It was billed as an epic showdown and, for the most part, it turned out that way. Two potential Champions have each been throwing out a certain film for several months now, so we decided to do something unique for the MOTM poll. Jason Soto of Your Face has been tossing out Primer and Nick Powell of The Cinematic Katzenjammer has been throwing out The Princess Bride. The idea was this: A Loser Goes Home battle between the two of them. One would finally win and become the Movie of the Month, the other would become ineligible for future MOTM consideration forever and ever.
And thus, it is deemed that Primer will no longer be in the running, as The Princess Bride took the poll, 55%-45%. As such, Nick becomes the latest Champion and has won a chair in the LAMBcast in which we’ll discuss the film (and attempt to not merely fellate it for 60 minutes), and the hosting rights to the MOTM segment (more below).
So, here’s what goes down from here:
* The first thing you need to know is that April 7th is the big day. You have just under two weeks to watch the flick (as if you haven’t already…Joel), write up something, then send me the link (dylan at manilovefilms.com; you may also post to the LAMBcast’s Twitter account) to either what you write or something previously written. If you’re planning on doing the former, please hold the post in draft until the 7th (you can send a link prior if you have the capability to do so).
* On March 31st, we’ll be recording our MOTM-themed episode of the LAMBcast, where we’ll dissect and discuss Identity. If you’d like to get in on it…sorry, that show is full. But keep an eye out at the LAMB Forums to for the future shows schedule, as people often have to bail before the day arrives.
* On the 10th, the LAMBcast will be posted, as well as all of the links to anything written. In addition, I’ll include a poll to decide what the next MOTM flick will be (the call for new Champions will be coming at some point before then). That poll will run for a week, and then there’ll be 3-4 weeks until the next event, and so on.
Here are the final results of the poll (click to enlarge):
* The Cinematic Katzenjammer will be ineligible to become a Champion for the next three months. Man, I Love Films has two more months of ineligibility remaining, and Dear Film has one. Journeys in Classic Film becomes eligible again with the next poll.
It was a fierce battle. Congrats to the winner
Hell yes
What the fuck is wrong with everybody? Why does nobody want to talk about a thought provoking film? Why does EVERYBODY want to talk about a film that EVERYBODY has seen and therefore will have nothing interesting to say about it? “Oh that rock climbing scene was cool” I guess but where’s the fun discussion in that! I’m super disappointed but whatever.
-Jason
@Jason: That’s fine you want to discuss thought-provoking films that you are interested in.
And I’m also fine that you plug your Videodrome review in the last LAMBcast, during the discussion about you unhappy about not receiving enough blog comments.
But I can’t understand why you won’t even respond to the lengthy comment from me on that Videodrome review, since you actually asked for more comments. Sorry to call you out on this man, it just bugged me. I enjoyed your review.
Thanks for liking my review! I apologize for that, I got the email about your comment but forgot to go back to comment back cause I got busy with a few other things. Like I said on the show, I’m bad on responding back but I’m working on it. Anyway, I did respond to your comment and again, sorry about that.
-Jason
I forgive you! I linked to your Videodrome review in my March monthly link post, so hope to send some traffic your way!
I’m kinda with Jason on this. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies, but it’s not gonna lend to an interesting show. It’s not an overly deep film, and pretty much nobody dislikes it (and if you do, I don’t want to know you). Primer is a much more solid choice for a MOTM discussion–whether or not you like it, there is a TON to discuss. (Note: I’m not just saying this because Jason is my site partner. Like I said, I adore Princess Bride. It’s just not a great MOTM choice, in my opinion.)
@Jason I agree, I voted for Primer (sorry Nick)
@Chris to be fair, I brought up the Videodrome review, just so Jason isn’t being accused of flagrant self-promotion
@Nick when I watch it, I’ll be looking out for any and every possible flaw I can see in preparation for the podcast, but I doubt it’ll breach double figures, and they’ll all be pathetic little whines.
I think Jason has a point, but I can say it’s easier to do a MOTM about Princess Bride. Primer is a brilliant film and everyone should watch it. But the first time I saw it I literally said, “I have no idea what happened in that film.” It was only after analyzing the film, and some help from my brother (who’s watched it six times) that I understood it enough to appreciate it.
Primer is brilliant, but I think there’ll be more involvement with Princess Bride. That’s why I reluctantly voted for Bride.
Although I voted for Primer, Maurice, you make a strong point. The only counter I might add is that I kind of doubt that too many people (at least that will be on the podcast) will have only seen Primer once. I could be way off on that, though.
Jason, I feel your frustration for sure, but think of it this way: Primer is, by comparison, a VASTLY less popular (and just much more difficult) film than TPB, and you still got 45% of the vote. That’s saying something, and I hope your Primer experience doesn’t sour you on submitting films to be the MOTM in the future. After all, Nick P. got soured on submitting TPB after his Bond experience, and look where he is now. IT WILL HAPPEN! 😉
Congrats, Nick!
See, that’s WHY “Primer” should’ve been MOTM because it’s so complex. I’ll be honest, I’ve only seen the movie once and I had the same reaction: “what the fuck did I just watch?!” and I went on the internet and found that hardly ANYBODY, at that time, had seen it or understood it. So I always wanted to talk about it with a group of people to figure out just what the fuck did happen and what it all meant with four OTHER people, who either were just as confused or maybe understood what happened. It would’ve been a very entertaining episode with lots of information and GREAT discussion on film but nevermind, let’s talk about inconceivable and “PREPARE TO DIE” for an hour! BAH!
-Jason
Oh, and I should add that I love the vocal response that these results have provided. Might have to do more of these showdowns in the future. I know Joe Giuliano of Two Dude Review was feeling a bit neglected by me for not including White Men Can’t Jump in this poll, as he’s submitted that a few times as well. In due time, right?
I win, that’s it. I’d be nice about it but a lot of these are just crazy comments. Who knows how the episode and conversation will turn out. Maybe I’ll do something special with it, who knows? That being said, haters gonna hate, Primer will be forgotten. Yes, I went there.