For Josh's money, "Peter Pan" is one of the best classic Disney animated films and so he couldn't be more excited today as on the podcast he talks to Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Wendy Darling. She is joined by Mindy Johnson, an author and historian who literally wrote the book on Tinker Bell.
What was filming like? How do these two women see the legacy of the movie? We delve into those questions and more.
Spy stories, be they told on the big screen, the small, or in books, have intrigued people for decades. One of the masters of the genre is John Le Carre, and "Red Sparrow," which is currently out on Blu-ray and based on book by Jason Matthews, definitely has the feel of a Le Carre Cold War tale.
The question, then, is how well does the updating of such a story work. Listen as we explore the issue.
On this week's podcast, Josh focuses on "Annihilation," the latest sci-fi epic from "Ex Machina" director Alex Garland. Josh may not know everything that's going on in the movie, he may not have all the answers, but he loves it anyway. Listen to him explain his adoration of the film.
Josh speaks quickly today during the podcast and that's because he has not one, not two, but three movies to discuss. And, despite all that fast-talking, he still goes a little longer than usual.
But forget that, "Black Panther" is out on Blu-ray this week and both "Gladiator" and "Braveheart" are on 4K UHD. It is therefore time to explore the similarities and differences between the films. And, there are indeed things worth comparing.
Is "Black Panther" the best of the lot? It just might be.
Are some lives intrinsically more valuable than others? That is one of the big questions at the heart of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," which is home video shelves this week in a 20th anniversary edition.
The movie is big and beautiful and small and awful. It is an incredible creation and worthy of all the accolades it has ever received and more.
Featuring a character going back to his hometown and meeting up with his high school friends, Dan Gregor & Doug Mand's "Most Likely to Murder" is steeped in nostalgia.
The two men, who wrote the movie (Gregor also directs & Mand appears in the film), are on the podcast this week to talk about the old days. What from the past must be left behind? What can be kept? What reminds them of their high school years?
Ashley Bell has directed a new documentary called "Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story." The film documents her traveling on an elephant rescue. But, it goes deeper as well, telling us about the plight of the Asian Elephant in general.
Today, we have her on the podcast to tell us what she learned, why it's important to her, and what everyone out there can do to save this species.
"Grease" may be 40 years old, but the movie musical is still iconic and enjoyable. That doesn't mean, however, that our fearless leader likes everything about it.
In this week's episode, Josh runs down some of what works and what doesn't and, in the end, decides that "Grease" is still pretty slick.
There are some weeks that the blu-ray releases are just outstanding, and this is one of them with "Molly's Game," "Phantom Thread" and "Up in Smoke" all arriving on store shelves.
So, in this week's podcast we exam their differences, similarities, and just how great they are. The emphasis may be on "Molly's Game" and "Phantom Thread" but that's only because "Up in Smoke" finds itself cloudy in some sort of haze.
Directors Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra spent years putting together their documentary, "A Suitable Girl." The film looks at three different Indian women and their roads to, and sometimes in, marriage.
We talk to the directors about shifting cultural norms, the difficulties in filming for so long, and what it means to sit there and film as someone goes through some pretty important personal moments.
Alexander Payne's "Downsizing" is (at least) two movies in one. The first of these films is definitely worth watching, but it can also lead to a profound sense of disappointment -- why is the rest of the movie something entirely different?
And yet, despite that disappointment, there is still a very important lesson to learn...
Rachel Israel's new film, "Keep the Change," is a story of people with autism and features a number of cast members who have autism.
On this week's podcast, we delve into how her process for making the movie shifted from the way movies are traditionally made and whether she plans to continue pursuing films in this fashion.
Additionally, we acknowledge the best of all "Thor" movies, "Thor: Ragnarok," which is currently out on Blu-ray.
When Richard Levine bought the rights to Francine Prose's "Blue Angel," there was no #MeToo movement. There was no moment when he wrote the screenplay. There was no movement when he filmed the movie.
By the time the film's release rolled around, however, there was a movement. So, this movie about a college professor, played by Stanley Tucci, making a bad decision with a student, played by Addison Timlin, has changed. Or, at least, the way we see it has changed.
Levine talks to us about all that and more on this week's podcast, and just to give you whiplash, we throw in a bit of "Coco" as well.
The arrival of a reborn Lara Croft on the big screen offers a great opportunity for a new release of the first two "Tomb Raider" films on the little. So, as of this week, both of the Angelina Jolie takes on the character are available on 4K UHD.
Are they worth your time and effort? We're going to take a look.
"Daddy's Home Two" may be a Christmas movie, but it's out on Blu-ray this week. So, Josh sat down to watch it (again) and to figure out if you can indeed watch a holiday movie if it isn't the holiday in question.
Spoiler alert: you can.
In Josh's world, snow days are made for one thing: movies. But, should you stream them on Amazon or Netflix or Hulu or goodness knows where OR should you break out an actual DVD or Blu-ray?
The truth is this: either way is good, there is no wrong option (except VHS, that's a terrible choice).
For several years, Josh lived right near the Winchester Mystery House. Although he wanted to, he never got the chance to visit the place. It left inside our host a gap, a feeling of emptiness. That sense of longing, of missing something, has only increased with the release of the new haunted house movie, "Winchester."
In Ethan Hawke's latest, "24 Hours to Live," the actor is an anti-hero with... yes, that's right, 24 hours to live. Full of silly plot points and mediocre action, it is not the right way to spend your last 24 hours on the planet.
One does wonder, however, what exactly the right way to spend those last few hours might be. This week, we ask that exact question.
As humans, we have the ability to hold multiple, sometimes conflicting, thoughts in our heads at the same time. Is it possible, however, to root for the new Steven Spielberg movie, "The Post," and to respect the Trump administration? After all, "The Post" is entirely about the freedom, and importance, of the press and the administration actively tries to destroy the First Amendment.
The third "Maze Runner" movie is coming out in less than two weeks, and Liam Neeson's latest actioner opened last week. What does the former franchise and later stand-alone have in common?
They establish great ideas/worlds, but don't fully manage to carry that out into a full feature. Well, maybe the first "Maze Runner" worked, but not the second.
Listen as Josh explains it all...
You may never have heard of "Killing Gunther," but you certain know some of the actors in it -- Taran Killam (who also writes and directs it), Cobie Smulders, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to name but a few. It's something of a low-budget zany action-comedy about inept assassins trying to kill a good assassin. You might never suspect it at first blush, but it kind of works.
Is this our last episode for 2017?
Yes, quite probably it is, and rather than doing a traditional round-up of the year we're going to look at three movies and examine how we (and by that we mean Josh) relate to the characters in them. After all, the way we see/relate to the characters is a huge part of so many movies and in two of these three instances, it's just a little tough.
David Huggins firmly believes in his many alien encounters and in his new documentary, director Brad Abrahams treats Huggins' beliefs with nothing but respect. Today, Abrahams comes on the podcast to discuss his look at Huggins and how the piece came together.
Today's podcast focuses heavily on Josh's son and said son's waning enthusiasm for the "Despicable Me" franchise.
"Despicable Me 3," technically the fourth film in the franchise, is out on Blu-ray today, but does that even matter to a six-year-old who once loved the Minions more than life itself?
Out this week on Blu-ray is "Rememory," which features Peter Dinklage. The film deals with a machine that can pull memories from people's heads and allow them to be viewed on an external screen.
It isn't a particularly good movie, but it does work as a springboard for the larger discussion of how memories make us who we are.