Posted Aug 15th 2008 9:31PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
This is the perfect time for a road trip -- the sun is high in the sky, the weather is warm, and the roads are clear. But alas, the responsibilities of adulthood and busy scheduling don't always make the open road a viable option. Luckily, however, there's always the movies -- a million different cinematic road adventures to explore.
For this double feature, I'm giving you a little taste of the '90s and then a little taste of the '80s. One is a feature that helped start the careers of two notable actors, and spawned a terrible copy-cat film with Tom Green. The other made soft, warm pillows seem like more than just a wonderfully relaxing safe haven. Sit back and enjoy
Overnight Delivery and
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Road Trippin'
Posted Aug 8th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Drama, Sports, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
I discovered Eric Roberts through
Nobody's Fool. He played Riley, a stage technician who falls for the wacky but lovable Cassie (Rosanna Arquette). It's one of those flawed movies that's perfectly enjoyable when watched with the comfortable eyes of nostalgia -- it's not the greatest feat of filmmaking by far, but it's a movie of memories and awkward '80s charm. Watching that, Mr. Roberts became my movie hero.
Yesterday, the world belonged to sister Julia, and today it belongs to daughter Emma, but for some of us, it's always been Eric's world. Over the many years of acting, he's amassed controversy, critical feats, and brow-raising stinkers, bringing us a long selection of roles that should always stay on the radar. Tonight, I want to give you a taste of his accomplishments, as well as a little bit of heroics, because these days, he's like the wonderful Christopher Walken -- mostly pigeon-holed into the tough, meanie, or jerky roles. Without further ado, I give you:
The Pope of Greenwich Village and
The Best of the Best.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Dedicated to Papa Roberts
Posted Aug 1st 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Classics, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
While creepy monsters can send chills straight to the spine, there's nothing quite as thrilling as the perfectly simple fright. Thanks to the master Alfred Hitchcock, as well as a number of other filmmakers over the years, we've been showered in an array of scenarios so believable that every shadow becomes eerie, and every noise, threatening. They're the scares that could happen to any one of us on an unlucky day; they are the dangers that await us when we're alone and in the dark.
For tonight's double feature, I wanted to go old school with chills that go back to the '50s and '60s, centered on New York's Greenwich Village. These films might be decades old, but they hold premises that make them worthy, unforgettable classics. Without further ado, I give you:
Rear Window and
Wait Until Dark.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Alone in the Dark in Greenwich Village
Posted Jul 18th 2008 8:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
Right off the bat, I must say: While I love music in film, I don't like most of the musicals out there. Try as I might, most just inspire me to daydream through the musical numbers. But those that capture me, I adore. I never get tired of the rapid wordplay from
Pirates of Penzance. I love most of the music in
Moulin Rouge -- especially the inclusions of Lamb's "Gorecki." If it's done right, I'm a fan forever (
Evil Dead: The Musical).
Surprisingly enough, there are two films that came out in the last year that I really dug, even though they really didn't hit the mark with fans. They came, they danced, they crooned, and they fell flat. I sat down to watch both of these expecting disappointment, and in one case, I was digging it from the first minute, and the other, I just couldn't stop giggling. In a very brief journey back in time, I give you:
Across the Universe and
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Underrated Music Movies
Posted Jul 11th 2008 7:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Romance, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
These days, genre has been boiled down into such simplistic forms that it becomes a buzz-worthy feat when a film manages to pull off more than just a basic premise. A superhero film becomes wow-worthy if time was taken to perfect the story and actors. A comedy becomes rare if it includes a lot of smarts with the slapstick. A romance becomes one of a kind if its characters don't fit into the almost-always-used conventions.
This latter one is a true sore spot of mine. For the most part, romance and relationships have been boiled down to such ridiculous stereotypes that all romcoms sound ridiculous and anything with romance gets the "chick flick" badge. But romance isn't all that stereotypes would have you believe. It's not all clutzy or irrational women, fashion, game playing, and vast gender divides. Sometimes, the romance is even infused with smarts, success, and tangible connection. In praise of my favorite romances, I give you:
Before Sunrise and
Before Sunset.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: When Romance is Done Right
Posted Jul 4th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
It would be easy to offer you appropriately themed movies for the Fourth of July. There is, of course,
Independence Day, plus flicks like
Yankee Doodle Dandy, or on a more serious note,
Born of the Fourth of July. But what's the fun in that? You could come up with those yourself. I could be snarky and offer only British fare, which is actually very tempting, but I have something else in mind: Independence-themed chills.
The two films for this double feature are not centered specifically on the Fourth of July, but the date is important to both stories -- whether it's the tale of tourists and teeth, or parades and creepiness. Do you see where I'm headed? For this double feature, in honor of the Fourth of July, I give you:
Jaws and
Cape Fear.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Frights for the Fourth
Posted Jun 27th 2008 9:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
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Whether it's grown men in bunny suits or the addictive giggle of Melissa McCarthy, this week's double feature is all about alternate realities. While I'm not the biggest fan of many science fiction elements, I'm a sucker for a good story about worlds that are just a little bit off. When an eerie twist is mixed into scenes showcasing the life and environment we're all familiar with, a film changes from something we can guess into an intriguing puzzle to figure out, or endlessly argue about. (And it does so without traveling to unrecognizable, fantastical new turf.)
Tonight, we've got a film that really should get more play, plus one beloved cult classic. I give you:
The Nines and
Donnie Darko.
*Included at the request of a nerd friend of mine.Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Alternate Realities
Posted Jun 20th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
No more teachers! No more books! No more teachers' dirty looks! When the teacher rings the bell, drop your books and run like hell!It's the anthem of June, as classes wind down and summer begins. When there's two full months free of school, it's easy to forget the looming dark cloud that is September ... unless you're a lucky college grad (or a high school student not heading off to further your education).
There's a definite twist that happens over those four years, as school falls into a memory. High school grad movies are full of exacerbated partying, getting your last hoorahs, and last chances at childhood love. After college, however, the tone changes a little bit. There's work, the towering pressures from the adults around you, and the bad choices you make in the name of lust and love. The two films for this double feature are almost 30 years apart, but both are classics, known for their stars, music, and adult angst. I give you:
The Graduate and
Reality Bites.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Life, Love, and College Graduation
Posted Jun 13th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
This week, I have had the fortune of working from a cottage, surrounded by trees, birds, and a large and peaceful lake (as well as insidious horse flies, determined mosquitoes, and about 50 million caterpillars). In between the work and the sun, I've mused about cottages and movies. There's not many cottage-based films out there -- at least not ones that are about the actual experience, rather than something about a scary killer, or maybe a campfire ghost story.
But there
are a lot of camping movies. You have color wars, swimsuits, canoes, trees, and all of that big nature-on-the-water stuff. I wanted to include
Poison Ivy tonight, the awesome TV-movie camp fest that stars Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon, a counselor and camp nurse who team up with the kids to face off against Adam Baldwin's evil Ike Dimick. However, I can't find so much as a trailer for that.
So instead, whip up some smores and check out an old classic and newer gem --
Meatballs and
Happy Campers.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Happy Camping
Posted Jun 6th 2008 9:04PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Romance, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
It's June, which means the countdown is on until the cute little rugrats and tempestuous teens get released from school to wreak havoc in the home and on the streets. That means that there is not much time left to make use of the long nights of studying, the friendly sleepovers, and the hours at school. In some places, school's already out, and the mayhem has already begun!
So, tonight's double feature is all about getting a night of sweet silence and cinematic sexiness with your partner of choice. There will be no
Mulholland Drive, because a few moments of supreme sexiness don't make up for the overall feel. Instead, this is about movies that have more than one saucy scene, and should get you in the mood for post-film shenanigans. Obviously, it's pretty much impossible to pick the best of, because there are so very many good examples --
Bliss, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Nine 1/2 Weeks, The Story of O, Basic Instinct, Dangerous Liaisons, Crash, Like Water for Chocolate...
But I'm going to go with a little bit of bondage, and a little bit of literature. I give you:
Secretary and
Henry & June.
And this is your obvious warning: What follows has sexual and adult content and language.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Getting Sexy Before School Lets Out
Posted May 30th 2008 7:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Obits, Friday Night Double Feature
At first, this was going to be a post about music on DVD -- in honor of the eleventh anniversary of Jeff Buckley's death, which horribly coincides with my birthday. But then there was another bout of sadness for the 29th -- the death of
Harvey Korman. Coincidentally, I'd had a whole conversation yesterday about Abe Vigoda, and old funny men who are still alive. I wish this was the case for the great Harvey.
I'm not going to write a lot about his career -- Scott did that wonderfully
in his obituary. And, I've already given you the double feature that covers my favorite Korman film roles -- the Mel Brooks-inspired
March double feature of
History of the World, Part 1 and
Blazing Saddles. But Harvey Korman was really special, and he's given me, and many others, so very many laughs over the years that he deserves the Double Feature tonight.
But things are going to be a little different this week. So much of Korman's work is worth the time that I'm abandoning the two-film format and, instead, giving you a selection of clips and moments from the spectrum of Korman's career. Use this as a jumping point for your own Korman double or triple feature, or enjoy a full Harvey Korman marathon. Enjoy the clips after the jump, and weigh in on your favorite Korman moments in the comments.
Harvey, you will be deeply missed.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: In Memory of Harvey Korman
Posted May 23rd 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Fandom, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
I wanted to continue
this whole week of Indiana Jones, but we've already given you movies reminiscent of the classic adventure series, and we've already given you retro reviews for each of the three films. So, I started to think about what I like about Jones and my favorite of the three,
Raiders of the Lost Ark. One of the best gems of that film is Marion Ravenwood.
So, in celebration of how much Ravenwood rules, I wanted to celebrate women who are more than just damsels in distress. The might find themselves captured. They might get beaten down. But they don't wallow -- they fight back. And even better -- they're both old-school. One comes from the '90s, and the other first kicked butt on the big screen 31 years ago. I give you: Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor in
Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia in
Star Wars.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Damsels Not in Distress
Posted May 16th 2008 10:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Friday Night Double Feature
If there's anyone who has pulled off a wickedly impressive image transformation, it's
Angelina Jolie. She used to be the wild child who'd wear bloody tees to her wedding (with Jonny Lee), or bloody vials around her neck (as she did with Billy Bob). Then she did a 180, becoming a goodwill ambassador and starting her own multicultural Brady Bunch with Brad Pitt.
I'm happy for her, but I can't help but miss the good ol' days. She might have been wild, and she might have shocked many -- but she had a great spark, one that seems to have disappeared inside the current carefully manufactured icon she is today.
The gleam might be hidden these days, but luckily we're living in a world of DVD entertainment. We can head back to the past whenever we want to. What follows are my two favorite Jolie gigs. They're far from the best movies, but they definitely embody both the old Angelina, and a certain period of '90s rebellion. I give you:
Hackers and
Foxfire.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: The Old Angelina Jolie
Posted May 9th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
Oh,
David O. Russell. The man is completely imbalanced: physical confrontations with George Clooney on set, putting Christopher Nolan in a headlock, going on a tirade towards Lily Tomlin, and arguing with James Caan about whether it's possible to choke and cough at the same time. But say what you will about his stability, he puts out some pretty damn good films.
This week's double feature is all about his deliciously talented imbalance. If you're not up for wildly colorful car racing or crappy-looking weddings in Vegas, maybe some Iraq-set comedy and over-the-top existential intervention is more up your alley. Oh yes, I'm talking about the wildly fun
Three Kings and one of my favorite giggle-inducing comedies of all time --
I Heart Huckabees.
Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: The Mania of David O. Russell
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Desperate times call for desperate measures. Since Fox has refused to reveal virtually any plot details about this summer's 
