The Movie Crew

Episode 255: The Crew’s on a killer road trip while watching Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. This gorgeous black and white film was based on Truman Capote’s nonfiction novel. The performances from the two killers Scott Wilson and (real life murder suspect) Robert Blake are top notch. And Quincy Jones’ music combined with Conrad Hall’s cinematography really set the mood. The Crew discusses. If...

Episode 254: The Crew’s being held captive by Michael Haneke’s Funny Games. And they watch both, the original Austrian film, and the shot-for-shot remake. Things get so heated on this episode. The Crew comes to different conclusions on Haneke’s take of violence consumption and audience complicity. Regardless of opinions both films are shot and acted expertly. If you like our music intro, hea...

Episode 253: The Crew’s stunned with all the camera porn in David Fincher’s Panic Room. The majority of the film takes place in a house and Fincher still finds a way to move the camera (with the help of CGI). This film was a big hit for Fincher after Fight Club’s disappointing box office. But the production had a ton of problems; the cinematographer was “let go” after 6 weeks, Jodie Foster r...

Episode 252: The Crew’s reviewing James DeMonaco’s The Purge. The film started a still growing franchise with each entry grossing more at the box-office than the last. This first installment keeps the budget low by isolating the events to one family’s home. It’s a smart move, but after the amazing title sequence, you want the film to show more of the world. Which the director did...

Episode 251: The Crew’s eating Soylent Red buns while watching Richard Fleischer’s Soylent Green. The film’s famous line does spoil the once shocking climax. Edward G Robinson steals the movie with his performance of an old man who remembers the beauty of a lost world. Because in the future (year 2022) the world is overpopulated, few have jobs, and food and water are scarce. The Crew discusses. If...

Episode 250: The Crew’s drinking milk plus while watching Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. This X-rated film caused a huge controversy in 1971 with its depictions of rape and ultra-violence. Some critics accused Kubrick of glorifying violence and thought the film was dangerous. Kubrick asked Warner Brothers to pulled the film from theaters in England, and the studio did until his death. Despi...

Episode 249: The Crew’s eating cat food while watching Neil Blomkamp’s District 9. Producer Peter Jackson and Director Neil Blomkamp were preparing to make a Halo film, but that fell apart. And instead of going their separate ways; they decided to shoot a feature based off of Blomkamp’s short film “Alive in Joburg”. The film was well received by critics and audiences, and it earned 4 Oscar nominat...

Episode 248: The Crew’s amazed by the future of law enforcement while watching Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop. Sure, it’s a sci-fi action film, but it’s political/social satire make it really special. The excessive gore adds to the laughs, although the MPAA didn’t get the joke and tried to give the film an X rating. The Crew discusses. If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more a...

Episode 247: The Crew’s trying to find the meaning of life while watching Darren Aronofsky’s Pi. It’s Aronofsky’s debut film; made for only $129,110. $68,183 of that totaL was spent on post-production; more than it cost to shoot. The film has a reputation of being a weird David Lynchian story, but it’s pretty simple to follow. The details are a little vague, but the character’s story of obse...

Episode 246: The Crew’s on a LSD trip while watching Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy. The plot is very simple, but the visuals make this revenge story soak into your memory. The pace of the film is slow, allowing the viewer time to behold the insanity. There’s a demonic biker gang, a crazy cult, chainsaw battles, and the color red seeps into the visuals via lens flares. The Crew discusses. If you like our m...

Episode 245: The Crew’s watching the biopic of the allegedly worst film director, Ed Wood. This Tim Burton film is both funny and endearing. Despite all of Edward D. Wood Jr’s artistic failure’s, he never loses his drive and passion for filmmaking; or at least Johnny Depp’s take on Ed Wood doesn’t. Martin Landau transforms into Bela Lugosi, with some help from make-up artist Rick Baker, portraying...

Episode 244: The Crew’s riding around checking out the merchandise of Old Town, while watching Robert Rodriguez’ and Frank Miller’s Sin City. This faithful adaptation of Miller’s comic was a box-office hit in 2005. Only one full set was built and the rest wwere built in a computer, giving the film a very comic-booky feel. It works well with the Noir visuals. And this cast is packed with great acto...

Episode 243: The Crew’s wearing sunglasses while watching John Carpenter’s They Live. Carpenter’s last film of the 80’s takes the decade of greed to task. Yes, this is a big action film starring a wrestler who can see aliens when he puts on sunglasses. But the social commentary punches just as hard as Roddy Piper. The film wasn’t a big hit, but has since become a huge cult film. The alien’s simple...

Episode 242: The Crew’s possessed by green devil juice while watching John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness. After the box-office failure of Big Trouble in Little China, John Carpenter returned to horror with a low $3 million budget. But the film doesn’t look cheap; the set decoration is atmospheric, the effects are still creepy, and the camerawork is jaw-droppingly inventive. And this plot is crazy...

Episode 241: The Crew’s taking another road trip; this time with an alien, while watching John Carpenter’s Starman. After the box office disappointment of The Thing and a lukewarm reception to Christine, Carpenter switched things up. Directing his first PG rated romantic drama. And the results are pretty incredible; making it a shame Carpenter didn’t leave the horror genre more. Jeff Bridges and K...

Episode 240: The Crew’s taking a road trip to Hobb’s End while watching John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. It’s the first theatrically released John Carpenter horror film of the 90’s. And the film lives up to the hype. Sam Neill stars as an insurance investigator, who may be a fictional character in a horror writer’s new novel. The Crew discusses. If you like our music intro, head over to S...

Episode 239: The Crew’s being visited by three Christmas Ghosts as they discuss Richard Donner’s Scrooged. This was Bill Murray’s first starring comedic role after Ghostbusters. And Murray’s four years hiatus from the spotlight caused problems behind the scenes. From his constant improvised lines to his fighting with director Richard Donner. Sometimes the production issues are apparent on-screen,...

Episode 238: The Crew’s staying home for Christmas, not because of lockdown orders, cause the family went to France without us. That’s right, we’re discussing Chris Columbus’ Home Alone. Macaulay Culkin’s screaming face became a pop culture image after the release of this film. And it ended it’s box office run as the highest grossing film of 1990. But after 30 years does it hold up? The Crew discu...

Episode 237: The Crew’s searching for the perfect Christmas gift while watching Brian Levant’s Jingle All the Way. The only Holiday film with Arnold Schwarzenegger punching a reindeer in the face and then getting drunk with said reindeer. Sinbad, Phil Hartman, and Jim Belushi help with the comedy, but some of the jokes don’t land. The Crew discusses. If you like our music intro, head over to Sound...

Episode 236: The Crew’s laugh crying while watching Richard Curtis’ Love Actually. This was Curtis’ directorial debut, after decades of writing for film and TV. There are so many characters and storylines; the film is a little over stuffed and some of the characters get lost. The benefit of all these plot lines means there is something for everyone. And this Christmas themed rom-com does have its...

Episode 235: The Crew’s battling ex-Marines on Alcatraz while watching Michael Bay’s The Rock. It’s Bay’s second feature, but all the bayhem is on full display; fast cuts, constantly moving camerawork, sound effects cranked to eleven, and a slow-mo shot every scene. Regardless if Bay’s films are your thing or not, the cast makes this film enjoyable. From the veteran actors (Sean Connery, Ed Harris...

Episode 234: The Crew’s fighting crime with Space Shotguns while watching Peter Hyam’s Outland. Sean Connery is taking down a new space super-drug on Jupiter’s moon, IO. Think High Noon meets The French Connection in space. It’s Alien with all the aesthetics but none of the prosthetics. There’s old industrial tech everywhere and a greedy evil corporation, but no monsters. Maybe you find that refre...

Episode 233: The Crew’s murdering alcohol slinging mobsters while watching Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables. Sean Connery won an Oscar for his performance of beat cop Malone. The cast, the costumes, the locations, and the cinematography are perfect. And Morricone’s score is so great. Director De Palma is often unfavorably compared to Hitchcock, but make no mistake, De Palma is a cinematic l...

Episode 232: The Crew’s really triggered by the color red, or even saying the word “red”, while watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie. Tippi Hedren’s second Hitchcock film sees her titular character suffering from a mysterious PTSD. And Sean Connery’s Mark character helps her recover with blackmail and some rape, but he’s not the villain of the film. The Crew discusses… If you like our music in...

Episode 231: The Crew’s running from an evil AI doll with an E.T. finger while watching the remake of Child’s Play. Brad Dourif has been replaced with Mark Hamill doing the voice of Chucky. And Hamill is a great voice actor but the switch doesn’t work as well; less creepy. The cast does a fantastic job and the lighting/camerawork is impressive. But the story is very lackluster. Bear McCreary does...