The Countdown Movie Show

After proving in The Amazing Spider-Man that Andrew Garfield was an actor, not a previous President of the United States (sounds right, though, doesn't it?), Garfield's second go as Peter Parker falls victim to the classic Batman Forever blunder - too many villains and no real, sharp focus on any of them. You'd think a guy named Marc WEBB would be able to right a bad Joel Schumacher trend...does h...

Lotta sames (spider bite, Stan Lee cameo, Uncle Ben dies), lotta differents (Gwen, not MJ, new villains, non-organic web shooters), it doesn't seem to matter - Spider-Man draws crowds! Even just five years after Spider-Man 3 and swapping out lead actors, The Amazing Spider-Man pulled in box office numbers similar to the original trilogy. What was new? What was better? What was worse? Paul, Sean, a...

Spider-Man 3 was inevitable, but the franchise finally bit off more than it could chew. This is the most expensive Spidey film to date, and mo' money...mo' problems. Too long, too many characters, too much crying, and overstuffed as if they were legally prevented from making a fourth film. But...are the ambitious choices and wild visuals still note-worthy? Naturally, Justin, Sean, and Paul talk ab...

After waiting a LONG time for a Spider-Man movie, could fans of the webbed wonder get something better than Sam Raimi's 2002 original? Turns out - hell, yes! Spider-Man 2 is a wild epic with ingenious visual effects and a strong villain and Sean, Justin, and Paul are here for it! Plus, long time friend of the hosts Ryan Paregien sits in the whole show for the Spidey 2 cross-talk, and the quizzes,...

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of SPIDER-MAN! Yup, the latest focus for The Countdown Movie Show is your friendly, neighborhood web slinger. This podcast series leads up to the new film, Brand New Day, and starts back with 2002's Spider-Man, directed by Sam Raimi. That film is the topic of today's show: the alternate casting, the stakes of bringing such a popular superhero to the sc...

Is this the end of the Avatar trilogy, or will there be more to come? It's clear, at least, that three movies in, James Cameron isn't slowing down on AMBITION. Sean, Justin, and Paul go deep on how Avatar: Fire and Ash's pre-production IS production, whether or not high frame rate is an experience-killer, and if Spider got redeemed. Plus, the team breaks out their Dennis Miller impersonations, Cha...

Pop quiz - longer wait? Between Titanic and Avatar? Or between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water? It's the long, wait between Avatar and its sequel that wins by a year (thirteen to twelve)! Worth the wait? Justin, Sean, and Paul dive into it from the advancements in technology to new story points (Amrita, anyone?) to the crowds SHOWING UP to the tune of over two billion dollars. Other things are...

All hail the return of the EVENT MOVIE! James Cameron's epic Avatar hit screens in 2009 after Cameron's twelve year absence from narrative film and the result was a game-changing super-blockbuster. Paul, Justin, and Sean discuss their first time seeing the film, it's impact, legacy, the technological advances, characters, science, action, and more that makes up this WHOLE lotta movie. Plus, Justin...

A new Tron movie brings with it all sorts of challenges. Can hype be retained when it's been fifteen years since the last film of the franchise? (no) Can the score keep up with what Daft Punk did in the last film? (yes) Does Jared Leto look great for 54 years old? (sure) Sean, Justin, and Paul break down EVERYTHING about seeing Tron: Ares, right down to the great experience at Hollywood's El Capit...

The opening, awesome. The music, awesome. Jeff Bridges' voice over kicks in, awesome. Then...2010 computer effects kick in. And it's kind of that the entirety of Tron: Legacy, something cool followed by a bad choice, but ALL is discussed by Sean, Justin, and Paul (including Disney's Tron partnership with Playboy, which they guys find out about in real time). Remembering other movies from 2010 is a...

The waits have been brutal - 28 years, 15 years - but a new Tron movie is always welcome. So...The Countdown Movie Show team of Justin, Sean, and Paul are prepping for Tron: Ares by watching the first two films in the franchise. Episode 1 is all about the film that kicked off the franchise, Steven Lisberger's Tron (1982), the ground-breaking visual effects, the music, Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitne...

Longest movie yet.  Longest episode yet. There's a lot to discuss when covering both Justice League (2017) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Justin, Sean, and Paul get into it - the different directors, different cuts, early projects that were halted, casting, and a whole lot of choices that just didn't make any sense. But was there much to enjoy? Turns out there's that too, plus Justin'...

Skipping Justice League, 'cause it's not really a Superman movie, and it's never a bad idea, The Countdown to Nine podcast concludes with this detailed breakdown of James Gunn's 2025 film Superman - what worked, what didn't, what's new, what's re-hashed, casting, behind-the-scenes stories, and more. Plus, Justin's barrel o' fun facts and a game of Guess the D.C. Character by Their Superpower. This...

Just when you thought you'd never have to watch Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice again, along comes an "Ultimate Edition", so...here we are. Justin, Sean, and Paul take in the extended edition of the coming together of D.C. Comics two biggest heroes and...it's dour and dark. Even Bruce Wayne's parents die again. Buy hey kids, that doesn't mean this show has to be depressing! Justi...

Like him or not, here comes Zack Snyder to impose his will on the Superman franchise. This week, Justin, Sean, and Paul talk all about the 2013 Henry Cavill-led Man of Steel. They once-over Snyder's (or Schneider's) five-year Superman plan, alternate casting, Sean covers what worked while Justin and Paul cover what didn't. Plus, there's time for the usual Fuuuuun Facts, a product placement game an...

A re-watch of Superman Returns finds it sliiiiiiightly better for Justin and Paul while Sean continues loving on it. All this leads to interesting conversation about Bryan Singer's entry into the Man of Steel franchise. After letting go of Super Chicken, Justin runs a game of "Alive or Dead", and, as ever, there are Fuuuun Facts About Superman (Returns). All this is squeezed into the last ten minu...

There's a lot for Sean, Justin, and Paul to talk about when it comes to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, not much of it good. But thankfully, there are distractions! Among them, Justin has an unreasonable obsession with the 1960's Jay Ward/Bill Scott cartoon Super Chicken, and there's a play-along quiz about the entire Superman pop culture history. When back on track, the team talks about how the...

The title of this episode comes from a Richard Pryor line in Superman III...and he speaks for all of us. All the goodwill of the previous two entries of the Superman franchise lead to this questionable entry in the filmography of the Man of Steel. Justin, Sean, and a...sad, perhaps(?) Paul discuss why this one just doesn't work but good news, there's time left at the end for an extended conversati...

1978's Superman: The Movie was so successful, a sequel was a no-brainer. In fact, they saw the hit coming and filmed part of the sequel at the same time as the original. But something happened on the way to the cinema - new directors, more jokes, multiple cuts, re-shoots, and more. Discussing all this makes for a jam-packed episode of Countdown as Paul, Sean, and Justin take on the facts and opini...

Next up on the Superman countdown - Superman II. But which film do you talk about? Richard Lester's 1980 original or 2006's The Donner Cut? We'll get to both, but this show gave us a chance to see The Donner Cut for the first time. In this quick preview clip, co-hosts Sean and Justin give their thoughts before and after seeing The Donner Cut in prep for Countdown to Nine, Ep. 2, coming later this...

It's hard to believe there have only been eight Superman movie since the 1978 Richard Donner film that put the legendary superhero on the big screen. There should probably be fifteen or so of these! But with James Gunn bringing fans a new Man of Steel story this July, it's time to count down to it! Your hosts Paul Preston, Sean Blodgett, and Justin Bowler will look at every film in the franchise,...

With Deadpool and Wolverine finishing a historic box office run, hosts Paul Preston, Sean Blodgett and Justin Bowler engage in rabid spoiler-filled talk about the movie, the records it set, the huge laughs, and wild action sequences. Plus, the guys go deep on their viewing experience in L.A., the making-of, the onslaught of cameos, and the future of the MCU, as they wrap up this season of Countdow...

From the beginning of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson lets us know this won't be the same as the first film, which was a love story. Deadpool 2 is a family film - full of ridiculous gobs of violence, a mountain of profanity. Wait...so it IS kinda the same as the first film - full of things Paul, Sean, and Justin LOVE! Actually, the building of X-Force, the arrival of Cable and Juggernaut, and much more ma...

With Deadpool and Wolverine just around the corner, the Countdown show moves on to the Deadpool franchise, looking at each film to prep you for what will be a glorious final weekend of July at the movies! Is the first episode all about X-Men Origins - Wolverine? Hell, no! But Paul, Sean & Justin talk about it! Episode one is all about the 2016 film that got Deadpool right by being extraordinar...

The success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife means we get a new Ghostbusters movie! The Spenglers, Groobersons and more from Afterlife meet some new characters and they re-team with the legends from the first movie to fight a ice age-making spirit named Garraka. This means Sean, Justin & Paul also re-team to talk about it. What was their experience like, where does it rank and how many tangents can...