Back to the movies

Summer blockbuster 2016 begins with a a brutal battle of the titans between two of the biggest cinematic icons of the 21st century. No, we're definitely not talking about Batman vs Superman. Instead we're taking at look at Captain America: Civil War. Like the break up of your favorite 90s boy band, it's a vicious decay that's simply too fun and scandalous to look away. Back to the Movies kicks off your summer movie discussion by reviewing the highly anticipated film before peeling back a few of its layers.

Civil War Time Stamps

 Review - 4:26

Recommendations - 32:29

*Spoilers* - 36:33

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Back to the Movies was so excited about a couple of smaller April releases that we decided to do a head to head face off between two films battling for cult status, Hardcore Henry and Midnight Special. 

This week Caleb is joined by The People's History of Film's Dalton Stuart to discuss both films before laying verdicts and deciding a victor. We start by reviewing Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols' sleeper sci-fi flick, Midnight Special. The film stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, and Kirsten Dunst as a sort of family taking a a boy with mysterious boy named Alton to a strangely specific location while on the run from the US. Government.

After talking the heavy drama, we move on to look at Hardcore Henry, a film that is a vehicle for some of the coolest first person stunts and action sequences you'll ever see. Henry is a cyborg super solider whose wife is kidnapped by a telepathic scientist without motive. For better or for worse, it's the best video game adaptation we've seen yet.

Hardcore Henry vs Midnight Special Time Stamps

Midnight Special Review - 4:25

MS Spoilers - 20:08

Hardcore Henry Review - 26:08

HH Spoilers - 41:02

Tease For Next Week - 48:12 

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Disney continues to ride its runaway critical an box office success with last weekend's retelling of The Jungle Book. Back to the Movies looks reviews the film by looking past the dazzling special effects and strips the film down to its bare necessities in order to determine whether the movie lives up to the hype.

Due to excessive amounts of honey and King Louie nightmares, Arthur Gordon was forced to set out for the week and in his place is none other than The Film Syllabus's Alexandra Bohannon! Caleb and Alex talk a bit about their experience with the film before delving into their bigger questions. Who is the movie's target audience and is Disney being creative enough with their classic properties? 

The Jungle Book Time Stamps

Review - 2:56

Recommendations -30:58

*Spoilers* - 35:55

Tease For Next Week - 46:13

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Back to the Movies heads straight to the latest comedic depiction of the capitalist american dream with this week's review of Melissa McCarthy's The Boss. Caleb and Arthur are joined by GoodTrash cohorts Dalton Stuart of The People's History of Film and Alexandra Bohannon of The Film Syllabus film to get dissect, discuss, and critique the path of comedic box office success in Hollywood.

Regular listeners may notice the lack of a certain Jake Gyllenhaal flick from this week's roster because sometimes the cinema gods are cruel. Caleb and Alex attended a screening for Demolition, but unfortunately a broken press screener demolished all anxious expectations.

Melissa McCarthy has quickly risen to be one of the definitive faces for women working in Hollywood. Following her big screen break out in Bridesmaids, she's gone on to star in a string of procedural comedies including Identity Thief, Tammy, The Heat, and Spy among many others. The Boss stars McCarthy as a fallen industrialist who is forced to reinvent herself after being released from prison following charges of insider trading. After running to her former secretary, she turns to building a company selling girl scout brownies to put her back in the game. The film co-stars Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Tyler Labine, and Ella Anderson.

In this week's episode we look at her career leading up to The Boss and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of being a working comedic actress has impacted her options.

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Like The Boss Time Stamps

Introductions - 1:15

Spoiler Review - 4:30

Recommendations - 35:00

Back to the Movies spends this week podcasting from the brightest timeline where instead of watching the nonsensical use of  drones in London Has Fallen, Caleb and Arthur watch the pulse pounding drone suspense thriller, Eye In The Sky. 

The film follows a UK military as they attempt to capture a deadly high level target before she makes her next move. The operation is coordinated on an international scale with drone pilots from Nevada, ground troops in Kenya, and a number of high level officials from around the world all work to see that the potential drone strike is legal.  The is directed by none other than Gavin Hood and stars a huge ensemble cast including Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul, Phoebe Fox, Barkhad Abdi, and Ian Glenn among many others. 

Caleb and Arthur give their initial thought before diving into the deeper, tricker waters of drone warfare. The film presents the complex dilemmas the power of drones over other countries has presented the western world with, but doesn't make a clear cut argument for or against the use of power. Your hosts take the conversation into personal and potentially controversial territory for the film's final leg of the show.

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Ladies, gentlemen, and the jury of the infamous Batman v Superman: Attack of the Critics/fan, GoodTrash Media has talked an awful lot about the film and its divided reactions between fans and critics over the last week. If our less than favorable Back to the Movies review wasn't a hint, both Dustin and Caleb wrote a bit about their biggest takeaways from the movie despite its issues. 

As we put it at the end of every episode of the GoodTrash Genrecast, film is more than 90 minutes of popcorn and we value the discourse that comes from the conversation following each and every trip to the movies. After hearing our Back to the Movies review, DC comic book enthusiast and founder of the 1988 project, Shawn Curtis reached out to defend the movie and argue the merits of Batman vs Superman against the critics. 

Caleb sits down and talks to Shawn a little bit about his history with the characters before things heat up and the two discuss stand alone films vs multimedia driven universes, Batman's history using weapons to kill, Darkseid's impending arrival in the DCCU, and Ben Affleck's success as the dark knight. 

The BvS Fans Strike Back! Time Stamps

History with DC Comics - 4:28

A Different Take on BvS - 7:42

Self Contained vs Multimedia - 10:58

Batman Kills? - 15:18 

Superjerk? - 21:41

Is it better fan service than film? - 28:48

Something Darkseid - 39:18

Squeezed Too Tight? - 47:16

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Earlier this week we watched the false gods of Metropolis and Gotham duke it out and clearly we just couldn't get enough mythological heroes fighting to the death so we took Back to the Movies to the east review the most recent Alex Proyas flick, God's of Egypt.

Gods of Egypt hit theaters in the February burial ground before being left to die with by Deadpool in it's opening weekend. The film is set in a the whimsical Egypt of Christmas past when gods ruled and humans were but servants to the powerful. The film's central plot revolves around Not-Jaime Lannister seeking vengeance from his uncle Not-Leonidas for his father's death. Along the way he receives help from other gods including Hathor(Electra), Thoth(Black Panther), and Ra(Captain Barbosa) before powering up to face off with his uncle one last time.

False Gods of Egypt Timestamps

Review - 2:04

Recommendations - 24:14

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Look out listeners because it's verses week here on Back to the Movies. In our discussion of the highly anticipated Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, host will be turned against host, fans turned against their heroes, and worst of all Ben Affleck's chin will take on Henry Cavill's pecks in the most egregious way imaginable. To join us for the super hyped discussion are guests Dalton Stuart from The People's History of Film and Dustin Sells of The Film Syllabus. 

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Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Discourse Time Stamps 

Batman vs Superman Review - 4:03

Recommendations - 37:38

*Spoilers* - 41:44

In this special flashback edition of Back to the Movies, we take a trip down to remember 2013's highly polarizing super-flick, Man of Steel. We take a look at the long and muddled road of development between the 2006 box office flop Superman Returns before casting our verdict on the Chris Nolan/Zack Snyder brainchild. Joining us to review Man of Steel for are recurring GoodTrash guest hosts Alexandra Bohannon and Dustin Sells of The Film Syllabus. We're also excited to be joined by one of the producers of the upcoming  Electric Nostalgia and the co-founder of Planet Thunder Productions in our discussion of all things kryptonian. 

Man O' Steel Time Stamps 

Introductions - 1:00

Man of Steel Review - 3:44

The Road To Man of Steel - 5:09

Recommendations - 46:50

Batman Vs Superman Talk - 52:03

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It's all aboard the Zootopia Express on this week's Back to the Movies with Arthur and me. It may be cute, colorful, and cuddly on the outside, but what lies beneath the surface is one of the most commentary heavy films Disney has made in over a decade. That's right listeners, this week's episode focuses on the issues few parents will be itching to discuss with their kids.

With the dull and dreary superhero battles of the century between Batman/Superman and Captain America/Iron Man just mere days away, it'd be easy to overlook some of the prettier roses of spring 2016 releases. Luckily the unstoppable Disney marketing machine has made sure and well that the less hyped Zootopia isn't overlooked. Having made more than $154 million in the US alone in the two weeks since it's opening, Zootopia is proving to be one of the studio's biggest films since Frozen.

Arthur and I give our brief reviews before delving into the surprisingly multilayered commentary on recent issues in American politics. Politics? You read that right listeners. The analysis gets topical in all the same ways as your high school debate class. No matter where you stand on the issues, we hope you'll tune in and join the challenge of he conversation that Zootopia brings to the table. 

Zootopian Politics Time Stamps

Review - 3:05

Recommendations - 17:06

*Spoilers*- 19:32

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