Convicted Cinephiles #57 - Can I Finish?

Convicted Cinephiles

After last episodes review of the movies of 2014, we return to our usual format but with a twist. Now at the end of every episode we have a winner! This time around Stevil and Matty welcome Booked co host Jenosaur and our Manchild Sports guy Nate Kelly for a subject that can be very polarizing it the hit or miss department: Movies made from television series.

These are our Staff Picks of the week!

Jenosaur was perusing the mighty Netflix when she came across the movie that almost never got released. Yes, The Interview gets it's time in the new release section of the streaming service, less than two months after its theatrical release". Was it worth it? Jenosaur says "meh", to her it really wasn't worth the hype, the cancellation of release or starting a nuclear war over it. Really, a war over James Franco? The human race would never recover.

Stevil got to check out a lesser known 2014 release from Antonio Banderas called Automata. This film takes place in a devastated future in which the world outside has been made radioactive due to solar flares. Because of this, humans have made robots to do their work for them. This film follows Isaac Asimov's robotics laws, as no robot can harm a human or alter itself. Banderas plays an insurance agent who investigates claims of tampering and is kidnapped to the desert by some rogue robots who show him their desire for a life of their own. A beautifully shot film.

Nate brings us two recommendations. The first is an unconventional pick and the first television series brought as a Staff Pick. Broadchurch is a BBC mystery drama starring David Tenant that deals with the murder of a child is a small town. Everyone is a suspect and one of the leads on the case has direct ties to the victim. This would be later remade as Fox's Gracepoint.

For the second item Nate's bringing to the Staff Picks, he has a question for you. Do you like porn? And not like art porn or air brushed pretty porn, but just down right dirty and in your face porn with Stellan Skarsgard. Are you still in? Well then, Nymphomaniac is a movie for you! Lars Von Trier returns for another controversial film to get, well, at least the people who saw it talking. Be warned, this film is in two parts, but it is available on Netflix, if you want that on your queue's conscience.

After the last episode, Matty was left with a deep need to watch Damien Chazelle's debut film Whiplash. After Stevil, Kyle Brown and Eric all raved about the brilliance of this film, he watched it right away and was absolutely astounded by its brilliance. The movie flows like jazz in every way. The editing, sound design and shot framing make this film an instant classic that everyone needs to see, especially ahead of J.K. Simmons guaranteed Oscar win.

For the main subject of time travel films, our panel explains why they made their choices:

"The A-Team is a fantastic example of a TV-to-movie adaptation done right. Joe Carnahan struck the fine balance between keeping the original spirit of the show intact and giving us something fresh and entertaining for fans of the original. The casting all around was spot-on, the script was solid and there were some hilarious and memorable moments - it's one of my personal favourites, despite the heavy criticism en masse." - @jenosaur

"Mr. Show has always been a favourite series of mine, so when I heard there was a movie based on one of the sketches, Fuzz The Musical/ The Ronnie Dobbs Story, I was on board immediately. It's unfortunate that Run Ronnie Run is not the movie Bob Oedenkirk and David Cross wanted to make and have disowned the film (David never even cashed his cheque), as I have an absolute affection for this film. The cast is perfect and Bob and David are so great with every line they deliver. Always worth the re watch!" - @thestevildead

"South Park, Bigger Longer and Uncut, was chosen, because I love it.That seems like a bit of a cop-out, but I swear it’s legitimate. I used to be a much larger fan of the series ongoing, but this movie, to me, is timeless. I re-watch it often because it is so enjoyable.A hilarious musical event that affected the series forever, about Satan rising from Hell to reign over the world, with his lover Saddam Hussein, and he would scheme rise to power, through a series of events unfolding from Terrence and Phillip making a movie, that get’s so ridiculously overblown, the world ends.This movie is so fantastically a self-fulfilling prophecy it’s ridiculous, as the mainstream media re-acted EXACTLY how this movie predicted, WITHOUT ever acknowledging how fantastic that irony was, and that, to me, was the real tragedy." - @improvidiot

"Picking a movie based on a TV show was a difficult feat. Do I pick something great, our pick something I enjoy that maybe not everyone will. I love Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie for the quotes and how close it is to the show. Not everyone will enjoy watching the silhouette of a man and his two robots mocking a movie but I sure do." - @mattydub604

What is your favourite television adaptation? Do you or did you enjoy our picks? Listen to the episode and let us know what you think in the comments below!