Now And Then Movie Podcast

The movie is Arrival (2016) starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forrest Whitaker directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer.  It's so much more than expected.  It surpasses expectations and transcends the genre.  We liked it.

The Big Sick and The Hero look at what happens when life throws you something unexpected.  And hard. There are no obvious choices in life when dealing with families, culture, expectations, fame, drive, and love.  Then add in sickness. These two films take different looks at these things... different from each other and different than most films.  The Big Sick is a comedy with a surprising amount of heart. Kumail is a comedian and meets his match in Emily, a lovely girl who is perfect for him.  The only problem is that Kumail is expected to abide by an arranged marriage set up by his Pakistani Muslim immigrant parents. And then Emily gets sick. The Hero is a breakout performance by a man that we have adored for decades in Sam Elliott. He plays a Western icon given a potentially life ending diagnosis. Despite very serious premises, each of these films have so much to offer in heart and comedy. Both have amazing supporting casts and are strong contenders for awards.

Subdued.  Avant-garde.  Weird. Maybe words that we could use to describe our two offerings on this episode of Person to Person (2017) and Lemon (2017).   But do we?  These each have star-studded casts full of great actors or comedic geniuses. So what does that add up to?

He's back, and this time its complicated. John Wick is reluctantly brought back into the life of being a gentleman assassin. But I warn you, do not make him angry, you wouldn't like him when he's angry. Hand to hand combat is on full display once again and is not to be missed.  We compare and contrast to The Hitman's Bodyguard. The laughs fly as freely as the bullets do in this one. Its a lighthearted tale of two killers on a road-trip to testify against a war criminal with a few pit-stops to win over their lady-friends.

Get Out and Split. Horrible name of this episode or regular names of two pretty good horror films from 2017? Could be both.  We aren't big horror movie fans as a rule so these two must have had something going on to peak our mutual interest.  Spoiler. They did.  Listen in to find out what we think.

Wonder Woman and Logan. Two superhero films that take risks. We liked them both. Here's why...

Space. Some have called it the final frontier. I call it a scary, dark, deathtrap of a bad idea for a vacation destination.  But hey, its not all about the destination, its about the journey, right? Well, that's what Passengers posits and we have plenty of thoughts on that... Life stars some big name actors and some big time horror in the form of a little space creep called Calvin. Its very unsettling. But our conversations on these two movies is as fun as can be...

We are back for Season 3! We outline some of the things to come this Season and take a look at some of the movie franchises that actually do their best work in the third installment!  We catch up on some of the things that happened in our break and tell you what to watch to enjoy this season of the Now and Then Movie Podcast.    

Summer isn't just for fun. Its also for watching a ton of movies ! But how to choose? Listen to our list of the best Summer movies of all-time excluding the ones we forgot or didn't mention. But seriously, its a good list.  We mention nearly 10 movies each. Almost. Just listen and go re-watch some of the best Summer movies according to us.

Its a coming-of-age story kind of episode, where shoot outs are an essential part of growing up. We review Mud (2012) and Cop Car (2015) where the central stories revolve around young boys stumbling into dangerous conflicts between adults. Both are movies that are worth watching and have stories that we haven't all seen a million times already. Both films have similar hallmarks of being told from the vantage point of children, and stripped down, uncomplicated stories. Each has a star to carry the film, but these films themselves have all they need to be something worthy of your collection and our discussion. You'll watch because of Matthew McConaughey or Kevin Bacon, but leave with some new favorite filmmakers.

We rank some of the all- time best and worst football movies.  In our own special way, we discuss the good, the bad, and other ones. We feel qualified to judge these movies because, well, we have eyes. So kick back and enjoy because there is plenty of time until a real game kicks off!  

Hitman for hire. Ben Affleck in The Accountant (2016) and John Cusack in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) Cool customers both but Mike and Mike have some thoughts as usual. 

S2E11 - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Our Brand is Crisis was recorded in a simpler time... an episode from way back in early October of 2016.  How naive we were.  Anyway, two good films that deserve a look and some discussion.  Also, sorry about the the background noise.  We were super annoyed by it too.

We are joined by Mike Spina host of the Veterans History Podcast to talk about Hacksaw Ridge and Saving Private Ryan.  We were hesitant to see Hacksaw Ridge but were glad that we did. You can listen to real veterans talk about their actual lives on the Veterans History Podcast

Doctor Strange and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb are under the microscope in this one. We marvel at how more people don't know that these movies go together. We posit that Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film works well as a prequel to the 2016 Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle.  Pocket Universes, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Tilda Swinton.  We talk about all of it!

Mike Bell from Mike Bell and the Movies and Joe Reinhart from Hop Along are our all-star guests to talk about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  These guys know Star Wars. We stick mostly to Rogue One but we do get into Batman, Predator and the worst places to run if you find yourself in a horror movie. This episode is much like our normal episodes except it was recorded a long long time ago in a galaxy near by... actually in this one.  These guys make the episode. Mike and I are just along for the ride.

Manchester by the Sea (2016) put simply is the story of an uncle who is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies. The complicated emotions that are involved are what caries this incredible film. Casey Affleck leads a film that is so grounded and true to life.  Demolition (2015) stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a successful investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. We discuss these two powerful, emotionally driven films by Jean-Marc Vallée and newcomer Kenneth Lonergan. A rare, no nonsense discussion by the two Mikes. Enjoy because we sure did.

Just an old fashion debate over which buddy cop movies are the best and deserve to be included in a list comprised by the likes of us. A little more nonsense than usual. Our list should be the definitive list to settle all debates or bar bets. Probably.

Ben Affleck is a Boston criminal. Twice. In Live By Night (2016) we see Affleck as Joe Coughlin, a criminal bent on revenge, starting in the 1920's during prohibition. Hard cut to South Florida. Big movie with a lot going on... We have thoughts.  We compare to The Town (2010) directed and staring Affleck again as a criminal in Boston.  A more compact story with Affleck as a bank robber named Doug MacRay.  One we think is great and one we think is okay.  Listen on as Mike and Mike debate and discuss.

All-star casts? Yup. Layers upon layers of jokes? You bet. Full of holiday spirit? Duh. Instant classics? We think so.  The two Mikes discuss why these two movies deserve to be in your movie collection right next to Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Merry Christmas you filthy animal.