Second Clue: November's Screening

Clue #2: The actual star of our film has appeared in 4 long running soap operas.

Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon microcinema, Wednesday, October 5th@ 7:00pm, only $5!

****Purchase advance ticket here****

Top Billing for Ten Seconds of Screen Time: Futureworld

Westworld is a fantastic sci-fi movie, but did you know they made a sequel? According to the posters and VHS/DVD cover art, it features Yul Brynner reprising his role as the Gunslinger! And that's true, to a point. 

Yul Brynner does show up in Futureworld in a dream sequence (or flashback), comprised of 100% recycled footage from Westworld. So yes, he is in Futureworld, but if you saw the previous movie, you've already seen every scene he's in. It's a super bummer in a movie that over all isn't terrible.

Top Billing for Ten Seconds of Screen Time: Godzilla (2014)

This movie under-delivers on two star fronts, but the most unforgivable of the two might be the serious lack of Bryan Cranston in the second half of the film. 

This came out while Breaking Bad was still in full swing, so you'd think that Bryan Cranston's character [SPOILER] wouldn't be killed off in the first half of the film. But he was, and it was done in a seriously anticlimactic way.

But Cranston's wasn't the only character with abysmal screen time. In this much anticipated kaiju, with not one but two epic monster foes for Godzilla to save us from, there is hardly any Godzilla on screen. There was a gentleman behind us that literally vocalized every time it seemed like Godzilla was going show up and save the day. He would say "oh, here we go!!!" or some such excited thing. But each time the words left his mouth, the scene would cut to something completely non-Godzilla related. Every. Time. The last such set-up and disappointment was too much for him as he didn't say anything when it was clear Godzilla was going to show, but when it cut away he exasperatedly yelled "COME ON!!", and everyone in the audience was 100% with him. 

It's one thing to tease an audience, it's entirely another to tease an audience with a Godzilla movie staring Bryan Cranston only to switch it out for a movie staring Aaron Taylor-Johnson featuring a special appearance by Godzilla.

Top Billing for Ten Seconds of Screen Time: Black Eagle

Sometimes the top billed actor only gets top billing after they get famous, and Black Eagle is a great example of this. Many of the VHS and DVD covers feature Jean Claude Van Damme sharing top billing with Sho Kosugi suggesting they are the main stars of the film. In reality, Kosugi is the star, while JCVD plays the villain's main henchman. That's not to say Damme is completely absent in the film, but he's sure not the focus.

But, because this movie came out the same year as Blood Sport, the producers of the film must have decided to cash in on JCVD's new popularity. And based on the more recent releases (where Kosugi's involvement isn't even hinted at) this charlatan tactic seems to be working well for them...

But the marketing isn't the only after thought in this, mildly entertain, snooze fest. There's a scene near the end of the film, where JCVD and Kosugi face off, that seems really shoe horned in. JCVD is cut to over a long action sequence, but his actions don't seem to effect anyone until Kosugi shows up out of nowhere and the two men fight. After about 5 mins, Kosugi swan dives off a cliff face, leaving Damme to lick his wounds, and the incident is never mentioned again...

Top Billing for Ten Seconds of Screen Time: Scream

Not unlike Psycho with Janet Leigh, every trailer for Scream focused heavily on Drew Barrymore's character and she was prominently featured on all the posters. Then she was [DECADES OLD SPOILER] killed in the first ten mins of the film. 

But unlike the intentional casting choice in Psycho, Barrymore was initially cast as the lead in Scream but was later forced to take a role with less screen time due to a conflicting commitment. Though the switch in rolls was for the better, as it leaves the audience feeling that literally anything could happen after the biggest star [SAME SPOILER] is killed before the movie even starts.

Scream and Psycho were also alike in the legacies they left. Where Psycho left an abundance of sophisticated horror movies in it's wake, Scream inspired a full on resurgence of the horror/murder-mystery genre. (They share some surprisingly good sequels in their respective franchises to boot!) 

Top Billing for Ten Seconds of Screen Time: Psycho

Sometimes the bait-and-switch of billing of a star isn't to sell you on a movie that is otherwise horrible, sometimes it sets the bar for every horror movie that comes after it...

Janet Leigh was featured on all the posters for Psycho, listed in all the promotional materials, stars in the first act, and then [DECADES OLD SPOILER] is killed 20 mins into the movie. The decision to feature Leigh was likely to lull the audience into believing that nothing could happen to her character. Her star power coupled with the focus of the first act squarely on her character would have only added to the shock value of her murder. That creative decision would set the tone for countless horror movies that came after (a couple we'll touch on this month) but this movie's restraint in the gore department was a crack in the gore dam that Herschell Gordon Lewis would break open with Blood Feast only 3 years later.

First Clue: November's Screening

Clue #1: The this month's theme: Top Billing for Three Seconds of Screen Time. 

Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon microcinema, Wednesday, October 5th@ 7:00pm, only $5!

****Purchase advance ticket here****

Kids Playing Kids: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Neither Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry had never had an acting gig before filming this movie, the "professional" crew was minimal and filled out with the help of locals, it was shot on 16mm, it was the directors first feature length film; yet everyone involved was for nominated and won many, many awards. It's seriously one of the best movies to come out in recent years, and if you haven't seen it, you are missing out.

(Though I love this movie completely, it's 100% out of my wheelhouse to explain, so I asked my movie critic friend Ian Nichols to help me out by writing a synopsis. He did, and it's pretty damn wonderful.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild: Magical realism, normally commandeered by white Hollywood, makes its way deep into the South, past the levies, and into the thigh-high-and-climbing waterways among a group of islands off the coast of Louisiana. A bayou community straddling the gulf between the sobering effects of climate change and heady faith, spends its days not care free but blindly wading through alcoholism, poverty, and survival. At the eye of this tempestuous domain is the heart of it: Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis), a spirited young girl with immense imagination. She conjures giant uni-horned warthogs, and endures the harsh reality with her boozy, widowed father. Director/writer/composer Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is an ugly world made otherworldly—one that is astonishingly beautiful, raw, and enchanting, seen through the eyes of a child embraced by a murky future.

Quvenzhane Wallis: This was Wallis' very first acting job, and when the movie started filming she was only 6 years old. But to watch her on screen you'd think she had been the star of, at the very minimum, every single community theater production near enough to her home for her to be in. Seriously, she isn't just the focus of the film; she narrates it and stars in it. She is the film! Beasts of the Southern Wild was nominated for 4 Academy Awards one of which was for her performance making her the youngest Best Actress nominee and it was certainly a deserved nom. (Sadly, #OscarSoWhite so the award obviously Jennifer Lawrence in her seminal performance in that movie about football or something.)

See this movie: If you love Pan's Labyrinth or Hugo, but would be interested in seeing them through a Wes Anderson, John Waters lens.

Thank you again to Ian Nichols, you can find him on Twitter here and here.


Ian Nichols is a Saint Paul, Minnesota-based freelance film critic and co-host of two podcasts: the Flicksation Podcast and the horror movie-centric It’s Only a Podcast.

Kids Playing Kids: Looper

Looper is one of those movies that we have to really pin people down to watch. Some people bristle at the mere mention Bruce Willis' name, others watched a trailer and were less than enthused. But we have yet to screen this movie for someone who didn't enjoy it, and most of those people list the kid's performance as one of the top reasons for loving it.

The plot unfolds something like this: In the future, time travel is real and immediately outlawed. But that doesn't stop mob organizations 30 years into the future from sending their hits back to present day 2044 to have them disposed of by contracted Loopers. Once a looper's 30 year contract runs out, the mob sends him back to be eliminated by his 2044 self. But lately, the loopers of the future are coming back with a deep desire to live, and that's when trouble starts.

Ok, but where does a kid come into this movie?: Well this is another genre mashing movie, sort of. The movie shifts gears pretty hard at one point, but never completely leaves behind it's original elements. In the second act Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character runs smack into Emily Blunt's character and her son, and the rest of the film focuses on the three of them.




The kid: Pierce Gagnon's performance stands out in a cast of seasoned actors. He's not just a precocious kid, he gives his character emotional depth that is compelling in every scene. There is no doubt that he will continue to have a career as long as he chooses to pursue it.



Bonus kid actor mention: Joseph Gordon-Levitt started acting when he was seven and hasn't slowed down since.

Third Clue: October's Screening

Clue #3: The kid who stars in this month's movie has had a solid acting career from the time he was 12 through to present day.

Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon microcinema, Wednesday, October 5th@ 7:00pm, only $5!

****Purchase advance ticket here****

Kids Playing Kids: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

This movie started out as a giant ad campaign for a candy bar (the candy bar failed, if you're wondering), but became a cult classic in large part because of outstanding performances across the board. (I mean, also because it's a psychedelia nightmare movie, but still.)

The kids: Each kid is introduced with a caricature of bad manners (except Charlie). Each kid (except Charlie) is also accompanied by a sycophant parental chaperone who wittily or no, encourages that abhorrent trait in their child.

Willy Wonka: For most of the movie Wonka comes off as though he's everything short of murdering children. And for most of the adults watching it doesn't seem like a huge deal, which is kinda strange, especially since this is supposed to be a kid's movie.



Why that works: If the kid's performances hadn't been spot on, Wonka sending each one to certain death would have played as though he was a callous serial killer. But because the bratty, single minded, overindulgent and greedy characters are portrayed so well by the children (excluding Charlie), Willy Wonka comes off as less a killer and more like he's living out our darkest adult fantasies about how we would like to deal with ill-behaved children and their parental counterparts...



That's a shame: When the film came out critics who liked the film also glossed over the amazing performances from the kids, failing to even mention the performers by name.

Based on a kids book: Director Mel Stuart's 10 year old daughter was reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when she suggested he make the story into a movie with producer David L. Wolper. Wolper agreed and secured funding from the Quaker Oat's Company and they adapted the book into a musical. Quick recap: a 10 year old girl is responsible for this movie's existence!

Second Clue: October's Screening

Clue #2: The visual effects for this month's movie were done by an award winning effects artist who has worked with directors like Peter Jackson, Charles Band, and Larry Cohen.

Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon microcinema, Wednesday, October 5th@ 7:00pm, only $5!

****Purchase advance ticket here****

Kids Playing Kids: Mixtape

Tim made a mixtape of 10 music cues taken from horror movies that feature kids, leave a comment if you can identify them all!