Movie Madness

The title once again says it all as Erik Childress and Sergio Mims do a 2018 mid-year check-in on what needs to still be released on Blu-ray. This episode is a continuation of their discussion from Episode 108. 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

Back on Episode 80, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims ran down an extensive list of titles big and small that have yet to make their Blu-ray debut. At least in the U.S. Well it is time for the mid-year check-in and they are back with a list of 20 titles each that you may be stunned have yet to be upgraded into the HD format. This three-and-a-half-hour episode is split over two parts because they have a lot to say about these movies and are hoping to catch the attention of the studios who own the rights to them. 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

It’s Blu-ray time again as Erik Childress and Sergio Mims delve into a great new release from Criterion with one of the greatest comeuppances ever. They also look at some children fantasies from Kino and Shout Factory as well as maybe an adult one as well. Plus they find a way to connect tragedy and comedy with Ted Kennedy and Mel Brooks.   Criterion (The Virgin Spring) Twilight Time (My Sister Eileen , Let's Make Love) Lionsgate (Chappaquiddick) Paramount (Jack Reacher 4K) Shout Factory (The Curse of the Cate People, The Good Place Season Two) Kino (Jack the Giant Killer (1962))   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

July 2018 is a particularly sequel-heavy month with a new one each week, but thanks to Mark Dujsik the show is going back to look at which sequels actually bested their predecessors. But with a twist. Erik Childress and Mark set one particular rule as to which to choose their personal top 10 lists and then each justified a further set of rules that may also have you thinking beyond the obvious choices. 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

15 titles in store for you on the new Blu-ray episode including some classics from the Warner Archive, a couple long overdue titles freshly released by Indicator as well as some new 4K releases from Paramount. Sergio Mims and Erik Childress discuss the greatness of one of Albert Brooks’ early films, their differing takes on one of the most acclaimed comedies of 2018 and the Mission: Impossible series and try to figure out why there is such hatred towards Forrest Gump.   Warner Bros. (Tomb Raider, Designing Woman, 2 Weeks in Another Town, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Colossus of Rhodes, Superfly)   Indicator (Modern Romance, The China Syndrome) Paramount (The Death of Stalin, Forrest Gump 4K, Mission: Impossible Series 4K)   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 title says it all, right? But Erik Childress and comic book expert Erik Laws have plenty more to say about the history of the Ant-Man comic including the troubling past of Hank Pym and how the film incorporates different versions of its characters. They also talk about the leaps of a particular VFX technology, how they hope the current version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ends with the continuation of the Infinity War and also catch-up a bit on their thoughts about Deadpool 2. 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 returns to catch everyone up on the latest in Blu-rays in an episode that highlights a special release which reminds us how far we’ve come as a country. Unless we are doomed to repeat it. From Geronimo to D.W. Griffith to Peter Pan and Black Panther, Erik Childress also talks about the little-discussed bombing of A Wrinkle In Time while leaving plenty of time to discuss deadly rabbits and a hot welding aerobic ninja.   0:00:00 – 0:25:33 – Shout Factory (Night of the Lepus, Ninja III: The Domination) 0:25:33 – 0:47:57 - Disney (Peter Pan, A Wrinkle in Time, Black Panther) 0:47:57 – 0:56:28 – Flicker Alley (This is Cinerama, Windjammer) 0:56:28 – 1:31:29 – Twilight Time (Hilda Crane, Next Stop Greenwich Village, Geronimo: An American Legend, The Birth of a Nation)   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 2nd Cinepocalypse Film Festival takes place from June 21-28, 2018 at the glorious Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Sergio Mims interviews director and cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson, who is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the fest. Then Erik Childress talks with fest programmer, Steve Prokopy, about some of the noteworthy films playing, special guests and retro screenings including a 70mm print of a film you will not believe. 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

Over the hump on the podcast we return to the odds to update you on the latest in Blu-rays and DVDs. Returning champion Sergio Mims is back to discuss a 4K set 65 million years in the making, the latest from Olive Films and Clint Eastwood and his personal recollection of how he forced himself to see ‘70s disco cult classic, Thank God It’s Friday. It’s all wrapped in a tidy bowl that brings us back around to some newly released editions of classic John Landis.   Universal (Jurassic Park Collection, The Strangers: Prey at Night) Olive (Odds Against Tomorrow, Cold Turkey, A Bucket of Blood) Mill Creek (Gridiron Gang, Thank God It’s Friday, 9 Pulse-Pounding Classics Set) Warner Bros. (Game Night, The 15:17 to Paris) Paramount (Jerry Lewis 10-Film Collection, Jackass Complete Film & TV Collection, South Park: Season 21, Coming to America, Trading Places) Turbine Media (Schlock)   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemov

On this very special 100th episode of the Movie Madness Podcast, Erik Childress invites Mark Dujsik, Jim Laczkowski and Sergio Mims on to talk about one of the most important people in their lives. Their dads. It is a Father’s Day conversation for everyone full of memories of who their dads were and the love of movies that formed an everlasting bond that will not be broken even after their passing. It’s an episode full of laughs, tears and a roundup of choices of five films from each of them that they would loved for their dads to have seen. 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

With all the controversies these days, it’s nice to have some old-fashioned debate about movies we like – that you might not. Erik Childress is joined by Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast to each run down ten films that are likely to get your eyes rolling, your blood boiling or, just maybe, your head nodding in agreement. They range from simple pleasures to passionate counterpoints. You may not agree with most of their choices, but if it inspires one to take a second look at something or know that there’s a kindred spirit out there for the positive then it will be worth the couple hours. Or you may just think we’re both nuts. 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

It’s 4K Day on the podcast with Erik Childress and Sergio Mims going over some very memorable modern action films going the way of the latest and greatest format. They shared their complicated feelings for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator along with their unshakable love for Mel Gibson’s Braveheart as well as the everlasting power that makes Die Hard one of the all-time greats. Then Sergio takes us back into the archives with guns, a big rat and his appreciation of a brand new western set from the folks at Indicator/Powerhouse.   Paramount (Gladiator 4K, Braveheart 4K) Fox (Red Sparrow 4K, Die Hard 4K) Shout Factory (Of Unknown Origin) Warner Archive (Gun Crazy) Indicator (Five Tall Tales: Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott at Columbia)   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

It’s the movie event of the summer. The third one at least. And just like with The Last Jedi, Erik Laws and Sergio Mims join Erik Childress to take you all the way through the latest “Star Wars Story.” They talk about its troubled production history, how Sergio was once at a studio when a director was fired and how the film measures up to Rogue One and true fan expectations. 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 Blu-ray releases, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims go over popular musicals forty years apart and why The Greatest Showman ultimately fails. They also dig into some classic exploitation releases from their youth courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome, Shout Factory and MVD. They also discuss the resume of Jean Claude Van-Damme and what made Cary Grant so great.   Paramount (Grease) Fox (The Greatest Showman) MVD (The Twilight People) Vinegar Syndrome (Hobgoblins, Nightmare Sisters, Welcome Home Brother Charles) HBO (Curb Your Enthusiasm 9th Season) Shout Factory (Cyborg, Full Moon High) Criterion (The Awful Truth) 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 is not only a podcast host, he also produces a film festival every year. Now in its sixth year at the Music Box Theatre, the Chicago Critics Film Festival brings some of the best films on the festival circuit – handpicked by the city’s film critics – to a local audience. Sundance, SXSW, Toronto and more are all represented here during the week of May 4-10 and Erik discusses with Sergio Mims (producer of the city’s Black Harvest Film Festival in August) some of the highlights as well as some of the ins and outs of programming a film festival.     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

Blu-ray time continues as Erik Childress and Sergio Mims take you from the height of giant creature cheesiness over to films for kids that will either make them smile or traumatize them. They also reminisce about those other kids. The ones in the hall and revisit a film that adults are now likely sharing with their own kids. Then they can’t help but knocking down the babies out there somehow upset with The Last Jedi   Warner Archive (The Black Scorpion) Fox (Murder on the Orient Express, The Sandlot, The Handmaid’s Tale) Mill Creek (Benji, For the Love of Benji, The Kids in the Hall, A Study in Terror, Maniac, Die Die My Darling, Never Take Candy from a Stranger, Scream of Fear) Indicator (The Passenger, Gumshoe) Disney (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)   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

Likely the biggest summer blockbuster of 2018, Avengers: Infinity War has been the subject of great speculation by fans. Who will live? Who will die? Comic expert Erik Laws and Erik Childress will tell you. Don’t worry though, because you will be warned within this epic discussion when the spoilers will kick in. Before and after though, the Eriks delve into the history of Thanos and breakdown how the film’s ending is both effective and somewhat hollow. What side will each of them fight for? Prepare yourself for a debate nearly as long as the film itself, but certainly a fun and spirited one. 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

It’s Blu-ray time again as Sergio Mims joins Erik to take you on a sprawling arc (even the Joan kind) through recent titles you will want to check out. From a pair of watered-down true stories about bad men down to the everyday concerns of the suburbs from paying for college to weird neighbors. They put another woefully-mishandled small town mystery on your radar as well as a couple action films that Sergio just loves for their interrogations, chases and downhill ski shootouts. How can you resist?   Olive (Birdman of Alcatraz, Great Balls of Fire, Five on the Black Hand Side, The Hallelujah Trail) Twilight Time (Don’t Bother To Knock, Underworld USA, The New Centurions, The Seven-Ups) Criterion (The Passion of Joan of Arc, The King of Jazz, Women in Love) Lionsgate (Lady Bird, Small Town Crime. The Last Movie Star) Kino (Joan of Arc, The Soldier) Shout Factory (The Burbs)   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit erikthemovieman

It’s the annual Summer Box Office show! Erik Childress breaks down his predictions for the 20 films he believes will be the tops in theaters this summer and then goes beyond just as a bonus. Sergio Mims is on hand to challenge some of those thoughts. They certainly agree what will be the champion of the summer, but can it be the biggest film of the year? It’s all here as they discuss Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Solo: A Star Wars Story as well as Sicario Deux and all the non-sequels as well. They even bring in some outside market research thanks to Olivia Obineme from WHPK Radio’s South Side Weekly. Do you agree or disagree with their findings? 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

Back to the new Blu-rays we go with Sergio Mims as they discuss horror, true stories and a number of comedies that just never worked. They talk both the new restoration of Dario Argento’s Suspiria but also the making of a Stephen King adaptation. They preview some upcoming Shout Factory titles and express their disappointment with films from Alexander Payne and Aaron Sorkin. But wrap it up with their appreciation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest and the history of one of Howard Hughes’ most infamous creations. Synapse (Suspiria, Pet Sematary Doc) Arrow (Brain Damage) Shout Factory (Doctor Detroit, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon + A Little Shout Factory Preview) Paramount (Downsizing, Cheech & Chong Up in Smoke) Universal (I Tonya, Molly’s Game, Phantom Thread) Kino (The Outlaw) 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