15 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 292: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Overboard (2018)”

1. Solo was okay in a mindless fun sort of way, but I hated almost every specific incidence that had anything to do with how Han… got his name/met Chewbacca/nicknamed Chewie/got his blaster, etc. (Especially didn’t like the name one. Phew.) Take away all of that junk and it’s a decent adventure movie, though still somewhat generic. And pretty darn humorless for a film about the origin of one of the galaxy’s wittiest rogues. A few mild chuckles, but almost nothing that anybody in the theater really laughed at. (By comparison, TLJ had many laughs and cheers throughout.) The train heist was a really cool and exciting sequence, but kind of laughable in terms of why they’d be transporting that stuff on a train when they have spaceships. Well, in order for there to be a cool train heist sequence in a Star Wars film. Duh.

   Anyone who thinks Solo is better than Last Jedi is #%*& NUTS. TLJ wasn’t perfect, and I preferred Force Awakens to that by a hair, but TLJ had a ton of invention, character, meaningful drama and emotion, huge cinematic moments, and some real challenge for its audience. Solo has almost no real panache to it, and a lot of pretty dumb stuff to boot. TLJ said hey, let’s move Star Wars forward into new and interesting places. Solo says hey, let’s go back to stuff we already had, and while we’re at it, make one of the coolest and most iconic characters in the history of film more generic and boring. 6/10

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   Saw Oceans 8 today, and was amused to see J’s tweet (spoiler?) describing it as dry and too smooth for a heist film. I used those exact words telling someone about it afterwards (dry and too smooth). Great cast, and fun enough, I suppose, but also somewhat disappointing. 6.5/10

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   On a more positive note, I saw Hereditary on Friday and hoo boy is that something. The kind of horror movie I never want to see again, and can’t really recommend for anyone to see, but it’s really quite interesting and gripping and affecting. Reminded me of The VVitch in some respects, with some similar underlying themes about family dynamics and communication and resentment, and an ending that is twisted but also takes the nature of what it has been building to another level. 9/10

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   • Eric,

     Yes!

     -J

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2. Oh also, I agree that Westworld has been harder to follow and to appreciate this season, but… I think it’s been building up, and tonight’s episode (season 2, #8) was amazingly good. Still very much worth the effort to follow, IMO. But you guys are right in that fewer episodes with a leaner story would serve it better.

   Arrested Development season 5 on the other hand… not great. I did enjoy the recent remix of season 4 (and I liked season 4 okay when it came out), but so far season 5 is just treading water for me. Some funny moments, of course, but I think its biggest flaw is that instead of giving us something new and fresh (with some expected AD call back jokes and references), it is attempting to continue from season 4, which was already tedious by the end with the number of times Ron Howard had to jump in and explain things. Sad to say, but I think this will be the end of the line for this show, and unless the next eight episodes are markedly better than the first eight, it’ll go out on a low note.

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   • I tried watching the first ep of season 5 of Arrested Development, but I ended up turning it off halfway through. Way too much Ron Howard voiceover rather than feeling as if I was able to see new events played out.

     I may give the new season another try (I don’t recall finishing season 4 when it first came out), but it seems a bit silly. Why watch Arrested Development when it’s just okay when the first three seasons are brilliant?

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3. Billy Batson meets a wizard and, with the magic word “Shazam” turns into the caped hero named Captain Marvel. He predates Superman by many years and wasn’t actually a DC property at first. The rights fell to DC when they purchased them from Fawcett.

   And he’s awesome!!! It’s one of the few DC movies I’ve been excited about and it is a much more light hearted comic then Batman or the Superman films. Marvel is fuelled by magic and he has a solid rogues gallery. Batson is an interesting protagonist in that he’s a homeless orphan, streetwise, and pure of heart. There’s a sense of naivety with him and it works with many writers.

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   • Perfectly said redcapjack!

     Marvel Comics in the 60’s trademarked the name Captain Marvel for their own character. This meant that meant when DC licensed the Fawcett Captain Marvel character in the 70’s, they couldn’t call the comic Captain Marvel, so they used his transformation cry “Shazam!” for the title of publication and title of the character.

     SHAZAM is a great character and I think it’ll be a great change and addition to the DC Movies, BUT, I do agree with Jason. I just wish they would do a good Superman movie. That’s all!

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4. You really let me down Karl. I really needed to hear you rage about the lighting in Solo. One of my biggest gripes was the poor lighting. At times I couldn’t tell what was going on, though after a second viewing on a different screen, I can confirm my theater screen is partially to blame. Ugh. I should have asked for my money back.

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   • I can agree with you, Vance, that “Solo” was darkly lit. I also thought Karl would gripe about it.
     -J

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5. Dear and beloved Jay, while you’re busy recording and editing content of subpar movies like Solo and Overboard, we’re still missing great content that’s locked away in a hard drive somewhere in a cold, dark room. Why do you hate the us? What have we done for you to forsaken us? Have we not listened to you for 285 episodes and counting? Am I being overdramatic? Maybe, but it’s all your fault. Can’t you just give those episodes to Ryan for him to edit and call it a day? I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help. You’re stretching yourself too thin and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. I fear that if you keep doing this, not only will you burn yourself out, but the episodes will remain forever lost to the world. And both will be a damn shame.

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   • I love you, Juan. You don’t know this, but it’s a remarkably close competition between you and my wife for giving me grief over those episodes. Setting my own anxiety and self-loathing aside, ha ha, you and my wife are equally, gravely concerned, and I hear about it all the time. Unpleasant and uncomfortable, to be sure, given that I carry those episodes as a daily burden, as well.

     But I have good news: My wife and kids are going out of town for a couple of days this upcoming week (which never happens), and that means I’ll be home alone with some editing time, so watch the feed this next week!

     Thanks for caring.
     -J

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6. Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut are two of Kubrick’s very best films. When pressed by Charlie Rose to name his favorite Kubrick film, Martin Scorsese himself said it would have to be Barry Lyndon… Lars Von Trier said Barry Lyndon had to be one of the ten best films ever to be made. Once again Jay and Karl (who put Nolan over Kubrick, which is like putting House Of Cards over The Wire) showcase their mediocrity to the world. I do hold out hope for you one day gentlemen but with vapid appraisals like the ones expressed in this episode, I must admit it is dwindling.

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   • I honestly don’t remember “putting Nolan over Kubrick,” though I happen to prefer Nolan’s filmography over Kubrick’s, in terms of subjective entertainment value.

     And there’s no need to hold hope for us, Edward. To quote Antonio Salieri’s sentiments from the end of “Amadeus,” Karl and I “speak for all mediocrities in the world. We are their champion. We are the patron saints. Mediocrities everywhere: We absolve you. We absolve you. … We absolve you all.”

     Thanks for listening, Ed.
     —J

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     • I still have to see Amadeus, I hear really great things about that film. Karl put Nolan over Kubrick but he likes Michael Mann’s The Insider which absolves him of such a sin, and your 10 out of 10 love for William Friedkin’s masterpiece Sorcerer absolves you as well, both films that are in my top ten of all time. Love the show J, you’re a man of the people and I appreciate that.

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7. Paddington #%*&$ 2, y’all!

   I’ve been hearing raves and plugs for that the past few months in various places. I kept thinking eh, sure, whatever… Paddington is cute, sure… I suppose I’ll try to catch that at some point.

   But wow. BELIEVE THE HYPE. I am currently OD’ing on its charm and whimsy. So inventive, and consistently engaging and entertaining, with scene after scene of clever and fun shots and sequences. Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson are incredible (the first pivotal moment with Brendan Gleeson’s character had me rolling), and everyone in the cast has solid moments. It’s a 10/10 for me, and is likely to have a high spot in my top 10 this year. One of the best family movies EVER. And now I need to see the first one… I’ve heard 2 is better, but it’s the same director, so if the original one is even half as good as this, then that’s still pretty great.

   I’m actually a bit concerned now with seeing Incredibles 2 tomorrow, thinking, can it possibly be as good?? Whew. Okay, that’s all. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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8. Incredibles 2 felt a bit “more of the same.” And on the one hand that’s great. More of what was great in the original is more “great.” I enjoyed it and was glad to see these characters in another adventure. But other than some fun stuff with Jack-Jack and a few moments here and there, it didn’t feel very fresh to me. And the family stuff is good, but again, that was really good in the original, and felt much more fresh the first time around.

   I question the choice to pick up exactly where the last one left off. Seems like some more fertile ground could have been explored by advancing the family ahead several years. As it is, we get essentially the same story as the first one, about the nature of being superheroes when that’s outlawed, and about coming together as a family to save the day. 7/10

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