The MacGuffin

Monkey Shines (1988): A great story of a struggling quadriplegic mixed with the mediocre story of his angry telepathic helper monkey. 5/10

Spencer and John reflect on the deaths of Brittany Murphy and Dan O’Bannon, look back on the career of Quentin Tarantino following the release of Inglorious Basterds on DVD, give their DVD Picks of the Week and discuss Avatar now that it has been released.

Shakma: A raging baboon attacks people playing a fantasy RPG in a medical school. A decent movie with great monkey attack scenes. 5/10

Not Quite Hollywood: Very entertaining documentary about Australian exploitation films in the 70s and 80s. You’ll want to see them all. 8/10

Ninja Assassin is a modern day ninja movie that takes place in Berlin of all places. Aside from the unusual setting, the movie explains why after thousands of years, people who look into what ninjas are doing end up dead. The film is made by the same people that did the Matrix, and it seemed pretty clear in the effects throughout this film. In fact, I described this movie to my friend as a combination of the Matrix, Ghost, and the 1980’s television series “The Master”. (Which is also appropriate since Sho Kosugi is one of the main characters in the film and was in the 1980’s television series.)

Gremlins 2: One of the rare sequels that is not only a great movie, but is completely different in tone from the first. Where’s part 3? 9/10

Gremlins: The best Christmas horror movie around. A great satire and creature feature full of great gags and memorable monsters. 9/10

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this film, originally titled “The Boat That Rocked”. I saw the previews for it and some clips with interviews with the actors and a huge part of me wanted to see it. And then there were parts with ridiculous clothing and dancing and singing on a ship – which 1000% turned me off. Thankfully, the singing and dancing were reserved for very specific and (almost) appropriate parts of the film.

Since we aren’t filming an episode of the podcast this week, I wanted to do a post for the DVD picks of the week.  I haven’t consulted with John, but I’m pretty comfortable making these selections.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a hardcore Harry Potter fan.  I have not read any of the books, and I haven’t gone out of my way to see the movies.  Don’t get me wrong, they are well produced movies but for the most part they haven’t really hooked me as much as the Lord of the Rings.