Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

For Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday, we turn to two films about a uniquely American location: New York City! First up, it's director Martin Scorcese and writer Paul Schrader's ode to the largest city in the United States, and how even in such a massive collection of people, loneliness can still drive a person slowly insane. The film "Taxi Driver" follows Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a vietnam veteran who can't sleep, so he decides to put his insomnia to work and takes a job as a taxi driver. On his travels, he runs across two very different ladies and has two very different reactions to them. First is Betsy (Cybil Shepherd), a campaign worker for presidential-hopeful Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris), who he attempts to woo despite his very pronounced social awkwardness. The second, however, is still a girl, 12-year-old Iris (Jodie Foster), a streetwalker who Travis decides he needs to rescue. Intertwined throughout his relationships with the two ladies, Travis tries to find purpose amidst the dirty and garbage-strewn streets of New York. Also starring Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, and Peter Boyle.

Our second "In Memorium" film in this pairing pays tributed to an actor who turned in such a masterful performance, she's listed as AFI's #5 villain of all times. Louise Fletcher passed away on September 23rd, 2022, so in honor of her amazing performance as Nurse Ratched, we're looking at her Academy Award-winning performance in 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Directed by Milos Forman, this film features performances from a veritable cavalcade of future stars! R. P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) has been placed in a mental ward, a clever dodge to get out of a work camp. There, he meets a group of patients who become his community, including Martini (Danny DeVito), Cheswick (Sydney Lassick), Taber (Christopher Lloyd), Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif), Frederickson (Vincent Schiavelli), Harding (William Redfield), Ellsworth (Dwight Marfield), Chief (Will Sampson), and several others, all of whom are under the thumb of the evil Nurse Ratched. When McMurphy gains the trust of the rest of the group, and begins to encourage them to break away from Ratched's scheduled life, a battle of wills between a free-wheeling radical and a controlling sociopath for the future of the lives of every man on the ward! Plus, the trio reveal which two films, set in New York, will make up this year's Thanksgiving pairing!

The world has lost two amazing actors over the last two months, so this pairing is an "In Memorium" for each. For our first film, we pay tribute to Angela Lansbury, who passed away on October 11th, 2022, by taking a look at the third film to net her an Academy Award nomination, 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate." Directed by John Frankenheimer, this film follows a group of Korean War soldiers who've returned to the U.S. after their tour of duty. One soldier in particular, Major Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) is having recurring, disturbing nightmares of fellow soldier Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) having done unspeakable things to members of their unit. While he tries to come to grips with the nightmare's meaning, Shaw himself is trying to deal with life stateside, a horrible stepfather in Senator John Iselin (James Gregory) and a domineer and manipulative mother, Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury). As Marco sorts out his issues, Senator Iselin is starting a witch-hunt for communists working for the Defense Department, a hunt his wife Eleanor is spearheading. As the two veterans begin to sort out the truth of their lifes, the film takes a turn into true political thriller territory and twists and winds its way to a surprising and sudden ending! Also starring Henry Silva, Leslie Parrish, and Janet Leigh.

The final film of our Halloween season, and the second in our pairing of more modern takes on the Zombie sub-genre, is anything but modern in it setting. 2011's "Exit Humanity," directed by John Geddes, chronicles a zombie outbreak near the end of the U.S. Civil War. Narrated by the wonderful Brian Cox, the film follows Edward Young (Mark Gibson), a veteran who has had to contend with the zombie outbreak, including killing his wife who had turned into one of the shambling dead. He then departs his homestead in search of his missing 11-year-old son. After discovering his son's fate, he enters a seemingly abandoned town to forage for supplies and comes face-to-face with Isaac (Adam Seybold), who enlists Edward's help rescuing his sister Emma (Jordan Hayes) from the renegade General Williams (Bill Moseley) and his squad of hunters, including Medic Johnson (Stephen McHattie) who is trying to figure out the medical-basis for the zombie outbreak and, if possible, concoct a cure. After Edward is wounded rescuing Emma, they seek assistance from Eve (the legendary Dee Wallace), a local healer who was outcast from her village. Together, Edward, Isaac, Emma, and Eve attempt to figure out a life together, all the while dealing with concurrent threats from the zombies and from General Williams' band. Plus, the trio reveal their first two-for-one tribute to two amazing actresses who have recently passed away!

For our second Halloween-season pairing, we turn to two more modern takes on the Zombie sub-genre of horror. First up is a film that looks at a zombie-esque uprising in a small Canadian community (although, according to director Bruce McDonald, they're not zombies they're "conversationalists") in 2008's "Pontypool!" Radio personality Grant Mazzy (played by the incomperable Stephen McHattie) is headed to a station so small he fires his agent as he drives to his first day on-air. Arriving at the station, he is greeted by his young engineer Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) and quickly begins to butt heads with his producer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) over how they're going to handle Grant's on-air "personality." As the morning goes on, they begin to get reports of a mob attacking a local Doctor's office, which quickly becomes something more... something worse. As a seemingly random attack turns into a full-on epidemic crisis, Grant, Sydney, and the doctor in question, Dr. Mendez (Hrant Alianak) try to figure out not why this is happening, as there is no why to be found, but how this virus transmits itself, and their findings are like nothing seen before in a zombie film! Also featuring Rick Roberts as the voice of traffic reporter Ken Loney, this small cast provides a riveting story of how experience, even if it seems unrelated, can sometimes be the key to solving a huge problem... even if it doesn't save everyone!

Our second film of October, and our second in our Horror-Comedy pairing, comes to us from the team of Director Drew Goddard and Producer Joss Whedon, both of whom penned this tribute to the entire horror genre! A group of friends head out to a remote cabin recently purchased by a family member for a weekend of sex, drinking, and general partying good times! Sounds familiar, right? This time, however, there's an even more sinister event taking place. The friends must contend with a returned redneck zombie family intent on killing them all, but two survivors find out that there's actually a company behind the evening's horrific events, and the reason they're killing the members of the group is to stop an even greater horror from happening. Unfortunately, the two survivors don't find out about it until it's too late, and things take a turn for an even worse! Starring Kristen Connolly, Christ Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, and Amy Acker, this film answers the question, "What if every horror-based urban legend you've ever heard of was run by a corporation?" Plus, find out what two new entries in the zombie genre conclude our "Month of Halloween" pairings!

Welcome to Halloween, part one! All through the month of October, we'll be looking at some horror films you may or may not have seen, but you should! Our first pairing focuses on the lighter side of horror, films listed as "Horror Comedy." First up, it's the movie that brought to us the idea that zombies want brains, in 1985's "Night of the Living Dead"-inspired "Return of the Living Dead!" Directed by Dan O'Bannon, and written by John Russo (who wrote the screenplay for George Romero's original 1968 zombie classic), this film is Russo's version of a sequel! The movie follows a gang of punk-rock teens as they hang out in a nearby cemetary, waiting for one of their group to finish work at the nearby medical supply company. Unfortunately, at work, we discover that (supposedly), "Night of the Living Dead" was based on actual events, and the proof of those events is currently being stored in the basement! After a mishap while investigating the supposedly stored zombies, and a bad decision at a crematorium, the dead begin to rise from the nearby graveyard and go on a brains-seeking spree, all while the ever-dropping number of survivors try to figure out how to escape! With an ending ripe for sequels (and there were two), this is campy zombie fun at its earliest!

Our second film focuses on the cause of the civil war, and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery once and for all. In "Lincoln," directed by Steven Spielberg, the story follows President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he seeks to ensure passage of the 13th Amendment in the House of Representatives during the lame duck session of Congress before the results of the recent election take effect. His Secretary of State, William Seward (David Strathairn) is supporting his attempt, but his wife Mary Todd (Sally Fields) is in ill-health, and still grieving the loss of one of their children. The war within the White House, between the good of the nation and what's best for his family, is a constant backdrop to a tale of politics, back-room deals, and what it takes to get otherwise good men to publicly step up and do the right thing. The film also features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes, Jackie Earl Haley, Bruce McGill, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Gloria Reuben, and Jeremy Strong. Plus, the trio reveal what their first of two "Month of Halloween" horror pairings will be!

The war between the states was like no war ever fought before, or after, in the United States of America, and it is to that war that we turn for this pairing. First up, the film that includes in its credits "And introducing Denzel Washington," the story of the Massachusetts 54th, the first "colored" regiment in the Union. In "Glory" (1989), Edward Zwick directs a script based on surviving correspondence from the Civil War. The story follows Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) who is given the rank of Colonel and command of the Union army's first all-black company. With his second-in-command, Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes) by his side, and aided by training officer Sergeant Major Mulcahy (John Finn), the pair oversee the training of a large squad of volunteers, including Sergeant Major John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman), Private Trip (Denzel Washington), Private Jupiter Sharts (Jihmi Kennedy), and Corporal Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher). Fighting the indifference of the rest of Union command, the antipathy of other union soldiers, and the corruption of wartime officers occupying "enemy" territory, Colonel Shaw and the brave fighting men of the 54th prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all men deserve to fight for their country.

We conclude our salute to director/producer George Pal with the film he was invited by the H. G. Well estate to make after his success with "The War of the Worlds." It's not space that is the subject of this film, however, but the fourth dimension: Time! In 1960's "The Time Machine," directed and produced by Pal, with a screenplay written by David Duncan, the story followed H. George Wells (played by Rod Taylor) who arrives late for dinner with his friends David Filby (Alan Young), Dr. Phillip Hillyer (Sebastian Cabot), Anthony Bridewell (Tom Helmore) and Walter Kemp (Whit Bissel), after housekeeper Mrs. Watchett (Doris Lloyd) has already served the meal. George is dirty, his clothing stained and torn, and he relates then his tale of creating a machine to allow him to travel through the fourth dimension of time as we would through the other three dimensions. He encounters World War I, then World War 2, then an Atomic War, after which he is entombed in solid rock. Eventually, after some 800,000 years, he arrives in a time of seeming idyllic prosperity and leisure for humanity. He witnesses a young woman drowning in a river, and watches as none of her companions even seem to notice, so he leaps in to save her. Weena (Yvette Mimieux) becomes his guide to the future society, helping him learn how humanity got this place. But she falls afoul of the grim underground dwellers known as the Morlocks, and they also take his machine, trapping him in the future. George must figure out how to gain access to the Morlock's subterranean domain, rescue Weena, and retrieve his machine, if he has any hope of ever return to his own time! And the trio reveal which American war serves as the backdrop for the next film pairing!