The Dive-In Moviecast

Mushroom Kingdom, here we come! This week on The Dive-In, Hayden & Wesley are talking about The Super Mario Bros. They discuss their relationship to the Mario games growing up, the hilarious previous attempt at making a Mario movie in the 1990’s, where the movie succeeds for fans and where it leaves a bit to be desired, the most enjoyable Easter Eggs and references towards the games, Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario and if he’s as bad as the internet thought he might be, and much more!

This week on The Dive-In, Hayden and Wesley are talking about Dungeons… and Dragons! The two discuss their perspective on the film with Wesley being a massive ‘D&D’ fan and Hayden having no relationship with the source material, why this movie has proved to be one of the biggest surprises of the year so far, the leading cast of characters and why their charisma is so essential for making this movie work, the fun little references and Easter Eggs that fans of the game will pick up on without excluding viewers who have no familiarity with them, the infinite possibilities for spin-offs and sequels furthering the world of ‘D&D’, and much more!

This week on The Dive-In, co-hosts Hayden Koutras & Wesley Giffen are gonna need a gun.. we’re talking John Wick 4, discussing the franchise’s commitment to constantly one-upping itself, why Chapter 4 is the most impressive film in the series thus far, the introduction of Donnie Yen as Caine, the stand-out sequences of action and favourite kills from throughout the film, our thoughts on the ending and what it means for the ‘John Wick’ movies going forward, and much more!

(This episode has some audio issues on Hayden’s end, resulting in the audio for his voice sounding distorted at times. We hope you can look past this and still enjoy this great episode!)

This week on The Dive-In, Hayden is joined by Sean Phillips from MathTeacherMovies for the first time to head to the Big Apple with Ghostface! The two of them discuss what makes the Scream franchise still so compelling for audiences after multiple decades, the new setting of New York City and the way it reinvents the tone of the films, the Core Four and how this movie successfully makes you fall in love with them as the new leads, the absolutely BRUTAL kills and which ones stand out, the killer reveal and if it works, our rankings of the franchise, and much more!

When you’re Lost in the Darkness, Look for the Light.. Season One of The Last of Us has come to an end, and Hayden is joined by Wesley to wrap up this 9 week journey! They discuss the shorter runtime of this episode and if it’s a detractor from the amount of story being told, the character of Anna played by Ashley Johnson, the differences in the way Pedro Pascal plays Joel now that he and Ellie’s relationship has come full-circle, the recreation of the Giraffe scene and why it’s so satisfying for fans of the game, Joel’s BIG decision and the moral dilemma of it, what that choice means for the rest of the story, and much more!

This week on 'Look for the Light', Hayden is joined by his dad Paul Koutras to talk about Episode 8, titled 'When We Are in Need'! They discuss the introduction of David and why it’s immediately clear something is not right with him, the way the episode goes about showcasing that humanity is the greatest threat of it all, Joel’s brutal pursuit to find Ellie and showing his survival tactics at work, Ellie’s interactions with David and the permanent changes it has on her as a character, the emotional reunion of Joel & Ellie, plus much more!

This week on The Dive-In, Awards Season comes to a close! Hayden and Wesley are talking the 95th Academy Awards, getting into all their thoughts on the state of the show in 2023 and if the Oscars have found a way to make the show click with a wider audience, Jimmy Kimmel as a host, the well-deserved & WTF wins of the evening, plus much more!

Yo Adrian… we did it! This week on The Dive-In, Hayden & Wesley are discussing the beloved and longest running Sports movie franchise, the Rocky and Creed movies. They discuss the long-lasting appeal of the Rocky movies, Hayden’s experience watching them all for the first time back-to-back, the characters of Rocky Balboa and Adonis Creed and why they’re so engaging as leads, before diving into Creed III itself, talking the directorial debut of Michael B Jordan, the ways he was inspired by Anime while making the film, the stunning performance from Jonathan Majors, the shift of tone from the other films into a darker thriller vibe, and much more!

This week on Look for the Light, Hayden is joined by Sid Nesbit to talk Episode 7 of The Last of Us, entitled 'Left Behind'. 

They discuss the decision to centre a episode so close to the finale on the past rather than the main narrative, the character of Riley played by Storm Reid & the wonderful chemistry between Ellie and Riley, the setting of the mall and using the ‘five wonders of the mall’ to allow the characters the chance to experience childhood joy, the ending of the episode and the relevance of Left Behind’s character arc, and much more!

This week on ‘Look for the Light’, Hayden & Wesley are talking Episode 6 of The Last of Us, entitled ‘Kin’. We get into the reunion of Joel and Tommy, the wonderful portrayal of Tommy by Gabriel Luna and why he’ll play a bigger part in the story down the road, choice to establish the community of Jackson in full instead of show brief parts of it like the game does, the small pieces of set-up this episode does for The Last of Us Part II’s storyline, Pedro Pascal’s remarkably human performance in this episode and the decision to add Joel suffering from Panic Attacks to his character, Joel coming to terms with how much Ellie has impacted his life, the University set-piece and how the show goes about utilizing it, Joel’s injury and what it means for the rest of the story, and much more!