Movie Schmovie

What if Wonder Woman, Deadpool and The Tooth Fairy got involved in a globe-hopping, double-crossing artifact heist? It’s a question that Ron, Steve, and John can now answer, because they’ve seen Red Notice, a comedy adventure starring Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, and The Rock. The guys also catch up on the eleventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and talk things out about The Shrink Next Door, Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell’s new anti-buddy dramedy/thriller, which is based on a true story.

It's hard not to overuse the term "jam-packed" about these recent episodes, but oh well! Maybe "wide-ranging" is a good substitute? Anyway, this week Ron, Steve, and John turn their attention to all the IMAX  content coming to Disney +, The Eternals (which John has seen), What We Do in the Shadows's bold third season, Shang-Chi (which Ron and Steve have finally seen), and Daniel Craig's final turn as James Bond, No Time to Die! Wow!

Ron, Steve, and John talk about the mixed-to-negative buzz around Marvel's newest effort, The Eternals, before moving on to a few recent releases they've actually seen, including the new emotional sci-fi road movie, Finch; Jim Cummings's latest dark comedy/thriller, The Beta Test; and the 7th Paranormal Activity flick, Next of Kin.

The guys celebrate the season by digging into a round robin discussion of (mostly) worthwhile horror movies that could be obscure to, or just under-appreciated by, modern audiences.

After comparing notes on recent online hype event DC FanDome, Ronald, Steve, and John take a long look at the divisive new entry in the Michael Myers series, Halloween Kills, and discuss why the The Shape endures. Ronald and John also have a few things to say about Dune, which is streaming on HBO Max as of today. 

After 6 films in 7 years, the Elm Street franchise slowed down. Since 1991, only three entries have been released, each one a different attempt to jumpstart or reinvent the series: 1994’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, 2003’s Freddy vs Jason, and 2010’s widely detested remake. The films are as diverse in tone as they are qualitatively uneven. Ron, Steve, and John pop a few Sta Up tablets and lock in for a long night, because this Watch-em-all isn’t gonna finish itself. 

Ron, Steve, and John review the movies they saw via the virtual version of this year's Fantastic Fest, including the latest doc from friend of the show Scott Barber, This is GWAR. Then they discuss the avalanche of stuff they've seen recently, from The Many Saints of Newark to the full season of Midnight Mass and the finale of What If...?

Ronald, Steve, and John talk about Marcia Lucas’s recent disparaging comments about the Star Wars prequels and sequels (aka any Star Wars film she didn’t work on); Michael Showalter’s emotional and funny new biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye; and the latest Netflix horror mini-series from director Mike Flanagan, Midnight Mass.

Movie news! Ronald talks about a few recent purchases of physical media (whatever that is)! Ronald and John report on the new season of The Morning Show! And, finally, earning all these exclamation points, the new James Wan film, Malignant, has hit theaters and HBO Max. WTF? The guys sort through their shattered brains to cut the answers out, including a spoiler section at the end of the episode.

After its successful opening weekend, the guys discuss Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings's box office numbers, and John shares his thoughts on the movie itself. Then Ron and Steve compare notes on Queenpins, the new true crime comedy starring Kristen Bell, Vince Vaughn, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

Ron, Steve, and John check back in on a bunch of TV shows they've been watching and then discuss Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, a new Netflix documentary about the beloved painter, and the Lil Rel Howery/Jon Cena bromantic comedy, Vacation Friends. Let's just put a happy little podcast right here.

It’s another multi-topic catchup episode as Ronald, Steve, and John share thoughts on the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and then discuss the new Candyman movie, Hugh Jackman’s noirish Reminiscence, the uplifting drama of Coda, and Matt Damon and Tom McCarthy’s unusual ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, Stillwater. 

The onslaught of television and movie viewing options continues this week, but Ronald, Steve, and John volunteer as tribute to suggest where your time is best spent. We start off by diving in to some TV newness, including Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi’s new coming-of-age dramedy Reservation Dogs, Starz’s wrestling drama Heels, and the conclusion of Mike White’s The White Lotus, before breaking down the newest G.I. Joe big-screen effort, Snake Eyes, and the atmospheric thriller The Night House. 

Steve, Ron, and John let you know what to expect when Nine Perfect Strangers, a mysterious drama series with a killer cast, premieres on Hulu on August 18. Then they have an open-ended and somewhat worrying discussion about James Gunn’s wildly entertaining new film, The Suicide Squad, and what its box office performance might say about the future of big-budget movies.

Ron, Steve, and John catch up on the state of the film industry as it tries to lurch back into life after lockdown. Then they move on to some thoughts about recent films such as Jungle Cruise, Old, and The Green Knight. A pretty good slate of topics, but will it play in Peoria? Find out within!