Movie Madness

On the latest Blu-ray edition of the podcast, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims reminisce on some classic TV, their updates and just how many incarnations of the Brady Bunch there were. They also look back on the origins of the Kevin Costner film, No Way Out, some classic sci-fi from Shout Factory and show disdain for the new Pet Sematary remake. But there is also some serious praise a NASA documentary, an animated sequel, a wrenching true-life survival tale and the latest masterwork from Jordan Peele.   Fox (Lost In Space: Season One) Arrow (The Big Clock) Shout Factory (Quatermass & the Pit, Quatermass II, Night of the Creeps) Kino (The House of the Seven Gables, The Strange Door) Paramount (Jack Ryan: Season One, South Park: Season 22, The Brady Bunch Collection, Pet Sematary 2019) Universal (Apollo 11, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Beach Bum, Hotel Mumbai, Fighting With My Family, Us) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bon

Coming off of the long July 4 holiday week, Erik Childress examines how people getting burned on Toy Story 4 led them to underestimate the chances of Spider-Man: Far From Home; a film he has been saying for weeks was headed for an Avengers bump. Somebody was proven right. As we head into a go-between week at the movies while everyone waits for The Lion King, Erik analyzes the successes of what are likely to be the top two films again this week and delights at the titles most comparable to the responses to Ari Aster’s Midsommar This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Erik Childress travels back with Sergio Mims to catch up on the releases from Disney this year and has them contemplating the value of their Movie Club where other previously unreleased Blu-rays exist. Then they bring you into the present to look at some newly released classics from Criterion involving music, dance and the Russians. In-between the discussion looks into a pair of cult titles from Shout Factory and the legacy of the sci-fi classic (depending on who you ask) known as This Island Earth.   Disney (Mary Poppins Returns, Captain Marvel, Cinderella, Dumbo, Ralph Breaks the Internet. The Little Mermaid) Shout Factory (Silent Hill, Frankenstein Created Woman, This Island Earth Criterion (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, War and Peace, Swing Time) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Catching up on two weeks worth of box office, Erik Childress examines the re-written headlines after Toy Story 4 did not live up to the guesstimators. Are people now lowballing Spider-Man: Far From Home as a result? He also looks at Danny Boyle’s biggest opener to date as well as how the latest horror remakes and sequels are doing and urges you to check out an original one hitting theaters this summer. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Comic book expert Erik Laws returns to the podcast to discuss the final chapter of the current phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Far From Home. What are the origins of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio character and how does he fit into Peter Parker’s story? Spoilers are certainly abound in this episode as the Eriks dive deep into the numerous twists and turns of this latest adventure including how such a fun series may have a darker political undercurrent running through it. That leads to some less favorable thoughts about Todd Phillips’ Joker film in what is an otherwise pretty joyful conversation about the direction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Erik Childress & Sergio Mims bypass all but some fun comparative stats on last week’s box office losers. Then they prepare for Toy Story 4 and Erik goes over his new thinking on Spider-Man: Far From Home and what the re-issue of Avengers: Endgame with new end credit footage will mean for its run at Avatar’s record. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Erik Childress and Sergio Mims go into the latest in Blu-rays and DVDs by discussing a film once advertised as one of the scariest movies ever as well as another horror film that was overlooked and is actually much freakier. They also discuss the origin of Batman’s Joker, the “Morgan Fairchild Experience,” two of the great filmmakers in Hal Ashby and Buster Keaton and another who, with only one film, may someday be looked back upon as well.   Olive (The Believers, How To Stuff a Wild Bikini) Flicker Alley (The Man Who Laughs, The Last Machine) Shout Factory (Earthquake, Seduction, The Universal Horror Collection Vol. 1, Fatso, The Entity, Mystery Science Theater 300 Vol. 11) Oscilloscope (Columbus, Hal) Cohen Media Group (The Buster Keaton Collection Vol. 1) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

On this mini-episode of the podcast we check in on the box office. Though The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Dark Phoenix led the way, both could be part of a larger trend of sequel rejection. But is that entirely true or are they just bad? We begin to investigate. Also find out which films they have the most in common with audiences and critics and does Disney have a plan in place for Avengers: Endgame to beat Avatar’s global record? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Steve Prokopy joins this episode to talk about this year’s Cinepocalypse Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago which is quickly becoming one of the most noted genre fests in the country. Hear all about special guests ranging from Michael Ironside to Joe Bob Briggs, numerous archival screenings, one of the best horror films that premiered at Sundance this year and how a gory possessed dinosaur film became just another forgotten PG-13 curiosity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

After the event with Tom Skerritt at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims can’t help but take another look at the new 4K release of Alien. Also discussed on 4K are the Batman films from Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher which leads into a dive of which of them were actually good. Twilight Time offers up some great westerns, David Lynch and Gaspar Noe get some praise for rough watches and as revenge pictures go, Liam Neeson has an underrated one, Olivia Wilde a much overlooked one and a third tries to beat Quentin Tarantino and fails miserably.   Fox (Alien 4K) Criterion (Blue Velvet) Warner Bros. (A Star is Born Encore Edition, Batman 4K, Batman Returns 4K, Batman Forever 4K, Batman & Robin 4K) Warner Archive (Frankenstein 1970, Summer Stock, Shaft’s Big Score) Arrow (The Running Man, The Andromeda Strain) Kino (The Nightcomers) Twilight Time (Morituri, Bandolero, Warlock) Lionsgate (The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Crank 4K, Cold Pursuit 4K, Climax, A Vigilante) This is a public e

In the first mini-episode of the podcast, Erik Childress serves up a number of unique stats correlating to the recent releases at the box office. Along with Sergio Mims they breakdown the potential failure of Warner Bros.’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters, how Rocketman is faring compared to other rock biopics and while Ma may be part of a success story beyond Blumhouse, Tate Taylor’s ignorance in his oeuvre remains astounding. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

For the latest batch of new Blu-rays, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims offer a pair of documentaries about wildly different filmmakers, discuss the latest from Criterion highlighting an action legend and a 60 year-old film that is more relevant today than ever. They also tie-in the cinema moments that traumatized them as kids, how audiences reacted to Alien in the summer of 1979 and the ongoing debate of great art vs. artists with baggage. Then to wrap things up, there is even a defense of Robert Zemeckis’ Welcome to Marwen, particularly in the light of some atrocious sequels being offered from the same studio.   La La Land Entertainment (King Cohen) Cohen Media (The Great Buster) Fox (Alien 4K) Criterion (A Face in the Crowd, Police Story 1 & 2) Indicator (No Orchids for Miss Blandish) Twilight Time (Melvin and Howard, The Snake Pit, Stagecoach (1966)) Indicator Lions Gate (Lord of War 4K, The Witch 4K, Dragged Across Concrete) Universal (Welcome To Marwen, Glass, Serenity, Backdraft 2) This is a public ep

Shout! Factory is one of our favorite companies here on the podcast. Their mixture of genre classics and modern ones is a constant pleasure, no matter the quality of the film themselves. So as their release output piled up over the past few weeks, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims decided to dedicate an entire show to 18 of their recent titles. Vampires, werewolves, witches, serial killers, viruses, giant insects, rats, poison ivy, kung fu and a Manitou. What more do you need? Cause there is more.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Catching up once again on Blu-rays, Erik Childress & Sergio Mims talk up some titles you may have missed in theaters during awards season. Mixed in with new titles from Twilight Time and Indicator, plus some Warner Archive titles that make Sergio giddy, they get into what happened with Steve McQueen’s Widows and proclaim their love again for Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk. But Creed II is not the only sequel they will discuss as it is time to turn off the lights, lock the door and get into a lot of…discussion about the one, but not only, Emmanuelle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in earnest in 2008 with Iron Man and it is now concluding with Avengers: Endgame. Comic book expert Erik Laws joins Erik Childress to discuss this epic journey through every beat of its epic conclusion. Spoilers are abound here so you are warned because the only way to talk about it is to read between the lines of what Endgame pays off in nearly every scene. References to both the series and the comics, Alan Silvestri’s winks to past scores, and relationships that come full circle with all the excitement and emotion it can dish out. Even the Eriks’ favorite movies are shouted out and one of them may have been close to a heart attack. Learn about all this and more through a jam-packed show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Erik Childress’ annual box office predictions are here. He runs down his choices for the 20 films on a path to make the most money this summer while Sergio Mims throws in his two cents as well. Can anything possibly challenge Avengers: Endgame to lead the way? Can three movies alone from Disney top two billion in domestic sales? Will Aladdin be more Beauty and the Beast or Dumbo? How much do the Men In Black and X-Men series have in the tank? Is Pikachu really a thing? Can any comedy crack $100 million not counting Tarantino, Hobbs or Shaw? All these questions and more will be answered as they go through the entire summer down to nearly every last title. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress to play a little catch-up with Blu-ray titles released from Shout Factory, Kino, Mill Creek and Universal. They delve into that literally ancient John Wayne controversy, explain why Cobra is one of the greatest movies ever, disagree over a Belushi/Aykroyd film but agree wholeheartedly on one of the great TV shows and how the Oscars blew it this year.   Shout Factory (Cobra, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, When Harry Met Sally. Sarah T.: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic) Kino (Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, The Appaloosa) Mill Creek (Hostel 1 & 2, Barb Wire, Donnie Brasco, The Rundown, Neighbors, The Shield: The Complete Series) Universal (Green Book)   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Erik Childress returns from his 17th year covering the festival in Austin and has in store some long lead previews including the latest from Seth Rogen; one opposite Charlize Theron and another producing for the great Jacob Tremblay. But there are also reviews for Kevin Costner, Tatiana Maslany and Nick Kroll, a reminder of one of the year’s best performances from Elisabeth Moss and everything leading up to the film that was not only the best of SXSW but the best film Erik has seen to date this year. On top of it all is a preview of the Chicago Critics Film Festival taking place this May once again at the Music Box Theatre. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Getting caught up on the latest in Blu-rays is what Erik Childress and Sergio Mims do for you. They go through some recently praised horror along with the taboo remnants of yesteryear involving The Group and a certain Boss. Though the past comes back with the terrific remake of A Star is Born they also have time to talk Hitchcock, Charles Burnett and the long-awaited third commentary track of Mr. Mims.   Paramount (Overlord, Kidding: Season One, American Vandal) Lions Gate (At Eternity’s Gate, Suspiria) Warner Bros. (A Star is Born 4K) MVD (Windtalkers, Boss) Kino (The Group) Criterion (Notorious, Shame, To Sleep with Anger) Arrow (My Name is Julia Ross, So Dark the Night, Horror Express, Willie Dynamite)   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com

Marvel’s first female superhero headliner arrives in theaters with a lot of excitement and its share of unnecessary toxic controversy. Erik Childress is joined by Erik Laws who went in with excitement and come out addressing not just the controversy swirling around ungrateful manbabies but also a real sense of disappointment. The Eriks attempt to navigate the middle ground and articulating where Captain Marvel comes up short in its storytelling and characterizations without being called out by one quotient and embraced by the other. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman.substack.com