Movie Madness

After a short week, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy double-up on the movie reviews this week with eight titles. They include a documentary about a “ballhawk” (Zack Hample vs. the World) and one about a type of restaurant that does not exist anymore (The Automat). Justin Kurzel’s new film gets to the root of mental illness in a real-life Australian tragedy (Nitram) and a witch learns about life we...

Sergio Mims is back with the latest and greatest in Blu-rays and he focuses on three different studios with Erik Childress. Kino has a pair of great thrillers newly available in 4K as well as one from the ‘80s that may be more memorable for a promise of a single shot. Warner Archive puts James Cagney in an early version of Top Gun, one of the original versions of A Star Is Born and a stunning upgr...

The weekly movie review edition of the show went light to close out the month and it led to two agreements, one split decision and a whole other kind of split. Unintentional double entendres were on the docket for Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy as one of them reviewed a “family Butt!@#*ing comedy” (Win a Trip to Browntown). Naomi Watts is getting in her exercise with her projects again as a hike...

South by Southwest returned to live festivities for the first time since 2019. Erik Childress has been covering since 2003 and hopes to return soon. Along with Steve Prokopy they discuss the pleasures of attending in person even as they covered virtually at least one more time. 18 titles they bring up from this year including music documentaries about Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker and Nick Cave, non-m...

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy tackle seven new films this week. They include a couple from Sundance they have not talked about yet from the 2-part documentary on HBO MAX from Amy Berg about Evan Rachel Wood’s traumatic relationship with Marilyn Manson (Phoenix Rising) and Regina Hall in a ghost story about racial dynamics on a college campus (Master). Steve reviews about a Buddy Guy apprentices...

Six movie reviews this week from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy, mostly available on the streaming services. Three women on a photoshoot weekend for their instas encounter a stinky alien (The Seed). The Herzogs document the theory of leaving our dying planet for another (Last Exit: Space). A car breakdown turns into oddball terror (Ultrasound) and Zac Efron is left alone in an apocalyptic landsc...

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy reviewed two of this week’s big movies during Sundance, so in case you missed them talk enthusiastically about Kogonada’s sci-fi meditation on life and connection (After Yang) or less so about Sebastian Stan as a human butcher in Fresh, you get another chance. But then they have five new films to talk about as well including two available on Netflix – an explorer s...

Comic book expert and host of the AintThisTheFun show on YouTube, Erik Laws, joins Erik Childress to go through Matt Reeves’ The Batman. There is a lot to unpack from the casting to how it distinguishes itself from the other versions of the character. They look at all the casting decisions, is anyone having any fun during this one and, of course, that score from Michael Giacchino. Do Robert Pattin...

Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress for another round in the latest and greatest in Blu-rays. Criterion has got the Coens and the Beatles. Paramount has Beavis & Butt-Head and Wayne & Garth. Universal has James Bond and Paul Schrader. Kino has another commentary with Sergio, they agree on a Burt Reynolds gem and whether a certain Billy Wilder classic now available in 4K is even amongst his strongest...

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back to their old ways, reviewing ten new movies on this week’s show including a little early preview. The rest include a tale of obesity and bullying (Butter) and a family hooks up on Zoom to grieve grandma (Family Squares). More pandemic cinema takes Naomi Watts on a jog of social terror (The Desperate Hour) and Havana Rose Liu ends up at the worst rest stop...

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with seven new movie reviews and if you thought murder was on the table last week, wait until you hear this. Boeing killed a bunch and you can learn all about it in a new Netflix documentary (Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.) The Unabomber killed a few and there is a new movie with Sharlto Copley as that lunatic (Ted K). When rich landowners kill off a g...

Movie reviews. Nine of them. We do it every week here on the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. It all starts with a little psychological horror (Alone With You) and emotional revenge (Catch the Fair One). Then it’s a whirlwind of grief from director Josephine Decker (The Sky is Everywhere) and the search for love from Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World). Liam Neeson plays anoth...

The Movie Madness Podcast goes back to Sundance (virtually) with Erik Childress, Steve Prokopy and Sergio Mims going through what they saw on their weeklong trip through the at-home app for a second straight year. More than 20 titles are discussed including new films from Kogonada, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorehead and Cooper Raiff. There are debuts from Jesse Eisenberg and Tig Notaro, and even a re...

The weekly movie reviews return to the podcast with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy talking about eight new movies and the 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper’s 1980 film, Out of the Blue. Flash-forward to 1984 for the new documentary about David Lynch’s sci-fi adaptation (The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune) or back to post-Civil War for a little western horror (Ghosts of the Ozarks). Steve tells y...

Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress to take a look back on the careers of two men who became legends in their own time. Director Peter Bogdanovich came out of the gate with three films that established a legacy, but whose ego and crave of the spotlight began to take a toll. Though he continued working up until nearly his passing, his films never achieved the level of acclaim he did in the early ‘70s....

On this special episode of the podcast, Erik Childress is joined by Morgan Gire to delve into season four of Netflix’s popular continuation of The Karate Kid saga. After a new high achieved by the third season, does the latest represent a turning point forward, backward or sideways for its characters? Erik & Morgan delve into the constant switching sides and whether this season does justice for it...

One last look at the films of 2021 is the focus of this episode with Erik Childress, Steve Prokopy and Collin Souter unveiling their lists of the best 15 films of the year. There may not have been a lot of “fun” movies, they each manage to agree on one that makes their lists. There are also foreign films, documentaries and musicals of all kinds. Films of grief and mortality and the one that Erik t...

Movie Madness begins 2022 with its weekly review show and a few holdovers from 2021 that are only beginning to open wider. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy catch up on the latest collaboration from Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), George Clooney directs Ben Affleck in a coming-of-age memoir (The Tender Bar) and Asghar Farhadi pushes everyone into another moral conundrum (A Her...

The bi-annual series with Erik Childress and Sergio Mims closes out 2021 with a giant three-plus hour show dedicated to 20 films that have yet to find their way beyond DVD and, at least in one case, out of VHS if you can even find that. Ten choices each spanning a variety of eras include film noirs, comedies, television adaptations and even a television series. Blaxploitation and musicals, a satir...

The last movie review edition of the podcast for 2021 is an epic one. Over two-and-a-half hours discussing 11 films including three that were chosen to be a part of this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival. They include Isabelle Fuhrmann trying to do for rowing what Whiplash did from drumming (The Novice), Olivia Colman having an introspective vacation in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut (Th...

  The final Marvel film of 2021 is about to become the biggest movie of the year. Erik Childress is joined by comic book expert, Erik Laws, to share their thoughts on the film. Spoilers are abound so be sure to listen after you have seen it. But when you do you will find out if they are as stoked as everyone else. They get into the previous Spider-Man films and discuss if this one hits the emotion...

Erik Childress and Sergio Mims deliver one last Blu-ray show for 2021 with an impressive group of titles just in time to make your film lovers merry for Christmas. From Criterion they talk about one of the greatest films of all-time and one of their choices for the best film of 2020. Paramount delivers on a couple of Warren Beatty classics while also fulfilling another from the hosts’ Not-On-Blu-R...

Six new movies are covered on the weekly movie review edition of the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at a new documentary about a film legend (The Real Charlie Chaplin) and the week from hell of a TV legend (Being the Ricardos). A film dramatizes the debate over compensating student athletes (National Champions) but who will compensate us for the latest from Sandra Bullock (The...

The title of the episode almost says it all but it turns out both Erik Childress and Sergio Mims have a lot to say about Steven Spielberg’s remake of the Oscar-winning 1961 musical. Sergio, who also hosts a classical music show on WHPK Radio in Chicago, takes us through the choreographers, Leonard Bernstein and his thoughts both positive and negative on the original. Erik also shares his thoughts...

Movie theaters tend to slow down the week after Thanksgiving but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have seven movies you can see there or at home. They catch up on the latest from Mike Mills with Joaquin Phoenix (C’mon C’mon). Sci-fi takes some questionable turns in an apocalyptic “comedy” (Silent Night) and a kidnapping drama that is questionably referred to as “science fiction” (Encounter)....