Overthinking Movies

After years of teases and build ups, from the title being "Superman: Legacy" to just "Superman", James Gunn's reboot of the DCEU to the DCU is here. Does it work on its own as a movie and not just a set up for a universe? Does Gunn's comedy take away from the character? Co-host Alex and I met up in person for the first time in awhile to find out.

Christopher Reeve may be the most iconic in modern pop culture, but George Reeves was the pioneer that created the family-friendly boy scout image of the character on screen that built the way there. But before the Adventures of Superman show, there was a theatrical movie to pitch it! "Superman and the Mole Men" was a 58 minute feature with surprisingly progressive and thoughtful themes...

Universal Monster reboots return with Wolf Man, managed by the same team as 2020s The Invisible Man, but this time with a husband and wife team penning the script. Does it capture the same biting commentary on toxic relationships? How are the werewolf special effects? Is it actually an effective horror film? Join co-host Alex and as we protect our own...by any means necessary.

What if the vampire in Nosferatu (1922) was played by a real vampire? Shadow of the Vampire takes this popular myth and uses it as a catalyst for a truly unique and brilliant character study and dark comedy. Willem Defoe, John Malkovich, Cary Elwes star as the eccentric film crew going to any length to make their movie feel real. We discuss this film's significance to the Nosferatu movies of t...

And at last we arrive at the newest version of Nosferatu, directed and written by Robert Eggers of The VVitch and The Lighthouse fame. What does his signature style and themes bring to this story that is now 100 years old? How does it compare to past versions? Co-host Alex and I left the theater with a frankly bewildered audience to discuss.

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded back in October back when Alex and I watched it, unlike our previous review of the 1922 that we recorded last week. We repeat some points we made in that episode here because we had not decide to release this one in December at the time. So how do you remake of the most influential and important silent films in German history, as well as film history in genera...

Disclaimer: Co-host Alex was sick during this recording, so apologizes if he sounds a bit vocally strained, but we both didn't want to wait to cover this after watching it. THE horror film, featuring some of the most iconic imagery in the medium, but how does Nosferatu hold up to a 2024 audience? Does its take on Bram Stoker's novel and its endless adaptations still unnerve?

So, does Revenge of the Sith hold up as the "good" movie of the Prequel trilogy? Well, as Palpatine says: "Good is simply a point of view."

The suffe-uh, the saga continues with Alex and I reviewing the Star Wars film we have the least amount of experience with; Episode II. Often seen as the weakest of the Prequel Trilogy, does it really live up to that title after our experiences with The Phantom Menace?

A rite of passage for movie podcasts it seems, Alex and I decided to give our takes on the first of the Star Wars prequels after not seeing them for nearly twenty years. How has it aged? Is the culture of online hate that has formed around them simply hyperbole? Do the people that say they are better than Disney's sequel trilogy have any validity? We dive into one of the most contentious and most...

Is dead truly better? Or is it worth digging up these adaptations on Stephen King's classic story of grief, trauma, repression, and spooky cats. I'm comparing both versions to the book, in my quest to see if it is possible to capture the subtly and dread of the novel on screen.

Fans of the theory of determinism beware, Final Destination says you're fatally right! We're talking about all five films of the franchise and seeing how they've aged. Is the concept still compelling? Do they rise above the usual standards of the slasher genre? Or are they just "death for the sake of death"? As you listen, get uncomfortable, sand off any sharp corners in your car or house, and for...

Sorry for the late release on this one. So here we are, the last Romero zombie film, and the last film in general by George Romero. Survival acts as a sort of sequel to Diary, but with a very different cast and focus. How does it hold up? Is there a bit of the magic of the original films left?

After beginning a new zombie trilogy with Land of the Dead, and laying the seeds for the next, George Romero decided for his next entry to...reboot everything. Diary of the Dead is Romero's first and only foray into the Found Footage genre, set during the beginning of a new zombie outbreak, and featuring a cast of college students. It features a road trip, an Amish man armed with dynamite, and ple...

We're finally back! This October we are taking a look at the first entry of George A. Romero's second trilogy of zombie movies; Land of the Dead from 2005. How does it hold up? How does it compare to the prior trilogy of Night, Dawn, and Day? Is the protagonist as cool as the movie clearly wants us to think he is? Coming up we will be covering Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead as well, al...

Spider-Man 3 was seen as the clearly weakest Spider-Man movie in 2007, but where does it stand many many Spider-Man films later? Does its charming cast and action win over its sometimes contrived and frustrating story decisions? Will Mary Jane and Peter solve their relationship troubles...again? Where did Peter learn how to dance like that?

Spider-Man 2 was a landmark film in the superhero genre in 2004, a strong improvement over its predecessor, and a great examination of identity of Spider-Man and Peter Parker as characters. But! Literally 20 later, after 8 more Spider-Man films, cartoons, games, and countless comics, is Spider-Man 2 still a peak the for the character, or has it been easily outdone by what was built upon its legacy...

In the time since the original Sam Rami Spider-Man Trilogy we have had 3 different Spider-Man film franchises. The Tom Holland and Spiderverse movies in particular have been hailed as the best adaptations of the character to date. So where does that leave the original film in 2024? What does it say about that era of superhero films, and how has its legacy influenced the decades that built upon its...

First they Rose, then they had their Dawn, and then they had a War (but not really, there wasn't much war in that movie surprisingly), and having won, hundreds of years later, they have formed their Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. But not all is right in the new ape dominated earth, and of course, it may have to with the legacy both Ceasar and mankind left behind. I love Planet of the Apes,...

It was inevitable; a movie about a second civil war within the US. Terrifying concept to think about, a thrilling set up for a movie. Released by A24, and directed and written by Alex Garland of 28 Days Later, Ex Machina, and Annihilation fame. Kirsten Dunst is already widely praised for her performance in the lead role of war photographer Lee Smith, but can the script balance such a complex and p...

So what do you do with a sequel to "Godzilla vs Kong"? Put them up against two new monsters of course, but not without some scraping of their own first. Co-host Alex Ulaky and I were admittedly not too excited for a sequel to another American Godzilla movie, especially after 2023's Japanese Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One, which was not only better than every American Godzilla movi...

At last, we reach the end of the original Godzilla film franchise, dating from 1954 to 1975. It caps off with a two parter against a robot duplicate, the iconic Mechagodzilla. Do these two films serve as a satisfying finale?

Yes, they made another one. The first one actually made a profit, and Tigger is now in the public domain, so literally a year later the denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood have returned to seek revenge on Christopher Robin and the people of Ashdown. Can we expect at least a slight improvement over the first? I decided to find out so you won't have to.

Based on a recommendation from a friend, Alex and I checked out a new A24 film from director Rose Glass, in her second major feature; the gritty romantic thriller Love Lies Bleeding staring Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, and Ed Harris. A great title for a movie, but is it a great movie?

You know when you have to get that assignment done but it's the night before the due date? But then you fall asleep and all of a sudden it's 2 hours before the due date? That's Godzilla vs Megalon. Well known thanks to its MST3K episode, Alex and I watched the Japanese and English versions fresh and for the first time, and...it's one of the roughest...most slap-dash films in the en...