September 14th, 2020
Photo credit: Chicago Sun Times article.
Matt watched this the day we lost Chadwick Boseman. There was no way it'd feel good to put it out that weekend, but a postive part of grief paying tribute to those we lose. Technically part of (& the fulcrum of) the "We Need To Talk" series, it tells a superhero story while scrutinizing the ongoing story of relationships among races and nations. We think it's actually a good gateway to talking about such things with family & friends, which is why we recommend everyone watch it (again) to maybe gain some empathy toward what others go through.
Note: The score DID win an Oscar, as did Costume & Design; Kendrick Lamar was nominated.
Here is the crucial part of Chadwick's Howard speech. This might be the most inspiring 14 minutes you'll hear this year...
Links: Boseman: 42 (also has 12 yrs a Slave for Lupita Nyong'o), Message From The King (also Capt Amer Civil War). Michael B Jordan: Creed. Angela Bassett: Boyz in the Hood (Malcolm X link on that post). Daniel Kaluuya: Widows. Andy Serkis: LOTR 1/2/3, Planet o' Apes trilogy Forest Whittaker: Phone Booth, Street Kings, Good Morning Vietnam.
August 17th, 2020
We already covered the mini-series, so we are overdue in considering how the films rounded out. So, uh, here we are. BTW, the flicks are rated 73% & 65% on IMDB. Matt says more like 83/75.
Links: IT miniseries, Stranger Things s1 (also s1 spoiler-sode) & s2, The Help, Atomic Blonde (has 2 X-men links), Adventureland.
August 3rd, 2020
- Punch-Drunk Love
- Spanglish
- Uncut Gems
It isn't even easy to defend the funny Sandler movies in recent years, but he has broken that loop a few times over his career. If you know what we've already covered, then the 3 choices are easy; if not... I mean, listen either way! 3 times where he wowed the crowd. Have at it.
Their IMDB scores are 73, 64, and 74. Does that help?
Links: Happy Gilmore, Wedding Singer (i guess i love not saying which Sandler flix i discuss!), Reign Over Me, 50 1st Dates, Magnolia (has other Phillip Seymour Hoffman links), Equilibrium (has links for Red Dragon and Cold Souls), Traffic, Bone Collector, Mysterious Skin, Eternal Sunshine..., Lady Bird, Short Term 12, Sorry to Bother You, Selma, Straight Outta Compton
July 6th, 2020
GUEST HOST: THE BOB!!!
The good doctor graces our 2nd mic to wax on & off about some Stephen King, both on screen & on the page. Possibly breaking a record for the longest recording session to date, this had to be broken up into 2 episodes. The discussion of Dr. Sleep will follow in 2 weeks.
Guess what? - the lazy scene transition we mentioned, turns out the scene itself took over 100 takes!!! Guess that's where the focus was. Here's a vid about it.
June 22nd, 2020
Another visit to Fincher Corner brings about a movie we've long wanted to cover. Not necessarily your typical murder mystery, it dramatizes an actual killer & his actual pursuers. Um, played by actors of course, but a tremendous amount of effort was involved
to include some of the real folks as consultants. Check it out!
Links: David Fincher: Fight Club, Se7en, Social Network, James Vanderbilt: Basic, Rundown, David Shire: Short Circuit, Jake Gyllenhaal: Donnie Darko (also spoiler episode), Soloist (has all RDJ links), Mark Ruffalo: Spotlight, Dermot Mulroney: Young Guns, Phillip Baker Hall: Magnolia
YouTube vids - When Truth is Stranger than Fiction, Infographics.
June 9th, 2020
- Mr. Mom/
- Multiplicity/
- Desperate Measures/
This week we peruse the trajectory of ol' MK as his characters alter from a good fellow into a bad dude. Have your clone make some popcorn & scope it out!
LINKS: Michael Keaton: Spiderman Homecoming (has other MK links),
May 25th, 2020
- Throne of Blood/
- Dersu Uzala/
- Sanjuro/
A tasty batch of film delights from Japan, with one venturing beyond to tell a Russian tale.
Links: 2019 Kurosawa Episode (has links to his previous films).
May 14th, 2020
- Parasite (Korea)
- Wandering Earth (China)
- The Good, The Bad, & The Weird (Korea)
Honoring Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, we look at some amazing things offered to us in recent years from filmmakers outside the U.S. Have at it, people!!
April 21st, 2020
- Dive, 2010 (Bonus - Just Eat It 2015)/
- Craigslist Joe/
- Forks Over Knives/
After putting it off for a long time, we finally talk about documentaries, and they're all old! Yet still hauntingly relevant. Did Tiger King incite this episode? Darn Tootin' it did! We spend a few minutes waxing about that as well. Eat the episode up & careful with the salt shaker..
April 8th, 2020
GUEST HOST: GODFREY!!
- The Wraith
- Rat Race
- One Crazy Summer
A chill episode about wacky movies; 2 slices of 80's with cheese & a millennial approach to ensemble road movies.
LINKS: Sherilyn Fenn: Thrashin' (also Rad), Nick Cassavetes/J Peter Robinson: Blind Fury, Randy Quaid: Xmas Vacation, Breckin Meyer: Go, Cuba Gooding Jr: Boyz in the Hood (has links for Outbreak, Losing Isaiah), Amy Smart: Butterfly Effect, Wayne Knight: Jurassic Park, John Powell: Evolution, Shrek, I am Sam, John Cusack: High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank (also Young Guns for Sheen), Being John Malkovich, Hot Tub Time Machine, Joel Murray: God Bless America, Whoopi Goldberg/Demi Moore/Jerry Zucker: Ghost, Curtis Armstrong: Risky Business, Bobcat Goldthwait: Scrooged (also God Bless America above).
Also, here is the Robot Chicken Boba Fett sketches.
March 25th, 2020
- Red Lights (Elizabeth Olsen)
- Waking Madison (Elizabeth Shue)
- Man on a Ledge (Elizabeth Banks)
All these Elizabeths have been in my orbit lately, so paying them tribute seemed the only way to go. Trusting each of them as actors, all 3 movies were unseen prior to the episode. Happy to report I have happy things to report. Take a sniff: it smells like a burger, a soccer ball, and a hammer!
Links: Bitter Balcony TMNT episode
March 9th, 2020
- The Transporter
- The Foreigner
- Layer Cake
Something we haven't done for an episode in quite a while, here's a trio to watch INSTEAD of The Gentlemen, which does not get our stamp of super approval. Passable, but not quality Guy Ritchie. Through the details, we found some interesting connections between this seemingly random assortment.
Note: the meanie face dude in Transporter was in 2 of the Blade flicks (as 2 different characters) & a few of the Fast & Furious movies also, so many may know him though Matt does not.
February 25th, 2020
RE-POST WITH FULL AUDIO!!
Mark it down as one of the few times Matt'll talk about a western genre film. Through this you'll come to be advised about which version wore it better, along with some wisdom nuggets about a few movies out in theaters. Hear it, drink it, love it!!
Links: Big Trouble in Little China, Guardians o Galaxy 2 (has all Kurt Russell links), Annihilation, Hudsucker Proxy, Robocop, Oldboy, Snakes on a Plane, Afro Samurai, Long Kiss Goodnight, Jurassic Park, True Romance, Coming to America, Incredibles, Die Hard '3', Basic, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill 2, the Burbs, Fistful of Dollars.
If it's any indication how Matt's head is boiled, Annihilation was done a year ago & he thought it was pretty recent...
February 8th, 2020
Description & links pending - just listen!!
LINKS: Red (has Bruce Willis links, also Mirren, Malkovich except Penguins, A-Team and G.I. Joe), Galaxy Quest, Traffic.
Anthony Hopkins: Silence o' Lambs, Red Dragon, Dracula, Titus, Meet Joe Black.
January 28th, 2020
- Widows/
- Alita: Battle Angel/
- Wonder Woman/
Our 1st shuffle-sode of the decade!! With varying levels of financial success, all 3 of these movies are tremendous to us. May they all gain the notoriety they deserve as quality entertainment.
- The Sia song is actually from Wonder Woman, not Alita, so watch THOSE credits with your kids!
