Join me and Hardy Lynch of The Speakeasy as we try to make sense of the latest Super-debacle. Hardy likes it more than I do, but we both have decent fun with it. We analyze the odd structure and tone and character motivations. We wonder if it would work better if it weren’t about Superman at all. And we wonder if there’s anywhere to go after the world was nearly destroyed by a terraformingkryptonforming machine.
We compare the film to other Superman movies, Star Trek (2009), X-Men, other superhero movies, Prometheus, and pretty much anything else that crosses our minds.
I’m watching a DVR copy. Hardy is watching the PAL DVD and has to repeatedly sync with me, so there are several times that we announce where we are. Start the film on the countdown between the production company logos and the birth scene.
Join me and Drew of Trek.fm as we experiment on our own brains with the help of James Franco and a ton of CGI until we see apes everywhere. We analyze the structure of the film and compare it to the old Apes movies, the sequel, and “Flowers for Algernon”, Deep Blue Sea, and Dragonball Z. And we wonder who the hell “Rupert Wyatt” is.
We puzzle over some minor plot holes, try to “fix” the film, and create our own sequels and crossovers. I question James Franco’s salary and taste in vehicles; Drew compares James Franco to C-3P0; and we both try to figure out who the villain is.
Note: we get the dates of the King Kong movies wrong. The original is 1933 and the remake was 1976.
We are watching the Blu-ray version. Start the film after the logos but before the 20th Century Fox title card on the countdown.
Join me as I join the Doctor and Lynch of The Speakeasy as we have a good time with Christopher Nolan’s dour superhero and superior villain. We like the film a lot but feel that the sheen has somewhat worn off and the story is revealed as threadbare now. We give praise where praise is due, and joke our way thru the slow sections and weird choices.
They’re watching a PAL copy, and I have to repeatedly sync with them, so there are several times that we announce where we are. Start the film on the countdown between the production company logos and the blue fire Batman logo.
Join me and the crew of Film Bin for a look at Blake Edwards’ 1965 ensemble comedy about a motor race from New York to Paris. It’s the heartwarming and rib-tickling romantic adventure starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Jack Lemmon. It’s big, it’s kind of corny, and it’s so long it has another movie inside it.
We analyze the ensemble comedy phenomenon, try to figure out Tony Curtis, try to determine the nature of the relationship between Max and Professor Fate, and try to keep up the pace during a 30-minute saloon brawl. I try to rewrite the film to include more of the prince, we compare the food fight to other cinematic food fights, and we try to figure out what that thing is that Natalie Wood is wearing.
We’re watching a R1 DVD version and stay in perfect sync. Start the film after the overture on the countdown.
Join John Pavlich of Sofa Dogs and me as we delve into the historical drama of the youth, life, and presidency of Abraham Lincoln. We examine the issues of the day and the difficult moral decisions that Lincoln faced, such as the “peculiar institution” of slavery and when to try to kill the vampire who murdered his mother. We compare the film to superhero movies, the mockbuster Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, and more. John likes the film but my initial enthusiasm has gradually waned, altho I still like the acting and most of the action.
We’re watching the Blu-ray. Start the film on the countdown after the Dune Films logo.
Join me and Mike of Commentary Track Stars as we delve into the mysteries that are John Woo, Robert Towne, Notorious, and Tom Cruise’s psyche in this, the second of the Mission: Impossible series. We discuss the structure of the film, its suspicious similarity to the Hitchcock classic, and its differences from the other Mission: Impossible movies.
We compare it to the Bond films, other John Woo films, and other action movies of its time. We speculate on Dougray Scott as Wolverine, what the series would have been like with more Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Cruise’s personal knowledge of how heavy $63 million dollars is.
We are watching the Blu-ray version. Start the film after the Paramount logo but before the Sydney Opera House opening on the countdown.
It almost came and went without my noticing, but this site has now been going for more than 10 years now, and I’ve done 200 commentaries. I first started the site in early 2004 as a place to hold my movie reviews and travel photos and my opinions on culture and government, but by late 2006 I found I was more interested in doing commentaries for movies.
I started where it’s only natural—the classics: Casablanca, La Dolce Vita, and the Firefly TV series. I’ve made quite a number of friends and had some great times watching movies with some of them, and my commentaries get enough feedback that I feel people are enjoying them, so it’s worth it to keep going.
And now that I have a fresh look for the site, I feel like I might just keep tinkering and musing for another 10 years and 200 commentaries.
I don’t know what caused my template to get messed up, but I’ve decided that after 10 years, it’s time to freshen the look. So I’m going to look for a new template that looks good and I can adapt to accommodate the PodPress plugin and commentary list.
Join me as I explore the first of Tom Cruise’s action movie tours de force, adapted from the nearly actionless TV series of the same name. Impossible, you say? Oh quite possible indeed if you throw out everything the TV show did.
I examine the differences between the movie’s treatment of IFM and the 1960s TV show. I consider Tom Cruise as a thinking-man’s action movie star, Brian De Palma as a director, Jon Voight as an IMF lead, and the locations as locations. I compare it to Rafifi, Topkapi, Die Hard and Knight and Day. I consider the idea of taking the TV show’s premise and complicating it until it becomes ridiculous. I pull apart story elements like the insider-gone-bad and the nonsensical parts of the plot like the use of bible verses.
NOTE: I’m shocked to find that in fact Gideons distribute full bibles to hotel rooms. The New Testament only version is typically handed out. So it’s not the huge mistake I thought it was at all. Sorry for the error.
I’m watching a DVR version. I think there’s only one version of the film. Start the film after the MGM logo on the countdown.
The site is not displaying correctly for some reason in some browsers. I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong. Just reuploading the template didn’t work.
Running commentaries that you listen to while you watch the movie.
