Episode 35 – 1941
After the Sugarland Express, Steven Spielberg directed two mega-successes, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Combined, Jaws and Close Encounters earned almost $750,000,000 at the box office. That is in 1970s money. At this point, Universal, Spielberg’s clout could get anything made. So why not make a comedy? Surely, he can climb the comedy hill as well as suspense and science-fiction.
Fast-forward to the late 1970s. Spielberg decides to direct a comedy about further attacks by the Japanese in World War II. This movie is loaded with talented writers and actors. Robert Zemekis, Robert Stack, Bob Gale, Toshirô Mifune, Christopher Lee, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary, John Belushi, Ned Beatty, John Candy, and much, much, more. Spielberg is the hottest director leading one of the (if not the) finest casts in movie history.
Contrary to popular opinion, this movie did not flop. However, it was only a minor success. We are re-joined by Carmelita (from our Blues Brothers episode) to grade and discuss what some consider a well-made film and one of us graded much lower (and everyone else in-between). Be sure to give our 1941 episode a listen and let us know what you think!
Thank you for listening!
Episode 34 – Limbo (1999)
Every so often, we dive into art house cinema; and we are joined by our dear friend Steve from the Not Just Another Geek Pod Podcast to dive into a tale of turn-of-the-century Alaska. This films stars one of Sean’s favorite actors, David Strathairn, so expect him to gush heartily about him. Limbo also stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez, and Kris Kristofferson, and is written and directed by John Sayles.
This film is worth the watch, but Roy has a problem with the way it ends. He feels like Sayles owes the audience something that he doesn’t provide. There is also a Gone Girl-like moment that changes the movie completely, and we talk about how well that decision works.
We also ask if a 1990s-like indie movement would be good for Hollywood in the way low budget horror films work for studios like A24 and Blumhouse.
**As of late August 2020, Limbo (1999) is not streaming anywhere for free. All the major streaming rental services start at $3.99**
Episode 33 – Dodgeball vs. Baseketball
Dude! We’re 33 episodes in!
This time, we dive into two sports fit for the Ocho: Dodgeball and Baseketball. With two movies rife with mediocre characters (at best), we had to turn the MTN Batsignal on for a member of the world’s sexiest podcast, Bryan from the Salty Language Podcast, to pump up the appeal like White Goodman’s codpiece. We argue over which is the better movie and if Ben Stiller’s performance is any good. We make each other bleed each other’s blood while we hope nobody in the audience chooses none of you choose scenario number one.
Episode 32 – Almost Famous
Almost Famous turns 20 this year, and Roy is very excited. He is a shameless Cameron Crowe fan. We welcome two new guests to Moving the Needle 2.0: Dan, who is a film blogger and musician who joined us for the Mad Max episode in May 2015. He was also a co-host on his former Criterion-focused film podcast, Focus on Film. Amy, a rock & roll insider, is both a chronic illness and entertainment blogger. She joined Roy as a guest even further back in Roy and Sean’s earlier podcast, Synesthesia. They were great guests separately, but they are exponentially better together!
Sean and Roy open the show and introduce the movie, but they happily become shaded like the t-shirt after. We interweave discussions about the movie with Henno’s, Dan’s, and Amy’s stories about famous musicians they know and life on the road. They discuss band rifts as well. Roy was never much of a concert guy, but he tells a story about the last concert he may ever go to. Join us for some really cool road stories and split opinions about the quality of the movie. We thank you for listening!
Please consider writing Moving the Needle a review on your podcast player, so we can reach out to a wider audience.
Learn more about our guests:
Dan’s The DanMan Can blog
Dan on Instagram
Amy’s Demystification Blog
Amy’s Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind Blog
Amy on Instagram
Amy on Twitter
PELT
Episode 31 – Infectious Grooves 2: Eclectic Bugaboos
This week, we double down on guests and go after more earworms. We invite past guests Kristin from the How Was Your Week, Honey Podcast and Kyle from our first round of Moving the Needle. This time, we create a new earworm vocabulary. As for the hosts, the tables turn a little between songs that worked this time but not last time (and vice-versa). Please join us for 12 fun and/or torturous songs, and let us know what you think!
Did you enjoy our guests? Here is how to find more of them.
Kristin on Twitter
How Was Your Week, Honey? on Twitter
How Was Your Week, Honey? Podcast
Kristin’s blog
Kyle on Twitter
Episode 30 – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery vs. So I Married an Axe Murderer
This week, with the help of our “Journalism professor by day, TV reviewer by night” doctor friend, @saranetzley, we double-dip two of Mike Myers’ dual-role films. First is the well-known and quoted British spy spoof. The other is a cult classic that should be equally well-known and quoted, but somehow slipped through the cracks during its 1993 release.
For at least two films and a great opening to the third, the Austin Powers films have delighted millions, been quoted often, and was a very popular Halloween costume in the late 90s. So I Married an Axe Murderer is the Jan Brady of Mike Myers films. Sandwiched between Wayne’s World and Austin Powers, SIManAM is the story of a beat poet who is terrified of marriage who might be dating Mrs. X – the lady who marries and kills her husbands. You can argue that Jan eventually turned out to be the biggest catch of the three. Will our panel agree SIManAM comes to the same conclusion?
Next episode: A yet-unnamed Earworms Part Two with @epic_lish and @kmaemaier
Episode 29 – Oldboy
This fortnight, we are back with another movie to read! This time, it’s Chan-wook Park’s 2003 Korean revenge thriller, Oldboy. Jo suggested we discuss this film, so she comes back for the second straight show. We are so glad she returned!
Oldboy gave us a lot to talk about. We discuss revenge, justice, and guilt. Is the protagonist a world-class villain, and is the protagonist really the antagonist? Because this is fiction, we have fun with all these aspects. As of June 2020, there are many free options to watch this wonderful film. Take advantage and come and join us!
Connect with Jo!
Website
Instagram
Connect with us!
Facebook: Moving the Needle
Twitter: @mtnpod
Instagram: @mtnpod
E-mail us at mtnpodcast@gmail.com
Episode 28 – The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
This week, french surrealism is on the menu, We sink our teeth into Luis Bunuel’s 1972 french surrealist comedy masterpiece, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.
We are joined this week by Jo, a friendly ghost from MTN’s past to help us wade through the often ephemeral storylines, and persistently opaque meanings of this dense, playful dream world. No matter your experience or feelings towards art films, you will likely find a shared perspective within this episode.
Connect with Jo!
Website
Instagram
Connect with us!
Facebook: Moving the Needle
Twitter: @mtnpod
Instagram: @mtnpod
E-mail us at mtnpodcast@gmail.com
Episode 27 – A Quarantine Queue (to Quaff Querulousness)
This week, we welcome the return of the lovely Carmelita (@CarmelitaSays on Twitter) to discuss some of what we watched while we sheltered in place. We discussed (in no particular order): The Hunt, I Still Believe, The Last Kingdom, Upload, Star Wars: the Clone Wars, Rectify, Little Fires Everywhere, Star Trek: Picard, and Avenue 5. We hope you enjoy this episode and come out with some good ideas for future viewing.
Connect with us!
Facebook: Moving the Needle
Twitter: @mtnpod
Instagram: @mtnpod
E-mail us at mtnpodcast@gmail.com
Episode 26 – Con Air vs. The Rock
We are delighted to have Sara Netzley, (@SaraNetzley on Twitter) journalism professor by day and TV reviewer by night to discuss Nic Cage in back-to-back roles in 1996 and 1997. Historically, our versus series asks which movie we love more knowing we really like them both. Tonight, the rules have changed. There are haters on both sides. Dr. Netzley’s topic brought the heat.
Connect with us!
Facebook: Moving the Needle
Twitter: @mtnpod
Instagram: @mtnpod
E-mail us at mtnpodcast@gmail.com
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