The Movie Crew

Episode 330: The Crew’s wearing their life jackets while watching James Cameron’s Titanic. Publications at the time thought this film was going to sink 20th Century Fox. Instead… it became the biggest box-office hit of all time and tied Ben-Hur for the most Oscar wins. 25 years later, this movie still holds up. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more...

Episode 329: The Crew’s whining about the availability and DVD quality of James Cameron’s The Abyss. The film is incredible, and what the cast and crew had to do to complete it… absolutely crazy impressive! The film is hard to find and has never been released on any HD format. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing music from aquariusweapon....

Episode 328: The Crew’s trying to get home for Thanksgiving while watching John Hughes’ Planes, Trains and Automobiles. This buddy road movie was Hughes’ first R-rated adult comedy that he directed. Steve Martin is great, but John Candy steals the show. He’s the perfect mix of annoying and endearing fun. The production design and costumes add a lot of funny moments too. The Crew discusses… If you...

Episode 327: The Crew’s wondering what went wrong while watching Steven Spielberg’s Hook. This is one of Spielberg’s few misfires, and on paper it sounds great… What would happen if Peter Pan grew up? The film is cast well, and the crew are some of the best filmmakers in the world. But the film has problems with tone, length, and confusing production design (why is there a skateboard ramp in the l...

Episode 326: The Crew’s preparing for their summer camp Thanksgiving play while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s Addams Family Values. This well written sequel was a box-office dud in 1993, releasing the weekend before Mrs. Doubtfire probably didn’t help. Joan Cusack is a great addition to the cast. Unfortunately Morticia and Gomez are sidelined in the second half so the kids can have more screen...

Episode 325: The Crew’s waiting for Thing to deliver their FedEx packages while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family. This surprise box-office hit was cast perfectly. Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia are so good; they make you love this odd family. The costumes and production design also stand out. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazin...

Episode 324: The Crew’s hanging out in the sewers while watching David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends. This movie is a disappointing closing chapter to Green’s legacy trilogy. Maybe this could have been a good Corey movie, but it’s a horrible Halloween movie. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing music from aquariusweapon. Aquariusweapon can...

Episode 323: The Crew’s smashing mirrors while watching Gary Sherman’s Poltergeist III. Only Heather O’Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein returned for this final outing and the original family’s absence is felt. Some very clever mirror effects save this film from becoming unwatchable. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing music from aquariusweapon....

Episode 322: The Crew’s ducking flying chainsaws while watching Brian Gibson’s Poltergeist II: The Other Side. Spielberg and Hooper didn’t return for this sequel, instead the reins are given to the co-writers of the first film (who also produced this entry) and director Brian Gibson. The addition of Reverend Caine is most welcomed as the Beast in human form. Most of the actors and crew return, but...

Episode 321: The Crew’s tearing their faces off while watching Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist. There were rumors at the time of release that Steven Spielberg was actually the director. He did co-write the screenplay, and the movie feels like an early 80’s Spielberg film. We’ll never know the truth but regardless this is a quintessential haunted house movie. The cast is great, and Jerry Goldsmith’s scor...

Episode 320: The Crew’s throwing french fries while watching Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls. This controversial NC-17 film was a box-office and critical flop (although it was a big hit on home video). Everyone’s career took a hit after the release, and the only awards it swept were the Golden Raspberries. But this isn’t the worst movie ever made… not even close. The Crew discusses… If you like our mus...

Episode 319: The Crew’s rocking out with the girls while watching Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways. This biopic of the first all-female rock band flies through the band’s formation and instead focuses on Cherie Currie, her family problems and her relationship with Joan Jett. Michael Shannon and Dakota Fanning steal the show, and the cinematography is 70’s perfection. The Crew discusses… If you lik...

Episode 318: The Crew’s sitting down with some Betties and Barneys while watching Amy Heckerling’s Clueless. This 90’s comedy was a huge hit and made Alicia Silverstone a household name… at least for teens. The costume design is the highlight of the film with so many outfit changes. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing music from aquariuswe...

Episode 317: The Crew’s plugging it up while watching Brian De Palma’s Carrie. This is the first published Stephen King book and the first film adaptation of his work. De Palma moves this story along quickly but doesn’t skip on character development. The cinematography and music perfectly communicate the loneliness of Carrie to the audience. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie earned Oscar nominations f...

Episode 316: The Crew’s dislodging metal probes from their butts while watching Jordan Peele’s Nope. Peele’s third film is his biggest and most ambitious to date. The themes are sometimes tough to understand but the plot is easy to digest and the entertainment value is high. The acting, visual effects, music, and photography are top notch perfect. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, h...

Episode 315: The Crew’s readying themselves for their kuhtaamia while watching Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey. This Predator prequel could have been a quick action packed cash grab, but this installment takes it’s time building characters we can relate to… causing the amazing action scenes to have more emotional effect. The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear mor...

Episode 314: The Crew’s got no time to bleed, but they do have time to watch John McTiernan’s Predator. This 80’s hit gives the audience the over the top action before introducing the suspense as an alien picks off a group of soldiers one by one. McTiernan’s direction is top notch with a quick pace. Stan Winston’s makeup effects for the titular monster still holds up today. The Crew discusses… If...

Episode 313: The Crew’s ending their Jaws retrospective with Joseph Sargent’s Jaws: The Revenge. This time it’s personal… a shark decides to follow the Brody family to the Bahamas and pick em off one by one. Were the other sharks in the franchise related to this shark, or did this shark have enough of this speciesist family? Who knows, this film is more interested in a Lorraine Gary and Michael Ca...

Episode 312: The Crew’s singing Baby Shark while watching Joe Alves’ Jaws 3D. Joe Alves, the production designer on the first two Jaws films and 2nd unit director on Jaws 2, graduates to director for the first and only time. The 3D “gimmick” helped to make the film a box office success, but the critics ripped it apart, labeling it a “cheap cash-grab”. It’s easy to see why, the special effects are...

Episode 311: The Crew’s wondering how long it took for Amity island to get power back after the ending of Jeannot Szwarc’s Jaws 2. After the massive success of Jaws, a sequel was inevitable. This first follow up replaces the suspense with more shark action, like Jaws eating a helicopter and a water skier. The film works until the plot shifts away from Chief Brody and starts focusing on a group of...

Episode 310: The Crew’s never going into the water again after watching Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. The first summer blockbuster and the beginning of Spielberg’s box-office dominance (and award wins). The Hitchcockian use of the shark helps build the suspense perfectly. And unlike most creature features, this one spends it’s non-monster time with the characters instead of sci-fi exposition. Jaw...

Episode 309: The Crew’s picking their favorite Elvis cape while watching Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Austin Butler delivers a great performance as The King (only Kurt Russell has done as good), but Tom Hanks and his accent seem to be from a different film. All of the amazing Baz Luhrmann flourishes are here but the pace is a little slow. None of this will matter to Elvis’ fans cause the music, costumes,...

Episode 308: The Crew’s hanging with Edward Dinohands (the Therizinosaurus) and the OG T-Rex while watching Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion. The final Jurassic World sequel unites the first trilogies cast with our new characters. Critics were savage to this film; complaining about the locust subplot and the film’s length. But Dinosaurs are eating people; it’s fun and exciting… what else...

Episode 307: The Crew’s feeling the need for speed (the only bit from the first film not revisited for this sequel) while watching Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick. Tom Cruise is back at the top of the box-office with the highest grossing opening weekend for a non-comic book film since the pandemic began. The flight scenes need to seen on an IMAX, they’re truly incredible and exciting. Most of...

Episode 306: The Crew’s watching Tony Scott’s Top Gun and wondering how many fighter pilots play volleyball. This was the #1 box-office hit of 1986, and made Tom Cruise a household name. And Tony Scott went from art house bum (with The Hunger) to one of the most in demand directors. So much of this film has permeated pop culture, regardless of the 80’s cheese. The Crew discusses… If you like our m...