Tag: dark comedy

Horror Movie Night Episode 48 – Willard (2003)

by Saintmort
If you’re a regular listener to the show, it’s likely you have spent at least one quiet evening at home surrounded by hordes of feral rats. This week is your week, as the guys get torn up by 2003’s Willard! Things get Crispin Glover-level weird and everyone thinks of ways to take the air out of their jerk boss’s sports car tires- bring some snacks and don’t worry about dropping any crumbs (the rat-bros will handle cleanup), it’s Horror Movie Night!

Feel free to join in discussion at on our Facebook Group or in the comments below.

Do you have a movie suggestion for us or just want to tell us stories about your experiences with the movies we’ve watched? Send them to us at HMNPodcast@gmail.com

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Horror Movie Night Episode 13: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

by Saintmort

Well, I do dee-clay-uh! This week we are discussing the Bette Davis/Joan Crawford cult classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Adam and Scott are surprisingly receptive to Matt’s choice of black and white suspense movies, so neither were tied up and incapacitated in their bedrooms after the podcast. Everyone’s pet birds made it out alive too, so we’re going to consider this episode of Horror Movie Night a success!

Feel free to join in discussion at on our Facebook Group, our Reddit page or in the comments below.

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Guilty Pleasures: Comic Book Villains

by Saintmort

Do you know your comics? Would you know it if your life was on the line? What would you be willing to do for the ultimate collection of comics? Comic Book Villains is a movie I’ve heard both praise and despise towards for raising these questions. Not unlike Big Bang Theory people argue that this film either ‘is done by true geeks and filled with knowledge and love’ or ‘an awful insulting look at comic book fans’.

The film is about two rival comic shops. The mom and pops shop owned by Raymond McGIllicudy (Donald Logue) and the corporate shop owned by the Link family (Michael Rapaport & Natasha Lyonne). Our main character Archie (DJ Qualls) gets caught up in an a violent warfare between the shops when a shopper of both stories (Conan played brilliantly by Danny Masterson) let’s some information out that a long time collector has died. His collection is the holy grail of collections, first prints, first editions, first appearances… everything. Regrettably his mother wishes to not sell her son’s things.

Greed comes over various collectors. Each one of them sees the potential in these books. The Link’s who see dollar signs while Raymond sees it as a collector’s dream. Furthermore you have Carter (Carl Elwes), a past acquaintance of Raymond who he hires to do his dirty work. The body count rises over this collection with Archie and the recently deceased collector’s mother caught in the middle. The film eventually hits a level of darkness in it’s comedy that’s beyond unsettling. I’d rather not disclose some of the darker points (which basically means I can’t mentioning anything Carter does in the film).

I think that there is a reason this film as polarized so many that have watched it. The film is accurate in the way it depicts the individual shops. Raymond’s comic shop (while messy) definitely depicts the mom and pop shop I attend. It’s filled with people looking for rare back issues getting into these in depth conversations about which character they’d sleep with and such.

Norman’s shop on the other side is a clean and open shop, but there lacks dialogue. You see mother’s and kids inside the shop browsing but no one looks like a genuine collector (except for Conan who shops at both stores). Sure it’s possible for a director to make an accurate assumption, but it seems more like it stems from genuine past experiences.

Is this insulting to comic collectors? Absolutely. There’s a few too many jokes about fat comic readers dying of heart attacks. There’s plenty of moments that are insulting (Raymond crying after seeing the collection comes to mind). The idea that this collection drives them to murder even seems a little insulting (more even more insulting because you can actually believe someone would). That being said, I think the insulting aspect is purposeful.

You see Archie is the key character in this film. He has no family. He’s lived in the same town and comics are his life. But he wants to escape. He develops a relationship with Ms Cresswell (The collector’s mother) and she sees her son in Archie. She wants Archie to live a long and healthy life, not waste it like her son did. In the end (SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE AND WISH IT TO REMAIN A SURPRISE FOR YOU STOP READING THE ARTICLE UNTIL YOU’VE SEEN IT YOU’VE BEEN FAIRLY WARNED) Ms Cresswell is murdered but not before she’s able to give the collection to Archie in secret. Archie sells the collection and uses the money to leave town and explore the world.

This is what the film is truly about. Comics are great. They’re great for escapism and they’re a wonderful form of entertainment. However when you make them your life, they are deadly. Ms Cresswell’s Son, Raymond and to an extent Archie have all given up girlfriends, living alone, work and other things to focus on comics. The message is it’s okay to love things and be passionate, but those things runs your life it stops being healthy.

It’s a shame that the people who most NEED to see this film are the very ones who will immediate write it off as insulting. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s definitely better than the 29% on Rotten Tomatoes it has.

 

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Thin Ice

by Allisonnnnn

A few weeks ago, I had the genuine pleasure of being able to attend one ATO’s pre-screenings for the Sprecher sisters’ dark comedy, Thin Ice.

This movie brings together some amazing actors and really lets them highlight their abilities in helping create characters that you can really feel for– even if that feeling is hate.

In the lead is Greg Kinnear, playing seedy insurance salesman Mickey Prohaska, who seems to be known mostly for his role in the indie flick Little Miss Sunshine, but more recently graced us with the character of Jack Kennedy in The Kennedys.

Jack Kennedy: snazzy violinist and Russian spy.

We also have Alan Arkin as reclusive farmer, Gorvy Hauer.  You probably don’t need a list of what you’d know him from, but just in case… Little Miss Sunshine (Grandpa Edwin), Get Smart (The Chief), Sunshine Cleaning(Joe Lorkowski), Grosse Pointe Blanke (Dr. Oatman), and, most importantly, The Last Unicorn (Schmendrick!!).

Also featuring:

  • Lea Thompson (Marty’s mom – Back to the Future II and Back to the Future III) as Mickey’s mostly estranged wife, Jo Ann.
  • David Harbour (D.A. Frank Scanlon – The Green Hornet and Shep Campell in Revolutionary Road) as the gullible insurance salesman, Bob Egan.
  • Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan – The Watchmen, Will Bloom – Big Fish, and the incredibly, incredibly hot Russell Hammond – Almost Famous) as the psychotically violent and infinitely punchable locksmith, Randy.
  • Bob Balaban (Jonathan Steinbloom – A Mighty Wind, Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III – Best in Show) as the (kinda creepily) intense violin lover, Leonard Dahl.

How do they all link together?  I’m so glad you asked.

Look over there.

Well, Mickey (Kinnear) is an insurance salesman who bumps into Bob (Harbour) at an insurance convention/party/gathering/fiesta(!) and, after learning that his most-hated competitor is about to hire him, snatches Bob for his own office… which only has one employee– a deservingly bitter secretary.

After the insurance fiesta, Mickey returns to Wisconsin to hopefully reunite with Jo Ann (Thompson) and get back to work.  Bob follows him into the artic (Wisconsin) shortly after and, while hunting new sales, discovers Gorvy (Arkin) living on an uninsured farm.

What, over there?

Mickey, learning from Bob of this eccentric old man, decides to accompany his new employee to Gorvy’s ranch in attempt to up the sale.  During various visits, Mickey learns that an old violin in Gorvy’s possession may be worth a decent chunk of cash, so decides to steal it and sell it himself to (creepily intense) violinophile, Leonard (Balaban).

Eventually, Randy (Crudup) comes into the scene while installing a security system on Gorvy’s farm.   Frustration, chaos, skeeviness, and murder ensue.  (Mostly chaos and frustration, if you’re running percentages.)

In sum, there’s a decent chunk of interesting characters one has to keep track of as they weave together the Sprecher’s delightfully intense story.

Yes, over there!

I’ve been noticing a number of reviewers are comparing this work to the Cohen brothers’ Fargo.  I would not say that this is the case.  Yes, the characters are in a cold environment.  Yes, they’re in that part of the country where people have odd accents and wear weird furry hats.  Yes, this is a total dark comedy that wraps itself around a murder.

It’s not Fargo.  This movie stands on its own, and to compare it to Fargo— while a good association to make in regards to certain points– is too much.

I actually found it to be a bit darker than Fargo.  I’m not a dark comedy fan at all.  I judge how “dark” a comedy is by how uncomfortable it makes me.  While I was watching this movie, I was squirming in my seat, covering my eyes, trying not to shout at the characters on screen– it got me to react and engage.  That’s saying something.

Surprise!!

By the end, I was convinced of its brilliance.  I wanted to murder most of the characters at one point or another, sure, but I recognized that it was an incredible piece of work put together by masterful hands that made sure to leave no details flapping in the wind.

Thin Ice comes to select theaters this Friday, February 17th.  I highly suggest that you put on an awkward furry hat and hunt down your nearest showing.