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“Green Room” is the movie to beat thus far in 2016. In Episode 188 of Movie Podcast Weekly, Jason and Andy proudly review director Jeremy Saulnier’s excellent follow-up to “Blue Ruin,” so listen to this show for our spoiler-free Feature Review of Green Room, as well as Karl and Jason’s review of Keanu. And though Ryan isn’t in attendance on this episode, we still bring you our 2016 Summer Blockbuster Preview!
If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andy, Karl and Ryan. 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
— No Ryan this week.
[ 0:01:14 ] II. Mini Reviews
Karl: Walmart’s $7.88 Blu-rays: World War Z, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Earthquake (1974),
Andy: Dark City (not yet); Tribute to BBC documentaries: Planet Earth, Life, The Blue Planet; Minions, True Detective Seasons 1 and 2; The Man in the High Castle; Spectre
Jason: The status of “Desierto”
III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend:
Green Room
Keanu
Mother’s Day
Ratchet & Clank
The Family Fang
The Wait
Papa Hemingway in Cuba
A Beautiful Planet
Viva
The Man Who Knew Infinity
FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:
[ 0:31:33 ] IV. Feature Review: GREEN ROOM (2016)
Jason = 9.5 ( Must-See / Theater / Buy it! )
Andy = 9.5 ( Theater / Buy it! )
[ 0:56:22 ] V. Feature Review: KEANU (2016)
Jason = 7 ( Strong Rental )
Karl = 7.5 ( Strong Rental )
[ 1:07:44 ] VI. Main Event: 2016 SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER PREVIEW
— Tell us what you’re looking forward to in the comments!
VII. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— Jennifer Reeves Designs
— Karl on the forthcoming ultra-high definition Blu-ray players: The Martian, Oppo
COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 189 where we’ll be reviewing “Captain America: Civil War” and The Dark Knight trilogy, CTS Podcast-style… Join us!
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Need some artistic gemstone jewelry? Check out Jennifer Reeves Designs, where artistry meets sophistication.
Like Horror movies? Here is an EXCELLENT EPISODE of Horror Movie Podcast!
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So but I can’t see myself looking at Keanu, they look like they are cooning in the movie . We should be passed that by now
Great review on Green Room.
One of the five best films of the year so far that includes Sing Street, Midnight Special, Everybody Wants Some, & Miles Ahead.
Blue Ruin: 10/10
Green Room: 9/10
Hello MPW,
Great show today and I always look forward to listening to your reviews right or wrong….
I really enjoyed the side bet about what Karl’s rating will be for “Green Room” I could totally relate to what you were saying Jason that Karl is going to love this movie and going to give it an 8 or higher I support you 100%. Also the character Maeby was in Arrested Development not Modern Family! See we do listen. By the way if Karl liked the purge movies he is definitely going to enjoy the “Green Room” and supports your reasoning even more Jason way to go! I’m very curious to see what Ryan thinks about it when he gets back!
As for my summer movies I am anticipating to seeing, are divided into three (3) categories. Movies that I have to see with my kids, movies to see with my girlfriend, and movies just for me! I know but I try to make everyone in my family happy and sometimes we can’t all agree on what we want to see. Here is what we came up with for the summer movies:
Movies with the Kids:
1) Angry Birds- I know but they want to see it so I have to suffer!
2)Finding Dory- This I don’t mind but cartoon movies are not really my thing.
3)Secret Life of Pets- Another cartoon they are killing me!
Movies with my Girlfriend:
1) The Shallows- She is terrified of Jaws and this is one that will scare the pants off her and we will have a beach free summer!
2) The Founder- The story of how MCDONALDS became a success and who really was the original founder. Also doesn’t hurt that she is a big Michael Keaton fan!
3) Bad Moms- She loves a good comedy that she can relate to!
Movies just for me!!!
1) The Nice Guys- If this as just as good as the Director’s film KISS KISS BANG BANG this will be a summer blockbuster!
2) Popstar- Adam Samberg is funny in all he does and I think people maybe surprised that he can sing.
3) Purge the Election Year: Perfect timing for this to come out when we have a crazy election in real life. Art really does imitate reality some times!
Also I was wondering what you guys think are going to be the top 5 grossing films domestic only, for the summer? I think you may be surprised what they are at the end of summer.
Well have a great week at the movies and please have Willis on when reviewing Captain America Civil War. I saw it enjoyed and give it an 8 and look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about it!
Mario (LOON) Leon
Sorry I will not be on the show , I asked but they don’t want me on because of the change of format . But here is my review on my YouTube page https://youtu.be/0BJlKCS6EIo.
Thank you Willis for sharing your YouTube video! Also what do you give it a rating are you going to give it a 10????
It’s a 10 one of the best comic book movies I seen in a very long . But bvs to shame .
Wow, I was floored by Andy’s assessment of True Detective season 2. I thought season 1 was a masterwork, whereas season 2 was kind of a mess. I’m a fan of Vince Vaughn, but I thought his performance was rather poor. And the plot was excessively convoluted. Subjectively, I also thought the plot of season 1 was far more interesting, but ymmv.
As for Green Room, Karl should definitely check it out. It’s such a well-done movie… one of the best I’ve seen in the last few years. And put me in the camp of preferring it to Blue Ruin. There may be some recency bias involved. But I don’t recall ever really wanting to re-watch Blue Ruin (even though I really liked it… it was in my 2014 top 10), whereas I can’t wait to see Green Room again.
I also saw Civil War… it may be my favorite Marvel movie. It the very least, it’s in my top three along with Guardians and Iron Man.
And, even though I prefer the darker, more gritty tone of Batman v Superman, Civil War was easily the better executed film of the two.
Andy’s opinion of “True Detective” Season 2 is definitely a minority view. I’ve read so much stuff about how bad it is that my ears came to a point, so to speak, when Andy started singing the praises. It’s interesting to note, given the general takedown of Justin Lin later in the show (during the Summer Movie Preview discussion of “Star Trek Beyond”), that Lin directed two Season 2 episodes.
I also enjoyed the moment when Andy started to go off about how much Rachel McAdams “smokes” in Season 2. Just like Jay, at first I thought he was talking about how she “smoked” the other actors, or maybe how she was “smoking” hot. I cracked up when it turned out that what he meant, while generally commending all of the acting in Season 2, is that Ms. McAdams, as well as apparently most of the of the rest of the characters, really tears through the cancer sticks. Jay’s disappointed little, “Oh,” when he finds out is priceless. (It was also interesting that, once Jay and Andy got on the same page about “smokes,” Andy somewhat pointedly did not circle back and say, “Yes, Rachel McAdams’ acting is great,” despite going out of his way to praise Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn.)
Yeah, while I didn’t think it was terrible (or really all that bad), it was hard not to find Season 2 of “TD” disappointing in comparison to Season 1. But I’m not surprised there are people out there who really dig it.
Wow. Karl mentioning Carillon Square really takes me back in time. I saw so many movies there growing up, everything from “Firefox” to “The Karate Kid” to “Top Gun” to “Batman” to “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” to “The Last of the Mohicans” to “The Rock” to Mel Gibson’s “Hamlet.” My dad used to take us there a lot, although one of the first times I saw a movie there was my parents dropping us off with some friends to see “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.” I went to pretty much every old movie theater in Provo and Orem back in the day, but I saw a ton of stuff at Carillon Square. It was a Mann Theatres ‘plex for most (maybe all) of its existence.
Carillon Square is one of the first places I learned to sneak snacks and soda into a movie theater, partly by observing the outlaw shenanigans of others. I still remember being, like, 9 years old and seeing a college kid accidentally lose a Budweiser tallboy out of his jacket. It hit the floor and rolled forward five or six rows. He made some, “Oh, shit,” wisecrack, but didn’t even get up to chase it down. There was a Macey’s grocery store right next door for many years, which was an excellent pre-movie source of cheap candy.
Other theaters I recall frequenting were the University Mall Twin Theaters (“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Ghostbusters,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Aliens”), Paramount (“The Living Daylights”), Central Square (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Back to the Future II,” “The Princess Bride”), Fox (“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”), Uinta (“Return of the Jedi”), Academy (“The Hunt for Red October,” “Star Trek: First Contact”) and even the old Varsity Theater at BYU (“Superman,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”). The SCERA theater in Orem is pretty much the only movie palace still standing from that era. For many, many years the scene was dominated by Cinemark (Movies 8, Cinemark 16 and, more recently, Cinemark University Mall) and the Carmike multiplex in Provo, all of which are still operating. And now the Megaplex in Vineyard is the hot new place to see everything.
Ahhhh. The Carillon. Me and my boyfriend and my mom went there one time and the line was forever! My mom put her head down and just started hauling forward. I said; “Mom, what are you doing?” and she said; “Are we gonna see this movie, or not?” and she butted the three of us right to the front.. It was awesome. Is that the kind of “outlaw shenanigans” you remember?
Does anyone know whether Jay is studying jiu jitsu? It never comes up during the show.
That. Comment. Made. Me. Piss.
Side effect of the procedure, I’m sure.
I liked True Detective 2 a lot, but not as much as season 1. I thought Vince Vaughan was amazing and the surprise standout, acting-wise. The ending didn’t stick nearly as well as the first season’s ending (finish it, J!), and I agree with the criticisms of it being a bit disjointed. But it was still worth watching.
Season 1: 9.5
Season 2: 8
11.22.63 is pretty good, if not great. Not sure why I don’t love it. It’s a cool idea, and reasonably well done. But after 4 episodes I haven’t continued. I intend to finish it, but it hasn’t been urgent.
My non-spoilery interpretation of the ending of the Man in the High Castle season is that it is just reflecting something that was already part of the possibility of the premise, and alluded to with those contraband films. So not really a “it’s all a dream” thing, but setting up the next season which I presume will reveal more about what’s happening.
Ha, just saw Dino’s TD comment. We’re opposite on Vince Vaughn, I guess. I thought he showed some great range and restraint in his role.
Yeah, opposite on Vince Vaughn, but pretty much identical on our opinions’ of the seasons – I would probably rate them the same (maybe go down to a 7.5 for season 2).
I loved Green Room in many ways, but it also felt a little bit contrived, and by comparison to the other 2016 trapped-in-a-small-place suspense thriller, 10 Cloverfield Lane, I found Cloverfield more interesting and compelling, overall. 8.5
Keanu was at times amusing and cute and engaging, but almost never funny for me. Long stretches with no laughs or chuckles at all, and people like Will Forte were wasted. 4.5
I saw Sing Street yesterday and loved it. Super charming and fun and had some nice touching moments, too. It probably had a bit more of an appeal to me as a musician and songwriter, but I think it’s also universal about finding your voice in the world (literally in the case of the main character) and trying to persevere with something you believe in. 9.5
I’m not really very excited about too many of the summer movies this year. Much as I love love love most Pixar films, and rate Finding Nemo as a 10, I agree with J that the Dory trailer just isn’t grabbing me. I hope to be wrong and that it’s more of a Toy Story 3, which I was meh and skeptical about until I saw it and was blown away.
But ID2 is something I’m actually interested in seeing. I don’t love the original, though… it was okay, but seemed to drag a lot at 2.5 hours… so by comparison, this one looks like it could be better for me. As a sci-fi pure spectacle kind of thing, the trailer looks decent to me, and if they can keep it to 2 hours or less, I think I’ll appreciate it.
Kubo and the Two Strings is probably #1 on my list to be excited about. J mentioned it briefly as an animated movie, but this is by Laika, who does *amazing* stop-motion films (Coraline, Box Trolls, Paranorman), and this looks to be a more universal theme than their previous work. The trailer looks fantastic.
Great summer choices you should go see “Money Monster ” this weekend it is a 9 and a must see!!!
Oh yeah? I’ll take your encouragement to at least rent it. But I’ve heard too many other mediocre reviews to go see it at this point. Tell me more about why you liked it, though, please.
Definitely going to The Nice Guys next week, though. That looks great and the advance buzz has been excellent.
Eric,
The story is great and having George Clooney and Julia Roberts in it doesn’t hurt. There is one scene without going into spoilers that is absolutely great! It takes place when the girlfriend talks to her boyfriend the gunman and at the end of that scene you are shocked and heartbroken!
To me the movie is a 9 and this weekend while working the box, I work at a movie theater. The majority of the people seeing it were in the ages of 40 and up! Which to me is ashame because this is a movie that the younger generation should see to ask the right questions and not just accept things how they are!
Eric see this movie would like to know your thoughts!
Mario
Hi All,
I should have MPW Ep. 189: Captain America: Civil War posted shortly (Sunday evening). But in the meantime, we bumped The Dark Knight trilogy review to this upcoming week, because we didn’t receive enough comments or questions pertaining to Nolan’s Dark Knight movies. So, I know there’s not much notice (since we record on Monday nights), but we’d love to have some comments or questions for us to discuss! Thanks!
J
Possible discussion points:
1) Christian Bale is fine actor, but is he a boring Batman? Liam Nesson as Ra’s Al Ghul, Heath Ledger as the Joker, and Tom Hardy as Bane all kind of blow him off the screen, despite the fact that especially Ledger and Hardy, both heavily made up/costumed, have to deal with some of the same limitations that Bale does as Batman. Where does Bale rank in the Bat-brotherhood with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Ben Affleck? And is cartoon Batman (voice of Kevin Conroy in “Mask of the Phantasm” and such like) better than them all?
2) Heath Ledger’s Joker or Tom Hardy’s Bane? Which actor gave the more inconic/enduring performance? Most people’s first thought is probably Ledger as the Joker, but I’d love to hear some pro/con back-and-forth comparing and contrasting the two performances.
3) Is Nolan preferable in every way to Tim Burton (we can just leave Joel Schumacher out of this) as a Batman director? What are the signature strengths that Nolan brought to the character with his trilogy of films? Are there any Nolan-isms, personal stamps or signatures, that the committee members *don’t* like? Stuff that he brought to the franchise that did not, on balance, improve it?
Well my question may be dumb but I want to know, why didn’t Batman just kill Joker when he had the chance?
I could be wrong (it’s been a year or two since my last viewing of The Dark Knight), but doesn’t Batman hint that if he were to kill then he’d be no different than the villains? So, by not killing he’s holding himself to a higher standard of good and justice.
^^Could also just be fan fiction…
Here is the real reason why bats will not kill the joker ,because if kills one person he will go down a path that he will start killing all of his foes
Did you guys cover Get Hard last year? If so, I don’t remember…
I saw it the other day, kind of lazily looking for something and seeing that coming up soon on HBO. I’d heard some middling reviews, so I wasn’t super eager to watch it, but man, I laughed more than any other film in the past year or so (probably since What We Do in the Shadows). It’s really, really funny.
I bring it up as a comparison to Keanu. Some similar ground is covered… they’re making some fun of black/gangsta culture (also making fun of white business culture) and it’s also about two people (Kevin Hart and Will Farrell) trying to fit into a world that they really don’t belong in. For me, as I had said before, Keanu was amusing and charming enough, but Get Hard was actually really *funny* and had some great comedy chops.
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend checking it out, at least. It kind of slipped past me last year, but I was glad to see it now. I give it an 8.5.
I think Andy may have covered it and, if memory serves, he was not a huge fan.
Ah, then he must have been in a bad mood or something. The scene with Will Farrell improvising trash talk is alone worth seeing.
I should add that this film is deeply offensive, both racially and sexually, but it’s actually funny, unlike Keanu for the most part.