The MacGuffin

Spencer interviews Bob Ingersoll, from the film Project Nim, which screened at SIFF.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes, and Zune. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here.

Dark comedies are a fickle bunch. I can imagine this statement is just as true for filmmakers as it is for audiences. There’s a fine line that must be maintained between danger and humor, and as humor is a defense mechanism, it would seem that the two would be ripe for the plucking. Unfortunately, this balance seems to be lost more than it is obtained, especially in films as of recent. I think this problem stems from several issues: 1) what is considered dangerous is in a precarious place at this moment in time. The world has changed. In the past what was considered absurd is now a reality (I’ll get back to this in a moment), and this has led to 2) what is considered risqué is more often than not simply being raunchy these days. Since filmmakers and audiences are confused on what kind of topics are acceptable to approach when it comes to violence, they are turning to humor about sex, something more of us can probably relate to.

To prepare for Final Destination 5 in 3D, I watched the original movie in the franchise, Final Destination. I’d seen it before and thought it was a nicely plotted, effective little horror film, and this was reaffirmed on my second viewing. The characters are worth caring about, the story makes sense and is interesting, and there are enough scares to keep things hopping. My recommendation is that you rent Final Destination instead of seeing Final Destination 5. It’s a much better movie and you won’t feel nasty after watching it.

Lately, whenever I watch Dial M for Murder, I get a craving to watch Midnight Lace, which really makes me want to see Gaslight. What do these movies all have in common? They are a special variety of thriller, sub-genre “Women in Jeopardy,” sub-sub-genre “Wife in Jeopardy.” To get sillier with it, I could break it down even further to “Wife in Jeopardy from a Seemingly Loving Husband,” as opposed to a psycho husband (The Two Mrs. Carrolls) or alien husband (I Married a Monster From Outer Space).

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Brandi and Allen share their top 5 duos.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes, and Zune. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

King of Marvin Gardens

Around Christmas time last year, I picked up a copy of the Criterion Collection’s box set “America Lost and Found: The BBS Story.” It wasn’t until just a couple weeks ago that I finally sat down and watched King of Marvin Gardens, starring Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, and Julia Anne Robinson. Directed by Bob Rafelson, who was coming off the critical success of Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens takes a different look at the male psyche in modern America. The story centers around two brothers (Nicholson and Dern) and the nature of their relationship.

I have been reluctant to write this review. I’ve been avoiding it for days, despite knowing that I have a lot to say. Sometimes you enjoy a film immensely despite undeniable flaws, and often we term that a “guilty pleasure,” an “escape,” or something along those lines. But when one feels that way about a film that has the pedigree of something like The Help, a film that tries—and often succeeds—in being much more than escapism, the discussion feels a little more difficult. It feels more like launching a defense, and maybe a reluctant one. That’s where I stand now: knowing what my emotional feeling was during and immediately after the film, and trying to reconcile that with my analytical thoughts after some distance. It’s tougher than I anticipated going in to that screening.

Judd Apatow has become the king of comedies in the last few years. Each year there is at least one film that he or one of the Apatow crew are involved in. These films usually end up being one of the most talked about comedies of the year.

Ask me what it is about movies I love so much, and I’ll tell you to see Cinema Paradiso (1988) for your answer. This Italian film, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, is one of the great showcases for the magic that movies can provide. It’s not so much a film that you should see if you are a movie lover; it a film that you must see. We follow a young boy in a small village, witness his friendship with a sweet and kind projectionist, and understand how this child’s love affair with the movies would eventually shape who he would become as a man. It is lovely, nostalgic, and dripping with sentiment, but in the best way possible. All the fun, enjoyment, thrills, and amazement that come with falling in love with the movies is captured in almost every frame. The movie was made for movie fans, and to not find joy in it would be to turn against everything they stand for.

I can only imagine what the pitch meeting was like when the idea to make The Change-Up (2011) was decided upon. The people who convinced the studio executives to greenlight this film must have been expert salesmen, because the premise is a tired and recycled comedy setup that was old more than fifteen years ago. Not only that, but the tone of the film is slapstick—a gross-out comedy that masquerades as a tale about finding one’s true place in life, but in reality shamelessly caters to the lowest common denominator. Sure, there are times when it tries to be better than what it is, but at the end of the day, it’s too afraid of taking that step. This is an unfunny film about two people who have no business being associated with one another, let alone temporarily taking each other’s lives as their own.