Written Review: End of Watch (2012)

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by Jason Pyles
Movie Podcast Weekly.com

Premise: While going about their daily duties, two LAPD officers keep stumbling onto a ferocious drug cartel with zero tolerance for ambitious cops.

Review: “End of Watch” may be the first found footage, shaky-cam, docu-drama, pseudo-documentary cop movie that also doubles as a feature-length PR commercial for the Los Angeles Police Department. (Seriously, this whole movie could be an advertisement for the LAPD. Perhaps it is.)

Actually, “End of Watch” is quite a number of things: It’s also a love story between two men played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, not too far off from Gyllenhaal’s most famous role in “Brokeback Mountain” (2005). Continue reading →

Your Host, Karl Huddleston, in “Alien Abduction”

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Hi,
A big congratulations to our fellow co-host, actor Karl Huddleston, who starred along with Jaclyn Hales in this hilarious short film titled “Alien Abduction.” (By the way, the screenplay was co-written by our good friend, director Josh Ligairi.) We’ve embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. Leave a comment and let Karl know what you think.

THE GUY NAMED ANDY

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MOVIE PODCAST WEEKLY Co-Host Andy is the comedic foil to everything the rest of the hosts are attempting to accomplish on the show. His primary duties include making loud rustling noises into the microphone while the others talk, occasionally watching a movie that he’s reviewing on the show, and doing his best to stay awake for the entire length of the podcast.

With absolutely no formal film studies education, Andy’s opinions are likely to be based on things like “feelings” and “opinions” without reference to any actual principles of filmmaking or theory. In fact, Andy is not qualified to be speaking publicly about cinema in any way whatsoever, except for the most important of qualifications: he is a fan.

In truth, Andy is actually far more intelligent, thoughtful and capable than he likes to let on. When not watching movies, Andy likes to eat Pop Rocks.

Andy wrote for the Considering the Cinema blog with Jason Pyles and was a co-host on the Considering the Sequels podcast with Jason Pyles and Karl Huddleston, prior to Movie Podcast Weekly.

THE ACTOR

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Karl CloseMOVIE PODCAST WEEKLY Co-Host Karl Huddleston brings an actor’s background to the film discussion on the show, often offering admiration for, and keen insights into, the nuances of thespianic performance. He’s also the resident romantic and sci-fi nerd, a go-to for all of the teenage rom-coms that nobody else wants to see, as well as 70s science fiction that nobody else is old enough to remember.

Originally from Bangor in Northern Ireland, Karl is often referred to by his co-hosts as “The Irishman.” Karl moved to the states at the age of 10, living first in Southern California and later in Utah, where he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Minor in Film.

After school, Karl spent 10 years in the Television News and Film industries as a director, along with various other positions. Whenever possible, Karl moonlights as an actor (his true passion) and has appeared on television in national series such as CBS’s Touched By An Angel and in independent films such as Lost Forever Everett Ruess.

Karl lives in Utah with his family. According to his wife, Karl spends far too much time and money on movies, both in the theater and on his massive Blu-ray collection, but he just can’t get enough of the fine acting and cinematic storytelling that fills the giant, gaping hole in his blackest of hearts.

Karl was a Co-Host on the Considering the Sequels Podcast with Jason and Andy prior to Movie Podcast Weekly. As of Episode 107 (in October 2014), Karl has taken an indefinite hiatus from podcasting, but he is still an official host of this show, and we anxiously await his triumphant return to MPW someday.

THE FILMMAKER

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Josh CloseMovie Podcast Weekly Co-Host Joshua Ligairi is a film snob of the highest order, always ready with an obscure indie recommendation, a pretentious art film, or a claw-your-eyes-out-boring classic. If you’ve ever been watching a movie and wondered who the costume designer or even craft services person was on the film crew, Josh is your movie review dream come true.

Born in Hawaii of Fijian descent, Josh was raised throughout the western United States and spent several years in Europe. Active in Utah’s film community since high school, he participated in the Sundance Filmmakers Lab, the LDS Film Festival, and interned on several film productions from the tender age of 15.

Years later, Josh served as a department head over a dozen feature films from 2002 to 2009 and, as an avid name-dropper, he will never hesitate to tell you long-winded stories, with no real arc or conclusion, featuring the myriad of B-list actors he’s worked with from Billy Baldwin to Macaulay Culkin.

Soon, serving the has-been elite was no longer enough and Josh set his sights on directing documentaries, which is show biz industry code for: he’s broke. Josh’s non-fiction work has landed at major film festivals like the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, on major television networks like National Geographic Channel, won him numerous awards (including a Distinguished Alumni Award for Journalism from Utah Valley University) and earned him, literally, hundreds of dollars.

Nowadays, Josh spends much of his free time developing and watching non-fiction television. He is a Survivor super fan and will readily fist fight anyone who says it sucks. He is currently in various stages of production on several documentary projects including Skeleton Picnic and Salamander (both shooting piece meal in Utah) and Near the Bear and Plan 241 (both going strong in Alaska).

Josh has been a co-host on several movie-themed podcasts including The Documentary Blog Podcast, Horror Metropolis, Drive-In of the Damned, Land of the Creeps, Horror Movie Podcast, and Movie Podcast Weekly. Josh is also currently the Producer / Host of Movie Stream Cast and is prepping new episodes of The Documentary Podcast and Midnight Double Feature for future release.