Take the spy-story genius of Ian Fleming, father of James Bond, and combine it with the dark children's fantasy of Roald Dahl, and what do you get? 1968's classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," directed by Ken Hughes and starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howe, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, and Adrian Hall! This beloved, yet uneven, children's classic has entertained young people for several decades. Seen as an adult, however, there are layers to it that children would never pick up on. It does, however, have songs and dance numbers to rival, perhaps even surpass, Mary Poppins! If you have children, or know children, or have even just heard of children, find some and show them this movie! You'll become their new favorite person!
Our second episode celebrating writer "auteur" Aaron Sorkin moves ahead almost two decades for one of his most famous adapted screenplays, one that raised eyebrows across the world when it was release, 2010's "The Social Network." This time directed by David Fincher, Sorkin adapted the novel by Ben Mezrich, and tells the story of the founding of Facebook and the man behind the site's success, Mark Zuckerberg, played to perfection by Jesse Eisenberg. The film also stars Mara Rooney, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones, and Dakota Johnson, with yet another cameo by Sorkin himself! A riveting, if not wholly accurate, telling of the Facebook story netted Sorkin a Best Adapted Screenplay award, and also garnered a Best Original Music Score Oscar for first-timers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Plus, find out what two family classics the geeks will be reviewing for their next two episodes!
For this pairing, the trio are turning to one of the few writers who can be considered an "auteur": Aaron Sorkin. First up, the break-out hit film, based on his Broadway play, 1992's "A Few Good Men." Directed by master filmsmith Rob Reiner and written by Sorkin (with a little help from "The Princess Bride" scribe William Goldman), the film follows the trial of two marines charged with the death of a fellow marine. Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), with the help of Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) and Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) must find out what actually happened, and how a squad-based reprimand known as a "code red" plays into the case. Co-starring Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep (he was nominated for in the Best Supporting Actor category for this role), Kiefer Sutherland as 2nd Lt. Jonathan Kendrick, J.T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson, and Kevin Bacon as Capt. Jack Ross, the film features cameo appearances from Christopher Guest, Noah Wyle, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Malina, and Aaron Sorkin himself! This film established Sorkin as a writer to contend with, and ultimately resulted in several films and four critically-acclaimed television series!
Second on the list of films about the career of teaching comes Wes Anderson's quirky and heartfelt film with the oddest love triangle in, perhaps, all of cinema, 1998's "Rushmore." Directed by Anderson, co-written with Owen Wilson, and starring Jason Schwartzman (in his first appearance), the incomparable Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, and Sara Tanaka, this movie tells the story of Max Fischer, an overly-intelligent prep-school student who falls for one of his teachers at the same time a would-be mentor and friend does also. The film is full of what would become trademark Anderson techniques, and winds its way through its tale with well-crafted aplomb until it reaches an ending that feels completely right for the story it's been telling! Plus, the Geeks and G.I.T. reveal which writer, absolutely beloved of one of the Geeks, the next two films will be from!
The trio are talking about their day-jobs for this pairing, as they sample two films about the vocation of teaching! This episode looks at one of the definitive films from the 80s about the perils of a job in education: Administrators, unions, peers, and students! 1984's "Teachers" is a sometimes serious and sometimes hilarious look at what it's like to try to teach high school. Directed by Arthur Hiller, written by W. R. McKinney, and starring Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, Judd Hirsch, Ralph Macchio, Allen Garfield, Lee Grant, Richard Mulligan, Royal Dano, William Schallert, Laura Dern, Crispin Glover, and Morgan Freeman, this film will have you laughing one minute and falling suddenly silent the next, but it's a loved favorite of all three reviewers, and a must-see for anyone who is, or knows, a teacher!
Take the spy-story genius of Ian Fleming, father of James Bond, and combine it with the dark children's fantasy of Roald Dahl, and what do you get? 1968's classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," directed by Ken Hughes and starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howe, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, and Adrian Hall! This beloved, yet uneven, children's classic has entertained young people for several decades. Seen as an adult, however, there are layers to it that children would never pick up on. It does, however, have songs and dance numbers to rival, perhaps even surpass, Mary Poppins! If you have children, or know children, or have even just heard of children, find some and show them this movie! You'll become their new favorite person! 
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