Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
That's right! It was officially announced early this morning (Pioneer Day aka Utah Statehood Day) that the 2034 Winter Olympics will be coming to Salt Lake City for the 1st time since 2002!!! It was kinda known for several months now... but it's good that the IOC didn't pull the ultimate joke & deny us on the state's birthday! Oh... and I saw some movies... July 19 – Vicious Lips (1986) In the distant future, a lady rock band is given the opportunity to be on the intergalactic stage… all they have to do is make it across the galaxy in less than a day… and as luck would have it, they’ve crashed on a desert planet… and they stole a ship that has a serial killer in the back… hijinx ensue. Okay, this movie is made by Albert Pyun (“Cyborg” & other questionable movies) and this is an early one that apparently he bailed on after filming and was like “Good luck making it a story!” Izzy loves this movie… for some reason… but what do I think about it? Rating - ???/10 – Find out on the Grindbin Podcast where we talked with Mike & Bobby about it!!! July 21 – Dangerously Close (1986) While researching “Vicious Lips”, we found out that the lead actress had a small part in this movie… about a band of rich kids who are hellbent on cleansing their prep school of the unsightly Nair-do-wells… and then after a few kids end up dead or missing, then the others kinda do something about it… sorta… apparently this was a whole genre of movies in the 80s where the jocks were cleaning out the nerds via gestapo tactics or something… but this one has John Stockwell, Carey Lowell (Bond girl debut) & friend of the podcast Anthony DeLongis as a cop in one scene… oh yeah, and directed by Albert Pyun within a few months of Vicious Lips. Oh how the hijinx ensue… Rating – 8/10 – Look, this movie was kinda dumb & predictable… but I had a good time with it… though I’ve never understood the whole bully thing… maybe I’M the bully? July 23 – Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006) Yup, another Jesse Stone movie where Tom Selleck is an aging alcoholic LA cop who moved to small-town Massachusetts because he’s separated from this wife (don’t worry about it) and as luck would have it bodies start falling like Murder She Wrote & Jesse always has a new hot chick to run through casually while going through his mental problems through a bottle of whiskey. In this one, the body of a teenage girl washes up on shore… while a man also beats his wife unrelated… and the mystery is whether the teenage girl was killed by her WASP father, the rich author that she trusts, or the dozens of teenage boys who raw dog her on a weekly basis. Jesse meanwhile has finally decided to see a psychiatrist… who may or may not be him from 10 years in the future (played by William Devane) and hijinx & hilarity ensues. Oh & he’s nailing the schoolmistress who didn’t realize that the dead girl was actually an honor student at her last school but then immediately had issues once moving to town… but hey, that’s not her job… she’s pretty. Rating – 7/10 – That being said, I still kinda like these movies. Tom Selleck is great… Viola Davis too… The next few weeks are going to be hella busy with Izzy's art shows but... I'll keep you posted when/if I can... until then, HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!! Steve
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Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Yup, HOT busy week after HOT BUSIER week... but I was able to squeeze in a few movies... July 13 – Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) Have you ever seen Indecent Proposal? Well… it’s basically this movie but with less intentional comedy & more drama. Nic Cage & Sarah Jessica Parker are a young couple who go to Vegas to get married because… you know contrivance of Nic’s mom’s deathbed warning to never get married and whatever… but when they get there, within a few hours they fall pray to a professional gambler (definitely not the Mafia don) James Caan who’s wife bore a striking resemblance to SJP… and hijinx ensue when Nic needs to pay off a $65,000 debt by offering his wife as company for the weekend. Honestly though, this is more realistic than Indecent Proposal… even with the overflowing of Elvis impersonators of the Elvis impersonators convention in good ol’ 90s Las Vegas… but yeah, it’s a rough movie at times just for the contrivances… Rating – ???/10 – I PAID $15 FOR THIS, so listen to the podcast so that you don’t have to… or maybe you decide to later on… July 15 – Leaving Las Vegas (1995) That’s right… it’s all the Nic Cage Vegas movies coming up… and this one was my LEAST favorite Nic Cage movie for a looooong time (until watching Amos & Andrew). It’s the story of a writer (Nic Cage) whose wife has left him… and he’s going DEEP into an alcoholic depression… and gets fired… so he decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death… but along the way he meets a hooker with a heart of gold (Elizabeth Shue) who, for whatever reason, falls for him… and they just… kind of be miserable near each other for two hours of movie as hijinx ensue. Yes, I know THIS is somehow the movie that Nic Cage won an Academy Award for (AND SHUE WAS F**KING ROBBED!!!). You can say that it’s a deep, introspective look at broken people in horrible lives that they’ve chosen for themselves & the consequences of their actions… sure… but overall, the movie is just so… f**king unbelievable in many ways… and having lived through a few loved ones deal with alcoholism, this movie just ended up infuriating me when I originally watched it about 15 years ago (IN MY 20S!!!). Has it aged well? Rating - ???/10 – Find out on Everything I Learned From Movies in August!!! July 17 – Zandalee (1991) Okay… if you’ve never seen this movie… it’s an erotic thriller set in New Orleans… where Southern gentleman Judge Reinhold has his beautiful wife (straight outta Red Shoe Diaries) but he’s losing his lust for life (and basically impotent) so she hooks up with hubby’s old buddy artist Nicolas Cage, who looks like Johnny Deep with a mullet and hijinx ensue. There’s also cameos from prisoner garbage man Steve Buscemi, Joe Pants in a dress, Marisa Tomei for a cup of coffee & a plot that makes negative sense… intrigued? Rating – 9/10 – This movie is so crazy it makes me want to go back to New Orleans again very soon!!! I'M LIKE A PRICKLY PEAR!!! Have a great day everybody!!! Watch Zandalee... lemme know what you think! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Gearing up for the busiest part of the year with regards to art shows... but of course... we find a way for the podcast... as we have appearances to keep!!! July 5 – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) As you may have heard, I love Ghostbusters. Grew up with the original as one of our few VHS tapes growing up… the second one is great… didn’t particularly care for the 2016 one but I think that’s because of the bad “improv” nature of the comedy… but they won me back with the last one in spades with the Stranger Things / Next Generation angle. My brother went to see this one opening weekend… and he HATED it!!! He told me that it was a bunch of woke BS where instead of busting ghosts 90% of the movie is the teenage girl falling in a lesbian relationship with a ghost and blah blah blah… and I could totally see that being the angle… and I’d still enjoy it. So… we watched it… and I saw the “lesbian relationship” as more of 15-year old teenagers finding a friend while they’re being angsty and… it’s not like anything happened in a sexual manner so… not sure what my brother’s thinking about. There are some definite lulls in the action (and logic for that matter) in the middle of the movie but… you know, movie gotta movie… and they actually bring back Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray & everybody’s favorite Ernie Hudson (can you believe that guy’s almost 80?!?) in small but significant & hilarious roles… plenty of callbacks being back in New York City… and yeah, I really liked it. Rating – 8/10 – I’d probably only rate it above the 2016 one (Answer the Call or whatever?) but still fun… July 7 – Mazes & Monsters (1980) Tom Hanks’ first leading role… too bad it’s a made-for-TV Satanic Panic movie about four college kids who get swept up in the seedy underbelly of role-playing board games that definitely aren’t Dungeons & Dragons… or something like that. Look… the actors are okay for what they’re given. Is even the great Tom Hanks perfect? Of course not… he’s like 19 or something & given a horrible script. Is this movie worth a watch though for some of the ridiculous things that come out of people’s mouths in the early Reagan days?!? Rating – 7/10 – Absolutely! Worth a drunk watch with friends… or we’ll talk about it on the podcast later this month July 9 – Red Sun (1971) This is another Western where Charles Bronson is part of a gang that robs a train, including a ceremonial sword from the emperor of Japan meant for the President… but then the gang double crosses him & blows him up with dynamite. Now the head guard of the Japanese delegation (Toshiro Mifune of “Seven Samurai”, “Yojimbo”, etc) must join forces with him to bring them to justice… and get the sword (and maybe the money) back. It’s your typical odd couple setup… but actually a lot of fun & from the director of the early Bond movies (Terence Young) so he knows how to shoot a shot & bring the story around. Mifune is always amazing… even if he’s in an early version of “Shanghai Knights” sans most of the comedy. Rating – 8/10 – Definitely worth a shot if you’re into Westerns but a lot of cliches July 11 – Muppets Most Wanted (2014) Have you seen Ernest Goes to Jail? Well, have you seen it with Muppets?!? Basically the Muppets go on a world tour with tour manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) and the world’s most dangerous frog escapes from a gulag & switches places with Kermit unbeknownst to anyone else. Guys… it’s a Muppets movie… so you know it’s great… Rating – 9/10 – Always fun… and Tina Fey as the gulag director makes it even better If you're in northern Utah & going to events, you'll probably see us in person... whether it's Ogden Farmers Market, Ogden Pride Festival, Eccles Art Center, Weber County Fair, Craft Lake City DIY Festival in Salt Lake City Fairgrounds, Fiiz Fest in South Jordan, Yart Sale, As Above So Below Witch Fest in Roy... all kinds of crazy stuff!!! See you there!!! Steve & Izzy Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Well yes, it certainly feels like the end times are upon us... just based on who the "leader of the free world" is gearing up to be (either option) but... alas we soldier on in this stupidest timeline... and watched a few movies... June 29 – The Town (2010) So this movie was recommended for our podcast by an upcoming guest… and I was a little confused. I remembered really liking this Ben Affleck directed bank robbery flick set in the seedy neighborhood of Charlestown in Boston… and on our podcast, we talk about bad movies, right? Oh wait! We also talk about questionable movies… and this is a movie about a bank robbery that goes successfully… until one of the guys starts basically stalking the hostage that they took… and falls in love with her… and continues to do questionable things for a questionable amount of time. Oh yeah, this movie totally fits our podcast! That being said… aside from the obvious amount of “What the f**k are you doing?” throughout the movie… it’s actually pretty well done! Rating – 8/10 – Is it Heat? The Sting? No… more like The Sting II or Den of Thieves or Wrath of Man territory… definitely worth a watch July 1 – Waterworld (1995) I watched this one at a drive-in when it came out… the summer of Batman Forever, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Braveheart, Apollo 13… and of course… CONGO!!! I never really understood the hate for this movie though. Yeah, maybe it lost money because it was the most expensive movie ever made at the time but… it’s basically a Mad Max movie on the water… and that’s my jam!!! In the future, the ice caps have melted… and the entire world is covered in water… yet somehow there’s a surprising number of things from the 90s still around like jet skis & ski boots… and gas that works… but basically there’s a man with fish gills (Kevin Costner) who takes upon a woman & a girl who may have the secret to finding dry land… but Dennis Hopper wants to know too… and he has an army at his disposal somehow. Hijinx ensue. Look… even when it’s the Mad Max Universe & like… fifty years in the future, I’m skeptical about the modern conveniences that people have… but take 50 to 500 years and I’m downright “Whatever, it’s a movie, let it go!” So with that in mind… Rating – 8/10 – I really like it… even with the charisma vacuum that is Kevin Costner July 3 – Hanky Panky (2024) A few weeks ago, the director of this movie (Nick Roth) reached out to me about his movie & wanting to be on the podcast (Everything I Learned From Movies) to promote it… and I was totally down since it was filmed nearby in Heber, Utah & I love talking to people in the movie industry. The movie is on Tubi… and it’s the usual setup of group of people at a cabin in the woods… but one of them is insane & talking to his handkerchief … but is he insane?!? Hijinx ensue… and honestly, it’s a horror comedy on a shoestring budget… but the editing & comedic timing REALLY pulls off what is an otherwise absolutely insane premise where there’s a killer hat voiced by Seth Green! Oh… and another fun thing… in trying to interview the director, we actually got to interview the other director… his wife… Lindsay Haun, probably best known as the lead evil girl from “Village of the Damned” & the Doctor’s child from “Star Trek: Voyager”!!! COMING SOON!!! Rating – 9/10 – This movie was really fun, especially knowing the horror tropes & how they play with them… check it out on Tubi! Happy Independence Day weekend!!! We'll be at the Huntsville 4th of July Parade & Art Festival... and then the weekend will have plenty of fun as well, I'm sure! Hopefully you'll have the same! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Utah Gay Rodeo was a bunch of fun (even if attendance wasn't amazing, but we've got ideas for next year) and it's officially summer with 95+ degree weather... so we stay inside & watch movies when we can... June 21 – Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) This sequel to the Lonesome Dove mini-series picks up with some of the same cast (Rick Schroeder, Chris Cooper, etc) but then replaces Tommy Lee Jones as Cpt. Call with Jon Voight… and Anjelica Huston with Barbara Hershey… and throws in a young Reese Witherspoon, Dennis Haysbert , CCH Pounder, Lou Gossett, Nia Peeples and… Oliver Reed as a Scottish cattle baron in Montana! Okay yes, it’s not quite as good as the original… I mean… Jon Voight isn’t horrible… but it’s almost a different character from TLJ’s Cpt. Call too… the story is about Newt getting into some circumstances where he ends up almost inheriting Oliver Reed’s empire (and hooking up with his 14 year old wife Reese Witherspoon) but then… you know… you were my family first even though I was an a-hole… it’s a western… and we’ve been watching a lot of them recently. Rating – 8/10 – Still worth a watch… there’s definitely some fun & intrigue… but be warned it’s six hours June 23 – Twisted Metal (2024) This ten-episode season on Peacock based on the video game franchise (loosely?) centers around John Doe (Anthony Mackie) who’s a delivery driver between… basically Mega Cities from Judge Dredd through the barren wasteland of criminals between (at least in the US, never really elaborates if the rest of the world is just fine) and he gets “the final job” from the mayor of New San Francisco (Neve Campbell) where if he picks up a package in New Chicago & comes back… then he gets to live in the city. Along the way, he hooks up with a girl on a vengeance spree against the personification of ACAB (Thomas Haden Church) & finds out more about his mysterious past… and this show was a LOT of fun. Everybody was great! Especially the body of Samoa Joe & voice of Will Arnett combining as the psycho clown Sweet Tooth! Season two should be coming… who knows? 2027 probably? Writers strike… Peacock… mergers… whatever… Rating – 10/10 – Some of the drama is just to drag it out to 4-5 hours but… a LOT of fun June 25 – The Muppet Movie (1979) It’s the first Muppets movie… and they’re on a road trip to Hollywood… and hijinx & cameos ensue! Rating – 9/10 – Not my favorite Muppets movie… but it’s a Muppets movie… so it’s great! June 27 – Streets of Laredo (1995) Yes, a THIRD Lonesome Dove series… and this one has the legend himself James Garner an ever-further aged Captain Call… and he’s been hired by the railroads to take out a… (deep sigh) 14-year blonde Mexican boy sniper who’s robbing trains & just killing a bunch of people and livestock while doing it. But wait… he can’t be doing it alone (though it’s inferred he basically is) but also involved is a Native American guy named Mox Mox who BURNS PEOPLE ALIVE!!! Okay… and you’re only sending a 70-something retired Texas ranger after these guys? Oh don’t worry, he’s taking his other retired corporal… and some random deputy he picked up along the way… and the accountant who’s handling his bills… and Randy Quaid pops up as a pointless gunslinger. Look… luckily this one was only 4 hours or so… and it’s not that it’s a bad series or anything… it was just so much darker than the first two. Yes, the first two dealt with death & being in the West was tough… but on top of all the stuff I already said… the accountant’s wife died suddenly off screen… the deputy’s wife killed herself after being raped by the local sheriff… who then also killed himself… Call loses his leg in a long, drawn-out way… the teenage killer’s entire family is a sad tale of a whore who has a simple boy, a blind girl & the oldest is THE F**KING DEVIL killing half of Texas… and the best thing in her life is drunken George Carlin wanting to be near her but he’s in the Friend Zone… and I’m sure there was more that I’m just forgetting already… but yeah, just crazy… and the whole time I’m like “What’s Newt/Rick Schroeder up to while this is going on?” Rating – 8/10 – I love me some James Garner… but the last third he’s just there being mopey and/or moaning in pain Is there more Lonesome Dove things to see out there?!? Wait and find out... Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Another busy week... but great Farmers Market & we have family flying in for next weekend so... yeah!!! Here are some movies... June 13 – Simon Sez (1999) Okay… I have a soft spot for the utter stupidity that is the JCVD-Dennis Rodman classic “Double Team” and this… is the other Dennis Rodman movie made shortly after. He plays an Interpol agent who gets sucked into a silly plot involving arms dealers, a girl who doesn’t know that she’s kidnapped, cybermonks, plenty of mumbling, unintellible accents, horribly shot action scenes & the comedic stylings of Dane Cook. Does this movie work out? Rating – 3/10 – This movie was genuinely rough to watch… and somehow even worse than I remember… coming soon to the podcast June 15 – Eraser (1996) The last time we watched this movie was about 8 years ago for Episode #24 of our podcast (Everything I Learned From Movies… obviously), but yes it’s about a man (if you can call Arnold Schwarzenegger merely a man) who specializes in witness protection (at a superhero level) but then he’s assigned to a woman (Miss America & Playboy playmate Vanessa Williams) who’s blowing the whistle on a weapons company that she works for… and hijinx ensue when three Jameses show up that they may not be able to trust (Caan, Coburn & Cromwell in a cameo). This movie is… popcorn action flick. The plot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The CGI for the alligators is laughable (though the practical stuff isn’t horrible) but yeah… it’s Arnold shooting dudes & being unstoppable. Rating – 8/10 – Dumb fun action… and that’s what I like sometimes… June 17 – Monkey Man (2024) Yes, I finally watched the directorial debut of Dev Patel where he’s basically a man on a vengeance spree through India! That’s… basically the plot of the movie. An evil man working for an evil religious figure… killed this Monkey Man’s mother when he was a child… so now 20 years later during an election where evil may prevail, he’s ready to exact his revenge. The movie is gritty, bloody, violent… and yet somehow very interesting, even when the character’s choices seem a little different from the viewer’s own… and it’s pretty intense for most of the movie… though probably not quite enough for a full two hour movie. Rating – 9/10 – I really enjoyed it… but it’s definitely not for everybody June 19 – Day of the Panther (1988) Friend of the podcast Brian Trenchard-Smith has directed over 60 projects during his illustrious career (along with countless other TV shows, trailers, commercials, etc.) and about a year ago, Vinegar Syndrome had a special going on this dual pack of this movie… and its simultaneously shot sequel “Strike of the Panther” about a secret agent martial arts master (or something like that) who goes from Hong Kong to Perth to find the man who killed his partner (blond chick). However, oddly enough, the movie doesn’t really go the vengeance route… and it becomes more about getting drugs off the streets of Perth… and then… well, spoilers… they let the bad guys go at the end of the movie so that there’s a sequel? Ballsy! Silly, but ballsy! Rating – ???/10 – Find out what we rated it on Everything I Learned from Movies on ALL the major podcatchers… Happy Juneteenth!!! Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Summer is in full swing & things are getting busy busy... and yet here are a few movies that we saw recently... June 6 – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) OF COURSE we were there opening day for the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road where we see the Kill Bill story of the rise of Furiosa!!! True… Anya Taylor-Joy is no Charlize Theron (and Hollywood needs to stop trying to convince us otherwise). She’s the Taylor Swift of acting. She’s okay… but not really my bag. Also true that George Miller can’t use all practical effects because this story is more than just driving down a road & then turning around and driving back… so you get a lot of mildly wonky CGI but still blended well. Chris Hemsworth lives it up as the villain… and it acts as the backstory for Fury Road… but doesn’t quite eclipse it. That being said… you should definitely see this movie in theatres! It’s a great vengeance tale without going completely over the top with bloody gory violence… and frankly I want to see more tales from the Wasteland… Rating – 10/10 – Not quite a 10+ but absolutely a great film that everyone should see… even the kids June 7 – The Fall Guy (2024) TWO WEEKS! From premiere to streaming in TWO WEEKS?!? Cool… so obviously I bought this movie sight-unseen simply because it would’ve cost that much to see it in theaters & now I own it forever… and it’s basically STUNTS (1977) or THE STUNT MAN (1980) meets DEATHCHEATERS based loosely on “The Fall Guy” TV series… but starring Ryan Gosling & Emily Blunt and directed by stuntman-turned-director David Leitsch… so yeah, I’m getting my STUNTS!!! Basically Ryan Gosling is a stuntman who has a bad accident… and then 18 months later is called back into the game & reunited with his former-girlfriend who’s now the director… and hijinx ensue when the movie’s star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) goes missing. Now… it’s an action movie… that’s also a romantic-comedy… but yeah, I absolutely loved it! Why didn’t anyone see this in theatres? Well… I can’t say much because I didn’t for a multitude of reasons… and this movie was made for me… Rating – 10/10 – I hate the premise of “JUST F**KING TELL THEM” in romance movies but… aside from that, great! June 8 – The Protector (2006) Tony Jaa is part of a line of elephant farmers/protectors who must find two elephants that have been stolen from Thailand & taken to downtown Sydney by… I don’t know, some criminal organization that also has a restaurant where they serve exotic animals? I mean… the plot is pointless… but it loosely holds the action scenes together including one of the greatest in movie history at the stairwell involving a 4+ minute continuous shot. This is one of those movie that you don’t watch for the story… it’s for the action shots… and it’s a lot of fun in that respect. Rating – 9/10 – I really can’t rate it higher because of the horribly dumb plot… but watch this movie! June 9 – How the West Was Won (1976-79) This is the story of the Macahan family in the old west… and man… this cast is stacked, it’s beautifully shot, each episode is one of the many western storylines, there’s always a lesson from good ol’ Uncle Zeb(ulon) and… it’s really just a lot of fun. True, the pacing is a little slower being a 70’s TV series… but we spent a few weeks watching this & were not disappointed. Hell, people like Craig T Nelson showed up for a scene as a jewelry salesman or something! Rating – 10/10 – It’s not perfection but… like I said… a bunch of fun… June 10 – Godzilla Minus One (2023) When this movie was in theaters, apparently that wasn’t really in Utah, and I was also going through the fiasco of the American Healthcare system with Izzy’s pneumonia… but many respected podcaster friends was saying how this movie had moved them to tears on multiple occasions… and that it was easily the greatest kaiju movie ever made… and I was intrigued as to how that could possibly be! We’re not 14-15 years old & that’s typically when all the greatest movies we’ve ever seen came out (see “Congo”). This movie is set in post-WWII Japan as they’re recovering from the absolute destruction of the war… and it follows a kamikaze pilot who… well, got cold feet… but then saw the precursor of Godzilla. Now a few years later, he’s moved back home to find it completely ravaged… and meets a woman with a baby… and they start a relationship… but not that kind… and hijinx ensue when a giant nuclear fire blasting lizard starts attacking Japan. Now… I don’t want to say too much about this movie… and because I wasn’t watching it in a theatre surrounded by the sound & deprived of oxygen, I didn’t cry… but this may be one of the greatest kaiju movies ever made! The kaiju stuff is great… the character development & drama is great... yeah, I plan on watching it again soon. Rating – 10+/10 – It’s on Netflix (surprise drop on June 1st) so check it out now!!! June 11 – In the Name of the Rose (1986) In the 14th century, a friar & his ward (Sean Connery & Christian Slater) go to a monastery to investigate a series of mysterious deaths… and hijinx ensue… as the Devil may be involved. This movie was… a truly unique movie. Sure, it’s a logical thinking man like Sherlock Holmes coming in & using his learned ways to debunk mysticism & fear-induced hyperbole… but logic doesn’t matter in the 14th century… especially when F Murray Abraham shows up as the Inquisitor!!! Yeah, it’s a surprisingly good movie that I highly recommend… but be prepared for trigger warnings like nobody gives a f**k about you if you’re a poor or a woman or a thinking man because God is all & those who serve God are all and we’ll just burn you if you disagree. Rating – 10/10 – Definitely check it out! I believe we watched it on Amazon Prime. June 12 – Birth (2004) A director who had just made an incredible movie called “Sexy Beast”… and an Academy Award nominated actress… are handed a $20 million check to make a movie… about a woman’s dead husband being reincarnated… as a ten-year old boy! How could this movie go wrong? Well… a few scenes in a bathtub turned this otherwise beautifully shot look at grief and loss… into something that put the director into a hiatus for over a decade (until 2017’s Under the Skin & last year’s Zone of Interest) & even star Nicole Kidman went from top of the world into pretty standard fare for about a decade. Was this exile from Hollywood warranted?!? Rating - ???/10 – Find out on our 4th of July episode of Everything I Learned from Movies where we discuss it with Mike from the Grindbin & Tim Yobo from Bloody Bits Horror Show… where they break their own record for longest episode in our podcast’s history… and it’s worth it Now if you'll excuse me... I'm off to adults-only Zoo Brew at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City! Find out if your local zoo has adults-only nights... it's the only way to really enjoy a zoo... sans strollers & sh*t kids... Have a great day everybody!!! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
It's officially getting to be summer with the temperatures in the 80s & 90s... can't wait until July/August with the triple digits... so I'm staying indoors when I can to watch movies... May 30 – Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) I remember watching a free premiere screening of this movie a few days before it came out… and having ZERO expectations based on where Thunderdome (3rd installment) left off… but guys, this movie is f**king great!!! Pulse-pounding action, great atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world, great performances by great actors, not knowing what to expect at every turn… just watch it, you know the story… they run away on the greatest vehicle in cinema (The War Rig), make a U-turn & head back… Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nathan Jones, Nicholas Hoult, etc. Rating – 10+/10 – One of the greatest movies ever made… Furiosa hopes to be HALF as good… and was better than half May 31 – The Bear (2022-2023) 1st 2 Seasons Yup, we finally watched the series billed as a comedy about the food industry… and it’s really about 10% comedy 90% family drama… but it’s about a top chef de cuisine in the world inheriting his brother’s dive restaurant in Chicago (due to his brother’s suicide) & the complete mental breakdown involved with turning from a hole-in-the-wall dive to a fine dining experience in the heart of the ghetto when your surrounded by friend-employees who have no idea what you’re talking about & a family straight out of your nightmares… oh and you’re neurotic as f**k too because of your genetics AND training to be the top chef de cuisine in the world… but holy crap, this show was great. Season 1 – 8/10 – Not gonna lie, season one was a little rough at spots because they were REALLY slow in explaining why everybody’s an idiot/a-hole Season 2 – 10+/10 – Season two though they seem to get their stuff together… and there are two of the greatest TV episodes ever produced back-to-back (“Fishes” & “Forks”) and they’re great for completely different reasons… trigger warning for suicide & neuroses being agitated but… would recommend if you’re strong enough June 1 – Lonesome Dove (1989) This six-hour mini-series about two retired Texas Rangers (Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jones) follows them on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana… and hijinx ensue on the high plains with shady characters in their party (Robert Urich), a teenage whore (Diane Lane!), the son who doesn’t know he’s the son (Ricky Schroder) and others (Danny Glover). I had heard that this was one of the great westerns… and it’s pretty good… but basically because it ends up being kind of all the westerns in one. Each episode is almost its own separate situation where a western movie unfolds… and then after 90 minutes they go on to the next one. Rating – 8/10 – Quite enjoyable for the genre & the acting was pretty good June 2 – Never Back Down (2008) A douchy teen moves to a new town & gets caught up in an underground teenage fight club… and meets a wise mentor (Djimon Hounsou) who helps him to get the best of a rival who inexplicably is infatuated with him. Have you seen Karate Kid? This is the dumbed down version of that dumbed down story… but hey, occasionally the music hits… and it’s 2000’s as hell… so yeah, enjoyable moments. Rating - ???/10 – Listen to us talk with Chris from Home Video Hustle about it on the EILFM Podcast June 3 – Runaway (1982) In the future (according to 1982), robots are taking over the basic jobs… but they break down… and when those breakdowns turn deadly… you call the cops to handle them? Tom Selleck is the lead detective in this robotics division of the police… and he’s teamed up with a sexy new recruit who was a meter maid before this job… and hijinx ensue when the designer (Gene Simmons) of a lot of these robots decides that he wants to get paid & kill a bunch of people. Written & directed by Michael Crichton (“Jurassic Park”, “Congo”, “Timeline”, etc) but it’s… not a great movie… but that being said, it’s a lot of fun for me to see how Hollywood saw the future during different times throughout history & what has panned out… and what seems ridiculous by today’s standards (42 years of hindsight later). Rating – 8/10 – Lots of fun… but don’t take a shot every time somebody saws “Ramsay”, the lead character’s last name… you’ll go blind June 4 – Three Amigos! (1986) I had never actually seen this movie all the way through… only a few scenes flipping through channels… but it’s a John Landis directed movie about three Hollywood stars on the way out of the Golden Era (Steve Martin, Martin Short & Chevy Chase) who are famous as three western heroes… but through bad telegraph communication they go to Mexico to do a show… but find themselves in a real life western situation where the evil El Guapo is harassing a village… and hijinx ensue… so yeah, it probably helped that I had seen a LOT of these kinds of westerns recently but… I liked it! No, it’s not the greatest comedy every made but not a bad little time… Rating – 8/10 – Be careful or you might be singing “My Little Buttercup” for a few days after… June 5 – Karate Kid Part III (1990) For June we’re talking about martial arts movies on the podcast… and it was high time we revisited this one where Daniel-son & Mr. Miyagi return home from Part 2 to find out that Daniel’s mom is away, so I guess they’re living together… and then Daniel uses his college money to get Mr. Miyagi a location for a bonsai store that he never wanted… meanwhile Kreese & his best former student billionaire are conspiring on how they’re going to destroy this (27 year old) teenager while he’s also NOT having a relationship with a 16-year old teen witch… and yeah, hijinx ensue. This movie is a f**king mess… but I still enjoy Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffiths in his debut) as the villain… and Pat Morita is always great as Mr. Miyagi. Rating - ???/10 – Listen to us chat about it on Everything I Learned From Movies!!! Sweep the leg next week! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Spring is officially ramping down with a few scattered showers (all combined at the first Farmers Market of the year) and temperatures picking up to the 80's... but we saw a bunch of movies... May 23 – Disco Godfather (1979) Rudy Ray Moore returns in his 4th & final movie… about an ex-cop turned Disco DJ who tries to take angel dust off the streets… by any means necessary… and hijinx ensue! Julius Carry shows up in an early role as a basketball player having a bad trip with PCP but… yeah, it’s a ridiculous Rudy Ray Moore movie with poorly executed kung fu & hood tropes… but the ending is absolutely insane… so how did it turn out?!? Rating - ???/10 – Listen to us talk about it with Mikey Bagford on EVERYTHING I LEARNED FROM MOVIES!!! May 24 – Ghostbusters (1984) I forget if I’ve already talked about this movie (definitely did for the 2nd one) but it’s about three scientists who join the private sector to catch ghosts for the city of New York… and yes, OF COURSE I remember Winston is in this movie. Ernie Hudson is the greatest but he doesn’t show up until towards the end of the second act… and he’s not a scientist either from what I gather… but I’ve only seen this movie a thousand times or so… because… Rating – 10+/10 – Possibly the greatest (and most quoted in this house) comedy of all time May 25 – Arizona Colt aka The Man from Nowhere (1966) This was one of the most spaghetti of westerns that I had ever seen… and it’s on Tubi of course… and it’s about a bounty hunter who’s broken out of jail by a bandito leader… but then he’s hired by a saloon owner to protect the town from the same banditos… because the owner’s daughter was killed by then… but of course, he also has another daughter who wants nothing to do with this bounty hunter… until she does, I guess. Yeah, it’s pretty standard but… at least mildly entertaining for how just cuckoo bananas it is. Rating – 7/10 – I’ve seen worse… but if you’re looking for a spaghetti western itch to be scratched… May 26 – Timecop (1995) “It is on TV… all of the time” – Jean Claude Van Johnson… and yes, it’s JCVD as Max Walker, the police officer in charge of stopping time traveling fugitives… but then hijinx ensue when an evil senator (Ron Silver) is out to become the President and veritable Time Lord in the not-too-distant future! The action is… okay. The special effects are… dated. Mia Sara is… underutilized at best. However, I still enjoy this dumb movie. Rating – 8/10 – I don’t have to watch the rest of it every time I see it on TV… but I have been known to… May 27 – Lucky 7, or 7 Xiao Fu (1986) Okay, this movie was brought to us by Bobby of the Grindbin Podcast for June-jitsu… and it’s a Taiwanese movie about 7 ass-kicking martial artist children who get tangled into a plot involving a diamond… and hijinx ensue. There’s really not much that I can briefly say about this movie… but either you can watch it for yourself on YouTube… ORRRRRRR… Rating - ???/10 – Listen to Everything I Learned From Movies on your favorite podcatcher in a fully entertaining upcoming episode May 28 – Quigley Down Under (1990) Quigley is a sharpshooter in the Old West (played by Tom Selleck) who’s hired by an Australian rancher (Alan Rickman), so he makes the three months’ journey… and then instantly finds out he’s supposed to be killing Aborigine people to clear his ranch… and hijinx ensue when he refuses. Oh he also picks up a crazy lady… and this movie is a lot of fun… except for when it’ll throw in a dead kid or two… Rating – 9/10 – I really do like this movie… but yeah, it’s fairly predictable… but Tom Selleck, man! May 29 – The Specialist (1993) Stallone is a bomb expert. James Woods is a bomb expert. Sharon Stone wants revenge & has breasts. Eric Roberts gets to bang her while she’s plotting to kill him. Rod Steiger is a Cuban druglord. This movie is f**king insane. It’s a cheesy late night Cinemax movie with a bigger budget & makes even less sense. “Bullets are imprecise… I hear you can control your explosions.” FOH!!! Rating – 10+/10 – Seriously though… this movie is insane… Until June, true believers!!! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
It's upon us... Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is coming out this weekend... and Ogden Farmers Market is starting on Saturday for the next four-plus months! Summer has officially arrived... and here are some movies that we watched... May 16 – Tremors (1990) Izzy wanted to watch this when she saw that it was their 34th anniversary on Facebook or something… and I hadn’t seen it in a while… so we watched the tale of the small town of Perfection being taken over by giant bloodthirsty worm-like creatures starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Reba McIntyre & more! We interviewed the writer (and director of a few sequels) SS Wilson a few years ago… and he’s amazing… just like this movie. Is it a Jaws knock-off? Yeah sorta… in that it’s a horror movie about a monstrous creature that eats people… but it’s also a LOT of fun… and spawned 6-7 sequels and a season of a TV show. Rating – 10/10 – Always worth a watch… even if you’ve seen it dozens of times May 17 – The Beautician & the Beast (1997) I had seen this comedy back when it first came out… and I remember liking it… except for Fran Drescher’s voice. Sorry, the tone just hits me the wrong way. I blame family members with a similar pitch. That being said, it’s the story of a beauty school teacher who’s mistakenly recruited to teach the children of a Slovetzian dictator (Timothy Dalton) and hijinx ensue… and yeah, it’s a dumb premise… but hey, the comedic timing is okay & they’re easy on the eyes… and you know there’s no stakes. Lots of nods to musicals like “King & I”, “Sound of Music” and of course “Beauty & the Beast” but… yeah, you’ll know if you like it or not. Rating – 8/10 – Could be a LOT worse… and I’m glad the Razzies got revoked because of Fran’s work with SAG-AFTRA this last year May 18 – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) We were there opening night to see the next chapter in the Planet of the Apes series… and basically this one is a new story generations after the death of Caesar… and is basically a sword & sandal movie about a young ape who’s village is destroyed & so he goes on a vengeance quest… but runs into a priest orangutan spreading the word of Caesar… and a human girl thief… and they have to take down the bad apes who enslave other apes to attain the ultimate knowledge… and hijinx ensue. This movie… is pretty damn great! I really enjoyed it! 99.9% of the actors on screen are mo-capped but because the whole world is decently done CGI it’s not distracting… and the character arcs are great… and the nods to the earlier movies… go watch it in theaters! Rating – 10/10 – This is probably 3rd highest in my PotA ratings behind the original & Dawn (2015) May 19 – Live Free or Die Hard (2007) I had seen this movie in theaters when it first came out… and thought it was… okay. Now I’ve rewatched it (on Tubi) and the 4th installment of the John McClane Die Hard series has (should-be retired) detective McClane transporting a cracker criminal (not hacker, look it up!) Justin Long… and hijinx ensue when other cyber terrorists try to shut down every single thing connected to a computer & create chaos… or get money while doing it of course. The action is… very 2000’s with a lot of bad CGI but… hey, you know going into it that it’s stupid fun action & the bad guy is Timothy Olyphant so… yeah, that’s what you signed up for. So did it age well? Rating – 7/10 – Meh… it’s okay… it’s better than the 5th one that’s for sure… May 21 – The Shadow Riders (1982) In the days after the Civil War, two brothers (Tom Selleck & Sam Elliott which makes perfect sense) who represented different sides of the battle return home… but then find out that a few of their relatives have been kidnapped by renegade Confederates… and hijinx ensue! This is based on a Louis L’Amour novel… so you know what you’re getting into… but yeah, it was a nice little Western (been watching a bunch with the MIL in-house) and what made this one unique (besides the brothers Tom & Sam) were that this is where Sam met his wife of the last 40+ years Katharine Ross, and also one of the last performances from by Dominique Dunne before her horribly gruesome death… … … Rating – 8/10 – Has a TV movie feel to it but… yeah, not a bad watch Happy Summer everybody!!! Get out & have some fun!!! Steve |
Steve and Izzy
Steve and Izzy are the hosts behind the EILFM podcast, are BJCP beer judges and have terrible to questionable taste in movies. Along with the PodCats Pickles, Cameron and Poe they will justify why these movies are amazing Archives
May 2024
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