"A Mixed Tape Testimonial" by Kirby Lewis

The Carousel runs a series of old movies throughout the year and during the 2009-2010 season, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of those films. Partly filmed in Wilmington, NC, it remains one of the most reminiscent movies of my generation's childhood.

When I came to the showing this summer, I knew I was going to enjoy it, but I was not prepared for how much the viewing was going to affect me. Showing in Theater Eight of the Carousel ('The Big One'), I had plenty of seating options; I chose the middle, 2/3 up. As people filed in, you could sense the anticipation rising. Suddenly I felt my attention shift, and I was viewing everyone in the room 20 years ago. I saw an audience of five and six-year-olds, oversized shirts swallowing them whole, the magnetic jewelry and temporary tattoos barely visible as the inner child broke free of the adult shell.

As the movie started, goose bumps washed over my skin as the years melted off. I've seen 'Ninja Turtles' so many times over so many years, but no viewing was like this. The gasping, the cheering, the laughing; these all serve as a bond. You realize how many people grew up feeling the same way you did about the same thing.

There then exists an unspoken, unacknowledged connection between strangers that goes beyond conversation. It reaches inside all of us, to the child we were and the way we saw 2 decades ago.

Thank you, Joe Scott, for making this happen.

--

And thank you Kirby, for writing. It takes a lot more folks than just me to make Mixed Tape happen - Rachel, Mike, Ian, Nathan, Kelly, and Chris for starters - but I am extremely flattered all the same.

Actually, your letter reminded me of a scene from the lesser sequel to Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Big Top Pee Wee, which takes place at the 4:20 minute mark below:

A spanking for the senses: James Cameron's "Aliens"

If you listened to the show this week, you might remember that I mentioned Roger Ebert's somewhat puzzling review of James Cameron's 'Aliens.'

He bows to the film's many technical accomplishments, but what makes Ebert's take on the property so unique is that he is essentially faulting it for being such a taught, well-made thriller.

"Aliens" is absolutely, painfully and unremittingly intense for at least its last hour. Weaver goes into battle to save her colleagues, herself and the little girl, and the aliens drop from the ceiling, pop up out of the floor and crawl out of the ventilation shafts. (In one of the movie's less plausible moments, one alien even seems to know how to work the elevator buttons.) I have never seen a movie that maintains such a pitch of intensity for so long; it's like being on some kind of hair-raising carnival ride that never stops.

I don't know how else to describe this: The movie made me feel bad. It filled me with feelings of unease and disquiet and anxiety. I walked outside and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was drained. I'm not sure "Aliens" is what we mean by entertainment. Yet I have to be accurate about this movie: It is a superb example of filmmaking craft.

Because of this, the Eeb gave the film three and a half stars instead of the four it so clearly deserves. But I guess if one would ever find fault with a film for being intense, it is Aliens.

As I described it to an old buddy of mine back in high school, the movie is a "spanking for the senses." Whether it's through lighting, editing, special effects, or the score James Horner wrote for the film, the second half of the movie does everything it can to scare the crap out of the audience. I was reminded of this while playing James Horner's score in the background of our last show. I'm the only one who can hear the audio due to the fact that there's one set of headphones in the studio, and while Horner would attempt to lull my attention with tubas and violin there were a few moments where he would suddenly POUNCE my ears with a shrilling blast of woodwinds.

It made me jump, throwing me off my script, and I can imagine Cameron would be glad to know that even the audio portion of his film still has that power.

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The Mixed Tape Film Series presents James Cameron's Aliens tonight at 7:30 and 10 p.m. at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas on 1305 Battleground Ave. in Greensboro. Tickets are $4 each and are available here.

[PODCAST] The Second Amendment of the World

On this week’s episode of The Movie Show, Joe and Mike get viewers ready for Thursday’s (Nov. 5) screening of Aliens at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas (tickets here). Also, they review Michael Jackson: This Is It and Amelia before dishing on the potential demise of Miramax, a sequel for ‘Roger Rabit’ and Bronson star Tom Hardy’s big break.

Stream it!

Happy 10th birthday to 'The Iron Giant'

Over at Aint-It-Cool, the writer who calls himself Mr. Beaks did a fantastic piece for a special 10th Anniversary screening of The Iron Giant that recently took place in L.A. His opening line truly nails what makes this film so special and unique:

Stirring in its simplicity, bold in its depiction of humanity's capacity for violence, ruthless in its ability to make grown men cry, THE IRON GIANT endures because, once upon a time, its visionary director Brad Bird refused to treat his audience like imbeciles.

Y'know, the last time I cried while watching a film was when I saw this one on video six months ago with my wife. She had never seen the film before, and was quite doubtful of its qualities, but she teared up a bit, too. That's a good thing, because I am of the opinion that if a person can watch The Iron Giant and not cry when the Giant says "I am Superman!" then they truly lack a human soul. Good to know I didn't marry a Cylon.

Beaks goes on to share some interesting tidbits gleaned from a Q&A with director Brad Bird that took place before the screening, only to demand that Warner Bros. re-release the film theatrically.

After the way it was treated during it's first go-round in 1999, I don't see that happening, but rather than moan and complain, I took a chance to do something about it myself. That is why I convinced the Carousel Luxury Cinemas (1305 Battleground Ave. in Greensboro, NC) to play a 35mm screening of The Iron Giant at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 7.

Definitely attend this screening if you can, and bring as many of the little ones as you can (they stand a pretty good chance of winning PRIZES if they show up). It's one of my all time favorite movies, and deserves a huge audience next Saturday that it never had in 1999.

Tickets are only $3 each, and you can purchase them here.

Remember that 'Avatar' trailer I wrote about yesterday?

It's finally online, sorta.

Trailer Addict has the online scoop on the international version of the trailer.



See what I mean? This looks like a much more enticing than the last 'Hey look, it's James Cameron making a film with HUGE special effects' trailer we got in September.

I'm so there, dude.

Cameron a 'Man of Extremes'

If you haven't read last week's issue of New Yorker, then you should check out Dana Goodyear's wonderful profile of filmmaker James Cameron.

You can tell that Goodyear really got to know Cameron during the many years it has taken him to make his newest film, Avatar (due December 18). She got a fantastic quote by Cameron as well as clips from Steven Speilberg and George Lucas. And it's clear that while it might not help Cameron as a person very much, one of the things which makes him a great filmmaker is the fact that he doesn't waste a lot of time being nice. He has a habit of being terrible to his crew - who refer to him as "Mij" when he's on an angry kick - and even worse to his producers.

Here's a couple of choice quotes from Cameron during his so-called Mij spells:

“Hiring you is like firing two good men”
-To a crew member.

“Do you want Paul Verhoeven to finish this motherfucker?”
-To Arnold Schwarzenegger, an inch away from the actor's face on the set of True Lies.

He is definitely a shouter, but he's also the most skillful director whoever lived on a technical level. The article goes on to portray Cameron's risk addiction. While making these mega-blockbusters like Terminator 2 and Titanic he burns bridges and stokes the ire of critics and detractors, only to save himself at the zero hour by producing films that audiences love.

Will the audiences come through for Cameron again with Avatar? Only time will tell, but I think the likelihood of this happening has increased greatly after the release of the new trailer, which is still not available online in a non-bootleg version. Rather than attempt to lure audiences with the facts that the movie is directed by James Cameron and has some revolutionary special effects, we're starting to get a better idea of story elements and who the main characters are.

In other news, don't forget that during November, The Mixed Tape Film Series will be playing two Cameron films at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas in 35mm, both of which were sequels.

First up, at 7:30 & 10 p.m. Thursday, November 5, we'll be playing Aliens.



Featuring Sigourney Weaver (who also appears in Avatar), here's what co-host Mike has to say about the film:
"In 1986, writer/director James Cameron laid the groundwork for how to properly make a summer blockbuster sequel. Keeping the claustrophobic terror of Alien, but abandoning its survival horror minimalism in favor of space marines and waves of xenomorphs, Cameron fused genres to create this action horror classic. As Bill Paxton says in his career defining meltdown, 'It’s game over, man.'"

Then at 7:30 & 10 p.m. Thursday, November 12, we'll be playing Terminator 2: Judgement Day.


From Mike again:
"Easily one of the best summer blockbuster films ever made, Terminator director James Cameron cleaned up the tech-noir sci-fi of his breakthrough film and crafted an epic that owned the summer of 1991 and stands today as an example of what big loud summer movies can do if handled properly."

I can't wait to watch both of these films with an audience, and you can buy your tickets for these films here and here.

See you at the movies!

[PODCAST] Is Will Smith a liar?

On the final, 2009 Halloween-themed episode of The Movie Show, Joe and Mike relate a truly horrifying weekend at the cinema with reviews of The Vampire’s Assistant and Astro Boy. Also, they uncover why theater owners are mad with Paramount, the details behind Wes Craven’s hopes for redemption, and remake news for one of cinema’s all-time great masterpieces.

This week’s Soundtrack Selections:

“Digital Versicolor” by Glass Candy from Bronson;
“A Nightmare on My Street” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (not?) inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street;
-and-
“Let Her Dance” by Bobby Fuller Four from Fantastic Mr. Fox

Stream it!

Bill Murray: 'McG deserves to die.'

During an interview with Times Online to promote Fantastic Mr. Fox, Bill Murray dropped the kind of bomb most celebrities can't say these days because of publicists and star-wranglers.

Writer Kevin Maher asked him about a statement his Charlie's Angels director Joseph McGinty Nichol - or McG - had made wherein the filmmaker claimed the actor headbutted him during a creative dispute on-set.

Murray's response? Epic.

“That’s bulls***! That’s complete crap!” says Murray, flushing slightly yet maintaining composure. “I don’t know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination.” He pauses. The subject seems closed, but then a minor eruption. “No! He deserves to die,” he says, coldly staring, without breaking deadpan. “He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted.”

You can read the rest of the story here.

No wonder Murray was replaced by Bernie Mac in Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle.


P.S. Have you seen the new 'Critics Say' trailer for Fantastic Mr. Fox? If not, check it out.

[PODCAST] Like 'Navy Seals' only good.

Why is Jon Favreau not directing The Avengers? Will Warner Bros. recoup the $85 million they spent on Where the Wild Things Are? And can horror movie news get any scarier than the Trilogy of Terror that Mike delivered this week?

Also, Joe and Mike review Where the Wild Things Are, Paranormal Activity, and Law Abiding Citizen.

Stream it!