Two Geeks And A Git Classic Movie Reviews

Sponsored by Manscaped! We begin our pairing of classic, Academy Award-winning Hollywood musicals with one of the best examples of how cinema can translate stage to screen! Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, 1961's "West Side Story" is part-ballet, part-Shakespeare, and part-gang story, but all worthy of the awards bestowed upon it. The film follows the street gang known as "The Jets," led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn) and their continuing conflict with "The Sharks," a Puerto-Rican gang led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). The conflict really boils over, however, when member-gone-straight Tony (Richard Beymer) sees Bernardo's little sister, Maria (Natalie Wood) at a dance, and sparks immediately fly. Maria is warned off by Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita (Rita Moreno), the gangs prepare to "rumble" with each other, and Tony and Maria disregard the fact that they're from warring tribes and begin a passionate romance. The conflict rises until the two

The second film in our pairing of Chinese action films is one of the most visually stunning films yet made! Directed by master of the form Zhang Yimou, the story of a lone warrior, known only as Nameless (Jet Li), appears before the King (Daoming Chen) with the story of killing three mighty assassins: Sky (Donnie Yen), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Broken Sword (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung). After being rewarded by the King and being allowed to approach within ten paces, the King begins to explain how he understands the story has actually unfolded. Following that, Nameless reveals the actual truth to the King about the assassins and the plot to kill the King. What sets this film apart from others, however, is the directorial and cinematographical artistry and elegance exhibited by Yimou! The film plays with color palettes in such a unique and picturesque way as to suggest a moving painting during the action scenes. A true feast for the eyes and an intricate, interesting storyline loosely based on Chinese history!

This pairing focuses on some of the best Chinese action films to cross the ocean to the United States. We begin with the first foreign film from China to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a high-flying fantasy action film that, while not taking home Best Picture, did win Best Cinematography, Best Music - Original Score, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Best Foreign Language Film! Directed by acclaimed artist Ang Lee, the film stars Chow Yun-Fat as Master Li Mu Bai and Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien, sword legends and partners who bring the legendary sword Green Destiny to a local governor's residence. Once there, however, the sword is stolen by a masked warrior and the chase is on! Add in strange martial arts masters, mystic powers, and parallel love stories, and you have an engaging story and effects that were ground-breaking in their beauty and elegance! The film also stars Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Sihung Lung, Pei-Pei Cheng, Fazeng Li, Yan Hai, and Suying Huang!

Our second episode in our pairing looking at 80s mind-based science fiction moves ahead one year to 1984 and, this time, focuses on the subconscious and unconscious mind in director Joseph Ruben's sci-fi/political thriller/romance film "Dreamscape!" Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid) is a talented psychic whose abilities include telepathy, telekinesis, and precognition. After disappearing as a teenager, he's sought out by one-time mentor Doctor Paul Novotny (Max von Sydow) to work with him again, this time on a new technology that allows a psychic to project their consciousness into another person's dreams! After being essentially kidnapped and brought to the location of the project, he meets Dr. Novotny's associate Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw) as well as his government "handler" Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer). Once Alex agrees to join the project, he also meets Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly), the current lead psychic and the most successful dream-walker. As Alex learns how to enter other people's dreams, T

It's back to the 80s we go, with a pairing Buddy nicknamed "MindFi," which translates to mind-based science fiction! First up, what if you could not only share all five senses of an experience with someone else, but you could record it and play it back at your leisure, feeling everything the original "experiencer" felt? That's the topic of our first film, directed by special effects genius Douglas Trumball, 1983's "Brainstorm!" Starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood (in her last big-screen role before her untimely death) as Michael and Karen Brace, a couple in the process of separating. The cause of their marital rift is the amount of time Michael has spent working on a project codenamed "Brainstorm" with project lead scientist Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher), but they've finally had a breakthrough: They can record all five human senses while a subject experiences something, and when it's played back for someone else, they experience it as if they had originally gone through the event! Cheered on by

Week two of our focus on real-life scandals brings us forward to the 1990s and the lengths one young writer will go to in order to be seen as successful by his peers. In 2003's "Shattered Glass," director Billy Ray brings us the story of Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), the youngest write on-staff at the New Republic magazine. The editor of the magazine, Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria), is loved by everyone on-staff, but his constant head-butting with the owner Marty Peretz (Ted Kotcheff) sees him let go, replaced by Charles 'Chuck' Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), who Stephen views as a rival. After reporters for Forbes Adam Penenberg (Steve Zahn) and Andy Fox (Rosario Dawson) do a follow-up on one of Stephen's stories, 'Hack Heaven." After discovering that they can confirm no facts, locations, persons, or companies mentioned in the article, they contact the New Republic and begin a series of meetings that ultimately result in the revelation that Glass has been fabricating story after story for years, something that,

Scandals are the fixed-point for this pairing of films about real-life instances of dishonorable behavior! First up is the Robert Redford-directed tale of how American gameshow audiences lost their innocence in the late 1950s in 1994's "Quiz Show!" The film follows Herbie Stempel (John Turturro), an everyman from Queens, New York, who has a run of victories on the NBC quiz show "21." Unfortunately for him, however, along comes dashing and handsome Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) who the producers of the show, Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria), think will be more popular with audiences. Stempel, who has been receiving the answers from the producers before actually competing on the game show, is told to lose to allow Van Doren to become the new champion, an instruction he is not happy to receive. As Van Doren becomes the new television sweetheart, also winning with answers provided ahead of time from the producers, Stempel tries to blow the whistle on the program. Along comes Richar

The second part of our pairing focusing on the Supreme Court of the United States leaps straight into a horror the likes of which we have not seen. Directed by veteran Alan J. Pakula, the film follows law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) as she navigates both her classes and her relationship with her teacher Thomas Callahan (Sam Shepard). When two Justices of the Supreme Court are assassinated, Darby puts together a wild theory so far out in left field that it's unbelievable. Unfortunately for Shaw, it also turns out to be true. Callahan gives the paper to his friend, and lawyer for the FBI, Gavin Verheek (John Heard), who passes it along up the chain. So intriguing is the paper, now called "The Pelican Brief," that it makes its way to the CIA and the White House. From there, Darby's life becomes a nightmare as she is hunted for being the author of the brief. Ultimately, she requests the assistance of famed Washington Times reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) in her quest to both reveal the truth of

With the Supreme Court of the United States in the news of late, this pairing focuses on two very different views of the Court. First, Ronald Neame directs Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh in a dramedey about the appointment of the first female Supreme Court Justice in 1981's "First Monday In October!" Based on a stageplay of the same name from 1978, this tells the story of the appointment of conservative Judge Ruth Loomis (Clayburgh) to the Supreme Court, something liberal Justice Dan Snow (Matthau) finds troublesome. The film follows the congenial relationship between Mr. Justice Snow and the "CJ," the Chief Justice of the Court (Barnard Hughes), and the contentious, combative, but ultimately friendly relationship between Justice Snow and Justice Loomis as they argue both economic and free speech cases back and forth. An intriguing look at how the Justices of the Court might discuss and debate the matters under their consideration, both in and out of the courtroom!

The second film in our "Bulgarian Biographies" pairing (because they're both biographies suggested by students from American University of Bulgaria) is also based on actual events as it follows the journey of a five-year-old Indian boy named Saroo (Sunny Pawar) who, when traveling with his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate), becomes separated and falls asleep on an empty train. Saroo awakens thousands of miles from home in Calcutta, is all alone, doesn't speak the dominant language, and almost runs afoul of several horrors before he is taken to an orphanage and, eventually, placed with John (David Wenham) and Sue (Nicole Kidman) Brierley, a couple from Tasmania. Saroo grows up in Tasmania (played at this point by the incredible Dev Patel) and it isn't until he has gone to trade school that a chance encounter at a party reawakens long-dormant memories of his life before the Brierleys. Saroo, with his girlfriend Lucy (Rooney Mara) begins his quest to find his birth family, with the help of a new tool of the

This pairing came about because of a class Jeff taught at the American University of Bulgaria on Media Criticism. His students chose films to analyze, some of which Jeff hadn't seen before, and the two films chosen for this pairing were both new to him (and to Buddy and Chad as well) and were films he never would have seen had it not been for his students' choice! Co-directed and co-written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, "The Intouchables" is a 2011 masterpiece about a guy named Driss (Omar Sy) from the wrong side of the tracks who trips into a life-changing opportunity to become the primary caregiver for a wealthy quadriplegic man named Phillipe (Francois Cluzet). The two form an unlikely friendship, even when his secretary Magalie (Audrey Fleurot), his daughter Elisa (Alba Gaïa Bellugi), his housekeeper Yvonne (Anne Le Ny) and his lawyer Antoine (Grégoire Oestermann) all disapprove. The film is based on a true story, a gentle, good-hearted, touching tale about the power of kindness and honesty, and

Part two of our pairing focusing on 80s college comedies only moves ahead a single year to a radically different look at going back to school! Directed by Alan Metter, this film focuses on successful businessman Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) who, after getting divorced from his second wife Vanessa (Adrienne Barbeau), decides to head to Grand Lakes University to visit his son Jason (Keith Gordon) who isn't having as good a run there as he's told his father. Hitting campus with his driver and bodyguard Lou (Burt Young), he decides to enroll in college to prove to Jason that it can be done! Unfortunately, there are a few stumbling blocks along the way. Dean David Martin (Ned Beatty) has to be convinced to allow him to enroll as a freshman, he makes an enemy of snooty business professor Dr. Phillip Barbay (Paxton Whitehead) who is dating smoldering English professor Dr. Diane Turner (Sally Kellerman), and has to deal with an overly-enthusiastic history professor in Professor Turguson (Sam Kinison). Jason is

We're going back to the 80s with this pairing, and specifically looking at the best college comedies to come out of that decade! And we're starting with the film that introduced a whole generation of movie fans to a young actor named Val Kilmer in 1985's "Real Genius!" Directed by Martha Coolidge, the story follows 15 year-old prodigy Mitch Taylor (Gabriel Jarret) who has been hand-picked by scientist, professor, and TV personality Dr. Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton) to begin the fall semester at Pacific Tech, working alongside other prodigies like Chris Knight (Kilmer). Their task: To build an enormously-powerful laser. Complicating matters are a jealous wanna-be named Kent (Robert Prescott), the hyper-kinetic engineering genius, Jordan Cochran (Michelle Meyrink) who has become the object of Mitch's affection, and the mysterious Lazlo Hollyfeld (Jon Gries) who lives in Chris and Mitch's closet! But when they find out that the laser has already been commissioned for unethical military use, they re-purpose t

Concluding the horror anthology pairing is another from 1972, and a second from Amicus studios, who were responsible for over half a dozen other such anthologies in the 60s and 70s. This time, it's the anthology "Asylum!" When Dr. Martin arrives at his new position, he's greeted by Dr. Lionel Rutherford, a different administrator than he originally talked to, and subsequently finds out that the former head of the institution is now a patient. Rutherford announces that he'll still accept the offer made to Dr. Martin by his predecessor if Martin can identify the former head of the Asylum. Each patient's story is a vignette in the film. "Frozen Fear" stars Richard Todd, "The Weird Tailor" stars Peter Cushing (in a much more traditional role for him) and Barry Morse, "Lucy Come to Stay" features both Charlotte Rampling and Britt Ekland, and "Mannequins of Horror" stars Pink Panther-alum Herbert Lom! Jeff chose this one as an example of a very well-done connecting story that makes linking the vignettes make narrat

Something new for this pairing, we're doing anthology films! These are films that tell several stories with an over-arching connecting story that serves to link the other tales into a cohesive tale. First up is the start of a franchise, from Amicus studios, it's 1972's "Tales From the Crypt!" Featuring five different tales that all serve as visions for a group of people who've stopped to tour a historic crypt, and meet with the mysterious Crypt Keeper (played by Ralph Richardson), each story serves as a warning of sorts. "All Through the House" stars Joan Collins, "Reflection of Death" features Ian Hendry and Angela Grant, "Poetic Justice" stars horror legend Peter Cushing in a rare, sympathetic role, "Wish You Were Here" showcases Richard Greene and Barbara Murray in a modern take on the classic "Monkey's Paw" tale, and "Blind Alley" showcases the one and only Patrick Magee! Jeff chose this as one of the two horror anthologies in this pairing because it has, he believes, the single best vignette to be found

Wrapping up our salute to late producer/director Ivan Reitman is one of megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger's first forays into comedy, paired with action of course, in 1990's "Kindergarten Cop!" Arnold plays John Kimble, a veteran LAPD Detective, who heads to Oregon to try to find the wife of drug kingpin Cullen Crisp (played by Richard Tyson) so she can testify against him. Saddled with new partner Phoebe (Pamela Reed), he travels to Astoria, Oregon to support Phoebe as she goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher at Astoria Elementary School. Unfortunately, a severe bout of food poisoning means Kimble must take the reigns and assume the undercover teaching role, one he is woefully unprepared for. Watched like a hawk by Principle Miss Schlowski (Linda Hunt), and assisted by gorgeous fellow teacher Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller), Kimble must discover who Crisp's ex-wife is and convince her to help them! Unfortunately, along the way, the children worm their way into Kimble's heart, as does Joyce, so that when the va

For this pairing, we're saluting someone whose films we've reviewed several times on this podcast. We lost director/producer Ivan Reitman on February 12th of 2022. And so, we're dedicating this pairing to some of the few films Reitman has produced and directed that we haven't already reviewed! First up, the movie that established the tradition that would become known as the "Bill Murray speech," it's 1979's "Meatballs!" Directed by Reitman, and written by Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, Janis Allen, and Harold Ramis, Murry stars as Tripper, the head counselor at Camp Northstar, who adopts a young loner, Rudy Gerner (played by Chris Makepeace) and helps him survive his first summer at camp. Also starring Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov, Jack Blum, Keith Knight, Cindy Girling, Todd Hoffman, Margot Pinvidic, and Matt Craven, this film established the genre of the hijinks-filled screwball summer camp comedy! And with a fantastic score by renowned composer Elmer Bernstein, you have a classic tha

We're celebrating our 300th episode (last week) with a listener suggestion from Bennett Oberfeld, who commented that we had yet to pay tribute to the wonderful Hollywood director Billy Wilder, and so... now we are! This week it's Wilder's classic love story, set amidst the rampant infidelity of the corporate set, 1960's "The Apartment!" The film follows young insurance drone C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) whose apartment is constantly used by several of his higher-ups (David Lewis, Ray Walston, Willard Waterman, and Fred MacMurry) for their extra-marital trysts, leaving him to freeze outside. As his ship finally starts to come in, and he becomes a junior executive, he finds the confidence to begin trying to woo the lovely elevator operator Ms. Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). Unfortunately, someone else has already been wooing her, and when that goes sour, she ends up in Baxter's apartment in a precarious health situation! Again, as is common for Wilder's films, there is a happy-ish ending, but one that definitel

It's a milestone we never thought we'd achieve when we started our podcast, but here it is: Our 300th episode! And to celebrate, we're focusing on a famous hollywood director and a listener suggestion both! Bennett Oberfeld gave us the suggestions back in December of 2022 that we look at the films of acclaimed director Billy Wilder, specifically the two we chose for our 300th and 301st episodes! We start with a film about two down-on-their-luck jazz musicians who witness a gangland massacre and hide out by pretending to be women in an all-female jazz band in 1959's "Some Like It Hot!" The film stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Joe and Jerry, tenor sax and upright bass, who join Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, an women-only jazz band and head to Florida, just one step ahead of the mob! Along the way, they meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, the band's vocalist (Marilyn Monroe). Joe becomes enamored with Sugar, and moonlights (literally) as a young millionaire to try to win her heart (amongst other things). Je

Finishing our two-week review of gangster comedies, we turn to a 1991 film that was Sylvester Stallone's first foray into a non-action comedy, with the period farce, "Oscar!" Based on the stage play of the same name by Claude Magnier, and directed by none other than John Landis, the film star Stallone as Snaps Provolone, a successful gangster who promised his dying father (Kirk Douglas), on his deathbed, that he would give up crime and become respectable. The film spans only a single day, but so much happens during that day! Snaps is awoken by his "butler" Aldo (Peter Riergert, who steals every scene he's in) to meet with his accountant Anthony Rossano (Vincent Spano) who admits to being in love with Snap's daughter, and also of embezzling thousands of dollars. This is the day Snaps is planning on meeting with a local bank to become a member. He's also getting fitted for a new suit by the famous Finucci brothers (Martin Ferrero and Harry Shearer). Along the way, he has to deal with his daughter Lisa (Marisa T