Author Archives: The Misfits
Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 46: The Muppets, Young Adult, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, New Year’s Eve, and The Golden Globe Awards
The Muppets. It’s time to light the lights… Or is it?
Young Adult. An alternate title might be Prom Bitch Queen meets Crippled Geek.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. It’s the thinking man’s movie that goes BOOM!
New Year’s Eve. Here’s a New Year’s resolution everyone can get behind: No more Garry Marshall romantic comedies.
The Golden Globe Awards. The show was a lot like the gold sprinkled desert that was served. Sparkly and tasty on the night of the show but not so much the following morning. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 42: The Ward, Footloose, The Ides of March, and Abduction
The Ward. If the characters in The Ward took the DSM III test, instead of turning out to be crazy and paranoid, they’d turn out to be dull and boring.
Footloose. Forget about the ban on dancing. Apparently Hollywood has a ban on new ideas.
The Ides of March. Shhhh. Whatever you do, don’t tell Clooney about Willow Creek dam. The shock might be too much for him.
Abduction. This idiotic movie has one believable premise. After spending two hours with Taylor Lautner, you’ll definitely believe someone would put him up for adoption—even as a teenager.
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 41: Troll Hunter, Our Idiot Brother, Moneyball, and Drive
Troll Hunter. “Trolls!!!” Nuff said.
Our Idiot Brother. A likable film about an idiot character, or an idiot film about a likable character?
Moneyball. There was a time when baseball movies were about legends like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jackie Robinson. But not anymore. Now they’re about zeros–literally. This is a sports film about statistics and crunching numbers.
Drive. The year of the Gosling continues, but it’s a creepy Albert Brooks who almost steals the picture. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 40: Fred Koenekamp Interview part 2, Conan, The Debt, and Attack the Block
Conan the Barbarian. Keep the first twenty minutes, call it Young Conan, and you’ve got a great short. Add an hour and a half of confused story and bad acting, and you’ve got the new Conan the Barbarian movie.
Fred Koenekamp. He’s faced the challenge of putting epic-size films on the screen like Patton and Papillon, and he’s been in the thick of the action on a roller rink in Kansas City Bomber, but maybe the greatest challenge he faced was a bunch of bees on The Swarm! Part 2 of Jim’s interview with cinematographer Fred Koenekamp.
The Debt. No, it’s not a movie about your student loan. Instead, this espionage thriller tells the story of three Mossad agents as they attempt to apprehend a Nazi war criminal. No word on whether their student loans were ever paid.
Attack the Block. What do you get when you combine great direction, smart screenwriting, terrific acting, and a budget that’s probably a bit larger than the craft service bill for Super 8? A surprisingly good film, that’s what. Remember, if you see only one kids v.s. aliens movie this year, make sure it’s Attack the Block. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast: Bonus Best Picture Predictions Episode
Without benefit of a suped-up DeLorean, the Misfits do their best to look into the future and predict what the Best Picture nominations will be. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 39: Fred Koenekamp Interview, The Help, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Crazy, Stupid Love
The Help. Kathryn Stockett’s blockbuster best seller gets the Hollywood treatment. Does Tinsel Town get it right, or does the movie need a little…help?
Fred Koenekamp interview. Academy Award winner and cinematographer on such films as Patton, Papillon, and The Adventures Buckaroo Banzai talks about his early days in the industry.
Crazy, Stupid Love. Just what the world needs, another romcom about how unpredictable and screwy love is. No. Really. This time I am being sarcastic.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Is this just another case of Hollywood unable to see any new ideas, hear any new ideas, or speak any new ideas? Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 38: Rubber, Friends With Benefits, Cowboys and Aliens, and Captain America
Rubber. Bargain basement Bunuel or a Firestone commercial with edge?
Friends With Benefits. Just what the world needs, another romcom about a couple who want to have sex but no commitment. No. Really. I’m serious.
Cowboys and Aliens. Maybe this should have been called A Bunch of Writers and a Director With a Really Cool Title and Not Much Else.
Captain America: The First Avenger. Somewhere, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are smiling.
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 37: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, X-Men: First Class, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides. Maybe it’s only natural that this franchise, which is getting a little long in the tooth, goes looking for the Fountain of Youth.
X-Men: First Class. The next step in the evolution of the X-Men film series or a genetic throw-back?
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Watch as your hard-earned cash is transformed into box office gold. Otherwise, everything else about this movie remains pretty much the same as the first two films. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 36: Jim Morton Interview Part 2, Super 8, Larry Crowne, and Green Lantern
The Islander. Jim Morton, expert on extreme cinema, shares the remainder of his movie picks to take with him on a deserted island.
Super 8. Kids vs. the army. Alien vs. the earth. Pickup vs. train. The only one who comes out of this looking better than expected is the truck.
Larry Crowne. In his new film, Tom Hanks goes to college and learns about economics, public speaking, and love. But judging by Larry Crowne, maybe he should have taken a couple of film courses also.
Green Lantern. With the release of Green Hornet and Green Lantern, the studios should declare a moratorium on making movies about superheros with the word “Green” in their name. This means you, Green Arrow. Continue reading
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Cinema Misfits Podcast, Episode 35: Jim Morton Interview, Midnight in Paris, Kung Fu Panda 2, Bridesmaids, and The Tree of Life
This week’s guest on The Islander is author Jim Morton. He was a contributing editor to Incredibly Strange Films and in the early 80s put out the fanzine Trashoola. He has forgotten more about horror and sex-ploitation films than most people will ever know, and his picks definitely reflect his eclectic tastes.
Midnight in Paris. Paris might be a “movable feast,” but Midnight In Paris is more like a buffet stuck in the 20s.
Kung Fu Panda 2. In the 80s, a film was released with the tagline, “The movie that kicks you in the face!” Panda 2 is more like a kick to the gut–or maybe just a bit lower.
The Tree of Life. Silly and pretentious? Or a daring, surprising film? Or maybe, a little bit of both?
Bridesmaids. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” As far as comedy goes, this might not be such a bad thing.
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Jim Rutherford
Nancy Louise Rutherford
Lou Aguilar
The Misfits
