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Whoa. Episode 166 of Movie Podcast Weekly is wild! We are in our fourth installment of a seven-part series in which we’re reviewing the entire STAR WARS FRANCHISE! In Episode 166, we bring you an in-depth Feature Review of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) with special guest Steve Hernandez. And believe it or not, our review of the first Star Wars release brings some serious fireworks and excitement, so you won’t want to miss this show!
We also bring you Feature Reviews of Creed and The Good Dinosaur and Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter and The Primary Instinct. Join us!
If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andy, Karl and Geek Cast Ry — along with frequent guests. We give you our verdicts on at least one new movie release from the current year that’s currently playing in theaters, as well as several mini reviews of whatever we’ve been watching lately. And we usually provide specialized genre recommendations. New episodes release every single Wednesday.
SHOW NOTES:
I. Introduction
— Welcome guest Steve Hernandez
— Captain America: Civil War trailer
— Emilia Clarke played Sarah Connor in “Terminator Genisys”!
— Andy’s home theater is finished
— Jason’s concerns about the Star Wars movies getting locked in the Disney vault
— George Lucas hasn’t seen “The Force Awakens” yet (but Spielberg has seen it three times already)!
[ 0:21:31 ] II. Feature Review: STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977) with guest Steve Hernandez
Jason = 9 ( Buy it! / Must-see )
Andy = 10 ( Buy it! / Masterpiece )
Karl = 10 ( Buy it! / A perfect movie / In Top 5 of All Time )
Ryan = 10 ( Buy it! / Masterpiece )
Steve Hernandez = 5.5 ( Buy for fans; rental for everyone else)
Steve’s plugs: Check out the Google’s various celebratory antics for Star Wars.
III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend:
Creed
The Good Dinosaur
Victor Frankenstein
Secret in Their Eyes
The Danish Girl
Janis: Little Girl Blue
Killing Them Safely
FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:
[ 1:13:56 ] IV. Feature Review: KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER (2015)
Jason = 4 ( Avoid )
Andy = 5 ( Low-priority Rental )
[ 1:31:51 ] V. Feature Review: THE GOOD DINOSAUR (2015)
Karl = 5.5 ( Rental for Kids )
Ryan = 5 ( Rental for Kids Only; Don’t Purchase )
[ 1:47:11 ] VI. Feature Review: CREED (2015)
Jason = 7.5 ( Theater / Strong Rental )
[ 1:55:37 ] VII. Feature Review: THE PRIMARY INSTINCT (2015)
Jason = 7 ( Strong Rental )
VIII. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— Thanks to Sal for purchasing our “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” commentary
— Thanks to Juan, German and David for your supportive donations
COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 167 where we’ll be reviewing “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and the new releases, “Krampus,” “Spotlight,” “Secret in Their Eyes,” “Christmas Eve,” “The Hunting Ground” and “Macbeth.” Join us!
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Jason recommends George Lucas – Washington Post interview
Karl recommends 14 Moving Facts About “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”
Ryan recommends Star Wars Minus Williams – Throne Room
Contact MPW:
E-mail us: MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com.
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Follow MPW on Twitter: @MovieCastWeekly
Leave a comment in the show notes for this episode.
Ry’s BIO
Ry’s flagship show: Geek Cast Live Podcast
DONATE here to facilitate the creation of more Geek content!
Blog: Geek Cast Live
Web site: Geek Harder.com
Facebook
Twitter: @GeekCastRy
Jason recommends supporting: Operation Underground Railroad
Listen to MPW:
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Josh’s links:
Hear Josh named as one of the Top 5 Up-and-Coming Directors on The Film Vault Podcast!
Twitter: @IcarusArts
Josh covers streaming movies on: Movie Stream Cast
Hear Josh on The SciFi Podcast
Hear Josh on Horror Movie Podcast
If you’re a Horror fan, listen to Jason and Josh on HORROR MOVIE PODCAST
We’d like to thank The Dave Eaton Element and Dave himself for the use of his music for our theme song. Buy Dave’s Eaton’s music: BandCamp.com
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Thanks for listening, and join us again next Wednesday for Movie Podcast Weekly.
Yay! Jay didn’t get fired!
This top of the show talk about Disney movies and the vault got me interested enough to begin looking up various Disney movies on Amazon, focusing on just the bigger ones. It looks like the two biggest Disney movies that you can’t stream would be Beauty and the Beast (To buy a new Blu-Ray on Amazon, you have to fork over $118) and Snow White (To buy a new Blu-Ray on Amazon, it’s $160).
That’s insanity. It’s 2015, the days of having a Disney vault has long passed us. Have your big movies available to buy at a reasonable price. This is part of the reason why piracy exists.
I finished the Star Wars portion of the show.
First off, I got your back, Jay! The first time I saw Star Wars, it included the scene with Jabba as a man. While listening to your co-hosts questioning your sanity about this imagined character, I had my hands up in the air, wondering how everyone (Well…maybe not Andy) was clueless. Doing a bit of research, it seems as if this original Jabba wasn’t in the original theatrical release, but was added for the re-release in 1997 (Which lines up for my first time seeing the movie). Then the human Jabba was removed probably just a few years later when Lucas added in the classic Jabba. For all of these years, I couldn’t understand why people cared so much about disliking the fact that the classic Jabba was edited into the movie when having the human Jabba doesn’t make much sense. However, knowing that Jabba was never even in the original release of the movie has caused me to question why Lucas felt the need to add him. His scene didn’t add anything to the movie since the conversation is mostly just a repeat from the talk Han had with Gredo.
Andy mentioning that he watched Star Wars in school has caused me to remember that my first time ever seeing the original trilogy was in the fifth grade (Maybe fourth?) during school hours. I don’t know why we were allowed to watch them, but one of my classmates brought his VHS tapes of the trilogy to school and for about an hour a day, we just watched Star Wars.
I also have Karl’s back when it came to the exhaust port. I just re-watched the movie last week and at least what they had on the DVD is that the port’s hole was in a straight line from where the rebels were flying towards. However, when you fired at it, the shots went into the port and then zoomed down the exhaust downwards.
Steve’s rating for Star Wars completely blows my mind. I’m not even some super Star Wars fan and I was glued to the TV during this most recent viewing. For the prequel trilogy, it was just a chore to stay awake. It’s a classic movie and I’m pretty sure Steve has to turn in his Star Wars fandom card with his rating and recommendation to only rent it. When ANDY of all people is left outraged and having to stick up for Star Wars, you know you have a real out there opinion. Ha
As a result, I deem Steve as being the new Jay of MPW.
I’d give the movie a 9 or 9.5.
I think it’s great that Steve gave the rating he gave and stuck by it. I’ve always thought that it’s possible that people could overlook some flaws in a movie because of sentimental attachment they might have to it. I think Carl is right, in a way, and it is about perspective. If you see something that blows your mind as a kid, you might think it’s great forever. Similarly, I think some movies from the 40s and 50s experience the same thing. Watching something like some old Bogart films can go two ways. They can be torn down for the racism and sexism that was present back then, not necessarily throughout movies, but definitely present. Or they can be given kudos for other things that were excellent at the time or even, have withstood the test of time. I’d love for Jay to go over again, the amazing-ness of the filming of Citizen Kane. For many reasons, the ground-breaking filming of it was spectacular for it’s day. And for many people, it’s stood up over time. But I think, mostly, the people that put Citizen on such a high pedestal are critics. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think its a great movie. But watching it, and other greats from 40s and 50s, can be difficult when you’re used to a certain production and scripting level that can be considered more modern, I guess. And that whole thinking has made me think about the Original Trilogy of Star Wars in a similar fashion. I’d love to hear someone that had never seen it before, and was never into the coolness of the whole Star Wars universe as a child, but was still into sci-fi/action/adventure movies review the Original Trilogy. I wonder how much of the review would be, “Yeah, it’s cool, I guess, but….” and then fill in the blank with whatever is actually wrong with the movies. So, sorry for that rambling on, but kudos to Steve for his review.
“I’d love to hear someone that had never seen it before, and was never into the coolness of the whole Star Wars universe as a child, but was still into sci-fi/action/adventure movies review the Original Trilogy.”
I finally got a chance to finish the podcast today, and this seems a good place to leave my opinion about the original “Star Wars” film. It’s interesting to note that this series of podcasts about the Star Wars movies in general has shown, IMO, that it’s not possible to have a reasonably fair and unbiased opinion about movies (and especially franchises) that are tied-up inextricably with one’s childhood.
I’m a bit older than Karl and was almost 20 when the original “Star Wars” movie came out (and yes, I was into sci-fi), so my reaction was/is unfettered by nostalgia linked to my boyhood (or the franchise as a whole).
Firstly, I definitely enjoyed the film – no doubt about that – and I was happy to see a popular movie garner a lot of attention for the sci-fi genre.
But…
1) It wasn’t the best sci-fi movie made when it was released – just the most accessible. “2001: A Space Odyssey” was/is a more groundbreaking, important, and complex piece of art.
2) IMO, it didn’t have the best FX achieved up until that point – just the most FX shots in a single movie. Again, compare it to “2001”, made almost a decade earlier.
3) On the character side, it’s not nearly as good as the film Lucas ‘cribbed’ from. If you haven’t seen Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress”, I highly recommend it (along with, at a minimum, “Rashomon”,”Seven Samurai”, “Yojimbo”, and “Sanjuro”). I guarantee at least one of these films will blow your mind if you haven’t seen them.
4) It’s not even Lucas’ best film. By almost any cinematic standard other than ‘popularity’, both “American Graffiti” and “THX 1138” are superior films. I feel sad for Lucas’ own artistic development that he got swept up into servicing a franchise that, granted, made him tons of money, but stymied what was, at one point, a developing career as one of America’s premiere directors.
A couple of sidenotes….
Stephen Tobolowsky being awesome? Bing
The Tobolowsky Files also being awesome? BING, again!
Jay, your use of SW-themed **MEEPs** is unparalleled and unrivaled in the pod-casting world. Well done, The Producer, well done. 🙂
Spike Lee’s been in town for ChiRaq. So the other day I was walking down State St., hoofin’ it for a train to the ‘burbs, and I walk right past him, surrounded by two extremely large and ‘not-to-be-messed-with’ dudes. It didn’t really sink in until I was about half a block away and I thought of turning around and shouting, “It’s gotta be the shoes, money!” But, in reality, I’m a spineless coward, and his ‘friends’ were still too close for me to think I could funnily joke around with Spike, Mars Blackman style. 🙂 My only other comment about all that is, holy Spicoli!!! Spike Lee is like, hobbit-sized!! For real, he’s crazy short.
Also, with Turkey Day having just passed us, I’ll leave what I watch every year to pump me up for consuming mass quantities over the holidays. Enjoy 🙂
Thank you for noticing, Gomez98. I’m proud of the themed “meeps,” too. I’m glad it amuses you as much as it amuses me. : )
J
Disney bought Pixar in 2006, so Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3 were all made while Pixar was owned by Disney. Hence, your theory about Pixar making bad movies because of Disney does not make sense. And Monsters University was one of their bests.
I’m about halfway through this episode. Solid so far, although I feel that poor little Juan’s heart may be broken by your KUMIKO review.
As for the Star Wars discussion, I agree with Steve’s comments although I am baffled by his rating. For me, if I think of the Star Wars films in “senior superlatives,” A NEW HOPE gets voted “Most Important” even if it isn’t the best one (sorry, Karl). That said, I still absolutely love the movie, despite its obvious flaws. I don’t agree that there are slow moments that drag… there are slower moments, but those tend to be filled with loads of backstory and other universe-building elements. It’s a 10/10 and a true masterpiece… but definitely not the best of the franchise.
My tender heart is indeed broken, Dino. I saw this coming a mile away from Jay, but from Andy? These scores are truly a disservice and unfair to the film’s quality. Having said that, I understand where they’re coming from and their review was actually not bad. I wish Josh had been present to bring balance to the review, but alas, the cinephile siths won this round. I still really appreciate that Jay and Andy took the time to watch the film. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Though you weakened my already frail heart, my feelings towards you remain unchanged.
As far as recommending something “better” than KUMIKO, how about giving THE WOLFPACK a shot? It’s a documentary about a group of brothers that have been living in seclusion in an apartment in lower east Manhattan. Not being able to communicate with the outside world, they learn to live through movies which they reenact a la BE KIND REWIND. It’s very interesting and more your pace. So far, it’s in my top ten of the year along with KUMIKO.
If it makes you feel any better, hearing talk about the movie has made me want to see it.
It doesn’t make me feel better about the low score, but it makes me feel great for your moviegoing soul, Sal. I hope you like it and that unlike Jandy, you can get past the fact that it’s a slow moving movie.
I know I just show up here to post goofball stuff, looking for a chuckle and that my critique is not the best or even well regarded, but….
I expected way more from THE WOLFPACK. The premise sounded great, and some good intrigue about these kids’ lives is built in the promos for the doc, but once I finally saw it, I felt let down. I guess I wanted more from the parents on how they got into this situation and/or further reasoning from the father as to why he decided to keep his family secluded. It just wasn’t as compelling as I thought it’d be. Going into it, I was excited and had high hopes….it just fell flat for me. Just some thoughts. 🙂 I am still interesting in KUMIKO, though.
Hahaha damnit, Gomez! Man, I just can’t seem to get a break today. Everyone’s just lukewarm on my recommendations. Now I know why Josh left the show. Wait for me, Josh! 🙁
I think Jay should have watched Xtro and Josh should have watched Kumiko.
But in all seriousness, don’t feel bad for posting goofball stuff. I do it all the time and I still haven’t been banned haha. And goofing around doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t take your comments seriously, so post away!
Hi All,
First of all, assuming you do get joy and entertainment from our podcasts, I want all the commentators to know that I get as much joy from reading your comments as you presumably get from our show. These comment boards are like a “reverse podcast,” whereby we hosts get “a show,” of sorts, from reading your commentary and feedback that’s inspired by our apparent ineptitude. ha ha. I know it’s true. I can admit it.
Anyway, thank you all for your excellent comments. I’ve always said your written comments are better than our show itself.
As for “The Wolfpack,” yes! It’s been on my to-watch list for months, and I’m fully intending to get it watched before our Top 10 episode in a few weeks… Thank you. And yes, I can guarantee (as long as I can track it down) that “Victoria” is at the very top of my list.
I saw “Spotlight.” Andy and I will review it in Ep. 168. Everybody: Go see it.
Yes, Josh Ligairi will always be missed on MPW. He is a treasure in film criticism. I’m so grateful he’s on HMP with me. (But “Upstream Color” is unwatchable.)
A Call and a Challenge to The Faithful:
Our Top 10 of 2015 MPW show will release on the 29th, I’m fairly certain. (That’s a Tuesday.) And I truly want to involve the listeners in the Top 10 list process. How can I motivate (and beg) everyone to send in their Top 10 of 2015 lists? Can you help me rally? We don’t have a lot of funds for a great prize, but do you all have an idea that would be truly motivational?
Please e-mail your Top 10 of 2015 lists to:
MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com
Thanks!
J
J, I will gladly send in a top 10, but when are you recording that? There is a little space movie coming out soon that might factor in to that. I also might go to Portland to see the roadshow version of Hateful Eight.
As far as I could tell, iTunes was the only place to rent Victoria. It’s not on Amazon or Vudu.
And again, go see Room while you can. I may be a broken record until that happens.
Thanks, Eric. I’d love to have your list. Please send it!
We record our Top 10 show on Dec. 28, so we will have seen Star Wars 7. And now I have “Room” on my must-watch list. Thanks.
And speaking of “Kumiko” and “Fargo”… Josh just showed me this horrific news story. It’s very sad. Not making light of it, of course, but it did remind me of “Fargo”: http://news.yahoo.com/teen-killed-pulled-wood-chipper-152000447.html?nf=1
J
Any idea when the VOD will be coming for Room? I’m not finding any record that a single theater was showing the movie in Ohio.
Sal, you’re in Ohio?
Sal is, indeed, in Ohio.
Ohio’s a big state. Anywhere near Cleveland?
‘fraid not. I’m from Toledo. But hey…how about that Lake Erie?
That’s a long way to swim, and Lake Erie is cold this time of year. Still, closer than Utah or Houston.
Or Scarborough…
:/
Jay, is there any possible way to delay your top ten episode by a week so that we can all have time to catch up because of the holidays? I know you run a tight ship and schedules are everything to you, but I really we’d all benefit from a little more time.
@Juan:
My dear friend Juan asks:
“Jay, is there any possible way to delay your top ten episode by a week so that we can all have time to catch up because of the holidays?”
I love you Juan, but I don’t even love my own children THAT much. No harm in asking, of course, but I literally took two days off from work (December 28 and December 29) to be able to prepare, record and publish Episode 170. : ) It will release sometime on Dec. 29.
I want everyone to have that episode for New Year’s…
Now, I’m sure you’ve thought of this simple solution, but just in case: You could always just wait and listen at your convenience after the holidays! : ) The podcast is on-demand, of course.
And I’m sorry to report that I have a Top 10 of 2015 Horror Movie Podcast episode releasing that week, as well.
Sorry, Buddy. There three things in this world that no one can possibly stop:
1. The sun rising.
2. Karl making excessive noise, swearing and revealing spoilers on podcasts.
3. The Top 10 end-of-the-year episodes…
J
4. At some point, Andy WILL fall asleep.
I watched Room last night and man, was it emotional. At some point in the movie, I felt seemingly every emotion that I could feel. At times it’s heart wrenching and you feel as if your soul is dying watching it. Then there’s points where you experience the beauty and wonder of the world and it’s incredible. While Room’s plot might be taking the easy way in order to get their viewers to be emotionally invested (With that subject matter, it’s so easy to be sucked into it), but it came off as being so much better than a Lifetime Original Movie, something the plot reminds me of.
I don’t know if it’s just pure talent or if she’s been lucky to land awesome scripts, but Brie Larson has been on a roll as of late. The boy, Jacob Tremblay did a fantastic job as well. At times he’s annoying, but it came off less as the actor is annoying and more like the character is supposed to be annoying in those moments since it made you feel more for Larson’s character when all you wanted to do was slap the kid around.
The fact that the movie was broken in half with the first half being in the room and the second half the aftermath nicely summed up the idea that once you’re safe, you’re not automatically okay. That second half is something we don’t see often in these sort of movies.
Room is fantastic and go out of your way to watch it however you can. Right now it’s my #1 movie of 2015.
Well, J, your apparent ineptitude is part of your apparent charm.
Actually, a few of us have wondered if your ineptitude is a put-on; just a ploy to spur listener involvement in the comments. If that’s the case, then you’re a genius.
Either way, we love you.
Jay, don’t listen to Dino. None of us think you’re inept. You just rush to conclusions rather fast and let trivial matters ruin thing for you. But really, your comment above is truly heartwarming and humbling. You guys are such a big part of my life now that I get giddy whenever you answer me or give me a shout out. I’m seriously a big fan and even though we don’t always agree and I tend to give you a hard time –though not as hard a time as David or Dino — I I still look up to you and respect your work.
I must have forgotten my sarcasm emoji on that one.
Also, from now on, whenever I hear your name mentioned on the show I’ll be picturing you doing a little giddy dance. I imagine it would go something like this (skip to 0:33) >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjO-rWMuJo
Ooh my…
Indeed. I will reveal that I am often provocative and inflammatory on purpose because it makes good radio and promotes discussion and debate. As my mom always said of me, “I’m a born aggravator.”
Also: You all have much more refined tastes and knowledge about the cinema than I do…
So, go to hell, everybody. ; )
J
Sarcasm emojis are essential to detect sarcasm, Dino! You should know this ?
As long as you picture me shirtless and on a speedo, then it’ll be accurate.
Yeah, yeah… that’s also why these conversations would be much better had over a nice craft beer at an MPW meet-up somewhere.
To be fair, you should know by now that I would never seriously call J inept.
Haha and you should also know that I would never think that you would ever think that of THE PRODUCER.
If people are looking for a must-see movie, then check out VICTORIA (2015). It’s not the best movie I’ve ever seen, but I’ve never experienced anything like it in cinema. That’s all I’m going to say about it, and do yourself a favor in don’t read anything about the movie – not even the premise! Go in completely blind.
Just a warning: the first 30 minutes or so of the film are difficult to get through, but stick with it. You’ll see in the end why it was necessary to begin that way.
Don’t count on Jandy to like it though. They will probably say that those first 30 minutes are useless.
Awwww, there there. [pats Juan on the head]
You’re probably right, though. I could see J having difficulty in the beginning, especially.
At the very least, he’ll have his stopwatch out and complain in his review that it was actually the first 32 minutes that were slow.
Patting helps, Dino. Patting helps.
I’m always good for a pat.
And a hug.
And you guys wonder why I think everything you guys say to each other is sexually suggestive…
How is a hug sexual? Do you not hug your dad, Sal?
Werd.
I think Sal needs a hug.
And a pat…
Yes! I just watched that the other day. Very interesting. It’s nearly an *hour,* though, before the catalyst of the plot happens. But by the time it was over, my mind was blown for everything this girl experienced over the course of 2 hours and 15 minutes, of actual time. And that first hour of set up helps to give you the weight of it all.
Wow, was it that long before the movie turns? You’re probably right… although, I really started to enjoy the movie a little before then (from the roof on), which is probably closer to the 30 minutes I was referencing.
My iTunes rental has expired, but I recall noting at the 50 or 55 minute point that they were still hanging out in the cafe.
I do think that they could have cut about 10-15 minutes from that first act and it would have been better. But that being said, I did enjoy that whole part as kind of a fun view of a friendly girl partying with a group of people in Europe, and slowly getting more romantically connected to the one guy. It was a nice character study. And then once you’ve seen the whirlwind of what happens after that, the intro section makes the whole thing more meaningful in terms of why she might have gone along with everything, and what a crazy experience it was, altogether.
Wow Jason! I had never heard of Jaba being played by a man.
This is god awful:
I don’t feel like Steve justified his 5.5 very well. What I basically heard was that he thought it was the most boringest one.
That being said… I really love Episode 4, even if it isn’t the best in the series. The truth is, that people put it on a pedestal because of nostalgia. I think Karl makes a valid point that it was beyond ground breaking when it was released, but I upon further analysis it doesn’t hold up as the flawless masterpiece it is credited as. People are often shocked by the imperfection of the prequels, but those same imperfections are here, although less explicitly, in episode 4. The fundamental difference between this original film and something like the phantom menace is that the checks and balances of creative power were gone, and George was given complete undisputed creative autonomy.
I only really have a couple criticisms of episode 4: I find the opening 30 minutes on Tatooine to be especially slow, but it is eventually saved in later parts of the film. I think the acting, especially Mark Hamill, isn’t particularly strong, and instead the true star of the this film is Alec Guinness.
Guinness’s performance as Obi-Wan is the heart of the entire Star Wars genesis. I don’t give number ratings, but I think this is ranked 2nd in the whole series for me.
I don’t know if Karl is aware of this, but as he tends to throw a line about Upstream Color once an episode, it’s starting to make me really want to see it.
Karl, through hating the movie, has done more to make me want to see it than even Josh has.
I’m still not very familiar with your taste in movies, but it’s not the most accessible movie. I liked it just fine, but I didn’t love it. I think it tries too hard to be artsy, but that’s just me. Josh will tell you it’s the second coming of cinema. Watch at your own risk.
I am open to more artsy movies. Some of them are a bit of a chore to get through, but I’ve enjoyed some of the slower artsy movies that I watched because of Movie Stream Cast.
If I do end up watching it and enjoying it, Karl will be responsible for spreading the love of the movie.
here is the original Jabba scence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sf4eb9l__4
Oh man, that is rough. Good thing it was cut.
Is that a Scottish accent?
Thanks for the link.
Finished this episode. I gotta be honest – it hurt my heart a little to hear all of the animation hatred being thrown about toward the end of the show.
I disagree with Karl’s statement about UP being the last great Pixar movie. INSIDE OUT really is a brilliant film, and surpasses UP in my opinion.
Ryan – INSIDE OUT does exactly what you were looking to get from THE GOOD DINOSAUR: it’s a smart film with mature/intelligent themes and great humor/entertainment value for adults, while still being fun, entertaining and accessible for kids. You should make a point to check it out with your clan.
J – I didn’t think MONSTERS UNIVERSITY was a horrible film, but I would not fault someone for not liking it. The CARS and PLANES movies, on the other hand, are pretty rough.
Also, be careful not to mix up Disney films with Pixar films. You guys mentioned a bunch of Disney movies when rattling off the list of “Pixar” movies after the Disney acquisition (e.g. FROZEN, WRECK-IT RALPH, etc).
I agree with Dino. Monsters University > Jay
This is true. But let me state that Disney 3D animation has been putting out some pretty great stuff. Wreck-It-Ralph in particular is a masterpiece in my opinion.
Agreed that Inside Out was great and a return to form. But the best Pixar film since Up was Toy Story 3. Amazingly good.
Good Dinosaur was weak for Pixar, but that is still a high bar. I liked it a lot, and no doubt it was better than most of the animated films in the trailers preceding it. But it felt kind of insubstantial and forgettable.
I’ll agree that TOY STORY 3 is amazingly good. I still prefer INSIDE OUT, though.
Point is, there have been plenty of great Pixar films since the Disney acquisition, and even a few that could be considered masterpieces.
I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or if I just need to watch it yet again, but I’ve never been much of a fan of Toy Story 2. It just didn’t have the magic that the first one did. Now Toy Story 3? Fantastic stuff. You’re completely heartless if you didn’t tear up at the end when the toys all grabbed hands as death was drawing near.
I’m with Dino on this one: “Inside Out” is Pixar’s best film since “WALL-E”.
And yes, “Up”, “WALL-E”, and “Ratatouille” all came out after the acquisition (Cars was Pixar’s final independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney), so Karl’s theory was bunk.
I love “Toy Story 3”, but I just don’t think it’s as inventive, clever, and moving as “Inside Out”, (unless perhaps you’ve seen the other two Toy Story movies) and it’s not fair to rate a whole franchise versus a standalone.
Man,
I hate to go all geek on you guys, but I’m pretty sure the Stormtroopers are not Clones (at least when looking through the lens of the new Disney canon). The “Star Wars Rebels” cartoon makes it pretty clear. The Clones are all old men. And there are episodes where the empire are training kids to become Stormtroopers. But anyway…
I gotta say, I watched “Star Wars” with the family over Thanksgiving and I had a great time. It is slow and the effects are outdated, but my momma raised me on slow movies with outdated effects so it’s all good. I’d call the original an 8.5. High marks for creating the galaxy far far away and for pushing the boundaries of special effects and story telling. Low marks for having some rather silly moments that bother me after repeated viewings (inept Stormtroopers, a fully operational space station the size of a planet that can only scramble half a dozen fighters, one of the worst sword fights ever put to film, etc.)
Stormtroopers in general definitely aren’t clones. If they were surely Luke (being “a little short for a Stormtrooper”) would have stood out like a sore thumb and been noticed immediately (due to there being no precedent for height variation amongst clone ranks) while disguised aboard the death star.
I’m beginning to feel like the resident fact-checker here – or perhaps resident nit-picker, depending on your point of view 🙂 And by resident, I mean metaphorically – since I’m physically located in Amsterdam – but through the wonders of Internet technology, I can harass you to get your facts straight from halfway around the globe 🙂
In this edition, my harangue goes out to Ryan:
Sorry man, but you were wrong in both parts of your statement. “Star Wars” was *not* the first Sci-Fi movie nominated for Best Picture. I’m not 100% positive which movie holds that title, but I do know “Clockwork Orange” came out 6 years before it and was also nominated.
Also “Star Wars” is not close to being the only Sci-Fi movie ever nominated; I have no idea of the full tally, but 5 others (not counting “Clockwork Orange”) spring quickly to mind: “ET”, “Avatar”, “District 9”, “Inception”, and “Gravity”.
Not the only one, as you describe, but I wouldn’t categorize “A Clockwork Orange” as sci-fi. It’s great, but more of a social commentary satire. Was “2001” not nominated? If not, it certainly should have been. That would have been a Kubrick sci-fi film that predated SW.
No, although Kubrick was nominated for Best Director for “2001”, the film itself wasn’t nominated (which was a travesty).
And although it’s true that “Clockwork Orange” is not the “spaceships/other worlds” type of Sci-Fi, virtually every novel/movie that is set in the future is also classified that way (e.g. “Fahrenheit 451”, “Planet of the Apes”, etc).
IMDB lists is as a ” Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi”, plus there’s science tech in the novel/film which doesn’t actually exist yet – so I think it qualifies.
Yeah, I get that. Just weighs more heavily to social satire for me, than what we more typically think of as sci-fi.
forgot about ET , clockwork orange isn’t scifi, and I pretend avatar doesn’t exist
“clockwork orange isn’t scifi”
Uh, yeah.. it is.
Well, we all know Star Wars is fantasy, so this whole discussion is moot.
🙂
I thought you were going to say the discussion was moot because Best Picture Nominations and Wins have been historically idiotic. 🙂
I’d be willing to stipulate that “A Clockwork Orange” isn’t sci-fi if we can all agree that “2001” *should* have been nominated as Best Picture. 🙂
Seriously though, if you look at a collected list of the best pre-Star Wars sci-fi movies, there are at least four movies that *should* have been nominated in their respective years (“Metropolis”, “Planet of the Apes”, “Solaris”, and “2001”) – and Lang’s “Metropolis” should have really won the very first Best Picture Oscar – it is sooo much better than “Wings”!
http://thescriptlab.com/features/the-lists/2386-top-10-pre-star-wars-sci-fi-flicks#
Those four films you mentioned are excellent arguments for “should have beens.” Although, my understanding is that 2001’s critical reception was rather mixed upon its release. (probably because most people after seeing it had no idea what just happened to them)
Agreed.
I was 10 when I saw it with my Dad and it both blew me away and confused me. Luckily my Dad (who was an avid sci-fi reader and Arthur C. Clarke fan) helped explain it to me on the drive home. Now in retrospect – and with more sophisticated modern audiences – I think it’s better recognized as a towering achievement and science-fiction classic.
As a followup: the Wikipedia entry for the novel, “A Clockwork Orange”, lists it’s genres as “Science fiction, Satire, Dystopian fiction”, as well as including it in a separate entry titled “British science fiction novels”. The book is also listed in “The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy”. Chicago: Advent. p. 72. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
I hereby request that the next three installments of MPW be uploaded with a version that eliminates anything Steve says. He is now dead to me. I would rather hear the constant “bleep” sound that you use for cursing in place of his commentary.
The original Star Wars is an incredible film, with epic pacing, real adventure and intrigue and danger, characters that are unique and distinguishable and memorable, and a heroic story with impactful scenes. The effects and fight scenes hold up well and serve the story, not merely being vacuous eye candy like in the prequels. I would put Empire Strikes Back as being on par with A New Hope, or better in some respects, but to even begin to compare or rate any of those prequel films as being equal to or better than the visionary masterpiece that is the original Star Wars is akin to comparing the vocal stylings of William Hung to that of Pavarotti.
I forgot to add this: ppphhhhbbtttt!!
Btw, I am one of the few who has seen Victor Frankenstein. I was actually interested to see it, because there are some Sherlock actors in the film (Sherlock is one of the best shows ever), as well as the hot younger sister who died from Downton Abbey (I would go out of my way to see her in anything). I agree with the consensus of reviews that it had some interesting elements and parts, but doesn’t really hold together as a whole.
Surprisingly, the two leads (James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe) were the weakest part for me. They just seemed a little out of place and didn’t have a very good weight for those roles. Going back to the Sherlock thing, I can picture Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Frankenstein and Igor and it’s not even a close comparison (especially if the Sherlock writers had written the script). It’s not terrible, by any means, but would have worked better as a TV movie or miniseries. I give it a 6 and say low-priority rental or stream.
Also, I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Room is now playing more widely, including SLC. Very highly recommended, and in the running for my BMOTY.
/Film covers Room in their latest podcast. As they suggest, don’t watch the trailer and of course don’t listen to their spoilers, but just go see the film. It’s amazing.
Has anyone seen the U.S. release of OUT 1? I’ve only heard of it because of this year’s releasing of it and some other critics I listen to have seen it at some festival. I go back and forth on art-house. I either totally ‘get’ it and love it and am moved and what-not, or I don’t and I hate it. Anyway, just that it seems to be an adventure to watch seems intriguing, it’s something like 8 hours. Quite a gamble of something to make. I get that this project most likely wasn’t about making money, it’s sometimes tenuous to have people endure 2-3 hours of a movie and then possibly give them or don’t give them a great or poignant ending. This has people go through several hours more to get or not get a pay-off. Maybe the whole experience is the pay-off. Not sure. I’m curious to see what everyone here has to say about it. 🙂 I plan to check it out….will probably have to do it in installments, but I’m intrigued none-the-less.
Also….checking this movie out on the interwebs got me to a list of movies with the longest run-times. There’s something call LOGISTICS 2012 that’s 87 hours long!?!? Whammy. This movies on this list (on Wikipedia) is so crazy that something titled THE LONGEST MOST MEANINGLESS MOVIE IN THE WORLD, coming in at 48 hours, ranks 8th. Oh, what little foresight they had in 1968. 🙂 Some of these flicks do look interesting though. I gotta cash in about a month or two of vacation time to check some of them out. It’d be funny to hear Andy’s take on the fact that these movies even exist, let alone try to have him watch one. 🙂
It’s funny how the idea of an 8 hour film seems ridiculous and tedious, and yet I’ll binge-watch a full season of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. The hypocrisy and absurdity of that is not lost on me. 🙂
Yeah, good point. I believe this 8 hour is a series of shorts meant to be watched all at once, but allows the viewer to break it up, tv-show style.
Listening to my first episode of Considering the Sequels and I’m blown away by how utterly confusing the rating system is.
Jay, did you purposely set out to create the most confusing rating system possible or did it just happen accidentally? Ha
Sal, there’s a blog entry where Jay explains his current rating system. Hilarious! Have you read it?
On here or HMP? I know I saw a blog post over at HMP that seemed to be created to try to justify one of his wacky ratings. Ha
Dark Jedi Darth Steve Hernandez is dead to me. I can’t believe GeekCast Ry didn’t go into full (See Link Below) mode the second he heard the words “5.5”:
Jay, I’d like to lodge a formal request that you roll the sound from that clip on the next episode as the general rebuttal to Darth Steve from the MPW Jedi Council.
The new MPW Ep. 167 on The Empire Strikes Back is up!
J