Movie Go Round

In this Movie-Go-Round Netflix Roulette, the team watched Swordfish, the awful John Travola film you definitely shouldn't watch. This was our last week before switching a bunch of equipment, however, so we wanted to put something else in your feed in its stead that was higher quality and featuring the same guest! They're blue, reproduce with their tail-braid-things, and the story is 100% original: it's Avatar! Join the team as they join up with David Ginsburg of Tales From the Fandom to visit Pandora, for better and for worse. Mostly worse. Next episode's Future Classics pick is Brett's! He picked 2009's Attack the Block.  Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

In this Movie-Go-Round New to Two, Nicole went for a change of pace, choosing a 1998 film with a tight script, playful cinematography, solid performances from a host of "Hey, it's that actor I like!" people, a cool jazzy soundtrack, and sizzling sexual chemistry between the two leads. Steven Soderbergh is one of the few directors who could carry off this mix of caper flick and forbidden attraction, and he does a great job with Out of Sight. What did Brett and David think? How long did Brett rhapsodize over Don Cheadle and Ving Rhames? What snappy thing did David say to crack Nicole up and make her forget the point she was trying to make? Tune in and find out! Next week's episode is a Netflix Roulette pick! We're watching Swordfish. Why? ... Why? Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

This week's Movie-Go-Round was originally going to bring you Legally Blonde - that's what you voted for on You Did This to Us. The Great Hard Drive Crash of 2018 came and went, though, and Legally Blonde looks like it was the last episode to get caught in the undertow. So, we dug back into the Geek Cinema Society Archive to remaster an episode and bring it to the Movie-Go-Round audience for one more week! If you haven't ever listened to Geek Cinema, you can find it on all podcasting directories. This particular episode was an exploration of Starship Troopers. We picked this film to revisit here on Movie-Go-Round because it was a bizarre, often frustrating, absurd science-fiction flick that a guest inflicted upon us one week - very much in the spirit of You Did This to Us. Next week, join us for New to Two and Nicole's pick, 1998's Out of Sight! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

This week's episode of Movie-Go-Round is a special one! (In part, because a hard drive crashed and we had to get creative...) While we unfortunately lost our discussion of Suspiria, we decided to record some thoughts on the film again, which you will hear at the top of this program. After that, you'll be tuned into an episode of Geek Cinema Society, the first film program the three of us did together. This particular selection was our discussion of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We picked this to align with the final entry of our Movie-Ghoul-Round month! Enjoy this throwback and be sure to find Geek Cinema Society: The Archive in your podcatcher to listen to dozens more blasts from the past just like this. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For our second Movie-Ghoul-Round episode, David got to choose a Future Classic, and his pick was 2012’s The Cabin in the Woods. Simultaneously a critique of and love letter to modern horror-movie tropes, this Drew Goddard/Joss Whedon joint featured a young Thor and host of fantastic character actors. Join Brett, David, and Nicole as they rhapsodize about Bradley Whitford, pick their favorite villains, and debate how much free will can be involved when people are forced to override their common sense. Next week's episode is an Around the World pick! Nicole picked 1977's 'Suspiria.' Movie-Ghoul-Round continues! (Please bear in mind due to circumstances discussed at the top of this episode, 'Suspiria' may be substituted. We will update you on social media!) Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

You could call this Netflix Roulette horror movie by its name, Pay the Ghost, but you might as well call it “Pay Nic Cage’s Bills.” This tale of a vengeful ghost features missing children, CG vultures only a few steps up from Birdemic, at least three exposition dumps, and a sleepwalking Cage. Join Brett, David, Nicole, and guest Greg Tilton of Rumor Files and Jack of Trades as we discuss this movie and speculate if it was written by an artificial intelligence, a horror film cliché generator, or a pack of wild Celtic reconstructionalists. Next week's episode is a Future Classic pick! David picked 2012's 'The Cabin in the Woods.' Join us for the second week of Movie-Ghoul-Round! Still spooky! Oh, so spooky! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

To start our ninth go-round, Brett brought in a film that was New to Two (Nicole and David). His choice was an unconventional biopic by a filmmaker who began his career with a biopic of Karen Carpenter enacted with Barbie dolls. While Todd Haynes used actual humans in his portrait of Bob Dylan, he felt the need to use six of them in I'm Not There, to show the stark differences among the facets of the performer. How well was the music used in this movie? Did David and Nicole have a favorite "Dylan"? Should Christian Bale ever be allowed to have a perm again? (No.) Join us this episode for the discussion of these points and many more! Next week's episode is a Netflix Roulette pick! The Netflix gods provided us with the Nic Cage film 'Pay the Ghost.' This episode will be the first of three Movie-Ghoul-Round haunted episodes in October! So spooky! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

You Did This to Us. Again. You were super nice last time and we got complacent. Our hubris cost us, big-time. The needle swung way back to the other side on the quality indicator and we ended up watching The Emoji Movie.  Our guest, Bandrew Scott of the Bandrew Says podcast and YouTube channel Podcastage, was game AF and even played devil's advocate in favor of the movie, and in the end... well, you'll have to listen to find out! We debated this movie's lack of logic, the futility of the director trying to make it this generation's Toy Story, and why on this green Earth emojis would have parents. Or butts. Next week's episode returns us to the beginning of a new Movie-Go-Round cycle! That means it's time for a new New to Two. Brett's pick this time? 'I'm Not There,' a Bob Dylan-themed biopic starring half a dozen Bob Dylans. Yeah, it's as bizarre as it sounds. Tune in then! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Brett made the pick for "Around the World" this time, and chose Robert Rodriguez's debut film, El Mariachi. This $7,200 movie was shot for the Mexican home video market, but Columbia Pictures picked it up for distribution and turned it into an indie hit. Brett, David, and Nicole dug into this homemade potluck dish, wondering if its technical quality hurts its longevity, what has become of its writer/director's career, and if it has the greatest possible ending, especially for its storyline and budget. Next episode, also due out today due to our lateness, is a You Did This to Us! Your pick? The Emoji Movie. Why? Who hurt you? Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For Future Classics this round, Nicole chose the 2008 film, WALL-E. Pixar pulled off two major feats with this movie: making mountains of garbage look beautiful, and making audiences empathize with a mobile trash compactor within a few minutes of the opening music. We picked through topics such as the influence of past sci-fi characters like E.T. and R2-D2, homage paid to major classic movies, and the old chestnut of what it means to be human and the question of if humanity is even necessary for a character to be multi-dimensional. Next week is Around the World! Brett's pick? Robert Rodriguez's 'El Mariachi.' Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

This round's "Netflix Roulette" yielded an unexpected hidden gem: Memoir of a Murderer. In this movie, Byung-Soo grapples with the confusion of encroaching Alzheimer's, memories of his past as a Dexter-style serial murderer, and the threat of a newly emerged serial killer who's after Byung-soo's daughter. David, Brett, and Nicole had a good time dissecting this puzzle, discussing the symbolism of a bamboo grove, the anatomy of the human skull, and the crime-drama tropes this story fortunately avoids. Next week is Future Classics! Nicole's pick? Pixar's WALL-E. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For this round’s New to Two pick, David chose a rather oddball film that came out just last year, Ingrid Goes West. Ingrid is ragingly insecure, tying her self-worth to how close she can get to people with “perfect” lives and how much of their approval she can earn. She does not take rejection well. While Nicole and Brett weren’t sure how much they liked the film, there was a lot of meat to dig into here, and we had some good, deep discussion about mental illness, the role of social media in our lives, and the value of Batman. Next week is Netflix Roulette! The movie? Memoir of a Murderer. It actually looks good! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

What happens when you put an ancient monster, a ruthless impaler, an 18th-century dandy, and a 19th-century bad boy together in the same apartment? People stop being polite, and start getting real. You also get our “You Did This to Us” pick for this round, What We Do in the Shadows. You guys were sooooo good to us this week! Nicole, David, and Brett had a ball talking about this supernatural takeoff on the house-sharing reality show genre. Come join us! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

David has been using his “Around the World” picks to introduce Brett to quality martial arts films and prepare him for this week’s choice. But really, is there any way to prepare for The Raid? This 2011 movie, made in Indonesia by a Welsh writer/director, took the action and martial arts genres and dialed them up to 11 and beyond. David, Brett, and Nicole had a very excitable time digging into this movie, and hope you guys will be just as excited to listen to our episode. Next week is You Did This to Us! The movie? You all decided that we'll be watching "What We Do in the Shadows." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

“Future Classics” week is back, and Brett’s proposed film this time was the big 50th anniversary film in the James Bond franchise, "Skyfall." Featuring themes of past sins, death, rebirth, and redemption, this was the emotionally heaviest of the Bond films. Join us as Brett, Nicole, and David dig in to topics such as the return to classic tropes, Javier Bardem’s entrance (with its flirtation and flair for drama), the gorgeous Oscar-nominated cinematography, fortunate casting and disastrous near-casting, and a Komodo dragon’s value as an improvised weapon. Next week is Around the World! The movie? David's pick is the famous "The Raid: Redemption." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

This round’s “Netflix Roulette” reminds us that this theme provides more just-missed-it movies than big hits or entertaining dreck. An indie rock journalist (played by a slumming-it Toni Collette) is tasked with finding her ex, an elusive musician who released a massively influential album and then disappeared. Join Brett, David, and Nicole as they try to figure out which storyline is supposed to be most important, how Thomas Haden Church and Oliver Platt got talked into showing up, and why we couldn’t have just watched "Eddie and the Cruisers" instead. Next week is Future Classics! The movie? Brett's pick is the 007 potential-classic, "Skyfall." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Our new rounds always begin with “New to Two,” and this week Nicole introduced Brett and David to Quentin Tarantino’s third feature film, "Jackie Brown." Featuring some of Tarantino’s signature elements (clever dialogue, loving shots of a woman’s feet, killer music choices) and deviating in equally significant ways (much less blood, a mature romantic element), "Jackie Brown" was only a modest success and one that a lot of fans have missed seeing. Join us as we dig into this low-profile Tarantino, and ask such questions as: Is this a modern blaxploitation movie? How are so many people getting shot in public with no one noticing? And WHAT is the deal with Samuel L. Jackson’s hair? Next week is Netflix Roulette! The movie? "Lucky Them." ... Lucky us. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Aw, guys, why? Whyyyyyy? You Did This to Us. You made us watch "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." What did we do wrong? In this Happy Madison production (there’s the first clue this won’t go well), a schlubby single dad who takes his low-end security job too seriously gets caught up in a holiday season heist and has to find a way to save the day. Brett, David, and Nicole had to watch this alleged comedy and found themselves asking questions like, Does the predictable script make this endearing or unbearable? How does this movie manage to be aggressively bland? And does the universe gain anything from this movie existing? Next week is New to Two! The pick? Nicole chooses "Jackie Brown." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Hoo, boy. This movie. For this week’s “Around the World,” Nicole chose the French-Belgian horror and coming-of-age film, "Raw" (“Grave” in the original French). David knew to brace himself, but poor Brett had no idea what he was in for. Young Justine arrives at veterinary college, where her sister Alexia is already a student. Alexia encourages Justine to awaken one of her appetites during a hazing ritual, and all the rest, unfortunately, follow suit. We tried not to bite off more than we could chew by keeping the discussion to such questions as, Why is the faculty so blasé about the hazing? What is it about college that makes people change? Is this the way normal siblings act? And is the freakiest part of this movie the horse, the hair, the highway, or the Brazilian wax? Next week is Paul Blart: Mall Cop! You did it to us! ... Why? Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For Future Classics this week, David asked Nicole and Brett to watch "The Grand Budapest Hotel." This elaborately constructed, nested diorama of a film is populated with some of the best character actors working today, a couple of up-and-comers, and a few just past their leading-role prime. Lobby boy Zero Moustafa, a foreigner to the fictional country of Zubrowka, becomes the apprentice and friend of Gustave H., the fastidious, refined, yet startlingly profane concierge of the Grand Budapest. We dig into this confection with three spoons, chewing over the brilliance of Ralph Fiennes, the symmetry of the cinematography, and the accessibility to non-Wes Anderson fans. Next week tune in for Around the World. We're watching "RAW." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!