Trilogy in Theory

On this episode we celebrate two years of this podcast by traveling to an in between place with friend of the show Colin Farrell in the Joel Schumacher Vietnam war drama TIGERLAND and Martin McDonagh crime comedy classic IN BRUGES. This episode is not only a celebration of our podcast (in true War Machine vs. War Horse form we didn’t even show up to our own party) as this is a lost episode we recorded a while back for THE LOBSTER which A24 picked up from the brink of not having a theatrical release, and is in limited release now.

On this episode we try to talk Jon Favreau and Emily Blunt through their cold feet in two very different wedding comedies that share cases of body horror. In the Peter Berg film VERY BAD THINGS Favreau and his groomsmen led by Christian Slater dispose of a dead body on an ill-fated bachelor party in Las Vegas. In THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT Jason Segel loses a toe waiting around for his nuptials in the most-hated state of Michigan. This particular pairing has been inspired by new body-horror film BITE which you can now find on iTunes, Amazon, and other VOD services.

On this episode we welcome Non, host of thepodcast Joy Sandwich into our green room for an episode onmusical performers dealing with the threat of violence while theyperform. This theme inspires a double feature of The RollingStones documentary GIMME SHELTER and the Elijah Wood starring GRANDPIANO. Those two films face off in a conversation that includesMuppet matchmaking with co-host Shane Conner and our other guestPaula from the Tell Me Stories podcast. But before youfind out which piece of Muppet ass that Elijah Wood can crush,let’s talk about one of the best films of 2016: GREEN ROOM.

On this episode we try to sell our listeners on the idea of waiting to see the disappointing film adaptation of Dave Eggers’ novel A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING with Brian of Movie Hot Take. Fortunately this film inspires a double feature with guest Dwight Hurst of The Broken Brain on men waiting to convince other men on what they are selling, whether it be a not guilty verdict in 12 ANGRY MEN or industrial lubricants in THE BIG KAHUNA.

On this episode we welcome two guests as THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR inspires a conversation about Emily Blunt’s plotting sisters. Erica Peplin, film critic for Spectrum Culture, PopOptic, and Vague Visages joins me for a double feature of SUNSHINE CLEANING and YOUR SISTER’S SISTER. But first, Andrew from The AB Film Review rolls some dice with me on the latest adventure of The Huntsman seeking a successful film franchise.

On this episode we welcome returning guest Margo from the Book Vs. Movie podcast as we debate ideas formed by the presence of former movie star Kevin Costner. In Lawrence Kasdan's THE BIG CHILL, his stunning portrayal of a corpse is the catalyst for his character’s college roommates to reexamine their youthful ambition and the disappointments of settling into middle age. Oliver Stone lets Costner run wild with conspiracy theories in JFK, as this fever dream of a film shakes the Costner character out of his comfortable life and on the trail of the President’s assassins. This double feature of two cinematic classics has been inspired, and will probably be the only thing inspired by the new Costner film CRIMINAL.

On this episode we welcome guest Ben Zuk of the podcast Cinematic for the People to help take film characters' lives apart. In THE GAME Michael Douglas is an isolated rich man who has existed in a world of great wealth and power for so long that he seeks out something new in the form of a live action game that will take over his life. And in EVERYTHING MUST GO Will Ferrell plays an alcoholic whose failed marriage forces him to examine the life and possessions he has built for himself from the comfort of his front lawn. This double feature has been inspired by the new release starring Jake Gyllenhaal: DEMOLITION.

On this episode we see the light in the crafting of country music personas by first seeing new release I SAW THE LIGHT starring Tom Hiddleston which leads us to a talk with musician Jacob Haller and host of the podcast Tell Me About Your Song on the Oscar winning biopic on Johnny Cash, WALK THE LINE. This very successful film goes up against a documentary on the struggles of the Dixie Chicks after a political comment made on the eve of the Iraq War in SHUT UP & SING sends the band's career in a very different direction.

On this episode we try to get the timing right in a discussion with Margo from the podcast Book Vs. Movie as we waste our youth on a double feature of Nancy Meyer’s SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE vs. David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. These films show couples dealing with the complications of age and romance in the comforts of beautiful scenery, be it kitchens or at sea. But before we get ahead of ourselves I had a chat with Chris Revill of the podcast Let’s Chat on new release HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS.

00:35 - War Machine vs. War Horse theme.

1:02 - Episode intro

1:45 - HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS trailer.

4:07 - Guest Chris Revill of the Let’s Chat podcast discusses new release HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS.

32:10 - An It’s Terrific reading from Web Bist of THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

44:05 - Margo from the podcast Book vs. Movie talks about what she’s been reading and watching on her show.

48:55 - SOMETHING’s GOTTA GIVE and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON mashup.

52:48 - Margo discusses our double feature.

You can follow us on Twitter @warmachinehorse, continue listening to the show on iTunes/Stitcher/or FollowingFilms.com.

On this episode we torture our listeners by bringing back former guest Dave from the podcast Pop Culture Case Study and we also talk quite a bit about the response to torture in Kathryn Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY. That film goes up against Stanley Kubrick’s PATHS OF GLORY in a theme of characters reacting to the distance between themselves and the killings they decide on, inspired by new release EYE IN THE SKY.