Four Play

Satoshi Kon's seminal 2003 film Tokyo Godfathers explores the touching stories of three homeless people who have created a found family on the streets of Japan. While not as fantastical or surreal as Kon's other work, the film still indulges in the fantastical with a series of charming miracles and coincidences that befall the main characters. Tokyo Godfathers tackles a variety of taboo subjects i...

Four Play revisits an all-time Christmas classic, Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. Notable for its saccharine ending and celebration of human kindness, the film provides a warm holiday glow in spite of overtly dark themes that permeate the majority of the story. Thorin, Richard, and Monte discuss the movie's many merits, its exploration of socialism vs capitalism, and provide histori...

Bill Murray led film Scrooged as a 1988 re-telling of the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol, directed by Richard Donner. Four Play examines the success of this modern framing, which sees Murray as television station executive Frank Cross, who undergoes encounters with the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. The film serves up some brilliant satire and witty dialogue, but s...

We thought Batman Returns was good. As it turns out, Tim Burton's 1992 movie lived in Richard, Thorin, and Monte's minds in rosy nostalgia that simply didn't hold up 30 years later. The terrible writing, plot, and dialogue drags down a film with a large budget, extraordinary visuals, and a good cast. Filled with a strange mélange of campiness and blatant sexuality, the tone completely misses the m...

Con Air takes flight this week's Four Play, featuring a cast brimming with top stars and character actors from 1997. The film serves up some amazing action sequences, stunt work, and excellent over-the-top performances, which should leave viewers satisfied if they "buy in" to the absurd premise. Even the movie's obvious flaws, such as the overly fast pacing, terrible writing, and massive plot hole...

Total Recall stands apart from our other 90's action films in this Four Play cycle through its cutting satire, intriguing themes on the nature of reality, and genuine intelligence. Paul Verhoeven's 1990 science-fiction banger was frequently misinterpreted upon its release but has aged beautifully in spite of the gratuitous violence and cheesy acting by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film toys with its...

The first Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible film debuted in 1996 and created a multi-decade film franchise that continues to this day. Director Brian De Palma created a surprisingly complex storyline, at least for a Hollywood popcorn flick, that focuses around an espionage mole hunt with a surprising twist. The movie delivers the single most iconic scene of computer hacking in film history as well as...

John Woo's 1997 film Face/Off kicks off a fierce debate among our hosts about whether or not the film succeeds in a fun, yet stupid, premise or if it's too ridiculous to be considered good. The film's Hong Kong style seems out-of-place in a Hollywood movie, but can a viewer buy into its heightened style and find enjoyment. Thorin, Richard, and Monte fiercely debate if watching Face/Off is a pleasu...

The logical endpoint of Film Noir, Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential stands apart as a buffet of Noir tropes devoured by a masterful cast. It serves as the ultimate movie of its genre, mashing together institutional corruption, prostitution, drugs, the seedy Hollywood underbelly, racism, and ethical policing. Upon re-viewing, Richard, Thorin, and Monte agree that it must be one of the most crimina...

Often considered one of the greatest films ever made, Roman Polanski's 1974 Film Noir masterpiece Chinatown explores themes of corruption and the futility of fighting against institutional power. Richard, Monte, and Thorin discuss the devastating ending, the banality of the water rights subject matter, the impeccable pacing, and more. They ask if Jack Nicholson's performance is even necessary to t...

Touch of Evil, directed by Orson Welles in 1958, is the second step on our journey through Film Noir. Thorin, Richard, and Monte discuss Welles' spectacular performance as a despicable detective, the racial themes behind the film, the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican police officer, and more. They dive into the films theme of the ends justifying the means and the racial commentary on the Me...

We put on our trench coats and fedoras to investigate four different movies in the Film Noir genre, beginning with John Huston's The Maltese Falcon from 1941. This film remains the perfect starting point for exploring Film Noir and served as a blueprint for dozens of future movie in the following decades. It brims with exceptional acting performances by Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and Pet...

Near Dark, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and released in 1987, takes an unusual approach in examining the practical realities of being a vampire in modern times and the difficulties in living with such extreme strengths and weaknesses. While other films in our 1980s vampire genre may have glorified undeath, Near Dark presents vampirism as a true curse and a horrific plague upon normal humans. Richar...

The Lost Boys, directed in 1987 by Joel Schumacher, became an unlikely hit film with teenagers of the era as it married California beach life, trendy aesthetics, and the seductiveness of vampires. Richard, Thorin, and MonteCristo discuss this excellent film as the pinnacle of coolness of the era alongside its deeper themes of peer pressure and homosexuality. Kiefer Sutherland delivers an excellent...

Tom Holland's Fright Night (1985) serves as the second 1980s vampire film explored on Four Play as our hosts dive into this teenage comedy/horror. The movie is simultaneously a love letter to classic horror b movies, an exploration of teenage sexual awakening, and a spectacular display of action and practical effects. While the actors portraying the teenagers might not be the strongest in comparis...

Vampire films from the 1980s take the stage as the next genre for Four Play, kicking off with Tony Scott's The Hunger from 1983. The movie relishes in emerging Goth music, culture, and aesthetics during the period while simultaneously exploring the torturous downsides of eternal life. The Hunger is beautifully shot and paced, allowing it to provide an excellent viewing experience in spite of an un...

Our Cosmic Horror arc wraps up with Stuart Gordon's 1986 film From Beyond, based off a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. While more niche, and certainly lower-budget, than other films Four Play reviewed in this genre, From Beyond squeezes the most out of its story and actors to provide a satisfying, if campy, experience. Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, and the rest of the cast deliver exc...

Many of us have fond memories of Event Horizon (1997), considered Paul W.S. Anderson's best film, but how does it hold up over 25 years later? Richard, Monte, and Thorin discuss the excellent concept and set-up of the movie, which gets unfortunately bogged down by a clunky ending and hilariously bad dialogue. The film liberally steals visuals and scenes from other, better movies and ultimately fai...

Alex Garland's 2018 film Annihilation continues the Cosmic Horror theme on Four Play, as Richard, Monte, and Thorin discuss the themes that evolve beyond the shimmer. Is the film about trauma, the experience of cancer, the fundamental human drive toward self-destruction? The Four Play crew also digs deep into the symbolism embedded in the film and how the beauty of the production design, soundtrac...

In the inaugural episode of Four Play, the theme is Cosmic Horror and the subject is the iconic 1982 film The Thing directed by John Carpenter. Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo guide you through the premise of their new show, the four films they will review in the Cosmic Horror genre, and why they made these selections. They provide historical context for the release and reception for The Th...