Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 198: The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) and Swiss Army Man (2016) and Carnage Park (2016)

Episode 198

In Episode 198 of Movie Podcast Weekly, we bring you four Feature Reviews of The Secret Life of Pets and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Swiss Army Man and Carnage Park. This episode features an appearance by special guest MPW listener Eric Herman (of Eric Herman Music.com). We also have a concept discussion where we debate whether a film’s ending can ruin the overall intrinsic value of the movie. Join us!

If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andy, Karl and Geek Cast Ry — along with frequent guests. We give you our verdicts on at least one new movie release from the current year that’s currently playing in theaters, as well as several mini reviews of whatever we’ve been watching lately. New episodes release every single week!


SHOW NOTES:

I. Introduction


[ 0:01:55 ] II. Mini Reviews
Karl: “Homework” preparation for MPW Ep. 200
Andy: Story about Tok, Alaska; Kung Fu Panda 3; Harry Potter audio book update
Andy: Out of Africa, Casablanca, Singin’ in the Rain


[ 0:25:21 ] III. Concept Discussion: If you don’t like a movie’s ending, does it altogether ruin the whole movie and consequently strip it of all its other merits?
– Are “happy endings” necessary for a movie to still be “a good movie”?


IV. New in Theaters on July 8, 2016:
The Secret Life of Pets
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Captain Fantastic
How He Fell in Love
Fathers and Daughters
The Dog Lover
Zero Days
Our Little Sister
Life, Animated
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You


FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:

[ 0:42:24 ] V. Feature Review: THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016)
Andy = 7 ( Theater / Buy it! )
Karl = 7.5 ( Theater / Rental )


[ 0:50:47 ] VI. Feature Review: MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (2016)
Andy = 5 ( Cannot in good conscience recommend this movie to anyone )
Karl = 5 ( Rental )
Episode 198b
At right: MPW listener Eric Herman tries the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.


[ 0:58:58 ] VII. Meeting MPW listener Eric Herman

[ 1:03:22 ] VIII. Feature Review: SWISS ARMY MAN (2016) by special guest MPW listener Eric Herman
Eric Herman = 8.5 ( Strong Rental )

Check out Eric Herman’s website
And on YouTube: Take a Bath


[ 1:18:58 ] IX. Feature Review: CARNAGE PARK (2016)
Jason = 5 ( Rental )


X. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— Thank you to Eric Herman and family


COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 199 where we’ll be reviewing “Ghostbusters” and “The Infiltrator.” Join us!


LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Ryan’s New Facebook Page

Check out Eric Herman’s website
And on YouTube: Take a Bath

Contact MPW:
E-mail us: MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com.
Leave us a voicemail: (801) 382-8789.
Follow MPW on Twitter: @MovieCastWeekly
Leave a comment in the show notes for this episode.

Ry’s BIO
Ry’s flagship show: Geek Cast Live Podcast
DONATE here to facilitate the creation of more Geek content!
Blog: Geek Cast Live
Web site: Geek Harder.com
Facebook
Twitter: @GeekCastRy

Jason recommends supporting: Operation Underground Railroad

Listen to MPW:
Add MPW to your Stitcher playlist: Stitcher.com
MPW on iTunes
MPW’s RSS feed
Right-click to download the MPW 100 Rap

Josh’s links:
Hear Josh named as one of the Top 5 Up-and-Coming Directors on The Film Vault Podcast!
Twitter: @IcarusArts
Josh covers streaming movies on: Movie Stream Cast
Hear Josh on The SciFi Podcast
Hear Josh on Horror Movie Podcast

If you’re a Horror fan, listen to Jason and Josh on HORROR MOVIE PODCAST

We’d like to thank The Dave Eaton Element and Dave himself for the use of his music for our theme song. Buy Dave’s Eaton’s music: BandCamp.com


If you like Movie Podcast Weekly, please subscribe and leave us a review in iTunes. If you want to support the show, we have PayPal buttons in our right-hand sidebar where you can make a one-time donation or you can become a recurring donor for just $2 per month. (Every little bit helps!)

Thanks for listening, and join us again next week for Movie Podcast Weekly.


21 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 198: The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) and Swiss Army Man (2016) and Carnage Park (2016)

  1. Hi Everybody,

    FYI: Even though I’ve been releasing these episodes late, we’ve still been recording on schedule. Therefore, today is Sunday, July 24 (Pioneer Day in Utah). Tomorrow — Monday, July 25 — is when we’re recording MPW Ep. 200. If you were planning to send any e-mails or voicemails for that episode in particular, please get them to me right away. : )

    E-mail: MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com
    Voicemail: (801) 382-8789

    Thanks!
    J

  2. I second the ‘Casablanca’ love. I thought it would be old-school schlop…but when I finally viewed it, I was floored by the love story and the fantastic ending.

    Great mini-review. 🙂

    • I know you guys are diligently working hard to put together a David Lynch episode, but I think it’d be sweet to get a Bogart retrospective. Plenty to discuss there….good and bad. Although, I can’t wait to hear everyone’s take on ‘Twin Peaks’, if that’s in there…

      🙂

      • I just watched Fire Walk With Me for the first time in years. That movie is a bit of a mess but when it works it is just outstanding.

        • Word, Jon. I feel the same about alot of his work. A ton of great scenes, and then, overall, I feel ‘meh’-ish.

          But….those scenes that do hit are enough for me to continue being intrigued by new stuff of his. Even that weird bunny rabbit TV show thing had some spots where I wasn’t totally confused and was digging it.

          Hearing the MPW crew’s takes on his stuff will be interesting. It’d be great if they could tease us the list they plan on reviewing….

          Man…me, me, me…it’s all about gomez98 and what he wants, lately. Sheesh! 🙂

          • I think you’ve nailed it. I believe Blue Velvet is about as close as he gets to a movie working the entire time. Possibly Straight Story as well.

  3. Hey guys, new fan (well… six months or so…) from ‘downunder’… Love what you are doing. Don’t always agree with you guys but wouldn’t it be boring if we all had the same tastes!! look out for some input, particularly when something opens down here before you guys get it (as occasionally happens)..

    keep up the good work and looking forward to Ep200

  4. Hey guys,
    I just wanted to say how much I love this podcast. I am a new listener from Australia and I have been binge listening for the last few weeks. I have listened to about 20 episodes in 2 weeks.
    I love the banter between you guys and the reviews are awesome.
    I watched Sorcerer the other day on Jason’s recommendation and I loved it. It was gritty, tense and it took me by surprise in a few places. I would give it a 7.5 and I say buy it.
    I have just got Bone Tomahawk because you guys were talking about it and I can’t wait to see it, I will let you know what I think.
    Keep up the great work.

  5. Yo J….another listener request for ya…

    Have Ligairi guest on MPW to review ‘The Lobster’. Seems like an indie, art-housey thing that’s getting some pub out there. I plan on checking it out this weekend.

    Then have Ligairi and K-Hud fist fight over ‘Upstream Color’. Maybe that part should be Periscoped.

    Any or all of that request would be dope….no worries, if not though. 🙂

  6. An ending can give a sour taste, and since that is what you take with you, that can definitely hurt. To some extent, though, there’s the old journey/destination thing. The ending of the show Lost was bad, I thought, but the journey was incredibly entertaining and I don’t regret that. The final episode of Seinfeld was downright terrible, but I still love to watch any other episode. Eh, Seinfeld isn’t as good an example as those are more individual episodes, anyway. But I think the Lost example is apt, as that was supposed to be a continual narrative.

    I liked Andy’s description about how endings that didn’t sit well can make you think more about the film. And I also loved the ending of Ex Machina. Karl is wrong. 🙂

    —-

    I thought there was going to be dissing of me somehow, but I heard mostly good things. How disappointing. 🙂 Glad to share my thoughts with y’all on Swiss Army Man, and I hope they were reasonably coherent. One thing J said earlier in this episode that I think applies well to that film is that it takes you places, emotionally.

    Andy, if you were there, I’d gladly have given you CDs for your girls. And not just because you also have an Evee, but that helps. 😉

    • Did Eric just say I was WRONG? Eric have you ever seen the “Happy Days” episode where Ralph calls Fonzie “wrong”?
      Consider yourself warned. 🙂

  7. Catching up on some recent viewings…

    Storywise, there isn’t anything too special about Star Trek Beyond, but the spectacle was among the best ever in ST. The Yorktown starbase is preposterous in design, but also really cool in an MC Escher kind of way, and that initial space battle is fantastic and intense (though they kind of ripped off the style from Battlestar Galactica’s raiders). The Justin Lin influence was apparent, for the better in terms of energy and action. Definitely not as cerebral, though, which is something you do expect with ST. I enjoyed it a lot, overall, though. (8.5/10, see it in a theater!)

    My girls and I finally caught up with Kung Fu Panda 3 and we all loved it. Same level of humor and character, but I thought they upped the visual style of this one in some cool ways. I’d give the first one a 9.5 and the second an 8, and I’m giving part 3 a solid 9.

    We also burned through Netflix’s new 8-part series, Stranger Things. I liked it a lot, and my girls loved it. It hearkens back to a lot of 80’s style lite-horror and wonder, with characters and flavors that could come right out of things like E.T. or Stand By Me or Goonies, etc. It’s a mystery with a bit of a supernatural feel to it. Having seen Midnight Special earlier this year, there’s a little bit of a similarity to what one of the characters is doing, so in that sense, it didn’t feel as original to me. Or rather, as original of a “remix,” which this is obviously doing as far as the 80’s film nods. I should note that although I say that my girls loved it, they (11 and 13) probably are allowed to watch more edgy films/shows than many others their age… which is to say that there is some swearing and some allusions to teenage sex and such. It’s not really a “family” show in that sense, even though several of the main characters are middle schoolers. I give it a 7.5, but I’m guessing that’s low for a lot of people, even adults, so you might want to give it a spin.

    • Eric,

      Good to hear from you on the podcast this week. You’re a natural.

      I have been looking forward to “Star Trek Beyond” ever since I saw the positive reviews rolling in on Rotten Tomatoes. I had pretty low expectations with Justin Lin at the helm. Nothing against Justin, I just haven’t been a big fan of the Fast and Furious film series. I think I’ll hit up STB this week. Glad to hear it’s fun. I’ll be sure to lower my expectations on story when I watch it this week.

      Man, I loved “Stranger Things!” I burned through it a few weekends ago and had a great time. It definitely was an ‘original of a remix.’ That is a good way to put it. The nostalgia factor won me over, but if viewers are looking for a fresh experience, this isn’t it.

      And I loved that it was only eight episodes. 12 episode (or less) seasons is a sweet spot for me. More than that and TV watching often becomes a chore.

  8. I watched Sing Street again on DVD and loved it even more. I’m upgrading it from 9.5 to 10. There’s probably a point or half point of bias there for being a musician/songwriter who was about the same age as these kids at that time, but still, it’s terrific. Don’t miss it!

  9. MPW Update From Jason:
    Good news! I plan to finally be caught up with episode releases this week. This means that next week we’ll be back on schedule again, which is to say, aiming for Wednesday releases of that previous weekend’s movies.

    Tonight or tomorrow I plan to release Ep. 199. (Then I’ll release HMP Ep. 094 around Wed. or Thurs.) And this upcoming weekend, we’ll release MPW Ep. 200. Lots of post-production on that one but worth the wait!

    Then next week (for Ep. 201) we’re combining two episodes’ worth of reviews (Jason Bourne and Bad Moms from this past weekend), and this upcoming weekend’s “Suicide Squad.” That should put us back on schedule again.

    We’ve got some good stuff coming up for you. As always, thanks for your patience and for sticking with us. It’s been a rough summer for me. : )
    J

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