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Recent Posts
- 42 (2013) vs. Remember the Titans (2000)
- Admission (2013) vs. About a Boy (2002)
- Oz the Great and Powerful (2012) vs. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
- Dark Skies (2013) vs. Dark Skies (1996)
- Oscar Wrap-Up 2013
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) vs. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Oscar Smack-a-thon!
- The Tiersky Top Ten, 2012
- Smackdown Smacks Down the 2013 Oscar Nominees
- Broken City (2013) vs. City Hall (1996)
- Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
- Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
Recent Comments
- courtney on Brave (2012) -vs- Mulan (1998)
- Elvin Hence on POTC: On Stranger Tides (2011) -vs- POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- Edward on The Thing (2011) -vs- The Thing (1982)
- » Movie Review – The Grey Fernby Films on Taken 2 (2012) -vs- Taken (2008)
- » Movie Review – Les Misérables Fernby Films on Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
- scottderricksonrocks on The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
- SciFi lover on The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
- Edward on The Thing (2011) -vs- The Thing (1982)
- Wesley Martin on The Walking Dead (AMC) -vs- Falling Skies (TNT)
- James on The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) vs. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Category Archives: Teens
The Hangover (2009) -vs- American Pie (1999)
Boobs. Booze. Swearing. Got your attention? Sweet. It’s the return of the classic sub-genre, the Beer & Pizza Movie. That is, a movie you can only really enjoy with a group of mates, some beer, pizza, and a desire to be amused in an “adult” manner. Unapologetically wallowing in gratuitous nudity/swearing/adult themes, and generally politically incorrect, Beer & Pizza Movies are often lowbrow, tasteless cinematic buffoonery dressed up as social satire.So it is we take a long, hard look at a couple of “classic” Beer & Pizza movies, each containing their fair share of the aforementioned unmentionables. Hard to believe it’s been over a decade since Stifler drank that modified cup of beer! Both films were critical and commercial successes, but which one tops the bill as the ultimate Boys Flick? Grab a slice of day-old pizza, zip up your trousers, and read on to find out which of our combatants would win in a boozy brawl!
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Posted in Comedy, Coming of Age, Rodney Twelftree, Teens
Tagged adult movie, babes, booze, coming of age, nudity, political correctness, sex, swearing, teens, Vegas
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An Education (2009) -vs- Say Anything (1989)
Listen up, ‘rents. Being a father is never easy, but being the father of a teenage girl, and trying to get that one right is a true challenge. Both of these films — two decades apart in production dates and period settings — show fathers who, with the best of intentions, get it all wrong, but they get it wrong in exactly opposite ways.
You can care too little and you can care too much. When you’re in the middle of things, it’s not always so easy to see which is which. Believe me, as a father of girl who has just left her teenage years behind, these are matters I’ve thought a little bit about. I keep thinking of the famous Kenny Rogers’ song (“The Gambler,” written by Don Schlitz) that you gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Like that’s easy. Still, what we have here to consider are a couple of fathers who don’t know best, not by a long shot… Continue reading
Leap Year (2010) -vs- Youth in Revolt (2010)
Cookie cutter romantic comedy satisfies a too-easily edified audience. No matter how formulaic and tepid the sausage, the factories grind out more product to feed the gaping maw; indie films usually attract a more marginal fringe-ier crew, on the hunt for the original, the untold (or even oft-told) story told in fresh new ways. Pitting a humble little indie versus a major studio wide release makes for an inherently unfair fight and one with a foregone conclusion at the box office, but ticket sales won’t sway this Smackdown. As “Leap Year” bounds onto virtually every available screen and Quirky Indie-That-Could “Youth In Revolt” limps onto a fraction of that number, ask yourself: Is bigger necessarily better? Does conventional beat quirky?
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Posted in ChickFlick, Comedy, Coming of Age, Indie, Major Star Vehicle, Romance, Sherry Coben, Teens
Tagged coming of age, conventional, idiosyncratic, indie, original, quirky, romantic comedy
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The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) -vs- Twilight (2008)
In the battle of the varied mythological creations, Vampires have for centuries captured the imagination of people around the world. Novels, films, theatrical productions and poorly-decorated costume shops have enjoyed success based upon their existence, proven or not. Likewise the Werewolf, natural enemy of the Vampire, whose moonlit howl still sends a tremor down the back of even the most hardened myth-lover. Bringing these two epic creatures together in one film franchise has most of the female population of our planet all in a tizz. Why? Are the men they encounter in the real world really that bad?
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Posted in Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, ChickFlick, Coming of Age, Drama, Fantasy, Franchise, Rodney Twelftree, Sequel, Teens
Tagged blockbusters, forbidden love, Pacific Northwest, romance, sexuality, vampires, werewolves
9 Comments
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) -vs- Transformers (2007)
Both “Transformers” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” brim with elaborate action set-pieces, campy humor, and hyper-sexuality. Industrial Light and Magic struggles in both films to design the Transformers in such a way that we can distinguish one from the other. Whenever a fight erupts between Autobot and Decepticon, the on-screen action tumbles into a jumbled mess of flopping, indistinguishable mechanical parts. Sure, I appreciate the high level of detail, but not at the cost of coherent action scenes. “Transformers: RotF” especially suffers from ILM’s designs as Bay introduces a whole slew of new Transformers that simply blend together. It’s hard to appreciate large-scale action sequences when I can’t tell the good from the bad guys and thus, can’t tell who’s winning.
Now both films embrace Bay’s typical low-brow humor. Again, “Transformers: RotF” probably suffers most in this category. Gags like Sam’s mom lolly-gagging around on a college campus after eating pot-brownies or the dangling wrecking ball testicles on a construction Decepticon aren’t just dumb, they’re insulting to the audiences’ intelligence. “Transformers” had some corny moments, many centered around the Autobots fitting into Sam’s suburban life. However, none proved as gregarious and useless as those in Transformers: RotF” where the jokes simply exist onto themselves and are cracked in the most inappropriate moments.
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Posted in Action, Alien/UFO, Beau DeMayo, Comic Book, Sci-Fi, Teens
Tagged 1980s, Earth, global, marketing, Michael Bay, robots, sexuality, teenagers, violence
8 Comments
Twilight (2008) -vs- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The Smackdown Teenaged girls are a force to be reckoned with. Like tsunamis and hurricanes. Oh sure, industry wisdom has it that teenaged boys go to the movies; they’re the prime target audience. Anyone who ventures into the multiplex in … Continue reading
Posted in Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, ChickFlick, Coming of Age, Romance, Sherry Coben, Teens
10 Comments
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) -vs- The Godfather: Part III (1990)
The Smackdown Sequels rarely top the original. Some are downright soul-scarringly wretched. Most leave the viewer vaguely aware that they’ve had their pockets picked by a large corporation’s greedy stab at recapturing movie magic by revisiting a lucrative well once … Continue reading
The Simpsons Movie (2007) -vs- South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
They are the champions of modern animation — The Simpsons — and after nearly two decades on-the-air they are nearing their 500th episode. But this week belongs to the challenger — South Park — which airs its own 200th episode on Wednesday night, April 14. Both TV animation sensations have spawned exactly one feature film. Even though it came to TV on the heels of the success of “The Simpsons,” it was “South Park” that broke free from the small-screen to try its luck in the cineplexes first. Both film versions tested whether audiences would pay good money to see something they were used to getting for free. Continue reading
Neverwas (2005) -vs- Finding Neverland (2004)
The Smackdown We all know (from bitter experience) that being a kid is no picnic. Here are two movies that tell us that being a writer of kids’ books isn’t much easier AND both manage to use the word “Never” … Continue reading
Posted in Book Adaptation, Bryce Zabel, Coming of Age, Drama, Family, Indie, Kids, Romance, Teens
2 Comments
Nancy Drew (2007) -vs- Get A Clue (2002)
The Smackdown Say, chum, I heard from some of the fellows that you’re a friend of Frank and Joe Hardy, and have I got a mystery that’s right up their alley! Here’s the payoff- What in Pity’s sake happened to … Continue reading
Posted in Coming of Age, Jay Amicarella, Kids, Re-Make, Sequel, Teens
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