Move over Marty! It's time to dive into the highest of cinemaaaaa in the form of prime Arnie's sci-fi action flick, Total Recall. Mr. Arnold starts the film trying to play a totally regular construction worker who wants more from his life. This is the least believable thing ever put to screen (have you seen how massive this dude was?!). So thankfully we learn pretty quickly he is actually a former spy on Mars whose memory was erased. What follows is a simultaneously violent and charming 90s action affair, complete with some classic cheesy one liners you'd expect from the big man Arnold S. But the plot does keep you wondering: is this all just an implanted memory? A question which raised some philosophical debate amongst us around whether or not we would ever consider implanting the memory of a fake holiday in our brains. Plus after the review, we have the biggest News Chat in months with our thoughts on the new trailers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Inside Out 2, and more!

0:00 - Intro

2:04 - Total Recall Review

53:46 - News Chat

1:11:06 - What We've Been Watching

1:23:23 - Reading Your Comments

Cinemaaaaaa is saved! Friend of the show Martin Scorsese returns with a 200 million dollar historical epic that has been universally praised up until now. The film follows what is probably the grimiest gold digger in history through Leonardo Di Caprio's Ernest Burkhart, fiending after Lily Gladstone's Molly and her oil money. The film is massive and through the central relationship examines the social politics of the Osage tribe and the ever encroaching greed of the white men. Given this, we also discuss some of our favourite movies about social injustice and how good certain 2019 films really are.

Before we go all the way back to the beginning in the new prequel releasing next month, we must first bring the current Hunger Games saga to a close with the epic finale, Mockingjay Part 2. The film finally sees the sparks of revolution started by Katniss culminate in full scale war between the Districts and the Capitol. And while our main characters travel into the heart of the city in an attempt to assassinate our beloved President Snow, it becomes increasingly clear that the military tactics employed by the supposed good guys are pretty dodgy. The reality that the opposing sides really are just two sides of the same COIN is core to the story's themes, and some standout scenes and performances really drive the point home. But at the same time it's hard to deny this ending probably didn't need to be split into two parts in the first place. Then speaking of endings, after the review we'll discuss the best final movies in other franchises.

0:00 - Intro

2:36 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Review

1:04:03 - What We've Been Watching

1:09:38 - Reading Your Comments

The Prince of Egypt is a classic 1998 DreamWorks Animation film, and acts as an adaptation of the Book of Exodus. You probably know this already, but the gist is that Moses (Val Kilmer) is tasked by God with leading and saving his fellow Israelites after learning his true identity. It's an absurdly stacked cast. Rendered in still stunning 2D animation, the film represents the end of an era for how big budget productions in the genre were made, with CGI poised to take over Hollywood in the years to follow. It also seems like a good idea to provide a warning that this episode contains some major ignorance on religion (Zac embarrassingly never learnt this stuff, please be kind to him). But then before all is said and done, we'll dive into your favourite DreamWorks movies of all-time (and inevitably conclude that Pixar is better).

Timestamps ;)

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - The Prince Of Egypt Review

49:03 - What We've Been Watching

56:29 - Reading Your Comments

We hope your thoughts and prayers are with us as we endeavour to tackle our first ever quadruple feature on the show! In the past few weeks, four short films written and directed by auteur filmmaker Wes Anderson have released on Netflix. All of which are based on stories by Roald Dahl. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher, and The Swan each possess strikingly similar approaches to their production and dialogue. Not to mention world class actors like Benedict Cumberbatch and Ben Kingsley playing multiple roles in multiple films! Yet each short still felt unique. Let's breakdown how, and reach a final verdict for all four films. All while embarrassingly trying to solve the complicated hidden messages of these children's stories.

Timestamps ;)

0:00 - Intro

4:54 - The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar Review

23:55 - Poison Review

33:24 - The Rat Catcher Review

43:14 - The Swan Review

1:01:49 - What We've Been Watching

1:04:26 - Reading Your Comments

As we return to the world of Panem this month for the beginning of the end to The Hunger Games saga, we find it in even more of a mess than usual. Having arrived at District 13, Katniss has become the face of a revolution in open war against The Capitol. And as we discuss in this very podcast, it has become clear that the approach of the rebels is increasingly scummy. We're basically on Team Snow anyway because Donald Sutherland is the world's most charming tyrant. Regardless Mockingjay Part 1 explores this conflict, as well as the role of media in influencing public perception, rather well. But the big question remains if the decision to split this book (which is actually 10 pages shorter than Catching Fire) into two parts ultimately harms the story and leaves us with an unsatisfying first half?

Timestamps ;)

0:00 - Intro

2:00 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review

58:09 - What We've Been Watching

1:12:21 - Reading Your Comments

This week Liam and Zac venture to a far, far away land where hell smells real bad, and David Bowie himself presides as the Goblin King. This is Jim Henson's Labyrinth, a cult classic family/horror movie from 1986. Starring a young Jennifer Connelly as she traverses a fantasy land and meets a fellowship of diverse characters, the story actually does somewhat resemble the Wizard of Oz. A key difference however is the fact that the craftmanship on display is still second to none, as almost 40 years later the majority of the film's characters are brought to life through exceptional puppeteering. They each look amazing (with a special shout-out to the GOAT Ludo). But there are some weird moments for sure. So if you're just as confused about the ending of this simple kids film as we were, then definitely tune in to hear us solve the hidden themes and mysteries of the Labyrinth in real time. We really should have just called this episode 'Labyrinth Explained'.

0:00 - Intro

2:04 - Labyrinth Review

40:58 - What We've Been Watching

51:07 - Reading Your Comments

We're back for the second week in a row covering a Damien Chazelle joint. That's really no bother because his films are pretty damn good. But also because First Man marks a significant departure for Chazelle's filmography. The 2018 film is a biopic about Neil Armstrong and the triumphs and tribulations proceeding the Apollo launch in the 1960s. And I think it's fair to say that story wouldn't be an expected follow up from the director of Whiplash and La La Land. Ryan Gosling's lead performance, in particular contrast to his character in La La Land, sees him portraying Armstrong as a quiet man keeping a lot of his struggles bottled up. The result however is some high quality cinema, with a great score and a handful of unique and really tense space flight sequences we can't wait to breakdown.

0:00 - Intro

1:08 - First Man Review

55:06 - News Chat

56:51 - What We've Been Watching

59:50 - Reading Your Comments (Uncut)

La La Land is not only one of the most popular and well regarded films of the last decade, but also marks Damien Chazelle's second go around on Cinema Effect this year (with more to come next week). Starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the movie plays as an idealistic whimsical musical, with some strong character drama still inserted throughout. The story believe it or not takes place in Los Angeles, and fittingly contains strong themes of not giving up on one's dreams (even when you're kind of a bad actor). We'll eventually thoughtfully compare those ideas and characters journeys to Chazelle's first film, Whiplash. But first we must overcome a heated debate about an aspect of the film that ended up being quite polarising amongst the crew: the quality of the musical sequences...

0:00 - Intro

1:20 - La La Land Review

54:36 - Andy's Review for La La Land (Uncut)

59:44 - Why does Zac hate musicals?

1:02:42 - Final Verdicts

1:03:54 - What We've Been Watching

1:11:32 - Reading Your Comments

Detective Pikachu is not only the first live action Pokémon film, but also Jayden’s favourite movie of all-time!! So we had to review it on the show. Tim (Justice Smith) teams up with a very adorable talking Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) on a case to find his missing father. Seeing many fan favourite Pokémon beautifully brought into the real world on screen is an absolute joy. And while it is debatable how effective the story may be in places, the film is packed with plenty of funny moments and just plain cuteness to keep you on board. But after the review, we’ll discuss one of the toughest questions we’ve tackled on the show yet: what is your favourite Pokémon?

0:00 - Intro

2:12 - Detective Pikachu Review

46:32 - News Chat

52:29 - What We've Been Watching

58:19 - Reading Your Comments