85 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 108: Fury (2014) and Men, Women & Children (2014) and The Book of Life (2014) and Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014)”

1. Haven’t had a chance to listen to the episode yet but I just wanted to mention that I felt so bad about not heeding Josh’s early recommendations of “Blue Ruin” that I decided to make amends and watch a film that Josh has been energetically urging both Juan and myself to check out. That’s right, I watched “The Room” and boy was I glad I did. Tommy Wiseau shows the kind of fiery auteur spirit that I can only admire; his writing is witty and satirical, his directing style almost Lynchian in it’s abstract approach and his acting unique yet incredibly sincere (I couldn’t help but relate as I stroked my onyx locks and said “Haaah” in my non-descript Eastern European accent). Wiseau conjures a tangibly unsettling mood with his use of purposefully artificial sets and actors, imbuing this tragic tale of an alien’s struggle to adapt to human situations with emotion, style and intense sexuality. The subtle symbolism of the silver spoon as representational of our privileged position as the audience watching his fish-out-of-water character unravel was a stroke of genius and the understated way he sign-posted Johnny’s extraterrestrial lineage (an inappropriate comment here, a glancing shot of his scaly, malformed ass there) was fantastic. Josh, I can’t thank you enough for recommending this movie, it was like the amazing result of copulation between “Buffalo 66” and “Mac and Me”. 10/10.

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   • This might get weird depending on whether I’m right or wrong. But was Josh’s comment about The Room meant to be a jab at us always replying to each other’s comments? For some reason I read it as “Guys, get a room” :/

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     • No, Josh was definitely recommending that we check out “The Room”. It must be one of his favourites ;-]

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     • You may have missed it a few episodes back, Juan, but I had suggested on several occasions that you and David “get a room” due to your budding internet romance. David joked that I meant I was recommending you guys “rent Tommy Wiseau’s The Room.” I was just picking up on his joke, which I found very funny. In fact, it’s going in the MPW pantheon as a returning joke, so get used to it.

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       • And by “budding internet romance” Josh just means that he’s jealous of our enthusiastic and civil conversations because he and Jay fight like Skeletor and He-man all the time.

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         • David, there’s nothing wrong with a bromance. Just go with it bro.

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         • Time to bro-down, you two!

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         • David, please don’t let Josh’s jealous remarks get in the way of our beautiful bromance. I for one, am proud of it. One day, we’ll be part of the world’s greatest bromances just like Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs, Wayne and Garth, Harry and Lloyd, Kirk and Spock, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and many more.

           – your bro <3

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         • And don’t forget the most nuanced and touching bromance of all: Johnny and Mark from “The Room”.

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         • Josh is actually Evil Lynn… And I’m Meckaneck.

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       • Is this what is referred to as “trolling”? —> http://www.rustyzipper.com/full/263045.jpg

         Yeah i guess I missed it. Actually, I went back to old conversations and I realized that there are a lot replies to comments of mine that I never saw, so sorry to everyone that I never replied to.

         And you know, as far as Dia De Los Muertos lore, I wouldn’t be the best person to inform you on the topic. My family never really followed the Mexican folklore very closely and I have never bothered to read into it. There were a few relatives from my dad’s side that were very much into all the Mexican traditions, so I do remember some stuff, but my memories of it are vague at best. With Guillermo Del Toro involved though, I’m pretty sure the lore is correct for the most part. Weren’t you guys friends with a professor from Mexico City that was a guest in one of your previous podcasts? I’m sure he’ll have some great insight.

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         • Yeah, his (screen) name is Chris Excess. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from him eventually, but he’s always about 4 episodes behind.

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   • Hahaha. You crack me up. This is a brilliant review. If you send it to Tommy Wiseau, it will surely end up on the 10 year anniversary BluRay cover.

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     • I think it’ll save money and have more punch if they just go with: “Get The Room” – Josh Ligairi

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2. I haven’t finished the podcast yet, but few things so far, guys.

   No Pumping Iron? Why not? I have the feeling that you guys don’t think much of this film. Personally, it’s one of my favorite movies, so it saddens me to think that you guys might hate it.

   Breaking Bad Season 6 is a hoax guys, come on. There is no amount of money that will make Vince Gilligan ruin his masterpiece. Beware the internet! By the way, Josh, you’re really missing out for not sticking with it. It’s dark for sure, but it’s not intolerable dark.

   I’m not sure what to think of your Mexican food and pasta commentaries. It wasn’t clear if you were only referring to the food served at Brick Oven or if you were generalizing.

   Arrow Season 3’s first episode almost made me want to stop watching the series altogether, but after that twist ending, WHOA! I like how the show keeps getting darker and darker and episode 2 of Season 3 is a good example of that. When Oliver has that heart to heart talk with Diggle at the end of the episode, it’s pretty heartbreaking and somber because you know this is all not going to end well—at least not for everyone. It’s still very much a “candy coated” world like Vance mentioned, but I like that they are constantly trying to keep pushing for a darker tone and they’re even making some bold decisions. I can understand you getting burned out, Josh, but I think I’m sticking to it at least for the foreseeable future.

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   • I was joking about all of that … the martial arts, the pasta, and the Mexican food. I think these are arguable positions, but I don’t actually agree with them and we were just goofing around. I don’t know what was going on this episode, but we were really on one and I thought that I was, in particular, a little over-caffeinated.

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     • Just to be perfectly clear, I wasn’t offended. I just wanted to clear the air because it sounded like it could’ve been a joke, but it didn’t really sound like one. But yeah, I know that you guys are better than that. Thanks for the response, Josh.

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     • I was really hoping that Mexican food comment would start a food related tangent live on the podcast.

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       • I’m just happy it started one in the comment boards. This is the third time in a row too. Let’s see how long we can keep this up before Jay decides to ban us.

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         • Maybe if we talk about Pizza we can coax Jay into being more active in the comments again? What’s your favourite type of pizza Jay? (and everyone else?)

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         • First of all. I can’t even eat pizza anymore, due to my diet, but I do enjoy a slice when I can get a good one.

           We actually have a lot of good pizza in Utah. The best legit pizza in SLC is Settebello’s Pizzeria Napoletana. Divine. Read about their ingredients and you’ll be sold: http://settebello.net/About-Us-Our-Pizza.php

           There is also a great All-American pizza joint right by the University of Utah where all the college students go called The Pie. It’s fantastic. Check out the “specialty pies” menu halfway down the page:
           http://www.thepie.com/menu

           My favorite pizza chain used to be from a “take and bake” style pizza place (they prepare everything fresh and then you go home and bake it) that we have in these parts called Papa Murphy’s. Quality ingredients, good flavor combinations, etc. Easy meal for family and friends in a pinch. It’s all about the gourmet pizzas (in the middle of the page) at Pap Murphy’s: http://www.papamurphys.com/menu/

           BUT …

           This last year I had real New York pizza for the first time. I’d had New York street pizza in the past and didn’t see anything special about it. Then, I went to two pizzerias in New York that should be considered hallowed ground. The first which has to be mentioned is Lombardi’s, the VERY FIRST pizzeria in the United States! They brought the Napoletana style pizza to America and changed the world forever. Would we even have Ninja Turtles if not for Lombardi’s? Doubtful. http://www.firstpizza.com/newyork.html

           Another must-visit pizza place while in New York is Grimaldi’s Pizzera. Top notch. If you only visit one of these pizza websites, make it this one bc they have video. Your mouth will water! http://www.grimaldis-pizza.com/home

           Then, there is Chicago deep dish. I haven’t had the pleasure of eating this in Chicago yet, but there is an incredible pizza chain in the San Francisco area called Zachery’s that serves a mind-blowing Chicago-style “stuffed” deep dish pizza. I try to visit whenever I’m in the Bay area. http://zacharys.com/locations/berkeley/#menu

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         • No way. No banning here. Write as much about food as you want.

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         • Haha, you always come up with the goods Josh. And I appreciate it because for some bizarre reason I quite enjoy perusing menus of places where I’ll most likely never eat. I especially like the look of that Settebellos place, that’s definitely what I call proper pizza.

           I’m actually pretty lucky when it comes to pizza in my crappy town in that unlike the distinct lack of good Japanese or Mexican places there are a couple of decent places to get pizza. Oddly the best pizza here often seems to be among the cheapest on offer. My favourite joint is just a little long-standing takeaway that’s too old school to have a website or anything and they do medium sized Napoletana style pizzas with authentic ingredients at about £4.00 each which is amazing considering a similar sized pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut would be about £15.00! I try not to eat much meat but I just can’t refuse a pizza topped with proper Italian sausage or prosciutto cotto. I’m a big fan of olives, anchovies and capers as a topping too.

           Pizza is generally one of those foods though that even when done poorly it’s still tasty and I’ll admit that I’m not averse to getting a pizza hut to go with some beers and a movie. This backfired once while watching “Driller Killer” with some friends though, not due to any of the violence but because there’s a scene where Abel Ferrara eats what must be the most disgusting looking pizza ever. It’s rare that seeing pizza in a movie will make me not want to eat some!

           The one type of pizza that I’ve really never had a good experience with is the Chicago style/deep-dish type. I get the impression that this is something that can be great if it’s done right but it’s just very rare to find a place that does it right, especially over here.

           Finally do pizza hut over there do the unfathomably unhealthy cheeseburger crust pizza? I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on the menu of our local branch: http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/r/Global/offers/Cheeseburger/CHEESE%20BURGER%20PIZZA%20MEAL.jpg?width=960 What the hell!?

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   • Just FYI, Juan. I don’t have anything against Pumping Iron, but this episode was already running way long. In fact, Jay cut out about 15 minutes that preceded the mini-reviews (find that tacked onto the end of the episode). Jason doesn’t like to take too long to get moving at the start or get to the feature reviews.

     It was A) The fact that the show was already running long B) The fact that William came with 20 mini-review options and was making us choose and C) That Jay likes to favor new releases because he feels like they make the show more relevant.

     We picked Gone Girl because it is still in theaters. We picked Stake Land because it is a favorite topic of discussion of me and Jay. Andy picked Bad Grandpa because, well, it’s Andy. And William wanted to talk about the Evil Dead Trilogy even though we didn’t pick it. It doesn’t mean that the other movies weren’t worthy of conversation.

     So, nothing against Pumping Iron. That’s the kind of film that I would bring up in my “Continuing Education” segment when I get back to doing that. I know you thought Pumping Iron should have made my recent docs list … it’s just not going to make it on any general list of mine. Maybe a sports-themed docs list or something.

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     • With regards to “Stake Land” (and apologies as I know it’s been covered extensively on HMP) I’ve mentioned in the past that Vampire movies are one of my least favourite types of horror film (with a few notable exceptions) I think this is mainly because the subgenre has been tainted for me by crap like the Blade sequels and Underworld and such. With that said do you think it’d still be worth me checking out “Stake Land”. Is it creepy in the classic sense or more action oriented? is there a lot of bad CGI? Do people wear leather trench coats? I have a phobia of modern vampire films. Help me.

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       • Stakeland is a million miles away from Underworld and Blade. It’s dark, it’s brutal, there are no spinny Matrix moves or skin-tight rubber suits. This is very down and dirty. This feels very indie and admittedly has some major problems due to budgetary constraints, but that is also some of its charm. Like Halloween.

         Stakeland is a fierce, fun modern vamp movie every fan of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake or 30 Days of Night or The Walking Dead should enjoy. As I’ve said may times before, this is The Road with vampires … and with fast zombies playing the vampires.

         BTW, though they have grown on me a bit, I initially hated all of those movies as well, so I completely see where you are coming from. Get your action out of my goth!

         Between those movies, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Twilight … vampires have taken a hit over the last decade, but there are still plenty of great vamp movies out there and vampire remain one of my absolute favorite monsters thanks to modern movies like Thirst, Let the Right One in and Stakeland.

         Have you heard our Feral Vamps episode? If we couldn’t convince you there, I’m not sure what I can do on a message board.

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         • I second Josh’s and Jay’s (and Doc Shock’s) recommendation of “Stake Land”. It’s a modern vampire classic plain and simple. It lacks the level of sophistication of something like “Let the Right One In”, but it’s got plenty of intensity, atmosphere, and heart. I would compare it more to “30 Days of Night” than anything else, so if you were a fan of that, you’ll definitely enjoy this. Don’t worry, you’ll find nothing along the lines of “Blade” or “Underworld” here. Although, I do have love and appreciation for those movies and some of their sequels, but for me, they belong in their own sub-genre separate from the vampire genre.

           And by the way, here are my scores of the movies talked about on this thread:

           Let The Right One In: 10
           Let Me In: 9.5
           Stake Land: 8.5
           30 Days of Night: 8
           Underworld: 6.5
           Blade: 8

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         • I’ve definitely listened to that episode but I admittedly tend to tune out a little during most modern vampire discussions. I’m close minded I know but as much as I love Nosferatu, Dracula, Salems Lot and The Lost Boys I just find Vampires kind of boring. Mostly they’re either not grotesque enough for me or they’re monstrous but kind of “I Am Legend”-esque and generic. The last few days I’ve been starting to feel real Halloweeny though and even I can’t refute the inherent Halloweeniness of Vampires so the “Stake Land” conversation here struck me as I was just in the right mood. I’m not a fast zombies fan either (I’m in the Guinness Book of records as the only person ever who isn’t a massive fan of “28 Days Later”) but I do tend to prefer my horror independent and low budget so that’s a plus in my book. I think I’ll belatedly check this out.

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         • I have to admit I’ve also not seen “30 Days of Night”. Of course I’ve heard the HMP guys tout that movie a great deal too but I’m just a jerk when it comes to modern horror and even more of a jerk when it comes to Vampire movies.

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         • Do yourself a favor this Halloween, David, and please report back to us in the comments of HMP 11.

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         • This Halloween I’ll be going Trick or Treating as “not-a-jerk” then and I’ll give some time to one, if not both, of these vampire flicks.

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         • Yep, David, please consider “30 Days of Night” officially homework from us.
           Jason

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         • I think that has just sold me of the movie. I am the same here that i dislike majority of the vamp movies out there – being over used as teenager movey leeching vehicl – not to say the rubber skin-tight pants are any bad, i believe there are a lot more flavour and meat on the bone to discover the terror, the life/death conflict, humanity and all other things can be discussed, but instead they just want to sell merchandise and make a quick buck.

           I will watch stake land and report back. Oh, if it is something similar to warm body, i will ask for compensation, boys. 🙂

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         • That’s cool, Que. But, if it’s not like Warm Bodies, we want you to pay us. Haha. Couldn’t be further from the films you are describing.

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3. So this episode is fantastic so far. I do miss Karl but it helps that you guys can get great guest hosts like William Yolo Jr. Some really funny moments here and some great discussions. As is usual I won’t be seeing “Fury” in the theatre but I’m really excited for it when it’s out on DVD and the conversation that you guys had about it was great. I’m about as pacifistic as they come (I literally fall into a spiral of guilt if I so much as accidentally stand on a bug) but for some reason I really enjoy violent war films. Maybe “enjoy” isn’t the right term here as I am of the opinion that such movies should focus more on being realistic and upsetting than entertaining but, similar to the macabre fascination a lot of folks have with Serial Killers, I find war and all it’s grisly details interesting. Also I’m totally on the same page as Josh and William when it comes to being frustrated with war films falling into the “displays of heroism” trap. Sure people can be heroic in war but I don’t want my war movies to showcase a good guys vs bad guys narrative where the good guys are all brave and noble and the bad guys always sneaky and cruel. As Kurt Vonnegut once wrote: “Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns.” War is terrible and most of the time the people doing the actual fighting aren’t clear-cut good or bad. Sure in WW2 the Nazi cause was blatantly evil but the young German boys sent off to fight and die were just someone’s kids. Killing is killing and I think it’s the responsibility of a war film to depict that act as being as messy, disturbing and realistic as possible.

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   • Agree. Well said.

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     • I’m just going to try to wedge a Kurt V quote in whenever I can from now on. It makes me seem intellectgient.

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       • I’m going to stop giving you credit for it.

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   • Ditto that, my brothers.

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4. last weekend i watched the “maze runner”, following that irishman’s recommendation, that the movie “is not cheesy and doesn’t have that stupid teenager romance”. Oh , and also, i was babysitting my wife.

   The movie is certainly similar to the hungergame and in many aspects, better because it is more straight forward. It gets predictable at points, and not deep enough at some other moments, but it certainly is a better effort within the category and very watchable.

   I am actually interested in seeing the ssecond installment of this movie – as reference, i watched hunger game 1 and didn’t like it, my wife dragged me into the second one and we both agree that we should not go to any future hunger games.

   And oh, that teenager romance? You will definately see it in the second mazerunner.

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   • Maze runner – 6/10 low priority theatre, high priority rental and no need to buy.

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     • Nailed it!

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5. Wow, the “Men, Women and Children” discussion was really interesting too. I now feel like a parasite feeding on the precious time that Jason could be spending with his loved ones. But no, I genuinely understand what you mean Jay and I appreciate your honesty. As much as I think that modern technology can be an amazing way of communicating with folks all around the world and learning all sorts of stuff it can also distance us from our real-life relationships if we let it. I’m not a smart-phone guy at all and I’m in most aspects extremely old fashioned but I definitely spend too much time on the internet (as evidenced by my over-long yarns here). The worst scenario is when you meet someone for the first time and the first thing they say is “What’s your name on facebook?” and then they add you and you’re facebook friends but that’s it, there’s no reason left to talk, they move on, the peak of social interaction has been achieved. I stopped using facebook because I was friends with too many people who I’d never be friends with in real life. Just folks I happened to meet in the toilet of an awful nightclub or at a party where I don’t even know who’s house it is. People posting racist jokes or boasting about their sexual conquests. Screw that. It’s not so much technologies fault though I suppose, it’s just the fact that “friends” became a statistic on a profile rather than a meaningful term for people we actually really like.

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   • *”friends” became a statistic on a profile rather than a meaningful TV show about people we don’t really like.

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     • Hey David, what’s your facebook name?!

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       • Haha, I honestly can’t even remember. I kept changing it to avoid being added by nosy work colleagues and haven’t used it for over a year.

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   • Also it always appears to me that children are the section of society who maybe suffer most from the pitfalls of modern technology. I don’t know much about “sexting” (but typing that just made a part of me die) but I do know that when I was a youngster we’d always be out playing in the street, hide and seeking in the alleyways, building tree houses and rope swings, climbing the castle walls and exploring the rock pools at the beach and these days I never see kids doing any of that stuff. I think they’re inside one their Wii’s and Smartphones and Fax machines. All my much younger cousins just seem to act like miniature adults. The last time I saw one of them he was like 10 and complaining that his girlfriend had found a text from another girl on his i-phone. When I was 10 I’d have traded an i-phone for a G.I Joe or a comic book or a jar with a big dead spider in it. I never seem to see kids being kids any more and it makes me sad. As I stare out of my living room window. Shaking my walking stick at the birds on my lawn.

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     • These damn kids and their fax machines.

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       • Kids now never have real conversations, they just spend all day faxing each other.

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         • That said I guess it’s really no different than when we were kids and our parents would get annoyed because we were sending too many telegraphs.

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         • Exactly. I mean, I’m a little older than you, so we were using carrier pigeons … but, it’s the same principle.

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   • Would people on mpw recommend to see disconnect before this one then?

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     • Ah, please disregard. I commentted prematurely.

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     • Insomuch, that if you see “Disconnect,” you wouldn’t necessarily ever have to see “Men, Women & Children,” unless you just like exploring this theme.

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   • David — no way, Man. You and the other gracious friends who listen to these podcasts are a blessing to me.

     Like everybody else, I have some “issues,” and podcasting fills a need for me. In a world where one can no longer be paid to be a film critic (as I once was…), it is helpful that there is a medium where I can still share my movie reviews with an audience — regardless of how flawed said reviews may be…

     I was wincing while saying that comment, because I don’t want any listeners to ever think I’m not extremely grateful for their time and consideration. I just need to learn better time management skills on my end. That’s my own fault and no one else’s…

     Well, except maybe Josh. Yeah, it’s Josh’s damn fault.

     Sincerely,
     Jason

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     • I was just being facetious Jay. I totally understood what you meant. Family should always come first but sometimes it’s easy to become a little obsessive with our interests and hobbies. It’s just a matter of striking the right balance.

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6. Does anyone remember a movie called Night Watch? It’s a 2004 Russian film and I remember it having vampires or vampire-like creatures in it. I can’t rate it because it’s been so long since I saw it, but I do remember it being very stylish and having some really interesting typography for the subtitles.

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   • Oh yes. And its counterpart: “Day Watch.” I’m in your same boat. I don’t remember them very well (it’s been too long), but I recall that “Night Watch” is fairly fantastical in its fantasy elements, and both are pretty action-heavy.

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   • As much as I prefer my monster movies with pure heritage lines and free of action movie cliches, I’m actually a fan of Nightwatch and Daywatch. I own them both and think they are both 8s (or above), in my book.

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     • Ok great! It came to mind while thinking about modern vampire movies. Now I’ll have to revisit them since both of you agree on them being good.

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       • It’s a little Eurotrash as you’d expect from an action/vampire/fantasy from Russia, but it’s unique enough to be appreciated. Still like it way better than Blade and Underworld, but it veers that direction, to be fair.

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7. I am now really torn guys, the coming weekend is my birthday weekend and wife wants to go to movie with me as a little outting. My choice of movie now is either “fury” or “walk among the tombstone”. My heart goes to fury because all you boys are doing the hot talk for this movie, but i am also in the risk that i might felt very depressed and might end up with crying wife Out of cinema on my birthday. on the other hand, WATT might be a good hour and half but i fear i might have seen all the styles and twists in that movie already from liam’s previous shakes and tricks.

   Suggestions, boys?

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   • I haven’t seen either Que, but I suggest Fury. Better to be depressed but happy, than happy but depressed is what I always say.

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   • Que,
     Happy birthday, Mate! This is why I live. To answer such questions. Jason’s 2 cents (you’ve probably heard this before, but humor me):

     “A Walk Among the Tombstones” — This has that real-life authenticity and grit. Verisimilitude, as they say. So, the realism draws you in. And speaking of realism, Liam Neeson is still formidable, but not in a superhero sort of way, as in “Taken.” Instead, he is a work-a-day, intelligent cop with some grit to his soul. Tremendous performance. This film is dark — scarily so. If you’re taking your sweetheart, she’s likely to curl up to you, because there are some freaky scenes, where damsels in distress are … well, let’s just say — well beyond distressed. So, I guess, beware — this gets pretty “full on.” It has a darkness that’s comparable to David Fincher’s “Se7en.” It is not predictable, and it’s quite a ride for a slow-burn, Crime Thriller. “A Walk Among the Tombstones” is an 8.5 ( Theater / Buy it! ).

     “Fury” — You just heard my thoughts in this episode, so I won’t give you re-runs here… This is a good film — and it should be seen — but for a birthday movie (and I’m a man who does birthday movies), the other film has more flavors for your enjoyment. This has two flavors, and they are Suspense and Pain. Still, “Fury” to me is a 7 ( Theater / Rental ).

     So, if you have to pick between the two, I would recommend “A Walk Among the Tombstones” for your birthday movie. Thanks for asking. Let us know what you choose!
     Jason

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     • I think that has just sold me of the movie. I am the same here that i dislike majority of the vamp movies out there – being over used as teenager movey leeching vehicl – not to say the rubber skin-tight pants are any bad, i believe there are a lot more flavour and meat on the bone to discover the terror, the life/death conflict, humanity and all other things can be discussed, but instead they just want to sell merchandise and make a quick buck.

       I will watch stake land and report back. Oh, if it is something similar to warm body, i will ask for compensation, boys. 🙂

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   • I’ll tell you what, Que. I went to Fury for my birthday movie and it was a major downer. I’m not sure A Walk Among the Tombstones is the answer, since I haven’t seen it, but I wouldn’t go to Fury for any sort of celebration.

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   • Que, I was exactly in your situation and I took my wife to “A Walk Among the Tombstones”. I agree with Jason that between “Fury” and “A Walk Among…” take her to the later. You can here more of what I thought about it, along with the other guys on episode #104 of the MPW. And Happy Birthday man.

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     • THank guys for your input. I will perhaps go for WATT instead of fury and catch the later on my own when i need some soul squeeze.

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8. Jason, you nailed it. “Stake Land” isn’t my huckleberry.

   Today, Netflix is mailing me “Monster Squad” and “Monster House.” Next week I will try to convince my wife Brittney to watch “The Others” with me (she’s an even bigger baby than I am, so I don’t know if she will go for it…). As far as movies go, that is how my Halloween is looking this year. Pretty sad, right?

   Oh, and last week we watched “Burning Bright,” per your recommendation. We really enjoyed it. I had my doubts going into it. Brittney had MAJOR doubts. But hey, it was fun and she even got scared. Thanks.

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   • I’m not sure you could do better than The Monster Squad and Monster House for Halloween. You’ve inspired me to dust those off this year. Those are great choices! I’m not sure if this us controversial here, but if I were watching a PG-13 ghost movie with my wife, Id choose What Lies Beneath over The Others every time. I think it’s a lot more fun, personally.

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     • I love “What Lies Beneath” but I’m not sure I’d pick it over “The Others” every single time. I think it would depend on the mood I’m on. But you know what I’m really in the mood for right at this moment? “Casper” haha. Call it controversial, but I have a soft spot for the little fella… and Christina Ricci :/

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     • Wow, it seems pretty rare that I hear praise for “What Lies Beneath” but I actually also find that movie pretty effective. I do also like “The Others” though and I’m not sure I could pick a favourite out of the two. In general I’m a fan of the PG-13 ghost movie. Most horror subgenres I want as unimpeded as possible but I think the limitations of PG-13 actually work in favour of the ghost genre. The filmmakers can’t rely on gore and violence to provide the shocks and instead have to focus more on the mood and atmosphere to be effective.

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       • Well put.

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       • Any comments for “a perfect murder” (1998) in comparison with “what lies beneth” and even gone girl? All about your better half and the rest of it. :p

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         • A Perfect Murder would have to be my favorite of those three films, if I’m honest. Although, the fact that it is based on Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder definitely adds to my appreciation when watching. It’s a highly watchable movie, though. I love that era of Michael Douglas. The Game is another favorite from that time. Gone Girl is the most most sophisticated of the three films you mentioned. It feels like the most modern and the most classic at the same time. I guess that makes What Lies Beneath the worst of the three, in my opinion, but it is still a much better Halloween movie than all of them, due to the spooky ghost terror elements. I think it is a really fun watch.

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     • I watched “What Lies Beneath” with the wife a few years back…maybe it is time to revisit it. She has never seen “The Others” and I haven’t seen it since I was a kid, but I remember liking it. Most scary movies take a lot of convincing for her to agree to watch them. After watching “The Skeleton Key” with her years ago she swore off scary movies–that show freaked her out big time. One of these Halloweens I think I will dress up like a creepy grandma and start crawling around our hallways, just for fun…

       I am always on the look out for scary movies that will freak her out, but not to the point where she will hate me for putting her through it. And honestly I don’t often stray too far from the softball safety of PG-13 horror. Like Karl, I make occasional exceptions for Sci-fi horror, but my days of slasher films and R-rated terror are pretty much gone.

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       • My wife has never forgiven me for making her watch The Ring, so I’m not sure it is the rating that makes it safe.

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9. On the topic of atmospheric ghost movies I found myself wondering if you’ve seen the Japanese anthology movie “Kwaidan” from 1964? I’d be extremely interested to hear your thoughts on it.

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   • Drat! This was meant to be a reply to Josh’s last comment.

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   • No! That’s been on my list of shame, but now it has been moved to my Criterion purchase queue. Thanks for the reminder!

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     • Oh man, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on that movie. I just re-watched it a few days ago and it remains awesome. It’s very slow and deliberate and some might consider it lacking on the horror spectrum but it’s just so beautifully made and personally I find it very atmospheric and eerie.

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10. I got behind on listening to the podcast and missed signing up for the Survivor Fantasy League! Josh; I’m loving the updates and discussion – good luck! I hope you win!

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    • Thank you, Jennifer! Vindicated! Always glad to identify another Survivor fan. If we ever do it again, I’ll let you know. Are you watching the current season? Let us know at least your pick for winner and we’ll add you to the final discussion. I had Val picked to win, but now my choice would be Josh or Jeremy. No Survivor talk this week, unfortunately, due to Halloween, but if you’re interested in a Survivor podcast, I’d recommend “Survivor Know It Alls” with Rob Cesternino from Amazon and All-stars and Stephen Fishback from Tocantins. That’s my jam.

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11. Hey guys, if you’re still wanting suggestions for reviews of movies that have come out this year then I’d be interested to hear a review of “WolfCop”. Especially from the Wolfman Josh. No worries if you don’t get round to it though.

    Also, dammit Jason, can you even remember what happened in the last episode of “True Detective” that you watched? It’s such a short season you really need to get that finished. And forget about revisiting “The Sopranos” or “Breaking Bad” it’s your duty as a horror fan to watch “Hannibal”. Such an excellent show of exceptional quality.

    Finally I checked out “Stake Land” and posted my thoughts on the Horror Movie Podcast but as my viewing was initiated by the discussion on here I thought it best to copy and paste the most relevant section of my comment here. Apologies for doubling content but it’s in case there are folks who were following the discussion on here but don’t check out HMP.

    So, “Stake Land”:

    This movie was everything I want from modern horror but so seldom get: Characters that I actually grow to care about (making the horror that befalls them that much more potent), great practical effects, a refreshing lack of clichéd and predictable plotting, the ability to genuinely shock and surprise me, a mood balanced somewhere between ominous dread and fun anticipation, no moments of asinine pandering that leave me feeling like I’m watching something written to appeal only to the most heavily lobotomised of knuckle-draggers. Not only that but I felt that this film was testament to my belief that movies in the horror genre don’t need big budgets and focus groups behind them, all they need is someone at the helm who really loves and understands the genre. I seriously couldn’t believe it when I read that the budget here was estimated at £650,000. I’ve seen horror flicks made for twenty times that amount that have been nowhere near as effective and enjoyable.

    I went back and re-listened to the review of this in the feral vamps episode (of HMP) and I definitely agree with the comparisons that you guys made to “The Road” and “Zombieland”. This movie felt to me like “Zombieland” bereft of the things that annoyed me in that film or a more fun version of “The Road”. I also got shades of Stephen Kings “The Stand”. Just a great movie all around. My only real complaint is where they went with the main antagonist. Not really because I felt it didn’t jive with the rules established by the film but just because it felt like something out of another film entirely. That’s a small criticism though and one I’m more than willing to overlook when the main characters are this engaging and the threat to them this disturbing.

    I have to thank you guys for getting me to watch this. Yet another recommendation that hit the mark! 8.5/10.

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12. Hey guys. As always, great podcast last week. I was really excited for the Fury discussion and was not disappointed. I give it a 9, and I may buy it. Not sure. My biggest complaint wasn’t the gut wrenching realism or the gritty darkness of it all, but rather the insane amount of F-bombs dropped. Yeah. I know, dumb right? It just seemed like a complete over kill. I remember watching a “making of” documentary of Band of Brothers, and they actually interviewed the vets who the HBO series was inspired by. The one thing that stood out to me was that when they were asked how accurate the portrayal of their characters and stories were, they said something to the effect of “Well, we didn’t swear nearly that much. But everything else is accurate.”

    Also, Jason. I mostly disagree with your complaint that Fury is too Hollywoody. EXCEPT for a few moments at the end battle. It seemed a little Ramboish at times. Too many SS soldiers just running directly at the tank and getting mowed down. Other than that, it was a very good albeit draining experience.

    I haven’t seen Men, Women, and Children yet but your discussion certainly peaked my interest. I too have the constant struggle of unplugging. I go through phases where I delete Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Reddit from my phone so I’m not up until 2am lying in bed for no reason. You know there’s a problem when you accidentally leave your iPhone at home for the day and you get this intense feeling of freedom. Now I try to choose to leave it out of certain scenarios. But it’s stupid hard. This guy in the studio next me at work traded in his iPhone for an old flip dumb phone. He is my hero.

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