The Contrarians

Society doesn’t do enough to celebrate unique voices. In fact, more often than not, they slap a 13% Tomatometer score on them. Listen to Alex & Julio as they welcome Ryan & Bartek (from Spit & Polish) back to the show so they can all defend Dan Aykroyd’s NOTHING BUT TROUBLE - a misunderstood comedy that deserves a second chance. Where else can you find Chevy Chase and Demi Moore entang...

What makes a Star Trek movie a true Trek movie, if such a thing even exists? Did J.J. Abrams sell out the franchise, or did he simply provide a modern entry point for younger audiences? This Real Talk segment features three different levels of Trek fans (you already know that if you listened to Contrarians Corner), and we try to truly figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the Kel...

Fire everything!!! That was J.J. Abrams’ strategy when reimagining Star Trek for the Michael Bay generation and it worked. With a 94% Tomatometer score, the 2009 STAR TREK was a hit with critics and audiences alike… but at what cost? The Pint’s John Amenta joins Alex & Julio as they discuss what Trek lost when it became just another action movie where hot people shoot at each other. TIMELINE 0...

Okay, so IO may not be top-shelf sci-fi entertainment. But does that mean there is no value to it? Once we get to Real Talk, there’s worthy conversation to be had about the audience for this type of movie and the role Netflix plays in, perhaps, shaping the next generation of filmmakers. Also, Alex gets another chance to rail against the fading away of physical media, and that’s always fun. TIMELIN...

Yet another underappreciated gem from the Netflix Sci-Fi Originals factory, IO was met with a massive shrug from critics. Have we really lost the ability to enjoy anything that isn’t part of a billion-dollar franchise? What happened to giving a shot to the little medium-budget movies that could? Why wasn’t anyone more psyched about The Falcon teaming up with Jill Garvey from The Leftovers? Listen...

You can’t fully discuss GREASE 2 without going back to the first Grease - a movie tackled in this podcast long ago. It’s clear Em adores the sequel, but how does she feel about the original? And how does the OG Grease experience affect The Contrarians? Can the Verbal Diorama host’s enthusiasm for Michelle Pfeiffer’s musical debut rub off on Alex & Julio, or is it all a lost cause? The answers...

So, what, you’re not allowed to make a GREASE movie unless you have John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as the leads? GREASE 2 superfan Em (from the delightful Verbal Diorama podcast) joins Alex & Julio to extol the virtues of a sequel that’s waaaay better than its predecessor! If you’re looking for a show that celebrates Michelle Pfeiffer, Adrian Zmed and… well, sure, okay, Maxwell Caulfield...

Can you follow every trope and still achieve transcendence? Or put in simpler terms: is WARRIOR better than ROCKY? We 100% go there, and many other MMA-related places, in this Real Talk installment - including a look at Tom Hardy’s unexpected real-life MMA exploits! Can Alex look past the inaccuracies in the depiction of one of his favorite sports? Can Julio look past the similarities to HERE COME...

Is there really no other way for two men to resolve their issues than pure violence? And if they must do so, would it be too much to ask not to have them do it in such a paint-by-the-numbers sports movie? WARRIOR managed to somehow dazzle critics into a fresh Tomatometer score, but does it actually offer anything worth talking about, besides its outdated ideas about masculinity? Listen to Alex &am...

We wrap up our eighth year of podcasting and head into Year Nine by celebrating the good, the bad, the horny, and the super white movies we covered over the past twelve years: it’s THE EMBRIES - 2022 Edition. Don’t worry, it’ll still be fun even if this is your very first Contrarians episode. It might even inspire you to check out some of the awards recipients! TIMELINE 00:01:16 The Embries 2022 0...

Honestly, if a few months ago you’d told us we’d have a serious sustained discussion about the finale to the Twilight Saga, we would’ve rolled our eyes. And yet here we are, debating whether Jacob was redeemed in the final two movies, trying to suss out how we feel about the franchise’s sudden jump onto a pro-life soapbox, and arguing the merits and flaws of the epic climactic battle. Breaking Daw...

The Twilight Saga comes to an end and, unlike those greedy studio-heads, The Contrarians will cover the wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy, birth, recruitment of other vampires and final battle against The Volturi all in one sitting! Listen as Alex & Julio geek out over every single development and cameo in BREAKING DAWN, a movie that may be rotten on the Tomatometer, but will forever be fresh in e...

You don’t really need us to talk about the original PSYCHO - though you’ll be surprised by one Franchise Killer opinion - when the remake provides much juicier conversation. With six of us on the panel, surely there must be at least one person who sees merit in Gus Van Sant’s experiment? It’s a far more contentious Real Talk than you’d expect! TIMELINE 00:00:23 Now on Patreon 00:10:09 Real Talk 01...

This spooky season, we give you two PSYCHOs for the price of one - and we’ve brought four friends to play along! Rhys, Irena, David and AJ from the Franchise Killer podcast join Alex & Julio in nitpicking Alfred Hitchcock’s original PSYCHO, and then also help them praise Gus Van Sant’s experimental remake. It’s Perkins v. Vaughn, Leigh v. Heche, and Macy v. Common Sense in this massive (and ma...

If you’ve seen WAKE IN FRIGHT, you’re probably wondering if we’re going to talk about the kangaroo hunt sequence. Of course we are. Real Talk also prompts a discussion about “aggressive hospitality”, a fascinating recount of the time this film was lost, and, of course, whether this Aussie classic hit the Contrarians’ sweet spot! Has Chas Fisher scored a win for his country? Listen and find out! TI...

We can’t seem to escape the Land of Oz here on The Contrarians. Patron Chas Fisher is throwing Aussie classic WAKE IN FRIGHT at us, and its freshness on the Tomatometer is… inexplicable to say the least. Why are Australians proud of a film that depicts their countrymen as alcoholic brutes? Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to analyze a pretentious Englishman’s descent into madness, and have t...

We’re doing some really cool stuff on our Patreon channel - some of it a direct offspring from things we do on the main feed. Case in point: the continuation of our Summer Break episode, which started with our Dazed and Confused episode, and here moves on to a discussion about a very different kind of Summer flick: A GOOFY MOVIE. Forget the Tomatometer score as Alex & Julio are once again join...

We avoided it for years, but it’s time to get acquainted with Taylor Lautner. So let’s be honest: did NEW MOON confirm every negative preconception we had about the third wheel in the Twilight love story? Or were we surprised by how much he added to the saga? And what do we make of Edward’s puzzling disappearance from most of the movie? Are we excited to watch ECLIPSE? The answers are in this Real...

The Twilight Saga arrives on the main feed! Patrons of the show already heard Alex & Julio express their (surprisingly positive) feelings about the opening salvo, TWILIGHT, but this is where the story really kicks in. Why do people hate Jacob Black so much? Is it the washboard abs? Are critics too jaded for an old-fashioned supernatural love triangle? Listen to The Contrarians set the record s...

There is something to be said for Robert Eggers’ distinctive filmmaking, whether it actually vibes with you or not. But is admiration for a unique voice a sufficient reason to carry The Contrarians to a positive review of The Lighthouse? How much of Contrarians Corner was just slightly puffed up Real Talk? And when it’s all said and done, are we ready for more of Eggers’ work? The answers may (or...

HARK! A24 bamboozles critics again with their particular brand of indie pretentiousness. Black & white? Check. 4:3 aspect ratio? You got it. Unnecessarily convoluted dialogue? Of course. Ludicrously big performances? There they are. THE LIGHTHOUSE ticks off every box necessary to climb to the top of the Tomatometer, so it’s on Alex & Julio to bring it down a few notches. Is there anything...

In one corner, someone who’s generally underwhelmed by John Carpenter’s work. In the other, someone who usually thinks very highly of the filmmaker. Can Alex & Julio meet in the middle when it comes to GHOSTS OF MARS? Is there even need for any sort of compromise? What’s the deal with the Martian Matriarchy anyway? The answers to this and more will be revealed during Real Talk! TIMELINE 00:00:...

John Carpenter isn’t just The Master of Horror - he’s also a low-key Master of Sci-Fi. The Contrarians would like to submit the underrated GHOSTS OF MARS as proof that Carpenter can handle more than low-budget gorefests: this is a true star-studded Hollywood blockbuster, set in Mars to boot! Listen to Alex & Julio as they discuss the implications of a Matriarchal Martian Society, the fate of P...

As you’d expect, Alex has some questions about Peru. But can Julio answer them satisfactorily? And how does a non-Peruvian experience a movie designed to make him crave a visit to Peru? Can we draw parallels to other international cinema we’ve covered on the show? Above all else… is this a fair representation of Peruvian filmmaking? This and more in Real Talk! TIMELINE 00:00:41 Now on Patreon 00:0...

It’s taken us almost nine years of podcasting to tackle a Peruvian movie, and it took Peru almost twice that time to produce a Netflix Original Movie. Now the stars have aligned and Alex & Julio are primed to jump to the defense of a love story set in Julio’s homeland. WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE is rotten by Tomatometer standards, but that only means The Contrarians will do their best to highlight...