Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 208: The Magnificent Seven (2016) and The Last Descent (2016)

Episode 208

Andrew gets serious and passionate in Episode 208 of Movie Podcast Weekly. In fact, one could even argue that this episode contains Andrew’s finest hour (or one of his finest) and one of our best reviews yet in the history of MPW and CTS. That would be during our Feature Review of The Last Descent, which we review spoiler-free for the first four minutes. Then Jason gives a spoiler warning with an assertion that you should continue listening, even for our hour-long spoiler portion. We also bring you a Feature Review of The Magnificent Seven. Join us!

If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andrew, 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 loss of Herschell Gordon Lewis
H.G. Lewis Interview on Land of the Creeps horror podcast
Dino and Gomez98 on GCL Podcast
— First presidential debate: Trump vs. Clinton (Wrestlemania XXXLLVVIII)


[ 0:11:30 ] II. Mini Reviews
Andrew: Fargo (TV series) Season 1, Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story, Netflix disc-by-mail confession
Karl: Easy – Season 1, Ep. 1; Sing Street; The Help
Jason: Listen to Retro Movie Geek, Designated Survivor (TV series), Speed, The Hurt Locker, The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Ryan: M*A*S*H (1970), Luke Cage, Mr. & Mrs. Smith


III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend (Friday, Sept. 23, 2016):
The Magnificent Seven
Storks
Beauty and the Beast
I.T.
End of a Gun
Total Frat Movie
Goat
Dirty 30
The Dressmaker
Girl Asleep
The Free World
The Lovers and the Despot
Closet Monster
Audrie & Daisy
My Blind Brother
Generation Startup

— Queen of Katwe


FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:

[ 0:54:19 ] IV. Feature Review: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016)
Jason = 7.5 ( Theater / Strong Rental )


[ 1:00:38 ] V. Feature Review: THE LAST DESCENT (2016) [Non-Spoiler Section]
Jason = 8.5 ( Theater / Buy it! )
Karl = 9 ( Theater / Buy it! )

[ 1:04:01 ] SPOILERS Review: THE LAST DESCENT (2016) [SPOILERS]
Jason = 8.5 ( Theater / Buy it! )
Karl = 9 ( Theater / Buy it! )


VI. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— E-mail from Leigh in Canada


COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK:
Episode 209 where we’ll be reviewing “Deepwater Horizon.” Join us!


LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

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.

Ryan’s new Facebook page
Ry’s BIO
Ryan’s New Facebook Page
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
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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 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


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.


13 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 208: The Magnificent Seven (2016) and The Last Descent (2016)

  1. Thank you, Matt. You’re the best. I hope you get a chance to listen to this review of “The Last Descent.” It’s one for the ages. Take care, Matt!
    J

  2. Jay!! I was just trying to decide what I thought of Designated Survivor. I’m on the fence right now, but am eager to hear your take on it (haven’t heard this episode just yet).

    Any interest in the new JCVD series on Amazon? I’ll post some thoughts later on, but everyone should for now check out the pilot. If nothing else, it’s intriguing and has a bit to talk about. 🙂

    • Gomez,
      In the next episode, Karl and I are much more favorable toward “Designated Survivor,” Episode 2 (teaser!). I plan to release that episode by Monday sometime…

      Not sure about the JCVD series… I thought I would love his movie, “JCVD,” but I lost interest and quit watching it for some reason… Admittedly, I should try it again. Let us know what you think of it, though.

      Thanks!
      J

      • Jay, I look forward to your ongoing review of “Designated Survivor.” I love the premise, but I turned it off in the middle of episode 2 when the Republican designated survivor showed up…I was worried about a political battle, including misrepresentation or over-generalization of politics and parties. I can barely stand the real-life political back-and-forth battle between REP and DEM and I really don’t want to watch that for my entertainment. I also was bugged by the various caricatures, most especially the warmonger general. Let me know what I’m in for…

  3. You weren’t far off, Jay. In order to differentiate himself from his famous Uncle Francis, when Nicholas Coppolla entered acting, being a comic book fan, he changed his surname name to Cage, reportedly being inspired by the character Luke Cage. Hence, Nicholas Cage. Maybe the association is the reason Luke Cage sometimes goes by Power Man.

  4. Hey guys,
    So I am still listening to all your podcasts from the beginning and I am up to 79 so far. These are some of the movies that I have watched that you guys recommended or that you mentioned and I thought they sounded interesting.

    Spring Breakers – This is a terrible movie. I can’t believe that Josh talked it up so much. All of the people in this movie are despicable (except Selina Gomez and she is just dumb). It is a totally unbelievable story line. Josh said something like “a film like this has never been made before”. Well there is a reason for that Josh, because it sucks.

    Blood Diner – This movie was absolutely horrible. The acting was appalling, the story was dumb and made no sense in places, yet I absolutely loved it. It falls into the category of so bad it’s good. I had such a good time watching this movie I was laughing the whole way through.

    Jennifer’s Body – This was ok. It was nothing special. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. Megan Fox looks pretty hot though so that helps.

    The Fourth Kind – I knew absolutely nothing about this movie before I watched it, which is probably the best way to see this movie. I really liked it. I thought it was creepy and unique (at least to me). I didn’t know if it was real or not. Even at the end I had to look it up to see if it was real or not. I enjoyed the experience of this movie.

    Broke Down Palace – I loved this movie. It left me thinking about it for a long time afterwards. Could I do that for someone in the same situation? Claire Danes is so good in this. I haven’t seen many of her movies but I think this is my favorite movie of hers that I have seen so far. Go and watch this if you have not seen it.

    Battle Royale – This wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. I think people over-hyped this for me. I thought it was going to be more gory than it was. It did make me think about how I would react in the same situation. It annoyed me how a lot of them were still worried about (or were even thinking about, given the situation) who loved who, or who liked who etc. Still an enjoyable movie though.

    Young Ones – I really liked this. Michael Shannon is great as always. I loved the premise and the story kept me intrigued the entire movie.

    Storm Warning – I heard you talk about this on Horror movie podcast (the Aussie horror movie episode) but I wanted to mention it. Wow!! This was awesome. If anyone reading this is a horror fan, go and see this movie. This is the type of movie I like best, going somewhere or getting lost somewhere and meeting the deranged locals and the hilarity that ensues. What she does with the can OMG!!

    The Hills Have Eyes (2006) – This movie was good but not great. I can’t remember if I have seen the original or not so I can’t comment on how it compares. I enjoyed parts of the movie but overall it was just ok. Worth a watch if it is on cable but don’t go out of your way to see it. (By the way, nobody mentioned this or recommended it, it just came on TV so I watched it).

    Loving the podcast (I was starting to think it should be called Movie Podcast Bi-Weekly).

    Andrew.

    P.S. Not sure if you got my email Jay but it just said that because you recommend so many good movies for me, I wanted to recommend one that you might not have seen. So my pick was Ravenous (1999). I have not seen this movie for a few years but I love it. I would love to know what you think about it.

    • Oh i forgot Requiem for a dream. This was drepressing but brilliant. A 10 out of 10 in my opinion. I haven’t seen many Jared Leto films but he was amazing. All the main characters were so good in this. I highly recommend this if you have not seen it.

  5. Jay, glad to hear you liked “The Magnificent Seven.” The Slash Filmcast was pretty hard on it and I thought they needed to just take off their stuffy, film-is-art shaded goggles and just enjoy a good popcorn flick that does justice to the genre. I had a lot of fun in that movie.

    Honestly it was the movie I was hoping “Suicide Squad” was going to be: A group of ruffians get together and fight against terrible odds– and some make it and some don’t. I loved the high body count, especially on the side of the ‘good’ guys. It felt refreshingly high-stakes for a popcorn movie after sitting through so many superhero movies where good guys most often skirt through unscathed.

    I could have used a bit more story beats to flesh out some characters and Chris Pratt took some getting used to. He was fun, but his humor felt a little out of place in the Old West at times. He won me over by the end of the movie. I thought the final fight scene was a touch long but a lot of fun. The final scene before the credits felt a little tacked on and CGI heavy. Overall I am right with you on a score 7.5/10. I’ll buy this one.

  6. ** SPOILERS FOR T– L— DESCENT **

    (The frickin’ title is a spoiler, people. It wouldn’t have been his last descent if he’d lived through it.)

    I explored Nutty Putty Cave a couple of times in the late 1990s. I think both times we went in the opposite direction of the Big Slide from the entrance, so I don’t think I was ever in the section of the cave when John Jones died. I think I generally agree with Andy that sealing up the cave was an overreaction to the tragedy. I remember being surprised at how quickly it happened, back in the day (when I was still working at the Daily Herald in Provo). One factor not directly discussed in this episode that I think carried a lot of weight was feasibility: They sealed up the cave because it was simple, relatively inexpensive, and could be quickly and easily accomplished. As Andy (and the others) noted, there isn’t really a simple and convenient option available for controlling access to a river, slot canyon, Angels Landing, etc.

    Like Andy said, Nutty Putty is not a strikingly beautiful or diverse cave. Accidents notwithstanding, however, it did serve a needed function as a relatively safe proving ground for people interested in caving and caves. There aren’t too many of those left in Utah. Logan Cave in Logan Canyon was another generally safe cave that was fun to explore for noobs. That one was closed to protect endangered bats (a cool feature of the cave, incidentally, though also one at the continual mercy of disruption by cavers simply on account of their presence).

    Good work by everyone. Enjoyed the discussion of “The Last Descent,” and will probably make an effort to see it at some point. Though, oddly, given my personal history of having extensively explored a couple of caves, I don’t particularly like tightly enclosed spaces. Just listening to the MPW crew discuss the tight spots depicted in the movie made my skin crawl a little.

  7. Caught Shin Godzilla (Resurgence) tonight. It’s only showing in the US this week, apparently, so keep an eye out. It is something else, alright. Part serious and part humorous, and pretty successful with each of those things at different times. But does it all work together? Gosh, I don’t know. But I was entertained and invested throughout, so that alone puts it ahead of the one from a couple years ago for me. It has a good energy to it, and I liked some of the story beats, and how the government tries to deal with the situation, and the humor of the bureaucracy involved.

    But Godzilla himself… Um, wow. If the rest of the special effects and destruction footage wasn’t generally very well done, I’d have said sure, make him cheap and cheesy looking. But whew. It’s weirdly bad. When he makes his first big reveal, I’m not sure if it would have been worse if they showed Barney the dinosaur. The theater was packed and everyone was rowdy and into it from the beginning, but then seeing the monster kind of deflated things for a while. I guess it may have been a style choice, but it feels more like they ran out of money or hired the wrong company to make the big guy. It gets better as he mutates, but still isn’t especially great. There is one scene, though, where he retaliates after being attacked, and that is so so cool. That’s more of a special effect thing, though, but still, he wins you over there, big time.

    I’m giving it a 7, but it could easily have been an 8 or 9 if Godzilla looked better and the tone was a little more consistent, one way or the other.

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