What better way to celebrate election season than by watching a documentary about a partisan summer camp in Texas? At least, that's what Boys State looks like to us at first glance. We're sure it's far more nuanced than that.
\n\nSince this is clearly a light release week, let's also take some time to catch up on what else the hosts have been streaming lately, then—why not?—work on our Flickchart list a bit.
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HBO Max is here, like it or not. Some Screeners might just be in the latter group, since they're having trouble getting access to it through no fault of their own (thanks, cable companies and Amazon!).
\n\nAnyway, they've put all their eggs in Seth Rogen's basket for their first feature-length movie, An American Pickle. It's a . . . dramedy about a Jewish time traveler? Sure; why not. It's also over in less than 90 minutes, so if it's bad, at least it won't be bad for that long. If it's good, it won't overstay it's welcome. Let's watch it; what do we have to lose?
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We don't know what the next Oscars will look like, but if there's one awards show that should have a banner year, it's the Emmys. We've certainly had plenty of time to check out the nominees. The streaming platforms (even some of the newer ones) play an unsurprisingly large role here, so we'll have to have a little chat about whether that's warranted.
\n\nOnce we've complained about why our favorites didn't make the list, let's . . . well, let's do some more complaining. We spend a lot of time on the show making "best of" lists, but no one ever talks about the opposite of the best — until now. Welcome to the inaugural "worst movies ever" list. "But wait," you say. "If it's the worst movies ever, can't there by definition be only one list?" Nah. When you start digging into repressed memories like this, you're always bound to come up with more than you started with. Plus, there's a new Mortal Kombat movie coming out next year.
\n\nEnjoy!
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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners discuss the Emmys, then switch back to movies for some real talk about films that belonged on the cutting room floor.","date_published":"2020-08-12T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/1b5881a0-89b9-46bd-a81a-c49a785b487a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":60763125,"duration_in_seconds":5058}]},{"id":"fdac1037-9a7e-4b6a-9d22-8f9cbb451d88","title":"Best of the 90s","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/182","content_text":"Our \"best of\" episodes have been a lot of fun so far, and it's been a minute since we've done one. What better decade to return with than the 90s?\n\nSure, Chad was probably pushing middle age by then, but it's right in the childhood nostalgia sweet spot for several of the Screeners, so we should be able to find some good arguments in here somewhere. Without further ado, here are the categories we'll cover:\n\n\nAnimation\nHorror\nComedy\nAction\nSci-fi\nBest performance\nMost rewatchable\n\n\n...as always, though, there are no rules, so Chad will probably slip something else in there since he has adult memories from this era.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Our "best of" episodes have been a lot of fun so far, and it's been a minute since we've done one. What better decade to return with than the 90s?
\n\nSure, Chad was probably pushing middle age by then, but it's right in the childhood nostalgia sweet spot for several of the Screeners, so we should be able to find some good arguments in here somewhere. Without further ado, here are the categories we'll cover:
\n\n...as always, though, there are no rules, so Chad will probably slip something else in there since he has adult memories from this era.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners dig deep into their personal collections (and memories) to talk about the best movies of the 1990s.","date_published":"2020-07-24T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/fdac1037-9a7e-4b6a-9d22-8f9cbb451d88.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":81054557,"duration_in_seconds":6745}]},{"id":"e6efedd0-867c-4121-8923-bacd6911d4c4","title":"Bonus Episode: Palm Springs","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/181","content_text":"At under (under!) 90 minutes, Max Barbakow's Palm Springs shouldn't be too hard to make it through...unless its familiar plot devices make it insufferable. The reviews so far suggest it's worth the modest amount of time it asks for, and it does star Andy Samberg so the only question remaining is whether it gets the Screeners seal of approval. Only one way to find that out...\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"At under (under!) 90 minutes, Max Barbakow's Palm Springs shouldn't be too hard to make it through...unless its familiar plot devices make it insufferable. The reviews so far suggest it's worth the modest amount of time it asks for, and it does star Andy Samberg so the only question remaining is whether it gets the Screeners seal of approval. Only one way to find that out...
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Palm Springs is short, but is it sweet enough to merit a watch? The Screeners will try to make their review briefer than the movie itself.","date_published":"2020-07-14T05:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/e6efedd0-867c-4121-8923-bacd6911d4c4.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":31014884,"duration_in_seconds":1933}]},{"id":"059e2edf-cef7-4fc0-b0bd-11f0ef2a60bc","title":"Hamilton","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/180","content_text":"After all those months of trying to score tickets from shady scalpers and even shadier “legitimate” ticket outlets, Disney+ has finally scored us seats to Hamilton, and couch seats at that. Despite all the criticism from people who insist on getting things “accurate”, the musical has obviously been a massive hit. Does it translate to TV, though? The Screeners are here to help you decide!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"After all those months of trying to score tickets from shady scalpers and even shadier “legitimate” ticket outlets, Disney+ has finally scored us seats to Hamilton, and couch seats at that. Despite all the criticism from people who insist on getting things “accurate”, the musical has obviously been a massive hit. Does it translate to TV, though? The Screeners are here to help you decide!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Turns out the room where it happened is...your living room. Make some nachos, because the Screeners are coming to your virtual Hamilton watch party.","date_published":"2020-07-08T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/059e2edf-cef7-4fc0-b0bd-11f0ef2a60bc.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":45993444,"duration_in_seconds":2869}]},{"id":"1521c22e-481e-40ee-9d44-63ff09a41df8","title":"Bonus Episode: The Last Dance ","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/179","content_text":"If you listened to our review of Devs and thought, \"That's great, but can't you give me something longer to watch?\", we've got your back. ESPN's docuseries The Last Dance is longer than Devs by a solid 2 hours. So there.\n\n\"But I don't like sports,\" you say. Don't worry; we've got that viewpoint covered too. We'll tell you what's up.\n\nAnd if that's not enough, or if you've already watched The Last Dance (we know; it ended a couple weeks ago), we'll give you a list of other things to catch up on by talking about our top 3 movies and TV shows of...the first half of the year. Surely there's something in there you haven't seen—it's not like you've been holed up at home for the past three months or something, right?\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"If you listened to our review of Devs and thought, "That's great, but can't you give me something longer to watch?", we've got your back. ESPN's docuseries The Last Dance is longer than Devs by a solid 2 hours. So there.
\n\n"But I don't like sports," you say. Don't worry; we've got that viewpoint covered too. We'll tell you what's up.
\n\nAnd if that's not enough, or if you've already watched The Last Dance (we know; it ended a couple weeks ago), we'll give you a list of other things to catch up on by talking about our top 3 movies and TV shows of...the first half of the year. Surely there's something in there you haven't seen—it's not like you've been holed up at home for the past three months or something, right?
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
They've been saying that the summer movie season is canceled for at least a couple months now, but that's not stopping some heavy hitters from putting new work out there. This week has seen big releases from both Spike Lee and Judd Apatow.
\n\nFirst up, Da 5 Bloods (available on Netflix) follows a squad of black soldiers from Vietnam who return to the country decades after the war. That's all we'll say about the plot, but you know Spike Lee's got some themes on his mind, and this release comes right in the middle of a time when a lot of people are ready to discusss them.
\n\nNext up, Pete Davidson's partial autobiography, The King of Staten Island (available for on-demand rental). Judd Apatow has really dialed in his ability to maintain solid humor while serving up emotion over his past few films, so a story that covers loss in 9/11 and some of Davidson's not-so-secret personal struggles should make for a good watch, but things can always go sideways. Is this a hit or a miss?
\n\nAnd why not throw in a Top 3 for the fun of it, eh? Inspired by Spike, why not talk about our favorite movies with digits in the title? Seems like a little more fertile ground for discussion than "movies with an NYC burrough in the title", at least.
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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Spike Lee and Judd Apatow make for a pretty solid double feature, if we do say so ourselves.","date_published":"2020-06-16T14:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3411c631-1a30-4ef1-b6b8-9b503b9532a6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":55335488,"duration_in_seconds":3393}]},{"id":"0ad4d811-4668-4db3-b489-b89e1e8db3b6","title":"Mrs. America, Space Force, and HBO Max","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/177","content_text":"Before we get into our regularly scheduled reviews for this episode, we want to take a moment to acknolwedge the tremendous amount of pain that's come to the surface in America (and elsewhere) over the past 2 weeks. As a bunch of white people on a media podcast, we're not going to try to offer any answers, but we also don't want to sit in silence while fellow humans cry out for justice. We want to instead show solidarity by taking some time out at the beginning of our episode to talk about the ways we've been trying to educate ourselves. There are a number of resources out there for learning about life experiences in our country that differ greatly from our own. We'll only be able to mention a few, but maybe we'll come up with one you aren't familiar with. If so, check it out.\n\nAfter that, we'll go back in time to the 1970s for the new Hulu series Mrs. America, which focuses on a different fight for justice, the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. When we've talked about whether Uzo Aduba, Cate Blanchett, and Sara Paulson do the subject justice, we'll...switch gears entirely and review Netflix's Space Force. Steve Carell's new comedy covers our military's newest branch in all its dubious marketing glory, but does it hit its target?\n\nAnd once we've covered those, we're still not done! HBO just unleashed a whole new streaming service onto the world...except the parts of the world that use Roku or Amazon streaming devices to get their content. HBO Max has all the HBO stuff, but also a lot of not-HBO stuff, like Friends and Rick and Morty, and supposedly there's going to be new exclusive content as well — because what good is a new service if it can't be used to fragment the market further? Anyway, it sounds mostly great, especially if you were subscribing to HBO already...and, again, don't have a Roku or Amazon device. That's only a double-digit percentage of you, right? Should be fine. We'll tell you just how great it is, though, because we wouldn't be media addicts if we didn't.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Before we get into our regularly scheduled reviews for this episode, we want to take a moment to acknolwedge the tremendous amount of pain that's come to the surface in America (and elsewhere) over the past 2 weeks. As a bunch of white people on a media podcast, we're not going to try to offer any answers, but we also don't want to sit in silence while fellow humans cry out for justice. We want to instead show solidarity by taking some time out at the beginning of our episode to talk about the ways we've been trying to educate ourselves. There are a number of resources out there for learning about life experiences in our country that differ greatly from our own. We'll only be able to mention a few, but maybe we'll come up with one you aren't familiar with. If so, check it out.
\n\nAfter that, we'll go back in time to the 1970s for the new Hulu series Mrs. America, which focuses on a different fight for justice, the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. When we've talked about whether Uzo Aduba, Cate Blanchett, and Sara Paulson do the subject justice, we'll...switch gears entirely and review Netflix's Space Force. Steve Carell's new comedy covers our military's newest branch in all its dubious marketing glory, but does it hit its target?
\n\nAnd once we've covered those, we're still not done! HBO just unleashed a whole new streaming service onto the world...except the parts of the world that use Roku or Amazon streaming devices to get their content. HBO Max has all the HBO stuff, but also a lot of not-HBO stuff, like Friends and Rick and Morty, and supposedly there's going to be new exclusive content as well — because what good is a new service if it can't be used to fragment the market further? Anyway, it sounds mostly great, especially if you were subscribing to HBO already...and, again, don't have a Roku or Amazon device. That's only a double-digit percentage of you, right? Should be fine. We'll tell you just how great it is, though, because we wouldn't be media addicts if we didn't.
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\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"There's plenty to stream this episode—we'll have reactions to series to two new series and a whole new service (sort of).","date_published":"2020-06-10T06:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/0ad4d811-4668-4db3-b489-b89e1e8db3b6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":55612657,"duration_in_seconds":3470}]},{"id":"48bdba91-7f5b-4d0f-a51f-7c8c20dbc536","title":"The Lovebirds","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/176","content_text":"If there's ever been a summer that the Screeners should have some content for a What Have You Been Watching segment, it's this one. So let's go ahead lead off with that.\n\nNext, Paramount's The Lovebirds is currently the top movie on Netflix. We're not sure if that's an indication of quality per se, but Netflix did need a comedy/romance co-starring Kumail Nanjiani to compete with The Big Sick, so at least this is...that, but with some murder too? Sure, if that's your thing.\n\nAnd no, the IMDB game is not just a time-filler—and to prove it, we're going to end the episode with it. See? Guess we showed you.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"If there's ever been a summer that the Screeners should have some content for a What Have You Been Watching segment, it's this one. So let's go ahead lead off with that.
\n\nNext, Paramount's The Lovebirds is currently the top movie on Netflix. We're not sure if that's an indication of quality per se, but Netflix did need a comedy/romance co-starring Kumail Nanjiani to compete with The Big Sick, so at least this is...that, but with some murder too? Sure, if that's your thing.
\n\nAnd no, the IMDB game is not just a time-filler—and to prove it, we're going to end the episode with it. See? Guess we showed you.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Seems like most of the Screeners are either lazy or...too not-lazy, so we only have two hosts this time. Well, two plus a very special guest—we won't tell you who it is, but you won't want to miss their review.
\n\nTwo hosts means a pretty quick episode, but we'll be talking about Scoob! — mostly because there's an exclamation point in its title — and the new Damien Chazelle drama on Netflix, The Eddy. Is it a coincidence that Daniel was one of the only two people to show up to talk about a Damien Chazelle show about jazz? No, it is not.
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With both a movie and a season of TV on the schedule for this episode, we have no shortage of content to cover. You'll have to bear with us, though; it's a little heavy on the HBO. We can't help it—if you've got the goods, you've got 'em.
\n\nFirst up, a not-so-quick discussion: Universal has discovered they can make money streaming their movies. Who knew, right? Well, AMC knew (presumably), but was unhappy that Universal found out, so they threw a hissy fit. Do we have that story right? Let's talk about it some more, though; there's nothing like a public tantrum from a big company to take our mind off of things that matter. This is also why we follow Elon Musk on Twitter, by the way.
\n\nThen, onto Bad Education, a talent-packed true-crime feature about an infamous school embezzlement scandal. Bad Education is more salacious than it sounds, we promise.
\n\nBut we digress. The season 3 finale of Westworld just aired on Sunday, so it's officially open season on a review of Aaron Paul trying to get robots hooked on meth. That's what he does, right? We haven't seen it.
\n\nHow do you think HBO's doing this spring? Let us know in the comments and/or tweets!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
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\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Don't count HBO out of the quarantine streaming game: for this episode, we have both a movie (Bad Education) and an entire season of TV (Westworld) from them to review.","date_published":"2020-05-06T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/d942215e-f046-483d-9b35-98a503374faa.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":72320558,"duration_in_seconds":5156}]},{"id":"72eebb7d-3756-4b9a-bfca-a74da3b044be","title":"Extraction and Little Fires Everywhere","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/173","content_text":"Extraction. Chris Hemsworth's in it. All the cool kids are watching it, and we know at least April couldn't wait to review it. By the end of the episode, you should be able to tell if it's worth your somewhat-less-scarce-than-before streaming time, or if we should only let Jason Statham do action movies.\n\nBut that's not all! Reese Witherspoon is back in a Hulu miniseries that's nothing like Big Little Lies. We think. Little Fires Everywhere is available now in its entirety, and we'll tell you if you should binge it.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Extraction. Chris Hemsworth's in it. All the cool kids are watching it, and we know at least April couldn't wait to review it. By the end of the episode, you should be able to tell if it's worth your somewhat-less-scarce-than-before streaming time, or if we should only let Jason Statham do action movies.
\n\nBut that's not all! Reese Witherspoon is back in a Hulu miniseries that's nothing like Big Little Lies. We think. Little Fires Everywhere is available now in its entirety, and we'll tell you if you should binge it.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"A Netflix movie and a Hulu series are our quarantine distractions of choice for this episode.","date_published":"2020-04-29T19:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/72eebb7d-3756-4b9a-bfca-a74da3b044be.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":52914658,"duration_in_seconds":3775}]},{"id":"6a1554b1-b730-4166-9ed7-82e67d79c569","title":"Devs","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/172","content_text":"In these trying times, we need...escapist content, and lots of it. Movies usually only last a couple hours unless we're talking Scorcese or Jackson, and that's just not enough. How about a TV series? FX has one of those, and it's made by the Ex Machina guy and has Nick Offerman in it. Those are good enough reasons, right? Right. Let's talk about Devs this time.\n\nAnd since we managed to pull Josh out of witness protection for this one, why not torment him by working on our Flickchart list? Sounds like fun, right? Well, at least for some of us.\n\nHave you seen Devs? What should we watch next? Tell us these things, and whatever else comes to mind, on Facebook or Twitter. Please. We're starving for human interaction here. Chris hasn't seen an explosion on a wall-sized screen in a month. We're thinking of commissioning a Sarah McLachlan commercial on his behalf.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"In these trying times, we need...escapist content, and lots of it. Movies usually only last a couple hours unless we're talking Scorcese or Jackson, and that's just not enough. How about a TV series? FX has one of those, and it's made by the Ex Machina guy and has Nick Offerman in it. Those are good enough reasons, right? Right. Let's talk about Devs this time.
\n\nAnd since we managed to pull Josh out of witness protection for this one, why not torment him by working on our Flickchart list? Sounds like fun, right? Well, at least for some of us.
\n\nHave you seen Devs? What should we watch next? Tell us these things, and whatever else comes to mind, on Facebook or Twitter. Please. We're starving for human interaction here. Chris hasn't seen an explosion on a wall-sized screen in a month. We're thinking of commissioning a Sarah McLachlan commercial on his behalf.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
You may have heard about an upstart streaming service called Quibi—at least, you probably have if you watched the Super Bowl. It's an entire platform built around the premise that people often only have 10 minutes or less at a time to consume media. When we pitched this idea to our our sweatpants drawer, it said, "Well, bless their hearts", but we're going to watch a few anyway. We might just watch the whole catalog—we, um, have the time.
\n\nOnce we're done with that (short content gets a short review; see how that works?), it's been awhile since we've played Made You Watch, our favorite game for Screeners who like to torture each other. Each host picks a movie for another and forces them to review it. Chris still hasn't forgotten the last time he played this game; maybe that's why he's not on this episode.
\n\nAnd last but not least (or maybe it is; we haven't gotten to the review yet), we had to twist Daniel's arm to pull this off, but we're going to review Trolls World Tour. It's a movie that was obviously made for the big screen, and a much bigger room better suited to the delighted screams of a few dozen children high on popcorn and Airheads, but we watched it at home, because what're ya gonna do?
\n\nYour turn: pick a segment from this episode, and review it for us on Facebook or Twitter. Everyone's an armchair critic now that we're using actual armchairs for the job, so join us!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"A new streaming service our on-the-go life demands, a new straight-to-quarantine Trolls movie, and a game we we going to play a week ago—we can hardly decide which one of this episode's segments is most awkward. Oh, who cares; let's do them all!","date_published":"2020-04-15T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/887b2b6a-e597-4215-8004-ea4f46197873.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":64397079,"duration_in_seconds":4590}]},{"id":"8c437819-b133-445e-9958-3681104c318b","title":"Tiger King","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/170","content_text":"There are many possible reasons for the sudden overwhelming popularity of Netflix’s Tiger King docu-series.\n\nPerhaps the most likely is that Netflix is hard-selling it everywhere—including, as we found out the other night, after the last episode of The Crown, despite the unlikelihood of that particular binge-watch combo.\n\nMaybe it’s the cute little kitties...who can tear an adult human limb from limb.\n\nOur personal pet theory is that, in these strange times, we all need some perspective about just how strange things could be.\n\nWhatever the case, Joe Exotic (and...friends?) is here, he’s...definitely not straight, and we might as well just get used to it. This is his world; we’re just living in it.\n\nAnd once we’re done talking about that, why don’t we take our streaming habits to other people’s couches—no, don’t worry; we’re not actually leaving our houses. It’s been awhile since we’ve done a “Made You Watch” segment, where Screeners dictate each others’ streaming schedules, if only for a moment.\n\nNow, don’t lie: you’ve watched Tiger King too, right? Tell us about it. You know you want to. Find us on Facebook or Twitter as always.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"There are many possible reasons for the sudden overwhelming popularity of Netflix’s Tiger King docu-series.
\n\nPerhaps the most likely is that Netflix is hard-selling it everywhere—including, as we found out the other night, after the last episode of The Crown, despite the unlikelihood of that particular binge-watch combo.
\n\nMaybe it’s the cute little kitties...who can tear an adult human limb from limb.
\n\nOur personal pet theory is that, in these strange times, we all need some perspective about just how strange things could be.
\n\nWhatever the case, Joe Exotic (and...friends?) is here, he’s...definitely not straight, and we might as well just get used to it. This is his world; we’re just living in it.
\n\nAnd once we’re done talking about that, why don’t we take our streaming habits to other people’s couches—no, don’t worry; we’re not actually leaving our houses. It’s been awhile since we’ve done a “Made You Watch” segment, where Screeners dictate each others’ streaming schedules, if only for a moment.
\n\nNow, don’t lie: you’ve watched Tiger King too, right? Tell us about it. You know you want to. Find us on Facebook or Twitter as always.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"This was bound to happen sooner or later—it’s time for the Screeners to take on Tiger King.","date_published":"2020-03-31T19:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/8c437819-b133-445e-9958-3681104c318b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":59060340,"duration_in_seconds":4831}]},{"id":"14e67e8e-4231-4a1f-bb96-dcc265e77be4","title":"Best of The Decade - 2000s","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/169","content_text":"Now that so many of us are looking at an extended staycation, the Screeners thought it would be a good time for a prequel to our Best of the 2010s episode. Why review one movie when we can review 28?\n\nThe real problem, of course, is what to call the decade we’re talking about. “The aughts” is too 20th-century, “the two thousands” takes too long to say, and “the zeros” is just...no. So we’re just refusing to name it altogether. The format hasn’t changed since the 2010s episode, but in case that was too many lifetimes ago to remember, we’ll cover:\n\n\nAction\nComedy\nSci-Fi\nHorror\nAnimation\nMost Rewatchable\n\n\nIf there’s anything we missed, you know where to find us! Send us a message on either Facebook or Twitter; we’re checking them...um, “occasionally” right now.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Now that so many of us are looking at an extended staycation, the Screeners thought it would be a good time for a prequel to our Best of the 2010s episode. Why review one movie when we can review 28?
\n\nThe real problem, of course, is what to call the decade we’re talking about. “The aughts” is too 20th-century, “the two thousands” takes too long to say, and “the zeros” is just...no. So we’re just refusing to name it altogether. The format hasn’t changed since the 2010s episode, but in case that was too many lifetimes ago to remember, we’ll cover:
\n\nIf there’s anything we missed, you know where to find us! Send us a message on either Facebook or Twitter; we’re checking them...um, “occasionally” right now.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"We all love a good “best of” episode, and now’s a better time than most to hunker down with one.","date_published":"2020-03-24T12:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/14e67e8e-4231-4a1f-bb96-dcc265e77be4.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":66918826,"duration_in_seconds":4698}]},{"id":"93cb47d0-5af2-4c22-b0d9-e7f2f3f3b54e","title":"Onward, Watchmen, and Netflix","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/168","content_text":"As you might have noticed, life is...different right now, and media is changing along with everything else. We have one more theatrical review for you—Disney’s Onward, but it seems like the only question will be “should you stream this once it’s on Disney+?” since you probably shouldn’t go to the theater by the time this episode is released.\n\nThanks to the, ahem, onward march of technology, though, there’s plenty of content to keep us occupied while we’re hanging out at home. There’s a whole season of Watchmen on HBO, for example, so let’s talk about that. Netflix is also a thing, and it’s the perfect time for a streaming-focused Top 3.\n\nWe know you have time to share your favorite streaming content with the rest of us on Facebook or Twitter, so let’s make that happen! Tell us about something we haven’t seen, and let’s get through this thing together.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"As you might have noticed, life is...different right now, and media is changing along with everything else. We have one more theatrical review for you—Disney’s Onward, but it seems like the only question will be “should you stream this once it’s on Disney+?” since you probably shouldn’t go to the theater by the time this episode is released.
\n\nThanks to the, ahem, onward march of technology, though, there’s plenty of content to keep us occupied while we’re hanging out at home. There’s a whole season of Watchmen on HBO, for example, so let’s talk about that. Netflix is also a thing, and it’s the perfect time for a streaming-focused Top 3.
\n\nWe know you have time to share your favorite streaming content with the rest of us on Facebook or Twitter, so let’s make that happen! Tell us about something we haven’t seen, and let’s get through this thing together.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Fans of horror movies and reboots rejoice! This episode’s main feature is Blumhouse Productions and Leigh Whannel’s reimagining of The Invisible Man. The filme stars Elizabeth Moss, so you sort of know it’s going to be a departure from the H.G. Wells novel that is its namesake, but maybe that’s a good thing. Guess you’ll have to listen to find out.
\n\nThen, from fiendish to fiendishly difficult: It’s about time we revisited the IMDB game that we introduced awhile back and see who gets stumped by Will Ferrell movies this time around.
\n\nAnd when the episode’s over, don’t forget to share your spooky stories and deceptively challenging film trivia with us on Facebook and Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
There weren’t any compelling big releases this weekend, so the Screeners (including a couple estranged friends!) have decided to huddle around their mics and talk about what’s been on their own screens, big and small, recently. Netflix, networks, movies—we’ve got ‘em all, and we’re not afraid to make fun of them.
\n\nAnd since we have five—count ‘em, FIVE—hosts, let’s work on our Flickchart list a bit. You know where to mock our picks: Facebook! If you’re really mad about it, take the fight to Twitter too.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
And the 2020 Oscars wager award goes to...just kidding; you’ll have to listen to find out. There definitely was a winner, though; we’re almost sure of that.
\n\nYou may have noticed that first paragraph was fairly short. That’s because we had to save space for the title of the movie we’re reviewing this episode. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipations of One Harley Quinn) is such a bad name that the studio has actually changed it post-release. The movie itself, though, has a chance at being somewhat less tedious, so let’s talk about it.
\n\nHow’d your Oscars bracket do? If you beat any of the Screeners, let them hear about it (in fact, don’t let them stop hearing about it) on Twitter or Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’re less than a week away from the 92nd Academy Awards, and with so much credibility on the line, you knew the Screeners would have to get together one final time to second-guess each other and maybe even convince themselves to change their own picks. Can Daniel be talked out of anything? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.
\n\nIf you want to take your own shot at changing a Screener pick (or participating in the wager yourself!), just hop on Twitter or Facebook and post your picks!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Academy Awards are this weekend, so the Screeners have to spend one last episode agonizing over this year’s wager picks.","date_published":"2020-02-06T12:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c9474ac9-3af8-4618-859a-faf2ff37a3b7.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":41228756,"duration_in_seconds":3426}]},{"id":"5d83b372-9c34-4aae-be33-fb355457ac83","title":"Best of the Decade","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/163","content_text":"In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve switched decades! If that’s not an excuse to do another look back/best-of episode, we don’t know what is. Ten years is a lot of ground to cover, but the Screeners have trained for this. We’ll not only cover each host’s top 10 (or top 1, for the less talkative hosts among us) movies, but also:\n\n\nBest in genere (from a smorgasbord of genres)\nMost rewatchable\nBest performance\n\n\nWho knows; this one might even run longer than our 2019 version, but if our download numbers are anything to go by, you didn’t seem to mind that one. We’re banking on that goodwill; send any hate (or fan) mail to Twitter and/or Facebook.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve switched decades! If that’s not an excuse to do another look back/best-of episode, we don’t know what is. Ten years is a lot of ground to cover, but the Screeners have trained for this. We’ll not only cover each host’s top 10 (or top 1, for the less talkative hosts among us) movies, but also:
\n\nWho knows; this one might even run longer than our 2019 version, but if our download numbers are anything to go by, you didn’t seem to mind that one. We’re banking on that goodwill; send any hate (or fan) mail to Twitter and/or Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners follow up on their Best of 2019 episode by noticing that 2020 marks a new decade and taking a look back at the last 10 years of cinema.","date_published":"2020-01-28T16:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5d83b372-9c34-4aae-be33-fb355457ac83.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":78021044,"duration_in_seconds":6406}]},{"id":"8045dd10-8923-4215-a9e3-8635a1a8f6da","title":"Bonus: Bad Boys for Life","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/162","content_text":"It’s been nearly seventeen(!) years since the last Bad Boys movie, and Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are not what you’d typically call “boys” anymore (OK, if we’re being honest, they were decidedly post-adolescent for the last one too). That has not stopped the long-awaited Bad Boys III (now Bad Boys for Life) from finally being shot and released, though, so the Screeners are here for it...or, two of them are, anyway.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s been nearly seventeen(!) years since the last Bad Boys movie, and Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are not what you’d typically call “boys” anymore (OK, if we’re being honest, they were decidedly post-adolescent for the last one too). That has not stopped the long-awaited Bad Boys III (now Bad Boys for Life) from finally being shot and released, though, so the Screeners are here for it...or, two of them are, anyway.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
At Screeners HQ, we practice not so much a “new year, new you” lifestyle as a “new year, new retrospective” one. Yes, you could accuse us of looking forward by looking back, but this podcast is about movies, not armchair psychology, so...there?
\n\nAnyway, we’ll be covering our standard fare:
\n\nSure, that’s a lot, but it’s always a fun ride, so join us in giving 2019’s cinema the send-off it deserves by listening then sharing your own picks/hot takes on Twitter and/or Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"It’s a couple weeks into January now, so the Screeners have all had time to put together their “best(/worst/most embarrassing) of 2019” lists...now let’s hear ‘em!","date_published":"2020-01-20T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9f579a05-58aa-4340-8d3d-c4e9117cf503.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":85108973,"duration_in_seconds":7075}]},{"id":"c3fe037a-4118-4e77-8f97-4c3805e42d29","title":"Bonus: 2020 Oscar Nominations Reactions","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/160","content_text":"From one awards show to another. The 2020 Oscar nominations have been announced, so you know Daniel’s going to have a few things to say. The others might even get a couple words in too. Tune into this bonus episode to see how everyone’s feeling about their awards brackets, and what snubs annoyed them most.\n\nAnd when you’re done listening, start talking. We know at least some of you have awards opinions, and Twitter/Facebook are the perfect places for them.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"From one awards show to another. The 2020 Oscar nominations have been announced, so you know Daniel’s going to have a few things to say. The others might even get a couple words in too. Tune into this bonus episode to see how everyone’s feeling about their awards brackets, and what snubs annoyed them most.
\n\nAnd when you’re done listening, start talking. We know at least some of you have awards opinions, and Twitter/Facebook are the perfect places for them.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
This year’s Golden Globe Awards were just handed out, and in case you haven’t been on Twitter lately, we’re not going to spoil Ricky Gervais’ monologue here. Let’s just say that the other celebrities who made it to the mic were a little more...complimentary of the industry. We have some commentary on the awards too, of course, but Gervais either stole the show or lit it on fire and watched the world burn, depending on your sense of humor.
\n\nOne movie that came up a few times during the show was 1917, a movie that barely squeaked into eligibility with a Christmas release. You might not have wanted to watch all the bloodshed during the Christmas season, but January feels just about right for some bleak carnage, so let’s talk about it now.
\n\nYou know what comes next. We want to hear what you thought of Gervais and the Golden Globes, and we want to hear it on Twitter or Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Another year’s worth of Golden Globe awards have been handed out, and once again we’re left wondering who invites Ricky Gervais to host their show. That, and 1917 snuck into theaters while we were all eating too much food with our families, so let’s throw in a review of that while we’re here.","date_published":"2020-01-07T06:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/470881a9-810b-485e-b53f-8e0db5875496.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":51396633,"duration_in_seconds":3206}]},{"id":"3633eb63-31ff-4e02-8255-be381ed06af0","title":"Little Women","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/158","content_text":"Little Women may have been the 19th century equivalent of a supermarket novel, but its staying power is pretty indisputable. We’re on film adaptation number 7 so far, and this one might be the best one yet, if you listen to the critics. Will the Screeners agree?\n\nSpeaking of big-screen adaptations of classic novels, there are enough of those for a Top 3 segment, so let’s go ahead and do one. Chris isn’t here for this episode, so let’s take bets on who will take up his mantle and pick Ready Player One.\n\nAnd while we’re here, the Academy Awards are only a month away, so let’s do a quick update on that new wager we introduced awhile back. Does Daniel think he’s in pole position, or is his confidence wavering? Chime in with your own progress on Twitter or Facebook, and we’ll see you next time!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Little Women may have been the 19th century equivalent of a supermarket novel, but its staying power is pretty indisputable. We’re on film adaptation number 7 so far, and this one might be the best one yet, if you listen to the critics. Will the Screeners agree?
\n\nSpeaking of big-screen adaptations of classic novels, there are enough of those for a Top 3 segment, so let’s go ahead and do one. Chris isn’t here for this episode, so let’s take bets on who will take up his mantle and pick Ready Player One.
\n\nAnd while we’re here, the Academy Awards are only a month away, so let’s do a quick update on that new wager we introduced awhile back. Does Daniel think he’s in pole position, or is his confidence wavering? Chime in with your own progress on Twitter or Facebook, and we’ll see you next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"This year’s isn’t the first screen adaptation of Little Women, but that’s not stopping the glowing reviews. Hear what the Screeners thought about the latest version of the classic story.","date_published":"2020-01-04T03:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3633eb63-31ff-4e02-8255-be381ed06af0.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":62540608,"duration_in_seconds":4457}]},{"id":"aba2a560-1fa9-41fd-9805-462c1811ec90","title":"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/157","content_text":"Most people might be spending time with their families right about now, but the Screeners aren’t most people. There’s a new Star Wars movie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, to be annoyingly precise), so of course we saw it, and of course our Christmas gift to you is a review of this third-longest Star Wars film.\n\nThere’s probably not much more to be said about it here, as Star Wars is a known quantity (read: reliable cash cow) at this point, so listen to the review, then disagree violently with someone on Twitter or Facebook—Santa’s too busy at this point to pay attention to whether you’re nice to Chris on social media.\n\nHappy Holidays!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Most people might be spending time with their families right about now, but the Screeners aren’t most people. There’s a new Star Wars movie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, to be annoyingly precise), so of course we saw it, and of course our Christmas gift to you is a review of this third-longest Star Wars film.
\n\nThere’s probably not much more to be said about it here, as Star Wars is a known quantity (read: reliable cash cow) at this point, so listen to the review, then disagree violently with someone on Twitter or Facebook—Santa’s too busy at this point to pay attention to whether you’re nice to Chris on social media.
\n\nHappy Holidays!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Merry Christmas to Bob Iger and Disney: Box office sales for The Rise of Skywalker are sure to be worth a few stocking stuffers, but did it put holiday cheer in the hearts of the Screeners?","date_published":"2019-12-23T04:30:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/aba2a560-1fa9-41fd-9805-462c1811ec90.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":62776890,"duration_in_seconds":4474}]},{"id":"cd34f464-110a-4645-956f-1cce10936352","title":"Honey Boy - Bonus","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/156","content_text":"Winter is the season for dramas, and Honey Boy is no exception. It’s of course more dramatic when you learn it’s a true story, so we thought we’d ask a couple Screeners to bare their own souls about their childhoods, and...OK; we didn’t do that. We are going to review the movie, though, and we probably won’t even mention Transformers once (mostly because Chris isn’t on this episode, but we’ll take a day without thinking about that movie where we can get it).\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Winter is the season for dramas, and Honey Boy is no exception. It’s of course more dramatic when you learn it’s a true story, so we thought we’d ask a couple Screeners to bare their own souls about their childhoods, and...OK; we didn’t do that. We are going to review the movie, though, and we probably won’t even mention Transformers once (mostly because Chris isn’t on this episode, but we’ll take a day without thinking about that movie where we can get it).
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’re definitely in the middle of the Christmas season here in the US, but the Screeners keep ignoring Josh as he begs everyone to be patriotic and review some Hallmark movies like God intended. Instead, we’re talking about Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story this time. The movie features Adam Driver, whom you may remember from a recent Amazon movie about physical torture, in a Netflix movie about emotional torture. ‘Tis the season, right?
\n\nAnd speaking of seasons, award season is in full swing, so let's talk about the Golden Globes! Daniel walks us through the nominations, and the state of the Oscar race.
\n\nAnyway, people on Twitter like it, so we’re going to talk about it. Enjoy, and send us your favorite memes on—you guessed it—Facebook or Twitter. If you’re feeling extra-festive, just post them both places; we won’t tell.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The first Screeners episode of December is anything but short on content—the two movies we’re reviewing represent nearly 6 hours of total runtime. That’s not stopping the critics from gushing about either of them, but this is our show, so we’ll get the final word, thanks.
\n\nMartin Scorsese’s The Irishman, now on Netflix after a short run in the theaters, has been in the works for over a decade. The true story has heavy hitters like Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino playing Teamsters and mobsters, which seems, shall we say, within their comfort zone. It’s three and a half hours long, though, so is it worth the commitment? Let’s see if we can tell you in less time than it would take you to watch it.
\n\nNow, in the spirit of changing gears just a bit, let’s talk about Rian Johnson’s Drama/Mystery/dark comedy Knives Out. The words “whodunnit” and “murder mystery” get thrown around a lot in the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but almost always alongside phrases like “more than a” and “not your typical”, which makes one think the reviewers should maybe find something different to call it. Lazy writing aside, it’s getting good buzz, so time to see if the Screeners agree.
\n\nWhen you’ve fully processed all the content here, we’d love to hear what you have to think, and we’re pretty sure you know where to find us. Just in case, though, you know we’re going to remind you: Facebook and/or Twitter. See you there!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
When the Screeners have two reviews in a single episode, it’s pretty rare that they have anything to do with each other. Well, this is the exception that proves the rule. Our theme this episode is...um...”kids”. No, they’re not both kids’ movies per se, but they’re at least about family-friendly entertainment, so we’ll take what we can get.
\n\nYou know we couldn’t let a shameless cash gra--er, we mean instant classic like Frozen 2 pass us by without at least a word or two, so there’s the first review. And Tom Hanks stars as American treasure Mr. Rogers in the biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, so we’re definitely covering that too. After all, we have to determine whether it was worth being on Josh’s Summer Box Office list...last year.
\n\nGather some G-rated feedback for this episode, and send it to us on Facebook or Twitter before we go back to talking about movies you can’t see with your kindergartner.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Thrill ride or not, it would seem that most of the Screeners didn’t, um, race to the theater to see Ford v Ferrari. Guess they just live their lives in the slow lane. They should get into gear and go see the movie.
\n\nJust kidding; we had a few more scheduling conflicts than normal for this episode—and yes, we’ll stop with the clichés, since you asked so nicely. Anyway, Chad and April saw the movie, and they’re here to tell you whether all the engine noise and stunt driving should send you to the theater too.
\n\nAnd in case you haven’t already seen it on Facebook or Twitter, we figured we’d keep the racing theme going in our Top 3 this time. If you haven’t already cast your vote, well, the links are right there.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Parasite, despite its subtitles, is a social media darling. Is it a thriller? A mystery? A dark comedy? Yes. So go to the theater and do some reading; at least you’ll be able to keep up with the memes.
\n\nThat’s not all, though; we have news from a much more lucrative franchise to discuss. Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, is live now, and it brings with it the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Several of the Screeners are already on the subscriber roles, and they’re here to tell you if you should join them, either for The Mandalorian or something else.
\n\nOne more thing! We also dive into the new Stephen King adaptation, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. It's a PACKED episode, so hope you stay locked in!
\n\nHave you signed up for Bob Iger’s new cash cow yet? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Just to prove that the Screeners is an international enterprise, we thought we’d cover both a potential new cult classic from South Korea and an all-American media empire in this episode.","date_published":"2019-11-14T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/4fba6106-b854-47f3-8401-eee0a21b4bd9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":56920801,"duration_in_seconds":4731}]},{"id":"b1a09da1-09c5-4faf-b413-9e61d84eda33","title":"Terminator: Dark Fate","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/150","content_text":"Sarah Connor is back, but that doesn’t seem to be helping Terminator: Dark Fate at the box office. In fact, it’s a bit of a bomb so far. That’s never stopped the Screeners from reviewing a movie before—but even more disappointing than the ticket sales is the fact that Chris couldn’t be here for this episode. Surely Arnold doesn’t have a chance for a good review now, does he? Maybe Cameron from Halt and Catch Fire can save the day, but we’re not holding our breath.\n\nOh, and speaking of Ahnold, this is as good a time as any to look back over his storied film career for a Top 3 segment, right? As always, give us your picks over on Facebook or Twitter, and maybe we’ll pick a less financially disastrous movie to talk about next time.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Sarah Connor is back, but that doesn’t seem to be helping Terminator: Dark Fate at the box office. In fact, it’s a bit of a bomb so far. That’s never stopped the Screeners from reviewing a movie before—but even more disappointing than the ticket sales is the fact that Chris couldn’t be here for this episode. Surely Arnold doesn’t have a chance for a good review now, does he? Maybe Cameron from Halt and Catch Fire can save the day, but we’re not holding our breath.
\n\nOh, and speaking of Ahnold, this is as good a time as any to look back over his storied film career for a Top 3 segment, right? As always, give us your picks over on Facebook or Twitter, and maybe we’ll pick a less financially disastrous movie to talk about next time.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The latest Terminator movie might not be a box office darling, but does it have fans among the Screeners?","date_published":"2019-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/b1a09da1-09c5-4faf-b413-9e61d84eda33.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":40085654,"duration_in_seconds":2500}]},{"id":"93635179-eb69-4292-ad5e-cc54696b37aa","title":"Dolemite Is My Name and The Laundromat","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/149","content_text":"It looks like October is turning into Netflix Month on the Screeners. We just got done talking about El Camino, and since then, two — two! — more big releases have hit all the streaming devices near you. For this episode, we’ll be taking on Dolemite Is My Name and The Laundromat. Before we do, though, audience participation time: If you had to guess, which do you think got a better critical reception—a Steven Soderbergh drama about the Panama Papers, or a biopic about a vulgar 1970s comedian starring Eddie Murphy? After diving into those reviews, Chad, April, and Daniel play another round of The IMDB Game!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It looks like October is turning into Netflix Month on the Screeners. We just got done talking about El Camino, and since then, two — two! — more big releases have hit all the streaming devices near you. For this episode, we’ll be taking on Dolemite Is My Name and The Laundromat. Before we do, though, audience participation time: If you had to guess, which do you think got a better critical reception—a Steven Soderbergh drama about the Panama Papers, or a biopic about a vulgar 1970s comedian starring Eddie Murphy? After diving into those reviews, Chad, April, and Daniel play another round of The IMDB Game!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’re not sure whether Aaron Paul or Vince Gilligan just needed some cash, or whether it was Netflix’s version of Skynet that came up with the idea for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, but the title sort of puts the odds in favor of the computer. Whatever its provenance, though, it’s ready to stream now, and there’s a chance it’s the best new release out there right now, so let’s go ahead and dissect it, shall we?
\n\nAnd while we’re on the topic, how about a Top 3 about movies no one want--er, movies based on TV shows? Yeah, “based on TV shows”. Good save there. Don’t forget to give us your picks on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The new Batman movie isn’t really a Batman movie, but it’s definitely getting attention. Whether that attention (and Joker itself) is good or bad all depends on your perspective. We won’t take any position here; there will be plenty of time to do that in the episode. We have four hosts for this one, another who saw it but couldn’t make the recording, and even Josh wanted to see it in time, so that should tell you something.
\n\nAnd to maybe lighten the mood a bit, we have a brand-new game brought to us from another podcast by Daniel. No spoilers, but it involves IMDB profiles, and Josh would be terrible at it. Should be fun.
\n\nTell us what you thought about Joker (and...IMDB?) on Facebook and Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker has been unleashed upon the world, so the Screeners are here to go through it with a fine-toothed comb for your benefit.","date_published":"2019-10-08T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/dc03a0ab-52ec-4a9a-b5c2-00d19edeca06.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":58768663,"duration_in_seconds":4876}]},{"id":"b15303a9-a97d-4feb-ab74-ea5c6d4384aa","title":"Ad Astra and Downton Abbey","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/146","content_text":"Goldfinch may have been the first hint, but fall is definitely here now. Lined up (or “queued up”, as they say across the pond) for this episode, we have an intimate space drama starring Brad Pitt and a grand period drama starring...England.\n\nAs we write this, Downton Abbey actually has a one-point edge on Ad Astra in terms of Rotten Tomatoes score, so we’ll put that review first...OK; so we’re actually doing it that way because we’re not planning on dishing out any spoilers for the soap opera set on Earth, but we might for the one set in space. Anyway, let’s change the subject. Have you seen either film? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Goldfinch may have been the first hint, but fall is definitely here now. Lined up (or “queued up”, as they say across the pond) for this episode, we have an intimate space drama starring Brad Pitt and a grand period drama starring...England.
\n\nAs we write this, Downton Abbey actually has a one-point edge on Ad Astra in terms of Rotten Tomatoes score, so we’ll put that review first...OK; so we’re actually doing it that way because we’re not planning on dishing out any spoilers for the soap opera set on Earth, but we might for the one set in space. Anyway, let’s change the subject. Have you seen either film? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
If you heard the results of the Screeners’ box office wager, you know that Daniel was...less than pleased. Turns out he was so unhappy that he’s invented another contest just to redeem himself. This time, we’ll be picking Oscar nominees. The rules are similar to those for the box office wager, but Daniel has doctored them in his favor.
\n\nAlso: Money isn’t everything—or, at least, that’s what you have to tell yourself if you’re a fan of the recent adaptation of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. Its opening weekend was a huge letdown from a box office standpoint, but the film does have one good omen on its side: It signals the time of year when the movies are sourced from books without pictures. It’s like pumpkin spice for people who prefer words to CGI.
\n\nOnce you’re done with the review, check out the contest rules on Facebook, then send in your own entries there or on Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Goldfinch did not break any box office records, but money isn’t everything Hear what the Screeners have to say about this literary adaptation, and play along with yet another contest!","date_published":"2019-09-18T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/db27cb65-e92d-4a7e-ac20-836d719aa750.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":82216675,"duration_in_seconds":5130}]},{"id":"efd2dcc2-a521-49c6-95e7-c8138f42ffbb","title":"2019 Box Office Wager Results","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/144","content_text":"Summer is still alive and well on the calendar (and the thermometer), but the summer box office race is officially over, so it’s time to pay the piper. Who will take home the 2019 Box Office Wager crown?\n\n...what’s that? Of course there’s an actual crown! This contest means something, you know. The winner gets to...to...look; it’s important, alright?!\n\nYou know there will be gloating and gnashing of teeth on Facebook and Twitter after this is all out in the open, so come join the fun.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Summer is still alive and well on the calendar (and the thermometer), but the summer box office race is officially over, so it’s time to pay the piper. Who will take home the 2019 Box Office Wager crown?
\n\n...what’s that? Of course there’s an actual crown! This contest means something, you know. The winner gets to...to...look; it’s important, alright?!
\n\nYou know there will be gloating and gnashing of teeth on Facebook and Twitter after this is all out in the open, so come join the fun.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It seems like just yesterday that we reviewed It, but turns out it’s been, like, 2 years since It was released. It’s funny how it works, you know — sometimes it seems like time moves so slowly, but then you think about it, and it’s been over 30 years since It first happened. It comes and goes as it pleases, it seems.
\n\nOK, it’s probably time to stop it. We’re reviewing It Chapter Two, though, so do stick around for that. And take any puns you might have to Facebook or Twitter, where they can be properly appreciated.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The sequel to Stephen King’s It is out. Will the Screeners like it more than the critics?","date_published":"2019-09-10T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/0d8727de-f651-4e9a-b77a-8e118f4c769f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":46479510,"duration_in_seconds":2899}]},{"id":"7955f326-7aa1-47b1-b928-9fb3834668a4","title":"Ready or Not and Mindhunter Season 2","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/142","content_text":"Ready or Not isn’t exactly a summer blockbuster by normal box office standards, but it’s already earned twice its budget, so that’s something, right? It’s a horror comedy that uses a wedding dress as a murder weapon to kill rich people, so that has to at least be worth a Screenes review.\n\nAnd while we’re talking about murder, Netflix’s Mindhunter is back for its second season. Not everyone’s binged all of it yet, so no spoilers here, but enough of us liked the first one that it’s worth at least giving our first impressions.\n\nOh, and we don’t know whether you’ve heard, but there was a new trailer or something released today. We’ll talk about it long enough to give Chad a chance to tell us he hasn’t watched it. Let us know what you thought about it (or Ready or Not, or Mindhunter, or that thing that we should’ve talked about but didn’t) on Facebook or Twitter.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Ready or Not isn’t exactly a summer blockbuster by normal box office standards, but it’s already earned twice its budget, so that’s something, right? It’s a horror comedy that uses a wedding dress as a murder weapon to kill rich people, so that has to at least be worth a Screenes review.
\n\nAnd while we’re talking about murder, Netflix’s Mindhunter is back for its second season. Not everyone’s binged all of it yet, so no spoilers here, but enough of us liked the first one that it’s worth at least giving our first impressions.
\n\nOh, and we don’t know whether you’ve heard, but there was a new trailer or something released today. We’ll talk about it long enough to give Chad a chance to tell us he hasn’t watched it. Let us know what you thought about it (or Ready or Not, or Mindhunter, or that thing that we should’ve talked about but didn’t) on Facebook or Twitter.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners review horror comedy Ready or Not and give a brief overview of the new season of Netflix’s Mindhunter.","date_published":"2019-08-27T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7955f326-7aa1-47b1-b928-9fb3834668a4.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":72211112,"duration_in_seconds":4505}]},{"id":"fa5bacb3-0f0e-493d-b40e-0111ac1d8e3e","title":"Blinded by the Light - Bonus","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/141","content_text":"Everything comes in at least a pair in Hollywood, and this year’s novelty seems to be the classic rock ‘n’ roll montage set in England. First we had the Beatles bonanza that was Yesterday, and now there’s the Springsteen retrospective of Blinded by the Light. The dive into the catalogs of music greats is just the gimmick of these movies, though; they of course have their own story to tell. So far Blinded by the Light seems to be resonating more with audiences, so it’s time to hear what the Screeners think about it.\n\nHave you seen either of this summer’s musical tribute movies? Tell us what you think on Facebook or Twitter!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Everything comes in at least a pair in Hollywood, and this year’s novelty seems to be the classic rock ‘n’ roll montage set in England. First we had the Beatles bonanza that was Yesterday, and now there’s the Springsteen retrospective of Blinded by the Light. The dive into the catalogs of music greats is just the gimmick of these movies, though; they of course have their own story to tell. So far Blinded by the Light seems to be resonating more with audiences, so it’s time to hear what the Screeners think about it.
\n\nHave you seen either of this summer’s musical tribute movies? Tell us what you think on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Three of the Screeners share their takes on Blinded by the Light.","date_published":"2019-08-19T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/fa5bacb3-0f0e-493d-b40e-0111ac1d8e3e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":37567369,"duration_in_seconds":2674}]},{"id":"9fa7c389-758a-4c66-97c2-1b73c5c1fe37","title":"Summer Catch-up","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/140","content_text":"It’s August. It’s hot, and the studios don’t seem to be doing all that much to convince us to brave the walk from our cars to the theater. What better time to review all the things you can watch at home that we haven’t had time to talk about yet?\n\nAnd once we’re done with the small army of mini-reviews, the Screeners look to the future with a Top 3 about what we’re most excited about for the rest of the year.\n\nDid we still manage to leave something out? Have any recommendations to fill the rest of our time until the next superhero movie? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s August. It’s hot, and the studios don’t seem to be doing all that much to convince us to brave the walk from our cars to the theater. What better time to review all the things you can watch at home that we haven’t had time to talk about yet?
\n\nAnd once we’re done with the small army of mini-reviews, the Screeners look to the future with a Top 3 about what we’re most excited about for the rest of the year.
\n\nDid we still manage to leave something out? Have any recommendations to fill the rest of our time until the next superhero movie? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
After the insanity that was the last Fast & Furious movie, what could they possibly think of next? If you said “they join the Space Force”, we applaud your creativity—that’s what we would have done, too—but apparently that’s not the answer. The answer is “turn Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham into a comedy duo” and name the movie like it’s some kind of variety show. What the title of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw lacks in brevity, it makes up for in absurdity. Oh well; it’s summer, so the Screeners will see anything.
\n\nAnd to celebrate the new dynasty that Johnson and Statham are sure to be, let’s go ahead and do a Top 3 on actor pairings. We won’t top this one, we’re sure, but maybe we can come close. Got any ideas to add to our lists? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Quentin Tarantino’s back for movie number 9, and whether or not you believe he’ll really retire after 10, you know the Screeners couldn’t pass up an opportunity to annoy Josh by talking about Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood. Maybe he’ll even show up to take the abuse.
\n\nAnd while we’re at it, why not just make the Top 3 about Tarantino too? That should round things off nicely. As always, if you want to get in on the fun, drop us a comment on Facebook, tweet us, or send us an email.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Comic-Con’s just wrapping up in San Diego, so now’s the perfect time to talk about all the hottest new trailers. Maybe we’ll even find out about Tyler’s latest cosplaying adventure.
\n\nOK; we’ll talk about The Little Mermaid in due time, we promise. For now, though, Disney has remade an even bigger property in full live-ish action glory. These things are always risky, though, especially when the original Lion King was so beloved, and 90’s nostalgia is in its heyday. The Screeners won’t steer you wrong, though, especially with Daniel “The Lion King is the greatest film of all time, and everyone else should just give up” Howat here for the review.
\n\nAnd since 2019 is (a little more than) halfway over, this seems like a good time to do a retrospective for this episode’s Top 3, so...let’s close with that, shall we?
\n\nAll that said, there’s no way The Lion King doesn’t generate some fan controversy, and we want to hear all your hot takes on Facebook and Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners decide, once and for all, whether The Lion King remake lives up to its namesake.","date_published":"2019-07-23T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/25f3be70-f681-4ca7-9591-1cdaa9748cc8.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":59373925,"duration_in_seconds":3698}]},{"id":"4ccaf9d5-aec8-4034-939f-0daf935f2faa","title":"Stranger Things 3","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/136","content_text":"The third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things is live now, and instead of going to Burger King to participate in a questionable marketing campaign, why not listen to the Screeners’ take on the latest episodes? Guest host Curtis Templeton from nostalgia tour de force Beyond the Backlot is here to contribute his two cents, so this is sure to be a good one.\n\nAnd you know what? We’re sorry we badmouthed Burger King—go ahead and grab yourself one of those Whoppers too. Just don’t, like, unwrap it the wrong way, or it sort of ruins the whole thing. When you’re done, tell us how your meal paired with your binge-watching session on Facebook or Twitter.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"The third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things is live now, and instead of going to Burger King to participate in a questionable marketing campaign, why not listen to the Screeners’ take on the latest episodes? Guest host Curtis Templeton from nostalgia tour de force Beyond the Backlot is here to contribute his two cents, so this is sure to be a good one.
\n\nAnd you know what? We’re sorry we badmouthed Burger King—go ahead and grab yourself one of those Whoppers too. Just don’t, like, unwrap it the wrong way, or it sort of ruins the whole thing. When you’re done, tell us how your meal paired with your binge-watching session on Facebook or Twitter.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Guest host Curtis Templeton from Beyond the Backlot joins Daniel and Tyler to talk about the latest season of Stranger Things.","date_published":"2019-07-09T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/4ccaf9d5-aec8-4034-939f-0daf935f2faa.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":71470160,"duration_in_seconds":4459}]},{"id":"eeb2ddcc-cfca-482a-a08c-248c7b39d2b5","title":"Spider-Man: Far from Home and Yesterday","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/135","content_text":"Don’t tune into this episode for a Jump Cuts or Flickchart segment, because there isn’t one. The schedule’s full enough as it is, since the Screeners are taking on both a Marvel movie and a Danny Boyle movie.\n\nSpider-Man: Far from Home is the first post- Endgame Marvel movie, so it either has a lot to live up to or has some ‘splainin’ to do, depending on your conclusions about Phase 3 of the MCU. If by some chance you lack an opinion on the issue, the Screeners have you covered.\n\nFor those of you who just aren’t that into superheroes (or who were into superheroes but had it beaten out of you after 57 or so movies), Yesterday is a movie from the director of Slumdog Millionaire that spent nearly half its budget on securing the rights to Beatles songs. Thankfully, it made at least that money back from its box office opening, but was the gamble worth it? We’ll let you know.\n\nYou know the drill—join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter to tell us how pumped you are(n’t) for Phase 4 and how plausible you find the idea of the Beatles’ music being popular when divorced entirely from their haircuts.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Don’t tune into this episode for a Jump Cuts or Flickchart segment, because there isn’t one. The schedule’s full enough as it is, since the Screeners are taking on both a Marvel movie and a Danny Boyle movie.
\n\nSpider-Man: Far from Home is the first post- Endgame Marvel movie, so it either has a lot to live up to or has some ‘splainin’ to do, depending on your conclusions about Phase 3 of the MCU. If by some chance you lack an opinion on the issue, the Screeners have you covered.
\n\nFor those of you who just aren’t that into superheroes (or who were into superheroes but had it beaten out of you after 57 or so movies), Yesterday is a movie from the director of Slumdog Millionaire that spent nearly half its budget on securing the rights to Beatles songs. Thankfully, it made at least that money back from its box office opening, but was the gamble worth it? We’ll let you know.
\n\nYou know the drill—join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter to tell us how pumped you are(n’t) for Phase 4 and how plausible you find the idea of the Beatles’ music being popular when divorced entirely from their haircuts.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"It’s double feature time! Spider-Man: Far from Home and Yesterday are certainly different, but they’re both worth a discussion, so join us!","date_published":"2019-07-05T06:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/eeb2ddcc-cfca-482a-a08c-248c7b39d2b5.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":87830551,"duration_in_seconds":5473}]},{"id":"2fd585c1-b904-4452-9243-adcb41bd3897","title":"Toy Story 4","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/134","content_text":"Pixar’s back at it, so you know at least a few Screeners made it to the theater for Toy Story 4. And just because we really wanted to call him Dr. Pixar, Jeff Salyer’s back to help us place this new entry in the studio’s remarkable history.\n\nToy Story movies are something just about everyone has an opinion on, so don’t forget to tell us yours! Find us on Facebook or Twitter and join the conversation.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Dr. Jeff Salyer .","content_html":"Pixar’s back at it, so you know at least a few Screeners made it to the theater for Toy Story 4. And just because we really wanted to call him Dr. Pixar, Jeff Salyer’s back to help us place this new entry in the studio’s remarkable history.
\n\nToy Story movies are something just about everyone has an opinion on, so don’t forget to tell us yours! Find us on Facebook or Twitter and join the conversation.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Dr. Jeff Salyer .
","summary":"The Screeners pull in the big guest host guns to talk about the latest chapter in the Toy Story saga.","date_published":"2019-06-26T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/2fd585c1-b904-4452-9243-adcb41bd3897.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":59543384,"duration_in_seconds":2438}]},{"id":"2b0a227c-d76d-4f48-bf8d-8ee8f7f54f29","title":"Men in Black: International","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/133","content_text":"We’ll give you the bad news first: Only two of the Screeners made it to the theater to see Men in Black: International. The good news is that it was Chad and Daniel, so the review will still last an hour. Wait; is that good news? We’re not sure...\n\nEither way, that’s our movie this time around, so “secret organizations” seemed like a good Top 3 to round out the episode. When you’re done listening, head over to Facebook or Twitter to tell us whether you prefer Tessa Thompson to play opposite robots or aliens.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"We’ll give you the bad news first: Only two of the Screeners made it to the theater to see Men in Black: International. The good news is that it was Chad and Daniel, so the review will still last an hour. Wait; is that good news? We’re not sure...
\n\nEither way, that’s our movie this time around, so “secret organizations” seemed like a good Top 3 to round out the episode. When you’re done listening, head over to Facebook or Twitter to tell us whether you prefer Tessa Thompson to play opposite robots or aliens.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners are back in single-review mode, so you know what that means: they have some time on their hands. Prepare for a multi-host brain dump of what’s been on all our various screens lately.
\n\nBut about that review. To say that Dark Phoenix has gotten a bad rap with critics might be an understatement. At the time of this writing, its Rotten Tomatoes critic/audience score is upside-down to the tune of nearly 3 to 1. Will the Screeners side with the critics or the people? Whom can we count on when the revolution comes?
\n\nNow that we’ve had our say, it’s your turn to pick sides. Join the fight on Facebook or Twitter—or, if you don’t care about the X-Men (we’re shocked, after the run of terrific movies they’ve had over the past decade), at least let us know what was missing from our recent viewing schedules
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As is so often the case with Screeners double features, this episode’s juxtaposition is either genius or insane. The best way we can spin it is probably “a little something for everyone”. Our roster this time is Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Rocketman—there; we said it.
\n\nChris wasn’t able to make it for this episode, and he will be sorely missed. Join the other Screeners in shaming him on Facebook or Twitter.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It might not be the biggest Disney hit from the 90’s getting a live-action reboot this summer (which is a strange thought all by itself), but Aladdin is sure up there. Robin Williams sadly isn’t around to reprise his role as Genie, but Will Smith seems to be doing a passable job so far, if ticket sales are anything to go by. The movie’s doing so well it has a couple Screeners worried about their summer box office ballots.
\n\nThat’s beside the point here, though. Is the movie any good? Daniel and April will try to answer that one, and you can help by casting a vote on Facebook or Twitter.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It’s finally happened: the Game of Thrones series finale was this past weekend. Are you mad? We’ve taken a statistically significant* sample of the Internet, and we’re guessing you’re mad. Well, we’ll listen to you if you listen to us. Come join the Screeners for some nostalgia, some ranting, and some...dragons? Sure, why not; we’ll try to get some dragons.
\n\nOf course, the “listening to you” bit happens on Facebook and Twitter, so click on over and join the melee!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Game of Thrones is over, so we guess that means winter has come and gone. The Screeners couldn’t miss the opportunity to look back over the 8 years we’ve spent with the series.","date_published":"2019-05-21T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/60741f46-c796-4393-8995-f1313314d8c3.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":54163734,"duration_in_seconds":3863}]},{"id":"be44db78-c789-4fbd-98b8-a4790c0a47e5","title":"John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/129","content_text":"The Matrix movies weren’t violent enough for Keanu Reeves, so he went and got himself cast in a “real action” movie. That was five years ago, and now we have John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. We’re not sure they needed the colon and the dash, but who are we to argue with marketers as successful as the geniuses behind the John Wick franchise? They’ve made three movies that have been well-received by everyone but Josh, so they must be doing something right.\n\nThe John Wick movies represent something of a phoenix-like resurgence for Keanu Reeves’ career, which presents a pretty original Top 3 question: Who else would you like to see make a comeback? Once you’ve listened (or “endured”, depending on how Chris interprets the question) to the Screeners’ picks, don’t forget share your own with us on Facebook or Twitter!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"The Matrix movies weren’t violent enough for Keanu Reeves, so he went and got himself cast in a “real action” movie. That was five years ago, and now we have John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. We’re not sure they needed the colon and the dash, but who are we to argue with marketers as successful as the geniuses behind the John Wick franchise? They’ve made three movies that have been well-received by everyone but Josh, so they must be doing something right.
\n\nThe John Wick movies represent something of a phoenix-like resurgence for Keanu Reeves’ career, which presents a pretty original Top 3 question: Who else would you like to see make a comeback? Once you’ve listened (or “endured”, depending on how Chris interprets the question) to the Screeners’ picks, don’t forget share your own with us on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We promise there will be a movie review at some point in this episode, but it’s been so long since we’ve done a Flickchart segment—before the newest Screener joined, in fact—that we couldn’t resist fitting one in. It might take awhile to find two movies that Josh has seen, but stick with us here.
\n\nOK, so the review. The Pokémon Company has conquered the crossover animé and Game Boy worlds, and they’ve tracked the movements of a generation by getting them to trade a real-time stream of GPS data for Pikachu-shaped pixels. Now, they’ve lent their IP to what passes for a live-action movie in the 21st century, Pokémon Detective Pikachu (as if we couldn’t tell it was a Pokémon movie without that lead-in). The only question left is whether a Pikachu-shaped stand-in for Ted will make more or slightly less money at the box office than Avengers: Endgame.
\n\nYeah...it’ll probably be a good deal less, seeing as how Endgame has already made more money than the GDP of several island nations. Still, though, a furry Ryan Reynolds is going to make a dent, right? Don’t forget to tell us what you thought of the movie on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
No, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile is not a sequel to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, despite the titles’ uncannily similar overuse of adverbs. It’s a movie about Ted Bundy from a somewhat new perspective—you know, just in case you needed an escape from the horrors of modern life.
\n\nTwo Screeners planted themselves on the couch to watch this for you, though, so the least you can do is tune in to see if you should do the same. Once you’ve done that, head over to Facebook or Twitter and see if you can convince Chris that it’s better than Hannibal. Spoiler alert: You can’t.
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\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It’s taken us many years and what feels like hundreds of movies, but we’ve reached the end of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s culminating in Avengers: Endgame an opus so long it’s spawned a cottage industry of articles designed to tell you when it’s safe to go to the bathroom.
\n\nSo it’s been released, and it made, like, a billion dollars on opening weekend (not hyperbole). What Kevin Feige and the rest of us really want to know, though, is whether Chris liked it more than Infinity War. Well, we’re here to put that debate to rest once and for all.
\n\nOh, we’re sure the other four Screeners who braved the mobs opening weekend will have some thoughts too, but we’re really here for Chris, right?...right?
\n\nAnyway, you know where to find us to agree or disagree about the biggest cash cow of all time: Facebook or Twitter. See you there!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"You can probably guess what’s in the review queue this time—Avengers: Endgame. The Screeners have a full roster to discuss a very full movie.","date_published":"2019-04-29T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/54f61d33-5f3c-43ae-926d-adc6e659572d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":73711016,"duration_in_seconds":6111}]},{"id":"9ad5345c-12d8-47fa-8192-c7ed1cb2d9d2","title":"2019 Summer Box Office Wager","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/124","content_text":"It’s that time of year again—the episode so chaotic it even draws Josh out of his cave. Or maybe he just likes the gambling aspect of it. Anyway...it’s Summer Movie Wager time!\n\nYou can check out the rules here, but the quick version is that we’ll be ranking 2019 releases from Avengers: Endgame (April 26) through Labor Day by the haul we expect them to bring in from the US/Canada box office.\n\nAs in any of these contests, most of the fun is in the trash talk, and then the rest of it comes when Chad loses. Tune in for an hour or so of people taking ticket sales way too seriously, and when everyone’s done yelling at each other, head over to Facebook or Twitter and give us your own picks! If you want to go the extra mile, you could even participate on another leaderboard—we didn’t come up with this tradition, after all. Good luck!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s that time of year again—the episode so chaotic it even draws Josh out of his cave. Or maybe he just likes the gambling aspect of it. Anyway...it’s Summer Movie Wager time!
\n\nYou can check out the rules here, but the quick version is that we’ll be ranking 2019 releases from Avengers: Endgame (April 26) through Labor Day by the haul we expect them to bring in from the US/Canada box office.
\n\nAs in any of these contests, most of the fun is in the trash talk, and then the rest of it comes when Chad loses. Tune in for an hour or so of people taking ticket sales way too seriously, and when everyone’s done yelling at each other, head over to Facebook or Twitter and give us your own picks! If you want to go the extra mile, you could even participate on another leaderboard—we didn’t come up with this tradition, after all. Good luck!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It seems that even the small comic companies want a piece of that sweet reboot action, so now there’s another Hellboy movie. There’s no Ron Perlman, though, and the movie’s current Rotten Tomatoes score sort of reflects that. Or maybe it reflects that it’s not a great film—we don’t know; let’s ask Chris and Daniel about it. They’re the only ones who made it out to see this one (so far), so maybe they can tell the rest of us whether it’s worthwhile.
\n\nAny other straggler Screeners who see the movie will have to chime in on Facebook or Twitter, so that’s where you should head now for the rest of the discussion.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners are feeling bad about missing their last scheduled recording, so there are two movies on the agenda tonight. First up, an uncharacteristically light movie from the DC Universe about a teenage superhero: Shazam! Can the studio shake its reputation (at least among the Screeners) of overly dour, dull movies, or will they find some way to ruin an otherwise joyful story?
\n\nAnd while we’re on the topic, let’s do a quick Top 3 on the DC Universe lineup so far. We can’t wait to find out if Shazam! fares better than the current fan favorite, Batman v Superman.
\n\nOK, now that the comics are out of our system, time to turn to some checkout-line horror with the new Stephen King adaptation, Pet Sematary. Recent King films have gotten passing marks from our peanut gallery (except for maybe The Dark Tower, but let’s face it; that was a losing battle), so let’s see if this one keeps the streak going.
\n\nYou know what you have to do now—head to Facebook or Twitter and argue with Chris’s comic book movie rankings! He wants you to, trust us.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"This episode is a double feature of Shazam! and Pet Sematary, so come prepared to experience the full gamut of emotions...except drama. Drama’s an emotion, right? Not during the spring, apparently.","date_published":"2019-04-09T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/facd4492-fc4a-4d6a-b25b-c83253876583.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":65512765,"duration_in_seconds":4081}]},{"id":"238561cf-df5f-40f8-9162-7ddb6179681c","title":"Us","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/121","content_text":"If we say we’re reviewing a horror movie, we’ve probably lost some of you right out of the gate. Josh is usually the first to go. But say “it’s a Jordan Peele horror movie”, and he starts paying attention again. It’s not a sequel to Get Out, but there was something unique about Peele’s voice in his debut feature that leads to high expectations for Us. Chad, Chris, and Daniel made it to the theater on opening weekend, so they’re more than happy to tell you if said expectations were met.\n\nAlso, Apple had one of their big, fancy events on Monday, and they announced something relevant to our little show here. Apple TV+ and Apple TV Channels, or whatever they’re calling the two different things that they announced together, promise to be game-changers. Either way, it’s a new streaming service (or two of them?), so the Screeners have to weigh in.\n\nAnd you should too! What do you think about Us and Apple’s play for streaming dominance? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"If we say we’re reviewing a horror movie, we’ve probably lost some of you right out of the gate. Josh is usually the first to go. But say “it’s a Jordan Peele horror movie”, and he starts paying attention again. It’s not a sequel to Get Out, but there was something unique about Peele’s voice in his debut feature that leads to high expectations for Us. Chad, Chris, and Daniel made it to the theater on opening weekend, so they’re more than happy to tell you if said expectations were met.
\n\nAlso, Apple had one of their big, fancy events on Monday, and they announced something relevant to our little show here. Apple TV+ and Apple TV Channels, or whatever they’re calling the two different things that they announced together, promise to be game-changers. Either way, it’s a new streaming service (or two of them?), so the Screeners have to weigh in.
\n\nAnd you should too! What do you think about Us and Apple’s play for streaming dominance? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Welcome to an episode of the Screeners you can play along with at home! There’s not a lot new in the theater this week, so we’re reviewing the latest Netflix release by J.C. Chandor, director of A Most Violent Year. Triple Frontier is a movie about soldiers, but not about the military. Is “guerilla-style heist movie” a genre? It is now; we’re christening it.
\n\nAnd just to drive home the point that Triple Frontier isn’t a military movie, our Top 3 for this episode is “military movies”. Don’t ask why; just go with it—and if you haven’t already, add your picks to the list over on Facebook or Twitter!
\n\nSee you next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: April Reuning.
","summary":"It’s time for a small-screen review as the Screeners discuss J.C. Chandor’s Netflix-exclusive Triple Frontier.","date_published":"2019-03-19T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5fcb7595-66f5-49a2-8184-e8b5e0149db8.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":81437143,"duration_in_seconds":3387}]},{"id":"995c1b0f-323f-4593-b784-44169aad52b5","title":"Captain Marvel","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/119","content_text":"Before we get into the mundanity of summarizing the episode that is the show notes’ main reason for existing, we have an exciting announcement: a new guest host is joining the Screeners! It’s been too long since we’ve had a female voice in the group, so we’re happy to welcome April to the group.\n\nAnd now, as promised, from breaking news to something...a little less surprising: our main event this episode is a superhero movie. Captain Marvel does start a female character, though, so at least that makes it semi-unique in the Marvel pantheon. Was it worth its box office haul?\n\nOur Top 3 this time (you read right; we’re doing Top 3s again—this episode just keeps on getting better!) is “Amnesia”. You’d think this would mean “movies that feature amnesia”, but who knows how Chris will twist the topic to serve him? Sometimes we think he doesn’t even plan ahead for these and just invents a reason for his pick in real time; it’s actually pretty impressive.\n\nOK, enough fun for one episode. Help us welcome April by leaving a comment on Facebook, and give us your own Top 3 while you’re there!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: April Reuning.","content_html":"Before we get into the mundanity of summarizing the episode that is the show notes’ main reason for existing, we have an exciting announcement: a new guest host is joining the Screeners! It’s been too long since we’ve had a female voice in the group, so we’re happy to welcome April to the group.
\n\nAnd now, as promised, from breaking news to something...a little less surprising: our main event this episode is a superhero movie. Captain Marvel does start a female character, though, so at least that makes it semi-unique in the Marvel pantheon. Was it worth its box office haul?
\n\nOur Top 3 this time (you read right; we’re doing Top 3s again—this episode just keeps on getting better!) is “Amnesia”. You’d think this would mean “movies that feature amnesia”, but who knows how Chris will twist the topic to serve him? Sometimes we think he doesn’t even plan ahead for these and just invents a reason for his pick in real time; it’s actually pretty impressive.
\n\nOK, enough fun for one episode. Help us welcome April by leaving a comment on Facebook, and give us your own Top 3 while you’re there!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: April Reuning.
","summary":"The Screeners welcome a new guest host and review Marvel’s first release of 2019, Captain Marvel.","date_published":"2019-03-14T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/995c1b0f-323f-4593-b784-44169aad52b5.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":69345907,"duration_in_seconds":3458}]},{"id":"6df38817-b93c-40c5-a317-36880c2d21bc","title":"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/118","content_text":"It’s been awhile since the Screeners have just, y’know, talked about stuff, but since the Academy Awards, that same Academy has thrown some serious shade in Netflix’s direction that might affect either their future distribution model or their chances in future awards seasons. So we couldn’t just leave that there.\n\nAlso on the “now that the Oscars are over” front: it’s officially time to start anticipating next year’s contenders, so let’s hear about the movies the Screeners are most looking forward to in 2019. OK, so Chris might not be picking Best Picture nominees as much as “most explosions” nominees, but what would a podcast be without someone picking the fun movies?\n\nOh, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is out, demonstrating once more the new legal requirement for sequels to have subtitles. Let’s talk about it anyway.\n\nYour turn: what movies are on your must-see list for this year? Let us know over on Facebook!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s been awhile since the Screeners have just, y’know, talked about stuff, but since the Academy Awards, that same Academy has thrown some serious shade in Netflix’s direction that might affect either their future distribution model or their chances in future awards seasons. So we couldn’t just leave that there.
\n\nAlso on the “now that the Oscars are over” front: it’s officially time to start anticipating next year’s contenders, so let’s hear about the movies the Screeners are most looking forward to in 2019. OK, so Chris might not be picking Best Picture nominees as much as “most explosions” nominees, but what would a podcast be without someone picking the fun movies?
\n\nOh, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is out, demonstrating once more the new legal requirement for sequels to have subtitles. Let’s talk about it anyway.
\n\nYour turn: what movies are on your must-see list for this year? Let us know over on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
There were at least a couple surprises in this year’s Academy Awards, and Chad and Daniel couldn’t wait another day to talk about them or who earned the prestigious year-long bragging rights for this year's prediction pool. And, of course, it's not just the winner of the host pool we'll be announcing -- there's also a Blu-Ray to be sent to the audience member with the best ballot, so tune in to find out who won.
\n\nAnd the contest may be over, but the discussion isn't! We don’t just want to hear your picks; we want to hear what you thought about the Academy’s choices. Let us know over on Facbeook, and we’ll be back in a week or so with a special announcement!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Alita: Battle Angel might be one of those Hollywood manga reimaginings that no one really asked for, but which James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez decided to give us anyway. Sure, there are probably fans of the original series, but how many are there, and did they even want this? Chad and Chris may never know the answer to those questions, but they can tell you how the Americanized film turned out. You might think there wouldn’t be much to talk about here, but you’d be mistaken.
\n\nAnd while we’re here, why not spend some time on the sequel to the Screeners-approved cartoon/toy mashup, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. We see what they did there with the title, but does the rest of the movie maintain that sort of razor-sharp wit? Tune in to find out.
\n\nOK, so those reviews might actually show up in reverse order in the episode, but we just felt like mocking Alita was more important to our goal here. Did you see either of these? How wrong was Chris (or Chad; he’s usually wrong too)? Let us know on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners just awarded their best of 2018, and it’s about to be the Academy’s turn (we totally planned the recording schedule that way, btw). You know what that means: Chad, Daniel, and Tyler are going to dish on the Oscars—who’s in the running, who’s not, why that’s such a crime, and why Josh should pay more attention to awards season. OK, so no one cares about that last one, but we figured that if we were going to pretend that people cared about the other three...
\n\nJust kidding; the Academy Awards are a yearly institution, and they’re surely the deciding factor in certain films getting greenlit or not, so they’re at least worth a Screeners episode. Just don’t tell Chris that Mission Impossible probably won’t win best picture.
\n\nHave any predictions/rants of your own for this year’s awards lineup? Let us know on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The hardcore Academy-groupie contingent of the Screeners do a deep dive on the upcoming Oscars show. ","date_published":"2019-02-14T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/1928d253-dee8-4299-b738-b45b4a98f918.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":70329855,"duration_in_seconds":4385}]},{"id":"11eec192-ddb1-46db-a460-4d0001a8dc2e","title":"Episode 115: Best of 2018","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/115-best-of-2018","content_text":"It’s that time of year again! “What time,” you ask? Well, you could be forgiven for answering “time for the Screeners to finally record another episode” (except by Daniel; he takes these things personally), but what we were going for was “time for a ‘year in review’ episode”. The Screeners—or most of them, plus guest host Tyler—are back once more to share their favorite (and least favorite) cinematic experiences of 2018.\n\nEven if the timing isn’t, at least the format of these episodes is consistent: we’ll start off with each host’s top 10 list, round-robin countdown style, then we’ll hit a few bonus questions at the end. It doesn’t sound like much, but it definitely is...trust us.\n\nIf you make it through the whole thing, head over to Facebook and add your picks to the mix (we’ll post ours in convenient text form over there too, just to start things off right).\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"It’s that time of year again! “What time,” you ask? Well, you could be forgiven for answering “time for the Screeners to finally record another episode” (except by Daniel; he takes these things personally), but what we were going for was “time for a ‘year in review’ episode”. The Screeners—or most of them, plus guest host Tyler—are back once more to share their favorite (and least favorite) cinematic experiences of 2018.
\n\nEven if the timing isn’t, at least the format of these episodes is consistent: we’ll start off with each host’s top 10 list, round-robin countdown style, then we’ll hit a few bonus questions at the end. It doesn’t sound like much, but it definitely is...trust us.
\n\nIf you make it through the whole thing, head over to Facebook and add your picks to the mix (we’ll post ours in convenient text form over there too, just to start things off right).
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The Screeners (plus Tyler!) discuss the best, worst, and ugliest of cinema in 2018. ","date_published":"2019-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/11eec192-ddb1-46db-a460-4d0001a8dc2e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":76885329,"duration_in_seconds":6390}]},{"id":"c6b88b9d-c844-4299-a83d-7f4c9554abae","title":"Episode 114: Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/114-mary-poppins-returns-aquaman","content_text":"The Screeners can’t think of any better way to spend the holiday season than some quality family time, a reboot of a beloved musical (which couldn’t possibly fall flat), and a C-list tattooed superhero with a trident.\n\nOK, so we’re just playing the hand we’ve been dealt this year. Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman are here, so that’s what we watched—or, at least, what Chad, Daniel, and Tyler watched. Everyone else was strangely absent for this episode, though we can’t imagine why.\n\nShare some holiday cheer over on Facebook page, and have a great New Year!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"The Screeners can’t think of any better way to spend the holiday season than some quality family time, a reboot of a beloved musical (which couldn’t possibly fall flat), and a C-list tattooed superhero with a trident.
\n\nOK, so we’re just playing the hand we’ve been dealt this year. Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman are here, so that’s what we watched—or, at least, what Chad, Daniel, and Tyler watched. Everyone else was strangely absent for this episode, though we can’t imagine why.
\n\nShare some holiday cheer over on Facebook page, and have a great New Year!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"With reviews of both Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman, this Screeners holiday episode has a little something for everyone.","date_published":"2018-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c6b88b9d-c844-4299-a83d-7f4c9554abae.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":92369091,"duration_in_seconds":3837}]},{"id":"0a11900d-dd04-4084-8b54-dbf5c9b7eff0","title":"Episode 113: Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/113-spiderman-spiderverse","content_text":"Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is more than just a strangely punctuated and capitalized title; it’s also a new take on the character. With a PG rating, it’s about as family-friendly as superhero movies get, and it’s scoring a lot of style points with critics. Is that enough, though, or should Sony just give up and sell the Spiderman rights back to Marvel Studios so they can fully assimilate him into the money-printing machine?\n\nAnd since this is still technically a Spiderman movie, we sort of have to address the craziness that is the Spiderman film canon. Let’s go ahead and talk about our favorite entries and decide once and for all who wore the Spandex best.\n\nCast your vote on that question and more on the Screeners Facebook page, and we’ll see you next time!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is more than just a strangely punctuated and capitalized title; it’s also a new take on the character. With a PG rating, it’s about as family-friendly as superhero movies get, and it’s scoring a lot of style points with critics. Is that enough, though, or should Sony just give up and sell the Spiderman rights back to Marvel Studios so they can fully assimilate him into the money-printing machine?
\n\nAnd since this is still technically a Spiderman movie, we sort of have to address the craziness that is the Spiderman film canon. Let’s go ahead and talk about our favorite entries and decide once and for all who wore the Spandex best.
\n\nCast your vote on that question and more on the Screeners Facebook page, and we’ll see you next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
OK, we promised we wouldn’t turn the show notes all political, so...Green Book is a movie about two people who become friends, and it’s set in a time period other than the present. We’re not sure if it’s a commentary on anything at all, and we have no idea why it was released this year. Chad and Daniel both saw it, so they’re going to talk about it, and we’re sure neither of them will say anything controversial. It’s a good thing Josh hasn’t seen it yet, because we’re sure he wouldn’t have any opinions about any of these topics either.
\n\nAlso, the Golden Globe nominations have been announced. The Globes are either the most credible or the most boring arbiters of “quality” entertainment, depending whom you ask. They’re happening in January, though, so you might as well let the Screeners’ two biggest award show groupies catch you up on the latest dirt.
\n\nAnd once you’ve listened, as always, go to Facebook and cast your own ballot for the Globes.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
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The Screeners are back after the holiday craziness (at least, the first holiday craziness of the season) with another sequel double feature. At least Creed II and Ralph Breaks the Internet are from different genres—boxing movies and animated features don’t have a lot in common...or do they? One is the latest in a decades-long franchise that’s become an American classic, and one...is a Disney movie. Both have a name live up to; the first Creed brought the Rocky story alive for a new generation, earning a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes in the process, and Wreck-It Ralph was good enough to be featured in one of Kanye West’s psychotic episodes*.
Anyway, Chad, Chris, and Daniel (listed in alphabetical order for your convenience) each made it to the theater for at least one of these fine films, so we might as well let them say the rest. Or better yet, let them say a little bit, then go to Facebook to argue with them. It’ll make Josh feel like he was there too. “What about Melody?” you say? Well, she doesn’t like to argue unless it’s about The Sound of Music or that TV show from the 80s that she hallucinated that one time, but we’re sure we can provoke her somehow.
\n\n* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmKMGlulUIg. The Wreck-It Ralph bit isn’t at the beginning, but we’re not telling you where it is because you just need to watch the whole thing.
Subscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
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The Chad and Daniel bonus hour* is back! Judging by box office returns, you may not be all that excited about First Man, but maybe the two Screeners who spend the most time in the theater can convince you otherwise.
\n\nIf not, there’s plenty more to talk about, since they also saw Bad Times at the El Royale recently. They’ll cover that and more in an Oscar-season What We’ve Been Watching segment that’s sure to give you some items for your own list.
\n\nSpeaking of your list, we want to know what you’ve been watching too. Let us know on Facebook—you might hear about it on a future episode!
\n\n* Bonus hours may not last an actual hour...on Earth.
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It’s that time again—another incongruous Screeners double feature! One movie’s called A Star is Born, and the main character from the other one was born on a star (Sort of? Maybe?), but that’s where the similarity ends. A Star is Born may be a remake, but Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga are getting terrific buzz for their acting. Tom Hardy as Venom, though? Not so much. That said, it’s still a Marvel movie, so at least a couple of the Screeners will see it out of an overwhelming sense of duty.
\n\nSpeaking of duty: Tyler’s back as a guest host because a) we like him, and b) not enough of the Screeners did their job. Everyone give him a warm re-welcome on Facebook, OK?
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Superstars and supervillains dominate this episode of the Screeners. Join Chad, Daniel, and Tyler for reviews of A Star is Born and Venom.","date_published":"2018-10-09T01:45:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/2ba38c8f-aff2-4ca1-80b7-2b34753aa5e1.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":88565902,"duration_in_seconds":3646}]},{"id":"cd68be62-d59c-499b-8f13-3d140eb7aa88","title":"Episode 108: Box Office Wager 2018 Results","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/108-box-office-results","content_text":"It’s (well) past Labor Day now, so we can safely determine that Josh lost the 2018 Box Office Wager. Just kidding; we knew that back in May. Anyway, the final results are in, and the real question here is whether Chad’s prognostications live up to his braggadocio. The Screeners Podcast: Come for the superhero movies, stay for the big words in the show notes.\n\nAnd don’t forget to let us know how your own box office ballot turned out on Facebook!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s (well) past Labor Day now, so we can safely determine that Josh lost the 2018 Box Office Wager. Just kidding; we knew that back in May. Anyway, the final results are in, and the real question here is whether Chad’s prognostications live up to his braggadocio. The Screeners Podcast: Come for the superhero movies, stay for the big words in the show notes.
\n\nAnd don’t forget to let us know how your own box office ballot turned out on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Good news, everyone: Spike Lee is back. BlacKkKlansman is one of those movies you really wish wasn’t based so closely on a true story, for so many reasons. An undercover police officer really did infiltrate the KKK in the 1970s, though, and the story only gets better from there. If the pedigree and critical reception weren’t enough to convince you to see it, maybe the Screeners can help.
\n\nAnd if the Screeners aren’t enough, maybe special guest host Rob Alderman of 5dollarfilm fame will be. If even he isn’t enough, then...OK, you got us. We’re out of options. Head over to Facebook and tell us about how we let you down. We can take it.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
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\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Crazy Rich Asians is this summer’s breakout rom-com hit, topping the box office on its opening weekend. There’s not much more a romantic comedy needs to do, and this one wasn’t expected to do quite this well, so what gives? Maybe it’s the story, maybe the cast...we’re sure at least some of the Screeners (plus their guest host) have some opinions.
\n\nAnd since we’re talking romantic comedies, why not bring back a Top 3 segment about them just for fun? I mean, we know Daniel’s top pick is going to be—say it with us, everyone— San Andreas, but maybe some of the others will surprise us.
\n\nWe know we’re not the only ones with favorite (guilty pleasure?) rom-coms, so once you’re done listening and disagreeing with Chad, let us know why over on Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"This summer’s romantic comedy landscape includes a little cultural diversity and some rare themes for the genre, so the Screeners aren’t just going to let Crazy Rich Asians slide by without comment. Is it worthy of all its buzz?","date_published":"2018-08-22T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c0534041-7317-41ce-9b09-bb12fb5c365f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":66958376,"duration_in_seconds":4179}]},{"id":"d6d6a715-a901-4aa3-9bb4-3ed675e5de3f","title":"Episode 106: The Meg","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/106-meg","content_text":"Jaws taught us something we already knew—we’re scared of sharks. The Sharknado movies taught us that shark movies didn’t have to be good to be popular. Now, The Meg wants us to know that they don’t even have to have a good name, that people will buy tickets to a shark movie whose name they can’t even say out loud with a straight face.\n\nYou know what? It’s a scary world out there, and we don’t blame you if you’d rather just imagine us all being eaten by an extinct giant shark-like thing for a couple hours. No judgment here. So go to the theater, now that we’ve allayed your fears that The Meg might be a truly terrible Family Guy spinoff. It’s not; it’s something closer to a mix between Deep Blue Sea without Samuel L. Jackson and Armageddon without Bruce Willis. Enjoy.\n\nOh, and the Academy saw fit to add a new category to the Oscars this year. If you don’t know what it is yet, have we got a treat for you. Once you’ve heard Daniel’s opinion (if you had the time to listen to all of it), let us know what you think by leaving a sardonic comment over on Facebook. Josh may not be on many episodes nowadays, but he still takes great pleasure in reading anti-establishment grumbling on Facebook.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Jaws taught us something we already knew—we’re scared of sharks. The Sharknado movies taught us that shark movies didn’t have to be good to be popular. Now, The Meg wants us to know that they don’t even have to have a good name, that people will buy tickets to a shark movie whose name they can’t even say out loud with a straight face.
\n\nYou know what? It’s a scary world out there, and we don’t blame you if you’d rather just imagine us all being eaten by an extinct giant shark-like thing for a couple hours. No judgment here. So go to the theater, now that we’ve allayed your fears that The Meg might be a truly terrible Family Guy spinoff. It’s not; it’s something closer to a mix between Deep Blue Sea without Samuel L. Jackson and Armageddon without Bruce Willis. Enjoy.
\n\nOh, and the Academy saw fit to add a new category to the Oscars this year. If you don’t know what it is yet, have we got a treat for you. Once you’ve heard Daniel’s opinion (if you had the time to listen to all of it), let us know what you think by leaving a sardonic comment over on Facebook. Josh may not be on many episodes nowadays, but he still takes great pleasure in reading anti-establishment grumbling on Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Giant dinosaur sharks get no respect these days, and The Meg wants to change that. Did the scientifically adjacent plot accomplish its goal? Join us to find out that and so much more.","date_published":"2018-08-13T13:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/d6d6a715-a901-4aa3-9bb4-3ed675e5de3f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":76733283,"duration_in_seconds":3193}]},{"id":"539f04fb-0040-45eb-9e0d-f0197f6b3a09","title":"Bonus Episode: Christopher Robin","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-christopher-robin","content_text":"“Live action remakes of classic Disney children’s movies” sounds like one of those hilariously over-specific Netflix genres, but it seems like Disney’s really trying to fill it out. Add that category to “mediocre Star Wars sequels”, and they may never have to make a truly original movie again.\n\nOK, so Christopher Robin isn’t exactly a remake; it’s a live-action “where are they now?” sort of thing. Sadly, though, Seth MacFarlane has so soiled the idea of “a boy with a favorite teddy bear, but all grown up” that we wish it were a remake. It would save us a lot of awkward conversations.\n\nChris and Daniel saw it anyway, though, and they did their best to not imagine Pooh Bear making crass jokes and being a general cinematic disappointment. Should you join them in the theater? Listen for their thoughts, then give us your own on Facebook.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"“Live action remakes of classic Disney children’s movies” sounds like one of those hilariously over-specific Netflix genres, but it seems like Disney’s really trying to fill it out. Add that category to “mediocre Star Wars sequels”, and they may never have to make a truly original movie again.
\n\nOK, so Christopher Robin isn’t exactly a remake; it’s a live-action “where are they now?” sort of thing. Sadly, though, Seth MacFarlane has so soiled the idea of “a boy with a favorite teddy bear, but all grown up” that we wish it were a remake. It would save us a lot of awkward conversations.
\n\nChris and Daniel saw it anyway, though, and they did their best to not imagine Pooh Bear making crass jokes and being a general cinematic disappointment. Should you join them in the theater? Listen for their thoughts, then give us your own on Facebook.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’ve covered how summer is the season of sequels, but so far this year we’ve avoided mentioning Tom Cruise. Well, no longer, because he’s in a—say it with me—sequel. This sequel’s special, though, because it’s in a franchise that has a colon right in the main title, and you know how much Daniel loves those. Franchises with colons in the title get to use dashes for the installment names, though, so that makes it a bit better. OK, so the movie’s Mission: Impossible—Fallout, but you already knew that. The only way we could say something unexpected about it was to talk about punctuation. We hope you’re happy.
\n\nJust so it’s not all Cruise all the time, though, let’s also take a minute to talk about some TV. Err, sort-of TV. Whatever we’re calling all these streaming services that are turning into premium cable networks. Hulu has a new show called Castle Rock that’s produced by JJ Abrams and draws from all over Stephen King’s body of work. It’s a show made for Josh to hate, but sadly he’s not here to talk about it. We’ll let Chris, Melody, and Daniel do that instead; we’re sure they’ll be just as pessimistic about it.
\n\nAnd with that, it’s off to Facebook. How many impossible missions will it take for the word “impossible” to lose all meaning? You decide!
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There are so many of these now that we’re going to have to start coming up with tiers of Marvel movie. Infinity War is on the “almost satirically large cast” end of the spectrum, which puts the first Ant Man closer to “wait; that was a Marvel movie?” OK, fine—we’ll come up with catchier names, but you’ll have to wait for them; you can’t rush genius.
\n\nAnyway, where were we? Oh, right; Paul Rudd. We’ve loved him at least since Almost Famous—wait; that wasn’t Paul Rudd? We’ve been living a lie!
\n\nSeriously, though. Ant Man’s a real superhero—like, Stan Lee real. He has a nemesis named the Wasp, which is both entomologically sound (depending on the species, of course) and makes for a convenient movie title, Ant Man and the Wasp...What’s that you say? No, the studio is not phoning it in, and we’ll thank you to take your heresy elsewhere.
\n\nSuperheroes, though, so Chris and Daniel are in. Should you be? Tune in and find out, then hop over to Facebook and suggest your own names for levels of the Marvel movie taxonomy. If yours are good enough, we might use them in a future episode and give up on writing our own. Think about it—your claim to fame could be breaking our creative spirit. Tempting, right?
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Another summer, another slate of franchises. We’ve covered the pre/se/reboot that was Ocean’s 8; now it’s time for a couple movies that are unambiguously sequels: Jurassic World 2 and Incredibles 2.
\n\nThe first installment of Jurassic World (or fourth installment of Jurassic Park...maybe this sequel thing is more complicated than we thought) has a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, also known as the very definition of a “mixed reception”. That didn’t stop the franchise train from rolling along, though, and we know at least one critic who’s still bullish on the whole thing. You’ll have to listen to find out who it is; it might not be Chris.
\n\nIncredibles 2, on the other hand, has some expectations to live up to. We’ve all been waiting to find out...well, whether the wait was worth it. Has the new installment done right by the original, or is this another Cars 2 scenario?
\n\nOK; Facebook time. Is the lack of originality a feature of Hollywood, or a bug? You decide.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Chad Madden.
","summary":"Time for a sequel double feature! The Screeners review Jurassic World 2 and Incredibles 2 and, of course, how both fit into the all-important Box Office Wager.","date_published":"2018-06-28T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/2de57fe0-b353-4286-8bb9-9ff2a4a37d76.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":70180137,"duration_in_seconds":4310}]},{"id":"e540c28d-ceec-4bf7-b235-4680e56b071f","title":"Bonus Episode: Ocean's 8","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-oceans-8","content_text":"Ocean’s 8 isn’t the first time in recent history that a dude-heavy cast has been replaced wholesale in a reboot/sequel-type scenario, but it’s at least the first time that’s been done in the heist genre. The question, of course, is whether it lives up to the pedigree of Ocean’s movies, assuming the series qualifies as having a “pedigree” to begin with. It didn’t place very well in the summer box office wager, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a bonus episode.\n\nOK; Facebook time. What did you think of the all-star lineup of female thieves?\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Ocean’s 8 isn’t the first time in recent history that a dude-heavy cast has been replaced wholesale in a reboot/sequel-type scenario, but it’s at least the first time that’s been done in the heist genre. The question, of course, is whether it lives up to the pedigree of Ocean’s movies, assuming the series qualifies as having a “pedigree” to begin with. It didn’t place very well in the summer box office wager, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a bonus episode.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
If the buzz about Hereditary is to be believed, it ranks up there with The Exorcist for audience reaction, which is nothing to sneeze at. We won’t say much more here than “it’s not your typical gore fest of a horror movie”; we’ll leave it in the capable hands of Daniel and guest host Tyler to decide how much else you need to know before heading into the theater—maybe with a security blanket or something.
\n\nOn the shortlist for our next episode: Ocean’s 8 and Incredibles 2. What they lack in originality, they make up for in...not giving you a heart attack. As always, head over to Facebook if you were traumatized by Hereditary and still need a shoulder to grab.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Hereditary’s not for the faint of heart—in fact, only one Screener and friend of the podcast Tyler have made it to the theater for this one so far. Check out this bonus episode to find out if it lives up to the hype.","date_published":"2018-06-15T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a91f8c95-4752-40ab-97a0-fdaf64b48dc6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":41379472,"duration_in_seconds":2488}]},{"id":"b167eb78-43d9-429a-b687-7fa0436ae659","title":"Episode 103: Solo: A Star Wars Story and Deadpool 2","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/103-solo-deadpool","content_text":"Star Wars is back! We’re sure that’ll be less exciting to say after maybe year 5 or 10, but for now it’s still fresh and fun, right? Maybe Disney has hit the right stride with one Star Wars movie a year—it keeps the artificial feeling of scarcity alive, kind of like McDonalds and the marketing coup that is the McRib.\n\nAnyway, Solo: A Star Wars Story (yes; that’s the actual full title) is out, and instead of being a new story for fans (and actors) to complain about, it focuses on a beloved character from the original trilogy. This can only end well, we’re sure. Is it worth seeing? Does the lead actor look anything like Harrison Ford? Will Donald Glover save us all? Tune in as Chad, Chris, and Daniel tackle all these questions and more.\n\nAnd we may be a couple weeks behind on this one, but we recorded a review of Deadpool 2 (with Josh!), so we had to go ahead and release it. If we could time-travel, we'd go back and release it on time, but we're still working on that one.\n\nAs always, once the episode’s done, head over to Facebook. We’re sure you have something to add to this one.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Star Wars is back! We’re sure that’ll be less exciting to say after maybe year 5 or 10, but for now it’s still fresh and fun, right? Maybe Disney has hit the right stride with one Star Wars movie a year—it keeps the artificial feeling of scarcity alive, kind of like McDonalds and the marketing coup that is the McRib.
\n\nAnyway, Solo: A Star Wars Story (yes; that’s the actual full title) is out, and instead of being a new story for fans (and actors) to complain about, it focuses on a beloved character from the original trilogy. This can only end well, we’re sure. Is it worth seeing? Does the lead actor look anything like Harrison Ford? Will Donald Glover save us all? Tune in as Chad, Chris, and Daniel tackle all these questions and more.
\n\nAnd we may be a couple weeks behind on this one, but we recorded a review of Deadpool 2 (with Josh!), so we had to go ahead and release it. If we could time-travel, we'd go back and release it on time, but we're still working on that one.
\n\nAs always, once the episode’s done, head over to Facebook. We’re sure you have something to add to this one.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
You may not have heard much about Tully, and that’s for the best. The writer, director, and star of Young Adult are working together again, and that’s all we’ll give you. Oh—that, and there’s an outside chance that Chad and Daniel might not be the most...equipped Screeners to review a movie about motherhood, but they’re who you get. Just listen; trust us.
\n\nAs always, head over to Facebook and tell us if you’d even heard of Tully before this. Is Josh the only one who missed it entirely? We wouldn’t be surprised if he is.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We all knew this day was coming. Marvel called every major actor they’ve ever hired (except Hugh Jackman, which seems like a real missed opportunity), put them all in one giant green-walled room, and said, “Alright, now everyone be as sarcastic as possible.” At least, that’s the most we’re willing to give away about Avengers: Infinity War in show notes form.
\n\nThe movie got the Screeners opening weekend A-team into the theater, and they’ve brought in Tyler from Next Trek for backup. Did the movie live up to the hype the trailers created? Tune in to find out what the Screeners thought, then throw your opinion in the ring over on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Coming off the massive February success of Black Panther, Marvel has pulled out all the stops for Avengers: Infinity War. Was it all worth it?","date_published":"2018-04-30T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/1c053c6a-c241-4daf-a353-da6becd1f8b7.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":51496062,"duration_in_seconds":3152}]},{"id":"19319865-c959-42b8-a65f-e76cc1d13c53","title":"Episode 101: Summer Box Office Wager 2018","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/101-summer-box-office-wager-2018","content_text":"Well, it’s finally spring, so it’s officially time for the Screeners Summer Box Office Wager! That...that makes sense, right? It made sense when we came up with it. Well, we’re doing it anyway, no matter how much sense it makes. The Screeners have all put together a list of movies they think will tip the money scales this year, and whoever’s wild guesses are the most accurate will win a (totally not anticlimactic) prize.\n\nOnce you’ve heard the Screeners’ picks, head over to Facebook and drop us a comment with your list, or even to Slashfilm to play along all official-like. See you next time!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Well, it’s finally spring, so it’s officially time for the Screeners Summer Box Office Wager! That...that makes sense, right? It made sense when we came up with it. Well, we’re doing it anyway, no matter how much sense it makes. The Screeners have all put together a list of movies they think will tip the money scales this year, and whoever’s wild guesses are the most accurate will win a (totally not anticlimactic) prize.
\n\nOnce you’ve heard the Screeners’ picks, head over to Facebook and drop us a comment with your list, or even to Slashfilm to play along all official-like. See you next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Dwayne Johnson keeps getting typecast as an action star, and we can’t for the life of us figure out why. Just once, we want to see him in, like, a period piece. Wouldn’t he look great in a powdered wig?
\n\nAnyway, Rampage is decidedly not that. It’s based on a delightful arcade game from the 80s about monsters destroying buildings, so there’s literally no reason why the people who made San Andreas shouldn’t be in charge of this one too. Have at it, fellas. We’re sure Daniel has your back. Chris is jumping in for this bonus review too, though, so maybe there’ll be some tempering of Daniel’s enthusiasm.
\n\nOnce you let us know your thoughts on this nostalgia piece over on Facebook, start looking up this summer’s releases; next on the calendar is the Screeners’ annual Summer Box Office Wager!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
John Krasinski’s come a long way since The Office. A Quiet Place is less witty repartée and more “we hope you know sign language”. It’s an original take on the horror genre, and that’s served it well at the box office. Two of the Screeners headed to the theater to see this one, and if there’s one thing that you know the episode won’t be, it’s...well, quiet.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We know the notes for the last episode were all about Chris, but Ready Player One might be the most excited we’ve seen him about...well, anything, so we couldn’t help but dedicate this bonus episode to him and his love of loving things. Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s ode to all things pop culture had a big opening day, and it looks like it’ll have a similarly great weekend. Four out of five Screeners couldn’t wait even that long, so what did they think? Should you contribute to the box office haul this weekend?
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Given how much Chris loved the last Pacific Rim movie, the Screeners knew they couldn’t miss the chance to get him on record reviewing Uprising. Chad and Daniel even offered to watch it too. That’s all this bonus episode is: giant robots (that don’t even turn into cars), some monsters, and a lover of loving things. We’re really not sure what else you could ask for. Enjoy, then click over to Facebook to let us know if you headed to the theater for this one.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
It’s March, so it’s time to crank up the reboot season. No, not the one with Melissa Joan Hart, the remake of an even newer, less beloved movie, Tomb Raider. Did we mention that the last Tomb Raider movie was only 17 years ago and was based on a video game that never should have been made into a movie?
\n\nOK, maybe we’re being unfair. Maybe Alicia Vikander made this movie not terrible. And we guess it’s not technically a reboot. It just, y’know, has the same name, and is about the same character, but features a different actor in the lead role. Like original movies do.
\n\nFor the top 3, let’s let the people decide for once: What video games should be made into movies? Are there any? You’ll have to tune in (or go find the poll on Facebook) to find out!
\n\nOh...well, we already plugged the Facebook page, so...guess this is goodbye? Yeah, guess so. Hm; that was awkward.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Black Panther may have still beaten it at the box office (at least by a little bit), but A Wrinkle in Time still came in second, so that has to be worth something. Oh, and it has Oprah and Mindy Kaling, and then there’s the whole “based on a beloved series of children’s books thing. This was all Chad and Daniel needed to record a bonus episode about it, so here is that episode.
\n\nAs always, let us know if we did Ava DuVernay’s vision justice over on Facebook, and tune in next time for the Screeners’ review of Alicia Vikander’s performance in Tomb Raider.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners, represented by Chad and Daniel, are joined by Tyler from The Next Trek Podcast to discuss the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, dissecting what they expected and what actually happened. Compare notes and then stay tuned for the upcoming episode where you can find out if you beat the Screeners!
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Now that the Oscars have concluded, Chad, Daniel, and Tyler get together to discuss their immediate reactions to the Academy's choices at the 90th Oscar ceremony. ","date_published":"2018-03-05T10:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/19b24b0e-3887-41a7-99b2-276443ef4e7b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":30839482,"duration_in_seconds":1905}]},{"id":"8a1308eb-67e4-4cc5-ae01-1902a18c5c84","title":"Bonus Episode: One Last Oscars Preview","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-oscars-final-preview","content_text":"We promise this is the last episode about the 2018 Oscars...until they're over, at least. Chad, Daniel, Tyler, and Britain just couldn't resist one more feverish run-through of all the races—the excitement! The intrigue! The...the fashion! Listen to this episode, then watch the Oscars, then listen to the Screeners recap the show so Josh can collect his title as top prognosticator. It's going to happen this year; he can feel it in his bones. Or maybe that's arthritis. Who knows?\n\nAnd, of course, one final episode means one final plug for our Oscars predictions contest, live on Facebook now! Go do your cinematic duty and vote!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guests: Britain Miethe and Tyler Howat.","content_html":"We promise this is the last episode about the 2018 Oscars...until they're over, at least. Chad, Daniel, Tyler, and Britain just couldn't resist one more feverish run-through of all the races—the excitement! The intrigue! The...the fashion! Listen to this episode, then watch the Oscars, then listen to the Screeners recap the show so Josh can collect his title as top prognosticator. It's going to happen this year; he can feel it in his bones. Or maybe that's arthritis. Who knows?
\n\nAnd, of course, one final episode means one final plug for our Oscars predictions contest, live on Facebook now! Go do your cinematic duty and vote!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guests: Britain Miethe and Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Now that the Oscars are a few scant days away, Chad, Daniel, Tyler, and Britain get together to give updates on the various nomination races and some of their final predictions.","date_published":"2018-03-01T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/8a1308eb-67e4-4cc5-ae01-1902a18c5c84.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":43004856,"duration_in_seconds":3050}]},{"id":"f78c9b08-6adb-4388-891a-0d56bef2b554","title":"Episode 99: Game Night and Annihilation","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/99-game-night-annihilation","content_text":"This episode is a double-header, so no extraneous segments, no fluff, no listening to how Josh doesn’t know how to rank things against each other. This episode it’s just the four original Screeners getting back to their roots arguing about movies. Well, OK—the four of them argue about one movie. Josh didn’t see the other one. Duh.\n\nOut of Annihilation and Game Night, though, guess which one he did see. What happens next might shock you...then prepare to be shocked again as you hear what Chris has to say about Game Night. Let’s just say that maybe there are a couple other movies he should rewatch.\n\nWe’re not going to say much more about Annihilation than that it’s an adaptation of a novel brought to the big screen by the writer/director of Ex Machina. So, y’know, the movie you’d have expected to have a full Screeners roster for the review. Oh well. Maybe Chad will talk enough for anyone missing.\n\nYou know the drill. Click over to Facebook, tell us your favorite joke from Game Night, mock people who haven’t seen Annihilation, and don’t forget to track down the Oscars contest and cast your votes!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"This episode is a double-header, so no extraneous segments, no fluff, no listening to how Josh doesn’t know how to rank things against each other. This episode it’s just the four original Screeners getting back to their roots arguing about movies. Well, OK—the four of them argue about one movie. Josh didn’t see the other one. Duh.
\n\nOut of Annihilation and Game Night, though, guess which one he did see. What happens next might shock you...then prepare to be shocked again as you hear what Chris has to say about Game Night. Let’s just say that maybe there are a couple other movies he should rewatch.
\n\nWe’re not going to say much more about Annihilation than that it’s an adaptation of a novel brought to the big screen by the writer/director of Ex Machina. So, y’know, the movie you’d have expected to have a full Screeners roster for the review. Oh well. Maybe Chad will talk enough for anyone missing.
\n\nYou know the drill. Click over to Facebook, tell us your favorite joke from Game Night, mock people who haven’t seen Annihilation, and don’t forget to track down the Oscars contest and cast your votes!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Yes, there’s a new Marvel movie, and yes, they chose to release it in February. Black Panther is something of a departure for Marvel in a couple different ways, not the least of which is its writer/director. Ryan Coogler’s first two features, Fruitvale Station and Creed, were well-received but decidedly more, let’s say “constrained”, than your average Marvel flick. The choices have paid off in a big way, though, with Black Panther shooting to the top of the box office, posting the biggest take for a February release of all time.
\n\nThe Screeners couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about another Marvel movie. Josh didn’t make it out on opening weekend, but guest host Phil Bonaparte is taking his place to offer maybe a slightly less superhero-fatigued perspective (or maybe not; guess we’ll see). Has Coogler brought a fresh feel to a universe we’re all pretty familiar with by now?
\n\nAnd while we’re in the comics for the main event, this episode’s Top 3 might as well just stay there. The theme this time is, well, Marvel movies, with the slight twist that everyone’s going to rank Black Panther against the franchise’s other movies whether it fits in one of the top 3 slots or not. So...top 2 + new movie? Top 2...ish? Top 3’s easier; just go with it.
\n\nWe know you have opinions on Black Panther too, and judging by the box office numbers, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen it already. Head over to Facebook and let us know what you think!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Philip Bonaparte II.
","summary":"Black Panther sports a director who’s brand new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he’s already proven himself to the tune of several hundred million dollars. What do the Screeners (plus a special guest) think of the latest Marvel entry?","date_published":"2018-02-20T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/61f514e2-e875-465b-bff5-0a7a93d084dd.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":56864508,"duration_in_seconds":3917}]},{"id":"5ade63ef-ae25-4e12-9c21-c27ca35c622e","title":"Episode 97: Black Mirror and 2018 Releases","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/97-black-mirror-2018-releases","content_text":"2018 has a lot of movie in store, and it's February already, so it’s about time to get the hype train started and find out what’s on the Screeners’ must-see lists. We have a feeling there will be a bit of diversity here, but we’re not going to name names of people who may or may not be excited for movies about dinosaurs.\n\nAnd since we talked about the future, let's spend a bit of time on the past. Yes, season 4 of this now-Netflix “original” may have been released to the binge-ready public last year, but that didn’t stop the Screeners from talking about Phantom Thread, so it definitely won’t stop them from talking about Black Mirror. This is Netflix’s second season distributing the British show; have they been able to maintain the unique qualities that made it such a cult hit?\n\nAs always, we want to see your lists (and hear about your love and/or hate relationship with Black Mirror) on Facebook!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"2018 has a lot of movie in store, and it's February already, so it’s about time to get the hype train started and find out what’s on the Screeners’ must-see lists. We have a feeling there will be a bit of diversity here, but we’re not going to name names of people who may or may not be excited for movies about dinosaurs.
\n\nAnd since we talked about the future, let's spend a bit of time on the past. Yes, season 4 of this now-Netflix “original” may have been released to the binge-ready public last year, but that didn’t stop the Screeners from talking about Phantom Thread, so it definitely won’t stop them from talking about Black Mirror. This is Netflix’s second season distributing the British show; have they been able to maintain the unique qualities that made it such a cult hit?
\n\nAs always, we want to see your lists (and hear about your love and/or hate relationship with Black Mirror) on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Phantom Thread is PT Anderson’s latest movie with Daniel Day-Lewis in a leading role and supposedly Day-Lewis’s last movie ever. It technically qualifies as a 2017 movie, but given that introduction (and the fact that it was only released wide last month), we’re sure you can understand why at least a few of the Screeners wanted to talk about it.
\n\nWe may have buried the lede there. The real story is that Josh is here for one of these Chad/Daniel bonus episodes, which means he was in the theater for a movie that he wasn’t peer pressured into seeing, which means he went to a theater voluntarily. That alone makes this episode worth listening to, right?
\n\nOK, fine. Listen to it because PT Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis. We won’t blame you...as long as you join us on Facebook afterwards and tell us about your history with the 1950’s fashion world.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
So we’re told there was a football game recently. We wouldn’t know; we were busy watching commercials. There were blockbuster movie trailers left and right, something about Australia, and, of course, Tide ads. Chad, Josh, and Daniel (also known as the “non-cord-cutter” contingent of the Screeners) were on hand for the marketing melee; who did they think won the evening?
\n\nThe real show-stealer may have been how Netflix took on NBC’s This is Us marketing machine by releasing The Cloverfield Paradox right after “The Big Game”*. It was a bold move, and one that hooked at least Chad and Daniel into staying up even later and watching it. Or maybe they cheated and watched it on Monday—that’s the problem with Netflix; you just can’t tell. Either way, was it worth it, guys?
\n\nYou know the drill—head over to Facebook; tell us if you’ve caught The Cloverfield Paradox yet and what you thought of Netflix’s release strategy. ‘Til next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Oscar nominations are out, and we already know that Daniel has plenty to say about them. He’s got enough, in fact, that he roped Chad and Britain into recording a bonus episode just to recap the highlights and talk about this year’s snubs and surprises.
\n\nWe know these three aren’t the only ones with opinions, though. Josh might not have anything to say, but if you do, head over to Facebook and let us know!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Britain Miethe .
","summary":"Join Chad, Daniel, and Britain for a review of this year’s Oscar nominations and a discussion of some of the tight races.","date_published":"2018-01-27T12:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/721d7d03-9615-4543-9dd2-f0a77d7abd21.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":45447333,"duration_in_seconds":2797}]},{"id":"82286b73-8bba-4396-b90f-2c758fc34b41","title":"Episode 96: Best of 2017","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/96-best-of-2017","content_text":"It’s almost February 2018, so the Screeners thought it would be a good idea to go back and relive 2017...in cinema, at least. That’s right; it’s time for the annual Best of (insert last year) episode! There’s something for just about everyone in this year’s selections, whether, you saw 18 movies last year (like Josh) or closer to 18² (like Daniel). Join the Screeners as they laugh, cry, and unanimously deride Chris’s picks1.\n\nOnce you’ve listened (and congratulations if you made it this far; we know it wasn’t easy), hop over to Facebook and send us your own picks!\n\n1 OK; so in reality they might actually agree on most of them, but this sounded totally plausible, didn’t it?\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"It’s almost February 2018, so the Screeners thought it would be a good idea to go back and relive 2017...in cinema, at least. That’s right; it’s time for the annual Best of (insert last year) episode! There’s something for just about everyone in this year’s selections, whether, you saw 18 movies last year (like Josh) or closer to 18² (like Daniel). Join the Screeners as they laugh, cry, and unanimously deride Chris’s picks1.
\n\nOnce you’ve listened (and congratulations if you made it this far; we know it wasn’t easy), hop over to Facebook and send us your own picks!
\n\n1 OK; so in reality they might actually agree on most of them, but this sounded totally plausible, didn’t it?
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
There are a lot of people involved in The Post. Sure, it stars Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and it’s directed by Steven Spielberg, but if we named everyone else in the cast, we might not have room to say anything else about the Screeners’ review of...wait a second, that’s a perfect excuse; why are we trying to talk ourselves out of it?
\n\nKnow who’s in The Post? Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, David Cross, Alison Brie, Bradley Whitford, Jesse Plemons...OK; we can’t keep doing this in good conscience. Just know that that’s not an exhaustive list—there are other very recognizable actors in there too. Will the star power be enough to win over the Screeners?
\n\nOh, and one more thing: The Screeners blog is getting a new regular author! Britain Miethe has been a listener for some time now, and it turns out he has opinions too. We’re all about giving people a voice here at the site (though not on the podcast; Josh can keep his thoughts to himself), so we thought we’d give him a regular column. Just so everyone can get to know him, he’s also guest hosting tonight along with everyone else. Welcome, Britain!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Britain Miethe .
","summary":"To say that Steven Spielberg’s newest movie has generated some buzz might be an understatement, but the Screeners won’t give him any preferential treatment just because he’s, like, the most successful and respected director of all time and stuff.","date_published":"2018-01-17T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/032eccf0-212a-452e-97aa-221ca3f8bd3c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":58953431,"duration_in_seconds":3582}]},{"id":"67cfcf67-d0dd-4890-aed1-159a9f742941","title":"Bonus Episode: Interview with actor Paul Hauser (I, Tonya) ","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/hauser-interview","content_text":"In this special episode, Daniel is joined by Paul Walter Hauser, one of the stars of the new film I, Tonya, which chronicles the life of Tonya Harding. Paul has been receiving rave reviews for his scene-stealing work as Shawn Eckardt in the film.\n\nDaniel and Paul talk about what it was like to get cast in the film and to work alongside a spectacular cast and crew. They also discuss Tonya Harding herself, and whether or not America should re-evaluate her place in history.\n\nCheck out the interview, and stay tuned for more episodes coming your way soon!","content_html":"In this special episode, Daniel is joined by Paul Walter Hauser, one of the stars of the new film I, Tonya, which chronicles the life of Tonya Harding. Paul has been receiving rave reviews for his scene-stealing work as Shawn Eckardt in the film.
\n\nDaniel and Paul talk about what it was like to get cast in the film and to work alongside a spectacular cast and crew. They also discuss Tonya Harding herself, and whether or not America should re-evaluate her place in history.
\n\nCheck out the interview, and stay tuned for more episodes coming your way soon!
","summary":"In a special episode, Daniel is joined by actor Paul Walter Hauser, one of the stars of I, Tonya. They talk about the movie, Tonya Harding, and playing an unconventional real person.","date_published":"2018-01-13T17:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/67cfcf67-d0dd-4890-aed1-159a9f742941.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":25457916,"duration_in_seconds":1520}]},{"id":"0e2982de-d478-4e34-95c8-48a0a6d8d939","title":"Episode 94: Molly's Game","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/94-mollys-game","content_text":"Happy New Year, everyone! The calendar has changed, but the Screeners haven’t...right down to the part where Josh hasn’t seen the movie they’re reviewing. It’s a shame, too, because this episode’s main event is Molly’s Game, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. High-stakes poker, the FBI, and skiing weren’t enough to bring Josh out of his cave, which seems like a bad omen for the year in general. Oh well; we suppose there’s still time for him to make a resolution or two. In the meantime, the rest of the crew will be there for you, watching movies all year long and taunting him.\n\nIn honor of Aaron Sorkin, this episode’s Top 3 focuses on everyone’s favorite directorial debuts. There have been some pretty great first efforts throughout the years, so competition could be heated. Maybe Josh will join in the fun if the Screeners ever decide to do “worst directorial debuts”. We won’t hold our collective breath.\n\nMake sure to let us know your thoughts on Molly’s Game and your favorite first films over on Facebook, and we’ll see you next time for our review of The Post!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Happy New Year, everyone! The calendar has changed, but the Screeners haven’t...right down to the part where Josh hasn’t seen the movie they’re reviewing. It’s a shame, too, because this episode’s main event is Molly’s Game, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. High-stakes poker, the FBI, and skiing weren’t enough to bring Josh out of his cave, which seems like a bad omen for the year in general. Oh well; we suppose there’s still time for him to make a resolution or two. In the meantime, the rest of the crew will be there for you, watching movies all year long and taunting him.
\n\nIn honor of Aaron Sorkin, this episode’s Top 3 focuses on everyone’s favorite directorial debuts. There have been some pretty great first efforts throughout the years, so competition could be heated. Maybe Josh will join in the fun if the Screeners ever decide to do “worst directorial debuts”. We won’t hold our collective breath.
\n\nMake sure to let us know your thoughts on Molly’s Game and your favorite first films over on Facebook, and we’ll see you next time for our review of The Post!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Among the deluge of movies released over the holidays were All The Money In The World and Downsizing, so it’s time for another bonus episode! Daniel’s joined by Next Trek Podcast host Tyler Howat for the reviews.
\n\nAll The Money In The World has been a subject of controversy and anticipation. Only a few short weeks ago, Christoper Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey after his career imploded. Was that the right move? Did the movie come together in such a short time? Daniel and Tyler made sure to weigh in.
\n\nAlexander Payne is the authority on films about white men going through a midlife crisis, and Downsizing sits squarely in his wheelhouse. Matt Damon shrinks himself down to outrun his problems. Is tiny Damon better than regular-size Damon? We’re not so sure.
\n\nWe’ll have plenty more reviews coming your way in the days to come, so keep an eye out for those soon!
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"All The Money In The World and Downsizing landed over the holidays, so Daniel and Tyler are here to review them. Does Christopher Plummer live up to the hype? Is tiny Matt Damon better than real thing? Find out in this Bonus Episode.","date_published":"2018-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a3ac7b8a-dba8-4fa4-8a24-384fe088ca4d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":54043559,"duration_in_seconds":3284}]},{"id":"b68a122f-1523-4d4b-b216-da1e25e4772a","title":"Bonus Episode: Bright","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-bright","content_text":"Training Day meets Lord of The Rings. With a pitch like that, you know it’s Chris’s type of movie. Bright is Netflix’s first blockbuster, but can you really call it a blockbuster if you can only watch it from your couch?\n\nEither way, it stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as LAPD officers in a gritty cop movie, but with a twist: Edgerton is an Orc. It’s about as high-concept as you get. Humans, Orcs, and Elves have made it past Middle Earth and now co-exist in the present day. Conflicts arise, etc., etc.\n\nSome are calling it the worst movie of the year, others are merely calling it terrible, so what did Chris and Daniel think? Check out this Bonus Review of Bright.","content_html":"Training Day meets Lord of The Rings. With a pitch like that, you know it’s Chris’s type of movie. Bright is Netflix’s first blockbuster, but can you really call it a blockbuster if you can only watch it from your couch?
\n\nEither way, it stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as LAPD officers in a gritty cop movie, but with a twist: Edgerton is an Orc. It’s about as high-concept as you get. Humans, Orcs, and Elves have made it past Middle Earth and now co-exist in the present day. Conflicts arise, etc., etc.
\n\nSome are calling it the worst movie of the year, others are merely calling it terrible, so what did Chris and Daniel think? Check out this Bonus Review of Bright.
","summary":"Can David Ayer, Will Smith, and a 90 million dollar budget give Netflix a legitimate Blockbuster? Daniel and Chris ignored all the haters and spent this bonus episode trying to figure that out.","date_published":"2017-12-23T16:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/b68a122f-1523-4d4b-b216-da1e25e4772a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":58753287,"duration_in_seconds":2343}]},{"id":"e9f56c60-a569-41e5-ab33-993e254cf067","title":"Episode 93: Star Wars: The Last Jedi","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/93-star-wars-last-jedi","content_text":"Reviews of Star Wars movies need no introduction in our culture; they just have to come with a big red-letter guarantee that no one’s going to spoil any plot points (a line from Tommy Boy comes to mind). Well, four of the Screeners will guarantee that they’ll at least warn you before spoiling everything. The fifth Screener isn’t around for this episode, so you’re safe there too.\n\nEven Josh saw The Last Jedi on opening weekend, so unless this is one of those rare unanimous reviews, there should be a little intrigue to be had here. There had better be, since this is the last Screeners episode of 2017. Our Facebook page, though, is open 24/7/365—no time off for the Internet gnomes toiling away in the bit mines.\n\nHappy Holidays, and see you next year!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"Reviews of Star Wars movies need no introduction in our culture; they just have to come with a big red-letter guarantee that no one’s going to spoil any plot points (a line from Tommy Boy comes to mind). Well, four of the Screeners will guarantee that they’ll at least warn you before spoiling everything. The fifth Screener isn’t around for this episode, so you’re safe there too.
\n\nEven Josh saw The Last Jedi on opening weekend, so unless this is one of those rare unanimous reviews, there should be a little intrigue to be had here. There had better be, since this is the last Screeners episode of 2017. Our Facebook page, though, is open 24/7/365—no time off for the Internet gnomes toiling away in the bit mines.
\n\nHappy Holidays, and see you next year!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
These bonus episodes are coming at you fast; we know. Sorry (notsorry); there’s just a lot going on right now. Today, it’s the Golden Globe nominations; tomorrow, maybe someone’s career gets destroyed by something totally unexpected. One can never know.
\n\nWhat one can know, however, is that James Franco will continue making movies until he gets the respect he so richly deserves. Or at least until he runs out of things to adapt. Despite some not-so-glowing remarks from The A.V Club, maybe Chad or Daniel found something to love about The Disaster Artist. And if they didn’t...well, there’s always Chris. The lover of loving things vs. a movie you’re supposed to love to hate. It’s a match made in...purgatory? Anyway, you should listen.
\n\nAnd don’t forget to head over to Facebook and tell us if you’ve seen The Room and, if so, if you have any desire whatsoever to see a making-of starring the guy from Pineapple Express and his brother.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’ve finally gotten to the movie season designed for Josh, and guess who’s still not at the theater. Oh well, at least we have Chad and Daniel to talk about the year’s less “important” events—you know, like the best-reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
\n\nDaniel’s brother Tyler (of Next Trek fame) fills out the cast for this double feature bonus episode covering Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Lady Bird.
\n\nNext on the agenda: a recap of The Disaster Artist, James Franco’s tribute to The Room, then it’s straight to The Last Jedi. In the meantime, jump on the hype train over on our Facebook page!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"The fall/winter movie season is really gathering steam, and the Screeners couldn’t let movies like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Lady Bird go by without at least a bonus episode about them.","date_published":"2017-12-09T11:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/47c9fbe3-e111-403c-8f75-220f1d1ef45b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":97507313,"duration_in_seconds":4037}]},{"id":"06d0292f-366e-48ee-812f-2ae11550c5d5","title":"Bonus Episode: The Florida Project","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-florida-project","content_text":"Willem Dafoe as a good guy? In a movie starring children? The Florida Project may not have been in too many theaters around the country, but it’s getting plenty of awards buzz. Daniel is joined by co-host of The Next Trek Podcast (and his brother) Tyler Howat for a quick review. They do a deep dive into the movie, its themes, and even a little bit of its Oscar chances.\n\nWe know Chad is mad he missed recording this episode, but he’ll let us know his thoughts on the movie elsewhere—and you should too! Chime in on Facebook and Twitter if you got a chance to see The Florida Project, and tell us what you thought.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Tyler Howat.","content_html":"Willem Dafoe as a good guy? In a movie starring children? The Florida Project may not have been in too many theaters around the country, but it’s getting plenty of awards buzz. Daniel is joined by co-host of The Next Trek Podcast (and his brother) Tyler Howat for a quick review. They do a deep dive into the movie, its themes, and even a little bit of its Oscar chances.
\n\nWe know Chad is mad he missed recording this episode, but he’ll let us know his thoughts on the movie elsewhere—and you should too! Chime in on Facebook and Twitter if you got a chance to see The Florida Project, and tell us what you thought.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"On a special bonus episode, Daniel is joined by co-host of The Next Trek Podcast (and his brother) Tyler Howat for a review of The Florida Project.","date_published":"2017-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/06d0292f-366e-48ee-812f-2ae11550c5d5.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":35603389,"duration_in_seconds":2095}]},{"id":"cd982272-40d4-46af-8705-77dde9e11639","title":"Episode 92: Coco","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/92-coco","content_text":"Disney doesn’t have the world’s greatest track record when it comes to cultural diversity in their movies: Try as they might, they seem to always have detractors crying foul over reductive stereotypes. It seems like they may have finally done something right* with Coco, though, at least according to Mexican audiences.\n\nOf course, that doesn’t mean the Screeners will like it. In fact, if we’re honest, the majority of them haven’t seen it yet. Chad and Daniel have, though, and they couldn’t wait any longer to talk about it. They’re joined by a special guest host, Dr. Jeff Salyer, who not only teaches this stuff for a living, but whose dissertation was on Pixar's work. You won’t even miss Josh’s complete lack of useful input.\n\nTo accompany the main event, it only seemed fitting to have a PIxar-themed top 3. We’ve already done overall favorites, though, so this time we’re limiting it to Pixar endings. Don’t forget to add yours over on Facebook!\n\n\nOK, so it’s really Pixar that did something right, but Disney bought them, so we guess if you can’t do something right yourself, the least you can do is buy someone who can.\n\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | TwitterSpecial Guest: Dr. Jeff Salyer .","content_html":"Disney doesn’t have the world’s greatest track record when it comes to cultural diversity in their movies: Try as they might, they seem to always have detractors crying foul over reductive stereotypes. It seems like they may have finally done something right* with Coco, though, at least according to Mexican audiences.
\n\nOf course, that doesn’t mean the Screeners will like it. In fact, if we’re honest, the majority of them haven’t seen it yet. Chad and Daniel have, though, and they couldn’t wait any longer to talk about it. They’re joined by a special guest host, Dr. Jeff Salyer, who not only teaches this stuff for a living, but whose dissertation was on Pixar's work. You won’t even miss Josh’s complete lack of useful input.
\n\nTo accompany the main event, it only seemed fitting to have a PIxar-themed top 3. We’ve already done overall favorites, though, so this time we’re limiting it to Pixar endings. Don’t forget to add yours over on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Dr. Jeff Salyer .
","summary":"If Pixar has a new movie, you know the Screeners will be talking about it. Chad, Daniel, and a special guest host sit down to review Coco and talk about their favorite Pixar movie endings.","date_published":"2017-11-27T12:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/cd982272-40d4-46af-8705-77dde9e11639.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":88989317,"duration_in_seconds":3625}]},{"id":"c6349446-92fa-4d01-b71c-051f4a698ca6","title":"Episode 91: Justice League","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/91-justice-league","content_text":"As we’re all painfully aware by now, Marvel movies are reliable money printing machines, mostly beloved by audiences—or at least inoffensive to them. The DC universe, though, has enjoyed no such consistency. They had the Nolan Batman movies, regarded by some as masterpieces. If they’d just quit while they were ahead, we wouldn’t be here today talking about what an embarrassment Batman vs. Superman was. Wonder Woman was OK, though, right? Sure; why not.\n\nAnyway, there’s another one now. Justice League is what you might call DC’s answer to Avengers, except with fewer A-list heros and Zack Snyder at the helm for most of production. Chad, Chris, and Daniel are dedicated enough to see it early on opening weekend, so they’re here to help you decide how to spend your movie dollars. Has DC learned from their mistakes, or should they go sit in a corner and think about what they’ve done...again?\n\nDon’t forget to join us on Facebook and tell us what you think of the DC universe so far!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"As we’re all painfully aware by now, Marvel movies are reliable money printing machines, mostly beloved by audiences—or at least inoffensive to them. The DC universe, though, has enjoyed no such consistency. They had the Nolan Batman movies, regarded by some as masterpieces. If they’d just quit while they were ahead, we wouldn’t be here today talking about what an embarrassment Batman vs. Superman was. Wonder Woman was OK, though, right? Sure; why not.
\n\nAnyway, there’s another one now. Justice League is what you might call DC’s answer to Avengers, except with fewer A-list heros and Zack Snyder at the helm for most of production. Chad, Chris, and Daniel are dedicated enough to see it early on opening weekend, so they’re here to help you decide how to spend your movie dollars. Has DC learned from their mistakes, or should they go sit in a corner and think about what they’ve done...again?
\n\nDon’t forget to join us on Facebook and tell us what you think of the DC universe so far!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’ve had our share of remakes over the past couple years, but there haven’t been too many adaptations. We’ll take what we can get in that category, even if it has to be an adaptation and a remake (no matter if Kenneth Branagh sees it that way or not). This episode’s main event is Murder on the Orient Express, a movie that Josh might have actually seen if he had thought to check the recording schedule ahead of time. Anyway, think Snowpiercer, except...not at all.
\n\nIn keeping with the “I’m on a train” theme, our Top 3 this time is single-location movies or small-screen “bottle episodes”. Seems pretty specific for a segment that famously doesn’t have any rules; how will the Screeners deal with this one?
\n\nWe’re sure that, if nothing else, you have some favorites to add to the Top 3 list. (We know that for a fact, actually, because a bunch of you have added them already—if you haven’t, don’t be shy!) Head on over to Facebook, add your picks, and let us know what you think about Murder on the Orient Express!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We looked back in the Screeners vault, and did you know it’s been over 10 episodes since a Marvel movie has been the main event? That’s way too long, right? Well, pine no longer, because Chris Hemsworth is here to save the day. Thor: Ragnarok is the Norseman’s (Norsegod’s?) third movie, and a quick scan of the Googles reveals people calling it the best yet. Will the Screeners (or, um, three of them) agree?
\n\nAlso, comic book movies are great and all, but as we learned from the Oscar preview episode, the Screeners do their best to be Serious Critics. What better way to do that than debate the relative merits of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Mean Girls courtesy of Flickchart? We’re glad you agree—let’s go ahead and do that.
\n\nJust two segments this week, but there’s plenty of room for audience feedback—if you think that Sin City was a criminally underrated masterpiece, you know where to go (hint: it’s Facebook). ‘Til next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
If you haven’t seen Only the Brave, we can’t really blame you; not too many people have, judging by its box office performance. A few of the Screeners watched it anyway, and they thought it was worth at least a quick review, so here it is.
\n\nLet’s not kid ourselves, though. We know you’re really here because the second season of Stranger Things just dropped on Netflix, and you want to know whether you should binge it in one weekend or spread it out over two or so. Well, Josh wouldn’t know, because he hasn’t even seen the first season. Please, suppress your shock. The rest of the Screeners don’t live under a rock, though, so they’ll help you decide just how much the rest of your life should suffer in service to Netflix’s release model.
\n\nListen to the episode, then head over to Facebook and tell us how long it’ll be before you’re ready for a Stranger Things episode with actual spoilers.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
No, we’re not crazy; we know the Oscars are almost half a year away, but Daniel’s on a mission to make this a respectable movie podcast. To that end, he’s already sat down and figured out who’s going to win most of the major awards, and he’s typed up a very comprehensive set of notes on the subject. He’s been keeping tabs on all the hot film festivals, so you know his picks are legit.
\n\nOh, and Chad’s along for the ride and knows a thing or two about a movie or two, but let’s be clear: Daniel knows more about next year’s Oscars than Jimmy Kimmel does at this point.
\n\nDon’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook if you’ve...heard of any of these movies yet.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Everyone loves a good Jackie Chan movie, right? Maybe, but can we agree on what constitutes a “good Jackie Chan movie”? There’s a pretty big disparity between the critic and audience ratings for The Foreigner on Rotten Tomatoes right now, but we’re guessing the studio doesn’t care what Roger Ebert thinks if the movie triples its budget at the box office (which it’s almost done already). More importantly, though, what did Chad and Daniel think of it? They’re the only critics who matter anyway...wait, no. What we meant to say was “...they’re the only Screeners who’ll see it anyway”. Yeah; that sounds better.
\n\nBut wait; there’s more! Maybe those of us who didn’t make it to the theater this weekend had some time for Netflix. Maybe to watch David Fincher’s new show Mindhunter? Is it this year’s psychological thriller hit, or should Fincher just rest on his House of Cards laurels for awhile?
\n\nAnd while we’re talking about the ever-growing stable of shows Netflix has given us, why not pick our favorites? A list of three, maybe...
\n\nAs always, head over to Facebook to tell us about all the great shows we missed. We don’t know how many Netflix has snuck out there now, but we know it’s more than 15.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The parade of sequels and remakes marches on with no end in sight. No property is too forgotten or too beloved to be dusted off and unceremoniously subjected to a rewrite without so much as a second thought as to whether it’s even a good idea. The jury seems to still be out on that question for Blade Runner 2049; it has a respectable 88% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, but it pulled in an uninspiring $31 million on its opening weekend. Can the Screeners bridge the gap between review and appeal?
\n\nSpeaking of box office returns, though, remember a few months ago when all the hosts cast lots to rank the summer’s biggest hits? After picking The Dark Tower as part of his top 10, Josh was hoping everyone wouldn’t remember, but everyone did. Labor Day has come and gone, so it’s time to tally up the scores. Spoiler alert: The Dark Tower, at $50 million domestic, didn’t make the list.
\n\nThat’s probably enough for one episode. It might not have been Blade Runner long, but it was long enough. See you on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Last episode’s review of mother! has, perhaps unsurprisingly, stirred up some conversation. In fact, it seems to have inspired one of the most thoughtful emails to drop into the Screeners mailbag yet. They couldn’t pass up the chance to respond to it, so more air time for Aronofsky. No publicity is bad publicity, right?
\n\nOnce that’s over with, it’s time for some lighter fare. At least, we hope it is—the ”professional” reviews for Kingsman: The Golden Circle aren’t what you’d call “glowing”. It has a colon in its title, so we already know Daniel’s going into it biased. Melody couldn’t see it in time to compare it to the first one, which was her favorite movie since Mad Max or something, so it’s missing its biggest supporter. Can the nearly two-and-a-half-hour spy action dramedy overcome these handicaps to get a thumbs-up from the Screeners? It’ll be a challenge, but Colin Firth hasn’t shied away from one of those yet.
\n\nIn honor of Kingsman’s genre confusion, this episode’s Top 3 subject is “action comedies”. From Bad Boys to Men in Black, what’s your favorite Will Smith--er, action movie that also makes some of the jokes? Tell us on Facebook, where you’re also free to wonder aloud if Josh even works here anymore.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
So Darren Aronofsky’s new movie is out, and it has a punctuation mark in the title, so it has that going for it. It also has some negative press, to say the least: a Cinemasore rating of F and enough negative audience reaction that Aronofsky himself apologized to a film festival audience before screening it (you probably shouldn’t read either of those links before seeing the movie...).
\n\nChad, Chris, and Daniel aren’t afraid of a little bad press, though, so they’re more than willing to take on a review of mother! What will happen when a self-proclaimed lover of loving things, his protégé, and...Chad talk about the most polarizing movie in recent memory?
\n\nAfter mother!, it seemed like a fitting top 3 theme would be “confusion”, so this episode’s top 3 is informally titled “Movies that make you say...’huh?’” We got a lot of Facebook responses for this one, so we must have picked a winner.
\n\nThat’s probably enough for one episode; we dare you to go see mother! and tell us what you thought over on Facebook. Til next time!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
In case you haven’t heard (OK; you’ve probably heard), there’s another Stephen King movie out. It’s...It, and It has already beaten The Dark Tower in profits and critical reception. The pre-release buzz was even better—just kidding; we wouldn’t know, since Chad forbade us from reading Dark Tower’s pre-release buzz since he wanted his misery to be pure and fresh as the driven snow.
\n\nAnyway, nature conspired against most of the Screeners seeing It in time for an opening weekend review, but Chad and Daniel aren’t about to let you down on this one. The two of them should be more than enough to convince you to be scared of clowns...partially because you should already be scared of clowns. Clowns are horrifying.
\n\nOn top of the whole blockbuster horror movie discussion, other things the other 3 Screeners are missing out on include Emmy talk (the show’s this Sunday, so Josh should probably start trying to remember his Twitter password now) and the inevitable Top 3. This episode’s topic: coming of age movies. Apparently “movies with sewer clowns” was too specific.
\n\nSee you on Facebook!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
We’re in a bit of a lull as far as movie releases go1, so the Screeners haven’t found anything worthy of a main event in a couple weeks. That’s not to say all their screens are dark, though. The dog days of summer are the perfect time for a “what have you been watching” catch-up segment.
\n\nBut wait; there’s more! The Screeners Podcast has been around for about 4 years now with only one major change, so we thought it was about time for another. No, we’re not reverting the first one by firing Daniel (yet...you’re on thin ice, though; stop seeing so many more movies than everyone else). This announcement’s a bit more on the positive side, at least for the sci-fi fans in the crowd. OK; we’ve said enough—you’ll have to listen to find out more.
\n\nWhen you’ve done that, be sure to head over to Facebook to tell us what you think—and what great shows and movies we missed during our free-for-all earlier; we know there’s plenty out there. See you next time!
\n\n1 Yes, Josh, we know you think we’ve been in a lull since at least February.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Special Guest: Tyler Howat.
","summary":"Instead of one big review, the Screeners spend some time talking about what they’ve all been watching on their own time recently. There’s also some big news this episode, but no spoilers here!","date_published":"2017-08-30T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/2a28cd06-93d0-4b87-a314-2f00711718c2.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":71700333,"duration_in_seconds":2959}]},{"id":"296a4a32-d900-4e88-8541-891e32520ad9","title":"Episode 81: The Dark Tower","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/81-the-dark-tower","content_text":"We’ve known The Dark Tower was coming since at least the beginning of the year, and the Screeners have been busy doing team-building exercises in preparation for the stress it’s sure to put on their friendships. Well, it’s go time. The Screeners have cleared their schedules; let’s do this.\n\nStephen King is said to have praised the director after seeing the final cut of the film, but will that be enough for true fans like Chad and Melody? Also, what does Josh think about all this—didn’t he do some background research for the episode?\n\nOK, so maybe the Screeners didn’t completely clear their schedules. They might just need a palate cleanser after that main event, and their Flickchart list has been sitting neglected, like a puppy they’ve forgotten to feed and walk for...a few months. Wasn’t the top movie on that list The Mighty Ducks or something? Let’s fix that.\n\nAnd that’s plenty for one episode. Everyone take a deep breath, then head over to Facebook to keep arguing.\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter","content_html":"We’ve known The Dark Tower was coming since at least the beginning of the year, and the Screeners have been busy doing team-building exercises in preparation for the stress it’s sure to put on their friendships. Well, it’s go time. The Screeners have cleared their schedules; let’s do this.
\n\nStephen King is said to have praised the director after seeing the final cut of the film, but will that be enough for true fans like Chad and Melody? Also, what does Josh think about all this—didn’t he do some background research for the episode?
\n\nOK, so maybe the Screeners didn’t completely clear their schedules. They might just need a palate cleanser after that main event, and their Flickchart list has been sitting neglected, like a puppy they’ve forgotten to feed and walk for...a few months. Wasn’t the top movie on that list The Mighty Ducks or something? Let’s fix that.
\n\nAnd that’s plenty for one episode. Everyone take a deep breath, then head over to Facebook to keep arguing.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners (or most of them, at least) have another but-those-movies-have-nothing-in-common sort of double feature in store again this episode. Sorry; we don’t get to tell Hollywood what to do; we just report on it.
\n\nFirst up, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Daniel’s already had some fairly...blunt things to say about this one on Facebook, but that won’t stop Luc Besson from writing as many of them as he can. Can another Screener’s enthusiasm salvage the film’s chances in the court of public opinion?
\n\nRaise your hand if you expected Cold War-era spy movies to feel timely again. You neither, huh? Well, joke’s on us. Atomic Blonde has all sorts of things that just don’t seem like they belong in the modern world—from unstable geopolitical superpowers, to collusion with Russia, to Charlize Theron talking about how great Mad Max: Fury Road was. Chris and Melody can’t help but love this one, right?
\n\nSince the Screeners’ heads are already in a (sort-of) bygone era, this episode’s Top 3 topic is 80’s-themed action movies. Or is it “action movies from the 80’s”? Guess it doesn’t matter; Chris will probably find a way to pick Final Destination or something.
\n\nAnd, of course, Josh had so little to say about all of this that he didn’t even show up for this episode. We’ll hand-deliver any hate mail you want to send him.
\n\nChad and Daniel will review A Ghost Story in another of their famous bonus episodes soon. After that, join us for a review of The Dark Tower, in which we might find out how Josh feels about all that reading he did at the beginning of the year to satisfy Chad and Melody.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
The Screeners may be short a host for this episode, but they’re definitely not short of material. The movie and TV trailers released at Comic-Con are all over the YouTubes, so you know Chris is going to have a field day with them. Maybe even Josh watched a couple; who knows?
\n\nAnd once they’re done talking about Marvel, DC, and Netflix (because let’s face it; that’s all we’re getting out of Comic-Con), this episode’s main event is a double header of two very different movies: Dunkirk and The Big Sick. Maybe one day we’ll get a romantic comedy set during wartime, but until then we’ll have to settle for episodes like this where Chris “didn’t get to see” one of the movies, and Josh “didn’t get to see” the other. We’re sure it has nothing to do with each movie’s explosion-to-dialogue ratio.
\n\nIn the next episode, we’ll be moving on from World War II to the Cold War with a review of Atomic Blonde, but until then we’ll be hanging out on Facebook, so come say hi.
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Consider yourself a fan? Show us some love with an iTunes review!
","summary":"The Screeners talk Comic-Con trailers, fall in love with The Big Sick, and start shooting at each other over Dunkirk.","date_published":"2017-07-26T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/50f60ae1-e7b5-4702-9030-4fe4b0384c1e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":78103432,"duration_in_seconds":4725}]},{"id":"359e0ec6-a7f8-45d2-891f-53e22573fde5","title":"Episode 78: Apes Don’t Monkey Around","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/84-war-planet-apes","content_text":"The Screeners have a movie review and top three planned, but before they head into the main event, they take a quick look in the ol’ mailbag and actually find something. A listener had a thoughtful question about the meaning of “success”, and Chris misses no chance to wax philosophical, so this seemed like as good a time as any to answer some email.\n\nAfter that, it’s time to join your regularly scheduled main event. It’s been 6 years since the first Planet of the Apes movie, but...wait; what? You say it’s been almost 50 years since the first one? This is another one of those Spider-Man nightmare franchises that’s impossible to track, isn’t it? \n\nOK, so this is the third movie in the most recent series, which Tim Burton had nothing to do with. Josh should be happy to hear this, since he thought the 2001 Planet of the Apes was the source material here. That was his excuse for not seeing War, but it turns out he doesn’t even have that. Oh well; we hear the movie’s good, despite Josh’s unwarranted revulsion.\n\nOur top 3 for this episode comes to us from Chad, who thought it’d be great to talk about escape scenes. Josh, not having seen the main event, had no idea why this topic made sense for this episode, but he showed up regardless to subvert the spirit of the segment in any way he can.\n\nThat’s all for now, but the next episode should be a fun one—it’s Dunkirk and The Big Sick. See you then!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts | Stitcher\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter\n\nConsider yourself a fan? Show us some love with an iTunes review!","content_html":"The Screeners have a movie review and top three planned, but before they head into the main event, they take a quick look in the ol’ mailbag and actually find something. A listener had a thoughtful question about the meaning of “success”, and Chris misses no chance to wax philosophical, so this seemed like as good a time as any to answer some email.
\n\nAfter that, it’s time to join your regularly scheduled main event. It’s been 6 years since the first Planet of the Apes movie, but...wait; what? You say it’s been almost 50 years since the first one? This is another one of those Spider-Man nightmare franchises that’s impossible to track, isn’t it?
\n\nOK, so this is the third movie in the most recent series, which Tim Burton had nothing to do with. Josh should be happy to hear this, since he thought the 2001 Planet of the Apes was the source material here. That was his excuse for not seeing War, but it turns out he doesn’t even have that. Oh well; we hear the movie’s good, despite Josh’s unwarranted revulsion.
\n\nOur top 3 for this episode comes to us from Chad, who thought it’d be great to talk about escape scenes. Josh, not having seen the main event, had no idea why this topic made sense for this episode, but he showed up regardless to subvert the spirit of the segment in any way he can.
\n\nThat’s all for now, but the next episode should be a fun one—it’s Dunkirk and The Big Sick. See you then!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts | Stitcher
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Consider yourself a fan? Show us some love with an iTunes review!
","summary":"The Screeners review War for the Planet of the Apes and talk about their Top 3 escape scenes.","date_published":"2017-07-22T00:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/359e0ec6-a7f8-45d2-891f-53e22573fde5.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":82341394,"duration_in_seconds":3269}]},{"id":"6ab462ee-21b0-4f8d-a0c7-5c19d941c5bf","title":"Episode 77: Spider-Man, Baby! Driver!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/77-spiderman-baby-driver","content_text":"The Screeners have an episode packed with two full movie reviews, a great Top 3, and more than a little interpersonal conflict, so no sense in wasting time with pointless exposition. If only we could teach Josh the same lesson for his reviews…\n\nFirst up is Spider-Man: Homecoming. Not only is it a movie with a colon in the title (more on that later in the episode); it’s the sixth Spidey movie in a franchise that might qualify as the most internally confused in the entire Marvel Cluster of Upchuck (that’s what MCU stands for, right?). Four out of five Screeners agree, though: It could have been worse.\n\nSuperhero hijinks are followed by...an action musical? A hyperrealist crime comedy? We’re not entirely sure what to call Baby Driver, but it definitely, um, exists. Join the Screeners for a rare spoiler-less recap of the latest brainchild of the director who brought us Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.\n\nFinally, we promised you a Top 3, and a Top 3 you shall get. Some would call this an “epic installment” of the standard Screeners segment; some might call it an “unmitigated disaster”—either way, all five hosts have prepared a list of the worst and weirdest movie titles they can think of (subject to some arbitrary criteria, of course). What’s better than personal vendetta in list form? Personal vendetta in list form plus audience participation, of course! Chad just doesn’t know how to have fun anymore; that’s the real problem here.\n\nOK, party over. Next up is War for the Planet of the Apes, though, so don’t miss that!\n\n\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts\nWeb: Home | Download\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter\n\nConsider yourself a fan? Show us some love with an iTunes review!","content_html":"The Screeners have an episode packed with two full movie reviews, a great Top 3, and more than a little interpersonal conflict, so no sense in wasting time with pointless exposition. If only we could teach Josh the same lesson for his reviews…
\n\nFirst up is Spider-Man: Homecoming. Not only is it a movie with a colon in the title (more on that later in the episode); it’s the sixth Spidey movie in a franchise that might qualify as the most internally confused in the entire Marvel Cluster of Upchuck (that’s what MCU stands for, right?). Four out of five Screeners agree, though: It could have been worse.
\n\nSuperhero hijinks are followed by...an action musical? A hyperrealist crime comedy? We’re not entirely sure what to call Baby Driver, but it definitely, um, exists. Join the Screeners for a rare spoiler-less recap of the latest brainchild of the director who brought us Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
\n\nFinally, we promised you a Top 3, and a Top 3 you shall get. Some would call this an “epic installment” of the standard Screeners segment; some might call it an “unmitigated disaster”—either way, all five hosts have prepared a list of the worst and weirdest movie titles they can think of (subject to some arbitrary criteria, of course). What’s better than personal vendetta in list form? Personal vendetta in list form plus audience participation, of course! Chad just doesn’t know how to have fun anymore; that’s the real problem here.
\n\nOK, party over. Next up is War for the Planet of the Apes, though, so don’t miss that!
\n\nSubscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Pocket Casts
\nWeb: Home | Download
\nSocial: Facebook | Twitter
Consider yourself a fan? Show us some love with an iTunes review!
","summary":"A double-header review of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Baby Driver gives way to a Top 3 featuring the worst (...best?) movie titles of all time.","date_published":"2017-07-13T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/6ab462ee-21b0-4f8d-a0c7-5c19d941c5bf.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":80486375,"duration_in_seconds":4963}]},{"id":"da980715-b7fb-42c4-9c0a-cb25102b77fc","title":"Episode 76: Transformers 5, or, Why We’ll Never Stop Michael Bay","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/76-transformers-5","content_text":"It’s happened again. Words we never wanted to have to say after that first fateful release in 2007, but which we’ve had to say over and over since then: Michael Bay has made another Transformers movie. We’re up to five now, but it might as well be five hundred, right? Our culture will never be rid of them now; their gleaming CGI chrome grilles will haunt our era in the annals of film history. Future (current?) seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000, kept on life support by avid proponents of a counterculture all but forgotten, will mock them mercilessly, effortlessly weaving Martin Lawrence lines from Bad Boys in with quips about how the last explosion was disappointingly smaller than the one before it.\n\nWhere were we? Oh yeah; Chad and Daniel paid money to see Transformers 5, and they’re here to talk about it. Then they’re going to do a top 3 about Michael Bay’s career...although, given the subject matter, “top” might be a little generous. How about “least likely to give you an eye rolling-induced headache”?","content_html":"It’s happened again. Words we never wanted to have to say after that first fateful release in 2007, but which we’ve had to say over and over since then: Michael Bay has made another Transformers movie. We’re up to five now, but it might as well be five hundred, right? Our culture will never be rid of them now; their gleaming CGI chrome grilles will haunt our era in the annals of film history. Future (current?) seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000, kept on life support by avid proponents of a counterculture all but forgotten, will mock them mercilessly, effortlessly weaving Martin Lawrence lines from Bad Boys in with quips about how the last explosion was disappointingly smaller than the one before it.
\n\nWhere were we? Oh yeah; Chad and Daniel paid money to see Transformers 5, and they’re here to talk about it. Then they’re going to do a top 3 about Michael Bay’s career...although, given the subject matter, “top” might be a little generous. How about “least likely to give you an eye rolling-induced headache”?
","summary":"The Chad and Daniel show returns to review Transformers 5 and provide a touching tribute to Michael Bay’s career, despite Chris’s notable absence.","date_published":"2017-06-27T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/da980715-b7fb-42c4-9c0a-cb25102b77fc.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":44148000,"duration_in_seconds":2812}]},{"id":"6b223c4e-9ede-4278-92d8-5a85767e1860","title":"Episode 75: The Third Time’s the Charm","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/75-cars-3-third-times-the-charm","content_text":"We saw the teaser for Cars 3, but we weren’t sure what it’s about. Is it that one where the driver gets his face messed up in a car wreck? No? Talladega Nights meets The Wrestler? Not that either? OK; we’re out of ideas. It’s a good thing we have Chad and Daniel; those two will see anything. So, boys, tell us: Was Cars 3 The Good Dinosaur good, or was it just Cars 2 good? We will be making our theatergoing decisions based on your judgement, so just keep that in mind.\n\nOh, and while they’re talking Pixar, they decided they’d take the opportunity to mix up the standard Top 3 list a bit and go over their Top 3 and Bottom 3 Pixar movies. We can’t wait to hear who liked Toy Story 4 more...what’s that? There’s still only 3 of those? We give up.","content_html":"We saw the teaser for Cars 3, but we weren’t sure what it’s about. Is it that one where the driver gets his face messed up in a car wreck? No? Talladega Nights meets The Wrestler? Not that either? OK; we’re out of ideas. It’s a good thing we have Chad and Daniel; those two will see anything. So, boys, tell us: Was Cars 3 The Good Dinosaur good, or was it just Cars 2 good? We will be making our theatergoing decisions based on your judgement, so just keep that in mind.
\n\nOh, and while they’re talking Pixar, they decided they’d take the opportunity to mix up the standard Top 3 list a bit and go over their Top 3 and Bottom 3 Pixar movies. We can’t wait to hear who liked Toy Story 4 more...what’s that? There’s still only 3 of those? We give up.
","summary":"Chad and Daniel saw Cars 3 and compare it to the entire Pixar catalog. Shouldn’t take too long, right?","date_published":"2017-06-19T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/6b223c4e-9ede-4278-92d8-5a85767e1860.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":38766795,"duration_in_seconds":2474}]},{"id":"415a2dcd-6829-4c35-a2a5-82bdb2b8f8b9","title":"Bonus Episode: The Mummy","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-the-mummy","content_text":"Tom Cruise has awakened an ancient evil, and it’s not Xenu...it’s Brendan Fraser’s career! The horror! We kid, we kid. Seriously, though, there’s a new The Mummy movie, in case the 10 The Mummy movies before this one weren’t enough for you. We’re not kidding about that number; we looked it up—and yes, we count shorts as “movies”. Go with it.\n\nIf you didn’t gather this from the first sentence, Tom Cruise is in this one, in case that makes it in some way more appealing for you.\n\nIt doesn’t do that for Josh, so he didn’t bother going to the theater, but the other Screeners totally did. They were so excited that they just had to do a bonus episode about it—and while they’re talking about mummies, they figured they’d also throw in a Top 3 about monster-themed media. Again, Josh isn’t here for this episode, but he told us that if he were, he’d take a page out of Chris’s playbook and insist his number 1 pick is Count Chocula.","content_html":"Tom Cruise has awakened an ancient evil, and it’s not Xenu...it’s Brendan Fraser’s career! The horror! We kid, we kid. Seriously, though, there’s a new The Mummy movie, in case the 10 The Mummy movies before this one weren’t enough for you. We’re not kidding about that number; we looked it up—and yes, we count shorts as “movies”. Go with it.
\n\nIf you didn’t gather this from the first sentence, Tom Cruise is in this one, in case that makes it in some way more appealing for you.
\n\nIt doesn’t do that for Josh, so he didn’t bother going to the theater, but the other Screeners totally did. They were so excited that they just had to do a bonus episode about it—and while they’re talking about mummies, they figured they’d also throw in a Top 3 about monster-themed media. Again, Josh isn’t here for this episode, but he told us that if he were, he’d take a page out of Chris’s playbook and insist his number 1 pick is Count Chocula.
","summary":"The Screeners huddle together and talk in hushed, trembling voices about The Mummy and their favorite monster movies.","date_published":"2017-06-18T10:15:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/415a2dcd-6829-4c35-a2a5-82bdb2b8f8b9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":43142173,"duration_in_seconds":2815}]},{"id":"f1338815-42a7-45fb-9485-93027308845d","title":"Bonus: E3 2017 ","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-e3-2017","content_text":"In this special video game focused episode, Chad and Chris discuss all things E3 2017. ","content_html":"In this special video game focused episode, Chad and Chris discuss all things E3 2017.
","summary":"Chad and Chris discuss their reactions to the E3 2017 games conference. ","date_published":"2017-06-16T18:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/f1338815-42a7-45fb-9485-93027308845d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":65975614,"duration_in_seconds":2661}]},{"id":"0ab720f3-ccd8-4442-9020-de563cbab96c","title":"Episode 74: The Wonderful Things That She Does","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/74-the-wonderful-things-she-does","content_text":"Another piece of the DC comic universe has been released to a thirsty public, and the Screeners are so anxious to review it that they aren’t even going to bother with a Jump Cuts segment. Take that, other entertainment news. They all headed to full theaters to see Wonder Woman (including Daniel, and he’s not even here for this episode), so was it everything they might have expected it to be after the tour de force that was Batman v. Superman?\n\nFor the sake of Patty Jenkins’ directorial career, we hope not.\n\nAfter that main event, what other Top 3 could there be? It had to be (strong/fierce/unstoppable/amazing) female characters. Some of our listeners got in on this one too, so check out the everyone’s picks and let us know on Facebook who you think should really be hosting the show.\n\nSee you next time, when the Screeners (or at least a few of them) will be talking about Tom Cruise and an ancient curse—and no; we’re not talking about the painting of himself he has locked in his attic...nevermind; it’s The Mummy. They’ll be reviewing The Mummy.","content_html":"Another piece of the DC comic universe has been released to a thirsty public, and the Screeners are so anxious to review it that they aren’t even going to bother with a Jump Cuts segment. Take that, other entertainment news. They all headed to full theaters to see Wonder Woman (including Daniel, and he’s not even here for this episode), so was it everything they might have expected it to be after the tour de force that was Batman v. Superman?
\n\nFor the sake of Patty Jenkins’ directorial career, we hope not.
\n\nAfter that main event, what other Top 3 could there be? It had to be (strong/fierce/unstoppable/amazing) female characters. Some of our listeners got in on this one too, so check out the everyone’s picks and let us know on Facebook who you think should really be hosting the show.
\n\nSee you next time, when the Screeners (or at least a few of them) will be talking about Tom Cruise and an ancient curse—and no; we’re not talking about the painting of himself he has locked in his attic...nevermind; it’s The Mummy. They’ll be reviewing The Mummy.
","summary":"The Screeners celebrate leading (and otherwise notable) women from screens of all sizes with a review of Wonder Woman and a Top 3 segment focusing on fierce female characters (and alliteration).","date_published":"2017-06-06T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/0ab720f3-ccd8-4442-9020-de563cbab96c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":64610536,"duration_in_seconds":4252}]},{"id":"51c92548-0632-4a88-94ae-b6258b513402","title":"Bonus Episode: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/pirates-5","content_text":"Frankly, we’re worried about Johnny Depp. We’re afraid he might a gambling problem, or he’s made some terrible investments...or maybe he’s financing third-world revolutions on the down-low. There has to be some terrible reason that he’s in a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. This is Nicolas Cage’s career all over again, and we just can’t watch.\n\nOr, most of the Screeners couldn’t watch. Chad and Daniel, however, take some kind of sadistic pleasure in Depp’s downward spiral, and they went to the theater to watch, well, dead men tell some tales. Was this installment any better than the previous four? The 8-ball we get most of our life advice from says “doubtful”, but maybe Daniel’s indefatigable optimism will save us all.","content_html":"Frankly, we’re worried about Johnny Depp. We’re afraid he might a gambling problem, or he’s made some terrible investments...or maybe he’s financing third-world revolutions on the down-low. There has to be some terrible reason that he’s in a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. This is Nicolas Cage’s career all over again, and we just can’t watch.
\n\nOr, most of the Screeners couldn’t watch. Chad and Daniel, however, take some kind of sadistic pleasure in Depp’s downward spiral, and they went to the theater to watch, well, dead men tell some tales. Was this installment any better than the previous four? The 8-ball we get most of our life advice from says “doubtful”, but maybe Daniel’s indefatigable optimism will save us all.
","summary":"Chad and Daniel went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The rest of the Screeners fell asleep just reading the title of the movie, so they wouldn’t be much help for this bonus episode.","date_published":"2017-06-01T10:15:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/51c92548-0632-4a88-94ae-b6258b513402.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":35769038,"duration_in_seconds":2125}]},{"id":"5dc572c8-41cc-4887-9855-068affea6648","title":"Bonus Episode: Alien: Covenant","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/bonus-alien-covenant","content_text":"It already feels like the Year of the Ancient Franchise, and the summer movie season’s barely started. There’s a fifth Alien movie out there, and it won the weekend box office, albeit a little unimpressively. The Screeners saw it, though, and Josh isn’t going to miss a chance to gloat about his lack of participation in a mainstay of popular culture. He’s almost as bad as those cord-cutter types.","content_html":"It already feels like the Year of the Ancient Franchise, and the summer movie season’s barely started. There’s a fifth Alien movie out there, and it won the weekend box office, albeit a little unimpressively. The Screeners saw it, though, and Josh isn’t going to miss a chance to gloat about his lack of participation in a mainstay of popular culture. He’s almost as bad as those cord-cutter types.
","summary":"The Screeners review Alien: Covenant and speculate about why it didn’t perform as well as the previous installment.","date_published":"2017-05-25T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5dc572c8-41cc-4887-9855-068affea6648.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":43065979,"duration_in_seconds":2886}]},{"id":"9cdb0a6e-1972-4b55-ade5-94aece822a84","title":"Episode 73: Summer Movie Wager: the Sequel","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/73-summer-movie-wager-the-sequel","content_text":"Despite the stunning lack of consequences for last year’s inaugural contest, the Screeners decided to go ahead with a second annual summer movie wager. You can find the “official” rules here, but the basic idea is that everyone takes wild guesses at which summer sequel will make more money than other summer sequels. Put them in order from 1 to 10 and add 3 dark horse candidates. The more spots you pick correctly, the more points you get, and the winner...well, so far the winner’s gotten nothing, but presumably there’s something at stake. \n\nChad promised everyone this was a good idea, so we’re doing it, but what would really make it fun is if you headed over to our Facebook page, contributed your own picks, and made fun of Josh’s. That’s entertaining for everyone.\n\nSee you next time, when the Screeners will be back to movie reviews as normal, this time of the Alien sequel and the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. So many original ideas, we can hardly stand it.\n\n\n\nEveryone's wagers, for the record\n\nBecause once they're on the Internet, no one can ever change them.\n\nChad\n\n\nDespicable Me 3\nGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\nSpider-Man: Homecoming\nWonder Woman\nTransformers: The Last Knight\nWar for the Planet of the Apes\nPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\nCars 3\nThe Mummy\nDunkirk\n\n\nDark Horses:\n\n\nAlien: Covenant\nBaywatch\nRough Night\n\n\nChris\n\n\nGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\nDespicable Me 3\nSpider-Man: Homecoming\nTransformers: The Last Knight\nWonder Woman\nCars 3\nWar for the Planet of the Apes\nPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\nThe Mummy\nDunkirk\n\n\nDark Horses:\n\n\nValerian\nBaywatch\nAlien: Covenant\n\n\nMelody\n\n\nGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\nDespicable Me 3\nWonder Woman\nSpider-Man: Homecoming\nWar for the Planet of the Apes\nTransformers: The Last Knight\nPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\nThe Mummy\nCars 3\nAlien: Covenant\n\n\nDark Horses:\n\n\nDunkirk\nRough Night\nBaywatch\n\n\nJosh\n\n\nGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\nCars 3\nPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\nDespicable Me 3\nSpider-Man: Homecoming\nWonder Woman\nAlien: Covenant\nDunkirk\nThe Mummy\nThe Dark Tower\n\n\nDark Horses:\n\n\nBaby Driver\nBaywatch\nTransformers: The Last Knight\n\n\nDaniel\n\n\nGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2\nDespicable Me 3\nSpider-Man: Homecoming\nWonder Woman\nCars 3\nTransformers: The Last Knight\nPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\nWar For the Planet of the Apes\nDunkirk\nBaywatch\n\n\nDark Horses:\n\n\nAlien: Covenant\nThe Mummy\nRough Night\n","content_html":"Despite the stunning lack of consequences for last year’s inaugural contest, the Screeners decided to go ahead with a second annual summer movie wager. You can find the “official” rules here, but the basic idea is that everyone takes wild guesses at which summer sequel will make more money than other summer sequels. Put them in order from 1 to 10 and add 3 dark horse candidates. The more spots you pick correctly, the more points you get, and the winner...well, so far the winner’s gotten nothing, but presumably there’s something at stake.
\n\nChad promised everyone this was a good idea, so we’re doing it, but what would really make it fun is if you headed over to our Facebook page, contributed your own picks, and made fun of Josh’s. That’s entertaining for everyone.
\n\nSee you next time, when the Screeners will be back to movie reviews as normal, this time of the Alien sequel and the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. So many original ideas, we can hardly stand it.
\n\nBecause once they're on the Internet, no one can ever change them.
\n\nDark Horses:
\n\nDark Horses:
\n\nDark Horses:
\n\nDark Horses:
\n\nDark Horses:
\n\nIt’s been a few weeks since the last full Screeners episode, and somewhere in there, a new season of TV kicked off. First on the list for this episode is talking about all those new shows and seeing if the Screeners are watching any of them. Who knows; even the cord cutters might have something to say. Or maybe not; knowing Chris, he’ll just be rewatching Hannibal or something.
\n\nAfter that, though, it’s on to the $145 million elephant in the room. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out, and no lackluster reviews can hold the powerhouse back (OK, so it hasn’t had too many to begin with). The Fast and the Furious “family” jokes almost write themselves, but they don’t entirely write themselves, and we don’t want to spend enough time thinking about Vin Diesel to come up with any, so we’ll spare you. Just know that if we did write one, it would involve praising how much better Vin Diesel’s vocabulary is in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
\n\nThat’s it for this episode: some TV and one movie. “How could the episode possibly last an hour?”, you might ask. Well, we don’t know; it just does, OK?
\n\nJoin us next time for the annual Anticlimactic Summer Movie Wager, where consequences are eternally promised but never delivered. Until then, it’s Facebook for us all.
","summary":"The Screeners do some spring cleaning of their DVR queues and head to the theater for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.","date_published":"2017-05-08T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/865c629d-811d-4e9f-9c13-e879c844f99a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mp3","size_in_bytes":73006982,"duration_in_seconds":3023}]},{"id":"046cda5f-53aa-42a3-84aa-15800ff3be37","title":"Bonus Episode: F8 of the Furious","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/83","content_text":"As difficult as it was to type that title up there, we can only imagine how difficult it must be to actually watch the main topic of this bonus episode. Chris and Daniel took one for the rest of the team, though, and voluntarily paid money to subject themselves to nearly three hours of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, some other people, and a submarine. They may be the only Screeners who saw it, but they almost certainly had company at the theater; Fate of the Furious has had the biggest worldwide box office opening ever. These are trying times indeed.\n\nOh well; at least there’s a new Star Wars teaser. They’ll have to talk about that at least a little, right? Wrong. Sorry; there’s nobody here but muscle cars and their muscles.","content_html":"As difficult as it was to type that title up there, we can only imagine how difficult it must be to actually watch the main topic of this bonus episode. Chris and Daniel took one for the rest of the team, though, and voluntarily paid money to subject themselves to nearly three hours of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, some other people, and a submarine. They may be the only Screeners who saw it, but they almost certainly had company at the theater; Fate of the Furious has had the biggest worldwide box office opening ever. These are trying times indeed.
\n\nOh well; at least there’s a new Star Wars teaser. They’ll have to talk about that at least a little, right? Wrong. Sorry; there’s nobody here but muscle cars and their muscles.
","summary":"Chris and Daniel suffered through Fate of the Furious so you didn’t have to...though, if box office numbers are any indication, there’s a good chance you already have.","date_published":"2017-04-18T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/046cda5f-53aa-42a3-84aa-15800ff3be37.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":33446586,"duration_in_seconds":2022}]},{"id":"caec90b6-9f70-443c-a443-7c70b8f6725c","title":"Episode 71: So Many Movies, So Little Time","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/82","content_text":"The Screeners have a lot of ground to cover in this episode, even without much of a tentpole to cover in the main event...or anywhere else, to be honest. Stick with us here, though; there are still some surprises in store.\n\nFirst up, the guys (no Melody this episode, sadly) decided they had to talk about Power Rangers. Why did they decide this? No one’s really sure. Only half of them were even the right age to watch the original series, but somehow three of them made it to the theater for the movie, which has to just be a craven grasp at 90’s nostalgia, right? Right?\n\nOK, enough robot dinosaurs until the next Transformers movie (please let it be Dinobots...please). Next on the list is one of Netflix’s new Sundance acquisitions, The Discovery. This is one of those we-can’t-really-summarize-anything kind of movies except to say that it’s a metaphysical romantic drama. Vague enough? We thought so.\n\nJust in case we haven’t lost you yet, there’s still a main event! Scarlett Johansson was apparently tired of not shooting things, so she signed up to be Major in the live-action Ghost in the Shell reboot. That may or may not have been a good idea, judging from the Google results for the phrase “Ghost in the Shell whitewash”. Anyway, all four hosts saw this one, so they should be able to come up with something other than casting to talk about.\n\nBut wait; there’s more! Chris thought it would be fun for everyone to pretend to be time-travelers just back from having seen all this summer’s upcoming blockbusters. Despite the fact that this would require travel through more than mere time for someone like, say, Josh, everyone played along. Behold our foreknowledge of our own opinions! These reviews couldn’t possibly become self-fulfilling prophecies, could they?\n\nFinally. So very many movies. That last segment alone was about 10 episodes worth of main events. What’s up next is anyone’s guess, but until then, we’ll see you on Facebook.","content_html":"The Screeners have a lot of ground to cover in this episode, even without much of a tentpole to cover in the main event...or anywhere else, to be honest. Stick with us here, though; there are still some surprises in store.
\n\nFirst up, the guys (no Melody this episode, sadly) decided they had to talk about Power Rangers. Why did they decide this? No one’s really sure. Only half of them were even the right age to watch the original series, but somehow three of them made it to the theater for the movie, which has to just be a craven grasp at 90’s nostalgia, right? Right?
\n\nOK, enough robot dinosaurs until the next Transformers movie (please let it be Dinobots...please). Next on the list is one of Netflix’s new Sundance acquisitions, The Discovery. This is one of those we-can’t-really-summarize-anything kind of movies except to say that it’s a metaphysical romantic drama. Vague enough? We thought so.
\n\nJust in case we haven’t lost you yet, there’s still a main event! Scarlett Johansson was apparently tired of not shooting things, so she signed up to be Major in the live-action Ghost in the Shell reboot. That may or may not have been a good idea, judging from the Google results for the phrase “Ghost in the Shell whitewash”. Anyway, all four hosts saw this one, so they should be able to come up with something other than casting to talk about.
\n\nBut wait; there’s more! Chris thought it would be fun for everyone to pretend to be time-travelers just back from having seen all this summer’s upcoming blockbusters. Despite the fact that this would require travel through more than mere time for someone like, say, Josh, everyone played along. Behold our foreknowledge of our own opinions! These reviews couldn’t possibly become self-fulfilling prophecies, could they?
\n\nFinally. So very many movies. That last segment alone was about 10 episodes worth of main events. What’s up next is anyone’s guess, but until then, we’ll see you on Facebook.
","summary":"It’s all film, all the time on this episode. The Screeners take on _Power Rangers_; _The Discovery_; _Ghost in the Shell_; and just for good measure, the entire summer lineup. Chris could have done more, but we had to put a stop to it eventually.","date_published":"2017-04-06T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/caec90b6-9f70-443c-a443-7c70b8f6725c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":62020955,"duration_in_seconds":4049}]},{"id":"08ea0d90-0b1f-4cac-9b79-f75f56ad3393","title":"Episode 70: Beauty and the Pot of Money","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/80","content_text":"Yeah, so the title up there may have given away the main event, but don’t skip straight there; we’ve got a couple things to get out of the way first. C’mon; there’s a new Marvel show—you knew the Screeners would at least mention it. They make no promises about liking it (or even that they’ve all seen it), but they’ll...mention it.\nAlso, Stephen King’s Dark Tower book series is about to hit the big screen, and Chad and Melody can’t wait to tell you how worried they are about this. Wait; you haven’t heard the good news about Dark Tower? Well, sit down, because Chad has some knowledge for you.\n\nNext up: Disney’s making money dainty hand over furry CGI fist from its Beauty and the Beast remake, but is it deserved? Most of the Screeners were alive when the cartoon version was released, so they’re almost guaranteed to have biased opinions, but let’s hear them out anyway, shall we?\n\nAfter that main event, what other topic could there be for the top three than musicals? Er, make that “musical movies”, or whatever weasel term Daniel wanted to use so he could get away with his unconventional picks. We encourage you to listen to this segment and pinpoint the moment where it goes completely off the rails; we think there’s an argument for at least three distinct places, and we’re interested to hear which one you choose.\n\nAnd where should you let us know that choice? Facebook, of course! What; you thought we were going to let you get away without a link to Facebook? Just for that, here’s a link to our iTunes page too. If you like us, a rating and review are the best present you can get us.\n\nSee you next time, when we’ll cringe (or cheer? We hope cheer…) our way through Ghost in the Shell.","content_html":"Yeah, so the title up there may have given away the main event, but don’t skip straight there; we’ve got a couple things to get out of the way first. C’mon; there’s a new Marvel show—you knew the Screeners would at least mention it. They make no promises about liking it (or even that they’ve all seen it), but they’ll...mention it.
\nAlso, Stephen King’s Dark Tower book series is about to hit the big screen, and Chad and Melody can’t wait to tell you how worried they are about this. Wait; you haven’t heard the good news about Dark Tower? Well, sit down, because Chad has some knowledge for you.
Next up: Disney’s making money dainty hand over furry CGI fist from its Beauty and the Beast remake, but is it deserved? Most of the Screeners were alive when the cartoon version was released, so they’re almost guaranteed to have biased opinions, but let’s hear them out anyway, shall we?
\n\nAfter that main event, what other topic could there be for the top three than musicals? Er, make that “musical movies”, or whatever weasel term Daniel wanted to use so he could get away with his unconventional picks. We encourage you to listen to this segment and pinpoint the moment where it goes completely off the rails; we think there’s an argument for at least three distinct places, and we’re interested to hear which one you choose.
\n\nAnd where should you let us know that choice? Facebook, of course! What; you thought we were going to let you get away without a link to Facebook? Just for that, here’s a link to our iTunes page too. If you like us, a rating and review are the best present you can get us.
\n\nSee you next time, when we’ll cringe (or cheer? We hope cheer…) our way through Ghost in the Shell.
","summary":"The Screeners talk _Iron Fist_ and apprehensions about the _Dark Tower_ movie before turning their attention to Disney’s box office smash _Beauty and the Beast_.","date_published":"2017-03-28T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/08ea0d90-0b1f-4cac-9b79-f75f56ad3393.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":64356363,"duration_in_seconds":4368}]},{"id":"60b0e755-9479-4a9d-86e4-6b3c130ed79c","title":"Bonus Episode: Life","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/81","content_text":"Of all the space-and-alien-themed movies in theaters or about to be in theaters, Life is…certainly one of them. It’s debuted to thoroughly mediocre reviews, and its IMDB description includes no fewer than two superfluous commas, so we’re not going to reproduce it here. Chad and Daniel did see the movie, though, so check out this episode to find out if you should see it too, or if you can wait for Ridley Scott to release something else.","content_html":"Of all the space-and-alien-themed movies in theaters or about to be in theaters, Life is…certainly one of them. It’s debuted to thoroughly mediocre reviews, and its IMDB description includes no fewer than two superfluous commas, so we’re not going to reproduce it here. Chad and Daniel did see the movie, though, so check out this episode to find out if you should see it too, or if you can wait for Ridley Scott to release something else.
","summary":"Hollywood’s anti-alien agenda continues with the release of _Life_. Should you see it? Ask Chad or Daniel; these bonus episodes are kind of their thing.","date_published":"2017-03-28T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/60b0e755-9479-4a9d-86e4-6b3c130ed79c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":41605615,"duration_in_seconds":2693}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:58cb4eaa893fc0b64d20b0da","title":"Bonus Episode: Kong: Skull Island & Get Out","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/79","content_text":" <img class=\"thumb-image\" data-image=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d/t/58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991/1489773156267/\" data-image-dimensions=\"1200x630\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991\" data-type=\"image\" src=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d/t/58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991/1489773156267/?format=1000w\" />\n\n\nChad told us to just copy IMDB descriptions for these show notes, but we’re pretty sure those are written by a thousand monkeys locked away in a room with typewriters somewhere, so we have an ethical problem using them.Anyway, Chad and Daniel saw Kong: Skull Island, and they wanted to talk about the experience for some reason. The best we can tell, the movie stars a disgruntled former Charlton Heston employee and a helicopter. Oh, and Loki’s in it, so that’s cool. We’re looking forward to a robust, nuanced point-counterpoint here, fellas.Also, half of Key & Peele wrote and directed a horror movie, and Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener are in it. We’re not quite sure what to do with that information, but there it is; this is a thing that happened. We don't think we'll need all of the Screeners to spoil the ending and tell you if Keanu the cat makes an appearance.","content_html":" <img class="thumb-image" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d/t/58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991/1489773156267/" data-image-dimensions="1200x630" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991" data-type="image" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d/t/58cc225c86e6c0572e5dc991/1489773156267/?format=1000w" />\nChad told us to just copy IMDB descriptions for these show notes, but we’re pretty sure those are written by a thousand monkeys locked away in a room with typewriters somewhere, so we have an ethical problem using them.
Anyway, Chad and Daniel saw Kong: Skull Island, and they wanted to talk about the experience for some reason. The best we can tell, the movie stars a disgruntled former Charlton Heston employee and a helicopter. Oh, and Loki’s in it, so that’s cool. We’re looking forward to a robust, nuanced point-counterpoint here, fellas.
Also, half of Key & Peele wrote and directed a horror movie, and Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener are in it. We’re not quite sure what to do with that information, but there it is; this is a thing that happened. We don't think we'll need all of the Screeners to spoil the ending and tell you if Keanu the cat makes an appearance.
","summary":"Bonus Episode: Kong: Skull Island","date_published":"2017-03-17T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9a16efd2-bbad-4094-ad81-4b5921286d15.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":97142574,"duration_in_seconds":3824}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:58be3c89bf629a847aac5df3","title":"Episode 78: Bonus Episode: Logan","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/78","content_text":"Marvel went and made another movie, so of course the Screeners had to talk about it. It’s another Wolverine movie, and there is a lot of Wolverine to go around. We can’t let too much info slip here, but let’s just say that Logan earned its R rating. That, and we’re starting to see cracks of light in the previously impenetrable wall of the superhero genre, in more ways than one. You may have already caught Daniel’s review on Facebook, but join him and the rest of the male Screener contingent as they take a deeper dive into Hugh Jackman’s ninth (you heard us) appearance as Wolverine.","content_html":"Marvel went and made another movie, so of course the Screeners had to talk about it. It’s another Wolverine movie, and there is a lot of Wolverine to go around. We can’t let too much info slip here, but let’s just say that Logan earned its R rating. That, and we’re starting to see cracks of light in the previously impenetrable wall of the superhero genre, in more ways than one. You may have already caught Daniel’s review on Facebook, but join him and the rest of the male Screener contingent as they take a deeper dive into Hugh Jackman’s ninth (you heard us) appearance as Wolverine.
","summary":"Bonus Episode: Logan","date_published":"2017-03-13T16:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c9efbfbc-d018-463e-91dd-a323c2c0a235.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":85417350,"duration_in_seconds":3400}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:58b63e55f5e231aeca92cf3f","title":"Episode 69: Awards and Awkwardness","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/77","content_text":"If you have a podcast that’s even remotely about movies, it’s a rule that you have to cover the Oscars. They take away your podcasting license if you don’t (or so we’ve heard; we’re too afraid to try it and see). Jimmy Kimmel presided over a...unique ceremony this year, and the Screeners of course have opinions about it. Or at least 4 of them do; Josh forgot to even fill out his scorecard before the show. This is our surprised face.Speaking of scorecards, though, we had some great responses to our Facebook survey, despite Daniel’s best efforts. Some of our listeners even beat a few of the Screeners—we’re sure Chris has a good excuse, though, and we’re totally not going to fire him.There’s plenty to talk about in the fancy dress and botched award category, but that’s not all we have for this episode. A lot of TV shows have slipped under the podcast’s radar this year, but that doesn’t mean the Screeners haven’t been discovering some great ones. Our second segment is full of recommendations and mini-reviews of shows both new and semi-new, so prepare to take notes.And just like that, one more Oscar episode is in the can. That’s, what, 4 of them now? One more and we get a free...nothing?! What a rip-off! Anyway, join us next time for what’s sure to be an uplifting discussion of Logan. Until then, see you on Facebook!","content_html":"If you have a podcast that’s even remotely about movies, it’s a rule that you have to cover the Oscars. They take away your podcasting license if you don’t (or so we’ve heard; we’re too afraid to try it and see). Jimmy Kimmel presided over a...unique ceremony this year, and the Screeners of course have opinions about it. Or at least 4 of them do; Josh forgot to even fill out his scorecard before the show. This is our surprised face.
Speaking of scorecards, though, we had some great responses to our Facebook survey, despite Daniel’s best efforts. Some of our listeners even beat a few of the Screeners—we’re sure Chris has a good excuse, though, and we’re totally not going to fire him.
There’s plenty to talk about in the fancy dress and botched award category, but that’s not all we have for this episode. A lot of TV shows have slipped under the podcast’s radar this year, but that doesn’t mean the Screeners haven’t been discovering some great ones. Our second segment is full of recommendations and mini-reviews of shows both new and semi-new, so prepare to take notes.
And just like that, one more Oscar episode is in the can. That’s, what, 4 of them now? One more and we get a free...nothing?! What a rip-off! Anyway, join us next time for what’s sure to be an uplifting discussion of Logan. Until then, see you on Facebook!
","summary":"Episode 69: Awards and Awkwardness","date_published":"2017-03-01T14:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/35d849da-680c-4a20-83c4-cbc93a8fefbb.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":102627774,"duration_in_seconds":4167}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:58a52b6b6b8f5b90ed1afdce","title":"Episode 68: ‘Puter! Start an Argument!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/76","content_text":"This episode’s Jump Cuts segment was sparked by an innocent tweet from Daniel. He thought he’d post his list of picks for Best Picture for the past few years just to, y’know, put it out there since the Academy Awards were coming up. Chad, however, has never once had the instinct to leave well enough alone. He decided the Screeners should re-re-litigate Daniel’s (and the Academy’s) choices, so here we are.Oh yeah, and after the fun times are mostly over, there’s a bit where the hosts give their picks for this year’s Oscars, but that’s not really the lead story here.The main event is a bit more kid-friendly—or at least that’s what Warner Bros. wants you to think; if you take the kids, they make more money. The Lego Batman Movie might not have the melodrama of a Pixar movie sown up, but the jokes are certainly firing on all cylinders, and they run deep in this one. Come for the self-referential humor; stay to see if Chad can somehow make Daniel’s opinion sound wrong in this segment too.And after that, something something John Wick 2. Chad and Chris saw it, and they thought the Screeners should talk about it, but every time Josh hears Keanu Reeves’ name, he sees that cat from the Key & Peele movie in his head. Also, does anyone remember Equilibrium? Because \"gun-fu\" just...you know what? Nevermind.Anyway, that’s all for now. The next episode will be about—what else?—the Academy Awards. There’s also some great TV out there this year, so the Screeners will hit some of the high notes there too. That should give you, our beloved audience, some great fodder for Facebook comments. Bring ‘em on!","content_html":"This episode’s Jump Cuts segment was sparked by an innocent tweet from Daniel. He thought he’d post his list of picks for Best Picture for the past few years just to, y’know, put it out there since the Academy Awards were coming up. Chad, however, has never once had the instinct to leave well enough alone. He decided the Screeners should re-re-litigate Daniel’s (and the Academy’s) choices, so here we are.
Oh yeah, and after the fun times are mostly over, there’s a bit where the hosts give their picks for this year’s Oscars, but that’s not really the lead story here.
The main event is a bit more kid-friendly—or at least that’s what Warner Bros. wants you to think; if you take the kids, they make more money. The Lego Batman Movie might not have the melodrama of a Pixar movie sown up, but the jokes are certainly firing on all cylinders, and they run deep in this one. Come for the self-referential humor; stay to see if Chad can somehow make Daniel’s opinion sound wrong in this segment too.
And after that, something something John Wick 2. Chad and Chris saw it, and they thought the Screeners should talk about it, but every time Josh hears Keanu Reeves’ name, he sees that cat from the Key & Peele movie in his head. Also, does anyone remember Equilibrium? Because \"gun-fu\" just...you know what? Nevermind.
Anyway, that’s all for now. The next episode will be about—what else?—the Academy Awards. There’s also some great TV out there this year, so the Screeners will hit some of the high notes there too. That should give you, our beloved audience, some great fodder for Facebook comments. Bring ‘em on!
","summary":"Episode 68: 'Puter! Start an Argument!","date_published":"2017-02-17T10:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a98fea0c-334b-4e9a-974a-6536973c49de.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":82111839,"duration_in_seconds":4883}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:58994ef51b10e35238f666c0","title":"Episode 67: America’s Lasting Cultural Contributions","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/75","content_text":"It’s February, and the whole country’s fresh off the most exciting football game in history (or so we’re told), so the Screeners have decided to get together and talk about—what else?—commercials. The “big game”, or whatever the NFL’s suing people into calling it this year, is supposed to be a lodestone for quality adverts*, but were the famously expensive spots a slam dunk this year? Fox allegedly cried foul on at least one of them, refusing to air it, but maybe someone else hit a home run. Join the hosts as they talk about what the big brands served up this year. Hockey. OK, now that we’re done with our segment on commercialism, let’s talk about fast food. Michael Keaton hasn’t made much of a splash with his role as Ray Kroc in The Founder, so why would the Screeners review it, you might ask. Well, we’ll tell you. No one wanted to see that movie about the kid from Mars. That’s why. Some of them thought The Founder might actually be a good movie, too, but it was mostly the Mars thing. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.To round things out, why not do a top 3? The main event’s usually the inspiration for these, so let’s not ruin a good thing. Top 3 biopics it is.There’s a pretty deep field here to choose from, which is a pleasant departure from norm. What was the last one again? “Name your favorite Kelsey Grammer characters”?Alright...less snark, more Facebook engagement. Don’t make Chris beg for likes. We’ve seen him beg. It’s very uncomfortable.* We’re trying on some British. It suits us, innit?","content_html":"It’s February, and the whole country’s fresh off the most exciting football game in history (or so we’re told), so the Screeners have decided to get together and talk about—what else?—commercials. The “big game”, or whatever the NFL’s suing people into calling it this year, is supposed to be a lodestone for quality adverts*, but were the famously expensive spots a slam dunk this year? Fox allegedly cried foul on at least one of them, refusing to air it, but maybe someone else hit a home run. Join the hosts as they talk about what the big brands served up this year.
Hockey.
OK, now that we’re done with our segment on commercialism, let’s talk about fast food. Michael Keaton hasn’t made much of a splash with his role as Ray Kroc in The Founder, so why would the Screeners review it, you might ask. Well, we’ll tell you. No one wanted to see that movie about the kid from Mars. That’s why. Some of them thought The Founder might actually be a good movie, too, but it was mostly the Mars thing. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.
To round things out, why not do a top 3? The main event’s usually the inspiration for these, so let’s not ruin a good thing. Top 3 biopics it is.There’s a pretty deep field here to choose from, which is a pleasant departure from norm. What was the last one again? “Name your favorite Kelsey Grammer characters”?
Alright...less snark, more Facebook engagement. Don’t make Chris beg for likes. We’ve seen him beg. It’s very uncomfortable.
* We’re trying on some British. It suits us, innit?
To start things off tonight, we heard there were some award nomination thingies recently. The...Lloyds? The Jeffs? No; it has something to do with a..dumpster? Trash? A trash can! That’s right; the Oscar nominations were announced. Surely the Screeners have something to say about those, right? Well, at least Daniel must.
Award shows always make a great first round, but the episode’s main event is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, Split. As you may have heard, M. Night Shyamalan films tend to have something in common. No, it’s not being hated by Josh (that category’s far bigger than just Shyamalan’s movies), but good guess. The thing they have in common is that they’re impossible to summarize in show notes for...reasons. Any attempt to do so reads like a lazy BuzzFeed headline: “An almost-bald guy locks some girls in a cellar. You won’t believe what happens next!” And so on.
Anyway, pretend our summary was slightly less lazy. Shyamalan’s last two movies have been a great one-two punch at people suffering from mental illness, so pretend you just listened to Josh bore you to death about that or something. We’re sure the Screeners will do a better job of talking about the movie without talking about it...or maybe they’ll just skip straight to the spoilers section. Guess you’ll just have to listen to find out.
To round out the episode, the Screeners have opted for a return of one of Chris’s favorite segments—Top Three. The topic for this time: movies with twist endings. OK, so that topic might have ruined the whole coy façade we put up in the last couple paragraphs. We blame Chad, because...well, because it just feels right to blame Chad even if it was really Chris’s fault.
OK, that about does it for what may be the most poorly summarized episode in Screeners history. Head on over to Facebook to give us your best Shyamarry (that’s “Shyamalan summary”, for those not au courant about terminology invented during the course of writing these notes).
","summary":"Episode 66: A Movie Divided","date_published":"2017-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/20fb2284-357e-4e01-9825-72ce6781d2f2.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":96728708,"duration_in_seconds":3827}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:587d77bf5016e1170b8eeb31","title":"Episode 65: 2016 in Review","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/73","content_text":"For anyone paying attention to...just about anything last year, the best way to describe 2016 might just be, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Unless, of course, you’re Josh, who doesn’t know if he’s seen a “best of” anything just yet. Anyway, 2016 certainly had its low points, but the quality of cinematic releases wasn’t one of them. There were some standout films last year, and the Screeners have made it their mission to find as many of them as they can. This episode is...the Best of 2016.Longtime listeners know the drill here, but if you’re new, you’re, um, not that far behind. It’s your basic top-ten countdown list, with the caveat that only Daniel has seen every movie released in 2016, so he’s the only one who can make a proper list. We think he might be living in a theater; frankly, we’re worried about him. We’ll put the lists below for anyone who happens to be a fan of spoiling their own surprises (you’re the kid who broke into Dad’s office just so you could find out if you got that Power Rangers action figure, aren’t you?), but if you’re not in that crowd, we have just a couple more paragraphs here before you should stop reading and start listening.After the top 10 is over, the Screeners have a couple of palate cleansers (or palate ruiners, depending on your perspective) for you. First off, they’ll recount their biggest disappointment of the year (did anything disappoint Chris last year?). Up next is the overall worst movie of the year, then one that each host liked despite everyone else* hating it, and, to round things out on a sour note, the movie they didn’t like despite all the good things everyone else said about it.By this point, the Screeners were approximately 6 hours into recording the episode, so a vote was taken; the best TV of 2016 was mercifully cut from the roster, and the episode was wrapped up. Rest assured, though; Chris and Melody really loved WestWorld.Anyway, that’s it for 2016. Finally. It’s over. We’ll all tell our grandchildren about it in muted, wavering tones. Join the Screeners next time for a review of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split...if there is a next time. Even if there’s not, we’re sure at least Facebook will survive, so remember us there.Oh, right. You were promised lists, and lists you shall have:Episode Spoilers BelowChrisArrivalMoanaRogue One: A Star Wars StoryHushDeadpoolStar Trek BeyondZero DaysDoctor StrangeWeinerHell or High waterHonorable Mentions:10 Cloverfield LaneLa La LandPete’s DragonBiggest DisappointmentGhostbusters (Theatrical Cut)Worst movie of the year:AllegiantMovie I liked that no one else did:13 HoursMovie I didn't like that everyone else did:Hail, Caesar!DanielLa La LandArrivalGreen RoomManchester By The SeaHell or High WaterWeinerA Monster CallsHacksaw Ridge / Silence (A tie! For...8th place!)Patriots DaySing StreetHonorable Mentions:LionJackieLovingMoonlightBiggest Disappointment:Suicide SquadWorst movie of the year:Gods of EgyptMovie I liked that no one else did:PassengersMovie I didn't like that everyone else did:Kate Plays Christine / Captain FantasticMelodyArrival10 Cloverfield LaneThe Little PrinceHushStar Trek BeyondRogue One: A Star Wars StoryFinding DoryPete's DragonLa La LandFlorence Foster JenkinsHonorable Mentions:Green RoomMoanaBiggest disappointment:Jack Reacher: Never Go BackWorst movie of the year:London Has FallenMovie I liked that no one else did:Batman v SupermanMovie I didn't like that everyone else did:Hail, Caesar!JoshHail, Caesar!Star Trek BeyondArrivalDeadpoolSnowdenDoctor StrangeElvis & NixonRogue One: A Star Wars StorySullyFinding DoryBiggest disappointment:MascotsMovie I didn't like that everyone else did:10 Cloverfield LaneMovie I liked that no one else did:Hail, Caesar!Worst movie of the year:Batman v SupermanChadManchester by the SeaArrivalLionThe Edge of 17TowerNocturnal AnimalsLa La LandJackieHell or High WaterThe WitchHonorable Mentions:Everybody Wants SomeKrisha10 Cloverfield LaneThe InvitationKubo and the Two StringsFencesMoonlightBirth of a NationHunt for the WilderpeopleCaptain FantasticBiggest disappointment:Batman v SupermanWorst movie of the year:Independence Day: ResurgenceMovie I liked that no one else did:Ghostbusters / The AccountantMovie I didn't like that everyone else did:Zootopia * The definition of “everyone else” here is...fungible. Maybe it’s critics; maybe it’s everyone else on the podcast. As we’ve said time and time again, there are no rules, and everything is meaningless. OK, so we’ve at least said the first part. Maybe Josh has just thought the second part.","content_html":"For anyone paying attention to...just about anything last year, the best way to describe 2016 might just be, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Unless, of course, you’re Josh, who doesn’t know if he’s seen a “best of” anything just yet. Anyway, 2016 certainly had its low points, but the quality of cinematic releases wasn’t one of them. There were some standout films last year, and the Screeners have made it their mission to find as many of them as they can. This episode is...the Best of 2016.
Longtime listeners know the drill here, but if you’re new, you’re, um, not that far behind. It’s your basic top-ten countdown list, with the caveat that only Daniel has seen every movie released in 2016, so he’s the only one who can make a proper list. We think he might be living in a theater; frankly, we’re worried about him. We’ll put the lists below for anyone who happens to be a fan of spoiling their own surprises (you’re the kid who broke into Dad’s office just so you could find out if you got that Power Rangers action figure, aren’t you?), but if you’re not in that crowd, we have just a couple more paragraphs here before you should stop reading and start listening.
After the top 10 is over, the Screeners have a couple of palate cleansers (or palate ruiners, depending on your perspective) for you. First off, they’ll recount their biggest disappointment of the year (did anything disappoint Chris last year?). Up next is the overall worst movie of the year, then one that each host liked despite everyone else* hating it, and, to round things out on a sour note, the movie they didn’t like despite all the good things everyone else said about it.
By this point, the Screeners were approximately 6 hours into recording the episode, so a vote was taken; the best TV of 2016 was mercifully cut from the roster, and the episode was wrapped up. Rest assured, though; Chris and Melody really loved WestWorld.
Anyway, that’s it for 2016. Finally. It’s over. We’ll all tell our grandchildren about it in muted, wavering tones. Join the Screeners next time for a review of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split...if there is a next time. Even if there’s not, we’re sure at least Facebook will survive, so remember us there.
Oh, right. You were promised lists, and lists you shall have:
Arrival
Moana
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Hush
Deadpool
Star Trek Beyond
Zero Days
Doctor Strange
Weiner
Hell or High water
Honorable Mentions:
10 Cloverfield Lane
La La Land
Pete’s Dragon
Biggest Disappointment
Ghostbusters (Theatrical Cut)
Worst movie of the year:
Allegiant
Movie I liked that no one else did:
13 Hours
Movie I didn't like that everyone else did:
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Arrival
Green Room
Manchester By The Sea
Hell or High Water
Weiner
A Monster Calls
Hacksaw Ridge / Silence (A tie! For...8th place!)
Patriots Day
Sing Street
Honorable Mentions:
Lion
Jackie
Loving
Moonlight
Biggest Disappointment:
Suicide Squad
Worst movie of the year:
Gods of Egypt
Movie I liked that no one else did:
Passengers
Movie I didn't like that everyone else did:
Kate Plays Christine / Captain Fantastic
Arrival
10 Cloverfield Lane
The Little Prince
Hush
Star Trek Beyond
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Finding Dory
Pete's Dragon
La La Land
Florence Foster Jenkins
Honorable Mentions:
Green Room
Moana
Biggest disappointment:
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Worst movie of the year:
London Has Fallen
Movie I liked that no one else did:
Batman v Superman
Movie I didn't like that everyone else did:
Hail, Caesar!
Hail, Caesar!
Star Trek Beyond
Arrival
Deadpool
Snowden
Doctor Strange
Elvis & Nixon
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Sully
Finding Dory
Biggest disappointment:
Mascots
Movie I didn't like that everyone else did:
10 Cloverfield Lane
Movie I liked that no one else did:
Hail, Caesar!
Worst movie of the year:
Batman v Superman
Manchester by the Sea
Arrival
Lion
The Edge of 17
Tower
Nocturnal Animals
La La Land
Jackie
Hell or High Water
The Witch
Honorable Mentions:
Everybody Wants Some
Krisha
10 Cloverfield Lane
The Invitation
Kubo and the Two Strings
Fences
Moonlight
Birth of a Nation
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Captain Fantastic
Biggest disappointment:
Batman v Superman
Worst movie of the year:
Independence Day: Resurgence
Movie I liked that no one else did:
Ghostbusters / The Accountant
Movie I didn't like that everyone else did:
Zootopia
* The definition of “everyone else” here is...fungible. Maybe it’s critics; maybe it’s everyone else on the podcast. As we’ve said time and time again, there are no rules, and everything is meaningless. OK, so we’ve at least said the first part. Maybe Josh has just thought the second part.
","summary":"Episode 65: 2016 in Review","date_published":"2017-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/cd7fac57-1881-42c7-ae33-5695366afc15.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":90215811,"duration_in_seconds":6242}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:585a0bc9f7e0ab537e436793","title":"Episode 64: Hope, Suffering, and Really Big Budgets","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/72","content_text":"This episode just might set a record for the Screeners’ most popular main event...if you judge the popularity of episodes based on the popularity of their topics, at least. That’s how we do it, and we’re entitled to our opinion. It’s another double feature this time, and what a combo: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and HBO’s new (remade) hit Westworld.Rebellions are Built on Franchising (or was that the other way around?)So Rogue One is “officially” a Star Wars movie, but something about the marketing and the whole “we get a new one every year now” thing hits a sour note with some people, one or two of the Screeners included. They’re an open-minded lot, though, and they’re willing to give Disney a shot to turn side-plot off-year releases into watchable cinema. Did they deliver this time?What if the Only Thing That Makes Us Human Is Wondering What Makes Us Human?Another franchise connected to J.J. Abrams? Fine, Chris, but next time we’re talking about someone else. The guy’s going to get a big head. Anyway, most of Westworld takes place in the Wild West, but it’s not a Western. And those people you see? They’re not people. Or are they? Throw in some violence, nudity, and things you can’t say on CBS, and you’ve got yourself an HBO show.Westworld is a remake of a Michael Crichton movie...or maybe two of them, actually, but it takes a slightly different approach than the original (and the subsequent short-lived 80s TV series). For one, the first season cost $100 million, twice the average per-episode budget for Game of Thrones. Money won’t necessarily buy you quality, though; just ask Michael Bay.Notice how this description has been rambling on for four paragraphs now but hasn’t said anything of substance yet? Yeah; that’s on purpose. Go watch the show, then listen to the episode. You’ve been warned.It Was Either This or Josh Humming Movie ThemesTo round out the episode, the Screeners decided to let Chris exercise some creative control and invent his own game. The jury’s still out on whether they’re happy with that choice. He found a list of movie taglines somewhere, and he’s forcing everyone to guess the movie from its tagline. Play along at home and see if you can do better than the rest of the Screeners (not as hard as it sounds, actually).OK, that wraps up the last new release episode of the year. Join us next time for our Best of 2016 episode, where we’ll review our favorite movie, TV, and video game releases of the past 12 months, a list that Josh has totally been keeping since January. He’s really serious about these things. A serious, responsible adult and podcast host. Promise.Alright; done for real now. See you on Facebook!","content_html":"This episode just might set a record for the Screeners’ most popular main event...if you judge the popularity of episodes based on the popularity of their topics, at least. That’s how we do it, and we’re entitled to our opinion. It’s another double feature this time, and what a combo: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and HBO’s new (remade) hit Westworld.
So Rogue One is “officially” a Star Wars movie, but something about the marketing and the whole “we get a new one every year now” thing hits a sour note with some people, one or two of the Screeners included. They’re an open-minded lot, though, and they’re willing to give Disney a shot to turn side-plot off-year releases into watchable cinema. Did they deliver this time?
What if the Only Thing That Makes Us Human Is Wondering What Makes Us Human?
Another franchise connected to J.J. Abrams? Fine, Chris, but next time we’re talking about someone else. The guy’s going to get a big head.
Anyway, most of Westworld takes place in the Wild West, but it’s not a Western. And those people you see? They’re not people. Or are they? Throw in some violence, nudity, and things you can’t say on CBS, and you’ve got yourself an HBO show.
Westworld is a remake of a Michael Crichton movie...or maybe two of them, actually, but it takes a slightly different approach than the original (and the subsequent short-lived 80s TV series). For one, the first season cost $100 million, twice the average per-episode budget for Game of Thrones. Money won’t necessarily buy you quality, though; just ask Michael Bay.
Notice how this description has been rambling on for four paragraphs now but hasn’t said anything of substance yet? Yeah; that’s on purpose. Go watch the show, then listen to the episode. You’ve been warned.
To round out the episode, the Screeners decided to let Chris exercise some creative control and invent his own game. The jury’s still out on whether they’re happy with that choice. He found a list of movie taglines somewhere, and he’s forcing everyone to guess the movie from its tagline. Play along at home and see if you can do better than the rest of the Screeners (not as hard as it sounds, actually).
OK, that wraps up the last new release episode of the year. Join us next time for our Best of 2016 episode, where we’ll review our favorite movie, TV, and video game releases of the past 12 months, a list that Josh has totally been keeping since January. He’s really serious about these things. A serious, responsible adult and podcast host. Promise.
Alright; done for real now. See you on Facebook!
","summary":"Episode 64: Hope, Suffering, and Really Big Budgets","date_published":"2017-01-03T15:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/6579fab0-8531-4303-a18b-06bc9af0b465.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":92050985,"duration_in_seconds":6288}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:583e55a89f7456d4fb7184ff","title":"Episode 63: Mele Kalikimaka!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/71","content_text":"So...last time we said we were going to review Moana and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, right? Well, it’s officially the Christmas season now, so by law you have to forgive us for only getting around to talking about one of them. Come on; Santa’s watching.Disney might be following a well-trodden path as far as Moana’s general story arc goes, but the movie marks the furthest they’ve gone yet down the cultural diversity road. Moana is not only a strong female lead, but she’s Polynesian, and Pasifika cultures are pretty underrepresented in film. Disney even brought in a cultural advisory counsel to help the decidedly non-Pasifika writers get things right. But was it enough? You’re really here to find out if Chris cried during the movie, so let’s get on with that part, shall we?Remember a paragraph or so ago, when we reminded you it was time to start Christmas shopping? Maybe this episode’s Top 3 can help you stuff some stockings—the Screeners decided to cover “vaguely Christmas movies”, or movies that aren’t really about Christmas but happen to be set during the season. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry; it didn’t make sense to Josh either, and that’s why he’s not here for this episode.If you haven’t heard, we’re on Facebook. Some of the news we share there isn’t fake. Bonus points if you can figure out which of it is.","content_html":"So...last time we said we were going to review Moana and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, right? Well, it’s officially the Christmas season now, so by law you have to forgive us for only getting around to talking about one of them. Come on; Santa’s watching.
Disney might be following a well-trodden path as far as Moana’s general story arc goes, but the movie marks the furthest they’ve gone yet down the cultural diversity road. Moana is not only a strong female lead, but she’s Polynesian, and Pasifika cultures are pretty underrepresented in film. Disney even brought in a cultural advisory counsel to help the decidedly non-Pasifika writers get things right. But was it enough? You’re really here to find out if Chris cried during the movie, so let’s get on with that part, shall we?
Remember a paragraph or so ago, when we reminded you it was time to start Christmas shopping? Maybe this episode’s Top 3 can help you stuff some stockings—the Screeners decided to cover “vaguely Christmas movies”, or movies that aren’t really about Christmas but happen to be set during the season. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry; it didn’t make sense to Josh either, and that’s why he’s not here for this episode.
If you haven’t heard, we’re on Facebook. Some of the news we share there isn’t fake. Bonus points if you can figure out which of it is.
","summary":"Episode 63: Mele Kalikimaka!","date_published":"2016-12-05T00:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/163a557a-6af9-433b-b5eb-474735673d73.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":73158631,"duration_in_seconds":2901}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:582e638cb3db2b4e8460e6fc","title":"Episode 62: The Less You Know","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/70","content_text":"This episode will be a little light in the notes area—the first segment has been jettisoned for a longer discussion of Arrival, and the Screeners are doing their best to not tell you anything specific about the movie. The only thing we can reveal here is that Josh has a background in linguistics...and if you think it makes no sense to mention that here, then good; we’ve done our job. Come back for the spoilers section later; you won’t be disappointed. Then again, you might be very disappointed. We’re not in the business of guarantees.There’s still a final segment, though: In a totally unexpected bit of thematic consistency, this episode’s Top 3 is “Go in blind”, or movies where the best experience hinges on the viewer not knowing anything about the plot when they start watching. There are some good ones in here, but by naming them, we’ve probably ruined them. Oh well; you’ve probably already seen them anyway.OK, that about does it. See? Short. As always, join the discussion over on Facebook (especially after listening to the spoilers section…), and we’ll see you next time for reviews of Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them and Disney’s Moana.Ed. note: Assuming Chad left them in the final cut, credit for the parody movie titles goes to Neil. He threatened litigation if I didn’t give proper attribution.","content_html":"This episode will be a little light in the notes area—the first segment has been jettisoned for a longer discussion of Arrival, and the Screeners are doing their best to not tell you anything specific about the movie. The only thing we can reveal here is that Josh has a background in linguistics...and if you think it makes no sense to mention that here, then good; we’ve done our job. Come back for the spoilers section later; you won’t be disappointed. Then again, you might be very disappointed. We’re not in the business of guarantees.
There’s still a final segment, though: In a totally unexpected bit of thematic consistency, this episode’s Top 3 is “Go in blind”, or movies where the best experience hinges on the viewer not knowing anything about the plot when they start watching. There are some good ones in here, but by naming them, we’ve probably ruined them. Oh well; you’ve probably already seen them anyway.
OK, that about does it. See? Short. As always, join the discussion over on Facebook (especially after listening to the spoilers section…), and we’ll see you next time for reviews of Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them and Disney’s Moana.
Ed. note: Assuming Chad left them in the final cut, credit for the parody movie titles goes to Neil. He threatened litigation if I didn’t give proper attribution.
","summary":"Episode 62: The Less You Know","date_published":"2016-12-03T19:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/b3a5e950-3f66-4b95-966e-e3e34ffda37e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":93283551,"duration_in_seconds":3748}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5822984b9f7456df624104a1","title":"Episode 61: Dr. Strange, or, How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Give Marvel More Money","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/69","content_text":"This episode boasts not one, but TWO reviews. Two reviews, and a top 3. We’re not sure what more you could ask for*, so let’s jump right in.First up is Christopher Guest’s new Netflix-only offering, Mascots. Guest is famous for his mockumentaries, but how long can his streak last before the format gets old? Surely a topic like this is a home run, right? And by “home run”, we mean to imply that team mascots are the only reason anyone watches baseball (right?).There’s Nothing Strange about Piles of CashFor their main event, the Screeners couldn’t help but talk about Marvel’s latest cash cow, Dr. Strange. Well, Chris couldn’t help but talk about it, but that wasn’t entirely unexpected, now was it? Sherlock gets magic powers from a mysterious white woman in the middle of Nepal; what’s not to love? We feel like there were some nods to Harry Potter in there too, but maybe the trailer for the JK Rowling movie with Stephen Hawking in it just colored our perception. We had a very...disorienting time at the theater, in case you couldn’t tell.Paging Doctor...Anyone Other than CumberbatchIt’s been awhile since we’ve done a Top 3, but the segment’s back in style. Since everything Marvel touches turns to cash, the Screeners couldn’t resist a tie-in with the main event. Are there any other TV or movie doctors worth talking about? Sure there are; just off the top of our heads, we can think of at least...well, one. We’re sure Chad will come up with some sophisticated choices.OK, that’ll do it for this time. Join us next time, when surely there will be another Marvel movie to talk abou...what’s that? We’re reviewing Arrival? Sure, whatever; there’ll be another Marvel movie released now and then to distract us. Anyway, until then, see you on Facebook!*...except maybe a female host. This episode’s missing Melody; sorry about that. She just didn’t have time for Benedict Cumberbatch. We were shocked too; trust us.","content_html":"This episode boasts not one, but TWO reviews. Two reviews, and a top 3. We’re not sure what more you could ask for*, so let’s jump right in.
First up is Christopher Guest’s new Netflix-only offering, Mascots. Guest is famous for his mockumentaries, but how long can his streak last before the format gets old? Surely a topic like this is a home run, right? And by “home run”, we mean to imply that team mascots are the only reason anyone watches baseball (right?).
For their main event, the Screeners couldn’t help but talk about Marvel’s latest cash cow, Dr. Strange. Well, Chris couldn’t help but talk about it, but that wasn’t entirely unexpected, now was it? Sherlock gets magic powers from a mysterious white woman in the middle of Nepal; what’s not to love? We feel like there were some nods to Harry Potter in there too, but maybe the trailer for the JK Rowling movie with Stephen Hawking in it just colored our perception. We had a very...disorienting time at the theater, in case you couldn’t tell.
It’s been awhile since we’ve done a Top 3, but the segment’s back in style. Since everything Marvel touches turns to cash, the Screeners couldn’t resist a tie-in with the main event. Are there any other TV or movie doctors worth talking about? Sure there are; just off the top of our heads, we can think of at least...well, one. We’re sure Chad will come up with some sophisticated choices.
OK, that’ll do it for this time. Join us next time, when surely there will be another Marvel movie to talk abou...what’s that? We’re reviewing Arrival? Sure, whatever; there’ll be another Marvel movie released now and then to distract us. Anyway, until then, see you on Facebook!
*...except maybe a female host. This episode’s missing Melody; sorry about that. She just didn’t have time for Benedict Cumberbatch. We were shocked too; trust us.
","summary":"Episode 61: Dr. Strange, or, How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Give Marvel More Money","date_published":"2016-11-12T22:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9786ca06-a54e-404f-817b-79f8a30e2e16.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":101569928,"duration_in_seconds":4014}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5817e887725e2564c2cd4db1","title":"Episode 60: Tom Cruise and the Constitution","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/68","content_text":"...no, we’re not talking about a remake of National Treasure, but wouldn’t it be great if we were? That’s the movie they need to remake. Why has noone done this?Ahem. To mix things up this time, the Screeners are doing two reviews and a game. Or...one mini-review, one full review and a game. One short review, one really long review and a game? Um, whatever; there’s going to be a game at the end.First on the docket is Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. With a title like that, the jokes write themselves. So does the script...but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Someone might have liked watching Tom Cruise punch and kick things. He even has a couple female sidekicks, so the cast is diverse and everything. At least, we’re guessing that was part of the pitch to the studio. Anyway, everyone paid to see it, so they’re going to talk about it. For a little while.From Laughable to the Exact OppositeInstead of giving a Tom Cruise movie the satisfaction of being the main event, the Screeners called an audible and decided to have a longer discussion about 13th, Ava DuVernay’s new Netflix documentary. It’s a stark look at the black experience in America since the abolishment of slavery by the 13th Amendment, and everyone has a slightly different takeaway. None of the Screeners can claim personal experience, but they’re all invested in discussing the issues brought up by the movie.The Bowels of FlickChartAs a sort of pressure release for a rather heavy main event, the Screeners decided to round out the episode with a “fun” round of FlickChart. At least, it’s fun for Josh since he gets to sit back and listen to everyone else agonize about their opinions of movies he’s never seen. Will Die Hard ever leave the Screeners’ top 10? Not if Daniel has anything to say about it.OK, enough for now. Join this episode’s discussion on Facebook, and check back for our next episode, when we’ll be talking about the Netflix original Mascots (from Christopher Guest!) and Marvel’s Unstoppable Money Mach...err, Dr. Strange.","content_html":"...no, we’re not talking about a remake of National Treasure, but wouldn’t it be great if we were? That’s the movie they need to remake. Why has noone done this?
Ahem. To mix things up this time, the Screeners are doing two reviews and a game. Or...one mini-review, one full review and a game. One short review, one really long review and a game? Um, whatever; there’s going to be a game at the end.
First on the docket is Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. With a title like that, the jokes write themselves. So does the script...but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Someone might have liked watching Tom Cruise punch and kick things. He even has a couple female sidekicks, so the cast is diverse and everything. At least, we’re guessing that was part of the pitch to the studio. Anyway, everyone paid to see it, so they’re going to talk about it. For a little while.
Instead of giving a Tom Cruise movie the satisfaction of being the main event, the Screeners called an audible and decided to have a longer discussion about 13th, Ava DuVernay’s new Netflix documentary. It’s a stark look at the black experience in America since the abolishment of slavery by the 13th Amendment, and everyone has a slightly different takeaway. None of the Screeners can claim personal experience, but they’re all invested in discussing the issues brought up by the movie.
As a sort of pressure release for a rather heavy main event, the Screeners decided to round out the episode with a “fun” round of FlickChart. At least, it’s fun for Josh since he gets to sit back and listen to everyone else agonize about their opinions of movies he’s never seen. Will Die Hard ever leave the Screeners’ top 10? Not if Daniel has anything to say about it.
OK, enough for now. Join this episode’s discussion on Facebook, and check back for our next episode, when we’ll be talking about the Netflix original Mascots (from Christopher Guest!) and Marvel’s Unstoppable Money Mach...err, Dr. Strange.
","summary":"Episode 60: Tom Cruise and the Constitution","date_published":"2016-11-08T14:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/f7f76a6e-2930-48fa-aabd-e0b786de7a74.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":76509351,"duration_in_seconds":4508}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:57a79728579fb3dbed1af1b3","title":"Episode 59: Summer Catch-up","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/67","content_text":"Another summer, another gap in Screeners programming and subsequent half-hearted apology. Some people went out of town, some people stayed in town but didn’t feel like recording episodes when Chad wasn’t around to edit them, and some people...are Josh. We don’t really know what his deal is. He might have just been asleep for the past few weeks.Anyway, everyone’s back now, so they thought they’d share what they’ve all been watching but not talking about for the past month or so. There’s a little something for everyone in this episode—as long as you like either TV, movies, or video games. There will be no summer book recommendations; we think the Screeners may have stopped reading altogether after that review of Ender’s Game a couple years ago.Can We Call it a ‘Main Event’ if There Are Three of Them?Maybe they’re just a little over-ambitious, but the Screeners thought a catch-up episode should include full reviews of all the movies they meant to record episodes about but never got around to. They’ve managed to fit three of them in, at least, so this episode’s main event is a triple feature of Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond, and Jason Bourne. As a concession to the insane about of time a main event like this would ordinarily eat up, there’s only a spoilers section for Star Trek. You’re welcome, everyone who was afraid we were going to tell you which character Matt Damon punches last in Jason Bourne. (We’re actually not sure who that was; the camera was moving too much to get a good look at him. More on that in the review.)Oh, and because we had so many movies to talk about, there’s also no Top Three this time. Stop by the Facebook page and make up your own—maybe we’ll pick it up for a future episode!","content_html":"Another summer, another gap in Screeners programming and subsequent half-hearted apology. Some people went out of town, some people stayed in town but didn’t feel like recording episodes when Chad wasn’t around to edit them, and some people...are Josh. We don’t really know what his deal is. He might have just been asleep for the past few weeks.
Anyway, everyone’s back now, so they thought they’d share what they’ve all been watching but not talking about for the past month or so. There’s a little something for everyone in this episode—as long as you like either TV, movies, or video games. There will be no summer book recommendations; we think the Screeners may have stopped reading altogether after that review of Ender’s Game a couple years ago.
Maybe they’re just a little over-ambitious, but the Screeners thought a catch-up episode should include full reviews of all the movies they meant to record episodes about but never got around to. They’ve managed to fit three of them in, at least, so this episode’s main event is a triple feature of Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond, and Jason Bourne.
As a concession to the insane about of time a main event like this would ordinarily eat up, there’s only a spoilers section for Star Trek. You’re welcome, everyone who was afraid we were going to tell you which character Matt Damon punches last in Jason Bourne. (We’re actually not sure who that was; the camera was moving too much to get a good look at him. More on that in the review.)
Oh, and because we had so many movies to talk about, there’s also no Top Three this time. Stop by the Facebook page and make up your own—maybe we’ll pick it up for a future episode!
","summary":"Episode 59: Summer Catch-up","date_published":"2016-09-19T22:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7a86e2de-22e6-498f-a29b-435ddd2552ce.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":104343348,"duration_in_seconds":4235}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:57a7969dbebafb38e0de79c4","title":"Episode 58: Seen Enough of the Good Guys? ","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/66","content_text":"This episode lies somewhere in the nether regions between bonus and full episode. We have more than just a movie review, but only three Screeners showed up, so we’ll see how long they can keep the conversation going (spoiler alert: with these three, we could be here awhile after all).Mental Health Advocates Just Love the TitleSo...Suicide Squad is set in Batman’s universe, but it’s not quite a Batman movie because it's not about Batman. A lot of the familiar bad guys (and some unfamiliar ones) are in it, though, except they’re the good guys now. There’s presumably a lot of shooting. That about covers it, right? Well, at least 3 of the Screeners got to see it, so we’ll leave it up to them to say whether we forgot any details.And in honor of the most hardcore Harley Quinn we’ve seen in the franchise so far, this episode’s Top Three is about the hosts’ favorite female action heros. We look forward to Chris mansplaining the character development in Alias.We’re sure there’s some kind of argument to be had about Suicide Squad, but join us next time for the real summer meat and potatoes episode. (Is meat and potatoes a seasonal dish in summer? Wait, don’t answer that; we don’t care.) In the meantime, hit us up on Facebook.","content_html":"This episode lies somewhere in the nether regions between bonus and full episode. We have more than just a movie review, but only three Screeners showed up, so we’ll see how long they can keep the conversation going (spoiler alert: with these three, we could be here awhile after all).
So...Suicide Squad is set in Batman’s universe, but it’s not quite a Batman movie because it's not about Batman. A lot of the familiar bad guys (and some unfamiliar ones) are in it, though, except they’re the good guys now. There’s presumably a lot of shooting. That about covers it, right? Well, at least 3 of the Screeners got to see it, so we’ll leave it up to them to say whether we forgot any details.
And in honor of the most hardcore Harley Quinn we’ve seen in the franchise so far, this episode’s Top Three is about the hosts’ favorite female action heros. We look forward to Chris mansplaining the character development in Alias.
We’re sure there’s some kind of argument to be had about Suicide Squad, but join us next time for the real summer meat and potatoes episode. (Is meat and potatoes a seasonal dish in summer? Wait, don’t answer that; we don’t care.) In the meantime, hit us up on Facebook.
","summary":"Episode 58: Seen Enough of the Good Guys? ","date_published":"2016-08-09T15:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3bac529a-83c2-490f-a5ee-6c0cde460dec.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":72249464,"duration_in_seconds":4342}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5777e6d6b3db2bc08d5e674b","title":"Episode 57: If an Alien Invades, and No One Watches...","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/65","content_text":"...does humanity still get enslaved? \n\nWhat better way to celebrate American independence than by trying to milk some more money out of a 20-year-old hit movie? That’s what Fox thought, anyway—unfortunately, though, Josh isn’t much of a patriot, and Melody had other things to do, so only Chad, Chris, and Daniel saw Independence Day: Resurgence. Based on box office numbers, though, that’s a higher percentage of Screeners making it to the theater than of the general moviegoing public, so Fox should be happy. The Screeners who picked Resurgence to do well in their box office wager list...well, they’re a little less happy.Close Encounters of the First, Second, and Third KindsSurely Hollywood can do better than a movie about aliens that doesn’t even have Will Smith in it, though. If they have, the Screeners (or what’s left of them) will dig it up for their top 3 list. In keeping with the July 4 theme, this episode’s topic is “best alien invasion movies” (or, we assume, TV shows, but if anyone says Falling Skies, Josh will find out, and he will quit the podcast for real this time).If you’re not too busy stealing paranoid glances into the sky in anticipation of impending doom, join us over on Facebook to tell us about all the overlord races we forgot to welcome. Next episode, we’ll switch from aliens to ghosts. Good times!","content_html":"...does humanity still get enslaved?
\n\nWhat better way to celebrate American independence than by trying to milk some more money out of a 20-year-old hit movie? That’s what Fox thought, anyway—unfortunately, though, Josh isn’t much of a patriot, and Melody had other things to do, so only Chad, Chris, and Daniel saw Independence Day: Resurgence. Based on box office numbers, though, that’s a higher percentage of Screeners making it to the theater than of the general moviegoing public, so Fox should be happy. The Screeners who picked Resurgence to do well in their box office wager list...well, they’re a little less happy.
Surely Hollywood can do better than a movie about aliens that doesn’t even have Will Smith in it, though. If they have, the Screeners (or what’s left of them) will dig it up for their top 3 list. In keeping with the July 4 theme, this episode’s topic is “best alien invasion movies” (or, we assume, TV shows, but if anyone says Falling Skies, Josh will find out, and he will quit the podcast for real this time).
If you’re not too busy stealing paranoid glances into the sky in anticipation of impending doom, join us over on Facebook to tell us about all the overlord races we forgot to welcome. Next episode, we’ll switch from aliens to ghosts. Good times!
","summary":"Episode 57: If an Alien Invades, and No One Watches...","date_published":"2016-07-02T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/6d58cc81-78f9-4d31-9df9-69608ffd7abc.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":89679029,"duration_in_seconds":3637}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5770014de58c62d50f98a675","title":"Episode 56: Finding a Market for Your Sequel","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/64","content_text":"News flash: People liked Finding Nemo. Judging by the box office numbers for Finding Dory, a lot of people liked Finding Nemo. Either that, or people just really like animated movies about fish. We’re guessing it’s the former, though. The Screeners are no exception, whether their kids love it, or they were kids when it came out (OK, so that’s only one Screener). They all have something good to say about the little clownfish—even Josh probably does, though we doubt he’ll say it out loud. Did the sequel measure up to the original, though?Well, that’s what everyone’s here to talk about. This episode happened to fall on a relatively slow news week, so the hosts jump right into their main event review. All five of them managed to make it to the theater (along with the rest of the country, apparently), so there should be at least a little room for debate. C’mon, Chris; everyone’s counting on you to remain objective in the face of everyone else’s excitement. Don’t disappoint us!No Rules, No Rails: The Day the List Jumped the SharkOK, so there wasn’t much news, but we can still put together a top 3 list, right? Sure; why not? In the spirit of the main event’s title, the Screeners decided to make a top 3 “lost and found” list. As usual, it can be movies or TV, and as Chris is so fond of saying, there are no rules...for this one especially, it would seem. If you can make any sense at all out of Daniel’s picks here, please do let us know. We’re still working on figuring out a couple of them.And that’s it! Like we always say, do join us over on Facebook to add your top 3 picks to the list, send us topic ideas, or just tell us how amazing Chad’s sound quality was this episode. We want to hear what you have to say, and we obviously love to hear ourselves talk too, so let’s, um, talk...together.","content_html":"News flash: People liked Finding Nemo. Judging by the box office numbers for Finding Dory, a lot of people liked Finding Nemo. Either that, or people just really like animated movies about fish. We’re guessing it’s the former, though. The Screeners are no exception, whether their kids love it, or they were kids when it came out (OK, so that’s only one Screener). They all have something good to say about the little clownfish—even Josh probably does, though we doubt he’ll say it out loud. Did the sequel measure up to the original, though?
Well, that’s what everyone’s here to talk about. This episode happened to fall on a relatively slow news week, so the hosts jump right into their main event review. All five of them managed to make it to the theater (along with the rest of the country, apparently), so there should be at least a little room for debate. C’mon, Chris; everyone’s counting on you to remain objective in the face of everyone else’s excitement. Don’t disappoint us!
OK, so there wasn’t much news, but we can still put together a top 3 list, right? Sure; why not? In the spirit of the main event’s title, the Screeners decided to make a top 3 “lost and found” list. As usual, it can be movies or TV, and as Chris is so fond of saying, there are no rules...for this one especially, it would seem. If you can make any sense at all out of Daniel’s picks here, please do let us know. We’re still working on figuring out a couple of them.
And that’s it! Like we always say, do join us over on Facebook to add your top 3 picks to the list, send us topic ideas, or just tell us how amazing Chad’s sound quality was this episode. We want to hear what you have to say, and we obviously love to hear ourselves talk too, so let’s, um, talk...together.
","summary":"Episode 57: Finding a Market for Your Sequel","date_published":"2016-06-27T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/d66bf080-de82-4ef5-b814-cfad903e73f8.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":84805662,"duration_in_seconds":3424}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:57688938725e25d6e06cb3d5","title":"Summer Movie Wager 2016","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/63","content_text":"This episode’s a bit different than most: No entertainment news roundtable, no movie review, just sheer listmania from start to finish. Here’s the deal: The Screeners have decided to try their hands at picking the top summer movies of 2016, as determined by their box office haul. The “official” rules are here, but Chad didn’t read them, so why should you? It’s pretty simple, actually: Rank the gross domestic (US + Canada) profit of movies released between May 6 and September 5 from 1 to 10 in descending order, and pick 3 more “dark horses” that you’re not as confident about but think might make a good showing. We won’t summarise the gory scoring details here, but rest assured: There will be a winner, and that winner will inflict some form of horrific cinematic torture on the rest of our beloved Screeners. Some of them might not make it, but they knew that when they signed up for this.Just so no one can back out of their terrible, terrible picks after the fact, we’re going to post them all right here, right now; don’t read on if you want to play along unbiased by your favorite Screener’s opinions. OK—we’ll list Josh’s first so you can have just a taste of how this goes; we’re pretty sure he’s not your favorite Screener anyway.Josh:Captain America: Civil WarSuicide SquadIndependence Day ResurgenceX-Men ApocalypseStar Trek BeyondJason BourneTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsMechanic: ResurrectionCentral IntelligenceFinding DoryDark Horses:The Secret Life of PetsIce Age: Collision CourseGhostbustersDaniel:Captain America: Civil WarFinding DoryX-Men: ApocalypseSuicide SquadIndependence Day: ResurgenceStar Trek BeyondThe Secret Life of PetsGhostbustersJason BourneCentral IntelligenceDark Horses:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsAlice Through the Looking GlassIce Age: Collision CourseMelody:Captain America Civil WarFinding DorySuicide SquadThe Secret Life of PetsX-men ApocalypseIndependence Day: ResurgenceGhostbustersStar Trek BeyondAngry BirdsJason BourneDark Horses:Central IntelligenceTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsNeighbors 2Chris:Captain America: Civil WarIndependence Day: ResurgenceX-Men ApocalypseFinding DoryGhostbustersThe Secret Life of PetsSuicide SquadStar Trek BeyondTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsJason BourneDark Horses:Neighbors 2Bad MomsCentral IntelligenceChad:Captain America: Civil WarFinding DorySuicide SquadThe Secret Life of PetsX-Men ApocalypseStar Trek BeyondAngry BirdsJason BourneTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsGhostbustersDark Horses:Central IntelligenceBFGAlice Through the Looking Glass ","content_html":"This episode’s a bit different than most: No entertainment news roundtable, no movie review, just sheer listmania from start to finish. Here’s the deal: The Screeners have decided to try their hands at picking the top summer movies of 2016, as determined by their box office haul. The “official” rules are here, but Chad didn’t read them, so why should you?
It’s pretty simple, actually: Rank the gross domestic (US + Canada) profit of movies released between May 6 and September 5 from 1 to 10 in descending order, and pick 3 more “dark horses” that you’re not as confident about but think might make a good showing. We won’t summarise the gory scoring details here, but rest assured: There will be a winner, and that winner will inflict some form of horrific cinematic torture on the rest of our beloved Screeners. Some of them might not make it, but they knew that when they signed up for this.
Just so no one can back out of their terrible, terrible picks after the fact, we’re going to post them all right here, right now; don’t read on if you want to play along unbiased by your favorite Screener’s opinions. OK—we’ll list Josh’s first so you can have just a taste of how this goes; we’re pretty sure he’s not your favorite Screener anyway.
Josh:
Dark Horses:
Daniel:
Dark Horses:
Melody:
Dark Horses:
Chris:
Dark Horses:
Chad:
Dark Horses:
","summary":"Bonus Episode: Summer Movie Wager 2016","date_published":"2016-06-20T22:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/4697c9a7-1603-4ce4-a17f-0da469a8724b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":58474159,"duration_in_seconds":2321}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:574e4f3186db431ed512e717","title":"Episode 55: Stop Acting Like It’s the End of the World","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/62","content_text":"The Screeners are down a host for this episode—Josh mentioned something about packing all his earthly belongings, but we’re honestly a bit worried that’s just a euphemism. Please do come back someday, Josh; we miss the lack of substance you bring to the show.Anyway, in honor of this episode’s main event, the remaining Screeners start out the show by talking about their top three third installments in a trilogy.. See, Apocalypse is either the third movie since the last X-Men reboot, or the third third X-Men movie (yes, that’s nine in all for those of you playing along at home...how many more can they make?). Either way, Chad promised us this would make sense, and we’re just going to take him at his word. That usually works out.Back to the BackstoriesOK, main event time. Like we said, there have been a lot of X-Men movies, but you know what there are even more of? X-Men characters. X-Men: Apocalypse alone must introduce 20 of them...we lost count somewhere after the guy with the tail. We can’t say any more than that, because once we start making jokes about how the cast has all the makings of a fantastic Blue Man Group tribute band, we’re liable to spoil something. You’ll just have to listen to find out whether Melody and Daniel loved this movie as much as you’d expect them to.And that’s one more superhero movie episode in the books! As always, join us over on Facebook to let us know what you thought and what you’d like to hear more about next time.","content_html":"
The Screeners are down a host for this episode—Josh mentioned something about packing all his earthly belongings, but we’re honestly a bit worried that’s just a euphemism. Please do come back someday, Josh; we miss the lack of substance you bring to the show.
Anyway, in honor of this episode’s main event, the remaining Screeners start out the show by talking about their top three third installments in a trilogy.. See, Apocalypse is either the third movie since the last X-Men reboot, or the third third X-Men movie (yes, that’s nine in all for those of you playing along at home...how many more can they make?). Either way, Chad promised us this would make sense, and we’re just going to take him at his word. That usually works out.
OK, main event time. Like we said, there have been a lot of X-Men movies, but you know what there are even more of? X-Men characters. X-Men: Apocalypse alone must introduce 20 of them...we lost count somewhere after the guy with the tail. We can’t say any more than that, because once we start making jokes about how the cast has all the makings of a fantastic Blue Man Group tribute band, we’re liable to spoil something. You’ll just have to listen to find out whether Melody and Daniel loved this movie as much as you’d expect them to.
And that’s one more superhero movie episode in the books! As always, join us over on Facebook to let us know what you thought and what you’d like to hear more about next time.
","summary":"Episode 55: Stop Acting Like It’s the End of the World","date_published":"2016-06-01T15:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/73886096-0e26-48ed-9aa8-6d66cd5d6984.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":81515366,"duration_in_seconds":3282}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5731612a22482ed318a68098","title":"Episode 54: Marvel Methodically Makes More Money","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/61","content_text":"Another month, another Marvel movie. They’re a machine at this point—the kind of machine they keep at the US Mint. They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but they clearly haven’t seen the trees on the Marvel Studios lot.But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before we go all Confederateless Civil War on you, we have a single Jump Cut to kick off this episode. Your Facebook feed may or may not have recently been bombarded with ads for a new twist on video streaming lately—if not, the Screeners here to fill you in. VidAngel is a service that claims to rent SD movies (those are still a thing?) for $1 and the HD version for $2, with the added bonus that you can edit them to your heart’s content to remove anything you find objectionable.Is this a good idea? Is it legal? Would anyone consider using something like this? All these questions and more will be...well, they’ll at least be mentioned in our longest Jump Cut ever.No Thor, but We’ll Always Have HawkeyeOK, main event time. They thought about waiting until it came out on VidAngel so we could edit out all its gratuitous violence and at least 3 potty words, but the Screeners just couldn’t wait to see Captain America: Civil War. So, first question: is this a Captain America movie or an Avengers movie? Does anyone really know? We sure don’t.It’s definitely a spectacle, though, and we’re sure Chris hated every minute of it. Let’s talk about why, and what Marvel can do to keep his attention the next time around. And once we’re done with that, let’s find something relatively inconsequential to argue about, just to keep things interesting. Sound like a plan? Good.More Punching, Please!Once the infighting dies down, brother stop killing brothers, and all that, the Screeners decide to go back to talking about when the good guys decide to fight the bad guys for a change. This episode’s Top 3 is about our hosts’ favorite superhero fight scenes of all time. As usual, there are no criteria that qualifies something as being a “superhero fight scene”, or even a “superhero”; those are just words anyway, right; what good are they?Maybe you’re thinking, “Wow; that Top 3 was a little too specific for me.” Well, it’s time to channel your inner Gandhi and be the change you wish to see in the world. Click over to our Facebook page and tell us what we should talk about next time. Come to think of it, maybe you should suggest something for two episodes down the road—for the next episode, the Screeners are going to play a ranking game even more specific than an Oscar ballot. They’re going to attempt to rank the year’s top 10 box office earners released before that episode. The loser has to...listen to the winner gloat until they can think of a better punishment. See you then!","content_html":"Another month, another Marvel movie. They’re a machine at this point—the kind of machine they keep at the US Mint. They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but they clearly haven’t seen the trees on the Marvel Studios lot.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before we go all Confederateless Civil War on you, we have a single Jump Cut to kick off this episode. Your Facebook feed may or may not have recently been bombarded with ads for a new twist on video streaming lately—if not, the Screeners here to fill you in. VidAngel is a service that claims to rent SD movies (those are still a thing?) for $1 and the HD version for $2, with the added bonus that you can edit them to your heart’s content to remove anything you find objectionable.
Is this a good idea? Is it legal? Would anyone consider using something like this? All these questions and more will be...well, they’ll at least be mentioned in our longest Jump Cut ever.
OK, main event time. They thought about waiting until it came out on VidAngel so we could edit out all its gratuitous violence and at least 3 potty words, but the Screeners just couldn’t wait to see Captain America: Civil War. So, first question: is this a Captain America movie or an Avengers movie? Does anyone really know? We sure don’t.
It’s definitely a spectacle, though, and we’re sure Chris hated every minute of it. Let’s talk about why, and what Marvel can do to keep his attention the next time around. And once we’re done with that, let’s find something relatively inconsequential to argue about, just to keep things interesting. Sound like a plan? Good.
Once the infighting dies down, brother stop killing brothers, and all that, the Screeners decide to go back to talking about when the good guys decide to fight the bad guys for a change. This episode’s Top 3 is about our hosts’ favorite superhero fight scenes of all time. As usual, there are no criteria that qualifies something as being a “superhero fight scene”, or even a “superhero”; those are just words anyway, right; what good are they?
Maybe you’re thinking, “Wow; that Top 3 was a little too specific for me.” Well, it’s time to channel your inner Gandhi and be the change you wish to see in the world. Click over to our Facebook page and tell us what we should talk about next time.
Come to think of it, maybe you should suggest something for two episodes down the road—for the next episode, the Screeners are going to play a ranking game even more specific than an Oscar ballot. They’re going to attempt to rank the year’s top 10 box office earners released before that episode. The loser has to...listen to the winner gloat until they can think of a better punishment. See you then!
","summary":"Episode 54: Marvel Methodically Makes More Money","date_published":"2016-05-19T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/63524c06-2483-425d-af2c-15b4b2284d9f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":85001397,"duration_in_seconds":5143}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:571c49cd2eeb814e31479c37","title":"Episode 53: Sometimes You Sing to the Bear, and Sometimes the Bear Sings to You","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/60","content_text":"The Screeners are missing their only mommy host for this episode, but that won’t stop them from doing a kid-friendly episode...right after Jump Cuts, that is.OK, so “Jump Cuts” might be a bit of a misnomer for this episode’s first act, but Chris really likes the audio bump he recorded for it, and everyone else is too lazy to come up with a replacement, so we’ll let the pretense continue for at least one more show. The four Screeners who did show up this time tend to have TV viewing habits that are...let’s say “distinct”. Since they don’t all watch the same things, they’ve decided to do a round of mini-reviews of shows that have caught their eye recently. With Josh digging up a CNBC show and Daniel implying that there’s a Hulu original that might be worth watching, this segment might just be the most eccentric thing the Screeners have done since Chad named a foreign language movie his top pick of 2015. Of course, no one else has watched Phoenix to see if he had a point, so we’re just going to keep mocking him for it.The Bare Necessities: $175 Million and a Lot of Green FabricUnsatisfied to ruminate about just the small screen, the Screeners looked around for a movie to review as a group this week and landed on Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book. After all, how wrong can you go with casting Bill Murray and Christopher Walken as talking animals?The group is down one more voice for this segment, as Josh wasn’t able to make it out to the theater, but we’re pretty sure the other 3 can successfully fill the 45 seconds of content he usually adds to main events. We won’t spoil the review here, except to say that we had no idea how little Chad likes kids. Tsk, tsk, Chad.Speaking of Talking Animals…Looks like the Screeners might actually be sticking with this “top 3” thing. In honor of The Jungle Book, they’ve decided to recap their favorite movies that feature (though don’t necessarily “star”) talking animals. Josh is back to participate, but does he have enough of an inner child to even give this topic a fair chance?That’s enough cuteness for one episode. As always, find us on Facebook to join the conversation—and come back next time when we’ll be talking about Captain America: Civil War and our favorite superhero fight scenes of all time.","content_html":"The Screeners are missing their only mommy host for this episode, but that won’t stop them from doing a kid-friendly episode...right after Jump Cuts, that is.
OK, so “Jump Cuts” might be a bit of a misnomer for this episode’s first act, but Chris really likes the audio bump he recorded for it, and everyone else is too lazy to come up with a replacement, so we’ll let the pretense continue for at least one more show.
The four Screeners who did show up this time tend to have TV viewing habits that are...let’s say “distinct”. Since they don’t all watch the same things, they’ve decided to do a round of mini-reviews of shows that have caught their eye recently. With Josh digging up a CNBC show and Daniel implying that there’s a Hulu original that might be worth watching, this segment might just be the most eccentric thing the Screeners have done since Chad named a foreign language movie his top pick of 2015. Of course, no one else has watched Phoenix to see if he had a point, so we’re just going to keep mocking him for it.
Unsatisfied to ruminate about just the small screen, the Screeners looked around for a movie to review as a group this week and landed on Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book. After all, how wrong can you go with casting Bill Murray and Christopher Walken as talking animals?
The group is down one more voice for this segment, as Josh wasn’t able to make it out to the theater, but we’re pretty sure the other 3 can successfully fill the 45 seconds of content he usually adds to main events. We won’t spoil the review here, except to say that we had no idea how little Chad likes kids. Tsk, tsk, Chad.
Looks like the Screeners might actually be sticking with this “top 3” thing. In honor of The Jungle Book, they’ve decided to recap their favorite movies that feature (though don’t necessarily “star”) talking animals. Josh is back to participate, but does he have enough of an inner child to even give this topic a fair chance?
That’s enough cuteness for one episode. As always, find us on Facebook to join the conversation—and come back next time when we’ll be talking about Captain America: Civil War and our favorite superhero fight scenes of all time.
","summary":"Episode 53: Sometimes You Sing to the Bear, and Sometimes the Bear Sings to You","date_published":"2016-04-26T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/cd6ae49a-3a30-4e26-94b7-e760940eab39.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":100729021,"duration_in_seconds":4016}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:570dae9c60b5e9c23c5caeca","title":"Episode 52: I Bet They Kill at Parties","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/59","content_text":"It’s been at least three episodes since we talked about murder, so the Screeners decided to kick this one off by pretending they like Chris as much as Daniel and watching—you guessed it—Hannibal. The hype train has been building speed for awhile now, so we’re not even sure if whatever got the show canceled can stop it. Even Josh played along and watched a couple episodes, though, so we’ll see if he can be the immovable object the world needs in times like these.OK, enough cannibalism and telepathy. To cleanse everyone’s palate before the main event, it’s time to introduce a brand-new segment: Top 3. After all, Buzzfeed built a media empire around the concept of numbered lists, so why can’t the Screeners? The world needs more favorite things, so we’re going to list ours more often, and we’re going to start with, um . . . movies and TV shows about serial killers. Funny how that worked out.Main Event: Made You Look!We’re done now; we promise. For the main event this time, the Screeners revisit a segment that’s been on the shelf for awhile: Made You Look. For any new listeners out there (and the forgetful among us), this means that each Screener picked a movie and forced one other Screener to watch it. There’s usually at least a little sadism involved in the choices, though, so it still fits with the episode’s theme. Here’s a list of each Screeners, their victim—er, beneficiary—and the movie they picked. All the movies are available on Netflix, except Chris and Melody's picks. You can thank them for that on Facebook.Daniel -> Chris: Me and Earl and the Dying GirlChris -> Chad: The Final GirlsChad -> Josh: TangerineJosh -> Melody: In BrugesMelody -> Daniel: The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family BandOh, and speaking of Facebook, it’s time to send you over there to tell us which serial killer you’d like to see more of (shout-out if you’ve already done that part!). Feel free to suggest future topics for main events or Top 3, lest we end up talking about our top 3 movies about loneliness. You laugh, but that’s totally on the list, and you can send your hate mail to Josh.","content_html":"It’s been at least three episodes since we talked about murder, so the Screeners decided to kick this one off by pretending they like Chris as much as Daniel and watching—you guessed it—Hannibal. The hype train has been building speed for awhile now, so we’re not even sure if whatever got the show canceled can stop it. Even Josh played along and watched a couple episodes, though, so we’ll see if he can be the immovable object the world needs in times like these.
OK, enough cannibalism and telepathy. To cleanse everyone’s palate before the main event, it’s time to introduce a brand-new segment: Top 3. After all, Buzzfeed built a media empire around the concept of numbered lists, so why can’t the Screeners? The world needs more favorite things, so we’re going to list ours more often, and we’re going to start with, um . . . movies and TV shows about serial killers. Funny how that worked out.
We’re done now; we promise. For the main event this time, the Screeners revisit a segment that’s been on the shelf for awhile: Made You Look. For any new listeners out there (and the forgetful among us), this means that each Screener picked a movie and forced one other Screener to watch it. There’s usually at least a little sadism involved in the choices, though, so it still fits with the episode’s theme. Here’s a list of each Screeners, their victim—er, beneficiary—and the movie they picked. All the movies are available on Netflix, except Chris and Melody's picks. You can thank them for that on Facebook.
Daniel -> Chris: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Chris -> Chad: The Final Girls
Chad -> Josh: Tangerine
Josh -> Melody: In Bruges
Melody -> Daniel: The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band
Oh, and speaking of Facebook, it’s time to send you over there to tell us which serial killer you’d like to see more of (shout-out if you’ve already done that part!). Feel free to suggest future topics for main events or Top 3, lest we end up talking about our top 3 movies about loneliness. You laugh, but that’s totally on the list, and you can send your hate mail to Josh.
","summary":"Episode 52: I Bet They Kill at Parties","date_published":"2016-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c4fa684b-8adf-4af7-be90-7fececb8074e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":83607262,"duration_in_seconds":5138}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56f9d9ebf8baf3799ddca652","title":"Episode 51: Batman and Superman vs. Film Critics","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/58","content_text":"That’s right; the Screeners are actually doing an episode 51. We’re as surprised as you are; we were expecting the kind of twist where we never hear from them again. Oh well; there’s always episode 100 for that…Anyway, in case you missed it, one of the Screeners quietly posted a link on the podcast's Facebook page a little while ago about a proposed new service called The Screening Room. The gist is that a subscriber would pay an initial fee for some equipment that would give them the privilege of watching new movies as they’re being released in theaters—at $50 a pop. Though it may bear an eerie similarity to the name of our beloved podcast, the service might not strike the right chord with all of its hosts. Let us guess: Chad loves this idea. Just loves it.Next, in anticipation of the general tone of tonight’s main event, the Screeners pause for a rare moment to ask themselves what purpose film criticism itself serves and how we should react when people disagree with us. It’s a stirring call to tolerance and unity—or at least it could be if Josh weren’t such a misanthrope.Holy Fanboy Backlash, Batman!Tonight’s main event is...let’s say “divisive”. We don’t know how a comic book movie can be divisive, but everything else seems to be these days, so comic book movies might as well jump on the bandwagon. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice* has gotten terrible reviews that seem have been entirely ignored by the moviegoing public. It made Warner Brothers roughly $166 million in its opening weekend, and given the rancor it’s stirring, some more money will probably be rolling in, even if it’s just the stragglers seeing it out of spite only so they can argue with their friends. (Josh might’ve been in that last category if the others hadn’t made him see it for this episode.)Since we’ve firmly established the value of anonymous talking heads publishing their opinions for the public to consume, let’s ask the big question: Did the Screeners like it? Are they willing to hold the line against the “professional” critics, or will they give in to peer pressure and their ambitions of being the next big movie podcast? Their integrity hangs in the balance—can they avert disaster?And when Justice League Part 1 comes out, tune in again: same bat time, same bat RSS feed!* We'll only write out the full title once, and we’re mad about doing it even that time.","content_html":"That’s right; the Screeners are actually doing an episode 51. We’re as surprised as you are; we were expecting the kind of twist where we never hear from them again. Oh well; there’s always episode 100 for that…
Anyway, in case you missed it, one of the Screeners quietly posted a link on the podcast's Facebook page a little while ago about a proposed new service called The Screening Room. The gist is that a subscriber would pay an initial fee for some equipment that would give them the privilege of watching new movies as they’re being released in theaters—at $50 a pop. Though it may bear an eerie similarity to the name of our beloved podcast, the service might not strike the right chord with all of its hosts. Let us guess: Chad loves this idea. Just loves it.
Next, in anticipation of the general tone of tonight’s main event, the Screeners pause for a rare moment to ask themselves what purpose film criticism itself serves and how we should react when people disagree with us. It’s a stirring call to tolerance and unity—or at least it could be if Josh weren’t such a misanthrope.
Tonight’s main event is...let’s say “divisive”. We don’t know how a comic book movie can be divisive, but everything else seems to be these days, so comic book movies might as well jump on the bandwagon. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice* has gotten terrible reviews that seem have been entirely ignored by the moviegoing public. It made Warner Brothers roughly $166 million in its opening weekend, and given the rancor it’s stirring, some more money will probably be rolling in, even if it’s just the stragglers seeing it out of spite only so they can argue with their friends. (Josh might’ve been in that last category if the others hadn’t made him see it for this episode.)
Since we’ve firmly established the value of anonymous talking heads publishing their opinions for the public to consume, let’s ask the big question: Did the Screeners like it? Are they willing to hold the line against the “professional” critics, or will they give in to peer pressure and their ambitions of being the next big movie podcast? Their integrity hangs in the balance—can they avert disaster?
And when Justice League Part 1 comes out, tune in again: same bat time, same bat RSS feed!
* We'll only write out the full title once, and we’re mad about doing it even that time.
...or at least Chad does. The rest of the Screeners are holding out for the 20th anniversary of The Wedding Singer to let go of the innocence of youth. EIther way, we’ve made it to the big five-oh. Fifty episodes in just over 3 years is still a better production pace than most non-reality TV shows (read: shows that require creativity to produce), so maybe our mothers are right to be so proud of us.
How, then, should we celebrate? Let’s make a list! Everyone loves a good anniversary list. We’re afraid the Screeners may have missed the boat topic-wise, though. Instead of “Melody’s top 5 unnecessary apologies”, “Chris’s 3 favorite explosions that don’t involve helicopters”, or “The 10 foreign films Chad claims are amazing, but that no one will ever watch to validate his enthusiasm”, they went with “Top 5 movies we’ve reviewed on the podcast”. They’re sorry. They’ll do better for episode 100. If they live that long.
Now that we’ve rehashed all the other main events, it’s time to make a new one. 10 Cloverfield Lane is Dan Trachtenberg’s feature-length debut after years of suffering on The Totally Rad Show under the crushing weight of Chad, Chris, and Melody’s zealous fandom. Has he proven worthy of their endless devotion? Also, what’s this movie about, anyway? It has the word Cloverfield in it, and there was that alien movie awhile back—is this that? JJ Abrams is involved, so it has to be that, right? But the trailer...the trailer was, like, not that. We’re confused. You’re probably confused too, and we understand. Listen, and all will be revealed—unless, of course, you don’t want it to be, in which case you probably shouldn’t listen to the spoilers section.
Oh, and one more thing for the kiddos. Zootopia’s out too. Most of the Screeners with offspring (and one without) have seen it and have some feedback for Disney. Is it worth schlepping the kids to the theater? Does it live up to Disney movie standards? And just how much are we allowed to mock the DMV before something bad happens? The answers to all these questions and more, in a segment that’s totally not an afterthought to a review of a very different movie.
After you’ve seen 10 Cloverfield Lane, why not head over to Facebook and question Chris’s sanity, or maybe Josh’s solipsism? The rest of the Screeners don’t know how much longer they can keep it up without some help. It’s beginning to feel like a losing battle.
","summary":"Episode 50: We Feel So Old...","date_published":"2016-03-24T15:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5166b9a1-87d3-4e53-b4d9-0aefd8fbee71.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":103837204,"duration_in_seconds":4231}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56dc84d1c6fc08b9911070e6","title":"Episode 49: The One Where We Humor Daniel","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/56","content_text":"The day after the Oscars marks Josh’s favorite time of the Hollywood calendar; it marks the day furthest from the next time he’ll have to sit in front of a television watching famous people celebrate each other’s fame for over three hours. Sadly (for him), the rest of the Screeners feel at least a little differently about the whole ordeal. As creators of a podcast that purported to be about all media and slowly collapsed into the black hole of Hollywood, they feel duty-bound to discuss their reactions to the show, its host, and its big winners. Josh will live.“Which Action Movies Should We Plagiarize?” “...All of Them.”There are certain vital moments in all our lives, events that we come to recognize as turning points, decisions that shape our future. The Screeners experienced such a moment 6 months ago when they invited Daniel into the sacred circle of co-hosts. They did it because they knew he loved movies, but they could never have predicted just how many movies he would love.You see, a scant 2 months before Daniel’s debut on the Screeners, a run-of-the-mill disaster movie debuted in theaters to...something less than you might call “critical acclaim”. The movie was, of course, San Andreas, and it immediately stole Daniel’s heart. He shrewdly hid this from the rest of the Screeners during the rigorous interview process, and it slid under the radar for awhile, but one day he could contain his enthusiasm no longer.The hosts’ fate was sealed. Daniel was the only Screener who’d bothered to see San Andreas, and that included Chad, who’s been known to watch movies that aren’t even made in this country. At some point, the rest of them were going to have to sit through this thing just to teach Daniel a lesson (since masochism is the path to true enlightenment and all).And what better time to engage in self-torture than the week after the Oscars? The sense of having squandered time that can never be reclaimed is familiar; despair for the world we’re leaving our children holds sway. So who cares that the movie’s 8 months old? Without further ado, we present to you our full review of San Andreas, starring Dwayne Johnson as a tall man with large muscles and Paul Giamatti as an actor who lost a bet and had to accept the next script that came his way no matter what it was.Oh, Right—And This HappenedWith all of the intellectually draining parts of the episode behind them, the Screeners decide to round out the show by returning to Flickchart to work on their list of all-time favorites. As any longtime listener of the show knows, this is a hopeless Sisyphean task, yet they persist. Join them in their suffering.OK, that’s enough torture for one day. Join the Screeners next time, when they’ll be watching 10 Cloverfield Lane, which at least Josh is destined to love. And, as always, feel free—encouraged, even—to add your two cents on Facebook. See you next time!","content_html":"The day after the Oscars marks Josh’s favorite time of the Hollywood calendar; it marks the day furthest from the next time he’ll have to sit in front of a television watching famous people celebrate each other’s fame for over three hours. Sadly (for him), the rest of the Screeners feel at least a little differently about the whole ordeal. As creators of a podcast that purported to be about all media and slowly collapsed into the black hole of Hollywood, they feel duty-bound to discuss their reactions to the show, its host, and its big winners. Josh will live.
There are certain vital moments in all our lives, events that we come to recognize as turning points, decisions that shape our future. The Screeners experienced such a moment 6 months ago when they invited Daniel into the sacred circle of co-hosts. They did it because they knew he loved movies, but they could never have predicted just how many movies he would love.
You see, a scant 2 months before Daniel’s debut on the Screeners, a run-of-the-mill disaster movie debuted in theaters to...something less than you might call “critical acclaim”. The movie was, of course, San Andreas, and it immediately stole Daniel’s heart. He shrewdly hid this from the rest of the Screeners during the rigorous interview process, and it slid under the radar for awhile, but one day he could contain his enthusiasm no longer.
The hosts’ fate was sealed. Daniel was the only Screener who’d bothered to see San Andreas, and that included Chad, who’s been known to watch movies that aren’t even made in this country. At some point, the rest of them were going to have to sit through this thing just to teach Daniel a lesson (since masochism is the path to true enlightenment and all).
And what better time to engage in self-torture than the week after the Oscars? The sense of having squandered time that can never be reclaimed is familiar; despair for the world we’re leaving our children holds sway. So who cares that the movie’s 8 months old? Without further ado, we present to you our full review of San Andreas, starring Dwayne Johnson as a tall man with large muscles and Paul Giamatti as an actor who lost a bet and had to accept the next script that came his way no matter what it was.
With all of the intellectually draining parts of the episode behind them, the Screeners decide to round out the show by returning to Flickchart to work on their list of all-time favorites. As any longtime listener of the show knows, this is a hopeless Sisyphean task, yet they persist. Join them in their suffering.
OK, that’s enough torture for one day. Join the Screeners next time, when they’ll be watching 10 Cloverfield Lane, which at least Josh is destined to love. And, as always, feel free—encouraged, even—to add your two cents on Facebook. See you next time!
","summary":"Episode 49: The One Where We Humor Daniel","date_published":"2016-03-06T14:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/8fb5bbc4-7e14-4981-a10c-e58be4fb8556.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":72238507,"duration_in_seconds":4421}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56c52d3b555986423e537f88","title":"Bonus Episode: Jack of the Red Hearts","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/55","content_text":"The Screeners are back with another bonus episode to tide you over in those long fortnight gaps between major releases, and we have a real treat for you this time. Screenwriter Jennifer Deaton sits down with the crew to talk about the upcoming release of Jack of the Red Hearts, which also happens to be her first script that’s been produced and distributed. The movie itself tackles a difficult subject that’s very close to home for many families: relating to a child on the Autism spectrum. Jennifer has more than an episode’s worth of experiences to share with everyone, from the script’s inspiration to what it’s like on the set of an independent movie and everything in between. We’ll try to stay on topic, but we’re sure you’ll forgive us if we don’t cut her off as quickly as we would, say, Chris.If it’s playing near you, go see Jack of the Red Hearts on opening weekend (Feb. 26-28)! You can’t go wrong supporting both independent film and improving awareness of what daily life can be like for millions of people around the world.","content_html":"The Screeners are back with another bonus episode to tide you over in those long fortnight gaps between major releases, and we have a real treat for you this time. Screenwriter Jennifer Deaton sits down with the crew to talk about the upcoming release of Jack of the Red Hearts, which also happens to be her first script that’s been produced and distributed. The movie itself tackles a difficult subject that’s very close to home for many families: relating to a child on the Autism spectrum. Jennifer has more than an episode’s worth of experiences to share with everyone, from the script’s inspiration to what it’s like on the set of an independent movie and everything in between. We’ll try to stay on topic, but we’re sure you’ll forgive us if we don’t cut her off as quickly as we would, say, Chris.
If it’s playing near you, go see Jack of the Red Hearts on opening weekend (Feb. 26-28)! You can’t go wrong supporting both independent film and improving awareness of what daily life can be like for millions of people around the world.
Marvel’s been straining the public’s tolerance for clever marketing for months now in anticipation of Deadpool. With everything from emoji billboards to non sequitur PSA’s in full costume (NSFW...maybe?), they’ve been trying to tell us that Ryan Reynolds’ character here is no Captain America. We get it; the question is, just what is he, and is he worth watching for a couple hours? As usual, the Screeners (or at least some of them) have the answers you’ve been pining for. Josh and Daniel ended up elsewhere for Valentine’s Day, but our 3 hardcore comic book fans all made it to the theater, and they’re here to tell you whether you should do the same.
Head over to Facebook to let us know if you agree!
","summary":"Bonus Episode: Deadpool","date_published":"2016-02-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5ced6f14-42c6-4e1f-b13d-283b3152ac6a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":44775144,"duration_in_seconds":1793}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56bd4318d51cd4f674dbf3ff","title":"Episode 48: Hollywood Royalty, Past and Present","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/53","content_text":"The Screeners indulged a little in the last episode, talking about only what they wanted to talk about. Now it’s time to give the Academy their due—but before we do that, we hear there was some kind of sporting event not too long ago…Are You Overpaid and Too Famous? Here’s a Trophy!As any media wonk knows, the Super Bowl is all about the commercials. The Screeners just had to take a little time up front to review the most memorable ads of the year—that is, if there were any. The last few Super Bowls haven’t seemed like what we’re used to from the biggest ad day of the year; can this one pull us out of the slump?After our brief journey to the small screen, it’s back to...well, technically the small screen again, but at least the Oscars are about the big screen. It’s time for the Screeners to pretend they care about awards shows. (OK, some of them actually do care, but we’re withholding their names out of professional courtesy. You can send hate mail after you’ve heard the episode.) We don’t have time for every category, but we might as well at least drop some predictions for the major awards and talk a little about the year’s biggest snubs and loudest controversies while we’re at it. Isn’t Hollywood fun?The Futility of AbsurdismAlright; enough TV for real. Time to go see an actual movie. Hail, Caesar! is the latest from the celebrated Coen brothers, and you might have heard by now that it hasn’t been doing so well at the box office. Before we bury the poor guy, though, let’s see if there’s any praise to be had. Surely the 15 or so household names in this film couldn’t have all signed up for a bad script. Maybe there’s something in the cinematography to grab Chris’s attention. Hey; it’s set in California—maybe there’s an earthquake in there for Daniel! Fine; at the very least, we bet there’s something everyone can argue about...Wait; hold on a second. We just now got all those salad jokes we’ve been seeing in the headlines of reviews for Hail, Caesar! “Caesar” is a kind of salad, and you don’t like salad! Man, so clever. We hope they pay you well, movie critics. You’re worth every penny.OK; if you’re still listening after that main event, congratulations! You’re more dedicated than Josh. Head over to Facebook to tell us what you think—unless you didn’t like Hail, Caesar! If that’s the case, you should probably go to Rotten Tomatoes; you’ll make lots of friends over there.","content_html":"The Screeners indulged a little in the last episode, talking about only what they wanted to talk about. Now it’s time to give the Academy their due—but before we do that, we hear there was some kind of sporting event not too long ago…
As any media wonk knows, the Super Bowl is all about the commercials. The Screeners just had to take a little time up front to review the most memorable ads of the year—that is, if there were any. The last few Super Bowls haven’t seemed like what we’re used to from the biggest ad day of the year; can this one pull us out of the slump?
After our brief journey to the small screen, it’s back to...well, technically the small screen again, but at least the Oscars are about the big screen. It’s time for the Screeners to pretend they care about awards shows. (OK, some of them actually do care, but we’re withholding their names out of professional courtesy. You can send hate mail after you’ve heard the episode.) We don’t have time for every category, but we might as well at least drop some predictions for the major awards and talk a little about the year’s biggest snubs and loudest controversies while we’re at it. Isn’t Hollywood fun?
Alright; enough TV for real. Time to go see an actual movie. Hail, Caesar! is the latest from the celebrated Coen brothers, and you might have heard by now that it hasn’t been doing so well at the box office. Before we bury the poor guy, though, let’s see if there’s any praise to be had. Surely the 15 or so household names in this film couldn’t have all signed up for a bad script. Maybe there’s something in the cinematography to grab Chris’s attention. Hey; it’s set in California—maybe there’s an earthquake in there for Daniel! Fine; at the very least, we bet there’s something everyone can argue about...
Wait; hold on a second. We just now got all those salad jokes we’ve been seeing in the headlines of reviews for Hail, Caesar! “Caesar” is a kind of salad, and you don’t like salad! Man, so clever. We hope they pay you well, movie critics. You’re worth every penny.
OK; if you’re still listening after that main event, congratulations! You’re more dedicated than Josh. Head over to Facebook to tell us what you think—unless you didn’t like Hail, Caesar! If that’s the case, you should probably go to Rotten Tomatoes; you’ll make lots of friends over there.
","summary":"Episode 48: Hollywood Royalty, Past and Present","date_published":"2016-02-16T15:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/bd4180a6-de27-41b1-8e0b-7bac5b39c998.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":94967940,"duration_in_seconds":5828}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56ad1617fd5d088a88b62249","title":"Episode 47: The 3rd AnnualIt’s that time of year again—the Golden Globes just happened (by now, even Josh knows about them), and the Oscars are just around the corner. It’s the perfect time for the Screeners to observe an annual tradition of looking back at last year in the theater, reminiscing about all the good times, and also doing what the Academies and Associations don’t have the guts for: naming the year’s biggest wastes of film (“waste of hard drive space” just doesn’t have the same ring to it…).
Of course, the biggest event on the podcast last year was the addition of a new host, so we’re going to need all the time we can get if we’re going to make it through 5 top ten lists and everything else, so no pretend lightning round this time. Sorrynotsorry.
As you might have guessed, though, we’re not going to spoil the Screeners’ lists here in writing for just anyone to see. Instead, since campaign season is in full swing, we’re going to invoke another modern tradition and provide you with a simple quiz so you can determine which Screener’s choices you agree with. Those political ones take forever, though; ain’t nobody got time to fill out a 20-item questionnaire just to find out who they think should run the country. This quiz is short, simple, and gets the job done: 1 multiple-choice question, and you’re good to go:
I’ve seen way too many movies this year. I might need more than 10 slots.
My visual cortex is my brain’s primary source of dopamine. (Pretty pictures excite me. Deal with it.)
I don’t have to be right—I don’t even want to be right. I just want everyone to get along. WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
I’ve seen way too many movies and my favorite movie of the year is a foreign film because my tastes are just more refined than yours.
I only value one aspect of cinema, and the market has been telling me for years that it’s the wrong thing. If I were an objectivist, I’d have revised my morals long ago.
Now here’s the catch: we’re not going to give you an answer key to let you know who your match is. Either you know the Screeners well enough that you can pick them out of that lineup (in which case you probably want to listen to the episode anyway), or you don’t know them that well, so you’ll have to listen to find out. Either way...gotcha.
As always, head over to Facebook to tell us who was wrong. That’s a better motivator than asking you to tell us who was right, right? See? We can learn something from Donald Trump!
","summary":"The 3rd Annual
It’s a double-header of greed, murder, and intrigue on this episode of the Screeners, but before we dive into the underbelly of society, we thought we’d make a quick pit stop. The Golden Globes are pretty much the entertainment industry’s way of satirizing itself—a bunch of rich people get together in a big room to get drunk, give each other awards, and put The Martian in the musical/comedy category. Ricky Gervais hosted, though, so at least everyone was uncomfortable. Other than those two things, though, was there anything the Screeners could have found worthy of comment?
No? OK; let’s just head to the main event.
First on the list is another movie Chris swears isn’t a comedy, presumably because it uses big words. The Big Short focuses on the most digestible, straightforward topic of the last few decades—shoddy financial products invented to disguise other shoddy financial products by chopping them up into tiny pieces, bundling them, then selling them to high rollers on Wall Street. You know, the stuff that tanked the economy about 8 years ago. They’re covering it in elementary school now, right?
There might be a bit of a generational difference among the Screeners when it comes to The Big Short, but diversity’s always a good thing—unless, of course, you happen to be casting a movie about the financial industry.
After everyone’s done reliving their experiences of house shopping in the age of foreclosures, it’s time to move on to material that might be even more depressing: The documentary that’s become Netflix’s most recent cultural phenomenon. Making a Murderer follows a Wisconsin man wrongfully convicted of a crime in 1985, his exoneration after 18 years in prison, and his subsequent arrest and trial for murder (the title wouldn’t have had the same punch if he’d been charged with a DUI, would it?).
Like we mentioned, the series has lit up debate on both sides of the aisle, and the Screeners just can’t help throwing in their two (four? eighteen hundred?) cents on the issue. Does the 10-hour distillation of the 10-year process work as a documentary? Is it a fair treatment? Most importantly, what do our favorite armchair lawyers think of the case’s merits?
Once again, the Screeners are short on topics, but long on talk. Join us next time for our yearly retrospective—we’ll go over everyone’s favorite and least favorite movies of 2015, find out about some underrated films you might have missed, and answer the most important question of all: Did Josh actually see 10 movies last year, or is he just plagiarizing his lists from Buzzfeed? Until then, as always, join us on Facebook!
","summary":"MAKING AN ECONOMIC CRISIS","date_published":"2016-01-16T17:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7969d991-a652-4a39-bc7f-38225bd3c829.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":84673996,"duration_in_seconds":5818}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5678c97725981d480d586caa","title":"Bonus Episode: You’re Not Going to Read This…","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/50","content_text":"...because it’s sort of about Star Wars. Unless you’ve already seen The Force Awakens, in which case you’re probably also back on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and whatever else the kids are using these days. How does it feel to come back to social media? Was it hard to leave? Ever wish they’d have political debates on Hoth so that people would shut up about them too for fear of spoiling something?Anyway, the Screeners (sans Melody, sadly) had to say something about the cultural phenomenon that is the first Star Wars release in a decade. Actually, the four of them said about an hour of somethings before editing. Some people just can’t contain their joy (or sorrow; we’re not going to spoil that part for you either).There’s even a spoiler-free review at the beginning like usual, but we won’t blame you if you don’t believe us. Just, y’know, go see it, then give the episode a listen.","content_html":"...because it’s sort of about Star Wars. Unless you’ve already seen The Force Awakens, in which case you’re probably also back on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and whatever else the kids are using these days. How does it feel to come back to social media? Was it hard to leave? Ever wish they’d have political debates on Hoth so that people would shut up about them too for fear of spoiling something?
Anyway, the Screeners (sans Melody, sadly) had to say something about the cultural phenomenon that is the first Star Wars release in a decade. Actually, the four of them said about an hour of somethings before editing. Some people just can’t contain their joy (or sorrow; we’re not going to spoil that part for you either).
There’s even a spoiler-free review at the beginning like usual, but we won’t blame you if you don’t believe us. Just, y’know, go see it, then give the episode a listen.
","summary":"Bonus Episode: You're Not Going to Read This...","date_published":"2015-12-28T14:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/ef70309f-2a33-4dae-8f92-c9835827a8c9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":86844823,"duration_in_seconds":3456}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5660f447e4b0c8e9dc5c38d5","title":"Episode 45: Rocky’s a Nazi Dinosaur. There, We Said It.","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/49","content_text":"Trailer TownCan we just start calling both prequels and sequels “‘quels”? We’re tired of remembering which is what and debating whether a given movie is one or the other—it’s definitely one of the two, though, since originality is almost officially passé in Hollywood. Anyway, Jump Cuts features two ‘quels. (Catch that? We’re the change we wish to see.) First up is Alien: <whatever Ridley Scott’s calling it today>, and guess which Screener gets to sit out this trailer review because he hasn’t seen any of the original series. Is there story left to tell, or should Scott have left well enough alone with the franchise’s success (...then failure, then moderate success again)?Next, though, is Captain America: Civil War. Its first trailer is out now, and it’s a little different from your standard superhero punch-fest (don’t worry; there’s probably some punching in there). What are the Screeners’ first impressions of the new installment coming off their rave reviews of Winter Soldier?Can You Say “Thematically Divergent”?This episode’s main event is a rare beast indeed—a hat trick. A triple play. Three in the hole. We’re pretty sure that last one’s not really a thing. Anyway…First on the docket is Creed. It’s the latest in the Rocky series, or we suppose you could say that it just “takes place in the Rocky universe” since we’re all way, way too familiar with that phrase by now. Anyway, once you get past the fact that the main character’s name is Adonis, son of Apollo (should we be calling him Phoebus Apollo at this point?), it turns out there’s a good bit of discussion fodder to be had in the film. We’ll start things off here: Is this a shameless money grab, a loving homage, or an actual story in its own right? Do we need another Rocky movie, or should we have left well enough alone after Rocky Balboa nearly a decade ago? What do we mean when we say “rags to riches”? We’re sure Josh can find something to complain about in here, too, but we’ll leave that for the episode.Next, we’ll revisit something we teased in the last episode: The Man in the High Castle. Visual adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories are nothing new, but this is Amazon’s first attempt at portraying his brand of sci-fi. The swastika doesn’t get a lot of airtime these days, but things might be a little different if the Nazis had won World War II. That’s the theme of the show, right—swastikas? Kidding—there’s definitely more to talk about, but is it enough to win over the Screeners? We’re a little concerned it won’t have enough earthquakes for Daniel…To round out the episode, the Screeners travel back in time a few weeks to review Pixar’s newest offering, The Good Dinosaur. It’s gotten mixed reviews, from the high praise Pixar included in the trailer all the way down to a painfully obvious slam floating around the Internet: “The Mediocre Dinosaur”. (Well done, blog critics. Must’ve taken you ages.) Pixar’s always aimed at a specific audience, though, and all of the Screeners except one have young kids now, so let’s see how this plays out.The Flickchart session last time was embarrassing enough, right? None of that this episode; we dedicated all the game time to Hitler. See you on Facebook—and back here next episode, when we’ll be talking about Creed.","content_html":"Can we just start calling both prequels and sequels “‘quels”? We’re tired of remembering which is what and debating whether a given movie is one or the other—it’s definitely one of the two, though, since originality is almost officially passé in Hollywood. Anyway, Jump Cuts features two ‘quels. (Catch that? We’re the change we wish to see.)
First up is Alien: <whatever Ridley Scott’s calling it today>, and guess which Screener gets to sit out this trailer review because he hasn’t seen any of the original series. Is there story left to tell, or should Scott have left well enough alone with the franchise’s success (...then failure, then moderate success again)?
Next, though, is Captain America: Civil War. Its first trailer is out now, and it’s a little different from your standard superhero punch-fest (don’t worry; there’s probably some punching in there). What are the Screeners’ first impressions of the new installment coming off their rave reviews of Winter Soldier?
This episode’s main event is a rare beast indeed—a hat trick. A triple play. Three in the hole. We’re pretty sure that last one’s not really a thing. Anyway…
First on the docket is Creed. It’s the latest in the Rocky series, or we suppose you could say that it just “takes place in the Rocky universe” since we’re all way, way too familiar with that phrase by now. Anyway, once you get past the fact that the main character’s name is Adonis, son of Apollo (should we be calling him Phoebus Apollo at this point?), it turns out there’s a good bit of discussion fodder to be had in the film. We’ll start things off here: Is this a shameless money grab, a loving homage, or an actual story in its own right? Do we need another Rocky movie, or should we have left well enough alone after Rocky Balboa nearly a decade ago? What do we mean when we say “rags to riches”? We’re sure Josh can find something to complain about in here, too, but we’ll leave that for the episode.
Next, we’ll revisit something we teased in the last episode: The Man in the High Castle. Visual adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories are nothing new, but this is Amazon’s first attempt at portraying his brand of sci-fi. The swastika doesn’t get a lot of airtime these days, but things might be a little different if the Nazis had won World War II. That’s the theme of the show, right—swastikas? Kidding—there’s definitely more to talk about, but is it enough to win over the Screeners? We’re a little concerned it won’t have enough earthquakes for Daniel…
To round out the episode, the Screeners travel back in time a few weeks to review Pixar’s newest offering, The Good Dinosaur. It’s gotten mixed reviews, from the high praise Pixar included in the trailer all the way down to a painfully obvious slam floating around the Internet: “The Mediocre Dinosaur”. (Well done, blog critics. Must’ve taken you ages.) Pixar’s always aimed at a specific audience, though, and all of the Screeners except one have young kids now, so let’s see how this plays out.
The Flickchart session last time was embarrassing enough, right? None of that this episode; we dedicated all the game time to Hitler. See you on Facebook—and back here next episode, when we’ll be talking about Creed.
","summary":"Episode 45: Rocky’s a Nazi Dinosaur. There, We Said It.","date_published":"2015-12-19T00:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/2d636ca3-e8ad-4502-b232-167012e610fb.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":67326776,"duration_in_seconds":4653}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5656780ee4b06edc0abfe7c7","title":"Episode 44: They're Still Hungry? Someone Feed These People Already!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/48","content_text":"We know it’s the holiday season, but the Screeners are far too dedicated to take vacation days. OK, we lied; they totally took vacation days—that’s why this episode’s main event has been out a little while by now. You'll forgive them, right? Not like you needed an extra podcast episode to listen to while you were driving 5 hours to eat turkey with people you see twice a year or anything, right? Good.All the News a Post-It Can HoldWe’ll start off with a brief news roundup, even though there’s not a ton to talk about. A listener brought us some disturbing news about a beloved cult classic on Facebook recently, but the Screeners smell something fishy about the whole deal. In the timeless words of David Letterman, is this anything?Also worth noting is Hulu’s new original miniseries, 11/22/63, and Amazon’s Philip K. Dick adaptation, The Man in the High Castle. Alternate history and time travel are apparently hot right now; will either of the sort-of-underdog streaming platforms execute well enough to stick around in the original content game?We’re on Team CaesarWhether you think it’s a vapid teen romance, a thrilling adventure tale, or are just glad it’s over, chances are you’ve at least heard of The Hunger Games. The second part of the third part of the trilogy (yeah; we’re tired of having to say that too) has been out a couple weeks, and it’s time for the Screeners to weigh in.Reviews haven’t been stellar, and people who have actually read the books (which 3 Screeners actually admit to having done) say the third one is the worst, but so far the box office has told another story. Guess it’s up to the five Screeners to solve this once and for all.A Different Kind of Game(s)Remember when the podcast used to have three segments? If you’re a new listener, you’ll just have to trust us on this one. We were young and naive, and our memories are fuzzy, but we’re pretty sure it happened once or twice. Now that there are 5 hosts, the Screeners have decided to give their old stomping ground at Flickchart another shot—after wiping out any trace of their old list, of course, because that thing was just embarrassing. So come along for the ride as Daniel learns again for the first time just how few movies Josh has actually seen.OK, that does it. You know the drill: Last one to Facebook's a...bad fan? Yeah, let's go with that; we hear guilt's a great motivator.","content_html":"We know it’s the holiday season, but the Screeners are far too dedicated to take vacation days. OK, we lied; they totally took vacation days—that’s why this episode’s main event has been out a little while by now. You'll forgive them, right? Not like you needed an extra podcast episode to listen to while you were driving 5 hours to eat turkey with people you see twice a year or anything, right? Good.
We’ll start off with a brief news roundup, even though there’s not a ton to talk about. A listener brought us some disturbing news about a beloved cult classic on Facebook recently, but the Screeners smell something fishy about the whole deal. In the timeless words of David Letterman, is this anything?
Also worth noting is Hulu’s new original miniseries, 11/22/63, and Amazon’s Philip K. Dick adaptation, The Man in the High Castle. Alternate history and time travel are apparently hot right now; will either of the sort-of-underdog streaming platforms execute well enough to stick around in the original content game?
Whether you think it’s a vapid teen romance, a thrilling adventure tale, or are just glad it’s over, chances are you’ve at least heard of The Hunger Games. The second part of the third part of the trilogy (yeah; we’re tired of having to say that too) has been out a couple weeks, and it’s time for the Screeners to weigh in.
Reviews haven’t been stellar, and people who have actually read the books (which 3 Screeners actually admit to having done) say the third one is the worst, but so far the box office has told another story. Guess it’s up to the five Screeners to solve this once and for all.
Remember when the podcast used to have three segments? If you’re a new listener, you’ll just have to trust us on this one. We were young and naive, and our memories are fuzzy, but we’re pretty sure it happened once or twice. Now that there are 5 hosts, the Screeners have decided to give their old stomping ground at Flickchart another shot—after wiping out any trace of their old list, of course, because that thing was just embarrassing. So come along for the ride as Daniel learns again for the first time just how few movies Josh has actually seen.
OK, that does it. You know the drill: Last one to Facebook's a...bad fan? Yeah, let's go with that; we hear guilt's a great motivator.
","summary":"Episode 44: They're Still Hungry? Someone Feed These People Already!","date_published":"2015-11-29T18:30:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9ca1bed0-46d1-44e4-acbc-8890419cfeff.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":68764168,"duration_in_seconds":4780}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:56454311e4b04162a3281c11","title":"Episode 43: A License to Sequel","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/47","content_text":"The Screeners have really hit a stride with this new consistent release schedule, haven’t they? It’s like every time you turn around, there’s another episode—and another episode means yet another set of show notes. The author isn’t bitter about that, though; not in the least. Why would you think otherwise?News You Probably Can’t UseFor Jump Cuts this week, the Screeners start out with a noble goal of catching all their listeners up with the latest news. Problem is, the only news worth hearing right now seems to be Wired talking to JJ Abrams about Star Wars and how CBS has taken Star Trek hostage.Next up, since unoriginality is now a go-to topic for the Screeners (oh, the irony), they spend some time pondering sequels. For those filling out the Screeners take-home quiz, the question is: “Can a sequel actually be better than the original? Discuss.”To bring it back to current events, though, what’s new(s) in everyone’s media playlists? Josh surprises everyone by admitting to watching a reality show, then Chris takes it a step further by showing an almost uncomfortable level of enthusiasm for female-centric horrors and horror comedies. Oh, and Daniel still wants us to see Room. Like, really wants us to see it.It’s All About the SpectracleThis episode’s main event is Spectre, the newest addition to the Bond franchise. As a lifelong Bond anti-fan, Josh has decided to do the ethical thing and recuse himself from reviewing this one, but that won’t ruin everyone else’s fun. Is Daniel Craig a passable Bond? How is the franchise as a whole faring these days? It turns out there’s quite a philosophical debate to be had here, should you choose to take the Bond universe seriously.A deceptively short summary this time—trust us; there’s plenty of discussion to go around. As always, head over to Facebook to join in!","content_html":"The Screeners have really hit a stride with this new consistent release schedule, haven’t they? It’s like every time you turn around, there’s another episode—and another episode means yet another set of show notes. The author isn’t bitter about that, though; not in the least. Why would you think otherwise?
For Jump Cuts this week, the Screeners start out with a noble goal of catching all their listeners up with the latest news. Problem is, the only news worth hearing right now seems to be Wired talking to JJ Abrams about Star Wars and how CBS has taken Star Trek hostage.
Next up, since unoriginality is now a go-to topic for the Screeners (oh, the irony), they spend some time pondering sequels. For those filling out the Screeners take-home quiz, the question is: “Can a sequel actually be better than the original? Discuss.”
To bring it back to current events, though, what’s new(s) in everyone’s media playlists? Josh surprises everyone by admitting to watching a reality show, then Chris takes it a step further by showing an almost uncomfortable level of enthusiasm for female-centric horrors and horror comedies. Oh, and Daniel still wants us to see Room. Like, really wants us to see it.
This episode’s main event is Spectre, the newest addition to the Bond franchise. As a lifelong Bond anti-fan, Josh has decided to do the ethical thing and recuse himself from reviewing this one, but that won’t ruin everyone else’s fun. Is Daniel Craig a passable Bond? How is the franchise as a whole faring these days? It turns out there’s quite a philosophical debate to be had here, should you choose to take the Bond universe seriously.
A deceptively short summary this time—trust us; there’s plenty of discussion to go around. As always, head over to Facebook to join in!
Remember last time, when we were light on non-spoilable topics to talk about in the show notes? Well, here we are again, except there’s only one Jump Cut this week. The Screeners seem to be on a campaign to make these show notes as dull as possible, so if you can’t beat ‘em…
Indulge your humble guide for a moment while he reflects on one of his favorite brunch foods. Eggs Benedict, when made properly, is a delicious dish, but it demands a certain willful ignorance toward what one is about to put in one’s mouth. Too long spent pondering the fact that it resembles a pair of warmed oysters filled with liquid, and all is lost. Cut, lift, swallow. There can be no other strategy.
OK, that was an extra paragraph. That should substitute for at least one or two missing Jump Cuts. English teachers of the world, cringe in horror. We’ll never speak of this again.
Anywho, there actually is a full-length episode in here somewhere. We start out with something that became a fairly popular topic on the Screeners Facebook page: Remakes—er, “reboots”—or whatever euphemism studios are using these days instead of saying “We want more money, and we don’t want to give any of it to a writer.”
We’re sure everyone can probably name at least one bad remake, but were there any good ones? Are there any movies that are actually due for a remake? Are there any movies that, if they were remade, you’d spiral into a profound depression that would take years of therapy to overcome? This is serious business, people, and not just because Chad’s about to list a bunch of movies so obscure they’ll make you question his national loyalties. Oh well; we always thought there was something off about him anyway. On to the main event!
Another week, another Steve Jobs movie—and, true to the source material, each one is almost entirely incompatible with the previous version. At least this one brought a real writer and real actors to the party, but was that enough to satisfy the gamut of personal preference and emotional baggage the Screeners represent? Fun fact: If you toss all the iPhones Chris has owned over the years in a pile on the ground, they self-organize to spell out “#firstworldproblems”.
For the second movie in this episode’s main event, though, there are no cute one-liners. Beasts of No Nation is an often unpleasant look at a grim reality. Netflix’s first feature-length movie was written, directed, and shot by Cary Joji Fukunaga, is adapted from a novel about a child caught in the middle of civil war in an African country. What makes a movie about subject matter like this “worth watching”? Tune in to see how Chad, Daniel, and Josh would answer that question, since Chris and Melody...didn’t watch it.
And that’ll do it for another episode of the Screeners. Head over to Facebook to let us know what you thought, what you’d like to hear more of, and if you have any strange cravings for eggs Benedict.
","summary":"EPISODE 42: THE ANSWER TO LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING (PLUS MOVIES)","date_published":"2015-11-09T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/4dbcff3f-b32c-4100-aed9-1220bd87bc0c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":64763463,"duration_in_seconds":4544}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:562ab9cfe4b002e0a02d6353","title":"Episode 41: The Future Has Passed Us By","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/45","content_text":"...so let’s talk about the past for awhile. Seriously, though, if even CNN thinks it’s news, we should probably at least mention that October 21, 2015 was Back to the Future Day—the day the DeLorean took us to all the way back in 1985. Everything that might have happened in the future has now happened in the past. Think about that for a minute.OK, minute over. We probably shouldn’t have taken our news cues from CNN anyway. Their credentials are...suspect. J-j-jump Cut time!Spielberg and the (Pseudo)science of Rewatchable CinemaThis episode’s short on topics but plenty long on discussion. To foreshadow our main event, we put out some feelers on Facebook to see what your favorite Steven Spielberg movies were. We got some good responses, but you didn’t think the Screeners were going to stay silent, did you? As it turns out, the real question isn’t, “Name a good Spielberg movie,” but rather, “How well can Daniel defend a nearly apocryphal Indiana Jones movie?” Oh, and we also talk about our least favorite Spielberg joints, so Josh should probably have something to say about that.Our second and final(?!) Jump Cut is a slight twist on the first. Instead of “greatest film ever”, what are the movies that each Screener can watch over and over again and still be entertained? Without listening to the segment, we’re going to guess Daniel’s jam is Star Wars: Episode I, Chris can’t get enough Bad Boys, and Melody could binge on Eragon. Ed. note: Surprisingly enough, those predictions aren’t spoilers. And just for sake of completeness (though not endorsement), here's the article Josh was complaining about.Berg of SpielLet’s bring it full circle. For the main event this episode, the Screeners—yes, all the Screeners—dissect Steven Spielberg’s newest film, Bridge of Spies. Sure, it’s Spielberg, but is it too Spielberg? How much Spielberg is enough Spielberg? If we had too much Spielberg, would we know it? Spielberg’s just such ripe conversational fodder. Spielberg.OK, so there’s more to it than that, but we’ll leave it up to you to determine just how much more. For example, we hear that some of the things in the movie may have actually happened. Oh, and don’t forget Tom Hanks. He’s in it too.There you have it—Oscar season is definitely upon us, and we have a couple formidable opening salvos already. Join us next time and, as always, head over to Facebook for all the content that didn’t quite make the podcast (and some that did). Thanks for listening!","content_html":"...so let’s talk about the past for awhile. Seriously, though, if even CNN thinks it’s news, we should probably at least mention that October 21, 2015 was Back to the Future Day—the day the DeLorean took us to all the way back in 1985. Everything that might have happened in the future has now happened in the past. Think about that for a minute.
OK, minute over. We probably shouldn’t have taken our news cues from CNN anyway. Their credentials are...suspect. J-j-jump Cut time!
This episode’s short on topics but plenty long on discussion. To foreshadow our main event, we put out some feelers on Facebook to see what your favorite Steven Spielberg movies were. We got some good responses, but you didn’t think the Screeners were going to stay silent, did you? As it turns out, the real question isn’t, “Name a good Spielberg movie,” but rather, “How well can Daniel defend a nearly apocryphal Indiana Jones movie?” Oh, and we also talk about our least favorite Spielberg joints, so Josh should probably have something to say about that.
Our second and final(?!) Jump Cut is a slight twist on the first. Instead of “greatest film ever”, what are the movies that each Screener can watch over and over again and still be entertained? Without listening to the segment, we’re going to guess Daniel’s jam is Star Wars: Episode I, Chris can’t get enough Bad Boys, and Melody could binge on Eragon. Ed. note: Surprisingly enough, those predictions aren’t spoilers. And just for sake of completeness (though not endorsement), here's the article Josh was complaining about.
Let’s bring it full circle. For the main event this episode, the Screeners—yes, all the Screeners—dissect Steven Spielberg’s newest film, Bridge of Spies. Sure, it’s Spielberg, but is it too Spielberg? How much Spielberg is enough Spielberg? If we had too much Spielberg, would we know it? Spielberg’s just such ripe conversational fodder. Spielberg.
OK, so there’s more to it than that, but we’ll leave it up to you to determine just how much more. For example, we hear that some of the things in the movie may have actually happened. Oh, and don’t forget Tom Hanks. He’s in it too.
There you have it—Oscar season is definitely upon us, and we have a couple formidable opening salvos already. Join us next time and, as always, head over to Facebook for all the content that didn’t quite make the podcast (and some that did). Thanks for listening!
","summary":"Episode 41: The Future Has Passed Us By","date_published":"2015-10-29T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/ccccaa0f-7ecc-4695-a193-f5970de3961e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":99886250,"duration_in_seconds":4092}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:561873afe4b04b43300a3713","title":"Episode 40: Space Shooters, Space Travel, and Marital Strife","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/44","content_text":"It’s a nice round episode number, and all of the Screeners are back on...what are we calling this? “The air”? Sure—they’re all back on the air. It seems that the Facebook audience (that’s y’all!) was plenty interested in the last episode’s discussions, though, so Melody and Josh spend the first few minutes getting caught up on some of your favorite fight scenes. And as promised, here's the undeniable winner.The Jumpiest of CutsAfter that, it’s straight into an extended Jump Cuts section. Chad’s recent viewing of the The Walk and its box office troubles have gotten the five thinking about the history of the box office bomb and asking themselves if there are any that don’t belong on Wikipedia’s list of the biggest flops in history. A preview: Keanu Reeves doesn’t do well.Next, we hear how many movies Chad saw last week, and we get a brief tour of what everyone else has been watching recently. Josh’s answers just might surprise you.The careful reader will have noticed that the last paragraph was short. That was intentional: The length of the paragraphs reflects the relative importance of each Jump Cut. The description of our penultimate discussion will be much longer, because its topic, Destiny: The Taken King, might be the most significant video game release in many years—or, at least, the most significant release for the Screeners’ marriages. By virtue of simple majority, the Screeners welcome their new MMOFPSRPG (that’s a thing, right?) overlords. Chris, Chad, and Josh attempt to exorcise their addiction through conversation; Melody gives a voice to all the wives, girlfriends, and other victims of the game’s terrible power; and Daniel simply listens in silence as the train wreck unfolds. If the three gamers are lucky, maybe Chad cut out the part where they mentioned just how many hours they've each been playing...or maybe sunlight is the best disinfectant.And assuming life after Destiny is even possible, the Screeners try to recover by talking about Kevin Bacon for some reason. Who are we kidding? Chris is the reason they’re talking about Kevin Bacon. Why else would they be talking about Kevin Bacon?How Do You Like Them (Space) Apples?Josh was playing Destiny instead of seeing The Martian, so all he knows about it is that the guy from Team America: World Police went to space and...can’t get back? Didn’t we just see this movie last year with the guy from the good season of True Detective? According to the other four Screeners who occasionally do go to theaters, no. And that’s as much as we’ll say about the review for now; if you want the rest, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and listen!As always, join us for the follow-up on Facebook. Some of you already have chimed in about Kevin Bacon (and yes, Chris’s head grew three sizes that day), but we can’t wait to see the Destiny support group that will certainly spring up after our on-air catharsis. See you next time!","content_html":"It’s a nice round episode number, and all of the Screeners are back on...what are we calling this? “The air”? Sure—they’re all back on the air. It seems that the Facebook audience (that’s y’all!) was plenty interested in the last episode’s discussions, though, so Melody and Josh spend the first few minutes getting caught up on some of your favorite fight scenes. And as promised, here's the undeniable winner.
After that, it’s straight into an extended Jump Cuts section. Chad’s recent viewing of the The Walk and its box office troubles have gotten the five thinking about the history of the box office bomb and asking themselves if there are any that don’t belong on Wikipedia’s list of the biggest flops in history. A preview: Keanu Reeves doesn’t do well.
Next, we hear how many movies Chad saw last week, and we get a brief tour of what everyone else has been watching recently. Josh’s answers just might surprise you.
The careful reader will have noticed that the last paragraph was short. That was intentional: The length of the paragraphs reflects the relative importance of each Jump Cut. The description of our penultimate discussion will be much longer, because its topic, Destiny: The Taken King, might be the most significant video game release in many years—or, at least, the most significant release for the Screeners’ marriages. By virtue of simple majority, the Screeners welcome their new MMOFPSRPG (that’s a thing, right?) overlords. Chris, Chad, and Josh attempt to exorcise their addiction through conversation; Melody gives a voice to all the wives, girlfriends, and other victims of the game’s terrible power; and Daniel simply listens in silence as the train wreck unfolds. If the three gamers are lucky, maybe Chad cut out the part where they mentioned just how many hours they've each been playing...or maybe sunlight is the best disinfectant.
And assuming life after Destiny is even possible, the Screeners try to recover by talking about Kevin Bacon for some reason. Who are we kidding? Chris is the reason they’re talking about Kevin Bacon. Why else would they be talking about Kevin Bacon?
Josh was playing Destiny instead of seeing The Martian, so all he knows about it is that the guy from Team America: World Police went to space and...can’t get back? Didn’t we just see this movie last year with the guy from the good season of True Detective? According to the other four Screeners who occasionally do go to theaters, no. And that’s as much as we’ll say about the review for now; if you want the rest, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and listen!
As always, join us for the follow-up on Facebook. Some of you already have chimed in about Kevin Bacon (and yes, Chris’s head grew three sizes that day), but we can’t wait to see the Destiny support group that will certainly spring up after our on-air catharsis. See you next time!
","summary":"Episode 40: Space Shooters, Space Travel, and Marital Strife","date_published":"2015-10-10T01:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/58076a03-603e-4283-b252-eea83f774367.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":63065595,"duration_in_seconds":4394}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:560d3e59e4b044b69d5ca535","title":"Episode 39: Up, Up, and Away!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/43","content_text":"Although we're missing Melody and Josh from the majority of this episode, Chad, Chris, and Daniel still manage to find something to disagree about, even without Josh here! In this packed episode, we've got some Jump Cuts and our first Oscar Bait review of the year, as well as a very special interview with filmmaker Brett Culp.First up, we look back through film history to talk about our favorite fight scenes. Daniel keeps things current with a couple recent scenes, while Chad and Chris take a more classic approach. Also, Chad finds a way to bring up San Andreas and mock Daniel yet again.And in our next Jump Cut, the Screeners discuss the Fall TV slate and their hopes for new and returning shows. Chad's given up on a favorite, Daniel's excited for some new ones, and Chris manages to STILL talk about Hannibal, despite it being cancelled.Melody and Josh return as we interview filmmaker Brett Culp, the director of Legends of the Knight, about his upcoming project Look to the Sky. Brett discusses the documentary process, superheroes, and charity, and even warms Josh's cold heart. He also tells us to keep a lookout for his IndieGogo for Look to the Sky, so be sure and check out this inspiring project.Finishing out this episode, the Screeners enter Oscar season. Chad, Chris, and Daniel discuss Johnny Depp's first real Oscar contender in years, Black Mass. With only three Screeners to review it, can Depp unite them all? We could tell you here, but it's a family secret (Get it?? Like from the trailer!).","content_html":"Although we're missing Melody and Josh from the majority of this episode, Chad, Chris, and Daniel still manage to find something to disagree about, even without Josh here! In this packed episode, we've got some Jump Cuts and our first Oscar Bait review of the year, as well as a very special interview with filmmaker Brett Culp.
First up, we look back through film history to talk about our favorite fight scenes. Daniel keeps things current with a couple recent scenes, while Chad and Chris take a more classic approach. Also, Chad finds a way to bring up San Andreas and mock Daniel yet again.
And in our next Jump Cut, the Screeners discuss the Fall TV slate and their hopes for new and returning shows. Chad's given up on a favorite, Daniel's excited for some new ones, and Chris manages to STILL talk about Hannibal, despite it being cancelled.
Melody and Josh return as we interview filmmaker Brett Culp, the director of Legends of the Knight, about his upcoming project Look to the Sky. Brett discusses the documentary process, superheroes, and charity, and even warms Josh's cold heart. He also tells us to keep a lookout for his IndieGogo for Look to the Sky, so be sure and check out this inspiring project.
Finishing out this episode, the Screeners enter Oscar season. Chad, Chris, and Daniel discuss Johnny Depp's first real Oscar contender in years, Black Mass. With only three Screeners to review it, can Depp unite them all? We could tell you here, but it's a family secret (Get it?? Like from the trailer!).
","summary":"Episode 39: Up, Up, and Away!","date_published":"2015-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/600e3344-25d1-4093-89f4-ae8b575be1c3.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":59165898,"duration_in_seconds":4843}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:55fd9763e4b0ea280ebf21ff","title":"Episode 38: The Eyes of a Madman (Plus Another Horror Movie)","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/42","content_text":"Sadly, Melody’s not around for this episode, but the four guys have promised to try to argue enough to fill her role as the most belligerent Screener. We’ll have one fewer segment than normal for this episode, but there’s plenty of content to make up for it.Past Its Prime (Time)First off, late night TV has a new face in its roster. There have been profiles about Colbert and analysis of the dog-eat-dog comedy world he’s entering, but the Screeners (at least, the ones who still have ‘cords’, since you know how hard it is to watch network TV online...) have politely waited until his show started to pass judgement. It’s been a week, though, so gloves off. Has he changed anything for the better, or is it more of the same?And since that was a reasonably interesting and timely discussion, we decided to let Chris ask a question. We’re not quite sure what happened next, but we remember it was something about physical media and that Josh had to make something up because he’s maybe watched a grand total of one DVD commentary in his life. Maybe Daniel can save us here...‘Surprisingly Not Terrible’, or ‘Not Terribly Surprising’?This episode’s another famous Screeners double-header. First up, Alex Gibney’s The Man in the Machine, a documentary focused on Steve Jobs that simultaneously hit theaters and just about every on-demand service you can think of. Fresh off his mission against Scientology (which you might remember from a previous Screeners episode), Gibney seems to still be in skeptic mode. Tune in to find out if Chris is able to uphold the vow of fealty he’s sworn to Apple after Gibney’s assault.To round out the show, we guess we’ll talk about the new M. Night Shyamalan movie—y’know, if we have to. Turns out he’s made a couple movies between The Village and this one too; that in itself is news to Josh. There’s more to say, of course; we just can’t say it here since, unlike with The Man in the Machine, we have a spoilers section to think about. Let’s just say that...not everyone agreed about The Visit. Is that unspoilery enough?That does it for the first all-male revue review here at the Screeners—join us over on Facebook to keep the conversation going!","content_html":"Sadly, Melody’s not around for this episode, but the four guys have promised to try to argue enough to fill her role as the most belligerent Screener. We’ll have one fewer segment than normal for this episode, but there’s plenty of content to make up for it.
First off, late night TV has a new face in its roster. There have been profiles about Colbert and analysis of the dog-eat-dog comedy world he’s entering, but the Screeners (at least, the ones who still have ‘cords’, since you know how hard it is to watch network TV online...) have politely waited until his show started to pass judgement. It’s been a week, though, so gloves off. Has he changed anything for the better, or is it more of the same?
And since that was a reasonably interesting and timely discussion, we decided to let Chris ask a question. We’re not quite sure what happened next, but we remember it was something about physical media and that Josh had to make something up because he’s maybe watched a grand total of one DVD commentary in his life. Maybe Daniel can save us here...
This episode’s another famous Screeners double-header. First up, Alex Gibney’s The Man in the Machine, a documentary focused on Steve Jobs that simultaneously hit theaters and just about every on-demand service you can think of. Fresh off his mission against Scientology (which you might remember from a previous Screeners episode), Gibney seems to still be in skeptic mode. Tune in to find out if Chris is able to uphold the vow of fealty he’s sworn to Apple after Gibney’s assault.
To round out the show, we guess we’ll talk about the new M. Night Shyamalan movie—y’know, if we have to. Turns out he’s made a couple movies between The Village and this one too; that in itself is news to Josh. There’s more to say, of course; we just can’t say it here since, unlike with The Man in the Machine, we have a spoilers section to think about. Let’s just say that...not everyone agreed about The Visit. Is that unspoilery enough?
That does it for the first all-male revue review here at the Screeners—join us over on Facebook to keep the conversation going!
","summary":"Episode 38: The Eyes of a Madman (Plus Another Horror Movie)","date_published":"2015-09-22T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a9297c34-3c46-40ee-a1d8-0e19decd9a17.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":83429500,"duration_in_seconds":4991}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:55ea59a9e4b0311fd779f54f","title":"Episode 37: The Haunting of the Listicle","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/41","content_text":"Turns out that Josh made it back safely from wherever he was (against Chad's wishes), so the Screeners have returned with a full complement of hosts, ready to take on the (media-related) issues of the day. After a summer full of blockbusters that at least 2 or 3 of our panel enjoyed, we're in a bit of a summer lull as far as movie releases go, so we're going to do things a little differently this time. Stick with us, though; we're sure *someone* will make it worth your while.This One Weird Trick Will Make People Comment on Your Facebook PageTo start things off easy, the Screeners recap what they've been watching recently, new or not. Pop quiz: What's Chris going to talk about? We'll give you a hint: It rhymes with \"cannibal\". Oh, and it has one in it. We think he's seen every episode of that show as many times as a kid raised by TV in the 90's saw every episode of Saved by the Bell. Josh wants to discuss True Detective, but he's the only one who's seen the second season so far. He wanted us to be sure to share that here and stress that he was both proud of and annoyed by this fact.Next, if you can't get rid of Buzzfeed, embrace it: The Screeners have found their first listicle to deconstruct as if its opinions were somehow representative of the culture at large. \"The 10 Worst Best Pictures of The Last 30 Years\" garnered a good bit of discussion on Facebook (at least for the Screeners page), and this can only end in argument—so, really, what are we waiting for? We're pretty sure Chad saw all of these in the theater (Get it? Because he's old!), and we're sure he'll have some good input. Daniel, as the youngest member of the panel...has probably still seen more of them than Josh has, so he should be OK too.Abstinence or Death!For the main event, the Screeners decided to skip a current theatrical release (dog days of summer and all) and picked a movie with some cult acclaim that's available through most streaming channels. More than just cult acclaim, really—It Follows currently has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.For those unfamiliar with the etymology, the title of It Follows is a clever play on the Latin phrase non sequitur, or \"it does not follow\". It's a deeply philosophical piece that, through its exploration of love and loss, manages to inspire its viewers to explore their own decisions while simultaneously drawing us deep into the story of the main character, who...just kidding; it's a horror movie. You either like them, or you don't—or you spend 10 minutes defending the genre as a whole, making excuses for lazy storytellers by saying they're just paying homage to all the lazy storytellers before them, and our collective intellect dies just a little more on the inside. Either way, a few people die along the way, and the rest learn nothing. The end. Spoiler alert!Well, that was fun. See you next time, but until then, join the conversation over on Facebook; we'd love to hear about your favorite listicles, least favorite Oscar winners, or why (Chris/Melody/Chad/Josh/Daniel) should go jump in a lake. It's hot outside; they might actually do it.","content_html":"Turns out that Josh made it back safely from wherever he was (against Chad's wishes), so the Screeners have returned with a full complement of hosts, ready to take on the (media-related) issues of the day. After a summer full of blockbusters that at least 2 or 3 of our panel enjoyed, we're in a bit of a summer lull as far as movie releases go, so we're going to do things a little differently this time. Stick with us, though; we're sure *someone* will make it worth your while.
To start things off easy, the Screeners recap what they've been watching recently, new or not. Pop quiz: What's Chris going to talk about? We'll give you a hint: It rhymes with \"cannibal\". Oh, and it has one in it. We think he's seen every episode of that show as many times as a kid raised by TV in the 90's saw every episode of Saved by the Bell. Josh wants to discuss True Detective, but he's the only one who's seen the second season so far. He wanted us to be sure to share that here and stress that he was both proud of and annoyed by this fact.
Next, if you can't get rid of Buzzfeed, embrace it: The Screeners have found their first listicle to deconstruct as if its opinions were somehow representative of the culture at large. \"The 10 Worst Best Pictures of The Last 30 Years\" garnered a good bit of discussion on Facebook (at least for the Screeners page), and this can only end in argument—so, really, what are we waiting for? We're pretty sure Chad saw all of these in the theater (Get it? Because he's old!), and we're sure he'll have some good input. Daniel, as the youngest member of the panel...has probably still seen more of them than Josh has, so he should be OK too.
For the main event, the Screeners decided to skip a current theatrical release (dog days of summer and all) and picked a movie with some cult acclaim that's available through most streaming channels. More than just cult acclaim, really—It Follows currently has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
For those unfamiliar with the etymology, the title of It Follows is a clever play on the Latin phrase non sequitur, or \"it does not follow\". It's a deeply philosophical piece that, through its exploration of love and loss, manages to inspire its viewers to explore their own decisions while simultaneously drawing us deep into the story of the main character, who...just kidding; it's a horror movie. You either like them, or you don't—or you spend 10 minutes defending the genre as a whole, making excuses for lazy storytellers by saying they're just paying homage to all the lazy storytellers before them, and our collective intellect dies just a little more on the inside. Either way, a few people die along the way, and the rest learn nothing. The end. Spoiler alert!
Well, that was fun. See you next time, but until then, join the conversation over on Facebook; we'd love to hear about your favorite listicles, least favorite Oscar winners, or why (Chris/Melody/Chad/Josh/Daniel) should go jump in a lake. It's hot outside; they might actually do it.
","summary":"THE HAUNTING OF THE LISTICLE","date_published":"2015-09-05T16:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/529fffba-ee04-4a3c-ac93-1bce0d579b9e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":67441044,"duration_in_seconds":4716}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:55db6b70e4b0bd802306764e","title":"Episode 36: Summer in Review","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/40","content_text":"Hey, what do you know? We told you that we are going to be more regular … and did we deliver, or did we deliver? Two episodes released in less than a month – we are on a roll!We are missing our favorite host this episode – Josh is away travelling the country, probably visiting all his favorite movie theaters without us. We miss you Josh! But Daniel is back with us for another episode and he manages to throw us a curveball or two.SUMMER FAVORITES AND FAILURESWe have a fun time this episode trying to determine our best and worst of the summer, along with our biggest surprise. Good thing Josh is away this episode because he would never have let us get away with our pick for best film! Ha! That’s what you get for taking a week off, Josh!SECRETS AND SPIES: For your EntertainmentAnother double header this week! Mostly because Melody demanded to review The Gift even though it’s been out for a few weeks. And we couldn’t pass up The Man From U.N.C.L.E, because we just haven’t had enough spy movies lately!We did not manage to come to a unified perspective about The Gift, despite it’s critical acclaim. Which screener is the party pooper this time? You’ll have to listen to find out.Next up – more spies. Melody appears to have enjoyed The Man From U.N.C.L.E. way more than anyone expected… for reasons that have little to do with plot or characters or cinematography. Though perhaps it was to do with beautiful things being on the screen…In any case, listen to find out what we think of the latest Guy Ritchie release.And that’s it for this episode of the Screeners. Head on over to Facebook and let us know what you think! We’ll be back soon!","content_html":"Hey, what do you know? We told you that we are going to be more regular … and did we deliver, or did we deliver? Two episodes released in less than a month – we are on a roll!
We are missing our favorite host this episode – Josh is away travelling the country, probably visiting all his favorite movie theaters without us. We miss you Josh! But Daniel is back with us for another episode and he manages to throw us a curveball or two.
SUMMER FAVORITES AND FAILURES
We have a fun time this episode trying to determine our best and worst of the summer, along with our biggest surprise. Good thing Josh is away this episode because he would never have let us get away with our pick for best film! Ha! That’s what you get for taking a week off, Josh!
SECRETS AND SPIES: For your Entertainment
Another double header this week! Mostly because Melody demanded to review The Gift even though it’s been out for a few weeks. And we couldn’t pass up The Man From U.N.C.L.E, because we just haven’t had enough spy movies lately!
We did not manage to come to a unified perspective about The Gift, despite it’s critical acclaim. Which screener is the party pooper this time? You’ll have to listen to find out.
Next up – more spies. Melody appears to have enjoyed The Man From U.N.C.L.E. way more than anyone expected… for reasons that have little to do with plot or characters or cinematography. Though perhaps it was to do with beautiful things being on the screen…
In any case, listen to find out what we think of the latest Guy Ritchie release.
And that’s it for this episode of the Screeners. Head on over to Facebook and let us know what you think! We’ll be back soon!
","summary":"Episode 36: Summer in Review","date_published":"2015-08-24T15:15:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/6903aa40-82cb-4c68-b9a6-3683cd25e2a9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":100016709,"duration_in_seconds":4103}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:55c2c2a5e4b099b364738f42","title":"Episode 35: Superheroes—the New Normal","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/39","content_text":"Welcome back to another irregularly scheduled episode of the Screeners Podcast! It’s been awhile, but we’ll be better from now on, we promise! C’mon, you can trust us...when have we ever let you down? OK, so there was that one time, but you know we didn’t mean it—wait, no, don’t go; we’re serious this time!Jokes aside, though, this episode marks a new chapter for the Screeners: We’re adding a new cast member! Introducing new co-hosts makes it easier for at least four Screeners to be available to record a new episode, so everyone wins. Look for us to be adding about 50 more in the coming months; that should keep us nice and regular. Everyone say hi to Daniel!Nothing New Under the SunFor such a long time away, the Screeners have realized they don’t have a lot to talk about. They must’ve been too busy preparing for tonight’s double-header review. The best they can come up with is a couple trailers from Comic-Con: Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad. If you haven’t seen them yet, take a couple minutes and head over to YouTube before listening to us blather on about them.Tiny and the ImpossiblesAs promised, this episode’s main event is a double feature—and for what may be the first time in Screeners history, at least 4 Screeners have seen both movies! It only took adding a fifth Screener to make that happen; if only we’d known it was that easy before...live and learn, we guess.Anyway, Marvel’s Ant-Man is first on the schedule. Paul Rudd has conquered both the romantic comedy and the bromantic comedy, which uniquely qualifies him to put on a suit that makes him really small and move really fast. At least, we’re pretty sure that was his agent’s pitch to the studio. Do his dry wit and impish charm make up for the fact that Ant-Man has no reason to exist, let alone add to the already cluttered pantheon of superhero movies? Well, you tuned in to hear us answer that, so we’ll...try, at least.Next up are the almost superhuman members of the IMF coming back for another installment of America’s answer to the James Bond franchise, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Tom Cruise has been doing crazy stunts for nearly 20 years, and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Must be all the auditing*. Anyway, is the series aging well? Keep listening for the definitive answer—the Screeners’ answer.And that’s it for another action-packed episode of the Screeners. Head on over to Facebook and let us know what you think of our casting choices and the idea that we might actually produce a regular show. Talk [at] you next time!*You didn’t seriously think we were going to be able to resist that joke, did you?","content_html":"Welcome back to another irregularly scheduled episode of the Screeners Podcast! It’s been awhile, but we’ll be better from now on, we promise! C’mon, you can trust us...when have we ever let you down? OK, so there was that one time, but you know we didn’t mean it—wait, no, don’t go; we’re serious this time!
Jokes aside, though, this episode marks a new chapter for the Screeners: We’re adding a new cast member! Introducing new co-hosts makes it easier for at least four Screeners to be available to record a new episode, so everyone wins. Look for us to be adding about 50 more in the coming months; that should keep us nice and regular. Everyone say hi to Daniel!
For such a long time away, the Screeners have realized they don’t have a lot to talk about. They must’ve been too busy preparing for tonight’s double-header review. The best they can come up with is a couple trailers from Comic-Con: Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad. If you haven’t seen them yet, take a couple minutes and head over to YouTube before listening to us blather on about them.
As promised, this episode’s main event is a double feature—and for what may be the first time in Screeners history, at least 4 Screeners have seen both movies! It only took adding a fifth Screener to make that happen; if only we’d known it was that easy before...live and learn, we guess.
Anyway, Marvel’s Ant-Man is first on the schedule. Paul Rudd has conquered both the romantic comedy and the bromantic comedy, which uniquely qualifies him to put on a suit that makes him really small and move really fast. At least, we’re pretty sure that was his agent’s pitch to the studio. Do his dry wit and impish charm make up for the fact that Ant-Man has no reason to exist, let alone add to the already cluttered pantheon of superhero movies? Well, you tuned in to hear us answer that, so we’ll...try, at least.
Next up are the almost superhuman members of the IMF coming back for another installment of America’s answer to the James Bond franchise, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Tom Cruise has been doing crazy stunts for nearly 20 years, and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Must be all the auditing*. Anyway, is the series aging well? Keep listening for the definitive answer—the Screeners’ answer.
And that’s it for another action-packed episode of the Screeners. Head on over to Facebook and let us know what you think of our casting choices and the idea that we might actually produce a regular show. Talk [at] you next time!
*You didn’t seriously think we were going to be able to resist that joke, did you?
","summary":"EPISODE 35: SUPERHEROES—THE NEW NORMAL","date_published":"2015-08-08T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/14344b72-7ff3-491c-8074-b97217e9987e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":95016709,"duration_in_seconds":3906}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:55835929e4b05d1a350093c5","title":"Episode 34: The Past is a Nightmare; the Future, a Wasteland. Happy Summer!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/38","content_text":"Playing Catch-upSo, yeah, it’s been awhile. Again. The Screeners had the best of intentions, they promise. Somewhere in the past month or so there were at least two episodes that were planned and fell through the cracks. Since Josh actually went to the theater for said episodes (and he really wants you to know that he did his job in all of this), the four have given up on the lightning round this week and instead have opted for a grab bag of “whatcha been watchin’?”.Chris starts the segment off with a review of the most recent season of Game of Thrones...and ends up somewhere else entirely, but we won’t begrudge him his burning passion for network TV. Or maybe we just fed him the GoT topic so we could post this. Next up is Chad, who admits he’s late to the party for once, but loves Silicon Valley all the same. The show’s been a big hit with a majority of the Screeners, actually, and there’s definitely some fun to be had guessing which of the show’s characters may have been modeled after Josh.Since Josh gets a turn, you know he’s going to insist on talking about one of the movies he actually saw this year. Ex Machina’s part of what seems to be a recent thematic trend in sci-fi; does it have anything to set it apart from, say, Transcendence as an AI movie?In what must have been an attempt to ramp up the energy level for the main event, Melody rounds out the segment by covering the Screeners’ latest failure for an episode plan: Mad Max: Fury Road. Some might say we saved the best for last. One person, amidst a sea of positive reviews, might dare to say otherwise. We’re tired of telling you to guess who that person might be and implying that you might be surprised. You know, and you won’t be.Finally, a Sequel to Encino Man!We just can’t shake the mental image of Pauly Shore riding a velociraptor that we’d hoped against hope would be the climax of Jurassic World. Alas, we’ll have to settle for Chris Pratt on a motorcycle. It’s fine, really. Totally fine.No spoilers for the latest installment of the Godzilla franchise here; you’ll have to listen to hear how much Chris loved it and how deep his forgiving spirit runs.This episode may not look like much in outline form, but trust us; there’s enough material in there to either get you thinking or alienate you forever; take your pick when you’re done with the episode, and head over to Facebook to tell us whether you’ll be coming back for more.","content_html":"So, yeah, it’s been awhile. Again. The Screeners had the best of intentions, they promise. Somewhere in the past month or so there were at least two episodes that were planned and fell through the cracks. Since Josh actually went to the theater for said episodes (and he really wants you to know that he did his job in all of this), the four have given up on the lightning round this week and instead have opted for a grab bag of “whatcha been watchin’?”.
Chris starts the segment off with a review of the most recent season of Game of Thrones...and ends up somewhere else entirely, but we won’t begrudge him his burning passion for network TV. Or maybe we just fed him the GoT topic so we could post this.
Next up is Chad, who admits he’s late to the party for once, but loves Silicon Valley all the same. The show’s been a big hit with a majority of the Screeners, actually, and there’s definitely some fun to be had guessing which of the show’s characters may have been modeled after Josh.
Since Josh gets a turn, you know he’s going to insist on talking about one of the movies he actually saw this year. Ex Machina’s part of what seems to be a recent thematic trend in sci-fi; does it have anything to set it apart from, say, Transcendence as an AI movie?
In what must have been an attempt to ramp up the energy level for the main event, Melody rounds out the segment by covering the Screeners’ latest failure for an episode plan: Mad Max: Fury Road. Some might say we saved the best for last. One person, amidst a sea of positive reviews, might dare to say otherwise. We’re tired of telling you to guess who that person might be and implying that you might be surprised. You know, and you won’t be.
We just can’t shake the mental image of Pauly Shore riding a velociraptor that we’d hoped against hope would be the climax of Jurassic World. Alas, we’ll have to settle for Chris Pratt on a motorcycle. It’s fine, really. Totally fine.
No spoilers for the latest installment of the Godzilla franchise here; you’ll have to listen to hear how much Chris loved it and how deep his forgiving spirit runs.
This episode may not look like much in outline form, but trust us; there’s enough material in there to either get you thinking or alienate you forever; take your pick when you’re done with the episode, and head over to Facebook to tell us whether you’ll be coming back for more.
","summary":"The Past is a Nightmare; the Future, a Wasteland. Happy Summer!","date_published":"2015-06-22T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9baa540e-3f90-4682-98a6-81ae2ee73be9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":104071972,"duration_in_seconds":4289}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:554d1f25e4b035bedaa8d113","title":"Bonus Episode: Age of Ultron","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/37","content_text":"Have we got a treat for you!OK, lower your expectations a bit; it's not that special...The Screeners got a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron on opening weekend—together! It was the first time they were all in a theater together in...well, no one could remember how long, so they decided to sit down and talk about their reactions that very evening. In true Screener style, they waited a week to release the recording, but hey; that's just how they roll.Now, prepare yourself: An off-the-cuff recording means Josh's pessimism will lack the polish that rewriting his episode notes several times normally gives him, but that just gives Chris the chance to fill that gap with genuine wonder and exuberance, like a child at the first day of space camp. Chad and Melody were there too, but their opinions are of course far too level-headed to make for entertaining notes.OK, enough rambling; enjoy the recording, live-ish from Chad's dining room table. And listen without fear, there are no spoilers from opening night.","content_html":"Have we got a treat for you!
OK, lower your expectations a bit; it's not that special...
The Screeners got a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron on opening weekend—together! It was the first time they were all in a theater together in...well, no one could remember how long, so they decided to sit down and talk about their reactions that very evening. In true Screener style, they waited a week to release the recording, but hey; that's just how they roll.
Now, prepare yourself: An off-the-cuff recording means Josh's pessimism will lack the polish that rewriting his episode notes several times normally gives him, but that just gives Chris the chance to fill that gap with genuine wonder and exuberance, like a child at the first day of space camp. Chad and Melody were there too, but their opinions are of course far too level-headed to make for entertaining notes.
OK, enough rambling; enjoy the recording, live-ish from Chad's dining room table. And listen without fear, there are no spoilers from opening night.
","summary":"Bonus Episode: Age of Ultron","date_published":"2015-05-08T22:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/95abcf3f-68ad-4fd3-8605-51ab35627584.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":23504866,"duration_in_seconds":1228}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:552743cde4b0b4306609d03a","title":"Episode 33: Never in a Billion Years","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/36","content_text":"The New Era ContinuesChris did such a bang-up job with Jump Cuts last time that we figured we’d just make him the semi-permanent lightning round czar. It’s not the title he wanted, but as we kept trying to tell him, there can be only one Highlander.Anyway, the Screeners were terrified to learn of a change in direction for the next Star Trek movie...or at least, the two Screeners who care were. The other half of them were mildly bemused, and we all know there’s nothing more entertaining in a Jump Cut than mild bemusement.Next up, the Screeners delve into a bit of personal preference with a discussion of what they’d like to see more of in the movies. Josh is left temporarily speechless when he’s told that asking for “more less” doesn’t make sense.And because one human interest piece just isn’t enough for one episode, the four then spend some time talking about a villain (from the medium of their choice) whom they find memorable or especially effective. Turns out that Chris’s secret fear is mixing media and exercise. Wii Sports must haunt his dreams.And then there was some kind of news roundup. We don’t know what it was about; we dozed off after Chad picked a villain from every medium.Clearly GoneDespite Melody’s best efforts at discretion, the Screeners watched and have sat down to discuss Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, the new Alex Gibney documentary distributed by HBO.As we all know, Scientology is a famously litigious organization, so we’ll keep commentary and spoilers light and leave the bulk of the allegations about what Scientology “is” up to Gibney. We just think it’s great that the conversation has been started and that HBO’s willing to air it.The Little Game that Couldn’tSo here’s how this episode’s Cutting Room Floor went down: Josh likes an NPR podcast called “Ask Me Another”. One day, Josh heard them play a movie-related game on the podcast and thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?” He then thought, “Hey, they borrow game formats from Jeopardy; why can’t I borrow one from them? I could write puns like that!”Then he wrote some of those puns, and he made the other three Screeners listen to them and try to guess what he was talking about. It was an abject failure, and everyone hates him, but we’re airing it because it’s the only third segment we have. Deal with it.Whew, OK; it’s over. That last segment made the show seem even longer than normal, right? Yeah, we know. Head over to Facebook to leave your hate mail.","content_html":"Chris did such a bang-up job with Jump Cuts last time that we figured we’d just make him the semi-permanent lightning round czar. It’s not the title he wanted, but as we kept trying to tell him, there can be only one Highlander.
Anyway, the Screeners were terrified to learn of a change in direction for the next Star Trek movie...or at least, the two Screeners who care were. The other half of them were mildly bemused, and we all know there’s nothing more entertaining in a Jump Cut than mild bemusement.
Next up, the Screeners delve into a bit of personal preference with a discussion of what they’d like to see more of in the movies. Josh is left temporarily speechless when he’s told that asking for “more less” doesn’t make sense.
And because one human interest piece just isn’t enough for one episode, the four then spend some time talking about a villain (from the medium of their choice) whom they find memorable or especially effective. Turns out that Chris’s secret fear is mixing media and exercise. Wii Sports must haunt his dreams.
And then there was some kind of news roundup. We don’t know what it was about; we dozed off after Chad picked a villain from every medium.
Despite Melody’s best efforts at discretion, the Screeners watched and have sat down to discuss Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, the new Alex Gibney documentary distributed by HBO.
As we all know, Scientology is a famously litigious organization, so we’ll keep commentary and spoilers light and leave the bulk of the allegations about what Scientology “is” up to Gibney. We just think it’s great that the conversation has been started and that HBO’s willing to air it.
So here’s how this episode’s Cutting Room Floor went down: Josh likes an NPR podcast called “Ask Me Another”. One day, Josh heard them play a movie-related game on the podcast and thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?” He then thought, “Hey, they borrow game formats from Jeopardy; why can’t I borrow one from them? I could write puns like that!”
Then he wrote some of those puns, and he made the other three Screeners listen to them and try to guess what he was talking about. It was an abject failure, and everyone hates him, but we’re airing it because it’s the only third segment we have. Deal with it.
Whew, OK; it’s over. That last segment made the show seem even longer than normal, right? Yeah, we know. Head over to Facebook to leave your hate mail.
","summary":"Never in a Billion Years","date_published":"2015-04-12T16:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/10a46107-9ac2-455f-93e1-0cf477737407.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":60599056,"duration_in_seconds":3615}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5514c545e4b07f1a8489718f","title":"Episode 32: The DA Made Me Watch It","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/35","content_text":"The First Real Lightning Round Ever?The Screeners put Chris in charge of Jump Cuts this week, and for once they're able to keep the discussion brief. Not that we’re saying anything about the level of thought required to answer these particular questions or anything; Josh just happens to have a very succinct opinion about the Apple Watch.Oh yeah, and if you ever wanted to relive precious childhood memories of watching Airwolf, you’ll definitely want to tune in for this segment. That’s right—Airwolf. Only on the Screeners Podcast.Time is a Flat Circle, and Other Overbearing Fairy TalesFor the main event this time, the Screeners have a different kind of double header. First up, they’ve revived an old favorite segment, cleverly rebranding it to something more playful yet in no way more suggestive: “Convince Me to Watch” is now “Made You Look”.Each host has chosen a viewing assignment for one of the others, and they do their best to keep their picks outside the other’s normal wheelhouse. Join the fun as Chris takes a comedic look at institutional racism, Chad is forced to watch a movie that may have been shot on a cell phone, Josh contemplates the nature of time travel, and Melody tries not to fall asleep (both during her movie and while recording the podcast).Finally, the four try to salvage what remains of their cultural relevance by discussing HBO’s latest conversation piece, The Jinx. We won’t spoil the ending here; the media has done a good enough job of that already. Let’s just say that the format of the (series? documentary?) may be just as interesting as its content.Aaand cut. It may not look like much from the summary here, but there was plenty to talk about in this episode; as always, join us over on Facebook with your feedback, fanfic, and furor.","content_html":"The Screeners put Chris in charge of Jump Cuts this week, and for once they're able to keep the discussion brief. Not that we’re saying anything about the level of thought required to answer these particular questions or anything; Josh just happens to have a very succinct opinion about the Apple Watch.
Oh yeah, and if you ever wanted to relive precious childhood memories of watching Airwolf, you’ll definitely want to tune in for this segment. That’s right—Airwolf. Only on the Screeners Podcast.
For the main event this time, the Screeners have a different kind of double header. First up, they’ve revived an old favorite segment, cleverly rebranding it to something more playful yet in no way more suggestive: “Convince Me to Watch” is now “Made You Look”.
Each host has chosen a viewing assignment for one of the others, and they do their best to keep their picks outside the other’s normal wheelhouse. Join the fun as Chris takes a comedic look at institutional racism, Chad is forced to watch a movie that may have been shot on a cell phone, Josh contemplates the nature of time travel, and Melody tries not to fall asleep (both during her movie and while recording the podcast).
Finally, the four try to salvage what remains of their cultural relevance by discussing HBO’s latest conversation piece, The Jinx. We won’t spoil the ending here; the media has done a good enough job of that already. Let’s just say that the format of the (series? documentary?) may be just as interesting as its content.
Aaand cut. It may not look like much from the summary here, but there was plenty to talk about in this episode; as always, join us over on Facebook with your feedback, fanfic, and furor.
","summary":"The D.A. Made Me Watch It","date_published":"2015-04-01T19:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3d469647-b46d-4262-b8fa-893ee8b435ab.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":76822618,"duration_in_seconds":4660}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:54fe4ce2e4b07b7d53da6abd","title":"Episode 31: Golden Statues and other Crown Jewels","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/34","content_text":"Art Is Its Own Reward...Unless You Didn't Get NominatedHe sang, he danced, he forced us to watch him in his underwear. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Oscars this year, and besides his, um, inimitable hosting, the show boasted some unique musical performances, some inexcusable snubs, and 3 and a half hours of self-congratulatory...we mean, we love the Oscars. So very much. That's all we're contractually obligated to say, right? Good. Let's get on with our reviews.The Spy Who Imprinted on MeTonight the Screeners have a double feature in store, and in a surprise turn of events, Josh actually saw one of them! Please, hold your applause. It only makes him stronger.First up, Kingsman: The Secret Service. Part espionage homage, part frat boy comedy, the Screeners have quite a bit to say about this Matthew Vaughn/Colin Firth joint. There's so much fun to be had here that they don't even need a spoiler section to pad the review time—er, dissect the narrative arc and contemplate the directorial choices. Yeah, that's what they normally do.To round out the episode, Josh rejoins the group for a chat about Chappie, the latest Neil Blomkamp film about the robot who would be a boy. You can, um, check out this one's Rotten Tomatoes score for yourself if you're into that sort of thing. Are the critics right, though, or has Blomkamp returned to form after a little detour into whatever terrible writer's block gave birth to Elysium? See if you agree with the Screeners' theories about why bad movies happen to good people.And there you have it—our first movie review of 2015. It only took us 3 months (and a couple in 2014, but who's counting?), but we're back in the saddle now, so look for more episodes, more new segments, and more opportunitites to interact with the show this year. As always, check us out over on Facebook to give us feedback on the episode and to see what's caught our eye in the news recently. 'Til next time!","content_html":"He sang, he danced, he forced us to watch him in his underwear. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Oscars this year, and besides his, um, inimitable hosting, the show boasted some unique musical performances, some inexcusable snubs, and 3 and a half hours of self-congratulatory...we mean, we love the Oscars. So very much. That's all we're contractually obligated to say, right? Good. Let's get on with our reviews.
Tonight the Screeners have a double feature in store, and in a surprise turn of events, Josh actually saw one of them! Please, hold your applause. It only makes him stronger.
First up, Kingsman: The Secret Service. Part espionage homage, part frat boy comedy, the Screeners have quite a bit to say about this Matthew Vaughn/Colin Firth joint. There's so much fun to be had here that they don't even need a spoiler section to pad the review time—er, dissect the narrative arc and contemplate the directorial choices. Yeah, that's what they normally do.
To round out the episode, Josh rejoins the group for a chat about Chappie, the latest Neil Blomkamp film about the robot who would be a boy. You can, um, check out this one's Rotten Tomatoes score for yourself if you're into that sort of thing. Are the critics right, though, or has Blomkamp returned to form after a little detour into whatever terrible writer's block gave birth to Elysium? See if you agree with the Screeners' theories about why bad movies happen to good people.
And there you have it—our first movie review of 2015. It only took us 3 months (and a couple in 2014, but who's counting?), but we're back in the saddle now, so look for more episodes, more new segments, and more opportunitites to interact with the show this year. As always, check us out over on Facebook to give us feedback on the episode and to see what's caught our eye in the news recently. 'Til next time!
","summary":"Episode 31: Golden Statues and other Crown Jewels","date_published":"2015-03-09T22:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/b9cdeace-f293-4d7f-ae7b-5da1d96d2a0a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":81790866,"duration_in_seconds":3269}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:54ea5310e4b0e3df8c14b758","title":"Episode 30: Just in Time to Miss the Oscars","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/33","content_text":"No, we don’t think the audience will—yes, we know the last time was November; we just...oh, hi! We didn’t see you there. We were just talking to our agent. She thinks we should just close up shop and not even let you hear what the Screeners thought of 2014, that you’re not even listening at this point anyway. We’ve been insisting that we have a solemn duty to you, our loyal fans, and that we wouldn’t think of betraying that trust for anything longer than 3 months at a time. We’ll make her see reason yet.Anyway, the Screeners did just get together, they did talk about their favorite movies of 2014 (and some of their least favorite), and they do want you to hear it. Unfortunately, you won’t hear it until after AMPAS renders their opinions moot with that little Sunday night shindig. Fortunately, the Screeners have no shame, and they don’t care. Enjoy!","content_html":"No, we don’t think the audience will—yes, we know the last time was November; we just...oh, hi! We didn’t see you there. We were just talking to our agent. She thinks we should just close up shop and not even let you hear what the Screeners thought of 2014, that you’re not even listening at this point anyway. We’ve been insisting that we have a solemn duty to you, our loyal fans, and that we wouldn’t think of betraying that trust for anything longer than 3 months at a time. We’ll make her see reason yet.
Anyway, the Screeners did just get together, they did talk about their favorite movies of 2014 (and some of their least favorite), and they do want you to hear it. Unfortunately, you won’t hear it until after AMPAS renders their opinions moot with that little Sunday night shindig. Fortunately, the Screeners have no shame, and they don’t care. Enjoy!
","summary":"EPISODE 30: JUST IN TIME TO MISS THE OSCARS","date_published":"2015-02-23T19:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/148f8986-0011-4fba-8499-0526c652c844.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":101988828,"duration_in_seconds":4085}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5465666ce4b00fd20c5e5da1","title":"Episode 29: Of Sociopaths and Astronauts","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/32","content_text":"The Screeners are back with a double-header of unique movies, one a blockbuster of sorts and one...not so much. Before that, though, we have a bit of nostalgia and nerdery to cover in Jump Cuts.Comic books and consolesFirst up, superhero movies. Yes, again. In fact, it seems like we’ll be talking about superhero movies almost constantly for the foreseeable future, since the Marvel and DC universes are collectively pumping out at least 29 of them over the next 6 years. Why stop one short of 30, you ask? We think they’re waiting until Christmas to announce a Valentine’s Day release of The Punisher vs. Cupid. What can we say? They’re running out of characters.Next, though, we have a topic that’s pretty much the opposite of overplayed. Johnny Rockets, the 50’s-themed restaurant chain, is apparently trying to bring back the drive-in theater. The last time we saw one of these was in Into the Furnace, and it didn’t look like a fun place to be. Maybe some drive-through burgers would help that, though. So whaddya say? Would you watch a movie sitting inside or near your car to save a few bucks?Finally, a conversation all the Screeners can get behind. Now that every last one of them is a parent, they’ve been spending time pondering the important things in life—things like when children should be babysat by the TV and when it’s more appropriate to give them an iPad, how young is too young for the Saw movies, and what video games to introduce to their toddlers first. Among the four of them, there are fond childhood memories from the whole gamut—Atari 7200, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and even N64. Which controller will the next generation of Screeners wield first? (Hint: It won’t be the Atari joysticks; those blasted things never worked for more than 5 minutes at a time.)Two Totally Comparable MoviesTo round off our two-segment episode, a double-header of thrillers—or at least, um, thrilling movies? Something like that.First off, Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man with a goal near and dear to the Screeners’ hearts—getting the perfect shot. Does the movie itself succeed in the same way as its main character? This one seems to have drawn some interesting dividing lines between our hosts.From the streets to the stars; the Screeners take on Interstellar in the second half of the main event. Well, three of them do, at least... If you’ve already heard what Neil deGrasse Tyson had to say about the space flick, you might be hankering for a more, er, intellectual take on the film. Well, wait no longer, folks; Michael Bay’s biggest fan is about to drop some knowledge.That’ll do it for this episode. We had plenty of open questions this time around, so head on over to our Facebook page and let us know what you think about family outings at the drive-in, the games you can’t wait to play with your kids, and how wrong Chad was about Nightcrawler. See you next time!","content_html":"The Screeners are back with a double-header of unique movies, one a blockbuster of sorts and one...not so much. Before that, though, we have a bit of nostalgia and nerdery to cover in Jump Cuts.
First up, superhero movies. Yes, again. In fact, it seems like we’ll be talking about superhero movies almost constantly for the foreseeable future, since the Marvel and DC universes are collectively pumping out at least 29 of them over the next 6 years. Why stop one short of 30, you ask? We think they’re waiting until Christmas to announce a Valentine’s Day release of The Punisher vs. Cupid. What can we say? They’re running out of characters.
Next, though, we have a topic that’s pretty much the opposite of overplayed. Johnny Rockets, the 50’s-themed restaurant chain, is apparently trying to bring back the drive-in theater. The last time we saw one of these was in Into the Furnace, and it didn’t look like a fun place to be. Maybe some drive-through burgers would help that, though. So whaddya say? Would you watch a movie sitting inside or near your car to save a few bucks?
Finally, a conversation all the Screeners can get behind. Now that every last one of them is a parent, they’ve been spending time pondering the important things in life—things like when children should be babysat by the TV and when it’s more appropriate to give them an iPad, how young is too young for the Saw movies, and what video games to introduce to their toddlers first. Among the four of them, there are fond childhood memories from the whole gamut—Atari 7200, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and even N64. Which controller will the next generation of Screeners wield first? (Hint: It won’t be the Atari joysticks; those blasted things never worked for more than 5 minutes at a time.)
To round off our two-segment episode, a double-header of thrillers—or at least, um, thrilling movies? Something like that.
First off, Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man with a goal near and dear to the Screeners’ hearts—getting the perfect shot. Does the movie itself succeed in the same way as its main character? This one seems to have drawn some interesting dividing lines between our hosts.
From the streets to the stars; the Screeners take on Interstellar in the second half of the main event. Well, three of them do, at least... If you’ve already heard what Neil deGrasse Tyson had to say about the space flick, you might be hankering for a more, er, intellectual take on the film. Well, wait no longer, folks; Michael Bay’s biggest fan is about to drop some knowledge.
That’ll do it for this episode. We had plenty of open questions this time around, so head on over to our Facebook page and let us know what you think about family outings at the drive-in, the games you can’t wait to play with your kids, and how wrong Chad was about Nightcrawler. See you next time!
","summary":"Episode 29: Of Sociopaths and Astronauts","date_published":"2014-11-17T21:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/1e8e9d08-2a67-4917-bbd1-4426ca6fc1ab.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":87254470,"duration_in_seconds":6086}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5439a1afe4b02c5e025255c6","title":"Episode 28: Gone...to Play Destiny","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/31","content_text":"That's right - after a (not-so) brief sabbatical, the Screeners are back! You didn't think we'd leave without saying goodbye, did you? Well, Chad might...The Good, Bad, and Meh of Fall TVThe fall TV season is upon us, so why shouldn't it dominate Jump Cuts? The Screeners play fast and loose with the buzzer as they talk about the new shows keeping them on the couch longer this year. While they're on the subject, they might as well also mention which returning shows have kept a spot in their DVRs (or wherever cord-cutters keep their TV queue) and the ones that have outstayed their welcomes.To close out the round, it looks as though Netflix is breaking entertainment ground yet again, and it's ground the movie theaters would prefer to keep, um, unbroken. The sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is being released on the streaming service simultaneously with its theatrical debut, and the theaters are so upset that many are refusing to show it at all. Competition in distribution channels: A good thing, or a bad thing? Guess what Josh (our resident free market apologist) thinks.The Social Network Sequel Seems Pretty Dark...There's not a lot you can say about David Fincher's Gone Girl without spoiling something, but the Screeners are going to try to fit in their normal sanitized section before saying what they really thought. One thing that won't ruin a surprise for anyone, though: Josh didn't see it, so he'll sit out this segment.It Is Your Destiny...to Sit on the CouchTo round out the episode, the Screeners finally get a chance to return to their gaming roots. Destiny, Bungie's dual-platform MMORPG/space shooter/ambitious 10-year odyssey, put up big sales numbers and has had the Internet abuzz ever since. It has everything you'd expect from a big franchise - huge fans, virtiolic detractors, and a large middle ground of people completely oblivious to its existence. Well, if you haven't heard anything about it yet, the Screeners have your back. We'll walk you through the ins and outs of the game mechanics, its highlights and its shortcomings. What did you think we've been doing for the past month?And that'll do it for another episode of the Screeners. Join us over on Facebook to continue the conversation, and don't forget to email us your gamertag ( screenerscast@gmail.com, in case you forgot) if you want to join us for some Destiny action on Xbox Live.","content_html":"That's right - after a (not-so) brief sabbatical, the Screeners are back! You didn't think we'd leave without saying goodbye, did you? Well, Chad might...
The fall TV season is upon us, so why shouldn't it dominate Jump Cuts? The Screeners play fast and loose with the buzzer as they talk about the new shows keeping them on the couch longer this year. While they're on the subject, they might as well also mention which returning shows have kept a spot in their DVRs (or wherever cord-cutters keep their TV queue) and the ones that have outstayed their welcomes.
To close out the round, it looks as though Netflix is breaking entertainment ground yet again, and it's ground the movie theaters would prefer to keep, um, unbroken. The sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is being released on the streaming service simultaneously with its theatrical debut, and the theaters are so upset that many are refusing to show it at all. Competition in distribution channels: A good thing, or a bad thing? Guess what Josh (our resident free market apologist) thinks.
There's not a lot you can say about David Fincher's Gone Girl without spoiling something, but the Screeners are going to try to fit in their normal sanitized section before saying what they really thought. One thing that won't ruin a surprise for anyone, though: Josh didn't see it, so he'll sit out this segment.
To round out the episode, the Screeners finally get a chance to return to their gaming roots. Destiny, Bungie's dual-platform MMORPG/space shooter/ambitious 10-year odyssey, put up big sales numbers and has had the Internet abuzz ever since. It has everything you'd expect from a big franchise - huge fans, virtiolic detractors, and a large middle ground of people completely oblivious to its existence. Well, if you haven't heard anything about it yet, the Screeners have your back. We'll walk you through the ins and outs of the game mechanics, its highlights and its shortcomings. What did you think we've been doing for the past month?
And that'll do it for another episode of the Screeners. Join us over on Facebook to continue the conversation, and don't forget to email us your gamertag ( screenerscast@gmail.com, in case you forgot) if you want to join us for some Destiny action on Xbox Live.
","summary":"Gone...to Play Destiny","date_published":"2014-10-16T00:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/ff1ef6bd-1408-4b12-82c6-a80f1b7d5779.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":60230076,"duration_in_seconds":4210}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53eeba19e4b00e67f7f08618","title":"Episode 27: Unforgettable","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/30","content_text":"The Screeners are back, this time with heavier hearts than normal, as we have to recap the life and death of yet another beloved celebrity. Robin Williams was a man with a bullet train for a mind and a mouth to match. Disarming, funny, and by all accounts as wonderful a human being as he was an actor—you’ll be missed, Genie.Sadness, and the Internet Detectives Who Cause ItThe hosts spend the first Jump Cut reliving their favorite memories from Robin’s prolific career—and no, they won’t be paying any attention to the buzzer.We should take this opportunity to also bid farewell to Lauren Bacall. She was a generation or so before (most of) the Screeners, so we don’t have quite the same attachment to her as our parents or grandparents might, but she’s definitely earned a mention. By the way, if you ever get the chance, you should ask Chad, “You do know how to whistle, don’t you?”After the nostalgia, it’s back to the controversy machine that is cable television—or, in this case, premium television. Nic Pizzolatto, the writer (and college professor) behind HBO’s True Detective, has been accused of plagiarizing his most memorable character. Is there some truth to the claims, or is the Internet just blowing smoke?Moving back to the big screen, we’re in the middle of blockbuster season, but the Screeners only have so many main events to talk about new releases. The four spend a little time on micro-reviews of this year’s also-rans...except for Josh. We’re never sure what he’s going to add to a conversation about movies one sees in a theater.Our last Jump Cut for this episode moves away from passive entertainment entirely and into the world of mobile apps. Facebook’s causing yet another privacy ruckus with their new Messenger app. It shouldn’t take us a full 4 minutes to explain how these sorts of things work and why people should either stop whining or stop using Facebook, but we’ll give it a shot.Turtles and...What Is that Thing in Guardians, Anyway? A Fox?Josh is once again absent for the main event since he anticipates his next trip to the theater to be some time after we put an astronaut on Mars, but Melody, Chris, and Chad are more than capable of doing Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles justice. In fact, a room of chimps with microphones (instead of typewriters...get it?) could probably do that movie justice, but have you ever tried to rent chimps? It’s not easy.But wait! There’s more! If you listen for the next 10 minutes (or so…), you’ll also hear a review of Guardians of the Galaxy at no extra charge! Don’t say we never did anything nice for you.Random Chance Reigns SupremeTo round out the episode, play along with a rousing game of...The Tomatoes are Wrong? Rotten Guessers? Whatever we’re calling it, Josh is playing this time. In honor of Robin Williams, the Screeners (minus Chad, who gets to host since he’s currently the rottenest of all the tomatoes) will be trying their hand at predicting the critics’ ratings of some of the last 30 years’ best-known comedies. Play along at home, and see if you’re better at guessing random numbers than we are!That’ll do it for this episode; make sure to join us next time, when...you know what? We haven’t decided our next set of topics yet. How about you head on over to Facebook and let us know what you want us to talk about. But, um, don’t use the Messenger app, because it’s evil or something. We heard that if you install it, Donald Trump will buy your local water tower and put his name in 50-foot gold letters on the side.","content_html":"The Screeners are back, this time with heavier hearts than normal, as we have to recap the life and death of yet another beloved celebrity. Robin Williams was a man with a bullet train for a mind and a mouth to match. Disarming, funny, and by all accounts as wonderful a human being as he was an actor—you’ll be missed, Genie.
The hosts spend the first Jump Cut reliving their favorite memories from Robin’s prolific career—and no, they won’t be paying any attention to the buzzer.
We should take this opportunity to also bid farewell to Lauren Bacall. She was a generation or so before (most of) the Screeners, so we don’t have quite the same attachment to her as our parents or grandparents might, but she’s definitely earned a mention. By the way, if you ever get the chance, you should ask Chad, “You do know how to whistle, don’t you?”
After the nostalgia, it’s back to the controversy machine that is cable television—or, in this case, premium television. Nic Pizzolatto, the writer (and college professor) behind HBO’s True Detective, has been accused of plagiarizing his most memorable character. Is there some truth to the claims, or is the Internet just blowing smoke?
Moving back to the big screen, we’re in the middle of blockbuster season, but the Screeners only have so many main events to talk about new releases. The four spend a little time on micro-reviews of this year’s also-rans...except for Josh. We’re never sure what he’s going to add to a conversation about movies one sees in a theater.
Our last Jump Cut for this episode moves away from passive entertainment entirely and into the world of mobile apps. Facebook’s causing yet another privacy ruckus with their new Messenger app. It shouldn’t take us a full 4 minutes to explain how these sorts of things work and why people should either stop whining or stop using Facebook, but we’ll give it a shot.
Josh is once again absent for the main event since he anticipates his next trip to the theater to be some time after we put an astronaut on Mars, but Melody, Chris, and Chad are more than capable of doing Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles justice. In fact, a room of chimps with microphones (instead of typewriters...get it?) could probably do that movie justice, but have you ever tried to rent chimps? It’s not easy.
But wait! There’s more! If you listen for the next 10 minutes (or so…), you’ll also hear a review of Guardians of the Galaxy at no extra charge! Don’t say we never did anything nice for you.
To round out the episode, play along with a rousing game of...The Tomatoes are Wrong? Rotten Guessers? Whatever we’re calling it, Josh is playing this time. In honor of Robin Williams, the Screeners (minus Chad, who gets to host since he’s currently the rottenest of all the tomatoes) will be trying their hand at predicting the critics’ ratings of some of the last 30 years’ best-known comedies. Play along at home, and see if you’re better at guessing random numbers than we are!
That’ll do it for this episode; make sure to join us next time, when...you know what? We haven’t decided our next set of topics yet. How about you head on over to Facebook and let us know what you want us to talk about. But, um, don’t use the Messenger app, because it’s evil or something. We heard that if you install it, Donald Trump will buy your local water tower and put his name in 50-foot gold letters on the side.
","summary":"Unforgettable","date_published":"2014-08-18T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/fb9310f8-e14b-4b07-a8ce-66de78d88239.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":84252068,"duration_in_seconds":5723}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53c87c84e4b0e7d8eb3ca229","title":"Episode 26: Reunions, Remembrances, and...Apes Riding Horses","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/29","content_text":"Important news first: Josh is back (for this episode, at least)! He’s taken a break from his new life of juggling childcare, work, and leaning in (dudes are allowed to do that too, right?) to talk about some of the most entertaining news in entertainment right now.Idiocracies, Theocracies, and DictatorshipsFirst off in jump cuts, those wascally wegiswators are at it again, trying to classify anything on the internet that takes up more bandwidth than a Geocities site as a potential terrorist threat. You may have heard about net neutrality from John Oliver, and since it’s kind of a tech thing, normally Josh would only be covering this on the podcast he records inside his head. As you may have figured out, though, this could potentially affect Netflix, so the Screeners are all over it. This should be fun…Next up, we’ve got another Biblical movie coming our way in December. Ridley Scott is taking on Exodus, subtitling it “Gods and Kings”. It looks epic, sure, but will it work? We’re sure Melody will love it, at least.And now, for something completely different: Chad’s already sung the (somewhat backhanded) praises of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview, but North Korea had to go and whine to the UN that the movie was actually an act of war, so we can’t help but talk about it again.Oh, and because Josh heard Rogen and Franco’s names and really wanted to post this link somewhere again: Watch this. You can thank us later. It was apparently shot on the set of The Interview, so there’s the tie-in, though we honestly don’t care if there’s a tie-in or not.Speaking of Korea, there’s a South Korean movie opening around the country on demand while its theatrical release is still expanding. Snowpiercer is a unique sci-fi movie with a distribution model that’s gaining steam; have any of the Screeners joined the on demand bandwagon?Well, At Least We’re Not Stuck in One GenreThis episode’s main event is a double feature, though the films could hardly be more different. We have a documentary about one of the most celebrated film critics in the history of film critics, and we have...a Planet of the Apes movie. Which is better? That’s like asking whether Beethoven’s music is better than Bob Dylan’s, whether Dickens wrote better than Hemingway...OK; we can’t keep that up. Just go ahead and listen - but before you do, guess which movie Josh hasn’t seen.It’s That Time of Year Again...The Emmys are upon us once more, and we think it’s in the podcast’s charter somewhere that we have to talk about awards shows, because what’s more fun than watching rich people in fancy clothes pat each other on the back, right?Anyway, the Screeners don’t have time to talk about all the awards, but for this installment of the Cutting Room Floor, they’ve decided to take a look at the most traditionally “important” awards and predict two things about each: which nominee will win, and which one should win. Come August 25, we’ll tally up the scores and give the winning Screener a golden...alright; we’ll probably just come up with some reason to mock them.That about does it for this episode; join us next time for more Michael Bay bashing -- err, conversation about media! Don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook!","content_html":"Important news first: Josh is back (for this episode, at least)! He’s taken a break from his new life of juggling childcare, work, and leaning in (dudes are allowed to do that too, right?) to talk about some of the most entertaining news in entertainment right now.
First off in jump cuts, those wascally wegiswators are at it again, trying to classify anything on the internet that takes up more bandwidth than a Geocities site as a potential terrorist threat. You may have heard about net neutrality from John Oliver, and since it’s kind of a tech thing, normally Josh would only be covering this on the podcast he records inside his head. As you may have figured out, though, this could potentially affect Netflix, so the Screeners are all over it. This should be fun…
Next up, we’ve got another Biblical movie coming our way in December. Ridley Scott is taking on Exodus, subtitling it “Gods and Kings”. It looks epic, sure, but will it work? We’re sure Melody will love it, at least.
And now, for something completely different: Chad’s already sung the (somewhat backhanded) praises of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview, but North Korea had to go and whine to the UN that the movie was actually an act of war, so we can’t help but talk about it again.
Oh, and because Josh heard Rogen and Franco’s names and really wanted to post this link somewhere again: Watch this. You can thank us later. It was apparently shot on the set of The Interview, so there’s the tie-in, though we honestly don’t care if there’s a tie-in or not.
Speaking of Korea, there’s a South Korean movie opening around the country on demand while its theatrical release is still expanding. Snowpiercer is a unique sci-fi movie with a distribution model that’s gaining steam; have any of the Screeners joined the on demand bandwagon?
This episode’s main event is a double feature, though the films could hardly be more different. We have a documentary about one of the most celebrated film critics in the history of film critics, and we have...a Planet of the Apes movie. Which is better? That’s like asking whether Beethoven’s music is better than Bob Dylan’s, whether Dickens wrote better than Hemingway...OK; we can’t keep that up. Just go ahead and listen - but before you do, guess which movie Josh hasn’t seen.
The Emmys are upon us once more, and we think it’s in the podcast’s charter somewhere that we have to talk about awards shows, because what’s more fun than watching rich people in fancy clothes pat each other on the back, right?
Anyway, the Screeners don’t have time to talk about all the awards, but for this installment of the Cutting Room Floor, they’ve decided to take a look at the most traditionally “important” awards and predict two things about each: which nominee will win, and which one should win. Come August 25, we’ll tally up the scores and give the winning Screener a golden...alright; we’ll probably just come up with some reason to mock them.
That about does it for this episode; join us next time for more Michael Bay bashing -- err, conversation about media! Don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook!
","summary":"Reunions, Remembrances, and...Apes Riding Horses","date_published":"2014-07-24T15:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/508f0946-cd0a-4ad4-ab5c-ab85b2a87b26.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":78966022,"duration_in_seconds":5562}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53b595ade4b0732939795fea","title":"Episode 25: Ride the Beast","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/28","content_text":"The Screeners continue our summer of movies with reviews of two box office hits: How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Transformers: Age of Extinction. After years of teasing Chris about his love for the Transformers films, will the Screeners be able to have a civil discussion about this long-awaited motion picture event?WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHINGSomehow, in between all the summer movie mayhem, the Screeners have managed to watch some small screen programming as well. Tune in to find out what's on our media radar! (Guess what... Chris finds a way to bring up Hannibal once again!)DOUBLE FEATURE: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR TRANSFORMERIf only those giant robots could be trained... Oh wait! Optimus Prime may or may not discover the secret to doing just that in the fourth installment of the franchise. But first! We must discuss the highly acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon 2. Do the Screeners feel that this sequel lives up to the greatness of the original? Then, Chris finally gets to review Michael Bay in all his glory... if Chad will cease his groaning enough to listen. Good thing Josh is still on maternity leave or things might have just gotten ugly! Melody attempts to keep the peace (not really) as the Screeners discuss the best and worst parts of this grand epic.And that's it for this week! More summer movies coming next time! ","content_html":"The Screeners continue our summer of movies with reviews of two box office hits: How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Transformers: Age of Extinction. After years of teasing Chris about his love for the Transformers films, will the Screeners be able to have a civil discussion about this long-awaited motion picture event?
WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING
Somehow, in between all the summer movie mayhem, the Screeners have managed to watch some small screen programming as well. Tune in to find out what's on our media radar! (Guess what... Chris finds a way to bring up Hannibal once again!)
DOUBLE FEATURE: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR TRANSFORMER
If only those giant robots could be trained... Oh wait! Optimus Prime may or may not discover the secret to doing just that in the fourth installment of the franchise. But first! We must discuss the highly acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon 2. Do the Screeners feel that this sequel lives up to the greatness of the original?
Then, Chris finally gets to review Michael Bay in all his glory... if Chad will cease his groaning enough to listen. Good thing Josh is still on maternity leave or things might have just gotten ugly! Melody attempts to keep the peace (not really) as the Screeners discuss the best and worst parts of this grand epic.
And that's it for this week! More summer movies coming next time!
","summary":"Let's talk about \"How to Train Your Dragon 2\" and \"Transformers: Age of Extinction\"","date_published":"2014-07-03T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a3783bb3-f038-4e6b-9cba-dad75ec2220f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":54089970,"duration_in_seconds":3287}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53971fc5e4b0eff32c9c32e9","title":"Bonus Episode: E3 2014","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/27","content_text":"In this bonus episode, Chad and Chris discuss their impressions of the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo!","content_html":"
In this bonus episode, Chad and Chris discuss their impressions of the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo!
","summary":"Bonus Episode! Chad and Chris talk about E3 2014.","date_published":"2014-06-19T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/41152dbf-c172-4b5d-b3d6-01b06ce0c5a3.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":39052446,"duration_in_seconds":2734}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53971993e4b0b28690e2f9ad","title":"Episode 24: Rewriting History","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/26","content_text":"Rewriting HistoryThe Screeners welcome summer with a triple play review of three major blockbusters: X-Men Days of Future Past, Maleficent, and Edge of Tomorrow. Interestingly enough, it seems that all three films have a common goal in mind... to rewrite history. Let's see if the Screeners are on board with the rewrites! STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN EVENTNo time for jump cuts this week - we all love to hear ourselves talk too much to make time for a triple header AND a warm up act. So... we begin with the highly praised X-Men Days of Future Past. Does Bryan Singer redeem his last few films with this next installment of the X-Men saga? Or has this franchise descended too far into mediocrity to be salvaged? And most importantly, can Chris handle the implications of this film on future X-Men films, or must he stage a great protest? (Review - 01:36 Spoilers - 14:15)Then we move to the much anticipated retelling of the classic Disney story of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. Though the critics have given this film mixed reviews, perhaps the Screeners have a more definitive take on its merits - or lack thereof. (Review - 28:36 Spoilers - 41:44)Finally, Tom Cruise takes to the big screen again with yet another action/sci-fi flick. Is this the one that will finally stand above the crowd? The screeners appear to have some rather passionate thoughts about Edge of Tomorrow. (Review - 47:10 Spoilers - 59:05)CUTTING ROOM FLOOR – MORE GAMES! (1:09:40)After the great feedback from last week's game segment, Chad brings a new game to the Screeners. One of our own dominates this game... wonder who it will be? Hint: Anthony Hopkins is not the correct answer.","content_html":"The Screeners welcome summer with a triple play review of three major blockbusters: X-Men Days of Future Past, Maleficent, and Edge of Tomorrow. Interestingly enough, it seems that all three films have a common goal in mind... to rewrite history. Let's see if the Screeners are on board with the rewrites!
STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN EVENT
No time for jump cuts this week - we all love to hear ourselves talk too much to make time for a triple header AND a warm up act. So... we begin with the highly praised X-Men Days of Future Past. Does Bryan Singer redeem his last few films with this next installment of the X-Men saga? Or has this franchise descended too far into mediocrity to be salvaged? And most importantly, can Chris handle the implications of this film on future X-Men films, or must he stage a great protest? (Review - 01:36 Spoilers - 14:15)
Then we move to the much anticipated retelling of the classic Disney story of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. Though the critics have given this film mixed reviews, perhaps the Screeners have a more definitive take on its merits - or lack thereof. (Review - 28:36 Spoilers - 41:44)
Finally, Tom Cruise takes to the big screen again with yet another action/sci-fi flick. Is this the one that will finally stand above the crowd? The screeners appear to have some rather passionate thoughts about Edge of Tomorrow. (Review - 47:10 Spoilers - 59:05)
CUTTING ROOM FLOOR – MORE GAMES! (1:09:40)
After the great feedback from last week's game segment, Chad brings a new game to the Screeners. One of our own dominates this game... wonder who it will be? Hint: Anthony Hopkins is not the correct answer.
","summary":"Rewriting History","date_published":"2014-06-10T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3c6bec32-a148-4c74-af03-3cc1f0acd26d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":73722804,"duration_in_seconds":5156}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53855473e4b0154568fa7de8","title":"Episode 23: There went the Neighborhood","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/25","content_text":"City destruction never looked so good! Join the Screeners as we finally move away from superheroes for a brief respite and tackle something completely different – a giant, earth-shaking, laser-shooting monster. You know you want to hear if our little group of self-appointed critics agree with the masses about this latest summer blockbuster!JUMP CUTS24 has returned to prime time after a 5 year break… is it meeting our expectations? Is it, perhaps, exceeding them? Or is it just a disappointing network attempt to compete with the premium channels’ superior programming?Ever wonder why certain TV shows seem to dazzle the masses, but leave you feeling less than impressed? We certainly do. Let’s talk about these shows… and see if we agree.After mentioning some amazing TV title sequences on last week’s episode, we decided to have a whole jump cut in honor of the greatest TV title sequences of all time (or at least in recent memory).And finally, two trailers have debuted recently that deserve our rapt attention… Guardians of the Galaxy and Interstellar. Let’s see if they have us more or less excited. A SPECTAULAR SPECTACLE?Godzilla. Really, what else is there to say?There’s a monster. He smashes cities. People attempt to stop the smashing. Somehow the entire world is not destroyed.We’ll save the rest for spoilers.CUTTING ROOM FLOOR – LET’S PLAY A GAME!Guest host Brandon invents a fun new game for the Screeners to compete with this week… Guess the Rotten Tomatoes Score! Brandon has collected some of the highest grossing films of the last few years, and tests the Screeners’ knowledge of their critical acclaim by pitting us against each other in a bidding war for the closest rotten tomatoes score. Some Screeners might be just a little better at this than others… also Brandon might be playing favorites… but in any case, it’s fun for all. Play along with us!","content_html":"City destruction never looked so good! Join the Screeners as we finally move away from superheroes for a brief respite and tackle something completely different – a giant, earth-shaking, laser-shooting monster. You know you want to hear if our little group of self-appointed critics agree with the masses about this latest summer blockbuster!
JUMP CUTS
24 has returned to prime time after a 5 year break… is it meeting our expectations? Is it, perhaps, exceeding them? Or is it just a disappointing network attempt to compete with the premium channels’ superior programming?
Ever wonder why certain TV shows seem to dazzle the masses, but leave you feeling less than impressed? We certainly do. Let’s talk about these shows… and see if we agree.
After mentioning some amazing TV title sequences on last week’s episode, we decided to have a whole jump cut in honor of the greatest TV title sequences of all time (or at least in recent memory).
And finally, two trailers have debuted recently that deserve our rapt attention… Guardians of the Galaxy and Interstellar. Let’s see if they have us more or less excited.
A SPECTAULAR SPECTACLE?
Godzilla. Really, what else is there to say?
There’s a monster. He smashes cities. People attempt to stop the smashing. Somehow the entire world is not destroyed.
We’ll save the rest for spoilers.
CUTTING ROOM FLOOR – LET’S PLAY A GAME!
Guest host Brandon invents a fun new game for the Screeners to compete with this week… Guess the Rotten Tomatoes Score! Brandon has collected some of the highest grossing films of the last few years, and tests the Screeners’ knowledge of their critical acclaim by pitting us against each other in a bidding war for the closest rotten tomatoes score. Some Screeners might be just a little better at this than others… also Brandon might be playing favorites… but in any case, it’s fun for all. Play along with us!
","summary":"We talk about Godzilla and play a new game!","date_published":"2014-05-28T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/3b8bebbc-2c93-47f0-9b54-6e8efa92ea34.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":68239322,"duration_in_seconds":4822}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5371745be4b0a4617ea340d3","title":"Episode 22: With Great Power...","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/24","content_text":"The Screeners tackle another comic book film this week… will Melody be able to handle yet another masked guardian? Josh is still out learning to be a daddy, so long-time friend of the show Rob Reid joins the Screeners for this jam-packed episode.NEVER-ENDING JUMP CUTS – DO WE USE THE BUZZER ON EVERY SINGLE QUESTION?Another exclusive programming contender has entered the ring… XBOX Originals has announced a new content line-up to launch in June. But is it worth the watch? Let’s find out if street soccer captures the interest of the Screeners.Sony has announced a new storage device… a cassette tape. Is this a joke of some sort, or is there just nothing new under the sun? Although a cassette tape that can hold 3700 blu-rays worth of storage may be of some interest after all.And now the outrage that has taken the world by storm! Comixology sells to Amazon and destroys their own app when they get rid of the in-app purchase feature. (Okay, perhaps there is only a select group of people who care about this at all, but they appear to carevery much.)Chad has to bring us back to the more worthwhile thought pursuits… have big-budget film special effects become so commonplace that we are now desensitized to the greatness of it all? And does spectacle now take precedence over story? These are the musings that keep the screeners up at night. (Late night. Recording this podcast for all you awesome fans.)AMERICA’S LESS FAVORITE HEROThe Amazing Spiderman 2 – hooray, another superhero! But this one appears to fracture the screeners more than most. Was this latest iteration of the Spiderman franchise better than the first in the Amazing Spiderman series? And is it worth the watch at all? Let’s see which screeners can convince the others of this film’s merit or lack thereof.CONVINCE ME TO WATCHSpeaking of convincing, the Screeners are at it again! Each Screener picked out a show or movie for another to watch… and the selections will probably not be a surprise to anyone! (Hint… Chris’ pick is one that he talks about on Literally. Every. Show.)","content_html":"The Screeners tackle another comic book film this week… will Melody be able to handle yet another masked guardian? Josh is still out learning to be a daddy, so long-time friend of the show Rob Reid joins the Screeners for this jam-packed episode.
NEVER-ENDING JUMP CUTS – DO WE USE THE BUZZER ON EVERY SINGLE QUESTION?
Another exclusive programming contender has entered the ring… XBOX Originals has announced a new content line-up to launch in June. But is it worth the watch? Let’s find out if street soccer captures the interest of the Screeners.
Sony has announced a new storage device… a cassette tape. Is this a joke of some sort, or is there just nothing new under the sun? Although a cassette tape that can hold 3700 blu-rays worth of storage may be of some interest after all.
And now the outrage that has taken the world by storm! Comixology sells to Amazon and destroys their own app when they get rid of the in-app purchase feature. (Okay, perhaps there is only a select group of people who care about this at all, but they appear to carevery much.)
Chad has to bring us back to the more worthwhile thought pursuits… have big-budget film special effects become so commonplace that we are now desensitized to the greatness of it all? And does spectacle now take precedence over story? These are the musings that keep the screeners up at night. (Late night. Recording this podcast for all you awesome fans.)
AMERICA’S LESS FAVORITE HERO
The Amazing Spiderman 2 – hooray, another superhero! But this one appears to fracture the screeners more than most. Was this latest iteration of the Spiderman franchise better than the first in the Amazing Spiderman series? And is it worth the watch at all? Let’s see which screeners can convince the others of this film’s merit or lack thereof.
CONVINCE ME TO WATCH
Speaking of convincing, the Screeners are at it again! Each Screener picked out a show or movie for another to watch… and the selections will probably not be a surprise to anyone! (Hint… Chris’ pick is one that he talks about on Literally. Every. Show.)
","summary":"We review The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and our segment \"Convince me to Watch\" makes a return!","date_published":"2014-05-13T14:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9a46f34d-57de-42c0-b2e8-a32b8e6edead.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":71785429,"duration_in_seconds":4874}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5355b690e4b07b20b4acf4b2","title":"Episode 21: American Hero","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/23","content_text":"Screeners welcome a new guest host to the team while Josh plays hooky…apparently having a baby takes precedence over movie talk with his Screener pals. We see how it is, Josh. Without the balance of Josh’s contrary perspectives, will the Screeners be able to restrain their positivity about the latest installment from the Marvel universe? We shall find out.CAN THE MEDIAS KEEP US ENTERTAINED?We begin with the question that is surely on the minds of all Screeners podcast listeners… what else are these people doing to entertain themselves in the world of media? Our answers might shock you… or perhaps not.Chad informs the Screeners that movie theaters are losing their younger demographics of viewers and they are blaming those newfangled mobile devices! How dare anyone suggest that the industry may have to adapt?Next up, it appears that NBC has completely run out of imaginative ideas and will be outsourcing their show writing to anyone with a computer and a creative concept! Will one of the Screeners be the next big thing on NBC?Chris can’t let an episode go by without drawing our attention back to our mobile devices. The Screeners discuss Google’s new Project Ara, a modular smart phone (aka: a “Lego-lover’s pipe dream”).AMERICA’S FAVORITE HEROCaptain America: The Winter Soldier – is this one of the best Marvel superhero films of all time? Or is it just another in a long line of lackluster flicks that leave us less and less entertained? Find out which Screeners can still find the magic, and which ones are beginning to suffer from superhero burnout.The Mailbag Lives!And Josh returns from the delivery room! (Actually we just recorded this segment last week. But it’s still good to have his happy, optimistic voice join the conversation.)The majority of Screeners listeners are a reticent lot so far, but we do still get a question every now and then.For this episode, fans have posed some real doozies (or not, depending on who’s answering). We’ll find out what movie(s) each Screener would remake if they had the chance, get a sampling of their favorite books of all time, and hear about some TV shows that may be past their prime, but that come highly recommended by our hosts.Thanks to Mike, Maria, and Samantha for the questions; as for the rest of you (you know who you are), if you ever have a nagging curiosity, idle musing, or burning rage that you want to let us know about, we have an email address, Facebook page, and comments section. Where findest one all these wondrous resources, you may ask? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out!","content_html":"Screeners welcome a new guest host to the team while Josh plays hooky…apparently having a baby takes precedence over movie talk with his Screener pals. We see how it is, Josh. Without the balance of Josh’s contrary perspectives, will the Screeners be able to restrain their positivity about the latest installment from the Marvel universe? We shall find out.
CAN THE MEDIAS KEEP US ENTERTAINED?
We begin with the question that is surely on the minds of all Screeners podcast listeners… what else are these people doing to entertain themselves in the world of media? Our answers might shock you… or perhaps not.
Chad informs the Screeners that movie theaters are losing their younger demographics of viewers and they are blaming those newfangled mobile devices! How dare anyone suggest that the industry may have to adapt?
Next up, it appears that NBC has completely run out of imaginative ideas and will be outsourcing their show writing to anyone with a computer and a creative concept! Will one of the Screeners be the next big thing on NBC?
Chris can’t let an episode go by without drawing our attention back to our mobile devices. The Screeners discuss Google’s new Project Ara, a modular smart phone (aka: a “Lego-lover’s pipe dream”).
AMERICA’S FAVORITE HERO
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – is this one of the best Marvel superhero films of all time? Or is it just another in a long line of lackluster flicks that leave us less and less entertained? Find out which Screeners can still find the magic, and which ones are beginning to suffer from superhero burnout.
The Mailbag Lives!
And Josh returns from the delivery room! (Actually we just recorded this segment last week. But it’s still good to have his happy, optimistic voice join the conversation.)
The majority of Screeners listeners are a reticent lot so far, but we do still get a question every now and then.
For this episode, fans have posed some real doozies (or not, depending on who’s answering). We’ll find out what movie(s) each Screener would remake if they had the chance, get a sampling of their favorite books of all time, and hear about some TV shows that may be past their prime, but that come highly recommended by our hosts.
Thanks to Mike, Maria, and Samantha for the questions; as for the rest of you (you know who you are), if you ever have a nagging curiosity, idle musing, or burning rage that you want to let us know about, we have an email address, Facebook page, and comments section. Where findest one all these wondrous resources, you may ask? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out!
","summary":"We review Captain America: The Winter Soldier and answer questions from our fans!","date_published":"2014-04-21T23:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/fc4a8161-4021-4ecf-a250-c89cd9b7b125.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":81120729,"duration_in_seconds":4896}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:53404ebce4b0d2725fedd324","title":"Episode 20: Cataclysms and Catechisms*","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/22","content_text":"Russell Crowe is back in theaters, and apparently destroying music in Les Miserables wasn’t enough for him, because now he’s trampling on the story of Noah and the rest of the Bible too—or at least that’s what some of your Facebook friends think. We’ll get there, but first we’ve got a lightning round to shock you with.Hollywood is Dying; Long Live the Indie SceneThe recent SXSW show may have struck a huge blow for a topic dear to the Screeners’ hearts: the democratization of filmmaking. A distribution company called VHX marked the end of their private beta, declaring open season on their platform for indie content creators everywhere. A marketplace like this could be the difference between an audience of 10 and one of 10,000 or more...so when will we see Chris’s first Michael Bay fan fiction hit our computer screens?From something all the Screeners seem to care about, we move to something pretty much no one does—the cast for the new Fantastic Four movie. The only reason we’re talking about it is because the studio’s made an interesting choice in picking Michael B. Jordan to play Johnny to Kate Mara’s Susan Storm. Is the decision based on having the best person for the job, or is this very conversation and dozens other like it the reason for the casting?Next up, just because the Screeners like to open up old wounds from time to time, they can’t resist mentioning a brand new way to pirate movies that made its way onto the scene not too long ago. Popcorn Time is Netflix for people who don’t care whether their entertainment is legal; can you guess what the Screeners think about it? No? Neither can we—this should be enlightening…And now, for something completely different: The Screeners have landed their first sponsor, indiebox. Started by gamers who found themselves disappointed that the Internet has slowly sucked all the anticipation they used to get from buying an actual game that came in an actual box from an actual store, indiebox is aiming to bring back some of that thrill. Their subscription service delivers an lovingly crafted indie game to you every month as a customized “cartridge” packaged in—you guessed it—an old-school cardboard box that’s full of other game-related swag. The Screeners have a few questions for indiebox’s president, James Morgan, but the main one seems to be, “When can we try it?” (May. The answer’s May.)Events Don’t Get Much More Main than ThisOK, we promised controversy, and controversy you will get. Noah is out in theaters; it’s being hailed as the first blockbuster of the season and all sorts of other generic praise you see on trailers, but it’s also been pretty divisive, and you can probably guess why. Make art based on thousands of years of religious tradition, and chances are you’re not going to please everyone. Aronofsky’s never been satisfied with aiming his films at the lowest common denominator, though, and his movies often explore complicated topics in a unique way.The question for a work like this might not be so much the relationship of the source material to the final product, but rather the effect of that final product itself. While he’s trying to avoid slavishly reproducing the original, can Aronofsky make something capable of standing on its own?Also, which Screener can yell the loudest?… go!* For those who didn't find the last episode's title pretentious enough...","content_html":"Russell Crowe is back in theaters, and apparently destroying music in Les Miserables wasn’t enough for him, because now he’s trampling on the story of Noah and the rest of the Bible too—or at least that’s what some of your Facebook friends think. We’ll get there, but first we’ve got a lightning round to shock you with.
The recent SXSW show may have struck a huge blow for a topic dear to the Screeners’ hearts: the democratization of filmmaking. A distribution company called VHX marked the end of their private beta, declaring open season on their platform for indie content creators everywhere. A marketplace like this could be the difference between an audience of 10 and one of 10,000 or more...so when will we see Chris’s first Michael Bay fan fiction hit our computer screens?
From something all the Screeners seem to care about, we move to something pretty much no one does—the cast for the new Fantastic Four movie. The only reason we’re talking about it is because the studio’s made an interesting choice in picking Michael B. Jordan to play Johnny to Kate Mara’s Susan Storm. Is the decision based on having the best person for the job, or is this very conversation and dozens other like it the reason for the casting?
Next up, just because the Screeners like to open up old wounds from time to time, they can’t resist mentioning a brand new way to pirate movies that made its way onto the scene not too long ago. Popcorn Time is Netflix for people who don’t care whether their entertainment is legal; can you guess what the Screeners think about it? No? Neither can we—this should be enlightening…
And now, for something completely different: The Screeners have landed their first sponsor, indiebox. Started by gamers who found themselves disappointed that the Internet has slowly sucked all the anticipation they used to get from buying an actual game that came in an actual box from an actual store, indiebox is aiming to bring back some of that thrill. Their subscription service delivers an lovingly crafted indie game to you every month as a customized “cartridge” packaged in—you guessed it—an old-school cardboard box that’s full of other game-related swag. The Screeners have a few questions for indiebox’s president, James Morgan, but the main one seems to be, “When can we try it?” (May. The answer’s May.)
OK, we promised controversy, and controversy you will get. Noah is out in theaters; it’s being hailed as the first blockbuster of the season and all sorts of other generic praise you see on trailers, but it’s also been pretty divisive, and you can probably guess why. Make art based on thousands of years of religious tradition, and chances are you’re not going to please everyone. Aronofsky’s never been satisfied with aiming his films at the lowest common denominator, though, and his movies often explore complicated topics in a unique way.
The question for a work like this might not be so much the relationship of the source material to the final product, but rather the effect of that final product itself. While he’s trying to avoid slavishly reproducing the original, can Aronofsky make something capable of standing on its own?
Also, which Screener can yell the loudest?… go!
* For those who didn't find the last episode's title pretentious enough...
","summary":"Episode 20: Cataclysms and Catechisms*","date_published":"2014-04-08T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/d8f417e4-8353-4d73-9201-6e40202a9cd6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":68667713,"duration_in_seconds":4701}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:532799dfe4b0bcdfa66c7444","title":"Episode 19: Aphorisms, and the Characters Who Love Them","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/21","content_text":"The Screeners are back yet again to stare into the abyss of media and see if it stares back—and if you recognize that reference, our main event is right down your alley. If you don’t...listen anyway. We managed to record an episode within a month of the last one; we feel we deserve some credit.Anywho...Jump Cuts.The Segment Formerly Known as Jump CutsEvery episode, the Screeners introduce the rules of their lightning round, then they proceed to ignore those rules. It’s become a tradition at this point. We blame Chad, right? Sure, why not? In fact, the first two topics this time took so long that they’re the only “jump” “cuts” we have this episode. They’re doozies, though.As you may have noticed if you pay attention to video games or browse the Internet from time to time, Titanfall, the new darling of the Xbox One, was released last week to much hype and fanfare. Chris and Chad went to the store immediately and begged to have their money taken; Josh, however, is slightly more stubborn (in case you hadn’t noticed...and if you hadn’t, just ring your call button, and Tommy will come back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer, because...but we digress).Josh’s Titanfall question is more of a challenge: Convince him to buy the game without threatening to stop being his friend just because you tired of Call of Duty after 10 minutes and want to play with the new shiny. Are the others up to the task?After the first-person shooter dust settles, Melody shares some updates about her adventures in self-publishing. The Great Darkening made a sizable splash on Amazon due to some smart, persistent marketing, and she’s willing to share a couple (though not all, of course) of her secrets.This Just Looks Like the Main Event…...but it’s really all the main events we’ve ever done and will ever do, all at once, in a super-position.That’s right; we’re going to talk about True Detective, or at least mention 20% of the discussion material the HBO phenomenon has to offer. Is it catharsis? Is it a virus? How much, if any, of our genetic programming is worth keeping? We’d tell you, but reading as much Schopenhauer and Nietzsche as it would take for you to understand the answer is enough to drive anyone mad.And that’s about all we can say if you haven’t seen the show. Seriously, go watch it, then get back to us. This episode will still be here. In fact, this isn’t the first time it’s been here.Back to the Flickchart!The Screeners’ Flickchart rankings have gathered dust, and for good reason. Josh’s complete inexperience at watching movies combined with everyone else’s terrible taste and sense of nostalgia once led to The Mighty Ducks topping the charts for several months. Its reign of terror was finally ended by Back to the Future, which is better, but by how much?Well, once more into the breach. Join us for our final segment as Josh recuses himself from matchup after matchup, and Chad experiments with Flickchart’s “hipster cage match” setting, which only pits Nicolas Cage and Mel Gibson movies against Reese Witherspoon oeuvres to see how many times users will ironically vote for Face/Off.And that’ll do it for this episode. Join us next time for a completely controversy-free conversation about Darren Aronofsky’s Noah.","content_html":"The Screeners are back yet again to stare into the abyss of media and see if it stares back—and if you recognize that reference, our main event is right down your alley. If you don’t...listen anyway. We managed to record an episode within a month of the last one; we feel we deserve some credit.
Anywho...Jump Cuts.
Every episode, the Screeners introduce the rules of their lightning round, then they proceed to ignore those rules. It’s become a tradition at this point. We blame Chad, right? Sure, why not? In fact, the first two topics this time took so long that they’re the only “jump” “cuts” we have this episode. They’re doozies, though.
As you may have noticed if you pay attention to video games or browse the Internet from time to time, Titanfall, the new darling of the Xbox One, was released last week to much hype and fanfare. Chris and Chad went to the store immediately and begged to have their money taken; Josh, however, is slightly more stubborn (in case you hadn’t noticed...and if you hadn’t, just ring your call button, and Tommy will come back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer, because...but we digress).
Josh’s Titanfall question is more of a challenge: Convince him to buy the game without threatening to stop being his friend just because you tired of Call of Duty after 10 minutes and want to play with the new shiny. Are the others up to the task?
After the first-person shooter dust settles, Melody shares some updates about her adventures in self-publishing. The Great Darkening made a sizable splash on Amazon due to some smart, persistent marketing, and she’s willing to share a couple (though not all, of course) of her secrets.
...but it’s really all the main events we’ve ever done and will ever do, all at once, in a super-position.
That’s right; we’re going to talk about True Detective, or at least mention 20% of the discussion material the HBO phenomenon has to offer. Is it catharsis? Is it a virus? How much, if any, of our genetic programming is worth keeping? We’d tell you, but reading as much Schopenhauer and Nietzsche as it would take for you to understand the answer is enough to drive anyone mad.
And that’s about all we can say if you haven’t seen the show. Seriously, go watch it, then get back to us. This episode will still be here. In fact, this isn’t the first time it’s been here.
The Screeners’ Flickchart rankings have gathered dust, and for good reason. Josh’s complete inexperience at watching movies combined with everyone else’s terrible taste and sense of nostalgia once led to The Mighty Ducks topping the charts for several months. Its reign of terror was finally ended by Back to the Future, which is better, but by how much?
Well, once more into the breach. Join us for our final segment as Josh recuses himself from matchup after matchup, and Chad experiments with Flickchart’s “hipster cage match” setting, which only pits Nicolas Cage and Mel Gibson movies against Reese Witherspoon oeuvres to see how many times users will ironically vote for Face/Off.
And that’ll do it for this episode. Join us next time for a completely controversy-free conversation about Darren Aronofsky’s Noah.
","summary":"The Screeners review True Detective and TitanFall","date_published":"2014-03-26T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/705fdbfd-d8f5-4728-8001-ef240fd52a07.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":90121225,"duration_in_seconds":3701}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5319384ae4b0c5d026180b73","title":"Episode 18: Happy Birthday to Us!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/20","content_text":"Another Oscars ceremony has lumbered by, and you know what that means—the Screeners have been at their microphones for a whole year! Cue the confetti and cocaine...what? No cocaine? What kind of party is this, anyway? We’ll never get the stock brokers to show up now!Let’s see—1 year, 18 episodes...that means we’re doing at least twice as much of this as Downton Abbey, right? And practice makes perfect, so take that, England.From Fresh Wounds to Ancient HistoryWe start off this episode’s Jump Cuts by taking a little more time on something we only mentioned in passing last episode: Our memories of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Each Screener recaps their favorite Hoffman roles, and the diversity of genre and tone in the movies that have stuck in everyone’s hearts is a testament to Hoffman’s range and screen presence.Next up, an opinion piece from the LA Times dares to go against the grain of popular culture and call out House of Cards as everything that’s wrong with Netflix culture. Apparently the show has no redeeming qualities, and the only reason anyone likes it is because they’ve binge-watched it and are practically comatose by the end of the season. This should be a fun discussion.Hey, did you hear they remade RoboCop? Yeah; it’s out in theaters and everything. Some of the Screeners saw it, and some didn’t, but it might surprise you to learn which Screeners were in each camp (spoiler alert: no, it won’t). Turns out there might be a conversation to be had, though, so it’s probably worth the 180-ish seconds of your time to listen to this one.Finally, if we haven’t already courted enough controversy this episode, let’s talk about the Bible a bit. Specifically, let’s talk about Darren Aronofsky’s rendition of Noah. Turns out the studio’s recut version tested horribly, so in a rare reversal, Paramount gave final cut control back to Aronofsky. Since the movie’s a little more...artistic this way, though, they’ve decided to aim for fundamentalist appeasement by adding a disclaimer to their marketing materials. Good idea, or bad idea?Everything is Awesome! Except That One Thing...Just Kidding; It was Awesome Too!After years of teasing us—umm, we mean our younger relatives and neighbors’ children—with video games starring animated Lego figurines that did nothing more than grunt in excitement and growl in frustration, the powers that be have finally deigned to give us a full-length Lego movie, complete with voice acting and everything.Can the Screeners really be won over by a PG-rated animated movie whose only claims to fame are obsessive devotion to the real-life mobility limitations of Lego figurines, great voice acting, and solid humor? Let’s find out.Oh Yeah...This Also HappenedYou thought we’d forgotten about the Oscars, didn’t you? Well, we tried, but when something takes place over as significant a portion of your lifetime as Academy Awards ceremonies do, it’s difficult to forget, try though you may.Anyway, what happened again? Ah, yes; some people won awards; other people couldn’t read teleprompters, and the ceremony ran so long that the host ordered pizza for the audience.The Screeners, however, are contractually obligated to have opinions about the Oscars, though, so here we go. We really have to renegotiate our deals next year…And that does it for this episode. If you want to say Happy Birthday or tell us how old we’re looking these days, drop us a comment here or over on Facebook; see you next time!","content_html":"Another Oscars ceremony has lumbered by, and you know what that means—the Screeners have been at their microphones for a whole year! Cue the confetti and cocaine...what? No cocaine? What kind of party is this, anyway? We’ll never get the stock brokers to show up now!
Let’s see—1 year, 18 episodes...that means we’re doing at least twice as much of this as Downton Abbey, right? And practice makes perfect, so take that, England.
We start off this episode’s Jump Cuts by taking a little more time on something we only mentioned in passing last episode: Our memories of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Each Screener recaps their favorite Hoffman roles, and the diversity of genre and tone in the movies that have stuck in everyone’s hearts is a testament to Hoffman’s range and screen presence.
Next up, an opinion piece from the LA Times dares to go against the grain of popular culture and call out House of Cards as everything that’s wrong with Netflix culture. Apparently the show has no redeeming qualities, and the only reason anyone likes it is because they’ve binge-watched it and are practically comatose by the end of the season. This should be a fun discussion.
Hey, did you hear they remade RoboCop? Yeah; it’s out in theaters and everything. Some of the Screeners saw it, and some didn’t, but it might surprise you to learn which Screeners were in each camp (spoiler alert: no, it won’t). Turns out there might be a conversation to be had, though, so it’s probably worth the 180-ish seconds of your time to listen to this one.
Finally, if we haven’t already courted enough controversy this episode, let’s talk about the Bible a bit. Specifically, let’s talk about Darren Aronofsky’s rendition of Noah. Turns out the studio’s recut version tested horribly, so in a rare reversal, Paramount gave final cut control back to Aronofsky. Since the movie’s a little more...artistic this way, though, they’ve decided to aim for fundamentalist appeasement by adding a disclaimer to their marketing materials. Good idea, or bad idea?
After years of teasing us—umm, we mean our younger relatives and neighbors’ children—with video games starring animated Lego figurines that did nothing more than grunt in excitement and growl in frustration, the powers that be have finally deigned to give us a full-length Lego movie, complete with voice acting and everything.
Can the Screeners really be won over by a PG-rated animated movie whose only claims to fame are obsessive devotion to the real-life mobility limitations of Lego figurines, great voice acting, and solid humor? Let’s find out.
You thought we’d forgotten about the Oscars, didn’t you? Well, we tried, but when something takes place over as significant a portion of your lifetime as Academy Awards ceremonies do, it’s difficult to forget, try though you may.
Anyway, what happened again? Ah, yes; some people won awards; other people couldn’t read teleprompters, and the ceremony ran so long that the host ordered pizza for the audience.
The Screeners, however, are contractually obligated to have opinions about the Oscars, though, so here we go. We really have to renegotiate our deals next year…
And that does it for this episode. If you want to say Happy Birthday or tell us how old we’re looking these days, drop us a comment here or over on Facebook; see you next time!
","summary":"Episode 18: Happy Birthday to Us!","date_published":"2014-03-09T19:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/f5e1bcf9-d214-4731-845c-adf898753307.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":102695709,"duration_in_seconds":4132}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:52f98a9de4b0b88d0c161fc5","title":"Episode 17: Back, and Best-er Than Ever!","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/19","content_text":"Editor’s note: We didn’t dedicate a section of the episode to discussing this, but we wanted to express our continuing sadness at the recent passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman. A talent as piercing as his brings characters to life in a way that made us at times uncomfortable, at times sympathetic, but always admiring of the person who so fully embodied the words on the page. We saw ourselves in his insecurity, we raged with him at the injustices he suffered, and we worried that there might be more of ourselves in him than we’d like.Along the way, many of us became transfixed by his performances and failed to note the very real problems that the very real Philip did not hide from the public. We were surprised to learn (or relearn) that he had a long history with a variety of drugs and were shocked when the disease overtook him. In the wake of the tragedy, many of us felt a loss deeper than we’d felt before at the news of a celebrity’s death, sudden or not. Perhaps we all feared vicariously for ourselves one last time. The brightest flames leave us the coldest when extinguished.If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please reach out for help. You’re not alone.The show...must go on.You thought we were done for good that time, didn’t you? Nope; we just like to keep our fans on their toes. You lose hope in us, you lose a little more hope, then...bam! A new episode—just when you least expect it. Yeah, we’re pretty much the ninjas of unreliable new media distribution.Anyway, this episode is all about the past year in media, except for the part that’s about the coming year in media. Since the Screeners all have long lists of favorites and least favorites to discuss/argue, we won’t spoil the fun here by summarizing everything in agonizing bulleted list fashion. OK, maybe just one bulleted list:Melody should maybe let herself be OK with having a little fun.Josh should read a book once in awhile (we’ve given up on Chris, but there’s still hope for Josh).Chris hearts explosions.Chad might spend more time consuming media than talking to other human people. Not that that’s a bad thing.The end. Let’s get straight to the fun! Next time on the Screeners: Maybe some Oscars, maybe some Legos...maybe a little bit of both.","content_html":"Editor’s note: We didn’t dedicate a section of the episode to discussing this, but we wanted to express our continuing sadness at the recent passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman. A talent as piercing as his brings characters to life in a way that made us at times uncomfortable, at times sympathetic, but always admiring of the person who so fully embodied the words on the page. We saw ourselves in his insecurity, we raged with him at the injustices he suffered, and we worried that there might be more of ourselves in him than we’d like.
Along the way, many of us became transfixed by his performances and failed to note the very real problems that the very real Philip did not hide from the public. We were surprised to learn (or relearn) that he had a long history with a variety of drugs and were shocked when the disease overtook him. In the wake of the tragedy, many of us felt a loss deeper than we’d felt before at the news of a celebrity’s death, sudden or not. Perhaps we all feared vicariously for ourselves one last time. The brightest flames leave us the coldest when extinguished.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please reach out for help. You’re not alone.
You thought we were done for good that time, didn’t you? Nope; we just like to keep our fans on their toes. You lose hope in us, you lose a little more hope, then...bam! A new episode—just when you least expect it. Yeah, we’re pretty much the ninjas of unreliable new media distribution.
Anyway, this episode is all about the past year in media, except for the part that’s about the coming year in media. Since the Screeners all have long lists of favorites and least favorites to discuss/argue, we won’t spoil the fun here by summarizing everything in agonizing bulleted list fashion. OK, maybe just one bulleted list:
Melody should maybe let herself be OK with having a little fun.
Josh should read a book once in awhile (we’ve given up on Chris, but there’s still hope for Josh).
Chris hearts explosions.
Chad might spend more time consuming media than talking to other human people. Not that that’s a bad thing.
The end. Let’s get straight to the fun! Next time on the Screeners: Maybe some Oscars, maybe some Legos...maybe a little bit of both.
","summary":"Episode 17: Back, and Best-er Than Ever!","date_published":"2014-02-18T21:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7bcf38e8-29a5-4ff0-b83e-526d5049decc.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":84103082,"duration_in_seconds":6859}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:52c31c66e4b0cf91c44a517b","title":"Bonus Episode: Actual Desolation Not Included","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/18","content_text":"The Christmas sequel season is upon us, and even though the Screeners have been busy decking the halls and raising money for Josh's critically needed heart enlargement surgery (because it's two sizes too small...ba-dum chh), they couldn't resist getting together for just one review. And if you're going to see one sequel this year, we're betting it'll be The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It is the second movie of the second trilogy of the biggest franchise of our generation, after all (with apologies to Kanye for stealing his pointless hyperbole shtick).The Hobbit has hit #1 at the box office for 3 weeks in a row, but was it worth the Screeners' time? OK...did at least the three Screeners with normal human sentiment like it? Listen and find out—it won't take too long; we promise.Oh, and Happy New Year!","content_html":"The Christmas sequel season is upon us, and even though the Screeners have been busy decking the halls and raising money for Josh's critically needed heart enlargement surgery (because it's two sizes too small...ba-dum chh), they couldn't resist getting together for just one review.
And if you're going to see one sequel this year, we're betting it'll be The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It is the second movie of the second trilogy of the biggest franchise of our generation, after all (with apologies to Kanye for stealing his pointless hyperbole shtick).
The Hobbit has hit #1 at the box office for 3 weeks in a row, but was it worth the Screeners' time? OK...did at least the three Screeners with normal human sentiment like it? Listen and find out—it won't take too long; we promise.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
","summary":"The Screeners Review the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy.","date_published":"2014-01-01T18:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/9d0a196a-6426-4f8e-89fd-87d3234019da.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":55861301,"duration_in_seconds":2186}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:529aa66ee4b0c971f8f9aea3","title":"Episode 16: Fire, Light, and Christmas Cheer","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/17","content_text":"With Thanksgiving upon us, you might expect the Screeners to take a couple leisurely weeks off, much like your favorite late-night shows, but they’re having none of it. Hollywood’s releasing blockbusters at the end of November, so they’re here to deconstruct them...after Jump Cuts, of course.How Do You Solve a Problem Like...Christmas?The holidays have arrived, so we might as well enjoy them in the lightning round. Chris starts us off by soliciting the Screeners’ favorite holiday movies. They manage to come up with almost entirely different lists, and Josh has even seen a couple of the movies on them. Christmas miracles do exist!And speaking of classic holiday joy, NBC is bringing back the Christmas musical. Except instead of finding the next Bing Crosby, they’ve cast Carrie Underwood to star in a revival of the stage version of The Sound of Music. We’re going to go ahead and assume that everyone’s first reaction is a bewildered, “Wait...what?” But could it work?From red and green all the way to noir: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are slated to work together on one of DC’s upcoming film properties. Unfortunately, they’re only signed up as producers, and the superhero star for this one is Sleeper. “Who?”Yeah, that’s what we said.Finally, a moment of silence for television. That’s right. Cable companies are seeing their subscriber rolls decline, and people are even dropping broadband plans in some areas. The graphs are undeniable, but what does this actually mean for the industry? Who better to make semi-informed prognostications than the Screeners?Consider the Fire CaughtThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire is officially the highest-grossing November movie of all time. In a season usually dedicated to a slate of somewhat artsy movies, Hollywood has gambled on a teen-targeted blockbuster, and it’s paid off so far, at least in ticket sales.What does this say for the fall movie season, though...and, more importantly, what can the Screeners find to argue about in the story of Katniss’ sacrificial love and courage? We’re betting there’s something…The Screeners Cross-promotion ExtravaganzaFor this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, the Screeners welcome their first-ever celebrity guest. Author RG Triplett joins the fray to talk about his new project, the Epic of Haven trilogy. The first book, The Great Darkening, is slated for release next March. He’s self-publishing the whole series with the help of some enterprising friends (including maybe a Screener or two) and hoping to gain some traction with a Kickstarter campaign, so there’s plenty of conversation material. Oh yeah, and we should probably ask him about the story itself while we have him around. It’s a busy episode, but that about wraps things up. See you next time on the Screeners Podcast!","content_html":"With Thanksgiving upon us, you might expect the Screeners to take a couple leisurely weeks off, much like your favorite late-night shows, but they’re having none of it. Hollywood’s releasing blockbusters at the end of November, so they’re here to deconstruct them...after Jump Cuts, of course.
The holidays have arrived, so we might as well enjoy them in the lightning round. Chris starts us off by soliciting the Screeners’ favorite holiday movies. They manage to come up with almost entirely different lists, and Josh has even seen a couple of the movies on them. Christmas miracles do exist!
And speaking of classic holiday joy, NBC is bringing back the Christmas musical. Except instead of finding the next Bing Crosby, they’ve cast Carrie Underwood to star in a revival of the stage version of The Sound of Music. We’re going to go ahead and assume that everyone’s first reaction is a bewildered, “Wait...what?” But could it work?
From red and green all the way to noir: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are slated to work together on one of DC’s upcoming film properties. Unfortunately, they’re only signed up as producers, and the superhero star for this one is Sleeper.
“Who?”
Yeah, that’s what we said.
Finally, a moment of silence for television. That’s right. Cable companies are seeing their subscriber rolls decline, and people are even dropping broadband plans in some areas. The graphs are undeniable, but what does this actually mean for the industry? Who better to make semi-informed prognostications than the Screeners?
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is officially the highest-grossing November movie of all time. In a season usually dedicated to a slate of somewhat artsy movies, Hollywood has gambled on a teen-targeted blockbuster, and it’s paid off so far, at least in ticket sales.
What does this say for the fall movie season, though...and, more importantly, what can the Screeners find to argue about in the story of Katniss’ sacrificial love and courage? We’re betting there’s something…
For this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, the Screeners welcome their first-ever celebrity guest. Author RG Triplett joins the fray to talk about his new project, the Epic of Haven trilogy. The first book, The Great Darkening, is slated for release next March. He’s self-publishing the whole series with the help of some enterprising friends (including maybe a Screener or two) and hoping to gain some traction with a Kickstarter campaign, so there’s plenty of conversation material. Oh yeah, and we should probably ask him about the story itself while we have him around.
It’s a busy episode, but that about wraps things up. See you next time on the Screeners Podcast!
","summary":"Fire, Light, and Christmas Cheer","date_published":"2013-12-01T22:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/0bddf592-3015-4979-951b-8385bd1f263d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":63864068,"duration_in_seconds":4454}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5287e926e4b0fd595cc2d741","title":"Episode 15: If I Had a Hammer...","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/16","content_text":"This episode marks a milestone in Screeners history: For the first time, literature has made its way to the main event. Well, science fiction literature. And it’s only there because it was made into a movie. And we had to temper even that by following it with a review of a comic book movie...look; stop harshing our buzz, alright? We’re trying to encourage Chris to read here; cut us some slack!Old People and the Pixels They Can’t SeeBefore the Screeners get into the double-feature main event, though, you know we gots to have us a lightning round. The questioning this time starts out with a winter movie preview. The fall/winter season it typically the bulwark of your more artsy/contemplative films, but Josh seems somehow saddened by this year’s prospects. At least Keanu Reeves is back in the spotlight; that has to be good news, right? Wait, no; “good” wasn’t the right word there…If the winter’s disappointing, at least next year will bring the advent of 4K (or UHD, or whatever the marketers are calling it this week) streaming—or so says Netflix. For now, they’re making good on their claims with test footage of flowers growing, people riding bikes, and (we assume) shockingly crisp-looking blades of grass growing before our very eyes. Let’s play the cable news game on this too: Good thing, or bad thing?From streaming video to the boxes that deliver it to us (and supposedly do other things): The Playstation 4 has just hit the streets, with the Xbox One close on its heels. Will the Screeners be participating in this gaming generation—and if so, where do their loyalties lie? If you don’t know the answer to those yet, welcome! We love new listeners!Finally, our resident senior citizen advocate raises awareness for an issue near and dear to his heart. It seems that television shows are geared toward the demographics that advertisers want to reach, and that people who aren’t part of those demographics get upset by this. Some of them even write convoluted and self-contradictory op-eds about it. Agism’s bad! Bring back Harry’s Law!Wait...It was All Just a Game?OK, on to the fun stuff. Orson Scott Card has won a number of science fiction awards for his work on Ender’s Saga, the series that began with Ender’s Game back in the late 70s. The Screeners had originally planned to read the book in advance of the movie and review it on an episode sometime this summer, thus completely ruining the movie for everyone and giving Josh an opportunity to be truly pretentious on air.However, due to contingencies the astute listener will have already predicted, that didn’t happen. Instead, our dauntless hosts decided to combine the book and film reviews into one mega-review...and then talk about Thor as well. What resulted is a rambling sociopolitical diatribe that Josh will be happy to elaborate if asked...oh, and there was a mention or two of a movie in there somewhere. We can’t really remember.After Josh has exhausted everyone's patience, the Screeners dedicate some Thor, which we really shouldn’t downplay so much since it’s the next in a series of relatively strong Marvel properties and is maybe more entertaining than some people give it credit for...but it’s somehow just more fun if we relegate it to a single sentence at the very end of the notes.One overly long, awkward sentence. That’s how we roll.‘Til next time.","content_html":"This episode marks a milestone in Screeners history: For the first time, literature has made its way to the main event. Well, science fiction literature. And it’s only there because it was made into a movie. And we had to temper even that by following it with a review of a comic book movie...look; stop harshing our buzz, alright? We’re trying to encourage Chris to read here; cut us some slack!
Before the Screeners get into the double-feature main event, though, you know we gots to have us a lightning round. The questioning this time starts out with a winter movie preview. The fall/winter season it typically the bulwark of your more artsy/contemplative films, but Josh seems somehow saddened by this year’s prospects. At least Keanu Reeves is back in the spotlight; that has to be good news, right? Wait, no; “good” wasn’t the right word there…
If the winter’s disappointing, at least next year will bring the advent of 4K (or UHD, or whatever the marketers are calling it this week) streaming—or so says Netflix. For now, they’re making good on their claims with test footage of flowers growing, people riding bikes, and (we assume) shockingly crisp-looking blades of grass growing before our very eyes. Let’s play the cable news game on this too: Good thing, or bad thing?
From streaming video to the boxes that deliver it to us (and supposedly do other things): The Playstation 4 has just hit the streets, with the Xbox One close on its heels. Will the Screeners be participating in this gaming generation—and if so, where do their loyalties lie? If you don’t know the answer to those yet, welcome! We love new listeners!
Finally, our resident senior citizen advocate raises awareness for an issue near and dear to his heart. It seems that television shows are geared toward the demographics that advertisers want to reach, and that people who aren’t part of those demographics get upset by this. Some of them even write convoluted and self-contradictory op-eds about it. Agism’s bad! Bring back Harry’s Law!
OK, on to the fun stuff. Orson Scott Card has won a number of science fiction awards for his work on Ender’s Saga, the series that began with Ender’s Game back in the late 70s. The Screeners had originally planned to read the book in advance of the movie and review it on an episode sometime this summer, thus completely ruining the movie for everyone and giving Josh an opportunity to be truly pretentious on air.
However, due to contingencies the astute listener will have already predicted, that didn’t happen. Instead, our dauntless hosts decided to combine the book and film reviews into one mega-review...and then talk about Thor as well. What resulted is a rambling sociopolitical diatribe that Josh will be happy to elaborate if asked...oh, and there was a mention or two of a movie in there somewhere. We can’t really remember.
After Josh has exhausted everyone's patience, the Screeners dedicate some Thor, which we really shouldn’t downplay so much since it’s the next in a series of relatively strong Marvel properties and is maybe more entertaining than some people give it credit for...but it’s somehow just more fun if we relegate it to a single sentence at the very end of the notes.
One overly long, awkward sentence. That’s how we roll.
‘Til next time.
","summary":"Thor and Enders Game","date_published":"2013-11-19T14:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7aa346c8-603b-4f3d-95a2-b0355881a966.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":93504359,"duration_in_seconds":3798}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:52575a00e4b0a25f0171be70","title":"Episode 14: Out of This World","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/15","content_text":"You may have noticed that, much like your favorite TV shows, the Screeners took a summer hiatus there for a bit. We figured it was time to tell you that this scheduling decision was part of an avant-garde social experiment to probe the liminal boundary between media and media commentary, and...OK, it was all Chad’s fault. Chad just didn’t love you enough to see Closed Circuit with the rest of us. There, we said it. Does it feel better to know the truth? Does it?!OK, now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, it’s time for the most popular segment to ever come first in the Screeners lineup, Jump Cuts!Stay Classy, DreamworksRon Burgundy’s baaa-aack. Not in a movie - not yet, at least. He’s back in SUV ads. SUV ads? Yes, SUV ads. (Yes, those are all different links. So is this one. Oh, and one more.) And you know what? Ron Burgundy can be in ads for smooth jazz for all we care. He’s Ron *%&$ Burgundy.In a tangentially related story (if you were listening last year, or whenever our last episode was), a company called Oyster is trying to become the Netflix of books. Will they succeed? What does success mean in this arena? Shh, no one tell Amazon about their plan! They’ll never figure it out!As you may have heard, Tom Clancy died recently—he might have died a little young, but that’s not going to stop Hollywood from profiting from his intellectual property. There’s a new Jack Ryan movie in the works, this one starring Captain Kirk (no, not the good Captain Kirk). Predictions: We will see Jack Ryan cry, something will explode, and Josh will falsely pretend he was contributing to society during the time he spent not watching the movie.You may have also heard that Breaking Bad ended two weeks ago. If you had not heard that, you are almost definitely not reading this, so why should we talk to you? Go away. (Are they gone?....good.) In perhaps the most unfitting tribute possible to one of the great television shows of our time, the Screeners attempt to cover The finaleThe other 5 seasons of the show, andA Machiavellian plot to keep the gravy train rolling just a little bit longerin the time allotted to a lightning round question. Yeah, good luck with that.“Did It...Pull You?”It’s difficult to merely talk about things that must be experienced to be appreciated, but the Screeners give it a shot this week by tackling Gravity in the Main Event. It’s a movie that’s been well-hyped and well-advertised, but in trailers distinctly different from the typical Hollywood headliner. The creators have given us surprisingly little of the story arc and fewer snappy one-liners, leaving us wondering if they actually wrote a movie at all. We expect to know exactly what happens before we ever set foot in the theater, so this kind of reticence is jarring. We’ll respect it, though, by not saying anything important (until the spoilers section, at least). We do have one question, however: They called it Gravity, but it happens in space, where there’s, like, no gravity, right? What’s the deal with that? (No, that wasn’t a spoiler. You can turn off caps lock and close Gmail.)Coming This Fall...Gravity may be a tough act to follow, but that won’t stop the Screeners from at least mentioning some of the other things they’ve been watching recently. There are a few new shows in this fall’s lineup, but the ones getting the most air time from us are the David E. Kelley/Robin Williams joint The Crazy Ones, The Blacklist (starring a creepily baldish James Spader), and Joss Whedon’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Are they worth the space on your DVR or your, um, HuluTube queue-stack (whatever the digital natives are calling it this week)? Listen and find out, then shoot us a comment/e-mail/tweetbuzz to tell us why we’re wrong.See you next time! (Or will we?...)","content_html":"You may have noticed that, much like your favorite TV shows, the Screeners took a summer hiatus there for a bit. We figured it was time to tell you that this scheduling decision was part of an avant-garde social experiment to probe the liminal boundary between media and media commentary, and...OK, it was all Chad’s fault. Chad just didn’t love you enough to see Closed Circuit with the rest of us. There, we said it. Does it feel better to know the truth? Does it?!
OK, now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, it’s time for the most popular segment to ever come first in the Screeners lineup, Jump Cuts!
Ron Burgundy’s baaa-aack. Not in a movie - not yet, at least. He’s back in SUV ads. SUV ads? Yes, SUV ads. (Yes, those are all different links. So is this one. Oh, and one more.) And you know what? Ron Burgundy can be in ads for smooth jazz for all we care. He’s Ron *%&$ Burgundy.
In a tangentially related story (if you were listening last year, or whenever our last episode was), a company called Oyster is trying to become the Netflix of books. Will they succeed? What does success mean in this arena? Shh, no one tell Amazon about their plan! They’ll never figure it out!
As you may have heard, Tom Clancy died recently—he might have died a little young, but that’s not going to stop Hollywood from profiting from his intellectual property. There’s a new Jack Ryan movie in the works, this one starring Captain Kirk (no, not the good Captain Kirk). Predictions: We will see Jack Ryan cry, something will explode, and Josh will falsely pretend he was contributing to society during the time he spent not watching the movie.
You may have also heard that Breaking Bad ended two weeks ago. If you had not heard that, you are almost definitely not reading this, so why should we talk to you? Go away. (Are they gone?....good.) In perhaps the most unfitting tribute possible to one of the great television shows of our time, the Screeners attempt to cover
in the time allotted to a lightning round question. Yeah, good luck with that.
It’s difficult to merely talk about things that must be experienced to be appreciated, but the Screeners give it a shot this week by tackling Gravity in the Main Event. It’s a movie that’s been well-hyped and well-advertised, but in trailers distinctly different from the typical Hollywood headliner. The creators have given us surprisingly little of the story arc and fewer snappy one-liners, leaving us wondering if they actually wrote a movie at all. We expect to know exactly what happens before we ever set foot in the theater, so this kind of reticence is jarring. We’ll respect it, though, by not saying anything important (until the spoilers section, at least). We do have one question, however: They called it Gravity, but it happens in space, where there’s, like, no gravity, right? What’s the deal with that? (No, that wasn’t a spoiler. You can turn off caps lock and close Gmail.)
Gravity may be a tough act to follow, but that won’t stop the Screeners from at least mentioning some of the other things they’ve been watching recently. There are a few new shows in this fall’s lineup, but the ones getting the most air time from us are the David E. Kelley/Robin Williams joint The Crazy Ones, The Blacklist (starring a creepily baldish James Spader), and Joss Whedon’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Are they worth the space on your DVR or your, um, HuluTube queue-stack (whatever the digital natives are calling it this week)? Listen and find out, then shoot us a comment/e-mail/tweetbuzz to tell us why we’re wrong.
See you next time! (Or will we?...)
","summary":"Episode 14: Out of This World","date_published":"2013-10-22T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/35443d9c-9a43-497e-83e1-f5fde089d0db.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":93371828,"duration_in_seconds":3834}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:521aaba3e4b02837fdc1b6d9","title":"Episode 13: Meanwhile, in Paradise...","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/14","content_text":"This time on the Screeners, we reunite the powerhouse filmmaking team that brought us Good Will Hunting! ...OK, so one of our Jump Cuts is about Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon’s in the Main Event movie. Like you’ve never exaggerated.Movies, and Books that Approximate Them (01:48)So Ben Affleck is Batman now, at least for one movie, which of course drove the Internet into a frothing frenzy of insanity. Does this really matter, though? Really? We can probably count on one of the Screeners to not care, but what about the movie fans in the group?Next, you’ve heard of movie adaptations of books, but how about an autobiography based on a fictional movie character that may or may not have been loosely based on a real person? If you’re confused, good; that means you were actually reading that last sentence. But it seems like this is really happening: Ron Burgundy’s autobiography is coming out in November. Will you read it? Will anyone?After those two heated, profound discussions, the Screeners have to take a step back and talk about movie trailers for awhile. We’ll find out if there are any movies that interest the four solely on the merits of a heavily edited 2-minute montage.Well, that was a nice break. Back to the grind: It’s been announced that the new Star Wars trilogy (directed by our good friend JJ Abrams) will be shot on film instead of being what some might call a more modern digital production. There’s a chance that at least one Screener will care about this; let’s find out.Symbolism, and Movies that Attempt It(Spoiler-free at 21:54; Spoilers at 34:02)Elysium, Neil Blomkamp’s sophomore release, was released a few weeks ago, but the Screeners are just now getting around to talking about it, so...deal with it, we guess?Anyway, it’s a sci-fi look at inequality in a dystopian future (well, dystopian for most of the population), and we hear there’s supposed to be some allegory in there somewhere. The trailer looked good, Matt Damon and Jodie Foster are in it, and District 9 was almost universally well-regarded. Has Blomkamp kept his streak of one alive, though? The Screeners have some strong opinions about that one.Movies, Again, and Other Things Josh Hasn’t Experienced (43:11)Finally, it’s back to Flickchart for the Cutting Room Floor. The questions for this installment: Has Josh seen any of the movies Flickchart wants to know about, and can the Screeners’ collective top movie list possibly get any more embarrassing? That about does it for this episode. Let us know what you think of Affleck and Damon’s latest efforts in the comments or over on Facebook, and we’ll see you next time!","content_html":"This time on the Screeners, we reunite the powerhouse filmmaking team that brought us Good Will Hunting! ...OK, so one of our Jump Cuts is about Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon’s in the Main Event movie. Like you’ve never exaggerated.
So Ben Affleck is Batman now, at least for one movie, which of course drove the Internet into a frothing frenzy of insanity. Does this really matter, though? Really? We can probably count on one of the Screeners to not care, but what about the movie fans in the group?
Next, you’ve heard of movie adaptations of books, but how about an autobiography based on a fictional movie character that may or may not have been loosely based on a real person? If you’re confused, good; that means you were actually reading that last sentence. But it seems like this is really happening: Ron Burgundy’s autobiography is coming out in November. Will you read it? Will anyone?
After those two heated, profound discussions, the Screeners have to take a step back and talk about movie trailers for awhile. We’ll find out if there are any movies that interest the four solely on the merits of a heavily edited 2-minute montage.
Well, that was a nice break. Back to the grind: It’s been announced that the new Star Wars trilogy (directed by our good friend JJ Abrams) will be shot on film instead of being what some might call a more modern digital production. There’s a chance that at least one Screener will care about this; let’s find out.
Elysium, Neil Blomkamp’s sophomore release, was released a few weeks ago, but the Screeners are just now getting around to talking about it, so...deal with it, we guess?
Anyway, it’s a sci-fi look at inequality in a dystopian future (well, dystopian for most of the population), and we hear there’s supposed to be some allegory in there somewhere. The trailer looked good, Matt Damon and Jodie Foster are in it, and District 9 was almost universally well-regarded. Has Blomkamp kept his streak of one alive, though? The Screeners have some strong opinions about that one.
Finally, it’s back to Flickchart for the Cutting Room Floor. The questions for this installment: Has Josh seen any of the movies Flickchart wants to know about, and can the Screeners’ collective top movie list possibly get any more embarrassing?
That about does it for this episode. Let us know what you think of Affleck and Damon’s latest efforts in the comments or over on Facebook, and we’ll see you next time!
","summary":"Meanwhile, in Paradise...","date_published":"2013-08-25T22:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/11aa4570-49d1-45e3-96c1-36759689ed29.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":99969845,"duration_in_seconds":4106}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:51fd79ade4b0398b3636d1a6","title":"Episode 12: The Claws Come Out","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/13","content_text":"We’ve got a lot to talk about this time, and for once the episode has a loose sort of chronology to it. Jump Cuts touches a bit on some pre-production issues, our Main Event review of The Wolverine looks at the final product, and the Cutting Room Floor anticipates the post-release judgement of an award show. Enough talk; let’s dive right into the lightning round.Would This Be the “All-Is-Lost-Moment” or the “Dark Night of the Soul”?We start out Jump Cuts with a quick tour of the on-demand libraries boasted by various cable companies. At least, that’s what the Screeners who still have cable talk about...Even if there are still a few good ones out there, though, darkness has been looming past the edge of Hollywood’s silver lining for a few years now. Movie plots seem to be converging more and more, due in large part to the influence of a suspiciously specific book and the encroachment of machines into the business of art. The Screeners can’t resist a bit of prognostication: Will all the sameness flatline Hollywood, or is there always hope for the magic of the big screen?Amidst the gloom and doom, though, the Screeners do still enjoy watching movies, and some of them seem to be real sticklers for the artistic vision of the filmmaker. That’s why recent reports of Netflix tampering with aspect ratios are so troubling to at least half of our beloved hosts...but is it really that big a deal? (Yes, yes it is.) Finally, from streaming services to the devices that deliver us their bounty. There are approximately infinity plus seventeen Netflix-enabled plastic doohickeys on the market, but Google has kindly offered us another. This one does more, though: It does the Internets, all of them. Right on your telemawhatsit! Do we want one? Perhaps more than one? We might, and then we might not. We are fickle; we won't deny it.“Listen, Bub—It’s a Comic Book movie”Darren Aronofsky left the set of The Wolverine long ago, but the Screeners went ahead and saw it anyway. Logan is still Logan, but this movie isn’t the last one, or any of the other X-Men movies. Is this a good thing? Is there a plot hiding amongst the ninjas or written in Yakuza tattoos, or does adamantium cause heavy metal poisoning in writers? We’ll leave that to you to decide—after you properly absorb the Screeners’ musings on the subject, of course.We Qualify As a Variety Show, Right?Last but not least, Emmy nominations have been out for awhile now, and the Screeners would be remiss if they didn’t offer the committee their own input on the matter. Even though they’d like to, they don’t have time to cover all the categories. Instead, they’ve chosen five of the most glamorous groups to pick apart like birds of prey—or, who knows; maybe they’ll approve of one or two of the nominees. Chris is a nice guy, right? We can count on him...Aaand we’re done. Join us over on Facebook to continue the conversation about the Emmys (and everything else), and keep the feedback and questions coming!","content_html":"We’ve got a lot to talk about this time, and for once the episode has a loose sort of chronology to it. Jump Cuts touches a bit on some pre-production issues, our Main Event review of The Wolverine looks at the final product, and the Cutting Room Floor anticipates the post-release judgement of an award show. Enough talk; let’s dive right into the lightning round.
We start out Jump Cuts with a quick tour of the on-demand libraries boasted by various cable companies. At least, that’s what the Screeners who still have cable talk about...
Even if there are still a few good ones out there, though, darkness has been looming past the edge of Hollywood’s silver lining for a few years now. Movie plots seem to be converging more and more, due in large part to the influence of a suspiciously specific book and the encroachment of machines into the business of art. The Screeners can’t resist a bit of prognostication: Will all the sameness flatline Hollywood, or is there always hope for the magic of the big screen?
Amidst the gloom and doom, though, the Screeners do still enjoy watching movies, and some of them seem to be real sticklers for the artistic vision of the filmmaker. That’s why recent reports of Netflix tampering with aspect ratios are so troubling to at least half of our beloved hosts...but is it really that big a deal? (Yes, yes it is.)
Finally, from streaming services to the devices that deliver us their bounty. There are approximately infinity plus seventeen Netflix-enabled plastic doohickeys on the market, but Google has kindly offered us another. This one does more, though: It does the Internets, all of them. Right on your telemawhatsit! Do we want one? Perhaps more than one? We might, and then we might not. We are fickle; we won't deny it.
Darren Aronofsky left the set of The Wolverine long ago, but the Screeners went ahead and saw it anyway. Logan is still Logan, but this movie isn’t the last one, or any of the other X-Men movies. Is this a good thing? Is there a plot hiding amongst the ninjas or written in Yakuza tattoos, or does adamantium cause heavy metal poisoning in writers? We’ll leave that to you to decide—after you properly absorb the Screeners’ musings on the subject, of course.
Last but not least, Emmy nominations have been out for awhile now, and the Screeners would be remiss if they didn’t offer the committee their own input on the matter. Even though they’d like to, they don’t have time to cover all the categories. Instead, they’ve chosen five of the most glamorous groups to pick apart like birds of prey—or, who knows; maybe they’ll approve of one or two of the nominees. Chris is a nice guy, right? We can count on him...
Aaand we’re done. Join us over on Facebook to continue the conversation about the Emmys (and everything else), and keep the feedback and questions coming!
","summary":"We talk \"The Wolverine\", the winning formula in screenplays, and Emmy noms.","date_published":"2013-08-07T00:45:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/8a5ca405-709c-49f9-81d4-68ceeec20fad.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":101722613,"duration_in_seconds":4176}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:51e89780e4b0b07947c96a83","title":"Episode 11: Better Late than Never","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/12","content_text":"Just when you were beginning to think the heat had fried their Internet connections, the Screeners are back to take some more shots at summer movies and look forward hopefully to some promising entertainment in the fall.The lightning round starts out with a quick look at Monsters University. Some would say that Pixar’s offerings have been a little unsteady recently, and others would say that’s an understatement, but did they pull a Lloyd with their latest sequel? Has Josh even seen it? Will we ever stop asking questions we already know the answer to? After that, it’s on to a new program that Sony and Disney are debuting in some international markets - the “day-and-date” release model Steven Spielberg recently predicted. They’re letting would-be moviegoers stream feature films at home while they’re still in theaters. Any guesses as to which Screeners are all for this experiment? Place your wagers now; we’ll wait.That’s enough Hollywood talk, though—a sentiment that more and more screenwriters seem to be adopting. For awhile now, we’ve been seeing a trend of A-list writers migrating from big screen to small. It’s led to some of today’s runaway cable (and now streaming) hits—think The Newsroom, House of Cards, Mad Men, and others. It’s gotten so good that we’re supposedly in the middle of “The Golden Age of Television”. We’ll open the bookie’s window one more time for bets on the Screeners’ opinions here, but make it quick; this is an easy one.Last but not least (or maybe it is, depending on your viewing habits), the studios that run Hulu are in the news for deciding to not sell their brainchild after all. Love it or hate it, at least Yahoo! isn’t getting their hands on it (yet). Hipster—sorry, “cord-cutters”—of the world, rejoice!Look, Down in the Sea! It’s Godzilla! It’s Voltron! No, it’s...Our main event this time is Guillermo del Toro’s newest feature, Pacific Rim. It’s got robots, monsters, and soldiers not following orders; what’s not to love? While the other three talk IMAX special effects and debate del Toro’s competence vis-à-vis the anime genre, Josh is strangely silent. Turns out he just can’t decide which joke to make next—Transformers, Godzilla, or Power Rangers—demonstrating once again the danger that the overabundance of options poses to Western society.Looking Back and Looking Ahead...Great; Now We Have a Headache.It’s back to the living room for this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, which finds the Screeners reminiscing about this year’s spring TV season and looking forward to the fall lineup. This year saw some comedy powerhouses close out their runs and some powerhouse dramas solidify their place in the cultural consciousness; is there room for any more greatness on television, and is the coming season up to the challenge of providing it? These questions and more, along with an impromptu argument about Modern Family, in the show’s final segment.","content_html":"Just when you were beginning to think the heat had fried their Internet connections, the Screeners are back to take some more shots at summer movies and look forward hopefully to some promising entertainment in the fall.
The lightning round starts out with a quick look at Monsters University. Some would say that Pixar’s offerings have been a little unsteady recently, and others would say that’s an understatement, but did they pull a Lloyd with their latest sequel? Has Josh even seen it? Will we ever stop asking questions we already know the answer to?
After that, it’s on to a new program that Sony and Disney are debuting in some international markets - the “day-and-date” release model Steven Spielberg recently predicted. They’re letting would-be moviegoers stream feature films at home while they’re still in theaters. Any guesses as to which Screeners are all for this experiment? Place your wagers now; we’ll wait.
That’s enough Hollywood talk, though—a sentiment that more and more screenwriters seem to be adopting. For awhile now, we’ve been seeing a trend of A-list writers migrating from big screen to small. It’s led to some of today’s runaway cable (and now streaming) hits—think The Newsroom, House of Cards, Mad Men, and others. It’s gotten so good that we’re supposedly in the middle of “The Golden Age of Television”. We’ll open the bookie’s window one more time for bets on the Screeners’ opinions here, but make it quick; this is an easy one.
Last but not least (or maybe it is, depending on your viewing habits), the studios that run Hulu are in the news for deciding to not sell their brainchild after all. Love it or hate it, at least Yahoo! isn’t getting their hands on it (yet). Hipster—sorry, “cord-cutters”—of the world, rejoice!
Our main event this time is Guillermo del Toro’s newest feature, Pacific Rim. It’s got robots, monsters, and soldiers not following orders; what’s not to love? While the other three talk IMAX special effects and debate del Toro’s competence vis-à-vis the anime genre, Josh is strangely silent. Turns out he just can’t decide which joke to make next—Transformers, Godzilla, or Power Rangers—demonstrating once again the danger that the overabundance of options poses to Western society.
It’s back to the living room for this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, which finds the Screeners reminiscing about this year’s spring TV season and looking forward to the fall lineup. This year saw some comedy powerhouses close out their runs and some powerhouse dramas solidify their place in the cultural consciousness; is there room for any more greatness on television, and is the coming season up to the challenge of providing it? These questions and more, along with an impromptu argument about Modern Family, in the show’s final segment.
","summary":"Monsters University and Pacific Rim and discussions on the new golden age of television.","date_published":"2013-07-21T15:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/993c064d-5add-4208-a427-2a14e0e09ab6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":99245888,"duration_in_seconds":4076}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:51c3b685e4b09ee48eb53ab4","title":"Episode 10: Steel Yourself","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/11","content_text":"Comic book superhero summer blockbuster number two is upon us! Believe it or not, this excites some of the Screeners (read: Chad) more than others, but say what you will; Man of Steel is not light on discussion points. Before we get to them, though, there’s that little business of the lightning round.Microsoft Folds; Is Hollywood Next?First, injustice rears its ugly head as Josh is forced to respond to Chad and Chris’s 45-minute bonus episode within 60 seconds—which, as we all know, is hardly enough for him to pronounce two five-syllable words and include a dramatic pause to let a bad joke sink in. In fact, he only gets the chance to respond at all because after that episode was recorded, Microsoft caved to cries of foul play from (Luddite) console gamers. There’s more to say about this than will fit in to a normal Jump Cut, so...yeah; you can guess what happens here.It’s interrupted by some mention of Apple’s recent WWDC proceedings, where they unveiled the new iRecycle workstation and the iOS 7...let’s call it a “prototype”, but the real meat of this episode’s Jump Cuts is spread across the two remaining questions. First, there was the recent panel discussion at USC where Steven Spielberg predicted an implosion of the current theater business model in the not-so-distant future and speculated about what the future might look like after it happens. Will we see $50, $100 ticket prices and consider a trip to the theater the same kind of social affair as a sporting event or a night at the symphony?Then, as if in response, Paramount announced the “Mega Ticket”, a $50 chance to see World War Z early (because the lines will be sooo long on release day...) and go home with some movie-related swag. Are we witnessing the nascent future before our very eyes, or is this a terrible idea debuting with a worse movie, both of which are doomed to last all of two weeks in theaters? The British Invasion (of Krypton)Man of Steel they promised, and Man of Steel they will deliver. The Screeners have a lot to say about the latest installment in this beloved series, and they can’t help but start by comparing it to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns from 2006 and their expectations for that movie.We’ve seen a few franchise reboots recently, but we’re willing to tolerate one more for a good cause. Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan (yes, there were other producers, but do they matter?) show us many of the same familiar set pieces, but from an angle only they can. Strap on a cape, or a suit of space armor, or at least draw an S (sorry, “hope symbol”) on your forehead while the Screeners talk everything from camera work to character development and throw in a bit of comic book geekery as icing on the cake.Oh, and Chad seems to have tired of editing out inside jokes, so if you weren’t at Chris’s bachelor party, um...sorry?Breaking Through the NoiseThis episode’s Cutting Room Floor is a bit of a departure from the norm. This time around, the Screeners watch between the lines of their favorite TV shows to take a look at the ads filling in the cracks between the plot twists.Since the birth of television broadcasting, commercials have been a necessary evil. Insipid, craven pablum, they lead us onward in an interminable hypnotic march toward a shining beacon of materialistic satiety we forever approach but will never, can never, reach. Other than that, they’re great.Every once in awhile, though, there’s an ad that stands out from the rest as especially funny, or impactful—touching, even. Often, these are the most insidious, as creating an emotional attachment to a product is the holy grail of the capitalist enterprise, but we’ve dealt with enough tough truths in this section already. On to the ads.To keep things brief here, we’re just going to list each host and some of the ads they mention, but when you’re done watching, head over to our Facebook page. We’ll have them linked there, and we want to hear from you—either vote for your favorite out of the ones the Screeners have picked, or remind them of a great ad they left out. Josh:Audi, “The Challenge”Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”Chris:Lost, Hanso FoundationDisney, “I Am A Princess”Chad:Sussex Safer Roads, “Embrace Life”Procter & Gamble, “Best Job”Melody:Geico, “Happier Than a Body Builder Directing Traffic”Geico, “Happier Than Dikembe Mutombo Blocking a Shot” ","content_html":"Comic book superhero summer blockbuster number two is upon us! Believe it or not, this excites some of the Screeners (read: Chad) more than others, but say what you will; Man of Steel is not light on discussion points. Before we get to them, though, there’s that little business of the lightning round.
First, injustice rears its ugly head as Josh is forced to respond to Chad and Chris’s 45-minute bonus episode within 60 seconds—which, as we all know, is hardly enough for him to pronounce two five-syllable words and include a dramatic pause to let a bad joke sink in. In fact, he only gets the chance to respond at all because after that episode was recorded, Microsoft caved to cries of foul play from (Luddite) console gamers. There’s more to say about this than will fit in to a normal Jump Cut, so...yeah; you can guess what happens here.
It’s interrupted by some mention of Apple’s recent WWDC proceedings, where they unveiled the new iRecycle workstation and the iOS 7...let’s call it a “prototype”, but the real meat of this episode’s Jump Cuts is spread across the two remaining questions. First, there was the recent panel discussion at USC where Steven Spielberg predicted an implosion of the current theater business model in the not-so-distant future and speculated about what the future might look like after it happens. Will we see $50, $100 ticket prices and consider a trip to the theater the same kind of social affair as a sporting event or a night at the symphony?
Then, as if in response, Paramount announced the “Mega Ticket”, a $50 chance to see World War Z early (because the lines will be sooo long on release day...) and go home with some movie-related swag. Are we witnessing the nascent future before our very eyes, or is this a terrible idea debuting with a worse movie, both of which are doomed to last all of two weeks in theaters?
Man of Steel they promised, and Man of Steel they will deliver. The Screeners have a lot to say about the latest installment in this beloved series, and they can’t help but start by comparing it to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns from 2006 and their expectations for that movie.
We’ve seen a few franchise reboots recently, but we’re willing to tolerate one more for a good cause. Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan (yes, there were other producers, but do they matter?) show us many of the same familiar set pieces, but from an angle only they can. Strap on a cape, or a suit of space armor, or at least draw an S (sorry, “hope symbol”) on your forehead while the Screeners talk everything from camera work to character development and throw in a bit of comic book geekery as icing on the cake.
Oh, and Chad seems to have tired of editing out inside jokes, so if you weren’t at Chris’s bachelor party, um...sorry?
This episode’s Cutting Room Floor is a bit of a departure from the norm. This time around, the Screeners watch between the lines of their favorite TV shows to take a look at the ads filling in the cracks between the plot twists.
Since the birth of television broadcasting, commercials have been a necessary evil. Insipid, craven pablum, they lead us onward in an interminable hypnotic march toward a shining beacon of materialistic satiety we forever approach but will never, can never, reach. Other than that, they’re great.
Every once in awhile, though, there’s an ad that stands out from the rest as especially funny, or impactful—touching, even. Often, these are the most insidious, as creating an emotional attachment to a product is the holy grail of the capitalist enterprise, but we’ve dealt with enough tough truths in this section already. On to the ads.
To keep things brief here, we’re just going to list each host and some of the ads they mention, but when you’re done watching, head over to our Facebook page. We’ll have them linked there, and we want to hear from you—either vote for your favorite out of the ones the Screeners have picked, or remind them of a great ad they left out.
Josh:
Audi, “The Challenge”
Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”
Chris:
Lost, Hanso Foundation
Disney, “I Am A Princess”
Chad:
Sussex Safer Roads, “Embrace Life”
Procter & Gamble, “Best Job”
Melody:
Geico, “Happier Than a Body Builder Directing Traffic”
Geico, “Happier Than Dikembe Mutombo Blocking a Shot”
","summary":"The Man of Steel has landed on Earth, but can he save the imploding movie industry? Are any TV ads worth paying attention to? Get the answer to these questions and more on this eipsode of the Screeners Podcast!","date_published":"2013-06-21T10:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/cb503ef8-a880-4036-a80b-ce1d14d8f159.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":65475722,"duration_in_seconds":4562}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:51bbce2be4b0c2328e302e40","title":"Episode 10: Bonus Episode: E3 2013","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/10","content_text":"The Electronics Entertainment Expo just wrapped up in L.A. and there is a lot of video game news to talk about. Chad and Chris wanted to take a little longer than a \"Jump Cut\" segment would allow, so... here is our first ever Bonus Episode! Enjoy.","content_html":"
The Electronics Entertainment Expo just wrapped up in L.A. and there is a lot of video game news to talk about. Chad and Chris wanted to take a little longer than a "Jump Cut" segment would allow, so... here is our first ever Bonus Episode! Enjoy.
","summary":"Chris and Chad chat about E3 2013","date_published":"2013-06-17T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/0b1c7b10-e9e6-4990-9324-00e2ddeac3cf.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":68201315,"duration_in_seconds":2810}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:51b14531e4b097e29e1915c0","title":"Episode 9: They Told You Not to Look Too Close","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/9","content_text":"Just when you thought the show couldn’t get any more magical, the Screeners are back for some more sleight of film. Now You See Me came in second at the box office last weekend, and it edged out Fast and Furious 6 for a spot in this week’s main event. As we sit back and prepare to be amazed, though, we have a lightning round to speed through...or not.Sequels, Adaptations, and the Critics Who Spoil ThemJump Cuts starts off with a tribute to the thrilling conclusion of everyone’s favorite trilogy. That’s right, they’re talking about The Hangover Part III. How many nights of partying can the Screeners take before they realize they’re too old for this sort of thing? You might be surprised...Next on the list: Summer is always sequel season, but it’s not every day they pull an 80’s sci-fi classic out of the vault for a follow-up. The recently announced Blade Runner sequel is the exception that proves the rule. Ridley Scott’s at the helm, but the writer of such Hollywood gems as Fantastic Four and Green Lantern is at the keyboard; will the Screeners give it their blessing?As it turns out, our hosts like playing studio exec—the next Jump Cut focuses on which of their favorite old-fashioned ink-and-paper books they’d like to see adapted for the screen and which should stay on the shelf. For the books to green-light, one of the Screeners picked a Tom Clancy classic (guess who that was; we dare you), two picked a Stephen King series that’s often the subject of the Hollywood rumor mill, and Josh unrepentantly picked a book no one else has read.Finally, we saved the best of this round for last, depending on how much you like arguments (we love ‘em). Should you read critics’ reviews, or at least look at Rotten Tomatoes scores, before you see a movie? OK, folks, we want a clean fight here...touch gloves...and go! We’ll be listening from a safe distance.Did We See You? Did We?Our main event this week is a little tough to summarize without giving away some of its twists and turns, so we won’t go down that road. Instead, we’ll say that Now You See Me is about magicians who are not Steve Carell. We’ll also say that, in contrast to some of the films we’ve seen recently on the show, this one’s generated a bit of disagreement among the hosts, and as we established in the last segment, disagreement = fun.Oh, one more non-spoiler: The rule for tonight’s Screeners drinking game is “drink whenever Josh says ‘narrative’”. You might want to stick with a light beverage for this one—say, lemonade.From the MailbagOur final segment this week is all about you, the listeners. It seems that the Screeners’ shameless pleading is paying off; feedback has been coming in, both on the site and on Facebook, and they wanted to devote some air time to discussing it. Since they just can’t resist themselves, the responses might even include a mini-review or two.See? When you write in, we all win. Keep the comments coming, and we’ll be back in a couple weeks when the podcast odometer rolls over to double digits!","content_html":"Just when you thought the show couldn’t get any more magical, the Screeners are back for some more sleight of film. Now You See Me came in second at the box office last weekend, and it edged out Fast and Furious 6 for a spot in this week’s main event. As we sit back and prepare to be amazed, though, we have a lightning round to speed through...or not.
Jump Cuts starts off with a tribute to the thrilling conclusion of everyone’s favorite trilogy. That’s right, they’re talking about The Hangover Part III. How many nights of partying can the Screeners take before they realize they’re too old for this sort of thing? You might be surprised...
Next on the list: Summer is always sequel season, but it’s not every day they pull an 80’s sci-fi classic out of the vault for a follow-up. The recently announced Blade Runner sequel is the exception that proves the rule. Ridley Scott’s at the helm, but the writer of such Hollywood gems as Fantastic Four and Green Lantern is at the keyboard; will the Screeners give it their blessing?
As it turns out, our hosts like playing studio exec—the next Jump Cut focuses on which of their favorite old-fashioned ink-and-paper books they’d like to see adapted for the screen and which should stay on the shelf. For the books to green-light, one of the Screeners picked a Tom Clancy classic (guess who that was; we dare you), two picked a Stephen King series that’s often the subject of the Hollywood rumor mill, and Josh unrepentantly picked a book no one else has read.
Finally, we saved the best of this round for last, depending on how much you like arguments (we love ‘em). Should you read critics’ reviews, or at least look at Rotten Tomatoes scores, before you see a movie? OK, folks, we want a clean fight here...touch gloves...and go! We’ll be listening from a safe distance.
Our main event this week is a little tough to summarize without giving away some of its twists and turns, so we won’t go down that road. Instead, we’ll say that Now You See Me is about magicians who are not Steve Carell. We’ll also say that, in contrast to some of the films we’ve seen recently on the show, this one’s generated a bit of disagreement among the hosts, and as we established in the last segment, disagreement = fun.
Oh, one more non-spoiler: The rule for tonight’s Screeners drinking game is “drink whenever Josh says ‘narrative’”. You might want to stick with a light beverage for this one—say, lemonade.
Our final segment this week is all about you, the listeners. It seems that the Screeners’ shameless pleading is paying off; feedback has been coming in, both on the site and on Facebook, and they wanted to devote some air time to discussing it. Since they just can’t resist themselves, the responses might even include a mini-review or two.
See? When you write in, we all win. Keep the comments coming, and we’ll be back in a couple weeks when the podcast odometer rolls over to double digits!
","summary":"Now You See Me, The Hangover Part III, and books that deserve film adaptations.","date_published":"2013-06-06T22:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/a24763a0-f5d3-4771-9cd5-9943c837db4f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":89836370,"duration_in_seconds":3681}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:519d669fe4b0d4973ff7fcc9","title":"Episode 8: Engage the Dark Side—er, Darkness","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/8","content_text":"Activate your seat restraints, because tonight’s going to be a bumpy ride through space as the Screeners take a long, hard look at JJ Abrams’ newest addition to the Star Trek franchise. Before we jump to warp, though, let’s take a few minutes to acknowledge that a couple other things did actually happen during the last two weeks.Republicans and Books Relevant in the 21st Century? Who Knew?For starters, John McCain—someone who might not normally be associated with media innovation—introduced a bill to end the time-honored tradition of cable channel bundling. In case the jargon is new, “bundling” is that thing where you get a cable subscription because you want to watch Mad Men and Doctor Who, but you end up subsidizing UFC Fight Night and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo in the process (or, um, vice versa). Turns out McCain’s been working on this for awhile, with little success thus far. Does he have the Screeners’ support?They know they talk about trailers a lot, but Chad can’t resist a quick chat about two he saw during his recent trips to the theater: Elysium and Gravity. The trailer for Gravity is really just a teaser, and maybe that’s what’s so appealing about it. The other one—well, the other one has Matt Damon. (If you haven’t seen Team America: World Police, you’re welcome. And don’t worry; we actually do like Matt Damon.)Next, Josh holds true to his roots as a book snob and forces the group to discuss Baz Luhrmann’s vision of The Great Gatsby. In a mini-review of the adaptation, the Screeners touch on the merits of narration, Luhrmann’s tendency toward grandiosity, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s screen presence. Do they think the reboot is worth seeing?A Long, Long TrekUnable to hold back any longer, the Screeners kick off the main event by reciting their Star Trek nerd credentials—after all, you can’t just walk in off the street and review a Trek movie. Chris and Melody win the contest by a long shot. A LONG shot. Josh, knowing a Star Trek conversation can be a tough thing for non-fans, spends some of his introductory time recounting the story of a touching real-life romance stoked by the Federation in hopes of keeping some listeners around...for a little while, at least.Then the fun begins. Many have already weighed in on the movie (spoiler alert for the link), and hatahs gonna hate—as will a certain stripe of fan—but you’ll have to listen to see where the Screeners come down on the latest installment of the beloved franchise. There’s just too much to be said and too little that can be summarised without spoiling “surprises”. We will say this, though: Josh seems to have some kind of sworn Klingon blood feud with JJ Abrams, and we’re not sure why.As If They Had Any Emotion Left...To cool off from the intensity of a Star Trek review, the four take some time in the Cutting Room Floor to discuss other movies that caused an emotional reaction, but which they wouldn’t want to watch again. United 93 is mentioned more than once, and some other popular and not-so-popular tearjerkers get praised and shunned in the same breath.After a few quick shout-outs to fans, the Screeners sign off. Want to have your voice heard on the show? Drop us a note here or on Facebook; we’ll be watching!","content_html":"Activate your seat restraints, because tonight’s going to be a bumpy ride through space as the Screeners take a long, hard look at JJ Abrams’ newest addition to the Star Trek franchise. Before we jump to warp, though, let’s take a few minutes to acknowledge that a couple other things did actually happen during the last two weeks.
For starters, John McCain—someone who might not normally be associated with media innovation—introduced a bill to end the time-honored tradition of cable channel bundling. In case the jargon is new, “bundling” is that thing where you get a cable subscription because you want to watch Mad Men and Doctor Who, but you end up subsidizing UFC Fight Night and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo in the process (or, um, vice versa). Turns out McCain’s been working on this for awhile, with little success thus far. Does he have the Screeners’ support?
They know they talk about trailers a lot, but Chad can’t resist a quick chat about two he saw during his recent trips to the theater: Elysium and Gravity. The trailer for Gravity is really just a teaser, and maybe that’s what’s so appealing about it. The other one—well, the other one has Matt Damon. (If you haven’t seen Team America: World Police, you’re welcome. And don’t worry; we actually do like Matt Damon.)
Next, Josh holds true to his roots as a book snob and forces the group to discuss Baz Luhrmann’s vision of The Great Gatsby. In a mini-review of the adaptation, the Screeners touch on the merits of narration, Luhrmann’s tendency toward grandiosity, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s screen presence. Do they think the reboot is worth seeing?
Unable to hold back any longer, the Screeners kick off the main event by reciting their Star Trek nerd credentials—after all, you can’t just walk in off the street and review a Trek movie. Chris and Melody win the contest by a long shot. A LONG shot. Josh, knowing a Star Trek conversation can be a tough thing for non-fans, spends some of his introductory time recounting the story of a touching real-life romance stoked by the Federation in hopes of keeping some listeners around...for a little while, at least.
Then the fun begins. Many have already weighed in on the movie (spoiler alert for the link), and hatahs gonna hate—as will a certain stripe of fan—but you’ll have to listen to see where the Screeners come down on the latest installment of the beloved franchise. There’s just too much to be said and too little that can be summarised without spoiling “surprises”. We will say this, though: Josh seems to have some kind of sworn Klingon blood feud with JJ Abrams, and we’re not sure why.
To cool off from the intensity of a Star Trek review, the four take some time in the Cutting Room Floor to discuss other movies that caused an emotional reaction, but which they wouldn’t want to watch again. United 93 is mentioned more than once, and some other popular and not-so-popular tearjerkers get praised and shunned in the same breath.
After a few quick shout-outs to fans, the Screeners sign off. Want to have your voice heard on the show? Drop us a note here or on Facebook; we’ll be watching!
The Screeners start out this week’s Jump Cuts by proving they’re not completely self-absorbed—it seems the next generation might have a bit of a media problem, and the Screeners have a solution. You’re welcome, toddlers. Listen carefully, and you’ll also gain some key insight into Chris’ views on marriage.
Next up is a mini-review of Pain & Gain, Michael Bay’s latest...let’s just say “effort”. It’s a movie ready-made for Chris; can Josh convince him otherwise, or is there a twist in the works? Remember, folks; it’s all a true story.
After a rousing discussion of Michael Bay’s merits as an auteur, the tone turns sober as the Screeners ponder a recent Danny Boyle interview. The director gave his take on the state of modern cinema, and it’s not entirely rosy. Do today’s movies reflect the difficult yet rewarding complexity of life, or is Hollywood just filling seats? If so, whose fault is it?
Finally, the four have some words for the theater industry and their new crop of tie-in advertising during trailer time. The focus in this Jump Cut is on a theater spot for Pacific Rim, but the campaign’s bigger than that, and the only video example we can seem to find is for Fast & Furious 6. Just replace the cars with mechs and Vin Diesel with an actor, and you have pretty much the same movie, so it’ll do.
The discussion quickly moves on from cross-promotion to the theater experience in general, and we begin to question Josh’s motives for being a Screener in the first place.
This week’s main event is, of course, none other than Iron Man 3. It dominated the North American box office with over $175 million on opening weekend, so statistically speaking, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen it or will get around to it before long. Will Tony Stark’s PTSD leave him vulnerable, or will his sarcasm-as-defense mechanism drive away everyone he loves? Oh yeah, and there’s a villain too.
We won’t ruin the fun here, but this episode’s spoilers section just might, so go ahead and fast forward to the Cutting Room Floor if you want to be, um, surprised by the comic book plot. Oh, and before you see it and get the wrong idea, Chattanooga wants you to know something about their Internet speed.
Shifting from a movie-heavy week back to the other screens in their lives, the Screeners dedicate the final segment to the also-rans from their entertainment schedules.
Here’s the gist: Josh wants Arrested Development to start (are we surprised?), can’t wait to watch West Wing for the second time, and has found a new music streaming site that’s taken over a bit of Pandora’s market share for him. Chad’s kept watching The Americans and also has some quality movies he thinks you should catch on your streaming service of choice. Melody still loves Game of Thrones and follows a number of other shows religiously, both comedies and dramas. Chris still admits he owns a PS Vita and is really hoping ratings go better for Hannibal than they do for almost every other NBC show.
Before signing off, the Screeners give a shout-out to a couple listeners they’ve heard from since the last episode. They’re planning on making this a regular thang, so leave yr comments here or on Facebook for reals, yo. We also accept e-mails, tweets, and self-addressed stamped envelopes (preferably addressed to somewhere we’ve gotten a bill from recently; we hate addressing envelopes).
That’s all for now; we’ll be back in a couple weeks with reviews of Star Trek: Into Darkness (with or without Josh, who thinks he might have to do himself physical harm if he has to watch a combination of Zachary Quinto and J.J. Abrams for two hours) and The Great Gatsby (with or without Chris, who got distracted trying to figure out who Henry James was while looking at the reviews for the eponymous book on Amazon).
","summary":"We review Iron Man 3 and talk about what's been on our scrrens lately.","date_published":"2013-05-09T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/7b07f2e8-ec0f-47dc-8dd4-f8af48ea9867.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":84891190,"duration_in_seconds":3468}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5177372ae4b054c7ac3717e3","title":"Episode 6: Did Anyone Else Just Get Dejá Vu?","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/6","content_text":"From Childhood to Childish PlotlinesJump Cuts starts off with a trip down memory lane as the Screeners spend some time reminiscing about their favorite childhood TV shows - but not before Josh spoils the fun by pointing out the ulterior motive for the question itself before everyone has time to figure it out for themselves. We also begin to wonder what Melody is hiding, as her “favorite show” may or may not have existed...Meanwhile, in the almost-present, The Place Beyond the Pines was released on March 29. With such a unique film, the Screeners couldn’t resist taking some time to talk about nuance—well, nuance, and those who avoid it at all costs (not that any of our hosts fall into the second category, of course).Inching ever closer to current events, our third question makes a brief stop in April to visit the annual National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas. None of the Screeners made it out there this year, but they still have their eyes on some new gear, most notably the Movi stabilization system and the BlackMagic 4K Cinema Camera. All that beautiful footage needs to be watched on something, though, and that’s where Sony’s 4K media player and the über-cheap Seiki 4K TV come in.To finally catch up with the week they’re recording in, our intrepid hosts brave the wilds of Amazon’s new original series. Much more than a bookstore now, Amazon’s released a stable of pilots for 6 children’s shows and 8 comedies onto the reviewing public to let the shows fight it out for supremacy. Is there a clear winner in the pack, or will the unnatural selection of Internet democracy annihilate the lot of them?Something That Happened Already, and Something That Just Feels Like It DidTo continue the trend of playing with time, our main event takes us to both past and future, with 42 and Oblivion taking center stage. Fans of science fiction know that 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but even before humanity discovered that little bit of trivia, Jackie Robinson’s jersey number held a special place in people’s hearts.Three of the Screeners have made it to the theater to see Robinson’s struggle portrayed on the big screen so far—can you guess who hasn’t seen it yet? You might be surprised...OK, you probably won’t be surprised at all. Anyway, the three responsible American history students in the group have some interesting takeaways from their experience of the movie. We won’t tell you what they are, though, because we don’t want to, um, spoil the story for you.OK, so we lied. They just ruined the ending in that spoilers section, didn’t they? Oh well; on to Oblivion.Word on the street* is that Joseph Kosinski put so much effort into Oblivion’s storyline that he simply had no creative juice left, so he just named Tom Cruise’s character Jack and started shooting.But we digress. There’s much more to this futuristic sci-fi shoot-em-up than Tom Cruise’s name (Seriously, though? Jack? It’s been done. More than once.). Earth has been devastated by invaders, and one man patrols the wasteland alone, the only hope for a species that has all but abandoned its home. Or is he? Do they? Will she?These questions and many more, along with several other exciting pronouns we haven’t even mentioned here, will all be addressed in due time. But first, sit back and take a nap as Josh pontificates on the true purpose of science fiction, and Chris tells us why none of that artsy-schmartsy stuff really matters.How Randomness Rules Our Queues*The Cutting Room Floor brings a new game to the table, as the Screeners log in to their Netflix Instant Queues and pull out some gems at random to explain and/or defend their presence in the list. Sadly, there is no defense for Chad’s queue. Oh well; you can’t win them all, right? You know what they say about happy lives and what causes them...Before We Go...That about does it for episode 6; as always, thanks for stopping by. And just a reminder, like they mentioned in the show, the Screeners are looking for feedback for an upcoming fan-driven segment. If you’ve got an idea for a review, a reaction to a review we’ve already aired, or something media-related you just have to get off your chest, send it our way! E-mails and audio clips (right around the 60 sec. mark, please; too much longer, and we may have to edit) can be sent to screenerscast AT gmail DOT com (subject: “Mailbag” if you’re one of those organized types), and we’ll also be checking comments here and on Facebook/Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you!*Ed. note: This street is fictitious. But not in the fun way, like Sesame Street. More gloomy, like the street Gilbert Grape lived on. Unless you liked Gilbert Grape, in which case...Fleet Street? No, wait; that one’s real. Oh, we give up.*Sorry for the two-percenter joke. This is a reference to a book only Josh would recommend.","content_html":"Jump Cuts starts off with a trip down memory lane as the Screeners spend some time reminiscing about their favorite childhood TV shows - but not before Josh spoils the fun by pointing out the ulterior motive for the question itself before everyone has time to figure it out for themselves. We also begin to wonder what Melody is hiding, as her “favorite show” may or may not have existed...
Meanwhile, in the almost-present, The Place Beyond the Pines was released on March 29. With such a unique film, the Screeners couldn’t resist taking some time to talk about nuance—well, nuance, and those who avoid it at all costs (not that any of our hosts fall into the second category, of course).
Inching ever closer to current events, our third question makes a brief stop in April to visit the annual National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas. None of the Screeners made it out there this year, but they still have their eyes on some new gear, most notably the Movi stabilization system and the BlackMagic 4K Cinema Camera. All that beautiful footage needs to be watched on something, though, and that’s where Sony’s 4K media player and the über-cheap Seiki 4K TV come in.
To finally catch up with the week they’re recording in, our intrepid hosts brave the wilds of Amazon’s new original series. Much more than a bookstore now, Amazon’s released a stable of pilots for 6 children’s shows and 8 comedies onto the reviewing public to let the shows fight it out for supremacy. Is there a clear winner in the pack, or will the unnatural selection of Internet democracy annihilate the lot of them?
To continue the trend of playing with time, our main event takes us to both past and future, with 42 and Oblivion taking center stage.
Fans of science fiction know that 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but even before humanity discovered that little bit of trivia, Jackie Robinson’s jersey number held a special place in people’s hearts.
Three of the Screeners have made it to the theater to see Robinson’s struggle portrayed on the big screen so far—can you guess who hasn’t seen it yet? You might be surprised...OK, you probably won’t be surprised at all. Anyway, the three responsible American history students in the group have some interesting takeaways from their experience of the movie. We won’t tell you what they are, though, because we don’t want to, um, spoil the story for you.
OK, so we lied. They just ruined the ending in that spoilers section, didn’t they? Oh well; on to Oblivion.
Word on the street* is that Joseph Kosinski put so much effort into Oblivion’s storyline that he simply had no creative juice left, so he just named Tom Cruise’s character Jack and started shooting.
But we digress. There’s much more to this futuristic sci-fi shoot-em-up than Tom Cruise’s name (Seriously, though? Jack? It’s been done. More than once.).
Earth has been devastated by invaders, and one man patrols the wasteland alone, the only hope for a species that has all but abandoned its home.
Or is he? Do they? Will she?
These questions and many more, along with several other exciting pronouns we haven’t even mentioned here, will all be addressed in due time. But first, sit back and take a nap as Josh pontificates on the true purpose of science fiction, and Chris tells us why none of that artsy-schmartsy stuff really matters.
The Cutting Room Floor brings a new game to the table, as the Screeners log in to their Netflix Instant Queues and pull out some gems at random to explain and/or defend their presence in the list. Sadly, there is no defense for Chad’s queue. Oh well; you can’t win them all, right? You know what they say about happy lives and what causes them...
That about does it for episode 6; as always, thanks for stopping by. And just a reminder, like they mentioned in the show, the Screeners are looking for feedback for an upcoming fan-driven segment. If you’ve got an idea for a review, a reaction to a review we’ve already aired, or something media-related you just have to get off your chest, send it our way! E-mails and audio clips (right around the 60 sec. mark, please; too much longer, and we may have to edit) can be sent to screenerscast AT gmail DOT com (subject: “Mailbag” if you’re one of those organized types), and we’ll also be checking comments here and on Facebook/Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you!
*Ed. note: This street is fictitious. But not in the fun way, like Sesame Street. More gloomy, like the street Gilbert Grape lived on. Unless you liked Gilbert Grape, in which case...Fleet Street? No, wait; that one’s real. Oh, we give up.
*Sorry for the two-percenter joke. This is a reference to a book only Josh would recommend.
","summary":"42 and Oblivion get top billing. We talk about Amazon, Netflix, and NAB.","date_published":"2013-04-24T20:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/c1836449-7e9a-4c8e-82a1-471f5ae57066.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":92998693,"duration_in_seconds":3833}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:5164c2aee4b0ec2b02b8ef2d","title":"Episode 5: Pirates, a Doctor, and a Rice Cooker","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/5","content_text":"The biggest event in the entertainment industry this week (as far as the Screeners are concerned, at least) was the news of Roger Ebert’s death. The Screeners open the episode by paying tribute to the first movie critic to get his own star on the Walk of Fame, sharing their favorite memories of Ebert’s life and work.As promised in the show, here’s the original blog post Josh mentioned; turns out it’s been made into a book. And here’s the Rob Schneider exchange Chad excerpted. In the spirit of fairness, though, it’s worth mentioning that Schneider didn’t end this little feud as belligerently as it began.The Lightning Round...AlmostMoving on to Jump Cuts, the Screeners consider Disney’s recent shuttering of the LucasArts video game studio. Apparently, Josh is the only one who pays attention to the credits screens in the Lego series to see where they’re made. So sad.Next, not to spoil the episode or anything, but one Screener loved the new GI Joe movie, and one, not so much. If you can’t guess at least one of the mystery identities by now, let us know so we can tell the Screeners that they’ve done a terrible job of introducing themselves so far.The gloves come off for the third Jump Cut, as the Screeners take on the piracy debate at the center of some comments from Game of Thrones director David Patrarca. The question for the Screeners isn’t so much about whether piracy is good or bad, but about how wrong Chad is. C’mon, Chad; how can you fight Chris’s reasoning? He’s got the Nords on his side!And in order to not make the summary of the last lightning round question longer than the discussion itself, we have two words: Upstream Color.A TV Smorgasbord*There’s a lot happening on the small screen right now, and the Screeners have vowed to take in as much of it as possible. Game of Thrones draws first (dragon) blood in the discussion this time, as three followers of the series and one loser who hasn’t seen a minute of it give their impressions on the season 3 opener.From warriors to medics; the next premiere on the Screeners’ plate is Dr. Who. Is he, like, the most powerful being in the universe or whatever (sorry, Melody; we couldn’t resist), or is he just another quack? All four Screeners have a different perspective on the series, so answering this proves to be a fun romp through space and time.But that’s not all! With Bates Motel, A&E has transitioned from the real-life horror of abandoned storage units and the houses their contents came from to the much more pleasant topic of serial killer origin stories. The Screeners are ready for a gritty thrill ride, but is the network concealing something far uglier than Norman’s adolescence?To round out the main event, the Screeners couldn’t talk the week in TV without mentioning the Walking Dead season finale, even though only two of them have seen it. This part is filled with spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the episode yet, you might just want to skip ahead to the next segment.Artistic SynergyWe remember movies for dialog, characters, cinematography, and a myriad of other things, but some of the most lasting recollections from a film can be their scores. A great film (or television) score elevates the content it surrounds, and the effect isn’t lost on the Screeners, who are huge fans of music as well as cinema.Below are the selections the Screeners singled out this time, but they already have others in mind for the future. The Social NetworkWarhorseLostSherlock HolmesBack to the FutureStar Trek: First ContactHow to Train Your DragonWhat are some of your favorite moments in cinema music? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you next time, when the Screeners will review the new Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller Oblivion.*That’s right; that’s two Scandinavia shout-outs in one post. How do you like us now, Holland? Just kidding; we love you too, Holland. Who can stay mad at wooden shoes?","content_html":"The biggest event in the entertainment industry this week (as far as the Screeners are concerned, at least) was the news of Roger Ebert’s death. The Screeners open the episode by paying tribute to the first movie critic to get his own star on the Walk of Fame, sharing their favorite memories of Ebert’s life and work.
As promised in the show, here’s the original blog post Josh mentioned; turns out it’s been made into a book. And here’s the Rob Schneider exchange Chad excerpted. In the spirit of fairness, though, it’s worth mentioning that Schneider didn’t end this little feud as belligerently as it began.
Moving on to Jump Cuts, the Screeners consider Disney’s recent shuttering of the LucasArts video game studio. Apparently, Josh is the only one who pays attention to the credits screens in the Lego series to see where they’re made. So sad.
Next, not to spoil the episode or anything, but one Screener loved the new GI Joe movie, and one, not so much. If you can’t guess at least one of the mystery identities by now, let us know so we can tell the Screeners that they’ve done a terrible job of introducing themselves so far.
The gloves come off for the third Jump Cut, as the Screeners take on the piracy debate at the center of some comments from Game of Thrones director David Patrarca. The question for the Screeners isn’t so much about whether piracy is good or bad, but about how wrong Chad is. C’mon, Chad; how can you fight Chris’s reasoning? He’s got the Nords on his side!
And in order to not make the summary of the last lightning round question longer than the discussion itself, we have two words: Upstream Color.
There’s a lot happening on the small screen right now, and the Screeners have vowed to take in as much of it as possible. Game of Thrones draws first (dragon) blood in the discussion this time, as three followers of the series and one loser who hasn’t seen a minute of it give their impressions on the season 3 opener.
From warriors to medics; the next premiere on the Screeners’ plate is Dr. Who. Is he, like, the most powerful being in the universe or whatever (sorry, Melody; we couldn’t resist), or is he just another quack? All four Screeners have a different perspective on the series, so answering this proves to be a fun romp through space and time.
But that’s not all! With Bates Motel, A&E has transitioned from the real-life horror of abandoned storage units and the houses their contents came from to the much more pleasant topic of serial killer origin stories. The Screeners are ready for a gritty thrill ride, but is the network concealing something far uglier than Norman’s adolescence?
To round out the main event, the Screeners couldn’t talk the week in TV without mentioning the Walking Dead season finale, even though only two of them have seen it. This part is filled with spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the episode yet, you might just want to skip ahead to the next segment.
We remember movies for dialog, characters, cinematography, and a myriad of other things, but some of the most lasting recollections from a film can be their scores. A great film (or television) score elevates the content it surrounds, and the effect isn’t lost on the Screeners, who are huge fans of music as well as cinema.
Below are the selections the Screeners singled out this time, but they already have others in mind for the future.
What are some of your favorite moments in cinema music? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you next time, when the Screeners will review the new Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller Oblivion.
*That’s right; that’s two Scandinavia shout-outs in one post. How do you like us now, Holland? Just kidding; we love you too, Holland. Who can stay mad at wooden shoes?
","summary":"We review of some of TV’s hottest premieres and finales.","date_published":"2013-04-11T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/680b4006-526b-4e3e-9a10-779ec6e2cc5b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":64046813,"duration_in_seconds":4388}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:515762aee4b05239ba860de4","title":"Episode 4: The Art of History and Mystery","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/4","content_text":"Get out your controllers and settle in for a long night of not communicating with the outside world, because this time around, the Screeners are reviewing 2K Games’ blockbuster Bioshock Infinite. If you’re not a gamer, though, not to worry; there’s still plenty of movie and TV talk to go around.The Lightning Round ReduxBefore getting into the meat of this episode’s lightning round, the Screeners take a minute to confess that they haven’t really been sticking to a 60-second answer limit in previous episodes (though we’re sure no one would have known if they hadn’t pointed it out). They then introduce the nemesis of any long-winded Screener, the Jump Cut buzzer. We’ll see if they need it...who are we kidding? Of course they’ll need it.The questions start out with Gerard Butler and Olympus Has Fallen, the White House-levelling action thriller. Melody and Chad take turns mocking the amateurish visual effects and praising the...delightfully campy visual effects. There might have been some talk about the acting and the script too, but let's just say there was only one Screener who liked the movie unconditionally. Guess who that was?From DC to Marvel; topic 2 is the new Wolverine trailer—err, “tweaser”. Seems the kids are using this thing called “Vine” to do...whatever kids do with 6 seconds of video, and film studios may have picked this to be the one time they’re ahead of the content distribution curve. Josh complains that he’d like to see just a few more cuts in the trailer, and everyone else agrees. Wait; that can’t be right...The next jump is from movies to metrics, as the Screeners observe a moment of silence for Neilsen’s decades-old ratings model. With an in-depth Wired piece as a reference, they consider that the week-long ratings cycle might finally be dead, especially for cable-scorning hipsters like Chris and Melody. Oh, and let's have a moment of silence for that poor Neilsen family. All they ever did wrong was like bad TV.Rounding out the lightning round is a quick review of the Screeners’ personal favorites in the podcast world. Here’s a shocker: Josh hasn’t heard any of the others’ favorites. Notable mentions include A Cast of Kings and The Q & A Podcast.Into InfiniteFor this week’s main event, you may want to crack open your favorite secessionist American history book and a copy of Atlas Shrugged, because the Screeners are reviewing a video game. (If you can think of a less likely second half for that last sentence, please let us know in the comments.)Bioshock has always been a genre-defier, and the latest incarnation is no exception. It’s won awards and nearly universal acclaim, but do the Screeners agree? As of this recording, they’ve all played it, but they’re at different points in the story, so Josh refuses to let Chris and Chad (those overachievers) spoil the ending for anyone.Ha ha, Made you WatchFor this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, the Screeners have come up with a new game to enlighten and/or torment each other. They’re calling it “Convince Me to Watch”—each Screener picks a movie specifically for one other host to watch, and the pair convene during the episode to discuss.As a side note, all these movies are streaming on Netflix as of this writing, so if you have a subscription, you won’t have to spend any money to join in this segment’s fun.First up is Melody, who tells Josh he really should watch Side By Side, a documentary about the movie industry and the reception of digital production in a world ruled by film for so long. The movie’s discussion is moderated by Keanu Reeves, and Josh’s main complaint about the film (can we call them “films” anymore?) is that Keanu has apparently judged himself competent enough to say more than “Whoa.” in a movie.Switching roles from reviewer to presenter, Josh has selected Visioneers, an offbeat dystopian comedy built around a growing epidemic of people spontaneously exploding. He’s picked this for Chris, and he’s positively giddy about his choice because he loved the movie and thinks there’s a small chance Chris liked it too. He’s guessing, though, that Chris's lack of experience with soul-crushing jobs, existential crises, and introspection about the nihilism lurking behind every corner of modern life might lead him to a somewhat...different reaction than his own. Either way, at least one of them will be happy.Chris then introduces The Imposter, another documentary about the disappearance of a small boy and his possible reappearance over a decade later. This one’s for Chad to comment on, and he spends much of his time remarking on the way director Bart Layton has used the documentary format in a somewhat unconventional way. No plot spoilers here; the less you know about the movie, the better; but it’s worth listening to Chad’s review so you can be on the lookout for some of the film’s finer production details.Last up is Chad, who takes great joy in having recommended a movie about the world of mixed martial arts to a mother of two young children. Melody admits that she wasn’t too excited by Warrior at first, but what did she think by the end of it? Well, we're not giving away the ending of that one either.That does it for this episode; if the Screeners convinced you to watch (or play) something, let them know what you thought of it in the comments. See you next time!","content_html":"Get out your controllers and settle in for a long night of not communicating with the outside world, because this time around, the Screeners are reviewing 2K Games’ blockbuster Bioshock Infinite. If you’re not a gamer, though, not to worry; there’s still plenty of movie and TV talk to go around.
Before getting into the meat of this episode’s lightning round, the Screeners take a minute to confess that they haven’t really been sticking to a 60-second answer limit in previous episodes (though we’re sure no one would have known if they hadn’t pointed it out). They then introduce the nemesis of any long-winded Screener, the Jump Cut buzzer. We’ll see if they need it...who are we kidding? Of course they’ll need it.
The questions start out with Gerard Butler and Olympus Has Fallen, the White House-levelling action thriller. Melody and Chad take turns mocking the amateurish visual effects and praising the...delightfully campy visual effects. There might have been some talk about the acting and the script too, but let's just say there was only one Screener who liked the movie unconditionally. Guess who that was?
From DC to Marvel; topic 2 is the new Wolverine trailer—err, “tweaser”. Seems the kids are using this thing called “Vine” to do...whatever kids do with 6 seconds of video, and film studios may have picked this to be the one time they’re ahead of the content distribution curve. Josh complains that he’d like to see just a few more cuts in the trailer, and everyone else agrees. Wait; that can’t be right...
The next jump is from movies to metrics, as the Screeners observe a moment of silence for Neilsen’s decades-old ratings model. With an in-depth Wired piece as a reference, they consider that the week-long ratings cycle might finally be dead, especially for cable-scorning hipsters like Chris and Melody. Oh, and let's have a moment of silence for that poor Neilsen family. All they ever did wrong was like bad TV.
Rounding out the lightning round is a quick review of the Screeners’ personal favorites in the podcast world. Here’s a shocker: Josh hasn’t heard any of the others’ favorites. Notable mentions include A Cast of Kings and The Q & A Podcast.
For this week’s main event, you may want to crack open your favorite secessionist American history book and a copy of Atlas Shrugged, because the Screeners are reviewing a video game. (If you can think of a less likely second half for that last sentence, please let us know in the comments.)
Bioshock has always been a genre-defier, and the latest incarnation is no exception. It’s won awards and nearly universal acclaim, but do the Screeners agree? As of this recording, they’ve all played it, but they’re at different points in the story, so Josh refuses to let Chris and Chad (those overachievers) spoil the ending for anyone.
For this episode’s Cutting Room Floor, the Screeners have come up with a new game to enlighten and/or torment each other. They’re calling it “Convince Me to Watch”—each Screener picks a movie specifically for one other host to watch, and the pair convene during the episode to discuss.
As a side note, all these movies are streaming on Netflix as of this writing, so if you have a subscription, you won’t have to spend any money to join in this segment’s fun.
First up is Melody, who tells Josh he really should watch Side By Side, a documentary about the movie industry and the reception of digital production in a world ruled by film for so long. The movie’s discussion is moderated by Keanu Reeves, and Josh’s main complaint about the film (can we call them “films” anymore?) is that Keanu has apparently judged himself competent enough to say more than “Whoa.” in a movie.
Switching roles from reviewer to presenter, Josh has selected Visioneers, an offbeat dystopian comedy built around a growing epidemic of people spontaneously exploding. He’s picked this for Chris, and he’s positively giddy about his choice because he loved the movie and thinks there’s a small chance Chris liked it too. He’s guessing, though, that Chris's lack of experience with soul-crushing jobs, existential crises, and introspection about the nihilism lurking behind every corner of modern life might lead him to a somewhat...different reaction than his own. Either way, at least one of them will be happy.
Chris then introduces The Imposter, another documentary about the disappearance of a small boy and his possible reappearance over a decade later. This one’s for Chad to comment on, and he spends much of his time remarking on the way director Bart Layton has used the documentary format in a somewhat unconventional way. No plot spoilers here; the less you know about the movie, the better; but it’s worth listening to Chad’s review so you can be on the lookout for some of the film’s finer production details.
Last up is Chad, who takes great joy in having recommended a movie about the world of mixed martial arts to a mother of two young children. Melody admits that she wasn’t too excited by Warrior at first, but what did she think by the end of it? Well, we're not giving away the ending of that one either.
That does it for this episode; if the Screeners convinced you to watch (or play) something, let them know what you thought of it in the comments. See you next time!
","summary":"Bioshock Infinite, movie recommendations and innovations in movie trailers & the TV rating system.","date_published":"2013-04-01T21:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/5548aa60-ca8a-4149-a514-37ca21a7f78a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":91663245,"duration_in_seconds":3663}]},{"id":"512d194de4b0734471c0bc0d:512d194de4b0734471c0bc19:514a36d9e4b03b31bef6cd97","title":"Episode 3: Behind the Magic","url":"https://screenerspodcast.com/3","content_text":"The Screeners host a double-feature this time, heading to the theater for both Oz: The Great and Powerful and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Before the conversation turns to wizards, monkeys, and the somewhat blurry line between them, though, they spend a little time outside Hollywood with a round of Jump Cuts.How to Raise Money, and Where Not to Spend it (01:23)The lightning round opens with a nerdfest about the increasing accessibility of cinema and video production. The Black Magic Cinema Camera gets a nod for its recent use in a feature-length movie, and the Screeners talk about their experience with it and other increasingly affordable theater-quality digital cameras.Next, the round gets charged, but maybe not so lightning-fast anymore, as the Screeners take on the recent Veronica Mars Kickstarter success, touching on everything from the revolutionary nature of crowdfunding a studio-backed movie to Joss Whedon’s reaction to the news.Having talked enough about worthy causes, the Screeners move on to one of the newest trends in the gaming market: Microtransactions. CliffyB’s defense of the practice isn’t winning too many hearts over here, though Chad does note the extreme difficulty of building a successful virtual farm while juggling a career and family on the side. A magic grape every now and then might just be a good buy; you decide.Moving on to a less visually assaulting medium, the Screeners spend some time talking about what they’re currently reading or have just finished. Josh mentions a couple good books and totally shafts the authors by not giving their names (sorry about that), and mysterious forces try to prevent Chris from talking about his recommendation. Links are at the bottom of this post, but don’t look down there before you listen if you want to be surprised by the titles.Now, to Pull Back this Curtain... (Oz, 27:00; Burt Wonderstone, 42:00)So, does the modern-day prequel to the The Wizard of Oz make us all feel like kids again? What’s it like to see Jim Carrey be funny in a movie again? Or was he funny in Burt Wonderstone? The main event has the answers to those questions and many more (including the perennial favorite, “How annoyed does Josh have to be before he becomes completely incoherent?”). Oh, and a little pro-tip for producers: Spend the extra coin on those opening credits; Melody’s watching closely. As with other Screeners reviews, there's a spoiler-free overview for each movie, but then thar' be spoilers, so head out when you hear Vader if you want the plots to be farmer's market fresh for you when you get to the theater.Nothing Beats Nostalgia (51:50)Longer reviews behind them, the Screeners offer an homage to a favorite from the Totally Rad Show: A Flickchart battle royale. In it, we learn that the 90’s was a golden age of cinema (who knew?), and that Chris and Melody can’t stand movies with more words than explosions (guess who doesn’t write the show notes...). Since the movies in this segment are the only ones on there so far, you, um, might not want to check out the Screeners’ Flickchart page, but hey; everyone could use a good laugh, right?Roll CreditsThat’s it for this time. We’ll be back with a new episode in a couple weeks; until then, stay occupied by leaving us some feedback or ideas in the comments here or over on Facebook (and go ahead and like us while you’re there; we like you too, we promise).Here are those links we promised earlier. Reading’s fundamental, folks (and yes, these are Amazon affiliate links, because you can’t spell “fundamental” without “fund me”):John Carter and the Gods of HollywoodPlatformTrue Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact SocietyPhantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human MindBeyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape 14","content_html":"The Screeners host a double-feature this time, heading to the theater for both Oz: The Great and Powerful and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Before the conversation turns to wizards, monkeys, and the somewhat blurry line between them, though, they spend a little time outside Hollywood with a round of Jump Cuts.
The lightning round opens with a nerdfest about the increasing accessibility of cinema and video production. The Black Magic Cinema Camera gets a nod for its recent use in a feature-length movie, and the Screeners talk about their experience with it and other increasingly affordable theater-quality digital cameras.
Next, the round gets charged, but maybe not so lightning-fast anymore, as the Screeners take on the recent Veronica Mars Kickstarter success, touching on everything from the revolutionary nature of crowdfunding a studio-backed movie to Joss Whedon’s reaction to the news.
Having talked enough about worthy causes, the Screeners move on to one of the newest trends in the gaming market: Microtransactions. CliffyB’s defense of the practice isn’t winning too many hearts over here, though Chad does note the extreme difficulty of building a successful virtual farm while juggling a career and family on the side. A magic grape every now and then might just be a good buy; you decide.
Moving on to a less visually assaulting medium, the Screeners spend some time talking about what they’re currently reading or have just finished. Josh mentions a couple good books and totally shafts the authors by not giving their names (sorry about that), and mysterious forces try to prevent Chris from talking about his recommendation. Links are at the bottom of this post, but don’t look down there before you listen if you want to be surprised by the titles.
So, does the modern-day prequel to the The Wizard of Oz make us all feel like kids again? What’s it like to see Jim Carrey be funny in a movie again? Or was he funny in Burt Wonderstone? The main event has the answers to those questions and many more (including the perennial favorite, “How annoyed does Josh have to be before he becomes completely incoherent?”). Oh, and a little pro-tip for producers: Spend the extra coin on those opening credits; Melody’s watching closely.
As with other Screeners reviews, there's a spoiler-free overview for each movie, but then thar' be spoilers, so head out when you hear Vader if you want the plots to be farmer's market fresh for you when you get to the theater.
Longer reviews behind them, the Screeners offer an homage to a favorite from the Totally Rad Show: A Flickchart battle royale. In it, we learn that the 90’s was a golden age of cinema (who knew?), and that Chris and Melody can’t stand movies with more words than explosions (guess who doesn’t write the show notes...). Since the movies in this segment are the only ones on there so far, you, um, might not want to check out the Screeners’ Flickchart page, but hey; everyone could use a good laugh, right?
That’s it for this time. We’ll be back with a new episode in a couple weeks; until then, stay occupied by leaving us some feedback or ideas in the comments here or over on Facebook (and go ahead and like us while you’re there; we like you too, we promise).
Here are those links we promised earlier. Reading’s fundamental, folks (and yes, these are Amazon affiliate links, because you can’t spell “fundamental” without “fund me”):
Good news! The Screeners Podcast pilot passed the test, and they’ve been picked up for a full run by...the network that they run. Hey; it’s still an accomplishment—and they’re on iTunes now, so once you’re done previewing the episode here, head over there to subscribe.
This time, with the Oscars behind them, the Screeners are ready to move on to the year ahead and discuss a variety of non-film media.
This episode, the Screeners take an in-depth look at The Americans, FX’s new period drama focused on the marriage of two KGB sleeper agents living in DC in the early 1980’s. To start out, they take a bird's-eye view of the series, devoid of any spoilers.
Any good pilot has to establish some characters, so the Screeners start out by introducing themselves. Josh leads with a story illustrating his questionable credentials as a movie critic, and everyone else points out that he’s also bad at telling stories.
\n\nUp next is the lightning round - a round-robin question-and-answer where the only rule is that every host is given one minute or less to...ignore that they’re supposed to answer within one minute. Should JJ Abrams be directing Star Wars? What movies are you looking forward to this year? If you were writing a fan-fiction spinoff of Breaking Bad, which illegal substance would you have the main character produce? Only one of those wasn’t an actual question; don’t you wish you knew which one?
\n\nSince the Oscars have dominated media news lately, much of the episode is devoted to discussing the nominees for some of the main (and not-so-main) categories, the winners, and those who got robbed.
\nThe screeners go around the room to give their own top 3 for Best Picture. We also learn that it only takes 20 frames to shape Chris’s opinion of an actor and that no one but Chad has seen Django Unchained, but that not everyone cares.
Movies may be the focus of the episode, but there’s more to our show. Sprinkled throughout the Oscar musings and retrospectives of 2012 in cinema are some hints at the Screeners’ other interests.
\n\nThe next obvious screen is the one in our living rooms. Melody brings up shows some of us had tried very hard to forget, Chad expresses his love for bad soap operas, and Chris illustrates how you can want to love a show so much that you can convince yourself it’s good.
\n\nWe couldn’t go a whole episode without talking about video games, but unfortunately, the big news in the gaming world is the PS4. Whoop-de-doo. There; that summarizes that segment.
\n\nNo one wants to make Microsoft’s mistake and completely ignore the mobile industry, so Chris saves us all by bringing up an iOS game he used to love that’s recently been cannibalised by a gaming industry giant. We recorded before this came out, but a fair depiction of our opinions can be found over at Penny Arcade.
\n\nWe wrap up the first episode with a quick look into our future - because we’re also psychic. Bet you didn’t know that. Seriously, though, this show’s going to be a lot of fun as we get going, so drop by from time to time and let us know what you’d like to hear us argue about - or you can argue with us yourself if that’s your thing. See you next time!
","summary":"Intros, Top Picks 2012, Oscar rants and raves, and predictions.","date_published":"2013-03-01T13:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/15272701-2f5b-4fb3-81f6-b494b321b3f9/83a8dc55-8242-45af-bf88-75cca7cdf553.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":86009551,"duration_in_seconds":3568}]}]}