Over & Overs: Twister (1996)

In Over & Overs we ask Team Experience to share movies that they've seen countless times and tell us why.

by Tony Ruggio

As a kid growing up in Texas, with family in Oklahoma and Nebraska, I had a morbid fascination with tornadoes and the would-be thrill of storm chasing. My fascination was outweighed only by the sheer fear of death. The possibility of finding yourself at the mercy of mother nature was all too real in Tornado Alley, at least for a nine year-old. In the summer of 1996 in air-conditioned theaters an entire country (and myself) learned about the Fujita scale, from itty-bitty F1 tornadoes to mile-wide F5 monsters. Twister was a multiplex phenomenon and the first disaster film in decades to strike hot at the box office. With mixed reviews and Independence Day casting a big shadow, it was then somewhat forgotten...until cable came to the rescue. 

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Smackdown '70 Companion Podcast Pt 1: "MASH" and "Airport"

Nathaniel R welcomes Mark Blankenship, Dan Callahan, Denise Grayson, Lena Houst, and Bobby Rivers to talk 1970 at the movies

Pt 1 (35 minutes)
You've read our takes on the five Supporting Actress nominees of 1970, now let's talk the movies they're in. On the first half of the podcast we discuss "cheese with wings" Airport (1970) and what it wrought at the movies and the Oscars. Who was the MVP among its actresses: Helen Hayes? Maureen Stapleton? Jean Seberg? Jacqueline Bisset? We then turn our attention to another smash hit M*A*S*H (1970) and both its modern filmmaking and its misogyny.

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Pt One: MASH and Airport (1970)

Review: The Mountain Between Us

by Eric Blume

I know what you’re thinking:  you’ve watched the trailer for The Mountain Between Us, the new movie where Kate Winslet and Idris Elba are stranded in the mountains together after a plane crash.  And since you’re a smart moviegoer, you probably thought, 'okay the trailer looks a little bit terrible, but it’s Kate!  And Idris!  They’re so sexy and talented!  Surely the movie itself can’t be that bad?'

I’m sad to report, it truly is...

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Thoughts I Had... The "Geostorm" Trailer

Chris here. It's been a long time since we got a good old fashioned disaster flick, right? Luckily Geostorm is here to fill the silly void this fall.

The film stars Gerard Butler (as if you had to ask) in a world where satellites help ward off the perils of global warming. When the system gets hacked (or something, science is hard), Butler and crew is sent into space to investigate while Jim Sturgess is our hero on the ground. From the looks of the first trailer, there is a whole lot going on, from explosions to tornado armies to an Andy Garcia president. Naturally, I have some thoughts:

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Today in History: Page's Second Globe, Larry & Viv's Affair, Etc...

Looking for something to celebrate today? On this day in history as it relates to showbiz...

1874 Oscar nominee Henry Travers (Mrs Miniver) was born in England
1908 Future Oscar winner, "Henry Higgins" and "Dr Dolittle" himself Sir Rex Harrison is born 
1922 FW Murnau's silent classic Nosferatu premieres in its home country of Germany. On the same day in Italy the future super controversial auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini (120 Days of Sodom, The Gospel According to St Matthew) is born
1936 Dean Stockwell is born in California. He will go on to have an epically lengthy career starting as a child star in the 40s and still working occasionally today. On the same day the '35 Oscars were held with Mutiny on the Bounty taking Best Picture and Bette Davis winning her first Oscar for Dangerous. Oscar was already doing "sorry about last time" awards as that one was obviously for her far superior work in Of Human Bondage.  

Geraldine Page, Larry & Viv, and Harrison Ford after the jump...

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