This week we’re delving into another tale of fathers and sons - albeit one heavily informed by Dungeons and Dragons, and featuring two elf brothers played by Chris “Mario” Pratt and Tom “Spida Boy” Holland attempting to temporarily resurrect their dead father. Onward may be one of Pixar’s more mid movies, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable in its own way. Discussions of April Fools pranks, classic YouTube Poops and the Will Smith slap, among other things, are also on the menu here, so buckle up!

Intro song: jinsang - smile from u

Outro song: a l e x - the burn marks on my epiano wont go away

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/onward-2020 (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.

-Leonard Cohen, "Anthem"

On January 29, nearly ten months after the release of this episode, our guest star Chris, along with his friend Patrick, were killed in a freak car accident that also badly wounded Patrick's brother James, aka YouTuber Schaffrillas Productions. Chris was a great guy with a wicked sense of humor, and his presence shone not just in this episode, or the three Rock of Ages episodes he guest starred on, but in all of his videos with Schaffrillas and otherwise. I speak on behalf of the entire Rock of Ages and Watch This gang when I say he will be sorely missed, and forever in our hearts.

Chris from Schaffrillas Productions joins us for the most baffling Watch This episode yet. It’s our first dive into the realm of mockbusters, via a Brazilian Ratatouille clone featuring a whole bunch of Yu-Gi-Oh voice actors and a weird orgy-type scene. What more can you expect from an April Fools episode of Watch This?

Intro music: Dr. Dundiff - Through the Woods

Outro music: SiIvaGunner - Circus (Afro Mix) - otherwise known as “afro - circus” by VvvvvaVvvvvvr

Watch the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC2dQaqRuBY

Chris’ channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/spacechris7

From one low budget Sundance award-winner to another, here’s the movie that put Noah Baumbach on the map - and notched him his first Oscar nomination. Can you believe that this was the same Noah Baumbach that cowrote Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted? I certainly can't. It’s The Squid and the Whale!

Intro song: monma - Winter Days

Outro song: HOME - Before the Night

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-squid-and-the-whale (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

Can you believe it? The Oscars! Just a week away! For the first time ever, we spend about an hour discussing this year’s Oscar nominations, and make our predictions for several of the categories based on how much we like them and/or how much we want them to win. Listen to this episode before you tune into the Oscars on March 27 and see how many of our collective picks take home those little golden men!

Intro music: SAINT PEPSI - Shakealong

Outro music: FrankJavCee - SimpsonWave1995

Vote for the 25th episode of Watch This here: https://forms.gle/BU9HggQbXHdnofUb8

With St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, we watch a movie Lizzie Borden is sure to hate. Hopefully she won’t come after us. Anyway, this is a simple, almost slight movie with some amazing songs courtesy of Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, the latter of whom plays a guy known only as Guy, but he’s no… The Guy. It’s Once!

Intro song: HOME - On the Way Out

Outro song: SiIvaGunner - The Boys are Back in Town (Saints Row IV)

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/once (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

This week we’re watching the first film in the smash John Wick franchise. And boy is it a wild ride, taking cues from anime and martial arts movies, always good places to take inspiration from. And it’s got Keanu Reeves, who’s always breathtaking, alongside Bruno Madrigal and Norman Osborn. It’s John Wick!

Intro song: HOME - Flood

Outro song: Mariya Takeuchi - Plastic Love

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/john-wick (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

This episode is dedicated to legendary director Ivan Reitman (1946-2022).

We gave you a Big Fish last week, now we’re giving you something else entirely: the old Razzle Dazzle. That’s right, it’s the 2002 Oscar-winning Best Picture, Chicago! Partly because our own Riley was in a local production (be sure to hear her stories about that), partly because of John C. Reilly (who was nominated for an Oscar for playing Amos!), and partly because it’s really, really good and the songs all slap… and all that jazz!

And don’t forget to check out Rock of Ages’ episode on Chicago as well! (It was gonna be uploaded simultaneously alongside this one, but then we hit a roadblock. Oh well.)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qUGJkqVkUWaNQo7ciOnl9

https://anchor.fm/stanthetalkingdog/episodes/56---Chicago-e1eggeh

Intro song: Dr. Dundiff - Through the Woods

Outro song: Frank Flektor - Robotic

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/chicago-the-musical (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

After losing an entire weekend to busy schedules and football, we manage to get some time to take a trip into the world of Tim Burton to hear Albert Finney spin some tall tales involving catfish, circuses, and that guy from Expedia’s Super Bowl commercial. Oh yeah, he also did some spaceball stuff. And the Trash Man is here also. It’s Big Fish!

Intro song: Kainbeats - beauty in everything

Outro song: Living Room x Mondo Loops - Movie

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/big-fish (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

For my special birthday episode, I get us all to watch a movie where a bunch of teenagers break out into spontaneous poetry in Los Angeles. Except that, as usual, we spent more time oogling over Katie Mitchell’s Letterboxd (as you do) and the Space Jam website (IT’S STILL UP!!!) than being interested in what’s essentially the lighter and softer Magnolia. We’re California Dreamin’ on such a winter’s day again with Summertime!

Intro song: mell-ø - Childhood Memories (w/ Ambulo)

Outro song: SiIvaGunner - Happy Birthday (Level 1) (OST Version)

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/summertime-2020 (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)

Let the dark harvest begin! The Sony/Netflix crowd-pleaser gets the Watch This treatment this week. It was worth pushing back my birthday episode, so Riley (who's been busy with her IRL friends) could be onboard for this particular commentary. And I gotta say, it’s one of the most fun movies any of us have seen in a long time - and possibly the most engaged we've been with any movie since...Blues Brothers, maybe? It’s The Mitchells Vs. The Machines!

Intro song: alex - i wasnt aloud to watch whose line as a kid but i think its pretty good now

Outro song: FrankJavCee - Simpsonwave 1995

Where to watch the movie: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/connected-2020 (if not in the U.S. then set “Streaming in” to whatever country you’re in)