The Cinematic Schematic is back from a short hiatus to do a winter 2023 film review round-up covering this season’s biggest movies. The conversation starts with a discussion over M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, Knock at the Cabin before we take a look at the unexpected conclusion to the Magic Mike “Trilogy,” Magic Mike’s Last Dance. We then conclude the show with our thoughts on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the state of the MCU at the beginning of “phase 5.” Hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman are rejoined by Daniel Bokemper to dissect every bug, including the little guy. Does M. Night have his mojo back? Is Jonathan Majors the best thing to happen to the MCU since Loki? What else is in store in this winter 2023 film review round-up? Tune in to get our verdicts on all of these films and more! Special Guests Laron Chapman Award-winning Oklahoma filmmaker Follow Laron on Instagram @blackmoviemagicokc Daniel Bokemper Contributor at The Cinematropolis Follow Daniel on Twitter @Daniel_Bokemper Podcast Discussion Timestamps 0:15 – Introductions 3:04 – Icebreaker question – “What was your favorite sleeper of January/February?” 22:33 – Knock at the Cabin spoiler-free review 47:18 – Magic Mike’s Last Dance […]

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The Cinematic Schematic returns for our first episode of 2023 to dive into the most haunting TikTok dance we’ve seen yet with our review of M3GAN. We kick things off by responding to listener feedback and responses to our top 5 films of 2022. We then speculate what the highest-grossing movie at the box office in 2023 will be before jumping into our spoiler-free review of M3GAN. AI has been a fear of audiences for decades going back at least as far back as rogue robots like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. Over the decades, there have been hundreds of movies exploring what potential horrors these learning machines could bring if not kept in check by the impulses of their creators. Lest we forget, we dedicated several essays to the role of AI in cinema back in October 2017. Furthermore, with AI evolving so rapidly through recent innovations like ChatGPT and design bots, the fears feel more timely than ever. Enter producer James Wan, writer Akela Cooper, and director Gerard Johnstone. After cracking a winning formula for silliness in 2021’s sleeper flick, Malignant, the former two creatives have reunited to make this horror-comedy for gen-Z and the […]

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In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, hosts Caleb Masters, Laron Chapman, Cinematropolis contributor Daniel Bokemper, and the GoodTrash Genrecast‘s Dalton Stuart, sit down to name their top 5 movies of 2022. The special episode starts with the group catching up on a few of the films watched during the “awards season sprint” of November and December before kicking off the year-end award round-up and countdown. What films were the cream of the crop in the especially uncertain year in Hollywood? Tune into the feature-length discussion to close out the year with our selections! Note: The full breakdown of awards and our top 5 movies of 2022 can be found in the timestamps below. Timestamps 0:18 – Introductions 3:30 – The Whale mini-reviews 9:31 – Babylon mini-reviews 18:01 – White Noise mini-reviews 22:43 – Reflecting on the film industry in 2022 29:54 – Special Award #1 – The “This Could Have Only Been Made in 2022” Award 37:02 – Special Award #2 – The “They Deserved so Much Better” Award 44:23 – Number 5 Movie of 2022 Selections 57:27 – Special Award #3 – The “Movie I Didn’t Get” Award (In loving memory of Filmspotting SVU) 1:06:43 – Special Award […]

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After thirteen years it’s time to dust off the 3D glasses and reignite our hunt for unobtainium because in this episode of The Cinematic Schematic we’re reviewing the long-awaited sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar: The Way of Water. The world of filmgoing has changed considerably since James Cameron followed up his smash hit Titanic (1997) with another box office monster, Avatar, in 2009. The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the superhero genre have become the dominant blockbusters, tech companies and streamers like Netflix have acquired Hollywood studios and disrupted the way audiences access movies, and the visual effects technology pioneered for the first film has influenced the entire industry both positively and negatively. One could argue the “implosion” of Hollywood predicted by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas in 2013 has come to pass with fewer films filling theater schedules and audiences requiring bigger and bigger spectacles to demand their attention. Franchise IPs (intellectual properties) are the new movie stars making the current landscape for experienced auteur filmmakers like Cameron a less surefire bet, especially when you consider the first of his four planned Avatar sequels, The Way of Water, is costing 20th Century Pictures/Disney between $350-450 million before marketing costs. All of this would normally be concerning for any reasonable studio executive if not for […]

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Thirteen years ago, James Cameron, the acclaimed director of Titanic, Terminator 1 & 2, The Abyss, and Aliens, released his most ambitious passion project yet – Avatar(2009), a film featuring the fictional alien race named “Na’vi,” set on their home planet of Pandora. Starring relative no-name turned “it” guy, Sam Worthington alongside Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang, and Giovanni Ribisi; the film was praised for its groundbreaking 3D visual effects before becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time($2.9 billion as of this recording). Despite its initial runaway success including the announcement of four sequels(you can track the entire history of those announcements here), the series has since undergone backlash from audiences with some even arguing it lacks meaningful cultural relevance. In preparation for the long-awaited sequel releasing later this week, The Cinematic Schematic is taking a trip back to the planet’s tree of souls (AKA Eywa) to determine whether or not the film has earned its status as box office king. Joining us to revisit Avatar ahead of the long-awaited sequel are The Cinematropolis contributor, Daniel Bokemper, and former Sound Trek host, Alexandra Bohannon, the latter of whom has not seen the original film. After breaking the […]

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From Rian Johnson’s upcoming Benoit Blanc sequel, Glass Onion, to David Fincher’s adaptation of his late father’s script, Mank; Netflix is known for giving top directors near unprecedented budgets and creative freedom for the awards season films. Oscar-winning genre king Guillermo del Toro is the latest auteur to team with the streamer for his biggest passion project, a stop motion animated feature film adaptation of the puppet turned real boy, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. The Shape of Water and Blade II director has reportedly been trying to make this movie since at least 2008, previously saying “no art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio”, and “I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember.” While his love for the story is admirable, what left is there to be said about a story that’s already been adapted dozens of times, including once earlier this year at Disney? In today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic, host Caleb Masters is rejoined by Daniel Bokemper and Christopher Shultz to review this fresh take on Pinocchio from the […]

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It’s time to pick up your pipe and magnifying glass because, in this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we’re going beyond the donut’s donut hole and into the fragile china set to solve another Rian Johnson whodunnit in his new film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. To peel back the layers of Johnson’s meticulously plotted story, we’re joined by No Film School‘s managing editor, Jo Light, GoodTrash Media co-founder, Arthur Gordon, and our very own Daniel Bokemper and Caleb Masters to review the film in a spoiler-free discussion before cracking open a few of the themes in a spoiler-filled breakdown. Following the huge critical and box office success of Knives Out in 2019, Glass Onion and a yet-to-be-made sequel were won by Netflix in a bidding war between Apple, Amazon, and the original distributor Lionsgate. The price tag for the rights to make the two sequels are said to have cost Netflix $469 million. According to Hollywood Reporter, “The pact gave Johnson immense creative control, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. He doesn’t have to take notes from the streamer. The only contingencies were that Craig must star in the sequels and that each must have at least the budget […]

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In August 2020, we mourned the unexpected passing of the wildly talented and now iconic Chadwick Boseman. His quiet struggle with colon cancer had taken not just one of the most promising performers of our time, but also the most famous black superhero in the world. Co-stars, collaborators, and fans from countries across the globe commemorated his life and celebrated his movies. T’Challa, king of Wakanda and a key ally to the Avengers, was gone. How could the Black Panther story continue without its lead character who had just redefined what was possible in big-screen comic movies through the success of 2018’s Black Panther? This tragedy created a seemingly impossible challenge for writer/director Ryan Coogler to overcome. How could he pay tribute to the king, continue telling the next chapter of Wakanda, and deliver a satisfying conclusion to this phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) on a timeline the Disney/Marvel execs would accept? In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we’re joined by first-time guest, Korey Eakers, and returning hosts Laron Chapman and Chelsea Ratterman to discuss how well Coogler managed these challenges in our review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We start the conversation with our spoiler-free review where […]

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But the truth is, evil doesn’t die. It changes shape. Laurie Strode Lock your doors, check the candy, and prepare to feel the fear of studio executive boogymen willing to butcher good storytelling to make a buck in the conclusion of the Blumhouse-produced and David Gordon Green-directed Halloween Ends. In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman are joined by guests Christopher Shultz and film studies educator and OKC councilperson James Cooper return to Haydenfield, IL to finish the latest final face-off between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. We start by answering this week’s icebreaker question, “What mask or Halloween costume always gives you chills?” before providing our spoiler-free reviews. We close out the conversation with an in-depth spoiler-filled analysis discussion. In 2018, we were very positive about Halloween (2018), but after a few years’ distance from the hype and a widely maligned sequel, Halloween Kills, do we think there are still ideas left in David Gordon Green’s premise? Special Guests James Cooper Oklahoma City Councilperson, OCU English and Modern Languages Artist in Residence, film studies professor (OFCC) Follow James @jamesforokc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram For Ward 2 matters, James can be contacted at [email protected] Christopher Shultz Contributor, The […]

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The Cinematic Schematic celebrates this year’s spooky movie season by looking back at the 2022 horror films you should consider watching before all hallows’ eve. Host Caleb Masters is joined by The Cinematropolis’s Daniel Bokemper and guest host Dalton Stuart from GoodTrash Media to discuss a few of this year’s 2022 horror movie highlights including Ti West‘s X/Pearl double feature and the chilling indie horror Watcher. We conclude this episode with an in-depth spoiler-filled discussion of the recent sleeper hit from sketch comedy writer, Zach Cregger, Barbarian. Does Barbarian actually reach the heights of an instant classic? Tune in to hear our thoughts on all things 2022 horror and let us know your thoughts by commenting below or by sending us an email to [email protected]. Dalton Stuart Co-host of the GoodTrash Genrecast and GoodTrash Media co-founder Follow GoodTrash Media on Twitter @Good_Trash Daniel Bokemper Contributor at The Cinematropolis Follow Daniel on Twitter @Daniel_Bokemper PODCAST DISCUSSION TIME STAMPS 0:20 – Introductions 4:50 – X Spoiler-Free Review 32:24 – Pearl Spoiler-Free Review 49:44 – Watcher Spoiler-Free Review 106:24 – Rapid-Fire Round – Other 2022 Horror Movies 113:04 – Barbarian Spoiler-Filled Review/Analysis Discussion Movie #1 – X – Available to buy/rent VOD According to IMDB, X […]

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