The holiday shopping season has begun, so it's only fitting that we turn to War films for this pairing. Our first film is a true classic, and an absolutely favorite of one of the trio, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" from 1957! Directed by David Lean and starring Sir Alec Guinness (back before he was a "Sir"), William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, and Andre Morell, the film follows a group of British POWs who have been sent to a work camp during World War II. The group is led by the upright Colonel Nicholson (Guinness) who demands of the camp's leader, Colonel Saito (Hayakawa) a strict observation of the Geneva Convention. Thus begins a war of wills between the two men. Meanwhile, American POW Shears (Holden) is thought dead after an escape attempt, but actually manages to get back to a British colony, and is persuaded to join a commando team bent on bringing down the bridge Nicholson and his men are building for Saito. A fantastic film, winning seven Academy Awards, and featuring a tune that will forever be stuck in your head, especially after you find out what the words to it were!
The second film in our end-of-year holiday films is a modern classic, starring two of the funniest comedians ever to grace a screen, paired with one of the most beautiful women in film history! Directed by Donald Petrie, this is the story of John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon), a widower with IRS woes, who lives next to his best frenemy in the world, Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) in a small town in Minnesota. Both men have known each other for fifty years, and have a comfortable, if antagonistic, relationship. Johns daughter, Melanie (Daryl Hannah) is having marriage problems, while Max's son Jacob (Kevin Pollak) is running for Mayor. Their friend Chuck (Ossie Davis) runs the local bait shop where John and Max pick up their ice-fishing supplies every day. And John delivers beer to his father, "Grandpa Gustafson" (Burgess Meredith at his funniest) at his ice shanty every day. It's a comfortable, if predictable life, until Ariel Truax (Ann-Margret) moves in across the street from John and Max, and throws both of their lives into a competitive chaos. Funny, sad, moving, and hopeful, this film delivers a solid hour and forty-three minutes of entertainment. And the trio discuss what two war films they're marching out for the next pairing!
Our pairing of end-of-year holiday films begins with a film about getting home for Thanksgiving. Directed by legendary film-maker John Hughes, this movie tells the story of marketing executive Neal Page (Steve Martin), who is just trying to get from New York to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving with his family when a winter storm throws a wrench in his plans. Add to that the excruciatingly-annoying interference by one Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower curtain ring salesman, and that fact that their paths seem inextricably crossed over the next 48 hours, and you have a recipe for a comically-uncomfortable buddy travel picture. With cameos from Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon, Dylan Baker, and Edie McClurg, this film is a one hour and 33 minute explanation of just how wrong things can go when you simply try to catch a flight home!
Watch the trailer! Finishing up our look at animation aimed at adults, we turn to proof that something can be moved from television (well, cable television) to the big screen and the result is something truly unique and well worth watching! From the demented minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, 1999's "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" shows exactly what the duo would turn in every week were it not for the programming limits of basic cable. And to top it all off, it's a musical, with songs in the style of so many classic movie and stage musicals, it even had a song nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "Blame Canada!" This is a great middle-finger to the MPAA, done with all the snark and style those familiar with "South Park" have come to expect, and then some! Plus, the trio reveal which two "Thanksgiving-adjacent" films make up their next pairing!
Watch the trailer! We're turning to the realm of animated films aimed at adults for this pairing, and starting with the poster-child for such offerings. With nearly as many directors and writers as cast members, 1981's classic "Heavy Metal" turns in a sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology with something for everyone! The film has voice-work from some notable actors including John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, John Vernon, and Harold Ramis. The variety and complexity of each segment's animation (there are eight!) provide for an amazing visual palette, but it's musically that this film really shines! With a score by Elmer Bernstein and a soundtrack featuring the likes of Sammy Hagar, Devo, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Don Felder, Nazareth, Donald Fagan, Journey, Grand Funk Railroad, Cheap Trick, Stevie Nicks, Black Sabbath, and more, the film completely lives up to its name in both content and tone!
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