Two Geeks And A Git Classic Movie Reviews

Episode 164: This week it's the first classic comedy film in our Marx Brothers pairing! We go back to 1933 and the surreal romp known as "Duck Soup!" Directed by Leo McCarey and starring the fab-foursome of comedy, Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx, the film also features Raquel Torres, Louis Calhern, and the woman who became the perfect foil to Groucho's charms every... single... time... the wonderful Margaret Dumont! The story follows Otis P. Driftwood (Groucho) who becomes the leader of a small country called Freedonia. Inevitably, they end up at war with a neighboring country, although the hijinks that get them there are ingenius. While a bit short on plot, this film isn't short on laughs, or music (although not in the traditional Marx-Brothers-way), and shows off some of the best interplay between Grouch and Margaret Dumont in any film! This one is Buddy's favorite!

Episode 163: The second film in our pairing around the title of "Geek" as suggested by listner Bill Mukalian, we move up 38 years from the last film and look at what "geek" meant in the 80s with the John Hughes film "Weird Science!" Written (in only two days) and directed by Hughes, the film stars Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Bill Paxton, Syzanne Snyder, Judie Aronson, Robert Downey Jr. Robert Rusler, Vernon Wells, and Britt Leach! This is an 80s sex-comedy take on the Frankenstein story, with two hapless computer geeks accidentally creating a demi-goddess (named Lisa) who decides to, instead of being the sex-toy the boys intended her to be, turn the lads into something vaguely resembling decent young adults. The film is hectic, total fantasy, and features a very well-known title song by Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo! Plus the trio discuss which two classic comedies (both by the same comic team) they'll be pairing together for the next two episodes!

Episode 162: The first in our pairings focusing on the meanings of the word "Geek," as suggested by listener Bill Mukalian, we head back to 1947 and Tyrone Power's attempt to break out of his romance/adventure leading-man status in the film noir classic "Nightmare Alley!" Directed by Edmund Goulding and co-starring Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes, Mike Mazurki, and Ian Keith, this is the story of circus pitch-man turned big-time mentalist (i.e. con-man) Stantaon 'Stan' Carlisle as he discoveres what he thinks is a road to riches, only to reach too high and fall spectacularly! This is a film noir, however, so it's full of twists and turns, a truly sinister femme fatale, and a twist near the end that has viewers and critics split on what actually happens in the film! Although not a hit when it came out (because audience's weren't ready to see Tyrone Power as a bad guy), it has since become a staple of the film noir genre!

Episode 161: The second film in our "Movies that didn't suck, based on TV shows" pairing is arguably one of the best comedy westerns to come along since Blazing Saddles. Based on a TV show that ran from 1957 to 1962, this film also features a lead actor from the original program, 1994's "Maverick!" Directed by the great Richard Donner, and written by the fantastic William Goldman, this version stars Mel Gibson as the titular character Bret Maverick, and co-stars Jodie Foster and James Garner (the original Bret Maverick). The supporting cast includes the incredible Graham Greene, Alfred Molina, James Coburn, Dub Taylor, Geoffrey Lewis, Denver Pyle, and so very many cameos it would take far too long to mention them here (but they're mentioned in the episode, never fear)! The story follows Bret Maverick as he endeavors to collect the last $3,000 he needs to enter a poker tournament whose prize is a cool half a million dollars! Of course, nothing is easy, and wonderful entertainment ensues. This film also feature

Episode 160: It's back to the late 80s we go for the first film in our "Movies that didn't suck, based on TV shows" pairing with 1987's Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks comedic love-letter to one of the great detective shows of all time, "Dragnet!" Directed by Tom Mankiewicz (who helped write the story, along with Aykroyd), this film follows Joe Friday (Aykroyd), nephew of the Jack Webb character from the original series. As the tale begins, Friday's partner has retired and he's paired with 80s-hipster-equivalent Pep Streebek (Hanks) to investigate the burning of Hugh Hefner/Larry Flint amalgam, porn mogul Jerry Ceaser (Dabney Coleman) latest magazine run. Co-starring orignial cast member Harry Morgan as now Captain Frank Gannon, Christopher Plummer, Alexandra Paul, Jack O'Halloran, Elizabeth Ashley and the great character actor Kathleen Freeman, this film fairly shines with the love Aykroyd has for the original, all the while finding the humor to be had in a really good "fish out of water" story!

Episode 159: Our second Anime film in this pairing, as suggested to us by Twitter user @SleekyOT, is the next major anime film produced by Katushiro Otomo after Akira, 2004's "Steamboy!" Set in 1866 Manchester, England, the story follows James Ray Steam, 3rd generation inventor, as his insatiable curiosity gets him in the middle of a fight to control the power of steam after his grandfather, Lloyd, sends him a mysterious device known only as a "steam ball." The American dub features the voices of Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Stewart as the men in the Steam family, plus voice actors Rosalind Ayres, Peter Lavin, Kari Wahlgren! And at the end, the trio reveal which two "Movies Based on TV Series (That Don't Suck)" films they'll be talking about for their next pairing!

Episode 158: As per a request by Twitter user @SleekyOT, this pairing focuses on anime, and you can't talk anime without talking the one film that caused a revolution in the United States when it came out on VHS in the early 1990s, 1988's "Akira!" Based on the 6-issue manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo (who also wrote and directed the film), this story follows Kaneda and Tetsuo, fellow bike gang members and sort-of friends, through life in Neo Tokyo. After Tetsuo (almost literally) runs across a strange elderly child, he is captured, subjected to government tests, and finds himself possessed of great psychic abilities. Unfortunately, they may be too powerful for him to control unless he can track down the mysterious Akira and learns control from him! The American dub of the film features the voices of Johnny Yong Bosch, Joshua Seth, and Wendee Lee. This film is about a third of the complete story in the manga, and was completed before the comic was, rather like Game of Thrones!

Episode 157: The second film in our second time-travel pairing is probably the first film that comes to mind when someone says "time-travel movies." It is, of course, the 1985 classic "Back to the Future!" Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells, Marc McClure, Wendie Jo Sperber, and the first cinematic appearance of Billy Zane, this film is a romp with a heart of gold and a sub-text that really examines the essence of time-travel paradox and its effects! Plus, the trio read a tweet from a listener who suggested the film that will start our next pairing!

Episode 156: This is our second pairing of time-travel films, and we're starting with a film that casually examines the ultimate question of time travel: If you can go back in time and change the past, should you? Directed by Don Taylor and starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, and Charles Durning, this film follows the U.S.S. Nimitz, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which is somehow catpulted back in time to December 6th, 1941, the day before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. They have the means to stop one of the worst attacks on American soil in history. Should they? Will they? We won't tell you (you'll have to watch the movie for that) but we will tell you all about the production and how the film ended up being such a love-letter to the U.S. Navy that they've used it as a recruiting tool!

Episode 155: Our second film for our "Films About Movie Theatres" pairing comes from 2001, and director Frank Darabont (who also directed "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile"), and tells the story about a Hollywood writer suspected of communist ties back in the McCarthy era, who loses his memory and gets mistaken for a "thought-dead" soldier miraculously returned from WWII in writer Michael Sloane's amazing "The Majestic." The film stars Jim Carey in his first serious (as opposed to comedic) starring role, Martin Landau, Laurie Holden, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn, Hal Holbrook, David Ogden Stiers, and the final cinematic performance of veteran character actor James Whitmore. Plus, the film features the voices of Garry Marshall, Paul Mazursky, Syndney Pollack, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, and Matt Damon! This is a "Jim Carey movie" unlike any other, and a good story with a message that still resonates, especially in today's world! Plus, the trio let you in on which two time-travel films they'll focus on

Episode 154: This pairing we're calling "Films About Movie Theatres," and we're starting with a semi-autobiographical look at the "Gimmick King" of the 1950s and 60s, William Castle, in 1993's "Matinee!" Directed by Joe Dante, and starring John Goodman as Lawrence Woolsey, the film takes place during the Cuban Missle Crisis, and juxtaposes that against the efforts of a schlock B-movie filmmaker to bring something new to the movie-watching experience, to bring a little showmanship back to the theatre, as it were. Co-starring Cathy Moriarty as Woolsey's long-suffering girlfriend Ruth Corday, the film also features Simon Fentin, Lisa Jakub, Omri Katz, Kelly Martin, Robert Picardo, and the final performance ever from the incredible Jesse White, not to mention smaller roles featuring some original B-Movie actors like Dick Miller and William Schallert! Plus, if you look quickly, you can catch the very first film appearance of Naomi Watts! A fun, gorgeous film about loss of innocence combined with the best in-theatr

Episode 153: Our second film featuring the comedy duo of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor moves us to the other end of the 1980s for 1989's Arthur Hiller-directed "See No Evil, Hear No Evil!" Co-starring Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey (in one of his earlist film appearances), and Kirsten Childs, this film follows the lives of Wally (Pryor), who is blind, and Dave (Wilder) who is deaf. They cross paths at just the wrong (or right?) time and get embroiled in a an ongoing industrial espionage event which seems them pursued by both the police and the criminals involved! Plus, find out what films about theatres the trio are turning to fore their next pairing!

Episode 152: For this pairing, we focus on one of the great comedy duos of the 1970s and 1980s, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor! In 1980's "Stir Crazy," directed by none other than Sidney Poitier, Skip Donahue (Wilder) and Harry Monroe (Pryor) are two down-on-their-luck guys who decide to ditch New York City for a small rural town in the middle of the country, where they get jobs advertising banking in a rather unique way. After bank robbers steal their costumes, the two are locked up and sent to prison, and from there the story really gets rolling! Co-starring George Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams, Miguel Angel Suarez, Craig T. Nelson, Barry Corbin, and the astonishing Erland van Lidth, this story rolls on and through in a way that could only happen in the movies!

Episode 151: We move ahead to 1982 for our second film, again arguably the scariest film of its decade. This movie is quite different from last episode's topic, as it's a ghost story with a twist, and then another twist, and then another twist! Directed by Tobe Hooper (and perhaps Stephen Spielberg) and co-written by Spielberg, the movie "Poltergeist" is quite a different take on a traditional haunted house story. Starring Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O'Rourke, and Zelda Rubinstein, the story follows a typical American family in the 80s, living in the "Cuesta Verde" subdivision, where Nelson's character Steve Freeling works as a salesman for the builders of the community. Strange things begin to happen in their home, amusing at first, and then they take a much more sinister turn, and that's just the beginning! Truly one of the scariest films of the 80s, and perhaps ever, but one with a bit of humor in it as well. Very Spielberg-ian throughout, and so much fun! Plus

Episode 150: It's a return to horror, with arguably the scariest films from two decades! First up, it's the William Friedkin directed film, based on a story and screenplay by William Peter Blatty, that took the subject of possession in a completely different direction, 1973's "The Exorcist!" Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller, William O'Malley, and Linda Blair. This movie follows 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, daughter of actress Chris MacNeil, as she is beset by what is first believed to be a form of severe mental illness, then a brain disease of some sort, but ends up being diagnosed as a case of demonic possession. Two priests, one old and dedicated, one young and unsure, come to the aid of this family in crisis and attempt to save not only the little girl's life, but her very soul. Nominated for eight oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director, the film would garner two: Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Sound. Regardless, it is THE

Our second look at the cinematic depictions of Roald Dahl books takes to the year 1971, and perhaps the finest performance of Gene Wilder's career in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!" Directed by Mel Stuart, with Dahl writing the screenplay himself, and co-starring Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson, Paris Themmen, and Michael Bollner, this is what people mean when they say a film is a "classic!" From beginning to end, this is, as the song in the film suggests, pure imagination on-screen. Plus, the background information and inside stories make the viewing even that much more interesting! Plus, the trio explain what "Halloween in May" films they'll be viewing for the next pairing!

Take the spy-story genius of Ian Fleming, father of James Bond, and combine it with the dark children's fantasy of Roald Dahl, and what do you get? 1968's classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," directed by Ken Hughes and starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howe, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, and Adrian Hall! This beloved, yet uneven, children's classic has entertained young people for several decades. Seen as an adult, however, there are layers to it that children would never pick up on. It does, however, have songs and dance numbers to rival, perhaps even surpass, Mary Poppins! If you have children, or know children, or have even just heard of children, find some and show them this movie! You'll become their new favorite person!

Our second episode celebrating writer "auteur" Aaron Sorkin moves ahead almost two decades for one of his most famous adapted screenplays, one that raised eyebrows across the world when it was release, 2010's "The Social Network." This time directed by David Fincher, Sorkin adapted the novel by Ben Mezrich, and tells the story of the founding of Facebook and the man behind the site's success, Mark Zuckerberg, played to perfection by Jesse Eisenberg. The film also stars Mara Rooney, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones, and Dakota Johnson, with yet another cameo by Sorkin himself! A riveting, if not wholly accurate, telling of the Facebook story netted Sorkin a Best Adapted Screenplay award, and also garnered a Best Original Music Score Oscar for first-timers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Plus, find out what two family classics the geeks will be reviewing for their next two episodes!

For this pairing, the trio are turning to one of the few writers who can be considered an "auteur": Aaron Sorkin. First up, the break-out hit film, based on his Broadway play, 1992's "A Few Good Men." Directed by master filmsmith Rob Reiner and written by Sorkin (with a little help from "The Princess Bride" scribe William Goldman), the film follows the trial of two marines charged with the death of a fellow marine. Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), with the help of Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) and Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) must find out what actually happened, and how a squad-based reprimand known as a "code red" plays into the case. Co-starring Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep (he was nominated for in the Best Supporting Actor category for this role), Kiefer Sutherland as 2nd Lt. Jonathan Kendrick, J.T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson, and Kevin Bacon as Capt. Jack Ross, the film features cameo appearances from Christopher Guest, Noah Wyle, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Malina, and Aaron Sor

Second on the list of films about the career of teaching comes Wes Anderson's quirky and heartfelt film with the oddest love triangle in, perhaps, all of cinema, 1998's "Rushmore." Directed by Anderson, co-written with Owen Wilson, and starring Jason Schwartzman (in his first appearance), the incomparable Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, and Sara Tanaka, this movie tells the story of Max Fischer, an overly-intelligent prep-school student who falls for one of his teachers at the same time a would-be mentor and friend does also. The film is full of what would become trademark Anderson techniques, and winds its way through its tale with well-crafted aplomb until it reaches an ending that feels completely right for the story it's been telling! Plus, the Geeks and G.I.T. reveal which writer, absolutely beloved of one of the Geeks, the next two films will be from!