The Movie Defenders

It's time for one of our biggest shows yet as we analyze the latest MCU installment of Spider-Man! There was no way this was gonna be a short show! (Non-spoiler review included so you can listen to the entire show up to a certain point, and we will say when that is! And we have timestamps in the description and chapter headings to jump around if the length is an issue.) We play scenes right from t...

Let's go back in the way-back machine to reach back for some nostalgia as the Movie Defenders review a Rocky film for the first time ever! We don't just review any Rocky film... we review the new re-cut version of Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut! What happens when a director removes half the movie, and puts that same amount back in? Let's find out together! Even if you have...

The second sequel to one of the most beloved franchises in film history is here! It's time to talk Ghostbusters: Afterlife on The Movie Defenders podcast! If you are a Ghostbusters fan, and either loved or didn't love this film, please give this a listen... you might just fall in love with it again. Keeping with tradition Donald's brother Drew joins us to discuss this new installment. And before w...

It's time to blast back to the Nolan-verse for a slingshot at Interstellar! We go back in time to 2014 and see what Nolan has in store. This movie is so big we needed reinforcements again as we always do as Brev Tanner returns to the show to add his perspective. Two of the three hosts of this show had never seen the film before... so how would they like it? Find out! But first before we dive compl...

It's time to break down, play clips from, and analyze Denis Villeneuve's latest film... Dune! From a popular sci-fi classic novel, to a 'meh' film in 1984, what will this version have in store for us!? Let's find out. We brought in our resident Dune expert, Bart German, to help us on this one! Find out about all the differences in the films and novels along with us. Before we tackle this titan of...

It's time to revisit one of the more underrated franchises in the comic genre, Venom... with Venom: Let There Be Carnage! This time we are joined by an amazing friend of the show, Brett Bowen, who lends his comic expertise on this one. Before we start talking about Tom Hardy's sequel, we talk about what we've watched lately, and we pick our top 5 Spin-off Movies of all time! Find out which make ou...

It's time to celebrate 4 years of with a DOUBLE EPISODE of The Movie Defenders! We do it in our traditional way with each host showing the other a film they love, that the other hasn't ever seen. (It's a long show, time stamps are in the description and chapter headings are loaded so you can jump around all you like.) This year we get to watch and review two of the best in their genres... Best in...

It's time to discuss and celebrate Lucasfilm Animation's latest triumph, The Bad Batch, with The Movie Defenders podcast! But most importantly, we get to do so with Alexis Borchardt, Animation Coordinator at Lucasfilm Animation, who worked on the series for the past year! We also bring on several listeners and friends of the show to celebrate, ask questions, and have fun talking about this incredi...

It's time to RETURN TO THE THEATER for a new release... it's time for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on The Movie Defenders Podcast! After a year and a half we record scenes right from the theater and play them for you as part of our discussion. We brought in reinforcements this time with long-time friend of the show, Joshua Loy who helps bring his unique and much-needed comic knowledge...

It's time to round out the Blade trilogy with its finale... Blade: Trinity! A film that has gotten a bad wrap since its debut, we examine if that narrative stands up today. Before we walk through the final installment of Blade, however, we discuss each of our Top 5 movies which were the third installment of a film series. Find out which we choose! Then we examine if the overall narrative about the...

It's time for the latest and greatest from the DCEU... The Suicide Squad on The Movie Defenders Podcast! We tackle James Gunn's latest foray into the super hero genre as he tackles a huge bevy of characters in a beautifully bonkers film! And with a movie this big, we'll need backup... this time in the form of a great friend of the show, Bart German! But first, in honor of King Shark, we all go ove...

It's one of the biggest shows ever... a double episode of The Movie Defenders podcast! We celebrate 100 episodes of The Movie Defenders AND get to re-live Black Widow! We play scenes from the film and review every epic moment from the first MCU movie in a while. (Black Widow discussion starts at 2:32:49) But before that, we celebrate 100 episodes of talking film! We bring on several old friends, l...

It's time to celebrate July 4th the right way with a Movie Defender analysis of Independence Day! On this show we review and analyze one of the best and most famous sci-fi disaster films in history. But before that, we play a fun game we call This or That and discuss which movie-related things we'd choose if forced to make a choice. Then, we start breaking down Independence Day in the only way the...

It's time to go DEEP into analysis mode with this show! It's time for Blade Runner 2049. One of the best sci-fi sequels ever produced, and one that had layers and layers of philosophy, theology, and mythology. This movie has too much to unpack for the two of us so we brought in reinforcements with our great friend Owen Payne! Before we tackle this beast of a film, we also each rank our top 5 Cyber...

Do we have a treat for you with our 50th episode of The Backlot Tour! A show normally only for Patreon supporters, we sometimes share an episode with all our listeners. This time, it's an interview with an aspiring film student, Colin Sanders, who produced a wonderful video essay surrounding Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice called: "A Modern Masterpiece: Why Batman v Superman is a True Work of...

It's time to round out the trilogy and talk some John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum! A film series that has changed how action films are shot and made makes for a great movie to give The Movie Defenders podcast treatment to. Before we talk the movie, we discuss the new purchases of movie houses that Amazon and AT&T have made which have caused ripples throughout Hollywood. Then we pick our top 5 Keanu...

It's time to laugh until our sides hurt, it's time to review Napoleon Dynamite on The Movie Defenders podcast! We play a lot of scenes from the movie as we laugh at our favorite moments. A comedy that many people 'don't get' we will do our best to describe the things many have issue with. (But we will also basically giggle for hours, too.) Before our chat about the movie, we both rank our favorite...

It's time to laugh our heads off with Three Amigos! As an absolute classic comedy that many have grown up with, supporter Barrett Young helps celebrate every hilarious line! But first we have a great time talking about our Top 5 SNL/SCTV cast movies ever made. There are SO many great ones! Then we dive in and try and keep it together while we play many of the very best moments from Three Amigos! S...

It's time to defend a film that represents the final chapter in the second X-Men trilogy... X-Men: Apocalypse! A film that has gotten a lot of grief since it came out, it's a film that the hosts of this show love and don't understand that grief... so we'll talk about it! It's a long one! But it's all devoted to deep analysis of story, characters, arcs, and even score. If you love deep-dives on fil...

Re-live a classic with the Movie Defenders podcast... it's time for Top Gun! Selected by long time supporter Mark Waters, we have an absolute ball diving into this one! We play many scenes, we laugh hysterically, talk about what's amazing, what's realistic, what's not, what's funny, what's sad, and the overall sheer awesomeness of the movie that helped forge a generation and defined what an action...

It's here! The film DC fans have waited years for has arrived: Zack Snyder's Justice League! We unpack this gem in a way only we can, by analyzing the story, moments, and reasons for everything. We play lots of scenes from the film and dissect them. Helping us along is long-time friend of the show, Alex Kirkby, who adds his DC fanboy experience to the discussion. Before we talk the movie, however,...

It's time to finish our analysis of the incredible story in The Last of Us Part 2! This time we tackle the second half of the game and Abby's Day 1-3! (For the first part of our analysis of The Last of Us Part 2, see Episode 90.) We don't take on this beast alone though as Scott's daughter, Alyssa, our resident The Last of Us expert, joins us as well! This time we talk about the game's story from...

It's time to do something we normally don't do and that's review a video game! Why The Last of Us Part 2? Because it's, in our humble opinion, the best video game story ever told and it's akin to watching a really good movie. This game became "The Last Jedi" of the video game world, dividing fandom... and from what we can tell... a lot of fans of the series didn't give the game or story a chance....

Time to re-live one of the most underrated super hero films of all time... The Wolverine on The Movie Defenders Podcast! We play many scenes right from the film, and look back at the movie largely forgotten in the midst of the birth of the DCEU and the rise of the MCU. James Mangold and Hugh Jackman twice teamed up to bring a Wolverine movie to life, and this was the first. How does it stack up to...

It's time to make your brain hurt as we try and review, and explain, Chris Nolan's latest... Tenet! We walk through each part of the movie and probably do more explanation than analysis but we try and do both! Before we get to the film we talk about movies we've seen recently and how we tend to 'root' for the writers more than the characters. We also break down our best plot twists in movie histor...