Geekfest Rants

Episode 65 - Year End-Mid Season Genre Recap

As we approach the midpoint of the TV season, Carlos and Tony assess genre shows Once Upon a Time, Fringe and Person of Interest on today's installment of GFR. 

 Episode 65 - Year End-Mid Season Genre Recap

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Anyone wishing to suggest show topics or participate on any future shows, please leave us a comment below or e-mail us at [email protected].

Non-Holiday Holiday Classics - by Steve Vivona

For the last two weeks we’ve discussed hardcore holiday classics like A Christmas Story and A Christmas Carol. Now it’s time to talk about genre films that inadvertently became mandatory Christmas viewing since they were set during the yuletide season. None of these films were released at the holidays – most were summer blockbusters released at a time when I had nothing better to do than to watch movies, making them “Steve classics.”

Gremlins, released in 1984, features the most tangible Christmas connection. Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) buys the titular character as a holiday gift for his son, Billy (Zach Galligan), and all hell breaks loose. The film is a deft blend of comedy and horror and for me, the pinnacle of Joe Dante’s career. He does a fantastic job using the holiday setting as a backdrop for the carnage as the devilish creatures demolish Smalltown U.S.A. No sacred Christmas cow is safe! 

Episode 64 - The Modern Vampire Genre

On this week's episode of GFR Carlos and James discuss the modern vampire genre, dissecting hit films and television series such as Twilight and True Blood as well as remakes and reboots like Let Me In and the new Fright Night. It's an episode you can really sink your teeth into! (Yeah, I said it!).

 Episode 64 - The Modern Vampire Genre
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Anyone wishing to suggest show topics or participate on any future shows, please leave us a comment below or e-mail us at [email protected].

A Squeezing, Wrenching, Grasping, Scraping, Clutching, Covetous Old Sinner! - by Steve Vivona

Ever since I played Jacob Marley in my school’s version of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol,” I’ve been hooked. It has long been my favorite holiday story of all time, and I have devoured all the filmed versions of it.

For some reason, I’ve always identified with Scrooge. I am not a bitter person by any stretch of the imagination. However, I am inclined to see more of what’s bad in life, to think the worst of people, and not be surprised when they inevitably disappoint. I have sharpened a very sarcastic edge over the years, and much like Ebeneezer, my faith in humanity’s overall goodness is almost nonexistent.

 

Episode 63 - Prometheus - First Impressions

There's been a lot of speculation about Ridley Scott's Prometheus. Is it a prequel to his classic hit "Alien"?  On this week's episode of GFR Carlos and James break down the officially released photos recently featured in Entertainment Weekly and they look at how this new film might fit into the already existing saga.

 Episode 63 - Prometheus - First Impressions

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Anyone wishing to suggest show topics or participate on any future shows, please leave us a comment below or e-mail us at [email protected].

"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid!" - by Steve Vivona

In 1983 "A Christmas Story" was released with little fanfare and a lukewarm critical reception and so it quickly disappeared. But like that other holiday classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Story" started to gain a following from multiple viewings on video and television. After almost 30 years, it's safe to say the film has earned a space along side such classics as the aforementioned "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" and the myriad versions of, "A Christmas Carol."

Episode 62 - Tron - Geek Commentary

This week we deliver another commentary! Carlos and the Steves reminisce about the original Tron, perhaps not a classic, but a well remembered film from their childhood that spawned an even better sequel. So strap yourself in to your solar sailor for a ride back to the 80s! End of line. 

Episode 62 - Tron - Geek Commentary

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Anyone wishing to suggest show topics or participate on any future shows, please leave us a comment below or e-mail us at [email protected].

Hugo - Geek Review - by Rob

 

Few directors are as in love with the history of movies and filmmaking as Martin Scorsese. And few directors show such joy in the filmmaking process as Martin Scorsese. So it's really no surprise that when it came to adapting a stunningly 

illustrated children's book that deals primarily with the very early days of movies, Scorsese would be a natural.

 

Hugo is one of the most beautifully, lovingly crafted movies to come down the pike in some time. Even though this extremely family-friendly movie comes from the man who made his bones with tough, gritty adult fare like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Scorsese's loving touch and fascination with the era he's recreating shine through in every frame.