Movie Wars

The Game and The Firm pull back the curtain on what happens when the pursuit of wealth, status, and power is turned on its head. Michael Douglas and Tom Cruise enter worlds where nothing is what it seems. Join the Movie Wars crew as they dissect the breakneck twists and turns of these masterfully made thrillers.

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Film Summaries (courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes) 

The Game

Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a successful banker who keeps mostly to himself. When his estranged brother Conrad (Sean Penn) returns on his birthday with an odd gift -- participation in a personalized, real-life game -- Nicholas reluctantly accepts. Initially harmless, the game grows increasingly personal, and Orton begins to fear for his life as he eludes agents from the mysterious game's organizers. With no one left to trust and his money gone, Orton must find answers for himself.

• Rating: R
• Genre: Mystery & Thriller
• Original Language: English
• Director: David Fincher
• Producer: Steve Golin, Ceán Chaffin
• Writer: Michael Ferris, John D. Brancato
• Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2011
• Box Office (Gross USA): $48.3M
• Runtime: 2h 8m

(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_game)

The Firm

A young lawyer joins a small but prestigious law firm only to find out that most of their clients are on the wrong side of the law. The company is helping to launder mob money, get clients off charges and even murder partners who threaten to blow their cover, but when the FBI come calling to gather evidence on the lawyer's colleagues, he is caught between a rock and a hard place, juggling his life and his liberty.

• Rating: R
• Genre:Mystery & Thriller, Drama
• Original Language: English
• Director: Sydney Pollack
• Producer: Scott Rudin, John Davis, Sydney Pollack
• Writer: David Rabe, Robert Towne, David Rayfiel
• Release Date (Theaters): Jun 30, 1993  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2000
• Box Office (Gross USA): $157.0M
• Runtime: 2h 34m

(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1044522-firm)

Kyle, Drew, and Phil celebrate the one-year anniversary of Movie Wars. It's been a great first year and we've managed to cover 50 incredible films. The guys reflect on a year of laughs, randos, and war cards. Tune in for Q&A's from the cohosts and the listeners, as well as a surprise host-themed war card from Kyle. Thanks for making our first year so memorable!

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

The idea of the isolated man resonates differently in 2022 than it did in 2000 when Cast Away was released. As society’s dependence on technology has come into prominence, the idea of losing access to people, technology, and modern comforts seems implausible. Cast Away and The Martian analyze this concept from two unique perspectives. Get stranded with the Movie Wars crew for this battle of loneliness. 

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Film Summaries

Cast Away

Obsessively punctual FedEx executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is en route to an assignment in Malaysia when his plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean during a storm. The sole survivor of the flight, Chuck washes ashore on a deserted island. When his efforts to sail away and contact help fail, Chuck learns how to survive on the island, where he remains for years, accompanied by only his handmade volleyball friend, Wilson. Will Chuck ever return to civilization and reunite with his loved ones?

• Rating:
• PG-13 
• Genre:
• Adventure, Drama
• Original Language:
• English
• Director:
• Robert Zemeckis
• Producer:
• Steven Boyd, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks
• Writer:
• William Broyles Jr.
• Release Date (Theaters):
• Dec 22, 2000  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming):
• Nov 6, 2001
• Box Office (Gross USA):
• $233.6M
• Runtime:
• 2h 23m
• Distributor:
• DreamWorks SKG

The Martian

When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crewmates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

• Rating: PG-13 
• Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama
• Original Language: English
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Producer: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Aditya Sood, Mark Huffam
• Writer: Drew Goddard
• Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 2015  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Jan 12, 2016
• Box Office (Gross USA): $228.4M
• Runtime: 2h 22m
• Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Sports have often been utilized as a vehicle for intricate storytelling in film. Jerry Maguire and Moneyball tell the stories of two men seeking reform while challenging the status quo. The parallel rebirth experienced by both characters, however, may be the ultimate triumph in these two incredible stories. "Help Movie Wars help you" as we navigate one of our most prolific leading man battles to date.

 Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Film Summaries

Jerry Maguire

When slick sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) has a crisis of conscience, he pens a heartfelt company-wide memo that promptly gets him fired. Desperate to hang on to the athletes that he represents, Jerry starts his own management firm, with only single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger) joining him in his new venture. Banking on their sole client, football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Jerry and Dorothy begin to fall in love as they struggle to make their business work.

• Rating: R
• Genre: Romance, Comedy
• Original Language: English
• Director: Cameron Crowe
• Producer: Richard Sakai, Laurence Mark, Cameron Crowe, James L. Brooks
• Writer: Cameron Crowe
• Release Date (Theaters): Dec 11, 1996  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Jul 29, 2003
• Box Office (Gross USA): $153.6M
• Runtime: 2h 18m
• Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video, Columbia Tristar

(Info Courtesy of https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jerry_maguire)

Moneyball

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A's, one day has an epiphany: Baseball's conventional wisdom is all wrong. Faced with a tight budget, Beane must reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs. Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane prepares to challenge old-school traditions. He recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labeled as flawed, but have game-winning potential. Based on the book by Michael Lewis.

• Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Drama
• Original Language: English
• Director: Bennett Miller
• Producer: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
• Writer: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
• Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 2011  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Jan 10, 2012
• Box Office (Gross USA): $75.6M

Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball

The moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War attracted prolific filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, and Francis Ford Coppola. Although different, Apocalypse Now and Platoon are two iconic interpretations of one of the most divisive periods in history. Hop in the riverboat with Kyle, Drew, and Phil as we try to determine who “...smells like victory”

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Apocalypse Now 

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

Rating:

R

Genre:

War, Drama

Original Language:

English

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Producer:

Kim Aubry, Francis Ford Coppola

Writer:

Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr

Release Date (Theaters):

Aug 15, 1979  Original

Release Date (Streaming):

May 18, 2010

Box Office (Gross USA):

$78.8M

Runtime:

2h 33m

Distributor:

Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, United Artists

(Information courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/apocalypse_now) 

Platoon 

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

Rating:

R

Genre:

War, Drama

Original Language:

English

Director:

Oliver Stone

Producer:

Arnold Kopelson

Writer:

Oliver Stone

Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 19, 1986  Original

Release Date (Streaming):

Aug 15, 2000

Box Office (Gross USA):

$138.5M

Runtime:

2h 0m

Distributor:

MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

(Information courtesy of https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/platoon)

Point Break presented a massive evolution in action films when it was released in 1991. Its flow of adrenalized action sequences became a benchmark for many films to come; one of those being 2001’s The Fast And The Furious. Similar to Point Break, The Fast and the Furious embraced an obscure subculture and made it a societal focal point. But did it drive a little too closely to Point Break’s plot? Hit the NOS with Kyle, Drew, and Phil as they ride the wave of Point Break Vs. The Fast And The Furious.

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Point Break

After a string of bizarre bank robberies in Southern California, with the crooks donning masks of various former presidents, a federal agent, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), infiltrates the suspected gang. But this is no ordinary group of robbers. They're surfers -- led by the charismatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) -- who are addicted to the rush of thievery. But when Utah falls in love with a female surfer, Tyler (Lori Petty), who is close to the gang, it complicates his sense of duty.

• Rating: R
• Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
• Original Language: English
• Director: Kathryn Bigelow
• Producer: Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy
• Writer: Kurt Wimmer, W. Peter Iliff
• Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 1991  Original
• Release Date (Streaming): Oct 3, 2006
• Box Office (Gross USA): $40.5M
• Runtime: 2h 2m

Info courtesy of https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/point_break)

The Fast And The Furious

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) enjoys the adrenaline of street car racing and his fans treat him like a rock star. After a blazing encounter with the ruthless Johnny Tran, Dom decides to take Brian (Paul Walker), a newcomer to street racing, under his wing. Dom's sister Mia sees something she likes in Brian, too. Trouble is, neither of them realize he's an undercover cop, and Dominic and his rival Johnny Tran are both the prime suspects in a case involving dirty money and big-rig hijacking.

• Rating: PG-13 
• Genre: Adventure, Action
• Original Language: English
• Director: Rob Cohen
• Producer: Neal H. Moritz
• Writer: Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, David Ayer, Gary Scott Thompson
• Release Date (Theaters): Jun 22, 2001  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Jun 3, 2003
• Box Office (Gross USA): $144.5M
• Runtime: 1h 47m
• Distributor: Universal Pictures

(Info courtesy of https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108372-fast_and_the_furious)

This is Movie War's interview with the Oscar-Winning VFX Director from Total Recall, Tim McGovern. Although we began our discussion with Total Recall, Tim is still working on amazing projects which recently included Dunkirk With Christopher Nolan, First Man starring Ryan Gosling, and The Ghost & The Darkness starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Tune in and hear the entire interview including stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Nolan, and how CGI was developed in Hollywood.

Become a Patron For the price of a latte a month, you can support the show and help us grow.

Highlights from Tim's amazing resume(just a few):

Dunkirk (Nolan)

First Man (Starring Ryan Gosling)

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Tron

Total Recall (Won Special Achievement award at the Oscars)

Last Action Hero

The Ghost & The Darkness (Starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer)

Stigmata

Equilibrium (starring Christian Bale)

Sin City 2

Huntsman: Winter’s War

The Western is one of the most fundamental building blocks of cinema. Heavily inspired by Westerns,  Quentin Tarantino and The Coen Brothers are Mount Rushmore American filmmakers who channeled that inspiration into The Hateful Eight and True Grit(2010). The Movie Wars crew puts these modern interpretations of a beloved genre to the test. 

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Film Summaries: 

The Hateful Eight

While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.

• Rating: R 
• Genre: Western
• Original Language: English
• Director: Quentin Tarantino
• Producer: Richard N. Gladstein, Stacey Sher, Shannon McIntosh
• Writer: Quentin Tarantino
• Release Date (Theaters): Dec 30, 2015  Wide
• Box Office (Gross USA): $54.1M
• Runtime: 2h 48m
• Distributor: Weinstein Co.

(Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hateful_eight) 

True Grit(2010)

After an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, feisty 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice.

• Rating: PG-13 (Int. Seq. of Western Violence|Disturbing Images)
• Genre: Drama, Western
• Original Language: English
• Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Producer: Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2010  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): Jun 7, 2011
• Box Office (Gross USA): $171.0M
• Runtime: 1h 50m
• Distributor: Paramount Pictures

(Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true_grit_2010)

First Blood and Commando - these two films became the blueprint for the modern action movie. While these films have completely different tones, they share the same core: they're built around the concept of the one-man-army while yielding two of the most recognizable and iconic action stars to ever grace the big screen.

Want access to bonus content, interviews with legendary filmmakers, and Host Q and A's? Click here to become a Movie Wars Patreon Supporter!  This helps keep the show ad-free, and gets you access to Kyle's show "Filmosophy", Interviews with legendary filmmakers, Q and A, a private Facebook group, and outtakes! 

Film Summaries: 

Commando

Retired Special Forces soldier John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) lives with daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) in isolation, but his privacy is disturbed by former commander Franklin Kirby (James Olson), who warns him that his fellow soldiers are getting killed one by one. After Kirby leaves, Jenny is kidnapped by former Latin American dictator Arius (Dan Hedaya), who wants Matrix to restore him to power. Instead, Matrix sets out to take down the rogue leader and rescue his daughter.

• Rating:
• R
• Genre:
• Action
• Original Language:
• English
• Director:
• Mark L. Lester
• Producer:
• Joel Silver
• Writer:
• Matthew Weisman, Jeph Loeb, Steven E. de Souza, Steven E. de Souza
• Release Date (Theaters):
• Oct 4, 1985  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming):
• Nov 1, 2005
• Box Office (Gross USA):
• $34.9M
• Runtime:
• 1h 30m
• Distributor:
• 20th Century Fox

(Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoeshttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1004567-commando)

First Blood

Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). When Teasle and his deputies restrain and shave Rambo, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner of war and unleashes his fury on the officers. He narrowly escapes the manhunt, but it will take his former commander (Richard Crenna) to save the hunters from the hunted.

• Rating:
• R
• Genre:
• Action, Adventure
• Original Language:
• English
• Director:
• Ted Kotcheff
• Producer:
• Buzz Feitshans, Herb Nanas
• Writer:
• Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone, David Morrell
• Release Date (Streaming):
• Nov 23, 2004
• Runtime:
• 1h 35m

(Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_blood)