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Episode 116 of Movie Podcast Weekly contains spoilers for Santa Claus (which is something we could only talk about because Josh wasn’t present…). Jason, Karl and Andy bring you three Feature Reviews for Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings and Boyhood and Pioneer. We also practically BEG the audience to e-mail their Top 10 Movies of 2014 to MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com by Dec. 27, 2014 to be eligible to win some prizes. And we run down IMDb’s Top 10 Movies of 2014 list. Don’t miss it!
If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andy, Karl and Josh — 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 or on VOD, as well as several mini reviews of whatever we’ve been watching lately. And we usually provide specialized genre recommendations. New episodes release every single Tuesday. Join us!
SHOW NOTES:
I. Introduction
— No Josh this week.
II. E-mail Your Top 10 of 2014 Lists!
— E-mail your Top 10 lists to MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com by Dec. 27, 2014 to be eligible to win some prizes.
— A Taunting Challenge Is Extended
— IMDb’s Top 10 of 2014
[ 0:16:26 ] III. Mini Reviews
Jason: The Mummy (1999), Breakup at a Wedding, and later — Ernest Saves Christmas
Karl: Fury
Andy: Snowball Express, The Hangover Part III, Beyond the Edge, Runner Runner, Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
IV. What’s New in Theaters This Past Weekend
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Top Five
Inherent Vice [ Limited ]
Free the Nipple [ Limited ]
The Color of Time [ Limited ] — reviewed by Jape Man in Ep. 115
Wild [ Expanded ]
FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:
[ 1:09:05 ] V. Feature Review: EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (2014)
Jason = 6 ( Rental )
Karl = 5.5 ( Rental )
[ 1:36:22 ] VI. Feature Review: BOYHOOD (2014)
Jason = 10 ( Buy it! / Must-See / Masterpiece )
[ 1:51:09 ] VII. Feature Review: PIONEER (2014)
Jason = 4 ( Avoid )
VIII. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and THE HOMESMAN and CALVARY and LIFE AFTER BETH and THE SKELETON TWINS and LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON — Join us!
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Here is how you can potentially win some prizes through our Top 10 Movies of 2014 contest.
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.
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Josh’s links:
Twitter: @IcarusArts
Josh covers streaming movies on: Movie Stream Cast
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
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Thanks for listening, and join us again next Tuesday for Movie Podcast Weekly.
Guest what I don’t like those rakin and bass x-mas shows myself . I never believe in Santa claus myself when I was a kid . So I know where Andy is coming from . The best thing they ever made was the thundercats cartoon .
But if you didn’t believe in Santa who brought you your G.I. Joes on Christmas morning Willis?
I still believe in Santa and that fat bugger best bring me some G.I. Joes this year or I am going to be all sorts of angry.
My mom and dad that’s who got my stuff for me . I know that because my mom said if I did not see it I would not believe it .
Haha. I bet you were one straight talking kid.
My parents weren’t the most imaginative when coming up with excuses for all the times we went shopping for our own Christmas presents. Their go-to excuse was that Santa was too busy visiting the poor children, so he instead gave my parents money to buy my brothers and I gifts. The good thing about that is that I always got what I wanted. The bad thing is that I was never surprised. Growing up in a Catholic home, my parents always made sure to remind me that Santa worked for baby Jesus, so we should always be thankful to him. I always thought it weird for a baby to be in charge of a grown man, but as long as I got my gifts, it was all good.
I actually really enjoy listening to you bozos when I’m not on the show. Except when you talk about me bc you always mis-characterize my points. I haven’t made it all the way through, yet, but I really enjoyed the Rankin/Bass convo. Andy, Jason and I had a great talk about belief in Santa on the Christmas Horror Movie Podcast that comes out tomorrow.
Whenever someone uses the word “bozo” my mind immediately transposes everything they say to the voice of a Saturday morning cartoon villain from the late 80’s.
Challenge. ACCEPTED. I probably won’t actually send a list before Dec. 27, though. I’ve got to try to cram in a few more films before then. Anyone know whether “Free the Nipple” is the streaming on Netflix?
P.S. The Rankin-Bass Christmas movies are truly horrific. Andy is right. That is all.
All of you Rankin/Bass haters are DEAD TO ME. Clueless bunch the lot of ya! One more dis on them and you’ll be swimmin’ with the fishes. 😉
Wankers!
I enjoyed them as far as I remember, but I haven’t seen them in over 15 years… and I watched them in spanish, so I’m not sure how well they translated.
Actually, I take it back. The Rankin-Bass Christmas movie aren’t truly horrific. They’re just sexist, silly and lame. What’s actually truly horrific is the thought that anyone might take Jason’s advice and get the three-pack of “Mummy” movies at Wal-Mart. The first is a “meh,” and the second one is an “eh,” but the third one is a desecration. Consider the following a public service announcement: http://bit.ly/1GzlRTj
You’re welcome.
I don’t know, man. The first Mummy was pretty cool and the second one was pretty alright. I’m siding with Jay on this one. I can’t and won’t defend the third one though. That one really is a piece of crap.
I only saw part of the first movie and it was such a lame attempt at an Indiana Jones ripoff, I couldn’t even finish it. The sequels looked even worse. I was considering giving them another chance, due to Jason’s review, but thankfully Cody came along and knocked some sense back into me. Thank you, good sir. And lovely review, by the way. The Herald really lacks these days.
The first “Mummy” movie is fun in its own pretty dumb way. It’s fairly watchable but when you compare it to adventure classics like Indiana Jones or even stuff like “The Goonies” and “Romancing the Stone” it definitely falls waaaay short.
As for the sequels they kind of all blur together for me. Which was the one with The Rock as an awful CGI scorpion/man at the end? That looked terrible even in its day.
Josh — Cody is apparently a movie-hater, and it just makes me sad. His utter contempt for what is apparently, merely escapist cinema is truly disappointing.
Listen to Juan and David, who backed me on the first Mummy movie. You’re missing out, if you don’t watch the whole first film. And seriously, the second is comparable… I’ve never seen the third one. … yet.
Jay
Non-horror CGI-fest with wooden Brendan Fraser in a wannabe Indiana Jones plot, why don’t I just watch Journey to the Center of the Earth? I think my kids would enjoy that more.
If you’re going to watch “Journey to the Center of the Earth” then make it the 1959 version Josh. I loved that movie when I was a kid.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (remake) is to to The Mummy what The Mummy is to Indiana Jones just fyi.
You cut me deep, Shrek. 🙂
Come on, now. I said the first two were “eh,” and “meh.” Or as you might say on the show, “What? Come on, that’s a good rating.” I didn’t say that THOSE two were desecrations. It’s the third one that really sucks.
Cody is not always right, Josh. And Jay is not always wrong. “The Mummy” may not be a great movie or as good as the Indiana Jones movies or your kind of movie for that matter, but it’s a pretty decent and fun flick. Nothing more and definitely nothing less.
I just have a hard time dealing with 1) A non-horror mummy movie, what a disappointment 2) CGI-fests in general 3) Brendan Fraser in a role Harrison Ford could have better filled 4) Anything directed by Stephen Sommers. Having said all of that, I will at least give the first film a fair shake.
WTF? “They aren’t truly horrific – they’re just sexist silly and lame” ? The native Americans would be impressed with your ability to speak with a forked tongue. Are you guys truly incapable of NOT Monday morning quarterbacking and judging history out of context? When these were made men and women had different roles. Your attempts to label them as sexist implies that they were intentionally trying to put women down. Which is simply not the case. Societies don’t change overnight and it’s naive to look back and say they were just lame and stupid unless you analyze how it came to be.
By the way – what the hell does “horrific” mean? Is it a combination of horrifying and terrific?
Good writers do make up words all the time, but “horrific” is actually a good, old-fashioned Latinate adjective that goes all the way back to the 1600s:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/horrific?s=t
Come on, Karl. Just because some (certainly not all, and maybe not even most) people didn’t label that dialogue sexist at the time, doesn’t mean it only became sexist in retrospect. Even in the good old 1970s, there were plenty of people concerned about sexism and capable of recognizing it. And there was a robust dialogue about sexism already taking place. It’s not a new or even recent discussion.
I don’t dispute that the creators of the movie perhaps didn’t intend to be offensive, but that doesn’t get them off the hook for actually being offensive. Ingrained racism and sexism, attitudes that people tend not to recognize in themselves, are the most common kind.
My comment about the Rankin-Bass specials being silly and lame, however, is mostly independent of their sexist content. The stop-motion animation is fun, but I find the story and characters to be silly. And lame.
Offense can never be given Cody. Only taken. 40 years ago the majority of moms/women stayed at home and dads worked. It was the culture at the time. That doesn’t make it offensive – people could CHOOSE to be offended by it – even though it had been that way for MILLENNIA! Naturally.
Which (in my view) does get them “off the hook”. In fact, if you watch the one that Andy hates the most – Rudolph – it actually makes the effort of showing that even though his dad says “No – this is man’s work” – when the ladies go out to help find Rudolph they are the impetus that help him grow up and find his courage. Not his father.
100% with you on the sexism, Cody, and I cringe watching these films with my young son and daughter, constantly fielding their questions and concerns and having to explain to them how backward people were in the olden days, but still …
I do like the movies. Especially Rudolph. Can’t help it. There is something magical about the animation and some of those classic characters and songs. The stories are quite flimsy (and surprisingly convoluted), to be sure, but they are so nostalgic for me, I think they’ll always have a little place in my heart.
Actually “terrific” is the faulty word here. Originally the meaning of “terrific” was almost synonymous with “horrific”; meaning something frightful or terrifying. Somehow over the years its connotations have been twisted around to something quite the antithesis of the original meaning.
It’s funny how words evolve, like how the word “pedant” used to mean “a person who annoys others with trivial and excessive corrections” but now it’s just a synonym for “David”.
Karl, well done. Nailed it.
Nailed it? Apparently your understanding of sexism is about as clear as your understanding of racism, Jay.
I’m a minority and I don’t think you’re racist Karl (you too Jay). I hope that makes you feel better.
Now, about the sexist stuff… I’m Mexican and the stereotypes describe me as a tequila drinking macho sexist, so I can’t really help you there :/ But in all seriousness, I see your point, Karl. Both Cody and Josh are being a little too black and white with their point of view which surprises me because I thought Josh was all about the grey areas. The times were different, the circumstances were different, everything was different. Pre-women’s rights Cody would not think the same way 2014 Cody thinks, I guarantee you that much. Would that be his fault? Most certainly not. Society didn’t have the level of maturity and understanding. Would you find any malice in a baby boy hitting a baby girl? Would you deem that sexist? That’s what society was then, an infant (maybe we still are). We’re constantly evolving and so are our views on different topics. What we consider right today might not be so right in the future. Is it our fault that we can’t see it yet?
Thanks Juan! Every time I watch “Mississippi Burning” – I think how can someone treat their fellowman that way? I would NEVER have behaved in such a depraved manor. But the truth is none of us know how we would behave in certain situations if the way we were raised and taught from the ground up was that certain humans were inferior and maybe not even humans at all.
It’s easy to look back at certain generations with our “enlightened” knowledge and think “wow – weren’t THEY stupid”.
Yeah, I mean, good for you guys. Juan, I get what you are saying. I’m just saying, that’s NEVER the kind of racism I’m referring to on the podcast. That is obvious, OVERT racism. I’m usually talking about the nuance of language that supports or (worse) denies the existence of institutional racism (or sexism or homophobia), which is much more insidious.
Not everyone is interested in that discussion or thinking that hard about it, though. Especially those who don’t deal with the negative effects of it. You see, you don’t have to hatefully act out in overt racism in order to directly benefit from institutional racism. That may be frustrating or seem unfair to people who (rightly) get defensive when confronted with a term they can only see a harsh pejorative, probably one they can’t relate to, but I promise it’s even more frustrating and less fair to those who are negatively impacted by this institutional racism.
But again, most aren’t even open to that discussion. Which is why I only address it when it comes up.
Juan, I get that Jason and Karl are good guys and would never commit the actions is Mississippi Burning. Also, nobody ever suggested anything so ridiculous.
This is one of those issues where most of the time I try to not get involved because it’s incredibly sensitive and complicated.
All I can say is that I don’t think that it’s always fair to condemn a piece of art or entertainment from the past simply for being representational of the times in which it was made. I haven’t seen these Rankin-Bass films so I can’t comment accurately but from everything said they seem innocent enough in that they are simply reflecting the social norm of the time rather than being actively and purposefully sexist.
That said, just because a demeaning attitude is considered the acceptable norm at a certain time doesn’t make it any less demeaning or wrong. I’ve never believed that morality should be given to majority rule and I don’t think ignorance is an excuse. Either way it’s always important to acknowledge and remember the mistakes we made in the past so as to not let them be repeated.
So on one hand I can certainly understand parents of young kids being wary or uncomfortable when it comes to exposing this kind of content to the impressionable minds of their little ones but on the other hand I think when viewed with a mature grasp of the context then there’s nothing inherently wrong with enjoying these old films complete with their antediluvian approach to gender equality even if it’s just for nostalgias sake.
In summary; I don’t believe that there’s anything inherently wrong with watching and enjoying this stuff but there’s also nothing at all wrong with pointing out how backwards it is.
I absolutely agree with everything you said, David. There is plenty to be gained by watching, say, Birth of a Nation, for instance. I just enjoy the discussion. And, I can’t let something I deem offensive pass without at least mentioning it, on behalf of a silent listener who may be equally frustrated.
In terms if these Rankin/Bass films, I’ve said above that I enjoy them, but my attitude changes a bit as a parent bc one has to be hyper-vigilant about what one’s kids are mindlessly consuming, so that I can have any necessary contextual conversations, so that I’m not responsible for programming them with outdated and ugly world views.
I’m definitely not saying “burn the books” or even “ban the books” … I’m just saying, I want them to experience these things at an age and in a context that they can understand the problems and not just engrain them deep within their psyches as “the way things are.”
It’s times like these that I’m glad I just have my cats. They can sit around watching porn all day for all I care.
That level of having to carefully consider everything that a young mind digests and how said mind might be shaped by certain things is pretty scary!
Was getting ready to put my top 10 together but I found out today I have to have a hip replacement surgery at the end of january or beginning of febuary….the strange thing is my 17 year old son was scheduled for the same thing done for different reasons at the same time….so my thoughts are elsewhere….but I wanted to at least try…I’m gonna come across as this big nerd but this is what I liked in no particular order…1 dawn of the planet of the apes 2 gaurdians of the galaxy 3 intersteller 4 x men days of future past 5 captain america winter soldier 6 gone girl 7 nightcrawler 8 edge of tomarrow 9 the equalizer 10 exists…
Wow, Shannon — sorry to hear about all the impending hip replacements in your family. But we’re in your corner! All of us… You and your boy will be in our thoughts. Listen to Eps. 121 through 124 during your recovery and hear our support.
Thank you for still submitting your list. I’ll enter your name extra times for each hip replacement in your family.
Sincerely,
Jason
Wow, that’s rough, Shannon. My mother-in-law has had several hip replacements, so I know how difficult that can be. Best of luck with your surgery. Thanks for you submission, but even if you don’t win … good news! You won our horror book giveaway over on HMP!
Good luck to you and your son with regards to the surgery Shannon, I hope all goes well. The hosts are definitely in your corner as Jay says but so are us fellow listeners!
If you find it preying on your mind over the festive season then I recommend putting on any random episode from the exhaustive MPW (or HMP) back catalogue, pouring a glass of wine or just a nice cup of tea and escaping into the world of movie discussion. It always works for me!
Speedy recovery wishes going your way, Shannon!
As for worst movie of the year…Left Behind…I walked away after the first 20 minutes and my wife watched the whole thing…she is a glutton for punishment…
I’ll have to take your word for that one.
Although I was saddened by Josh’s absence you guys still delivered an awesome episode and there were some really funny moments here too.
Also; after coming to the realisation that I’ve seen shamefully few of this years movies I decided to take some time to catch up on some of the ones that appealed most to my interests. In the last week I’ve managed to cram in “Godzilla”, “Snowpiercer”, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Edge of Tomorrow”.
I actually really enjoyed all of them but I’ll comment again soon with some more detailed thoughts and, having gone back and re-listened to the MPW coverage of these movies, some inevitable bones to pick with you guys (mainly just Jay really).
As always I can’t express my gratitude enough for these podcasts. They help to keep me relatively sane.
– David
Wow, you have quite the action/sci-fi week, didn’t you?
Yep, as far as super mainstream/big budget blockbuster movies go, sci-fi/action (and maybe the odd drama) is pretty much all I find appealing these days.
Both Godzilla and Snowpiercer were pretty big disappointments for me. Both also had very high expectations from me, so maybe that’s part of it. Either way, one of them made it into my disappointments of the year list. And it’s not that they’re bad movies. I actually gave them pretty respectable scores, but given the directors past work, they were not (again) what I expected.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Edge of Tomorrow”, however, were surprisingly much better than I expected. I didn’t have high expectations for either, so maybe that worked to their advantage. As good as they are though, I wouldn’t call either movie a sci-fi classic. I don’t remember who said it, but someone on the podcast put “Edge of Tomorrow” on the same pedestal as “District 9” and “Minority Report” and that is kind of a ludicrous statement. I’d say there are much better movies than “Edge of Tomorrow” that deserve to be on the sci-fi pedestal of modern classics (and when I say modern I mean films from the 2000s. I’m not sure if that’s a fair cutoff, but it’s my cutoff). Here is my top 10 list of modern sci-fi classics in order:
Gravity
District 9
Inception
Interstellar
Minority Report
Donnie Darko
Moon
Children of Men
Under the Skin
Sunshine
Honorable mentions:
Prometheus
Her
Looper
The Day the Earth Stood Still (If I get crap for this one so be it, I liked it a lot actually)
You know? I just realized that a large portion of movies out there are technically science fiction, so I think you guys should have a discussion about what sci fi really means, what makes a movie a sci fi movie, and which are your top sci fi movies?
I actually really loved “Snowpiercer” but I’m ashamed to say that I’ve yet to see any of Bong Joon-ho’s other stuff. To me it was probably a 9/10. Some of the CGI was kind of shaky but this was an instance where that really didn’t bother me because all the other elements were so great. It felt sort of like an amalgamation of over-the-top 80’s action/sci-fi and the more satirical science fiction of Directors like Terry Gilliam. I’m a big fan of “Brazil” and “Twelve Monkeys” and “Snowpiercer” had the same kind of feel to me as those films.
Both “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Godzilla” were way better than I expected. Having listened to so many people moan about “Godzilla” and its apparent lack of monster action I was actually surprised by how much we do see of the big guy and the other monsters. I agree with criticisms concerning the Kickass guy. His character was vacuum of charisma and I could honestly have watched a whole movie just about Bryan Cranston in Japan investigating a nuclear disaster. I loved that opening part of the film but when Cranston was no longer on the scene I felt a little lost with regards to caring about any characters. All in all I thought it had its flaws but it gave me most of the things I want from that kind of movie. I’d give this maybe a 7.5/10.
I went into “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” without having seen “Dawn” and with a lot of doubts about CGI monkey faces but I really, really enjoyed it. I kind of wish it had a higher rating and could have been even more violent/intense than it was but it was still a very good movie. 8/10.
“Edge of Tomorrow” was lots of fun but it felt ultimately forgettable to me and I totally agree that it shouldn’t be put in the same category as “District 9” and “Minority Report”. In spite of its ambitious concept this felt like much more of a simple popcorn movie than those other two films. 7.5/10
I also watched “X-men: Days of Future Past” and it was just mediocre to me. I’ve only seen the first 3 X-men movies and to honest I feel the same about all of those. I loved the cartoon when I was a kid but these movies have always just seemed bland and beige and middle-of-the-road. There were things that I liked about it but I guess it’s just not my cup of tea.
As for a list of top ten modern sci-fi classics, That’s a tough one Juan. I definitely back you up on “District 9”, “Moon”, “Minority Report” and “Children of Men”. I might also be tempted to throw in “A Scanner Darkly”.
Also, apologies if this post is somewhat garbled and lacklustre. I’m very tired.
Not at all David. Your comments are always welcome.
Everything you said about Godzilla I agree with. I just thought that this was going to be the Godzilla movie to rule them all. The human element was an entire waste too, especially Bryan Cranston. He made the first few minutes so interesting and just like that he was gone. What a bummer. I’d give Godzilla a 7.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was pretty great actually, but I would’ve liked it much better if the movie had taken a more survivalist approach. The humans having a fortress and being armed to the teeth kind of put me off at times. I kind of wanted an even more primal humankind. Perhaps in the next one
This is still an 8.5 for me
Edge of Tomorrow was just a solid sci fi entry, but that’s it. Tom Cruise was good as usual, but by now he’s really good at playing Tom Cruise, so yeah, solid performance. It’s a 7 for me too.
Snowpiercer was kind of an oddity for me. I’m not sure why, but the whole time it felt like I was watching a Korean movie with roles that were meant for Korean actors. With the exception of a few characters, everyone felt out of place. And it wasn’t only the dialogue that felt disconnected from the actors, but some of the scenarios too. The CGI was a big problem too. It didn’t add anything to the world. If anything it kept it from feeling real. It’s not the first time Bong Joon-ho has worked with CGI before and although it’s never been top of the line CGI, it’s always been better than average. Here it’s almost laughable. He deserved better. But it wasn’t all bad. There were definitely highlights (Tilda Swinton and Alison Pill come to mind) and overall it was quite enjoyable, just not great. It’s a 7 for me.
David – we let Andy talk on the podcast every week – so clearly talking while you’re tired is our thing! 😉
Ho Ho Ho, Jay if you don’t upload the new episode I’ll fill your stocking with coal and the Star Wars prequels on DVD!!
Ha ha ha. Thanks for writing, Santa!
Don’t worry, Sir. MPW Ep. 117 will be up today (Christmas Eve) in time for your big journey tonight, by no later than 6 p.m. Eastern time (11 p.m. GMT-5), hopefully sooner! We have a giant and lengthy episode for ya — probably 4+ hours…
In exchange, don’t forget my No. 1 present: That book on “How to Cope With Your Smart-Arse Pals From the UK”! ha ha ha ; ) Totally kidding.
I love you, David. I mean, Santa…
Jay
Ho Ho Ho, this news pleases old Saint Nick but he’s already on his second cocktail of the night so he might be asleep by 11 o’clock!
Santa better bring me what I asked for this year. I’m getting tired of his excuses!
Don’t fret my dear lad, you have my word that there’ll be a shiny new DVD of “The Room” under your Christmas Tree this year!
Santa you devil! You always know what to get me… which is why this year I decided to reciprocate the love. This is what you’ll find under your tree this Christmas. You’re welcome.
http://youtu.be/kS3sgvuzzbc
Hahaha!
I’ve always wanted to see Jar Jar Binks have a seizure.
Guys I just watched Borgman and it is amazing! Completely blew me away unexpectedly. I love it when that happens. I urge you to give it a try before finalizing your end of the year lists. I think it may creep up on your lists. Josh, this for sure is right down your alley. If you’re a fan of David Lynch and Michael Haneke then this one’s for you bro. It’s a 9 for me, but the more I read about it, the more I love it.
Ok. Let’s do this!