The Movie Crew Podcast

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 legend...

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 intro,...

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...

Episode 230: The Crew’s reviewing the direct to video Child’s Play sequels, Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky. Franchise creator, Don Mancini wrote and directed both of these sequels. And he brought the horror back to the series while keeping some of the comedy. Fiona Dourif stars in both films and kills it. She’s great and the daughter of Chucky star Brad Dourif. Alex Vincent (Andy) is back afte...

Episode 228: The Crew’s hanging out with the Chucky family while watching Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky. Bride was released two years after Scream, and the film is obviously inspired by Scream’s success. And it worked; as Bride is the highest grossing entry of the franchise. And Jennifer Tilly is a welcomed addition to the cast. Seed of Chucky is the first film directed by Don Mancini, who wr...

Episode 228: The Crew’s stalking with Chucky while watching Child’s Play 2 and Child’s Play 3. After the success of the first film, Universal Studios bought the Child’s Play franchise from MGM/UA. But both of these sequels saw diminishing returns at the box-office. Child’s Play 3 was rushed into production and was released less than year after part 2. Chucky (Brad Dourif) is the star here and the...

Episode 227: The Crew’s running from a killer “My Buddy” doll while watching Tom Holland’s Child’s Play. The film was a hit during it’s theatrical run, and started a franchise that’s been running for 4 decades. The sequels do get silly, but this first installment is genuinely suspenseful. The effects and puppet work (from Kevin Yagher) still hold up today, without the use of CGI. The Crew discusse...

Episode 226: The Crew’s having fun storming the castle while watching Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. The film wasn’t a box-office success when originally released, but has since gained a massive following. William Goldman’s script is fun and fast paced. And the film is brilliantly cast. However, some of the sets and lighting choices are shockingly bad to some of the Crew. They discuss. If you li...

Episode 225: The Crew’s riding a flying dog to the magical world of Fantasia while watching Wolfgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story. This German film with an English speaking cast had a huge $27 million budget. And it shows. The film looks great... the sets, costumes, puppets, lighting, and matte work. And that title song will get stuck in your head. The Crew discusses... If you like our music i...

Episode 224: The Crew’s searching for pirate treasure while watching Richard Donner's The Goonies. The film was a modest box-office hit in 1985, but has since gained cult film status. But does the beloved 80's film hold up, or does it simply hold a nostalgic place in the hearts of fans? The Crew discusses… If you like our music intro, head over to Soundcloud and hear more amazing music from aquari...

Episode 223: The Crew’s on an acid trip with muppets while watching Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. This was Henson’s last feature film after an amazing career working with puppets. The film had a huge budget ($25 million at the time) but was a box-office bomb, grossing only $12 million worldwide. The muppets are fun and the sets look great. A young Jennifer Connelly stars with the truly awesome David Bow...

Episode 222: The Crew’s been mistaken for spies while watching Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. The cast, locations, music, special effects, and Grant’s grey suit are so incredibly constructed, the influence is felt in every Bond film. The plane attack was even recreated in “From Russia with Love” with a helicopter. The action set pieces are huge, but when they’re absent from the screen the...

Episode 221: The Crew’s stalking people that look similar to their departed love ones while watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. The film is considered Hitchcock’s masterpiece but was a box office bomb when originally released. James Stewards’ fourth collaboration with Hitchcock, has him playing against type, he’s creepy and almost becomes a villain by the end. Kim Novak plays two roles and she ma...

Episode 220: The Crew’s running from crazed seagulls and crows as they discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. This was Hitch’s follow up film to his biggest box-office hit, Psycho. It’s also the screen debut of Tippi Hedren. Again, there is no music in the movie, dropping a typical score and replacing it with just bird sounds. The Crew discusses... Link to the Yellow screen matte process used in th...

Episode 219: The Crew’s grabbing the telephoto lens to spy on their neighbors while watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. All the known elements of a Hitchcock film are here; from the framing devices in a shot to the suspenseful narrative. James Stewart and Grace Kelly are wonderful, and Kelly’s character intro is one of the best of all-time. The Crew discusses... If you like our music intro, h...