For their 229th episode, two returning critics, two better-rested dads, and two science-loving teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, return from a two-month sabbatical for a love-fest on the leader in the clubhouse for the movie of the year. They're talking about the instant sci-fi classic of Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, who's quietly becoming one of our hosts' most dependable and favorite performers. For this big return, the haters stayed home
Read MoreFor their 228th episode back in February, two underground revolution critics, two stoner dads, and two small beers teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, drive their podcast over the West Texas hills of the Oscar race to offer their praise and criticism of Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. The movie is the current front-runner for Best Picture and PTA is more than due after 28 years of previous nominations in several categories.
Read MoreAt the 57-minute mark in Heads or Tails?, Reilly’s transported icon speaks the promise again to say, “Mark my words, boy, this is going to be quite the story.” At that point, with only 50 minutes to go of running time, there’s a good chance that, outside of the charismatic involvement of Reilly, you haven’t felt or fallen for the ensured charm of the film.
Read MoreWithout that type of dramatic weight that pushes harder than a liar’s loose regret, the most performance range we get out of Emanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur is a minor shift and transformation towards a balanced plane of apology when disagreements create a verbal blow-up. The pain registers differently between the two as the reservation clock is running out.
Read MoreSome of the best acting moments in any given film can happen without dialogue. A facial expression or a piece of body language can mean as much as a multi-page monologue. Those performers who can nail that moment are onto something special in their roles. When possible, Fantasy Life, from writer-director-star Matthew Shear, seeks to make the most of those wordless character statements.
Read MoreAs a short-form storyteller, Marcellus Cox nails this thematical platform with his dialogue, and Cofield gives those lines the proper meaningful heft. All in all, the previous foreboding question remains for where Jamarcus’s life can go after this new partnership. The low angles and those aforementioned shadows which frame his home life are juxtaposed with the symbolic blue sky of potential above that ballfield.
Read MoreIn Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead, you’ve got muscular, heavy-metal boats racing for survival through surf laced with dazzling electrical bolts dropping from the sky. That doesn’t have to be entirely serious. Swash that buckle up a bit and squeeze some more color and courage out of this spectacle.
Read MoreSometimes, the low point of a screw-up is the necessary springboard and not the “I told you so” gotcha moment. When that clarity is found in For Worse, it’s treated more as confirmation than a delayed epiphany, which plays truer to life than orchestrated movie moments that plant those revelations in grandiose gestures and climaxes.
Read MoreFor their 227th episode, two third-string critics, two painkiller-addicted dads, and two steamin' teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, arrive at the weekend of the Super Bowl with one more football classic from a generation ago. As the complete opposite to the wholesome Remember the Titans from a recent episode, our hosts cover Oliver Stone's 1999 cinematic energy drink Any Given Sunday.
Read MoreFor their 226th episode, two bank-robbing critics, two strutting dads, and two war veteran teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, make their way to a long-time queue hold and blindspot of Will that came from a recommendation of Don. Our guys enter the unique pre-, post-, and during Vietnam War perspectives shared by 1995's cult classic Dead Presidents, directed by the Hughes Brothers. Hear why Don calls it one of the best Vietnam films of all-time while Will shares his first-time impressions
Read MoreThanks to umpteen versions and retellings, this whole thing has become a bit of a bedtime story, no matter how it’s sliced. Moving to the beat of that aforementioned tiny music box and not something deeper, Besson’s Dracula, and its selection of emphasized overtones and reduced undertones, are misaligned to become a lullaby from what could have been grander results.
Read MoreFor their 225th episode, two strong side critics, two weak side dads, and two coaching teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, embraced the excitement of football season still being in the air for a classic type of film Hollywood has stopped making on the regular. We're talking about 2000's Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington. Our hosts sat down on their John Brown hindparts to tell you all about it and it's hight worth
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