Author: Saintmort

Host of Horror Movie Night and Christmas 365 Producer of One Hit Thunder and My Favorite Episode Of

Guilty Pleasure: The Apple

by Saintmort

This Friday people will be getting their 80’s Cock Rock on through the newest musical-turned-movie Rock of Ages. The 80’s was a great time for rock, but few remember it was also a great time for bad-musicals. No I’m not about to talk about unexplained cult-classic Xanadu. I’m talking about a musical so bad, so confusing that at it’s premiere the screen was damaged by audience members throwing their complimentary soundtracks at the screen. I’m talking about 1980’s confusing futuristic disco religion allegory The Apple.

The Apple takes place in the distant future of 1994. Compared to most science fiction predictions of the future… 2001: A Space Odyssey was a closer prediction… by a lot. For starters 1994 (based on this film) the world is still dominated by disco.

The film starts off in a futuristic convention center where an American Idol like singing contest is occurring, the winner will get a record contract to BIM (so I guess they got that right). Voting is based on heart-beats (sure).

Disco group Pandi and Dandi are the fan favorites but it’s a close call when canadian hippie duo Alphie and Bibi. Their song is about Love. They look like they’re going to win until they are sabotaged and booed off the stage. Alphie and Bibi refuse to take this sitting down and mark up to BIM owner Mr. Boogalow’s after party.

He’s impressed by their spunk and signs them. Quickly they are introduced into a world of drugs and sex. Alphie storms off but Bibi sticks around and drinks up the stardom. Eventually she realizes the evils of BIM (and the fact that Mr. Boogalow is clearly the devil) and returns to Alphie in a hippie community.

Now what happens next is what makes this movie fantastic. If you haven’t seen this film, but plan on it then don’t read the next paragraph because it’s so magical it will cause your brain to explode. In fact stop reading and watch the movie because I’m posting a picture too.

Mr. Boogalow and BIM arrive to arrest the hippie community when God arrives in a flying white Rolls Royce lands form the sky. He takes the hippies to ‘somewhere new, away from Mr Boogalow’s influence’ and flies away.

I can’t wrap my head around the writing and pitching of this movie and this sequence specifically but I don’t care. It’s the most magical moment in film history.

I’m a huge fan of The Apple. It’s cheesy and admittedly bad but I adore it. The music is surprising decent, the acting is… passable and the costume design is beyond flamboyant. The star of the show is how terrible the choreography is. Specifically since it was done by So You Think You Can Dance head judge Nigel Lythgoe.

This movie is one of those special films where they fail at almost everything. You must see it to believe it.

When he’s not watching Rock and Roll Musicals Matt Kelly is hosting The Saint Mort Show, Co-hosting the Reddit Horror Club Podcast, Writing in his blog Pure Mattitude, Tweeting and running Dollar Monday Promotions. 

The Saint Mort Show: Episode 32 – Where Do You Think We Found Him featuring Marc Zicree, Lloyd Kaufman, John Pata, Adam Bartlett and Nick Davis

by Saintmort

Episode 31 Matt goes to Philadelphia Wizard World and interviews Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Pictures, John Pata and Adam Bartlett behind Dead Weight, Nick Davis the Creator of A Teddy Bear Tale and Marc Zicree author of Twilight Zone Companion and creator of Space Command

Troma Pictures
Dead Weight
Space Command
A Teddy Bear Tale

Find Us on iTunes

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Perks of Being A Wallflower Gets a Trailer

by Saintmort

When I was in High School Perks of Being a Wallflower was my favorite book, in fact it was the book that got me into reading in the first place. I’d go as far to argue that the book is the modern day Catcher in the Rye. Almost ten years since the first time I read it the book still resonates with me. Stephen Chbosky’s novel encapsulated the awkwardness of the high school outcast in a believable and refreshing way.

When I read of the film adaptation I had mixed emotions. I loved this book to the point that I honestly did not want to see it ruined. Please I didn’t think the book would really work as a film. However with Chbosky writing and directing and Mr Mudd Productions producing it, I felt a little at ease about my beloved book.

Today the trailer has been released and I have to say, while there are a few things I don’t exactly love in the adaptation, I’m excited. Emma Watson’s american accent is perfect, the casting in general looks great and the movie looks like it’ll be right there with Garden State and Adventureland as one of my favorite coming-of-age films.

But that’s just my opinion. Watch the trailer and make an opinion of your own.

Guilty Pleasures: Alien 3

by Saintmort

WEEEEEEEER WEEEEEEER WEEEEEEEEER

Can you believe after all this time Prometheus is finally coming out? I feel like we’ve been hearing about this movie for 2 years. Throughout all the waiting there’s always this debate of “Is it in the Alien Universe” or not. I don’t have a clear cut answer (mostly because I’ve been avoiding spoilers) but just in case I figured Guilty Pleasure better be Alien 3

Both Aliens sequels are kind of depressing. They both had so much potential. Nowadays people hate whenever a sequel is announced. This isn’t really something too new. I’m sure in the 80’s when they were on the 8th Friday the 13th people were like ‘Do we really need ANOTHER one? Are we that out of original ideas’ blah blah blah (we’ve been out of original ways to bitch about the lack of original ideas)

But as a kid I remember EVERYONE being pumped up about Alien 3. There were advertisements in all the comics and magazines I read and they released an Aliens action figure line as a tie-in. I mean this was a hard-R sequel to another hard-R sequel and everyone was going crazy for it (and advertising to kids… the 90’s was a weird time)

I believe we all remember the Snake Alien

However the movie opened to almost a resounding WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. This maybe have been in part due to false advertising. Check out this trailer about how the aliens come to Earth.

The alien’s do not make it to Earth. They don’t make it there in the 4th entry either. They didn’t touch down on our planet until they wanted to brawl with the Predator.

Alien 3 picks up where Aliens left off, except it immediately kills off everyone that we loved (except Ripley). The ship crash lands on a colony inhabited by male inmates with violent backgrounds.

An alien explodes from a local dog (mixing with the dog DNA) and begins to attack members of the colony. Ripley also realizes she’s carrying an alien baby and must sacrfice herself to save the rest of the inmates.

What makes me sad about both Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection is that they’re both decent ideas, from talented people but for some reason the pieces of the puzzle just didn’t fit together properly. Alien Resurrection was written by Joss Whedon who almost always at least presents and entertaining script with fun turns and was directed by Jen-ierre Jeunet the director behind visually fascinating films like Delicatessen, City of Lost Children and Amelie’.

Regardless of a talented screenplay writer and visually gifted director Alien Resurrection still fell flat on it’s face and in a painfully bad way.

Alien 3 however isn’t that awful! It doesn’t live up to the hype of Alien/Aliens or the overwhelming advertisements, but David Fincher’s camera work is well placed, the new alien design is a welcome change and the story contains plenty of mother-symbolism to keep the film interesting. The Alien birth sequence is gruesome, eerie and dark and the kills throughout are top notch. Ironically despite the negatively this movie has recieved it actually contains one of those more iconic moments in the Alien franchise.

Alien 3 is worth giving a second shot!

Episode 31: So The Guy’s Crazy Right? Featuring Michael Jonathan Smith of Mermates & Scott Meaney of The Puppet Apocalypse

by Saintmort

In Episode 31 Matt sits down to interview Mermates creator Michael Jonathan Smith as well as Scott Meaney c0-creator of The Puppet Apocalypse. Matt Also plays the audio of his Beastie Boys/MCA tribute set.

Show Notes:
Mermates Website
The Puppet Apocalypse Facebook
DollarMondayPromotions
MommyHelpsMommy
Bad News Bears Facebook
WordBurglar Facebook
Yale, Massachusetts Facebook

Find Us on iTunes

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Guilty Pleasures: Piranha 2: The Spawning

by Saintmort

This Friday we will see the release of Piranha 3DD. This is the Summer Release of the Summer to me. Fuck Spiderman, Avengers and Dark Knight Rises because guess what I promise those movies won’t have 3-D titties. I can not define my excitement levels for seeing this movie and I’m pissed that I won’t see it until Sunday Morning (stupid Philadelphia Wizard World).

So what movie should I pick for this week’s guilty pleasure? Well Obviously I had but one option. You see Piranha and Piranha 3D were both critical hits as well as cult favorites. However Piranha 2: The Spawning was critically despised and has only a small following (if one at all), yet I like it more than the original.

Most people only know one thing about this infamously bad horror movie, that it’s James Cameron’s directorial debut. I’m going to go as far as to say it’s my favorite of all his films. Sure you can have your The Abyss or The Terminator or Avatar (seriously though if Avatar is your favorite Cameron film shoot yourself) but for me he doesn’t get better than piranha flying around and attacking a beach resort.

Yes, you read that correctly. The plot-line surrounds what happens when a mad scientist mixes Piranhas and Flying Fish to create the most horrifying creature known to man. The writing is not as funny or quick witted as the original Piranha but the fish effects and gore have taken a major in the right direction.

Most of the cast members are italian with minimual english and the characters are bizarre creatures including a stuttering man who’s constantly insulted an harrassed, a woman who needs to get laid and two teens in love. When the Piranha attack the resort there’s nowhere to hide.

The original plot-line from the original director explained that the flying fish/piranha combo came from Kevin McCarthy’s character at the beginning of the film. Sure you saw him get eaten in Piranha (Spoiler alert?) but original director Miller Drake felt that he could survived (just badly deformed) and those driven to get vengence for his disfigurement.

Drake didn’t last too long on the project before he was replaced by special effects artist James Cameron who is mostly ashamed of this film. He occasionally jokes around that he made the “best flying fish horror comedy of all time” in interviews and on commentary tracks, but the film is quite good (specifically by Roger Corman standards).

The film itself feels a little more like a Troma film than a Corman film. It’s a little more blantly tongue in cheek, over the top and uses quite a few goofy sound effects typical of a more Kaufman style horror-comedy.

It’s a good film to throw on with friends and look for moments the remind you of Cameron’s much more successful career.

The Saint Mort Show Episode 30: The Octopus Scene featuring Robert Angelo Masciantonio and Roots in Stereo

by Saintmort

Episode 30 Matt interviews friends of the podcast Robert Angelo Masciantonio who talks about his movie neighbor, his short story New Girl in Town, his desire to direct American Werewolf and other fun tales while Roots in Stereo plugs their upcoming tour and gives us a listen to their newest song.

LINKS:
Robert Angelo Masciantonio Twitter
Roots in Stereo Facebook
Harley Poe Facebook

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Class Nuke’em High Is Getting a New Sequel – JOIN THE CAST!

by Saintmort

Troma is mostly known for it’s mascot the Toxic Avenger. However Class Nuke ’em High was actually their most successful film in the world of VHS. The original is a fun horror/teen flick about the affects of nuclear waste on high school students. The Sequels however are garbage, at least in part due to Lloyd Kafuman’s lack of involvement.

Well Lloyd is back in the director’s chair for the 4th installment RETURN TO NUKE ‘EM HIGH and they are looking for the next Troma star (this will likely involve being underpaid and underworked, but gaining a place in Troma’s cult following). Casting Starts tomorrow and if you want to be involve email the troma team at nukeemhighcasting@gmail.com

Here’s Lloyd begging you for support from the cardboard box he calls home

The Saint Mort Show Episode 29: You Can Be Replaced Featuring First Things First and Spoken Life

by Saintmort

Saint Mort sits down with band First Things First and Spoken Life to promote their show in Aston, PA on May 25th.

There are some sound issues on this episode that I apologize for. I’ll be purchasing a new microphone before next week’s episode to make the annoying ‘static’ issues stop.

Check out the sites!

First Things First Facebook
Spoken Life Bandcamp
Spoken Life on the Warped Tour
Those Galloping Hordes Facebook

Find Us on iTunes

 

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Guilty Pleasures: Home Fries

by Saintmort

This weekend you have some pretty weak movie options. When What to Expect When You’re Expecting is the best option you know it’s a bad week. I almost always hate comedies about being pregnant. The obvious exception is Knocked Up but that’s still one of my least favorite Apatow films. However I have always loved Home Fries. The Demented Dark Comedy starring a pregnant Drew Barrymore (as opposed to Riding in Cars with Boys which is a bland romantic comedy starring a pregnant Drew Barrymore)

 Sally Jackson is in a pickle. She’s pregnant with the baby of Henry Montier. When she became pregnant she didn’t know that Henry was married. However Sally’s problems have just doubled. It seem’s Henry’s wife isn’t too happy with the affair and has her sons Angus (Jake Busey) and Dorian (Luke Wilson) ‘Scare Henry to death’ knowing about his heart condition.

However why flying their Helicopters (they’re pilots… I should mention that) their radio crosses frequencies with the local fast food burger joint. Angus becomes obsessed that the employees ‘heard too much’ and will report them to the police, meanwhile Henry’s ex-wife Beatrice (Catherine O’Hara) wants to find the girl Henry cheated on her with.

Dorian gets a job at the fast food place (where Sally happens to work) and slowly falls in love with Sally. Dorian pieces together that Sally is the girl Henry was cheating on Beatrice with. Knowing that Beatrice has driven Angus to murderous levels of revenge Dorian does everything in her power to keep the family from knowing.

The film did poorly in the box office and managed to get a minor 31% on rotten tomatoes. That being said the film is a fun dark comedy. Obviously everything feels a little too convenient but when you shut off your brain and enjoy the movie you stop caring.

Luke Wilson is an actor who always looks like he doesn’t care meanwhile Jake Busey is always such an over the top actor that the two of them arguing provides some legitamite laughs and interesting sequences.

Few romantic comedies would aim so hard towards the female demographic (like this film did) but provide a film about murder and infidelity. It’s not the best film in the world, nor is it one of the best films of 1998, but it’s a good entertaining film that is worth your time.

Matt Kelly also writes in his blog Pure Mattitude, Tweets, and hosts a podcast called The Saint Mort Show

The Saint Mort Show Episode 28: Canadian Invasion featuring Charlie Chan and Josh Ireson of With Life in Mind

by Saintmort

This week I got to sit down with guests Charlie Chan and Josh Ireson. I’ve known both of these guys for a couple years so it was fun to discuss past shows, hang outs and urban legends. It’s a more personal episode, I hope y’all don’t mind!

SHOW NOTES:
Team Goldie’s Website
With Life In Mind’s Facebook
Charlie Chan Entertainment
Roots in Stereo Facebook
Fowl Play Website

Be sure to check out my twitter, Facebook group and blog!

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Guilty Pleasures: Mother’s Day (1980)

by Saintmort

I love Troma. This is not an unknown fact. I’ve always loved Troma, since I was a young kid and watched Toxic Crusaders. The first thing that truly scared the shit out of me was when I was a little kid at my uncle’s house and I saw the cover of Toxic Avenger and immediately recognized Toxie. I put it on and was terrified by the mutation sequence as well as a scene where Toxie pokes someone’s eyeballs out.

In Junior High I rediscovered Troma when I borrowed my friend’s copy of the movie and watched the entire film. It was great. Tits, Gore… really nothing to not love. I began collecting all the Troma titles I could, buying all the Lloyd Kaufman books and on a couple occasions met Lloyd (I even had him as a guest on my podcast The Saint Mort Show).

That being said even I can say that their films aren’t all winners. Kaufman has a pretty flawless career, but most of the films that they acquire don’t reach the bar of excellence that Lloyd is able to achieve. For every Cannibal the Musical there’s a ten Newlydeads.

However one of the most impressive films in their collection is Mother’s Day, directed by Kaufman’s brother Charlie.  The film is a demented backwoods slasher film made in 1980 talks about a road trip from hell.

Three college friends take their yearly trip together. This year their trip is a camping trip, however it’s quickly ruined when they’re kidnapped by two boys and their demented mother. The rest of the film is the two brothers beating and raping the women based on their mother’s demands and guidance.

While the film was released after rape revenge films like Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave, it was released the same year as Friday the 13th (ironically filmed at the same time and at the same location). Both films pushed the limits of slasher film gore at the time, however Friday the 13th’s wider release has lead to it being hailed as a masterpiece while the far more disturbing Mother’s Day has become nothing more than a unknown masterpiece in the Troma Library.

It’s definitely not for everybody, but if horror is for you, this is a must-see. Lloyd and the rest of the Troma team have also been praising the remake which comes to DVD tomorrow.

MCA Dead at 47; but the Right to Party Continues…

by Saintmort

Today is a sad day for the world of hip-hop. 1/3 of the one of the greatest (if not the greatest) hip-hop groups ever has passed. While the details on Adam “MCA” Yauch’s death are scarce we think it’s safe to assume that his long battle with cancer is the culprit.

What does this mean for music or hip-hop? Right now. It means nothing. MCA (with Mike D and King Ad Rock) fought for our right to party, and succeeded. While the group admittedly hated their most known song and refused to play it live, it was a game changer (much like everything else in the bands decade spanning career).

What started off as hardcore punk band between Adam and Mike Diamond (Mike D) eventually involved into one of the most influencial and important hip-hop groups ever (Only comparable to Run DMC and N.W.A.).

The Beastie Boys exploded in 1986 with their ground-breaking debut Licensed to Ill which took the Run DMC’s mix of rock and rap found on Raising Hell to the next level. The album even featured guitar playing from Slayer’s Kerry King on their single “No Sleep Til Brooklyn”.

Three years later the trio made a dangerous decision. Instead of making their follow-up album a carbon copy of their massive debut they crafted the greatest rap record in history. Paul’s Boutique was a flop by all standards when it was released, but now the weird sample heavy album has even been called the Sgt. Pepper of Hip Hop (which makes sense since The Beatles were sampled a few times on it).

After a three year break the Boys exploded in popularity throughout the 90’s with Check Your Head, Ill Communications and Hello Nasty. The group was never one to repeat themselves. They’d pick up their instruments and record their own beats for Check Your Head, they’re record straight hardcore punk songs and release them as singles (Sabatoge) and they’d experiment with all types of different styles with Hello Nasty.

In the 2000’s their experimentation continued to grew with the release of The Mix-Up (an all instrumental jam album) and the Concert movie Awesome, I Fucking Shot That! where 50 audience members received camcorders at their 2004 Madison Square Garden Concert and became the ‘directors’ of the concert film.

In 2009 they planned to release the album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, however when Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer the album was pushed back multiple times until finally getting it’s release last year (with the name changed to Hot Sauce Committee Part 2). The album proved that the Beasties were still relevant and the most energetic performers out there.

So what does the death of MCA mean for the group? I love the Beastie Boys but to me this is the end of the band. The three piece will never find a new MCA and touring and recording as a duo won’t work. Run DMC hung up their microphones after the Death of their DJ Jam Master Jay. I can almost guarantee that the surviving Beasties will take a note from their hip-hop mentors.

It is a sad for the hip-hop community and the music world. The Beastie Boys allowed people like Eminem and Atmosphere to exist in today’s music. The best story of the group I read in a Rolling Stone magazine about the 500 greatest groups in music. Reverend Run told a story about the Beastie Boys touring with DMC and Public Enemy. He described the first show of the tour as being in the deep south and the whole tour thinking “This crowd is going to kill these three white boys.” Instead they stole the show.

“Real respects Real” said the Reverend. “They weren’t white guys acting black, they were white guys rapping about their lives. They rapped about White Castle burgers, Beer and Chicks.” Plus they were pretty damn good at doing it.

Below is a live performance they group did on Letterman in 2004 to promote To the 5 Boroughs. I think it best shows (a) why 3 Jewish White guys showed the world what Rap can sound like and (b) the level of imaginative and creative performances that will be sorely missed.

The Saint Mort Show Episode 27: Tromatized featuring Lily Bee and Fabien Matorell

by Saintmort

Episode 27 Matt interviews Fabien Matorell about his Lloyd Kaufman documentary Tromatized and musician Lily Bee.

I was tired while recording the ‘between segments’ so I apologize to the audience for the hushed talking and special apologies to Lily Bee for setting up the audio incorrectly so it sounds like us talking in two separate rooms with a single microphone sitting in the middle of the hallway.

SHOW NOTES:

TEAM GOLDIE’S WEBSITE
TROMATIZED SITE
FOWL PLAY’S WEBSITE
HARLEY POE’S WEBSITE
LILY BEE’S WEBSITE
PUNCHY’S PILOTS’ SITE
JOE WHITEFORD OF HARLEY POE’S EPISODE OF SAINT MORT SHOW

Read some fun stories about the recording of this episode at my blog – PureMattitude.com

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New Amazing Spiderman Trailer Released

by Saintmort

Today a new trailer for Amazing Spiderman was released. I’m excited for this movie and refuse to watch any trailers to keep my excitement high and “what I know” low. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch the trailer… JUST DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS!


LA LA LA LA LA LA I’M NOT LISTENING

Guilty Pleasures: Comic Book The Movie

by Saintmort

This weekend we will see the release of The Avengers. It’s a great time to be a geek right now. Just ten years ago no one would have guessed we’d live in a world where superhero films were acceptable to the point that not only was there an Avengers film but Thor, Iron Man and discussions on Dr. Strange and Antman.

Bizarrely enough, Mark Hamill predicted these changes back in 2004. In his direct-to-DVD mockumentry Comic Book: The Movie Mark plays Donald Swan, a history teacher/comic shop owner and in charge of the official fan club for Commander Courage. Due to the popularity of the Spider-Man movie a major studio is making a film on Commander Courage (inspired obviously by Captain America) and have hired Donald as a creative consultant.

However since September 11th they’ve decided to update Commander Courage from a Nazi fighting patriot into a Terrorist killing soldier named Codename Courage. Donald hates this change where they’ve made Courage more modern, edgy, took away his secret Identity and changed his sidekick Liberty Lad into the sexy Liberty Lass.

The studio gives Donald an opportunity to film a documentary about the Codename: Commander announcement at Comic Con, while Donald tries to use this opportunity to prove to the studio that they should make a Commander Courage film that’s a period piece with him fighting nazis.

The film is amusing enough to kill an hour and a half but what’s far more impressive is how Hamill nailed the future of Comic Con before it occurred. The movie executive going with Donald to the Con could careless about the comics or the fans of the character. He just wants to show up, make an announcement and leave.

Mark also takes this opportunity to write a true love letter to fandom. He captures the entire comic con experience with plenty of cos-players, screaming Troma characters, lots of free stuff and the parents keeping their kids awake to ensure they don’t miss any panels. Donald gives a passionate speech about how his favorite aspect of fandom is the passionate arguments between trivial things like “How’s better Gray or Green Hulk”.

The film doesn’t always hit but it does have it’s moments. The cast is basically made up of voice actors and celebrity cameos (including Stan Lee, Hugh Hefner and Kevin Smith). Kevin Smith parodies his infamous Superman Script incident discussing how his first draft of Commander Courage the studio demanded a Giant Mechanical Spider and also has the line “Nazis are better than terrorists, they have an easier to make fun of accent”.

Donald Swan even discusses how much better Pearl Harbor would be had it been a Commander Courage film. But the funniest character in the film and scene stealer is Ricky the Camera Guy played by Jess Harnell (Animaniacs). Ricky is a rocker/stoner who just wants to meet the Hulk while at comic con. Donald takes him under his wing to try to teach him how beautiful the world of Comic Con truly is.

The film didn’t get much critical review due to being a Direct-To-DVD film, however the fan ratings on rottentomatoes averaged out to a pitiful 38%. The fact is the film is made for a very specific person (a comic book fan), you need to understand this world to appreciate this world. With that in mind, watch this before seeing the Avengers.

Comic Book: The Movie is currently available on Netflix Instant Watch

When he’s not watching straight to DVD movies Matt can be found tweeting, writing in his blog Pure Mattitude and hosting is podcast The Saint Mort Show.

The Saint Mort Show: Oh Shit featuring Todd Edwards and Wordburglar

by Saintmort

Episode 26 Matt interviews Todd Edwards who co-wrote and directed the animated film Hoodwinked and Canadian rapper Wordburglar. He also plays music from The World, Lily Bee, June Divided and premieres and song from listener Raja

SHOW NOTES:
– Saint Mort Show Episode 25

– Todd Edwards IMDb Page

– Wordburglar’s site

– Link To Raja’s Youtube

– June Divided Site

– Link to Beyonce by The World

– Lily Bee’s Music Page

 

Find Us on iTunes

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Guilty Pleasures: The Incredible Mr. Limpet

by Saintmort

There is no actor left quite like Don Knotts. Where most actors are willing to occasionally play the lovable wimp in a film or two, Don Knotts dedicated his entire career to it. The Incredible Mr. Limpet was my first introduction to this creative and unique comedic mind. Much like Captain America, the film tells the story of a weakling who wants to help his country in the war. The difference is Steve Rogers became a strong super solider and Mr. Limpet became a talking fish.

During the war Henry Limpet wants to join the navy and fight for his country but his eyesight and weak body disqualifies him. The only thing Henry loves more than his country is fish. Henry has hundreds of pet fish which drives his wife Bessie crazy and his friend George thinks is just plain weird.

One day when he’s feeling at his worse he stares into the lake and wishing he was a fish. Suddenly he falls in the water and is transformed… for no explainable reason. There wasn’t toxic waste, or blue fairy… just Limpet’s heart’s desire.

The US navy quickly decides that a talking and patriotic fish is exactly what they need to stop the nazis.

Limpet falls in love with a female fish (creatively named Lady-Fish) and we can only assume Fish sex occurs in the future. This is a weird aspect of semi-beastality, but that’s not unseen for this movie. The film makes quite a few logic leaps and is constantly just barely scraping the belly of being entertaining or interesting.

I think if you were reading this it’s easy for you to assume that I hate this movie, but I don’t. I’m sure nostalgia is part of it there’s something charming about the sincerity to the ridiculousness of the movie. Sure there’s plenty of goofy double takes throughout but there’s also straight faced discussions of the importance of this fish’s contribution to the war. Regardless of the film’s faults it remains a nostalgic favorite of mine and apparently for many others as well.

Since the 90’s they considered remaking it. The first attempt had Jim Carrey in mind (which is as good of a casting choice as you could hope for you). That film never happened but it recently was discussed as Zach Galifianakis vehicle (which seems more like a joke than a sincere casting decision) although with Kevin Lima (A Goofy Movie) directing it might have been decent. Both Lima and Galifianakis dropped out and now it’s currently being discussed with Richard Linklater as the director which makes absolutely no sense.

Despite it’s very average 50% rating on rotten tomatoes the film helped to launch Don Knotts’ career from a TV star to a movie star. It also lead to him acting in far superior films including my personal favorite Knotts film The Ghost & Mr. Chicken.

The Incredible Mr. Limpet is currently on Instant Watch, go rediscover it!

 

When Matt Kelly isn’t defending animated fish comedies of the 60’s he’s blogging, tweeting and producing his podcast the Saint Mort Show (check out this week’s episode with Joe Whiteford and Chad Neidt)

The Muppets 2 will be a Caper!

by Saintmort

In an interview with Movieline Nicholas Stoller said that the next Muppet film will be a Caper in a similar vein of The Great Muppet Caper.  He was quoted saying “I think it’s similar to the first one in that the first one certainly had dramatic connections to the first Muppet movie, but it was a whole new thing, hopefully… This is the same thing. We love The Great Muppet Caper and we love Muppets Take Manhattan and whatnot. So this has some elements of that, but it’s different because it’s in the tone of what James and I like to do.”

I am particularly excited because this means that they read the article I wrote last month.

The Saint Mort Show Episode 25: Hit Me With Your Rickshaw featuring Joe Whiteford of Harley Poe and Chad Neidt

by Saintmort

Episode 25 Matt introduces a new format, discusses his elementary school bullying, interviews Joe Whiteford of Calibretto 13 and Harley Poe, Chad Neidt of one minute mash ups and Molly Mahan performs a song about her San Diego Comic Con trip

SHOW NOTES:

Fowl Play’s Facebook
Facts Facebook
Wordburglar Facebook
Harley Poe’s Facebook
Joe’s Blog
Chad’s Youtube Page

Find Us on iTunes

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First Look at Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock

by Saintmort

I guess I’m out of the loop because until this picture of Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock today I had no clue there was a bio-pic in the works. Having seen the impressive transformation I’m very excited for this film now! From Fox Searchlight’s blog:

Hitchcock is planned for a 2013 release and also stars Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles as well as Helen Mirren, Danny Huston, Toni Collette and Kurtwood Smith. James D’Arcy plays Psycho star Anthony Perkins.

Guilty Pleasures: Bunny Whipped

by Saintmort

How was everyone’s Easter? Did the bunny give you quality eggs and chocolates and marshmallow peeps? In honor of that big fluffy guy I decided that the newest Guilty Pleasure should be on a film that’s hard to find in stores but available on DVD for $0.25 new. 2007’s Bunny Whipped starring Joey Lauren Adams and Esteban Powell (whoever he is).

I heard of this movie when the mom and pops video store I worked at received a copy in the mail. I’m pretty sure I was the only person to ever rent it and most likely the only person that would have enjoyed it anyway.

Released straight to DVD a year before Marvel released Kick-Ass and three years before James Gunn made the brilliant Super (but 13 years after Blankman) comes Bunny Whipped, your typical everyday man becomes superhero movie. While Kick-Ass and Super try to show the realistic aspects of becoming a superhero, Bunny Whipped just uses it as an excuse to show off some weird side-characters.

This is not a good movie. I’ll admit it, but here at Guilty Pleasures we take the good with the bad (not unlike the facts of life). Bob Whipple is a sportswriter (never shown writing a column or going to an office building) who decides to become a super hero after white rapper Cracker Jack is murdered under mysterious circumstances. He becomes The Whip. Not only is his superhero name not creative but he goes on TV repeatedly as ‘Bob Whipple AKA the Whip – Superhero/Sportswriter’. It kind of defeats the purpose of an alias.

Bob is played by Esteban Powell who is so painfully bad in this role there are points I wondered if he wrote and directed the movie as well (it’s clearly an indie film so that wouldn’t be the least bit shocking). He did not however, those titles both belong to Rafael Riera who has yet to make a follow up film.

While the filmmaking and acting is shabby and rough at best, the movie is actually entertaining and better than it had any right to be. The best humor being all the rap related battles whether it’s Cracker Jack (who is murdered in concert while singing his song I’ve Been Shot so the audience doesn’t realize he’s killed til later), the Rick James look-a-like Kenny Kent (who’s song Lonely at the Top (the wah wah wah wah song) is getting terrible reviews) or Cracker Jack’s best friend Dirty old Skank’s tribute song to Cracker’s memory ‘Tap Dat Ass’ the jokes are better than the actor’s rap skills (which admittedly isn’t hard).

Elements of the movie are trying too hard to be quirky (like the beauty model ‘Miss Most Awesomely Awesome’) it mostly hits more than it flops.

Finally much like Chasing Amy the film manages to make you fall in love with Joey Lauren Adams even though her face looks 30 years older than the rest of her and she sounds like an 80’s cartoon character. However when Joey Lauren Adams is the biggest name you have in your movie, you know you’re working on a tight budget.

P5YCH A Movie Horror Fans Should Be Supporting

by Saintmort

On the most recent episode of The Saint Mort Show I got to sit down with Matthew Currie Holmes and Tracy Morse who co-wrote the film P5YCH. After talking to these guys I immediately was impressed by their fandom and never-ending fountain of knowledge of horror films.

In a period of cinema where almost all of the horror movies are either sequels and reboots, Matthew and Tracy have found a way to create the most unique way to ‘reboot’ a film. P5YCH tells the story of five survivors, they’ve each experienced a truly traumatic event that was later turned into a hit horror film (Halloween, Friday the 13th Part 3, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Sleepaway Camp).

Now these survivors have to face the ghosts of their past. With Matthew and Tracy writing and past guest Rebekah McKendry acting as producer this film seem like a can’t lose product.

Check out the trailer, visit their website and donate to their Kickstarter! This is the unique film horror fans have been waiting for.

The Saint Mort Show BONUS EPISODE 24: Matthew Currie Holmes and Tracy Morse from P5YCH

by Saintmort

Episode 24 is a bonus episode in which I talk to Matthew Currie Holmes and Tracy Morse of the upcoming horror film P5YCH. The film seems like a really awesome idea, so donate to their Kickstarter so I can see the movie.

Also at the end of the episode is a live cover of Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” performed by Meg and Matt (my band with past guest Meg Moyer). You can hear the full live show here.

 

*Apologies for the rough audio in the first minute, I’m getting a new board this week*

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Jim Henson’s Original Muppet Show Pitch

by Saintmort

I’m not sure who first posted this video today, but I discovered it through Liquid Squid and the Muppets subreddit. Regardless of who shared it first, it’d be a travesty for us here at Geekscape to not also share it with you guys!

Now for people in their 20’s/30’s it’s hard to even imagine that there was a time where Jim Henson couldn’t just say ‘I want to do this’ and people would hand him money, felt and cameras. But in the 70’s Henson was seen as only marketable to small children. He had a dream of making the Muppets a household name that was accessible to all ages. Thus the Muppet Show was born. This was the pitch video he sent out.

There is so much that works in this video. The patriotic music, the increasing excitement of the host, the fourth wall breaking. Regardless CBS (among other studios) turned the project down. It wasn’t until Lew Grade (head of British Commercial Station ATV) offered Henson money to make the project a reality and giving us the Muppet Show we know and love today!

Guilty Pleasures: American Pie – Naked Mile

by Saintmort

American Reunion is coming out this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. I love the American Pie movies. This is nothing new. Most people love the American Pie Trilogy (or at the very least the groundbreaking original). I can already hear Shane O’hare going… “oh man his newest guilty pleasure is American Pie? What’s next Star Wars?” (Suck my dick Shane). You see, my love of AP surpasses most. Most people don’t own all seven American Pie movies.

Yes that’s right seven.

Now I can’t defend them all. Band Camp (part 4) and Book of Love (part 7) are pretty terrible while Beta House (Part 6) is enjoyable enough but Naked Mile (Part 5) is a legitimately fun movie.

Erik Stifler has a difficult life. He’s a senior in High School, he’s a virgin and he’s a Stifler. The name gives him a reputation to uphold. Erik has been dating Tracey for two years but she’s not ready for sex.

Erik’s best friends Cooze and Ryan decide to make a trip up to his cousin Dwight’s in Michigan for his college’s Naked Mile event. Tracey gives Erik a ‘Guilt Free Pass’ to get sex out of his system and his friends have ever intention of making him follow through on it.

At it’s heart Naked MIle is a good teen sex comedy (which typically doesn’t have a very high standard anyway). In fact if it has any fault at all it’s that it tries too hard to be part of the American Pie canon. You could easily have created the same movie without calling him Erik Stifler and in 5-10 minutes establish a family history of bizarre and plentiful sexual history. But let’s face it you don’t watch a sex comedy for the story lines (which has a hall pass plot line 4 years before the movie Hall Pass came out), you watch it for the nudity.

Naked Mile has without a doubt the most nudity of any American Pie film (not surprising since Naked is in the title). So in that respect it’s cheaper than buying a porno and it’ll remind you of your junior high years of jerking off to Fast Times At Ridgemont High (or maybe that was just me).

Eugene Levy appears in the film (because let’s face it, he’ll do anything for a paycheck) and he’s hilarious (when isn’t he). His character (as he has been throughout the whole Direct-To-DVD series) continues to drop us little pieces of info about Jim and Michele, in this film he says that he’s now a grandfather (and the trailers for American Reunion show Jim and Michele with their kids).

Do jokes fail? Sure plenty of them do. But many of them are quite funny. Some of the performances are pretty rough but Steve Talley’s performance of Dwight Stifler is pretty solid and the reason why the decided to follow these characters a second time in Beta House.

The movie had Eugene Levy, Midgets, shit tons of nudity and a drinking game that killed a guy you get exactly what you pay for with American Pie Presents: Naked Mile.Suck in the films gloriousness.

APRIL FOOLS! Michael Bay to Direct Bucky O’Hare Movie

by Saintmort

This was an April Fools joke… but it will still probably happen one day exactly as written!

Sunbow Productions has officially announced their plans to work with Michael Bay on a live action Bucky O’Hare film. Bucky O’Hare was created in 1978 by Larry Harna and Michael Golden. The comic and TV series told of a parallel universe (the Aniverse) and a war between the United Animals Federation and the Toad Empire. However Michael Bay has a different idea:

“The Aliens that are talking earth animals is becoming a played out idea,” said the director/producer/explosion enthusiast. “What we’re thinking is that perhaps it’s possible that ordinary animals like toads, bunnies and duckies could be mutated by some type of toxic waste.”

How’s that for irony? Oh, Michael. You’ll never learn… What do you guys think?

Guilty Pleasures: Afroman

by Saintmort

There are plenty of songs that were number one hits that are beyond confusing. For starters you’re not going to see me defending Los Del Rio or Right Said Fred anytime soon. The fact is there are two types of one hit wonders, ones that deserve the title (Baha Men, Gerardo) and once’s that don’t (Harvey Danger, The New Radicals) despite what 99.9% of the music world will have you believe Afroman belongs in the latter group.

In the summer of 2001 you couldn’t avoid the hit single Because I Got High. The comedic song about a man who’s life has crumbled do to his marijuana abuse was easily the hit of the summer. It started as an independent release that got big thanks to Napster. It caught the ear of Howard Stern who made the song a huge hit and got Afroman signed to Universal Records. The song was featured in multiple films (most popularly in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back).

The song was ‘released’ on Afroman’s “debut” album The Good Times. The album was actually a compilation of the best songs off Afroman’s first three independent albums. The follow up single Crazy Rap didn’t chart as well as Universal had anticipated and Afroman was quickly dropped. However he still records and releases independent albums to this day (most recently 2009’s Frobama: Head of State his 13th album).

So why am I defending Afroman? What possible reason could I give to support his music?

Well for starters it’s fucking hilarious. Because I Got High was a funny novelty song sure but the real gold is on the rest of the album. Songs like Crazy Rap (where Afroman raps about every girl he’s had sex with for 6 minutes) or She Won’t Let Me Fuck have a delightfully perverted sense of humor. What makes the whole album extra ridiculous is that when he’s rapping (Palmdale) or singing (Hush) he’s above average at both.

Admittedly the subject matter never extends from either Drugs (Tumbleweed), Sex (Crazy Rap) or Alcohol (Let’s All Get Drunk), but that is part of the appeal. I remember when the album first came out reading an interview with Afroman (aka Joseph Foreman) and he said that the persona of Afroman was a satirical version of all the stereotypes of black culture. THis is most clear in the song Tall Cans where he repeatedly talks about ‘Walking down the street with some chicken and forty’.

So if Afroman is so great? Why haven’t I heard of him (or his 13 albums) in years? After the success of The Good Times, Afroman got out of his six record contact with Universal Records. And in 2004 began releasing his independent records starting with Afroholic…The Even Better Times. Afroholic is a double disc album packed with parodies of songs like the Cheers Theme (Nobody Knows Your Name) and Jack and Diana (Jackin Afroman) which tell various reasons why he left Universal as well as original new songs.

There’s multiple reason Afroman gives for leaving the label (He didn’t like the fame, Universal took all of his money) but I think the song Whack Rappers shows that his biggest issue was with hip-hop himself.

Despite the obscurity the rapper continues to be popular in Underground hip-hop. He has appeared at the Gathering of the Juggalos and even performed guitar with one of my favorite bands Eels. Turns out he’s also a good guitarist.

Tell us about your guilty pleasures in the official guilty pleasures thread.

I write blogs, I podcast, I tweet, I Make Music I am Matt Kelly.

Who’s The Animal Now? Travis Barker Vs. Animal Drum Battle on Jimmy Kimmel

by Saintmort

As Jimmy Kimmel has continually proved, his talk show is one of the most bizarre and interesting late night experiences. This is a man who did full episodes dressed (and acting) like Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. Most recently he had Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem as musical guests to promote the newly released DVD/Blu-Ray of The Muppets. Joining everything’s favorite felt funk rock group is Travis Barker (drummer of about 10 bands but mostly known for his work with Blink 182). Barker and Electric Teeth Drummer Animal break into a pretty fantastic drum battle in the middle of their hit 1979 song “Can You Picture That?”

Five Things We Want to See in the Muppets Sequel

by Saintmort

Let’s face it, regardless of the weak ending and occasional plot holes, The Muppets was the most fun you probably had watching a movie last year. With an almost unheard of Rotten Tomatoes rating of 96%, it’s safe to say that more people enjoyed the movie than disliked it. For some people it was their first Muppet experience while others it was a breath of fresh air to hardcore Muppet fans who had to deal with 10 years of terrible made-for-TV movies. I loved the film so much I even wrote an open letter to Jason Segel thanking him.

That being said, the film is far from perfect. The DVD came out today and when you re-watch it you are going to see random things that don’t hold up well a second time. But I still love the Muppets, as has been evident multiple times on this site.

A few weeks ago it was announced that cowriter and star Jason Segel won’t be returning for this film. While it saddens me, it made me excited that a sequel was in the works. Hopefully Disney puts it in the right hands and I can only hope that those people read this article because here’s what we want to see in the next Muppet movie.

1. PAUL WILLIAMS AND BRET MACKENZIE

Paul Williams Still AliveBret McKenzie did a fantastic job writing songs for The Muppets, although a few of them (Me Party for example) sound more like a Flight of the Conchords than the Muppets. Regardless he’s one of the best muppet songwriters since Jeff Moss and Paul Williams. While Jeff Moss is deceased, Paul Williams is Still Alive. It would be a Muppet fans dream for Williams to write a new song for our favorite pieces of felt. Williams wrote all the songs for The Muppet Movie one of the greatest cinema soundtracks ever and Paul WIlliams was robbed an Oscar at the 52nd Academy Awards. Perhaps Bret McKenzie can use his magic to give him his well-deserved Muppet-Themed award.

2. NO STAR (BESIDES THE MUPPETS AND YOUR VILLAIN)

As much as I love Jason Segel, there was too much of him in the Muppets. I understand the importance of having big named stars like Jason Segel and Amy Adams in this movie was to bring people into the theater to make the Muppets stars again. Well mission accomplished. The Muppets are stars again. Let’s treat them as such. I’m a Muppets purist and I’m a firm believer that at the end of the day The Muppets are the star. The only other star needs to be the villain.

3. THE MUPPETS NEED TO BE ACTORS, NOT THEMSELVES

The Muppets was very similar to 1977’s The Muppet Movie. For starters they both have Rainbow Connection in them, but more so than that they both follow the Muppets rise. The Muppet Movie tells of how they all met and The Muppets tells how they all reunite. Well now it’s time for us to get a Great Muppet Caper or a Muppets Take Manhattan out of them. This film needs to be a Muppet movie, not a movie about the Muppets. Make Fozzie and Kermit twin brothers again that work for a newspaper company like in Great Muppet Caper. Perhaps have them fresh out of college like Muppets Take Manhattan. Whatever it is, don’t make another The Muppets.

4. GET BETTER USE OUT OF THE CAMEOS

While The Muppets brought us back the time honored tradition of Muppet films being filled with cameos, most of them left something to be desired. Most of the cameos in the film are quick and don’t use the actor/actress to it’s fullest level. As much as I love the movie, the cameos added as much comedy to the movie as ‘random flashbacks’ add plot line to an episode of Family Guy.

Let’s take a look at 1977’s The Muppet Movie. We have a brilliant sequence with Steven Martin

That’s Steve Martin playing a very Steve Martin type character and interacting with the Muppets. In the new film we see people like Neil Patrick Harris, Mickey Rooney, Sarah Silverman and Feist but not only are they in the film for microseconds… they don’t interact with the muppets or even say or do anything funny or memorable, they’re treated like famous extras more than celebrity cameos.

For this next film we need to see big names like John Hamm, Conan O’Brien and Adele playing parodies of themselves, weird characters and more importantly interacting with the Muppets (be it selling a car or serving them food).

5. MORE 80’S ROBOT

Nuff Said

 

When he’s not Talking Muppets, Matt Kelly is writing in his blog Pure Mattitude, Tweeting and hosting his podcast The Saint Mort Show.