It's the last episode of our Lord of the Rings review.  I think the experience has taxed Collin's patience, and his final grade of this Oscar winner shows.  Gollum in particular is a point of contention.  Also on the table:  the survivability of  a volcanic explosion, selective earthquakes, and heads on laps.

Part 2 of our 3 part Lord of the Rings series. We come to the conclusion that the extended version of The Two Towers may be too much of a good thing.   Also, lack of ethnic diversity in Middle Earth, Trump approves of Helm's Deep, and Gollum does Annie.

So apropos of nothing except simple whimsy we've decided to dedicate the next 3 episodes to the Lord of the Rings series, beginning with 2001s Fellowship of the Ring.  This will be Collin's first time watching the series and my umpteenth.  And since the only versions I own are the extended editions, we'll see if 12 hours+ of Frodo and Co. will be too much, because, despite being pretty well received critically, there are those who have described the films and 12 hours of walking.  I obviously disagree, but I'll find out if Collin can hang in there for the entire experience.

Nope, not the reviled Roberto Benigni version, we watched the classis 1940's Disney version:  a rated-G movie that features smoking and drinking by minors, and a preoccupation with butts. In typical Disney fashion, it's a movie based on some pretty dark source material that's been given a lighter touch.  Still, there's some pretty dark moments (and some even darker behind-the-scenes revelations) to talk about.

Jaws is often credited with ushering in the blockbuster era of film.  It preceded Star Wars by 2 years and was the first to hit the coveted $100 million box office take.  I didn't catch up with it until I was in my late teens, and I found it not just thrilling but riveting in its story telling.  Now the movie is 42, and has spawned sequels and copycats galore.  So the question for this show is how does it hold up for jaded, 14 year-old Collin? It's a question that he pretty much spoils in the first 5 minutes, but if you stick around for the whole show, you'll also get Collin schooling me about the properties of zirconium, a guest joining us for an awkward discussion about women's undergarments, what the movie gets wrong about sharks, and some really bad acting for our out-of-context table read.

Sometime between the Disney renaissance and Disney owning the world was a period of time, particularly in the animation department, when things were looking pretty grim.  Offerings like Fantasia 2000 and Home on the Range were showing pretty poorly against the likes of Toy Story 2 and Shrek.  In that stretch was this hugely expensive take on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.  It ended up being a big financial loser for Disney to the tune of about $70 million.  But now, through the magic of podcast, we revisit the wreckage and try to decide if Treasure Planet is a worthy Disney offering.

Funniest. Movie. Ever. But does Collin agree? When we started the podcast this was one of the movies I knew I was going to show Collin.  The question was when would he be ready? There's only one way to find out if my timing was correct:  listen to the show!

This week Collin picked the Cartoon Network animated series The Amazing World of Gumball.  We discuss the shows unique animated goulash aesthetic, and Collin tries to answer some of my questions.  We also have a brief discussion about the Lego Batman movie.

It seemed like, cinematically speaking, 2016 was a good year for the musical.  La La Land, Moana, and Sing Street were all well received releases.  We are never ones to shy away from a bandwagon, so we present our first (and most likely last) musical edition of the podcast. If you just haven't had your quota of off key vocals for the week, we've got you covered.

It seems Netflix is churning out a new show every few days, some more palatable than others.  Their newest (at least of this writing) is based on the super popular book series of the same name. The show's kid friendliness will depend on your kid, but the it's definitely being marketed at children, given that it show's up in the number one spot on the Netflix kids channel.  So, the ultimate question would be, "Is it worth my time?" Well, it would be pretty counterproductive (counterproductive in this sense meaning:  contrary to my intent, which is to get you to listen to our latest episode) of me to tell you that here.  Listen in and you'll get a 40-something perspective and a 13 year-old perspective on the shows relative merits.