The legend of Indiana Jones ends in an unfortunate snoozefest that fails to live up to the vaunted films of the 80s. Fortunately, that leaves us all kinds of relics to rearrange in the museum of Indy. Scott, Liam, and Gregg look to bring Indiana Jones to a close by interrogating the nature of the character and his history of looting. In addition, we add a fan-favourite character while conversely trying to make the audience feel as uncomfortable as possible. 06:42 - Plot Summary 08:27 - Movie Dis...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 176
The Flash is another in a long line of troubled DC movies. Although the core is simple and smart, director Andy Muschietti loses the handle to blockbuster bloat. Fortunately, Scott has a simple, yet brilliant change that takes the drama to a whole new level and opens up the opportunity to keep the scope smaller and more focused. 00:14:43 - Plot Summary 00:17:06 - Movie Discussion 00:41:00 - Movie Punch-up 00:58:35 - Listener Comments...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 175
Ducan Jones' follow-up to Moon dropped, it barely made a sound. It remains one of the many Netflix original misses that have been scarcely seen – must less heard – by anyone. But hey, we were looking for a noir cyberpunk movie, and this one fits the bill! Laena Anderson of Quantum Kickflip fame joins us to give a stronger voice to Mute. They deftly adjust the challenges the protagonist's disability would present in an ableist future, while Scott looks to change the film's protagonist altogether....
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 174
This week we pitch modern remakes for the O.G. horror flick: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. A classic of the Weimar Germany era of expressionist films, Dr. Caligari left an indelible mark on the horror genre with its haunting score, trippy hand-painted lettering and sets, and unique film tinting. I can say with confidence I've never seen a movie like it. You can watch it for free here . Liam and Gregg propose remakes that are essentially artistic love letters to a classic, while Scott zags in the ...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 173
Ti West's X is honestly a pretty great horror/slasher movie, but would we let a quality film from A24 get in the way of our Monday morning screenwriting? Hell no! The question for us was whether X took its themes all the way to the finish line. We propose a couple of character moments for Maxime that might done just that, while also making the deaths of certain members of the film crew more tragic. 10:46 - Film Discussion 37:34 - Rewrites for X 1:00:16 - Listner Comments...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 172
Originally a Patreon exclusive, we've unlocked this special Side Notes episode for all to enjoy: How to Watch Movie Good. Making I Have Some Notes over the last eight years has really pushed us to become better cinephiles and media critics. Punching up movies week after week isn't easy, particularly if we hope to create interesting pitches that meaningfully move these screenplays in a better direction. So we thought it would be good to share with you our individual journeys from average moviegoe...
Oct 06, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 171
As mentioned in our last episode, we intend to ride out the Hollywood strikes in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, so we may not be punching up American superhero movies for a while. Fortunately, this presents a perfect excuse to hit the road and explore imaginative superhero movies abroad, like Shin Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider is a storied Japanese hero who is as much a cultural touchstone in Japan as Superman is in North America. The franchise spans hundreds of hours of television and a dizz...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 170
Did you miss us? Cause we definitely missed you! We're stoked to be back for another season of punching up movies, although this season will be slightly different. As you know, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild are currently on strike due to unfair pay and poor working conditions. To show our solitary, I Have Some Notes has chosen not to promote any struck work from movie studios that are unwilling to sign a fair deal with artists. They are the lifeblood of the industry an...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 169
For our season finalé, we really felt we wanted to get to the center of a science fiction film. You know, really drill down, bore out all the flaws, and mine some truly creative solutions. Additional core puns. Robin Taylor (Cinematological) joins us for the conclusion to Season 8 of I Have Some Notes aiming to rewrite 2003's THE CORE. The crew struggles a bit with this one but ultimately pitches multiple fixes including throwing an Adam-McKay-esque satirical blanket around the entire plot. Than...
Jun 23, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 168
Hollywood has a long dark history of discriminating against and abusing women, an issue thoroughly analyzed by the revealing 2018 documentary THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. When Anita recently watched this doc, it affected her so completely she was compelled to bring a panel of women together to discuss it. As such a panel is no place for three white dudes, Anita, Glenna, Danica and Erin take over the show for an insightful conversation about gender disparity in Hollywood. Take it from the man who edi...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 167
It's fair to say the consensus amongst critics is that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness needed more verses and madness, and that's a given in all of our notes. However, where MoM really struggles is in its character development, particularly of its villain. We work our way through the multiverse punching up Wanda's arc while sprinkling in some Marvel lore that could have made jumping from dimension to dimension much more fun. After you've listened to the episode come check out our Dis...
May 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 166
Bullet Train was not well received critically. When it sits at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes you can understand why we would look at it and say "Hey, the perfect movie for our podcast." And yet, this movie is mostly rad, leaving us a bit stunned and at a loss for how to go about our usual repitching shtick. We soldier on, of course, but the rewrites are of a very minor variety. Still, it was fun to talk about a pretty good movie this time around.
May 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 165
When we think of director Neill Blomkamp we think of District 9 and not a lot else. While the once up-and-coming director may be short on execution, he's never short on ideas. Elysium is the kind of film tailor-made for this podcast: tons of fun, interesting ideas that don't quite come together. The result? An absolute banger of a show! As we mention in the listener comments section, Sean McKnight sent us a fully realized repitch of Elysium, you can read it here ....
Apr 28, 2023•59 min•Ep. 164
Barbarian is a very good movie and we talk about it. Okay, now on to the important stuff. For the last six years, I Have Some Notes has been privileged to be part of the Alberta Podcast Network, the brain-baby of founder Karen Unland. Karen's love for local art built a platform for so many of us to stand on and gave us the opportunity to fund our passion projects. Although the APN ended its operation in March, will be forever grateful to Karen as well as Fawnda Mithrush and Breanne Byrne for the...
Apr 14, 2023•55 min•Ep. 163
As 90's action schlock goes, Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd is probably better than you remember. The money is all on the screen with great sci-fi sets and a badass animatronic robot. However, we wouldn't be reviewing it on this podcast if it were perfect. The plot is derivative, the villain is boring, and the satire the comic is known for is completely missing. Listen in as we (mostly Liam) add contemporary social commentary and introduce a new criminal element as the backbone for Dredd's wro...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 162
John Dies at the End is a delightfully absurd horror comedy, or at least it would be if it had been better produced. Writer and Ph.D. candidate in Media and Cultural Studies, Pete Morley, joins us to relive this beloved web serial turned cult-classic novel turned mediocre movie in a collective effort to punch it up.
Mar 17, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 161
Bless the entertainment conglomerate Disney for churning out mediocre movie after middling movie that will keep this podcast well-supplied into the next decade. Perhaps century. What film has Disney brought to the Gods of Rewrites as its next sacrifice? Thor: Love and Thunder. Joining us to reimagine Taika Waittit's second crack at making Marvel magic is comic expert and fellow podcaster Josh Skaar, host of Talking SMAC (Superheroes Movies Animation Comics). Together we seek to eliminate some of...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 160
Some movies are just made for our podcast. Don't Worry Darling is a beautiful, well-made movie that takes aim at misogyny and the patriarchy in interesting ways but juuuuuuuuust can't quite bring it home. Liam, Gregg and Scott differ on the level of mess Oliva Wilde's film is, but none can deny how engaging it was to watch. And hey, we're glad we did because it was a lot of fun to reimagine some of the twists and character arcs in a way that could've made for a stronger film.
Feb 17, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 159
You can have it fast, you can have it cheap, but you can't have it good. That is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in a half shell. While not necessarily a bad film, this rushed Turtles sequel was a treasure trove of missed opportunities, some of which should have been fairly obvious to the filmmakers, assuming they had the time to read the source material. Liam and Gregg take time to fix some minor issues, while Scott goes for broke with a page-one rewrite that celebrates ...
Feb 03, 2023•54 min•Ep. 158
It is always a bummer when a movie has a killer premise and completely whiffs. M. Night Shyamalan is back on the show for a second time and up to his usual twisty shenanigans (Shyamanigans?). This time the twist completely undermines his premise and makes us think far too much about the mechanics of his magic beach. Listen in as Liam, Scott and Gregg make one simple change to OLD that helps all the pieces fit more cohesively into place.
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 157
Happy New Year, fellow armchair screenwriters! We take a short break from rewriting mediocre movies to talk about some good ones that don't need any rewrites. Liam, Scott and Gregg discuss their top films of the year including one they all agree was a cut above them all.
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 156
It's our final movie rewrite of 2022! We hope you're all having a safe, happy holiday curled up in front of the fire listening to us deconstruct and rebuild Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. Admittedly this one was a bit intimidating, but ultimately we landed on several solid paths to a more thematically cohesive and perhaps more contemplative film. WARNING! Last Night In Soho deals with themes of sexual violence, as does our discussion.
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 155
Kids movies! Fun light-hearted cinema full of catchy songs that get stuck in your head when your kid plays them over and over and over and sings along with them so loudly you can't think straight and you start to think "is this what losing my mind is like?" but no you haven't lost your mind because it is in fact your soul that is sinking into the inky black abyss with each repetition of the horrid whalings of a broadway singer turned accursed voice actor whose unwanted melodic tones trespass thr...
Dec 09, 2022•55 min•Ep. 154
We've talked about mediocre X-Men films before, so for The New Mutants we decided to try something a little different. Returning guests and X-Men experts Robyn Slack ( Quantuum Kickflip ) and Olav Rokne ( Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog ) face off against seasoned movie punch-up veterans Scott C. Bourgeois and Gregg Beever in an epic movie pitch battle. Liam Creswick judges this winner-take-all I Have Some Notes slugfest. What spoils await the victor? I donno, pride or something....
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 153
While Brendan Fraser is experiencing a well-deserved renaissance, we thought it would be fun to rewind the clock to look back at his heyday in the 90s. George of the Jungle may have not been his strongest starring role, but there are many who still remember it fondly. We, of course, look back and find ways to improve Brendan's role. Cutting a couple of needless subplots and more than a few characters, we streamline George of the Jungle to include more George IN the jungle.
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 152
Sequels! We love 'em! They're rarely any good and ripe for re-pitching. In Jaws The Revenge's case the film is really devoid of good shark-related kills and spends far too much time focused on the wrong character. The crew takes turns adding to a new pitch that turns the shark into more of a metaphor before shifting gears into a straight-up supernatural slasher flick.
Oct 28, 2022•52 min•Ep. 151
Ghotbusters: Afterlife may devolve into a cynical cavalcade of nostalgia, but boy what a ride. Glenna Schowalter of the Slugblaster play along podcast Quantum Kickflip joins our cast of armchair screenwriters to punch up a perfectly fine, yet slightly unsatisfying Ghostbusters sequel. Together the paranormal foursome of pretend producers question the need for familial ties to the original cast, while also toying with the idea of making the O.G. proton slingers the villains....
Oct 14, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 150
As we all know video game movies are notorious for being great. They are among the most well-written and thoughtful blockbuster movies Hollywood produces, especially in the earlier 2000s when they definitely weren't cynical cash grabs. You'd think Lara Croft: Tomb Raider wouldn't be the kind of film we review, but Angelina Jolie's video game adaptation managed to buck the trend of hit film after hit film. It is salvageable, however, as we manage to add more tomb raiding to this Tomb Raider flick...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 149
It was amazing to see all you armchair screenwriters in chat for our LIVE broadcast of Morbius! For those of you who missed while it was live the episode is archived on here YouTube . Of course, you can also listen to it right here on our podcast feed. Unfortunately Abdul was not able to join us due to a technical issue, but we soldiered on punching up Michael Morbius's relationship with his so-called friend Milo, while also making the film more of a THE FLY pastiche with requisite R-rated body ...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 148
We're kicking off season 8 of I Have Some Notes with a killer live show fixing a famous vampiric flop. That's right, armchair screenwriters, it's Morbin' Time! Please join us on Friday, September 16th at 9 PM MDT for our season premier featuring special guest and talented screenwriter, Abdul Malik. LIVE SHOW DETAILS Live Stream Link: https://youtu.be/jSDDOu_HwNI Date: Friday, September 16th Time: 9 PM MDT
Sep 09, 2022•3 min•Ep. 147
