In this lightly spoiler-y episode (you have been warned) of the podcast we talk about some of the major problems with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales." Does this once great franchise have anything left to give or is it time for Johnny Depp to hang up his pirate boots and move on to dry land?
There are some things which just are not done. One does not, for instance, eat pastrami on white bread with mayonnaise, one does not yell "fire" in a crowded theater, and one most definitely does not avoid the crust when eating a pie.
On this podcast we talk "A Ghost Story," pie etiquette, and more.
Sometimes gifs of minions and bananas get sent to those we love. This can happen for any number of reasons from a query about purchasing them (bananas, not minions), to suggesting a snack (again, bananas, not minions), to a simple method of greeting.
On this episode we look at a little at (romantic) relationships and how they play out in two films from this year -- "The Big Sick" and "The Hero."
This week we revisit the question of recommending movies. What, for instance, do you do when the choice is between two movies--in this case "The Mummy" (2017) and "First Kill" (2017)--neither of which is very good. How do you go about picking them apart and making that choice?
Anthropomorphizing animals can work either to the benefit of a film or it can detract from it... or maybe it isn't necessary at all. As with so many things, this depends on the story being told.
Today we have two distinctly different takes on the depiction of animals -- "Born in China" and "Megan Leavey." Listen and find out how they do.
On this week's episode, Josh delves into not just "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," but also a technology trend that saddens him greatly. Listen as he laments our world's desire to cram big movies onto small devices.
Arriving on Blu-ray today is "Chuck," the story of the boxer who was the inspiration for Rocky. Sadly though, Chuck Wepner gets caught up in the whole idea of Rocky and movie stardom and tries to live someone else's dream.
It makes for a powerful movie and quite the cautionary tale. But, how do you know if you're living your dream or that of another person?
Steve Coogan is fantastic in Oren Moverman's "The Dinner" (2017). Seriously, he's great. Of course, his being fantastic doesn't necessarily mean that everyone should run right out and see it.
Do not get us wrong. Josh highly recommends the movie, and lost some sleep over Coogan's performance, but not everything is for everyone and we're going to look at a little bit today.
There is a brilliant nugget of truth in "The Circle." There is an intelligent point made about what we allow companies to do for us and the rights we give them. This, however, is all wrapped up inside some incredibly poor leaps of logic and the overstated nature of the whole thing.
Having discussed the anime version of "Ghost in the Shell" earlier this year, the time has come to look at the live action movie starring Scarlett Johansson. Why does this movie which looks so good falter so terribly in its story? Why does recent theatrical release "Valerian" do the same? Where does this lead us?
Sometimes all you want is a movie about two groups of people who don't like each other in a prolonged gun battle with one another.
Well, guess what, the movie you're looking for is "Free Fire" and it comes out on Blu-ray on July 18th. It's got good, it's got bad, and it's got...guns. Lots of guns.
It may not sound like a big thing, but Josh opted to not rewatch the original "Trainspotting" before watching the sequel. An experiment inspired by his daughter, Josh wanted to see just how that might affect his experience and, in the case of "T2 Trainspotting," it worked brilliantly.
Kids, don't try this at home.
What if two hated political foes had to take a trip together? Nick Hamm has directed a fictionalized account of a such a trip that did in fact happen with Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley as the two men were taking part in peace talks about the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Hamm joins Josh today to discuss this movie, "The Journey," where it came from, and where it might lead us in the future.
Josh hates many things. The list is both incomplete and with items too numerous to mention. And yet, at the same time, Josh doesn't fully grasp how people can hate each other for something like race or gender or religion or sexual orientation. He knows the hatred is there in the world, he knows it is wrong, and he simply cannot fathom why anyone would feel that way.
Can't everyone just love each other, like the couple at the center of the powerful "A United Kingdom?"
Both the 75 year-old "Bambi" and the new "Beauty and the Beast" are arriving on Blu-ray this week. One is an utter classic and one is an update to a (newer) classic. Does the latter work? What does an update to the former look like? No, it doesn't look like the "SNL" Bambi thing with The Rock, funny as that may have been.
Welcome to this week's meander.
Have Josh's prayers for cinematic greatness been answered? Did he find them in Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Aftermath," or is he just going to nitpick away another movie this week?
There is but one way to find out, and that's to click play.
For this week's podcast, we're continuing our conversation on filmic enthusiasm and the search for great movies. However, rather than tackling it from our jaded, adult, eyes, we take a gander at how children (specifically Josh's) see movies. For them, so many movies are great, so many movies open up their eyes to something new and wonderful.
What sort of burden though does that put on those of us who have the responsibility of showing them something new and different (and good)?
"The Space Between Us" is, ostensibly, about a teen who has grown up on Mars wanting to go back to Earth and see what life is like on humanity's home planet. Sadly for Josh, moments of flawed logic made it impossible for him to accept so much of the film well before the teen in question was anything more than an infant.
How does it go so wrong so quickly? Listen and find out!
Every once in a while Josh offers up his thought on just why he goes to the movies. While he espouses sometimes lofty ideals in these pieces, he never feels quite satisfied with his take. It isn't that he's wrong, he just feels like he can do better. And so, again this week, he has graced us with another podcast on why he loves movies.
Apparently they're like his bad golf game. Listen and do with that what you will.
On this week's podcast we launch a brand new giveaway! We have two copies of "Saturday Night Fever" to hand out (two winners, one copy each). Enter at tvandfilmguy.com
Beyond that, we talk about "The Red Turtle," one of Josh's favorites from last year (now available on Blu-ray). It is a movie good enough to have Josh stop worrying about commas and semicolons, and that says something.
Josh doesn't like it when people harp on records superiority to CDs or mp3s. Josh doesn't like it when people explain the advantages to milling their own flour. Josh does, however, appreciate many of the advantages of physical media over their digital counterparts... mostly in terms of decoration. But man, moving them around can be a difficult process.
Regardless of the quality of a movie or television show (or book or song or anything really), sometimes you hear a brief synopsis and say, "wait, it's about what?" We have all been there before and sometimes we're convinced by the movie/TV show/book/etc. and sometimes we aren't.
Today, we're talking about a movie where a monster serves as the engine for a truck.
Go ahead, say it, it's okay.
We love the idea of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" which hits blu-ray today much more than the movie's execution, it is the promise of these side stories that excites us as opposed to the particulars. No, it's not sacrilege to say that, just listen.
And, in case our arguments don't convince, perhaps we can put some salve on those wounds by announcing our latest giveaway -- it's for "Office Christmas Party" which also arrives on blu-ray today!
At one point or another, we have probably all taken an anti-adaptation/reboot/reimagining stance, we have all decided that "x" shouldn't be turned from a movie to a book or book to a movie or movie to a TV show.
It's an easy argument to make. It's also a bad one. The question has to be whether there is something worthwhile to be gleaned from the new version.
Listen as Josh rants about this and reminds you to enter our "Fences" and "Silence" blu-ray giveaways!
"20th Century Women" and "Julieta" provide insightful--at times harrowing--looks at what it means to be a parent, and not just a parent, a single parent who does not have any help from the child's other parent.
Today's episode thinks about what that means, what difficulties might be associated, and whether we (as a people) can and should do better for parents. Hint: we should.