Woody Harrelson Archives - Movie SmackdownÂ®

Fargo vs. True Detective

September 16, 2014 Arthur Tiersky 1

What will be the water cooler topic of the coming years? If you work in my office, then Fantasy Football is, as always, the obvious answer. (Seriously, people, if itâ€™s such a great sport, why do you need to gin it up with fantasies? But I digress.) In terms of episodic TV, the pickings are growing steadily slimmer, with Breaking Bad a brilliant but fading memory, Mad Men with but a half-season remaining, and Game of Thrones already starting to show its age, with many disappointed by this past season and (quite justifiably) concerned about the coming Hodor-less one. […]

Now You See Me (2013) vs. The Prestige (2006)

May 30, 2013 Arthur Tiersky 4

Magic. Now thereâ€™s a subject that, over the years, hasnâ€™t gotten a great deal of cinematic attention. Reason being, one surmises, that magic acts need the immediacy of live (or at least taped live) performance to preserve their thrill… and if weâ€™re being honest here, most of them donâ€™t have that much thrill to preserve in the first place. So wouldnâ€™t you know it, after humming along for so many years all but magic-free, in 2006, Hollywood not only coughs up two magic-themed movies within weeks of each other but two turn-of-the-century Europe magic-themed movies. (Now thatâ€™s a Smackdown!) […]

Hunger Games (2012) -vs- Running Man (1987)

The Hunger Games (2012) -vs- The Running Man (1987)

March 23, 2012 Nicole Marchesani 19

President Snow (Donald Sutherland) shares his philosophy in this weekend’s blockbuster film, The Hunger Games, â€œThe only thing stronger than fear is hope.â€ He and his kind have built their dystopia on this theory: if the people they subjugate don’t have a way to cope, they could get violent. Better to give them some pre-packaged violence and distract them.

The odds are stacked heavily against both Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games and Ben Richards of The Running Man to win in their own futuristic sporting arenas. But they are motivated to try, each having not just their own lives but the lives of the people they love at stake. While millions of people watch, they suffer and struggle to make it to the end. The only thing keeping them going is hope.

It seems harsh to subject these characters to another bloody arena, but as the films prove, audiences love a good fight. We can’t lie. So do we. […]