Franchise Addicts

Week four of our alien invasion franchise. Luke, Chris, and Peter take on Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece. Arrival isn't about aliens. It's about a woman who learns to see time the way they do and has to decide whether knowing how the story ends changes whether it's worth living. Amy Adams accepted the role in 24 hours. The ship interior was built practically 50 feet off the ground. Villeneuve made...

Fresh out of the theater. Luke, Chris, and Peter just saw Disclosure Day and are going live with their instant reaction. Steven Spielberg's return to alien contact closes out our five-week alien invasion franchise series. From Close Encounters' obsession to Independence Day's spectacle to District 9's refuge to Arrival's understanding to this. No prep. No notes. Just raw first impressions. 🎙️ Part...

Description: Week three of our alien invasion franchise. Luke, Chris, and Peter take on the most politically charged film in the series. District 9 flips the alien invasion on its head. The aliens have been here for 20 years and humanity's response isn't wonder, isn't spectacle, it's a refugee camp, barbed wire, and forced relocations. Neill Blomkamp grew up during apartheid in South Africa and ma...

The podcast covers the film 'Independence Day' and explores its marketing, box office success, character development, and political and social commentary. The film is discussed in the context of its spectacle and ensemble cast. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the magic of summer blockbusters in the 90s, the impact of Independence Day on the film industry, the compelling characters of the m...

The Franchise Addicts are joined by special guest Zach to talk through 1977s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Check him out on all his platforms: https://open.substack.com/pub/zachonarthouse Tik Tok: zachonarthouse Letterboxd: Zsmith33 The podcast episode covers the movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and delves into the themes of wonder and obsession. The discussion explores the initial...

The conversation covers the disnification of the Predator franchise, the use of practical effects and CGI, the reception and audience response to the film, and a humorous discussion about the Disneyfication of horror franchises. The conversation delves into the portrayal of characters in movies, highlighting the impact of video games on character development and the influence of video game dynamic...

Luke, Chris, and Peter cover the two best Predator films since the original. Prey takes the hunt back to 1719 with a Comanche warrior who earned the franchise its best reviews in 35 years. Killer of Killers sends Vikings, samurai, and WWII pilots against the Yautja in an animated anthology that builds the first Predator cinematic universe. After weeks of suffering through sequels, the franchise fi...

Luke, Chris, and Peter attempt to survive three Predator sequels in one night. Predator 2 moves the hunt to 1990s LA with Danny Glover and Gary Busey. Predators drops Adrien Brody on an alien planet and asks you to believe he's an action star. The Predator brings back Shane Black, the guy who wrote bad jokes in the original, to direct an entire movie that somehow makes even less sense than his jok...

In this live-stream recording, the Franchise Addicts crew—Luke, Chris, and the team—trek deep into the jungle to hunt down the 1987 masterpiece that defined a generation of sci-fi horror: Predator. Join the Hunt:Who was your favorite member of Dutch's team? And honestly—if you were in the jungle, would you have "gotten to the choppa" in time? Let us know in the comments! Subscribe to Franchise Add...

In this episode of Franchise Addicts , Luke, Chris, and special guest Peter dive into the high-octane prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga . We’re concluding our journey through the Wasteland by breaking down George Miller’s latest epic and its place in the legendary franchise. We explore the fascinating production history of the film, including the "lost" Studio Ghibli-style anime script known as The...

Four hosts. One War Rig. Luke, Chris, returning guest Peter, and special guest Dominic from Talkin TV take on the greatest action movie of the century. Mad Max: Fury Road is George Miller's masterpiece, made 30 years after Thunderdome by a 70-year-old director who embarrassed every action filmmaker half his age. Is this Furiosa's movie more than Max's? Is Nux the real hero? How did Miller make Hap...

Luke and Chris step outside the franchise world for a special episode breaking down their favorite films of 2025 and making their Oscar predictions before the big night. From the blockbusters that dominated the box office to the smaller films that deserved more attention, this is the full rundown of a year that turned out to be one of the best in recent memory. Plus, who's taking home Best Picture...

Luke, Chris, and the return of Peter take on Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the strangest entry in the franchise and the first film George Miller made without his producing partner Byron Kennedy. Is this secretly two different movies? Why does Tina Turner disappear for 40 minutes? Did Tupac really shoot California Love on the Bartertown set? And how does Max go from road warrior to reluctant messiah...

The Franchise Addicts are back from hiatus and diving straight into the latest entry in the 28 Days Later franchise. Luke and Chris break down 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Nia DaCosta's blood-soaked sequel that splits its story between a 12-year-old trapped in a satanic cult and a man building a friendship with the monster he should be running from. Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, the Jimmys, a...

Is Mad Max: The Road Warrior a post-apocalyptic movie or a Western in disguise? Luke and guests Peter and Andres dig into the 1981 sequel that spawned an entire genre of leather-clad wasteland cinema. In this episode: The case for Road Warrior being the greatest quality jump from movie one to movie two in film history Why Max only has 12 lines of dialogue (and two of them are "I just came for the...

We’re starting 2026 by going back to the beginning with Mad Max . Before the wasteland. Before the mythology. Before Max became a symbol. This is a small, angry road movie about a world still pretending to function. We talk about the collapse of law before the collapse of society, the violence that feels more procedural than heroic, and a protagonist who understands exactly what the road will turn...

We’re closing out the year by looking back at everything we covered on Franchise Addicts — the franchises, the debates, the surprises, and the episodes that stuck with us. In this end-of-year episode, we revisit the movies and series we spent the most time with, pick our favorite episodes from the catalog, revisit a few moments we still think about, and allow ourselves one rating mulligan — becaus...

In this episode of Franchise Addicts , we take on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — the final chapter in one of cinema’s most iconic franchises. Set decades after his last adventure, Dial of Destiny finds Indiana Jones aging, isolated, and wrestling with a world that no longer needs him. When an ancient artifact tied to time itself resurfaces, Indy is pulled into a story that forces him to c...

In this episode of Franchise Addicts , we dive headfirst into one of the most controversial blockbusters of the 21st century: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) . Set in the Cold War era, Crystal Skull sees Indiana Jones pulled into a Soviet conspiracy involving a mysterious crystal skull, ancient civilizations, secret military experiments, and the lost city of Akator. Direc...

Welcome back to Franchise Addicts! Today Luke sits down with Dominic from Talkin’ TV — your #1 source for behind-the-scenes insights and bold takes on the movies and TV you love. Together, they dig into Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for a special bonus episode filled with deep cuts, behind-the-scenes trivia, character breakdowns, and why this film still stands tall in the franchise. From Sean...

Franchise Addicts dives into Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — the Spielberg classic that brought Indy back to his roots, reunited him with his father, and delivered one of the most beloved adventure films ever made. In this episode, Luke, Chris, super fan Peter, and returning guest Andres break down the film scene by scene: the prologue, River Phoenix’s intro, the Venice chase, the Brotherhood...

Is this the darkest Indy? Short Round supremacy? And how did this movie help invent PG-13? We dig into Spielberg’s 1984 prequel—set pieces, pulp vibes, what still works (and what doesn’t), and where Temple of Doom lands in our Indy rankings. What we cover Shanghai opener, poisoned deal, and the wild raft drop Pankot Palace: dinner scene, secret passages, bug tunnel, spike room Thuggee cult, Black...

We’re kicking off our Indiana Jones franchise run with a deep dive into Raiders of the Lost Ark – the set pieces, the theology, the pulp serial roots, and why this thing still absolutely cooks in 2024.Joining Luke and Chris on this one is Adam from Movie Magic (www.youtube.com/@moviemagic96), bringing his filmmaker/film-nerd brain to all things Indy:Is this the best Spielberg adventure movie? How...

The Necronomicon opens one last time. 💀 Join Luke and Chris as they close the book on the Evil Dead franchise with Evil Dead Rise (2023) — the blood-soaked, high-rise horror that took the series to terrifying new heights. We dig into Lee Cronin’s direction, the gory practical effects, that infamous cheese grater scene, and how this movie connects to the legacy of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. 🎬...

Chris and Luke are joined by the boys from The MCU's Bleeding Edge to discuss Fede Alvarez's 2013 remake of The Evil Dead. Is it a worthy remake? Listen to find out!