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Matchup of the Day

 A watermelon-themed musical goes up against a guy with anger issues:

The Wayward Cloud vs. Tyrannosaur

The Hole from director Ming-liang Tsai is one of my favorite movies. I’ve attempted to watch his film The Wayward Cloud several times in the past, but failed to get beyond the first ten minutes or so. This is due to a semi-pornographic scene involving a woman in a nurse uniform and a watermelon. At best, I find eroticism and food to be queasily incompatible. That gloopy stretch at the beginning proved too much to handle for my delicate sensibilities. Now that I have mustered the will to surmount the viewing obstacle, I can say that The Wayward Cloud is similar to The Hole. Just a lot less fun.

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Matchup of the Day

Double your pleasure, double your fun – with Terrence Malick :

The Tree of Life vs. Days of Heaven

There may be two major groups of people when it comes to Terrence Malick: Those who like Badlands, and maybe even Days of Heaven  - OR - Those who believe his later films to be profoundly poetic experiences.  Sure, there are individuals who fit into both groups, but 1998′s The Thin Red Line definitely created a rift for many.  I’ve seen all of Malick’s filmography except for The New World, the experience of which has entrenched me militantly in the first group.  Read the rest of this entry »

Matchup of the Day

I give you Mumblecore vs. Mjölnir:

Tiny Furniture vs. Thor

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Matchup of the Day

In the UK during the early 80′s, the flood of horror movies available on home video created a moral backlash. Politicians singled out 72 films, the “Video Nasties“, to be censored or banned outright. Today’s matchup features two of them:

The Burning vs. Inferno

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Matchup of the Day

We have a Danish skinhead vs. a British skinhead:

Made in Britain vs. Adam’s Apples

Made in Britain was originally broadcast on television in the UK back in the 80′s. What makes the movie notable is that it was Tim Roth‘s first acting role. Also, the director, Alan Clarke, worked with Danny Boyle early in his career on the controversial short film Elephant. The short, which realistically depicts a series of IRA assassinations, would later influence Gus Van Sant‘s high school shooting movie of the same name. The intent of Elephant was to shed light on the senselessness of political violence. Made in Britain is about the system’s inability to deal with the antisocial young neo-Nazi, Trevor, played by Tim Roth. Read the rest of this entry »