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Kindergarten Cop Sep 21, 2018

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No party poopers here, all three of us were big fans of Kindergarten Cop as kids. But a lot of parents? Not so much. All of the drugs, murder, and mayhem left many of them scratching their heads. Schwarzenegger felt the PG-13 rating hurt them at the box office, but director Ivan Reitman was adamant that the film didn't work without some of the more mature elements. Three decades later, we decided to find out which one of them we agree with or if this is even really an issue at all. Topics include: the star witness who doesn't actually witness anything, this film's connection to Silent Hill, some pretty unusual alternate choices for the role of John Kimball, why Arnold almost dropped out of the production, the confusing morality of the final showdown, and much much more! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Predator Sep 07, 2018

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Considering all the obstacles that the cast and crew of Predator were up against during its production, the finished product could easily have been an unwatchable mess. Instead, it became a classic. There are some incredible behind-the-scenes stories, a handful of truly knockout action set pieces, a subversive undertone we might have missed as kids, and one of cinema's most memorable movie monsters at the center of it. Topics include: the original concept for the film's title character and how it nearly derailed the entire production, whether or not Billy was intended to be the main character at one point and how that might have helped the film, how little we actually learn about the creature and the strength of that simplicity, all the Alien vs Predator crossovers and the wasted potential of those films, and much much more! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Pulp Fiction Aug 24, 2018

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There was certainly no sophomore slump for Quentin Tarantino. After the success of his debut feature Reservoir Dogs, he returned two years later with one of the most influential films of the last three decades - Pulp Fiction. The transgressive tone, hip lingo, and non-linear structure basically created an entirely new sub-genre of crime thriller. And yet - there were many detractors who felt this bold new voice in cinema was simply repackaging characters, moments, and even dialogue he'd seen in other movies. This is an interesting one to look back on now in the wake of all the rip-offs it inspired and even just in terms of how Tarantino evolved as a filmmaker after this. Topics include: the dire straits Travolta's career was in before this and how hard Tarantino had to fight for him, the original actor they had lined up to play Butch and how Bruce Willis' involvement changed the script, Spike Lee's ire towards Tarantino's work and whether or not some of that was justified, The Vega Brothers prequel that never materialized, your Real Life Retweets, and much much more! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Wayne's World Aug 10, 2018

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ayne's World that really established the template SNL movies would follow for the next decade. It's also unquestionably one of the more successful entries in that pantheon. Although if we're being honest, that's not a very high bar to clear. So how does all of this play two decades later? Especially now that the counter-culture appeal of this style of comedy has been slightly diluted by how often Mike Myers returned to this same bag of tricks in other films. Topics include: the origins of the Wayne's World sketch, the surprisingly tense atmosphere behind-the-scenes, what we're told about the character of Stacy vs what we actually see, some early 90s foreshadowing of Chris' interest in podcasting, the less than enthusiastic response to Wayne's World 2, why Mike Myers and Dana Carvey stopped speaking for many years, the bits of this that still work, the moments that don't, and much much more! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Say Anything... Jul 27, 2018

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Say Anything is a pretty impressive directorial debut for Cameron Crowe. Not only does it establish all of the hallmarks we now associate with his films, it also does so with more confidence than you usually see with a lot of first-time directors. Crowe's not taking his awkward first steps as a filmmaker. He pretty much hit his stride right out of the gate. Which is not to say there aren't aspects of this that seems a little awkward in retrospect. One of us had never seen this before and so there were a lot of things the other two had always taken at face value that were suddenly being called into question. Topics include: Crowe's process of finding his films during the editing process and the pros and cons of that approach, the backlash against characters like Lloyd Dobler in the current cultural landscape and whether or not he's a deserving target, our humiliating break-up stories, your most elaborate romantic gestures, real life retweets, and much much more! Patreon / iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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The Flintstones Jul 13, 2018

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None of us had seen this movie since it was released in 1994 and although its reputation certainly preceded it, I'm not sure we understood the extent of what we were signing up for here when we picked it. It's not going to come as a surprise to anyone that this wasn't a particularly good movie, but The Flintstones is a really interesting counterpoint to some of the other big screen adaptations we've covered on this podcast. On a purely superficial level, this is a film that preserves everything about the cartoon its based on. And yet, it all falls completely flat. Why is that? We think the answer's pretty clear. Topics include: how The Grapes of Wrath influenced one of the earliest incarnations of this, the astounding number of writers that came and went from this project after that, the one really controversial casting choice, the glut of unnecessary subplots, why this all seems more like the plot for a sequel than the inaugural film in a franchise, and much much more!

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Footloose Jun 29, 2018

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Well everyone certainly cut loose on this one. If you grew up with Footloose, it might not be easy to recognize how objectively insane this movie is. But oh baby, this is one wild ride with arguably two of the craziest scenes we've ever discussed on this podcast. Topics include: the real life story that inspired the film, Reverend Moore's surprisingly layered characterization, why Chuck becomes the main antagonist (and more importantly, why that's completely unnecessary), a lot of love for Chris Penn as Willard, some reservations about Ariel, the heartbreaking story hiding in the peripheral of this movie, the 2011 remake, and much much more!

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Jun 15, 2018

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It's hard to believe that it's been fifteen years since Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released. It's even hard to believe that a movie based on a theme park ride turned out to be this good. That was exactly the sort of cynicism facing the film when it became a sleeper hit in the summer of 2003. Initially dismissed as a misguided cash grab, Pirates went on to become a global phenomenon - based almost entirely on Johnny Depp's jaw-dropping performance as Jack Sparrow. A lot's changed since then though. Even as audiences grew weary of Captain Jack and this franchise, Disney kept churning out sequels. It's difficult to separate this original film from the diminishing returns of its successors and from the real life antics of Depp - but we're going to try. This original film is worth celebrating on its own terms and it's worth pointing out how this one succeeds where its follow-ups fail. Topics include: the lack of enthusiasm surrounding this project that nearly sent it straight-to-video, the panic at the studio over Johnny Depp's performance, how the sequels retroactively turned this into an intricately connected trilogy instead of treating it as the further adventures of these characters, why this was Zoe Saldana's first and last trip aboard The Black Pearl, the reason the final act feels a little too long, a round of Role Reversal, and much much more!

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Special Announcement Jun 04, 2018

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Face/Off Jun 01, 2018

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Equally revered and reviled, Face/Off is emblematic of the overblown but undercooked action films that were dominating theaters in the late 90s. Director John Woo was already a legend back in Hong Kong, but he never had as much luck with his American-made films. This is definitely the best of that bunch, but one of the running themes in this episode is why so much of his style gets lost in the translation. There's also the Travolta/Cage of it all. Action movies aren't the only thing that's changed in the two decades since this was released. Our attitude towards these leading man has also shifted pretty dramatically. This represents a pretty interesting point in both of their careers and it's difficult not to let some of the present day baggage cast a shadow over their work here. Topics include: the two A-listers initially approached to star in this, why the original plan to set this in the future would have solved 80% of this story's logic issues, the much simpler way to get Pollux to talk, some baffling studio notes that Woo wisely ignored, why the action scenes in the back-half are beautiful but uninvolving, the confusing alternate ending, and much much more!

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