Movie Date Night

Our final entry in our Haunted Trilogy is a double feature in which we cover both the black and white originals for The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill. As we explore these spooky films, we discuss why leaving some mystery in the films is far better than CGI ghosts, we laugh at the awkward voice overs and narrating heads, and Greg explains scientifically why skeletons are super scary. Music by bensound.com

For Greg’s Haunted remake he presents to Lauren The House on Haunted Hill (1999). In this gore and violence infused update, we discuss over the one-use-only theme park thrills, tech savvy ghosts, and story lines that are abandoned in the film’s last 10 minutes for terrible CGI. Music by bensound.com

For October we decided to keep our theme of Old and New and examine a few horror movie remakes. Lauren starts us off with 1999’s The Haunting. In this movie which shares it’s roots with the recent Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, we discuss the unethical practices of Liam Neeson, the impossible and impractical designs of the house, and question not only the rules of the ghosts, but Nell’s interpretations of their backstory. Music by bensound.com

For our second episode of original vs remake, we move from Fantasy to Sci-Fi with Total Recall. In our examination of the Schwarzenegger original and the Farrell remake we talk about all the cool future tech, try to wrap our minds around the villainous Cohagen’s flawed plans, and examine the fundamental flaws with the third act resolutions that would have each caused catastrophic results. Music by bensound.com

This month we are comparing the old with the new through movie remakes. For this double feature, we are examining Clash of the Titans from 1981 and 2010. As we compare these similar yet vastly different interpretations of the myth of Perseus, we discuss Bubo the Iron man Owl, messy plot-lines, the tragedy of Medusa, and we clash with even the title of these movies. Music by bensound.com

For Greg’s Musical number, he chose to take a hard U-turn away from Rent’s Bohemian themes and dive into the capitalist world with How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1967). In this comedic corporate caper, we see how quickly a man can rise through a company through manipulation, backstabbing and always being hungry for more. We discuss why it’s important to read ahead in your Self-Help guides, strange mid-century office design, Lauren takes her shot at the Patriarchy, and we ask if this movie could be remade in any way or is it stuck in the sexist ’60s. Music by bensound.com

This month we are covering Musicals and Lauren decided we should warm up our vocal cords with 2005’s Rent. As we try to stay in tune in with this tale of New Yorkers living with AIDS, we discuss the difficult transition of stories from Broadway to Hollywood, why Rent is more of a time capsule rather than timeless, White Bohemian privilege and dog murder. Music by bensound.com

We hope you had a chance to restrock your tissues because we have another tear-jerker for you as Greg shows Lauren the Studio Ghibili film, Grave of the Fireflies. IN this tale of a teenage boy trying to care for his young sister in the midst of a war, we discuss why you can't trust distant relatives in times of crisis, how your age really matters in times of war, we address Lauren's dislike for traditionally animated films and try to answer the question 'Who is this movie for?' Music by bensound.com

For this month we are looking to have a good cry with a few tearjerkers and Lauren has decided to go first with Patch Adams. IN this based on a true story about a man bringing humor to a hospital, we discuss the film's several shorthanded plot points and abandoned conflicts, the unappreciated greatness of Monica Potter, and why Greg shouldn't be allowed to see sad films in the theater. Music by bensound.com

For our final cinematic camp out of the Summer, Lauren decided to end the month with the Independent film Camp Takota. In this Youtube Star driven movie, we discover the importance of female friendship over men, a neglected and shy 6 year old, awful stories about Loch Ness monsters that Greg wishes was real, and why you shouldn’t hire people who drunk dial you the night before work starts, especially if that job is a multi-week long commitment that involves childcare. Music by bensound.com