This week’s BingeCast was a first, as we recorded the whole thing in three different segments. How does this affect your listening pleasure? By fucking enhancing it, that’s how. The show isn’t linear as all of our other BingeCasts, but we feel that adds to the looseness of this episode.
Law, Ammon and myself decide to break up the recording of this because of life shit, but it actually turned out pretty fun as we got to bullshit about other shit than movies and TV, although there’s PLENTY of that. Law and I talk about getting drunk and tripping on acid as young assholes. Ammon and I talk about Halloween decorations. We all get drunk and yell.
The format is a little up in the air this week but What Did You Watch has reviews of Colonia, Central Intelligence, Jason Bourne, The Homesman, Zombeavers, Pay the Ghost, Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension, Cold in July and an amazing accent review of The Puuuuurge: Election Year.
TV Round Up features American Horror Story, South Park, Baskets, Quarry, Vice Principals and your mom.
More talk of Emmys, Howard Stern shitting on Windsor, Google Voice with Macho Man and review of Riot Fest by Kupka, whether or not Monster Squad should be shown to kids and Rolling Stones Top 100 TV Shows of all time.
I am also doing a 31 Days of Halloween but only the best of the best. Comment below with your choices. I’ll watch that shit. Shut up.
Inglourious Basterds, The Patriots’ Home Opener and Tusk
It always amazes me how I will oftentimes refuse watching a film because of its runtime, yet when something as sprawling and epic as Basterds comes on TV I am instantly hooked. God damn if this isn’t an amazing flick. I remember seeing this film in the theater, completely expecting a shit-fest. After all, this came on the heels of Grindhouse, a flick in which I loved everything EXCEPT Tarantino’s contribution. While time has been a little kinder to Death Proof (it’s not an altogether horrible film), I still kind of fucking hate it. The car scenes are great but it is misguided as fuck. Enter Basterds, a flick that begins with a seventeen-minute dialogue between two actors whom before this film I had never heard of. I found myself getting wrapped up in the tension, the suspense and the performances, and within that opening scene I realized that Death Proof was a simple mis-step. Basterds is the real deal, and in my mind the culmination of everything Tarantino had done in his career up until that point. Filmmakers, or at least the great ones, tend to perfect their craft over time, and I believe this to be Tarantino’s crowning achievement. I take nothing from his other films, we all know the man’s extensive pedigree and influence, I’m just saying that Basterds presents the absolute best as far as aesthetics, technicality and structure. Quentin’s chapter structure, his affinity for little-heard b-side pop tracks and penchant for humor make Basterds my favorite Tarantino film, and this is coming from the guy that wouldn’t love movies if it weren’t for Pulp Fiction. I could go on for days, but 10 on 10 all day, no question.
Another Sunday came and went, but I was lucky enough to catch the Pats in person for their home opener versus Oakland. Good old Section 311…oh how I had missed thee. Specifically, I had totally forgotten about the fellow Masshole seated to my immediate left. This guy…imagine a human being who is about 40% wider than average, has two beers for the duration of the game and has no issues forcing everyone around him to stand and cheer. Honestly, under the wrong conditions he’s the kind of guy I couldn’t fucking stand, but he’s a part of the experience and he’s fucking hilarious. I’ll have to get his name next time. Anyways, the game, WHAT A FUCKING MESS! It just goes to show what Belichick says every week has always been true; no team’s record or stats mean jack-squat. The only stat that matters is W/L, which we came out on the positive end after this one. Still though, Football season becomes much more real for me every year I get to my first game, so I’m glad the mood is back in full swing. Go Pats and fuck the Mannings!
As soon as it was announced, I was intrigued. When Kevin Smith began tweeting out pics and images from the film, I became invested. After seeing the trailer, I knew I was down, and now having seen the movie…I can safely say Tusk is one of Smith’s top three films. I was a huge fan of Red State, specifically its freshness. While the tone and style turned a bunch of people off, I loved Smith’s wacky horror/thriller/survival flick for all it was worth. While Smith’s writing is at times a little TOO wordy, Red State still grabbed me and took me along for a great ride. Tusk is, admittedly, a little uneven. I found Justin Long’s character to be a bit grating at the beginning of the film, but at a certain point Long runs into Michael Parks and from then on the film…changes. Tusk is a weird film, but I think people expect that. What surprised me was the way in which it was weird. I won’t spoil a thing (and believe me, there’s a ton to spoil), but Tusk taps into something very primal and disturbing. The film still rests in that weird psuedo-horror/comedy/torture-porn genre but it is also surprisingly full of a lot of heart. The fact that this film came from a theoretical plot brainstormed during a podcast makes the film even more fascinating. Personally, Smith has always been a staple for me. He talks a lot, and I think that turns many of his fans off (his tirades against Hollywood, his declarations of retirement over the years) but I like following the guy and seeing his perspective change through his output. Tusk is the next step in his evolution, and while I don’t know that it answers the age old question of whether or not it is better to be a man or a walrus, the film displays that Smith may have breathed a lot of life into a new run of films. I’m a little disappointed his next film is a comedy but I will be in the theater when it gets released. Here’s hoping he makes another film as fucked up as Tusk real soon. 8 on 10.
That’s it, guys and gals. I leave you with one of my all time favorite pump-up videos ever from none other than the Macho Man himself (this never gets old). Check back for our Boardwalk Empire, Strain and Sons commentaries this week as well as the daily blogs and as always Binge On!
