Movie Show Theater: The Podcast

We thought we'd lighten the mood with some (we thought) fantastically bad movies from the world of home video. Without being too obscure, we chose: Reefer Madness (1936) Suburban Commando (1991) Battlefield Earth (2000) These aARE bad, but bad movies are often time so much fun to watch! What makes a bad movie good? What makes a good movie bad? After today, you'll know what makes a bad movie bad. I...

Back when we all shared a microphone, we talked about two racially charged films released 42 years apart. This film comparison was requested by my mother, so how could I not? Anyway, this topic will always be relevant, but these two films are still very different in nature. However there are some very common cultural threads, as we'll talk big city racists and country bumpkin racists, and still ma...

We have a super weird show for you today! We have a few guests joining us via Skype to help out us out with some (virtually) spoiler-free discussion on Stranger Things. This show is taking over the internet, and it's no surprise to us! The show is a fitting homage to 1980's culture, and an incredibly effective retro-chic Netflix original series. But the first half of the show we'll be jumping back...

In an effort to reduce the amount of time you spend skipping past movies on Netflix you know you'll never watch, we've got six films just for you. We're going to attempt to sell you six films in less than sixty minutes. Sounds fun, right? The films: House of the Devil (horror, 2009)- USA Super (dark comedy, 2010)- USA Predestination (sci-fy/ drama, 2014)- USA Last Action Hero (action/ comedy, 1993...

This movie was done by request of Matt Wehrmann, and we were happy to oblige. This movie was sufficiently funny when it was originally released in 1998 and had a respectable performance at the box office. But it was until about 10 years ago that The Big Lebowski hit worldwide cult classic status. Why is that? What happened? I attended a LebowskiFest a few years back in Peoria that did not go so we...

Stu chose the cute, yet vulgar and violent Four Rooms from magical 1995. If you've never heard the tale of 1995, legend tells of 1995 being the best year of movies in the history of film. We discuss in greater length in this episode, but here's a short list as an example: Braveheart, Toy Story, The Usual Suspects, 12 Monkeys, Se7en, Apollo 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Heat, Casino, Mallrats,...

This is (obviously)the follow-up sequel to the 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger. The Russo Brothers (Anthony and Joe if you'd like to know) directed this film, as well as Captain America: Civil War. They did well enough to score the Avengers: Affinity War gig, as well as a currently untitled additional Avengers film set for a 2019 release (Affinity War Part two if I had to guess). I realiz...

This was our first episode at the new studio. Kubrick films are always fun to pick apart because they are full of symbolism and hidden meanings, not to mention his insane genius. This movie is full of content that pushed the boundaries of what could be portrayed on screen. Even though you could pretty much get away with whatever you wanted with film in the 70's (Ever seen Phase IV or Legend of the...

We managed to talk about The Phantom for more than an hour, so that's pretty impressive. Was that mean? It's not that it was so bad, just kind of forgettable. Billy Zane trained hard, bulked up, and shaved his head for his role, but sadly it lost a lot of money. It's always awkward when the end of a movie is a direct set-up for a sequel, but no one wants one. Poor Billy Zane. He played this purple...

We chose two very successful sequels to very different movies released exactly ten years apart. We created a criteria for judging and evaluating sequels specifically for this episode. Doesn't that sound exciting?! I thought so. Which of these films would make better stand alone films? Which of these films serves as a better sequel? And can that question even be answered? At the top of the show, Be...

Starship Troopers is probably a little misunderstood. Directed by the same guy who brought us Total Recall AND Robocop, so... that being said, I believe this film was intended to be cheesy and VERY over the top. They weren't trying to sell us a convincing story here. This is a pure popcorn flick. On the same token, there are obvious nods to our own government and military, and maybe Paul Verhoeven...

Tommy is a much better soundtrack than it is a movie, I'll start there. It wasn't "bad", but it wasn't exactly "good" either. I don't mind musicals, in fact, I quite like them. Tommy is a weird one, though. Just ask your dad, he probably used to break up his weed on the vinyl soundtrack for this film. The choreography isn't all that impressive, and the story is just, uh.. lacking? I don't know. I...

Darren Aronofsky currently has six feature films under his belt, yet is one of most brilliant and talented directors of our generation. He is fearless with what he presents on screen, and he has personal attachment to everything he puts his creative hands on. The Fountain fell under the radar for a lot of people, but it really is quite a good story. I think a lot of people also went in to this mov...

This is the feature film debut for director Dan Gilroy. He is normally a writer, but he took a chance in the director's seat. This movie was great! Like really great, one of my favorites of 2014. Gyllenhaal turned out an incredible performance as a selfish, yet extremely likable master of manipulation. This was an original screenplay, but based off the real occupation of renegade photo journalists...

So...tonight was a bit awkward. First off, I LOVE The Blair Witch Project. I saw it in the theater in 1999, and it terrified me. The whole idea of less is more when it comes to revealing horror movie antagonists has never been more accurate than with The Blair Witch Project. If you got bored or tired of the shaky camera, then this movie was not for you and that's OK. As I re-watched this a few day...

Hard Candy caused a bit of confusion among the troops. Although we all enjoyed it for the most part, I feel like we're left with a few questions. If you haven't watched this movie yet, perhaps I've said too much already. This is a pretty effective thriller that's best enjoyed going in blindly. Don't IMDB it and don't watch the trailer. It's absolutely worth a watch and I hope you enjoy it (as well...

This is the first feature film from Australian director Jennifer Kent. There's a lot beneath the surface with this one. We all mostly agreed on this one. You might not like the child actor they went with, but he is supposed to be a little irritating. There's not much more I can say if you haven't watched it yet. If you HAVE, please proceed. And thanks for listening to Movie Show Theater!

Where do we even begin with Jaws? This film invented the summer blockbuster, and still serves as the standard on which all other summer blockbusters are judged. This beaming example of true film is actually rated PG, which is hilarious. How can it be so PG and so violent? Because 1970's and because there is no open mouthed kissing, that's why. There was no PG-13, and there is absolutely no sexual...

Stu chose Miyazaki's Spirited Away, as it is one of top 5 favorite movies of all time. Ben nor I had ever seen it, and I'm really glad I did. I should be quick to point out that this film is NOT anime, but japanese animation. Anime fans are hardcore about this distinction, and I get it. So this film is absolutely gorgeous. It's a variation of Alice In Wonderland, at least that's what I inferred. I...

Stu took the night off while Ben and I tackled one of the oldest movies in our catalog, Enter The Dragon. This is a really interesting movie. Bruce Lee was only in 5 major studio films in the Americas, and we thought this one was his best. John Saxon is about as old school cool as it gets. The film's opening theme does a great job of mixing instruments popular in oriental culture, but keeping it f...

So... this movie is still fucking awesome, in case you were wondering. Alien had been released 7 years before and a sequel wasn't really necessary, nor was anyone expecting one. Alien was Ridley Scott's 2nd feature length film, and put him on the map. BUT James Cameron gave us a sequel anyway, and blew us away completely (or at Ben, Stu, and I). He took the franchise to a completely different plac...

We've all seen, but can you believe this movie came out more than 17 years ago!? Does it still hold up? We ... actually didn't think so. Chuck Palahniuk's books often make for poor film adaptations for a number of reasons. A lot of elements from this particular novel just did not translate well on screen. But we all loved it when it came out, because it was original, weird, violent, and Brad Pitt...

I chose Death Proof, as I find it to be one of Tarantino's strongest and most underrated films in his catalog. He has called it his least favorite film he's directed, which I strongly disagree with. He has a heavy heart for practical effects and all things analog, and this film serves as his love letter to the shows and films of yesteryear. Vanishing Point and The Rifleman and Dirty Mary, Crazy La...

This episode was pulled from the vault and originally recorded days after horror master Wes Craven passed away. Although silly and cornball at parts, this film really did change the rules of the horror genre. Not only silly, but many scenes are true blue comedy, and were never meant to be taken seriously. Love it or hate it, you can probably recognize the standard it set for decades of horror movi...

We got the cure to your 4th of July hangover right here! Let's go way back to 1996, where seeing was believing. Let's all relive the glory of Independence Day! Does it hold up 20 years later? Ben and I have watched it and can tell you the conclusions we've reached. We'll also probably talk about the Ghostbusters reboot, Tooken 3 (Taken 3), and who knows what else. Take a listen won't you? Thanks f...