It's been a rough summer for quality cinema... will a couple of non-tentpoles be the answer the gang has been looking for?

"No Hard Feelings" [00:02:21] is a Jennifer Lawrence vehicle about a ride share driver losing... well, her vehicle. In spite of the myriad of avenues to initially explore in a town where apparently most everything is in walking/rollerblading distance, Lawrence's character immediately enters into an agreement with Matthew Broderick's character wherein she will pretend to be his son's girlfriend and have sex with him until he heads to Princeton in order to "build his confidence." Yeaaaah, hear how that one landed on this episode.

Up next, is "Asteroid City" [00:29:32], the latest from Wes Anderson. With cast featuring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, A COOL ALIEN, and tons more, what could go wrong? Well, a lot. Like... a lot a lot. Hear how this one crapped the bed (symmetrically, of course).

For the final segment this week, the gang goes through all 45 theatrical releases of quarter 2 2023 and assigns tier grades [00:54:04]. Two films achieved unanimous, perfect S-Tier status: find out which!

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

"The Flash" [00:01:04] is the final installment of the current DC Universe ... era(?). Either way, the decision was made to hop on the multiverse train and go out with a film that summons Batmans and other superheroes throughout time and mash them all into the latest summer blockbuster. Find out if the everything, everywhere, all at once method of telling this particular story worked out for your Movie Masters.

"The Blackening" [00:48:20] is novel in its casting of all black leads to tackle this brand new horror-comedy. With a tagline of "We Can't All Die First," it's clear that this one was going to go for laughs as much as the creeps in this one. Find out if it worked in this episode.

Pixar's "Elemental" [01:09:59] is a brand new property launched by the iconic animation studio. Oddly, in a week where Ezra Miller is in a new movie, this kid's movie ends up being the most hotly contested in the gang's analysis. Hear why!

And finally, the Movie Masters take a look back on the 88+ films watched at the local theater this year and heaps praise upon the best films and best performances out of the batch [01:40:49].

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

It's tentpole szn and this week's representation is "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" [00:02:27]. The gang went in with mixed exposure to the franchise, as some have seen all installments and others have maybe seen one or two at most. Given a fresh shakeup of the creative team and a new approach toward the battle scenes, could the more indifferent Movie Masters be won over in the end. Also: just how was Pete Davidson in this?

It's war all the time, according to many of the recent offerings at the local theater. "Kandahar" [00:52:33] can read on paper akin to "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant" (yes, he put his name in the title), but the two end up being vastly different. Hear how on this week's episode.

In "Gremlins 2," Leonard Maltin is notoriously murdered by the titular beings, leaving your host wondering exactly what must have Maltin written about the first movie to receive an on-screen death [01:01:21]. The answer ends up not being the full story. And finally, it's time for a round of The Maltin Game that specifically focuses on Creature Features [01:06:40].

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

Another week, another blockbuster, this time in the form of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" [00:07:25]. The sequel to perhaps the most groundbreaking animated feature of all time, this film had a near-impossible task of topping its predecessor. Did it?

Once touted as the next "GUY" in horror following 2020's "Host," director Rob Savage followed it up with the ponderous far-right hot mess "Dashcam," a classic don't-put-your-partner-in-your-art moment that should serve as a cautionary tale for future filmmakers. But a five picture is a five picture deal... and Savage gets another crack at it with "The Boogeyman" [00:33:33], a rough adaptation of a Stephen King short story. Was this a redeeming effort or does the creative spiral continue in a downward trajectory?

Hey kids, do you like CRAZY sex? Wasn't "50 Shades of Gray" just INSANE? Well, "Sanctuary" [00:57:02] just might SPICE THINGS UP IN THE BEDROOM. Or it might not. In fact, it probably won't. Hear a couple of Movie Masters dunk on it accordingly.

The gang saves the most infuriating film of the week for last in the form of Burt Kreischer's "The Machine" [01:18:07]. Remember that viral clip fo the fat guy with his shirt off talking about how cool he was to the Russian mob on a school trip like 54 years ago? Well, he's still on that one and stretched it out as the basis of a feature length movie (and then some, clocking in at over two hours). Was anyone won over?

Finally, the gang plays another round of A.I.MBD, where artificial intelligence write plot synopses of various genres of film and players must determine which is real... and which is ARTIFICIAL. Play along at home.

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

After what felt like an eternity of promotion and absurd "controversy," Disney's dark and gritty live action remake of "The Little Mermaid" [00:01:42]finally hit theaters. Encapsulated by a wide range of experience and expertise with the franchise heading into the screening, hear the varied reactions from the gang surrounding all of the choices made in this 2023 retelling.

"About My Father" [00:46:40] was everyone's first exposure to comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, paired in this film with Robert De Niro as the titular father. Was the gang charmed by Sebastian's style of comedy and charisma? Was this yet another Bobby D check-casher or did he actually try? The answers may astound you!

"You Hurt My Feelings" [01:02:19] is a ponderous offering featuring the normally brilliant Julia Louis Dreyfus alongside a cast of other people talking and saying words. The movie left most of your Movie Masters wondering if the title is a typo, and that perhaps "retinas" or "brain" was the intended last word. Aspersions are consequently cast.

Finally, a new movie game is revealed called "Bechdel's Bangers" [01:29:16]. Can YOU figure out which notable movies actually pass the Bechdel Test?

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

Movies never sleep and, on weeks where there's 5+ new theatricals to cover, your Movie Masters only rarely do.

First up, it's the tenth installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise in the form of "Fast X" [00:09:52]. Half of the gang watched the first nine movies for the first time in the days before the screening, one member was current and had seen most in the theater, and the other decided to simply walk into "Fast X" without having seen a single frame from any of the previous movies. Hear the varied response, family.

In spite of what the objectively tragic wig and hair design would imply, "Blackberry" [00:42:50] somehow emerged as one of the favorites of 2023 for at least a couple of your Movie Masters. On top of being a very solid addition to the "men yelling" canon, this is the second week in a row where a cast member of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stepped up and knocked it out of the park.

"Rally Road Racers" [01:07:16] then receives perhaps the shortest review in podcast history, with "Carmen" [01:11:12] and "Knights of the Zodiac" [01:23:15] also not inspiring particularly deep dives.

To close the episode, the gang plays the premiere edition of "Who Said It?" (FAMILY Edition) [01:35:05] wherein the Movie Masters must determine whether a quote about family was said by the follically and vertically-challenged Dominic Toretto, Dr. Phil, Olive Garden, or Peter Griffin.

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

It's no secret that "Book Club" is a top favorite franchise for one of your Movie Masters in particular, so the release of "Book Club: The Next Chapter" [00:06:04] came with a very high degree of anticipation and excitement. With the ladies of Book Club taking their squad over to Rome immediately after a couple years of enduring the blues of the pandemic, could they find joie de vivre once again?

Up next: Charlie Day's "Fool's Paradise" [00:23:20]. While critics and audiences seem to have clearly expected something in particular (based on abysmal online ratings), the beauty of constantly needing to watch 5+ new theatrical releases every week is that the gang often "goes in blind" and doesn't have the time or mental surplus to formulate a set of expectations for any given movie. Thus, your Movie Masters cover this particular offering from a very pure place and assess its merits based entirely on what actually appeared on screen (and not in one's theater of the mind before the actual movie). Hear why the gang completely disagrees with the vast majority of criticism this movie has seen to date.

Your last film of the week is "Hypnotic" [00:43:01], the latest Ben Affleck vehicle. Directed by Robert Rodriguez (apparently after a Christopher Nolan bender), this one is... something. The gang spends a while trying to pinpoint what exactly went wrong here.

To close the episode, join the gang in a round of The Maltin Game [01:07:46], where the theme is "Saturday Night Live properties."

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

The gang takes a strategic approach this week, balancing out the glut of movies coming out at the same time as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" against the sheer lack of new releases going up against "Fast X." Thus, "only" three movies are discussed.

First up, a listener asks what films each Movie Master has seen multiple times at the theater and all have multiple answers.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" [00:10:43] kicks off the discussion of current films. Putting a rather somber cap on the trilogy, how did this installment stack up against the rest?

"Love Again" [00:53:05] features the excellent Priyanka Chopra and... well, Priyanka Chopra. Could the rest of the cast and the story itself keep up with the chops of Chopra?

From there (and yes, this really is the full title), "Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World" [01:21:31] gets its closeup. Hear all about Big George's life with a bonus side of various lies Hulk Hogan loves to tell anyone within earshot (including the claim that the grill was offered to him before Foreman).

Finally, the gang plays a limited edition, specially curated game called "Did This Come Out?" [1:36:49] to close the episode. Each player gets a movie poster (that was publicly advertised at some point) beamed to their cell phone and is read a description. From there, everyone must determine for themselves if the movie was ever actually released.

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

SEVEN, yes SEVEN movies to cover this week:

SISU [4:20] is, for at least one Movie Master, a hotly anticipated movie about seeking solace and peace via mining for gold in solitude, only to be forcibly drawn back into the business of killing ever last Nazi possible. Hear about all the inventive ways to go about it.

POLITE SOCIETY [23:48], an English-Pakastani powerhouse of a film, came in and universally rocked the gang as one of 2023's biggest surprises so far. Hear why you need to catch this one ASAP.

ARE YOU THERE GOD. IT'S ME MARGARET [36:15] could only draw in two adult male Movie Masters, who had to watch the entire film in an auditorium with the intended Judy Bloom audience: children.

GUY RITCHIE'S THE COVENANT [46:15] is the second Guy Ritchie movie to hit theaters within mere weeks of the last. Was this strategy logical and/or effective?

SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS [1:00:03] is a Ray Romano joint, leaving one Movie Master to ponder: are we on the cusp of the New Wave of Television Comedian Directors (Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, Bob Odenkirk)?

BLACK DEMON [1:10:02] is more bait and switch fare, this time teasing ocean/nature terror in the form of a Megalodon shark... only for it to be a clunky indictment of Big Oil. Mercifully, this was a solo mission and no other Movie Masters were harmed.

And finally, the gang reflects on the experience of attending a 40th Anniversary screening of 1983's RETURN OF THE JEDI [1:20:36]. The controversial Lucasfilm additions are discussed, a Movie Master is pressed to name more than one Ewok, and heaps of fandom ensue.

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.

It's psychotic to have almost typed "there's only four movies to cover this week," but that's an unfortunate side effect of being in the heart of multiple weeks where five to seven theatrical releases has become the norm. Now eleven months into "the experiment," the gang has long forgotten that the average human statistically reports only "rarely" walking into a movie theater, let alone more than once a week. For those curious: 18% reported "never," 41% "rarely," 33% "sometimes," and 8% "often in the most current Statista survey.

ANYWAY, "Beau is Afraid" [00:01:18] is the most expensive movie A24 ever produced while also touting its most bloated in run time, clocking in at around three hours. This is cut down from a reported original run time of four hours. Was all the expense and considerable length worth the inherent gamble? Well, while the film is tanking mercilessly at the box office, at least one Movie Master was profoundly moved by the film, declaring it their film of the year so far, and yet another feels that, much like "Everything Everywhere All At Once," the laurels and true hype will be on about an 8-month delay... after it hits streaming and makes the casual rounds.

"Evil Dead Rise" [00:42:00] is up next. You'd think the gang would be hyped, right? Find out if that was the case and, if so, if the results lived up to or perhaps surpassed expectations.

Much like "Beau is Afraid," "Chevalier" [01:02:31] is absolute box office poison, coming in at eleventh its opening weekend and sinking like a rock (or even... The Rock at this point) to the very bottom at sixteenth the following week. In spite of strong "we don't want this at all" message being sent by the public, at least two Movie Masters are prepared to champion its merits while another firmly puts it in F-tier/kill-it-with-fire territory.

"Enys Men" [01:21:33] was a solo mission one Movie Masters drive a little farther to take in. A very small, very niché film, it's yet another hard-to-categorize offering that almost lazily gets marketed as "horror," which is sure to deeply upset traditional fans of the genre. Set in 1973 and evoking heavy "The Wicker Man" vibes, does the follow-up to "Bait" keep the Mark Jenkin hype train rolling?

And finally, this episode features another installment of the A.I.MBD game. Play along and see if you can tell the difference between actual movie plots and those scripted by artificial intelligence.

As always: [email protected] for all questions, concerns, comments, and movie recommendations.