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Welcome to Movie Podcast Weekly, Episode 187. In this week’s show we bring you three Feature Reviews of Elvis & Nixon (aka “Michael Shannon Dressed as Elvis” & Nixon) and Miles Ahead and Colonia.
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
— The Death of Prince (and Chyna)
— SLC listener Kagan’s horror comedy trailer for HMP
— The Dark Knight trilogy Blu-rays and CTS-style coverage for MPW Ep. 189
[ 0:13:53 ] II. Mini Reviews
Karl: Blackhat, House of Cards Season 4 (later: The Big Short)
Ryan: Game of Thrones Season 6: Episode 1, Silicon Valley
Jason: The Final Girls, Kung Fu Panda 3, The Batmobile
Andy: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Proposition
III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend:
Elvis & Nixon
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Compadres
Precious Cargo
Holidays
The Meddler
Nina
FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:
[ 0:52:39 ] IV. Feature Review: ELVIS & NIXON (2016)
Jason = 7 ( Rental )
[ 1:00:52 ] V. Feature Review: MILES AHEAD (2016)
Karl = 6 ( Rent or Stream )
[ 1:16:33 ] VI. Feature Review: COLONIA (2016)
Jason = 6 ( Low-priority Rental )
VII. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
Thank you very much to:
Shannon N.
Michal
Shane W.
Randy G.
Patrick H.
Joshua G.
Mario L.
Christian B.
Lance Smith
Vance K.
Eric E. (The Butter Dog himself)
David W.
COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 188 where we’ll be reviewing “GREEN ROOM” and “KEANU.” Join us!
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
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
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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
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Thanks for listening, and join us again next week for Movie Podcast Weekly.
I’m totally with Karl when it comes to Prince. Not only was he an incredibly singer and songwriter but he was one hell of a guitarist.
He was one of a kind…all around the perfect musician and entertainer…
Yep.
Hello MPW,
Thanks for an entertaining podcast.
Before I get to my mini reviews on what I have seen. I would just to thank Karl for paying tribute to Prince and all the magnificent work he has done. I think in the coming weeks people are going to see what a wonderful a human being he was not only in music but to all he gave to helping the world be a better place. His humble donations that were given to help people were never under his name and he was always inspiring people. Prince we will miss you !
Now on to my gripes for the week, first how did not one of not see the Huntsman Winters War!!! It should have been at least punishment for Andy leaving to Alaska soon, Im sure he would have appreciated it! In saying that I did see it this week and it is not great but it is not all bad. It seemed to take all the good elements from the first one and put them in this movie. They removed Kristin Stewart thank you!!! Focused more on how the Huntsman became and how the evil queen became in to power. I enjoyed it and give it a 6.5 and to watch it when it comes on Cable. However one of you (ANDY) have to see it to have a fair review on it.
As for my mini reviews I will start with what I have seen in the theater this week!
First this one is probably going to be on my Top10 list of 2016 is the Green Room it is a survival horror movie as Jason would say! It is totally unpredictable and you always think to yourself what would I do in this situation. Patrick Stewart plays one of the most evil characters to date in film history, not by being over the top but by being calm, cold and calculating. His demeanor in the film gives such a strong sense of power that you want to know more about him. He is outstanding in it! Overall I give the movie a 9 a must see and recommend to everyone!!!
On the flip side the next movie is probably going to be on my Top 10 worse movies of 2016. Keanu with Key and Peele don’t get me wrong I love their show on Comedy Central and I had high hopes for this movie. However the movie is not funny it would have been better as a 5 minute skit and move on. I may have chuckled once or twice and the comedy was bad. This being their first movie you think it would have been better and I think this is going to be a bomb movie and they may not have another shot at a movie! I give it a 5 and to avoid it like the plague!
As far as streaming two movies I would like to recommend are two true life stories about two different men in US history who both had a profound effect in USA society.
The first I would like to recommend is the movie “WALT BEFORE MICKEY” about the story of Walt Disney and how he came into business and the many hardships and failures he had before becoming the successful person he became! The acting is subpar but the story is what hooked me and to see what one person will do to achieve his goal is inspiring!!! I give it a 7.5 and to queue it.
The second is movie is “PAWN SACRIFICE” about a young man Bobby Fisher who became the world greatest chess player and in doing so also lost his mental health and sanity. I am no chess player but the movie is very entertaining to watch and how during that era chess became a USA sensation! Toby Maguire gives an outstanding performance as Bobby Fisher! I give the movie an 8 and to stream it today!
Well thanks again for a wonderful Podcast and would love to hear a live show where listeners can chat at the same time and put in there 2 cents lol!
Have a great week at the movies
Mario (LOON) Leon
I said it on the previous ep’s forum, but I’ll +1 Mario about Keanu. Just not funny. Amusing, yes. But almost never funny. 4.5
Judging by the trailer audio of Miles Ahead it sounds like Don Cheadle is doing a pretty good job of capturing Miles Davis’ voice. Despite the tepid review I’m still kind of interested to see this movie though I’m a little disheartened to hear that it doesn’t feature as much of his music as it could have.
Fellas, I’m super pumped about the upcoming coverage of The Dark Knight trilogy. That is hands down my favorite superhero movie adaptation, so I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.
I was a little bummed to hear Jason’s lukewarm reception of Colonia, although it was mostly expected. It was one of those movies that, right now in the lull before the summer blockbuster season, I had some interest in checking out even though it didn’t look all that exciting. Emma Watson seems to have been making some rather unspectacular movies lately.
Nice reference to Crossroads, J. I loved that movie… watched it probably a dozen times and used to be able to play that final guitar solo. I need to find that and watch it again.
With Andy’s recommendation, I will give Brooklyn 99 a spin. I’ve always thought Andre Braugher was an amazing actor, so that initially interested me, but conversely I haven’t liked Andy Samberg, and the previews for the show I saw didn’t seem that good, so I passed.
I’m so jealous that you guys have Elvis & Nixon and Green Room there, and my area doesn’t. I might actually take a drive up to Spokane for a movie day, just to catch those.
Eric,
Go see Green Room it will be worth the drive !!!
Mario
I’m strongly contemplating it. Seems like there’s been a drought of interesting movies lately (worsened by Keanu being a dud), and I’m jonesing to go see something great. Sure, the new CapAm flick is out this week, and I’ll catch that at some point soon and probably enjoy it, but I’m not really all that excited about it. Whereas Green Room, and to a lesser extent Elvis & Nixon, are two I’ve been particularly hoping to see. If I can arrange it, timing-wise, to catch both of them during a day in Spokane, I’ll probably do it. Maybe this Friday/Saturday.
On another note, I mentioned Andre Braugher before, and it occurs to me that I should plug two of the shows he was in that were largely ignored; Men of a Certain Age and Last Resort. Both were excellent in their own (very different) ways. Unfortunately, neither are on Netflix or Amazon Prime (you can rent episodes/seasons from Amazon and iTunes), so this may be more of a “keep an eye out” kind of thing.
Men of a Certain Age (from 2009-10) is about three friends (Andre Braugher, Ray Romano, Scott Bakula) dealing with encroaching middle age. It’s pretty low key and casual (similar vibe to Parenthood, which is why Ray Romano made an easy transition to join that cast), but also felt very realistic and was quite insightful and well written. I was quite disappointed when this was cancelled (after two seasons of 22 total episodes).
Last Resort (from 2013) is about a nuclear submarine captain (Braugher) who disobeys orders to launch missiles at Pakistan. The writing and character interaction was excellent and it made for a really great and tense 13 episode arc. I was actually glad that this was cancelled at that point, because I think it was the perfect length for that story, and would have strained its premise to continue any longer.
Anyway, if you have access to see these at some point, or want to grab an episode or two from iTunes/Amazon to check them out, I would highly recommend them both.
Hello Harlots!
First; What Ryan said about “Game of Thrones” the book series and “Game of Thrones” the TV series…. Yup. Stay away from this fantastic set of literature and you’ll be just fine with the…. other thing.
Second; (Karl:) ,,,”Herbie Hancock. You know who that is?”
Andy; “no.”
Jay; “no.”
Ryan; “yeeeeaahhh…” (sort of uncertainly)
Hahahahahah. Karl, I feel for ya, I really do.
I have only seen the show (I started reading the first book after binge-watching the first two seasons and realized I’d never catch up), and I concur. With only the TV show as a reference, I have no complaints. I love the character development of the recent episodes. Some really nice moments.
Keep reading brother….best books ever written #NotHyperbole
“Karl, why haven’t you started watching this yet?”
“Well I don’t have … HBO.”
“OK, that makes sense. Well played. Checkmate!”
“Well, can’t argue with that, I guess. Cause there’s no way to get HBO.”
I love MPW so much.
Karl – https://order.hbonow.com/
Yeah – I know HOW to get it – I just don’t need my fat ass planted on the couch even more. 🙂
Ha! I hear ya. 🙂
I’m a huge Christopher Nolan fan, and I love the DK trilogy, so I’ll be eager to follow you guys on that.
As far as themes to cover, there’s the notion of terrorism and how to effectively deal with that, and whether it is worth relinquishing any of our freedoms/liberties in order to do so. That’s mostly in The Dark Knight, but has some resonance in the other films, as well. Also, the nature of wealth and privilege and the Occupy movement and all that was pretty prevalent in The Dark Knight Rises. There’s also a great theme about the importance of image and hope and heroism, and how that doesn’t always equate to truth (the public needing the “white knight” of Harvey Dent). Also, personal liberation/redemption, chaos vs. order, and people rising up to defend each other and vanquish villainy. I personally love Batman as a superhero precisely because he doesn’t have any actual superpowers (of course, having billions of dollars helps), and I think the pushing of human limits and sacrificing in the pursuit of justice is well portrayed in the series.
Ratings for me would be:
Batman Begins: 9
The Dark Knight: 10
The Dark Knight Rises: 8.5
But the last time I watched them all was on consecutive days, and I think it really is best considered as a whole series. The Dark Knight Rises is definitely the weakest of the three films, but to me it felt less weak when experienced in the full context of everything. Rather than comparing it to how great The Dark Knight was (a masterpiece, IMO) and feeling that DKR fell short, in the full context it felt more like a fitting conclusion to the series.
So, Jay, what happened to the reunion idea for your 200th episode? Is that still happening? ‘Cause a brotha would like to know with enough time in advance to buy plane tickets, book hotel, ask for PTO. Come on, man, don’t rile us up like that then just recede into the shadows.
A question for Andy.
Since you had to watch some South Park episodes for a case, had you not been able to get the free month of Hulu, could you have had the courts pay for the Hulu account or written it off as a work expense?
Back when you guys reviewed London Has Fallen we had a discussion in the comments about the potential irresponsibility on the part of the filmmakers regarding their portrayal of Muslims and I made the point that such a portrayal might fuel dangerous anti-Muslim sentiments, particularly within the current political climate of the UK and that it could even be construed as, or at least recontextualised as the propaganda of bigots.
So just a few days ago Sadiq Khan was elected as London’s mayor and almost immediately the racists sprang into action using the twitter hashtag #LondonHasFallen. Fortunately the trend has mostly been rescued by tweeters mocking the bigotry but I still feel that this lends some validation to the point I was making back in the comments of episode 180. Filmmakers need to be responsible regarding these issues. If you’re releasing a film, even a dumb action film, set in a country/climate troubled by hate and bigotry try to make sure it doesn’t support the bigots. Because that’s some pretty bad publicity they’ve bought themselves.
Caught Green Room yesterday… Brutal and intense, with a great rhythm to it and a lot of good character moments. As suspenseful, trapped-in-a-small place 2016 thrillers go, I think I preferred 10 Cloverfield Lane, but I’ll give this a solid 8.5.
CapAm 3 (aka Avengers 2.5) – A lot to like, and by comparison to BvS (which had almost the same exact premise) it was coherent and much more meaningful about its thematic conflict. But still, it was only alright for me. The action seemed really fake a lot of times, and other than a few new wrinkles with Cap’s shield that were very cool, it was kind of a blur of the usual stuff. Everyone’s raving about the kid playing Spiderman. He’s fine and pretty charming, I suppose, but just kind of a generic snarky kid, really. (I’ll gladly catch his film to see more of Marisa Tomei, though. Rrrarrgh.)
I guess I’m burned out on these characters and this kind of thing, especially when they’re all mushed together like they’ve increasingly been. Ant-Man was great in his own film, but other than one big moment felt kind of wasted. It was the same thing with the Deadpool film, and the original CapAm… I like them better with more of an individual focus. (I think I’ll appreciate the Doctor Strange film for that reason.)
That being said, I did like the big “civil war” action scene, and the way things played out at the end was strong and compelling. But it was too long at 2.5 hours and doesn’t make me interested in the next Avengers film, which will probably be even more “cram as many characters as we can into this.”
Captain America – 9
Winter Soldier – 8
Civil War – 7.5