John Wick 2/Logan

John Wick 2 and Logan go together like peanut butter and jelly...like biscuits and gravy...like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong. These two blood-soaked films show that style, substance, and a hard R rating, can still find an audience in a world where too many films are watered down to try and appeal to the largest audience possible. Then again, someone brought a baby to our screening of Logan, so maybe it is a movie for everyone. Spoiler alert, the baby seemed to hate Logan, and we seemed to hate the parents who brought a baby to a late show of an R rated film. Also, Drew sings poorly, and everyone gangs up on Sean for his thoughts on Ruby Rose's character in JW2. So pretty much what always happens. 

 

Enjoy!

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Rewind: 1986

We aren't just about new movies here at COTR, sometimes we like to look back to a simpler time, when movies and our palates were far less sophisticated. Ryan, Roy, Sean and myself all made a list of out 5 favorite movies from 1986, along with our least favorite movie from that year. We also each watched something for the first time, something that maybe we should have watched in the last 30 years, but just couldn't get around to it. We will of course be reviewing new movies in the future, but occasionally it is just as much fun to look back. 

 

Enjoy!

Best of 2014 Part Two

Part Two of our Best of 2014 list, AKA the part where we're a bit more inebriated, a bit more incoherent, and a bit more loud.  Also Drew and Ryan rant about Guardians of the Galaxy being overrated, and everybody thinks Ryan is crazy because he tries to parallel best picture nominee The Grand Budapest Hotel to Deuce Bigelow. I was going to put a Deuce Bigelow poster on here, but could not bring myself to do it because it's one of the worst films ever.  So, also, Nightcrawler is discussed.

Best of 2014 Part One

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whip-7

After a long layoff.......about a year and a half, give or take.....we decided to overdo it a bit.  Collecting two enthusiastic friends (Sean McClain and Roy King), we each meticulously created a top 10 list.  With an honorable mention.  And some films we didn't like too much.  And some disappointments.  Then we added booze to the mix.  This all led to about a three hour recording, which we've decided to parse in to two separate podcasts.  That way after you finish the first part and your ears hurt from all of our tomfoolery, you can claim you didn't know about the second part.

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01-best-new-superhero-movies-2014-2015-i-frankestein
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2 Guns/The Conjuring/The Kill List

2 guns
2 guns

We are all over the map this time. Action movie with A-List actors and big explosions...check. Successful horror movie that is bound to be a franchise...check. Low budget British mystery/thriller with accents so thick subtitles are required...got it. Differing opinions on one or more of today's movies...you betcha'! Picture of Burt Reynolds laying naked on a bearskin rug...er...sure thing. Anything for our 2 fans.  

conjuring
conjuring
burt reynolds
burt reynolds

Mud and This is the End

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theend_poster
mud-movie-poster
mud-movie-poster

Drew and I pride ourselves on tying the two films in our podcasts together even with the most tenuous parallels. Mud is an "Indie" film about two young boys living on a river (presumably the Mississippi) in Arkansas who stumble upon a fugitive named Mud living in a deserted boat in the woods.  Mud claims his crime was one of passion, to defend the woman he loves, and implores the boys to help him escape his predicament.

This is the End, meanwhile, is a rollicking, often vulgar comedy about the end of the world starring a bunch of fairly well-know to not-so-well-known actors playing themselves.

Are they both side-splittingly funny?  Are they both about the power of love?  Do they both have great performances from Jonah Hill?  Guess you'll just have to listen.

Aftershock/John Dies at the End

Aftershock
Aftershock

Tired of how we are always talking about movies that people have heard of? Well this episode is just for you. How unknown are these movies? Ryan and I saw Aftershock on opening weekend, and during that weekend it made $40,000 total. Just how little is that for a movie to make? Well that same weekend, Silver Linings Playbook, having been released six months before, and and having already been released on blu ray and dvd two weeks before, still managed to make three times as much as Aftershock that weekend. We work tirelessly to find you the real hidden gems. You're welcome. John Dies at the End...well...what can I say about a movie like this? It really just needs to be experienced. I just don't have the words right now, and yet somehow we thought it would make a perfect movie to talk about while we drink and record it for all of you. I'm sorry.

Killing Them Softly and Looper

It's getting near Christmas, so we though not only would we finally record a new podcast, our gift to you, but that we would also fill it with seasonal films.  Which is exactly why we reviewed Looper -- a futuristic, time-travelling sci-fi film about hitmen hired to kill their future selves -- and Killing Them Softly -- a gritty, violent, hard-hitting picture centered around a New Orleans mob.So pull up a chair, warm your chestnuts, and spike your egg-nog!   Christmas season is here!

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Killing_Them_Softly_poster
looper
looper

Lockout and The Dark Knight Rises

DKR
DKR
Lockout
Lockout

Could The Dark Knight Rises really ever be the movie that everyone wanted it to be? All Nolan would have to do would be to make not only the greatest comic book movie of all time, but maybe one of the best movies in general. Well I hate to spoil things for you, but TDKR did not outdo it's predecessor, or perhaps it is even the worst of the bunch...at least to one of us. Then we thought it was a good idea to watch Lockout. I have never shared the same dislike for the French that many Americans seem to have, but if this is the kind of films they are going to make, I may jump on the wagon. To be fair, I also blame Patrick Morris, who told me it was soooo good! Patty also suggested I watch  Running Scared, which I also talk about in this show.  

Damn you Pat!!!

Or instead of ever watching Lockout, watch this trailer instead. We both think it looks pretty awesome.

The Amazing Spiderman & Moonrise Kingdom

amazing spiderman
amazing spiderman
moonrise
moonrise

You may not see the connection, but I believe these two movie share a common thread. To many people, Spiderman and the newest film by Wes Anderson seems like just more of the same thing that we've seen before. It would be easy to dismiss either film based on that assumption, but would you be missing out on the best example in both line of films? I guess you will just have to listen to what we have to say, ignore what we say, and make up your own mind.

Prometheus and John Carter

Prometheus Logo
Prometheus Logo
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john-carter-of-mars-image-1

A lot of revelations in this podcast, in particular Drew admits John Carter wasn't as bad as he though it would be (although it is hard to be disappointed by a film like John Carter when your expectations are so low).  And speaking of expectations, Prometheus didn't meet either of ours, although we did delight in Fassbender's turn as a mostly malevolent android. But the podcast also leaves a lot of questions hanging.  Who are the "engineers" in Prometheus?  Did they have some greater plan in mind?  Who's a better actor, Taylor Kitsch or Noomi Rapace?  Why are so many of the "martians" just humans in different colored capes?  And, even though it was written a 100 years ago, couldn't Carter's "super power" be more exciting than jumping real high?

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The Avengers and Dead Heat

Avengers
Avengers

Of course everyone in the world will be watching The Avengers, so our opinion is just a drop in the sea of comments about Joss Whedon's crazy successful film. Rather, enjoy learning about the Treat Williams/Joe Piscopo horror/comedy/action/buddy cop film, Dead Heat. Few movies are as bonkers as this one. Remember that time you dropped a few tabs of acid and thought you were being attack by lunch meat? All of that basically happens in Dead Heat, and I dare say that isn't even the weirdest part of the movie. It was the perfect movie to pair with one of the biggest movies of the year. Which of the two movies were better? I guess you'll just have to listen to the show. ...The Avengers was better.

dead heat
dead heat

Cabin in the Woods and Birdemic

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cabin
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Joan_PINK_YELLOW_flat_CMYK_REV.psd

What?  Two podcasts in one week?  I know, your dreams have finally come true.  And what a podcast this one happens to be.  The Whedon/Goddard penned (and long shelved) Cabin in the Woods, and the highly overlooked...............horror? film, BIRDEMIC.  Shudder in terror as "eagles" dive bomb unwitting townsfolk.  Laugh as a man is attacked by a unicorn.  Cower as Alan Bagh delivers each and every line of dialogue.  It's all here friends, all here.

21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games

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hunger
21 jump st
21 jump st

Believe it or  not, we originally planned on watching Wrath of the Titans.It appears as though some higher power is looking out for us, because we watched The Hunger Games instead. I can't say for certain that Wrath of the Titans was going to be a bad film, but the first Titans films was one of the worst movies Ryan and I have watched together. I know that we should be watching more bad films, but until theaters start letting us walk in for free, you are going to have to listen to reviews of movies were are actually interested in watching. I wouldn't hold you breath for a review of The Three Stooges...you might get one for The Raven.

Chronicle

chronicle
chronicle

I kept expecting a talking lion and some Christian allegory, but perhaps I was thinking of a different Chronicle. Has the "found footage" genre finally jumped the shark? Can a low budget superhero movie possibly hope to succeed in a world with $250,000,000 behemoths like John Carter out there? Can the snap of a Slim Jim be picked up on on our microphones during the show? These answers and more in the new episode.