Mousterpiece Cinema

Hey, folks! Get suited up, because it's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this one is going to be particularly...super. That's right, Scott and Josh are headed back to Municiberg to talk about Pixar's new film Incredibles 2. (Why, Brad Bird? Why have you forsaken the "The" in the title of this sequel?) Your hosts are joined by Kristy Puchko of Pajiba to talk about the biggest movie from Pixar (at least at the box office). It's been 14 years since the original film--does this movie pay off on the promise of the 2004 film? Has it been too long? Is this a case where, like Finding Dory, Pixar should have left well enough alone, or is this more like Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3? Only one way to find out--check out the new show!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and p-p-p-p-p-p-p-please believe us, you'll want to check it out. Yes, this week, Scott and Josh are revisiting the 1988 classic hybrid of live-action and animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, from director Robert Zemeckis and featuring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd and more. Scott and Josh are joined by not one, but two return guests this week: Todd Van Der Werff of Vox and Monica Castilo of The Lily (the latter of whom joins the Five-Timers' Club!). All four of them struggle to find a whole lot to criticize about this wonderful film, instead talking about the unique acting on display, the visual effects, the message about civil rights embedded in the story, and more. It's a fun-filled episode, so check it out now!

Hey, folks! It's time to suit up for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this one is a corker. This week, even though it's summer time, Scott and Josh are headed back to school. To a superheroic school, that is: they're discussing the 2005 superhero comedy Sky High on the show this week, with a bona fide superhero himself! They're joined by longtime friend of the show Griffin Newman of Amazon's The Tick to talk about how Sky High stands out amidst the epic-size Marvel Cinematic Universe and other self-serious superhero films of the 2010s. Does Sky High still hold up in spite of being a bit goofy and low-rent? Is the quirkier film at the periphery better than the actual story? And can Griffin ace a special Box Office Game (for all you Blank Check fans)? You'll have to listen to find out!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and we just want you to punch it! Because we've got a good feeling about this! See? We're making references to the movie we're discussing this week, the new Lucasfilm entry Solo: A Star Wars Story. This week, Scott and Josh are headed back to that galaxy far, far away to discuss whether or not this prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy works at all, especially after all of the upheaval behind the scenes over the last year. They're joined by friend of the show Karen Han to talk all things Solo, Alden Ehrenreich (would that it were so simple), the supporting cast, the grim visual palette, and more! Check out the new show now!

Hey, friends! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this time around, Josh and Scott are headed to the woods to explore the long-ago past when man and bear...weren't able to co-exist very peacefully without the help of a few Phil Collins songs and a magical spell or two. Yes, this week, your hosts are talking about the animated film in which a character is surprisingly transformed into a bear only to learn some valuable life lessons from someone younger than them. No, not Brave. You know, the movie where a character wants to put their mark on a family wall, and is forced to join up with someone radically different from them who's lost their own family, against the backdrop of the post-Ice Age world. No, not The Good Dinosaur. For real: we're talking about Brother Bear this week with special guest Kristen Lopez, and spoiler alert: we could bearly stand it. What redeeming value does this film have? Was Patton Oswalt right when he mocked the film in his stand-up? Find out now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, one that's swimming your way. Because, you see, you have to keep swimming. That's what our good friend Dory tells us, or so we think. We think that's what she said, but we already forgot. Anyway, you may have guessed that this week's movie is another Revisited title, the 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo. Josh and Scott are joined by freelance writer Alan Zilberman to talk all things Nemo, from the aquarium fish to Albert Brooks' performance to the inexplicable success of the Will and Grace reboot on NBC. (It does tie in somehow, promise.) Does Finding Nemo hold up in the aftermath of the Finding Dory phenomenon? Should there have been flashbacks? Is this one of Pixar's very best films? Find out the answers to these and other questions on the new episode now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this week, Scott and Josh are back on the ranch as they celebrate another milestone: 350 episodes! To celebrate, what better film than The Horse Whisperer, which may feel like it's roughly 350 hours long? Scott and Josh are joined by a truly special return guest: Josh's old co-host Gabe Bucsko! These three dive right into a true bro-down hoedown to debate the merits of Robert Redford's adaptation of the popular romance novel, from whether or not the aspect ratio shift was a good idea, whether the movie should be so long, if the romance works, and how staring at a person through ropes can or cannot be super-sexy. Check out the new show now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this one's a doozy. As promised, Scott and Josh have come together to talk about the film kicking off the summer movie season, Avengers: Infinity War. They're joined by return guest Jacob Hall of Slashfilm to talk all things Marvel, the Avengers, and yes, that big, crazy ending. (If you haven't seen the movie yet, be warned; spoilers start coming fast and furious in the episode early on.) Does the latest MCU movie pay off on years of build-up? Could it possibly work if there are other MCU movies in the works? Does this even feel like a whole film versus the first half of a larger two-parter? It's a spirited debate this week, so sit down, relax, and enjoy the show!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and we're closing out April talking about the movie everyone's discussing online: the 1968 comedy Blackbeard's Ghost! (Yes, we know, the new Avengers movie is out. We'll be discussing it on next week's episode.) This week, Scott and Josh are headed back to the 60s to talk about yet another Robert Stevenson comedy set in the world of college sports, but this time, the twist is that the college-bound hero is helped along by...well, just look at the title of the movie. And it turns out that one of your hosts was more charmed by this film than he would have expected, or at least by the boisterous performance from Peter Ustinov. Is this movie better than you might think? Is it more atmospherically satisfying? Or are the aesthetic choices not enough to save the movie from walking the plank? Listen to the new show to find out!

Hey, folks! It's time for a new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this week, Scott and Josh are teaming up to revisit a pinnacle of superhero cinema, Marvel's 2012 film The Avengers. Your hosts are joined by return guest Emma Stefansky to talk all things Avengers, like, for instance, that one hero in the group. You know, the guy who fires arrows really fast? Green Arrow? Something like that. Anyway, they talk a bit more about Iron Man, Captain America, and whether or not this Hulk really did smash. And does rewatching this movie so soon before Infinity War raise their interest in the next team-up, or make them dread the experience? Find out now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and we are changing things up. Sure, we told you last week that we'd be talking about Super Mario Bros., but things have shifted since then, so Scott and Josh are calling an audible and talking about a totally different film instead: Holes. You know, the 2003 family film starring a young Shia LaBeouf, pre-crazy Jon Voight, and Sigourney Weaver! This film celebrates its 15th anniversary this month, and features a pretty impressive cast even beyond those three names, but does it hold up? Is this movie unexpectedly overstuffed? Is there too much going on in a film from the director of one of Josh's favorite movies of all time? Or should your two hosts get to digging holes of their own? Check out the new show to find out!

Hey, folks! It's time for a very special brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and we hope you've prepared by putting together a series of Top Five lists regarding your favorite and least favorite episodes of the podcast. See, the concept of the Top Five is a big part of this week's movie the 2000 comedy High Fidelity, starring John Cusack, Jack Black, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and many, many more. Josh and Scott are joined this week by friend of the show Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects to talk about another Rob, the lead character of High Fidelity, whose sexploits might not be quite as charming to at least one of your hosts as it may have been in 2000. Does this movie sour in the year 2018? Is there enough liveliness and humor to balance out anything overtly toxic? And what happened to John Cusack's career? Find out now!

Hey, friends! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this one's strictly for the birds. This week, Scott and Josh are heading back to the well of Patreon requests, as one of their listeners has literally paid for the privilege of making them talk about Valiant. You remember Valiant, right? The 2005 animated film featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, and John Cleese? The one about homing pigeons in World War II? The one that looks real gross? Yes, that one. Our Patreon donor wanted to torture us, and Valiant may well do the trick. Which other movies do Scott and Josh talk about so they can avoid this movie? Do the pigeons look at all natural? Is this movie reminiscent of Finding Nemo? Find out now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and it's yet another one of our Revisited titles. This time, Josh and Scott are headed to the big orchestra in outer space to enjoy the long-awaited follow-up to one of Disney's most ambitious films, Fantasia 2000. Josh and Scott are joined by two very special guests, Fran Hoepfner of The Onion and Steve Greene of Indiewire, to talk about this briefer return to the world of Fantasia, the wonder of that Quincy Jones interview, the ambition or lack thereof of this new film, and what we'd want to see out of a third Fantasia if one ever materialized. Check out the new show now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and we're headed on a big journey this time around. Josh and Scott are talking about Disney's latest big-budget venture, A Wrinkle in Time. It's got everything: Oprah Winfrey! Zach Galifianakis! Reese Witherspoon! Oprah Winfrey! The Best Chris! Oprah Winfrey! Josh and Scott are joined by freelance writer Esther Zuckerman to talk about Ava DuVernay's big adaptation of the classic Madeleine L'Engle novel, the performances from the big-name actors, the importance of diversity and representation, and more. It's big movie, so this is a big episode, too! Get ready to tesser into the new episode now!

Hey, folks! We hope you're prepared to go back to school, because that's exactly where Josh and Scott are headed on this brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema. OK, technically, they're going back to high school for a reunion, and not even their own. This week on the show, your hosts are talking about the 1997 comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, starring Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, and more. With more than 20 years since this 10-year-reunion movie opened, has Romy and Michele grown over time? Does its mild cult status feel deserved? Does the film's candy-colored version of the real world resonate, or did your hosts find themselves a bit un-charmed by its goofy personality? Listen now to find out!

Hey, friends! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and this week, Josh and Scott are headed to a world of fantasy, wizards, and dragons: Earthsea. Specifically, we're talking about the 2006 Studio Ghibli film Tales from Earthsea on this episode, and we're trying to figure out how the heck a movie with dragons fighting each other and one of the lead characters killing his father in the opening section could be this boring. Your hosts are joined by Daniel Thomas MacInnes of Ghibli Blog to talk about the intense family drama that fueled the making of this not-so-loved Ghibli film, whether or not the movie has some secret or hidden charms, and more. Hop on your nearest dragon and head over to Earthsea with us!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and Josh and Scott are headed to a land shrouded in mystery and myth, the country of Wakanda. That's right, we're talking about the cinematic cultural event known as Black Panther on this week's show. Your hosts are joined by Kameron Collins of The Ringer to talk about this big new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the state of the MCU, the story of T'Challa and Killmonger, and the various ways in which this film really does feel like a major event unlike most other blockbusters. Grab some vibranium, avoid that arms dealer's SoundCloud page, and listen to the new show!

Hey, friends! It's time for another episode of Mousterpiece Cinema in which Josh and Scott go back and revisit a title that was already discussed on the podcast. This time, they're going back to a movie that Josh talked about in 2012, the 1940 animated classic Fantasia. They're joined on the new show by Charles Bramesco of Vulture, The Guardian, and the New York Times, to talk all things Fantasia, from the film's ambition to its animation style, Deems Taylor, and yes, the problematic elements of the "Pastoral Symphony" sequence. Has Josh's take on the film changed in 6 years? Is he once again the most critical of the film? Does it even matter to be critical of a film as remarkably daring as this one? Find out now!

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and boy, is this one something special. Scott and Josh are headed back to the halcyon days of 2003, when mainstream movies featuring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah felt a lot more comfortable in dropping racial and homophobic epithets with aplomb! Yes, it's time to talk about the supposed comedy Bringing Down the House, and Scott and Josh are joined by RogerEbert.com contributor Odie Henderson to debate exactly how embarrassing and unfunny this movie is. In spite of some unfortunate late-episode Skype audio issues (apologies!), this episode's full of Scott, Josh, and Odie laughing through the pain of this wince-inducing movie that was inexplicably popular 15 years ago. Check out the new show now!