Starring Billy Mitchell, Walter Day, Steve Wiebe Directed by Seth Gordon U.S. Box Office: $674,925 Rated PG-13 Release Date 2007

This film is about Billy Mitchell, the greatest Donkey Kong player ever. He holds the world record in the old school arcade game since 1982, with a score over 800,000. His crown has gone basically unchallenged for over 20 years until Steve Wiebe, a middle school science teachers, buys a Donkey Kong game and attempts to beat the high score in his garage.

Billy is a mullet toting hot sauce mogul in Florida that is ridiculously arrogant about his top gaming skills. This guy thinks is he SO cool and apparently a bunch of other video game nerds think so too. They interview some of these geeks and they just gush all about him. He even has a couple of cronies that try and keep other gamers down by doing his bidding. It’s quite unbelievable to watch. They’re just so clueless about the fact that it’s just a video game! At first, I was in awe that these people were actually serious about this, which just made it all the more hilarious. It’s like a cross between Trekkies and American Movie.

Then there’s Steve, just a regular everyday guy who just decided one day to beat the top score. He has his challenges along the way, most due to Billy’s cronies I mentioned earlier, but he flies all over the country to play live and try to beat the score.

I just had a friend say to me that that the people in the movie were like the characters in a Christopher Guest movie (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show) only real. And you know, she was right.

The movie has had some cult success since it’s been on DVD and we here at Movie Popcorn wrote a DVD review of the movie months back so some may have already heard of this one but if you haven’t, it’s one you must see.

Film Grade: A+

Starring Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbet, Kevin Murphy U.S. Box Office: N/A Rated NR Release Date 2007

The Film Crew

The Film Crew is a new incarnation of the cult tv hit Mystery Science Theater 3000, starring Mike Nelson, Bill Corbet and Kevin Murphy (who played Mike, Crow and Tom Servo-respectively on the latter years of MST 3K.) Only this time around the guys play TV repair men who’s boss, Bob Honcho, phones in from some odd location giving orders to the crew to create an audio track for some old obscure terrible B movie.

It’s pretty much just like MST 3K except there isn’t a silhouette at the bottom of the screen during the movie. But the concept of tearing apart these old movies still holds strong. The fact that these guys can still pull this same kind of comedy off 10 years after MST 3K went off the air is a testament to their comedy genius. There was only four installments to The Film Crew, and there doesn’t appear to be any plans to make more. The official website is no longer there and according to a statement by Kevin Murphy posted on Wikipedia, "We haven’t gotten any new orders from Shout Factory! (which handles the distribution of the DVDs)...I think you may have seen the last of the Film Crew."

I am a HUGE MST 3K fan so when I stumbled across these one day by pure chance (not to mention, my pure delight) I bought all four without having even seen one. These are a must see if you are a fan of the old MST 3K or if you’re new to the “riffing” concept, this is a great place to get your feet wet.

Grades:

Wild Women of Wongo: A
Killers from Space: A-
The Giant of Marathon: B+
Hollywood After Dark B+

Starring Bill Tregle, Ben Skora, Darlene Satrinano, Ed Pedan, Diana Pedan Directed by Chris Smith U.S. Box Office: $119,052 Rated NR Release Date 2001

Directed by Chris Smith, who also directed the cult hit American Movie, takes the camera’s reins once again for this little known documentary about five different, very strange houses across the county and the equally odd folks who live there. They range from a mission silo in Kansas, a tree house in Hawaii, a all cat house in San Diego, a house boat on the Louisiana bayou and a all electronic house in the suburbs of Chicago. As interesting as the houses are, the people who live there are the real story here.

Bill, the life long bachelor known as ‘the gator man’ is just that, an alligator farmer of sorts. There’s the incredibly odd Linda, a former Japanese actress who talks to water and kisses trees. Then, Ed and Diana enjoy native american flues and drums circles in the midwest. Let’s not forget Ben, the guy who can make his living room revolve from the other side of the world and last but not least is Bob and Francis, the cat nuts.

Any description I could give of this movie simply wouldn’t do it justice. It’s sublet quirky and eccentric subjects is something you just have to witness for yourself. You’ll be laughing and shaking your head at the reality of these people. Hollywood couldn’t write stuff like this and if they did, we’d all say it wasn’t believably.

When I heard that the director of American Movie had a new movie out, I ran to the local independent theater and actually saw this one twice and the DVD holds a front row position on my shelf. Even though the film has a running time of just over a hour, this is an undiscovered jewel that you must see.

Film Grade: A+

Starring Olivier Martinez, Agnes Bruckner and Hugh Dancy Directed by Katja Von Garnier U.S. Box Office: $3,525,161 Rated PG-13 Release Date 2007

Set in modern day Romania, Vivian is different and not just because her and her entire family are werewolves. There is a tradition among her kind, that the leader of the pack, Gabriel, must chose a new wife every seven years, and Vivian is to be next. There is a prophecy that states that there is one among them that will bring ‘a new hope and age of enlightenment’ among the clan but Vivian wants nothing to do with it. One night while she is out and about town, she meets an American artist named Aiden. He is immediately infatuated with her but she knows she can’t get involved because of the plans and expectations her family has for her. He, of course, won’t take no for an answer and the conflict begins.

You might be saying, ‘really? A werewolf movie?” But trust me on this, the story is great, the movie has an interesting take on the whole werewolf legend that makes it not the ‘same old-same old’ usual tale. There is depth and back story to all of the main characters, which of course, makes it more interesting and gets the audience more involved with them. There’s good action and suspense but not too much, not enough to make this an action movie, which is a good thing here. The location of the film is shot incredibly well and it gives the movie it’s intriguing feel. There’s even some twist and turns in this that I promise you won’t see coming. My only complaint about the movie is Aiden’s loyality to a girl he just met. The story doesn’t really give much of a reason for him to be chasing after Vivian the way he does but it’s nothing I couldn’t get past. The rest of the movie makes up for it, trust me.

This movie came out of nowhere for me. Even though it was theatrically released not even two years ago, no one I’ve talk to has even heard of it. I just happened to stumble across it one day while browsing the DVDs at the video library at my work. It’s a needle in a hay stack for sure and one not to miss.

Film Grade: A-

Starring Mat Lucas and James Arnold Taylor Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky Written by George Lucas U.S. Box Office: N/A Rated N/A

Not to be confused with this summer’s theatrical release of the same name, this Clone Wars began in 2003-2005 as an animated micro series for The Cartoon Network. Set in-between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, it chronicles the adventures of Anakin Skywalker and his fellow Jedi through many battles of the war raged by the separatist droid army.

On two separate discs, Volume I & II are a great addition of the Star Wars universe. There isn’t so much an overall story arc as there is singular battle scenes stretched across the galaxy. But this works because they are all ultimately tied together with the Republic vs. the Separatist. The action is great, the animation is awesome and we even find out a few Star Wars queries, that I’ve always wondered, not revealed in the live action counter parts, such as, how does one construct a light saber and how does one advance from padawan to Jedi Knight. We also find out why General Grievous has that odd cough in Revenge of the Sith and the last scene of Vol. II takes us, the viewer, right up to the first scene of Episode III. But the best part of this series is the dark student of the force, previously unseen in the Star Wars saga, Asajj Ventress, a female light saber welding assassin working for Count Dooku.

Volume I and II (sold separately) is a must see for all die hard Star Wars fans as well as for us fans that don’t dress up like Ewoks any chance we get. Both volumes are over an hour a piece, so together they make a full length movie. Most Star Wars friends I’ve talked with haven’t even heard of this, so it’s truly Lost in the Shuffle and not to be missed.

Grades:
Vol I: A
Vol II: A

Starring Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossamon Directed by Goran Dukic U.S. Box Office: $231,512 Rated R

Zia is distraught after his hottie girlfriend breaks up with him, and after a leisurely morning of cleaning up the apartment, he decides to calmly end it all. What he doesn't realize is that there really is no end -- the afterlife for suicides consists of a bizarre purgatory with a striking resemblance to the desert Southwest in which no one can smile and strange, unexplained events referred to as miracles happen to ordinary people. Zia learns that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed," and he sets out on a road trip with his Russian musician friend to find her.

Now if that isn't the damned strangest thing you've ever heard, I'd be afraid to hear what is. To answer your first question, the movie isn't violent, although there are one or two images that might be difficult for some to see, especially early in the film. From there, the ironies and tongue-in-cheek moments hide around every corner. Zia gets a job in this afterlife at a place called Kamikaze Pizza, and there's a spot under his passenger's seat in which objects tend to disappear and are never seen again. Shannyn Sossamon is wonderful as the distant but loveable Mikal, a mysterious girl who "isn't supposed to be here" and is keeps mentioning her search for "the people in charge," of which no one can make heads or tails.

There are scattered moments when you have to wonder where all this is going, but it's a very interesting take on an afterlife created especially for people who have "offed." The very last scene makes the entire journey worthwhile just on its own. See it and you'll understand what I mean.

Starring Monica Potter and Freddy Prinze, Jr. Directed by Mark Waters U.S. Box Office: $10,397,000 Rated PG-13

Amanda Pierce (Monica Potter) is loveable, hard-working, and a bit naive, especially for a Manhattan girl. She's immediately charmed to pieces by the amiable Jim Winston (Freddy Prinze, Jr.), and the two at first deny their already cautious attraction to one another. But when Amanda witnesses what appears to be Jim murdering a woman in cold blood in his apartment, all bets are off. Amanda and her four supermodel roommates are on a mission to find out just exactly who this Jim Winston guy is and why he is apparently not what he seems.

Look. I don't need to tell you that Freddy Prinze, Jr. is a dreadful actor. On top of his inability to deliver a line convincingly, he always has this bemused look on his face like he's about to wink into the camera like the joke's on us. His good looks have gotten him this far, but they can only do so much for him on-screen. The real star of this one is Monica Potter, whose adorably charming performance as the lovelorn Amanda Pierce happily carries us through the formulaic plot, the silly, slapsticky physical humor, and the rampant cultural stereotypes, and in the end, makes us really, really glad we bothered. Head Over Heels neither made a splash at the box office nor formed a line out the door for the DVD release. It's just a really good time, even if it does qualify as the number one guilty pleasure of 2001.

Starring Anastasia Hille Directed by Nacho Cerda U.S. Box Office: $1,255,000 Rated R

Originally part of After Dark Horrorfest's 8 Films to Die For in 2007, The Abandoned was named the Fan Favorite of the festival, earning it much wider release after the fact than it would have normally received. A Russian woman living in the States returns to her native homeland to settle her family's affairs, having just been contacted even though her parents died over 40 years ago. Upon arriving, she quickly discovers that a furious supernatural infestation plagues the family farm, and she has only a few days to discover the truth about what happened there before she loses her sanity and/or her life.

And I mean honestly. This is what real horror is, and that's not an exaggeration. The atmosphere alone qualifies it for the genre; from the moment she arrives in the woods surrounding the farm, you know something is terribly wrong, and you can't shake the feeling that this woman is going to find out the hard way. The whole thing has a pervasive eerieness to it that I can't quite explain, and that's before peoples' spectral doubles start showing up in closets, blank-eyed but clearly watching your every move.

It doesn't over-rely on gore and takes itself ominously seriously. I can recommend The Abandoned to anyone who can appreciate the feeling of sinking down in your seat, hoping not to be seen by Whatever's Out There.

And thanks for stopping by Movie-Popcorn's latest addition to the web site, Lost in the Shuffle, a virtual online museum of practically-forgotten films we think deserve a second look.

That's the purpose behind Lost in the Shuffle -- as avid movie fans and longtime critics, we come across entire libraries of films that got little or no publicity at the time of their release and are, as a result, what we consider lost gems. Our team of hard-nosed but fair and balanced movie critics will be periodically bringing you a closer look at some of the films that we feel fit this description. Each entry will be signed by its author and will represent his or her own individual opinion on the film in question, just like our weekly reviews on Movie-Popcorn.

So feel free to browse. Leave comments and let us know what you think, whether you've seen the films previously or trusted our good judgment and checked it out after the fact. We're always glad to hear from you.