A First Look at the Oscar Race

The Top 5 things the 2002 Oscars can (possibly) tell us about the 2012 Oscars

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, oh yeah and it’s also the Holiday season. Well Happy Holidays to all of our Nerd 5 readers and let’s dive into the time that I wait for all year, OSCAR SEASON! 

Now, it’s not that I love the Academy Awards and think they get things right all the time (although I do love The Academy itself, but more on that in months to come), in fact last year I couldn’t have disagreed more with some of the things that won (*cough The Artist cough*). I love this season because all the best films of the year are released around this time. Sure summer blockbusters are great and every once in while there is true gem that comes out during that time, but more often than not the best films of the year get national releases between the end October and the end of January. Which means it’s one of the best times of the year to go to the movies.

A quick side note. To be eligible for The Academy Awards that will air on February 24, 2013, your film must be released in at least four theaters in Los Angles and New York by December 31, or have a limited release run by that same time. A film will then get a wider released based upon nominations it receives, the money it makes and the word of mouth/critical praise it receives. Basically the 2013 Academy Awards honor films that were released between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. So why does the end of the year become Oscar season? For the simple belief that if your films is seen later in the year it will be fresh in the voters’ minds and be on more ballots. 

Now down to business. Recently I've been studying Oscar history to learn about the films I should see that aren't already part of my general knowledge as a film nerd. During this time I've come across a unique thing in Oscar history. I think the chart says it the best.

2002 Oscar Best Picture Nominee	Film Description	2012 Potential Oscar Best Picture Nominee
Chicago (Winner)	A film adaptation of a highly successful Broadway musical, with a well-known cast, a big budget and a Christmas time release.	Les Miserables
Gangs of New York	A historical epic set in the 1800’s that shaped the future of America directed by an industry giant and starring Daniel Day-Lewis.	Lincoln
The Pianist	A thriller set in a foreign country that tells a story of hiding from a militant political regime while planning the perfect escape.	Argo
The Hours	A character study surrounding an individual dealing with a mental illness and the effect that has on their family and life in general	Silver Linings Playbook
The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers	A visually stunning sprawling epic, based on a book that was assumed unfilmable for many years, that is only finally made possible by the passion of its director.	Life of Pi OR The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Is this merely a crazy random happenstance? Have filmmakers (and studios in particular) figured out the keys to getting an Oscar nomination? Is there a secret pact in Hollywood that a certain type of film will be nominated every ten years? Well, I’ll let the conspiracy theorists think on the last question. I would just say its part crazy random happenstance, and part filmmakers knowing how to get their film in the Oscar race. So what’s to point of all this? Let’s have some fun by seeing if this coincidence has any real predictive value. As the next Nerd 5 top 5. (For the purposes of this article I’m going to use The Hobbit: An Expected Journey over Life of Pi in order to make a more direct comparison however I do believe that Life of Pi has a better shot than The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) The list is ranked in order of things that I’d be the most shocked to see, 5 being the least shocking thing 1 being the most.

5. Lincoln will be shut out.

Lincoln staring Daniel Day-Lewis as the ground-breaking 16^th president and directed by Stephen Spielberg could very easily walk away empty handed.  There has been a lot buzz about this film so far and most of it is very mixed. It’s pretty much a lock that Day-Lewis will be nominated, but don’t be so sure that he will for sure take home his THIRD statue (that would put him in some very rare company: Walter Brennan, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman all have three and Katharine Hepburn is the only person with 4 wins for acting). Day-Lewis' previous two wins come for My Left Foot (1989) and There Will Be Blood (2007). Keep an eye out for a dark horse candidate to come on strong here in the last few months and overtake Day-Lewis. Overall Lincoln will have enough name value, buzz, and campaigning to get nominated, but will fall short on Oscar night. Don’t worry, most people involved with this film already have Oscar’s to keep them cozy at night.

4. Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence will take home Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively.

Two young and up-and-coming actresses will cement their place in Hollywood on this night. Let’s take this one category at a time. Starting with Best Actress, this might be a bit of a stretch due to the fact that Lawrence’s part might not be big enough for a Best Actress nod; however, she is the female lead of Silver Linings Playbook and everyone seems to agree that even though the film itself is nothing special, her performance is. It seems very likely Lawrence will pick up her second nomination in her young career and based on history she’ll take it home as the only win for the film Silver Linings Playbook (and based on this theory we are also going to say that Robert De Nero pick with up his 6^th nomination but fail to capture his third Oscar).

On to Supporting Actress, in 2002 Catherine-Zeta Jones and Queen Latifah were both nominated for Chicago and it was pretty much a given that one would win. What does that mean for 2012? It looks like Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried are both in line for nominations and the Academy will give the award to Hathaway for giving a very strong rendition (hopefully, we'll see) of the Les Miserables signature song I Dreamed a Dream, just as they did for Zeta Jones and All That Jazz from Chicago.

3. Les Miserables will (somehow) be viewed as a bigger visual achievement then The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

As crazy as that sounds, if the pattern holds true, Les Miserables is going to take home 4 of the 8 major technical awards, while The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will only take home 2. The major technical awards include: Best Costume, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction (renamed this year to Production Design, but serves the same purpose). Let’s set aside Makeup and Cinematography (as in ’02 these awards went to other films than the 5 best picture nominees and I feel that will happen here too.) The Sound awards will be split between the two films, and quite honestly that seems fair. Each film presents its own sound challenge, for The Hobbit it will be creating the sounds of Middle Earth, a fictional fantasy world, and Les Miserables will have to make song and orchestration sound good. Oh, and by the way Les Miserables’ songs were all performed live on set, something that simply is not done in today’s Hollywood.  Also, The Hobbit will take home best visual effects, but it stops there. Costume, Editing, and Art Direction will all go to Les Miserables, which is completely realistic.

Traditionally The Academy loves costume period dramas and being set in 19^th Century France. This film fits the bill. It might not be the most deserving film in all technical categories, but if it's nominated it will be a factor in the outcome.

2. Les Miserables will win 6 Oscars including Best Picture.

Chicago, 2002’s Best Picture, was a favorite before the night began, but as the night wore on it looked like The Pianist might actually pull off the upset. Why? The Pianist took home Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay and it looked like a home run that The Pianist would take home Best Picture as well. But when the envelope was opened it was Chicago’s name that was read out. Only one other time in Oscar history has this happened. In 1935 The Informer won Director, Actor, and Writing (as the category was called at the time) but lost Best Picture to Mutiny on the Bounty. So what are the odds that this happens again? I give it  a 2% percent chance (2 times this has happened in 85 years). They say that Les Miserables will likely pick up one of the other awards Chicago did not or it will not take home Best Picture, but who knows it’s happened before it could happen again.

So how can something that has only 2% chance of happening not be my most shocking prediction? Because based on what happened ten years ago...

1.           Ben Affleck will take home Best Director and Best Actor.

…and if he does Affleck would be the person in history to do so. If we hold the 2002 results as a predictor of things to come, then Mr. Affleck will have very successfully removed himself from the Hollywood doghouse and made history while doing it. In ’02 The Pianist took home Best Director and Actor. In order for this to happen again Argo, which Affleck both stars in and directs, will definitely go down in Hollywood history. Let’s put into context what this means. Only 9 people in all of Hollywood history have been nominated for both Actor and Director and only 1 of them for two different films. Let’s get the oddity out of the way.  In 2005 George Clooney become the only person to be nominated for directing and acting on the same night for two different films. He won for Best Supporting Actor for the film Syriana but then opened his acceptance speech with “Well, I guess I’m not winning Best Director tonight” which turned out to be a true statement. That leaves only 8 people to have ever accomplished the feat that Affleck is trying for this year; the coveted Best Director, Best Actor double nomination for the same film on the same night and none of them have won both. In fact no person has ever won both awards in their entire career.

                                                  i.            Warren Beatty – Heaven Can Wait AND Reds

a.    Heaven Can Wait – lost both award

b.    Reds --  won director, lost actor

                                                 ii.    Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven AND Million Dollar Baby

a.    Unforgiven – won director, lost actor

b.    Million Dollar Baby – won director, lost actor

                                                iii.    Orson Wells – Citizen Kane

a.    Lost both awards (although he did pick up best screenplay)

                                               iv.    Laurence Olivier – Hamlet

a.    Lost director, won actor

                                                v.    Woody Allen – Annie Hall

a.    Won director, lost actor

                                               vi.    Kenneth Branagh – Henry V

a.    Lost both awards

                                              vii.    Kevin Costner – Dances With Wolves (1990)

a.    Won director, lost actor

                                             viii.    Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful

a.    Lost director, won actor

So best of luck to you Mr. Affleck! This has been some fun speculation about Oscar night and just the first of many Oscar articles to come this year!

Watershed Moments in Superhero Film History

The superhero genre is relatively new in film history, but though there are dozens of characters and franchises in this category, there are just a few films that have shaped all the rest.

Part I by Jeff Carpenter 

1. Superman marks the rise of the superhero in modern cinema, and would set the trend for the next 20 years. The son of Krypton is not only the most over-powered character in comics, but he’s the first to make the plunge into theatres in a serious way. The four Superman films (of which one and a half are good) took the first small steps toward ripping costumed heroes off of their half-tone pages and toward the center of pop culture. The Superman films were bright, colorful, simple morality tales that featured a hero beyond reproach and a shooting style that was deliberately cartoonish. This fairly accurately represented the comic s of the period, though the “mighty-whitey” superheros were already dying out in mainstream comics. It was an ethically safe throwback to a period before Frank Miller and others like him would raise the flag of the anti-hero. Comics were still considered a thing for children, and their heroes were beacons of moral condescension.

D.C. Comics ruled the superhero film landscape for decades, arguably because their main-staple characters were not only more black-and-white, but also because they were technologically easier to tackle. Batman got in on the ground floor of our childhoods because he relied on gadgets and overbuilt vehicles, both of which could be done without CGI. Also, because of the incredibly popular and incredibly groovy television series starring Adam West. However, steps were taken away from the Superman mold with this character due to the direction of Tim Burton, who created a gothic masterpiece and didn’t shy away from giving Batman a few rough edges. Batman, even in his first film iteration, killed people. Michael Keaton (an amazing casting choice) played a character that would, given the motive of his parent’s murder, kill the Joker. Of course he shied away from out and out murder himself, but it moved the genre forward in a few perceptible ways, despite the later bumbling of Joel Schumacher.

2. The next real change to come to comic book movies after their inception with Superman is Bryan Singer’s X-Men. The 2000 release marked a small step for special effects and a huge step for characterization. X-Men featured a small story, which took place over a short span of time, and an intimate cast of characters. Despite the extraordinary powers of its mutant cast, Singer took a “less is more approach.” By doing so he created a world based in realism that was inhabited by extremely relatable, human (or post-human), people. This changed the game. Let me repeat: THIS CHANGED CINEMA.

All superhero movies that came after X-Men were of a different creed than those that had come before. The genre had ‘mutated’. Now all, to varying degrees, would reflect the realism that had been explored with X-Men, and would at least attempt to create characters that were flawed and sypathetic. Gone were the days of a flawless Superman, and a dickless Clark Kent. In the post-X-Men landscape, Marvel stole supremacy and hasn't lost it since.

There is one exception to this rule. I would classify 2002’s Spider-Man as one of the old guard, with more in common with the Superman than the post X-Men generation. Raimi’s Spider-Man is full of over-the-top characters and stylistically is deliberately cartoony. Though it came out in theaters after X-Men, it’s a safe bet that they were in production at the same time. This might explain why it didn't possess the “x gene.” Further proof that X-Men was a game-changer comes with Spider-Man 2, which is much more character based and is shot in a much more mature way. Spider-Man is out of costume for most of the film, and the characters who were simple archetypes in the first film took on some depth. There were still cartoony moments letting us know that this was a Raimi film, but they served the characters instead of stealing the show.

So Superman gave us superhero movies and X-Men introduced realism and flawed characters to the superhero genre, but another film came along that again reshaped the way we view caped crusaders and for that we turn to Josh Darby…

 Part II by Josh Darby

Hey guys, Josh here, and I’m taking on part two of this post. We sit in a world where Superhero films are a very viable film genre. They almost always dominate the summer blockbusters and (good or bad) they make a ton of money. For better or worse the Superhero genre is here to stay. Now like any sub-genre of film it has its peaks and valleys, but at least for the foreseeable future we are going to get for or more superhero films a year. 

How did we get here? Well, as my partner Jeff stated, we started with Superman, which set the tone (with only a two film speed bump known as Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns) that eventually gave way to X-men, but what was the reason for that? America was looking for something different: a hero with layers and rough edges that wasn't so gosh-darn perfect. Well, we got them with X-men, but at some point even that wasn't good enough.

We no longer live in a world where the good guys are all good and the bad guys are all bad. Villains are no longer just evil or crazy without reason, they want something. Heroes aren't born that way, they're made. We no longer want black and white, we want that grey area. With all that said, let’s jump in the way back machine and take a trip to 2008.

3. Iron Man (2008) – Let’s make a brief pit stop with Iron Man, what did this film do so right? It understood two things that would later be perfected: first, don’t send just anyone to make a superhero film. The director of Iron Man, Jon Favreau, was a talented director who understood and was a fan of the characters, story, and material that he was dealing with. This does follow in the tradition of Raimi with the Spider-Man films and Singer with X-Men and X2, but here is where it really got cemented that you need a talented fan to make a good superhero film.

The second thing that Favreau and Iron Man did right is understanding that perfect casting choices can lend credibility to a role.

What do the Superhero genre and Robert Downey Jr. have in common in 2007? Both need a revival. Downey needed to prove that he had put his demons in the rear view mirror. He was a man who had struggled for decades with drugs, alcohol, and the pressures of Hollywood, all the while trying to prove himself. What he needed what a second chance and what he got was Tony Stark, a man struggling with alcohol, monogamy, and the pressures of living up to his father while trying to prove a worthy member of society (sound familiar?) It’s about finding the right person for the part and Favreau understood that. Robert Downey Jr. owns Tony Stark because he understands him like no one else could. He brings truth and honesty to the part like no one else could.

So, what does all this have to do with the superhero genre in 2007? Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Spider-Man 3 these were the major superhero films of 2007. It looks like an entire genre on the brink of disaster, losing sight of what makes a superhero film great, and in desperate need to put its demons in the rear view mirror. Iron Man was important because it set the stage for…

4. The Dark Knight (2008) – I know, it’s weird, let’s all get used to the fact that I am going to defend The Dark Knight as a great film. Let’s all let that sink in… great… we good to go? Awesome. (Dear reader: this inside joke is reference to the fact that when I drug Josh to see this movie, he whined like a little girl the entire time, and initially swore off the movie in contempt. Pretty much all I need to do to get Josh to hate a movie is say I like it, so it's nice to be vindicated once in a while. Oops, I'll go back to my section of the article now...Jeff) 

Let’s jump in. The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan and Co-written by Jonathan Nolan, was the second in his re-booted Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight picks up where Iron Man leaves off by putting the right actor in the right part. Heath Ledger is perfectly cast as The Joker. What he brings to the part is a sense of honesty, reality, and believability that has never been seen in a villain before. Ledger so nailed The Joker that even The Academy gave him credit by awarding a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for his performance. Nolan knows that has every great hero needs a great villain. This is something that is crucial to the success of any superhero film. Also that every character in your film needs to be honest, have motivation, be full of layers, and we need to understand them. The proof of this is also in Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent. A superhero film is a story just like any other and needs to be treated that way, with respect and careful storytelling.

Now, for better or worse, what The Dark Knight has given us an even more hightened sense of reality. Audiences will suspend disbelief for super powers and such, but you better be surround that super element with a real world, with real problems that speak what we are experiencing today.

Finally you need a good story. It’s really as simple as that. A hero that we can root for who is trying to overcome not only the villain, but his personal demons. They should follow the hero’s journey, and by the end of the film we should feel completely satisfied even if we know that there are more films to come.

With all that being said where do we stand now? Where has all this lead us? It leads us to the big debate of 2012.

5. The Avengers (2012) vs. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – so which one of these films gets it? Who will lead the pack astray and who will shape the new path? From my point of view, (and if you've any of our previous blogs you know what I'm going to say) it's The Avengers. Now before I jump into what I think they do right, let me take a quick moment to say what The Dark Knight Rises didn't understand. Simply put, it’s not 2008 anymore. You have to evolve, you can’t continue give us the same thing. The Joker is a terrorist who wants to create chaos and anarchy. He wants to do it for fun and to show all the flaws in our government system. Too much power, too much authority, too much access to people's privacy, these were all prevalent thoughts on our minds in 2008 and that’s what Dark Knight tapped in to. It didn't give us all the answers, that was supposed to be what finished off the story. Four years later Nolan is still trying to tell the same story. We've seen Chris, I’d like something different, like maybe answering the questions you posed in the previous film.

What I see in The Avengers is the evolution of the Superhero, a film that learns from all the films of the past as well telling a story for our time. Its characters feel true and honest, the filmmakers and actors give respect to the material. It’s based in reality, but coupled with a heightened sense of fantasy. It’s an escape from our reality which tells a small story wrapped in larger nut shell. It has a sense of humor and tells a story for our time. I think that’s the important part, it taps into what we want as a society: someone or something to band together to save us from these hard times. We want leaders who will work together and put aside their personal differences to make the world a better place. It’s all of those reasons why I say that The Avengers, not The Dark Knight Rises, is the better superhero film.

Thanks for reading! Join in the conversation!

Jeff & Josh

Top 5 Things to Watch on Halloween

By Josh Darby

Let’s start out with this; Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I’m not the biggest fan of horror films. I work in theatre and get to play in costume most days, so Oct 31^st isn’t that special to me. No “scary” film has excited me in many years and people can take the day far too seriously. That being said, it’s a fun day. The themes and motifs that get explored in Halloween entertainment are very strong. Usually dealing in people fears or misunderstandings, and in the resulting desire to survive or overcome them.

When compiling my list, I had a common theme. Zombies. Now only one zombie film made my list, however, there were several of them that were under consideration. They include: the “Epidemiology” episode of Community, Zombieland, Dawn of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods and 28 Days Later. What do I look for in a good Halloween film? Suspense, good story, characters that I care about, and horror elements that comment on the characters, themes, situation, or aspects of society. Now I can’t say all the picks on my list cover all these topics, but they hit most of them.

The Guidelines: Simple guidelines for this top 5, something that is a good watch on Halloween night. Whether you are stuck at home handing out the candy, or just getting back from a night out, whatever you put on has to fit the Halloween mood.

Josh’s Honorable Mentions: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (this 1949 animated Disney classic is great for families because it’s visually beautiful and just scary enough to be a great Halloween watch.), The Nightmare Before Christmas (the only reason this great film not on the official list is due to the fact that I don’t consider it a true Halloween movie), Cabin in the Woods (I’m not saying a word about this 2012 film, except that it’s great and its by David Goddard and Joss Whedon. The less you know about it the better, just watch it.) “Halloweenie” – The Adventures of Pete and Pete (one of the best episodes of this classic Nickelodeon show, it’s smarter than almost any show in TV history. If you’re not familiar, be sure you find this show) Mr. Yin Present… -- Psych (an homage to Alfred Hitchcock, and one of the best episodes of the show)

Josh’s List:

5. North by Northwest (1959) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Witten by Ernest Lehman

Okay you can’t make a list of best things to watch on Halloween without the master of suspense himself Alfred Hitchcock. You really can’t go wrong with any of his well-known (Psycho, Rope, Rear Window, Rebecca, Vertigo) films, but for my money the best Hitchcock film is North by Northwest. A classic chase film follows Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint as they are followed around the country by a group of foreign spies. This film is beautifully shot, full of moments of shock, surprise, and suspense. On top of that it holds up. Released in 1959 North by Northwest is just as watchable today as it was back then. If you are not familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s work (shame on you) pick up this film and Psycho, and enjoy a great evening of classic cinema.

4. “Halloween”/“Fear Itself” Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997/1999) Directed Bruce Seth Green/Tucker Gates written by Joss Whedon/David Fury

This is first of many times throughout this blog that I will talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For me no list of Halloween entertainment would be complete without a trip to Sunnydale, CA. These two episodes are both Halloween themed (to be fair the show is about hunting vampires and demons… so… what week isn’t Halloween themed?) Both episodes deal with the fears of our main characters, and how they are addressing them. These episodes both have classic Buffy/Whedon moments in them and give you a great vibe about what makes the show fantastic. “Halloween” is a season 2 episode where the citizens of Sunnydale start turning into their Halloween costumes. We also get a first glimpse into the relationship between Oz and Willow. “Fear Itself” is a really great episode in season 4, but this one stands out as fantastic character study of all of our main characters. During this episode the ‘Scoobies’ find themselves trapped in a haunted frat house, with their greatest fears coming to life. The defeat of the villain in this episode is a great moment. Sit back and enjoy a great night with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

3. Shaun of the Dead (2004) Directed and Written by Edgar Wright

This is my kind of “horror” film. Yes, there is a reason that I put it in quotes, and that is because it’s not really a horror film. Sure it’s a zombie film, but it’s a zombie that’s wrapped up in a romantic comedy. What Shaun of the Dead does right is that it cares about its characters. It has a story that needs to be told, and needs zombies to tell it. Yes, it makes fun of other ‘zed-word’ films, but it is also a very good zombie film. Shaun gives you laughs, scares, and an all-around good time.

2. Jaws (1975) Directed by Stephen Spielberg Written by Peter Benchley & Carl Gottlieb

Jaws makes my list as the representation of a more traditional horror film; however it was also the first ever summer blockbuster showing that if you scare people the right way, you have a huge hit on your hands. Its villain is nothing more than a hungry shark, but what it does right is that you hardly see the shark. Spielberg is great at telling large stories that are small at their core and Jaws is no different. This is a story about people, a small town, and small town politics. With classic lines like “I think we’re going to need a bigger boat” and probably the most famous music cue in film history, what Jaws understands is that less is more. An audience’s imagination is far worse than anything you can actually put on the screen and this film makes you sit there stewing in your own thoughts before you find out what is actually happening. You feel empathy and sympathy for the characters, the story is strong and well plotted (if not a tiny bit formulaic), and in the end Jaws will have you on the edge of you seat. This is film that has generations of people to “not go into the water” and if you ever end up in Amity I would suggest following those great words of advice.

1. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) Director Bill Melendez Written by Charles Schulz

This is a seminal piece of American television captures everything that’s great about Halloween from a child’s point of view. The story of Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin gives the audience a sense of hope, joy and wonder that we’ve not had since we were a kid. Sally is a little piece of comedy gold, the World War I flying ace Snoopy tells a visually stunning story, and of course Charlie Brown gets a rock, every time, all the time. For me it’s just as much a part of Halloween as carving pumpkins, trick or treating and costumes. Whether you're watching it as a kid, as a parent with your own child, or somewhere in between, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is the kind of TV special that continues to appeal to all generations since its original 1966 airing.

Jeff’s List:

5. “HUSH” Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999) Directed and Written by Joss Whedon

Josh already went over some stellar Buffy episodes, but I think this one takes the cake. ‘Hush’ is my favorite hour of Buffy by far, and the perfect one to celebrate Halloween. Joss Whedon has often been criticized of writing television that is far too dialogue heavy (which is hardly a criticism of this great filmmaker, but people have to find fault somewhere) so he answered that challenge and wrote an episode that was almost completely silent, to great success. ‘The Gentlemen’ are the best one-off villains that the show ever concocted and are the stuff of nightmares. Watch and enjoy.

4. Zombieland (2009) Directed Ruben Fleischer Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Shaun of the Dead is an obvious choice for Halloween, but the equally obvious American answer to that film is Zombieland. Josh placed this in the Honorable Mention category, but I’d like to redeem it by offering it a space in my top five. Zombieland is bloody good fun, and is a great start to your Halloween festivities, if not the best finisher. Of all the post-apocalyptic wastelands, this is the one I want to live in. A universe where food and guns are plentiful and you can survive comfortably if you just follow the rules. Also, Emma Stone is a part of your everyday life, and no arguments here on that. Watch, enjoy, and then move on to the darker stuff, especially…

3. Let the Right One In (2008) Directed by Tomas Alfredson and Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Wow. I mean, WOW. This is the best vampire film I’ve ever seen or am ever likely to see. The fact that one of the main characters is a vampire seems almost coincidental to the love story between a reserved young Scandinavian boy and his mysterious young neighbor who talks to him on the playground at night. I hate the current trend toward vampires we’ve seen in the last five years. On the surface it’s saccharine, and on a deeper level it’s devoid of meaning and shies away from any of the real consequences of predatory half-life. I had an experience when I was 13 with a man who believed he was a vampire who tried to kill me. I fucking hate vampires, and have no stomach for romantic, Twilight style portrayals of them. But this film is truly honest with its characterization of love and death. Also, visually it is truly beautiful. They made an American version, Let Me In, which should burn in Hell. Watch Let the Right One In on Netflix. Now. Then keep reading.

2. Trick ‘r Treat (2007) Directed and Written by Michael Dougherty

This movie is just fun, and the perfect film to watch during this holiday season. It follows multiple stories over the course of one Halloween night, and each is full of humor and terror. I’m not going to ruin it for you. The cast is great, it’s wonderfully crafted, and since you can slip in and out of the narrative and still enjoy it, it’s exactly what should be playing in the background of your Halloween bash.

1. Planet Terror (2007) Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez

This film was Josh’s present to me for my 21^st birthday, and continues to be one of my favorites. Zombie/epidemic horror mixed with raunchy action and B-movie charm. Stipper with a machine-gun leg? Awesome. How does she fire it? Who knows, who cares! This film was ‘thrown together’ in the best possible way. It is a pure pleasure to view, and the artificial aging, the fact that Bruce Willis was only on set for about an hour and a half, and the thumping bass line only add to the joy. Play this on Halloween with the DVD bonus “audience reaction track” on and get ready for a good time.

Happy Halloween dear readers, from Nerd 5!

Nerd 5 Presents: TV 101

Session #1 – Community

By nature, TV 101 Articles will contain small spoilers about each episode, if you wish to not be spoiled, only read episode names.

Meanwhile in the Nerd Cave….

Josh: I want to talk about TV

Jeff: …

Josh: I think they’re a ton of great shows on TV right now.

Jeff: …

Josh: You are right Jeff; we are in a new golden age of television. If you discount reality TV, but in reality there are so many really good shows on TV and the production value is really high.

Jeff: It’s kind of like…

Josh: They’re just short really well made movies. Yes. You are right Jeff. How can I make this into a new feature for the website?

Jeff: Well we could…

Josh: I remember when a friend of mine showed me Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time, he just showed a 5 episode highlight of the first season and I was hooked. He showed me that the show was good, and then when I went back to watch the entire first season I knew the good stuff was still to come, and it hooked me into the show. It was a really great way to introduce someone to a show, and it’s worked on several of my friends to get them hooked on TV shows. 5 episodes, to like or dislike a show. A solid idea.

Jeff:…

Josh: Now how to frame it? I got it! I’ll call it TV 101 and it’ll be like a class, and each episode is a new lesson.

Jeff: I don’t know Josh; it’s kind of weak…

Josh: I agree! Best idea I’ve ever had. Good conversation, Jeff. I’m off!

*This may or may not have been a real conversation, that Jeff Carpenter may or may not have been a part of. Just know that in my head it was very real*

The Guidelines: For this article I will be looking at the top 5 episodes to show someone to get them addicted to the TV show Community. Community is one of the best and most underrated shows on TV (my personal favorite show on TV, that’s why I started with it) and is returning to NBC this fall Friday’s at 8:30 (I’m plugging in hopes that it won’t get canceled, as most shows I love do.) I enjoy watching TV shows in chronological order, for this reason I will give you the season and episode number for episode. Even though I am ranking them from 5 to 1, I would always highly suggest that you watch each series chronologically (especially in the case of Community. Watch the show from front to back, as the comedy really builds upon itself and the show is very self-referential). ***Small spoilers to follow.

Cast Credits –

Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry, Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir, Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley Bennett, Alison Brie as Annie Edison, Donald Glover as Troy Barnes, Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne, Ken Jeong as Ben Chang, Jim Rash as Dean Pelton

Honorable Mention –

Contemporary American Poultry – S1 Ep21 – A great episode to show what Community does best, and a great parody of mafia films but especially of Casino, Goodfellas, and The Godfather.

Cooperative Calligraphy – S2 Ep8 – A new twist on a classic bottle episode, and a great character study for our seven main characters

Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas – S2 & Ep8 AND Virtual Systems Analysis – S3 Ep16 – These two episodes delve deep in to the mind and psyche of my absolute favorite character in TV history, Abed. They work perfectly together to understand Abed.

The List:

5. Environmental Science – S1 Ep1

Season 1, and the series in general, kicks into high gear with this episode. This episode has Chang at his craziest, The Dean’s shell starting to crack, and all of our characters finally taking shape. Here is where we start to see the characters that the show will become famous for. I’ve said that Community rolls into becoming great and here is where the snowball picks up speed. The episode is about is framed around The Study Group needing to get out of a 20 page Spanish paper assigned by Chang; meanwhile Shirley and Pierce are working on a speech for their public speaking class, Troy and Abed are training a mouse named Fievel (yes there are plenty of An American Tail references along the way) and The Dean tires to help Greendale “go green.”

What pushes this episode over the top is the ending sequence that is funny, heartfelt, and clever blend of storytelling that mixes all of the characters and stories together. The episode also cements together the two things of the show that grounds it into reality. In this episode we see Tory and Abed truly come together as friends and for the first time Jeff shows that The Study Group can change him for the better. Community is nothing without its heart and in this episode we start see where that heart comes from.

4. Remedial Chaos Theory – S3 Ep3

Community hits a new gear with this episode while trying to avoid the darkest timeline. The simple plot of this episode is The Study Group is attending a house warming party for Tory and Abed’s new apartment. REMEDIAL CHAOS THEORY all takes place within the first 10 min of the party. How so? Because we see the same scene played 7 different ways. When the pizza arrives for the party Jeff has the idea to toss a dice, assigning each person a number and whichever side it lands on is the person that has to get the pizza. In Abed’s mind this creates 6 alternate timelines. That’s the jumping off point for the number 4 episode of the list.

I’m not going to go into too much detail here because the great thing about his episode is not known how each timeline will work out. But I’ll simply say that the episode works because it is silly, moving and revelatory all at the same time. We really get to know our characters and what makes them tick within this episode, as well as examining what their relationship is to the other around them.

3. Digital Estate Planning – S3 Ep20

One of the best things about Community is its ability to totally engulf you into a world. DIGITAL ESTATE PLANNING is a tribute to all things 8-bit and a love story to classic video games. 90% of this episode is animated in the style of a traditional 2D scroller.

What Community does well taking its characters to a brand new location, setting, or in this case world and still making the show feel consistent with other episodes, it’s characters feel natural in any setting, and it’s beyond clever at all times. Not wanting to give too much away this episode speaks for itself, just sit back and enjoy.

2. Modern Warfare – S1 Ep23

The second best episode on my list is probably the most well-known episode, here Community tackles post-apocalyptic action films, with references to The Warriors, Mad Max¸ Die Hard, 28 Days Later and many others all wrapped up in a paint-ball game gone way to far; MODERN WARFARE is not just one of the best episodes of Community but of television history.

So many classic Community lines, moments and events happen with in the episode that it would be far too long (and too cruel) too spoil them here. The episode is very cleverly written, and it uses it’s gimmick to move forward it’s characters. Instead of stopping the story they are telling to do a themed episode they use the theme to push everything forward, a feat that is very rare to television. However, where it really shines is in its direction. Justin Lin, a veteran action director, comes on the set and takes charge. Giving Community a whole new look and feel while driving the production level to an extreme; MODERN WARFARE looks like movie. The cinematography, visual design, and visual storytelling are so far above other TV shows it’s hard to believe that Lin was not even nominated for an Emmy for this episode. I’ll stop gushing about this episode, but needless to say I’ll continue gushing about the next one cause as great as this is, there’s still one better.

   

1. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons S2 Ep14

             

“Gather close that you might harken the story of Fat Neil” These are the words that being this episode of Community. Fat Neil is a blink and you’ll miss him recurring character that takes focus for this fantastic episode. ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS is a send up of The Lord of Rings based around Dungeons and Dragons. If you are not familiar with the game don’t worry the episode will tell you everything that you need to know.

This episode does shows off everything Community does right, using a theme to move the characters forward, emerging an audience within a world, and showing the heart and soul of the series. Placing Pierce in the roll of the villain the others must overcome all odds, and crazy D&D stories, to “save” Fat Neil.

                        

ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS is 21 min long epic, which plays on many different levels. A new fan to the show can enjoy on one level, a hardcore fan on another, and a fan of D&D could enjoy it on a whole other level. But though all of that what make this episode stand out is this simple fact. The episode is nothing except people talking to each other; nothing explodes, no CGI, just 8 fully formed characters talking to each other and moving the story forward. The simple brilliance of Community is that it’s characters are so strong, so well formed that the best and funniest moments come from the simplest of conversations.

Well if these 5 episodes can’t convince you to watch all of Commuinty from front to back then I’m not sure what can. Hopefully you’ve enjoy the article and soon enough you too will just another student of Greendale.