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.
Rather than focusing on a movie or movies or a director or a writer or a star today, we're going to be tackling one of Josh's least favorite subjects -- running.
He claims it's one of his least favorite subjects anyway, but he does it a whole lot? Why exactly? Maybe he can tell us.
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.
Writer/director/star Noël Wells ("Master of None," "SNL") drops by the podcast today to talk to us about her new movie, "Mr. Roosevelt."
The wide-ranging chat touches on everything from the origin of the characters to takeaway messages for the audience to Wells' favorite responses from those watching.
One of the questions that regularly occupies Josh's mind is that of how we become who we are. That is, what is there in that vast hodgepodge of our history that blends together to create each of us individually and our worldview.
What better way to explore that question than with two movies hitting blu-ray this week -- "Cars 3" and "The Glass Castle."
Maggie Betts joins the podcast this week to talk about her film, "Novitiate," which is currently out in select theaters. The film focuses on nuns, and those studying to be nuns, as the Vatican II talks take place. Betts, the writer and director of the film, was at Sundance this year with "Novitiate," where she won the Director Breakthrough Award, and it later screened at TIFF as well.
Here she tells us what went into crafting the story and how much changed when she was on set.
The filmic adaptation of "Dreamgirls" is getting a swell new Blu-ray release this week, but watching it Josh couldn't help but think that the sort of fame and power offered up in the movie is fame and power Josh just doesn't want. Then again, he doesn't want the fame and power afforded Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," so maybe he just doesn't want fame and power at all.
Ah, lighting. It sets the stage. It adds flair. It lets the audience know in ways that are not always subtle whether they should be laughing or crying, scared or amused. As with anything though, moderation may be the key. It is possible to push mood lighting far enough to destroy the mood.