Huge week this week for the club, big movie and our first competition (see below)!!
If this is your first time visiting the Midnight Movie Club then may I suggest that you check out the About Us page (remembering that those are ridiculously old photos and Lee no longer has a moustache… Dan does still walk around carrying butter knives like that though!?).
Highlights this week:
Fair warning Lee says the F word three times (possibly four… maybe five… mmmm six?) and Dan says it once.
The shortest synopsis yet!
Dan brings up the soundtrack for a change.
The icon of the Orca
Lee and Dan’s favourite scenes.
Dan loves Hooper, Lee loves Brody… lots of man love.
Like us and leave a comment on our Facebook wall: Leave a review on iTunes (and let us know in the comments).
Lee and Dan will write everyone’s name down on tickets and draw them out of a hat on the 10/9/2010 (Australian time) -- they’ll probably announce the winner on the site and on Twitter and Facebook…
Next week the boys are going all country and watching Young Guns 2!
Wow, that trailer really contains a bunch of spoilers!?!
Yes that’s right this week Lee and Dan are watching the 1984 film Gremlins which is a really hard film to classify so it’s been labelled a Science Fiction/Horror/Comedy.
in a departure from every other week Dan and Lee had technical problems
behold as the boys screw up Judge Reinhold’s name completely
Lee potentially creates ‘a famous illustrator’ in his mind and sees him in this film
was this released in the greatest weekend ever?
Gremlins scare Dan and Lee (possibly Lee more than Dan…)
Homages to other films including Spielberg’s
Lee can’t even remember the town’s name
Dan and Lee are loving Joe Dante
Stephen King and the construction of character and then doing something horrible to them
Dan identifies the connection to The Wizard of Oz
Lee bangs on about the soundtrack
The utter ridiculousness of the rules and the absence of science
Lee explores the metaphysics of the gremlins
Buffy the Gremlin Slayer – Dan is effing hilarious!!!
Lee and Dan discuss the mother’s place amongst science fiction heroes Ripley and Connor – she goes all Chuck Norris
Dealing with the dog
Dan does a great Gizmo impression!!
CGI vs Puppets
Oh, no more points go listen to the podcast already!!!!
There is little secret to the reception that the Monster Squad are going to get in this week’s podcast as Dan and Lee have struggled through getting something recorded, in the end the podcast is about as professional as it always is…
Monster Squad business cards
Advice on taking very young children to monster’s homes
Lee only says the ‘F word’ three… maybe four times
Iron Man toy dildos
We refuse to refer to Arjan by his real name
How cool can someone actually be riding a bicycle in a black leather jacket?
How schools are teaching kids to make silver bullets in home economics now.
This week the club shuns dancing and corner putting and returns to manly popcorn flicks… well we hoped anyway. There are a lot of guns in this and a lot walking around but there is also what feels like the longest fight scene ever!
I’m never quite sure what to say in these little introductions since we’ll be talking about the film in the podcast and don’t want to give anything away in a sad attempt to interest you enough to listen. Lee and Dan nickname one of the characters ‘Dead Eyes’ if that helps? They also completely don’t bother to learn anyone’s name in the film except the guy who has no name… ummm I might quit whilst I’m ahead.
Join Lee and Dan as they talk about John Carpenter’s They Live!
Stars:Fred Ward, Christopher Gartin, Michael Gross, Helen Shaver
Earl Basset, a character from the original movie, is hired to clean up a infestation of giant subterranean worm creatures from a Mexican oil field.
This week we watched Tremors 2 and some people have already asked why we didn’t watch the first one, well in true Midnight Movie Club fashion Dan saw Tremors 2 late one night and knew straight away that we should watch it for the club.
So we watched it, we talked about it, have a listen:
We’ve also set up an Amazon account so if you want to buy a movie that we’ve watched or am about to, a great way to support the club is by buying through our affiliate links.
Speaking of supporting us, if you liked the podcast why not share it with your friends on the various social networks and bookmarking sites or give us a review on iTunes!
Next week:
You’ll have the time of your life and you’ll owe all to us…
Starring: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bob “Bobcat” Goldthwait
Murray plays Frank Xavier Cross, a conceited, cynical television programming executive, in a modernization of the classic Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.
I’ve been thinking about it and I’m not sure that there’s anyone in the current crop of movie comedians who holds a candle to Bill Murray in his prime, or Steve Martin and John Candy come to that (not that they are in Scrooged of course)
No I agree with what you are saying, especially Bill Murray although I do enjoy some of his later stuff.
I guess now it is Steve Carrell and the Judd Apatow regulars that are taking on the humour mantle.
It may be just the way films are written these days rather than the quality of the performers.
Maybe, but the quality of say, Ghostbusters, Uncle Buck, Planes Trains and Automobiles does rest a lot on the shoulders of some pretty fine comedians.
Yes, the stuff put out by the original Saturday Night Live crew in the 80′s and early 90′s stands way above the majority of the “Frat Pack’s” efforts.
I just remembered Three Amigos and giggled like a mad man.
Quick, add it to our Midnight Movie List.
Done!!!! OMG I want to bump it up on the list!!!
Shifting things back on topic a little, can I just say that I just love the psychotically violent Ghost of Christmas Present. Is it wrong of me to find her rather attractive?
BAHAHAHA when she hits him with the toaster!! That is gold!! I love her, of course it’s the only film I love her in but she is awesome in this, Bill Murray and her really play off each other really well.
Sexy sexy gold.
It’s Carol Kane isn’t it? The woman from Taxi?
It’s the voice isn’t it!? Yes it is Carol, she was also in Seinfeld, she got hit on the head with the pocket organizer. Her voice grates on me in that episode but it’s a delight in Scrooged.
No, it’s not the voice, it’s the toaster. I have a thing for toasters. I get very excited indeed when I watch Battlestar Galactica.
Oh dear.
Remind me not to order the toast at your place!!!
Hehe. Especially not the slice with the “special butter”
You were that guy who preferred Ghostbusters 2 because of the dancing toaster!!! That’s nasty.
Mmmmm lap-dancing toasters. Show me your bread slot baby.
Ok… I think we probably should move on now.
Do you think Bobcat Goldthwait talks like that at his kid’s parent teacher meetings? He must get through a hell of a lot of throat losenges.
God I hope so!!!! How good would it be him just ringing Pizza Hut!! They would so think he is ripping the piss out of them!
He’s the only man who could be excused for TYpiNG LiKE thiS as it acurately depicts his speaking style.
The other 5 million “wacky” emo types who do it should be shot on sight of course (there I go advocating genocide again)
You are a hard cynical bastard if you don’t get to the end of this film without even a shred of Christmas spirit. That’s easily me at the beginning of the film, I’m generally the one who claims that Christmas is a crock or a con but at the end of Scrooged I’m putting up Christmas trees and humming carols!
Well maybe not carols, I am humming “put a little love in your heart” though.
Oh thanks a lot. I’d only just managed to get that song out of my head.
I know what you’re saying though, that final scene and musical number certainly does provoke the old festive spirit. Although I was surprised to find it didn’t do that as much as it used to for me. Then again I’m generally having a hard time feeling Christmassy at all this year, so it’s probably not anything to do with the movie.
Perhaps I could do with a visit from a few ghosts myself. Preferably one’s wielding toasters (sweet, sweet toasters).
I think we’ve discovered the root of most of your troubles.
Watching Scrooged again reminded me of something that I forgot and that is how good this film is and how much I love it. I remember being so excited as a kid that it was coming out because it had Ghostbuster Bill Murray in it and at that stage anything with a Ghostbuster in it was gold.
Then Coneheads came out.
Coneheads? Quick add it to the Midnight Movie list…
Nah, on second thoughts, let’s not.
It’s a shame, but Dan Akroyd has certainly failed to live up to his earlier promise hasn’t he. Although to be fair it’s only Murray out of that generation of comedians that has managed to consistently forge a respected body of work.
Did you know Murray doesn’t even have an agent? Apparently he fields movie pitches via a private telephone number attached to a answer machine which he checks only sporadically. Mind you I learned that nugget from the mighty Wikipedia, so I could well just have just regurgitated a ton of crud.
He is also reported to have headbutted McG the director of Terminator Salvation, Murray denies this suggesting that he would rather had shot him. I’m going to side with Bill on this one.
Apparently when he was ‘negotiating’ to play Bosley on Charlie’s Angels he gave them the figure he wanted and then just disappeared, no calls, no contact, that was his negotiation.
Finally and this is the last I’ll go on about Murray’s eccentricities is that when he was in negotiations to be in the Ghostbusters game he would only sign if Ernie Hudson’s role was on equal footing with the three others.
This is something I find truly classy.
Whilst it is very clear that Bill Murray completely carries this film, it does not hurt that the rest of the cast is all very good, especially the ghosts. Both the ghosts of Christmas past and present have me in stitches with some of my favourite lines in the film. Of course it comes back to the way Murray interacts with them, they have a really great rapport with them especially with ‘Present’.
I was thinking a while back when writing about Indiana Jones 4 that I couldn’t think of anything else that Karen Allen had been in apart from Raiders of the Lost Ark and here is my answer, I completely forgot she was in Scrooged.
I get her mixed up with the woman who played Lois Lane.
Yeah, I bet I probably did too when I was a kid, although Lois Lane’s voice scares me with its deep rumble.
You’ve got a bit of a thing about voices haven’t you. Do you have very sensitive ears or something?
Toaster-boy.
HEY! Don’t judge me man!
Hey I’m not judging… actually yeah I kinda am.
Another scene from this film that always makes me laugh is the scene where Frank (Murray) is at lunch with his boss and the guy who was in Gremlins 2. The waiter in that scene is classic in the way that he reacts to Bill Murray screaming and carrying on about the eyeball in his glass and the waiter on fire. his eyes are comedy gold and the lines where he misinterprets what Murray is pointing at and advises him that ‘sir wouldn’t want that’.
That guy played Socrates in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Wonderful. I love knowing useless stuff like that.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure was a touchstone film for me when I was young and like Ghostbusters before it I tend to recognise or take notice of the actors in other stuff. The guy who played genghis khan was also in Die Hard (and then every terrorist role afterwards)
I was going to say, even I recogniose that guy. He’s in every single action film ever made. Isn’t he even in Big Trouble in Little China?
Never changes his look either. Yes he’s in BTILC.
You should have grown a mo’ like that guy had. That was a classic.
I think he has the copyright, you have to pay him royalties.
I found Scrooged a little scary in parts too though – the trapped souls in the chest of The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and the bit where Murray gets burned alive in the coffin in particular.
I guess, I mean if you’ve never seen another scary film then sure.
HEY! That’s some scary stuff there man.
I mean if you’re a big baby sure.
Well bollocks to you, that’s what I say. Here I am trying to drag you back on topic before you go off on one about your precious Big Trouble in Little China, and that’s the thanks I get. Bloody charming.
I think you need your bottle and a lie down.
Perhaps you’re right.
Anyone object if I take the toaster with me too?
Good grief.
In fairness though to Dan’s sensitivities, I did find myself wondering about the gun scenes with Bobcat. I mean is he really trying to kill Murray? Then when he is holding the control room hostage and the gun goes off, those people look terrified. I doubt you would get away with that today, I certainly think the ratings board would take a close look at those scenes.
It does make me happy that the ratings board don’t go back and try to re-rate old films.
To be fair though, he was holding people ransom whilst using a silly voice. That’s got to count for something right? At least a few years knocked off the rating scale?
That’s the only voice he’s got!!!!
Even earlier in the film when he is playing normal the voice is still there!! Granted I would have Bobcat no other way.
For the purposes of research I looked into his later career. He’s a bit of a indy film writer/director these days you know. His last movie starred Robin Williams as a dad who faked his son’s suicide note after he died from auto-asphixiation.
Wow. That’s good for him though.
You should have researched that moustache dude’s career. We should at least get a name for him. We should use his moustache as a rating system.
Marvelous plan! He could become our offical mascot (seeing as though he’ll be in 80% of the films we review)
Well at the very least we should do a ‘watch’ for him and acknowledge his presence in each film
The actor’s name is Al Leong. His wikipedia page is great as instead of a photo it is an artist’s rendition of him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Leong
Maybe no camera is big enough to handle that mighty moustache
He looks like he should be in Mortal Kombat.
Listen, I think we’re getting a little distracted here. perhaps it’s time for our final thoughts.
I think it’s fair to get distracted by the mighty Leong, despite him not actually being in this movie. Instead of a Christmas tree I want Al Leong standing in the corner of the living room defending our presents.
With baubles hanging off his ‘tash.
duh, it IS christmas.
…the Christmas spirit seems to manifesting itself in me through sarcasm.
So, to sum up: Scrooged stands up as well today as it did when it was made. In fact apart from a few cheesy 80′s suits and the lack of mobile phones it could be completely contemporary. Bill Murray is at his comedic best, and is ably supported by a cast of great character actors.
I’d even go so far to say that this is the best movie version of the Scrooge story out there, and that includes the Muppet Christmas Carol.
I’m going to give it eight diet cokes out of ten. I’d give it eight and a half except I can’t be bothered working out how to do that in photoshop.
And so all that’s left is to wish a Happy Christmas to you all. See you on the other side.
My final thoughts echo what Dan has already said, I certainly agree that this is the best adaptation of Scrooge out there.
So I will blatantly rip off his rating and give Scrooged eight double shot soy flat white out of the potential ten. If you are looking to watch something this Christmas Eve and you think Lethal Weapon is not festive enough, watch Scrooged!
Dan just finished editing next weeks podcast. That's two in the can, which allows the boys a nice weeks break.08:53:14 AM September 06, 2010from Facebook
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