45 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 165: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) and Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015) and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)”

1. Sweet! Start the show off with a mini ‘What’s Your Liver Been Geekin’ On’ segment. I dig it. 🙂

   I’ve only listened to the first half so far, but some thoughts…
   I think with Disney getting ahold of everything will be awesome. My opinion is that with what can be done with effects now, most of these movies will be entertaining. To me a huge portion of the excitement will be finally seeing things we’ve only imagined or read in books, comic or otherwise. It was the same at the beginning of the mostly recent explosion of interest in superhero movies. We’re finally able to see Nightcrawler ‘BAMF’-ing all over the place, and it looks cool!!!! If a decent to good story goes along with it, great. I know it might be heretical, as the SW stories are so dearly cherished, but a good chunk of it all, for me, will be exciting to see tremendously cool things up on the big screen, and if Disney can scrape together any decent talent for writing/directing all these flicks, then they’ll be awesome.

   Also, I second the notion of watching The Clone Wars, the animated series. I know everyone’s not into cartoons, but the series is really good. It goes into so much more detail and shows Anakin developing and struggling so many ‘negative’ feelings, which eventually become terrible actions. All we see, for the most part, in Episode III is the final straw. I would say that The Clone Wars was more exposition that leads us up to Episode III. The series also delves into some deep Q’s about the use of the clones and poses questions about how the clones feel about themselves and their role in everything, the war, the universe….existence. And if you can tolerate watching cartoons, or have little dudes and/or dudettes to watch it with, then get to it. The animation is pretty dope too. 🙂

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2. J and gang – Any plans to watch and review SPOTLIGHT on the show? It’s been getting some serious buzz. I’m going to try and check it out soon.

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   • They just reviewed it on Filmspotting…..sounds like a decent drama to check out. Looks like a great cast. I could see the subject matter of the investigation being something that turns people away, even though it sounds like the movie focuses more on the investigative journalism aspect of the story, rather than the story itself.

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     • They reviewed it on the /Filmcast, too, so I’m assuming J will be all over it!

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       • I heard that review, Dino. I really do usually dig Journalism films so I’m interested in seeing it even though the subject matter is not appealing to say the least.

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   • Saw Spotlight yesterday. I’ll wait until the MPW guys cover it to chime in with my thoughts.

     I also want to note that Room is now playing in SLC, so I hope you guys get a chance to see that.

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   • Credit where credit’s due: I first heard about “Spotlight” weeks ago from my friend Jeff Hammer (former podcaster), and not from any of the punk podcasters (Filmcast, Filmspotting) mentioned here… ha ha.

     But yes, Jeff said it was in his Top 3 for the year, and he told me it was a must-see for me.

     I’ve been dying to see “Spotlight”; it had not been playing near us (until just recently and we were all out of town). However, it is my top priority to see before the end of the year, so a review is coming!

     Plus, it has Rachel McAdams, so… you know I’m in!

     J

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     • Speaking of those punk podcasters, nice cameo by you and Andy on this week’s episode of /Filmcast. Andy’s contribution, in particular, was excellent. That’s some really great free publicity for MPW. I hope it helps you to bring some curious /Filmcast listeners over into the fold.

       Anyone else catch it?

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       • I’ve never listened to it. Is it any good? I just don’t trust Jay anymore haha just kidding, Jay! Which episode is it? The one about S1E09 of GoT?

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         • No, it’s this week’s episode of the /Filmcast (not A Cast of Kings). They talked about CREED and A GOOD DINOSAUR. Jay’s voicemail is pretty much right at the beginning of the show.

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         • Ahh gotcha! Thanks, bro.

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3. Great show as usual, guys. Just wanted to chime in about ‘Blue Harvest.’ It’s my understanding that this was the working title George Lucas used while filming ‘Return of the Jedi’ to keep the shooting under wraps. I believe jackets, hats, etc. with Blue Harvest written on them from the set are auctioned off. The fictional ‘Blue Harvest’ was I believe supposed to be a slasher film; really curious to see what Lucas would do with a slasher film.

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   • That’s correct. And I seem to remember that it was ostensibly a (imaginary) horror film?

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4. I love the extensive knowledge and passion that Steve is bringing to the episodes but I have to say that i fundamentally disagree with his assertion that you’re only a true Star Wars fan if you just more and more from that Universe. I’d class myself as a huge fan; I read almost every Star Wars comic released in the 90’s, I read a bunch of the novels, I owned all kinds of books about the technology and details of the universe, I had literally hundreds of Star Wars toys, I’ve seen the original movies probably close to 30 times each etc. But I’ve come to the conclusion that with regards to this franchise I’m now a proponent of quality over quantity. Partly because those ambiguous background characters and impressionistic references and gaps in the lore are such a huge part of what makes the Star Wars universe so mysterious and interesting but also because the Prequels taught me that “more” doesn’t equate to “better”. Seeing more of the Jedi made them boring. Seeing Anakin’s story butchered from the tragic fall of a charismatic and noble warrior into the whiny whining of an always hateful and selfish jerk. Seeing Boba Fett as a kid. Seeing all the fancy stuff that Lucas could never have done with practical effects. Seeing the final duel between Obi Wan and ANakin lasting for about 10 hours. It’s too much. It’s all bluster and pomp and no heart. You guys kept talking about how the opening space battle is a visual spectacle. But that’s all it is to me because I’m not invested in these characters at all; they’re thoroughly dull, stiff and unlikeable, so the superfluous details have no impact (and the visual spectacle is hardly as spectacular when it’s all just lines of code totally removing the element of “wow! how did they do that!”). People always defend these movies by referencing surface details like “It’s so cool to finally see Yoda kick ass” and “The Lightsaber combat is so complex and intense” but none of that really means anything to me unless it’s hung on a framework of good story telling, memorable characters and well written dialogue. And these movies feel like they were written as bad fan fiction. Liek some kid was asked what he always wanted to see in a Star Wars film and replied “I want to see a guy with 4 arms and he has 4 lightsabers and he’s a robot and another guy chases him on a giant iguana and then Yoda fights Palpatine and they fly all over the place like ina cartoon and throw chairs at each other and then Anakin and Obi Wan fly over the lava on hoverboards”. I know Star Wars is maybe supposed to speak to the inner child in us but I can’t help but find it obnoxious. Part of the reason it captivated me as a kid was because the characters were just as exciting as the action in which they were involved. That’s definitely not the case here.

   Admittedly I’m not so much into the whole EU side of things these days. After every single comic just started being about Mace Windu (who’s just straight up boring guys, come on) I gave up on it. maybe I’m not so much a “fan of the Star Wars universe” as I once was. But I’m definitely a huge fan of the “Star Wars films”. I can go back to those original 3 movies now and watch them and I still find them breathtaking, exciting and captivating. And it isn’t nostalgia, Jay! In fact I feel as though I have more appreciation for them the more I’ve grown as a person. The more I’ve learned about life and about literature and film, the more the originals resonate with me. I can appreciate them not only as a gateway drug to a super fun and imaginative universe (the way they felt to me as a child) but as wonderfully crafted pieces of art. The swell of music as Luke watches the twin suns set. The twilit melancholy of Empires final act. The way a naive farm kid, an arrogant rogue, a snooty princess, a walking carpet, a duplicitous charmer and two robots grow to be the best of friends who are willing to die for one another. That’s what Star Wars is about for me.

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   • End of that first sentence should read:

     “I fundamentally disagree with his assertion that you’re only a true Star Wars fan if you just WANT more and more from that Universe”

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   • “And it isn’t nostalgia, Jay!”
     You tell him, David!

     “the visual spectacle is hardly as spectacular when it’s all just lines of code totally removing the element of “wow! how did they do that!”
     I completely 100% agree with everything you said except this line, which I may be misunderstanding because I’m not sure if you’re co-relating the special effects to the storytelling and characters. I get that you’re not as big on CGI as I am, but you gotta give these guys some credit, right? Working on-screen is no different than working off-screen. It takes just as much hard work, dedication, and knowledge of the craft. Anyway, Errughem.

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     • It’s just personal opinion I guess. I’m not saying that CGI isn’t as artistic or as difficult or anything. But to me there’s some mystery and excitement lost when the tools used to make an effect are more obvious. When I see blatant CGI I know instantly that it was created on a computer. That’s not to say that it didn’t take talent and effort to create. But the fact remains. With the practical effects of the original trilogy I can be like “How did they make that spaceship actually looks so huge?” or “what did they use to make the creepy B’omarr Monk spider things we see just as the droids first enter Jabbas Palace?” and I won’t actually know the answer. I guess I could look it up but there’s not that instant recognition of “Oh, they did it with a computer” (which isn’t to dismiss stuff made using computers, rather I feel there’s less enigmatic about such a process, it’s less of an illusion which is what I feel live action cinema should ultimately be). There are amazing animated space battles in anime dating back decades which are beautiful to watch but don’t carry quite the same weight as seeing it as though its unfolding on a screen in live action. One isn’t necessarily better than the other but when I’m watching a film that purports to be live action that’s what I want to feel like I’m seeing. That can be done with extremely good CGI. I didn’t feel that was the case with the sequels though.

       Also, I just find the idea of guys flying by the seat of their pants building spaceships from vaccum cleaner components and trying to decide whether to use KY Jelly or Corn Syrup to make an alien look slimy super exciting.

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5. Man, the last few minutes of this episode had me literally in tears with laughter. You guys should script comedy shows.

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   • David,
     Thanks. If you only knew… Here is the real recipe for what you hear on MPW (all jokes aside):

     Jason — Shows up each week with the greatest ambitions and intentions to produce a movie review podcast that’s actually informative through excellent film criticism. (Never happens.)

     Karl — Shows up each week (as noisily as possible) in a grumpy mood that gets exponentially worse for every minute that we continue after the two-hour mark. (Always happens.)

     Ryan — Shows up each week fresh-faced and open-minded, ready to talk about whatever, though he’s always suppressing his propensity toward profanity and diving into rabbit holes but avoids both, due to my rigid format. As flexible, fun-loving, mischievous and as easy-going as they come. The proverbial new guy who’s NOT YET jaded and sick of us or this show…yet. (It just so happens.)

     Andy — Shows up each week unprepared and completely apathetic. Couldn’t possibly care less about movie reviews or podcasting. He loves only Ryan and has genuine contempt for Karl and me, because he’s prejudiced against Irishmen and good ol’ boys from back-woodsy, rural places. (I don’t know how it happens.)

     When you combine those four elements above, you get the Clown Car of Movie Podcasting. I aim for “Filmspotting” or “Battleship Pretension,” hope that it at least comes out at the level of “The /Filmcast” or “Film Junk,” and end up with “The Master of Disguise” of movie podcasts… What can I say? I’m glad my pain is humorous for somebody. ; )
     J

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     • I know Jay thinks that I often point out funny/outrageous semi-bloopers in a disparaging way, but I actually sincerely enjoy those moments, and think that the podcast is better for them. When Andy does something offbeat or off-script (or both), or Karl goes into a profane tirade, or Ry shows up without having seen anything, it doesn’t make the podcast seem amateurish or unprofessional or unworthy of notice. It’s just part of the magical alchemy that makes MPW what it is. Each of the hosts has a unique voice, and all four voices are an important part of the whole.

       I proudly listen to MPW every week in large part because it’s entertaining in addition to being informative and thought-provoking. And also because you have to listen every week, because what if you don’t listen one week and it turns out that you miss the week when special guest “Jedi” Steve Hernandez is trying to build up to his description of hearing a therapist describe “Attack of the Clones” in Spanish and Andy LOSES HIS CRAP (or at least fakes losing his crap in a highly amusing manner) because Steve hasn’t gotten to the Espanol part of the story yet? What if that? 🙂

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       • Cheers

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       • Errughem!

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         • O como decimos en Español, Errughemo!

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           • I’m not from Mexico or anything, but I’m pretty sure it’s Errughem in Espanol, too. 😉

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         • Right… because only Mexicans speak Spanish. Gracias Andy por informar mal al pobre de Dino!

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           • Wait, isn’t that true?

             Of course, I meant it as a more direct comment to you; ergo, Mexico.

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         • Bahaha of course you did. You know, I’m really tempted to call in and leave Andy a message in Español in the hopes that they play it live for him and have him comment on it haha. Sigh… a man can dream… a man can dream.

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6. Heineken in France or Belgium? Heineken was Dutch (as is the beer), and he was one of the richest men in the Netherlands (a billionaire). The kidnapping took place in Amsterdam, which seems like it should be easy to remember – unless they didn’t make the place clearly known in the movie. Also, the kidnappers were not Irish – but, yes, you guessed it, also Dutch.

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   • Sorry, Mark. You’re right: We butchered that. However, all the information you just said was not overly clear from the film (as I recall), but we should have done a little research.

     Thanks for straightening us out.

     J

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7. After buying the commentary track for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles last month, I thought this morning would be a great time to listen to it.

   I’ve only been watching PT&A since 2008, but it’s quickly became one of my favorite movies to the extent that it’s likely my second favorite comedy behind A Christmas Story. Regardless of how many times I see it, it’s timeless and I laugh just as hard as the first time. There’s also a certain appreciation for finding new little things with each additional view. Somehow, I had never seen the stinger at the end of the movie until now. So yeah, fantastic movie and one that I’ve seen enough times that watching it with the volume turned down to listen to the MPW guy’s commentary was ideal.

   For the commentary, the two guys who stood out the most for me were Karl and Josh. Karl was just a beast at bringing up random little bits of trivia and trying to reference scenes that were altered from his original theatrical experience. Meanwhile, Josh was good at referencing all of the other movies that random objects or rooms reminded him of. Other than a couple stretches of silence, you guys kept the talk going for the entire movie making for an entertaining new experience to watch PT&A. Special kudos to Andy for managing to stay awake.

   Well worth the $5 I paid for it. I bought the Cujo commentary track earlier in the year, but I still need to get around to listening to it. I imagine it’s a giant hassle to find the time when all of your schedules line up to do another commentary track, but I’d love to see some more offerings.

   Thanks for the fun way to kick off my Thanksgiving day morning.

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   • If you’re looking for a movie to watch on Thanksgiving, but maybe something you haven’t seen a million times like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, I’d recommend 1991’s Dutch. It’s practically the same concept with a guy trying to get home for Thanksgiving in Chicago, but everything goes terribly due to his girlfriend’s bratty son, who he volunteered to drive down and pick up.

     It’s not as good as PT&A, but I enjoyed it when I caught it on Netflix a few months ago. It stars Ed O’Neil and a young Ethan Embry.

     You can stream Dutch for free on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

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8. I like High Castle a lot, but I should note that I had just previously watched the first two eps of The Leftovers, and High Castle seemed a lot better out of the gate.

   Some hosts on another podcast were raving about The Leftovers and comparing it in quality to the Fargo series (which I really love), so I thought I should check that out. But the way Jason describes High Castle as not revealing enough in the first episodes applies much more to The Leftovers. There’s an interesting premise (millions of people disappear all of a sudden, and we pick up the story a few years later to see how the “leftovers” are dealing with that), but it is really slow paced, and introduces a few odd things like a cult that smokes all the time and never talks, and a guy who hugs the pain out of people, but with no indication at all about what they’re about. Of course, that should be the appeal of the show, to see what that’s all about. But it just wasn’t interesting or compelling enough for me to care after two episodes. High Castle is MUCH more up front about some things, while still leaving a fair amount of mystery. And from a strictly drama point, I like the implications of the potential brewing war between the Nazis and the Japanese, and some of the interactions and complications the characters face in this world.

   That being said, I’m on episode 9 (of 10), and while the last couple have picked up, there was kind of a lull in the middle there in terms of my interest. So I doubt you’d have continued much father, Jason. I’m guessing this kind of format (the 10-13 episode arc show) isn’t your thing. By necessity, there needs to be some lulls and dips in pacing for things to stretch out over that time. I love that, though, as I’m a big fan of Kubrick and Hitchcock and that style of setting things up very slowly so they can pay off in nice ways later.

   I highly recommend the Fargo series, though. I think that strikes a good balance of keeping things moving in terms of plot, and also having nice character moments and more dramatic scenes. The first season felt like a long homage to the film and the Coens work in general, and has a particularly amazing performance by Billy Bob Thornton. And it was very entertaining. But season two feels more like it has its own voice and confidence, while still maintaining a Coen-esque feel and sense of comedy/tragedy. Like many, I was somewhat disappointed by True Detective’s second season, but Fargo is killing it this season.

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9. By the way, when Andy casually referred to “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” as a horror movie (or suggested something along those lines), I meant to chime in that I vehemently do not consider “Sith” to be a horror movie whatsoever…

   However, it is interesting that Anakin has many of the beats and the character arc of a “monster” in this film — and as we all know — the monster is never really dead, as is the case with Anakin at the end of this film.

   So, even though I don’t believe Andy thought about it very much at all, I think he stumbled upon an interesting point: Writer George Lucas obviously borrowed some horror tropes for building his monsters, Darth Vader and Darth Sidious.

   J (of the Dead)

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10. I have so much contempt for the “Star Wars” prequels that it’s been hard to listen to the last couple of episodes. Even the minimal, qualified, heavily measured praise being doled out makes me want to punch something all over again. Although even when I disagree with what Steve and, to a notably lesser extent, Ryan (and Jay) are saying, I enjoy their passion and the breadth of their “Star Wars” knowledge. Plus it makes me giggle on the inside every time someone says “Kit Fisto.” Of all the unfortunate names to pop out of George Lucas’ noggin over the decades (as well as the noggins of his many EU collaborators), that one takes the cake, at least for me.

    I’m a little surprised by the summary dismissal of “Mockingjay Part 2.” I hate the trend in splitting final installments as much as anyone. I enjoyed reading the “Hunger Games” books, however, and I feel like the final three films in the series, and especially the final two, are about as good an adaptation as anyone could have asked for. I don’t like some of Collins’ storytelling choices, especially in the third book. But these are thoughtful, well-written and well-acted movies that deliver on all of the biggest beats in the book series. I think the “Mockingjay” movies are actually the rare literary adaptation that improves on the source material. And I say that as someone who enjoyed reading all three books (didn’t flip my lid over them but they’re fun books). Donald Sutherland does a bang-up job in all four movies. Jennifer Lawrence gets better as the series goes, as does Josh Hutcherson. And you’re getting top-shelf stuff from Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore throughout. “Mockingjay Part 2” isn’t BMotY material, but it is good entertainment, at least by my lights.

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    • We all can go high-level and high-brow with our dismissal of MJ: Part2 all we want, but let’s be honest…..the major detriments to the whole series are the dime-store StormTroopers costumes and that abysmal Haymitch wig. Terribad!!! 🙂

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      • Both excellent points. The Haymitch wig is an all-time movie costuming misfire. The ripoff Stormtrooper outfits are less egregiously awful, but still pretty lame.

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11. Hi Jay! I hope you’re doing well, friend.

    To address a question of yours from a few episodes back (about what we’d like to hear as your next special commentary episode), my choices are as follows:

    Upstream Color
    A final win-all-take-all-no-holds-barred-bare-knuckle-fight-to-the-death between Josh and… well, pretty much everyone else. In Josh’s perfect world, everyone would go into this with an open mind and a positive attitude. In reality, it will be a disaster of epic proportions with Josh caught in the crossfire. Hilarity WILL ensue guaranteed. I will pay top dollar for this. And you can call me out on the show if I don’t cough up the dough.

    Gravity vs. Interstellar vs. The Martian
    A very special episode of Versus between three of the best space movies of the last decade (at least). Dino and I had a heated discussion off the site about which is the better movie and we had to agree to disagree (though they all three received very high scores from us). Before Josh steps in and says “totally different movies, this is pointless”, yes Josh, we know, but as you already know, there can be only one. Besides, I would love for Joshie to engage Ry in battle when talking about Gravity. But alas, this one seems like more of a dream that will never happen given that you’d have to watch three movies. But the format could be just the debate after having watched all three, not commenting alongside the movies.

    Anyway, that’s my feedback. I’m not sure what everyone else has been asking for, but I’m sure that whatever we end up getting, it will be great.

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    • It was more of a lukewarm debate, to be honest.

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      • I don’t know… you did hurt my feelings quite a bit.

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12. Everything alright with you guys and 166? Not to rush the excellence of your production, of course… But we are fast approaching Dec. 18, and I’m looking forward to your coverage of SW 4-6 leading up to that. Maybe Jason ended up getting fired after all, and is out looking for employment? :o)

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13. Hi Guys great show as always

    Loved you and Andys cameo on /Filmcast lol

    Not sure if you have started recording top ten of the year show yet but a few I would recommend are Creed (saw it this week and loved it) and Stanford Prison Experiment which I though was excellent

    my film viewing is nowhere near your level but I also caught No Escape last week and really enjoyed it too

    keep up the good work and was wondering if possible could we get Doc Shock and Josh to make an appearance for end of year show.

    thanks as always guys for the hard work
    Gerdywerdy

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    • P.S loving the extended Star Wars coverage

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14. Upon hearing that Jay isn’t fond of The Force Awakens, I had to revisit the prequel ratings here. The prequels that I suggested people throw in the garbage following my Episode VII screening. Ry followed that up by saying “Burn them like a witch!” Which I quite liked. But then I look back and the recommendations are even higher than I remembered. I will be extremely curious to hear this next show “from the podcasters who unanimously recommended that you buy The Phantom Menace.”

    This post right here is the kind of thing that ended my time on the show, but so be it. Here are my Star Wars rankings.

    Star Wars: 10 – Buy it
    The Empire Strikes Back: 10 -Buy it
    Return of the Jedi: 10 – Buy it

    The original trilogy are classic American films that should be treasured and passed on to generations. I suggest buying the DVD release so that you can watch the original theatrical versions and shun any subsequent releases.

    The Phantom Menace: 1 – Burn it like a witch
    Attack of the Clones: 3 – Very low priority rental but hide it from your children
    Revenge of the Sith: 3 – Very low priority rental but hide it from your children

    Really, I don’t even think these are worth a rental, but fine low priority for a general audience. I wouldn’t recommend these to fans of the original.

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    • Not sure why Jay hates the cinema so much.

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    • The Force Awakens… Loved a lot of it. A couple of minor issues, but easily better than all but 4 and 5.

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