For this final podcast of 2022, we are going to discuss "Amsterdam," at least a little, one last time. That's because this last episode of the year is going to focus on two other comedies that do work -- "Ticket to Paradise," and "The Banshees of Inisherin." What can we learn from them about why they succeed where that other film fails? What if we decided that an answer was in the clothing... or at the very least is divulged by the clothing?
Last time we were on about how the pacing for Amsterdam is just awful, how it fails to allow the jokes to hit, how it has some sort of faux gravitas that makes it deadly dull. You want an example of how to do it right with a film that also came out on 4K last week? Look no further than Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." This week we discuss how it goes right and the one place where it makes a misstep that bothers Josh to this day. Take a listen and enjoy!
It may have the best of intentions, but "Amsterdam" is a film which crumbles under its own weight. It is a movie that offers the sense that it desperately wishes to be Important and in pushing for that added weight, that added meaning, that added depth, it undercuts everything that works about the film. Oh, there are most certainly some great aspects to "Amdsterdam," chiefly the performances, but it simply cannot get out of its own way.
Not every movie has to be the biggest and the best, the funniest and most clever, the loudest and most spectacular. It is okay sometimes for a movie to just, you know, be a movie. That is preceisely what we encounter today with the Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening-starring "Jerry and Marge go Large." The now available on Blu-ray and digital comedy is... fine, and that's quite enough.
Some movies make us stop and wonder what exactly it is that we're seeing. This can be either a good thing or it can be a bad thing. With "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." we're definitely looking at either one or the other. Which? Why? What does/doesn't work about this satire? Only one way to find out -- open your hearts (and ears) to this podcast.
Out now on digital is the movie "See How They Run." Rather than being a filmic adaptation of Agatha's Christie long-running play, "The Mousetrap," it is a comedic mystery surrounding a fictional murder taking place near the start of that show's historic run. This leaves Josh with any numerable of imponderables to ponder and ponder he does.
Zach Cregger's "Barbarian" plays out as two distinct halves. You might actually think that someone spliced the movie together incorrectly for a minute when the switch takes place. Separately the halves are quite good. Together they're even better.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is now out on DVD and Blu-ray and that makes this the perfect time to talk about the fourth entry in the "Thor" saga... or, as we put it, the second best "Thor" movie in the MCU. Thinking of it that way, it is both admirable and a disappointment and it's something we need to look at a little more closely.
Listen, no one wants to be the guy out there saying, "I told you so," but it happens. Well, honestly, maybe Josh doesn't mind being that guy so much. He gets in at least one good one this week as all six original crew "Star Trek" movies have now been released in a 4K boxed set, much like he said would happen last September after the first four got their own boxed set.
Other people out there might be tired of the Minions, with their silly speech and tendency to bash each other on the heads, but not Josh. No, Josh still thoroughly enjoys the little yellow guys. Of course, that's not the same as saying everything is perfect in terms of their second headling feature, "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Let's discuss.
Some movies don't work. They feel both ill-conceived and ill-executed. After a great start to the franchise and then even a promising opening of this particular trilogy within it, watching the (currently) final film, "Jurassic World: Dominion," feels like a chore. Ascribing motivation is tough, but we have plenty of thoughts about what went on here.
Pixar's "Lightyear" is now out on streaming and will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray in September. As the canon goes, this is meant to be the movie Andy saw that caused him to want a Buzz Lightyear doll in "Toy Story."
Andy must have been very undemanding because the characters in "Lightyear" are pretty dim bulbs.
Starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, the new film "The Lost City" is rather reminiscent of "Jewel of the Nile," but maybe that's only because we've seen "Jewel of the Nile." Maybe there are a half-dozen (or more) other movies which it echoes... maybe there are a half-dozen (or more) books which it echoes. What do we find when we go in to watch "The Lost City?" Let's discuss.
For a long time we've wondered about how exactly it might hit someone if they dropped into an existing franchise in the middle. Although this has regularly been our rumination with the MCU, the existence of this movie, which is based on the long-running FOX sitcom, gave Josh the opportunity to play guinea pig for our own ideas.
Some things are obligations, but that doesn't mean that they have to feel that way. For instance, Josh may have Covid currently, but that doesn't remove his need to talk to you about the new "Downton Abbey" movie. So, despite a halting voice, he has given it his all this week. On the other hand, he's not convinced that the minds behind "A New Era" did the same when putting this second film together.
With "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" out on digital now and Blu-ray at the end of the month, we have finally hit the moment where we must talk about the film. As with all things MCU, however, it doesn't exist by itself. No, it exists in conversation with a myriad of other projects. How then are we to understand this movie and the series and the larger universe?
After sinking an incredible number of hours into the game "Elden Ring," Josh's adventure with the title has come to a close. As much as he loved the game--and he did--he is sad for it to be done. Where does that leave him? Why does he not wish to just play it again? What is next on his plate?
There are a group of individuals out there who will tell you that "Grease 2" is the better of the films in the "Grease" series. Those people may be very nice and are certainly entitled to their opinion. They are also, we believe, not correct. Let's discuss.
Out now on 4K UHD is the classic revisionist western "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance" and the reception for the film didn't go over in Josh's house as he may have hoped. Let's discuss just why members of his family were wrong.
Although Josh may have written fewer reviews of late, the number of films he has watched hasn't dropped and his enjoyment may have increased. Just what does that mean? Where does he go from here? What sort of multiverse of madness is he in?
The brilliant "Turning Red" is now available on Blu-ray and streaming and that makes this the perfect opportunity to talk about one of the absolute dummest controversies to come up in a long time.
Guess what? You don't like the content of a PG movie? Well, in the case of this one, not only are you wrong, but you're not actually obligated to watch.