Notorious by Chance

2014 saw Marvel take at the time, it's biggest gamble. Even by comic book reader standards the Guardians of the Galaxy were pretty obscure. After the movie however they became household names. The film soared to greater heights than even Marvel imagined, sending careers into the stratosphere. What about this movie struck such a chord with audience? Let's discuss

In 2014 Marvel made a movie that would change the course of the entire MCU. Not only would it make Captain America one of the faces of the franchise, but it would also feature the hiring of the Russo Brothers which would be one of the biggest moves Fiege and Co. would make. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still regarded as not just one of the best films in the MCU but one of the best Comic...

Phase 2 continues as we check back in with Thor in his sequel, Thor: The Dark World. While this did make substantially more money than the first it didn't really strike a chord with critics or audiences. Why? Let's talk.

We now enter Phase 2 of the MCU. After the massive success of The Avengers, it made sense to return to their most popular hero Iron Man. This time Jon Favreau steps away from the director chair to make way for the man who really jumpstarted the RDJ comeback, Shane Black. Despite the high box office, fans were left split on the film for one big reason. What was it? And where do we fall? Let's t...

We realized something incredible about our show: Over 200 episodes and not once have we ever talked about Meryl Streep. An icon in the world of film her breath of work and accolades speak for themselves. we sought to rectify this and with the sequel out we thought this was a great time to look at The Devil Wears Prada. On paper this movie should've gone by the wayside, but several things eleva...

The first time the Avengers assembles on screen it was an event like no other. It was met with a lot of excitement and also a lot of skepticism. The movie we had been promised ever since the first Iron Man was here and the stakes had never been higher for both out heroes and the franchise as a whole. Of course, we know now the film was a massive success but given how the landscape of this franchis...

Another piece of the Avengers puzzle is found as Captain America is introduced to modern audiences. Arguably the MCU's most recognizable hero to this point, this film takes a very different approach than prior entries of this franchise. A modest hit when it came out, does the Star Spangled Man still have a plan?

It's once again time for our annual tradition of watching the Best Picture winner. One Battle After Another was hailed by many as the movie of the year. The film released to near universal acclaim, garnered 13 Oscar Nomination and had a leading 6 wins on the night. Is it truly the Movie of 2025? Let's talk about it

Our next trip into the MCU takes us to the realm of Asgard. This might've been Marvel's biggest gamble to date, trying to launch what would become a lynchpin character who is already a little more outlandish, played by an actor who was an unknown at the time. The gamble worked as Thor has become a household name. Let's talk about how that happened

One of the biggest news stories of the year was the tragic passing of Rob Reiner. The man had an extremely prolific career in Hollywood, cranking out several films that today are considered modern classics. That includes arguably the greatest 6 film run to start a career in the history of film. One of the films in that run was 1990''s Misery. The film was Reiner's second adaptation of...

After the massive success that was 2008's Iron Man, we got the sequel 2 years later in 2010. Although it did see an uptick in the box office, critical reception was a little more mixed this time around. Is this a pale imitation of the first? Let's discuss

Last year we lost several legends of the silver screen. One of the biggest ones was Robert Redford. For over five decades the man dazzled audiences both in front of and behind the camera. Narrowing the selection down to one film was difficult, we could spend a whole year doing a deep dive of his filmography, but we settled on what is maybe his most iconic role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...

Around the beginning of the year, we like to take a look at the performances that really moved us the year before. Join us as we discuss our Top 20 Best Performances of 2025

Our next entry in our MCU Retrospective takes us to what was (and in many ways still is) the black sheep of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2008's Incredible Hulk. This came out before we really got a clear idea of what the MCU even was and boy does that show with the box office. For a long time, this was the one movie Marvel just didn't even acknowledge to the point where a lot of people e...

After years of avoiding it, we've finally decided to take our first look into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No matter what you think of the films no one can deny the influence these have had in the pop culture lexicon. And to think it all started with a little film called Iron Man. This film had so much going against it and somehow ended up being the launching point for something much bigger...

For our big 200 episode we wanted to tackle a film epic, and there are very few that do it better than this film. In 1993 Steven Spielberg came out with Schindler's List an epic period drama about the horrors faced by Jewish people in World War 2. and the man who tried to save them. The film garnered critical acclaim upon release, won Spielberg his first Best Director Oscar, and his first and...

"Sleeper Hit" is a term that is used to define a movie that comes out of nowhere to be a big hit. One of the shining examples of this 2004's Napoleon Dynamite. After crushing it on the festival circuit, this $400,000 movie went on to make over $4O million dollars at the box office, and became a cultural touchstone of the 2000's in the process. How exactly did this movie become su...

After a bit of a hiatus we are back to finally review the 2024 Best Picture winner Anora. The movie was an indie sensation that carries the momentum from the Cannes Film Festival all the way to the Academy Awards. Was the film a worthy winner? We dicsuss that here today!

In 1998 newly formed Dreamworks Animation released it's second film ever The Prince of Egypt. The film was lauded at the time but has since garnered a reputation for being one of the most underrated animated films ever. Today we're giving it its shine and talking about why this movie needs to be talked about more

Long ago the seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when Shyamalan attacked. The Last Airbender was an attempt to bring the magic of the animated series to the big screen. What resulted was one of the most maligned adaptations in movie history. What's wrong with it? What's right with it is the easier question

After years and years and YEARS of development The Dark Tower finally made it to the big screen. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely Not! The story considered by some to be Stephen King's magnum opus ended up being a rushed, confusing adaptation that didn't please critics or fans of the source material. What went wrong? Let's talk about it!

Movie March has officially begun here on Notorious by Chance and this year rather than looking at one franchise, we're looking at franchises that never were. Starting with The Mummy AKA The Dark Universe Part 1 of 1. This movie aimed to bring back the universal monsters in a big way but failed in an even bigger way. How? Let's talk about it.

This past January we lost one of the greatest to ever do it: David Lynch. For decades he captured the attention and imagination of film fans everywhere with his uniquely bizarre yet poignant films. To honor him we're gonna be looking at what many consider to be his crowning achievement: Mulhollad Drive. Released in 2001, this film is often regarded as not only Lynch's best, but as one of t...

Something we like to do here on Notorious by Chance is highlight not just the best movies of the year but also the best performances of every year. Here are our Top 20 favorites of 2024

Today we're honoring a guy who has become a favorite of ours: Gerard Butler. It took a while, but the dude found his niche starting in throwback style action movies like the film we're talking about today: Den of Thieves. Released in 2018, the film didn't do particularly well on release but gained a following over time. Why? Let's discuss