Eye of the Storm Movie Podcast

Join us for a new series we're calling "Superhero Hall of Fame" in which we go back to classic superhero movies and ask whether these movies hold up and whether the superhero genre has anything going for it, or whether it was all a fad.

This week we look at Batman Begins directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson. Batman Begins follows the transformation of Bruce Wayne into Batman as he tries to stop the League of Shadows' plan to destroy Gotham City.

We talk about why Batman Begins is one of the best superhero movies ever made, how it explores its themes of fear and justice and what role the choice of villains with Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow play in that, and what superhero tropes and conventions this movie showcases and justifies that have fallen by the wayside in the 20 years since it came out.

This week we review and discuss Captain America: Brave New World, a superhero movie and the 35th installment of the MCU directed by Julius Onah and starring Anthonie Mackie, Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito, in which Sam Wilson has taken up the mantle of Captain America and has to investigate a conspiracy amid the emergence of adamantium, a super material that promises to usher in a Brave New World.

We discuss the places Sam Wilson is going as a character, the general state of the MCU and the quality of its storytelling and worldbuilding, what we thought of Red Hulk as a villain in this movie, and much more.

0:00 Intro
0:30 Best Recent Thing Watched
6:39 Summary and Non-Spoiler Impressions
18:05 Spoiler Discussion
01:14:16 Conclusion and Ratings

In our series "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time. Our conversation focuses on the experience of someone watching the movie for the first time today and their reaction.

This week we revisit "The New Guy" from 2002 starring DJ Qualls, Eliza Dushku and Eddie Griffin. The high school comedy follows Dizzie who gets valuable life lessons from prison inmates which allow him to become popular at his new school, but then Dizzie has to choose between being popular and being authentic.

We talk about why this underrated comedy movie holds up so well, how it treats its themes such as acceptance of others and yourself as well as bullying, and what it does right what many movies today do wrong, including never losing sight of being fun first and having a message second.

This week we review and discuss September 5, a historical thriller movie directed by Tim Fehlbaum and starring, Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro and Ben Chaplin. It tells the story of a news crew covering the 1972 Olympics in Munich that finds itself in the middle of a hostage crisis and has to figure out how to cover the event against all odds.

We discuss why this movie is not only a very well constructed drama but also benefits from its close adherence to the historical facts it depicts, how the movie depicts the weight of history that rests on the shoulders of its characters and how that informs their perspectives and the decisions they make, and why it might be Civil War for adults.

0:00 Intro
0:25 Best Recent Thing Watched
7:56 Summary and Non-Spoiler Impressions
16:34 Spoiler Discussion
54:45 Conclusion and Ratings

Join us for a new series we're calling "Superhero Hall of Fame" in which we go back to classic superhero movies and ask whether these movies hold up and whether the superhero genre has anything going for it, or whether it was all a fad.

This week we look at Captain America: Winter Soldier starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Anthony Mackie, in which we talk about how the movie continues Steve Rogers' story, how the current MCU could take inspiration from the movie's excellent action sequences, why making serious political superhero stories doesn't work, and much more.

This week we review and discuss Flight Risk, an action thriller film directed by Mel Gibson and Starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace, about a US Marshal who has to transport a witness to give crucial testimony when it turns out that the pilot she hired is a mob hit man who has been tasked with ensuring the witness never makes it to his destination.

We discuss whether this is really the worst movie of the year, how much a movie can do technically wrong while still being enjoyable, what drove us to make the only borderline positive review of Flight Risk on the internet, and much more. We also stand out by never quoting the line "Y'all need a pilot?".

In our series "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time. Our conversation focuses on the experience of someone watching the movie for the first time today and their reaction.

This week we revisit comedy classic "Airplane!" from 1980 starring Leslie Nielsen and Julie Hagerty, in which we talk about our favourite gags, why the humor in Airplane! has held up more than 40 years later, and why comedies today aren't as funny.

This week we review and discuss Presence from 2025, supernatural thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Lucy Liu, Chris Suillivan and Callina Liang, about a family that moves into a new house following tragic events and discover that there is a ghostly presence in the house watching them.

We discuss whether Presence's gimmick of being shot in the first person from the ghost's point of view is an effective device, why the slice of life approach did not work for us, and how the movie falls short of its potential.

0:00 Intro
0:25 Best Recent Thing Watched
6:28 Summary and Non-Spoiler Impressions
13:45 Spoiler Discussion
53:58 Conclusion and Ratings

Join us for a new series we're calling "Superhero Hall of Fame" in which we go back to classic superhero movies and ask whether these movies hold up and whether the superhero genre has anything going for it, or whether it was all a fad.

This week we look at Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Lones and Hugo Weaving, in which we talk about how the movie deals with the idea of heroism and separates it from having superpowers, how the movie overcame assumptions audiences had about Captain America as a character, how The First Avenger helped build Phase 1 of the MCU and what lessons modern day MCU movies can learn from it when building shared universes.

This week we review and discuss Wolf Man from 2025, a body horror movie directed by Leigh Whannel and starring Christopher Abbot, Julia Garner and Matilda Firth, about a man who is turning into a wolf man and becomes a danger to his family while being confronted with the legacy of his own past.

We discuss whether the movie adequately addresses its themes of generational trauma, why this is one of the best movies about turning into a monster we've seen, and the strong audience reaction to this movie.

0:00 Intro
0:25 Best Recent Thing Watched
5:42 Summary and Non-Spoiler Impressions
13:27 Spoiler Discussion
56:40 Conclusion and Ratings