is the only way I know how to pay my respects to him in a way he would appreciate.

So here I am. This will be a very slow return, I must tell you. I have final exams for law school coming up soon, then I have studying for the Bar exam, whether COVID-19 causes it to be postponed or not, so I won’t have the time to be setting up, recording, editing, and posting a regular podcast. What is more likely is that I will be reviewing films I have seen over the past eight years, and post the reviews as I finish them. I don’t know what form the podcast will take when it eventually comes back. I am aiming to upload an episode in early 2021, and discuss what I feel are the most essential films to see of the last eight years. For a taste, I have below my top movies of 2019:

10. Captain Marvel

9. Spider-Man: Far From Home

8. Avengers: Endgame

7. Doctor Sleep

6. Parasite

5. The Irishman

4. Midsommar

3. Us

2. Knives Out

1. Uncut Gems

Sincerely,

Lauren

PS. Apologies. This isn’t my best writing; I mostly threw this together at 1:30am on a Tuesday after deciding I had put it off too long.

Episode 31: The Dark Knight Rises

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:26:00 -0700

After some extra time a way, Celluloid Freaks is back with a super-long episode detailing our feelings on Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises! There are occasional audio hiccups in this episode.

Timeline:
0:00 - Audio & Spoiler Warnings
0:14 - Dream Theater - The Dark Eternal Night
0:30 - Intro
0:45 - What Chris watched (Horrible Bosses, Once Upon a Time in the West, Uncle Buck, The Magician, The Watch)
5:04 - What Kat watched (Joe Dirt, Idiocracy, The Amazing Spider-man, Ghost Rider 2, Adventureland, Soul Leader)
16:46 - What Matt watched (The Amazing Spider-Man, Pan's Labyrinth, Fight Club, Super, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Adventure Time, Louie, Breaking Bad, The Newsroom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, SpongeBob SquarePants)
26:43 - SPOILER FREE "The Dark Knight Rises" discussion
40:19 - Black Sabbath - Neon Knights
40:49 - FULL SPOILER "The Dark Knight Rises" discussion
55:15 - Outro & Announcements
55:42 - Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

To subscribe to Celluloid Freaks via iTunes, click here.

To download this single episode directly, click here.

Links:
Horrible Bosses
Once Opon a Time in the West
Uncle Buck
The Magician
Joe Dirt
Idiocracy
The Amazing Spider-man (preorder)
Ghost Rider 2
Adventureland
Pan's Labyrinth
Fight Club
Super
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Adventuretime
Louie
Breaking Bad
Curb Your Enthusiasm
SpongeBob SquarePants
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

Episode 30: Ted & Moonrise Kingdom (guest Heather)

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:14:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes News Analysis, Featuring Heather
2:24 - Rita Coolidge - All Time High
2:54 - Intro
3:05 - What Chris Watched (The Newsroom, Safety Not Guaranteed)
5:07 - What Matt Watched (The Newsroom, 21 Jump Street)
6:39 - SPOILER FREE "Ted" discussion
10:41 - SPOILER FREE "Moonrise Kingdom" discussion
16:52 - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
17:22 - FULL SPOILER "Ted" discussion
23:39 - FULL SPOILER "Moonrise Kingdom" discussion
27:17 - Outro
27:54 - Queen - The Hero

To subscribe to Celluloid Freaks via iTunes, click here.
To download this single episode directly, click here.

Links:
21 Jump Street
The Best of Bond... James Bond
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
Queen - Flash Gordon

Episode 29: Brave

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:23:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Audioslave - The Curse

0:30 - Intro

0:49 - What Kat watched (Workaholics, Trinity Blood)

3:36 - What Chris watched (A Fistful of Dollars)

4:40 - What Matt watched (The Raid: Redemption, Archer, Louis CK: Hilarious)

6:54 - SPOILER FREE "Brave" discussion

15:40 - The Cult - The Witch

16:10 - FULL SPOILER "Brave" discussion

24:57 - Iron Maiden - The Clansman

To subscribe to Celluloid Freaks via iTunes, click here.

To download this single episode directly, click here.

Links:

Audioslave - Out of Exile

The Cult - Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995

Iron Maiden - Virtual XI

Review: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), dir. Wes Anderson

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:12:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

Wes Anderson has fully recovered from the debacle that was The Darjeeling Limited and produced a movie that is flawless from start to finish. Every little moment of this movie is delightful and fun. It is filled with whimsy, even when discussing or alluding to the less-than-pleasant aspects of being children, such as bullying or overbearing parents (or parents who are no longer in the picture).

Sam Shakuski escapes from his Khaki Scout camp, leaving Scout Master Ward puzzled. Soon the scouts and the local police captain set out to find him. Soon they discover that he planned his escape in order to rendezvous with Suzy Bishop, a troubled young girl.

Moonrise Kingdom is a preteen love story about two troubled souls who find a common bond. Their love story is told so uniquely and interestingly, when one would think that there were no more ways left to tell a love story. I was enraptured by the tale of how these two fell in love and how far they would go to stay together.

There is not a bad moment in Moonrise Kingdom. I’m not saying that this movie is great simply because there is nothing bad in it; there is naught but whimsical entertainment in Moonrise Kingdom, a movie filled with magic, sunshine, and happiness. It even has a Goddamn kitten in a wicker box!

Rating:

««««

(4/4)

Review: Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), dir. Colin Trevorrow

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:40:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

It’s times like these where I’m reminded I’m not a film critic, but just a lowly blogger who also has a podcast, something everybody and their mother already does. I have really nothing to add to the discussion about Safety Not Guaranteed. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said in reviews by people who are ACTUALLY film critics/journalists/historians.

I will say simply this: I enjoyed this character piece so much that I wanted to watch it again the second it was over. This movie was light to be sure, and it doesn’t pack a heavy emotional wallop, but it has two lead characters who make me wish I could talk to them and spend time with them. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this.

Aubrey Plaza plays Darius, an unpaid intern at a Seattle Magazine (her boss is the sadly underused Mary Lynn Rajskub). She is sent on an assignment to investigate an ad asking for a partner to travel back in time for unspecified reasons. From here she meets the man who placed the ad, an eccentric named Ken.

The rest of this film is an excuse to study regret and how different people deal with it. Some people dwell on it; some people fear to think about it; some people try to make sure nobody will ever make the mistakes they did. For the people who want to dismiss it because of the premise of time travel, it isn’t as high concept as it sounds. It’s so much better than it sounds.

Rating:

«««½

(3.5/4)

Brave episode coming in one week

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:00:00 -0700

Hello Celluloid Freaks fans!

Just wanted to update you on the status of our next episode. I will be posting it sometime this coming weekend. We had a fun time recording it, but alas, we talked over each other SO MUCH that editing it has become a nightmare. So I've set aside time where I'm able to make this episode listenable, and I will post it when I get it to a point where I've added and eliminated pauses and awkward silences, respectively. This way it will sound like we're talking over each other fewer times, and there will be fewer instances of "oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?"

In the meantime, I will be seeing Moonrise Kingdom and Safety Not Guaranteed, so those written reviews will be up this week as well. I'm in the mood for some indie films this week as you can see!

See you soon!

Review: Brave (2012), dir. Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:50:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

Brave is a good movie because it made me care. And despite whatever reservations and quibbles I have, Brave still made me care what would happen to whom throughout its runtime, and I am grateful. Merida is a daughter of nobility whose passion is archery. Yet she is told that she must put away such boyish endeavors and live life like a proper princess and marry somebody from another noble house and blah blah blah. This story has been done to death. I won’t say that Brave breathes new life into this story, but I will say that Merida’s characterization is what kept me going. She isn’t sidetracked by an unnecessary love story, and she learns lessons unrelated to love and courtship. Now that is refreshing!

One of my major concerns is that once again PIXAR takes a first half full of promise and then lets it descend into something generic. Even though the premise of Brave is certainly uninspired, the setup is at least handled deftly and told from an interesting point of view. And yet, with the half-way plot twist, Brave shifts focus from a strict character drama into a generic kid’s movie. I won’t say that the second half wasn’t handled well, but I will say that for once I wish a PIXAR movie had the guts to stick with where it was going in its first half and tell a strictly character-based drama.

Each PIXAR movie starts off like an indie film, but ends like a blockbuster. And while that trick works out for movies like The Incredibles or Wall•E, it doesn’t work here. In those movies, the shift feels organic at the least. Here, I was certainly surprised at the plot twist and thought to myself, “I didn’t see that coming!” But then I realized, “now I know where this is going.

Still, it is an enjoyable movie and worth a viewing.

Rating:

«««

(3/4)

Episode 28: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (still great after 30 years)

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:54:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Rush - Alien Shore

0:30 - Intro

0:50 - What Chris watched (The Color of Money)

3:34 - What Matt watched (The Shawshank Redemption, Remember the Titans, Adventure Time)

8:11 - Spoiler Warning (and thoughts on spoiler warnings)

9:28 - Velvet Revolver - Loving the Alien

9:58 - FULL SPOILER "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" discussion

20:21 - Next on Celluloid Freaks & Outro

21:59 - Milla - The Alien Song (For Those Who Listen)

To subscribe to Celluloid Freaks via iTunes, click here.

To download this single episode directly, click here.

Links:

The Color of Money

The Shawshank Redemption

Remember the Titans

Adventure Time

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (blu ray preorder)

Rush - Counterparts

Velvet Revolver - Contraband

Milla - Devine Comedy

Episode 27: Prometheus (guest Robert Angelo Masciantonio)

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:12:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Pearl Jam - Light Years
0:30 - Intro
1:24 - What Chris watched (Cool Hand Luke, Alien³, Aliens, VEEP)
7:55 - What Kat watched (Community, Battlestar Galactica, South Park)
12:23 - What Matt watched (Moonrise Kingdom, Melancholia, Duck Soup, Manhattan, TRON)
21:24 - SPOILER FREE "Prometheus" discussion
32:13 - The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home
32:43 - FULL SPOILER "Prometheus" discussion
52:03 - Outro
53:07 - Elton John - Rocket Man

To subscribe to Celluloid Freaks via iTunes, click here.
To download this single episode directly, click here.

Links:
Prometheus (preorder)
Cool Hand Luke
Alien³
Aliens
Community
Battlestar Galactica
South Park
Melancholia
Duck Soup
Manhattan
TRON
Pearl Jam - Binaural
The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request
Elton John - Honky Château
Tesla - Mechanical Resonance

Episode 26: Men in Black III

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Wed, 6 Jun 2012 16:13:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Spoiler Warning, Blue Öyster Cult - E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)

0:30 - Intro, "Men In Black III" discussion

19:50 - What Chris Watched (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Bottle Rocket, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Back to School, The Mist)

26:37 - What Matt Watched (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Annie Hall, Sleeper, The Avengers)

37:04 - What Kat Watched (Battlestar Galactica, Parks & Recreation, Modern Family, Frisky Dingo, Community, Dark Shadows)

46:48 - Next on Celluloid Freaks & Outro

48:10 - Blue Öyster Cult - Take Me Away

Listen to the Episode here, but subscribe via iTunes to make sure you get them ALL!

Links:

Rushmore

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Bottle Rocket

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Avengers (preorder)

Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune

Blue Öyster Cult - The Revölution by Night

Review: Men in Black III (2012), dir. Barry Sonnenfeld

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 4 Jun 2012 08:24:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

Men in Black III is the kind of movie that I didn’t expect to be great, but still disappointed me when I wasn’t proven wrong. I wanted it to be better than it was even though I had no reasonable expectation that it would be more than just some disposable popcorn entertainment. It was entertaining overall, but that was despite its best efforts to be lackluster.

The first twenty minutes of Men in Black III are nigh unwatchable. It starts with a daring but poorly staged (from a filmmaking perspective) prison break, where the rules of physics are broken to a ridiculous extent, even when you take into account that the Men in Black franchise has never really cared about the rules of physics. The guy who isn’t Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords gives a performance which can best be described as “trying too hard,” and since he is the first main character we are introduced to, it sets a bad tone for the rest of the movie.

This tone is further complicated by the poor chemistry between Will Smith as Agent Jay, and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent Kay. They have allegedly been working together for 14 years as of the beginning of this film but their interplay surely doesn’t give that away. I would think that people who had already made two movies together would have better chemistry, but I’d be wrong. What is confusing to me is that they had better chemistry in 1997 than they do now. But I digress; I won’t compare this film to the first film because I don’t believe it’s fair in most cases to do that. Films should stand on their own.

The lack of chemistry is problematic, but thankfully it doesn’t last very long as Men in Black III makes a sudden shift in focus to Will Smith and a mission he must take on to save the world. Once this mission gets started, the movie becomes entertaining. Supporting roles from Josh Brolin and Michael Stuhlbarg, both of whom are adept scene-stealers, really make this movie entertaining and worth watching in the end. Brolin’s dryness is captivating, and Stuhlbarg’s (who you may remember from the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo) sense of childlike wonder and amusement at the universe is extremely heartwarming, at least to me.

There are still times when the movie falters after these characters are introduced (such as gaping plot holes, sloppy writing, forced emotional moments that don’t really work, etc.), but for the most part, once Men in Black III finds its footing, it becomes an entertaining diversion.

Rating:

««½

(2.5/4)

Episode 25: The Avengers

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:29:00 -0700

Episode 25 is finally up and ready for consumption! And since I will be vacationing in the Outer Banks for ten days, we will return with new episodes within the first week of June.

0:00 - Rush - Dreamline
0:30 - Intro, "The Avengers" discussion
18:28 - What Chris Watched (Thank You For Smoking, The Descendants, Black Swan)
22:17 - What Kat Watched (Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Battlestar Galactica, Frisky Dingo)
30:02 - Next on Celluloid Freaks & Outro
32:27 - Billy Joel - Laura

Links:

Thank You For Smoking

The Descendants

Black Swan

Modern Family

Parks and Recreaction

Battlestar Galactica

Frisky Dingo

Rush - Roll The Bones

Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain

Coming Soon: The Avengers podcast episode

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:15:00 -0700

Hello fans!

I'm currently editing our Avengers podcast and I will likely have it up late Tuesday evening. The movie has been out for two weekends, but it's not likely to be out of theaters anytime soon, what with it earning $1 billion dollars in 10 days!

It's an exciting time for Celluloid Freaks, actually! We've had a massive spike in podcast subscribers and I would like to thank each an every one of you for listening to our shows. I also appreciate your patience while I take the time to edit each episode. Given my hectic schedule it is quite difficult to get the show up within hours after recording it as I have done in the past. Lately it can take several days, but it's always pleasing to see the download numbers after an episode posts; you fans are wonderful.

And feel free to email any suggestions, comments, constructive criticisms, death threats, etc, to celluloidfreaks@gmail.com.

I would like to encourage our fans to send us their top 5 and bottom 5 movies of all time for us to read on the air and discuss!

Happy Mond-- oh God, I can't even finish that sentence. Just have a great week; it will be Friday very soon!

Review: The Avengers (2012), dir. Joss Whedon

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Sun, 6 May 2012 10:57:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

The Avengers is the kind of movie that is made for people who like movies. It has drama, comedy, action, suspense, and spectacle. It has good characterization, good visuals, good effects, and good dialogue. And at two hours and twenty minutes, it never once feels like it is too slow or it has gone on for too long; the pacing is fantastically perfect.

This ensemble cast is treated as if each one of them is the lead at all points during the movie. I couldn’t even fathom how difficult it must have been to not given anybody short shrift in this one. There are six Avengers and they all feel as if they could be the lead of this movie. Nobody outshines anybody else, and that’s even considering the not-so-super-superheroes such as Black Widow or Hawkeye.

One of my favorite things about The Avengers is how each of the Avengers needs to face off against each other at certain points during the movie, thus proving how evenly matched they are against each other throughout the runtime. By the time the movie gets to the point where they are all fighting, together, against a threat, you know their prowess in battle. This helps for anybody who hasn’t seen ALL of the previous Marvel movies such as Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger.

I saw this movie with three of my friends, and one of the things that I didn’t notice but was pointed out to me was that The Avengers did not tell us things as an audience; it showed us things. It’s easy to realize when a movie is insulting your intelligence (Christopher Nolan has a habit of explaining exactly what the themes in his movies are), but I have a habit of taking for granted movies that have faith in me to figure things out for myself. I need to make it a point to realize when a movie doesn’t treat me like I can’t understand it without its help. I love it when a movie doesn’t feel the need to hold my hand.

So, The Avengers is not an important movie with big ideas and a big message. It is merely a tightly edited, near-perfectly crafted piece of entertainment. I’m not giving The Avengers my highest score because it’s on par with The Godfather (it’s not), but because at a certain point all movies above a certain tier aren’t worth measuring any higher. There is a lot range of qualities in movies I give with the highest star ratings, because after a movie reaches a certain level of greatness, it isn’t worth it to try rank it any higher. The Avengers is just great. It is a great movie.

Rating:

««««

(4/4)

Subscribe via iTunes

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Fri, 4 May 2012 19:42:00 -0700

In order to hear all new episodes of Celluloid Freaks, please subscribe via iTunes by going to their store and searching "Celluloid Freaks." You will see both the show in its current form, and select episodes from our show when we were on Blog Talk Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com).

Please subscribe to our iTunes feed so that you may enjoy every new episode as it comes out! The show notes will still be posted to our blog page here.

Episode 24: First Blood (still great after 30 years)

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Fri, 4 May 2012 19:34:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Spoiler Warning, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - All Along The Watchtower
0:30 - Intro, "First Blood" discussion
14:05 - What Matt watched (A Clockwork Orange, Casablanca, The Man From Earth, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Sherlock)
19:00 - What Kat watched (Big Bang Theory)
21:35 - Game of Thrones diversion
24:35 - What Kat watched (Battlestar Galactica)
27:14 - What Chris wathced (Battlestar Galactica)
30:30 - Next week on Celluloid Freaks & Outro
30:54 - Ramones - Surfin Bird

Links:
First Blood
A Clockwork Orange
Casablanca
The Man From Earth
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Sherlock
Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Battlestar Galactica
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - Tales of the Unexpected
Ramones - Rocket to Russia

Episode 23: The Cabin in the Woods (guest Justin Gallagher)

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:41:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Spoiler Warning, The Animals - We Gotta Get Out of This Place
0:53 - Intro, "The Cabin in the Woods" Discussion
7:18 - What Chris Watched (Battlestar Galactica, The Reader)
11:00 - What Justin Watched (The Green Lantern, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Awake)
19:48 - Next Week on Celluloid Freaks & Outro
20:04 - Boston - Peace of Mind
20:34 - "The Cabin in the Woods" Spoiler Discussion

Links:
Battlestar Galactica
The Reader
The Green Lantern
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Animals - Retrospective (originally from Animal Tracks)
Boston - Boston

Episode 22: Escape From New York/Escape From L.A.

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:36:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Van Morrison - Glad Tidings
0:30 - Intro, "Escape From New York"/"Escape From L.A." discussion
18:23 - What Chris Watched (The Beautician and the Beast, Bridesmaids, Ghosts of Mars, Big Trouble in Little China)
24:08 - What Kat Watched (Rubber, Step Brothers, Battlestar Galactica, Tropic Thunder, Office Space, Big Bang Theory)
36:18 - Next on Celluloid Freaks & Outro
36:49 - Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Links:
Escape From New York
Escape From L.A.
The Beautician and the Beast
Bridesmaids
Ghosts of Mars
Big Trouble in Little China
Rubber
Step Brothers
Battlestar Galactica
Tropic Thunder
Office Space
Big Bang Theory
Van Morrison - Moondance
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Coming Soon: Escape From New York/Escape From LA episode!

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 9 Apr 2012 06:28:00 -0700

With the Wrestlemania & Easter Breaks behind us, Celluloid Freaks can return to work in order to provide you with more of the great entertainment you love! This Sunday we will be recording an episode dedicated to covering John Carpenter's Snake Plissken duology, and we will discuss all of the wonderful things we've been watching since our last episode!

See you soon!

Episode 21: The Hunger Games

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:06:00 -0700

Timeline:

0:00 - Rush - The Spirit of Radio
0:30 - Intro, "The Hunger Games" discussion
38:05 - What Chris Watched (Jeff, Who Lives at Home, The Pledge, Blast of Silence)
43:01 - What Matt Watched (Spartacus)
44:39 - What Kat Watched (nothing)
48:42 - What's Next for Celluloid Freaks & Outro
52:05 - Van Halen - Right Now

Links:

The Pledge

Blast of Silence

Spartacus

Rush - Permanent Waves

Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Review: The Hunger Games (2012), dir. Gary Ross

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:33:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie.

Post-apocalyptic fiction can be too serious for its own good and much of it seems superfluous. Most of it is just more of the same. The Hunger Games is one that feels a bit fresh, even if some individual elements (children fighting to the death, authoritarian government, etc.) are tried and true. I never felt like I had seen this story before.

In Panem, in the far future, two children from each of twelve districts are chosen as “tributes” to train and fight to the death in The Capitol until only one survives. This insures that each year, the districts are reminded of how much power The Capitol holds, and that rebellion and resistance would be futile. Donald Sutherland’s president reminds us that having zero survivors would instigate chaos, but having one would inspire hope. A little bit of hope is sometimes all that is needed to keep an oppressed people from trying their hand. And yet, offer up too much hope, they very well may play that hand.

What makes The Hunger Games so great is the craftsmanship of Gary Ross, director of Pleasantville. His sober and serious treatment of the story is what keeps it from going too far overboard. And yet, he understands that he can’t keep this story from being too bleak. Suzanne Collins’ book was already a fantastic narrative, but the screenplay made with Collins, Billy Ray, and Ross, expresses the story for the screen in a way many would have mishandled. It is never heavy-handed, and always interesting.

The story beats are spaced perfectly to avoid any loss of interest. This is a difficult thing to achieve in a movie that runs almost two-and-a-half hours. But the editing and act breaks are executed almost flawlessly. My only gripe is that the fight scenes succumb to rapid and hard-to-follow camera movements, and the finale isn’t handled with deftness like the rest of the story.

But otherwise, we got a better movie than we could have hoped for. Happy Hunger Games!

Rating:

«««½

(3.5/4)

Review: Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2012), dir. Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:07:00 -0700

The following review is spoiler free and is meant to be read BEFORE seeing the movie, as opposed to the upcoming podcast episode, which will contain spoilers and an in-depth discussion of this movie

In movies like Hot Fuzz, everything has a meaning and a purpose. Everything is a clue, a joke, or both. In real life, there is no such economy of details. Sometimes things just happen. As a matter of fact, MOST times things just happen. Jeff, Who Lives at Home suggests that there truly is meaning behind the mundane events in one’s life.

We meet Jeff, who is currently obsessing over the idea that everything happens for a reason, while also getting high and accomplishing nothing. We meet Pat and Linda, who are clearly in a marriage that is in a rut. We meet Jeff and Pat’s mother, Sharon, who is unhappy with her situation. We meet people who are not where they want to be in life, and we watch them and discover that their situation is of their own making, and they must make some kind of change in order to get themselves out of it.

In many ways, Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a predictable movie. It is certainly easy to have a vague idea of where it is going, yet there is a certain satisfaction in waiting to see if it does turn out the way it feels like it will, and the way we want it to. And what would be the problem in enjoying something predictable if it were also entertaining and fulfilling. Like last year’s 50/50, Jeff, Who Lives at Home deals with some heavy subject matter in a light way, but that is part of its charm. It doesn’t take too many risks, but it doesn’t falter too much, either.

Rating:

«««

(3/4)

Review: 21 Jump Street (2012), dir. Phil Lord & Chris Miller

celluloidfreaks@gmail.com (Celluloid Freaks) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:15:00 -0700

Good movies can be good for many reasons. Sometimes they connect with a part of your soul; sometimes they pull you in with compelling dramatic tension and wonderful characters; sometimes all they need to do is be very entertaining. 21 Jump Street satisfies that last requirement.

21 Jump Street isn’t concerned with giving us anything more than an entertaining trip to the movie theater, and it thankfully gives us lots of great gags and jokes to keep us entertained for the 100 minute runtime.

Officers Schmidt and Jenko are barely out of the police academy before screwing up a potential arrest and embarrassing themselves. In order to get them out of the way, they are transferred to a formerly defunct undercover division. They are given false identities as brothers and are sent to the high school they used to attend in order to infiltrate a drug ring and find the supplier. And never mind that in real life there would still be teachers and staff working there who would recognize them from seven years ago; that doesn’t matter.

What matters is how funny this movie is. It makes it humor off of subverting stereotypes, or even playing them for all they’re worth, or just having action set-pieces which are so ridiculous, you have no choice to laugh. One of the finest moments is when physics and chemistry seem as if they will follow movie logic, to our main character’s bewilderment. Then, after two times of following real-world laws of science, 21 Jump Street suddenly adheres to movie science to an exaggerated degree, leaving our main characters to express even further bewilderment.

21 Jump Street is not the best movie of the year so far, but it was certainly the most fun.

Rating:

«««

(3/4)