Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

We're paying tribute to another director for this pairing. It's Stanley Kubrick films, and we're starting with the classic "2001: A Spacy Odyssey," directed by Kubrick and based on a short story by science fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke! Starring Keir Dullea as Dave Bowman, Gary Lockwood as Frank Poole, and featuring the voice of Douglas Rain as the HAL 9000 computer, this story did more to fuel worries about artificial intelligence than any film short of Ex Machina. If you've not seen the film, Jeff, Buddy, and Chad will explain why it's a classic you must experience first-hand! And if you have seen the film, the trio will explain the parts of it that no one understands after their first (or second, or third, or fourth) viewing!

For the second episode pairing romantic comedies, we turn to the work of writer/director Nancy Meyers and her 2006 film "The Holiday." Starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Eli Wallach, this film follows Amanda (Dias) and Iris (Winslet) as they both flee from their homes for the holiday and exchange houses, one traveling to Surrey, England, the other to Los Angeles, California. Amanda meets Iris's brother Graham (Law) and the sparks fly immediately, while Iris meets film score composer Miles (Black) as well as retired Hollywood screenwriting legend Arthur (Wallach), who helps her find her way back to strength and sanity, and encourages the burgeoning romance with Miles! While not a universal top pick by our geeks and git, it's a fun watch, and with a film score by Hans Zimmer, along with a couple neat cameos, it's a fun movie to get swept away by. And it also ends at New Year's Eve, just like our previous film! Plus, the Geeks and Git reveal which top Hollywood director will provide their next pairing!

For the second episode pairing romantic comedies, we turn to the work of writer/director Nancy Meyers and her 2006 film "The Holiday." Starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Eli Wallach, this film follows Amanda (Dias) and Iris (Winslet) as they both flee from their homes for the holiday and exchange houses, one traveling to Surrey, England, the other to Los Angeles, California. Amanda meets Iris's brother Graham (Law) and the sparks fly immediately, while Iris meets film score composer Miles (Black) as well as retired Hollywood screenwriting legend Arthur (Wallach), who helps her find her way back to strength and sanity, and encourages the burgeoning romance with Miles! While not a universal top pick by our geeks and git, it's a fun watch, and with a film score by Hans Zimmer, along with a couple neat cameos, it's a fun movie to get swept away by. And it also ends at New Year's Eve, just like our previous film! Plus, the Geeks and Git reveal which top Hollywood director will provide their next pairing!

For the first of two romantic comedies, both of which culminate on New Year's Eve, it's two greats behind the camera and four greats in front of the camera working together to create one of the best in the genre, in 1989's "When Harry Met Sally!" Directed by Rob Reiner, written by Nora Ephron, and starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby, this story follows a man and a woman whose lives cross, and then cross again, and again, and again, until they become friends, and then possibly even more! As a romantic comedy, this film hits all the right notes without falling into the traps of the genre. It's a road-map of how such films should be made!

For the first of two romantic comedies, both of which culminate on New Year's Eve, it's two greats behind the camera and four greats in front of the camera working together to create one of the best in the genre, in 1989's "When Harry Met Sally!" Directed by Rob Reiner, written by Nora Ephron, and starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby, this story follows a man and a woman whose lives cross, and then cross again, and again, and again, until they become friends, and then possibly even more! As a romantic comedy, this film hits all the right notes without falling into the traps of the genre. It's a road-map of how such films should be made!

A film about Santa Clause, released in June of 1947, with a marketing campaign that never once mentioned Santa (or Christmas). Just how much of a hit could such a movie be? Well, history has rendered its verdict, and found this a holiday classic for film viewers young and old! In this episode (released on Christmas, 2017), Jeff, Buddy, and Chad look back at the 1947 hit "Miracle on 34th Street!" Written and directed by George Seaton, based on a story by Valentine Davies, and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Charlie Halloran, a very young Natalie Wood, and the fantastic Edmund Gwenn (who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Kris Kringle), this film has been remade several times for TV and film, the best of those being the 1994 version. But no remake can touch the heartwarming tale that's told in the original, something to gather up your loved ones and watch on Christmas Day!

A film about Santa Clause, released in June of 1947, with a marketing campaign that never once mentioned Santa (or Christmas). Just how much of a hit could such a movie be? Well, history has rendered its verdict, and found this a holiday classic for film viewers young and old! In this episode (released on Christmas, 2017), Jeff, Buddy, and Chad look back at the 1947 hit "Miracle on 34th Street!" Written and directed by George Seaton, based on a story by Valentine Davies, and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Charlie Halloran, a very young Natalie Wood, and the fantastic Edmund Gwenn (who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Kris Kringle), this film has been remade several times for TV and film, the best of those being the 1994 version. But no remake can touch the heartwarming tale that's told in the original, something to gather up your loved ones and watch on Christmas Day!

For a movie that was investigated by the FBI, and was a box-office flop when it first premiered, this film has aged exceptionally well! It's December, and that means holiday films, and the first one is a Frank Capra classic, 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life!" Directed and co-written by Capra, this film stars Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore in a rare villainous role! The film also stars Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, and Gloria Grahame! This unlikely hit sat in obscurity until a clerical error helped it show up on just about every television station around the holidays, and helped it become one of the most iconic holiday films of all time!

For a movie that was investigated by the FBI, and was a box-office flop when it first premiered, this film has aged exceptionally well! It's December, and that means holiday films, and the first one is a Frank Capra classic, 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life!" Directed and co-written by Capra, this film stars Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore in a rare villainous role! The film also stars Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, and Gloria Grahame! This unlikely hit sat in obscurity until a clerical error helped it show up on just about every television station around the holidays, and helped it become one of the most iconic holiday films of all time!

Our second look at rollicking adventure films is a movie from the 80s that borrows from both the adventure and romance genres: Romancing the Stone! Directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Diane Thomas, this film chronicles the life of romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner), who must leave the comforts of modern living and travel to Columbia to save her sister! She meets, and is saved by, dashing Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), who grudgingly agrees to help her. Also starring Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, the hilarious Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor, and Mary Ellen Trainor, this is a story of treasure, greed, adventure, and love, that's purely 80s! Plus, find out what two classic films the geeks and git are reviewing for their Christmas pairing this year!