On this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we wanted to talk about those incredible movie intros. Whether it's an action-filled car chase, a terrifying phone call from someone in your house, or a bank robbery with triple-crossing and a mysteriously ominous character whose identity remains unknown, we're talking about it all. Of course, we also have to talk about those films with a stellar opening sequence that ultimately led to disappointment.

Also on this week's episode: debating movie theater reopening requirements, You Can Do It!,  spoiler-free reviews of Becky, Shirley, and Darkness Falls, and The HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 32:07) When Should Movie Theaters Reopen | You Can Do It!
• (32:08 – 48:22) Reviews: Becky, Shirley, and Darkness Falls | Upcoming Releases
• (48.23 – 1:29:21) From The Outside In: Memorable Cinematic Opening Sequences
• (1:29:22 – 1:42:44) Recommendations | HO Teachable Minute | Outtakes
• Email topic suggestions or episode reactions to [email protected]

Enjoy a selected episode of the SMIRK podcast, more episodes are now available in your favorite podcast app or at SmirkPodcast.com.

On this episode of Smirk, grab a notepad and settle in…for murder! We’re trying something a little differing this time, as our story reveals itself as a full-fledged murder-mystery. Only after we discuss and dissect our love for the genre will we reveal the killer. Can you guess it before the murderer’s identity is unmasked?

Aaron sits down to share a few thoughts and ask one simple question: Are we listening?

Aaron sits down with director Matt Eskandari to elaborate on his new Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray thriller, Survive the Night. Matt discusses isolating in L.A. while waiting for filming to resume, casting his film, and working with an icon in Bruce Willis. 

Survive the Night is now available on streaming platforms. 

Read Aaron's full review of Survive the Night HERE

On this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we wanted to talk about those regurgitated and predictable plots and devices that every movie has reused at this point. We discuss some of our favorites predictable plot devices, as well as the ones that drive us NUTS! Of course, a debate emerges as we even discuss the negative connotation behind the word "predictable". 

Also on this week's episode: our news roundup, significant anniversary: 40th anniversary of Friday the 13th,  spoiler-free reviews of The Hammer, Scoob!, and Survive the Night, and The HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 24:09) News Roundup | Significant Anniversary: Friday the 13th

On this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we're discussing those wacky, crazy TV show premises. There are some TV shows that are so bonkers, you cannot believe a group of someones were high enough to green-light them. A lot of them involve animals, because who doesn't love a plot revolving around talking monkeys, but many of them are supposedly deep thinking dramas or even reality based. Sure ideas like My Mother the Car and ALF make the list, and Cop Rock hits among top ranks, but even shows like The Bachelor / The Bachelorette have a spark of insanity to them.

Also on this week's episode: our news roundup, spoiler-free reviews of Valley Girl and season one of TNT's Snowpiercer, #EntertainmentContainment recommendations, and The HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 23:46) News Roundup | Movie Innuendo - Avengers Edition
• (23:47 – 47:41) Reviews: TNT's Snowpiercer - Season 1, Valley Girl (2020) | Upcoming Releases
• (47:42 – 1:31:34) From The Outside In: Craziest TV Show Premises
• (1:31:35 – 1:40:49) Recommendations | HO Teachable Minute | Outtakes
• Email topic suggestions or episode reactions to [email protected]

What are the best songs or themes from movies to crank up once Summer hits? Instead of dwelling on it all, let’s just make our perfect playlist. We each get 10 songs – they can be themes, songs from a movie soundtrack, or just synonymous with a movie – and make our own perfect summer movie soundtrack! That means you could see yourself, windows down, hair flowing, driving or jogging or whatever to our Spotify playlist, The Hollywood Outsider Perfect Summer Movie Soundtrack. Bonus points if you know the chorus…

Also on this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider: our news roundup, spoiler-free reviews of The Wretched and Upload, tons of recommendations, and The HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 23:59) News Roundup | Hot Take - Movie 43
• (24:00 – 35:00) Reviews: The Wretched, Upload | Upcoming Releases
• (35:01 – 1:17:45) From The Outside In: The Perfect Summer Movie Soundtrack (listen to the playlist HERE!)

You've heard it before: morning cartoons were everyone born before 2005's jam. Maybe you loved all the superhero character cartoons like Batman or Spider-Man, or preferred The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo or Looney Tunes, and later on you loved Rugrats, or perhaps you just only love the filth of South Park. Whatever it is, we have all been exposed to cartoons at some point, and childhood memories are often the fondest of memories, so we wanna talk about it.

Also this week: news roundup, including AMC Theaters taking on Universal Pictures over Trolls 2, Oscar rule changes, #EntertainmentContainment reviews extend to Netflix's Extraction, HBO's Bad Education, and new to VOD The Flood, new releases - YES! we do still have some - and the HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 24:05) News Roundup | AMC Theaters vs Universal Pictures | Oscar Rule Changes
• (24:06 – 44:40) Entertainment Containment Reviews - Extraction, Bad Education, The Flood | Upcoming Releases
• (44:41 – 1:24:34) From The Outside In: The Cartoons We Grew Up On
• (1:24:35 – 1:30:51) Recommendations | HO Teachable Minute
• Email topic suggestions or episode reactions to [email protected]

Everyone has a slightly different sense of humor, so which movie scenes - in ANY MOVIE - do find the most hilarious? Are you a bit more refined with your tastes so you lean into Monty Python and the Black Knight's flesh wound? Maybe a little less so and prefer the wildly inappropriate antics of Bridesmaids or The Hangover? Surely you might be serious about Airplane and the like? Well on this episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we discuss the funniest movie scenes of all-time, including a Listener Top 10!

Also this week: our news roundup makes a triumphant return, we recommend a few items from our #EntertainmentContainment, and the HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 16:08) News Roundup
• (16:09 – 26:08) Entertainment Containment Recommendations | Upcoming Releases
• (26:09 – 1:05:43) From The Outside In: The Funniest Movie Scenes of All-Time
• (1:05:44 – 1:13:56) Recommendations | HO Teachable Minute
• Email topic suggestions or episode reactions to [email protected]

LOST, Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones and more... Each of these shows have one thing in common and it's not just people dying. They each create a massive divide among fans, and also between fans and creators. This is specifically for TV shows that had an intended series finale rather than an abrupt, forced conclusion to the show.

On this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we are joined by co-host of The Blacklist Exposed and 84 other TV podcasts, Troy Heinritz, to bring some passionate heat to the podcasting studio.

Also this week: where we stand on the movie theater experience, spoiler-free reviews of Stray Dolls and Faith Based, and the HO Teachable Minute.

• (0:00 – 20:02) Missing Movie Theaters
• (20:03 – 31:39) Reviews: Stray Dolls, Faith Based | Upcoming Releases
• (31:40 – 1:52:25) From The Outside In: Debating TV's Most Controversial Series Finales - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos, Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones, The Shield, Lost
• (1:52:26 – 1:58:01) Recommendations | Closing | HO Teachable Minute
• Email topic suggestions or episode reactions to [email protected]