Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

Satanic children are the theme for this pairing of horror films, starting with conception through birth in 1968's Roman Polanski-directed "Rosemary's Baby!" Polanski also wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Ira Levin. The film tells the story of Guy (John Cassavetes) and Rosemary (Mia Farrow) Woodhouse, attractive newlyweds looking for their first apartment together. Guy is an up-and-coming actor, while Rosemary is a homemaker who is soon adopted by eccentric elderly neighbors Roman (Sidney Blackmer) and Minnie (Ruth Gordon) Castevet who live next door. Their friend Hutch (Maurice Evans) is sad to see them move away but remains supportive. When Rosemary finds out she's pregnant, Minnie sends her to her trusted physician, Dr. Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy) who takes Rosemary under his wing. But when Rosemary starts having severe pains, and no one else seems overly concerned, she begins to wonder. When Hutch is suddenly struck down, Rosemary receives a book from him about witches, adding to Rosemary's paranoia. Is there actually something evil going on or is Rosemary just becoming paranoid?

The second film in our pairing celebrating the movie serials of old moves ahead 7 years to another episodic hero, the legendary Zorro! Directed by Martin Campbell, "The Mask of Zorro" (1998) tells the story of the original Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins), and his capture and the kidnapping of his infant daughter. Flash forward 20 years and we meet the infamous Murrieta Brothers, Joaquin (Victor Rivers) and Alejandro (Antonio Banderas), wanted outlaws who are... different than they seem at first. After a run-in with the remorseless Captain Harrison Love (Matt Letscher) who is working for the original Zorro's nemesis, Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), fate intervenes and connects Diego and Alejandro, and the former agrees to tutor the latter and help him become the new Zorro! Plus, with Montero's return comes the return of Elena Montero (Catherine Zeta-Jones), actually Elana de la Vega, and, as they say, the plot thickens! Plus, because, according to Jeff's calendar, Halloween season starts September 1st, find out what two classic horror films will be featured in the next episode!

Back in the day, audiences were treated to episodes of movie serials before the main feature when going to the picture shows. This pairing celebrates those old serials, the ones that inspired George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg. This week, it's the film based on the serial-turned-comic book "The Rocketeer" from 1991! Originally called "The Rocket Man" as a serial, this film tells the story of racing pilot Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell)and his chief mechanic Peevy Peabody (Alan Arkin) who find a strange rocket-pack stowed in their hanger. When an old friend tries to fly Cliff's "clown act" and gets in trouble, Cliff dons the rocket back and blasts into the sky to save him, the first sighting of "The Rocketeer!" But add in the FBI, the mafia, and the Nazis, and the story just gets stranger from there! Co-starring the lovely Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Daltin, Paul Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn, Eddie Jones, William Sanderson, and Margo Martindale, this is a fantastic love-letter to the cinematic episodes of the 1930s! Plus, it's James Horner's first film score, and the movie that got Joe Johnston the job directing the first Captain America film for the MCU!

The second film in our Paul Verhoeven pairing is one that fully displays the satirical nature of this director's work, much more so than the first film we reviewed. Moving ahead a decade, we find ourselves a couple hundred years in the future, and the world now lives under a single government. Unfortunately, it is a fascist government, one that lies to its citizens and seduces its young people into throwing their lives away in Military Service, all so they can become "Citizens" and earn the right to vote. This story follows high school graduates Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), Isabel "Dizzy" Flores (Dina Meyer) and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) as they all decide to join the Federation Military and enlist in the war against the "Bugs," an alien species intent on protecting their territory after a group of Mormons decide to settle on one of their planets unasked. The true genius of Verhoeven's vision is on clear display in this film, and its depiction of the inherent violence and selfishness of humanity hits uncomfortably close to home! Plus, the trio reveal which "Movie Serials-turned-Films" they're focusing on for the next pairing!

We're focusing on Dutch director Paul Verhoeven for the next two films, starting with his first U.S. blockbuster, 1987's "Robocop." Verhoeven, and writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, took what was basically a rip-off of the movie "Terminator" and turned it into a satire of corporate America. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is a cop in future Detroit. He's just been transferred to a precinct deep in the crime-ridden "Old Detroit," and assigned as partner to Officer Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first day out, Murphy is essentially killed, only to re-awaken in a laboratory of sorts. It turns out that OCP, the company who has privatized the police force, has plans for what's left of Murphy. Through a lengthy transformation, they replace much of his body with robotic and computer components and turn him into the one-man police force equivalent known as Robocop. But is Murphy really gone, or is he still in there somewhere? And can be bring down both the criminals who did this to him and the evil corporation that turned him into his metallic self?

The second film in our pairing focusing on the work of Willem Dafoe resulted in one of his two Academy Award nominations. The year is 1922, and acclaimed director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is shooting what he hopes will be the ultimate Vampire film! Unfortunately, he was unable to get the right to "Dracula" from Bram Stoker's widow, so the names are changed, including calling the vampire "Count Orlok" and retitling the film "Nosferatu." His leading man, Gustav von Wangenheim (Eddie Izzard) and lady, Greta Schroder, have already started filming, and Murnau has his producer Albin Grau (the great Udo Kier) and the writer of the screenplay Henrik Galeen (Aden Gillett) at his side when they move the shoot to Czechoslovakia. There, the production meets up with Murnau's secret weapon: A German method actor named Max Schreck, who is protraying Count Orlok. But as the shoot continues, strange events begin to unfold, and one by one, the crew begin to suspect that, perhaps, Schreck isn't just playing a vampire... he IS a vampire! Dafoe demonstrates exactly how a great actor can truly disappear into a role, so much so that you forget it's him portraying that character! A true chameleon performance and one that netted him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, from an Academy that doesn't like or respect horror films! Plus, the trio reveal which director they're focusing on for the next pairing!

This pairing is dedicated to one of the most prolific and talented character actors working: Willem Dafoe. The trio chose two films that they believe demonstrate the versatility that makes this gentlemen one of the great character actors of our time! First up: It's writer/director Troy Duffy's brainchild that almost didn't end up seeing the light of day, but ultimately created a film that is beloved of many around the world. Two Irish-Catholic brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) MacManus believe themselves to be the hand of God, and that He has chosen them to rid Boston of evil men. Their first task is to save their neighborhood pub from Russian mobsters. This, however, draws the attention of FBI Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) who begins to hunt the brothers as they continue to try to clean up their Boston neighborhood. This is a tour de force for Dafoe as perhaps one of the most entertaining FBI agents ever put on film!

The second documentary in the pairing resulted in as wide a split amongst the hosts as any film reviewed thus far! Thierry Guetta moved from France to the United States in the early 1980s. He believed that every moment should be recorded because we just don't know when moments will stop being made by certain people, so he began filming everything in his life, to the point where he was never seen without a camera. Thanks to a relative, he began filming the world of street art, and slowly became known to the community. But it was a chance meeting with the famous artist Banksy that changed his life, although some would say not for the better. Initially, Guetta was the filmmaker the Banksy the subject, but partway through the story, they exchange roles, with Banksy documenting the rise of Guetta's art-making alter-ego, "Mr. Brainwash." A documentary unlike any other made, at least when this came out, and to this day no one really knows if it's a legitimate documentary or another of Banksy's statements on the hypocrisy of the world! And the trio reveal which amazing (and still alive) character actor they're dedicating their next pairing to!

It is to documentaries that we go for this pairing, starting with a favorite of all three hosts! Kirby Dick, two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, turned to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the organization that provides the ratings for all films released in the United States, at least those that want to be shown in established theater chains. He attempted to discover how the ratings system works, but found out so much more! He discovered that the MPAA is, essentially, a private clandestine organization whose membership is kept a closely-guarded secret, and that there is no one on the ratings board, or the ratings appeals board, who has any education in film! In fact, all but one person on the ratings board is in violation of even the MPAA's own rules on who can be a rater! But to find all of this out, he turned to a private investigator in Los Angeles who helped him discover who the secret raters actually are, and revealed the one-sided application of Christian dogma to the ratings board as well! The film includes interviews with many famous directors, including John Waters, Kevin Smith, Kimberly Peirce, Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan, Wayne Kramer, and Matt Stone! If you're a fan of films, this is a must-see!

Our second film in our pairing honoring the late Ned Beatty couldn't be more different from the first. From backwoods horror, we turn to the father of all modern superhero films, the first theatrical outing for a comic book character to present its story seriously for adult audiences! Richard Donner, who also recently passed away on July 5th, 2021, led an all-star cast including Margo Kidder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Valerie Perrine, and Marlon Brando to create the film that made audiences believe a man could fly. But it was newcomer, Juilliard-trained actor, Christopher Reeve, who brought both Clark Kent and Superman to the screen in a way no actor will ever surpass, in 1978's "Superman: The Movie!" From Hackman's suave and insidious Lex Luthor, to Kidder's gumption-filled Lois Lane, to Reeve's dual identity, this film is replete with performances that were Oscar-worthy, regardless of whether the Academy recognized them as such or not (hint: they didn't). And when you add in special effect never seen before, and John William's amazing, soul-inspiring score, you have the quintessential superhero film for the ages! Plus, the trio reveal which two documentaries made the list for their 2nd trip through that genre!