Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

Our second film in this pairing is another sci-fi classic based on a story by a legendary author! In 1990's "Total Recall," based on a story by Philip K. Dick and directed by Paul Verhoeven, we are introduced to Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a construction worker with a beautiful wife, Lori (Sharon Stone). Doug has a problem with a series of nightmares all showing him to be on Mars, fighting for his life, and alongside a sultry brunette. After Lori shuts down his idea of going to Mars, he decides to investigate a business he's seen advertised on TV called "Rekall." The company offers the option of implanting memories of vacations people have neither the time nor the income to afford, giving them the experience without actually having gained it. Doug chooses a deluxe Mars trip, complete with an added package that will give him the memory of a secret agent on assignment there as well. Unfortunately, something goes wrong in the process and Doug wakes up before the procedure has begun, claiming to be someone else. After his "wife" turns on him, and one of his co-workers tries to kill him, he travels to Mars and discovers that much of what he though was true about himself may not be. Or could there be yet another option as well? The ending of the film is something of a debate amongst fans, and the hosts will be discussing it as well! Also starring Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox, and Rachel Ticotin! Plus, they reveal what two films, movies of plays that Chad was once a cast member for, will make up the next pairing!

Sci-Fi films based on stories by famous writers? Arnold Schwarzenegger films? Last century's cheese science fiction movies? There's so many ways to describe this pairing, but however you label it, these are two films that were both predictive of the future and much deeper than a surface analysis would suggest! Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, 1987's "The Running Man" is a film based on a Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King) story. Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a former helicopter pilot who is arrested after refusing to fire on a group of unarmed civilians. After escaping from a prison work camp, he is seen on the news by showrunner Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), head of the most popular TV show in the country, "The Running Man!" After Ben is re-captured, Damon gets Ben assigned to be a contestant on the show, and pairs him with the two other prisoners who escaped with him, Harold Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre) and William Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto). Now the three, along with Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), a woman Ben kidnapped while on the run, must survive both the physical race track and the various hunters, professional players each with their own gimmick, and reach the end of the course to earn their freedom! Also starring Jim Brown, Erland van Lidth, Gus Rethwisch, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Jesse Ventura!

The second film in our Conjuring universe pairing is the second film released by director James Wan and his crew. In 2016's "The Conjuring 2," we are shown Ed and Lorraine Warren, played once more by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, and their part in the infamous Amityville incident. After that, they are called to investigate a spiritual disruption happening in Enfield, England, by the Catholic church in the person of Father Gordon (Steve Coulter). They travel overseas and meet the Peggy Hodgson (Frances O'Connor) and her daughters Janet (Madison Wolfe) and Margaret (Lauren Esposito), and her sons Billy (Benjamin Haigh) and Johnny (Patrick McAuley). There they also meet two other paranormal investigators who have been working with the Hodgsons for some time, Maurice Gross (Simon McBurney) and Anita Gregory (Franka Potente). Together they learn that Janet has been terrorized by a malevolent spirit in the house who, upon investigation, they believe is the former occupant. After a few days, Janet is caught faking an incident and the investigators leave, although it turns out that Janet was told that if she didn't get rid of the team, the spirit would kill her siblings. Ultimately, Ed and Lorraine return and to help Janet and face off against the demon who has been tormenting the family all this time! Plus, the guys unveil the intersection of famous horror, famous sci-fi, and Arnold Schwarzenegger that created the next two films they'll review!

Our next pairing focuses on what one Geek has labeled as the horror franchise thus far in the 21st century! In 2013's "The Conjuring," director James Wan introduces the audience to the life and times of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple who were paranormal investigators in the latter half of the 20th century. In this first film, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) respond to a plea from Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) who have moved into a Rhode Island fixer-upper with their five daughters Andrea (Shanley Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), Cindy (Mackenzie Foy), and April (Kyla Deaver), only to be tormented by some sort of spiritual manifestation. During the course of their investigation, the Warrens, along with police officer Brad Hamilton (John Brotherton) and their assistant Drew Thomas (Shannon Kook), find out that the whole area has a haunted history and end up in a fight with the spirit of a 19th century witch who is trying to possess Carolyn. The Warrens and their helpers must use every weapon they have to defeat this spiritual menace and save the lives of the entire Perron family!

Our second film was the first stop-action animated film to ever win the "Best Animated Film" Oscar, and introduced American audiences to a franchise much beloved in the United Kingdom! Directed by Steve Box and Nick Park, and written by that duo and Mark Burton, 2005's "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" tells the story of absent-minded inventor Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his dog Gromit (who doesn't ever speak), proprietors of Anti-Pesto, a company dedicated to protecting vegetable crops from hungry bunnies! They've been very successful, thanks to Wallace's inventions, but when Lady Campanula Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter) calls on the pair, it's time to up their game! At the same time, we also meet Lady Tottington's unwanted suitor, Victor Quartermain (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), whose solution is much more violent, and permanent, than she's comfortable with. Wallace hits on an idea to use his latest invention, the Mind Manipulation-O-Matic, to reprogram the bunnies to avoid eating the town's vegetables. Unfortunately, the experiment goes a bit wrong and, shortly thereafter, a giant Were-Rabbit is terrorizing gardens all through the community! It's up to Wallace and Gromit to solve the problem, save the day, and keep Lord Quartermain from marrying Lady Tottington! But even that task isn't as simple as our duo might hope, as the Were-Rabbit turns out to be especially problematic in several ways! Plus, the guys reveal which two films, from what Jeff describes as "the best horror franchise of the 21st century," will make up the next pairing!

We begin a two-week look at stop-action animation with a film that was shown every day, somewhere in the world, for 28 straight years! Directed by Ivo Caprino, 1975's "The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" became the most successful animated film to come out of Norway! Hi atop a hillside next to the village of Pinchcliff, bicycle repairman Theodore Rimspoke (voiced by Frank Robert) with his two helpers, Lambert (voiced by Toralv Maurstad) and Sonny Duckworth (voiced by Kari Simonsen). While watching TV one evening, the trio see a news report about Rudolph Gore-Slimey (voiced by Helge Reiss), a former apprentice of Grimspoke's, who has built a racing car using plans stolen from Grimspoke's workshop, and is challenging anyone to try and beat him on the track! Lamenting his poverty, Grimspoke return to work, but Sonny spies a vacationing Sheikh and decides to try to get Grimspoke a sponsor. After a few mishaps, Sheikh Abdul Ben Bonanza (voiced by Rolf Just Nilsen) agrees to finance Grimspoke's wondrous invention, a car known as the "Il Tempo Gigante!" Eventually, the race is on, but can Grimspoke and his crew overcome the nasty tricks and traps inflicted upon them by Gore-Slimey?

The second film in our Christmas pairing moves ahead almost 50 years! Written and directed by Nora Ephron, 1994's "Mixed Nuts" is the story of Phillip (Steve Martin) who runs a crisis hotline with jaded matron Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) and sweet, overly-empathic introvert Catherine (Rita Wilson). On Christmas Eve, things go from bad to worse - the calls are stranger, the helpline is about to be evicted from their office, and the Seaside Strangler is still running around killing young women! Add to the chaos a beautiful trans woman named Chris (Liev Schreiber in his first cinematic role) and a chaotic couple, unemployed layabout Felix (Anthony LaPaglia) and his pregnant girlfriend Gracie (Juliette Lewis), Phillip's veterinarian Dr. Kinsky (Rob Reiner) and Louie (Adam Sandler), a lovesick crooner, and things spiral out of control firmly and quickly. How will it all end, and will anyone catch the Seaside Strangler? Also starring Garry Shandling, Steven Wright, and featuring cameos from Parker Posey and Jon Stewart! Plus, the trio reveal what two stop-action animated films will make up their first pairing of 2025!

Just in time for the winter holidays, it's our Christmas pairing! Starting out, we travel back to 1945, right at the end of World War II, for a tale of mistaken (sometimes deliberately) identity and a rollicking screwball comedy set in the country during the holidays! Directed by Peter Godfrey, "Christmas in Connecticut" was a present to all the moviegoers of the time, weary of war pictures and serious topics, who were ready for something just... silly. Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a home and hearth magazine writer who comforts people across the country every week with stories from her farm in Connecticut with her husband, baby, and animals. Plus, the recipes she includes have turned her into a household name! There's only one problem: She's single, lives in an apartment in New York, and can't cook at all! But when publisher Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet, in a rare comedic role) invites a lonely GI, Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) to spend a down-home family christmas with renowned homemaker Elizabeth Lane, things go sideways really quickly! Elizabeth turns to her friend and restaurant chef Felix Bassenak (S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall), who agrees to help, and the race is on to the farm of the man she is enthusiastically engaged to, architect John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner). But, as if things weren't complicated enough, when Elizabeth and Jefferson meet, sparks fly, and it's anybody's guess how it'll all turn out! Also starring Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor, Frank Jenks, Joyce Compton, and Dick Elliott!

25 years after the original film came out, Paul Newman returned to start as Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson once more in director Martin Scorsese's 1986 film "The Color of Money!" This time, Newman's "Fast Eddie" is 25 years older, supposedly wiser, and working as a liquor salesman. He's involved, seemingly seriously, with the bartender of an establishment named Janelle (Helen Shaver), and occasionally partners with nine-ball players like Julian (John Turtorro). When he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise) however, he sees in the young man a protege worthy of his attentions. Along with Vincent's girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), they embark on a six-week hustling tutorial, with their ultimate goal a pool tournament in Atlantic City. Along the way, Eddie must confront some of the realities of a world that has changed in 25 years, as well as admitting that he is no longer the same as he was that long ago. Also starring Bill Cobbs, a cameo by rocker Iggy Pop, and the film debut of Forest Whitaker! Plus, the trio unveil their Christmas pairing for 2024!

For this pairing of a film and its sequel, 25 year went by between the two films! It's to the world of the pool hall shark and con artists in general we go, starting with 1961's "The Hustler." Directed by Robert Rossen, the film follows the tale of Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman), an up-and-coming pool hustler. Felson feels he's ready for the big time and challenges reigning master pool shark Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). After losing to Fats, more because of character than talent, Felson meets Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie) in a bus station diner. After running into her again later on, the two end up together. Fats' partner, Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) shows up and invites Eddie to become his partner too. After turning him down, Eddie is attacked and made unable to play pool for some time. When he recovers, he agrees to Bert's proposition and goes on the road with Sarah in tow. Unfortunately, things go badly on the road, and a tragedy occurs, but it completes Eddie's growth of character enough that he can once again challenge Fats. Also starring Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton, Stefan Gierasch, and boxing legend Jake LaMotta!