Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

The Dark Knight (2008) -vs- The Godfather, Part II (1974)

Best Sequel EVER?

The Smackdown.  When "The Dark Knight" hit movie screens earlier this year, critics screamed that cinema history had just been made, that it was even better than the movie that spawned it and, just possibly, one of the best films ever released.  In 1974, the same thing happened.  "The Godfather, Part II" was not only seen as the best sequel ever but it stood up as a great film, winning the Oscar for Best Picture, like its predecessor from two years earlier. The test for these sequels is whether they managed to continue and expand upon the originals that came before them, by charting fresh new territory, raising the stakes and deepening the concepts.  Now is the perfect time for this true Smackdown of Champions since "The Dark Knight" has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray and "The Godfather, Part II" was recently released as part of the meticulously done Coppola restoration, also in both formats.  

Just like any film, sequels must justify their very existence to even be made. However, sequels also pull double duty, having to prove not just "why make it?" but also "why make more?" The answer, usually, is because new films make more money and, hopefully, establish a franchise for the studios that make them.  Sometimes, and these two films are prime examples, something else happens and the answer to "why make more?" is simply that there is more story to tell with characters that filmmakers and audiences just aren't done with. 

Which one of our two films is the Best Sequel Ever Made?  Is it the one starring Batman, the crime-fighter in The Dark Knight, or is it the one with Michael Corleone, the crime-lord in The Godfather, Part II?  Our battle is likely to be disastrous, brutal and raw -- like the films themselves.  Let's introduce the challenger...

Golden Globes Get Smacked Around Good!

Over here at Movie Smackdown! we've already put seven of the ten Golden Globe "best picture" nominees in the ring against worthy opponents.  

If you're new to the Smack, this might be a good way to check out the site and get to know some of our SmackRefs, especially two of our most prolific and keen observers, Sherry Coben and Mark Sanchez.

The way it works around here is that we take a film that's out in the theaters (or, in this case, nominated) and put it up against a related movie for a little film-on-film competition.  No thumbs or stars here, just a slug-fest with a winner declared at the end.  Links below.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -vs- Forrest Gump
• Frost/Nixon -vs- W.
• Revolutionary Road -vs- American Beauty

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

• Burn After Reading -vs- Raising Arizona
• In Bruges -vs- The Matador
• Mama Mia -vs- Hairspray
• Mama Mia -vs- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona -vs- Lost in Translation

By the way, our hosting service, Typepad, has just added the new feature of threaded commenting.  You may disagree with some of our SmackRefs or want to add to their reviews.  Fire when ready!  And thanks for dropping by!   From the Editor: Bryce Zabel

The Smackdown Polls Are Open!

This just in:  Batman is kicking Spider-Man's ass... The End of the World is too close to call... and the famous runner with the French name is in a dead heat with himself...

We know, we know.  Even Gallup can't seem to get the polls right this election year, and blog polls are even more unreliable than most. Still, it just seems like a site that reviews two films in competition with each other is a natural for a little reader participation. 

We have a number of open polls at this time and you're invited to join in.  All of them are located at the end of the reviews you can click on below.  Several of them have see-sawed the lead back-and-forth and have hundreds of voters.  A couple of those were actually tied on last check.  We can't claim that they're scientific but they're unique and they're fun and lots of people have voted.  Plus, they're free!!  So, here they are, drop on in and express yourself...

• Favorite Superhero Franchise
• Best...Godfather...Ever
• Fast Track:  Without Limits -vs- Prefontaine
• Favorite Ghost Film
• Favorite Christmas Film
• Vigilante Justice:  The Brave One -vs- Death Sentence
• 9/11:  United 93 -vs- World Trade Center
• Solitary Man:  Cast Away -vs- Into the Wild
• Comet-Killers:  Armageddon -vs- Deep Impact
• Joker's Wild:  Jack Nicholson -vs- Heath Ledger
• Super-bad Boy:  Hellboy II -vs- Hancock
• Travolta Dances:  Saturday Night Fever -vs- Hairspray
• Superhero Sequel:  The Dark Knight -vs- Spider-Man 2

After you vote, you'll be able to see how many people have voted and what the current results are.  You'll be surprised by a few of them.  We were.

McCain in Time -vs- McCain in Newsweek

Ready for his Close-Up?

Honestly, we try not to get too political over here at Movie Smackdown!  After all, we have our work cut out for us with our film-on-film comparisons without taking sides in blue-versus-red issues, but sometimes the target is just too damn tempting even if it's a little off-concept.  This, my fellow Americans, happens to be one of those times.

There's been a lot of talk about how eyebrows were raised over Sarah Palin being plucked from obscurity to serve as VP on the Republican ticket.  Now it appears that her running mate (remember him?  the McCain guy?) is having to play catch-up to compete.  In the issues of Time and Newsweek that just came out (September 8 cover date), there's a fine full-page picture of the Senator inside Newsweek and his mug gets the full cover treatment on Time.  Here they are: take a good look before we continue...

As a producer out here in Hollywood, I've studied my share of head shots while considering actors for parts.  While I was looking at McCain to see if he seemed up for the role, it hit me.  The man had all the grey hairs plucked out of his eyebrows. 

Now we always knew that McCain was a gutsy warrior but we never would have thought to apply the adjective plucky but there it is.  Somehow, John McCain got his picture taken for Newsweek and then must have gone off to Time to be photographed for the cover shot.  Along the way, somebody got rid of all those pesky white hairs because they are gone, baby, gone.  Because of our commitment to investigative journalism here at Movie Smackdown, we have gone the extra mile.  Take a look yourself and you tell me if we have a Brow-gate on our hands or not?

Meet the MOVIE SMACKDOWN Critics

In its three years of existence (2005-2008), Movie Smackdown has published the reviews of seventeen different critics (sometimes known as SmackRefs). As a group, they represent a diverse range of opinions: older/younger, men/women, Hollywood/non-Hollywood, working/students, tall/short... well, you get the idea. 

Although there is no specific criteria for inclusion besides a love of film and a knowledge of film history, almost all of the contributors have either studied film in college, done professional film reviews in other contexts, had a professional writing or broadcasting background or worked as writers, directors or producers in the entertainment industry.  The point is that most of them are biting the hands that feed them (which makes their opinions all the more interesting). Here they are, by way of introduction, listed in order of the number of reviews they've done for the site:

Bryce Zabel  (read Bryce's 221 posts)  EDITOR | CRITIC-IN-CHIEF

Drawing inspiration from career experiences as a CNN correspondent, TV Academy chairman, and fast-food cook, Bryce Zabel is the Founding Father of Smackdown! and freely admits to having written the reviewer-savaged "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation."

• Quote: "Only HBO had the courage to give us the behind-the-scenes truth about the two greatest contests affecting our civilization in recent memory: the battle to decide the election between George Bush and Al Gore and, perhaps more importantly, the NBC decision about whether Jay Leno or David Letterman would get to host the Tonight Show and, thus, change life as we know it."

• From the Smack: Recount (2008) -vs- The Late Shift (1995)
  

Mark Sanchez (read Mark's 31 posts) SENIOR CRITIC

Oregon based media and communications consultant Mark Sanchez is on the fifth or sixth step of his recovery program from his career as a television news reporter, primarily at Portland's KOIN-TV. And that's the way it is.

• Quote: "You feel all the dust and empty space of west Texas that McCarthy wrote into "No Country." You also sense a dread that overpowers. You know nothing good will come of Llewelyn's decision to keep the drug money. Something deadly and inescapable is on the loose, Anton Chigurh."

• From the Smack: No Country for Old Men (2007) -vs- Fargo (1996)

Jay Amicarella (read Jay's 14 posts)

A professional tower climber, technician, and amateur movie critic, Jay Amicarella sustains the belief that all life's pitfalls and personal bad moods can be coped with by choosing just the right movie.

• Quote: "The formula for... loners with iconoclastic personalities has now been copied endlessly, until our very definitions of both heroes and villains have been changed forever."

• From the Smack: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) -vs- Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Beau DeMayo (read Beau's 13 posts)

After graduating with a BA in History, self-described "comic book nerd" Beau DeMayo now attends Florida State’s Film School, where he hopes to begin his journey towards becoming a jaded screenwriter whose work is simply too intelligent to be understood by others.

• Quote: "The only thing 'Spider-Man 3' holds true to are the words of its bombastic climax's verbose newscaster as he says, 'This might be the end of Spider-Man.'"

• From the Smack: Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)