The LAMBcast

The Lambs who showed up this week in the film pasture, did their own programming and created Top 5 lists of their own design. From comedic serial killers to Multiple Moby Dicks, we have an eclectic selection of movies to talk about this week. Don't let the slow January release schedule slow down your movie love, come hear what we all think would be fun to talk about. You may be inspired to create your own list.  

The start of the new year reminds us to look back on what we saw in the previous 12 months. Rishabh Vashishtha, Tony Coogan, Thomas Stoneham Judge and The Vern all gathered to share their Top Ten Films for 2024. We also have lists from Aaron Neuwirth, Mark Hofmeyer, Lisa Leaheey, and Matthew Simpson, in spite of the fact they could not be on the show in person. The guests who were live had almost forty different films to recommend, and there were some Pineapple Kiosk moments. We got a little rushed at the end, but you will want to hear what everyone had to say. Happy New Year and Happy Next Year!

This week we check in on the Robert Eggers film that opened on Christmas Day to see if it sucked. "Nosferatu" is a remake of the classic Silent film, which was an unauthorized version of "Dracula". It was remade once before in 1979 by Werner Herzog, so this is the second time a controversial visualist has taken on the film. The LAMB's resident horror critic these days is Lisa Leaheey, and she was quick to sign up for the show. Matthew Poirier of the "Direct to Video Connoisseur"   returns for his second episode and longtime LAMB Sean Homrig jumps in with just a days notice to join the show. We discuss the look of the film, the performances and spend an inordinate amount of time critiquing possession visualizations. The Exit Question of the week involves vampire movies so if you want to sink your teeth into the episode, don't wait...listen now. 

James Bond does not quite trade in his Aston Martin for a sled  and eight tiny reindeer, but he does show up at Christmas time with some presents for your stockings. Following a long tradition of unconventional Christmas Selection for the December MOTM, James Wilson of "Blogging By Cinema Light" suggested, and the community voted for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the sixth 007 adventure. Matthew Simpson of the "Awesome Friday Podcast" joins the show to talk about the new Bond, George Lazenby, the best Bond girl Diana Rigg, and whether this really is a Christmas movie. We never need much encouragement here to talk about a Bond film, and the three people on the show have lots of opinions. James provided a game as well and our exit question concern the 007 franchise. You don't need all the time in the world, just about 90 minutes will get you in the 007 Christmas Spirit. 

This week is a recommendation show, with a slight spin. We are looking for films to recommend for the upcoming holidays, but we want some less well known movies.  So we will Skip "It's a Wonderful Life", " Christmas Vacation " , "A Christmas Story" and instead look for What can be  discovered on Netflix, TCM,  the Criterion Channel or Tubi?  Maybe there is a great Treasure from the sixties that no one knows about, or a Hallmark movie that is actually worth ninety minutes of your time. 
Aaron Neuwirth, Nicole Ayers, Tony Coogan and newcomer Matthew Poirier bring you historical holidays, action Christmas Movies, Short Films and a lot more. 

Twenty four years after being asked by Maximus "Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?", we are asking the same question about the legacy sequel "Gladiator II". Director Ridley Scott returns to the floor of the Coliseum to once again entertain us with battles, violence, political intrigue and even some returning characters. Daniel Chadwick-Shubat of Get Reel Movies, Aaron Neuwirth from We Live Entertainment, and Nicole Ayers of the MadLabPost are here to let you know what they thought of this extravaganza of Roman mayhem and pseudo history. Russell Crowe is not back, but his persona hangs over this film in so many ways. Is Denzel Washington enough to make this movie satisfy the crowd? You will have to watch and listen to find out. 

OK, we did not get to this on opening weekend, but there seems to be enough interest to sustain the theatrical run for a couple of weeks. 'For The Rest Of Your Lives, There Will Be Before You Listen And There Will Be After. Lambs, Verbally Acknowledge Please.' Heretic is the A24 Psychological Horror film starring Hugh Grant, cast against type as an intellectually curious potential convert to the Mormon faith. We have two sisters and two elders joining the show this week in the spirit of the Later Day Saints which comes in for examination.
Lisa Leaheey loves her horror movies, will she love this one? Nicole Ayers is not a horror fan, will she choose door number 2? James Wilson is also not a horror fan, but he may be susceptible to Mr. Reed's lecture. Howard Casner is a skeptic of everything, and we will find out if he is too jaded to enjoy the film. We do a little criticism of casting against type in other films and suggest some non-traditional casting of our own. So as Monty Hall might ask, which door do you choose?

By an overwhelming vote, Josie and the Pussycats was chosen as the MOTM for November. This widely misunderstood 2001 release has acquired a much stronger reputation over the pat two decades. The satirical edge of the movie and it's meta-approach was largely ignored in the marketing of the film on it's release. Our herd of LAMBs this week however have made note of it's wicked insight into pop culture and music and we have some pretty strong positive opinions to share. Todd Liebenow, Bubbawheat and the Vern join the show and "Pretend to be Nice". For us the three small words are "This Movie's Great".

Every once in a while, the Lamb community collectively says, "Let's Get Lost". This week, we prove that "...all who wander, find some interesting stuff to talk about.". Nicole Ayers, Dave Anderson and Damien Riley join the show this week and meander all over the cinematic landscape (or as we might say "Lambscape"). 

We lost a few guests on the show but we did get a set of lists that cover the year pretty well. Howard Casner as usual, wants strictly the best. Tony Coogan is up to date on all the animation films that came out in 2010, and Richard plays action junkie on this weeks show. Get ready for the wayback machine to take you to your youth, or for two people on the show, their middle age.