New Release

This week on *NEW* New Release (episode #165) … godpodders Ashley and Drew are hanging up their time traveling jumpboots in favor of present day period pants. Or something like that. ‘Tis the bitter end of our nostalgic old school movie era on New Release … as we make way for the dawn of streaming content. Same as 2001: A Space Odyssey … we will grapple with the mysteries of how life evolves and people find things to watch in a cosmic abyss of new age platforms. NetmaxapplecockmounthuluPLUS. Our mission is simple: each week we watch something NEW and tell you whether we want MORE. Stay tuned till the end of time by searching ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple and hitting subscribe. See you on the other side.

This week on New Release (episode #164) … yay-slayers Ashley and Drew bring back the fantasy teen TV show that changed everything—only to shove a pointy stake in its heart. After seven years, two networks, countless apocalypses, and the death and rebirth of Buffy, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Sunnydale. We discuss whether this finale stuck the landing or overslayed its welcome. What was it about this ragtag Scooby Gang that meant so much to us as young adults … and how do we feel about them now? Expect an emotional rollercoaster complete with tears, character deaths, and one huge twist you’ll never see coming. Become a chosen one yourself by searching ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple and hitting subscribe. Stay tuned for something *NEW* next week.

This week on New Release (episode #163) … former teens Ashley and Drew take one last trip to Capside. For six angst-filled seasons, Dawson’s Creek tackled the most important issues facing young adults today, back then. Hormones. False idols. Ennui. One love triangle to rule them all. Dawson-Joey-Pacey—will they/won’t they—it’s all coming to a head. What would Spielberg do if he was trapped in baggy jeans and curtain bangs? Can a sidekick really get the girl? In this epic two-hour finale, which takes place five years into the future, all your burning questions will be answered. And, if you can’t get enough of the high school experience, search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple to subscribe. Buffy concludes its seven season run next week.

This week on New Release … bad glitches Ashley, Derrick, and Drew dive back into The Matrix. Reloaded. Sequel season continues as we pick up where Neo and co left off back in 1999. Some humans are free, choice is illusory, love conquers all … these movies are either like super deep or super shallow depending on how you look at it. Still, if you’re here for kung-fu action combined with car chases and unchecked horniness, you’ve come to the right podcast. We’ll let you know how satisfying it is—or isn’t—to revisit the middle installment of a two-part finale. I mean who doesn’t love when a movie ends with … ‘to be continued’. On that note, search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple to stay subscribed until the third Matrix comes out later this year.

This week on New Release (episode #161) … baby mutants Derrick and Drew go back to a special time in superhero cinema. Before we had a 30+ film MCU there was only X2. Well, there was Superman and Batman and Spider-Man and X1 but still, seeing comic book characters on the big screen in 2003 felt more exciting, somehow. Wolverine, Prof X, Rogue, Jean, Magneto, all your faves are back … along with newcomers like Nightcrawler and Lady Deathstrike. I know it sounds crazy, but were the early aughts actually peak superhero filmmaking? From Raimi’s Spider-Man movies to Nolan’s Dark Knight? Or is that nostalgia talking? Either way, it’s blockbuster season on the podcast so search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple to subscribe. Stay tuned for another huge sequel for next week.

This week on New Release (episode #160) … endangered strangers Ashley and Drew take shelter from the storm in a shabby roadside motel. Identity is a who’s-who of notable actors (Cusack, Liotta, Peet, to name a few) caught in a really twisted game of Clue. Who put Miss Scarlet’s head in the laundry room with a baseball bat? You’ll never guess … the real killer is … unless you see the twist coming a mile away. But wait! More secrets lie in the fertile soil of a Florida orange grove then you might think. We break down the kills and the dark psychological thrills in this mostly forgotten Se7en rip-off. If you like the early aughts in all their slick and derivative glory, then search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple to subscribe.

This week on New Release (episode #159) … daggum diggers Ashley, Derrick, and Drew are working their butts off to build character, s’posedly. Holes is an artifact of a time before Shia became a Transformer, a Nymphomaniac, a meme, a criminal, and a father. LaBeouf baggage aside, this Disney book adaptation is wholesome fun for the whole fam. Does its plot make a lick of sense? Are these characters believable? Can a sweet onion cure foot fungus? These are a few of the questions we wouldn’t touch with twelve-spotted poison lizard. We’re just here to unearth legends of our youth and escape the curse of a family member who forgot to carry an old women up God’s Thumb. Ya dig? If so, search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple and hit subscribe. Oh, and happy birthday Ashley! We had so much fun we recorded this episode twice.

This week on New Release (episode #158) … bonebags Ashley and Drew hop aboard Captain Spaulding’s fried chicken and murder ride. House of 1000 Corpses is pretty much what you’d expect—in the best way—from Rob Zombie’s moving making debut. His hardcore rock and horror sensibilities and sick sense of humor all shine through in this Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Music Video production. We talk about whether our appetites for blood and fish guts were satisfied by this freak show or if there’s still meat left on the bone. Are the villains of this movie more interesting and sympathetic than the victims? Is that bad? All I know is it feels good to be talking horror again. Keep up with the program by searching ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple and hitting subscribe. Next week is Ashley’s mystery bday movie…

This week on New Release (episode #157) … Wickotine addicts Ashley, Derrick, and Drew are back in 2023 for the biggest action event of the year! JW4 goes harder than ever on that martial arts meets gun-fu fighting style the series has perfected over the course of nine years now. What a beautiful and engrossing world the creators have given us. But with all that eye candy to digest, we’re left wondering what—if anything—is left under the surface. How much does Keanu’s cool, disaffected portrayal of a man out for revenge—causing death and chaos for all—have left to offer? Tune in to find out. And as always, search ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple, to subscribe. Then back to 2003 for Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses next week.

This week on New Release (episode #156) … soot balls Ashley, Derrick, and Drew plunge into the beautiful and frightening spirit world. Splish-splash. Spirited Away might be the most well known of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s incredibly deep film catalog, and deservingly so. The level of emotional and visual immersion you feel following young Chihiro on her journey to find herself and save her parents is everything you could ask for in a movie. Really. Sometimes animation does a better job than live action of capturing the complexity and poetry of existence. We take our time with this one, seeing as it’s the first anime movie we’ve discussed for the podcast. But I promise it’s worth it. Join us on one-way train to movie magic by searching ‘New Release’ on Spotify or Apple, where you can always subscribe. Next week, it’s back in 2023 for John Wick: Chapter 4. Fight!