More Than One Lesson

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.

In 2001, a relatively unknown 40-year old British comedian named Ricky Gervais burst onto the BBC. As David Brent, the hopelessly oblivious boss on The Office, the character describes himself as “a friend first, a boss second…probably an entertainer third.” Brent’s excruciating mugging, tone-deaf jokes, and attempts to be everybody’s friend, pained his employees and made the audience laugh and cringe in equal measure. Both in the lead role and as the co-writer and co-director of all 14 episodes (it was designed to be that short), Gervais managed to always walk a tightrope without falling off of it. Brent was almost a cartoon character but he remained just believable enough, as did the show, that viewers running across it unaware The Office was a mockumentary could have been forgiven for believing it was real.

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The anthology format has long been a specialty not quite unique to the horror genre, but certainly utilized by it more than any other genre. What usually sets apart the best entries are a unique wraparound narrative and inventive individual sub-stories. V/H/S manages to accomplish both, although it still remains something of a mixed bag.

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2014’s John Wick was not an ordinary action film. The directorial debut of longtime stunt coordinator and second unit director Chad Stahelski not only presented action in a unique way, it created a fascinating world populated by characters that were intriguing from the moment we met them. Primarily though, it was an action film as a character study of a man who had gotten out of a world seemingly no one gets out of and what happens when returning to it- “Just visiting” as he puts it- is the only choice he has.

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Tyler and Josh discuss Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront, the Best Picture of 1954.

There are precious few subgenres of film I enjoy more than a good horror-comedy. The best of the bunch succeed on both levels and manage to frighten as much as they induce laughter. Paying homage to that subgenre, and attempting to find its way on the same shelf with the greats, is the new film from director Torey Haas called The Neon Dead. Unfortunately, the film becomes a bit too bogged down by its own ambition, but that doesn’t mean it’s not quite a bit of fun.

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As a film fanatic in my teens and early twenties I took part in the time honored tradition that so many of us do. Waking up at 5:30 AM to watch the Oscar nominations and immediately begin complaining about them. After a few years of this I decided that if I wasn’t happy with the Academy’s choices then I should create my own awards. So I started the imaginatively named…Bob Awards. (It only occurs to me now that had I been named Oscar I’d have had a problem. Bullet dodged. Thanks, Mom and Dad.)

I have been doing these for a little over a decade now but this is the first time I will be sharing the Bob Award nominations as a writer for More Than One Lesson and I am very excited. I really hope you enjoy them. If you don’t like these nominees then by all means create your own movie awards. Go on. Do it! I dare you!… No, really, you’ll feel better. It works for me. (If your name is Bob or Oscar though then I’m so sorry, but you’ll just have to accept these.) Of course I still complain about the Oscar nominations. But slightly less. And I guess that’s something.

I will be back before the Oscars to reveal the winners in not only these categories but several others.

Best Picture
ARRIVAL
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
HELL OR HIGH WATER
LA LA LAND
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
A MONSTER CALLS
MOONLIGHT
SILENCE
SWISS ARMY MAN
ZOOTOPIA

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In this episode, Reed and Nathan tackle Stephen King’s Carrie.

In this minisode, Tyler and Josh discuss Delbert Mann’s Marty, Best Picture of 1955.

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk.