The Movie Crew Podcast

Episode 268: The Crew's sharpening their daggers in preparation to murder the Antichrist, while watching Richard Donner’s The Omen. After decades of directing television and a few forgettable movies, Donner delivers his first box-office hit and a true horror classic. This film is one of the best satanic panic films of the 60’s and 70’s; the other two greats are Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. Co...

Episode 267: The Crew's time traveling to 1969 while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black 3. This is the last of the MIB films starring the original cast. Adding a terrific Josh Brolin as a younger Agent K. The 3D and a 10 year gap between sequels helped made this the highest grossing entry in the franchise. Which was a good thing considering this film is the most expensive comedy ever made. T...

Episode 266: The Crew's hanging with a fully suited Frank (the adorable pug) while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black II. This film, while not as loved as the first, was still a successful blockbuster. All the technical things we loved about the first film are still working in this sequel. But the story and jokes are repeated to a lesser degree of success. And the villains are weaker. The Cr...

Episode 265: The Crew's wearing Ray-Bans while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black. In the summer of 1997, Men in Black surprised everyone by out-grossing (domestic only) Spielberg’s The Lost World. And Will Smith went from being an actor in a hit movie (Independence Day) to a full-on movie star. Tommy Lee Jones and Smith are an odd pair, but their comedic timing is perfect. Rick Baker brings...

Episode 264: The Crew's fighting a giant steampunk spider while watching Barry Sonnenfeld’s Wild Wild West. After ruling the Fourth of July box-office with Independence Day and Men in Black, Will Smith stumbles with this box-office bomb. The critics and audiences weren’t happy with the film. The story is bad, Smith and Kevin Kline lack their usual charisma, and all the blue screen composites are t...

Episode 263: The Crew's trying out for the cheerleading squad while watching Peyton Reed’s Bring It On. This was one of several raunchy high school comedies released after the box office success of American Pie. And the film does have lots of PG-13 sex jokes, the filmmakers drop the f-word and the r-word. But the script tackles tough issues dealing with race and Cultural appropriation; making Brin...

Episode 262: The Crew's waiting for the evil life on Earth to die while watching Lars von Trier’s Melancholia. All the performances are outstanding. And while the film’s cinematography and editing often look amateurish; both work well and create tension in the second half. Some of the Crew has problems with the film's pace. If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing...

Episode 261: The Crew's killing the competition at a beauty pageant while watching Michael Patrick Jann’s Drop Dead Gorgeous. This satirical mockumentary is star studded, look out for Amy Adams in her first role. Kirsten Dunst and Allison Janney are the stand outs. Some of the jokes land perfectly and others miss the mark entirely. The Crew discusses. If you like our music intro, head over to Soun...

Episode 260: The Crew's brooding with sexy vampires while watching Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles. The cast is filled with huge names, but then-unknown Kirsten Dunst steals the show. She’s creepy, sympathetic, and believable as an older woman forever trapped in a child’s body. The music, make-up/visual effects, and cinematography stand out. The Crew discusses. If...

Episode 259: The Crew's discussing Mike Nichols’ fabulously funny, The Birdcage. The film is a take on the Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner story; this time a conservative couple meets a gay couple. This film makes fun of gay men, conservatives, and straight men; but it’s never mean spirited. The main characters are multidimensional and you can’t help but like them. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane stea...

Episode 258: The Crew's watching Peter Chelson’s Hector and the Search for Happiness. This film was a box office bomb, grossing only $6 million worldwide on a $13 million budget. The cast will surprise you, and of course the performances are great. The cinematography is also amazing, but the film doesn’t deliver the feels. If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing...

Episode 257: The Crew's eating bacon while watching Chris Noonan’s Babe. This is the rare family film that’s also fun and enjoyable for the adults. The mix of real animals, animatronics, and CGI really bring the furry characters to life. And James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski deliver amazing performances as the main human cast. Baa Ram Ewe! If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and...

Episode 256: The Crew's playing baseball with Girls! That’s right, it’s Penny Marshall’s fictionalize story of the first pro women baseball league, A League of Their Own. After the success of Big, Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall return with a bigger budget, better cinematography, better music, and a fantastic cast. The film is almost a home run, but the Crew has some issues with the writing. If you l...

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 you l...

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, head over...

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 replace...

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 in the sequels… w...

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 obsession...

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...