We're trying to catch up with a ton movies as we move further into award season, and this week we're looking at Aquaman, A Star is Born, and more. Plus, we'll look at the insanity that was The Golden Globes, and give our take on the wins that shocked the industry.
We're catching up this week from before the holidays, and since awards season has been especially challenging, we'll be catching up for weeks to come. This week we zipped through several films, including: The Favourite, Blackkklansman, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and more. In just a few days we will be back with several more awards hopefuls, and our response to the Golden Globes.
It's a strange mix of films as we head into the mad rush that will soon take over our podcast, and What They Had and Wildlife could hardly be more different undertakings. Still, as we will let you know, there is a certainly similarity to the films, though it isn't a positive. As we get closer to the end of the year, and the dash to catch things that will be nominated for awards, are these two worth your time? We'll let you know, and we will talk a little about the Golden Globe nominations....
First Man caused a stir in Toronto, though not on its merits exactly. But, people did seem to like it, for the most part. Bad Times at the El Royale somehow flew under most people's radar, despite an impressive cast. Are either of these worth your time? We'll let you know, and we'll update you on industry ramblings that catch our fancy.
It's time to once again ask if a Comic movie can pull in viewers who aren't familiar with the subject, and while that effort has seen success, it's a tricky game. Without even a hint of Spider-Man, Venom hopes that people will show up based off its cast and the basic fact that there is a comic out there somewhere... and we like comic movies. This one is especially tricky, because Venom isn't really a good guy... exactly. Does this one manage to be worth your time? We'll let you know....
You have to love a year with some family-friendly creepiness hitting around Halloween, and Jack Black is taking another swing at the genre, but does The House with the Clock in its Walls deliver? We'll let you know, and we'll give you a dose of industry news, sneak peeks, and general ramblings.
It's an odd world when Mission Impossible can't take over the box office in a meaningful way... or at all, and it may be that a score of years into a franchise it's hard to find people who care anymore. Unfortunately, there's probably a good reason that potential audiences aren't that excited for another trip down Tom Cruise's action vehicle, though it surprisingly isn't the aging star. We'll let you know why you should catch or avoid this one.
It was a week that was slow in movies, rocketing with news, and if it wasn't Comic-Con or Guardians of the Galaxy, it was a dozen other things... all of them pulling attention away from The Equalizer 2. You want to hope for great things from Denzel, because you don't expect vanity projects, or money grabs from him, but the first installment didn't exactly scream that we needed more.
The summer caught up with us a bit, which means we've had to put Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Ant-Man and the Wasp together, with The Incredibles 2 thrown into the mix as well. Oddly enough, our own predictions didn't exactly work out for us for either movie (to one degree or another), and of course that means that our hopes for the future were lifted up, but then quickly dashed. It's a week of giant creatures and tiny people, and it ought to mean more summer fun that you can handle... but...
The arena of female-focus continuations is a small subset of films, and one that is as riddled with problems as it is championed as a general effort. Ghostbusters, for example, managed little to recommend, despite the fact that many hoped for a film that create a foothold for the future. Ocean's 8 has a lot going for it on paper, but seems mostly like a movie that is an excuse to capitalize on a franchise. The cast will bring a lot of people in, as will the title, but we'll let you know if this ...
Solo is the start of a brand new world for the Star Wars franchise, and its performance is going to potentially result in a lot of long-term decisions. Though making money at the box office isn't necessarily all Disney is looking at, the film's lack of ability to capitalize on its character isn't going to go over well. Beyond simply being a specific character title, there's only so much Star Wars in this attempt at Star Wars, because it's largely just a heist movie. Without even the draw of Star...
Expectations were high for the return of Deadpool, even if we had a lot of problems with the first one. Love it or hate it, it's hard to deny that the most politically incorrect superhero has wedged himself into the cultural consciousness, and you had to hope for big things from the second installment. At this point, the film, and/or its virtues is somewhat irrelevant, because Ryan Reynolds has managed to take the character everywhere and has made for himself a persona that will live long past t...
You could hardly have more hype, and at this point the machine simply is what it is, but does the latest Marvel offering win out just because, or despite the fact that, it throws everyone into a big stew? The opening will surely crush the box office, but we had very mixed thoughts about how well this one worked. You'll also want to tune in for the first news of our 1984 Challenge, which is going to earn someone over $2,000 worth of Blu-Rays, gifts, and various movie swag.
Amy Schumer is having a rough go in theaters, but she continues to move in a positive direction. However much you may be disappointed in any particular film, you get the feeling that she'll get there and you'll want to be around when she does. "I Feel Pretty" throws a new monkey wrench into the works though, because it wouldn't be surprising for people to find themselves furiously disappointed in this one. Of course, it wouldn't be too surprising for people to not especially care either, and the...
This week brings us two polar opposites in terms of genre (and I suppose volume), and while the hype may have gone in different directions, we had a good time with both of these. And, we didn't have such a great time with either of them. A Quiet Place has instantly rocketed its star into a new world of directing possibilities, including a sequel, and Rampage has... not had a very positive reception. We'll let you know what we think, and you're probably going to be surprised....
It's hard to scare us with a film more than putting out an adaptation of a book that seems unfilmable. Throwing a lot of money and a huge name director at it doesn't actually change that fact, but Ready Player One managed to mostly win us over. On the other hand, a lot of things were changed, and fans have been responding from every direction. It's one thing, and a necessary one, to change something about a novel to adapt it, but it's quite another to monkey with a story with almost wild abandon...
Managing the dubious distinction of the highest rated movie I utterly hated, the Pacific Rim franchise continues with a new cast, a new director, and precious little we might count as a point. We agreed that it isn't something we're about to recommend to people, but it had some positives, even if they are barely worth mentioning when put into the whole. The story of how this film came together would clearly enlighten many about the inner workings of the Hollywood machine as it seems contractual ...
Tomb Raider seems like an odd move right now, but does that mean it's an automatic throwaway? It's been a long time since we saw a Croft in theaters, but more importantly, there doesn't seem to be anything swirling in the cultural consciousness that turns this franchise into something that needs another look. The whys may be mysterious, but it turns out that, for what it is, this is an interesting attempt. Well, one of us thought so anyway. Tune in to find out what we thought about this and A Wr...
It's that time of year again, and no, I don't mean it's time for Marvel to take over cinemas again. Black Panther has taken over the box office and it keeps on trucking, but it's time for our own version of movie awards. Every year we offer up our "Can't Win" Awards, where we try to recognize some of the best in the year's films that really have no chance of getting nominated for any other awards. Whether it's a question of being too genre, too small, or too controversial in subject matter, ther...
There were some surprisingly good movies this year, and seeing indie and genre films push out some clear award hopefuls may give a lot of film fans hope for the future. But! That doesn't mean there weren't a lot of horrible efforts out there as well. In fact, it seems that if you saw the last couple of years as reaching new heights, the scales are still fairly balanced, because the lows are reaching new depths. We'll let you know our picks for the most dreaded films of the year so that you can m...
We usually come pretty close in our ratings, but our lists often end up very different. This year, much to my surprise, things surprised me. As our long-time listeners know, Shane limits himself (mostly) to things we cover on the show, whereas I'm open to everything. Even that didn't make much difference to our lists this year, except that I had a couple I had to throw in the mix. In the end, we might have put things in different positions, but one movie had our number this year.
As we try to catch up to awards season, we get into stranger and stranger combinations. Darkest Hour has seen Gary Oldman finally getting his due as we head to the Academy Awards, and The Post has turned the award season into one for the books as the paint-by-numbers awards darling has been pretty well shut out. Meanwhile, since Netflix has turned bonkers fantasy into something everyone is talking about, we threw Bright into the mix as well.
The end of the year makes for odd mixes and you could hardly find two movies that fit worse in a double feature. On the other hand, despite the lack of attention Christmas fare managed this year, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a film that may well catch continued life for years to come. Meanwhile, Lady Bird has a Golden Globe and it certainly deserves it. As we catch up with everything this year and prepare for our Best Lists extravaganza, we'll let you know what's still to come for award sea...
It's a weird week of pseudo-biopic films and as award season heats up, these two films are getting attention that you couldn't have predicted six months ago. Both The Disaster Artist and I, Tonya are not only managing a lot of attention for their performances, but they are avoiding a lot of attention you might have expected when it comes to the odd treatment of their respective subjects. We'll let you know if these need to make it to your list of films you need to see and offer up some more gene...
You could hardly have two movies getting award attention that are more different than The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. A wild, sci-fi fairy tale about a mute who befriends a mer-creature, and the story of a woman who is tortured by her daughter's murder and the inability of the local police to provide her with any closure. Both films are making serious plays as awards season approaches, and both are deserving. But, are they as good as everyone says, and do you ne...
Justice League managed to bounce back in its intro in a way that few movies can, but it doesn't seem like it's enough to truly turn the sentiment of the public at large. Wonder Woman won over audiences tremendously, but it seems as though DC still has a problem with where it left Batman and Superman. Does it up the game, or has much the DC comic effort become the lost wanderings aiming at piles of money that much of the public seems to suspect? We'll let you know, but you probably won't be very ...
Apart from avoiding news at all costs, we're reviewing Murder on the Orient Express this week, and it's a more interesting adventure than you might imagine. The review, that is. Not simply a time-honored classic, but also a film that seems to defy being remade, Orient Express is a film that has to make you wonder what exactly Branagh has in his bonnet. Of course, we all know that he just wanted to get the money to do Death on the Nile. At any rate, the movie is a strange feature for many reasons...
In a year that has ultimately been rather disappointing, a comic-book hero film that doesn't take itself seriously won over audiences, but is it really any good, or is it just better than the last few months of offerings? We'll let you in on everything you need to know about Thor: Ragnarok, and the huge surprises that came from Suburbicon and The Foreigner. Two films would be hard-pressed to have a wider gap of expectations and the results probably shocked us more than anything else this year....
Blade Runner 2049 was nerve-wracking for us, and not just because at least one of us love the original. The box-office doesn't reflect the cult status of a film that was truly a game-changer for the sci-fi genre, but the critical response was pretty positive leading up to this one. Listen in and we'll let you know where this one falls compared to the original, and whether or not it's going to ultimately achieve the same kind of zeitgeist success.
American Made had so much going for it that we found ourselves chomping at the bit, which is somewhat unusual for this kind of "true story" effort, and a lot of what the film delivers should have won us over. Unfortunately, it didn't quite come together in the way we expected and it ultimately left us wanting something more to show up. We'll let you know if this is the right film for you and whether or not you need to add it to your list, and we'll give you the scoop on industry news and more....
