Paranorman + Fantastic Mr. Fox

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Paranorman + Fantastic Mr. Fox

Child-friendly stop-motion films that trick adults into being more succeptable. New and unexpected experiences adults can have while their guard is down. Appealing to adults without being a “dark” children’s film. Dark sensibilities and humor vs difficult subject matter. Paranorman tackles the salem witch trials. Tell a person they’re something often enough, they may just turn into that thing. The avoidance of stock characters in Paranorman. Judging books by covers (and other expansions on the Aesop learnings from Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D). Shooting on a Canon 5D DSLR camera. The next biggest innovation in filmmaking: 3D printing. The difference in filmmaking stop-motion techniques between Paranorman and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Wild speculation on Tim Burton and Roald Dahl. Exploring the theme of wild animals being true to themselves. Continue reading →

Sharkboy and Lavagirl + Mulholland Drive

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Sharkboy and Lavagirl + Mulholland Drive

On the 300th episode of Double Feature, Sharkboy and Lavagirl finally solve Mulholland Drive. First, a conversation about the Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (In 3D). Aesop’s fables! How to have the best conversation about Mulholland Drive. Right or wrong, do most people have the impression they understand this film? The David Lynch journey up to this point. Ground rules for the conversation. Bringing your prerequisits to the conversation. The alley person / the dumpster person / the bum behind the wall at Winkie’s. The tiny people. What we can learn from the espresso scene – do these guys know what they’re talking about? Shut it all down. The cowboy in a bible analogy. Seperating 50s loving David Lynch from a plot involving things from 1950. Challenging the endless loop / möbius strip conclusion. Rita and the most forgiven introduction of an amnesia device ever made. El silenco and the key. The vanish / switch scene. Revisiting the Sylvia North story. Michael proposes a theory. Using the film’s own rules mathematically for solving unknowns. A return to the dumpster person. Secular uses for biblical imagery in mysery solving. The David Lynch top ten clues. Another look at Club Silencio. Can Adam throw a wrench into an otherwise plausible theory? Adam is blow away by the world’s most talented actress, but other forces tie his hands. The ordered hit. Support for the fantasy. Continue reading →

Conan the Barbarian + Blood and Bone

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Conan the Barbarian + Blood and Bone

Men who are tanks box their way through cult genres when the original Conan the Barbarian squares off against Blood and Bone. Sword and sorcery takes on underground fighting! Arnold Schwarzenegger meets Michael Jai White! Exploring the early career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilding governor extraordinaire. An earlier, stranger Arnold. Going on a quest to battle your way from orgy to orgy. When the time is right for Sword and Sorcery to return. Michael Jai White needs to take over the world. Viral acting and the YouTube generation. Blood and Bone as a genre experiment. Film writing games you can play at home. Continue reading →

Hatchet 3 + Curse of Chucky

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Hatchet 3 + Curse of Chucky

Two sequels from previous Double Feature franchises. Adam Green and all your friends from Hatchet return in Hatchet 3. Cameos become roles. The constant slasher resurrection. Adam Green’s thing (beside throwing blood on trees). Chucky out-lives the original slashers of the 80s. Surviving the remakes. The Curse of Chucky alternate realities. Choose your own adventure. Brad Dourif and franchise newbie Fiona Dourif. Modern horror in a conversation with classics. The practical doll. Chucky’s disadvantage. Gaining the upper hand. A scarier Chucky with each passing scene. Bold words about Curse of Chucky. No theatrical release. Continue reading →

From Beyond + Class of 1999

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
From Beyond + Class of 1999

Midnight movies once again illuminate the room with their pale blue light. A listener request makes Michael sneaky. Stuart Gordon and the true third wheel. What about the lighting makes From Beyond feel like a midnight movie? Late night cinema warms the collective human heart. What we choose to address (and the importance of what is not addressed). Class of 1999, the followup to that other movie you didn’t see called Class of 1984. A future that never was. Double Feature considers what mankind’s bleak view of the future reveals now that we can look back on it. Continue reading →

The Machinist + Dogville

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
The Machinist + Dogville

Darker dramas featuring protagonists played by actors Double Feature likes (but doesn’t often think about), who are in this particular instance obscured on the covers of their respective films by a thin brown material that is likely a fabric of some kind. Note: those are not necessarily the covers associated with this episode of Double Feature, as better selections may have been made. It’s also possible that this is being read in the future where cover art has somehow been deprecated, or in an environment that does not use art for some reason. Well, really the future is a kind of environment, so perhaps that’s redundant. If this is being listened to in a grim future where art is no longer a human concept, or is in some way banned, we’re glad you still have Double Feature. Hey, wasn’t Christian Bale in a movie like that? Continue reading →

Killapalooza 21: Paranormal Activity

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Killapalooza 21: Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity films 1-4. A premature Killapalooza, in hopes everyone comes along for the ride. The first in an already notable franchise. Another look at the low budget. The mysterious pool bots of Paranormal Activity 2. There is no Dunkin Donuts in California. Science and skepticism when facing ghosts and the sort. The amusing exercise of Imagining an actual demon. The Paranormal Activity Demand it! campaign. Prequels upon prequels. What are the scariest moments from the scariest installment? Back to the future. How to tell if the person using that MacBook is insane, every time. A somewhat spoiler-inclusive summary, and what the future holds. Continue reading →

Near Dark + Wayne’s World

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Near Dark + Wayne’s World

Cult films by female directors – two of them! Vampires and, well, Wayne’s World. A look at the non-romantic vampire movie. Trying to stay focused with so much Wayne’s World ahead. What’s so interesting about the absence of romance? The wile west, the road, and the Devil’s Rejects. Gangs. Teenagers and the family unit. The director of Near Dark. A look at the most successful SNL film of all time. Wayne’s World is pretty fucking fantastic, in all actuality. Everyone respects Garth, as they should. Building a setting you’d want to live in. An abundance of material. Continue reading →

The Host + Monsters

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
The Host + Monsters

The internet’s favorite monster films! The Host, as in the Korean 2006 The Host. Pushing aside the usual monster treatment talk for politics and humanism. The confusing relationship between pacifists and the military. Understanding cultural comedy. Agent Orange and a more modern look into cautionary atomic commentary. Gareth Edwards’s 2010 shoe-string budget picture Monsters. Unintentional immigration commentary proves obvious to everyone but the filmmaker. How a tiny independent film dressed up as a blockbuster. Something you may have missed from the end of Monsters. Continue reading →

Elvira’s Haunted Hills + Big Top Pee-Wee

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Elvira’s Haunted Hills + Big Top Pee-Wee

Two television-first stars return in their back to back sequels. Unlikely stars for just as unlikely conversations about metaphysics and humanism. Cassandra Peterson refuses to take credit as Elvia in Elvira’s Haunted Hills, all these years later. Putting your newfound Universal Monster knowledge to the test. In the other feature, Paul Reubens follows up Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure just a few years later with Big Top Pee-Wee. Also, Penn and Teller Get Killed is on iTunes and Brendan Vance has things to talk about. Double Feature returns to the carnie with a non-drinking game and a variety of other more interesting things are discussed. How’s that sentence for a spoiler free plot synopsis? Continue reading →