Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 178: Race (2016) and Risen (2016) and The Witch (2016) and the Story of the Ill-Fated Don’s Plum (1996) and MPW’s Top 10 Films That We Love (But Are Ashamed to Admit It)

Episode 178

Not for the faint of heart, Episode 178 of Movie Podcast Weekly is our most embarrassing episode yet (and we’ve had a few PR black eyes over the years)… In this show, your four MPW hosts bring you our Top 10 Films That We Love (But Are Ashamed to Admit It). We also bring you three great Feature Reviews of Race (2016) and Risen (2016) and The Witch (2016). We also bring you The Story of the Ill-Fated “Don’s Plum” (1996). You probably should skip this one, but just in case you don’t, you’ve been warned…

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. New episodes release every single week!


SHOW NOTES:

I. Introduction
— Jason recommends checking out Joel Robertson’s Forgotten Flix movie podcast, as well as Retro Movie Geek podcast.


[ 0:02:41 ] II. The Story of the Ill-Fated “Don’s Plum” (1996)
— We’d also recommend listening to Geek Cast Live Podcast’s interview with writer-producer Dale Wheatley.

MPW’s ratings for Don’s Plum (1996):
Jason = 5.5 ( Rental / A one-time watch )
Andy = 6 ( Watch once )
Ryan = 6.5 ( Rental )


III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend:
Race
Risen
The Witch
Forsaken
Crazy About Tiffany’s
Collliding Dreams
Rolling Papers
Admiral
Snowtime!
City of Women
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Embrace of the Serpent


FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:

[ 0:37:40 ] IV. Feature Review: RACE (2016)
Jason = 8 ( Theater / Strong Rental )


[ 0:46:50 ] V. Feature Review: THE WITCH (2016)
Jason = 8.5 ( Theater / Buy it! )
Andy = 8 ( Read the Bible, instead; be sure you want to see a disturbing horror film. )
Ryan = 8.5 ( See it, but have some clothes to donate to Goodwill afterward )


[ 1:07:18 ] VI. Feature Review: RISEN (2016)
Jason = 8 ( Theater / Buy it! )
Karl = 8.5 ( Theater / Buy it! )


[ 1:20:32 ] VII. MPW’s Top 10 Films That We Love (But Are Ashamed to Admit It)

Andy’s Top 10 Shameful Movies:
1. Love Actually (2003)
2. Sgt. Bilko (1996)
3. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
4. Zoolander (2001)
5. Blood Diner (1987)
6. Southpark: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
7. Mean Girls (2004)
8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
9. A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
10. Superbad (2007)

Karl’s Top 10 Shameful Movies: (in no particular order)
1. Purple Rain (1984)
2. Grease (1978)
3. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
4. The Fifth Element (1997)
5. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
6. Con Air (1997)
7. The House Bunny (2008)
8. The Parent Trap (1998)
9. The Princess Diaries (2001)
10. Letters to Juliet (2010)

Ryan’s Top 10 Shameful Movies:
1. Magic Mike (2012)
2. Drumline (2002)
3. Bring It On (2000)
4. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
5. Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
6. Only the Strong (1993)
7. Reindeer Games (2000)
8. Space Cowboys (2000)
9. The Happening (2008)
10. Titanic (1997)

Jason’s Top 10 Shameful Movies:
1. Gutterballs (2008)
2. Pride and Prejudice (1995) BBC TV mini-series
3. Battle Royale (2000)
4. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
5. Thelma & Louise (1991)
6. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
7. Hostel (2005)
8. Saw (2004)
9. The Golden Child (1986)
10. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)


VIII. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
Special thanks to our supporters:
Jenifer for the kind Oscar party invitation (Next year!)
And donors:
Christian B.
Joshua G.
Shannon N.
Randy G.
Michal
Shane W.
Mario L.

Post-outro BONUS Content: Ryan and Andy tell San Francisco Stories!
– Ryan’s family meets San Francisco Jack
– Andy is molested and almost fights a homeless person
– Andy encounters an agitated lady with a knife


COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 179 where we’ll be reviewing the 88th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, as well as “Triple 9,” “Eddie the Eagle,” “Trumbo” and a mini review of the 2015 flick, “Trumbo.” Join us!


LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

To learn more about the fate of “Don’s Plum,” visit Free Don’s Plum.com

Hear Jay on One Sick Puppy’s Dead as Hell Horror Podcast: Dario Argento Special: Phenomena

Check out the MPW “Love Actually” commentary, if you dare…

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.

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:
Add MPW to your Stitcher playlist: Stitcher.com
MPW on iTunes
MPW’s RSS feed
Right-click to download the MPW 100 Rap

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 Jay, Josh Ligairi and Dr. Shock 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 week for Movie Podcast Weekly.


71 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 178: Race (2016) and Risen (2016) and The Witch (2016) and the Story of the Ill-Fated Don’s Plum (1996) and MPW’s Top 10 Films That We Love (But Are Ashamed to Admit It)

  1. Just to clarify, in this episode when I was describing “Don’s Plum” and its limitations, I did not intend to imply that the film’s being produced in black and white detracted from its value (though it sounds that way). No, not one whit. For the record, I admire black and white filmmaking, and I have no qualms with that artistic choice. Thanks for listening!
    J

    • Yes! Darn it! Sorry, Brother. I will fix that now… Sorry again, Sir. And thanks for your support (even though we’re jerks and can’t spell your name correctly). Thanks for letting me know.
      Jay

    • Same here, man. But I never really get these “guilty pleasure” type thingies most of the time. It always seems more like “movies that I assume other people might think I should be ashamed to love”.

      But Thelma and Louise, Purple Rain, Grease, The Fifth Element, Battle Royale, TCM, Zoolander, Temple of Doom, Superbad etc are all great movies in my opinion. Probably all in my top 100 movies at least and some much higher.

      That said, I’m not that far into the episode yet so it’ll be fun to hear what the guys have to say.

      • They all have their reasons for being ashamed; I think some of them are reasonable, while others are much more of a stretch. But, we’re all coming at life from a different perspective, so really hard to make judgments in that sense.

        That said, you know when you go on a job interview and they ask that horribly dumb question, “what’s your biggest weakness?” And you respond with an equally horrible and stupid non-answer like “I’m a perfectionist” or “I’m too organized.”

        Yeah, that’s Jason’s list. 😉

        • To be clear fellas – I’m actually ashamed of none of them. I simply put together a list of stuff most “guys” would think I should be ashamed of. 🙂
          I could defend any of the films on my list with confidence if needed to. I guess the “embarrassment” if there is any could come from the idea that they’re not normal films a “guy” would love.

          • Good to hear, Karl. I always admire your refusal to adhere to boring “guy movies” conventions.

            “Grease” and “Purple Rain” are two of my favourite musical movies ever and I’m a big fan of other “none guy” movies like “Dirty Dancing”, “Valley Girl”, “Thelma and Louise”, “Beaches”, “Ghost” and “Vibes”. Why would anyone deny themselves great, fun films just for the sake of being a macho jerk?

  2. **********PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT**********

    For anyone thinking of checking out Gutterballs, there’s actually a “Balls-Out Uncut Version.”

    Jason, you’ll also be happy to hear that there is a sequel, Gutterballs 2: Balls Deep, that premiered at Texas Frightmare Weekend on May 2, 2015. I expect a wide release any day now.

      • I tried Gutterballs about a year or two ago (whenever Jason reviewed it on HMP). I got through the first 10 minutes or so and then turned it off. Not because I found it too objectionable or offensive (although, it does test you), but I just couldn’t get into it. The acting is terrible, and I really need to be in the right mood to get into those kinds of movies.

          • Not even talking about the movie as a whole. Specifically just talking about the acting. I’m actually with Jason completely on the setting of the film. Even after just 10 minutes, I thought the bowling alley had brilliant natural atmosphere for a horror movie.

            I didn’t see enough of the movie to have a complete impression of it… but, that acting….

            • Haha I agree that sometimes… most times bad acting can ruin a movie, but it can be deliciously entertaining. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about Gutterballs, but with that name, it’s looking good.

  3. Many of you know that I don’t believe in guilty pleasures and so I don’t really have any movies that I either feel guilty or ashamed about. I do know which movies I love would be shameful for others, so with that in mind, this is a list of would-be movies I’m ashamed of, but not really in no particular order:

    50 First Dates
    Anaconda
    Commando
    Face/Off
    The Hot Chick
    The Little Mermaid
    Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
    Spawn
    Tango and Cash
    TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze

    Now, let me restate that I absolutely love these movies and feel no shame or guilt whatsoever putting it out there. I’ve seen them several times and some are even among some of my favorites. I left out some obvious choices that I’ve tried to defend in the past and I tried to keep the list pretty varied, unlike Karl who mostly picked romantic comedies 😉

  4. Hello MPW ,

    Great show just wanted to share with you my top 10 movies I am ashamed to admit:

    Hello MPW,

    Here is my shameful list of movies that I always cringe and tell people I like it. They are no award winning movies but they are my picks.

    10) High School Musical movies- I know there are 3 of them and I love them all from the dancing and singing. I also know they are for kids but I am a man child!

    9) Undercover Brother- It is smart and funny but tanked in the box office “eddie Griffith and also Neil Patrick Harris are golden in it.

    8) Son In Law- I know any movie with Pauly Shore is going to be razzed but he is really good in this and always makes me laugh!

    7) Over the Top – It is cheesy movie about arm wrestling starring Sly Stallone in where he is trying to win an arm competition and in the same time trying to reconnect with his son. It is a great drinking game movie where you take a drink every time his son cries man you get drunk!

    6) Newsies- A musical with Christian Bale and he is even ashamed that he made this movie, I however love the songs,the dance numbers and I find myself singing the songs all the time.

    5) Sgt Bilko – This movie to me is funny and well told and I always love it when it comes on, sure the movie has some corny jokes but Steve Martin, Phil Hartman, and Dan Aykroyd have never been better…..

    4) Bugsy Malone – I know another musical I have a theme here but you have to love this kids movie with Scott Baio and Jodie Foster about kids playing a mobster story with music and pie guns come on you have to love that…

    3) No Retreat no Surrender – This was one of Jean Claud Van Dam first movies where he plays a Russian Kick boxer, it is poorly acted but when it is USA VS USSR you have to root for the USA.

    2) Lady in the water- Hey you knew an M Night movie was going to be on this list. Yes J talking to you Village better be on your list. Alot of people hated this movie but I loved it with the themes and the people it was a great fairy tale movie in modern time!

    1) The Postman – I know this movie is the worse but I loved it with the story and Kevin Costner it is long and dragged out but it is one of the few movies that I watched and immediately watched again after seeing it.

    So there is my list I know alot of musicals and I look forward to hearing yours so once again without commentary here is the list.

    10) High School Musical Movies
    9) Undercover Brother
    8) Son in Law
    7) Over the Top
    6) Newsies
    5) Sgt Bilko
    4) Bugsy Malone
    3) No retreat no surrender
    2) Lady in the water
    1) The Postman

    Let me see what you guys have!

    Mario (LOON) L

    • I wore out a couple of VHS copies of No Retreat No Surrender as a kid. Really curious to check it out all these years later.

      And Undercover Brother is brilliant.

  5. Jason –

    Which is more reprehensible – Gutterballs or Muck?

    Ironically (or, maybe not ironically), both are movies that I’ve seen the opening 5-10 minutes of before turning off.

    • “Gutterballs” is far worse. Both are reprehensible, to be sure. The acting in “Muck” is 14 times better than “Gutterballs,” but at least “Gutterballs” has some redeeming qualities… “Muck” has almost nothing going for it. Weirdly, of the two movies, “Muck” is probably technically the better cinematic endeavor, but “Gutterballs” is much more memorable.
      J

    • I wore out a couple of VHS copies of No Retreat No Surrender as a kid. Really curious to check it out all these years later.

      And Undercover Brother is brilliant.

  6. Yo yo yo All…
    Quick contibution to the ‘Guilty Pleasures’ list…not a movie but one of my guiltiest pleasures is Gilmore Girls…nothing tremendously fantastic about it overall, but some of the dialogue is Pants-Peeing-Hilarious. Also, cant beat an early Melissa McCarthy as Snooki.

  7. I have such an eclectic taste in movies that I’m not ashamed or embarrassed of any movies that I like…Here are five movies that some may find bad but i love…
    Bubble Boy
    Basketball
    Flash Gordon
    The Cannonball Run
    Hot Dog The Movie

  8. My list for what it’s worth in no particular order:

    10. Martyrs: The French doing horror right, but oh so wrong. I actually think it’s well done, but I’m ashamed to let anyone know I like it as much as I do. I’ve told some friends about it and could actually feel their attitude change toward me.

    9. Flash Gordon: Probably wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much if Queen didn’t do the soundtrack. Max Von Sydow was pitch perfect as Ming.

    8. Bridges of Madison County: My wife and I’s first date was this movie so there’s definite sentimental value. But in order to keep my “man card” valid I can’t let any of my friends know I love this movie.

    7. The Stoned Age: Little known 70’s nostalgia movie that came out around the same time as Dazed and Confused. I think this one was better.

    6. Ssssss: “Face” from the A-Team turns into a snake. Count me in every time.

    5. Wanted: Dead or Alive: LOVED this movie when it first came out. I was lost in some sort of Rutger Hauer fever induced mania.

    4. 8MM: Like you guys said, you have to include a Nicolas Cage movie somewhere on this list. He actually does a pretty good acting job. It’s just that the topic of the movie is so icky.

    3. Caveman: Ringo Starr as a caveman. Used to watch this every time it showed up on HBO. Might have something more to do with Barbara Bach than anything else in the movie. Seen it recently and still loved it.

    2. Legally Blonde: It’s actually really good. My wife dragged me to this when it first came out. I ended up liking it a lot more than she did. Reese won me over with this one. But I could never admit this to all my guy friends at the time.

    1. Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park: I was a huge Kiss fan growing up, but that didn’t stop me from realizing what a huge turd this movie was. Yet I couldn’t help but watch it every time it’s been on TV.

  9. NBC’s series “A.D.” was quite good, and covered that same post-resurrection period. Good acting, writing and some interesting intrigue between the Jewish leaders, Romans and early apostles and disciples. If it had a major fault, it was that they stretched it out too much, with the intention of a second season to cover the rest of the NT, which was a mistake because it was cancelled. But that one season is worth watching if you like that kind of thing.

    For Mormon cinema, I do really like Testaments, but I’ll agree with Karl that most others aren’t great. The Dutcher films God’s Army and States of Grace are both excellent (I didn’t like Brigham City too much), but of course those aren’t church produced.

    I’m not sure I get Andy’s issue about religious worship in a film like The Witch. In the context of that film, these are the characters and that is the setting… meaning that these are the characters you would expect to be there at this time, and their religious nature is intrinsic to who they are, and very relevant to the story. There are numerous films where the main characters are Catholic or Jewish or whatever, and it’s pertinent to who they are and what they do, at least to some extent. In The Witch, it plays so well into the paranoia and accusations and self-judgment which is a huge part of the drama and direction of the story.

  10. Temple of Doom is not my favorite; it is 3rd after Raiders and Last Crusade. But I think it’s great. Yes, the woman and Short Round are annoying, but there is also some great humor, and as expected, wonderful action scenes.

    Since it came up, I’ll go ahead and include Crystal Skull as a guilty pleasure. By far #4 of the series, and I was indeed disappointed, like many, seeing it the first time. But on later DVD viewings, with no expectations, it actually entertains me pretty well. And even from the first viewing, I loved the fridge nuke. Yes, it’s over-the-top preposterous, but it’s yet another incredible way that Indy survives against all odds through his ingenuity (and some dumb luck). And at least it’s a very iconic and memorable moment. I think Crystal Skull is really solid from the beginning through that nuke part and a little further, and starts to go downhill from there. But there are still entertaining parts, and really, in most respects, what you expect from an Indiana Jones film is all there, just not as good overall as the others.

  11. Light it up.

    Hi guys, I thought I would say hello and introduce myself.
    My name is Lee. Im 28, and I am based in Sheffield, which is in the north of England.
    Josh might be familiar or has heard of the ‘Doc Fest’ international annual Documentary film festival which is held in this city. If he hasn’t, there you go, check it out.
    There isn’t that many notable films that have been shot here in this city, but to name a few that you might have heard of are….

    1 – Four Lions.

    2 – The Full Monty.

    3 – Kill List.

    I first stumbled across this podcast network, when back in November 2015 I typed in to try and search for a type of ‘Christmas Horror podcast’. Then what I found was of course the Horror Movie Podcast, I think the episode I first ever listened to was the one where Jay and Josh review P2 and Gremlins.
    From then onwards Ive literally become quite hooked and have just completed THE binge listening of all binge listenings. So from November through to now, ive managed to go through and listen to all the episodes of Horror Movie Podcast on that network, including all archive podcasts, as well as all the episodes of the Movie Podcast weekly. I think there has only been a couple of days over a 3 month period where I havn’t listened to you guys for the majority of my day.
    Ive managed to do this in such a short space of time because I am self employed and work from home. Im a vintage camera dealer, which is basically like antiques dealing but I specialise in old cameras (Random, I know), so the podcasts have been playing while Ive been working, and when Im not working, I simply put some episodes on my ipod and listen while Im long distance running or taking my dog for a daily long walk.

    Im gutted that there is no more past episodes to catch up on, but oh man what a journey! Ive literally lost count of the times Ive laughed out loud at some of the conversations you guys have had.
    Ive just subscribed to the podcast via itunes and already left you a 5 star rating, so hope that helps.

    Now ive listened to the entire back catalogue of episodes and have said hello, I will probably contribute more to the message boards.

    So overall. thanks for the great listening company, the laughs and for the film recommendations.

    Also, I couldn’t help leave without adding my own guilty pleasures list, so here it is, in no particular order.

    10 – Happy Gilmore.
    9 – Clueless.
    8 – Mortal Combat.
    7 – Starship Troopers.
    6 – Jingle All The Way.
    5 – The Wedding Singer.
    4 – Dog Soldiers.
    3 – Aliens Vs Predator
    2 – National Security.
    1 – Rush Hour.

    Make of that as you will….

    Keep up the good work.

    Lee

      • Hi Dino.

        Thanks for the reply and for the welcome message.

        Ha, yes, it really has been quite the listening stretch. I never do anything my halves. When I set out to do something I have to complete it!

    • Welcome to the boards, Lee. I love your list! Rush Hour, Mortal Kombat, Happy Gilmore, and Jingle All The Way are some favorites that I revisit often. I’m not sure why Starship Troopers would be a guilty pleasure for anyone, so I’m curious to hear your reasons.

      • Yeah, I’m a Mortal Kombat and Happy Gilmore fan, too. Those are definitely guilty pleasures.

        I agree with Juan about feeling no shame for my fondness of Starship Troopers. I would add AvP to my no shame list, but I completely understand why you name it here.

      • Hi Juan.

        Also, thanks for the reply and for the welcome message.
        Happy to hear that you like the list.

        In regards to Starship Troopers being on there, I think a few previous experiences of watching it has unfortunately tainted my feelings of it.
        Ive been in a couple of relationships in the past where Ive suggested a viewing, but within 20 minutes ive been ridiculed.
        But you and Dino are both 100% correct. I should feel no shame for this film. I think the lesson to be learned here, is that when I find a woman who also loves this film, she will be a keeper.
        I could easily replace it on the list with either ‘Van wilder party liaison’ or ‘Double Team’.

    • Lee,
      Jay here! Welcome! And thanks for your comment. I’m going to read your list on this week’s MPW, and we’ll read most of your comment on our next HMP! Thanks for joining us. : )
      Jay

      • Greetings Jay.

        Thanks for the reply and for the warm welcome. I really appreciate it and am glad to have joined the community.

        There has been many, many funny highlights to mention about the past episodes, but to name probably my favourite, and I don’t know why I remember this moment more than anything else or why I found it so funny, but was the time where you and Willis Wheeler are reviewing the film ‘Devil’ and the Wildman didn’t seem too keen on it. You say its because he was “focusing too much on the details” which receives a confused reply by him, but then you follow up with the “because the devil is in the details”.
        Such a drop the mic moment. Love it.

        I think the only episodes Ive got left to do now are the commentary ones, so going to start off with the ‘Jaws on Paws’ ‘Cujo’ episode later this week. Great choice in film btw because its one I can watch with my dog, but hopefully it wont give him any bad ideas.

        Will look forward to hearing the shout out regarding the previous comment.

        Lee

    • Welcome, sir. Love the list.

      As much as I loathe Adam Sandler comedies, there is something so endearing about Happy Gilmore even if he is one of filmdoms least deserving heroes.

  12. Watched Trumbo last week. I really liked it. Very witty, and I tend to like thise kind of behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories. One thing I found weird was Brian Cranston’s accent. The thing is, it was fine, but it was practically his own voice, anyway. So it ended up sounding like him just exaggerating everything he was saying. I think he should have just stuck with his own voice. But otherwise, I really enjoyed it.

    • Eric!
      I just watched “Trumbo,” too! I’m going to read your comment and discuss it on MPW this week. Thanks!
      Jay

      P.S. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA about your “Cleanflix” episode question… Have you gotten the CTS episode where we interviewed Josh and his co-director? CTS and its episodes are currently down, but I can get you the episode. Just let me know. We’re going to get those back up in this archive as we can afford to.

      • Hi J. No, some others gave me the link before to the blog page, but the episode link was down. When you get a chance, if you have that linked somewhere, I’d love to hear it. No major hurry, though. And I’ll kick in an extra donation this week, if that might help get that back online.

  13. In no particular order, though some are certainly more notable than others…

    > INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – The worst of the 4 Indy films, without a doubt, but still an Indiana Jones movie in the way they all are (just not as good as the others), and I actually love the fridge nuke part for being memorably over-the-top.

    > PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES – Dumb fun, but pretty entertaining.

    > TITANIC – Nuff said, already. It’s good, even great in some ways.

    > STAR TREK: INSURRECTION – This one isn’t well thought of, but I think it broke the odd-numbered curse and was quite fun, overall. It had a quirky spirit to it, with the characters singing opera and such, but I liked all of that. Not as good as First Contact or Wrath of Khan, but definitely one of the better ST films.

    > THE VILLAGE – Widely considered to be the first major step of Shyamalan’s downhill tumble, but watching it again last year, I thought it was great. I think it suffered from people expecting it to be a straight-up horror movie, when it was just a period drama (well, sort of) with some social commentary.

    > ISHTAR – Known to be one of the biggest bombs of all time, but as a singer/songwriter and full-time musician, there’s a lot that I appreciate about this film. I can relate to the two doofuses (Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman) trying to write songs and get gigs, and yes, it turns into a goofy thing where they’re mixed up in some kind of terrorist plot or whatever, but I like a good number of the little moments here and there. Like The Village, I think it suffered from having the wrong kind of expectation and too much hype, when it’s really just a small comedy. Taken with that in mind, it’s not bad. I watched it again last year, and it didn’t hold up as well as when I first saw it, but it’s still pretty good and doesn’t deserve the scorn it’s received.

    > TED – I was really surprised when my wife wanted to see this when it came out on video. Something about that cute teddy bear really appealed to her, even though I warned her that it would be very raunchy. But we laughed a LOT, and it’s still a fond memory I have of something we shared. Not something I’d ever recommend (and TED 2 was just plain bad), but it’s a guilty pleasure.

    > CAVEMAN – Someone mentioned this earlier. I love this movie. It’s so dumb, but often quite funny. Atook alunda Lana.

    > SHOWGIRLS – Another like Ishtar where it was lambasted by critics and was a huge flop. I’m not sure how I’d feel about it today (and I have no major desire to watch it again), but I remember seeing it when it came out on video and thinking, hey, this was much better than everyone seems to be saying. I think there was some kind of mystery or crime story to it, and I thought it was decently written and acted and all that.

    > TOMORROWLAND – Got a lot of poor to middling reviews last year, but I quite liked it. I can appreciate some of the criticisms, but I also find it to have a fun spirit and some clever ideas.

    • I like Insurrection as well. I’ve always thought Abrahms villain was one of the best in the series. He’s right behind Khan and Christopher Plummer in Undiscovered Country.

  14. TCM as shameful favorite… I know the horror genre is looked down upon in general, but come on! TCM is one of the most beautiful and original horror movies ever put to film. For a horror fan (which Jason is) to list it as a favorite he is ashamed of makes me sad 🙁

    • No, no, no. Please do not misunderstand me, Sir. Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974) is my No. 1, all-time favorite horror film, and it is a true masterpiece. The greatest horror movie ever made! It’s in my Top 10 of All-Time Favorite Movies (across all genres).

      As I mentioned in this episode, I’m not ashamed of the film itself. But in my ultra-conservative community, any time I tell someone that my favorite horror movie is “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” they hear that title and assume the worst about it and me. Indeed, TCSM’s title does not truly represent what the film is. Is has hardly any blood whatsoever, and there’s actually very little gore.

      But it makes my list because of the drastic reaction and assumptions that people make about me when they hear that I love it.

      J

    • I found that pick a little odd as well. I’ve seen mainstream critics list TCM as one of their favorite films of the 70’s (not specifically horror film; just one of the best films in general).

      I’m personally not the biggest fan of the film; I like it but don’t love it I guess would be the best way to put it. However, I would never look at that as one to be ashamed about liking.

  15. I could add on top of all “Corey” films….Never Been Kissed, Atonement, Secret Admirer, Touch & Go (heck, any Michael Keaton not considered a classic), Sabrina (both versions), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Very Thought of You, Life as a House, The Beach, & All That Heaven Allows (love Douglas Sirk).

    Someone told me to put Saturday Night Fever, Kramer vs. Kramer, & Can’t Buy Me Love on it. Ummmm, not ashamed of those films at all. Three of my all time favorites.

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