Media Ghouls

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Media Ghouls. The whole gang's here to celebrate together! In this special episode, Ian, Nando, Emelynn, Phil, and Jared compete in a holiday-themed round of Jeopardy shenanigans for your listening pleasure. Justin does his best Trebek impersonation as our ever-patient host. Ridiculous answers and controversial calls abound as the squad brings you a fun-filled holiday episode!

It's another episode from the Patreon archive this week as the Ghouls re-review Disney's musical classic Fantasia! Ian, Justin, Emelynn, and Jared are pretty excited to take a deeper look at the music and animation of Walt's early passion project. Emelynn brings her expertise this time around as we attempt to right the wrong of having our most musically educated member absent from the original review. Join us as we go over our favorite and least favorite pieces and let us know which are yours!

The holiday season is upon us this week as the Ghouls take a look at one of the few great Thanksgiving classics. Based on a real life experience, Planes, Trains and Automobiles chronicles the desperate journey of two men trying to make it home for Thanksgiving dinner. John Hughes writes and directs the legendary Steve Martin and John Candy in one of the best comedies of the '80s. With well-aged humor, a performance that is equal parts hilarious and dramatic from the late Candy, and an ending that still tugs at our heartstrings, this is one holiday classic that is always worthy of a watch.

Having survived the October festivities, the Ghouls return to the comfort of Pixar this week with their review of WALL-E. This modern classic is remembered for its creativity and lovable robotic leads. However, Justin is still not a fan of the film's story shift half way through. Emelynn and Ian are a bit mixed on it but see the thematic purpose as important to the story the team was trying to tell. After exploring the film's many references to science fiction classics, Justin asks the question you've all been waiting for: should WALL-E be canceled?

Somehow the 2021 Halloween Spooktacular is already coming to an end. Justin and Ian have had a great time reviewing some of horror's best remakes this season, and are excited to end things in the most bloody fashion possible. And few movies are bloodier than 2013's Evil Dead remake. With a more allegorical take on the classic cabin in the woods story, Fede Alvarez's film impresses in how it balances the series' gory horror and tongue in cheek tone, a feat previously thought only possible in the hands of Sam Raimi. With a different take on the lore, characters that are actually decent human beings, and a final scene among the very best in horror, this remake is the perfect subject with which to send off this Halloween.

It's almost Halloween and what Spooktacular season would be complete without a good vampire story? This week, the Ghouls take a look at Let Me In. While the Swedish original, Let the Right One In, was critically acclaimed, many thought the American remake was too derivative. Ian and Justin both disagree and find the differences to be very interesting. This one was made only two years after the original so we spend more time directly comparing the films then with our earlier reviews this season. Theme and character motivations take center stage as we try to figure out whether or not Abby is a force of pure evil.

We are staying in the '80s this week as we take a look at another horror remake for the 2021 Halloween Spooktacular! This time, we review the Frank Darabont-penned remake of The Blob. Ian is shocked to find out Darabont wrote this film six years before he would write and direct The Shawshank Redemption. Despite that pedigree, Ian found this one to be a little lacking in some areas. Justin, on the other hand, loves this film for its incredible practical effects and its absolute craziness when compared to the 1958 original. Join us as we take a look at one of the most overlooked horror remakes!

This week things get gross as the 2021 Halloween Spooktacular continues with the 1986 remake of The Fly! Jeff Goldblum delivers a memorable performance in one of his most famous roles as a scientist who starts transforming into something inhuman after an experiment goes wrong. Ian couldn't finish this movie as a child while Justin has loved it for most of his life. Having conquered the film for this review, Ian has a lot to say about its dour tone and whether or not Brundle deserves our empathy. Justin's take is far more sympathetic as the Ghouls explore their different interpretations as well as the various allegorical takes on the story.

The 2021 Halloween Spooktacular has begun! This year the Ghouls are taking a look at some of the best Horror Remakes. First up is the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. By setting the film in San Francisco and taking a different approach to its lead characters, this film manages to be an eerie sci-fi horror classic with nearly no violence or bloodshed. Join us as Ian and Justin discuss the subtleties of the film's cinematography, horrific special effects, and its incredible final scene. We also venture into some Jeff Goldblum theory crafting and tie everything back to Star Wars, as always.

This week the Ghouls take a detour from the traditional Disney reviews to cover the animated to live-action hybrid film, Enchanted. This movie was Disney's attempt to poke fun at their own fairy tale films and bring them into the real world. What happens when a Disney princess meets a New York divorce lawyer? Well, they fall in love of course. Ian is far less enthused about this one than Justin and Nando who both enjoy the music by Alan Menken. What isn't debatable is the unexpected return of Disney racism in its unfortunately live-action form. With many ups and down, is this Disney self-parody still worth a watch?