Wednesday, December 30, 2020

NJPW WrestleKingdom 15 Preview & Predictions

It's almost the end of the year and that means one very important thing: WrestleKingdom is upon us!


We're just five days away from NJPW's WrestleKingdom 15 folks, and as always it looks like a tremendous lineup.  Beginning last year, this annual Tokyo Dome tradition was expanded to two nights, and that's the case once again.  Last year the story was about the IWGP Champion facing the IWGP Intercontinental Champion on Night Two, this year the G1 winner Kota Ibushi lost the briefcase to Jay White but Champion Tetsuya Naito granted Ibushi a title shot anyway.  Thus we'll see the double title defended on two consecutive nights (Alright, it's been a year, can we split these belts up again?).  As with last year's Dome shows, Night One seems on paper to have more MOTY candidates, but we'll see.  Strangely the proper PPV lineups on each night only consist of six bouts.  But of course the benefit of that is that we won't get any filler matches and everything will get adequate time.  Let's get into it.


Night One


IWGP Jr. Heavyweight #1 Contender: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo


This should be an incredible opener, pitting the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and 2020 Best of the Super Juniors winner against the winner of the 2020 Super J Cup.  Hiromu returned in spectacular fashion a year ago to take the title from Will Ospreay, delivering the second-best match of the year in my opinion.  I'm sure these two will do their best to equal or surpass that match.  I think Takahashi is a lock to win here and challenge his nemesis Taiji Ishimori on Night Two.

Pick: Takahashi




IWGP Tag Team Championship: Dangerous Tekkers vs. Guerrillas of Destiny


Tama and Tanga returned to Japan after a months-long COVID-necessitated absence, and climbed right back to the top of the ranks, winning the World Tag League and writing their ticket to the Dome.  One team they didn't beat though, the champions Zack Sabre and Taichi.  This should be a pretty excellent tag title match that sees GOD win back the straps.

Pick: Guerrillas of Destiny

Parents' Night In: Wonder Woman 1984

We're doing things a little differently this episode, with an audio-only review of the new Wonder Woman film, WW84!  Justin and Kelly will give an honest and fair assessment of Patty Jenkins' latest Wonder Woman opus, including our thoughts on the story, the performances by Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal, the 80s tone that brought us back to the innocence and campiness of the iconic Superman movies, the cartoonish CG effects, the poignant social and political themes that are still relevant in 2020, and more!  Join us for a deep dive into Wonder Woman 1984!



 

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Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.


Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Parents' Night In #51: A Christmas Carol (1984)

Merry Christmas and welcome to another PNI, where we watch and discuss our favorite film version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the 1984 made-for-television film starring George C. Scott, David Warner, Roger Rees, Suzannah York, and Edward Woodward.  This film has been an annual staple in our house for years, and we love Scott's naturalistic, matter-of-fact portrayal of the miserable cheapskate Ebenezer Scrooge, who finds joy and human connection after being visited by various Christmas spirits (we're enjoying a couple Christmas spirits of our own, if you know what I mean..).  So pour yourself something nice and join in the holiday cheer with Justin & Kelly as we watch A Christmas Carol!


 

Snippet of opening theme music composed by Nick Bicat.

Parody lyrics:
It's time for Parents' Night In on YouTube
Boozy Film Reviews
With Justin, Kelly and tasty drinks
So join us if you choose

Subscribe and Like us and hit that Notification Bell
So you'll know when we make new shows
Our videos are swell

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2020 Preview & Predictions

Hooray, it's the final WWE PPV of the shitshow known as 2020!


This Sunday, five days before Christmas, is the usually superfluous Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV, where the company more or less treads water before Royal Rumble season starts and The Road to WrestleMania begins.  Yes there have been some good December PPV matches, but they're usually few and far between, and the end-of-year PPVs are generally fairly skippable.  This edition looks that way as well, particulary given how poorly most of these matches have been built up.  Let's take a look...



RAW Tag Team Championship: The New Day vs. The Hurt Business


As successful an act as The New Day has been these last five-and-a-half years, it might be time to fully split them.  They've done all that can be done, with ten Tag Titles in all over the course of their run.  Kofi and Xavier winning these belts at this point doesn't mean a whole lot, especially since Kofi is a former WWE Champion.  With that in Mind, let's give Shelton and Cedric a run with them.

Pick: Hurt Business

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Parents' Night In #50: Elf (2003)

Happy Holidays!  Welcome to Christmastime 2020!  Justin and Kelly are back to watch and discuss the Will Ferrell comedy Elf, directed by Jon Favreau and co-starring Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen and Bob Newhart.  Kelly fell in love with Elf when it first came out, but it took the cynical Justin a few viewings to really appreciate its family-friendly innocence.  We'll talk not only about the film itself but also about experiencing Christmas as children vs. as adults, how old we were when we stopped believing in Santa Claus, and we'll answer the question "Which Christmas movie defines you as a person?"

Pour yourself some (spiked) egg nog and join us for some holiday fun as we watch Elf!

 

Parody lyrics of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town":

Oh, get ready to laugh
Get ready to grin
Her name is Kelly
And mine is Justin
Welcome back to Parents' Night In

Come hang out with us
You'll be on Cloud Nine
We're kickin' right back
And drinkin' some wine
Please subscribe to Parents' Night In

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Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.







Thursday, December 3, 2020

NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020 Preview & Predictions

NXT WarGames is this Sunday and I miss it being the night before Survivor Series so I could enjoy a whole weekend of team gimmick matches.  That was the stuff.  Back when I used to watch WWE....


Anyway, this year's lineup looks solid as usual, and as has been the case basically all year I have no real idea what's going on with NXT so I'm taking a stab in the dark with these predictions.  Let's go.



Tomasso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher


I know these two have been feuding for a while and that this match should be highly technical, and thus good.  I guess I'll pick Ciampa to win.

Pick: Tomasso Ciampa




Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes


Both of these names are terrible; I dunno who in WWE is in charge of picking the names they saddle these poor folks with, but that person should be canned immediately.  Dexter Lumis sounds like the dork in science class whose notes you cheat off of, on your way to a half-assed C-minus.  Cameron Grimes sounds like a spoiled trust fund baby who ties a cardigan around his neck and plays racquetball with his fiancee.  Neither of these names remotely inspire fear, or even curiosity.  Pick better names.

Pick: I'll go with Johnny Country Club over there, Cameron Grimes

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Parents' Night In #49: Friends - The Ones About Thanksgiving

Kelly & Justin are doing things a little different for Thanksgiving.  We're on a break.....from movies!  And we're talking about our favorite Thanksgiving-themed episodes of the legendary sitcom FRIENDS!  We'll cover The One Where Underdog Gets Away, The One With All the Football, The One With All the Thanksgivings, The One Where Ross Got High, and our favorite, The One With the Rumor, guest starring Brad Pitt!  We'll talk about the episodes themselves, how and why we well in love with FRIENDS, how some of the show's humor would play in 2020, our favorite FRIEND, Matthew Perry's personal struggles, Elliott Gould's overenunciation, flavored potato chips, how FRIENDS was one of the first sitcoms to introduce flashbacks where the same actors played younger versions of their characters, Kelly's Thanksgiving song, and most importantly our new disgusting invention, The Fart Jar!  Seriously, you gotta hear this.....

Hang out with us, crack open a beverage, and have a bit of turkey and stuffing (and Justin's favorite, mashed potatoes), and let's talk about our FRIENDS!

 

Snippet of The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" used under Fair Use Doctrine.
Parody lyrics:

This is PNI (You should Like and Subscribe)
This is PNI (As we watch and imbibe)
This is PNI (This is Parent' Night In)

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Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

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Thursday, November 19, 2020

WWE Survivor Series 2020 Preview & Predictions

Well I may have cut the WWE Network cord back in April, but this Sunday is the one PPV of the year that actually tempts me to tune in, WWE Survivor Series!


If you've been reading my stuff at all over the last almost-seven years (Jesus, I need a life), you probably know that I have a soft spot for WWE's second-oldest PPV event.  Ever since the company announced in October of 1987 that their new supercard would feature teams of five going to war in elimination matches, I've been fascinated with the possibilities inherent in this format.  The first two Survivor Series events rank among my all-time favorite PPVs, and while sadly most editions since haven't even come close to being as good (2016 and 2018 got the job done), whenever there's a lineup featuring multiple elimination tag matches my ears perk up.

That said, it's high time WWE loses the Raw vs. Smackdown rivalry, at least for the elimination matches themselves.  While I do enjoy the champion vs. champion concept, which gives us the chance to see big matches we might not otherwise get, assembling teams of heels and faces bound by brand loyalty is and has always been utterly phony.  Does anyone watching actually buy the brand rivalry nonsense?  Why would good guys and bad guys set aside their differences simply because they're on the same show, especially when next year they may not be?  It makes no sense.  Instead how about if the babyfaces from both brands group together to stop their mutual enemies?  Wouldn't that be a much more compelling story?

Anyway, as has been the case the last four years, the 2020 Survivor Series looks plenty strong on paper.  The men's elimination match and the women's champions match in particular have the potential to be pretty great.  We'll see if they deliver.  

This being The Undertaker's 30th anniversary with the company, they'll have some kind of special tribute to him, which will probably take up way too much time and end with someone attacking him and starting a new feud.  It is once again telling that the poster for this event features the 55-year-old semi-retired Undertaker (a pic from ten years ago, mind you) and not any of the current stars.....




US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion: Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn


One match that has very little potential is this one.  I don't know why they took the belt off Sami months ago only to put it back on him the moment he returned from self-quarantine.  I like Sami a lot but he hasn't been presented strong at all.  There's zero chance he beats Lashley here either.  This will be a short near-squash.

Pick: Lashley




Tag Team Champions: New Day vs. Street Profits


This one actually could be really good, with all the athleticism involved.  I honestly have no idea who wins this, but the smart move at this point would be to give Street Profits a win over the legendary New Day, in order to get them over.  New Day doesn't at all need this win.

Pick: Profits

Midsommar: The Trauma of Passive Horror

Welcome to a special movie review where Justin breaks down what makes Midsommar so traumatic.  Ari Aster's sophomore feature about a group of Americans who visit a strange Swedish commune and experience grisly rituals touched a nerve with audiences in 2019.  With an emphasis on off-putting visuals and ever-escalating dread, Midsommar eschews modern horror tropes and instead takes on the feeling of a bizarre nightmare, sticking with you long after it's over.

But why?  What is it about Midsommar that's so upsetting?  Join Justin as he hypothesizes from a different angle than most analyses to date....

SPOILER WARNING!!!!

 

Excerpts of Bobby Krlic's score included under fair use.

Subscribe to our channel to stay updated on future episodes, and don't forget to visit Enuffa.com, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook!  

Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

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Thursday, November 12, 2020

Parents' Night In #48: Singles (1992), the 90s Grunge Rom-Com

Grab your flannels, Doc Martens and mom jeans, it's time to set the Wayback Machine for 1992 as Justin & Kelly talk Singles!  Directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick and a host of Seattle grunge bands, Singles is an ensemble rom-com about finding love against the backdrop of the early 90s' hottest rock n' roll movement.  Join us as we discuss the film, our failed first attempt at watching it together, Justin's teenage love life, some bad dating experiences, our unbridled love for Chris Cornell (Justin does an acoustic Cornell tribute on the side), Where Is Bridget Fonda Now?, and much more!

 

Shoutout to Pearl Jam tribute band Five Against None, whose show that night (which I sat in on) inspired me to select Singles for this episode!  Check 'em out at https://www.facebook.com/fiveagainstnone and FiveAgainstNone.com!

Also check out Justin's Chris Cornell acoustic tribute at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Mm-X3d_Bx99FxuvX3Y2yw

Intro music snippet: "Outshined" by Soundgarden, written by Chris Cornell
Parody lyrics:

This is Parents' Night In
With Kelly and Justin
Talkin' 'bout Seattle
And how much it sucks dating

(So watch our show) Click Like and Subscribe
(So watch our show) And get notified

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Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

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Monday, November 9, 2020

AEW Full Gear 2020: FTR vs. The Young Bucks was EPIC

AEW has done it again.  Their sixth PPV offering, Full Gear 2020, was another strong showing for the upstart company, featuring a handful of good-to-excellent singles bouts, another wacky Deletion match, and an all-time tag team classic.


The big news coming out of Full Gear is that we have new Tag Team Champions, a new TNT Champion, and a new number-one contender, and for all the WWE loyalists claiming AEW is only pushing ex-WWE talent, none of the aforementioned came from WWE.  All Elite Wrestling is finally moving past the stage where they feel the need to draw viewers in with established names, and will now begin building around their own, homegrown talent.  If only for this reason, Full Gear was a significant step in AEW's growth, but there's a lot more.

The show opened with a spectacular PPV-quality match, as former partners Kenny Omega and Hangman Page faced off in the finals of the Eliminator tournament to establish a new top contender.  This match would've been right at home on a G1 Climax show; a lean sixteen minutes of furious action.  The story of the match, after the initial flurry, became Omega's knee.  Omega went for You Can't Escape, but failed to stick the landing on his kip-up, and seemed to ad lib a knee injury to cover for it.  If so, this was a bit of genius, as both guys ran with the knee for the rest of the match.  Kenny then had trouble executing some of his signature offense, but eventually fought hard to hit the One Winged Angel for the win.  It will now be Moxley vs. Omega II at Revolution, and I can't freakin' wait.  This was fantastic.  ****1/2


Next up was Orange Cassidy's revenge match against John Silver, who cost him in his second bid for the TNT Title.  I was ready to dismiss this as a throwaway, but this match was a whole lot of fun crammed into nine minutes.  Cassidy did his usual lazy man shtick at the beginning, which Silver sold with great annoyance.  From then it was a full-on sprint, with both guys hitting really crisp offense.  Cassidy is so much fun to watch and I'd love to see him get the TNT Title eventually.  After several reversals and counters, Cassidy hit Orange Punch and Beach Break to win.  Fun stuff.  ***1/4

Cody, now legally sporting his last name Rhodes, defended the TNT Title against Darby Allin in a classic veteran vs. underdog story.  Cody played the heel, bullying, biting, taunting, and at one point threatening to use his weight belt.  Allin fought from underneath, narrowly withstanding a top-rope CrossRhodes when his arm was under the ropes during the pin.  Cody later kicked out after a Coffin Drop and went for another CrossRhodes, but Allin countered with a cradle, leading to a series of traded nearfalls until Allin scored the three-count.  Cody sold frustration after the match, teasing a heel turn, but ultimately raised Allin's hand and gave him his moment in the sun.  This was a very good match and a big step for the company as they crowned the first homegrown male champion in AEW history.  ***3/4


Wednesday, November 4, 2020

NJPW Power Struggle 2020 Preview & Predictions

This Saturday brings a double-shot of wrestling goodness, as not only is AEW Full Gear happening, but also NJPW Power Struggle!



It's an abbreviated lineup this year, with only six matches on the card, but some of these bouts have the potential to be great.  Moreover we'll get a clearer picture of the impending WrestleKingdom 15 lineup coming out of this show.  So let's get started....



King of Pro Wrestling Trophy No Corner Pads Match: Toru Yano vs. Zack Sabre Jr.


This KOPW trophy is a pretty goofy idea if I'm being honest.  It's like those WWE Championship Scramble matches but stretched out all year.  Whoever ends up with the trophy on December 31st each year is the KOPW Champion for that year.  Given how silly that is, it's fitting then that Toru Yano is the 2020 champion.  But Zack Sabre is challenging for said trophy for some reason, despite being an actual title holder along with Taichi.  This will be the usual Yano stuff, now with no turnbuckle pads.  I guess there isn't much point to have this match if the trophy isn't going to change hands once or twice before year's end, so I'll go with ZSJ.

Pick: ZSJ wins the trophy and loses it back later




Kazuchika Okada vs. Great-O-Khan


Okada's looking for some revenge after being screwed out of the G1 Final spot, and Will Ospreay's sidekick is The Rainmaker's first obstacle on the way to the inevitable Dome showdown.  I know nothing about O-Khan's in-ring ability but as a dojo graduate I'm sure he'll do fine here.  It seems counterintuitive to have him lose his first major bout, but it is against Okada after all, and Okada losing to Ospreay's right-hand man wouldn't be much of a way to build to Okada-Ospreay.  So we'll give Kazuchika the duke.

Pick: Okada

Monday, November 2, 2020

AEW Full Gear 2020 Preview & Predictions

Oh man, AEW has put together a lineup.  This Saturday is the second annual Full Gear PPV event, and on paper it's one of the company's strongest cards to date.


I count four potential show stealers on the Full Gear card, and as it should be with any good wrestling show, they're all going to be very different matches.  

Not that I want to turn this into a "bash WWE" piece, but I realized last week that it's been roughly seven months since I cut the cord on the WWE Network, and I haven't regretted it in the slightest.  Yes there a handful of matches I've missed that I'd like to watch at some point - Balor vs. O'Reilly, Sasha vs. Bayley, etc. - but reading and listening to the reviews of RAW and Smackdown feels like talking to a mutual friend about how badly my ex is doing since the breakup.  Walking away was the right move.  

And that brings me to AEW, which is by no means a perfect product.  But I actually have fun watching Dynamite.  When they have a segment or match that's a miss, it doesn't drag down the whole show because it isn't one awful creative choice after another.  Their booking is logical and clearly designed to get over as many stars as possible.  Even when it doesn't work, at least I can see that they're trying their best, as opposed to an obvious act of sabotage, which is what happens on a regular basis in WWE.  AEW doesn't make me feel like I've wasted my evening.  That's the big difference.

But enough about that, let's pick some winners....



Buy In: Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver


Welp, Mr. Cassidy had a couple disappointing weeks, coming up short in two consecutive TNT Title bids against Cody.  The first was a time limit draw, the second was a Lumberjack Match loss.  So this is just a way for him to get a win back, against one of said lumberjacks who cost him the match with Cody.  Should be fine, if forgettable.

Pick: Cassidy

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: A Parents' Night Mini - The Great Pumpkin is Finally Revealed!

We're back with another Parents' Night mINi-episode movie review, where we discuss the OTHER classic Peanuts cartoon, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!  We'll talk about our history with this TV special, some of our earliest Halloween memories, the awful Halloween costumes we wore as kids,  how disappointed we were that we never got to actually SEE the Great Pumpkin, the origin of the phrase "trick or treat," and more!  Stick around to the end, because THE GREAT PUMPKIN IS REVEALED!



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Snippet of the Peanuts theme by Vince Guaraldi.
Parody lyrics:

Parents' Night mINi is back for
Halloween time
Linus and Sally are missing
Tricks or treats
Wait....who says that?

Subscribe to our channel to stay updated on future episodes, and don't forget to visit Enuffa.com, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook!  

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Disclaimer- Some contents are used for educational purpose under fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.       









Top Ten Things: Scary Movie Moments

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Things, here at Enuffa.com!

Since it's October I thought I'd do a Halloween-themed list, so today I'll be talking about truly frightening or disturbing moments/scenes in some of my favorite scary films.  I generally don't scare very easy when watching a film; I've seen so many in my lifetime, and coming up with new ways to shock audiences becomes more difficult with each passing year.  But there are some cinematic scares that have endured for me, either because of a visually harrowing moment, or because of the sheer genius of a scene's construction.



10. The Shining: Bear Suit - This first entry isn't terrifying in the traditional sense, but I've included it more because it's such a strange and upsetting image.  In this scene from one of the all-time horror classics, Wendy Torrance is running through the halls of the haunted Overlook Hotel trying to find her son.  She stops in her tracks and the camera abruptly zooms in through the open doorway of one of the rooms, on a ghost dude in a bear suit pleasuring another ghost dude in a tux.  The novel provides an explanation for these supernatural shenanigans, but it's so much more effective as an unexplained cinematic bit.  This visual is so traumatic, so bizarre and disorienting, for both Wendy and the audience, particularly since neither of these men is supposed to be there.  It's like something out of a nightmare that you can barely remember; one of those dreams where you can only recall fragments of out-of-context imagery that stay with you for weeks.

Seriously, what the hell's goin' on?



9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Pointing - The 1978 remake of this sci-fi classic (in my opinion the best version by far) ends with the entire city of San Francisco being taken over by human-impersonating pod people.  The protagonist Matthew Bennell has seemingly escaped without being assimilated and is spotted by his friend Nancy, one of the few humans left in the city.  As she approaches him, he turns and lets out the signature body snatcher screech, revealing to us that he's one of them, and alerting the other pod people to Nancy's presence.  It's a truly terrifying conclusion to the film, and the visual of Donald Sutherland pointing at her accusingly with this inhuman facial expression is an iconic horror moment.

If you ever suspect someone of anything, just point at them like this
and I guarantee they'll own up to every shitty thing they've ever done.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Top Ten Things: Hell in a Cell Matches

Hey there, and welcome to another Top Ten Things, here at Enuffa.com!  

Today's list is all about the most demonic of wrestling gimmick matches, Hell in a Cell.  Introduced by the WWF in 1997, HIAC expanded on the traditional Steel Cage match by surrounding the entire ringside area with the volatile mesh structure.  They also covered the whole thing with a roof, trapping the combatants inside but giving them enough room to utilize the numerous unforgiving surfaces and weapons found outside the ring.  The result was one of the most brutal recurring stipulations in the history of the business, where only the most personal and heated of rivalries would be settled.  2009 saw the creation of a Hell in a Cell-themed PPV, which undermined the severity of such a gimmick match by making it an annual tradition instead of a feud-ender.  Regardless of its recently history though, Hell in a Cell still remains one of the most intriguing special attractions in WWE.

Here are my picks for the ten greatest HIAC matches of all time....




10. Batista vs. Triple H - Vengeance - 6.26.05


After two rather lackluster efforts at WrestleMania 21 and Backlash, Hunter and Big Dave finally delivered a classic inside the hellacious cage.  This was a bloody, grueling fight that ran over 26 minutes and finally solidified Batista as Triple H's conqueror.  These two made innovative use of weapons, as well as the ol' cage walls to create a shockingly good Cell bout.  When it was over, the torch had finally been passed to Batista, who along with John Cena became one of the faces of the company.





9. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - Hell in a Cell - 10.26.14


After multiple years of underwhelming HIAC matches two young, hungry stars took the gimmick back up a notch at the 2014 event.  Mortal enemies Ambrose and Rollins followed up their unruly SummerSlam Lumberjack match with this brutal, chaotic fight that kicked off atop the structure.  After about ten minutes of crazy brawling leading to both men falling through announce tables (the first spot like that since the Mick Foley years), the match officially resumed inside the cage, and 13 minutes later Rollins took advantage of Bray Wyatt's (hokey) interference to win the bout.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 Preview & Predictions

What is it with Hell in a Cell PPVs nowadays?  This is the second year in a row WWE has only announced four matches as of a few days before the show.  And we all know how that went last year, don't we?  What the fuck, with this company....


Anyway, Hell in a Cell 2020 is in four days, so I guess let's pick the winners for the half-card they've been gracious enough to announce.  There's really only one match on this show I'm interested in and that's the three-years-in-the-making Bayley vs. Sasha match.



Jeff Hardy vs. Elias


So as I understand it, Sheamus attacked Elias backstage but framed Jeff Hardy for it, and now Elias wants to fight Jeff.  Even though we know for a fact that it was actually Sheamus.  Is that right?  This has gotta be the stupidest-ever basis for a feud, and I was around in 1995 when Jean-Pierre LaFitte stole Bret Hart's jacket (that his mom supposedly made for him, because moms are good at fashioning leather garments...).  At least that feud yielded two really good matches.  This isn't gonna be that.  Elias stinks and Jeff is beyond irrelevant in 2020.  Who gives a turd?

Pick: Jeff wins I guess?




Universal Championship Hell in a Cell: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso


This is one of two Cell matches where the challenger has already lost to the champion.  So therefore let's have a rematch in the most brutal gimmick structure.  Makes sense.  Man do I miss the days when Hell in a Cell was about settling a blood feud and not "Hey, it's October again!"  Anyone who thinks Jey Uso has a snowball's chance in Guatemala, I have several bridges to sell you.  In Guatemala.

Pick: Anyone with brains knows Roman Reigns retains

Monday, October 19, 2020

NJPW G1 Climax 30 Recap: Ibushi Does It Again!

The 30th G1 is now behind us, and while not the all-time classic tournament the last three editions were, the 2020 installment provided us with plenty of good wrestling, some big news, and a clear direction for next year's Tokyo Dome double-shot.


One usual G1 trope that was magnified this time around was the disparity of match quality from one block to the other.  While there's almost always a slight imbalance in that department, this year almost all of the great matchups took place in Block A, while Block B too often suffered from matches either going too long or featuring too much interference.  Evil's bouts in particular frequently became tiresome thanks to constant Dick Togo shenanigans.  Between Evil, Kenta, Yano's usual antics, and Jay White in A Block, this G1 must've seen the most outside interference of any edition to date.  I'd say it's time to curb this stuff; Evil and especially Jay White are capable of excellent matches but the constant chicanerie on the outside has made me not look forward to watching them (Jay's matches usually still deliver though).  In past tournaments Evil has provided multiple highlights.  Not so much as a Bullet Club member.  White on the other hand was able to muster some pretty great showings despite Gedo's tomfoolery.  But overall the BC stuff is wearing thin for me, and so many tainted moments throughout the tourney took away from the one big angle NJPW presented (More on that shortly).

By contrast though, another traditionally heel stable forwent the bullshit and got down to some great business in the G1.  I'm talking about Suzuki-Gun.  Minoru delivered multiple excellent matches, Zack Sabre was true to grappling spider monkey form, and perhaps the man who grew more than anyone in this tournament, Taichi actually became fun to watch.  No valets, minimal cheating; at age 40 (I had no idea he was that old) Taichi seems to have finally gotten serious about good wrestling matches.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Parents' Night In #47: The Exorcist (1973)

It's our third Halloween-themed episode of 2020 (and our 20th episode of the year), and we're back to discuss The Exorcist, a yardstick in horror cinema, directed by William Friedkin and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, and Max Von Sydow!  We'll talk about the film's extraordinary production stories, its profound cultural impact, its Oscar-nominated performances, Mercedes McCambridge's legendary voiceover work, why the theatrical cut is superior to the extended cut, and why Justin doesn't think much of Lee J. Cobb's character, Lt. Kinderman.  The Exorcist is just as powerful, visceral, shocking, and endlessly fascinating now as it was upon its release, so join us for some fun and terror!

 

Excerpt from Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells," 1973, Atlantic Records

Parody lyrics:

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Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Parents' Night In #46: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Our Halloween-time coverage continues with one of the greatest film remakes in history, Philip Kaufman's 1978 adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum!  Where the original novel and 1956 movie version were steeped in 50s Communism paranoia, the 70s update smacked of that era's "Me Generation" self-importance, distrust of the government in the wake of Watergate, and conspiracy theories run rampant.  We'll talk about the film, its continued relevance in today's political climate, its stars, 70s decor, rotary phones, mud baths, and that terrifying "pod people" squeal!  Come and hang out with Justin & Kelly for another episode of Parents' Night In!

 

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Monday, October 5, 2020

Cinema Showdown: Dracula 1979 vs. Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992

It's been a long time since I published one of these, but welcome to another installment of Cinema Showdown, here at Enuffa.com, where I compare and contrast two films of similar subject matter and pick which one I like better, and you all must agree with me....


Today I'll be discussing two of my favorite film versions of Bram Stoker's timeless novel Dracula.  It's been a long time since Hollywood gave us a serious adaptation of this story - everything since 1992 has been either satirical or a pointless reinvention of the wheel - and it's the two most recent high-quality versions I'm here to talk about.

1979 saw the release of three Dracula films - a Werner Herzog-helmed Nosferatu remake/homage (an excellent film in its own right), a modern-day spoof called Love at First Bite (starring a hilarious George Hamilton), and on the heels of a massively successful revival of the Broadway play on which it was based, a remake of Universal Studios' 1931 production of Dracula.  As they'd done in the 30s (after the sudden death of their first choice Lon Chaney), Universal cast the star of the Broadway production - in 1931 it was Bela Lugosi, in 1979 it was Frank Langella.  Reimagined as an extravagant, atmospheric horror-romance, this new version of Dracula was critically well-received but underwhelmed at the box office (no doubt hampered by the George Hamilton comedy released only a few months earlier).  It was perhaps even further removed from the novel than its 1930s counterpart, removing most of the first act and changing some characters around.  Still the Langella Dracula is a pretty excellent update of the Lugosi classic, with a more explicit emphasis on the sensuality of vampirism, and a romantic, minimalist portrayal of the immortal Count.  My wife affectionately refers to this version as Disco Dracula due to Frank's very 70s hairstyle.  This moniker is actually very fitting since John Badham had previously directed Saturday Night Fever....

Thirteen years later Francis Ford Coppola decided to take the story back to its turn-of-the-century literary roots, presenting Bram Stoker's Dracula as an honest-to-goodness faithful adaptation.  All the major characters were restored, the film followed the book's narrative structure (including diary entries in voiceover), and Dracula's extensive supernatural powers were better explored.  Sure, they crammed in a romance where the novel did not, but overall the 1992 version is one of the closest to the novel to date.  What sets this film apart from other interpretations though is its surrealist, operatic style.  The visuals were unlike anything since the 1920s Expressionist period, while many of the performances could easily be classified as "scenery chewing."  Carried largely by Gary Oldman's star making lead performance, Bram Stoker's Dracula was a strong worldwide hit, grossing over $215 million on a $40 million budget (or $473 million in today's dollars).

But which version is superior?  I enjoy both films immensely, for different reasons.  Let's take a closer look and break these films down, shall we?



Cast

Dracula: Frank Langella vs. Gary Oldman


A Dracula movie of course will largely stand or fall based on the quality of the titular performance, and both films are on very solid ground in this category.  Langella and Oldman each delivered one of the greatest and most memorable portrayals of the immortal Count, in very different ways.

Langella's turn is understated, relying on smoldering sex appeal and a soft-spoken menace.  He also skipped the Romanian accent (an odd choice given Drac's nationality, but somehow it works) and refused any sort of vampiric makeup or fangs, telling the filmmakers, "There are fifty other movies where Dracula looks like that, we're doing something different."  Instead of a typically monstrous vampire, Langella embodies the Count as a stoic, romantic lead who exhibits no wasted motion, luring his victims to their demise with an almost feline charm.  And of course those hypnotic, ever-dancing eyes....

Gary Oldman's performance couldn't be more different from its 1979 counterpart.  Oldman, like everything else in the Coppola film, is operatic in his portrayal.  This Count is bombastic, charismatic, fully "old world," and depending on the scene either violently carnal or grotesquely terrifying.  He shapeshifts no fewer than half a dozen times throughout the film (as in the novel where he appears as an old man, a less old man, a bat, a wolf, an army of rats, and mist), and Oldman's fearsome theatrics shine through the layers of prosthetic makeup.  This is the film that made me fall in love with Gary Oldman's acting.

But who's better?  It's really up to your personal tastes and what you expect out of the character.  Langella goes for romance and a minimalistic sense of evil.  Oldman swings for the fences to make the Count an otherworldly demon.  Personally I like my Dracula to be a true, unearthly monster, and I think Oldman's larger-than-life version is much closer to what Bram Stoker probably envisioned.  Plus it's still one of my all-time favorite film performances.

Point: 1992

Thursday, October 1, 2020

NXT TakeOver 31 Preview & Predictions

NXT TakeOver 31 (Are they really just numbering them now? Lame.) is this Sunday, and it actually looks like a really strong lineup.



WWE's only good brand is back and they've got a slate of five hot matches for us to peruse.  It's shows like this that make me consider resubscribing to the Network, at least temporarily.  Hmmmmmm....

Anyway let's take a look.



NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott


Ok, I know zilch about either of these guys and I haven't watched NXT since they annexed the Cruiserweight Title (though I agree with it; that belt got zero respect on the main roster).  But it's two cruiserweights on NXT, so it oughta be good.  Since I'm flying blind on this one I'll just go with the champ to retain.

Pick: Escobar retains




Kushida vs. Velveteen Dream


On paper this is a helluva match.  I'm glad Kush is finally getting something to do in this company; he's been there a year and a half and this is his first TakeOver.  That's mental.  Kushida is an amazing talent who, I grant you, Vince wouldn't take a second look at on the main roster, but he should've been utilized right away on NXT.  Anyway I'm hoping this is the beginning of a push for him and not just a one-off.

Pick: Kushida

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Parents' Night In #45: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

It's Halloween season, and that means it's time for Justin & Kelly to watch one of the greatest thrillers of all time, The Silence of the Lambs!  We'll discuss the iconic performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, as well as the film's unsung hero Ted Levine as the terrifying Buffalo Bill.  We'll also get into the other films in the series, Red Dragon (great adaptation) and Hannibal (over-the-top freak show), the unconventional choice of Jonathan Demme as Lambs' director, the film's off-putting visual style and music, and more!  Crack open a beverage and hang out for a scary movie episode of Parents' Night In!

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Snippet of the film's score composed by Howard Shore.

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Thursday, September 24, 2020

WWE Clash of Champions 2020 Preview & Predictions

Ugh, there's another WWE PPV this weekend?  I didn't even do picks for the last one because I didn't even realize it existed.  Who in the fuck schedules a PPV a week after SummerSlam?  What is this, 1991?  Instead of Payback they should've called it This Sunday In Suckville.


Anyway, Clash of Champions is this Sunday and we have another pretty half-assed lineup from the 'E.  A few big picture notes first though.  Roman Reigns is back, he's the Universal Champion (way to bury The Fiend again by having his second reign last one week), and the good part, he's a heel aligned with Paul Heyman.  That there is alright by me.  Of course it's four years too late; they should've turned him in 2016 when Seth Rollins came back from his knee injury.  But at least they finally came to their senses about Roman.  As a heel his character is actually compelling. 

In other news Retribution, despite repeatedly attacking WWE employees over several months, are now WWE employees.  Sure, that makes a lotta sense.  Also the male members are named Mace (that's alright), T-Bar (uhhh), and Slapjack.  S-slap...jack?  Isn't that a children's card game?  When a jack is turned over you have to be the first to slap it?  That's what I think of when I hear that word.  Jesus H. Christ this creative team is devoid of ideas.

But back to the PPV lineup, once again not much of interest on this show.  I guess it's made my decision to cut the WWE cord that much easier, I have not once regretted missing a main roster PPV since.  And considering how messy NXT's booking has been during the Wednesday Night War I honestly haven't been that upset about missing TakeOvers.  Let's pick some winners....



Pre-Show RAW Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Zelina Vega


1. Why is Asuka on the pre-show?  2. Why is Vega getting a title shot?  3. Why is Vega even being used as a wrestler?  She's a great manager/valet.  She's not so good in the ring.  This is pointless.  Squash City.

Pick: Asuka retains




US Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews


Jeezus, Crews has been feuding with The Hurt Business since roughly 1927.  How many iterations of this feud are we being subjected to?  I'm inclined to stick with Lashley retaining but they could have Crews finally win back his title to end the feud. 

Pick: I'll go with Lashley retaining

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

RIP Road Warrior Animal (1960-2020)

Well, 2020 has punched us in the gut yet again.  Joe Laurinitis, better known as Road Warrior Animal, has passed away at age 60, joining his long-departed comrade Mike Hegstrand (Hawk).  No word yet on the cause of death, but it's unfathomably cruel, this wrestling business that has taken so many so young.  


I first became aware of The Road Warriors in 1985, when one of my friends procured a Best of the AWA tape which spotlighted AWA Championship matches (the centerpiece was Rick Martel winning the title from Jumbo Tsuruta).  After the main content was over, the tape featured trailers for other tapes in the collection, one of which spotlighted The Road Warriors.  Already a huge fan of the 1981 film The Road Warrior, I immediately took notice, marveling at these two larger than life, facepainted monsters obliterating everything in their path.  Animal in particular stuck out to me thanks to his mohawk, which recalled the charismatic villain Wez from the film (shoutout to Vernon Wells).  Every time I visited my friend's house I'd insist on rewatching that tape, and the clips of Animal and Hawk were the highlight for me. 

That VHS cassette and the Saturday morning cartoon Hulk Hogan's Rock n' Wrestling were my dual gateways to becoming a fan of this bizarre form of entertainment where musclebound guys (and gals) pretend to beat the shit out of each other.  A year later I began watching the WWF religiously, but not long after that I discovered the NWA, whose roster to my surprise and delight now included Hawk and Animal.  It didn't take long for the duo to become my favorite tag team, their presence and mystique so compelling as to defy the concept of "workrate." 

Not that Animal and Hawk couldn't work a match; quite the contrary, their athleticism between the ropes stood in stark contrast to their enormous stature.  Here were two of the most powerful men in the sport, each able to military press an opponent over their heads, while also capable of dropkicks and flying clotheslines and shoulderblocks.  On top of that, The Road Warriors (along with rivals like The Midnight Express) took tandem wrestling moves to a new level, inventing several devastating-looking combinations, the most famous of which of course is the Doomsday Device, for me the greatest tandem move in wrestling history.  Animal would lift an opponent onto his massive shoulders and Hawk would level him with a flying clothesline off the top rope.  The first time I saw this move I just about soiled my trousers.  It became the yardstick for tag team finishers and it's been copied and tweaked numerous times by others. 

Top Ten Things: Directors' Second Films

And we're back with Ten more Things at the Top.  

Since I just posted a list of the all-time best directorial debuts, I thought I'd follow it up with a list of the best "second" films, i.e. sophomore directorial efforts.  Some filmmakers knock it out of the park on their first try.  A few of those repeat that accomplishment on their second attempt, solidifying their reputations as truly gifted filmmakers.  But sometimes a first-time director is limited by budget or time constraints, or lack of proper distribution, and doesn't get to fully realize their vision or garner the appropriate level of appreciation until their second film.  This list is a mix of those two categories.  But first, some honorable mentions.....


Honorable Mentions

Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)

The Town (Ben Affleck, 2010)

Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

The Green Mile (Frank Darabont, 1999)

Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2001)

Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995)

Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)




10. Reqiuem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

 

Visually inventive and uncompromisingly weird, Darron Aronofsky announced himself as an exciting new director with 1998's Pi, a psychological thriller about a mathematician with delusions of persecution.  He followed it up two years later with this deeply upsetting ensemble piece about four people with debilitating drug addictions that, despite its severely disturbing nature, really should be required viewing for all teenagers.  Sporting strong performances by Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans, and an incredible, Oscar-worthy turn from Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream pulls zero punches in depicting the self-destructive toll the characters' addictions take on their lives.  In adapting Hubert Selby's unflinchingly bleak novel, Aronofsky found a unique visual and editing style to make the movie feel unlike any other.  It's the most unconventional cautionary tale ever put to film.





9. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)


As a music school alum (a jazz-dominated school at that), Whiplash's subject matter immediately caught my attention.  But then it defied my expectations of being a Mr. Holland's Opus-esque movie where the student and the hard-ass teacher grow to respect each other and a father-son bond is forged.  Nope, Whiplash wasn't like that at all.  The teacher Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons) is vulgar, brutally tough on his students, unapologetic, and grandiose.  And the student (Miles Teller) is stubborn, ambitious to a fault, and singlemindedly obsessed with being the world's greatest drummer.  By the end of the film his goal is not to gain Fletcher's respect, but his awe.  This film is centered around this power struggle, and it's absolutely riveting.  Simmons delivers a career performance (not to mention some of the most creative swearing I've heard in years), and Teller announces his arrival as a top-notch young actor.  Whiplash was apparently loosely based on writer/director Damien Chazelle's own music school experiences, and he brings a very personal touch as well as a captivating visual flair.  Whiplash is one of the best music-related movies I've ever seen, and a tour-de-force from a young filmmaker with only one previous feature under his belt.





8. Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)


Three years after his brutally frank take on the IRA hunger strikes of the early 80s, Steve McQueen returned with an intimate character study about Brandon (Michael Fassbender), a New York yuppie with a crippling sex addiction, whose life is thrown into disarray when his estranged sister Sissy (played with quiet despondency by Carey Mulligan) comes to live with him.  Brandon's daily routine involves an endless string of joyless sexual encounters and self-gratification, and Sissy's presence forces him to examine his own dysfunctional existence in growing distress.  Fassbender is an Oscar-worthy revelation in this film, creating a potpourri of emotional turmoil and powerfully conveying how imprisoned Brandon is by his compulsions.  This film could just as easily be about a heroin addict or an alcoholic and it would play out almost the same way.  Despite only being Steve McQueen's second feature film, Shame already demonstrated his virtuosic skill as a director.  As with McQueen's other two films, Shame is nearly impossible to put out of your mind.


Monday, September 21, 2020

Top Ten Things: Directorial Film Debuts

Welcome to yet another edition of Top Ten Things, here at Enuffa.com.  Things, ten of them, at the top.

Today I'm talkin' about directorial debuts.  I forget how this popped into my brain, but one day I just started thinkin' about which first-time directors ended up defying the odds and making lasting pieces of cinematic art.  With most talented directors their first films show at least some promise, even if they either haven't found their voice or simply didn't have adequate funding to realize their vision.  Then you get situations with a James Cameron directing tripe like Piranha II: The Spawning, just a gifted aspiring filmmaker looking to get his feet wet.

But sometimes a newbie auteur gets it just right on his or her first try and delivers a great film right out of the gate, taking an established narrative form and giving it a new spin, or inventing a new genre altogether.  Below are ten such examples (but first some honorable mentions).  Note: This list only includes debut feature-length films, not shorts.


Honorable Mentions

American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow, 2005)

Anchorman (Adam McKay, 2004)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001)

Blood Simple (The Coen Brothers, 1984)

Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008)

Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018)




10. Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)


The movie that launched Kevin Smith's View Askew-niverse, Clerks is a quintessential indie slacker comedy, about two best friends stuck in a go-nowhere convenience store job trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up (amid discussions about Star Wars, Gatorade and relationship troubles).  Shot in grainy 16mm black & white, the entire film takes place over the course of one day, chronicling our hero Dante's misadventures, from closing the store to play hockey on the roof, discovering a dead customer in the bathroom, and ruining his relationship with his current girlfriend to rekindle one with his ex.  The film showcases Smith's gift for writing quirky, articulate, often vulgar dialogue and inventing memorable characters, the most lasting of which are View Askew anti-heroes Jay & Silent Bob, two drug dealing miscreants who spend all day loitering in front of the store.  Smith's inexperience as a first-time director shows in Clerks, but the script and atmosphere are so strong they make up for the film's lack of polish.  I still consider Clerks to be his best movie.





9. Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003)


The future director of the smash-hit Wonder Woman movie began her career behind the camera with this haunting bio of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute-turned-murderer who was executed by lethal injection in 2002.  Without excusing Wuornos's seven murders, Monster presents her as a severely damaged woman who was dealt a terrible hand from childhood and felt she had no other recourse but to rob and kill.  Boasting a scorchingly exquisite lead performance from Charlize Theron (for which she won a well-deserved Oscar), Monster focuses on the person behind the heinous acts, showing us how and why she arrived at them.  This film is pretty note-perfect and it's quite shocking that Jenkins didn't direct another feature film until Wonder Woman.





8. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)


Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut based on his third screenplay (His first two, True Romance and Natural Born Killers, would later be directed by Tony Scott and Oliver Stone, respectively), Reservoir Dogs took the heist film and turned it upside down, presenting the events in question almost as a parlor drama.  Instead of a long buildup to the heist followed by an action centerpiece, Dogs briefly introduces the characters and then spends the majority of the film on the aftermath of a job gone horribly wrong, without ever showing the heist itself.  Structurally I had never seen anything like this before, and it illustrated Tarantino's ability to play with time and sequencing while indirectly revealing information about the characters; we see the heist's aftermath sprinkled with flashbacks focused on key players, so the plot information is doled out sporadically (One of the robbers is suspected of being an undercover cop, and we don't get the reveal until an hour in).  With uniquely musical dialogue, grisly, stylized violence, and strong performances by veteran actors like Harvey Keitel (whose enthusiasm for the project essentially got the film made), Tim Roth and Michael Madsen, Reservoir Dogs announced Quentin Tarantino as a maverick new filmmaker.