Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

Our second film in our tribute to Paul Reubens, who passed away at the end of July, 2023, is a very... different film. Directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui and written by none other than Joss Whedon, this film went on to inspire a very successful television series (of the same name) for the WB and then UPN! This first outing told the origin story of "The Slayer." Buffy (Kristy Swanson), a high-school cheerleader, meets up with Merrick (Donald Southerland), a mysterious older man who tells Buffy she is, in fact, a "slayer," one born to kill vampires. Given that Buffy is something of an airhead, this takes a while to sink in. During that time, master vampire Lothos (Rutger Hauer) and his right-hand, Amilyn (Paul Reubens) are busy creating an army of vampires to ravage the town. Buffy is aided by loner but all-around good guy Pike (Luke Perry), who is looked down upon by Buffy's squad, Jennifer (Michele Abrams), Kimberly (Hillary Swank), and Nikki (Paris Vaughan). Finally, the next pairing will be the previous-announced "Surreality Television" featuring a film beloved by both Geeks!

On July 31st, 2023, Paul Reubens, better known as his character Pee-Wee Herman, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 70. In honor of this unique entertainer, we're inserting a pairing of two of his most notable performances on film into our line-up. First up, the character that would define his entire life... in his debut film! Directed by Tim Burton, in his first feature-length outing, and written by Reubens, Phil Hartman (yes, THAT Phil Hartman) and Michael Varhol, 1985's "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" follows the titular character and his amazing bicycle on an average day. But when Pee-Wee's bike is stolen, he turns consults a psychic who tells him his beloved bicyle is the basement of The Alamo! Saying goodbye to his friend, and the bike mechanic who kept his cycle in tip-top shape, Dottie (Elizabeth Daily), Pee-Wee sets off on a cross-country adventure to get his bike back! Unfortunately, his bike was actually stolen by local spoiled rich kid Francis Buxton (Mark Holton) and Pee-Wee's on a wild goose chase! But what happens along the way lets Pee-Wee make new friends, help people, and ultimately return home with his beloved bicycle, and a feature film! And the story features the major motion picture debut of composer Danny Elfman who scored the film!

38 years after the premiere of the original cinematic version, and four years after the musical version opened on Broadway (and won 12 Tony Awards), writer Mel Brooks and Director Susan Stroman brought the story from the "Great White Way" to the big screen in 2005's musical film "The Producers!" This time around, it was both leads from the Broadway production as stars - Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leopold Bloom. The rule of Ula, their Swedish secretary and member of the cast was increased from the original film and portrayed by Uma Thurman. Giving the role of Franz Liebkind a bit more comedia ooomph was Will Ferrell, and Roger De Bris was played brilliantly by Gary Beach! In the cinematic version, Liebkind ends up being both the writer and star of "Springtime for Hitler," the play within the film. This version also features Roger Bart as Carmen Ghia, as well as appearances by Eileen Essell, Jon Lovitz, Andrea Martrin, Michael McKean, John Barrowman, and Marilyn Sokol! Plus, the trio disclose what two films will make up their "Surreality Television" pairing, coming up next!

This pairing is a first for us - two versions of the same story, set some 28 years apart! First up, the original from writer/director Mel Brooks (his first time in the director's chair) comes the story of a failed Broadway producer and a timid accountant who hatch a scheme to become millionaires by producing a sure-fire, destined to close on opening night flop, and how everything goes so wrong, they accidentally produce a hit! The film stars the incomperable Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock and the equally wonderful Gene Wilder as accountant Leo Bloom. Together, they find their flop, written by Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), the worst director in town, Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewitt) and the worst leading actor in town, Lorenzo "L.S.D." St. DuBois (Dick Shawn). The film also features classic performances from Estelle Winwood, Andreas Voutsinas, and Lee Meredith in a film that described as (paraphrasing Peter Sellers), "shocking, outrageous, insulting... and I loved every minute of it!"

The second film in our summer "coming-of-age" stories takes place in 1962 in the town of Copeland, Texas. In director Tim McCanlies' 2003 film, "Secondhand Lions," young Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is dropped off at the isolated home of his two great uncles, Garth (Michael Caine) and Hub (Robert Duvall) for the summer while his mother Mae (Kyra Sedgwick) supposedly leaves for court reporter school. Over the summer, Walter learns that his uncles were adventurers in Africa starting in 1914 and on through the 1920s, and begins to learn what being a man really means, at least according to the two retired adventurers. Also starring Nicky Katt, Josh Lucas, Michael O'Neal, Eric Balfour, Kevin Baberer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, and Christian Kane! Plus, the trio reveal what their next pairing is, a first for the podcast!

Ah, summer! This pairing is about summer coming-of-age stories, and they're both movies that have become classics! First up, it's a story about the power of baseball and the friendships that continue on into adulthood. Directed by David Mickey Evans, 1993's "The Sandlot" tells the story of Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry), who moves to town at the beginning of the summer, is befriended by Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez (Mike Vitar), and brought into the neighborhood baseball game in the local sandlot. But when a baseball worth more than all their lives put together gets hit over the fence and into the lair of "the beast," the group must band together like never before to save Smalls the fury of his stepfather and recover his treasured ball! Also starring Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Brendon Quintin Adams, Grant Gelt, Shane Obedzinski, Victor DiMattia, Denis Leary, Karen Allen, and James Earl Jones!

The second film in our "American saves the world" pairing is the beginning of a franchise for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the end of its "Phase 1" stories. Directed by Joss Whedon, a master at ensemble stories, this film took Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor from their separate origin story films and combined them with other heroes in a race to save the planet from a directed invasion by another character we'd met before! In 2012's "The Avengers," we see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) racing to stop the Tesseract (an alien artifact) from exploding. Astrophysicist Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) has been studying the artifact under the watchful eye of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). When the Tesseract admits Loki (Tom Hiddleston), brother of Thor, to our world, he arrives with a stated intention to rule the planet as its king. After failing to prevent his escape, Fury sends Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to recruit Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Coulson to recruit Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and Fury himself goes to fetch Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans) as a "response team." Along the way, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns, and together they attempt to stop Loki's plan of world domination. Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, and Alexis Denisof. Plus, the gentlemen reveal which two "coming-of-age" films they've chosen for their next pairing!

This pairing is dedicated to a very American conceit: That in times of turmoil, it will be the United States of America alone who will save the world! To that end, we're looking at two films that take that idea and energetically and emphatically run with that idea. First up, Roland Emmerich directed a look at how we would respond, as a planet, to extra-terrestrial invaders who come to destroy our planet, and only a motley group of Americans can figure it out and lead the world to victory in 1996's "Independence Day!" The film covers 72 hours, from first detection, through rampant destruction, to a cockamamie scheme to save the world using a Mac laptop. Take one hotshot fighter pilot, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith), one nerdy satellite engineer, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an ex-fighter jock turned President of the United States Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), and an ex-vietnam pilot turned drunken crop duster, Russell Case (Randy Quaid). Mix them together with a stellar supporting cast including Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Vivica A. Fox, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, and Brent Spider, and you have what some have described as the ultimate popcorn movie where, as advertised, the USA saves the world!

We move ahead two decades for our second film looking at the career of Matt Dillon (a listener suggestion!). This time around, it's a role that nabbed him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2004's "Crash" written and directed by Academy Award winner Paul Haggis. "Crash" tells a convoluted story of several people, all from different walks of life, whose lives intersect over a 48-hour period in Los Angeles. From carjackers to TV directors to the District Attorney, the film is an exploration of racism, both casual and pointed, and how everyone succumbs to thinking in stereotypes at some point. The film stars Don Cheadle as Graham, an LAPD detective, and Jennifer Esposito as his partner, Ria, Brendan Fraser as Rick, the District Attorney, and his wife Jean, played by Sandra Bullock. We also meet television director Cameron (Terrance Howard) and his wife Christine (Thandiwe Newton) who run afoul of LAPD officers Ryan (Matt Dillon) and his overt racism, which is witnessed by Ryan's partner Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe). The DA is carjacked by two professionals, Anthony (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate), which brings Daniel (Michael Pena), a locksmith, to the DA's home who must witness Jean's racist rants. The full plot is too intricate to summarize, but the film also stars Tony Danza, Keith David, William Fichtner, Daniel Day Kim, Mirina Sirtis, and Shaun Toub in a film that everyone should see at least once! Plus, the trio reveal which "Americans Save the World" (said tongue-firmly-in-cheek) films make up their next pairing!

It's a listener-suggested pairing! A friend of Chad's thought we should do a pairing focusing on the work of Matt Dillon, and so we have! First up, one of those books so many of us were assigned to read in junior high school or high school, made into a film featuring a bevy of soon-to-be megastars. Directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola, 1983's "The Outsiders," based on the classic S. E. Hinton novel, tells the story of a group of greasers in the mid 60s, living their lives and trying to cope with the antagonisms of the Socs (pronounced "soshes"), a group of rich kids who think the greasers are not fit to walk the same ground. The film stars C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy Curtis, Robe Lowe (in his first cinematic role) as Ponyboy's older brother Soda Pop Curtis, Patrick Swayze as Darrel Curtis, the oldest brother, Ralph Macchio as Johnny, Matt Dillon as Dallas, Emilio Estevez as Two-Bit, Tom Cruise as Steve, and Diane Lane as Cherry Valance. The biggest "star" in the cast, at least at the time, was Leif Garrett who played Bob Sheldon, the leader of the Socs. The film also featured appearances from Tom Waits, Sofia Coppola, Darren Dalton, and a cameo by S. E. Hinton herself!