Max, Mike; Movies

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s tour of Dark City, brought to you by Max, Mike; Movies, the podcast for your busy Dark City life, and their latest flavor . . . sorry, series, “Walk the Dark Street.” And how appropriate is that, folks, because all our streets are dark! Here. Because it’s Dark City . . . tough crowd. So, on your left, there’s a fine example of our city’s neo-classical archi...

“Hello, hi, is this thing on? Ok, I’d like to call to order this meeting of the Sin City Chamber of Commerce. Could I get some water, please? Um, ok, I’d like to start off by saying kudos to all you guys; we’ve had a great year for at least SOME sins. Wrath, well, we sure have that covered, and big, big thanks to you guys, Marv, Dwight, and Hartigan. Lust, wow, what can I say? That’s always been a...

Well, we’re about halfway through our “Walk the Dark Street” series and Mike and I are learning things about film noir that we never imagined. We’ve learned hard lessons, rough lessons, painfully tight lessons . . . ok, this is going in a weird direction, but perhaps the most surprising thing we’ve learned is from this week’s Billy Wilder film, considered by many to the first film noir, and that i...

In this week’s episode of “Walk the Dark Street” we return to the Age of Classic Noir with the 1946 Bogey and Bacall vehicle, directed by Howard Hawks and with a screenplay written by none other than William Faulkner, adapted from a Raymond Chandler novel. Faulkner, later legendary for his simple, clear-cut storytelling and basic, almost child-like use of language is the perfect person to adapt th...

“Hey, man, you know what they call Max, Mike; Movies in France?” “No. What do they call it?” “They call it Le Max, Mike; Cinéma.” “That’s cool. What do they call ‘Walk the Dark Street’ in France’?” “That’d be “Marcher Dans La Rue Sombre. “ “Cool. Cool. Is that because they use the metric system?” “What? No! How does that make any sense? Well, you’ve ruined it now.” As you may have surmised, this w...

And we’re back, walking the dark street with our series “Walk the Dark Street.” Works out rather nicely, doesn’t it? This week our subject is a 70’s take on that classic Raymond Chandler character Phillip Marlowe in Robert Altman’s film version of “The Long Goodbye.” This one’s a little different folks; for one thing, it’s in color, which is an issue in and of itself (see the poll question below)....

This dame was trouble. I could tell. Those big, brown eyes, so innocent, eyes that said “trust me, I won’t stab you in the back.” Right. I’d heard that before and I had the scars on my trapezius to prove it. She tossed her long mane of hair aside and crossed her long, gorgeous legs, all four of them. I sat back and . . . four? Mane? BUMPY?! How did you even fit in the dress?! And lipstick? Ponies...

As we close out our “…But An Incredible Simulation” series, we’re taking a deep look, thinking deep thoughts, and having a deep discussion about . . . well, it’s right there in the episode title, so you don’t really need me to say it. “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” have an odd history; most people see “Deep Impact” as a rip-off of the Michael Bay film, despite the fact that “Deep Impact” came out...

[scene: studio execs at Touchstone Pictures talking to director Michael Bay] Execs: So, Mr. Bay, we’re looking for a major summer tentpole movie for 1998. Any ideas? Michael Bay: BOOM! KABLAM! KABLOOIE! SKADAM!! Execs: An asteroid, you say? Love it! So, we get some big stars in a disaster movie . . . what else? Michael Bay: POW! SKABOOM! BLAMBLAMBLAMBOOM! Execs: Sure, Bruce Willis, that Ben Afflec...

Last week’s movie raised the question “Was everybody Kung Fu Fighting?” Well, this week, a 2011 . . . tribute/homage/why-god-why film mumbles the question “Yeah, and was everybody Tae Kwan Do fighting, too? I mean, they might have been! I guess . . .” Like the DreamWorks film, this movie(?) features a Panda and martial arts. But where “Kung Fu Panda” leans on the crutch of beautiful animation, gre...

This week in our “… But An Incredible Simulation” series we tackle the very serious lyrical question: Was EVERYONE Kung Fu Fighting? I mean, it just doesn’t’ seem to make practical sense for everyone, everywhere to be Kung Fu Fighting, especially at the same time. All urban infrastructure would come to a complete halt. Food production would falter. The kicks in question may have indeed been “fast...

Mac and Cheese. Mac and PC. Mac and Me. It’s an almost inevitable progression, isn’t it? A beloved taste treat, a primal struggle between titans, and . . . this movie we’re using for this week’s entry in “…But An Incredible Simulation.” I’m sure you don’t need me to point out the obvious connection between these three cultural phenomena . . . which is good, because I’m not gonna do it! Instead, I’...

Welcome to another in our “…But An Incredible Simulation,” where we pair blockbusters with mockbusters, in an attempt to tease your cinematic palette (ooo, sounds naughty!). This week, we’ve got a classic Steven Spielberg blockbuster about a young boy and his carefully-maintained backup glass container holding earth and plants, creating a closed biosphere: “E.T., The Extra Terrarium.” Hmm. It’s po...

Ah, the fascinating geological phenomenon known as the “Atlantic Rim”! Studied by . . . NO ONE, OK? There IS no Atlantic Rim! Well, there is, but it’s not a fascinating planetary crustal system, roughly overlapping the Atlantic Rim of Fire . . . because THAT doesn’t exist either! What DOES exist is this rushed-out knock-off of last week’s blockbuster “Pacific Rim.” This is our first (but probably...

Heckfire and dog my cats! We got us a brand, spanking new series (a spanking! A spanking!) (Calm down, Mike). Y’ever notice how sometimes a big blockbuster movie comes out? Nah, me neither. Kidding, kidding, of course you have; but have you also noticed that when such a movie comes out, right on its heels comes another movie (or movies) that are, shall we say, suspiciously similar in style, genre,...

This week’s episode is indeed very special: it marks the fifth anniversary of my waking up with a throbbing head and a copy of a binding “We Are Doing A Podcast” stapled to my shirt that I had apparently signed as “Maxxx Overdrive.” Mike has assured me many times over the last five years that this is legally binding and sadly I don’t know of any kind of professional whose job it is to interpret co...

There have been many great, even legendary pairings in history: Gilbert and Sullivan. Lunt and Fontaine. Pork and beans. And of course, Martin and Lewis. Yes, before Dino was swinging with the Rat Pack or fighting bad guys as Matt Helm, before Jerry knew what a telethon was or that the French thought he was a genius, these two were a box office powerhouse team, churning out a thunderous number of...

Here we are at the penultimate entry in our “You Haven’t Seen THAT?! Part 2” series and I’m really excited about this week’s entry. I had no idea there was a forty-year-old film about my favorite member of Marvel’s Fantastic Four, the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed . . . hah? Really? So, what’s this movie actually about? Oh. Oh geez. This is a SCARY movie? Mike, you didn’t say anything us watching a scary...

I’m sure you’ve all been able to tell that this series “You Haven’t Seen THAT?! Part 2” has clearly taken its toll on Mike. He’s just so stressed out by these movies, and I think we all know that he needs to just chill. You know, take a really big chill pill and just chill out bigly, yes he needs a Big . . . ok, yeah, this isn’t working, it feels really forced, sorry! Sometimes this just happens....

It’s my turn to confess my ignorance in this week’s episode of “You Haven’t Seen THAT?! Part 2”: I have never seen the beloved classic of youth “The Goonies.” Nope. Just never got around to it. And now that I’ve seen it . . . much like “American Pie,” I’m a bit disappointed as to the subject matter. I thought I was in for a rollicking good time following the misadventures of a group of Laysan alba...

Ah, George Lucas. He’s certainly given us a lot. Memories. Iconic images. Deep, bleeding psychic wounds. He’s directed and written some of the most influential movies of our time. He gave us the original “Star Wars.” He introduced us to Indiana Jones. He showed us the dystopia of “THX-1138.” And he scarred us indelibly by bringing us “Howard the Duck” (yes, he was only the executive producer there...

Hear, o noble-formerly-known-as-Prince, of the tale of Flingdor and his travels through the dark lands of Genectigazoink with his noble companion Skinamarinkadinkydink and his magic plorfdamper as they seek the mystic Dingus-Thingy that only the Choosened One can find to defeat the evil Blorfhamper and his dread army of tap-dancing Death Clams! Ok, yes, the 80’s brought us more than a few . . . qu...

Howdy, howdy, howdy! Yipee kay yo kay yay! Yeeee-haw! Other Western expressions! Why? Because this week’s entry in our “You Haven’t Seen THAT?! Part 2” series is, you guessed it, a Western. Sort of. Kind of. It’s complicated. But however you shellack your Stetson (that’s a phrase, isn’t it?), this one’s a classic, the first pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, in a movie penned by William Go...

Welcome, welcome to our new series . ..  which is a sequel to an old series! In fact, it’s a new version of our very first series: “You Haven’t Seen THAT?! Part 2” Yes, once again Mike and I are challenging each other to watch movies that one of us has never seen but we really should have and the fact that we haven’t means we’re fundamentally flawed and bad people and oh god I’m sorry I’m so...

And so, we come to the close of our “Quotes, Unquotes, and Quotes” series and what a ride it’s been! How can we choose the proper film to close out a series that focuses on memorable dialogue, clever quips, hilarious bon mots and the like? Did we choose a towering classic? No. Did we choose an adaptation from a great work of literature? No, no we did not. Did we choose a film that has left a very...