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Lethal Weapon Dec 01, 2017

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The more jovial tone of the sequels makes it easy to forget just how dark the original Lethal Weapon is. Even though he was later replaced by another writer, Shane Black's bleak sensibilities and pitch-black sense of humor remain firmly entrenched in this script. Throw in Richard Donner's crafty direction and you've got yourself a hell of a film. This is one of those franchises where our memories wound up being an amalgamation of a lot of great scenes or moments, so it was interesting to go back to where it all started and realize just how unique this one was. Topics include: a lot of confusion over which film in the series certain scenes were from, the differences between this and Black's original script, bathtub birthday parties, why Riggs could never be this compelling ever again, the most aggressive neighborhood clean-up project, additional scenes from the director's cut, the glaring problem with the final brawl, and much much more!

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Batman & Robin Nov 22, 2017

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It's Thanksgiving and you know what means... it's time for this year's cinematic turkey! Few movies are as deserving of the the title as 1997's epic misfire Batman & Robin. Reviled by fans and critics alike, this film did so much damage to Warner Bros' flagship franchise that it would take the better part of a decade for the Caped Crusader to recover. In fact, it's developed such a notorious reputation that at this point, it almost felt like too easy a target. So in addition to breaking down why it doesn't work, we were also interested in figuring out how it happened in the first place, whether or not Joel Schumacher's decision to draw from a particular era of Batman's history was actually perfectly valid, and what this adaptation can teach us about bending even the most malleable properties too far. Topics include: our expectations before we saw it for the first time and what we thought of it back then, why it didn't even matter who was playing Batman at this point, an earlier draft of the script where Mr. Freeze was more in line with his animated series counterpart, the film's reliance on Batman Forever's formula, the inclusion of Bane and a bunch of other unnecessary elements, how this set the stage for the modern comic book movie, and much much more!

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The Goonies Nov 17, 2017

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HEY YOU GUYS! Can you believe it's taken us nearly five years to get to The Goonies?! We know it's been a frustratingly long wait for a lot of you, but with a rising premium being placed on this particular brand of Amblin-esque nostalgia these days, it finally felt like the right time to dig out that old treasure map and search for rich stuff. All three of us experienced the film at different points in our lives and that definitely had an impact on how we felt about it. In addition to sorting through some of these wildly different reactions, we also address the backlash the film has received in certain circles recently and whether or not that movement has any merit. Get away from Troy's bucket because it's our time down here. Topics include: Spielberg's notoriously more "hands-on" approach to producing, the traumatic experience one of us had on our first viewing, some suggestions for a cleaner way to set up the back story, an incredibly ill-advised real-life Goonie adventure, deleted scenes that were broadcast on the TV version, the Goonies 2 video game, whether or not an actual sequel is even a good idea at this point, and much much more!

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Sleepy Hollow Oct 20, 2017

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Tim Burton's adaptation of Sleepy Hollow plays pretty fast and loose with Washington Irving's source material and for those of who us who grew up with the more faithful Disney cartoon, that was an aspect of this film that definitely took us by surprise. Going into this, opinions were pretty mixed. Despite this revisionist take on Ichabod Crane and a more complicated lore surrounding the Headless Horseman, Chris loved this movie when he saw it back in 1999. For Donna, the changes were too big a pill to swallow and she was disappointed to discover it was more silly than scary. Carlos had been so put off by the advertising that he'd never even seen this all the way through. Looking back on it now, Sleepy Hollow marks an interesting point in the careers of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. What separates this film from some of their less successful collaborations? Is it even that separate? Did they change or did we? And did this more objective viewing alter how any of us felt about it? Topics include: the film's origins as a low-budget slasher, how Scream reinvigorated the studio's interest in the project and altered their entire approach, Chris' main gripe with the movie and how a sub-genre of Italian horror films helped him reconcile it, whether or not the Horseman should speak, what's really inside the Tree of the Dead, the mean streak running through this that's absent from most of Burton's other work, the exhaustingly complicated final act, and much much more!

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The Witches Oct 06, 2017

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The phrase "nightmare fuel" gets tossed around pretty liberally these days, but back in the 90s there were few kids movies more befitting of that title than The Witches. Based on an already frightening book by Roald Dahl, this adaptation ratchets up the scares even further thanks to Angelica Huston's scenery-chewing performance and the incredible effects work of Jim Henson. Not everyone was a fan though. Dahl famously hated some of the alterations made to his source material (particularly the new ending) and thought that the filmmakers had missed the point entirely. It had been a long, long time since any of us had seen this and we were interested to find out if a more objective viewing would reveal that some of Dahl's complaints were valid or that this was still the pull no punches thrill ride we remembered. Topics include: key differences between the movie and the novel, how unprepared one of us was for Bruno's transformation sequence, whether or not the Grand High Witch knew the mice would be able to talk, how director Nicolas Roeg was able to capture the feeling of reading one of Dahl's books, our thoughts on the different endings, and much much more!

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Death Becomes Her Sep 22, 2017

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Critics and general audiences weren't quite sure what to make of Death Becomes Her when it was released in the summer of 1992, but this ultra-dark comedy has definitely picked up a cult following in the ensuing decades. The performances are great, the effects still work, and the film's cynical sense of humor plays a lot better now than it did when we were kids. So what happened here? Why wasn't it more widely embraced at the time? Is this a misunderstood masterpiece or are there other aspects of this that prevent it from being as good as it could be? Topics include: the overhaul the movie got after a disastrous test screening, whether or not those changes contributed to a largely unfocused first act, Bruce Willis' incredible against-type performance, an added dimension to Lisle's backstory from a previous draft of the script, Sydney Pollack's scene-stealing cameo, great examples of why director Robert Zemeckis is a true pioneer of special effects, how the movie ultimately manages to overcome a lot of its shortcomings, and much much more!

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Bonus Episode: It (2017) Sep 18, 2017

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You asked for it, so here it is - our thoughts on the brand new adaptation of Stephen King's It. Since this comes on the heels of our look back at the 1990 miniseries, certain comparisons were inevitable - but for the most part, we tried to tackle this one on its own terms. The film is obviously a massive success and a lot of its fans have already labeled it an instant classic, but does the HDYR gang agree? Topics include: our thoughts on this interpretation of Pennywise, the amazing cast of child actors and which ones really stole our hearts, how successfully this version handles the lore surrounding It, how we feel about some of the deviations from the source material, theories about what those changes might mean for the sequel, our favorite and least favorite sequences, and much much more!

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It - Part II Sep 08, 2017

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We wrap up our conversation about the 1990 adaptation of It with an in-depth look at the miniseries' second half. Will some of our lingering questions about this creature's mythology finally get answered? Is Pennywise still a credible threat against grown men and women? Is his final form as ridiculous as some of us remember? It's time to reunite the HDYR gang for one last journey into the sewers of Derry where we can finish this nightmare off once and for all. Topics include: a corrections corner where we go over a few of the more (*ahem*) interesting additions Chris accidentally made to the source material in Part I, the small differences in the structure of the novel's second half that give these events so much more momentum and clarity, the possibility that we maybe see too much of Pennywise this time, why there needed to be a few more casualties to up the stakes, our final thoughts on the entire miniseries, and much much more!

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It - Part I Aug 25, 2017

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When it comes to the 1990 miniseries based on Stephen King's IT, there are two types of people: those who maintain it's one of the scariest things they've ever seen... and those who insist a more objective viewing would reveal that it was never that great. With a new film adaptation on the horizon, the HDYR gang thought this was the perfect opportunity to find out where they stood on the matter. Topics include: ABC's original (and more ambitious) plans for the series, some of the key differences between this version and the source material, the unusual pattern with Mike's phone calls to his old friends, Chris' bad luck with love letters, one of the key reasons that the first half is more effective than the second, how completely Tim Curry disappears into this performance, why the limitations of network television instantly limited the impact these stories might have had, how a giant turtle is the key everything, and much much more!

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Speed Aug 11, 2017

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Pop quiz, hot shot - it's the summer of 1994 and there have already been dozens of Die Hard knock-offs in the wake of that franchise's success. How do you get your film to stand out from the rest of that pack? In the case of Speed, the first step was hiring director Jan de Bont and trusting in some of his more unconventional decisions. The next was to bring Joss Whedon aboard for a rewrite of the script that removed some of its more overt Die Hard-isms. There was a lot about Speed that probably made 20th Century Fox very nervous. de Bont was a first time director, no one knew who Sandra Bullock was, and Keanu Reeves had no track record for opening this type of film. Their faith in the project was of course handsomely rewarded, but the story behind this production is still a fascinating one. All three of us remembered absolutely loving this movie... but it had been a good 15-20 years since we'd seen it. Does it work as well now as it did back then? Topics include: the original choices for Jack, Annie, and Howard, Whedon's contributions to the script, the poor bus passenger who's consistently saddled with the worst dialogue, Sam's slow and painful off-screen death, why this composer was worth fighting for, the incredible opening set piece, some issues with the final showdown, a few of the more baffling aspects of Speed 2, and much much more!

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