Bill Condon writes the screenplay for this Best Picture winning musical, Chicago ! In this debut film for director Rob Marshall, he finds a way to make a musical work for a modern film audience. It doesn’t hurt that Catherine Zeta Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Richard Gere (also John C. Reilly and Queen Latifah) kill their respective roles. We have a new guest as Alexis Callen joins us to talk about the film! She has great insights! Enjoy! Up next, another Oscar winner, Amadeus! Chicago (2002) Rat...
Aug 01, 2019•46 min
Alison Anderson, our resident Frankenstein guest, joins us for Gods and Monsters , a film about James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein . The movie features an early star making turn by Brandan Fraser as well as a great pre-Lord of the Rings performance by Sir Ian McKellon. It serves as a fine finish to our trip through the Frankenstein catalog that began way back with Young Frankenstein . Up next, we will follow director Bill Condon as he provides the screenplay to Chica...
Jul 15, 2019•38 min
Our latest episode continues our exploration of Frankenstein with Bride of Frankenstein . Alison Anderson joins us to watch the sequel to James Whale’s Frankenstein with this film, that may actually be better. James Whale directs the sequel to his classic monster movie and Boris Karloff returns as the monster. Elsa Lanchester plays one of the most recognized women in the history of film and she’s on screen for something like five minutes! Go Elsa! Next up, we are going to finish our Frankenstein...
Jul 12, 2019•37 min
For this episode, we sort of followed Boris Karloff to a classic screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra. Arsenic and Old Lace was based on a stage play that featured Boris Karloff. He’s not in the movie, though. We’ll explain why. Alex Wick joins us to see if this 1941 comedy is still funny to a 19-year-old. For the most part, it still is! Up next, we are going to be watching Bride of Frankenstein ! Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Rating: 7.9/10 (77,355 votes) Director: Frank Capra Writer: Julius ...
Jun 01, 2019•52 min
Well after promising to get to this film for a few months, we finally managed to watch the 1931 Frankenstein ! Adapted from Mary Shelly’s book, this movie basically defines what Frankenstein’s Monster will look like for the rest of film history. Boris Karloff has the star making role in this James Whale directed classic. Alison Anderson joins us after having watched Young Frankenstein so she can finally get where a whole bunch of the jokes came from! Next up, we are going to follow Boris Karloff...
May 21, 2019•48 min
We decided we needed to watch the 2019 Oscar Winner for Best Animated Film, Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse ! Melissa had not yet seen it so Patricia Wick returns as our expert to talk about the film that may have just been the best film of 2019, period. While not officially a part of the MCU, Spider-Verse fits extremely well in that universe and, in some ways, even tops it. Next up, we swear we are actually going to watch Frankenstein ! Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Rating: 8.4/10 (...
Apr 15, 2019•36 min
As has been our annual tradition, we are taking a look at this year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture! For this episode, Melissa and Tim had both not yet seen the film. That means Patricia Wick joins us as our expert as we watch Green Book . This movie has some issues. It isn’t horrible but it definitely has some…problems. So as much as three white people can, we try to unpack this movie about racism that might just have some problems because it may be a little bit racist. Next up, we’re going to ...
Apr 01, 2019•53 min
For the second time, we are watching a Max Max movie! This time it’s Mad Max: Fury Road . In what is essentially one super long car chase, we get to watch Charlize Theron be a bad ass and a blind guy play a flame throwing guitar. It’s pretty great. Alee Baker joins us as a first time viewer of this explosive action film that may not have re-defined the action genre but sure as hell pushed the limits of it. Next up, we said we’d be watching Frankenstein but that’s a lie! Instead, we are going to ...
Mar 15, 2019•54 min
We followed Peter Paul from The Princess Bride to this farce by Blake Edwards. The Great Race stars Falk, Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Keenan Wynn as they race across the world. Along the way, they get into a bar fight, escape a polar bear, and meet up with another version of Jack Lemmon! Our newbie for this film is…Melissa! Hard to believe there are any films she hasn’t seen but this was one of them. Join us for the silliness! Up next, we are going to take another road trip with ...
Mar 04, 2019•48 min
OK, we finally get to watch The Princess Bride ! As one might expect, it was a challenge to find someone who hadn’t seen the movie but with a little work, we found Megan Ealain, who agreed to join us and watch the movie for the first time! If you’ve never seen this 1980’s fantasy/comedy gem before, you should definitely do so before you listen to the episode. If you have seen it before (more likely), you can enjoy our stories about the film and even Tim’s story about meeting one of the actors! N...
Jan 15, 2019•52 min
Our latest episode was a bit of a last minute audible as we lost a guest due to weather. So Tim became our guinea pig to watch F for Fake , a “documentary” about hoaxes by Orson Welles. This kind of wacky film takes a look at a few different fakers, including the filmmaker himself. It is very new wave and so very Orson Welles in every sense of the word. Probably the best way to enter the world of this film is knowing as little as possible. Next up, we really do talk about The Princess Bride ! F ...
Jan 08, 2019•34 min
We are sticking with comedy for just a bit longer as we watch the classic heavy metal mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap ! Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer play the members of a rock band whose popularity is on something of a downward slide. Rob Reiner is the director of a film that is mostly improvised and still manages to have a story arc. It’s a super funny movie and Allison Anderson joins us to see it for the first time! Next up, we are going to try to find someone who has ...
Dec 03, 2018•47 min
This episode, we take a look at the best film ever based on a board game (and it isn’t close) – Clue ! The movie has a stellar comedic cast and while it was something of a box office failure, it has become a huge success on home video. Tom S Tea joins us to watch the film for the first time and they enjoy this delightfully campy romp through a mansion filled with multiple endings and a stellar comedic cast! We hope you enjoy figuring out whodunnit with us! Next up, we follow Michael McKean to Th...
Nov 15, 2018•53 min
Just in time for the day after Halloween! We finish off our trip through the films that are arguably Mel Brooks’ best with Young Frankenstein ! This satirical homage to the classic Universal horror movies (but especially Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein) may be one of Brooks’ least madcap films but it is still a comedic masterpiece. Gene Wilder heads up a stellar cast that really chews scenery in black and white! Next up, we’ll follow Madeline Kahn to Clue ! Young Frankenstein (1974) Ratin...
Nov 01, 2018•57 min
Our Mel Brooks series continues with his parody of the Western Genre – Blazing Saddles ! Alison Anderson joins us for her first viewing of a film that took on racism head on in the 1970’s. When it comes to addressing racism, the film still really does a good job. When it comes to…other things, it might not have fared so well. Still, for the most part it holds up fabulously and is still wickedly funny. From here, we are going to watch one more Mel Brooks film – Young Frankenstein . Blazing Saddle...
Oct 15, 2018•53 min
Having just watched The Producers (1967) by Mel Brooks, we follow up by watching The Producers (2005) by Mel Brooks! This musical adaptation of the original film that was not quite a musical once again features “Springtime for Hitler” but it also has a whole lot of other songs along with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who reprise their roles from the Broadway production. For this episode, Melissa is our noob who has never seen the film before and Barb Lind acts as our expert while Tim misses...
Sep 15, 2018•52 min
This week, we begin working through a series of films by Mel Brooks. We start with our look at his first film, a movie Roger Ebert called “one of the funniest films ever made,” The Producers (1967) ! Barb Lind joins us to discuss this film that dares to take on Hitler with comedy. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are the stars in what would later become a broadway musical that was adapted into a different film! That we will watch next! Next up: The Producers (2005) ! The Producers (1967) Rating: 7.5/...
Sep 01, 2018•50 min
For a podcast that tries to blend movie education with comedy – this episode creates a bit of a puzzler. We are watching Schindler’s List . Steven Spielberg’s undisputed masterpiece about the holocaust as seen through the eyes of a man who tried to prevent a tiny part of it is a sobering cinematic work. And yet it is certainly one of the best films made by him or any other director. Kelvin Hatle joins us to see the film for the first time and we spend quite a bit of time discussing the impact af...
Aug 15, 2018•1 hr
This week’s theme is DINOSAURS! We bring new viewer Stephan Zvan to watch Jurassic Park with our friend and Dinosaur Expert, Matt Kessen. Spielberg’s most successful movie gets the Reel Education treatment as we consider the parts that have aged extremely well (the special effects) and the parts that haven’t (creeper Jeff Goldblum). All in all, this is a really great suspense film that features goddamn dinosaurs! We hope you enjoy watching the movie and our conversation that centers around the d...
Aug 01, 2018•56 min
This week, we are joined by Heather Rand-McKay to watch Ocean’s Eleven (2001) ! But she isn’t our only special guest. Patricia Wick joins us in the movie expert chair! We do take some time to talk about the original Ocean’s 11 (1960) and do our best to discourage anyone who wishes to watch the movie because it is super boring. You might like it, though. We know a few people who do. Maybe that’s you. We watched this version because we like movies that are fun to watch. Go Las Vegas! Next up, we a...
Jul 16, 2018•49 min
Our latest episode takes a look at Michael Crichton’s Westworld . Tim’s son Alex joins us for this movie about a futuristic theme park where nothing could possibly go wrong but, due to exceptionally bad design flaws, things do! Yul Brynner stars as a gunslinger who seems to have tired of constantly being beaten by rich tourists with no shooting skills. We enjoyed the movie but it has a few plot holes and we make sure to discuss the most glaring. Next up, we are going to watch Ocean’s Eleven (200...
Jul 01, 2018•45 min
We’ve been promising this movie for a while and finally it is time for us to watch The Big Lebowski ! Breanna Cecile joins us to watch this film she compares to John Steinbeck’s ‘The Pearl,” which may be about the most intelligent observation made by any guest on our podcast ever. Certainly more intelligent than any observation made by our hosts. While this is not likely the best Coen Brothers film, it is probably their most popular. We take a deep dive into world of The Dude. Abide with us. Nex...
Jun 15, 2018•57 min
We had a bit of an unintentional hiatus there because Melissa and Tim had a heck of a time coordinating schedules. We’re back and we are watching The Omen with guest Kyle Dekker. Tim also hasn’t seen the film so we have two newbies with a film Melissa watched on nearly constant loop when she was a kid. We take a look at this Son of the Devil horror film and spend a lot more time talking about Patrick Troughton than we probably should given the film stars Gregory freaking Peck. Hard to believe th...
Jun 01, 2018•54 min
Barb Lind returns as we look at yet another film nominated for Best Picture in 2018 – Get Out ! Melissa is actually the only member of our podcasting crew who has seen the movie so Tim and Barb both get to experience it for the first time. This is the work of first time writer/director Jordan Peele who is best known for his comedic work. Get Out uses the horror genre to explore race relations and it is pretty damn creepy. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should! Next up, we are finally going t...
Apr 04, 2018•50 min
As is our annual tradition, we sat down and watched the most recent winner for Best Picture. This year, it is a genre film by Guillermo Del Toro – The Shape of Water ! Semi-regular guest newbie Barb Lind re-joins us to watch this fable about a fish man. We talk about Doug Jones because you kind of need to do that if you are going to be talking about a movie by Guillermo Del Toro as well as the rest of the cast. We also bring up being hit in the fact with a 2×4 more than once. Because that’s the ...
Mar 15, 2018•49 min
This week is unusual because Melissa couldn’t make it and Tim was forced to be the movie expert. This proved difficult as it was only his second time watching the film! He and guest Kelvin Hatle do their best as they watch a favorite of many people who were children in the 80’s – The Goonies ! Produced by Steven Spielberg, this film feels incredibly dated if you weren’t into it in the first place. Still, it holds a place of affection in the hearts of many so we take a look at what makes it tick....
Mar 01, 2018•40 min
Kyle Dekker joins us to watch a Western that is a not even a little bit subtle allegory for the behavior of Hollywood during the House UnAmerican Activities Committee hearings – High Noon ! Gary Cooper won an Oscar for his powerful portrayal of a man who slowly comes to realize that nobody will stand up for him in his time of greatest need. We talk a lot about how much John Wayne hated this film because John Wayne really hated this film. Screenwriter Carl Foreman had to leave the country for Eng...
Feb 15, 2018•47 min
We promised you Goonies but we had a scheduling mix-up so this episode brings you Exit Through the Gift Shop instead! This documentary produced by acclaimed street artist Banksy starts out as a documentary about finding Banksy but then it turns into something quite different. Tim is our newbie for this one and he spends much of the episode talking about what people are willing to pay for art. Like so many documentaries, what makes this one memorable is not the movie that they wanted to make but ...
Feb 01, 2018•39 min
We conclude our Crime Spree series (for now) with the ultimate Christmas action movie – Die Hard ! Elliot James is our unsuspecting novice and he joined us to watch Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman chew scenery and destroy a building. This child of the Rambo genre actually created a genre of it’s own (the “Die Hard in a…” genre) and established the superstar cred of both Rickman and Willis. Elliot was surprised to enjoy the movie and there is a good chance you might be too! Up next, we are going to...
Jan 16, 2018•53 min
We continue our crime spree (or crime wave depending on what Tim decided to call it this episode) with the groundbreaking Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction ! This movie was so important that we had to get two guests to watch it with us! The first is newcomer Patrick Fisher and the second is Tim’s now eighteen-year-old son Alex Wick! We watch the film and then talk about how it transformed filmmaking and production in the two decades that have followed. Next up, we are going to continue with cr...
Jan 01, 2018•49 min
