Tag: Matt Kelly

Matt Kelly’s Favorite Films Of 2017

by Saintmort

Can you believe that 2017 is coming to a close? In just a few days we’ll abolish that dreaded seven for ten more years, and a cool, clean, sexy eight will take its place.

2017 was an incredible year for moviegoers, gamers, music enthusiasts, and media lovers of all sorts. With the year coming to an end, it’s time to begin talking about the best of the best.

First up, here are Matt Kelly’s favorite films of 2017!

10. Baby Driver

Can Edgar Wright make a bad movie? Like is it in his genes? He might be one of the most flawless filmmakers out there. Is Baby Driver perfect? No. Is it his best film ever? No. This is arguably his worst movie, but when your worst movie is easily a 4.5 star flick and among the top 10 films in a year with countless great films, that’s a testament to the power you wield. With fun and chaotic camerawork and an amazing soundtrack it’s really hard to dislike this movie.

9. Beauty & the Beast

Some people really hated this movie. I expected that I would too, but instead I got teary-eyed mid-way through the opening sequence when Emma Watson sang Belle. Beauty and the Beast is a strong contender for my favorite Disney animated film and to see it work so well as a live-action film was stunning. The film is not without its issues – some of the computer animated characters leave something to be desired (for example Ms. Potts) but in general this movie put a smile on my face that simply would not go away.

https://youtu.be/e3Nl_TCQXuw

8. Happy Death Day

This movie should not have been great and in a way, it’s not. That said, there was no movie that I had more fun seeing this year than Happy Death Day. The sarcastic tone, perfect comedy, and interesting concept reminded me of everything I love about horror films from the 90’s. So many people slept on this one because it looked stupid, but I remember leaving desperate to have someone to talk to about it.

7. The Lego Batman Movie

This is a fun movie, and in a world without Pixar it’d be the best animated film of the year. Is it better than The Lego Movie? It is not, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. I don’t think I laughed as hard at any movie as I did with Lego Batman. It’s a joke-every-second kind of movie which usually have more strike outs than hits but that’s not the case for this film where I’d say 90% of the jokes absolutely hit it out of the park.

6. Stephen King’s It

This movie really has people divided. Some think it was everything they could want out of the adaptation, while others have argued it was a C+ movie at best. I personally think it was fantastic and easily among the best King adaptations in history. The film manages to be a faithful adaptation, but also a wildly different adaptation. Characters are different, events are different, but that feeling of dread and doom is perfect. It also broke countless records and I can not wait for Part 2.

5. Lady Bird

If you told me that the character I related the most to in cinema was an angsty 17 year old girl in Sacramento I would have considered you crazy. However when I left the theater last month I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie and wanting to tell people about it. This is a theme for all of my top 5 films in most ways, but with Lady Bird being the one that I’ve met the least amount of people who also saw it means that this list is the only place I talk about this. What makes Lady Bird isn’t necessarily the comedy or the drama but the relatability of the subject matter. It’s a movie for everyone who hated their hometown until they moved away, hated their family until they weren’t there for them and underappreciated their high school memories until high school was over. It’s a truly beautiful film that I can’t wait to revisit time and time again.

4. Get Out

I’m going to keep this one short because you can throw a virtual rock anywhere and hit someone’s hot take on how good Get Out is. Despite being a fairly predictable film, that doesn’t make it bad. The film blends horror, suspense and comedy nicely. Additionally, every performance is perfect, there’s very little else for me to mention that hasn’t been said. The critical acclaim and box office numbers say all you need to know.

3. The Big Sick

I wasn’t crying, you were crying. Shut up. Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon’s script mixed with Michael Showalter’s beautiful direction created a perfect “chick-flick” for both guys and gals. The dry sarcastic humor hits all the right funny notes and the moments of sentimental drama pull on every heart-string. You will fall head over heels for Zoe Kazan and Ray Romano has never been more charming. It was the sleeper hit of 2017 and very deservedly so.

2. The Autopsy of Jane Doe

So I’m cheating slightly with this movie. It premiered at a film festival September 2016 and was released in the U.S. the last week of 2016 in a fairly limited release so because it wasn’t readily available until 2017 I had to call this one out. It was the best horror experience I’ve ever had. The first time I watched this movie was with my cousin and his wife in a dark house, every noise made us jump and scream and yell. It was so fun and well paced. I brought my DVD into work and lent it to so many people to watch and so rarely met anyone who disliked it. If this one has slipped under your radar, make it a point to watch.

Before #1, here are some movies I haven’t seen at the time of making this list but could have made this list: Blade Runner 2049, I Tonya, Wonder Woman, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Greatest Showman, Downsizing, Shape of Water, Gerald’s Game and Pitch Perfect 3.

1. Coco

I ugly cried during the last 15 minutes of this movie. Non-stop, loudly, sitting by myself in a theater full of families. It was bad for me, but great for the movie. Pixar just seems to not know how to make a bad (Cars excluded) movie these days. They know the exact right things to pull on the right heart-strings but also have perfectly placed comedic moments too. I connected to this movie on a deeper level than I could have anticipated and left the theater and immediately called family members to let them know how much I loved them. This is a perfect film and was the #1 film of the year for me the second my feet exited the theater.

Matt Kelly’s Top 10 Moments In Podcasting Of 2017!

by Saintmort

It’s important to start this off by stating a few things up front. This is one of the most subjective lists imaginable. There are thousands (and thousands) of podcasts out there and it’s completely impossible to listen to everything. This is coming strictly from the 50+ shows that I listen to weekly, however I should also note I’m leaving off all Geekscape podcasts for a special awards portion at the end.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s tackle my top ten moments in podcasting for 2017!

10. ‘YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS’ – The Bela & Boris Series

YMRT is one of the very best podcasts out there. It’s always informative and captivating. In 2015 their series on the Charles Manson murders was one of the most compelling podcasting phenomenon this side of Serial. This year had three different series, and while all of them were great (Dead Blondes, Jean & Jane), it was the October series focusing on the careers of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff that truly stood out among the pack. Insightful and informative, it’s definitely worth a listen, specifically for a horror fan.

9. The Debut Of ‘ADAM SANDLER PLEASE STOP’

There were a handful of great shows that debuted this year, and while this is the first one I’ll mention out of five shows, that doesn’t take away just how great the show is. In early episodes co-hosts Robert and Marie were trying to find their footing, but somewhere around The Waterboy it all clicked – the movies kept getting worse and their sanity kept being put into play. At this point they’ve finished watching every Adam Sandler movie (proving it can be done in a year so… get on that) and plan to keep the show going by focusing on other Happy Madison stars like Kevin James and Rob Schneider while waiting for future Sandler releases. They kept each episode a manageable drive time length and pack it with constant laughs. This might be the funniest podcast you’ve probably slept on.

8. ‘THE CRACKED PODCAST’
 – Schmitty The Clam Takes Over As New Host

At one point The Cracked Podcast was one of the best shows out there. Over the years the show became fairly dark, focusing on our impending doom in the political world. While I consider this important, I didn’t go to The Cracked Podcast for that. If anything I listened to their show for an hour distraction from the darkness of the world. In June, then-host and editor-in-chief Jack O’Brien stepped down and Alex Schmidt (aka Schmitty the Clam) took over and brought the show back to conversations about pop culture. It’s given the show an entirely new breath of life.

7. The Debut Of ‘I ONLY LISTEN TO THE MOUNTAIN GOATS’

Fandom has never sounded better than
when Welcome To Night Vale’s Joseph Fink sits with John Darinelle of The Mountain Goats and breaks down the album All Hail West Texas track by track. It provides such incredible insight on the songwriting process, as well as Darinelle’s own perspective of himself. Even if you’re not a fan of the band, it’s an interesting listen for any music fan who’s curious about the songwriting process.

6. ‘SHOCK WAVES’ – The Day of the Woman Episode

Shock Waves is probably the best horror podcast from an informative standpoint. All four co-hosts bring such different perspectives that you’re always sure to discover a new movie to watch through the show. Prior to Shock Waves, ¾ of the team was doing the incredible Killer POV (episodes are still on iTunes and are essential listening for any horror fan). Picking a standout episode for this year is a little difficult but I feel like I have to shine a light on this episode specifically. When I heard that the main focus was going to be on women’s exploitation and rape I felt uncomfortable about the episode, however guest BJ Colangelo’s insight on the subject and the empowerment watching revenge films can provide really changed my perspective of the topic. I’ve recommended this to so many of my friends and everyone who checked it out felt the same. This was a truly powerful episode of horror podcasting.

5. The Debut Of ‘S-TOWN’

What more can be said about a show that has been discussed and dissected to death over the last year. I was late to the train – just two weeks ago I was working alone in my office with nothing to listen to so I decided to give Serial (which I had put off for a year or so) a listen. I loved the first season, but was starting to lose interest after season two. However, when I checked out S-Town I was totally hooked. A lot of people really were disappointed by the show, but I wanted more in the best possible way. It was touching, interesting, and genuine. It wasn’t a story like Serial that focused on one person in an extraordinary situation, this focused on very strange but very real people in a very common situation but it never stopped being engrossing. If you’ve avoided this due to people’s negative response to it, give it a shot. You may love it on the same level I did.

4. ‘ALL FANTASY EVERYTHING’ Finds Its Footing

All Fantasy Everything is quickly becoming my favorite podcast. I get beyond excited each time a new episode drops on Thursday Afternoon and I immediately listen to it when I leave work. The first few episodes started in the Fall of 2016 and while there are a handful of memorable discussions it really found its footing in 2017. The draft topics continued to become more insane and also more entertaining discussing things ranging from “Stuff To Do When You’re Drunk” and “Taco Bell Menu Items” to more bizarre topics like “Kanye West” and “Music Videos You Wish You Could Live In” or (my personal favorite) musical episodes like “TV Theme Songs” and “Soft Rock Ballads”. It’s also propelled three comedians not on my radar (Ian Karmel, Sean Jordan, David Gborie) to guys whose careers I want to follow and cheer on. If I had one goal in 2018, it’d be to get Horror Movie Night big enough that I’ll one day be invited to join these three for a draft (like, I don’t know … Scariest Scenes in Movies That Shouldn’t Be Scary).

3. The Debut Of ‘EAR HUSTLE’

This show absolutely captivated me for its brief first season run. In just 20-30 minutes each episode takes us into different stories of life behind the prison walls of San Quentin State Prison. It shines a nice light on these men and lets you get a rough idea of their day to day life. The show juggles a weird balance between making you hope that some of these people will one day get a second chance out the outside while also feeling like life behind bars is a slightly better life than they’d have on the outside (in a few cases). It is one of the most heartfelt and interesting podcasts in years. The Second Season starts in March so you have plenty of time to get caught up on the first season over the next few months.

2. The Debut Of ‘LABELLED: “THE STORIES, RUMORS & LEGENDS OF TOOTH & NAIL RECORDS”’

I grew up as a church kid. I love punk/ska music as well. This meant in my eyes the ultimate record label was Tooth & Nail Records. It was the best mix of bands and had arguably the biggest Christian label success with bands like MxPX, Underoath and Anberlin to name a few. The first season of Labelled focused on different bands, tour stories and topics that captivated me and really anyone who grew up listening to this music. I recommend starting with either the first episode about Further Seems Forever or the episode on the worst tour prank ever.

1. ‘THE ADVENTURE ZONE’ “Balance” Arc Wraps Up

I never expected to love a podcast as much as I loved The Adventure Zone. Every other Thursday the McElroy Brothers and their Father told the story of the Tres Horny Boys using D&D as the storytelling device. While the show is far from an accurate depiction of a real D&D campaign, it doesn’t stop it from telling a compelling story. As we grew to love the three adventurers as well as Griffin’s many NPCs, we started to dread the unavoidable conclusion when we would no longer hear the voices of Takko, Magnus, and Merle. The series wrapped up on a beautiful note leaving many listeners teary-eyed. If there was one podcast in this world that’s worthy of the time it will take up, it’s The Adventure Zone. If you’re a fan of storytelling than you owe it to yourself to listen to the full 69 episode run of the “Balance” arc and listen to the biggest evidence of podcasting’s capability to be more than just interviews and movie discussions.

GEEKSCAPE AWARDS:

Best Flagship Show – GEEKSCAPE
Best Podcast About Women Drinking Wine While Discussing Star Trek – SEVEN OF WINE
Best Boy Meets World Podcast – PLAYING WITH SQUIRRELS
Best New Podcast – THE OVER LEAGUE
Best Video Game Podcast – GEEKSCAPE GAMES
Best Show That Ended Too Soon – THE 90’S TV HOUR
Please Listen To My Podcast (Please) – HORROR MOVIE NIGHT

90s TV Hour Episode 9 – The Innernet!

by Rifferella

We now have a Facebook group for you to get involved and help us build the show! Join the 90s TV Hour Addicts where you’ll find great new content every day!

In which Matt (Horror Movie Night) and Jenny remember Tamagotchis, Dial-Up, and romance chat lines. That’s right, we’re exploring the internet as it was known in the 90s with Are You Afraid of the Dark and Fresh Prince of Bel Air!

Episodes Reviewed:
Are You Afraid of the Dark (S06E04) The Tale of the Virtual Pets
Fresh Prince of Bel Air (S05E22) To Thine Ownself be Blue…and Gold

 

https://soundcloud.com/90s-tv-hour/90s-tv-hour-episode-9-the-innernet

 

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Theme song: Pond5 “Heavy Electric Guitar Riff”

Don’t forget to have a great night!

You Can’t Go Back Part 4: A Goofy Musing

by Saintmort

A video was circulating of a man cosplaying as Powerline at Wondercon last week. I shared it on my Facebook wall which lead to a friend sending me the following video.

This reminded me of another video I saw of someone re-enacting the opening scene from A Goofy Movie. It made me realize that every time I met someone who liked Goofy Movie we’d both get excited and geek out that we both knew it existed.

Here’s the weird thing about it though… almost everyone I know has seen and loved this movie. I’ve noticed the same situation come up with the movie Heavyweights (which is also great). It seems that every person between the ages of 22 and 35 saw A Goofy Movie and thought that they were the only person to see it. As if we all collectively discovered a secret Disney film.

Maybe because we were ashamed to admit how much we loved Disney movies back then. Which is dumb of us because I don’t care who you are, part of you will always love Disney movies.

This past week I’ve been listening to Disney music in my car. It’s been a mixed bag of emotions. One of the weirder parts about being an overly sensitive and emotional person with anxiety and depression is your ability to smile, laugh and cry simultaneously.

On one hand Disney makes me smile. It makes me think of my vacations to DisneyWorld. The most recent one was in this past October with my family. It was one of the best vacations I ever had. I probably was to proud to say that to anyone in my family, but it really was. Just spending time with the people I loved the most, surrounded in a place filled with so much joy … it’s all the things vacations are made to be.

Disney trips are difficult. They’re long and more work than relaxing. But when you’re standing next to the greatest people in the world watching those fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle it’s impossible to not love the place, even for just a second.

The time prior to that was my senior class trip. It was just a few weeks before graduation and very few of my friends attended the trip. I ended up making friendships with classmates I never spoke to. They are now among my closest friends in the world. Another example of the power of Disney.


This is footage from my class memory tape edited by me

So why the sadness?

Because previous to these two trips… my Aunt Lisa had been with us on every trip to Disney. She loved Disney. When I was in college my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. She was given a year and she made it six. None of us said it on our family trip this October, but she was missed.

It’s not easy continuing to live life when someone who was a part of it is no longer in it. There is forever a part of you missing when that person is gone. This is why I find myself crying my way through singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in my car on a Thursday. I probably watched Mary Poppins with my aunt more than any other movie.

It’s sad and it’s unfair. It’s always awful when someone is taken from us too soon. I was in 10th grade when my grandfather died. At the time, he was my best friend. How is that fair? How is it fair to expect a 16 year old kid to have to deal with not just his grandfather dying… but his best friend? It’s not fair that my grandmother had to bury her daughter. It’s not fair that my dad had to say goodbye to his only sibling. It’s not fair… but to quote one of the greatest movies ever made… ‘Life’s not fair princess, anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something’.

When someone is ripped from your life it leaves a painful void and you can fill that void with one of two things. You can fill it with anger and sadness and bitterness. You can curse this world for being so cruel and so unfair. Or…

Or, you can live life harder than ever to make up for the life they can’t live.

That’s the option I prefer. So I went to Disney with my family. I rode the Haunted Mansion for her. I ate at Downtown Disney and saved her a seat in my mind. I walked around Animal Kingdom with her in my heart. When I screamed on Tower of Terror I screamed extra loud for her. When I’m singing along to Beauty and the Beast in my car, I’m singing it for her.

My family is already planning another trip to Disney. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to walk through Magic Kingdom’s gates, hear that music and feel her smiling with us. My Grandfather too and countless others that I carry in my heart every single day.

The Saint Mort Show Episode 48 – Harry Elfont

by Saintmort

Harry Elfont wrote and directed 1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait which I saw as a child and it left a huge impact. I wrote a Retroactive Thinking article which Harry saw and tweeted a thank you to me. Being the whore I am I immediately asked him to do the podcast. Somehow I managed to convince him to do the show and let me overly praise him. Sorry for how obnoxious my geek out of this is.

Also Harry wrote/directed Josie and the Pussycats

The intro music contains the song Ocean City Windshield Punch from Facts

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Nirvana Is Back! With Paul McCartney As Lead!?

by Shane O'Hare

It’s 12/12/12 and the world is acting pretty damn weird. It was announced/leaked today that Nirvana will return for a one night show, and their lead singer will be Paul McCartney. Yeah, THAT Paul McCartney. You know, from the Beatles.

This is all for the 121212 Hurricane Sandy Charity concert. The goal of the event is to raise money for the Robin Hood Fund which is said to directly go to areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.

In an article from The Sun, it said that Paul had just rung up Dave Grohl and Grohl asked him to come around and play some tunes. After a few songs and an what I would say would be an enjoyable evening, Paul exhibited a startling example of being oblivious. He asked Dave “Who are these guys?”. He was quickly informed that he was taking up the role of the late great Cobain and the guys he was playing with were Nirvana…sort of.

Well this little get-together really sparked something, as McCartney along with Krist Novoselic and David Grohl will be joining forces TONIGHT as Nirvana playing a brand new song during the 121212 Charity Concert. Hopefully our own Matt Kelly will take the time out of his busy schedule to watch it and give us his thoughts.

For more information on where you can watch this event, check out the 121212 Broadcast page HERE.

Retroactive Thinking: ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ Turns 20 Today!

by Saintmort

I will never understand people who hate Christmas. I know that they exist. I’ve had conversations with many of them. I just still don’t understand it. Maybe it’s the nostalgic person in me that fondly remembers Christmas holidays of the past. Curled up on the couch, fire in the fireplace and Christmas specials on TV.

For years, I’d eagerly await December, when I could watch Garfield’s Christmas Special, Christmas at the Playhouse and A Very Claymation Christmas. However, my favorite as a child (and as an adult) was the beautiful Muppet Family Christmas. It’s a genuine crime that this special has yet to get a proper DVD release (Little Shop of Horrors finally got a Director’s Cut release this year so I’m still hopeful that I’ll get my beloved Christmas special on DVD one day).

The Muppets and Christmas just seem like a match made in heaven. The Muppets are like Christmas 365. I’m forced to quote Walter from last years The Muppets film. “As Long as there are talking frogs and singing bears and swedish chefs and boomerang fish the world couldn’t be that bad a place. As long as there are Muppets. There is hope”

Behind the helm was Jim Henson. He had that magic “something” that made us believe anything was possible. He believed life was meant to be fun and dreamed to be a person who made the world a better place for having lived it. In the eyes of the world he fulfilled his dream and when he died the Muppets would die with him.

That’s what makes The Muppet Christmas Carol so important. The first Muppet film made without Jim as well as original muppeteer Richard Hunt the film would literally make or break the Muppets’ staying power. Henson’s son Brian would helm the director’s chair and Kermit would be performed by Steve Whitmire.

This mostly faithful (or as faithful as The Muppets could be) adaptation of Charles Dickens classic was the perfect way to show that The Muppets had not lost an ounce of their magic and power. The tale is filled with comedy (mostly presented by Gonzo’s performance as Charles Dickens and his sidekick Rizzo the Rat) as well as heartwarming (and occasionally heartbreaking) moments.

Michael Caine is brilliantly cast as Scrooge and makes the transition from mean-spirited, sorrowful and joyful so seamlessly that he forces you to go through all of these emotions along with him. Years later when I finally took the time to read the novella it was him that I visioned most out of every previous performance I’d seen.

Originally, it was proposed that the Ghosts would be performed by Miss Piggy, Scooter and Gonzo but the idea was scrapped when it was decided these iconic Muppet characters would only distract viewers from the emotional leverage of these ghosts. It was a brilliant idea. Each ghost has their own unique puppeteering style. Be it the weightless Marionette style of the Ghost of Christmas Past, the full body costume of the Ghost of Christmas Past or the frighteningly clocked Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, they have their own innovative touch of magic that only the muppets could produce.

However, while the performances, the puppetry and script all help drive the story, the most memorable moments come from the brilliant songwriting of Paul Williams. Much like when he wrote songs for The Muppet’s debut film The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Christmas Carol contains a wonderful blending of themes. Williams’ songs all have an upbeat feeling and themes about love and the magic of Christmas, yet he still allows them to have a hint of sadness to them.

While my favorite song of the film has always been “It Feels Like Christmas”, the highlight is “When Love Is Gone”, a song cut from the theatrical release because Disney studios found it to be too serious to keep a child’s attention. While Williams and Henson both fought to keep the song in the movie, it wasn’t until the Home Video release that the song was returned to the film (leaving the theatrical release with an awkward and obvious cut). In it, the farewell song from Scrooge’s lost-love Belle eventually turns into a duet between the girl of his past and Scrooge of the present. What I love about this is it implies that after all these years, Scrooge still remembers the words Belle said when she left him.

So was the Muppets take on this classic tale of love, Christmas and redemption a box office success? Sadly. No. While the film is wonderful and was well received critically, it failed to reach the high expectations that Disney had set for it. In 1992, it faced the competition of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Aladdin (which was still in theaters after months of release). Still, while grossing $27 Million, it didn’t completely bomb, it did sent the early message that The Muppets may not survive without their creator. It wasn’t until 4 years later that the franchise would rediscover success, when the Muppets returned in the successful Muppet Treasure Island. But it was a temporary victory. 1999’s The Muppets From Space marked the beginning of a slow decline into obscurity, where they stayed until last year’s The Muppets revived them in a fashion that only thousands of Muppet fans could dream of a decade earlier.

Despite the poor box office (second lowest Muppet box office at the time), the film has developed a cult following and has become a quintessential film of the season. Today, the film is now 20 years old. I still fondly remember seeing it in theaters when I was 7 with my mother and then best friend Mac (who I have lost contact with and may have been killed by a bear during a circus accident). I was completely obsessed with the film, laughing at all the appropriate points and even feeling sadness when Tiny Tim had died. In the end, perhaps that’s why we love The Muppets, because no one seems to do Love and Joy quite like them.

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.

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.

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.

Saint Mort Show Episode 23: Does Anyone Want Some Coffee? Featuring Dave Traverso, Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken) and Eric Violette (FreeCreditReport.com Band)

by Saintmort

Episode 23 sees Matt sitting down with blogger and film critic Dave Traverso and interviewing Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken) and Eric Violette (FreeCreditReport.com Band)

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