FS #277: Zombieland / Capitalism: A Love Story / Top 5 Bad Day Movies

Oct. 16: This week Filmspotting celebrates Matty's 100th episode by playing catch-up and sitting down with two films currently creating a lot of buzz at the box office. First up, our heroes hole up in the abandoned Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois to fend off an invasion of the undead. If they follow the rules they gleaned from watching the new horror/comedy "Zombieland," odds are the intrepid duo might just hold out for a solid six hours. Much more harrowing than any zombie infestation (and requiring the same amount of shotguns kept at hand) is the current state of the United States economy. Fittingly, Filmspotting sends its in-house socialist, Matty "Ilyich" Ballgame, to take in Michael Moore’s latest piece of agitprop, "Capitalism: A Love Story." Suitably sobered by both zombies and economics, the lads transmit their Top 5 Bad Day Movies via Morse Code from their underground bunker located one hundred feet below 1060 W. Addison. And for the record, Filmspotting really hates Illinois Nazis.

Also on the show: Listener Feedback, music by The Dead Milkmen and Massacre Theatre -- presented by Pixar Talk. This week's winner will get the Pixar DVD of their choice.


Filmspotting #277
:24-13:20 - Review: "Zombieland"
13:21-16:29 - Poll Questions
16:30-23:22 - Review: "Capitalism"
Music: Dead Milkmen, "Air Crash Museum"
24:15-29:20 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: K. Spahr)
29:21-45:44 - Feedback (Tearjerkers)
Music: Dead Milkmen, "Punk Rock Girl"
46:19-55:54 - New DVDs/Donations
54:55-1:10:08 - Top 5: Bad Day Movies
1:10:09-1:13:54 - Close/Next Show
1:13:55-1:16:07 - Bonus: Matty's Movie Minute

NOTES

- Annie Proulx wrote the short story "Brokeback Mountain."

- Stuart Gordon directed David Mamet's "Edmond" -- but it's definitely a Mamet film.

- Jeff Goldsmith's Creative Screenwriting Podcast can be accessed through iTunes here.

- Follow more notes and corrections at http://twitter.com/filmspotting.

Filmspotting #167: Sicko / Transformers / Top 5 'Fight The Power' Movies

July 6: Michael Moore and Michael Bay are about as different as two directors can be. One traffics in left-wing propaganda, hoping to affect change or, at the very least, provoke outrage; the other traffics in big-budget, effects-driven spectacles, hoping to entertain or, at the very least, provoke massive headaches. But despite their obvious differences, including their respective platforms (non-fiction vs. narrative), the two Mikes arguably share the distinction of being the two least subtle filmmakers in cinema today, wielding their cameras as blunt instruments aimed at bludgeoning their audiences into submission. The always controversial Moore doesn't appear on screen in his latest effort, "Sicko," a two-hour tirade against the U.S. health care system, until almost 50 minutes into the film. Adam and Time Out Chicago's Scott Smith discuss Moore's (slightly) less confrontational approach and rate "Sicko" against his previous films.

In Kevin Smith's hilarious "Clerks II," Randal Graves denounces the "Transformers" as "an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One." Randal surely wasn't offering an early review of Bay's new film based on the popular '80s animated TV series and line of Hasbro toys. Or was he? Adam and Scott weigh in... and wind up feeling really old.

Also on the show: Listener Feedback, Massacre Theatre, and our Top 5 'Fight The Power' Movies.

Music by Jon Rauhouse courtesy of Bloodshot Records.

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Filmspotting #167
:22-17:10 - Review: "Sicko"
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Neko Case, "East of the Sun"
18:10-31:10 - Review: "Transformers"
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Rachel Flotard, "Harbor Lights"
31:41-33:58 - New DVDs, Donations
33:59-36:41 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Stan Bell)
36:42-40:40 - Poll Questions
40:41-46:51 - Listener Feedback (Top 5 Actors We'd Cast)
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Kelly Hogan, "Big Iron"
47:19-1:02:58 - Top 5: 'Fight The Power' Movies
1:02:59-1:04:30 - Close/Next Show

CORRECTIONS/NOTES
- The couple I referred to as having six daughters during the "Sicko" review had six children -- but not all daughters.
- "Tauzin switches sides from drug industry overseer to lobbyist"
- Joe Schmidt correctly points out that Lee J. Cobb was the original juror #3 in "12 Angry Men," not George C. Scott who was in the Showtime Channel remake. My bad.

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.