Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Welcome to Episode 123 of Movie Podcast Weekly. In this episode, your hosts Jason, Andy and Karl bring back special guest Willis Wheeler to Feature Review Project Almanac. We also include a Feature Review of The Loft, as well as Best Picture nominee The Theory of Everything from 2014. Another highlight is Karl’s coverage of the Salt Lake Comic-Con. Don’t miss it!
If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features three hosts — Jason, Andy and Karl — 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. And we usually provide specialized genre recommendations. New episodes release every single Tuesday. Join us!
SHOW NOTES:
I. Introduction
— Welcome special guest Willis Wheeler
[ 0:02:00 ] II. Karl reports on Salt Lake Comic-Con
— An autograph from Carrie Fisher
[ 0:18:09 ] III. Mini Reviews
IV. What’s New in Theaters This Past Weekend
Project Almanac
The Loft
Black or White
Wild Card [ Limited ]
Amira & Sam [ Limited ]
Timbuktu [ Limited ]
Girlhood [ Limited ]
FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:
[ 0:45:40 ] V. Feature Review: PROJECT ALMANAC (2015)
Willis Wheeler = 6 ( Rental )
[ 0:55:05 ] VI. Feature Review: THE LOFT (2015)
Jason = 4 ( Avoid )
[ 1:04:30 ] VII. Feature Review: THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (2014)
Karl = 9 ( Rental )
[ 1:18:56 ]
VIII. Other Great Fun and Miscellany
— Poll question results from Ep. 122
— Willis on the new Fantastic Four trailer
— Goodnight, Willis! (See links below!)
— Listener comments at Andy in Ep. 122
[ 1:44:45 ] IX. Specialty Segments:
KARL HUDDLESTON’S GREAT PERFORMANCES AND MIGHTY LINES:
Film: My Left Foot (1989)
Great Performance: Daniel Day-Lewis
ANDY’S UNSEEMLY HOMEWORK:
Katyn (2007) = 8 ( Rental / Stream it )
JAY OF THE DEAD’S 1970s HORROR-THON:
Virgin Witch (1972) = 1.5 ( Avoid )
X. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— A weak attempt at a Groundhog Day joke
COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
JUPITER ASCENDING — Join us!
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Willis’s links:
Two-Drink Commentaries
NFW Commentaries Podcast
The Wild Man’s YouTube Channel
Willis Wheeler on TV’s Toy Hunter
Terror Troop horror podcast
Cinema Beef Podcast
Willis on Twitter: @NastyWillDC
Willis on Facebook
Jason recommends supporting: Operation Underground Railroad
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.
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
Keep up with Josh:
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
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 Tuesday for Movie Podcast Weekly.
So glad to finally hear a review of “Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III”! I’ve been itching to get your guys’ take on that one. I wished we could have spent a bit more time on it…I’d love to hear about Karl’s favorite kills, etc.
Haha, you’re the best Vance!
We doing the chainsaw movies on nfw podcast soon
This is random…but went to order Exists a few minutes ago and found out Lionsgate is only releasing it on DVD…no blu ray…still going to order it because its great and I have to own it…but I’m very dissapointed…shame on you Lionsgate!!!
I bought this movie for my mom for Christmas (she’s obsessed with Big Foot 🙂 and we really liked it! It’s definitely the best Big Foot movie out there. I have a question for you…did you guess the ‘reason’ why the Big Foot was so upset before the reveal at the end?
I had a pretty good idea based on how the “hit” scene was shot. It’s also somewhat similar to the plot of an older bigfoot/yeti movie, which I mentioned on HMP.
Hey Josh, thanks for the comment. I’m going to listen to that episode again now that I have watched the movie. Like you, I figured it out right away and it took something away for me. I won’t go into it too much because of spoilers…but I think it would have been scarier if I wasn’t feeling ‘feelings’ for the Big Foot…if that makes sense.
Yeah, that definitely makes sense. I think I’d just been watching so many bad bigfoot movies leading up to that episode that it completely thrilled me, by comparison.
I like Exists a lot. I’ve seen it twice so far. Less scary the second time when you know what’s going to happen and why. Great interview with Sanchez on Horror Movie Podcast. I enjoyed it a lot.
Hey, I have a question for you, guys. I don’t know if it is a spoiler or not but just as caution let me say SPOILER Alert:
So, right after the twist I was wondering if it is a female or male because everything looked like it was a female. Which made me wonder what happened with her (Bigfoot’s) partner. What do you think, guys?
And secondly is Bigfoot the same as Yeti really? In my country we call it mostly Yeti but when you really think about it Yeti is more like a “snowman Bigfoot”, that lives high in the mountains where’s a lot of snow, right? Wikipedia gives a lot of names and basically says it’s the same creature, I’m not entirely sure.
I’d say they are both basically the same type creatures but adapted to their enviroments so they can blend in…Bigfoot…lives in forests, mountain ranges and swamps of North America and have dark brown or reddish hair and the Yeti…lives in the snow covered Himalayas of Tibet and Nepal.and have white hair…I’ve even read their diets may have something to do with the different hair colors…anyways they are the same but called different names because of the part of the world they are in…Bigfoot =Sasquatch…Yeti=Abominable Snowman…They are known by hundreds of different names around the world…
If you want an awsome Bigfoot sight to explore check out The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization here…http://www.bfro.net/…They even have 4 day expeditions set up in hot spots in the US…they have one scheduled close to where I live but I’m a pussy and would probably die of a heart attack…
That would be the difference for me. Like Americans and Asian.
So glad you liked that episode, Monika. That was fun. I didn’t happen to notice whether the bigfoot was male or female (and I don’t have a theory on the partner) and I assumed it was male for some reason, but that would make sense if it were a female because there is a lot of speculation that the supposed bigfoot in the famous Patterson/Gimlin film is a female. I can see Sanchez wanting to riff on that.
Jay after last weeks revelation that you’re now juggling a full-time job on top of your podcast producing I am blown away that you got this one out on time. When I heard that news my heart sunk a little (although it’s great that you got a new job and I am happy for you. Congratulations!) because a little pessimistic, jerk-faced voice in the back of my head said: “This might be too much for him. He might give up the podcasting!” but with this ever-so punctual episode release my faith is renewed.
Also, I’m loving Karl’s “CommieCon” report. I wish he had a regular segment where every week he gets sent to a ludicrous pop-culture event and then comes back and vents about it.
I feel like everyone was quick to judge conventions without really stopping to think that these places are like safety havens for the millions of nerds all around the world that feel unsafe going full nerd outside of the walls of conventions. I’ve been to conventions myself and I’ve paid for photo ops and autographs. I did it one time and that was enough for me to find out that that wasn’t for me. I do feel a little uneasy about stars asking for money. It’s a lot sadder than you’d like to think. A few years back a friend and I paid for a photo op with Ernie Hudson. He looked so old and tired and he was walking around with a little fanny pack where he kept his money. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy. I mean, he was a freaking ghostbuster! I understand where Karl is coming from, but as a self proclaimed nerd (and not just because it’s the cool thing to say nowadays, but because I’ve always been one), I can understand the need to see and touch and talk to the people that you (think) you look up to. Anyway, just my two cents.
If you haven’t seen BEST WORST MOVIE, you need to check it out to get further insight on this topic from the “stars” point of view. I don’t have any problem with the charging, it’s how a lot of them make a living, but I have respect for a con that takes crowds into account and makes it affordable and fun.
I have seen it Josh and it’s great. It’s quite depressing.
I thought Karl was hilarious. Karl is a nerd too, Juan (everyone here is to some extent). Karl’s just an old, curmudgeony nerd and I’d like to see the segment David suggests. I was laughing the whole time.
I thought Karl was funny too, Josh. It just seemed that all the comments were one sided. I didn’t mean to sound so serious about it. But I know for a fact that the people that go to these conventions on a regular basis look at them in an entirely different way than people like you or me or Karl. For them every convention is special and I just wanted to make that clear.
I wish Willis was on every podcast that I listen to…This is a Willis Wheeler World!!!
One day maybe he will be.
Its like a Wild Stallions kinda scenario…Willis Utopia…
U so sweet Shannon hey can we be facebook fans , and I have a YouTube page
Hey, Willis. I like hearing your reviews a lot. =) As Jay said you’re the greatest guest ever! I do watch your videos on YouTube, as well. Keep up the good work, my friend.
I hope you guys start jumping a little higher cause that shark is getting a little closer…
I mean this in the best way possible…:)
Love this episode!
Thoughts on some of Willis’ features and news:
On JL Throne of Atlantis, it’s a 4.5 for me. As usual, kudos to DC’s animation department, they continue to dish out quality animation. Story wise, it’s ok…
On Project Almanac, saw the trailer and I will definitely watch it. And as a Filipino myself, it has a Fil-Am actor in there. So, there’s that.
On Fantastic 4 Trailer, first off, despite the changes (and I am among the majority who has mixed feelings regarding the changes), what the trailer is showing is quite interesting actually. I mean, putting aside its inconsistency with the original backstory, I was surprised of how good it is. I’m a Marvel fan, and I read comics, but this… I’m judging it as what it is. And I would disagree with Jay and Willis, the trailer is not boring. Maybe you were saying that because this project is generating negative feedback these days. This could have influenced the way you perceive the trailer. I don’t know, but it’s definitely not boring at all. I agree with most of what Willis said though especially about this film’s version of Dr. Doom. But what I’m trying to say is that it’s too early to judge. We might as well accept where the direction this film is going for and base our criticisms based on that, and not because it’s different from the comics. Also, I love the idea of a black Johnny Storm. Just saying.
Recommendation:
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Before I Go to Sleep 2014 starring Nicole Kidman. Not sure if this would qualify for Andy’s unseemly homework hehe! It’s a 7 out of 10 for me.
That’s it. More power to you, guys!
I’m with you on the trailer for Fantastic Four. I think it looks fantastic and I can’t wait for the movie to come out. They’ve already tried goofy Fantastic Four and they didn’t get it right. I don’t see how a more serious approach would be a bad thing and if they get it right even better. As far as “getting the comics right”, there’s no such thing and it surprises me that Willis and countless other self proclaimed comic book fans forget that in comics creative teams are always changing and most of the time with these changes in artists and writers come changes to the storylines, characters, etc. Spiderman is Peter Parker, sure, but there have been other incarnations of the character and there’s even a black/hispanic Spiderman now. So why not a black human torch? Oh it bothers you that they’re younger? It’s an alternate universe! An Ultimate universe! There, problem solved.
Wow! The plot for “The Loft” sounds like it could have been taken directly from a chapter of my life!
Except replace “Loft” with “Shed” and rather than using it to commit acts of douche-baggy adultery we would secretly play Dungeons and Dragons there in the hope that nobody would find out. Then the unthinkable happened when we discovered that someone had taken the mint condition Boba Fett action figure that we’d enshrined in the north-east corner of the shed out of its packaging and played with it. The hunt was on to figure out which one of us was the culpable party!
It turned out that the mint condition Boba Fett action figure had been a ghost the whole time.
Hehehe
First off, let me just say…thanks for the shout out, Karl! Vermont IS a very nice place to live, but it’s just so darn cold right now. They say it’s going to get down to 14 below zero tonight; I can’t wait for spring!
Anyhow, I loved the episode! I especially liked hearing about Karl’s visit to the comic con. I totally get where he’s coming from…my husband and I have been going to New York City Comic Con for the last two years. Now, I know what you’re thinking…but we are very ‘normal’ people. My husband is an Engineer, and I own a cupcake bakery…I definitely wouldn’t categorize us as “dorky” but I will admit that we are out of our element there. I honestly don’t know why we go…we complain the whole time 🙂 I think we just have fun in NYC, and I have met a few interesting people and have gotten a few cool things there. I did wait in line (but only for a couple of hours) to meet Andrew McCarthy. I did pay $40 to get his autograph and my photo taken with him. It was worth it though…he was very sweet and asked me to prom so it was worth every penny 🙂 We said we wouldn’t go back again this year, but I bet we will.
I loved the energy everyone had this episode! Jay was especially funny and sounded so happy…Willis is always a great addition, and I don’t think Andy yawned once! I think it needs to be said that Andy was particularly funny this episode. I don’t get amused easily, but I was laughing…a lot! 🙂
Andy! Thank you so much for reviewing Katyń. I’m very impressed how well you described it and how perfectly you understood it. Believe or not but not everyone can understand this movie. Yes, it’s sad, guys. But it’s very important to know this story and as cinephile I think that the point is not only to watch “uplifting movies”. This story is part of my country’s history and I’m glad the word about it was spread in the world.
And hey, I’ve never seen Big Lebowski, either. Might watch it soon, though. I’m not a fan of adults acting ridiculous and silly but I’ll give it a try.
Karl, your report from Comic-Con was awesome! I don’t collect autographs and would never pay a penny for someone’s signature. Ridiculous.
But I’m an adult who acts ridiculous and silly!?
Everyone acts silly sometimes. I meant watching adults goofing around for the whole duration of movie is my idea of agony.
Saw these and thought of you guys.
http://www.cinemetaltshirts.com/collections/all
Those are awesome! We need to get some for a giveaway.
Haha that reminds me of these:
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/heavy_metal_t_shirts_for_inoffensive_pop_stars
Yeah, I’d wear a Celine Dion shirt too if they looked like these \m/
Wow, that Comical-Con didn’t sound like much fun at all.
Just wondering, is that hillbilly guy playing a character, or does he really sound like that?
Hillbilly? Haha. My kids were listening to this episode with me and thought he was from England. Haha. I think you’re both wrong. Washington DC, right? I hope this isn’t racist, but always imagine Willis as one of the Cosby Kids.
No, Jason really sound like that. He’s from West Virginia.
*sounds
Apparently I’m somewhat of a hillbilly too!
Seriously though, Willis’s unique voice and delivery can seem a little quirky at first but listen closely and it quickly becomes evident that he’s a really smart and interesting guy with lots of insight and some very strong opinions. He’s always another great facet to what’s already a great variety of hosts.
Hello Gents. I am hoping to become a more frequent visitor, and contributor to these here comment threads. While Andy has great wits and jokes upon jokes, the best joke of the episode went completely unrecognized and is awarded to Jason. And I quote “I’ve been to Burlington Coat Factory.” Just fantastic.
Haha
Jay doesn’t get enough credit for his sense of humor. I think he can be pretty hilarious. I love it when he directs a joke at Josh and he just sort of rolls his yes (in my mind’s eye) hahaha.
I agree. Jay says some hilarious stuff sometimes but it’s often kind of subtle and can slip by undetected if your not paying attention. All the hosts are pretty funny guys.
Andy watch my recommendations pretty please with sugar on top dammit! I promise you you’ll have fun or at the very least you won’t want to kill yourself. Ok thanks!
The Man From Earth
Coherence
And finish the damn STAIRCASE !!!
Now I feel like a jerk for skipping the queue with my recommendation of “Tokyo Gore Police”. Hopefully it’ll make for an interesting segment though.
I think Andy hates me just because I live in stupid Texas.
Well I think Andy hates me for making him watch “Tokyo Gore Police”.
He sounded pretty excited when he talked about it… unless he was being sarcastic. Of course! Damnit! Andy’s sarcasm trumps me yet again.