Now a growing favorite of fan mixes, NJVC has re-envisioned Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back as if it were straight out of the Quentin Tarantino oeuvre. The edit features many Tarantino tropes such as popular music, dramatic cue cards, character set pieces and stylized montages.
Join Beezo and guest Meagan as they discuss all of the ins and outs of NJVC's fan edit, Pulp Empire.
Despite star director Doug Liman and acclaimed screenwriter David S. Goyer, the sci-fi film Jumper failed to win over critics or fans alike in 2008. While the film had very competent special effects, it's story was singularly bland and even lacked a conclusive ending - leaving itself open to a sequel that was never to be.
Fan editor Smithers has tackled this film in an effort to make it better by, "removing all of the pointless filler while giving it emotional heft by adding good music." Join Beezo as he discusses Smithers' fanedit, Jumper: Recut.
Baz Lurhman's 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby was largely discarded, often remembered for its anachronistic rap music over its 1920's setting. It's roaring cinematography and overall grandiosity seemed to topple under its own weight, leaving it's indelible characters, and the actors playing them, in the rubble.
Fan editor Hal Over 9000 has done what others hoped would have been done originally and has replaced the film's more egregious use of pop music with more period appropriate songs. Join Beezo as he discusses whether or not his fan edit, The Greater Gatsby, is indeed, greater.
Captain America: The First Avenger was the last origins film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe before bringing all of the heroes together for The Avengers. Well received by critics and fans alike, the film suffers only due to a strong third act that just doesn't quite live up to the film's even stronger first act.
Not interested in fixing the movie as he already thought it was great, faneditor AEMovieGuy set out to make "a fun, Saturday-Matinee, Action/Adventure" movie. Join Beezo as he discusses Captain America: The Steve Rogers Cut.
Wes Craven began what would become his second biggest horror franchise (after Nightmare on Elm Street) with Scream in 1996. Featuring characters that are familiar with horror movie tropes, the movie was both a satire and a legitimate addition to the horror genre. The film has come to enjoy a cult-like status insofar as it is treasured by some, yet critically panned by others.
Modified to look like a lost VHS, fan editor Neglify has reimagined Scream, not with the intent of fixing it per se, but to make it "a love letter to Italian horror cinema, Dario Argento, Goblin and the original Scream." Join Beezo, and Gary Buseytown Massacre co-founders Donna and Ethan as they discuss Scream: The Giallo Cut.
Iron Man 3 marks the first return of Iron Man after the Avengers as well as the return of Writer/Director Shane Black with star Robert Downy Jr. The film's wit-charged comedic dialog, breeziness and well executed actions sequences won over critics and made it a box office success.
Despite these accolades, fans of the franchise were quick to harp on several aspects of the film, including a go-nowhere sub-plot featuring a kid in the second act. Faneditor Juice4z0 has made an edit not only to address various plot inconsistencies, but primarily to "remove the child and all the parts to do with him." Join Beezo as he discusses Iron Man 3 and Juice4z0's fan edit, Iron Man 3 Reforged.
Director James Wan followed up his popular horror film Insidious with a sequel that didn't merely retread its predecessor, but provided a new addition to the story making it a sequel in the truest sense of the word. However, with a first act that seems to ignore the events of the first movie while the script itself takes place moments afterwards, the film stumbles and is unable to successfully recreate the gripping scares of the original.
Faneditor TheCuddlyNinja, after his edit of the original Insidious which featured an overhaul of the film's score, revisited the conceit here by exchanging this movie's score with music from Goblin. Moreover, he set out to correct the film's narrative problems, particularly in the first act. Join Beezo, Ethan and Donna as they discuss The Bride in Black with the fan editor himself, TheCuddlyNinja.
1992 saw the release of David Fincher's first foray into theatrical filmmaking as well as the third installment of the Alien franchise in Alien 3. With a retraction in scope from its predecessor, Aliens, 20 Century Fox made a calculated decision in hiring the talented, but inexperienced Fincher so that they could exercise creative control over the film. The film was praised for its cinematic look and design, but was poorly received by critics and fans alike - often attributed to the studio's involvment.
As multiple extended versions of the film have emerged, faneditor Q2 has compiled his own version of the film to "utilize the special edition and remove its excesses while re-incorporating some of the theatrical elements." Join Beezo as he discusses Alien 3 and this edit, Alien 3: Q2 Edition.
Released in 2014, Love & Mercy tells the story of Beach Boys singer/songwriter Brian Wilson through two narratives juxtaposed between his life in the 1960's and the 1980's. In the early settings, he is played by Paul Dano and here he creates original music that will become signature Beach Boys music as well as create the powerfully influential album, Pet Sounds. In the later setting, he is played by John Cusack and spends his time overcoming his oppressive manager while battling the more aggressive forms of his dementia.
While a critically praised movie, Love & Mercy never experienced widespread popularity nor significant financial windfalls. Faneditor TMY2C has set out to make an original edit to complement the movie, not to right the wrongs of the original by focusing exclusively on the portion of the film that is set in the 1960's. Join Beezo, and GBTM co-founders Donna and Ethan as they discuss TMY2C's stand alone fanedit, Love & Mercy: The Brian Wilson Sessions.
1994's New Nightmare exists in this creative valley for writer/director Wes Craven, between his established Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and what will become his second great horror franchise, Scream. While regarded for its ingenuity for breaking the horror formula by having characters in the movie be the actors from the franchise, it still too often resorted to other horror cliches - which Craven smartly avoided with Scream. Moreover, with common tropes missing, as well as a score that never featured the original theme, New Nightmare never felt like a proper addition to the franchise.
Through color correcting, removing poor effects and including a new score, Wes Craven fan and horror enthusiast Dr. Saperstein has set out to make the film as much in line with the original franchise as possible. Join Beezo as he discusses Dark Nightmare to see if it can stand side by side with the original Nightmare on Elm Street.
Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp's 2013 film Elysium suffers not only as a one-man army, CGI laden action movie, but also as a political allegory. The former is problematic because the main antagonist of the movie is a hired hand, with no direct tie to the hero or represent any thematic obstacle. The latter fails due to inserting technology into the movie without realizing how it undercuts its allegorical message.
Faneditor Panzerkut has set out to edit this movie to remove its more troublesome allegorical themes to make something that is "more brutal, fast, raw and direct." Join Beezo as he discusses this parsed down edit of Elysium titled Elysium: Panzerkut.
21 Grams is the spiritual successor and precursor to director Gonzalez Inarritu's more critically acclaimed movies Amores Perros and Babel. Central to the reaction of the film was its non-chronological narrative, which some argued elevated the intrigue of the movie while others found an unnecessary distraction.
Fan editor Gatos has created a chronological edit of this film allowing the audience "to experience the events in the same fashion as the characters." Join Beezo and GBTM Co-founders Donna and Ethan as they discuss this approach - what is lost and what is gained - with Gatos' fanedit, 21 Grams Rebalanced.
While a great horror film in its own right, Exorcist 3 has been overshadowed and forgotten by other classic horror films of its era - most notably by its predecessor, The Exorcist. The film's strengths of intricate plotting, great cinematography and excellent acting are undermined by the film playing lip service to its roots and losing control of its third act in the process.
Faneditor Spicediver has set out to right the wrongdoing of the studio's influence that tarnished writer/director William Peter Blatty's original vision of the film. Join Beezo as he discusses Exorcist 3 and whether or not Legion - An Exorcist 3 Fan Edit achieves its high-minded goals.
After a promotional campaign that stretched for nearly two years, DC Comics released their tentpole film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, anticipating a blow out response both critically and financially. While the movie will certainly make enough money to warrant moving forward with DC's cinematic universe, the critical reception has been devastating.
However, there is a chasm between the experience of the general audience and the critics. Join Beezo and Greg as they discuss this strange gulf, what works with the movie, what doesn't, and what we're likely to see in its inevitable fanedits.
Marvel's first cinematic release following The Avengers was Thor 2: The Dark World - a sequel to arguably its most lackluster superhero origin's movie. While better received than its predecessor, the film struggled in finding a coherent balance between the fantastical elements of the Thor universe, and its desire to blend with the more realistic elements of that on Earth - a critique leveled against the original Thor as well.
Faneditor TM2YC (Take Me To Your Cinema) set out to correct the narrative troubles with the movie by re-ordering scenes, inserting in deleted footage and giving the film a good polishing by trimming dialog and adding color correction. Join Beezo as he discusses the differences between the theatrical version of Thor 2 and this fanedit, Thor 2: The Dark World - The Hard Forged Edition.
Following the unexpected and astoundingly successful The Blair Witch Project, studios were quick to cash in with a lackluster sequel that abandoned the found-footage conceit that the original pioneered. While the film did provide a unique concept, insofar as the characters existed in a world where The Blair Witch Project was a successful movie, its convoluted script and shoddy acting made this one of the most uninspired sequels.
Fan editor SteFanEdit sought to remove as much of the studio's influence of the movie and restore the film to the director's original intentions. Join Beezo, Donna and Ethan as they discuss whether or not the movie was salvageable in his hands.
Writer/Director Guillermo del Toro blasted onto the movie scene in 2006 with his dark, faeiry tale masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno). With stunning visuals and expert craftsmanship and storytelling, Del Toro joined directors Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu as a powerhouse trio of Spanish-influenced modern filmmakers.
Breaking apart the two narratives withing Pan's Labyrinth, faneditor Boone created two separate feature films. One of which tells the story of the uprising against a brutal military Captain in Francoist Spain in 1944. The other tells the story of a little girl living with this Captain, who endeavors in her own fateful trials with a mysterious and mythological fawn. Join Beezo and faneditor Rory (aka TheCuddlyNinja) as they discuss the original film and this unique fan edit, Two Exits from Pan's Labyrinth.
Continuing with the success of his horror franchise Saw, director James Wan returned with the same writer, Leigh Whannell, to create 2010's Insidious. This movie, like Wan's previous breakthrough film, was a huge success in its own right and started it's one 3 part (so far) franchise.
Fan editor TheCuddlyNinja tackled Insidious, not so much to improve it, but to create a unique viewing experience by replacing its score with that from 2014's indie horror darling, It Follows. Join Beezo and the fan editor himself, TheCuddlyNinja, as they discuss Insidious and his fan edit of it, The Man With Fire On His Face.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has huge box office success, supplanting Avatar as the top grossing domestic film of all time. Most critiques have praised its bright new characters, quick pacing and pragmatic visuals. However, no movie is perfect and the eyes have been set upon it to see what can be ironed out in the upcoming months when fan editors will get a chance to tamper with it.
Join Beezo and Greg as they discuss the film, what works, what doesn't and what is likely to be the outcome of the edits of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
George Lucas concluded his original trilogy in 1983 with Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. While still considered a strong addition to the saga, many consider it to be the weakest of the three.
The primary problems with this movie center around the cute Ewoks, whose presence undermines the seriousness of the narrative. Adding to this, iconic characters like Leia, Han, Luke and Vader seem to act uncharacteristically. Join Beezo and Greg once again as they discuss Fan editor Yads re-cut of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: The Dan Edit.