The Dark Crystal + Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
The Dark Crystal + Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Children’s films with adult themes. New Studio. Aimlessly wandering through fantasy in Dark Crystal. Puppetry and immersion. Peter Molyneux. Making an audience feel for a character. Subtitles? Attention to detail. B-Roll. Folk or camp? The benefits of using a deceptively child-like medium. The introduction of obscene ideas to each individual child. When and why. More evidence that books are not better than films. More genre blending in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Film Noir in all its glory. Hampster styles. The whatever device. Cartoon shorts before films. The early 20th century Grindhouse. An incredibly well written device. An argument for death set against a cartoon reality. Continue reading →

Killapalooza 6: Children of the Corn

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Killapalooza 6: Children of the Corn

Children of the Corn films 1-7. So who actually watched these films? What happens when you leave the city. How to do an entire Killapalooza in record time. The danger of remembering Children of the Corn. What’s redeemable about the first film. The not so subtle religious commentary. Is Steven King a bunch of nonsense? Molotov Cocktails. The pros and cons of an awkward ending. New terminology time! THREE POINT SCALE. Switching leaders. Keeping your slasher franchise fresh. Chicago in film. Dramatic cut-in zooms. Screaming Mad George. Unbelievable Edward D Woodian B-Movie effects. The fantastic failure. When your series reboot fucking fails. The wakeup fakeout. Approaching self-aware. Snoricam. Killapalooza: Bail? Alice’s sleeping disorder and lack of memory. TV movie aesthetic. Continue reading →

Shorts + Inglourious Basterds

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Shorts + Inglourious Basterds

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, back to back! An Inglourious Basterds conversations during Shorts. Who Robert Rodriguez is and why a fan of movies like Inglourious Basterds should care about his kids films. Actors under Rodriguez. Major actors playing B-roles to children. From Dusk Till Dawn was six years before Spy Kids 2. Gimmicks as an enhancement rather than a crutch. Suspension of disbelief in children’s films. Pool films. Sell out oscar films. What audiences expect from Tarantino. The midnight movie experience. The complexities of the one known as The Bear Jew. Making an audience feel the violence. Spaghetti westerns. Shosanna as a femme fatale. Revenge stories. Women kicking ass. Why Inglourious Basterds is misspelled. Revisiting the Schindler’s List question – Nazis as human beings or creatures of pure evil. Continue reading →

Death to Smoochy + The King of Kong

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Death to Smoochy + The King of Kong

Zune? Death to Smoochy as a perfect black comedy. The two formulas for dark comedy. The essential ingredients of black humor. Absurdity. So Very wrong. What characters contribute. Film noir influences. Robin Williams. The non-narrative documentary style as seen in The King of Kong. A fist full of quarters and Murderball. Don’t be Billy Mitchell. Sure Mitchell is evil, but is he a cheater? How does a documentary story come together? The sports story blueprint. More than videogames. Holy shit, look what’s finally on the show next week. Continue reading →

M + Seven

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
M + Seven

Noir, Neo Noir, and the secret theme of the show. Fritz Lang’s German pre-noir M. Lighting and iconic imagry. The missing protagonist. Peter Lorre. Silence. Leitmotif and the now standard practice of reoccurring character themes in score. The overblown state of fear regarding stranger danger. Mob justice. The insanity plea. Alice hates endings. Seven – better than those bullshit films you like. An alternate take on buddy cop. Neo noir archetypes. Tracy the femme fatale. Cynicism. Give your audience a little credit. How Seven deals with mystery and clues. David Fincher’s visuals. Seven deadly kills. Building up Jon Doe. It’s just a guy! The pros and cons of the alternate endings. Continue reading →

Edward Scissorhands + The Brother From Another Planet

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Edward Scissorhands + The Brother From Another Planet

Fish out of water double billing. Alice’s declining health? A controversial stance on Tim Burton. The elements of a Burton film. Danny Elfman. Michael’s Burton-Fantasty-Theory. Vincent Price. The 13th Ghosts of Scooby Doo. Mormonism. Johnny Depp: The Target Superstore of cinema. The classic age of monster and horror films. Building suburbia in Edward Scissorhands. Should men play God? Of course they should. Is The Brother From Another Planet blaxploitation? Cheap and effective special effects. Exposition in science fiction. Silent roles. A collection of characters. Sam the Bellhop. Authenticity. Continue reading →

Black Christmas + Behind the Mask

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Black Christmas + Behind the Mask

INTERVIEW w/ David Stieve. The beginning and end of the slasher genre. Black Christmas – the first slasher film ever made? The 80s slasher crash course. Parts of Black Christmas the genre ignored. Legitimate terror: the phone calls. A silent killer hypothesis. The advantages of developed characters. Forget the misses, remember the deaths. Picking out your survivor girl. Deaths as a roadmap. The infamous crystal unicorn. Critical tone and mood. Unreliable…camera man? The origins of “The calls are coming from inside the house!” Why doesn’t everyone know about Behind the Mask already? The end of slasher films. Mocumentary. Much needed praise for Angela Goethals. Ahab. Target Group. Red herring. The ongoing quest to pin down the cheap TV horror aesthetic. Symbolism is bullshit. Credits gimmick. The success of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Influence. Carol Clover. The origins of survivor girl. The myths of Behind the Mask – what is and isn’t an homage? Why there’s no Texas Chainsaw Massacre references. Robert and Nathan. Insider perspective on slasher symbolism. David Stieve on Rob Zombie and Eli Roth. Old School American Horror. Sequel talk. Hypothetical sequel talk. More sequel talk. Long term franchise talk. The producer bell curve. Continue reading →

South Park + The Aristocrats

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
South Park + The Aristocrats

Skeptical comedy double feature! Saddam Hussein and capital punishment. To bleep or not to bleep. Replacing obscenity with silly phrases. South Park’s relationship with Hollywood. Censorship then and now. Is South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut still relevant? Yes…Yes it is. Censorship in the modern digital age. Musical numbers. Trey’s Band DVDA. When meta works and why. Real life clashes with canonical events. Evolution of characters. Mr. Garrison. Where are Ned and Jimbo? Pip! The Isaac Hayes Chef Scientology incident. The Aristocrats movie theater experience. George Carlin. More on joke format. The thought process as you’re telling the joke. The Aristocrats as a trap. The origins of “Too Soon!” and why Double Feature loves Gilbert Gottfried. Don’t sue us, Joe Franklin. Continue reading →

Brazil + Dark City

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Brazil + Dark City

Dystopian neo-noir with a twist! The first episode of year 2. Brazil in irish mythology. Michael Shermer. Creating the feeling of Brazil. Trilogy of imagination. Absurdist drama fighting absurdist comedy. A different kind of Big Brother. Terrorism. Consumerism. Theories on the source of terrorism. Who is Tuttle? The ending. Brining your film back to the deep end. Dark City as a combination of science fiction and film noir. A rare under-lit modern movie. Dark City’s director’s cut. What a director’s cut actually is. “Knowing” will probably be the worst movie of 2009. The pros and cons of the opening voiceover. Puzzle pieces. Scifi surprise. Using exposition to your advantage. When the answer is right under your nose. Unanswered questions. The sci-fi magic. What happens next? Continue reading →

Double Feature Year 1 Finale

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Alice Thirteen
Double Feature Year 1 Finale

SPOILER FREE SHOW! The Year One retrospective. What is a spoiler? A whole year of weekly Double Features. How the show has changed. Random Emails! What makes for a good Double Feature pairing. Another defense of House of 1000 Corpses. A look back at the Waco show. SAND BEETLE! The Best Pairings. The Worst Pairings. The inherent flaw in the previous format of Double Feature. Highway survival Horror. Double Feature’s producer. And the biggest fuck up of the entire show is…? The future of The Prophecy. Feast sequels. Weighing in on the Friday the 13th remake. Becoming exploitation. The Mel Gibson opinion. Stuff that had to go on the show (but shouldn’t have). Michael admits mistakes. The problem with featuring more exploitation on the show. Michael admits more mistakes. Taking back Dr. Horrible. Times Alice and Michael were clearly wrong. Films that aren’t remember as fondly. Which bad actress from Alice’s films annoyed Michael the most? Behind the scenes of Double Feature interviews. Listener homework payoff: A good vs evil epic and a film with a legitimately satisfying Scooby-Doo ending. Paris of Uncle Gamer & Remember When. More listener feedback. Opinion time: Japanese Horror? Alice knows New Zealand isn’t in the UK. A through breakdown of the J-Horror aesthetic. The best films from the first year of Double Feature. Alice’s comfort food films. Next year’s format: Two films that go together! A small “correction” regarding 12 Monkeys. Lost. Double Feature loves Kate. Continue reading →