Second Chance Cinema

Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Miguel Arteta. The script, written by Phil Johnston, was included on the 2009 Black List, a Hollywood list of the most popular unproduced screenplays of the year. The film stars Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Sigourney Weaver.

The film grossed $6,861,102 in the United States and Canada, and $867,834 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $7,728,936.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 167 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "It's as conventional as its Midwestern setting, but Cedar Rapids boasts a terrific cast and a script that deftly blends R-rated raunch and endearing sweetness." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

A Chat with Mike Chat

Michael Chaturantabut (born April 30, 1975) is a Thai American actor, martial artist and stuntman, best known for his role as Chad Lee, the Blue Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. He was born in Rayong Province, Thailand.

Extreme martial art

Xtreme Martial Arts or XMA is a brand name owned by Chaturantabut. Chaturantabut's XMA is a combination of elements from martial arts, acrobatics and gymnastics, with an emphasis on showmanship.

The concept of adding gymnastics-like tumbling moves to elements of traditional martial arts is otherwise known as "tricking (martial arts)". XMA makes these exhibition moves the focus of the sport. Open hand and weapons choreography are often accompanied by dramatic dance or programmatic music. The goal is to command the attention of the audience.

Currently there are schools of martial arts or similar XMA styles based in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the World Headquarters being in North Hollywood, California. Many of the moves are high-flying aerial acrobatic maneuvers. These stunning movements attain the goal of capturing the crowd, improving physical agility, balance, strength, coordination, and endurance, as well as performing an artistic display of talent.

He feels that there are many basic moves that can be specialized to be more acrobatic, flashy and artistic, so as to give the impression of complexity and difficulty for showmanship purposes. It is for this reason that he feels that even the basic athlete or beginner can learn the progression from basic moves to highly complex acrobatic sequences.

Coherence

Coherence is a 2013 American surreal science fiction psychological thriller film directed by James Ward Byrkit in his directorial debut. The film had its world debut on September 19, 2013, at Fantastic Fest and stars Emily Foxler as a woman who must deal with strange occurrences following the close passing of a comet.

Byrkit came up with the idea for Coherence after deciding that he wanted to test the idea of shooting a film "without a crew and without a script". He chose to shoot in his own home and developed the film's science fiction aspect out of necessity, as he wanted to "make a living room feel bigger than just a living room". While Byrkit did have a specific idea for how the film would unfold, he selected improvisational actors and gave them the basic outline of their characters, motivations, and major plot points.

• Emily Foxler as Em
• Maury Sterling as Kevin
• Nicholas Brendon as Mike
• Lorene Scafaria as Lee
• Hugo Armstrong as Hugh
• Elizabeth Gracen as Beth
• Alex Manugian as Amir
• Lauren Maher as Laurie

Frailty

Frailty is a 2001 American psychological horror film directed by and starring Bill Paxton, and co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe. It marks Paxton's directorial debut. The plot focuses on the strange relationship between two young brothers and their father, who believes that he has been commanded by God to kill demons disguised as people. Released on April 12, 2002, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $17 million.

The War

The War is a 1994 American drama film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, and Mare Winningham. It is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s. Despite a weak box-office opening and negative reviews, the film gained praise from critics for Wood’s performance.

Elijah Wood was nominated for a YoungStar Award in the category of Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film while Lexi Randall was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Performance by a Young Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture.

Concussion

Concussion is a 2015 American biographical sports drama film written and directed by Peter Landesman, based on the exposé "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas, published in 2009 by GQ magazine. Set during the 2000s, the film stars Will Smith as Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who fights against the National Football League trying to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players.

The film premiered at AFI Fest on November 11, 2015 and was released by Columbia Pictures on December 25, 2015. The film grossed $48 million worldwide and received mixed reviews, although Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Airheads

Airheads is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Rich Wilkes. It stars Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler as the members of a struggling rock band who hijack a Los Angeles radio station in order to get their demo aired. The supporting cast includes Chris Farley, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Michael Richards, Joe Mantegna, Ernie Hudson, Amy Locane, Nina Siemaszko, Marshall Bell, Reg E. Cathey, and David Arquette.

Airheads was a critical and commercial failure, but has since come to be viewed as a cult film.

An Episode of Second Chances

Welcome to this bisected episode where in the first part--

Upon reflection, MC and Spro realized that they didn't do their newest segment called 5 Questions for The Punisher: War Zone. So, for a quick opening, they fix that error which gives MC more time to rant against the "ammo-sexuals" (as he calls them) that use the logo to symbolize something The Punisher wouldn't stand for. 

In the second part--

MC and Spro catch-up with their pal (and Review Reader) Rudy who just got done returning to the stage in Available Light's Production of You Will Get Sick in Columbus, OH. Listeners will get to know one of MC and Spro's favorite people on a higher level, and listen to one man's advice on how to keep the spark alive for the thing you're passionate about. 

Enjoy this very special episode of Second Chance Cinema!

The Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 vigilante action-thriller film based on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher, directed by Lexi Alexander. Rather than a sequel to 2004's The Punisher, the film is a reboot that follows the war waged by vigilante Frank Castle / Punisher (Ray Stevenson) on crime and corruption, in particular on the disfigured mob boss known as Billy "Jigsaw" Russotti (Dominic West).^[6] It is the third feature film adaptation of The Punisher, the second reboot thereof and the first of two films to be produced under the Marvel Knights production banner, which focuses on films for mature audiences. Punisher: War Zone was released in North America by Lionsgate on December 5, 2008, and it was released in the United Kingdom by Sony Pictures Releasing on February 6, 2009 to negative reviews and grossed $10 million worldwide, making it a box-office bomb. Its related soundtrack hit the #23 slot on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart.

It was the final Punisher film to be produced by an outside studio before the rights reverted to Marvel Studios, with Stevenson reprising his role as Castle in The Super Hero Squad Show. A television series was later released on Netflix in 2017 and is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

MC references this article in the episode: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/06/11/the-creator-of-the-punisher-wants-to-reclaim-the-iconic-skull-from-police-and-fringe-admirers/?sh=2ab6c3b1b434

Power/Rangers

For the first time in Second Chance Cinema history, MC and Spro sat down together to watch a film and then hopped right on the mics to talk about it. Maybe it's because this film is only 11 minutes long. But, despite how short it is, it truly packs a punch. 

If you want to watch it with them, you can find Power/Rangers here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncYbIpm6hk

 

Power/Rangers, or Power Rangers: Unauthorized, is an American superhero fan short film based on the Power Rangers franchise, and was directed and co-written by Joseph Kahn, produced by Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin, and co-written by James Van Der Beek and Dutch Southern. The short film featured an ensemble cast starring Katee Sackhoff, Van Der Beek, Russ Bain, Will Yun Lee, and Gichi Gamba. It was released on YouTube and Vimeo on February 23, 2015.