The MovieByte Podcast: Recent Episodes
MovieByte
The MovieByte Podcast is a show to discuss, praise, lament, or sometimes even lampoon movies, TV shows, culture and more. Sometimes we talk about specific movies, or sometimes we talk about a movie series, or even TV shows. And sometimes we talk much more broadly about movie themes or topics.
Join TJ, Joe, and Chad for the last episode of the show to discuss ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E. That is of course after reminiscing about the fun times had over the last few years of working on the show. The guys discuss their favorite episodes and movie reviews, they talk about the upcoming reboot of the show, and then they get to film news such as the ‘Star Wars’ super cut, the Honest Trailer for ‘Mad Max’, the Harry Potter fan theory, Dumbledore as Death, and ‘Jurassic World’ in 90 seconds as told by Legos.
This week, Joe and TJ and joined by Alexis Johnson to discuss the fine film, ‘Mr. Homes.’ Mr. Holmes follows the story of an aging and senile Sherlock trying to piece together what went wrong on his last case 30 years ago. The three also discuss Will Smith rebooting ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’, the upcoming ‘Heroes Reborn’ TV show, the ‘Inside Out’ short film coming this fall with the home entertainment release, Pixar’s plans for ‘Toy Story 4’, and the trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’.
Joe and TJ are joined by Tim Smith to talk about just how bad ‘Fantastic Four (2015) really is. And boy is it ever a doozy! All can agree that it is the lamest movie of the year so far. And that’s taking Terminator Genisys into account! Also up for discussion, the upcoming ‘Steve Jobs’ film by director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin, Batman fighting Batman in the latest ‘LEGO Dimensinos’ trailer, and a retrospective on the making of ‘Back to the Future’.
TJ and Joe are joined by Clark Douglas to talk about Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation — and what a fantastic film it turned out to be. There’s really not a lot more one could wish for in a summer action blockbuster! They also discuss the possibility of ‘Spider-Man’ having a larger role in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Spider-Man’ fatigue, the current state of Marvel television, JJ Abrams visual style and what that could mean for ‘Star Wars’, and Paramount confirming that ‘Mission Impossible 6’ has been green lit.
TJ and Joe do something crazy this week; they review THREE film! Mission Impossibles 2, 3, and Ghost Protocol (4) in a lead up to next week’s film in theaters: ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’. Also in discussion: whether Michael Douglas will return as Hank Pym for ‘Ant-Man 2’, the ‘Full House’ sequel, ‘Fuller House’ has cast Eva LaRue as Danny’s wife, ‘X-Men’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ will be getting a cross over (says Bryan Singer), and how many shots in ‘Star Wars VII’ are completely CGI?
TJ and Joe discuss the last film in Marvel’s Phase 2: ‘Ant-Man’. And while it may have it’s problems here and there it’s a pretty fantastic film and certainly one of the better films Marvel has turned out lately. Also don’t miss the discussion about ‘The Good Dinosaur’ first full length trailer, Sam Raimi looking forward to ‘Spider-Man’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and ‘Pacific Rim 2’ begins shooting this November. Also, don’t forget to buy your MovieByte T-Shirt!
Joe and TJ review the somewhat good, but mostly bad monstrosity that is ‘Terminator Genisys’ and also discuss the ‘Suicide Squad’ trailer, the new ‘Star Wars’ novels that explain what happens after ‘Return of the Jedi’ in the new cannon, the ‘Pan’ trailer, an ‘Aladdin’ prequel featuring the Genie, and how ridiculous the ‘Amazing Spider-Man 3 was going to be.
TJ, Joe, and Clark attempt to determine whether Collin Trevorrow’s Jurassic world can live up to the legacy left to him by Spielberg. Take your best guess whether he can or not, or just tune in and find out! Also up for discussion, Star Wars spin-off films featuring a young Han Solo as well as the possible appearance of Darth Vader, ‘London Has Fallen’ images have made the rounds, and the Netflix series ‘Daredevil’ has case the character of Elektra.
TJ and Joe are joined by Tim Smith to talk about Pixar’s latest film. They answer the question, can Pixar return to their former glory with a resounding YES! They also take a few minutes to celebrate the work of James Horner, talk about Robert Zemmeckis’ firm stance that there will be no ‘Back to the Future’ remakes, discuss the new ‘Supergirl’ TV show trailer, and talk about Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto signing on for a fourth ‘Star Trek’ film.
TJ, Joe, and Chad are here to discuss a beloved classic this week. It may have the words "Princess" and "Bride" in the title, but this is not your average and sappy Disney fairly tale. Above all, ‘The Princess Bride’ is simply one of the best, funniest, and wonderful films ever made. Also up for discussion: ‘The Maritan’ trailer — an upcoming film by Ridley Scott starring Matt Damon, the best ‘Jurassic World’ trailer to date, and how ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’ should have ended.
Prepare your popcorn and you may want to bring some rotten fruit to throw at TJ as he is joined by Joe to review ‘Jurassic Park’! One has to wonder what TJ has been up to all these years that he has never seen it before. But that may make this review all the more fun. Also up for some good discussion: the cancelation of ‘Tron 3’, Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander in the upcoming ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ by J.K. Rowling, and ‘The Good Dinosaur’ teaser trailer.
TJ and Joe go to a magical place of Brad Bird’s Making: ‘Tomorrowland’! Find out why TJ loves it so much and why some people just want to suck the joy out of everything? Also find out what news about ‘Star Trek’ has TJ so upset. And don’t forget, the androids are going to kill us all in the ‘Humans’ trailer. Speaking of the apocalypse, ‘World War Z’ 2 has a release date now!
Join Joe and TJ in the post-apocalyptic future of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ where woman and children are property of warlords and must be set free! While that may be a plot of the most simple variety, it is by no means unsatisfying. Also join in for the discussion of three trailers: ‘Supergirl’, ‘Pan’, and ‘Steve Jobs’. And did you know that Chris Pratt will be in some non-‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Marvel films?
Join TJ and Joe to review, ‘The Homesman’, a thoroughly engaging yet disappointing film, and not really one either of them recommend. But as often happens, this makes for great conversation. Also find out about the upcoming ‘The Muppets’ TV show, ‘The Fugitive’ remake that’s coming up, ‘The Incredibles 2’ coming from the pen of Brad Bird, and the rumors of Joss Whedon directing ‘Star Wars Episode IX’.
Join TJ, Joe, and Clark to discuss this most important film installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’! The highs were high and the lows were low, which makes the conversation great. Also learn about Martin Freeman joining the cast of the upcoming ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and talk of the sequel to ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’.
TJ and Joe are joined by Clark Douglas to talk about the delightful film, ‘The Age of Adaline’. More films like this need to be made! Also up for discussion, the passing away of Cinematographer Andrew Lasnie — a sad day for cinema indeed, and the passing of Jonathan Crombie well know for his role as Gilbert Blythe in the ‘Anne of Green Gables’ series. Today is also, apparently, National Super Hero Day and IMDb has a few pictures for such an occasion. And don’t forget about all the various Marvel and DC rumors flying around.
This week, TJ and Joe are joined by Laura Fissel to discuss one of the greatest films of the greatest trilogies of all time: ‘Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi’. This episode may take a few unexpected twists and disagreements, but it’s a whole lot of fun. You’ll also hear discussion of the rumored title of the 13th ‘Star Trek’ film, an assessment of the the ‘Batman v Superman’ trailer as well as the ‘Fantastic Four’ trailer. And of course, deep analysis of the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ teaser trailer #2. You won’t want to miss this one!
Joe and TJ go back in time almost 20 years to review the first Mission Impossible film starring Tom Cruise and Jon Voight because nothing currently in the cinema really looks like it’s worth their time. But this one is sure worth the time. It’s a fun romp from the past! Also don’t miss the discussion about TJ’s new Roku 3, James Costa impersonating Robin Williams, Batman V Superman, Brad Bird working on ‘The Incredibles 2’, the new ‘Ant-Man trailer’, the early buzz surrounding ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’, and Netflix adding audio descriptions for the visually impaired.
Joe and TJ are joined by special guest Joe Rosensteel to go back in time a few years to discuss the delightful film, ‘Enchanted’. The film may or may not have enchanted all three of them. Also up for discussion this week, rumors of ‘Star Trek’ returning to the small screen, ‘House of Cards’ has set a date for Season 4, Pierce Brosnan is still (trying?) to make movies, and the third ‘Tron’ film’s title is rumored to be ‘Ascension’.
This week on the podcast, while TJ Draper is out of town and away from the microphone, Joe Darnell and Mikey Fissel discuss the Deadpool production, the Interstellar Honest Trailer, how we collect what we watch on Netflix, and the newly announced Apostle Paul Bible movie. In review, they talked about director Chad Stahelski’s ‘John Wick’, starring Keanu Reeves and Michael Nyqvist.
Join TJ and Joe to discuss the brilliant, intense, wonderful, scary, and generally well regarded film ‘Whiplash’. No matter what you might say or think about this film, you have to admit that it generates some great conversation. Also in the news this week, the ‘Mission Impossible 5’ trailer, rumor of Marvel looking to cast a 16 year old for the part of ‘Spider-Man’, and the Russo Brothers confirmed for ‘Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 and 2’.
TJ and Joe discuss the latest Disney live-action re-imagining: Cinderella. And what a feast for the eyes it is. From the dialog, to the story, to the acting, and even the casting, it’s hard to imagine how Disney could have gotten this re-make more right. Also don’t miss the discussion on the ‘Pixels’ trailer, rumors that J.J. Abrams will come back to the ‘Star Wars’ franchise for Episode IX, Alexandre Desplat possibly scoring one of the spin-off ‘Star Wars’ films, and more!
Join Joe and TJ this week to talk about Will Smith and Margot Robbie’s latest, ‘Focus’. It’s so good in so many ways but the moral ambiguity may leave us all in a bit of a quandary. Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself how you feel about that — after listening to TJ and Joe discuss it of course. And don’t miss discussion of rumors surrounding ‘Tron 3’ gearing up to shoot this fall in Vancouver, the new ‘Daredevil’ Trailer, the new ‘Inside Out’ Trailer, the new ‘Tomorrowland’ trailer, and the new ‘Age of Ultron’ trailer (there are a lot of trailers this week, it’s a regularly old "TrailerByte".
TJ and Joe are back! And they are pretty sure you won’t catch any deadly germs from an MP3. This week the primary film in review is the wonderfully fun ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’. But of course, they can’t not pay tribute to the death of one of the great actors of our time, Leonard Nimoy.
TJ and Joe are joined by Mikey Fissel to talk about the big, fun, and half disappointing, half exciting space opera, ‘Jupiter Ascending’. Opinions are varied, and some love the film more than others. Also, Jon Stewart is leaving the daily show? What?!? And Spidey is coming back to the Marvel fold? Also, pigs seem to be taking flight! And since Marvel is in the news, why not talk about their upcoming Netflix show, ‘Daredevil’? Not to be left out, Lionsgate want to make more franchise films with ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise. Too bad their out of books.
It’s been a while since TJ and Joe have had a good movie lampooning, so here is ‘Taken 3’ in all its terrible glory. Though TJ and Joe might quibble about which is worse, ‘Taken 2’, or ‘Taken 3’, they agree that neither film is really worth watching. But if you are not into hearing a good bashing of a bad film, don’t worry, there’s plenty else to talk about. Such as Harper Lee publishing a sequel to the famous book, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ — I know, right? — the ‘Honest Trailer’ for ‘The LEGO Movie’, a 3,000 piece LEGO ‘Avengers’ Helicarrier set, the Super Bowl TV Spot for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, Martin Scorsese and Kenneth Branagh talking about a ‘Macbeth’ film, the latest video from ‘Every Frame a Painting’ exploring cinematography, and Nicolas Cage praising Hayden Christensen’s performance in ‘Star Wars’ (oh my).
It’s the cute and lovable ‘Paddington’. Join Joe and TJ to find out what makes this film pretty great during a not-so-great season for films. Also up for discussion: Chris Pratt as Indiana Jones?, Joss Whedon on ‘Avengers 3’, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, ‘The Fantastic Four’ trailer, Dreamworks layoffs and delays for ‘How to Train Your Dragon 3’, and a silly sounding upcoming ‘Monopoly’ movie that will be… like ‘The Goonies’? Ugh.
I wish… I wish… I wish we could review a film, and so we do. Join TJ and JR Forasteros to discover whether ‘Into the Woods’ lived up to their expectations — or whether there is greener grass in pastures farther off. Also don’t miss a wonderful discussion on sci-fi television, crime drama, ‘X-Files’, ‘Fringe’ and more.
TJ and Joe discuss another WWII movie this week: ‘Unbroken’. True to form, what Joe likes more about this film than ‘The Imitation Game, TJ likes more about ‘The Imitation Game’, and vice versa. But it takes all sort of people to make the world go ‘round. The thing is, TJ and Joe are still friends… Also in discussion this week, the new ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer, the trailer for Rob Thomas upcoming ‘iZombie’ TV series, the ‘House of Cards, Season 3’ trailer, rumors that Roberto Orci wanted to resurrect Vulcan, and a few thoughts on the Golden Globe Awards.
TJ and Joe discuss the amazing craft, the historical accuracies and inaccuracies, the agenda, and everything else about ‘The Imitation Game’ staring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing. What a fantastic film. TJ wishes he had seen it before he made his top films of 2014 list. They also discuss the newest ‘Peanuts’ trailer and the state of animation, CGI, and nostalgic filmmaking, the new trailer for the live action remake of ‘Cinderella’, some of the actors we lost in 2014, and the films TJ is looking forward to in 2015 (by no means a comprehensive list).
TJ and Joe review the notable films of 2014 — both the good and the bad. They also run down their favorite and least favorite films. It’s always a lot of fun to look back over the landscape of the year to see what panned out and what did not.
And now for the review of the Trilogy based on a book, which is a prequel to the trilogy based on three books! This week, TJ, Joe, and Clark review ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies’. While all three liked it in some ways, some liked it more than others. TJ found significant challenges and issues with the films, while Joe has become a heretic and prefers Peter Jackson’s films to the book (is burning at the stake still allowed?). Clark takes a somewhat more moderate position. Listen in to hear them hash it out! Also up for discussion, Justin Lin will direct the next ‘Star Trek’ film which has been set for a release date of July 8, 2016, the sony hacking, and a quick overview and thoughts of the latest trailer for ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’.
One thing is clear, everyone wanted the movie the trailer for ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ promised us, but that was not what was given. TJ, Joe, and Fizz lament the film that could have been, as well as discuss their varying opinions on how bad or not the film is, what could have gone better, Ridley Scott’s contempt for God and more. They also discuss Colbert interviewing Smaug, the ‘Insurgent’ trailer, Hal Rudnik’s interview with James Gunn about ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, the trailer for Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’, and who might direct the next ‘Star Trek’ film.
Joe and TJ are joined for this very special episode of the show by a very special guest — Jim Metzendorf — to discuss one of the great classics of our time, ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’. No matter what George Lucas has done or continues to do, he did give us this great film and we shall forever be grateful. So tune in to have some great fun and a lot of analysis (and over-analysis as well) of a dearly beloved film. The guys also talk about Roberto Orci leaving the director’s chair for the upcoming ‘Star Trek’ Film, TNG’s ‘All Good Things’ stand-alone Blu-ray release, Evangeline Lilly’s statements about ‘Ant Man’ and Edgar Wright, and the first trailer for ‘Terminator Genisys’.
TJ and Joe didn’t get to watch the movie they wanted to watch because it was in limited release, so they watched ‘Birdman’ instead. And they are glad they did. There’s a lot to chew on with Birdman and TJ and Joe relish in the analysis. Also don’t miss some follow up on ‘The Force Awakens’ trailer, news of the ‘House of Cards’ season 3 premiere date, and Batman vs. Darth Vader. It’s most impressive!
It’s a special bonus episode of The MovieByte Podcast where TJ, Joe, and Clark talk about — actually dissect might be a better word — the first new teaser trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. There’s no shortage of opinions, fun, and just generally geeking out. You won’t want to miss this!
TJ and Fizz discuss what’s good and bad about ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1’. As ever, they don’t always see eye to eye, but that will give you, dear listeners, some fun things to chew on. They also discuss the redesign of the MovieByte website, Disney’s live action ‘Cinderella’ trailer (no, really, it’s a thing), the Russos possibly directing ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ parts one and two as opposed to Joss Whedon — which leads to a lot of discussion — and of course what theaters will have the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ trailer.
Find out about TJ and Joe’s differing view on ‘Big Hero 6’ — even if they both liked it. TJ liked it a lot more than Joe did it seems. But they can both agree it’s a great film and representative of the good influence John Lasseter is having over at Disney Animation Studio. Also find out about some follow up from last week having to do with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ sound issues. Other items on the docket include Playmobil coming out with their own toy movie (because they want a piece of that pie too!), James Gunn talking about a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ trilogy, the ‘Peanuts’ official trailer, ‘Night at the Museum 3’ trailer, and ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ trailer.
Our intrepid podcast explorers are on a journey across the vastness of the movie landscape to see what can be deciphered from Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’. Is it "stellar" or not so much? On this once in a lifetime quest, TJ and Joe are joined by none other than former co-host of the show, Chad Hopkins, to see if they can discover the true meaning behind podcasting and wether they might even be able to bend the fabric of space time enough to affect what happened all the way back at the very first podcast. You can also find out in the episode about Johnny Rockets bringing back drive-in theaters, Matt Damon returning to the Bourne franchise, ‘Toy Story 4’ happening in 2017, and the new title for ‘Star Wars VII’.
Join TJ, Joe, and Fizz to discuss what is possibly one of the most disturbing films of the year, but also almost certainly one of the most well crafted films of the year too. The guys dive in to the filmmaking craft, David Fincher’s other work, the fantastic acting, Ben Affleck’s career, and much more. Also, what is it that makes this film so disturbing? Well they tackle that too. Also up for discussion, Fizz’s thoughts on Marvel and the upcoming ‘Age of Ultron’ and Phase 3, the ‘Fast and Furious 7’ trailer, and Ridley Scott producing ‘3001: The Final Odyssey’ as a SyFy channel miniseries.
Find out all you need to know about ‘Kill The Messenger’! Joe was able to see the film even though it was in limited release, and so he breaks it down for us. TJ was not able to see the film because it was not showing anywhere in Nashville. But Joe fills him and you in. Also don’t miss a lot of discussion about the ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ teaser trailer, TJ’s decision to buy an Amazon Fire Stick, and ‘The Hunger Games; Catching Fire’ on Netflix in time for you to get caught up before the next installment hits theaters.
TJ is back from the dead! Well, it seemed like he was dead anyway. Really he was just very, very sick. But he’s back and together with Joe sets for the review two film to try to catch up for lost time. ‘The Equalizer’ is R rated for a reason — it’s bloody and violent, but it’s not a bad story and probably worthy of your investigation. ‘The Judge’ on the other hand was pretty fantastic. Overall Joe’s not as happy with it as TJ, but they both feel it’s probably worth your time. And there’s lots of messages in the film to tease out, so TJ and Joe do so.
TJ wanted to discuss the new ‘Left Behind’ (starring Nicolas Cage), but since he was out sick, Joe Darnell and Michael Minkoff talk about the film and critique Christian arts at large. As the ‘Left Behind’ film’s description put it, “In a moment, the entire planet is plunged into darkness.” This says a lot about how lame the film is. We believe that true Christianity is largely not practiced by artists, and the Church doesn’t appreciate Christains that produce great art.
Liam Neeson is back, and he’s got a gun. And he’s taking ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’. Apparently some filmmakers feel like that’s enough for a good film. Joe tends to agree but TJ feels a little differently. Together, they explore why. Also in discussion, Marvel has released plot details for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, CGI animated footage of Popeye, a ‘Supergirl’ TV series coming soon, and the latest upcoming films and trailers.
TJ and Joe talk about food! No, really! That’s because this week, they had the great delight of reviewing the latest offering from Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, and Charlotte Le Bon: ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’. It really is a pretty fantastic film with only a few flaws and well worth seeing — certainly over much of the cruft at theaters the last few weeks. It has a wonderful story, but you might not want to see it while hungry! Also don’t miss discussion about Andrew Garfield and the blame game for Amazing Spider-Man 2’s failures, Tommy Lee Jones starring in a western (and it actually looks pretty good!), ‘Star Wars Rumors’, the first full trailer for ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’, and heavy rumors about Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass returning to do more Bourne films — which sounds exciting to Joe and TJ!
Hang out with TJ and Joe for a discussion of ‘The November Man’ — which both TJ and Joe found to be a pretty poor excuse for a film all things considered. If you like to tune in for the occasional good film bashing session, this may be the podcast for you. But there are also other things that are worth talking about too which they cover at the beginning of the show, such as how ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is raking in the dough, plus how ‘Guardians’ cassette player which Star Lord used isn’t very real to life. And then there’s Robert Downey Jr. talking about how there will be no more ‘Iron Man’ films. And the ‘Honest Trailers’ series really influenced ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and made it the great film that it is today!
Critics don’t like it, it didn’t get good marketing, and it hasn’t made a boatload of money. So now despite all that the question before us, is ‘The Giver’ a good film? Is it worth your time and consideration? Joe and TJ say yes. The film is worth seeing and makes for great discussion. Frankly, Joe and TJ can’t understand why the critics are rating it so poorly. The film is not without its flaws, but what film doesn’t have a few flaws? Also up for discussion, ‘Machete Kills’ Writer will pen the upcoming Michael Bay produced film ‘Cosmic Motors’ — that sounds like a whole lot of stupid, an ‘Underworld’ reboot is on the way to us, ‘Steve Carell’ will headline an ACME focused live action ‘Looney Tunes’ film, TJ has friends who have not seen ‘Star Wars’, Chloe Moretz blames her film failures on piracy (because: SCAPEGOAT!), and ‘Full House’ is returning to TV.
Cowabunga, dude! The heroes in a half shell are brining you some turtle power this week! Listen in to find out the good and the bad of the Jonathan Liebesman directed ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’. TJ was astounded that it wasn’t half bad. Joe was slightly harsher on it but he too liked it better than he thought. Also up for discussion: Marvel vs. DC movie release schedule infographic, a trailer demonstrating the monster that would have been created had Michael Bay directed ‘Up’, the despecializing of ‘Star Wars’, and rumors of ‘Star Wars VII’ rumors.
TJ, Chad, and Joe hop in the time machine and go back to 1999 to review the wonderful and zany ‘Galaxy Quest’. It may be a parody, but it’s one with heart and story, and one which all three enjoyed immensely. Highly recommended. Also up for discussion: the time has come for Chad to leave his full time co-host spot on the podcast due to other responsibilities. But don’t be sad, he’ll still be around. And in film news, Warer Bros. casts Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan the tiger, Robin Williams learns about hand drawn animation, we’ll get more President Coin in the films than the ‘Hunger Games’ book series, the original theatrical cuts of the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy are not likely to be released any time soon, and Robin Williams Daughter Zelda has left social media after being harassed in the wake of her father’s death.
Lucy over-promised with it’s trailers, and under-delivered in the theater. That’s the sad truth of it if you want Joe and TJ’s opinion. The ideas were good, but they were only half fleshed out and the film was a bit of a mess, really and that’s really a bummer. Also this week, TJ and Joe spend some time reflecting on the sad news of Robin Williams tragic death. He made many great films over the years that are worth remembering. And then a bit of other film news: everyone involved with ‘Galaxy Quest’ wants there to be a sequel, ‘Turtles’ beats ‘Guardians’ at the box office, and the ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ extended directors cut will come to Blu-ray in 2015 sometime.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is here and it’s awesome! Believe the hype. But first, TJ, Joe, and Fizz go on a retrospective journey on this 100th episode of The MovieByte Podcast! Relive memories and nervousness from the first couple of episodes of the show and have a lot of fun. Also discussed is the news that ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ has moved to a March, 2016 release date, a video essay of ‘Snow Piercer’, Martin Scorsese’s defense of Kodak film, and all things Marvel and Marvel Easter eggs.
TJ, Joe, and Clark discuss Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final leading role in ‘A Most Wanted Man’. It’s a brilliant performance punctuated by great sadness at the loss of such a great actor. The film is well worth seeing as all three agree. Other topics include Community Season 6 being released to VOD one episode at a time, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ deluxe soundtrack, the ‘Mockingjay Part 1’ Trailer, ‘Ant-Man’, and Pierce Brosnan in the trailer for ‘The November Man’.
What a wide range of opinions there are on this episode! On the one end of the spectrum you’ve got a 5 star review, and on the other end you’ve got 1/2 star review. Then you’ve got one of the guys who thinks the truth probably lies somewhere just shy of the middle, and another guy who thinks it may lie a bit above the middle. This obviously makes for some interested discussion as you would expect. Also on the docket, ‘Star Wars VII’ supposed plot details, the ‘Kite’ trailer starring Samuel L. Jackson, the trailer for the ‘12 Monkeys’ TV series, some details about ‘Heroes Reborn’, and Kevin Feige speaking well of ‘D.C. Comics’.
Join TJ and Clark to talk about one of the better summer block busters: ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. Sure, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ may have been a pretty decent film, but this one far surpasses it. It’s intelligent sci-fi with a lot of emotional resonance and great story telling. Also up for discussion are ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ performing better than initially thought over its lifetime, the trailer for ‘Exodus: Of God’s and Kings’ which is the upcoming film from Ridley Scott, Disney’s upcoming live action ‘Dumbo’ which sounds about like its name implies, and Jon Favreau’s upcoming live action ‘The Jungle Book.’
Join TJ, Joe, and Clark to discuss what turns out to be a pretty big disappointment for this summer movie season: ‘Earth to Echo’. While the film has a couple of redeeming qualities, its sins were just to great for the film to be much good for anything. This, of course, merits a good deal of discussion. Also in the news, more ‘Star Wars VII’ and Harrison Ford injury talk, ‘Trans4mers’ holding the number 1 spot at the box office, a video essay on what, exactly, constitutes "Bayhem", a gritty Henry Cavill ‘Batman v Superman’ poster, the upcoming Blu-ray release of the old Adam West ‘Batman’ series, and ‘Enchanted 2’ is on its way to production.
This week, TJ, Clark, and Fizz tackle the pure awfulness that is ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’. While we try to tackle things that in general are wonderful and good and likable, it is fun once in a while to do a complete smack-down and that’s what you’re going to get this week. Other topics of interest include ‘Star Wars’ and Harrison Fords injury, ‘Pacific Rim 2’ set for 2017 and an animated ‘Pacific Rim’ series, and Frank Darabont set to direct ‘Snow White and the Huntsman 2’.
This week, TJ and Chad travel back in time to 2005 to review what TJ considers to be Michael Bay’s only really good film: ‘The Island’. It seems appropriate since Bay’s latest film ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ will be hitting theaters this weekend. You also won’t want to miss Chad’s thoughts on ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’, some analysis of Young Adult Material and some geeking out about the upcoming ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay’, Harrison Ford’s injury on the set of ‘Star Wars’, TNG Season 6 Blu-ray, Rian Johnson as director for ‘Star Wars VIII’, ‘The Judge’ trailer staring Robert Downy Jr. and Robert Duvall, and Joe Darnell’s op-ed on marketing films.
Chad is out of town, and Clark is down with a cold. But never fear, TJ persuaded former co-host and co-founder Joe Darnell to join him to talk about ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’. While TJ has much more love for the film (and the first one) than Joe, it’s a fun conversation about a great film you won’t want to miss. Other topics of discussion: Jon Favreau on ‘Iron Man 4’ possibilities, Marvel Considering Another ‘Hulk’ Film, Elsa now most popular baby name of 2014, A Taste of What’s to Come With the ‘Ninjago’ Film, and RUMORED Details on the ‘Star Wars VII’ Villains.
Listen in as Chad and TJ live the same day over, and over, and over, and over. But it’s worth it since the film they are discussing was fantastic. Edge of tomorrow may have been about reseting the day every single time, but it was anything but boring. It was in fact energetic and lively; and a lot of fun. Other topics of fun and discussion include the ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ soundtrack, ‘Pacific Rim 2’, Alamo Drafthouse Banning Google Glass, ‘The Boxtrolls’ trailer, an upcoming ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ film, and the upcoming Disney Lion King straight-to-TV movie, ‘The Lion Guard’.
Maleficent is not receiving a lot of praise from critics, but Chad and TJ both think this is a little unfair. The film may not be destined for Oscar season or anything, but it was quite a good film and quite an enjoyable experience. Also of interest: set pics from ‘Star Wars VII’ OF THE MILLENNIUM FALCON. Guys, seriously! We’re living in a time when new ‘Star Wars’ is being made. And they’re building a Millennium Falcon Set. Also some casting news in the form of Lupita Nyong’o's and Gwendoline Christie. Secret Cinema is recreating Hill Valley from ‘Back to the Future’ in London and Chad is probably going to get to go. Lucky dog. And Warner Bros. has moved ‘Jupiter Ascending’ to February of 2015… you know, where all the good films are released… sigh.
Join TJ and Clark to discuss ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ because there’s a lot here to like! Bryan Singer is back at the helm of the franchise and he certainly gets it right. But there are a few things to complain about as well, because duh! Also discussed the upcoming ‘Stargate’ reboot, ‘Batman v Superman’ and how it relates to ‘Justice League’, the firing of Edgar Wright from ‘Ant-Man’, the ‘Big Hero 6’ trailer, and Gareth Edwards upcoming directorial installment of a ‘Star Wars’ Spinnoff film.
TJ and Chad review ‘Godzilla’ — though there will be those who would like to disqualify them from reviewing a film in a franchise where they have never seen any of the previous films. But TJ and Chad think they have something to bring to the table and so they do. They also discuss the rumor that Alfanso Cuaron may direct the ‘Harry Potter’ Spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ and whether or not that’s a good thing, possible Blu-ray release of the unadulterated original ‘Star Wars’ films, the new title for the upcoming Batman/Superman crossover film, comic book franchise wars and people being truly stupid, and more!
Join Chad and TJ to talk about ‘Rio’ and ‘Rio 2’. You might also wish to console TJ while he weeps in the corner for the disappointment he suffered with the sequel. Okay, maybe it’s not as bad as all that, but it was quite a disappointment. The good news though, is that Kristin Chenoweth as Gabi the poisonous frog nearly makes up for it. Nearly, but not quite. Other topics include Rob Bricken’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ Spoiler FAQ, which TJ foudn to be fantastic, TJ and Chad’s disparity in Internet speed, a clip from ‘Jupiter Ascending’, the end of ‘Revolution’ and the renewing of ‘SHIELD’ for a second season, and the new Battfleck suit.
TJ and Chad are joined by Clark Douglas to discuss ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’. Believe it or not, TJ’s rating of the film was not the lowest. But you’ll have to listen in to get the full details. They also spend some time remembering the great acting of the legendary Bob Hoskins — mostly his performance in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ which was truly inspiring. Then there’s the new ‘Gotham’ trailer for the upcoming ‘Batman’ prequel series. There’s a really good look at ‘Godzilla’ that must be talked about. And of course, the guys have to talk about some of the ‘Star Wars’ news going around. This is a "don’t miss" episode!
The episode you’ve been waiting for! The epic conversation about ‘Noah’. Was it good, bad, ugly, awful? TJ, Fizz, and Michael Minkoff discuss the film and the opinions vary widely, which always make for a good discussion. So listen in and decide for yourself whether this film is any good. But first, Chad wants to talk to TJ about ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ which leads to some great side conversations. And obviously the ‘Star Wars VII’ casting announcements must be discussed. And don’t forget about the upcoming ‘Justic League’ film. D.C. Comics wants a piece of that Comic Book Cinematic Universe action very badly!
Chad and TJ are joined by Fizz to ostensibly talk about ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ — and they certainly do, but that of course means that they have to discuss the larger Marvel Universe as well. This is, of course, a lot of fun, and a conversation you won’t want to miss!
This episode may be recorded on April Fools’ Day, but this is no joke! TrailerByte is back this week as Chad and TJ make their way through a long list of very fun and exciting trailers. Lots of good discussion on the upcoming films — it’s all very exciting! Some of those trailers and upcoming films include ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘Transcendence’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, ‘Peanuts’, and more! And don’t miss our review of ‘Divergent’. The critics are being quite harsh on the film, is it really that bad? Emphatically not. It’s not bad at all.
Join Chad and TJ to talk about concepts for an Apple TV refresh, Acapella Mario and other late ‘80s/early ‘90s games, Andy Serkis directing the Warner Bros. version of ‘The Jungle Book’, thoughts on Pixar, ‘Newt’, ‘Cars 3’, ‘The Incredibles 2’ and more, Brian Tyler scoring ‘The Avengers 2’ instead of Alan Silvestri, and lots of other fun stuff. Plus, don’t miss TWO film reviews this week: ‘3 Days to Kill’, which TJ found to be passable but Chad pretty much as an active dislike for, and ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ which both agree is a great film. TJ may have enjoyed it a bit more however.
Follow up! Sam the Eagle has arrives and he’s awesome (see the show links)! This leads to a bit of muppet talk of course. And don’t miss, GLaDOS tells us all about the difference between Fusion and Fission. Idris Elba has been cast in Disney’s live action ‘The Jungle Book’ as Shere Khan, which seems just about right. And while TJ thinks the ‘Annie’ remake looks fantastic, Chad is quite a bit less than thrilled. TJ suspects he has had his heart removed. And the primary review is ‘Mr. Peabody and Sherman’ which was better than TJ was expecting but not as good as Chad would have liked. So they met in the middle.
TJ’s voice is better, his Internet is back, and he and Chad are raring to go! First up: ‘The Muppets’! TJ has been getting caught up in preparation for the upcoming ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ and though he’s enjoyed some of them more than others he’s enjoying himself with the outlandish Muppet clan. Of course there’s also The Oscars to talk about. And don’t forget that there’s the rumor of a new ‘Matrix’ trilogy by the Wachowskis. And this week features two reviews: ‘The Monuments Men’ which neither Chad nor TJ liked very much, and ‘Non-Stop’, which was sadly a far better film than ‘Monuments Men’. What is the state of filmmaking coming to?
This week, Chad, Fizz, and TJ talk about RoboCop, both old and new. Tune in as the epic battle ensues over which is better! Also, Find out why you should always return your rentals on time so you don’t go to jail, find out about ‘Back to the Future’ style power laces coming in 2015 — right on time, listen to a little pontificating about ‘House of Cards’, and find out that ‘Black Widow will be getting her own Marvel Movie starring, of course, Scarlett Johansson.
Be careful! Chad might unleash "The Kragle"! In this episode we find out that no one is going to be taken in ‘Taken 3’. Seems like maybe they want to think about a name change then, doesn’t it? Of course Joe, having written a review of ‘Taken 2: Please Take it Back’ has something to say about all this. We also now know the start date of the principle photography for ‘Star Wars VII’. Joe may not be too excited about this, but Chad and TJ are. And then, Chad and Joe get all excited about ‘Back to the Future — The Musical’ coming in 2015. Yeah, they’re geeks. And before diving into the primary review of ‘The LEGO Movie’ the stupidity of Fox News Hosts must be discussed because it directly relates to ‘The LEGO Movie’. And the consensus on said film is that it was quite awesome.
Join TJ, Chad, and Fizz for the ultimate Microsoft Windows Fail! Well, okay, that did happen to poor Chad, but the show must go on! It’s sad, but to start things off, the trio discuss the death of Philip Seymore Hoffman. It’s a downer, but it would have seemed wrong not to address it. Then they briefly find out if Chad and TJ did okay discussing Fizz’s top 13 films of 2013. Follwed by a good discussion on the casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther. Given TJ’s supreme disdain for ‘Man of Steel’, you wouldn’t think he would have so much to say about it but he does, as do Chad and Fizz. Also in question and discussion, has J.K. Rowling lost her mind? Probably. Then Chad and Fizz get to talk about ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ trailer. And don’t miss out on the spirited discussion of David O. Russell’s latest film, ‘American Hustle’.
Join TJ and Chad for a review of the surprise hit, ‘Lone Survivor’. But up first, TJ got a cool ‘Star Trek’ shirt for his birthday. Then, ‘Atlas Shrugged 3’ is apparently a thing — whatever. TJ and Chad have fun walking through Mike Fissel’s list of top 13 films. The new Maleficent trailer is set to the classic Disney tune ‘Once Upon a Dream’, but it may not be the way you remembered it. And there are nine (count ‘em, NINE) new clips and a really awesome featurette for the upcoming ‘Lego Movie’. Folks, it’s looking pretty awesome! And obviously the reason you’re here is for the primary review. TJ and Chad may differ on their rating but they agree on many of the featured points.
A man walks into a theater with prescription lenses in his ‘Google Glass’ glasses and is "escorted out" for pirating. You can’t make this stuff up folks. This is crazy making right here. Long live the police state. In happier news, Carrie Fisher expects to start filming ‘Star Wars’ in March or April. It’s a rumor so take it with a grain of salt, but that seems about right for releasing sometime in 2015. TJ and Chad really just want to know if she’ll be sporting the Cinnamon Bun hairstyle again! It’s a sad day in film distribution as Paramount is now the first company to officially end film print distribution and go all digital. And of course, Chad and TJ have something to say about the Oscar nominees this year. Our primary review this week is of ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’.
Join us for another edition of the adventures of Armond White! Watch as he makes a spectacle of himself and gets kicked out of the New York Film Critics Circle. See how TJ and Chad shed not one single tear! Seriously guys, he brought this on himself and he deserved it. Who’s crying. TJ and Chad certainly aren’t. In other news, ‘Catching Fire’ topped ‘Iron Man 3’ in the 2013 box office. That’s a fairly impressive feat. And oh yes, we have ‘Star Wars’ news and rumors (it’s such a very long way to 2015, sigh). You see, Disney is appointing a committee to oversee what official fits into the ‘Star Wars’ canon, and how. Plus, rumor has it that Episode VII will focus on Luke, Han, and Leia. And finally on the news front, ‘Gravity’ is returning to theaters so if you are a bad human being and did not see it the first time, you may crawl in shame to the nearest theater. And the primary review this week is ‘Saving Mr. Banks’.
Join TJ and Chad for a brief bit of talk about the whole "Armond White heckling Steve McQueen situation" and be sure to follow the links to the recommended listening of Dave Chen’s interview with White. Basically TJ and Chad think the guy is nuts. Then there’s movies that are turning 30 this year and it makes TJ feel old to realize that he was alive when these classics were made. And for this podcast, TJ and Chad talk over their list of films that they liked and loved from 2013, and then move on to anticipate what’s coming up in 2014. 2013 was a great year for film and maybe 2014 can be too.
TJ and Chad are joined this week by special guests Mike Fissel and Clark Douglas to talk about ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. But first, a Peter Pan origin story? Apparently so. No one on this podcast is quite sure they needed this, but whatever. And of course, your hosts must talk about A.V. Club’s 15 worse films of 2013. It seems everyone has something on this list to quibble with. But no one can agree on what that one film on this list is that shouldn’t be there. And of course be sure to find out all about the thoughts and opinions behind ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. Is this just big-boy fan fiction or is there something more here? And what’s with Tauriel? Who’s she and why was a non-cannon character added to the cast? Is this film worth seeing, is it better than the first film? So many questions, and your intrepid hosts set out to find answers!
With TJ reportedly on his death bed (or something like that), Joe and Chad hold down the fort this week. Join them to find out their thoughts on the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise and what Disney’s recent acquisition of that property means and whether future films would be a good thing. And since TJ is not in the game to spoil their fun they can freely talk about the rebooted ‘Spider-Man’ film franchise and the upcoming ‘Spider-Man’ films, and so they do. And you always wanted to know if ‘The Hobbit’ extended edition is better than the bloated and over-long theatrical version, right? But of course. And before diving into the primary review this week of ‘Frozen’, Chad and Joe discuss the Disney Animation short film that accompanies the feature film. In summary they found it delightful. And in summary they also found ‘Frozen’ quite delightful and a great film to be the subject of conversation!
Join Chad and TJ to discuss the sad event of Paul Walker’s death. Neither Chad nor TJ are really ‘Fast and Furious’ fans, and TJ has only seen one of the films he was in so they don’t feel quite up to the task. But it’s a sad event and needs talking about. And in what they are sure is a very difficult decision, Universal has halted production on ‘Fast and Furious 7’. Prayers go out for family and friends. And with no good way to transition out of that sad news, Chad and TJ do find some way to move to the next topic: ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ has been announced for May of 2016. It seems a little odd given that ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ is not even out in theaters yet. But TJ at least is excited because Bryan Singer is back at the helm and as far as he’s concerned, Singer can make as many ‘X-Men’ films as he wants to! Obviously all this leads to talk of the ‘X-Men’ universe in general. They also discuss the general state of films for 2015 and 2016. And the primary review this week is ‘The Book Thief’ which is in many ways delightful, but you’ll also want to have your tissues on hand when you go to see this one. There’s just not enough good things to say about this film, but TJ and Chad do try valiantly. Also, find out how this film is in a way like ‘Anne of Green Gables’ — no really!
Join TJ, Chad, and Mike Fissel to discuss a few of the latest TV shows their watching. Then dive into a review of ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. Of course there’s some analysis and general thoughts about the first film and how Garry Ross the director handled that film and what it’s strengths and weaknesses are. And of course, how this film blows that one away.
TJ and Chad really wanted to see and talk about ‘The Book Thief’ but they got bit by the limited release stuff and couldn’t find it playing anywhere. So instead in this episode they talk about how stupid the MPAA is for fighting a losing battle against piracy. They also spend a bit discussing the upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film and the fact that Samuel L. Jackson says that Mark Hamill hasn’t been contact about playing a part yet. But they’re not despairing for the film yet. And this week’s main topic of review is ‘A Few Good Men’ from 1992. This may seem a bit out of the blue, but it’s a favorite of TJ’s and a great film. Chad had never seen the film before so be sure to tune in and get his take!
Prepare for the epic-ness in what is quite possibly the most awesomely title episode of MovieByte ever! This episode brings together four of the best podcasters the nine realms have ever seen. Join TJ, Chad, Joe and Fizz to discuss the current state of the Marvel Cinematic universe. Find out which films have been better and which don’t work so well in the differing opinions of these four. Spend a short amount of time with them in reviewing the first ‘Thor’ film. And finally, take an epic walk through the finer point, intricacies and details of ‘Thor: The Dark World’.
Join TJ, Chad and Mike Fissel to discuss ‘Ender’s Game’ in all its facets. The film was both good and bad, glorious and disappointing. This produces much lively conversation on what was missed, the pacing, how it could have been better, and in general what it’s strengths and weaknesses are. Other topics of conversation include why there was no episode last week, some brief thoughts on ‘Escape Plan’, Movies all three are looking forward to, TJ’s new video podcast, ‘ByteSized’, and ‘Thor: The Dark World’! You won’t want to miss it!
TJ and Chad kick things off with a little bit of follow up on ‘Captain Phillips’ and Paul Greengrass’ response to accusations of the real life crew members. Then, after a several week hiatus, it’s a new edition of TrailerByte! (and much clapping and cheering ensued!). Trailers and clips includes the first trailer for ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and offerings from ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘Ender’s Game’, the upcoming TV series staring Karl Urban: ‘Almost Human’, ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’, and one that looks really good: ‘The Book Thief’. This week’s primary review takes a look at Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl in ‘The Fifth Estate’. Both TJ and Chad were pretty disappointed with the film and mostly because of such a seriously squandered opportunity.
A little bit of follow up on ‘Gravity’: a reporter asked Alfonso Cuaron if filming in space was difficult… yeah, really. Turns out it was something of a joke for the comedic news outlet. Still, pretty funny because apparently Cuaron answered as if it were a real question. In other news, Hans Zimmer is talking about not scoring ‘Man of Steel 2’ (or Superman Vs. Batman if you prefer). TJ and Chad have differing opinions on the merits of the first ‘Man of Steel’ film’s score so that leads to some interesting conversation. Madonna was banned from the Alamo Drafthouse for texting during a film and then screamed at the other patrons when asked to stop. Bravo, Drafthouse! TJ is thinking he needs one of those in Nashville! This week’s main topic and big review focus is ‘Captain Phillips’ — another outsanding entry into this year’s cinematic run down and TJ and Chad sure think it ought to be an Oscar contender, even with the news that it may not be as entirely accurate to the real life story as we might have hoped.
For this week’s "grave" (see what we did there?) situation, TJ and Chad discuss how ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy has already cost $561 Million to date — over twice as much as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy — and they’re not done spending money yet. It’s a good discussion on film and budget bloat and how Peter Jackson has sort of lost his way and is riding his previous successes too much. Next up is the upcoming film and trailer ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’. The trailer was fairly disappointing to both TJ and Chad. Chad is not that interested in the departure from the books, and TJ is both not interested in the departure, or the direction in general. The episode quickly turns to the main review: ‘Gravity’, which is an astonishing and breathtaking cinematic achievement. Neither Chad nor TJ find much wrong with this film and it is a highly recommended watch.
TJ welcomes Chad back from a week of being away, and they discuss changes to the show’s format, keeping it interesting and engaging, and how to be candid with the listenership. That aside, they talk for a few minutes about the tragic death of Tom Clancy. Several of his books have made great films over the years, and there’s one in production now. He will be missed. Then, obviously, they have to spend a few minutes talking about ‘Agents of SHIELD’ because that’s the big new hotness in TV shows right now. And they also discuss a highly recommended video that’s been making the rounds about how to make ‘Star Wars’ great again. TJ and Chad agree with every point. And the topic of primary interest this week is the film ‘Rush’ directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl.
TJ is joined by Joe to talk about the latest trailers: ‘The Need for Speed’, ‘Toy Story of Terror’, ‘Escape Plan’, Everything you ever wanted to know about Ultron, ‘Big Ass Spider’ Trailer, an ‘Ender’s Game’ TV Spot, and the ‘Agents of SHIELD’ episode 2 trailer. Of course the ‘Toy Story of Terror’ trailer prompts quite a bit of discussion about Pixar. Also of interest is that Pixar will not have a film in 2014. TJ and Joe talk about why they aren’t bothered by this. And then they turn their attention to ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ rumors, casting and more for a bit before turning to their main topic. In review this week is ‘Prisoners’ which both found to be a satisfying film with some minor flaws. It’s a highly recommended thriller that you all should catch in theaters if you can. Don’t miss this conversation!
This episode brought to you especially by the hard work and preparation of Chad since TJ has had such a busy and week and was unable to do much show prep. This week in trailers is ‘The Railway Man’, five clips form ‘Agents of SHIELD’, two ‘The Fifth Estate’ clips, and ‘Last Days on Mars’. And in the news, lots to talk about, ‘World War Z’ may get a sequel, Hugh Jackman thinks we’ll like ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, Ellen Page wants a Kitty Pryde film directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel schedules ‘Ant-Man’ for 2015 to coincide with the release of every other film in the world ever. ‘Pirates 5’ has been delayed, ‘Harry Potter’ is getting spinoff films written by J.K. Rowling! This is exciting! ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes’ has been delayed, it’s probably dead actually. ‘Star Wars’ spinoff films will be origin stories. Plus some talk of ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. Then TJ and Chad dive into their review of ‘The Way Way Back’, a surprising good film.
TJ and Chad discuss the newest trailers: ‘Runner Runner’, ‘Gravity’ starring Sandra Bullock, ‘Agents of SHIELD’, the new ‘Robocop’ trailer, and a cast interview for ‘Agents of SHIELD’. Plus in the news and up for discussion, Paul Greengrass says he is not making more ‘Bourne’ films, Alan Taylor is set to direct the next ‘Terminator’ film, Roland Emmerich wants to reboot the ‘Stargate’ franchise, which irritates TJ greatly, Cumberbatch is playing it coy with ‘Star Wars VII’, and speaking of ‘Star Wars VII’, there a rumored title floating around, Lea Thompson is set to appear in the new ‘Left Behind’ film reboot, and Vin Diesel wants to make more ‘Riddick’ films. And speaking of ‘Riddick’ that is the main film in review this week. Tune in to listen!
TJ and Chad discuss the latest in trailers, including ‘47 Ronin’, ‘Man of Tai Cih’, ‘Riddick’, ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘Agents of SHIELD’, and ‘Rush’. Obviously there’s lots to say and lots of opinions to be had here. Neither TJ nor Chad are holding out a lot of hope for the Keanu Reeves offerings. ‘Thor’ on the other hand is looking pretty good. There’s a big possible spoiler this week for ‘Avengers 2’ as well as some casting news involving James Spader as Ultron and Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Star Wars VII’. And TJ is worried about Pixar since Bob Peterson has been pulled from ‘The Good Dinosaur’ project. Kevin Spacey has a little bit to say about ‘House of Cards’ and the TV distribution model and TJ is all on board with that. And this week, the film in review is ‘Closed Circuit’ which wasn’t very good.
This week, TJ hosts the show by himself and has all kinds of fun with all sorts of topics. Of course, as usual, there’s TrailerByte, taking a look at the latest film trailers, and TJ has lots of opinions on those. This week’s selection includes ‘Getaway’ staring Selena Gomez, Ethan Hawke, and Jon Voight, ‘The Book Thief’, which looks like an Oscar bid, the upcoming TV show ‘SHIELD’, ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘Divergent’, ‘Captain Phillips’ International Trailer, a fan made ‘Man of Steel 2’ trailer, and a clip from the upcoming film ‘Riddick’ in which Riddick saves a puppy. And one of the rather large news items this week is Ben Affleck being cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming ‘Man of Steel 2’. Plus several items from Joss Whedon to discuss this week (as you do, you know, as a fanboy and all). And then there’s Hayley Atwell joining Kenneth Branagh’s live action ‘Cinderella’, which makes the film like mildly more interesting. And JJ plans to shoot ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ on film. This week’s primary review is ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’. TJ had a few choice things to say about just how bad this film is.
TJ and Joe are reunited! First they exchange some banter and inside baseball. Then they talk about a few trailers that have come up since the last episode including ‘Closed Circuit’, ‘Squirrels’, and ‘The Counselor’. Then, before getting to the two main topics in review, they discuss the idea of Mark Wahlberg wanting to play ‘Iron Man’, Ewan McGregor and ‘Star Wars’, and the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ honest trailer. In review this week is the new film ‘JOBS’ in which Ashton Kutcher does a fantastic job portraying Jobs. This is the film the two spend the bulk of their time on. But they do spend a little time talking about ‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ which TJ liked well enough, and Joe didn’t like at all.
TJ is joined by by Mike Fissel to discuss the latest trailers, including ‘Thor: The Dark World’ U.K. trailer, ‘The Mortal Instruments’ Five Minute Clip, ‘Her’ Staring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, ‘Captain Phillips’ Trailer 2, ‘The Counselor’, The Hollow Crown’, ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ International Trailer, and ‘How I Live Now’. This week a few items of interest include a comparison of the ‘Back to the Future’ actors age make-up, and what they actually look like now 30 years later, whether Mark Strong or Bryan Cranston should play Lex Luthor (or maybe someone else altogether), ‘Now You See Me’ is getting a sequel, Was Christian Bale offered $50 Million to play Batman again?, a rumor that Ian McDiarmid will be reprising his role as Palpatine in Episode VII, Natalie Portman has a possible ‘Thor’ spoiler, and do ‘Trek’ fans hate ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’? And the main review this week is ‘Elysium’ which TJ didn’t like and desperately wanted to be better. Fizz liked it better but he also had his complaints about it.
In this episode, TJ and Chad talk about the latest movie trailer including, trailers and clips from ‘Elysium’, a clip from ‘The Frozen Ground’, new trailers for ‘Agents of SHIELD’, Clips and featurettes for ‘JOBS’, a new ‘Riddick’ trailer, ‘Ender’s Game’ Trailer 2, ‘Muppets Most Wanted’, and ‘Thor: The Dark World’. There’s also an extended version of ‘The Hobbit’ coming to Blu-ray (TJ wonders didn’t we already see the extended version in the theaters?), ‘Pacific Rim’s’ chances for a sequel are increased with the good reception in China, James Cameron plans to make 3 sequels to ‘Avatar’, more ‘Bourne’ without Bourne, Chris McQuarrie will direct ‘MI:5’, and ‘Indiana Jones’ may make a 5th appearance. TJ and Chad have many opinions on all these things. And the main review this week is ‘2 Guns’. Tune in to hear the thoughts and opinions on this film!
Chad and TJ discuss the latest in trailers and film clips including the latest from Sandra Bullock’s upcoming film ‘Gravity’, a trailer for Keanu Reeves upcoming film’ 47 Ronin’, a clip from ‘In a World’, two clips from ‘Elysium’, a trailer for ‘Escape Plan’, and a viral video for Trask Industries of the ‘X-Men’ franchise. They also discuss their disgust for the upcoming 3D CGI ‘Peanuts’ film, the rumor about Ryan Gosling and Zac Efron staring in ‘Star Wars’, the idea of ‘G.I. Joe’ and ‘Transformers’ sharing a movie, John Williams officially announced to be returning to score the new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, and more! And the main review this week is for ‘The Wolverine’. Of course Chad and TJ touch on all things concerning the ‘X-Men’ franchise and it’s a lot of fun!
TJ and Chad take a look at the latest trailers, TJ goes on a rant about ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ and too-soon reboots in general, which was satisfying for him to get off his chest. And both are looking forward to ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ quite a lot. And there’s several other trailers worth checking out this week. Also of interest, Joss Whedon has revealed the name of his upcoming ‘Avengers’ sequel, ‘The Avengers: The Age of Ultron’. Plus lots of other Marvel news and goodies and other cool stuff coming out of SDCC. And some not so welcome news to TJ, more welcome to Chad, Zack Snyder will direct a Superman/Batman crossover film. And then they review 2 new films this week, ‘R.I.P.D.’ and ‘RED 2’. TJ found ‘R.I.P.D.’ fun and watchable, though nothing special. Chad didn’t really like it at all. Both liked ‘RED 2’ however, though TJ liked it a little more.
Here there be monsters folks! Michael and TJ review ‘Pacific Rim’ But first: This week in trailers! Wolverine interrupts a funeral, plus he gets an honest trailer from his first film, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in the upcoming film about bringing Mary Poppins to the screen, Christian Bale and Zoe Saldana make an appearance in an upcoming film titled ‘Out of the Furnace’, ‘Planes’ also gets a new trailer, and ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ has been properly teased! Plus in movie news, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ gets a digital download and Blu-ray release date, Bruckheimer’s future at Disney looks grim, 3D is fairing poorly at the box office of late and good riddance! J.J. is still expecting to direct the next installment in the franchise, and a fifth season of ‘Arrested Development’ is in the negotiation stage. And of course the main topic this week is all about Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’, not a bad film in the estimation of your hosts, though not without its problems, which TJ and Michael discuss in depth.
TJ welcomes Chad back for another week, and they also welcome guest Michael Fissel of Reel World Theology. They talk about the latest film trailers, their thoughts on the upcoming films, and the last trailer for ‘Agents of SHIELD’ leads to a discussion about Joss Whedon. Then they talk about some film news and interesting items, such as David Chen’s comparison of ‘Superman’ and ‘Man of Steel’ music, Russell Crowe would be interested in a ‘Man of Steel’ prequel, Vin Diesel and ‘Riddick’, a live action ‘Jungle Book’, Hayden Christensen in Episode VII and more! And our main topics this week are ‘Despicable Me 2’ and ‘The Lone Ranger’. Tune in for a fun and lively discussion!
TJ welcomes a new co-host and talks a bit about the future of the podcast. Then they discuss the latest in trailers and movie news including ‘Percy Jackson’, ‘The Lone Ranger’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘The Wolverine’, ‘Turbo’, and ‘The Mortal Instruments’. In movie news, Pixar promises more original stories, Peter Jackson talks about releasing an extended ‘The Hobbit’, Julianne Moore is cast to play President Coin, Liam Neeson will star in ‘Taken 3’ for a large sum, Christian Bale will not appear again as Batman, and Goldblum and Pullman are in for ‘Independence Day 2’. The main reviews for this episode are ‘World War Z’ and ‘White House Down’, Both enjoyable films, both rated well enough by your hosts. ‘White House Down’ was a bit more enjoyable to TJ, while ‘World War Z’ was slightly more enjoyable to Chad.
TJ and Joe are joined by special guest Ben Kayser, who has some things to say about TJ’s first topic of follow up on Man of Steel. Also, TJ watched ‘Supergirl’, which is just as bad as he remembered. Plus, an all new edition of the new feature ‘TrailerByte’, featuring opinions on trailers from ‘The Smurfs 2’, ‘JOBS’, clips from ‘RED 2, ‘The Counselor’, and ‘Pacific Rim’. Other topics include ‘The Avengers’ on Netflix, HBO Go on the Apple TV and how stupid content providers are being about the digital age, some ‘Star Wars VII’ rumors, and Robert Downey Jr. has signed on for two more ‘Avengers’ films. And of course the main topic of review is ‘Monsters University’.
TJ launches a new feature (in beta!) of The MovieByte Podcast, "TrailerByte". The name makes it sound like more than it is. Basically, TJ and Joe just list several of the current trailer making the rounds and talk about them. Ashton Kutcher’s ‘JOBS’ has a new release date of August 16. Spielberg and Lucas are predicting the implosion of the film industry. Joss Whedon says that Loki will not be in ‘The Avengers 2’, which may show the cards for what is to come in ‘Thor: The Dark World’. Netflix and Dreamworks have arranged a deal to distribute new, original Dreamworks content. And the main review for this week is for ‘Man of Steel’. Joe liked it and TJ didn’t. Discussion ensues.
TJ and Joe are back! First a side topic about how many podcasts they listen to and a recommendation for ‘The Incomparable’. Then they’re off to talk about ‘Man of Steel’, the trailers, and promos, the general excitement, how they felt about the previous ‘Superman’ films and more. ‘The Blue Umbrella’ is an upcoming Pixar short that takes a photo real approach, which is interesting and worthy of a little bit of time talking about. HISHE made a great video for how ‘Iron Man 3’ should have ended, TJ and Joe loved it!. TJ goes off on a bit of a rant about patent and copyright issues in the United States. Then there’s the upcoming film ‘World War Z’. And of course, the two main topics this week are ‘Now You See Me’ and ‘After Earth’. Listen in on the fun!
In this episode TJ and Joe start out with a little follow up about Alice Eve as Carol Marcus in her underwear and why TJ wrote his article on the subject. Kayla over at TrekMovie.com also felt the same way. Then there’s the ‘Byzantium’ trailer which neither Joe nor TJ are thrilled about as it’s yet another vampire movie. But TJ did find out that Tom Cruise was in a vampire movie once. Who knew? Saoirse Ronan wants to play The Scarlet Witch in the upcoming ‘Avengers 2’, and Joss Whedon has confirmed that that character is in the upcoming film. And will Sony sell the rights to ‘Spider-Man’? Also, you probably should not throw someone’s phone across the room, even if they are texting in the theater and being rude. And of course, there’s an ‘Epic’ review this week (pun intended).
In this episode, TJ and Joe are joined by Anthony Pascale to talk about ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. And that they do. The entire show is a big celebration of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. And don’t let the nit-picks lead you in the wrong direction. Though they talk about a lot of nit-picky things, they all enjoyed the film immensely. And there’s plenty of fun stuff like a GIF of the Vengeance crashing into Alcatraz (tell us how you really feel about that show being canceled J.J.!), and the humor-full IO9 FAQ review of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. So, nerds and general movie going audiences, unite! ‘Star Trek’ was fun for all!
While Joe is on vacation, TJ is joined by his friend, Alex Arena to talk about Kevin Feige’s delusional state of being over ‘Iron Man’, Mark Hamill actually likes Jar Jar and the prequels to the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, plus Kathleen Kennedy says ‘Episode VII’ will draw from the original ‘Star Wars’, also, Alex has never seen ‘Star Wars’ (what?!?), the teaser trailer for the upcoming film ‘Gravity’, ABC picks up ‘Marvel’s Agents of ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ to series, and the trailer for ‘Captain Phillips’ an upcoming film based on a true story starring Tom Hanks. And of course, the main topic for this week is Baz Lurhman’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carrie Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, and Elizabeth Debicki.
Join TJ and Joe to discuss a variety of topics, like the ‘White House Down’ Trailer, This film looks like a cross between Olympus has fallen, and possibly ‘G.I. Joe’, and really, anytime you can see the White House being blown up on film, why wouldn’t you? Then there’s the little art house theater that is being forced to go digital. It’s a crying shame in some regards, but TJ has mixed feelings about this. This leads into discussion about how stingy movie studios are bing, and in particular, Marvel, as well as some thoughts about the actors for ‘The Avengers’ wringing every last dollar out of the studio. In other news, ‘Men in Black 4’ is in development, the ‘Man of Steel’ trailer music has been released on Soundcloud, which prompts some good discussion, and the ‘Ender’s Game’ trailer has been released. Then, settling in for the main topic, Joe discusses his experience at the Cinebistro when he went to see ‘Iron Man 3’. And of course, all kinds of talk about ‘Iron Man 3’, including a spoiler discussion later on. TJ and Joe both enjoyed the film and recommend it.
TJ and Joe are pleased to welcome to the show special guest Dan Benjamin of 5by5! Dan is a prolific broadcaster and maker of fine podcasts, he has opinions on many things, and movies are one of them. They spend just a few minutes talking about podcasts and mixers, mice and the like. Then they kick things off with a quick discussion about Instacast for Mac Public Beta. And on to film news with J.J. Abrams saying John Williams is likely to score ‘Star Wars VII’, as well as Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid talking about the upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film with McDiarmid being pretty sure Palpatine won’t be returning (no, really?). They also spend a few minutes talking about online media consumption versus broadcast TV, some thoughts about J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek, and a minute or two on ‘Pacific Rim’. And of course, the main review for this week is ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ which leads to some great discussion. You won’t want to miss it!
TJ and Joe discuss ‘The Avengers’ assembling for ‘The Avengers 2’ in February of next year and a few thoughts on the Marvel Universe in general, trailer 2 for ‘The Internship’ and how TJ is not liking this in any way, the news of a ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot, the ‘Thor 2’ teaser and the state of teasers versus trailers in general, and then they get to the main topic. Up for review this week is ‘Oblivion’ which TJ and Joe both liked a lot but quite a lot of critics didn’t like the film so much. One critic in particular really did a disservice to the film, which TJ and Joe discuss. Beware of a few spoilers here and there! But be sure to tune in for a great conversation!
Join TJ and Joe as they chat with special guest Anthony Pascale of TrekMovie.com. They briefly discuss the new ‘Man of Steel’ trailer, all three are looking forward to the film, then they turn their attention to the final ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ trailer. They discuss first impressions, general thoughts, marketing ‘Star Trek’ to a broader international audience, the big old ship Cumberbatch is driving around in, is the villain Khan or not, captain Kirk’s disposition, destroying the Enterprise… again…, and the fact that most Trekkies are loving the trailer. Then after bidding farewell to Anthony, TJ and Joe discuss the film ‘42’ about the life of Jackie Robinson and his struggle as a black man in Major League Baseball during a time of incredible racism.
Why do films like ‘Evil Dead’ get made and who goes to see them? TJ and Joe want to know because they are both not interested in this film or films of its ilk at all. Join in to hear them discuss it. They also discuss the passing of the great film critic Roger Ebert, ‘Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ name change, ‘Captain America 2’ has begun filming, hopes and dreams for the upcoming film ‘Oblivion’, and the new Elysium trailer featuring Matt Damon. Then they turn their attention to the two featured reviews for this episode, ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, and ‘The Host’ based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer. Starting with ‘G.I. Joe’, they both thought it was an awful film, though disagreeing on some specifics. And TJ and Joe both agree that ‘The Host’ is a far better film even though it’s getting a bad rap. Tune in to hear the lively and fun conversation about these two films.
Joe Darnell is joined by Clark Douglas to discuss Pixar announcing production of ‘Finding Dory’, the much-anticipated sequel of ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003) scheduled for release in 2015. How has Pixar weathered major changes since they were acquired by Disney? How has Disney’s animated films been influenced by Pixar’s reputation? Clark analyzes from the audiences standpoint what movie flops like ‘Brave’ represent for the studios, and animated films at large. What might we expect to see in ‘Monster’s University’, Disney’s ‘Planes’ and beyond?
TJ and Joe talk about ‘The Wolverine’ using viral marketing, Vine video, 20 second teasers and the like, J.J. Abrams’ vision for ‘Star Trek’, ‘Star Wars VII’ and TJ’s feelings on his comments about ‘Star Trek’, Robert Redford being rumored as a cast member for ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and the casting of the previous ‘Captain America’ film, Apple’s podcast app and a little bit of ranting (mostly from TJ) about the inadequacies of said app, and why piracy is good for business and media companies should stop fighting it and start focusing on pleasing customers and making it easy for them. And the main topic this week is the film ‘Olympus Has Fallen’. TJ liked it a lot, and Joe liked it well enough, but the film is not without its flaws. Tune in to find out more!
TJ and Joe kick off the podcast talking about the Slash Filmcast Episode 221, their take on ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’, film criticism in general, and how they both hope they don’t get jaded to the point where films loose their wonder and wow factor. Then they discuss the Apple TV software update and the new Hulu interface, the upcoming ‘Hansel and Gretel’ sequel, the delay of the Steve Jobs film staring Ashton Kutcher, Pepper Potts in an Iron Man suite, China lifting their ban on the IMDb site, and Joe’s review of ‘Emperor’. And for the main review this week they discuss Halle Berry’s new film, ‘The Call’. Be sure to tune in to hear more about this film and why it was good until it ran off the rails.
TJ and Joe discuss the track released from the soundtrack for the upcoming film ‘Oblivion’, and how it sounds like it has been influenced by ‘Tron: Legacy’ and how that is a good thing, Joe’s article ‘Star Studded Ratings by the Numbers’ and how MovieByte rates films, the U.K. getting ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ a week before we do here in the states, Joss Whedon and Clark Gregg on Agent Coulson in the upcoming TV Series ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, and why the ‘Oz’ sequel will not feature Dorothy. And that leads TJ and Joe into their main topic today in discussing ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’. A fine film, worth seeing, with a few disappointments. But certainly, when compared with some of the utter rubbish in theaters at this time of the year, it’s the obvious choice when heading to the cinema. Be sure to tune in for the full discussion and review.
TJ and Joe talk about CGI Superman capes and other thoughts about the upcoming ‘Man of Steel’, the CGI animation of late actress Audrey Hepburn, thoughts about the state of the industry in general in regards to CGI and the idea of bringing an actress or actor back from the dead, the ‘Game of Thrones’ director shrugging off piracy and the general state of the industry and the stance of the content providers, ‘The Hobbit’ crossing the $1 Billion mark and how well it’s doing, and the dismal opening weekend of ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ and why might that be. And the main topic of discussion with that lead in, is ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ and why it’s a better film than many seem to think it is. TJ like it a lot, Joe just thought it was okay. But the discussion is a fun one and you won’t want to miss it!
Join TJ and Joe to talk about ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ being pricer to produce than ‘TRON’ and why that’s probably a bad thing, why ‘Argo’ won "Best Picture" at The Oscars even though ‘Affleck’ didn’t take "Best Director", the new ISP "six strikes" policy to "combat" piracy and why it won’t work and why it is the wrong move, and the idea of remaking the ‘Star Wars’ prequels to make them, you know, actually good films. TJ is kind of in favor, and Joe isn’t really. And the meat and potatoes for this episode is ‘TRON: Legacy’, and by extension, some talk about the entirely lackluster original ‘TRON’. It’s interesting how TJ and Joe both feel ‘TRON: Legacy’ is a great film, while the original leaves so much to be desired. Tune in for a great conversation!
Bear with us guys, this is the longest installment of ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ yet, but it’s well worth it. Get settled in and get ready for some fun. First off, TJ and Joe chat about why the podcast was late in arriving. Joe has been sick, TJ had a baby (well, his wife did). Then they talk briefly about John Williams’ desire to score ‘Star Wars VII’, film and video aspect ratio, as well as the pitfalls of improper TV setups when receiving widescreen HD signals, and Michael Bay is bringing Megan Fox to his upcoming film on the Ninja Turtles? First of all, how well will this work out for Bay seeing as he fired her perviously for personal differences. And secondly, how is this film even getting made? And of course, the main discussion is about the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy and oh what fun. Joe and TJ pretty much agree completely on the first film. But then they diverge. TJ loves the second film a lot, and doesn’t care for the third one too much, and Joe has just the opposite opinion. But of course, the trilogy is a beloved one by both TJ and Joe and you won’t want to miss this conversation!
TJ and Joe kick off this exciting podcast to talk about Tennessee Spring Water! No really, it does come up. Then they get to the real episode. Up first is talk of ‘Portal’ and ‘Half-Life’ films in development by J.J. Abrams, plus TJ is flabbergasted that Joe has never played ‘Portal’ before. Seriously, it’s very uncool. Then they touch on the passing of the revered ‘Star Wars’ makeup artist, Stuart Freeborn, whose contributions to the ‘Star Wars’ universe will long be remembered. Then TJ geeks out a bit about ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ (Star Trek TNG) coming to Blu-Ray as a stand alone film/episode. Plus there’s a new ‘Oblivion’ trailer! TJ is excited about it, Joe not so much. And then last for the general talk in this episode, TJ touches on his review of ‘Identity Thief’. Spoiler: it was not a good film. And for the meat and potatoes of this episode, Joe waxes on about ‘Hook’ which TJ only found to be a kind of decent film, but it was a mainstay for Joe. Tune in to hear the debate!
Joe and TJ warm up before the big talk of ‘Star Wars’ with a conversation about ‘Warm Bodies’ and TJ’s review of it — TJ is not a big fan, Joe thinks he might just have to see it to see if he agrees with TJ, an R2D2 translator (loads of fun), the ‘Skyfall’ Honest Trailer, the Netflix original series and political drama, ‘House of Cards’, as well as a conversation about Netflix’s full season release strategy, ‘The Avengers’ ‘Firefly’ style opening credits sequence, a few new releases to video on demand, and finally before the big topic, a quick discussion of the highly alliterated title for this run of podcasts, ‘Favorite Fun Futon Films for February’ (say that 10 times fast). And then, TJ and Joe are joined by Linsay Morgan to discuss ‘Star Wars’. And oh do they discuss it. Joe and Linsay think it may be the best film ever made. TJ has reservations. The discussion is lively and fun, you won’t want to miss it!
Joe and TJ talk about Joss Whedon’s wish to do more ‘Firefly’ — which warms a nerd’s heart, Lex Friedman tries to cut the cord and how Cable companies are clinging desperately to the old business model, the SAG Award Winners, and then this little bitty bit of news about J.J. Abrams directing the next ‘Star Wars’ film and what all that means and entails. Then the main topics for this week’s episode are ‘Parker’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’. Neither TJ nor Joe liked ‘Parker’ very well and there are definite morality issues to consider when your hero is no hero at all but a "principled" thief (whatever that means). ‘Hansel and Gretel’ was a topic of a bit more debate. TJ enjoyed the film but Joseph did not. Catch their thoughts and reviews of this film right here!
FIGHT! In this episode TJ and Joseph disagree on whether ‘Broken City’ was a good film or not. Joseph did not enjoy it very much at all, TJ found it to be pretty good with only more minor grievances. It’s a lively discussion. They also review Gangster Squad, and there is much more agreement on the merits and lesser qualities of this film. Particularly the performances in this film are top notch, as is the visual style and heartfelt story. TJ and Joseph also talk about ‘Man of Steel’s’ Jimmy Olson… as a girl!, ‘Iron Man 3’ coming to IMAX, the Honest Trailer for ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, the trailer for the upcoming film ‘Emperor’ staring Tommy Lee Jones and Mathew Fox, and a sneak peak at Joe’s review of ‘The Last Stand’ which is really just TJ going on about how bad Arnold Schwarzenegger is at acting. Be sure to tune into the fun!
TJ and Joseph dive in for some good fun and lively discussion. They discuss Jon Polito commenting on a negative review on The New York Times, the news that a ‘Jack Reacher’ Sequel is unlikely, which disappoints TJ, The entire ‘Die Hard’ series coming to theaters for one day only, the White House’s response to a petition for the U.S. to build a Death Star — it’s dead funny regardless of any political leanings, ‘Independence Day 2’ rumors, a Joss Whedon video interview discussing ‘Avengers 2’, and the Jurassic Park IV release date (face palm!). And then for the main topic, they discuss Promised Land starring Matt Damon. The discussion is a lively one, though be prepared, politics are involved (how could they not be) and you may disagree with TJ and Joseph. But that’s okay. It’s a lot of fun, be sure to tune in!
Join TJ and Joseph as they discuss The Piano Guys teaming up with Lindsey Stirling for a ‘Mission Impossible’ music video and the incredible talent they bring to the screen, and to the music, the upcoming film, ‘Gangster Squad’ and the six teaser clips recently released to promote it, more talk of ‘Hansel and Gretel’, Joseph’s ‘Hitchcock’ review and some general thoughts on the film, and the news that Guillermo Del Toro turned down the opportunity to direct ‘Star Wars VII’. Then the main topic this week is Django Unchained. There was plenty to like and plenty to dislike about the film and TJ and Joseph dive in praising and disparaging the film in equal parts. They have a lot of fun with this one! And then, the big announcement of who won the HD TV giveaway. Be sure to tune in!
TJ and Joseph discuss Ebert’s top ten films of 2012, including ‘Argo’, which Ebert named top of the year, and TJ’s own top ten films of 2012 as well. This involves a little quibbling over the positioning of items on the list as well as if some actually belong there. They also discuss the teaser for the upcoming ‘Monsters University’ which TJ thinks is pretty great and Joseph thinks it is less so. Hansel and Gretel also has some new promotional material out, including a new TV spot which they discuss briefly. And for the main top, TJ and Joseph are joined by Joseph’s wife, Liz, to discuss Les Miserables, the film based on the stage musical. It’s a worthy production, if disappointing in some ares. So they dive deep to discuss likes, dislikes, things that could have been better, and why the story, regardless of the production values and choices of the film, is worth paying attention to.
In this episode, TJ gives some really brief thoughts on ‘Les Miserables’ (next week’s episode will be all about ‘Les Mis’), and some follow up on last week’s episode pertaining to ‘The Hobbit’, then they talk about GLaDOS’ voice in ‘Pacific Rim’, and a little about the trailer, then they discuss the horrifying idea of Carrie Underwood as Maria in ‘The Sound of Music’ TV remake, as well as a ‘Cars’ spin-off, ‘Planes’ and their fears and trepidations for that upcoming film as well as some general feelings about Pixar and the direction their films have been going. And the main topic this week is ‘Jack Reacher’, the crime/action/thriller featuring Tom Cruise. TJ found it quite enjoyable, Joseph less so, but still rated it positively. They talk likes, dislikes, Tom Cruise’s performance, what could have been done better, and more.
TJ and Joseph are joined by TrekMovie.com founder and editor in chief, Anthony Pascale, to discuss the nine minute prologue debut of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, what we know and don’t know about the film, who the villain ultimately is, how JJ Abrams’ ‘Trek’ is not just for fans, but goes for a broader appeal, which Enterprise is the best, how it’s not just a question of old ‘Trek’ or new ‘Trek’ and more. Lots of nerdery to be had here. Then TJ and Joseph are joined by Clark Douglas, who appeared on episode 14 of ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ with TJ, and new guest Marcus Pittman to discuss ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. Much discussion is had about the merits as well as the not so good aspects of the film. While all enjoyed the film and ultimately rated it on the positive side of the scale, there were varying degrees of elation and disappointment with the film. This is a fun one, be sure to join the discussion!
TJ and Joseph welcome special guest this week, Melinda Snodgrass, a successful screenwriter, and particularly as pertains to this episode, wrote one of the best ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episodes in Season 2, ‘The Measure of a Man’. She tells us a lot about the writing process on ‘Star Trek’ and what that was like, and talks particularly about that episode, her love for the character Data, her thoughts on how to better use the cast and crew of the Enterprise, the great character moments in the episode, ‘The Next Generation in HD’ and the extended cut of ‘The Measure of a Man’. It was great fun to talk to her. Then TJ and Joseph briefly review two films they didn’t care much for, ‘Killing them Softly’, and ‘Playing for Keeps’. And finally, they welcome special guest, Michael Minkoff as they talk about gearing up for relaunching the Movieology brand as a podcast on MovieByte, some discussion on the favorite films of 2012 and more.
Join TJ and Joseph as they talk about whether Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be Batman or not, the upcoming remake of ‘Flight of the Navigator’, ‘Revenge of the Sith’ as a great work of art — which leave them scratching their heads, the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ poster and how much it looks like a rip-off of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ poster, and the Man of Steel’ in hand cuffs? What gives? And then the two main topics of discussion, Rise of the Guardians, and Men in Black 3. They didn’t think very highly of Rise of the Guardians, its convoluted and complicated plot, its confusing message for children, its lack of precision with regards to story and more. And for Men in Black 3, TJ enjoyed it very much while Joseph was pretty neutral on it. They also announce the winner of the "Ratings and Reviews" contest. Be sure to tune in!
Join TJ and Joseph for a conversation on the upcoming ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ and ‘Man of Steel’ trailers coming out with ‘The Hobbit’ - TJ is more excited about the ‘Star Trek’ trailer and Joseph is more excited about the ‘Man of Steel’ trailer - which leads to a discussion of ‘Production Video #9’ of the insane production schedule and things going on behind the scenes with ‘The Hobbit, then they turn their attention to Blockbuster getting in the magazine business, Miley Cyrus’ stupid looking ‘So Undercover’ trailer, Matthew Vaughn sort of confirmed for ‘Star Wars VII’, giveaway opportunities, and then the two main film topics, ‘Red Dawn’ and ‘Life of Pi’. TJ doesn’t like ‘Red Dawn’ very much and Joseph has mixed feelings about ‘Life of Pi’. Be sure to leave a review, along with a 4 or 5 star rating of the podcast on iTunes for a chance to win a Blu-ray copy of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. At least ten entries are needed for the contest so be sure to tell your friends and ask folks to review.
TJ and Joseph are joined this week by special guest Linsay Morgan to discuss ‘Twlight: Breaking Dawn Part II’. Lots of fun discussion about what is good and what is bad about the series, how bad Stephanie Meyer’s writing is, which films have been better and which have been worse (there is much disagreement on this topic), which film had better music (again, disagreement), the male versus female perspective on the series, the difference in Meyer’s vampire mythos versus normal vampire mythos and more. Then TJ and Joseph discuss Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’. It is difficult not to discuss political views with a film like this but TJ and Joseph make a grand attempt to relate their views but be open and not offend too many people. All in all they determine that ‘Lincoln’ was a well made film but suffers from some historical revisionism. They also briefly discuss (or they try to keep it brief) Corey Poff’s MovieByte review of ‘The Amazing Spider-man’, and the ‘Now You See Me’ trailer.
TJ and Joseph discuss ‘The Host’ and the new trailer for the upcoming feature film based on Stephanie Meyer’s first post-Twilight book, the idea that Darth Vader might come back for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’, Michael Arndt writing ‘Star Wars VII’, ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ newest trailer, ‘Arrested Development’ being picked up by streaming video service Netflix as well as an original show, ‘House of Cards’, and they spend some time talking about how the industry can move forward and move toward a more on-demand model. Then they get down to the main topic, ‘Skyfall’. Neither TJ nor Joseph were quite as blown away by this film as the rest of the world seems to be and they discuss why that is and why everyone else may like it so much, and why it was after all a decent film. They discuss likes, dislikes, what they would have liked to see different and more.
Join TJ and Joseph for some awesome movie discussion! This week they kick off with some follow up on the ‘Star Wars’ discussion with Mathew Vaugn rumored to be in the running to direct Episode VII, plus Joseph really liked the idea of Machete Order. Then they briefly talk about ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ coming on on DVD and Blu-ray. As they have discussed in a past episode, Joseph quite liked the film and TJ didn’t see it in protest. TJ also wrote a short article regarding 3D which TJ and Joseph discuss. Then they get to the meat and potatoes and talk about ‘Wreck-it Ralph’. Wreck-it Ralph is estimated by your hosts to be a really, really great ‘Pixar’ film even though it’s technically not a Pixar film, it’s a Disney film. With John Lasseter executive producing though, who would have expected anything different? They also discuss the idea that Disney and Pixar swapped studio names for ‘Brave’ and ‘Wreck-it Ralph’. They have a lot of fun with this one. And then the discus briefly the also released this past weekend ‘Flight’. Flight was an okay film and worth watching. Be sure to tune in for a great conversation.
Oh boy is there a lot to talk about this week! TJ and Joseph get ready to catch two films this weekend, ‘Wreck-it Ralph’ and ‘Flight’, they discuss a lot of things, such as the return of Bryan Singer to the ‘X-Men’ Franchise to direct ‘Days of Future Past’, there will be another ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Argo’ came in number one in the box office last weekend despite going toe to toe with ‘Cloud Atlas’, the launch of ‘The Wrap’ a new weekly show under ten minutes at the end of each week giving an overview of the highlights of the week, and the TV giveaway contest. They then turn their attention to the two main topic items this week, ‘Cloud Atlas’ — TJ hated it with a fiery burning passion, Joseph didn’t like it, but didn’t feel as strongly about it as TJ, and then the big news of the week (year?), the sale of Lucas Film, including all IP having to do with ‘Star Wars’ to Disney. And there’s going to be another ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. This may not be a good thing. They discuss their feelings about George Lucas no longer being directly involved with ‘Star Wars’, their feelings about the original trilogy and the prequels, what they would like to see in a new ‘Star Wars’ film, who should direct and much, much more!
TJ welcomes Joseph back from being away for an episode on jury duty. They discuss the situation with Wally Pfister making jabs at ‘The Avengers’ Cinematography and story telling style — TJ is fired up for sure, then they talk about the video circulating of Stephen Spielberg and John Williams composing the score for E.T. which of course leads to a discussion about the era of filmmaking back in those days and why film is still a superior format, and they also discuss ‘Skyfall’ and some thoughts on the ‘Bond’ franchise as a whole. But the main topic today is ‘Atlas Shrugged Part II’ which naturally means a discussion of part I as well. They discuss the political philosophies present in this film, likes, dislikes, budgetary constraints, the fact that mainstream Hollywood does not like this movie for it’s politics, the poor story telling at times, the acting, the changing of actors for the second film, and much, much more.
In this episode, TJ is joined by Clark Douglas while Joseph is off on jury duty. TJ and Clark talk a lot about Clark’s radio show and podcast about film scores and soundtracks, Alan Silvestri and Clark’s recent highlighting of his work, what it’s like to be a radio station manager, Hans Zimmer and his approach to film scoring, some of Clark’s favorite composers such as John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and more, as well as some geeky discussion of Star Trek and Star Trek Scores, and then TJ and Clark talk about their differences of opinion on John Williams. They then briefly discuss a couple of quick things from Clark’s interview on Movieology. After this they turn their attention to a couple of films. TJ briefly discusses Taken 2, which Clark has not seen. It is simply not as good as the original Taken and was very disappointing to TJ. And finally, they discuss the fine film Argo, Ben Affleck’s career, the great acting in the film, the great story telling and more.
In this episode of MovieByte, TJ and Joseph discuss Matt Damon’s recent comments that he thinks it unlikely he will return as Jason Bourne, the ‘Hitchcock’ Trailer — Joseph thinks it looks like a fantastic movie, TJ is nonplussed — and a little bit of discussion about the ‘Taken’ franchise and the fact that Taken 3 is "a go". And then they are joined by special guest Stewart Adams to talk about ‘The Matrix’. TJ and Stewart are fans! (that might be an understatement). They talk about all the different themes of the film, the multiple layers you get out of subsequent viewings, the fact that Stewart first saw this film in the form of a TV edit, the characters and casting of the film, the stylistic choices and so much more. Join us for a lively discussion!
In this episode of MovieByte, TJ and Joseph discuss ‘Looper’ and ‘Trouble with the Curve’, two pretty good films. For ‘Looper’ they talk about the relatively low budget and indie nature of the film, the exceptional acting from the three top tier actors, Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt, the pitfalls of time-travel plots and the nature of time-travel films, how could Cid have become The Rainmaker in the first loop and more. For ‘Trouble with the Curve’ they discuss why critics are dissing such a good film, the lack of budget information available about the film, a drama vs. an action film, the humanity of the characters, Eastwood’s grouchy old man schtick, the poor acting of Timberlake, TJ and Joseph disagree on whether John Goodman is a good actor or good in his role in this film, why the film is not a flop and more.
In this episode, TJ and Joseph discuss Skyfall - The upcoming ‘Bond’ film, the new TV series from J.J. Abrams, ‘Revolution’ and how TJ has probably jinxed the series because shows he likes get canceled, the upcoming straight to DVD release with actor Bruce Willis ‘Fire with Fire’, and the main topic, ‘The Avengers’. TJ and Joseph heap loads of praise on this glorious film, the writing, the dialog, Joss Whedon as well as discuss the backstory with the preceding films and what did and didn’t work in them, how TJ liked the previous incarnation of ‘The Hulk’ and Joseph did not, their favorite lines in the film, whether it is better than Christopher Nolan’s Batman films and much more.
"Yet another kingdom falls to your glory. Is there no end to your power?" Join TJ and Joseph this week for a review of ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ as they discuss it’s high and low points, as they delve into their likes and dislikes, and as they discuss why TJ loved this film while Joseph didn’t love it so much. They discuss the portrayal of beauty and the contrast between the beautiful but evil queen played by widely haled beauty Charlize Theron, and Snow White played by Kristen Stewart who is by no means ugly, but not considered the beauty that Charlize is and that perhaps the message is beauty is more than skin deep. They also discuss the beauty of the film itself, aspects of The Huntsman’s character they enjoyed and much more. Conversation is also had about TJ’s latest article about the ‘Bones’ Season 8 premiere, TV shows and why we love to talk write about them on MovieByte, and how disconnected film critics can be from audiences at times.
"Asps… very dangerous. You go first." In this episode, TJ and Joseph discuss the Indiana Jones film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and the recent release of the film to IMAX theaters. They cover how well it held up on the ginormous IMAX screen, what worked and didn’t work about this 1981 film now that it’s 2012, how much it cost to make this film back in the day, its great rating on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, their childhood experiences with the Indy trilogy, John Williams score and a more general discussion of John Williams film compositions and. They also discuss the idea of a fifth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film, Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ starring Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker, ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ out for Home Entertainment, ‘For Greater Glory’ now on DVD and more.
"I gotta bad feeling about this - a we’re gonna need a new planet bad feeling"... Join Joseph and TJ as they discuss ‘Battleship’ which was just released to iTunes, Blu-ray, and DVD. Joseph laments the state of film-making in a post-Transformers world, TJ enjoyed the film a bit more, but just a bit. They also discuss ‘Monsters Inc.’ coming out in 3D and the merits of 3D movies, the possibility of a directors cut of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and why TJ doesn’t like directors cuts for the most part, having a glass of beer or wine with Christopher Nolan and what we would like to pick his brain about, what we would like to see in Batman special edition releases, what films we are looking forward to this year, which leads to a discussion about ‘Branded’ and much more.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." Tune in for a discussion about ‘The Hunger Games’ film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel. TJ and Joseph discuss their likes, dislikes, the themes in this film, who should see it and why, whether it is appropriate for young children and young adults, they evaluate the practical effects, special effects, CGI, editing, directing, shooting style and much more. They also discuss shooting video on your smartphone in portrait mode, ‘Taken 2’, the ‘Jack Ryan’ reboot, and the upcoming TV show ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ which will involve Joss Whedon.
“Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-doo” In this week’s episode TJ and Joseph discuss films from TJ’s Box Office Overview Article - ‘The Hunger Games’ and it’s critique of modern culture, ‘The Avengers’ and Joss Whedon, ‘Brave’ and where Pixar veered off track, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and its great box office success yet still overshadowed by ‘The Avengers’, and the box office failures of ‘Total Recall’ and ‘The Bourne Legacy’. And they also discuss Mel Stuart’s ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ as well as a little discussion of the newer Tim Burton remake, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (spoiler, Joseph and TJ thought it was a horrible film).
This week, TJ and Joseph discuss the TVShack.net and Richard O’Dwyer extradition case and discuss their great consternation over the entire affair, Joss Whedon signing on for a second Avengers movie and what that might mean for the film and the entire Marvel universe, and the main topic, The Bourne Legacy. TJ and Joseph might have "slightly" differing opinions on the worth of this film and which of the Bourne films is the best. We also apologize for the poorer audio quality on TJ’s end this week. There were… technical issues with TJ’s pre-amp.
This week Joseph and TJ discuss the idea of a Brady Bunch reboot, the canceled TV Show Alcatraz, Vertigo and the best movies of all time, Hulu Plus on the Apple TV, content providers and the digital age, ‘The Hobbit’ reworked trailer, and the main discussion on the new film Total Recall. TJ and Joseph disagree on how good the movie was, what parts they liked and disliked, what could have been better, and the totally deplorable state of the first incarnation of Total recall in 1990 with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"And you, Preston, the supposed savior of the resistance, are now its destroyer, and, along with them, you’ve given me yourself… calmly… coolly… entirely without incident." "Not without incident…" - Get ready for a fun and lively discussion as TJ and Joseph have a lot of fun talking about the Man of Steel trailer and the Superman franchise in general, Total Recall coming out on Friday, The Bourne Legacy featuring Jeremy Renner, the Avengers Post Credits Clip, Star Trek: The Next Generation remastered on Blu-ray, and of course the main topic, Equilibrium starring Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Angus McFadyen, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson.
TJ and Joseph discuss things pertaining to The Dark Knight Rises. Please be aware there will be spoilers in the second half of the episode. Topics of discussion include the shooting in Colorado and what a horrible tragedy it was, trilogies in general (Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings), likes and dislikes about The Dark Knight Rises, Spoilers, Liam Neeson’s roll and more. Plus we follow up on Joseph’s "sealed note" predictions for what he thought would happen in this film and whether Christopher Nolan lived up to expectations. Our podcast is also now live and listed in the iTunes Podcast directory so be sure to rate the show in iTunes!
TJ and Joseph discuss the inception (see what we did there) of MovieByte and former life as Movieology, the upcoming Movieology podcast, and more. But mostly they focus on Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Night Rises, their past with Batman, what made these films work so well, music by Hans Zimmer, casting, their expectations as they prepare to see the new film in the theater, Joseph’s sealed predictions for the film, Christopher Nolan’s directorial ability, and much, much more.