I Am The Wiz Film Club

Wiz DOES NOT RECOMMEND Star Trek: The Motion Picture As my introduction to the original cast of Star Trek , it's really hard to see what exactly people loved about the original crew. Then again, how could you with this film? Characters, plot and story seem so thin, the villain is a cloud and the film is just filled with dialogue that isn't all that interesting. Now, I can hear some fans of...

Zero and Wiz RECOMMEND A Touch of Zen Technically, A Touch of Zen is a surprisingly ageless, gorgeous film. Both Zero and Wiz were impressed by the visuals of the film, from the cinematography featuring the natural landscapes and the towns all the way to the editing of the fight scenes. The film feels surprisingly modern: maybe it was the remastering of the film we watched on Criterion Channel, bu...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Tokyo Story How can a film be both minimalistic but beautiful? Plain but profound? To the point but complex? In Yasujiro Ozu's masterpiece Tokyo Story, Ozu uses his lack of stylistics as a powerful style all it's own: he plays the film as straight and direct as possible and let's the dynamics play out as it may. The result is a film that feels like it should feel simple: a film...

Wiz RECOMMENDS Dune: Part Two Dune: Part Two shares a lot of the same strengths and issues with Dune: Part One. Both parts have excellent visuals, music and sound design throughout the film. Both have excellent performances: Part One's stalwarts Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson are just as good in Part Two, but also have a good performance by Zendaya and an excellent performance by Austin Bu...

Zero and Wiz RECOMMEND Walkabout Walkabout , Nicolas Roeg's survival film about two kids having to make it back to civilization through the Australian desert, is actually not really about surviving at all. It's a film that is blanketed with multiple themes and interpretations that give the film a much deeper, dark feeling that what was expected. You can see that in the reviewers thoughts o...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia is one of the few films that you can just watch 30 seconds of the film and go "ohh, this is on a whole different level of filmmaking". David Lean's grand desert epic has some of the most exquisite production you could ever see in a film. Cinematography and visuals are astounding especially the way it uses space and the environments to tell a...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Gimme Shelter Often called one of the best concert films of all-time, The Maysles' and Catherine Zwerin's account of The Rolling Stones' infamous 1969 U.S. Tour is a bit more than just a concert film. The film is more about The Rolling Stones and the setup of the Altamont Speedway Free Concert which ultimately led to tragedy. The film highlights a few things that are interesting...

Zero and The Wiz SPLIT on Atari: Game Over The disagreement between Zero and Wiz about this film is simple: is the film worth the time for someone who is into video game history? Zero says yes: the film has some interesting factoids on the rise and fall of Atari as well as the whole mess that was the E.T. The Extra Terrestrial game. Wiz says no: the film has too much fluff to be substantive to sat...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Harlan County USA Harlan County USA is activist filmmaking done right. Now, the film may not have been designed to be an activist film piece, but those who desire to do this should watch and learn from this film. A lot of activist based documentaries spend a lot of time trying to convince you to their side, making arguments to their cause. A lot of these types of documentaries j...

The Wiz ABSOLUTELY HATES The Birds I know...how could I hate such a horror film classic? In all fairness, horror is a genre a film I mostly do not like, so you can keep that in mind and disregard my opinion if you'd like. To me, there are so issues with this movie: First, the main character: not only is Tippy Hedren's performance flat throughout, but the means of how she gets connected to...

Zero and The Wiz RECOMMEND Rear Window I think a lot of you will not be surprised that Zero and The Wiz love Rear Window. Both of the guys love James Stewart and Grace Kelly, whereas Zero likes Stewart's affable, crazed performance while Wiz was seriously impressed by Kelly's embodiment of L.B.'s "so perfect she's too perfect" girlfriend. But honestly, the one thing that should be praised more tha...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS The Lady Vanishes Hitchcock's 25th credited film as director is an entertaining mystery that doesn't match his later work, but definitely shows the seeds of a future master at work. Hitchcock's penchant for bending story conventions and filmmaking techniques are definitely here: you aren't really sure who the main character is until the end of the first act. On t...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Farewell My Concubine From a pure visual perspective, few historical epics match the visual sumptuousness of Farewell My Concubine, Chen Kaige's Palme d'Or winning film. It's astonishing on two fronts: the lived in, authentic feel of China during the periods of time the film is portraying and the gorgeous, colorful visuals of the characters performing their plays. Everything set...

Zero and The Wiz RECOMMEND Picnic at Hanging Rock Picnic at Hanging Rock, Peter Weir's film based on the novel by Joan Lindsay, is definitely a movie that is for a specific type of person in a specific type of mood. It's a quite, beautiful but at times discomforting film about tragedy and how the people in a protected bubble react when tragedy strikes. It has exceptional cinematography and the dir...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Double Indemnity It can't be denied that Double Indemnity is, indeed, as good as people say it is. It's a noir film that, instead of making it a story about "whodunit?", it's a story of "why did he do it?" This twist in the narrative makes it a more interesting to watch as Neff spills his guts as to why he committed murder and insurance fraud with his lover Phyllis. And while Fr...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Risky Business Enjoyment of Risky Business will be entirely based on the answer to this one question: Do you like teen sex comedies? If yes, enjoy. It's considered one of the godfathers of the genre. If the answer is either "I'm kind of too old to watch these" or "no", then don't bother. It is, very simply, a teen sex comedy. The nuts and bolts is this: Risky Business is a movie...

Zero and The Wiz RECOMMEND The Handmaiden The Handmaiden is a film where many things can go wrong: One character change, one twist, one story point can mess up the intricately created plot that makes the film run. As much as people beg for films with ambitions, if one thing go awry, the entire film falls apart. The fact that The Handmaiden not only doesn't falter, it excels with its excellent stor...

The Wiz DOES NOT RECOMMEND Betty Blue Despite The Wiz not recommending Betty Blue, he also says that if you are a film fanatic like him, it's a movie that you should really take a shot in seeing. One minor reason is the visual aesthetic of the film. The film has a feel of romanticism by how it exaggerates not only how the characters act, but the colors that bathe the screen in eye-catching colors....

This is it! After six months of tuxes, martinis, double entendres and Walthers, we have reached the end of the 007 Debriefings. On this episode, who is the best villain? Best Bond Girl? Best Bond? What is the best Bond film of all-time?! Find out as Zero and Wiz discuss their favorites of the 25 film series in the 007 Debriefings - Final Assessment!

Some may balk at this comparison, but I think it's not only apt, but is a sparkling compliment: Booksmart is a female version of Superbad. Both are about strong high school friendships and how they are affected with the eventuality of adulthood. Both show the excitement and anxiety of their upcoming responsibilities. Both have uproariously hilarious comedy throughout the entire film. The two actre...

Zero Says MISSION FAILURE and Wiz Says MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for No Time To Die Though the guys are split on recommending No Time To Die, they share very similar observations on the final film of the Daniel Craig era. As an ending to a series of films that started with Casino Royale, it just feels incredibly disappointing with how the series ended. Craig's Bond was a breath of fresh air for the...

When you see a top ten list of all-time teen movies, American Graffiti will likely be on that list somewhere. And honestly, it's easy to see why: it not only is a warm, inviting film about teenage lives before they grow up into adults, it's also a film that evokes a certain time period with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Graffiti 's strongest element is it's feel that showcases the tee...

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Shiva Baby As someone who doesn't enjoy uncomfortable, cringe comedies: it was surprising that Shiva Baby, the 2020 indie comedy, was something I found so hliarious. The story of a bi-sexual college student (Rachel Sennott) who goes to a Jewish funeral service who ends up in multiple embarrassing situations when not only her ex girlfriend happens to be there, but her current...

Zero and The Wiz Say MISSION FAILURE for Spectre When thinking about the Craig era reboot of James Bond, a lot of the decisions that were made in Spectre make sense on paper. Things like Bond finding an eventual love interest after Vesper, the introduction of the criminal organization SPECTRE and, of course, the reveal of Ernst Stavro Blofeld sounds like great things to add into the reboot canon....

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Maurice It's easy to see the trailer, posters and some photos of the 1987 film Maurice and think it's Brokeback Mountain but a costume drama. And you'd be partially right: Yes, the film is about a love between two men. Yes, it's about these men living in a time where their love is frowned upon. And yes, it does show these elements quite openly with nudity and ple...