With "Captain Marvel," the MCU finally put a woman front and center on the big screen. By no means the worst movie in the franchise, it is also not the best. But, does the film offer a look at this new hero who might just become the new face of the MCU and the greatest character they've put on screen?
For this film, director Richard Miron follows Kathy Murphy for five years. Over the course of that time he captures the explosion of the bird population at her house... the birds she keeps and takes care of. He follows the massive issues that causes in her life. He offers looks at things one can't imagine he knew was coming when he started. It is, in a word, incredible.
With season two and three on the way, Amazon's version of Tom Clancy's analyst turned super spy, Jack Ryan, is finally available on Blu-ray. The series stars John Krasinski in the title role, but is the man from "The Office" and "A Quiet Place" the Jack Ryan we have all come to know and sometimes love. And, moreover, does it matter?
With "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" sitting atop the box office, this week's podcast takes a look at just what has made the film franchise so successful. Could it be that John Wick is just a super-violent James Bond? Could it be the blood? Could it just be Keanu?
Rather than following our usual "let's see what Josh is obsessing about movie-wise this week" format, today's episode features an entirely different obsession from our host -- his love of hot water for showers and dismay when he doesn't have any such water. Is he able to tie this back into movies? Of course he is.
Please listen, enjoy, and forgive this week's digression.
"What Men Want," the Taraji P. Henson starring spin on Mel Gibson's "What Women Want" is now out on Blu-ray. While the movie does some things very well, it does others in disappointing fashion. Not to worry, we're here to break it all down for you and help you decide whether you should bother putting in the time.
Directors Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin have spent years putting together the documentary, "Scheme Birds." The piece is showing this year at the Tribeca Film Festival and follows a young woman, Gemma, who is growing up in a housing project in Scotland.
What does it take to spend years on such a project not knowing the outcome? Why follow this particular woman? What's next? The directors clue us in.
We were trepidatious about buying a car with a Blu-ray player, our kids already have enough devices on car trips, but last week a road trip using the Blu-ray player reminded us just how wonderful an experience movies can be when shared. We watched our child watch "The Kid who Would be King," and saw the beauty of emotions playing across his face.
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are both funny men. They are funny together and they are funny separately. Spoofs can be very funny. Sherlock Holmes is a character ready to be spoofed (and he has been spoofed before).
That said, these two funny men with what could be a very funny idea for a movie end up delivering something... less than funny in "Holmes & Watson."
It took six tries for them to finally make a good Transformers movie, but with "Bumblebee," the franchise finally got it right.
On this week's podcast we chat about just where "Bumblebee" succeeds where the others fail and what we want out of the future of the franchise.
There is a magic to "Mary Poppins Returns," but there is a question to it as well -- does some of the magic emanate from how the movie purposefully apes moments from the original? On this week's podcast we take a good look at the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious sequel and discuss just what works and what doesn't and whether it's worth your time.
There is something to be said for not succumbing to a mob mentality, for not going off half-cocked before the facts are in... or just ignoring the facts entirely. "The Ox-Bow Incident" may be more than 75 years old, but its message is just as relevant today as it ever was.
Take a listen to this week's episode as we urge listeners to watch the movie and to have the courage to do the right thing in the face of those who would do the wrong one.
Imagine putting out there a comedy where a childless couple decide to foster (in order to then adopt) not one, not two, but three kids. Imagine the comedy then attempting to deal with the difficulties that parents and children face in such a situation. Imagine it being done with humor and heart and, perhaps most importantly, a sense of respect for the issues.
"Instant Family" does just that, and we're talking about it on today's podcast.
Is it difficult to work with animals? Is it difficult to work in comedy, both on the big screen and the small, for decades?
Mandie Fletcher stops by the podcast today in order to tell us about her new film, "Patrick," as well as her work on the "Black-Adder" series and "Absolutely Fabulous." She even offers suggestions for Josh as to how to convince his wife to get a dog.
Josh wasn't a favorite student amongst his professors when he was in graduate school. Why? Well, there are several reasons why this could have been the case and on today's podcast, using "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Overlord," we're going to take a gander into one of the possibilities.
The new Tyler Perry movie, "Nobody's Fool" features a character making a list, a physical list, of things she wants in a relationship. Do people do that? DO they then bring them on dates and check off boxes when someone meets a requirement (not that this last thing happens in the film)?
If that's reality, we want to know about it.
Sometimes movies fail, but it is always better to see a movie fail when it goes all out rather than playing it safe. If you're going to fail, fail big, fail huge.
Disney's "Nutcracker and the Four Realms" is a completely weird, quite poor, movie. But, at least it tried hard.
Today on the podcast we have Peter Hutchings, the director of a new movie with Asa Butterfield and Maisie Williams entitled "Then Came You." About a young woman with cancer and a young man who fears he has it, the movie has to manage to balance both humor and drama, and it succeeds in spades. Hutchings delves into exactly what it takes to make that happen and when he knew that he had succeeded.
What is history? How does it affect our present day? How are we meant to understand it? This week, we're examining that very... or those very questions... as we look at "Once Upon a Deadpool" and "First Man." Sure, the films are very different, but they both have interesting things to say about the past.
There are movies which sit on Josh's TiVo for years. Literally years. He records them and then never thinks about them again. For this week's episode he decided to do the unimaginable and actually watch one.
It was a mistake. A massive mistake.
A brilliantly funny movie, Neil Simon's "Murder by Death" is not without some moments to make one pause. Chief amongst these is having Peter Sellers in yellowface. Perhaps though the representation is there in order to tear down their very use. Would that make it okay? We examine the issue on this week's podcast.
It is entirely possible, perhaps even probable, that "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" presents an idealized version of the late 1950s as opposed to reality. For our, presumably, last podcast of the year, we argue that it simply doesn't matter. That the series and its star are more than good enough in this bit of escapist fantasy that we should all just enjoy.
One of the best part of the Dickens novel "A Christmas Carol" is the voice of the narrator and no big screen version of the story captures that voice remotely as well as "The Muppet Christmas Carol." But, that isn't the only thing the movie has going for it. This week, we submit to you, that there is no better messenger for the novel than The Muppets.
The sixth "Mission: Impossible" movie is now on Blu-ray and "Scrooged" has a 30th anniversary release. While the latter undoubtedly has a connection to "A Christmas Carol," is it just possible that the former does as well?
Josh certainly thinks so and, what's more, he'll tell you how all of it relates to being the best American you can be. Because clearly Dickens knew a thing or two about that.
Director Maxine Trump's new documentary, "To Kid or not to Kid," has just premiered at DOC NYC, and this week Trump comes on the podcast to discuss the movie and its emotional toll.
The piece focuses on the decision people make about whether or not to have children, and all the societal and other implications that go along with it. It is a difficult, personal, choice and not always an easy documentary to watch. We discuss it all here.