Fantastic Debates 2013

Now that I've wiped away my tears from missing them I'm able to man up and speak of the Fantastic Fest Debates. Traditionally the most fun way during the entire year to spend midnight until 3am with way too many friends - in way too hot and sweaty environs - watching the thinkers of this glorious movie geek age argue the true questions of the day. And then pummel each other until agreement has been reached. From what I can tell things were as marvelous as ever for this year's debates. Plus there was word of possible conditioning at the new location.  

Festival organizers have been kind enough to publish some short video clips from the event. Those are shared directly below, and are a heck of a lot of fun. Just to make sure you're in the right frame of mind here's a short synopsis of the evening's topics (courtesy of the FantasticFest website.) 

Debate One: Alamo programmer Greg MacLennan versus /Film Managing Editor Russ Fischer. RESOLVED: Sylvester Stallone is the Only Truly Great Action Star in Film History. WINNER: Pro 

Debate Two: Denver film critic Brad McHargue versus Austin film critic Jacob S. Hall. RESOLVED: 28 Days Later, Which is Widely Considered One of the Great Zombie Movies of the Century, is NOT a Zombie Movie. WINNER: Pro 

Debate Three: Actor Noah Segan versus writer and filmmaker Andrew Todd. RESOLVED: Good-Looking, Well-Adjusted People Have Infiltrated and Destroyed Nerd Culture. WINNER: Pro 

Debate Four: Keanu Reeves and MAN OF TAI CHI actor and martial artist Tiger Chen versus Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest founder Tim League. RESOLVED: Tai Chi is a martial art relegated to elderly Chinese women and is inferior in every way to Tae Kwon Do. WINNER: Pro