Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Hermophobia #20: The Movies of 1994 – Part I

Allen and Mark discuss the films of 1994

1994

discussed in this episode:

The Top 20 films of 1994
Comedies of 1994
Sci-fi in 1994
Action Movies of 1994

Coming Next:

The Movies of 1994 – Part II

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Hermophobia #19: The Movies of 1988 Part II

Mark and Allen continue and conclude their discussion of the films of 1988.

1988b

discussed in this episode:

The stars of 1988
The directors of 1988
Horror Movies of 1988
Dramas in 1988
Siskel & Ebert's Top 10 of ‘88
The Oscars
Overlooked, Under-rated or Forgotten Films of 1988
Over-rated and Best Forgotten Films of 1988
Mark and Allen’s Top 5 of 1988 .

Coming Soon: 1994

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Hermophobia #18: The Movies of 1988 Part One

1988

Oops! A week late! This is actually the second take of 1988, the first dumped for excess boringness! As Mark gets older, and Allen gets younger (?!?) they take time out to talk about the movies of 1988

discussed in this episode:

The Top 10 Grossing films of 1988
Comedies of 1988
Sci-fi in 1988
Action films of 1988

coming up next:

the movies of 1988 – part two!

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Hermophobia #17: The Movies of 1979 Part II

Mark and Allen continue their discussion of the films of 1979

1979P2

discussed in this episode

The stars of 1979
The directors of 1979
Horror Movies of 1979
Dramas in 1979
Odds & ends
Siskel & Ebert's Top 10 of ‘79
The Oscars
Overlooked, Under-rated or Forgotten Films of 1979
Over-rated and Best Forgotten Films of 1979
Mark and Allen’s Top 5 of 1979

coming next: 1988

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Hermophobia #16: 1979 – Part I

Mark and Allen talk about the films of 1979!

1979 discussed in this episode:

The Top 20 Grossing Films of 1979
The Comedies of 1979
Sci-Fi in 1979
Action Films of 1979

Next Week: 1979 – Part II

Coming Soon: 1988

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Hermophobia #15: Coming Soon: The Past!

Mark and Allen talk about the upcoming changes to Hermophobia!

apocalypse now

Next Episode:

1979

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Monday, November 3, 2008

Hermophobia #14: A Baby Ate My Dingo!

This week Mark lies “in bed thinking about ‘Showgirls’” while Allen walks around in circles singing ooo-a-o!

Robert Downey Jr Gran Torino The 4th Man

discussed in this episode:

Why netbooks will soon cost $99
Downey Jr. Suits Up for Both 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man 2'!
Brits Playing American on TV
Coming Soon: Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
Coming Soon: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Where are the Music Videos on the Music Video Stations?
Crowe To Play Werewolf In Ridley Scott Movie
Paul Verhoeven Mini-Marathon: The 4th Man, Robocop, Showgirls
Earworms: Little Boxes, Where Do The Boys Go
DVD/ Movie Picks & November 4th New Releases

Man on Fire Primary Colors

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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Get Off My Lawn!

We will be talking about Gran Torino and Clint Eastwood’s phase in his career as an Oscar caliber director on Hermophobia #14. If you have any comments you would like included in this discussion, please post them now.

Also, what do you think of the new Underworld trailer? Or the franchise as a whole?

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hermophobia #13.5: TV Edition

***SPOILERS ABOUND***

Special Guest: Hayley!

discussed this week:

My Own Worst Enemy
Boston Legal
Life
Heroes
The Graham Norton Show
Supernatural
The Starter Wife
Crusoe
Eli Stone
No Heroics
Weeds: Seasons One & Two

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Hermophobia #13: You Can See Stuff!

This week Mark and Allen are joined by Allen’s HLP, Hayley!!!

Kevin Smith halloween horror faves dexter renewed through season 5!

discussed in this episode:

Princeton publishes how-to guide for hacking Sequoia e-voting machines
Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran'
Price Change for Blu-ray of Lost - The Complete 4th Season
'Dexter' renewed for two more seasons; ABC wants more 'Private Practice'
Smith Too Fat For Pal's Toilet
A few Horror Favorites for Halloween
October 28th DVD Releases
Earworms
DVD/Movie Picks:

unbreakable sense and sensibility sex and the city

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Angels in America

One of my loftier goal of things to do during my time off was to finally watch Angels in America.

I had heard a lot of great stuff about it, both in print and from friends that had watched it, and they all sang its praises. It has an amazing cast including Mary Louise Parker and Justin Kirk (both of Weeds), Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson and Jeffery Wright. It is directed by Mike Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Closer) who is always a solid film maker, and even when he fails (Wolf), he does it interestingly. The mini-series was written by Tony Kushner, adapted from his play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.

I have always thought that the mark of a really great movie (or in this case, mini-series) is that it remains with you long after you have viewed it. However, after watching Angels in America, what remains on my mind is “what did I miss?”

On Rotten Tomatoes it has garnered a very respectable 82%, and the IMDB user rating is 8.3 Stars, very high for an IMDB rating. While I didn’t hate Angels in America, I certainly didn’t love it as it seems so many others have. With a 6 hour running time, I was expecting much more – not that I wanted some huge sweeping epic saga, it was that I was expecting something more intricate and meaty that I would be immersed into and leave me pondering its rich prose and web of themes and sub themes.

angels in america

Instead what I got were a few interesting characters, a couple of interesting (though not especially original) ideas, and of course, several excellent performances.

So after watching the 6 hour stage-to-screen translation, and spending nearly two weeks reflecting… what could have eluded me? I have to think there was more to it than sickness, despair and the idea that god has abandoned us. I really want to believe there was more. Surely I am not so thick that I am unable to get it? Am I? Perhaps the deep themes are hiding like Waldo. Perhaps if I unfocused my eyes, I will see the 3D themes immerge.I have wanted to cheat, start reading some reviews and articles that may be out there to help me understand what makes this so “important” and beloved. I keep thinking that if I do though, I will only start seeing what has been pointed out. and then I am just squinting at the Emperor's New Clothes.