Barry’s Score:  8/10

Editor’s note:  This film is scheduled to air on PBS on July 1st as part of the American Masters series.  Check your local listings for air times.

Back before radio had anything to do with digital downloads or being “Sirius”, it provided an old school thrill of discovery to those seeking a glimpse at another type of musical or lifestyle. I remember how much joy my little brother and I had when we discovered that, back in the day, a Maui radio station carried the Dr. Demento show, which provided hours of music so silly and brilliantly weird, it’d never air on any other program. In fact, “Weird Al” Yankovic was discovered by Dr. Demento.

Today, I listen constantly to Nights With Alice Cooper, in which the former shock rocker plays his favorite songs, tells story about the old days and charmingly reveals what its like to be a man with Alice as his first name. Great radio, whether it’s a morning joke-a-thon between over caffeinated DJ’s or a political program with overzealous “experts” tearing into one another, offers two great qualities: storytelling and the feeling that they voices coming from your speakers are talking to YOU, right now, as you drive from Lahaina back to Pukalani.

Garrison Keillor has been a radio legend, storyteller and independent maverick so long, most can say they grew up listening to his A Prairie Home Companion radio show, which, for the uninitiated, is a comedy/musical/storytelling program involving the wacky goings-on in a simple, old fashioned American town. I’ll admit that I was never a big fan of Keillor’s charming but tremendously corny show, but I now greatly admire him and what he provides listeners every week and that comes mostly from Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, the engaging documentary on Keillor by director Peter Rosen. It gently probes Keillor’s past and shows us current productions of his travelling radio show, which has been on the air for a remarkable 30 years. Rosen’s film is as simple, folksy and enjoyable as the show itself, and observes major factors of Keillor’s life: his daughters, rue barb pie, life in New York, what would have happened if Keillor decided against being a radio performer, and his ongoing dedication to putting on a great show.

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It’s not often that we get to talk with documentary filmmakers.  When at the Starz Denver Film Festival last year, Barry had a chance to sit down and talk with Peter Rosen, director of Garrison Keillor:  The Man On the Radio In the Red Shoes.  It’s a fascinating interview and we’ll be posting Barry’s review of the film shortly.  The audio quality isn’t as good as our regular episodes simply because we had to go into a side room of the filmmaker’s lounge.

The reason we’ve held on to the interview is because we wanted to time it with the film’s airing on PBS as part of the American Masters series.  It’s currently scheduled to air on July 1st.  Check your local listings for air times.  Our thanks go to Mr. Rosen for sitting down with us.

Warning : This will contain serious spoilers for The Taking of Pelham 123.

Going into the newest film from gloss auteur Tony Scott, The Taking of Pelham 123, I expected a few things. Those being dizzying editing and cinematography, a nerdy Denzel and some stuff involving car chases. But what I didn’t expect was one of the film’s stars to basically use the movie to come out of the closet.

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Steadfast Trailer from Justin Lewis on Vimeo.

Find out more about Jamin Winans and Ink at the official Double Edge Films website, Twitter and Ink Facebook page.

Update:  Classicflix.com has just issued a correction saying their source was wrong and this is nowhere to be found on Paramount’s release schedule.  I might just have to finally import this.

There are more movies out there in the world that people wish would come to DVD than you can count, but there’s one film at the top of most people’s lists.  Well, it looks like we can finally cross John Huston’s classic, The African Queen, off that list.

Classicflix.com is reporting that Paramount has scheduled the film for release on October 13th as part of the Paramount Centennial Collection series.  This is great news for fans of great cinema, but MIGHT be a disappointment for HD geeks.  None of the other Centennial Collection films have been release on BluRay, so it’s probably a pretty safe bet that this one will be DVD only.  Stranger things have happened, but don’t get your hopes up too terribly high.  No special features have been anounced yet, but I’d frankly buy a single-layer flipper disc if it meant I got this on DVD.

I discovered this movie on VHS purely by coincidence at least five years ago and have been eagerly waiting for this glorious news.  I’ve embedded the trailer below.

Strictly speaking, not everything we post here is going to have to do with movies.  Sometimes, we just get the chance to talk with insanely cool people.  J.C. Hutchins is definitely one of those people.  A member of  the “new media authors” along with the likes of Tee Morris, Pip Ballentine, Scott Sigler, Seth Harwood and Mur Lafferty, they have all clawed their way into the mainstream press and publishing world.

I had a chance to speak with Hutch just last night and I wanted to make sure to post this in time for his release of Personal Effects:  Sword of Blood.  It’s a prequel to Dark Arts and…well, you should just listen to the interview.  We talk about his start as an author and podcaster along with his new book due out June 9th, Personal Effects:  Dark Art.

Preorder PE: Dark Art

Find out more about J.C. Hutchins in general

Save Lost & Found

Sometimes, you just can’t fit everything in at StarFest.  Between the already tight schedules at the convention and her delayed flight, it just didn’t quite work out for us to talk with Katee Sackhoff.

Katee was gracious enough to offer to do a phone interview and what resulted was definitely one of the more fun interviews I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing.

We spend time talking about her pilot, Lost & Found, not getting picked up and bounce all over the place from Star Trek to why she doesn’t do Twitter and somehow end up talking about the Swine Flu at the end and better names for it.

Minor disclaimer:  The beginning of our conversation is talking about Lost & Found.  It’s just where we started up and I totally spaced calling it by its proper name

Ethan’s Visceral Score : 9.5/10

I can think of only one way to start off this review. I love Star Trek : The Original Series. But to truly love something you have to acknowledge its flaws. And I can fully admit that TOS was somewhat…wait, scratch that, a totally cheesy show. The acting could be stiff. The sets could look cheap. The fights could be poorly choreographed. But damn, the show had intelligence and charm. But the thing it truly thrived on were its characters. And while this film by J.J. Abrams may not have the cerebral elements that made the original show so admired, it has down pat the characters. But Abrams does even more.

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Dave’s Score: 8/10

It’s a difficult task, writing a review for Battle for Terra. A lot of people I’ve talked to have said that it just looks like another generic CGI flick with no heart or soul. It looks like a dumbed down kiddie flick that just LOOKS sci-fi. I’m here to set the record straight. Battle for Terra isn’t just a good kids’ film with great 3-D, this is a good movie, period. It has great action, isn’t afraid to have fun, and it tackles some pretty tough issues about what sacrifices are worth making for the future of the human race. This isn’t a propaganda piece against war. This film has more in common with the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica than it does with Fahrenheit 9/11, unlike what some would lead you to believe. The version of the film I saw was in 3-D, and it really is worth checking out in that format.

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Dave’s Score:  9/10 

Anyone who reviews movies has had this happen a million times. A friend comes up to you and tells you about the coolest movie ever made, and it happens to have been made locally by this friend’s buddies. Even though you know the movie is going to suck and you’re going to try to find a way to inject Drain-O into your brain to wash out the memory of it, you still humor your friend and suffer through the little atrocity that these people worked so hard on.  Ink is the reason that you sit through all those piles of crap. Once in a great while, you come across a film that is truly something special and sticks with you after seeing it. It’s the kind of movie that makes you believe in the local film scene. When it comes down to it, it’s worth sitting through 100 crappy movies if that 101st movie is something HALF as good as Ink. Here’s the short version of this review: do whatever you have to in order to see this movie. Catch it in Denver, catch it in L.A. if it screens out there, rent it on dvd or just buy it to save yourself some time. (more…)

We have to give much love to Steve and Kathe Walker at Starland.com for letting us have such a great time at what was the best StarFest yet!  We also had a great time hanging out with John, Christopher and Steve from Jonja.net, Chris and Cliff from The Jesus Geeks and Billy Flynn and Wolffie from Geek Radio Daily!  Next year is going to be even more crazy!

Over StarFest weekend, I had the chance to sit down with Jamin and Kiowa Winans, director and producer of Ink.  The film was screened as the Saturday night film, and was a real treat.  This conversation happened the next morning and was easily the longest and possibly the most fun interview I was involved with all weekend.  Right now, the film is playing in Denver at the Starz Filmcenter, but keep an eye out for a wider release and eventual DVD!  You can find out more at the film’s official website.  My review will be up in the next day or so.

Here’s the trailer, with the interview below:

Our sincere thanks to Jamin and Kiowa for sitting down with us.  It’s a real pleasure to talk about a special film like this.

If you were following ScreenGeeks last year when we went to StarFest, you’ll note that we put up a blurb about a great little film we stumbled across called Summer School. I’ve personally had the Extra Credit Edition since then and have been telling everyone I can who will listen that they need to check this film out if at all possible. Well, you can now pick it up on Amazon.com (at the time of this review, it’s on backorder) or rent it on Netflix. The short version is that this little gem from Random Creatureface Films is well worth checking out.

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Last year, Barry and I had the great privelage and opportunity to speak with (clockwise from the top center) Mike Nelson, Ben Trandem, Troy McCall and Lance Hendrickson from Random CreatureFace Films.  This interview is WAY delayed, but it’s still a great listen.  We did the interview in the HorrorFest room, so there’s a fair amount of background noise, and there are a couple spoilers near the end, just to give fair warning.  I’ll also be posting my review of the Summer School DVD shortly.

Links mentioned on the panel:

Audacity
Podiobooks.com
Imagine That Studios
Podcast Pickle
Juice
Jazler Show
Levelator
1and1 Internet Hosting
Wordpress
Feedburner

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions

As with previous years at StarFest, we were able to talk with quite a few of the guests who came out.  We got to talk with Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, William Katt, Patricia Tallman and Jed Rowen.

What was a bit unusual was that there were directors for several films who came out and got to talk with them as well.  We had the opportunity to sit down with Meni Tsirbas (Battle for Terra), Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) and Jamin Winans (Ink).  We had a great time talking with these gentlemen and are grateful for the time they gave us.  We should be posting the interviews with Mr. Winans and Mr. Collet-Serra this week, but my interview with Mr. Tsirbas will most likely have to wait until the film’s release as I essentially reviewed the film in that interview and I can’t talk about it until May 1st.

As is tradition with past StarFests, we’ll also be posting links to audio/video interviews that Geek Radio Daily and Jonja.net had as well.  Even if you didn’t make it out, you’ll feel like you did!

Ethan’s Score : 9/10

First off, no more “LOL, PAUL BLART 2!!!” jokes. I hate that this sublime work of comic ingenuity is being compared to some fatty falls down-fest that happened to strike a chord with middle-america. What you get here is truly a comedic version of Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic Taxi Driver. If that doesn’t make you realize how far this goes outside the box, then let me explain it to you.

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We won’t be doing an episode this week, but next week will be our StarFest cornucopia.  I’ll probably post our interview with the minds behind Summer School this weekend in place of an episode.  You really need to check this movie out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzPDEirVTZk

Now I’ll admit, I have watched the most puzzling One Tree Hill television program that exists on the CW. What kept me watching was its pure baffling amount of “WTF” moments and melodramatic cheesyness. At times the show feels like it’s the best “spoof” of anything ever. It plays itself so straight-faced while the most absolutely ridiculous things are going on. From dramatic scenes set between two five-year olds to Chad Michael Moore/Murry’s Derek Zoolander-style of acting ; it feels almost like this generation’s Twin Peaks. Put this clip proves that it has hit a new all-time high.

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/08/dog-eats-heart-hilarity-ensues/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-09-movie-panels-galore/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-09-movie-panels-galore/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:24:39 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-09-movie-panels-galore/ Just in case we haven’t been pimping StarFest enough lately on the site and on the podcast, I’m about to do some more!  This is for those of you who think that sci-fi conventions aren’t for movie geeks.  You would be QUITE mistaken.  Here’s a rundown of some of the movie panel highlights coming to StarFest:

-StarFest MC Kevin Atkins will be hosting a presentation about Ray Harryhousen including a screening of The Ray Harryhausen Chronicles, some of Ray’s lost projects and what he’s doing today.  There will also be a special screening of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad followed with a look at the production of the special effects.

-We will also be getting a presentation about Alien Trespass.  It’s already opened in limited release, but it’s been getting great word of mouth online.  This should be a fun time and will get us all to go seek it out afterward.

-The Orphan will be coming out with director Jaume Collet-Serra to show us a bit of his latest film.  It could be yet another scary kid movie, or it could be something special.  The trailer looks quite interesting.

-A film I hadn’t heard of until the announcement, we’ll also be getting a look at Battle For Terra.  Some people may say it looks like an alegory for the current war on terror, but I think it looks like it might be quite good regardless of message.

-Finally, we’re getting a presentation for the Tim Burton-produced 9.  I saw this trailer in front of Coraline, and I can’t wait to see more of this.

This doesn’t take into account that Fox is sponsoring a Wolverine costume contest, the Of Gods and Men screening and everything else going on over at HorrorFest.  What I’m getting to is that you don’t necessarily need to be a pure sci-fi geek to enjoy StarFest.  I’ll be putting up more articles looking at HorrorFest and ComicFest in the next couple days just so you know what you’ll be missing.

Still, even if you can’t join us for the fun, you can be with us in spirit.  We’ll be blogging all weekend and we’ll also be appearing in at least some of the streaming that Geek Radio Daily will be doing.  Keep an eye on their Ustream.tv site over the weekend of April 17-19!

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-09-movie-panels-galore/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-flashback-nichelle-nichols-video/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-flashback-nichelle-nichols-video/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:03:13 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-flashback-nichelle-nichols-video/ Well, we’re down to less than two weeks until StarFest.  I’m putting together some highlights for this year, but I thought I’d put up the video of the interview we did with Nichelle Nichols last year.  Our thanks to Jeff Norris over at iSCiFi.tv for taping last year
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/07/starfest-flashback-nichelle-nichols-video/feed/ 00:01:01 Well, we're down to less than two weeks until StarFest.nbsp; I'm putting together some highlights for this year, but I thought I'd put up the ... Well, we're down to less than two weeks until StarFest.nbsp; I'm putting together some highlights for this year, but I thought I'd put up the video of the interview we did with Nichelle Nichols last year.nbsp; Our thanks to Jeff Norris over at iSCiFi.tv for taping last year StarFest admin@screengeeks.com no No http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/the-newest-senseless-remake-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/the-newest-senseless-remake-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:44:14 +0000 Billy Flynn http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/the-newest-senseless-remake-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid/ Normally I try to approach the world with an open mind. Just a few years ago my New Year’s resolution was to cut the drama from my life. No needless worries… no anger… or to quote Dante Hicks in Clerks “Sometimes you gotta let those hard to reach chips go”

Then sometimes I get news that just causes all of the darkness to rage within.

Tom Cruise And John Travolta Might Remake Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Still hoping this ocuold be a delayed April Fool’s…….

Flynn

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/the-newest-senseless-remake-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/is-crank-high-voltage-a-spoof/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/is-crank-high-voltage-a-spoof/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:57:33 +0000 ethan http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/is-crank-high-voltage-a-spoof/
•  
  Um…okay.

I didn’t mind the first Crank film. I didn’t think it was the end-all action orgasm that some thought it was. But I thought that it had its moments. But still, with that dedicated cult fanbase, there is obviously a lot of anticipation for the next installment. But even those who are Gaytham for Statham have to admit something, what the hell is this movie?

From the re-goddamn-diculous set photos of a foam-encrusted Statham to the cast that includes Corey Haim and a bunch of porn stars to that mind-boggling red-band trailer ; I have no doubt in my mind. This movie has to be a spoof.

Okay, let’s take a look at the plot. We all know that spoiler alert, Jason Statham died at the end of the first one. So how exactly is he going to come back? Well let’s look at the plot via IMDB : Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working..

This is what leads me to my theory. Obviously there was no way you could really make an actual logical sequel to Crank, so why not just go all-out and make it into a spoof of the over the top action movie genre that’s been ushered in by the likes of 300, Smokin’ Aces and Shoot ‘Em Up? If this an actual deconstruction that genre that I’m incredibly intrigued.

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/is-crank-high-voltage-a-spoof/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/melissas-review-knowing/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/melissas-review-knowing/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:42:23 +0000 Melissa http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/melissas-review-knowing/  

Melissa’s Score:  7.5/10

Knowing starring Nicholas Cage is an eye opening revelation about judgement day and the chosen people of God. Although this movie was somewhat religiously based in its main idea, this movie’s take on the subject matter was not overly preaching or forceful at all. Cage’s son recieves a paper from a little girl from 50 years ago who heard numbers in her head. She was driven crazy and wrote the numbers down. Cage figures out that the numbers are in a patter that tell the date, latitude and longitude, and number of casualities in major natural disasters and other events throughout the past 50 years. There are many elements to this movie that tastefully display one man’s experience in figuring out what is happening to his soon-to-be-ending reality and his experience in giving up his only son for the benefit of the world.

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/04/06/melissas-review-knowing/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/25/magnet-screws-over-let-the-right-one-in-buyers/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/25/magnet-screws-over-let-the-right-one-in-buyers/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:55:43 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/25/magnet-screws-over-let-the-right-one-in-buyers/ It’s no secret that everyone here at ScreenGeeks absolutely adores the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In.  We even devoted an episode to this gem of a film.  I was absolutely psyched to see it at WalMart for $15 on DVD.  I haven’t picked it up yet, and it looks like that’s a good thing.

Icons Of Fright just recently posted that the subtitles for the US DVD release of Let the Right One In are significantly different from what was seen in the theatrical cut.  Specifically, the subtitles are dumbed down to the point that humor and depth was lost so people with a low IQ can keep up with the film.  Seeing some of the changes, it’s entirely appropriate that many around the web are calling these “Twilight subtitles”.  The move has been dumbed down just for people who actually thought that Twilight was an insightful movie and a unique take on the vampire genre.  Essentially, the theatrical cut is Robert De Niro in Awakenings when the chemicals work, and the DVD cut is De Niro in his catatonic state.

Yesterday, Bill Hunt over at The Digital Bits did a little more digging and found out more news that is equally satisfying and frustrating.  DVD distributor Magnet had heard the film geek outcry and will be releasing the DVD with the theatrical subtitles intact.  You’ll be able to tell as on the back of the case, the subtitles will be labeled “English (Theatrical)”.

I’m sure that those who bought the crappy version are wondering how to go about exchanging for the version that should have been release in the first place.  Well, this is where the frustrating part comes into play.  To quote Magnet in the Digital Bits column, “There are no exchanges”.  Yeah, thanks for nothing, tools.  Essentially, Magnet has screwed over the people who wanted to support this movie from the beginning to show that there’s an audience for this kind of intelligent film in the US.  They’re saying that you need to buy it again.  Oh, and the subtitle issue is on the BluRay version, too.

Seeing the niche films that Magnet releases, this just doesn’t make sense.  Why in the world would you ever want to enrage your customer base?  At this point, I really think that people who bought the original release should wait until a good rip is made available with the correct subtitles at various BitTorrent sites, and just download it that way.  Those of you who purchased this dvd in good faith that this would be what was released are being milked.  There’s no reason to give these jokers another dime of your money.

Should you have purchased the dvd and want to share your displeasure with this situation, you can e-mail them at dvd@magpictures.com.

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/25/magnet-screws-over-let-the-right-one-in-buyers/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-71-the-lady-eve/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-71-the-lady-eve/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:33:38 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-71-the-lady-eve/ This week, we tackle Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve.  If romantic comedies would turn out like this today, they would be taken seriously as films.  This film is available in two editions that we can recommend.  First, there’s the obligatory Criterion edition that packed with extras.  Secondly, this is available as part of the Preston Sturges Filmmaker Collection.  There are no extras to be had, but you can get 7 films (including Sullivan’s Travels) for $47 shipped.  Actual notes will appear after the jump.

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-71-the-lady-eve/feed/ 00:01:01 This week, we tackle Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve.nbsp; If romantic comedies would turn out like this today, they would be taken seriously as films.nbsp; ... This week, we tackle Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve.nbsp; If romantic comedies would turn out like this today, they would be taken seriously as films.nbsp; This film is available in two editions that we can recommend.nbsp; First, there's the obligatory Criterion edition that packed with extras.nbsp; Secondly, this is available as part of the Preston Sturges Filmmaker Collection.nbsp; There are no extras to be had, but you can get 7 films (including Sullivan's Travels) for $47 shipped.nbsp; Actual notes will appear after the jump. Episodes admin@screengeeks.com no No http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/natasha-richardson-1963-2009/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/natasha-richardson-1963-2009/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:32:32 +0000 Barry http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/natasha-richardson-1963-2009/ It’s with great sadness that I write this, a brief mention that Natasha Richardson, a wonderful actress of film and and stage, the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and wife of Liam Neeson, died on Wednesday. As a stage actress, her work was astonishing, and she arguably received the most acclaim from her work on the London and New York theater scene. As a film actress, she is probably and sadly best known to American audiences as Ralph Fiennes’ annoying fiance in Main in Manhattan and the love interest in the remake of The Parent Trap. If you really want to see why she was such a remarkable actress, look at her playing the title role in Paul Schrader’s Patty Hearst, in which she embodied a complex and widely unloved public figure. Or, watch her in The Handmaid’s Tale, an equally controversial film that, like Patty Hearst, received mixed reviews from critics but her performances in both films were widely and deservedly praised. Finally, in the thriller The Comfort of Strangers, also by director Schrader, cast opposite Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren and Rupert Everett, Richardson is outstanding once again in one of the creepiest and most underrated cinematic mind games of the ’90’s. She is survived by her husband, Liam and their two children, Micheal and Daniel Neeson. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/natasha-richardson-1963-2009/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-70-unfaithfully-yours/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-70-unfaithfully-yours/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:26:36 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-70-unfaithfully-yours/ We start our director filmogaphy series again.  We’ll be talking Preston Sturges for the next four episodes.  This week, we start with Unfaithfully Yours.  Of course, it’s been released as a Criterion edition, and we still love those guys.
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-70-unfaithfully-yours/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-69-watchmen/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-69-watchmen/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:22:59 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-69-watchmen/ After a long delay, here’s our discussion on Watchmen.  It involved fairly heavy spoilers, so you’ve been warned.  If you want to skip the discussion, jump to 1:01:09 into the show once we warn you that we’re starting.

Find out more about J.C. Hutchins’ Personal Effects:  Dark Art

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/23/sgr-episode-69-watchmen/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/18/ethans-review-dragonball-evolution/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/18/ethans-review-dragonball-evolution/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:53:31 +0000 ethan http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/18/ethans-review-dragonball-evolution/
Ethan’s Score : ZERO/10

There comes a time in a film aficionado’s life where he sees something so utterly inept, ill-advised and unenjoyable. Something so flat-out puzzlingly bad that you spend hours wondering “How did that happen? How could something turn out that bad?” And my friends I have come across that movie, and it’s name is Dragonball Evolution.

This “film” (which I would rather refer to as a cinematic crime against humanity) is of course an adaptation of the popular Japanese-anime series, Dragonball (or Dragonball Z). Now, I should tell you something, I’m a fan of the show. Or at least I was when I was a kid. I had plenty of action figures and would go over to my friends’ houses to play with them as we created dozens of scenarios for epic hyper-kung fu battles. So would turning off my film critic mode and setting into 9-year old mode help me enjoy this particular cinematic abomination? No, probably not. And this is a major problem. It’s simply not fun. The action scenes are so dull, cluttered and poorly shot that nobody could get any enjoyment out of it. Sure, there’s copious amounts of slow-motion (that would make Zack Snyder blush) but after it a while it just settles into self-parody, just like the rest of the movie. (more…)

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/18/ethans-review-dragonball-evolution/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/11/daves-review-watchmen-spoilers/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/11/daves-review-watchmen-spoilers/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:51:38 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/11/daves-review-watchmen-spoilers/  

Dave’s score: 6.5/10

Before starting this loaded gun of a review, I have to make an admission. Ideally, any review would look at a film based solely on the merits of the film. Unfortunately, due to whatever personal flaw I may have, I was unable to do this. This review is going to be influenced by the original book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and how the changes in the film altered the story itself. I just want to warn everyone before we get into this. By necessity, this review will have PLENTY of spoilers, so don’t read on if you haven’t seen the film.

Watchmen is a story that explores what would happen if masked heroes actually existed and explores the dark side of humanity from there. I know, I know. The actual story is about a hero, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), investigating the murder of The Comedian (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and uncovering a darker plot. Honestly, the story is more about my first sentence than the second sentence. If it sounds dense and complex, it most certainly is.

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/11/daves-review-watchmen-spoilers/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-a-character-review-spoilers-ahead/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-a-character-review-spoilers-ahead/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:51:57 +0000 Melissa http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-a-character-review-spoilers-ahead/ Dave’s Note:  I’m proud to introduce a new contributor to ScreenGeeks.  Melissa comes to us with an impressive knowledge of film and her first piece for us is a character review of Watchmen.  I’m excited to present a view of the film from someone who isn’t that familiar with the source material.  Spoilers are ahead, so I’ve put the article after the jump.  Enjoy!

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-a-character-review-spoilers-ahead/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-68-a-bunch-of-news/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-68-a-bunch-of-news/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:31:53 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-68-a-bunch-of-news/ We finally have everyone back together to talk about the week’s news.  This has been in RSS feed most of the week, but Dave forgot to post it.  Sorry.
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-68-a-bunch-of-news/feed/ 00:01:01 We finally have everyone back together to talk about the week's news.nbsp; This has been in RSS feed most of the week, but Dave forgot ... We finally have everyone back together to talk about the week's news.nbsp; This has been in RSS feed most of the week, but Dave forgot to post it.nbsp; Sorry. Uncategorized admin@screengeeks.com no No http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-67-our-guilty-pleasures/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-67-our-guilty-pleasures/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:30:27 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-67-our-guilty-pleasures/ Chris Stipp from Quick Stop Entertainment joins Dave and Ethan in discussing bad movies we defend and fess up to some stinkers
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/03/07/sgr-episode-67-our-guilty-pleasures/feed/ 00:01:01 Chris Stipp from Quick Stop Entertainment joins Dave and Ethan in discussing bad movies we defend and fess up to some stinkers Chris Stipp from Quick Stop Entertainment joins Dave and Ethan in discussing bad movies we defend and fess up to some stinkers Episodes admin@screengeeks.com no No http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/ethans-review-the-hurt-locker/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/ethans-review-the-hurt-locker/#comments Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:47:25 +0000 ethan http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/ethans-review-the-hurt-locker/

8.5/10

If someone asked you what the least successful sub-genre of films today were, you would probably come up with three answers : a) Video-game adaptations, b) Films starring Nicole Kidman and c) Iraq War/Middle-Eastern Conflict movies. The problems of the first two are most mostly hack directors and Botox. But for c), the issue that often leads to both critical and financial failure doesn’t just simply boil down to “TOO SOON!”. It’s simply that there universal ideas about war and humanity aren’t properly approached. There aren’t usually any characters. Mostly there are just political talking heads. Even those that attempt to paint themselves as thrillers, like The Kingdom and Body of Lies have clumsily handled unoriginal generalizations that they try to pass off as “subtext”. But Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker does something completely different.

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/ethans-review-the-hurt-locker/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/daves-review-around/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/daves-review-around/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:26:51 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/daves-review-around/  

Dave’s Score:  8.5/10

Let’s be honest for a minute.  When you hear about some independent movie that “just hasn’t found its audience”, it’s usually because there’s no audience to find.  On rare occasions, however, a really nice film comes along and pretty much defines the term pleasant surprise.  Enter …Around.

…Around centers around the story of Doyle Simms (Robert W. Evans).  He comes from a poor, broken home in Jersey and he finds a way to get into film school in New York City.  He falls in love with a girl(Molly Ryman), life gets complicated and there is resolution at the end.  Doesn’t that just sound like most of the crap that hits theaters these days?  Well, …Around isn’t your typical crappy movie.  I’ve purposely boiled down the story this far just to illustrate how bad a movie like this could be.  The great thing is that this isn’t a bad movie at all.  This movie is a true find for lovers of film. (more…)

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/25/daves-review-around/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/20/sgr-episode-66-our-oscar-picks/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/20/sgr-episode-66-our-oscar-picks/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:18:08 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/20/sgr-episode-66-our-oscar-picks/ This week, we give our Oscar picks and somehow end up trying to come up with pr0n names for some of these movies.  This one probably isn’t for the kids.  Show notes are inbound.
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/20/sgr-episode-66-our-oscar-picks/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/dicaprio-wants-to-remake-wargames-and-why-it-wont-work/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/dicaprio-wants-to-remake-wargames-and-why-it-wont-work/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:17:50 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/dicaprio-wants-to-remake-wargames-and-why-it-wont-work/  

This one has been brewing in my mind for a couple days now.  WarGames is one of my favorite movies from the 80’s.  I remember my folks taking me to see it and how much my dad loved it and still loves it.  Well, /Film is reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio wants to remake WarGames.  I know this is going to be a shock, but here’s an internet guy about to say that it’s going to suck.  What might be different is my reasoning as to why it’s going to suck and how it can’t possibly work today.  I’ll explain after the jump.  *WARNING:  GEEKY EXPLANATION AHEAD*

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/dicaprio-wants-to-remake-wargames-and-why-it-wont-work/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/gigantic-starfest-guest-update/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/gigantic-starfest-guest-update/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:39:13 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/gigantic-starfest-guest-update/ I knew that when it was confirmed that William Katt was coming to StarFest in Denver, Steve and Kathe Walker were off to a good start.  What I couldn’t expect, however, was just how many awesome people would be lined up with more still to come!  I’ll post these in order that they’ve been announced.  If you’re a geek ANYWHERE near Denver, CO, you’re crazy not to come to StarFest and join in the fun.



Robert Picardo has established himself firmly in the Star Trek universe with his portrayal of the holographic Doctor in Star Trek:  Voyager.  In fact, Mr. Picardo was easily the highlight of that show for me.  For us movie geeks, though, you’ll know Robert Picardo as a mainstay of Joe Dante’s films, appearing in The Howling, Explorers, Innerspace, Amazon Women on the Moon, The ‘Burbs, and my personal favorite as Forster in Gremlins 2:  The New Batch.  Mr. Picardo will be at StarFest for all three days.



Ethan Philips is most likely known by those attending StarFest as Neelix in Star Trek Voyager, but he is a GREAT example of actors who have an extremely varied and versatile filmography.  If you’re a child of the 80’s, you know you’ve seen him on Benson.  You’ll also recognize him from his appearances in films like Glory, The Man Without A Face, Wagons East, and Bad Santa.  He’s currently working with HorrorFest guest Ford Austin on the film Dahmer vs. Gacy.  Mr. Phillips will be appearing at StarFest for all three days.



Brent Spiner is obviously known to everyone for his role as Commander Data in Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  Did you know, though, that he also appeared in Tales From the Darkside, Night Court and Sledge Hammer! in the 1980’s?  Mr. Spiner always adds a lot of fun to the movies he appears in.  My favorite appearance of Mr. Spiner outside of TNG may very well be when he played Dr. Brackish Okun in Independance Day.  Mr. Spiner is currently appearing in a production of Man of La Mancha in Los Angeles and has also release an album of musical radio drama called Dreamland with Mark Hamill and Maude Maggart.  Mr. Spiner will be appearing at StarFest on Saturady, April 18th.



Katee Sackhoff went into Battlestar Galactica in a pretty tough position.  As if changing the gender of Starbuck wasn’t enough, it’s very easily argued that the change in tone from the original series to the new series changed the character of Starbuck more than any other character in the show.  Fan backlash began before a frame had been filmed.  If Ms. Sackhoff was phased in the slightest, she’s never shown it.  She has confidently taken the reimagining of Starbuck and made it hers.  She has taken what was really nothing more than a playboy and created one of the most compelling characters in science fiction today.  Ms. Sackhoff will be appearing at StarFest on Saturday, April 18th.

We had a great time at StarFest last year, but this year is shaping up to be even better and more fun!  We’re also working on planning a bit of a get together while in Denver for fans of our show, Geek Radio Daily and The Jesus Geeks as all three shows will have representatives at StarFest this year.  While we will make every attempt to talk to as many guests as possible, there is no guarantee that we will be able to talk everyone.  Some guests’ schedules will just simply be too busy.  We’re also looking forward to seeing who comes out for HorrorFest and we’ll be posting some video of the fun as well.

]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/18/gigantic-starfest-guest-update/feed/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/17/sgr-episode-65-movies-that-make-us-cry/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/17/sgr-episode-65-movies-that-make-us-cry/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:28:20 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/17/sgr-episode-65-movies-that-make-us-cry/ Sorry for the delay on this one.  This is actually last week’s episode.  Hopefully this week’s will be up tonight.  This week, Ethan and Dave open up to their sensitive sides and talk about the movies that make them cry.
]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/17/sgr-episode-65-movies-that-make-us-cry/feed/ 00:01:01 Sorry for the delay on this one.nbsp; This is actually last week's episode.nbsp; Hopefully this week's will be up tonight.nbsp; This week, Ethan and Dave ... Sorry for the delay on this one.nbsp; This is actually last week's episode.nbsp; Hopefully this week's will be up tonight.nbsp; This week, Ethan and Dave open up to their sensitive sides and talk about the movies that make them cry. Episodes admin@screengeeks.com no No http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/02/sgr-episode-64-this-space-for-rent/ http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/02/sgr-episode-64-this-space-for-rent/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:22:57 +0000 Dave http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/02/sgr-episode-64-this-space-for-rent/ We thought we’d give everyone a break after three straight marathon episodes.  That, and we need to plan for future episodes.  This week, we talk the news and releases of the week.  Show notes after the jump.

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]]> http://www.screengeeks.com/2009/02/02/sgr-episode-64-this-space-for-rent/feed/ 00:01:01 We thought we'd give everyone a break after three straight marathon episodes.nbsp; That, and we need to plan for future episodes.nbsp; This week, we talk ... We thought we'd give everyone a break after three straight marathon episodes.nbsp; That, and we need to plan for future episodes.nbsp; This week, we talk the news and releases of the week.nbsp; Show notes after the jump. Episodes admin@screengeeks.com no No