This week's podcast takes a look at four different movies: "Flashdance," "Days of Thunder," "War of the Worlds" (the Spielberg/Cruise one), and "Downhill." Sure, that's three older films and one newer one or two Tom Cruise films and two not or some other weird bunching, but they kind of all work together. Sort of. Maybe.
Why don't you listen and decide for yourself?
"The Call of the Wild" is the story of Buck learning to survive in the harsh Alaskan environment. Watching the movie is the story of people attempting to accept this Scooby Doo-like version of Buck interacting with Harrison Ford. It doesn't work.
Jesus Quintana is a minor character in "The Big Lebwoski," but he's front and center now in the new John Turturro written & directed (and starring) film, "The Jesus Rolls," which is out on Blu-ray today. So, for this week's podcast, we're going to examine the movie and just what it takes to make a successful spinoff.
This week on the podcast we look at "The Rhythm Section," "King Creole," "Fatal Attraction," and "To Catch a Thief." All are sporting new Blu-ray editions and all offer up a few words on their cases about what to expect before we ever dig in. Just what are those words and what should they tell us?
Once again we find it impossible to escape the real world by diving into a little bit of fiction. The comedy "Like a Boss" is out on Blu-ray today and it just may offer a connection to the fools who suggest that shutting a business is worse than the death of thousands.
Filmed entirely in The Philippines, WGN's new show, "Almost Paradise" features actor Christian Kane. Star of shows such as "Leverage" and "The Librarians," Kane stops by the podcast today to tell us stories of days past as well as what we should expect from this new show.
The final chapter (allegedly) in The Skywalker Saga, "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker" is now out on Blu-ray. Let's take a minute and discuss how this franchise that has produced so much mediocrity has managed to make people so angry.
Is it the great moments getting buried (and there are great moments) or is it something else?
Both "The Wizard" and "1917" are out today on Blu-ray and one of these movies is all about placing the audience there with the main characters as they struggle. The other most definitely features a character struggling but is more concerned with how to sell video games than what the struggle means and how it should be approached.
Let's discuss.
In "Spoiler Alert!: The Badass Book fo Movie Plots: Why We All Love Hollywood Cliches" Chris Vander Kaay and his fellow authors breakdown 38 different movie genres, telling us the essential elements to each and every one in comedic form. How did the book come about and what movies does Vander Kaay like most? Listen as we discuss it all.
The 1923 and 1956 versions of "The Ten Commandments," both made by Cecil B. DeMille, are out now in a single Blu-ray set. That gives us the perfect opportunity to discuss a filmmaker getting the opportunity to rework the same source material. So, as that's something we often suggest, let's take a look at how that worked out here.
As the Mark Ruffalo-starring "Dark Waters" is all too happy to tell us, companies don't care about us, they care about the bottom line. Not only that, they care about the bottom line to the point where they will allow people to die to protect it.
No, it's not science fiction, it's disturbing fact and we're talking about it today.
The original "Frozen" is spectacular. So, how can "Frozen II" be such a disappointment as it's nearly the exact same?
And there, right there within the question, lies the answer: because it's nearly the exact same.
Let's take a look at what might have been, what shouldn't have been, and see if we can't freeze future mistakes in their track.
Some of the best movies out there are ones that completely throw our perception of what is taking place out the window. This week we're looking at two movies that do that beautifully, "Shutter Island" and Parasite," and one film that takes low brow teenage monster/alien pregnancy comedies to new heights, "Snatchers."
Setting aside your religious views, it is undeniable that Jesus figures appear in a multitude of films. This week we're going to discuss possible such individuals in "The House that Jack Built" and "Playing with Fire."
Last year saw yet another "Terminator" movie hit screens along with a sequel to "Zombieland." Now they are out on Blu-ray. Both franchises are about the apocalypse and involve much mayhem, and both have behind the scenes work from "Deadpool" alums (even if Wernick and Reese, did original "Zombieland" well before "Deadpool), but only one of the films seems to be having any fun with it all.
Just where did "Terminator: Dark Fate" go wrong when "Zombieland: Double Tap" went right?
Although a cold may have affected Josh's voice, he's back this week to discuss "Gemini Man" and "I See You," both of which offer a certain sense of mirroring. One does this to great effect, while the other... well, the effect is not great at all.
Andrew Desmond stops by the podcast today, at least telephonically, to talk about his feature directorial debut, "The Sonata." A horror film based in classic music and secret societies, "fun" may not be the right word to describe it (torture not being fun), but it's certainly engaging and interesting. Desmond offers us his thoughts on the process and what it takes to write about a piece of music without being able to write music.