JaZ Make a Podcast

An A-list cast so large it had to be printed in two columns. A budget of $52 million. A global box office of $216 million. And a film that John and Zac can barely figure out how to recommend — or not recommend. Garry Marshall's Valentine's Day (2010) is a Love Actually riff with a larger cast and a thinner script: Anne Hathaway has the only storyline that approaches a real arc; Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner were retroactively added for the youth demographic and it shows; the big twist — Eric Dane's quarterback coming out as gay — was meaningful in 2010 and reads as underdeveloped now. Patrick Dempsey plays the most inexplicable jerk in romcom history. The best movie about love is The Empire Strikes Back. Zac remains firm on this.

SHOW NOTES

Film: Valentine's Day (2010)

Director: Garry Marshall

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, Queen Latifah, Shirley MacLaine, Hector Elizondo, George Lopez

Topics covered:

• The sheer number of storylines (counted and categorized live)
• - Anne Hathaway as the film's only fully-functioning character arc
• - Patrick Dempsey — the most underwritten jerk in romcom history
• - Eric Dane's quarterback coming-out storyline through a 2010 vs. 2025 lens
• - Taylor Swift's enormous stuffed bear
• - Why Love Actually does this concept better
• - Zac's declaration: The Empire Strikes Back is the greatest love story in film

Fast Facts:

• Budget $52 million / Worldwide gross $216 million
• - The Empire Strikes Back as the greatest love story in film is not up for debate

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Part Two of the tribute continues. Robert Redford — Butch Cassidy, The Sting, The Natural, and the man who built the Sundance Film Festival from nothing. Rob Reiner, whose directing career is so quietly remarkable it almost defies belief: This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men. John and Zac agree he deserves his own dedicated episode. Also remembered: Terence Stamp as General Zod. Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. Graham Greene in Dances with Wolves. Jim Lovell, the real Apollo 13 astronaut. Loni Anderson from WKRP in Cincinnati. Jane Goodall. Ace Frehley. Dick Cheney. Brigitte Bardot. And Hiroyuki Tagawa — Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat. He has entered eternal rest. Fatality.

SHOW NOTES

Remembering in Part Two:

• Terence Stamp — General Zod (Superman II), Billy Budd, Far from the Madding Crowd
• - Jim Lovell — Apollo 13 astronaut (the real one)
• - Loni Anderson — WKRP in Cincinnati
• - Robert Redford — Butch Cassidy, The Sting, The Natural, Sundance Film Festival founder
• - Graham Greene — Dances with Wolves, Maverick (Canadian actor)
• - Diane Keaton — Annie Hall, First Wives Club
• - Jane Goodall — primatologist, conservationist
• - Ace Frehley — KISS guitarist
• - Dick Cheney
• - Rob Reiner — Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men
• - Brigitte Bardot
• - Hiroyuki Tagawa — Mortal Kombat, Showdown in Little Tokyo

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2025 took some giants. In Part One of their tribute to the icons who passed this year, John and Zac spend time with the ones who shaped their lives as fans: David Lynch, visionary behind Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet, whose influence on the strange and surreal in cinema cannot be overstated. Gene Hackman — Zac's all-time favourite actor — who gave us The French Connection, Hoosiers, Superman, and The Conversation. Val Kilmer, who was Doc Holliday, Batman, and Iceman all at once. Brian Wilson, who drove himself to the edge of genius and changed popular music forever. Plus: Bob Uecker, George Foreman, Michelle Trachtenberg, Pope Francis, George Wendt, Loretta Swit, Sly Stone, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, and Michael Madsen.

SHOW NOTES

Remembering in Part One:

• David Lynch — Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead
• - Bob Uecker — announcer, actor, beloved baseball icon
• - Gene Hackman — The French Connection, Hoosiers, Superman, The Conversation (Zac's all-time favourite actor)
• - Michelle Trachtenberg — Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eurotrip
• - George Foreman — champion, cultural institution
• - Val Kilmer — Tombstone, Top Gun, The Saint, Batman Forever
• - Pope Francis
• - George Wendt — Norm Peterson, Cheers
• - Loretta Swit — Hot Lips, M*A*S*H
• - Brian Wilson — Beach Boys, Pet Sounds genius
• - Malcolm-Jamal Warner — Theo Huxtable, The Cosby Show
• - Ozzy Osbourne
• - Hulk Hogan — WWF pioneer
• - Michael Madsen — Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy

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It's the last episode of 2025, and John and Zac are closing the year the only way that makes sense: a deep dive into the greatest Christmas songs ever recorded. Three categories, two very different musical sensibilities, and almost no agreement. Pop Christmas: Zac goes full Mariah Carey (All I Want for Christmas Is You — correct), while John leans toward the classic crooners. Tearjerkers: John presents Bing Crosby's I'll Be Home for Christmas, complete with its heartbreaking WWII origin story; Zac counters with Charles Brown's blues-soaked Please Come Home for Christmas. Novelty: the Dropkick Murphys bring the Christmas chaos for John; Weird Al's The Night Santa Went Crazy represents for Zac. A proper send-off to the year — and a Christmas playlist worth stealing.

SHOW NOTES

Last episode of 2025

Pop picks:

• "All I Want for Christmas Is You" — Mariah Carey (Zac)
• - Classic Christmas crooners — John's corner

Tearjerkers:

• "I'll Be Home for Christmas" — Bing Crosby (John)
• - "Please Come Home for Christmas" — Charles Brown (Zac)

Novelty:

• "The Season Is Upon Us" — Dropkick Murphys (John)
• - "The Night Santa Went Crazy" — Weird Al Yankovic (Zac)

Fast Facts:

• Bing Crosby's "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was written during WWII and first performed for soldiers overseas
• - Charles Brown's "Please Come Home for Christmas" is a blues Christmas classic from 1960
• - This was the final JaZ Make a Podcast episode of 2025

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It's a beloved holiday film. The Dickens source material is exceptional. Michael Caine plays it admirably straight. The Ghost of Christmas Past is genuinely unsettling. And yet — The Muppet Christmas Carol can't quite commit to being either a great Christmas Carol adaptation or a fully-realized Muppets film, and the tension between those two things undermines both. John and Zac dig into why: Gonzo and Rizzo's narration fragments the emotional pace; the Muppets feel shoehorned into roles that don't quite fit their energy; Tiny Tim lands less powerfully as a puppet; the musical numbers are uneven; and the middle drags. But Michael Caine is wonderful, the production design is gorgeous, and the Ghost of Christmas Future delivers real dread. A warm, flawed, perfectly fine Christmas movie. Zac gives it a 5-6. John gives it a 7.

SHOW NOTES

Film: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Director: Brian Henson | Music: Paul Williams

Starring: Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge

Topics covered:

• Does the Muppets format serve A Christmas Carol? (Complicated answer)
• - Gonzo and Rizzo as narrators — charming but pacing-disrupting
• - Michael Caine's committed and affecting performance
• - Ghost of Christmas Past — genuinely creepy design
• - Ghost of Christmas Future — the film's best sequence, punches pulled too early
• - Why Tiny Tim doesn't land the same way in puppet form
• - The Marleys (Waldorf and Statler) and Fezziwig (Fozzie Bear pun)
• - Best Christmas Carol adaptations to compare (Alastair Sim, Mickey's Christmas Carol)

Fast Facts:

• First Muppets film produced by Disney, after Jim Henson's passing
• - Both enjoyed watching it, though neither thinks it's a great Muppet film or great Christmas Carol

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It was supposed to be a magical holiday film. It is, instead, a cinematic catastrophe. John and Zac sit through Christmas in Wonderland (2007) so you absolutely don't have to: a film shot almost entirely inside West Edmonton Mall, starring a deeply confused Patrick Swayze, Tim Curry doing an inexplicable Scottish accent, Chris Kattan, and Carmen Electra. There is no discernible plot. There is a counterfeit money scheme. There is product placement so aggressive it crosses into performance art. There is CGI so bad it cannot be explained, defended, or understood. And yet — in the tradition of great bad cinema — there is something perversely compelling about watching professionals fail this completely. This is Zac's genuine pick for the worst movie he has ever seen. A must-listen for lovers of truly terrible films.

SHOW NOTES

Film: Christmas in Wonderland (2007)

Director: James Orr

Starring: Patrick Swayze, Tim Curry, Chris Kattan, Carmen Electra

Shot at: West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta

Topics covered:

• The West Edmonton Mall as setting and co-star
• - Tim Curry's inexplicable Scottish accent (never explained)
• - The counterfeit money scheme (such as it is)
• - CGI that should have stopped production cold
• - The ethics of product placement at this level
• - Patrick Swayze's confusion (shared by the audience)

Fast Facts:

• This is the actual worst movie Zac has ever seen in his life
• - It was filmed at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta
• - Tim Curry plays a villain with a Scottish accent for reasons nobody can explain

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After Van Helsing nearly broke them, John and Zac turn to something beautiful: the music behind the movies. This is the bracket-setting episode of the Film Composer Death Bracket — they narrow the field to eight seeds and argue about who belongs. John Williams is #1 (obviously). Howard Shore earns #2 on the strength of The Lord of the Rings alone. James Horner, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Bernard Herrmann, and John Barry round out the field. A wild card debate between Barry, Herrmann, and Randy Newman. Head-to-head matchups are coming in future episodes. For now: the bracket is set, the arguments have begun, and the show has found its second wind after the Van Helsing incident.

SHOW NOTES

The 8-seed bracket:

1. John Williams — Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, Harry Potter, E.T., Jurassic Park
2. 2. Howard Shore — The Lord of the Rings trilogy
3. 3. James Horner — Star Trek II, Braveheart, Titanic, Aliens
4. 4. Elmer Bernstein — The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Ghostbusters
5. 5. Danny Elfman — Batman, The Simpsons, Edward Scissorhands, every Tim Burton film
6. 6. Alan Menken — The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin
7. 7. Bernard Herrmann — Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Taxi Driver
8. 8. John Barry — James Bond franchise, Born Free, Out of Africa

Wild card debate: John Barry vs. Bernard Herrmann vs. Randy Newman

Head-to-head matchups coming in future episodes!

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Baseball and cinema were made for each other — and John and Zac are here to prove it. This episode covers the full lineup: the tear-jerking mysticism of Field of Dreams, the scrappy underdog chaos of Major League, the pitch-perfect period drama of Eight Men Out, and the raw authenticity of Bull Durham. They debate whether A League of Their Own holds up (yes, obviously), revisit the enduring magic of The Sandlot, and make the case for Brockmire as the most underrated baseball TV series ever made. Plus: Star Trek baseball, Futurama's Blernsball, and a very personal Cubs moment — the day the 108-year World Series curse ended happened to be the same day Zac's son was born.

SHOW NOTES

Topics covered:

• Field of Dreams (1989)
• - Eight Men Out (1988)
• - Major League (1989)
• - Bull Durham (1988)
• - A League of Their Own (1992)
• - The Sandlot (1993)
• - Brockmire (TV series, IFC)
• - Star Trek baseball and Futurama's Blernsball
• - The 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series

Fast Facts:

• The 2016 Cubs World Series win ended a 108-year curse — and coincided with the birth of Zac's son
• - Brockmire stars Hank Azaria as a profanity-spewing minor league announcer; it's brilliant and underrated
• - Bull Durham is widely considered the greatest sports movie ever made

Follow us on Instagram: @jazmakeapodcast

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