Cinema Fix

It turns out there's more to discuss about Jack The Giant Slayer than it might first appear. In this episode, Andrew and Monica give their spoiler-free analysis of the movie and try to figure out why it feels tonally inconsistent. Did the film really deserve a PG-13 rating? Does the ending reveal a deeper subtext about monarchy and human nature? Why is Jack so stupid? And what's up with those monks, anyway? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 2:05 - Character development (specifically Elmont) 8:40 - The ridiculous premise that makes no sense 13:17 - Editing in the first act 14:20 - Sexual subtext 16:41 - Debating the MPAA rating; does it deserve a PG-13? 25:00 - Comparing the violence of JTGS to The Lion King and Narnia 29:17 - Trying to figure out which demographic to please 34:28 - Thinking about the film as international product 37:23 - The ending and what the film is trying to say about monarchy/power/human nature 45:00 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by

It's been a long time since director Bryan Singer delivered a great film. In this episode, Andrew and Monica give their general thoughts on his latest effort, Jack the Giant Slayer, which reboots the classic fairy tale into a sorta-violent, kinda-adult-but-not-really fantasy epic. Does it work, or is it just a tonal mess? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:10 - General thoughts 12:20 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Charlie Nash sticks around to really dissect the jumbled mediocrity that is Snitch. The movie is an interesting mess, but it's still messy, so they spend half an hour talking through it. Is Jon Bernthal's character sympathetic at all? What's up with all the prison rape? And why isn't Barry Pepper's facial hair the star of its own movie?! Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:06 - Barry Pepper's facial hair 5:38 - The son and the elephant in the room 13:32 - Jon Bernthal's arc, his climactic moment 18:05 - Grass! 19:34 - The laughable domestic conflict, sexism 24:27 - Susan Sarandon as inhuman politician 27:15 - Lots of coincidences 28:10 - The pacing and whether it works, El Topo 31:22 - What if it took a "Breaking Bad"-style turn? 33:48 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Andrew and Monica are joined by special guest Charlie Nash to discuss Snitch, the new action film (or is it?) starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. First, they give their spoiler-free thoughts on his tale of a trucker who goes undercover into the criminal underworld for the sake of his son. Is it worth your time? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:53 - General thoughts 15:55 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

We love you with all our non-beating hearts, Film Geeks! In this special bonus episode of the show, Andrew and Monica put on their sociology hats and explore the gender politics of a popular sub-sub-genre: supernatural young adult romance book-to-film adaptations. If you're not into that, don't worry. They spend the first 10 minutes of the show giving some overall thoughts on Beautiful Creatures as a movie before comparing its messages about gender to those in Twilight, Warm Bodies and The Hunger Games. What are the "rules" to making a good supernatural teen romance movie? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 4:49 - General spoiler-free thoughts on Beautiful Creatures 13:00 - Looking at supernatural young adult romance movies; why Twilight is sexist 18:38 - Three dimensional characters and the nature of sacrifice 21:12 - Is Julie in Warm Bodies a manic pixie dream girl? 27:03 - Trying to be feminist vs. actually being feminist 29:55 - The idea of "claiming" and the virgin/whore dich

Andrew and Monica have their work cut out for them trying to figure out what went wrong with A Good Day To Die Hard. Thankfully, Tim Costa from the First Time Watchers podcast stops by to help them sort through this incomprehensible mess. They go scene-by-scene hoping to discover something, anything, that works. Are they successful? Tune in to this mega-rant to find out. ABOUT OUR GUEST: Tim Costa is a co-host on the First Time Watchers podcast. Be sure to follow him on Twitter! SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:06 - Tim's overall thoughts on the film 4:10 - The opening sequence, McClane's "vacation" 9:05 - The courthouse, father and son 12:31 - The one good scene in the movie 13:40 - The car chase, McClane as murderer 16:53 - The scaffolding scene, references to the original film 22:25 - Parent/child relationships, the movie as marketing 25:08 - They could quit! Father/son bonding through violence 30:00 - The climactic action sequence 38:34 - John Moore's opinions on the decline of masculinity 43:27 -

John McClane is back, but is he better than ever? Andrew and Monica give their general, spoiler-free thoughts on the fifth entry in the Die Hard franchise. This is the first film in the series to take place in another country, but does this fish-out-of-water tale of father/son bonding work at all? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro 3:55 - General thoughts 14:39 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Yippee Ki-Yay, mother-Film Geeks! In this special bonus episode, Andrew is joined by three special guests (Sean O'Connell from Fandango, Witney Seibold from CraveOnline and Tim Costa from First Time Watchers) to discuss the first four entries in the Die Hard franchise. The first one is an action classic, but which of the sequels hold up? What makes a Die Hard movie, anyway? Is the fourth film a decent action movie or a total flop? Tune in to find out. ABOUT OUR GUESTS: Sean O’Connell writes for Fandango, Cinema Blend, Movies.com, The Washington Post and numerous other outlets. He’s a weekly contributor to several national radio programs and a longstanding member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS), the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and the North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Check out his reviews on RottenTomatoes and be sure to follow him on Twitter! Witney Seibold is a columnist for the Film Channel at CraveOnline. He exami

Steven Soderbergh says he's retiring and this movie will be his last for the big screen. Does he go out on a high note? Andrew and Monica give their thoughts on the psychological thriller. NOTE: This episode is not split into the usual two parts. Both spoiler-free and spoiler-filled discussions occur. SHOW NOTES: 0:06 - What happened to Part 2 of Episode #35 2:31 - Intro and clip 5:32 - General spoiler-free thoughts 9:21 - Spoiler section: Switching perspective 12:06 - Critique of the medical system 13:46 - The issue of intent, the ending 16:28 - Pulling a Hitchcock, playing with genre 23:59 - Editing and cinematography 26:04 - Thoughts on Soderbergh's retirement 29:05 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

It's like Twilight but with zombies! Or is it? Join Andrew and Monica as they give their spoiler-free thoughts on Jonathan Levine's latest film, Warm Bodies. Find out what happens when you mix Shakespeare with the undead! Plus, Monica weighs in on Bullet To The Head. NOTE: Due to unexpected technical difficulties, there is no Part 2 discussion as mentioned. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro 2:11 - Monica's thoughts on Bullet to the Head 7:08 - Warm Bodies intro and clip 9:09 - General thoughts 20:05 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Let the debate begin! Josh Brunsting from CriterionCast joins Andrew and Monica to discuss what makes Zero Dark Thirty effective (or not). Does the film work as a piece of journalism? Does its depiction of torture warrant the controversy? What does everyone think of Maya as a character? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:00 - Josh's overall thoughts, the cinematography 9:54 - Maya's motivation 15:09 - The film as "cinematic journalism" and movies based on true events 21:48 - The depiction of torture 31:06 - Comparisons with Zodiac, thoughts on the casting 36:00 - The theme of murkiness, how Bigelow makes the audience complicit 39:03 - The final raid sequence 42:34 - The framing of the torture scenes, whether it's manipulative 46:00 - Final thoughts and show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty was Monica’s pick for best film of the year. It’s also received numerous awards and accolades from critics groups around the country. In this episode, Andrew weighs in on whether it deserves the praise. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:41 - General thoughts 14:01 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Andrew and Monica finish their look back at the year in film by exploring different genres as well as which movies subverted their expectations. What were the best action movies? Which movies were overrated and underrated? And what were the absolute worst of the worst? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro 1:47 - Best Action Films 7:21 - Best Comedy Films 12:20 - Best Horror Films 14:24 - Best Documentary Films 21:00 - Biggest Surprises 26:14 - Biggest Disappointments 30:49 - Most Overrated Films 42:00 - Most Underrated Films 43:31 - Worst Movies 52:10 - Honorable Mentions/Extras 58:50 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

It’s the most epic episode of Cinema Fix yet! In the first half of this two-and-a-half-hour review of last year, Andrew and Monica count down their Top 10 Films of 2012. Which movies made the cut? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro 3:05 - Overall thoughts on this year in cinema 6:05 - Picks for #10 12:48 - Picks for #9 20:32 - Picks for #8 27:32 - Picks for #7 33:04 - Picks for #6 39:25 - Picks for #5 42:22 - Picks for #4 55:53 - Picks for #3 1:05:21 - Picks for #2 1:07:38 - Picks for #1 1:16:17 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, the always thought-provoking Uncle Crizzle (aka Craig Lindsey) stops by to analyze the depiction of race in Django Unchained. Is the movie racist? How does it subvert genres and stereotypes? Does Tarantino's whiteness matter? What's up with Jamie Foxx's penis, and what would Tyler Perry's Django Unchained look like, anyway? Tune in to find out! SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 2:44 - Is it racist? Yes! 8:05 - The skull scene, comparisons with Inglourious Basterds 14:14 - Has Tarantino evolved? How conscious is he of his privilege? 22:08 - Jamie Foxx's penis--reflections on black masculinity and sexuality in film 33:17 - The monogamous husband out for revenge, subverting a "white" subgenre 37:18 - The response on the right; what if Django Unchained had been directed by a black man? 43:35 - Final thoughts on the film 48:48 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Is Tarantino's latest really off the chain? In this episode, Andrew and Monica give some spoiler-free thoughts on Django Unchained, which stars Jaime Foxx as a slave-turned-bounty-hunter in the Antebellum South. It's part-spaghetti Western and part-blaxploitation film, but it's all Tarantino. How does this compare to the rest of his filmography? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:41 - General thoughts 14:01 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Happy New Year! In this episode, Andrew and Monica look back at two movies that were released over the holidays: This is 40 and Les Miserables. Andrew also gives some brief thoughts on Jack Reacher. Are any of these films worth your time? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro 2:35 - General thoughts on Jack Reacher 8:26 - This is 40 intro and clip 10:24 - Thoughts on This is 40 25:00 - Les Miserables intro and clip 28:12 - Thoughts on Les Mis 47:17 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

It's time to figure out what went wrong. In this episode, Andrew and Monica spend half an hour analyzing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and discussing the things that work and the things that keep it from being great. How is it similar to The Fellowship of the Ring? Why are there so many references to the other films? And what's up with that Necromancer dude, anyway? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 3:58 - The opening 20 minutes. Why is Frodo here? 6:38 - Radagast, the High Council, The Necromancer 12:25 - Less menace, lower stakes, Azog 16:13 - Comparisons with The Fellowship of the Ring 19:54 - The visual effects: have they improved? 25:10 - The Ring's agency 26:50 - Bilbo's decision to spare Gollum, his overall arc 30:30 - Some final general thoughts 34:03 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Andrew and Monica give general spoiler-free thoughts on the first installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Does it live up to the Lord of the Rings films? Is it worth seeing in 48fps? And just how good is Monica's Gollum impression? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 4:08 - General thoughts 17:00 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Andrew and Monica send Anna and Karenin to couples therapy and try to figure out what went wrong. Which does Anna Karenina believe is the more important and powerful idea, love or the institution of marriage? What is the purpose of staging certain scenes like a play? And why makes that Levin dude so cool, anyway? Tune in to find out. SHOW NOTES: 0:22 - Intro and clip 2:18 - Whether the "stage" aspect works, what the purpose might be 7:44 - Is Anna a feminist character? 12:25 - Anna's marriage with Karenin 16:50 - Cracking knuckles 18:55 - The Levin/Kitty relationship, a parallel to Anna/Karenin 25:03 - Addiction 26:34 - Show close DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing cinemafix@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!