Movie Go Round

We spun the virtual wheel for “Netflix Roulette” and wound up with a movie we had trouble approaching: 2015’s "The Gift." What at first seems like a “creepy guy starts getting too close to the nice couple” thriller begins to take unexpected turns as the wife starts digging into the creepy guy’s past. The tone of the film is odd, and gets darker and more unsettling as it goes along. Join David, Brett, and Nicole as they ponder things like, Is this the most horrifying movie we’ve watched? How does Jason Bateman’s character get his influence? Does the punishment at the end fit the crime? And will we ever look at a monkey the same way again? Next week is Future Classics. David brings us "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

In this round’s New to Two, Brett introduced David and Nicole to Clint Eastwood’s last good (possibly great) movie, "Gran Torino," a variation on the “crusty old guy teaches young punk lessons about life and manhood while learning a few things himself” story. We took an admiring look at the film’s craftsmanship, and a harder look at its portrayal of the Hmong culture. Does this movie include the “white savior” trope? What if the protagonist is the one who makes the situation bad in the first place? Was it a good idea to use nonprofessional actors to play the Hmong roles? We dig in deep in this episode! Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

We finish this round, as always, with You Did This to Us, in which our audience chooses (translated: punishes us with) a film for us to watch and discuss. This week, winning handily in the poll, was the Wachowskis’ “Jupiter Ascending.” This sci-fi soap opera, which bombed in the US and juuuust made its budget back overseas, has eye-boggling visuals, a brain-boggling script, and the odd stomach-boggling performance. What did our crew make of it? (Spoilers: One of them loves this movie. Guess which one!) Come join David, Nicole, and Brett as we try to make heads, tails, amputated wings, or pointy ears of this movie. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

We're back! So sorry for the delay the last two weeks. We'll stick around regularly here on out. Enjoy a marathon of three make-up / "sorry we're so late" episodes, beginning with this show! We so appreciate all of our listeners' support; we hope you enjoy this marathon before a return to Monday afternoon releases. We went Around the World again for this episode, stopping just the other side of “the pond” for the fictionalized day in the life of the Beatles, “A Hard Day’s Night.” Join Brett, David, and Nicole as they learn that sometimes a studio’s cynical cash grab can yield surprising results. We ask smart questions such as, How did this movie manage to be any good? Who’s this guy playing Paul’s grandfather? How did George know the age of social media trendsetters was coming? What is that funky pub game Ringo is playing? (“Devil Among the Tailors.” You’re welcome!) And finally, why did anyone bother going to Beatles concerts if the screaming audience always drowned out the band? Head on over to TiltingWin

It’s Future Classics week, and Nicole brought 2011’s “Drive” in for evaluation. The story is straightforward: Ryan Gosling’s “Driver” works as a mechanic and stuntman by day, and getaway driver by night; his life starts to get complicated when he falls for the pretty young mother in his apartment building. All of us agree on the visual merits of the movie, but do Brett and David share Nicole’s opinion of the content? Is there any substance underneath all the style? Why does Driver do what he does? Is there a purpose to the brutality of the violence in the film? Most importantly, where do we get one of those boss scorpion jackets? Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Episode 22 was a “Netflix Roulette” pick, and the luck of the draw brought us “Clown,” a 2014 horror movie about clowns, demons, and why you shouldn’t bully that real estate agent’s kid. There are some typical horror movie tropes, like poor decision-making and doing exactly what you’ve been told not to do, and some surprisingly inventive bits like a whacked-out suicide machine and the look of the demon. Did we like it? Did we hate it? Is it worth watching? Did any of Brett, David, and Nicole get through the movie in a single sitting? Have a listen and find out! Next week we keep the rotation moving with a Future Classics week. Nicole's pick for a film that has been released in the last 10 years that will be an enduring classic? "Drive." Go watch some Gosling, everyone! Connect with your hosts! Brett Stewart | Nicole Davis | David Luzader Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

New rotations always begin with “New to Two,” and for Episode 21, David had Brett and Nicole watch (Saban’s) "Power Rangers" (2017) for the first time! Spoiler warning: They didn’t hate it! Listen to us discuss the high points (the slapping, the character of Billy, most of the special effects) and the low points (the “bull milking” gag, clumsy callbacks, “Goldar”) and everything in between! Next week we keep the rotation moving with a Netflix Roulette week. We spun the wheel and ended up with 2014's "Clown." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For this round of “You Did This to Us,” our audience made a pick that could be considered less cruel than usual, and chose “Gremlins 2.” Gizmo, a small furry monkey elf known as a “Mogwai,” is kidnapped and brought to the Clamp (Trump) building where his human friend Billy coincidentally works. Unfortunately, he accidentally gets wet, evil Mogwai are spawned and metamorphose into nasty Gremlins. Chaos ensues for the next 70 minutes or so. There is inexplicable fourth wall breaking and a musical number. We try to make any kind of sense of this movie. Come join us! Next week is we turn our clocks back five weeks! It's time for a new rotation. That means we're starting with a New to Two pick. The pick? 2017's "Power Rangers." Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

For our next Future Classics pick, Brett has brought us “Fences,” Denzel Washington’s adaptation of the August Wilson play about fathers and sons, husbands and wives, people of color and the white institutions they have to deal with. Join us as we discuss things like, Does this make a good (and one day classic) movie in its own right? Is Denzel’s character, Troy, a bad man, or a man trying to be a good husband and father and failing at both? And is Viola Davis’ runny nose a distraction from the speech that helped earn her the Oscar? Next week is You Did This to Us and the pick is "Gremlins 2." Please note that we reversed Around the World and Future Classics this round, which is why you're getting Future Classics after Around the World. Next round it goes back to normal! Email us! moviegoround@tiltingwindmillstudios.com. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

“No safety nets. No computer graphics. No strings attached.” Our next “Around the World” pick is "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior," featuring Tony Jaa kicking butt all over Bangkok as he tries to retrieve the head of his village’s scarred Buddha. You have never seen so much jumping, flipping, kicking, elbow strikes to the head, and knees to the FREAKIN’ FACE together in one movie before! Don't miss an enthusiastic discussion about how this film helped revitalize the modern martial arts movie and what makes such films so appealing. Next week is Future Classics and the pick is "Fences." Please note that we reversed Around the World and Future Classics this round, which is why you received the former first in your feed. Email us! moviegoround@tiltingwindmillstudios.com. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

In our next “Netflix Roulette” pick, we cover 1990’s "GoodFellas." Wow, being a mobster is great! You make lots of money, you can do whatever you want, and the cops look the other way. The only problem is that when disputes pop up between wiseguys, the arbitration tends to be fatal. Join Brett, David, and Nicole as we discuss this Martin Scorcese classic, the true story of Henry Hill: a half-Irish, half-Italian kid who fell in love with the mob at an early age, but eventually discovered that the mob didn’t love him back. Next week is Around the World and the pick is "Ong Bak." Email us! moviegoround@tiltingwindmillstudios.com. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

We begin round four of our go-rounds with a New to Two pick from Nicole, “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.” This 1944 Preston Sturges classic was incredibly suggestive for its time, using a lot of coded language to refer to sex and pregnancy, both forbidden to speak of by the pre-MPAA Hays Code. Daffy but pleasant Trudy Kockenlocker goes to a farewell party for American servicemen, imbibes a lot of spiked “lemonade,” and discovers the next morning that she is married; the biggest problem is that she can’t remember the groom’s name. The second-biggest problem is that it turns out she’s expecting. What did David and Brett think of our oldest (and possibly funniest) movie so far? How many euphemisms can be squeezed into one film? And how can Trudy find a way out of her situation without a lifelong scandal? It would take a miracle… Next week is "Goodfellas." Email us! moviegoround@tiltingwindmillstudios.com. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

Welcome to another round of You Did This to Us. Episode 15 is up, and it’s “Warcraft: The Beginning.” If you’ve ever played a massively multiplayer online game and thought to yourself, “Damn, these cut scenes are so cinematic and intriguing! I wonder what would happen if they added a lot of half-assed, not-terribly-logical live action to them and put them on the big screen?” then we have good news for you! The movie actually isn’t too bad to look at, so hey, maybe give it a watch (or don’t) and come join us as we talk about this paean to orcs and humans, green forests and dark magic, and why you probably shouldn’t go into combat if you’re in active labor. Next week is "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek." Email us! moviegoround@tiltingwindmillstudios.com. Head on over to TiltingWindmillStudios.com for more podcast episodes, columns, and more!

We journey into Bollywood in episode 14, “Bang Bang!” An Indian remake of “Knight and Day,” Nicole’s Around the World pick features a chase after the stolen Kohinoor diamond, multiple exotic locations, four musical numbers, some smooth and inventive dancing, a lovely ingénue, and a 12-pack you have to see to believe. The action tropes get turned up to 11, wind machines are always handy to blow hair artistically in the right direction, and everything that explodes blows up in slow motion. Nicole finds it delightfully over the top. Do Brett and David share her enthusiasm? Come listen to the episode and find out!

In a Hollyworld of sequels and book adaptations and remakes, truly original ideas are rare. For our “Future Classics” choice this round, David nominated an original movie about the power of ideas, 2010’s “Inception.” Will the intellectual vibe, practical effects, and now-a-meme soundtrack stand the test of time? Did they deliberately make Leonardo DiCaprio look like Christopher Nolan? Why, in this movie that includes the dreams of at least four different people, does no one ever dream about any animals? And lastly, why does everyone have so much trouble pronouncing Cillian Murphy’s first name? Join David, Brett, and Nicole as they dive into these questions and more in episode 13 of Movie-Go-Round! Join us next week on Movie-Go-Round for Around The World! The pick? The 2014 Bollywood film “Bang Bang.” See you then!

This week’s theme is “Netflix Roulette,” and the randomizer spit out our first Nicolas Cage movie, Lord of War. Small-time Ukranian-born New Yorker and arms dealer Yuri Orlov takes advantage of the end of the Cold War and the sudden poor security of Russian arsenals to step up into the big leagues, occasionally dragging his now-addict brother Vitaly (Jared Leto, a potential contest winner for looking the least like Nicolas Cage) along for the ride. Come join David, Nicole, and Brett as we dig into this movie that has very little empathy or development for any of its main characters, but does have a fairly awesome title sequence! Next episode, Movie-Go-Round rolls back around to Future Classics! The pick? Inception. We’ll see you then! BWAAAAAAAMMMMM…

Welcome to the goriest movie Brett, David, and Nicole have ever covered! This week is our “New to Two” theme, and Brett chose “The Midnight Meat Train.” This movie doesn’t just show gore, it revels in it, using inventive situations and playful camera work. Join us as we break down the story of photographer Leon, who becomes obsessed with following a nattily dressed subway serial killer. We’ll ask such questions as, What are those awful little things on the killer’s chest? Why does Leon keep following the killer? Why does Leon’s girlfriend stay with him? And most important, have Leon and his girlfriend never realized that what they’re doing in that restaurant is really, really unsanitary? Next episode, Movie-Go-Round rolls back around to Netflix Roulette! We’ll be watching the Nic Cage film, “Lord of War.”

This (in)famous 1970s TV movie featured a young John Travolta as Tod, a teenager with immune deficiencies that forced him to live in plastic tents and positive-pressure rooms all his life, until he met this girl… Loosely based on a true story, this movie took a few liberties with science that are a little hard to swallow. For our next round of “You Did This to Us,” David, Brett, Nicole, and guest Dominic Cichocki dug into this bit of melodramatic cheese, taking a hard look at Robert “Mr. Brady” Reed’s acting style, the overdone music, and wondering why Tod would fall for this girl, who is mildly pretty, but also horrible. Also, what is Buzz Aldrin doing here? Next episode, Movie-Go-Round rolls on back to the beginning! It’s time for the third rotation! We’ll be watching the third New to Two film, “The Midnight Meat Train.”

Why did we cover 2008’s “Ip Man” for our second Around the World movie? Because Donnie Yen is THE Man, not just Ip Man. Known in the West primarily as Bruce Lee’s teacher, Ip Man had a fascinating life story that Donnie Yen portrays with a Zen-like calm and a smoldering strength. This movie covers the period of the Japanese occupation of Man’s city of Foshan, China, and a cinematically exaggerated fight he had with a Japanese general. Join David, Brett, and Nicole as they dig into this film that includes constant breaking of precious household objects, food lust for a potato, and a ten-on-one fight with gnarly foley work that really makes you hear those limbs cracking. Next episode, Movie-Go-Round continues its second thematic round, rounding this rotation out with a You Did This to Us. Your pick? “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.” Go watch the film if you haven’t! See you next Saturday!

This 2013 film from Italy was received with huge critical acclaim in the US, but it was a tiny release. Episodes from the life of aging raconteur and journalist Jep, a sharp observer of life but participant only in his limited sphere of intellectual party-goers, unspool amid travel-porn-worthy views of Rome. Jep is only now coming to grips with his age and mortality, as he contemplates his quest for life’s great beauty. Join Nicole, Brett, and David as we tackle some really big questions like, What is this ancient nun doing here? What is the difference between a “movie” and a “film”? And what is the great beauty of life? Next episode, Movie-Go-Round continues its second thematic round, thus returning to Around the World. The pick? “Ip Man.” Go watch the film if you haven’t! See you next Saturday!