Bowler Brim

For this holiday, I'd like to talk all about one of my favorite of the Bond franchise that I grew up watching. I cover a lot of other ground from other films in the franchise to knockoffs that came around the same time, and a lot of behind the scenes info.Are you ready for a Bond film where the only gadget used is a photocopier? Can James get the copies stacked and collated in time?!

For this two-for-one special, I'll take you on a look back at a couple of pretty good films from 2008, both of which feature actors that came to popularity in hit NBC shows: Rainn Wilson & John Krasinski in The Office, and George Clooney in ER.Music is by Molly Hatchet & the Steve Miller Band.

In this episode, we'll take a look at two films about love: 2025's Love Hurts and 2021's Cyrano.I know Sweetest Day is just a made up holiday by greeting card companies to rip off Valentine's Day, but it's as good an excuse as any to talk about a couple of interesting subjects.Music is a bluegrass cover of "Love Hurts" by the Osborne Brothers.

This episode features a discussion of a number of films, but primarily focuses on two comedies that flopped when they came out, and also feature doctors as main characters. However, some of these movies might just be The Cure for what ails you.

Let's autopsy this thing.Music is Windmills of your mind by Enoch Light and the Light Brigade

In a long-awaited episode, I go all in on the three live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films from the early 1990s.

Let's talk about how defunding various public services impacts a lot more than you expect, and just to keep it pragmatic, I'll talk about it from my own personal anecdotal frame of reference.

One of the first films I really wanted to talk about as a reviewer, but didn't have the knowhow at the time, this is an Orion Pictures big budget flop that has developed a cult following.I enjoyed so much of this as an adaptation of a series of novels, and don't worry, I do try to do it justice on every front.

This is one that I've wanted to write for a long time, pretty much from the start of my online reviews, and in this instance, another content creator actually prompted me to pick the subject back up.Lewis Luvhaug mentioned in his review of Invincible volume 3 that it was a worthy subject, and it was right in my wheelhouse.This is a very grown-up movie, so some subject matter is more mature than younger audiences may be ready for.Additionally: I know I got some parts of the movie wrong. Sarah is not in a hospital gown, for some reason it looked like she was at first. They filmed in a limestone mine and cavern, but for some reason I thought it was a salt mine. But those are minor details, really toward the main points of the discussion. I apologize for my mistakes. I was anemic from donating blood at the time of writing it.

In this piece, I talk about the forgotten 2006 all-star project that was part political satire & part dark thriller. What's more we'll examine how it accidentally foresaw the 2016 run by Donald J Trump and how his various actions over time differ from that of Man of the Year's protagonist, Tom Dobbs. We'll look back at the career of the film's star, Robin Williams, and the writer-director who first worked with Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam. We're taking a deep and wide look at this, so get ready for a wild ride.Music is Wake Up by Arcade Fire

This is another long-awaited subject that I was spurred to write for the podcast. Some spoilers are contained herein.I have taken a long look at the versions of The Shining and the documentary Room 237 to really go in depth. One idea even posits that the movie has a symmetrical effect if you play it forwards and backwards, overlaid on top of one-another, each way.So what really went on for the Torrence family in the Overlook hotel? The answer may just surprise you.

The auteur is a bit of an old-school concept in the world of cinema. Most people who can act, write, direct, and more, tend to do so one at a time, but there are some people who it all at once in a proverbial plate-spinning act.Wearing that many proverbial hats at once can be a lot of burden, and sometimes it works: Orson Welles, Jerry Lewis, Kenneth Branagh.So in this episode, I'll tell you a bit about two films by contemporary persons who set out to tell stories all their own, and whether or not they worked as well as you'd hope.Songs sampled for bumps are by Rose Royce and Scissor Sisters.Please keep any comments constructive and respectful.

Trigger warning: this discussion centers around relationships, abuse, and sexuality which some viewers may find upsetting or inappropriate for younger audiences. Discretion is advised.This is a discussion that I have waited almost 25 years to have. I spent multiple semesters getting top marks in Psych courses, making the dean's list & national honors society just to get to the point where I can dissect the dysfunctional personalities in a flop raunchy comedy you probably don't even remember.Strap in, because we're taking a deep dive on this one. It's literally a movie that I only really like for the ending, because the rest of it is immensely uncomfortable. What do I mean? Listen and find out.As always, any comments in response should be constructive and respectful.

In this long overdue episode, I'll take you on a journey through all kinds of movies that have characters that are either explicitly or implicitly autistic, and highlight the differences in how they are handled better or worse. Then we'll end on a discussion of autism in television, which only briefly touches on much of the attempts over the years.

In a rarity, I'm talking about a newer project that got overlooked by many last year. Cabrini tells the story of Mother Francesca, who founded the Sacred Heart orphanages & hospitals starting in the USA during the gilded age, and is recognized as America's first canonized saint and the patron saint of immigrants, as well as a bit of a feminist icon in the Catholic church.To find out more, listen in.Some discretion is advised for certain topics in the film.

In this episode, we take a look at the career of the late actress, Michelle Trachtenberg: her early days, her highs & lows, and everything in-between.I really enjoyed her work over the years, and like many, was deeply saddened to hear of her passing. Nevertheless, this 45' discussion pays homage to her as respectfully as she deserves, I think you'll agree.Wherever you are, Michelle, we tip the bowler brim to you.For those with younger listeners, discussion about the film EuroTrip does contain some explicit topics, upon which I attempt to tastefully exposit. Discretion is advised for that section.

In a semi-sequel to a recording I had on Patreon, let's take a look back at Earth 2, a popular & short-lived cult scifi show that was part of a mid-`90s boom in primetime science fiction series, featuring Clancy Brown, Terry O'Quinn, Tim Curry, and many more.Don't worry, this review and discussion is mostly spoiler free.

In this episode, we'll focus on the talent behind a lesser-known comedy featuring some top-tier talent on both sides of the camera. How Going Berserk isn't better known is beyond me, but it fueled the usual exploration of a lot of more background on the talent involved in its realization. Give a listen, and along the way, I'll point you to a lot of other content you can look up from these folks that is often free or included in most streaming services.

For a stressful holiday season, I couldn't think of anything better to discuss in-depth than one of the snarkiest Christmas comedies going. Some of the music featured are popular Christmas novelty songs from around that time.

This episode is just a little off-the-cuff discussion of another off-beat Christmas movie.

In this special Thanksgiving episode, we'll examine a cult favorite from the late writer of some of America's favorite movies.

The originators of some classic & forgotten animations is a rabbit hole I found immensely rewarding. Thanks to Jim Bevan, mentalist, entertainer & patron for suggesting the topic.

In this shorter discussion, I invite you to take a look at a new take on the Joker, like you've never seen before.

In this short episode, I'll tell you a bit about Dame Smith & her amazing career, as well as highlighting one of my favorite films about her.

This took months to write & research, but kept getting better as I delved into the background & explored this subject. Originally, I was just going to discuss one film, but wound up finding more to talk about in our second subject. This film is dedicated to suicide-prevention & as a reminder, if you need help, it's okay not to be okay and to get help, to ask for help, to do what you need to make it through life healthy. You're worth it.

A bit of a sleeper hit with a solid setup for a sequel, Blue Beetle underperformed in the box office with direct, in-house competition from The Flash. Dumped into cinemas in mid-August, was this movie an underdog or what?

Chill out & give a listen to my thoughts on the latest in the massively popular Ghostbusters franchise, and some reflections on the larger franchise and its various installments.

This may become a series if the media companies play it right, so let's have a look at a BritBox original and another one by Netflix. Both these shows have top tier talent, but of course, are they worth your time?

In this episode, we'll take an off-the-cuff look at director Irving Kershner's career. Give it a listen, and thanks for clicking over.

In this recording, take a journey with me back through the origins of the Oz books, the first adaptations on stage & screen, the well-known 1939 version, and some fascinating aspects to the `70s soul version adapting the smash stage play. Along the way, we'll learn a lot about the author, L Frank Baum, his noteworthy mother-in-law, and as much interesting content as I could squeeze onto the page from my keyboard.

In this blog-style recording, I take a look back at DC and Warner Bros various projects over the decades and offer some insights of my own.

In this blog-style piece, I take a long look back at the Indiana Jones franchise, some of our other most beloved franchises, and how this one all shapes up. I'm not trying to bash the film or loft it up, but I have a lot of thoughts.

This is a blog-style discussion of a bit of a forgotten Schwarzenegger movie that I watched & thought was absolutely worth bringing up so you can find it & check it out for yourself.

As we get into our third and final part, we go into the last season of the series, and some of the episodes that cause a lot of fans to lose interest, but got it to where the series could enter syndication on networks like Comet. It all comes down to Rembrandt Brown. The Crying Man is our last, best hope for saving the series & Cleavant Derricks gets some good episodes this round. Give a listen & enjoy.

In part 2, we continue exploring some of the remarkable stories from this long forgotten series and some of the character journeys as the series continues to spiral out & recurring villains change, season to season.

In this first part, we'll have an introductory look, going episode by episode, following a binge-watch of the series, and pausing after many viewings, skipping some of the more tedious episodes. These episodes aren't broken down by series, but talk a bit more about some of the behind the scenes elements, aspects impacting the order of the episodes, and so on.

With this movie being 20 years old this month, I felt it was a great chance to go in-depth on everything that made this film good & bad.

It's another retrospective, in the spirit of the one on Leslie Nielsen. In this we'll take a look at all his different roles over the years from the 1990s onwards.

In our lengthier second half, we'll get into all the fun stories and behind the scenes bits for the final season of the beloved cult scifi series.

In this scripted look back at T.N.G.'s final season, we go episode by episode for the first half of this two-parter.

In this off-the-cuff recording, settle in for a long discussion of the penultimate season of T.N.G. episode by episode, including some personal favorites.

This episode focuses on a couple of recent releases, one direct to video and another released on streaming. This episode is more blog style than scripted, so it's more off the cuff. Please enjoy.

This is an off-the cuff, blog style review of the latest Marvel movie and the last of a beloved trilogy. There are spoilers, so this is more for if you have already seen it. However, if you haven't yet, I don't ruin it too much, but try to give you some things to look for.

In this episode, we go even more in-depth on Taskmaster as a series, and a franchise that spans the globe, and some of the problems that arose with the US adaptation.

One of the most popular series on British TV for the past several years is a kind of reality game show called Taskmaster. In this piece, we'll take a look at the show.

The retrospective ends and I offer some thoughts to the audience to spare any bruised feelings from what I've said in the think-pieces so far.

Inspired by news of HBOMax wanting to produce a prequel series about the town of Derry from Steven King's IT, this is a combination opinion piece & retrospective on the past century of prequels that various producers have pumped out. We start out with some final thoughts on reboots done right & how they can expand into other fun stories. In part 2, we'll finish and I'll offer some final thoughts.

With a lot of franchises committing to remakes, reboots, reimaginings, regurgitation & so on, it gets me on a tear about just how far all this goes. Even if the idea is nothing new (just look at how many versions of Dracula & Sherlock Holmes exist), there comes a time to say we've had enough of this as an audience. Look for the next episode soon, where we'll examine movie prequels.

I never watched these when they came out, but they make for some interesting viewing & discussion. In the dialog, I explore whether the pharaoh often designated by American cinema is accurate; I talk a bit about the 10 plagues (which I initially misremember as 7 for some reason), and we even go into some discussion of the artistic styles, as well as the development aspects of the films. Although Joseph, King of Dreams is technically a companion piece, I deem it a direct-to-video prequel. The discussion largely goes in a chronological direction, per date of release, rather than which story occurs first in the Bible. And lastly, I try to give each story the reverence needed, because they matter to a lot of people.

In the final episode of the retrospective, we look at a wide array of movies, including some worth discovering and others worth forgetting. And we get my final thoughts summing it all up.