Now, you will have noticed that we’ve been off the air for quite a while now. We explained a few reasons for this back in the last show we did but I just want to get across a few other reasons and then a couple of changes that will occur to the show so that you can all stop worrying.

The erratic recording schedule that kicked off for us back in about July was mostly down to me moving house. Two months after we moved, Tommy – for if you do not know, myself, Tommy and Producer John all used to live together, along with intermittent but extremely popular guest star Beth – also moved. Now Tommy and Producer John still live together in a lovely south London abode along with another very lovely guest Jon ‘JP’ Cooper and a man we desperately want to get in as a guest in the very near future, Big Sam.

The important thing to note now is that we live on different sides of the city. We are in the process of working out a new recording schedule, but the issue is finding the time to actually do this. I have been going through a very busy and stressful period at work, as has Producer John – Tommy may have, but he’s isn’t really a man to whom stress has that much impact, bad ass that he is – so that, along with settling into our new places, has meant that finding the time to record has become increasingly difficult.

Now, this does not mean we are done. Au contraire, mes petits singes effrontés, we will be returning to the air very soon. What is holding back, beyond the aforementioned moving and stress and shit, is that Tommy and I are working on a new way to do the show.

You see, though we haven’t been doing this podcast all that long, Tommy and I have been going to the movies together for a very long time. Over the course of this time, we have seen quite a significant amount of time-wasting crap. After a while, you begin to collapse into an existential funk and consider ‘why? Why do we put ourselves through complete crap like We Were Soldiers, Mothman Prophecies, Gamer, Transformers 2 or The Lovely Bones?’. It’s a good question. We have done it because, in my humble opinion, you should see crappy movies to appreciate the better ones. However, this point of view has somewhat shifted in recent years. The refined version of this now is: ‘Movies you don’t like are okay as long as there is something interesting about them’. I recently watched Somewhere, the Sofia Coppola film with Stephen Dorff. I was looking forward to the movie but really, really did not enjoy it. But that kind of thing is okay to pay money to see and then dislike. Because though I didn’t subscribe to what it was trying to say, it was at least trying to say something.

So, the new show format Tommy and I are working on will incorporate this and make things much easier for us to do a show each week. The length of the shows will likely drop somewhat, but again, when you’re knocking out 90 minute shows every week, often on films neither of us have that much to say about, it can get a little draining.

We should return by December, so look forward to a year-end list or two from us. Until then, I hope this will address some concerns of our listeners. I will update as soon as we know a little more about when we will return and exactly what the show will be when we do.

Out.

Sam

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 74

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 73.5

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 73

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 72

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 71

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 70

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 69

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 68

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 67

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 66

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 65

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 64

Intrigued? Well if you’re a fan of intrigue then you’re probably going to enjoy our little love-fest over JJ Abram’s ‘Fringe’ and a further discussion on the art of the TV serial over-arching narrative.  Finally we fall back to our favourite emergency podcast feature, the Trailer Roundup! Join us for a look at some truly ridiculous films concerning a bald emo dude, a windy kid, more sparkly vampires, a sexy automaton, dough-faced cowboys and some kind of super horse.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 63

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 62

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 61

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 60

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 59

Twilight Saga: New Moon
I am not going to be converting anyone with my comments on this film: chances are if you love it or hate it (and there is no middle ground), me telling you that it is a steaming pile of faeces aint gonna change your mind. I have no problems with REALLY bad films like this becoming massively popular, I like Taken, the Scooby Doo movies and have probably seen Dude, Where’s my Car around 15-20 times. We all have our guilty pleasures. My problem with this series of films is that there seems to be a complete lack of love for this film by the people who made it. Both films seem rushed, with bits missing and what is possibly the biggest lack of chemistry in cinema. Two(or in this case, three) leads having little chemistry is annoying but forgivable in, say, Transformers 2 (another film I absolutely can’t stand) because it’s an action film, but in a romantic film it’s an abomination. That says, it comes just above the Transformers series for me for the simple fact that it cost a hell of a lot less. This will probably break records for DVD sales and although completely undeserving, I am willing to consider in the same way as the topic of old people sex. I realise that it exists, just don’t talk to me about it otherwise I may vomit.

Harry Brown
If this wasn’t such a quiet weeks I would have just reviewed this with the words ” Michael Caine’s in it, therefore it’s a must see”. Caine has got to have been one of the most consistent actors of modern times and if it’s true that this will be his last film as said in press interviews during release, it will be a massive loss not only to British cinema, but to Hollywood too. This revenge tale is intelligent and relevant in ways that a lot of modern revenge tales avoid. While it is enjoyable to see Caine’s transformation from accidental killer to ruthless murderer, the film is no slouch in it’s re-enacting of modern Britain. Young gangs controlling areas, pensioners left to fend for themselves and the feeling that the police are unable to help are all issues in Britain that have been happening for years. An impeccable performance by Caine and great supporting cast made this a big hit at the film festivals last year, but it deserved more than the limited release that it got. Catch in on DVD.

Paranormal Activity
It’s easy to compare Paranormal Activity to the Blair Witch Project. While it seems lazy journalism to make the connection, there’s no shaking the similarities, and not just the amateur footage style. Paranormal Activity followed tips on market from Blair Witch and it paid dividends. Also, like Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity is a very important horror film. These small films that make a huge return (and they are horrors in the majority) serve a purpose to show the studios that you don’t need to remake a successful movie or throw heaps of money to get a blockbuster on your hands. Both films try to concentrate on the FEAR itself, rather than the events, but Paranormal is definitely not as intelligent a film as the first Blair Witch and this is probably it’s failing. The Blair Witch Project didn’t need jump scares, loud noises or even something to be scared of.  It was essentially a character study in the arising of fear and how when it becomes conscious, how it can envelop you. Granted, there was something to be scared of in the Blair Witch, but we didn’t see if, just the outcomes of it’s actions. It was about a small group being isolated, growing in fear and reducing in hope and then a stark realisation that their fear was rational, that they were in danger.

So while Paranormal Activity was an important horror film, I think it doesn’t need a sequel and that repeat viewings of the film are not favourable. Maybe rent the DVD, then buy The Blair Witch Project, Rec, or Lake Mungo (which probably sell for less than a fiver now).

2012
Watch the trailer and you will pretty much immediately know what to expect from this film. Fantastic CGI, a wafer thin plot and poor characterisation. I always have time for films like 2012 because they don’t intend to be anything else. You get characters that wise crack despite it being the end of the world and limousines doing handbrake turns. This is a film I would love to be made into a theme park ride, because essentially the film is a ride – big, dumb fun. From a film critic’s point of view, it’s a bad film, but it’s one of those films where you can just switch your brain off and get a few friends around and just have a really good laugh.

Bunny and the Bull
Here is another film I saw at Leeds Film Festival (surely we must be near the end of them now?!). Right from the off, this film is inventive. Reminiscent of Gondry in style with a lot of guerrilla special effects (a theme park made from clock mechanisms), but able to be it’s own style, those expecting a Mighty Boosh movie will be SLIGHTLY disappointed. The humour is to some degree the same as Mighty Boosh, but is not as laugh out loud funny as the tv series. In fact, it’s quite short on real laughs to be honest, but in some ways that is to it’s benefit because it adds emotion into the mix. The film is bleak for the most part and is essence a story about someone who is not mentally sound. But there are out and out MAGICAL cinema moments (especially the scene with the titular bull).

This is a film which will follow suit with the Mighty Boosh in that it will gain cult status and it is definitely deserving. It may miss the mark a lot of the time, but when it delivers, it does so in such an original way that it’s hard not to be impressed.

Also out this week: Glorious 39 – Caprica (Pilot Episode) – Dread

Kick-Ass is undoubtedly a truly fun experience for watching. It’s filled with stabs of smart, profane humour and knowing touches and nods to inspirations peppered throughout. The performances, particularly from the future superstar Aaron Johnson and the ridiculously precocious Chloe Moretz are superb. The action sequences, though occasionally creaking under budgetary concerns, are packed to the gills with energy and kineticism. They may occasionally lose touch of themselves, but they have a slick vein of humour that drives all the events which occur.

But… I have seen precious little comment about the way that the violence is depicted, not on an aesthetic level but on an emotional, consequential level. As with Wanted, also based on a Mark Millar graphic novel, Kick-Ass revels in the violence and killing perpetrated by both the good and bad guys. We are consistently told to chuckle at the ultra-violent content, including a man exploding, one being eliminated in a car crusher and numerous splattering headshots.

I’m not preaching that this is necessarily wrong, director/writer Matthew Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman are going for something, and they mostly succeed. This is supposed to be a post-modern superhero story which nods and winks at its knowing, desensitised audience. You could even make an argument that the film is so arch as to be specifically pointing out this macabre sensibility in its audience, akin to Haneke in Funny Games, but I don’t think that’s where is going. If so, this is a film which has its cake, the person’s next to it and then eats everyone’s.

The killing that happens is so fetishised and so cheered it’s very hard to feel anything but a little discomfort at what you are seeing. There would appear to be a stupefying lack of emotional consequence to the violence which happens, even though much of the violence which happens is driven by emotional concerns. Sure, the Hit-Girl and Big Daddy characters are seeking revenge, but shouldn’t there at least be a slight acknowledgement in Hit-Girl’s character of the amount of murder she takes part in? Many of the human characters in the film, henchman though they may be, are dispatched with such a sense of glee, with no remorse or consequence for the perpetrator. There is no recourse to the violence, it just happens and we are supposed to cheer and laugh. It may be in a comic-book world, but there just seems too much having and eating of cake going on for me.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 58

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 57

Zombieland
Good fun and definitely rewatchable zombie comedy. I am still unsure whether I find this or Shaun of the dead a better zom-com (although I still would take Dr S Battles The Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies over both of them).

An absolutely blinding title sequence and a fair hit count of good laughs helped me to enjoy this film a lot at the cinema and at times, it does look gorgeous, but I found it hard to escape the feeling that Jesse Eisenberg was essentially playing Michael Cera. While he did a decent job of this it felt a bit strange given that I was already getting a feeling of overkill with Michael Cera playing Michael Cera in his films.

By now everyone should know about the cameo, but I have to admit – I found it a massive disappointment. It is so forced and the only laugh it gave me (which was probably the biggest laugh to be fair) was in the character’s eventual death. The film is the perfect length so that it doesn’t feel too long and it’s great to see that a director can show restraint and knows when to finish a film before it gets too stale.

Overall, this film is definitely in my top 3 comedy films of 2009 and I highly recommend it, although at times the gags can be hit and miss possibly due to the high gag count. It looks really good for a comedy film and shows some moments of ingenuity, but may be guilty of trying to many tricks to gain it’s own style.

White Ribbon
Michael Haneke’s Palme D’Or 2009 winner also came very high in a large number of film critics films of the decade. The plot of the film involves a school teacher recalling memories of the year that he met his fiancee, where a number of strange occurrences take place in a German village during the twelve months between July 1913 and 1914..

As seems to be the case with Haneke’s films, White Ribbon can be described as both ‘violent’, but also ‘subtle’. I recently decided to rewatch Cache, another Haneke film starring my favourite foreign actor and actress, Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche. On first watch I didn’t enjoy the film but I decided to rewatch because I realised I had missed a hell of a lot of the plot because a lot of things happen in the background, and unlike a Hollywood film, isn’t telegraphed. I expect White Ribbon to be similar to Cache in that respect and Haneke is definitely a director that commands attention.

Cold Souls
I managed to catch this at the fantastic Hyde Park Picture House (my favourite UK cinema ever) late last year and while the movie is watchable, it is far from a great film. Paul Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti preparing for the Chekhov play “Uncle Vanya”. To deal with his growing anxiety regarding the role, he decides to follow up an advert in a newspaper to store his soul in a storage facility until the play is over. The plot is amazingly high concept, but it just doesn’t seem to work. It tries to be subtle, but then hammers home some comedy elements (as though the writer was questioning the audiences’ intelligence). Also, rare for a Paul Giamatti film, he is guilty of some horrific overacting.

In summary, despite a great concept, the film never lives up to its premise. Cold Souls tries to be intelligent, but doesn’t have the brains that it thinks it has.

Also out this week: A Serious Man - Survival of the Dead - Paranormal Entity

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 56

An Education
This Oscar-nominated film tells the tale of Jenny, a 16-year-old girl who is seduced by a 35-year-old man. If you are reading this after the Oscar results have come in, then you will already know that Sandra Bullock has robbed Carey Mulligan of a deserved Best Actress Oscar (my prediction of events anyway – (ed. well played, sir)). Carey’s turn is without doubt completely deserving of an Oscar win and even with a strong supporting cast, she manages to totally steal the show. The film contains a great story, is completely involving and as mentioned features without doubt the best actress performance of 2009. I cannot recommend An Education enough.

Julie and Julia
Another Best Actress Oscar-nominated, this time for the most consistently amazing actresses in Hollywood. Which makes me feel bad to say – I don’t think she necessarily deserves an Oscar for this performance. Whether it’s because I didn’t enjoy Julie and Julia as much as I was hoping or whether it is because Meryl Streep has acted better in other movies and has set the bar so high I am unsure. This film has had a LOT of great reviews and that Streep has received a nomination for Best Actress probably indicates that this is a good movie, I didn’t find it outstanding and at times found it a little annoying. This opinion is probably not shared by a hell of a lot of people, but I think for this year Carey Mulligan has out-acted Meryl Streep and An Education I found to be a better film.

As this is another quiet week for DVDs, I have decided to mention a couple of horrors due for release that sound quite similar in plot to other horror films

Starting with CUT, a slasher that stars (and I use the term as loosely as possible) Danielle Lloyd! The plot follows  5 friends who are returning from a party. They discuss how urban legends are a load of rubbish before the night takes a horrible turn (Urban Legends anyone?). What interests me in this one is that the entire movie is one continuous shot!! Now the presence of Danielle Lloyd makes me feel like this will be godawful, but the one continuous shot sounds fantastic. I will be getting round to watching this movie soon (being a british horror, I wasn’t able to get my hands on an early import) and will possibly do a mini review in the near future. Next up is THE GRIND, the tale of a man heavily in debt to a mexican mob who sets up a voyeuristic Big Brother style website to generate revenue, which sounds not too dissimilar to BigBrother.com and My Little Eye. Inevitably for a horror/slasher, things don’t go to plan. Finally IMURDERS (probably not an Apple inc official product!). This stars Tony Todd and Billy Dee Williams, which can’t be a good sign. Members of an online website are murdered one by one. While I am not aware of a niche social network based horror, but for examples of killer websites look no further than tv series Killer net or the absolutely terrible Untraceable (or Unbearable as it should be known).

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 55.5

The Nominees
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

The expansion of the category has had some impact on the talk around the Oscars, mostly negative. It would appear that you could easily eliminate five films from the top category as being also-rans, if still good films. Where last year it would have served mostly just to allow The Dark Knight its nomination and sate the anger of so many over-hyped fanboys/girls, this year it felt as though the Academy was just reaching further to grab films from all corners, as if to indicate that they are not scared of honouring ‘popular’ films. The fact that they have never really done this and the actual small films almost always get screwed, that was left to the side of the discussion.

So, let’s cut down the category to a slightly more manageable size. The Blind Side has literally no chance of winning the top prize at all. None. Neither does A Serious Man and neither does District 9, though both are excellent in their respective ways. I tend to find with the Coens that when they become more personal, they become more odd. This film is undoubtedly extremely personal, but perhaps so much so that any universal themes don’t quite make themselves known. District 9 is a good choice for honouring the action/sci-fi genre but, if still five, it’s not getting anywhere near. Good to see that the voters at least understood that it was a couple of marks above the other summer flicks which could have been chosen.

An Education and Up are both also favoured films and managed to rack up a few nominations. Up isn’t Pixar’s best but it’s still wonderful. Unfortunately, it will take a true Pixar masterpiece again for the voters to rack up enough bollocks to let them win the big prize. An Education is brilliantly acted but, for me, everything else is a little undercooked. The script is somewhat trite and the direction is flat, not to mention the ending. It just doesn’t have the juice to battle for the top prize here.

So the long-shot dark horses then, which would probably have kept their nominations in a five-strong category. Precious is just too imperfect but connected with enough people to grab the nod. It’s chances of winning though, as with Lee Daniels as director, will rest on the shoulders of Mo’Nique and that will do them for the night. Up in the Air is pristine, well-made comedy. Clooney is great, Kendrick and Farmiga are also great, it’s script is great. But it doesn’t have the hype to make it to that top prize. Closer but still with only a tiny chance, Inglourious Basterds is a deserving nominee but Tarantino is going to just have to enjoy his script prize and celebrate’s Waltz’s acting win.

So the winner then. It’s still hard to choose. The Hurt Locker’s BAFTA win gives it a good deal of momentum and it’s been a top winner across the majority of critics circle ceremonies. At the moment, its my choice and I’m fairly confident that it will take the prize. It was my favourite movie of last year, so I’m pulling for it. But Avatar has been an unstoppable box-office force and, though it will get ample reward in the technical categories, it may lose out on any of the top prizes. The Academy could feel a sense of duty to reward the film which has revitalised the industry. Hopefully though, given how brilliant the film is and how far away from each other the two films are, The Hurt Locker will be given the prize it richly deserves and Avatar can go home and sleep on its bed of money.

Predicted Winner: The Hurt Locker

The Nominees
James Cameron for Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels for Precious
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air

This category seems to break down into three categories as regards the chance each has of winning the prize. In the last category, essentially the no-hopers, are Lee Daniels and Jason Reitman. Reitman is the kind of director who will consistently struggle to win this prize as his skill comes through his ability to manage performance and tone rather than anything visually spectacular or inventive. Up in the Air is a pristine film with some well-composed images, but it’s script and performance-driven, similar to Juno and Thank You for Smoking. He deserves plaudits, but they won’t be sufficient for the prize. Lee Daniels has promise as an inventive director, but too many choices fall flat in Precious and he won’t win.

The second category are the two potential dark horse winners, James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino. The latter is further outside, if not essentially out of the race. Inglourious Basterds is glorious, both in script and look, but probably doesn’t have the juice to take home the prize due to some middling reviews and so much praise going to Christoph Waltz and the rest of the cast. Cameron was the frontrunner, until people realised that Avatar is a great experience but not necessarily a great movie. Since that epiphany, and its phenomenal gross, the overall buzz has fallen away. If he won though, and he’s the most likely other contender, that wouldn’t seem an injustice given the skills he does show as director, even if the film itself is let down by the script.

Last then is Kathryn Bigelow. She has all the political components there to win the prize, particularly that her winning would be the first ever for a female director. Most of all, however, her film is the best directed of those nominated. Her sense of space and understanding of masculine dynamics is breathtaking, so she deserves and should win this year’s prize.

Predicted Winner: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

The Nominees
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Morgan Freeman for Invictus
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

This one feels like it’s been complicated in recent weeks, too. I still don’t think Jeremy Renner will have the momentum to take the prize and I would be shocked if Clooney wins, even though I would cite Up in the Air as his finest performance. He should also, as argued by Stephanie Zacharek, be rewarded for his great role in Fantastic Mr Fox, but unfortunately that film, like Clooney, will go home empty-handed.

Of the other three, Jeff Bridges seems easily the frontrunner, just not as solid at the likes of Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz. It would be, akin to Marty’s Departed prizes and, to an extent, the Coens with No Country, something of a rewarding-the-past moment. Bridges has never won an Oscar which, when you put it like that and consider his great performances over the years (a small selection: The Last Picture Show, Fat City, Starman, The Contender, The Big Lebowski, The Fisher King…) it does seem a travesty.

Where he may slip up is through the acknowledgement that it would be a past-rewards prize rather than one for the performance. That probably isn’t true, but it could hurt him. Morgan Freeman is unlikely, mostly due to the lukewarm reception for Invictus, but don’t count out Colin Firth. His performance is astonishing and with the momentum from BAFTA, he could snatch this one at the last.

Predicted Winner: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

The Nominees
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Okay, let’s get going. This undoubtedly to be the most interesting category of the lot, if interesting for you is having four possible winners. A couple of months back, I was pretty sure that Carey Mulligan was a shoe-in to win this – she had all the momentum and buzz to get her over the line. Then things started to shift and, as I said, I think there are four possible winners here. Before we kick off then, let’s just say, Helen Mirren won’t win.

Bullock would not have registered even as a possible on the radars of critics or speculators until The Blind Side seemed to be positioned as the popular-choice test case for this year’s expanded ceremony. I haven’t seen her in the film, so she may be deserving, but the reviews and promotional material indicate a soporific, TV-movie style rags-to-riches story about white guilt. I would still be surprised if she won, despite her win at the Golden Globes, but I wouldn’t count her out either.

Streep is so constantly good that she essentially gets nominated every year. The difference is that this appears to have been acknowledged this year. People has started saying that she has lost out for a long time and hasn’t been rewarded since Sophie’s Choice, despite now having twelve nominations since. It could be the year to change that.

Gabourey Sidibe is probably still an outsider to win, but the splitting votes between Streep, Bullock and Mulligan could see her take a surprise victory. Precious has lost a little momentum since its first release and Mo’Nique is definitely going to win a prize, so Sidibe is unlikely but possible.

Carey Mulligan though, despite all above, remains the favourite. Her performance in An Education is superb and though her BAFTA was wholly predictable, she was worth the win and may just walk away with the big prize too. Working against her is the possible vote split and the lack of enthusiasm for the film across other categories. Any sense amongst voters of the film needing at least one reward, however, should stand her in good stead.

Predicted Winner: Carey Mulligan for An Education