The Cinematic Schematic

“This isn’t the podcast you deserve, but it is the one you need right now.” – Alfred Pennyworth in some modern iteration of Batman, probably. The Cinematic Schematic returns in our March edition to take a dive deep into Gotham’s criminal underbelly to answer the most important question regarding The Batman: Does the big screen need another new take on Batman, especially so soon, and if so, is writer/director Matt Reeves up for the challenge? Rejoining host Caleb Masters to explore the answers to those questions is the podcast’s quintessential and reliably talented Lucius Fox-like recurring host, Laron Chapman, the self-proclaimed “Calendar Man” of podcast guests, Daniel Bokemper, and the George Clooney Batman of guest hosts, Brock Lay. Since the character first made his way to the big screen in Batman: The Movie (1966), the caped crusader has been the star of eleven theatrically released films(not including 2017’s Justice League) featuring six different actors in live-action and two different voice actors (never forget Kevin Conroy or Will Arnett). Despite eventually becoming a fresh standalone take on the character, The Batman originally started as another DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie featuring writer/director/producer/star Ben Affleck. In 2017, the Argo writer/director stepped away […]

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Hello Sidney…we’re home. In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we’re rejoined by recurring guests Laron Chapman, Zachary Burns, and Brock Lay to follow our Scream retrospective discussion up with a review of the newest entry in the series, Scream (2022), AKA Scream 5 AKA 5cream(the correct title). This conversation starts with the ice-breaker question, “who is your favorite horror movie villain or antagonist?” We then jump into a spoiler-free review of Scream(2022) where we provide our verdict on the film before concluding the conversation with an in-depth spoiler discussion. It’s been eleven years since Scream 4, the most recent entry, hit theaters in 2011. Though the film was generally well-received by critics (it currently sits at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes), it did not perform well enough at the box office to justify more sequels, at least according to the now-defunct Weinstein Company. That all changed when the Spyglass Media Group purchased the rights to the old Ghostface franchise in 2019. After another attempted murderer in the town of Woodsboro, the latest film brings back returning series regulars, Sidney Prescott(Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette), to join a new much younger cast in taking down […]

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What’s your favorite scary movie podcast? The Cinematic Schematic is back for our first episode of the year to look back at Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s franchise dedicated to riffing on the most popular horror and slasher movie tropes of the day, the Scream series. As a prelude to our upcoming Scream(2022) review, we’re joined by returning guests Laron Chapman, Zachary Burns, and Brock Lay to reassess each of the first four entries to determine whether or not the Scream series lives up to its reputation and warrants continuing. Whether they are telling a clever whodunnit or providing commentary on violence in the media, Scream is a franchise that’s never been short on ideas or things to say about the horror and pop culture of its day. Do Wes Craven’s love letters to the genre he helped build in the 80s still remain relevant in today’s horror movie scene? Tune in to the full conversation for our verdicts and stay subscribed to hear our full Scream (2022) review the second it goes live. Discussion Time Stamps 1:27 – Guest Introductions 4:05 – Ice-breaker question: What’s your favorite scary movie? 14:42 – Scream (1996) Discussion 42:25 – Scream 2 Discussion 109:52 […]

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The Cinematic Schematic is back to follow the white rabbit and see how close to the line between fiction and reality we can go in our review of The Matrix Resurrections. Award-winning Oklahoma filmmaker and returning guest, Laron Chapman, joins the cast of GoodTrash Media‘s Dalton Stuart and The Cinematropolis contributor Daniel Bokemper from our recent Matrix Trilogy retrospective to discuss the latest entry in the franchise that taught millenials about kung fu and propelled Neo(Keanu Reeves), Trinity(Carrie-Anne Moss) and writer/director Lana Wachowski into pop culture fandoms everywhere. Following the conclusion of The Matrix Trilogy in 2003, the writing/directing duo of Lana and Lilly Wachowski decided to move on from the franchise despite the appetite for more stories from both Matrix fans an WB studio executives. After the duo decided to split ways between seasons 1 and 2 of Netflix’s Sense8, Lana Wachowski has finally returned to the franchise, citing her inspiration as the need to return to comfort and familiarity following the tragic passing of her parents. As inspired as it may sound, what exactly is there left to be said about the world of the Matrix after Revolutons ended on such a definitive conclusion? Our relationship with technology […]

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Look out wallcrawler fans! Today, The Cinematic Schematic will web-sling through the multiverse and into a review conversation covering this year’s biggest film to date, Spider-Man: No Way Home, with special guests Chelsea Ratterman from Geek Girl Features and GoodTrash Media’s Arthur Gordon. Tom Holland returns as Spider-Man/Peter Parker for the sixth time in his third standalone film appearance in No Way Home. His latest outing picks up right where 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home left off. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) has revealed Parker’s identity to the world via J. Jonah Jameson’s(J.K. Simmons) The Daily Bugle. Peter and his best friend Ned(Jacob Batalon) and girlfriend MJ(Zendaya) quickly learn that being associated with Spider-Man has consequences that may endanger their chances to get into their dream university, MIT. To try and make things right, Parker reaches out to Dr. Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch) and requests he cast a spell so that everyone forgets his secret identity. When the spell goes awry, Spider-Man and his friends are forced to confront a few unwelcome visitors in their universe. Thanks to unique factors from the pandemic along with some bonafide juicy marketing featuring past villains like Doc Ock(Alfred Molina), Green Goblin(Willem Dafoe), and Electro(Jamie Foxx), the film […]

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Step right up to The Cinematic Schematic! Is it more cinema or unruly beast? In this week’s episode, we’re rejoined by The Cinematropolis contributor, Daniel Bokemper, to do a spoiler-free review of Guillermo Del Toro’s newest film, Nightmare Alley, before diving into an in-depth spoiler discussion. In his first film as a director since winning the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director with The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro returns to a familiar and more comfortable genre, noir. The trailers for Del Toro’s newest film, Nightmare Alley, may rely heavily on the backdrop of a traveling carnival, but don’t be deceived, this film goes far beyond the boundaries of the Clement “Clem” Hoately (Willem Dafoe) show. Check out our full review essay of The Shape of Water Based on the 1946 novel of the same name, Nightmare Alley follows Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) who begins the film on the run from a dark and mysterious past. After joining a traveling carnival and learning the trade of mentalism from fellow troupe members Zeena Krumbein(Toni Collette) and her husband Pete(David Strathairn), Carlisle departs on a journey into a more complicated venture with his partner Molly(Rooney Mara). Does Del Toro continue […]

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Eighteen years after the release of the last film in The Matrix franchise, we are just a week away from the unexpected series return with the fourth entry, The Matrix Resurrections. In this special supersized edition of The Cinematic Schematic, we take a look back at the original 1999 film along with its sequels, Reloaded(2003) and Revolutions(2003). We review each film individually before discussing whether or not they work together successfully as a trilogy. We close out the conversation by talking about our hopes and dreams for the upcoming film ahead of its release next week. Host Caleb Masters can’t make the trip down the rabbit hole alone. Joining him with red pills are returning guest hosts, Daniel Bokemper from The Cinematropolis, and GoodTrash Media‘s Dalton Stuart. More than twenty years later, does the original film still hold true as a classic? Do the widely panned sequels deserve a second chance? Why is now a compelling time to start the next chapter for Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and maybe even Morpheus(Laurence Fishburne)? Tune into today’s full conversation for the answers to these questions along with a little bit of series analysis and make sure to subscribe on Apple […]

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Before beginning the final stretch into the holiday season, The Cinematic Schematic is taking a moment to be thankful for all of the movies that came out this past November with a special November 2021 movie review round-up. In this special episode, we’re rejoined by the longtime friend of the show and award-winning filmmaker, Laron Chapman, to do a series of mini-reviews of November 2021’s most prominent films including Marvel’s Eternals, Netflix’s tick, tick…BOOM!, Spencer, and Ridley Scott’s newest movie starring Lady Gaga, House of Gucci. Tune in for the full November 2021 rundown! Special Guest Laron Chapman Award-winning Oklahoma filmmaker Follow Laron on Instagram @blackmoviemagic Movie #1 – Eternals According to IMDB, Eternals can be described as: The saga of the Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations. Now playing in theaters. Movie #2 – tick, tick…BOOM! According to IMDB, tick, tick…BOOM! can be described as: On the cusp of his 30th birthday, a promising young theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressures of life as an artist in New York City. Now streaming on Netflix. Movie #3 – Spencer Acoording to IMDB, Spencer can be described as: During […]

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Planet Thunder Productions is at it again! On today’s special edition of The Cinematic Schematic, Jacob and Zachary Burns rejoin the show to discuss the Indie Go-Go fundraising opportunity for their new film, Hell Hath No Fury. Fury resurrects one of Jacob Burns’ earlier scripts about a married couple who separately and unknowingly plan to murder each other on the same fateful night. Fury marks a shift in gears for Planet Thunder Productions. Much like the dark comedies such as Fargo or The Lady Killers from The Coen Brothers, the film will provide a lighter touch than their previous headier outings, Electric Nostalgia and Shifter. The team is also shaking up roles in the production. After serving as producer on several of the team’s recent feature-film productions, Zachary Burns is stepping into the director’s chair on Hell Hath No Fury for his directorial debut. The film is still in the fundraising phase of pre-production with an expected filming start date before the end of the year. The film blew past its initial $5,000 goal within a week and its $7,000 stretch goal within twenty-four hours. With just six days left in the fundraiser(as of the publication date) to reach their […]

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It’s time to step back into the old Wes Andersonian time machine to explore a fondly remembered era for journalists and print magazines. In today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we’re joined by I Can’t Unsee That Movie‘s Jeff Huston to review Wes Anderson’s new movie, The French Dispatch. It’s been twenty-five years since Wes Anderson made it big with his feature film directorial debut, Bottle Rocket. In the years since, his films have dabbled in stop motion animation with The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, taken a trip under the sea in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and traveled to the past and back again in The Grand Budapest Hotel. His exotic adventures in filmmaking have garnered him a reputation as he’s developed a very distinct style and often divisive voice for some filmgoers. Despite consistently working with some of the biggest movie stars in the business like Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, and many others, he’s reached a point where he’s unlikely to win over new viewers, but what new does his “ode to journalism” bring to the table for his most devoted fans? The French Dispatch is an anthology […]

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