2018 Archive

December 2018

#65 Creed II, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Schindler's List

Two sequels and a period piece walk into a bar… This will be our last official show of the year, so why not go with two big moviegoing flicks and a past Best Picture winner. Schindler’s List is Spielberg’s most influential film besides some of his sci-fi work and we find his heartstring pulling and technique to be at the top of his game. Ralph Breaks the Internet was more literal than anticipated but a good message about friendship nevertheless. Creed 2 is a clear fun romp of a boxing flick. We’ll be back just before the end of the month for a look in films in 2018 before releasing Top 10.

November 2018

#64 Widows, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Hook

We have a special show in my opinion. We dive into Widows, a genre film like few others where expectations and craft are worked effortlessly. We also continue our Spielberg marathon with Hook, a movie that defines many our age an we take a look at the long-lasting effects. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was a late addition to the show and it proves to be an amazing choice. We break down all the shorts and marinate in the Western heaven the Coen Bros. have made.

#63 Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, Empire of the Sun

Hello ladies and germs. This week, purely by happenstance, we present three biographical depictions from people living through hard and wild times in the 40’s, 70’s and 80’s. Bohemian Rhapsody hardly needs an introduction but we do discuss the merits of choosing the bands’ most famous song as its title. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot is a wonderful biopic about an alcoholic cartoonist played greatly by Joaquin Phoenix. Empire of the Sun, out of our Spielberg marathon, tells the story of a boy growing up way too fast on a Japanese POW camp during WW2.

October 2018

#62 Halloween (2018), Apostle, The Twilight Zone

Today’s show is a horror October special. We begin with the latest remake-sequel combo of the O-G masked murderer Halloween; bringing back the scream queen herself. We also delve into the bizarre and cult-leveled and gory atmospheric Apostle, starring the great Dan Stevens. As part of our ongoing Spielberg marathon, we talk about a horror sci-fi anthology film The Twilight Zone. Dante, Spielberg, Miller and Landis join forces for a mixed bag of fun stories.

#61 Venom, Hold the Dark, The Sugarland Express

This week we go to deep dark places. We welcome Fall with the dread-filled action thriller Hold the Dark by a favored director and ask questions about the unconventional third act finale. We also talk about the unfortunate dreadful Venom, calling the Tom Hardy vehicle an interesting mistake with an almost unrecognizable Michelle Williams. Powered by our newest Spielberg retrospective marathon, we discuss the ups and downs of his theatrical debut, The Sugarland Express.

September 2018

#60 White Boy Rick, Bleach, Duel (1971)

We have started a new marathon! We take on the works of Steven Spielberg with 12 of his films from the 70’s to today; beginning with Duel. Duel is clearly one of the best made-for-TV movies of its era. We also discuss the true story of a teenage snitch and drug kingpin from the 80’s; White Boy Rick. We also get into yet another live action film based on a famous anime, Bleach, and discover that even though it’s one of the few better ones out there, it doesn’t mean much.

#59 The Nun, Searching..., Borg vs McEnroe

This time around, we visiting the lopsided grave markers of Romania, sleuthing online for a missing child and watching a tennis match in 1980. Despite entertaining spinoffs and sequels from the Conjuring universe, we discuss their worst entry so far. Searching proves the new movie sub-genre to be useful and a good way to tell a tried and true story of suspense. Borg vs McEnroe is a sports biopic about two heavyweight tennis players in 1980 that has a solid ramp up but lacks creativity.

August 2018

#58 Mile 22, The Happytime Murders, The Rider

We have an eclectic bath of reviews this week. We start by discussing Mark Wahlberg being stranger than usual in Mile 22 as he watches his super secret ops team get eliminated. We find out how gross muppets can be with Happytime Murders and wonder how a good movie premise can go so wrong. The Rider, on the other hand, blends reality with narrative filmmaking in a way rarely seen about a modern day cowboy struggling with life’s decision to keep him away from his dreams.

#57 Christopher Robin, Like Father, BlackKklansman

Our super serious and highly recommended episode with two lighter and fluffier movie reviews of the bleaker Christopher Robin and the plain Jane, Like Father. The last one is the much anticipated BlacKkKlansman which is made for discussion and a visceral call for action. Hope you enjoy

#56 Mission Impossible: Fallout, The Bleeding Edge, The Shop Around the Corner

We have an eclectic trio for you today. With a dose of docs and movies of the week peppering our Recent Discoveries, we delve into an interesting documentary, a franchise action flick and a classic rom-com. Ethan Hunt continues his virtuous crusade of saving the world with the first ‘actual’ sequel of the Mission Impossible franchise. The Bleeding Edge teaches us the pitfalls of mistaking innovating ideas with untested trials in the medical community. The Shop Around the Corner finishes our Alpha Classics Marathon and you’ll see why when you hear it.

July 2018

#55 Ant-Man and the Wasp, You Were Never Really Here, House On Haunted Hill

We bring to you films of all sorts and ages today. We review our penultimate tile of our latest marathon; House On Haunted Hill with the magnetic Vincent Price. We see the big and small effects of the latest Marvel flick Ant-Man and the Wasp and we wish they were a better fighting duo. We also delve into the mental breakdown of Joaquin Phoenix’s character in You Were Never Really Here.

#54 Best Films So Far, Won't You Be My Neighbor, Most Anticipated Films of 2018

Its that time of the year where we evaluate how the year has treated us cinematically by giving you our Top 5 list of favorite flicks so far. We also share our most anticipated movies for the rest of the year by making questionable predictions as to the titles that’ll make our faves. We still bring you a movie review and we chose a documentary called Won’t You Be My Neighbor; about the life and times of Fred Rogers.

June 2018

#53 Incredibles 2, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Duck Soup

Even though we couldn’t find the time to visit our favorite neighbor with the documentary we talked last about, we are bringing you two unwanted sequels but one succeeds far more than the other. We also dip out toes in the 1930’s with the goofball film Duck Soup. Happy World Cup!

#52 Annihilation, The Tale, Double Indemnity

This week deals in serious questions about being human, the nature of breaking down nature and how memory can deceive you. Annihilation is the replacement film we went with and serves up a lengthy discussion about the crazy sci-fi concepts introduced. The Tale is our second in a row HBO original film about the filmmakers struggle to cope with a past misunderstood. Finally, our marathon pick this week is steeped in film noir with Double Indemnity, which holds the classic dames and the killer motives.

May 2018

#51 Deadpool 2, Fahrenheit 451, Ben Hur

Bloody jokes, book-burning and a chariot race. This week we enjoy the mouthy mercenary Deadpool murdering fools and killing it with the jokes. Then, we move onto an HBO original film Fahrenheit 451 with updates to the 50’s novel. We take in an Oscar-winning oldie with Ben Hur and try our best not to complain about its length and hopefully appreciate its character building.

#50 Tully, Anon, Rear Window

This week, we deal with three different types of deaths. One is the killing of a spouse by the spying of a neighbor in Rear Window. Another is the serial killing of many in a future where transparency is the way of life in Netflix’s original film Anon. The last is the death of a mother’s youth as she deals with daily struggles after her third child comes into the world in Tully.

April 2018

#49 Avengers: Infinity War

Can an infinity war be stopped? Ralf and Oscar speak critically and geekily about the latest MCU film and how they succeeded or failed in assembling and cohesively keeping the narrative throughout. SPOILER ALERT for the whole review!

#48 The Death of Stalin, Mary and the Witch's Flower, The Red Shoes

Marathon this week delves into the theatrical with the conflict triangle between love of someone and love of dancing. The Red Shoes, often hailed by many contemporaries, has inspired many films since and holds true by the Archers directors. We also look into the sublimely dark comedy The Death of Stalin which takes Russian politics to absurdity. We also had the pleasure to view the first film from Studio Ponoc, Mary and the Witch’s Flower; which brings magic in swishes of storytelling technique and colors. Stay tuned on the website to find out the next show’s roster.

#47 Ready Player One, I Kill Giants, It Happened One Night

Luke joins the whole roster this time around as he’s the one this week to pick the three films we’re reviewing today. We begin with Ready Player One, a movie based on an 80’s fanboy author’s work and directed by a key figure in blockbuster cinema. We move onto an indie pseudo-fantasy film called I Kill Giants; about a giant-slayer little girl who’s overcoming family trauma that bleeds into her school time. The final review deals with out newest marathon; It Happened One Night. A film from the 30’s that serves as a formula to much of the romantic comedies and road trip films since.

March 2018

#46 Tomb Raider, Roxanne Roxanne, Seven Samurai

We’re back in full swing! As we talk about the overall bland but not boring Tom Raider, we gear up with one of the many Netflix originals and the start of our newest marathon. We talk about the impressionistic life of Roxanne Shante up to the age of 17. We will be concluding the show with the first of nine films in our marathon; Seven Samurai. It’s going to be a doozy and expect lots of discussion.

#45 Academy Awards and Bonus Titles

A light and breezy episode concerning the 90th Academy Awards ceremony. We discuss the teleplay and winners and snubs. We also add some of the many flicks we've seen over the last few months that hadn’t yet been mentioned in previous shows.

February 2018

#44 Oscar Talk, Mom and Dad, The Cloverfield Paradox

It’s awards season! This is the part of the year where each of us give our predictions and our biased replacement nominations. It’s where we air our grievances and encourage the good stuff. Since it’s 2018, we must also review some flicks. So, a sci-fi and black comedy felt appropriate. We’ve got the zany Mom and Dad that uses Nicolas Cage very well as well as the third pseudo-installment in the Cloverfield franchise with The Cloverfield Paradox.

January 2018

#43 The Best Films of 2017

Yes, we know the Academy Awards nominations are in, not letting us finish up 2017 for good but this is our last countdown show. As we give what we believe are the best movies of 2017, we will also discuss how the year fared overall with highs and lows and in between. Thanks for supporting us by listening to our show and we will catch you at the movies in full swing in 2018 proper.

#42 The Best Discoveries In 2017

What do we mean when we say discoveries? It’s a top ten list unlike other end-of-year lists that many podcasters and critics make. It means that pieces of media or art discovered that DID NOT come out in 2017 have a chance of making this top ten. It’s a good way to illuminate movies or books or a song that has ben lost to more contemporary items. Enjoy and come back next week for the main event, the best films of 2017.

#41 The Best TV Shows of 2017 Part II

TV: The Sequel. Ralf joins in on the Top Ten fun with his as well as Oscar’s Best 10 shows of the year. There’s more animated series than anticipated and 2017 showed some great sophomore and especially freshman efforts. Channels less popular are making lists! Don’t cheat and check the rest of these notes beforehand. Discover what made our list as you listen.

#40 The Best TV Shows of 2017 Part I

It’s the beginning of Countdown month! We move from the silver screen to the small one. We have a guest host to give his top 10 while Oscar cheats and gives his 11-20 and the main 10 with Ralf next week. It’s been a hella great year for the golden TV age and there’s a solid mix of new and older shows making lists. Stay with us next week for the TV conclusion.