Mousterpiece Cinema

Hey, friends! Are you ready for another very special b-b-b-b-b-b-bonus episode of Mousterpiece Cinema? It's been a little while since Gabe and Josh got together for a bonus recording, but they did so last month--in fact, they recorded this episode in the same place for the first time in the show's history. And this Lucasfilm-centric bonus episode is all about the last film that George Lucas had any direct say over in the Star Wars franchise, the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee, among others. (Really!) But even though the TV show of the same name has garnered praise, this movie that kickstarted the Cartoon Network program isn't so hot, at least to Josh and Gabe. Listen for more details on just how surprising this movie is!

It's time for a new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, friends! This week, Josh and Gabe are going back to the beginning of the era of Studio Ghibli. In fact, they're going back before the beginning, to the film that led to the creation of Studio Ghibli, from director Hayao Miyazaki: it's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Josh and Gabe are joined by Justine Smith of Vague Visages to talk about this early Miyazaki effort, and whether or not it might be his very best film. Or is this movie not as emotionally engaging as films like Princess Mononoke or Kiki's Delivery Service? Did this movie set the foundation or raise the bar so high nothing else could clear it? Only one way to find out now--listen to the show!

Hey, friends! It's time for a new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, and boy, do we have a corker for you this week. There's good news and bad news, too. Good news: this episode is all about a film from Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now! Bad news: those movies aren't from Disney, but his 1996 film Jack...is. And this Robin Williams-led film about a boy who looks like he's 40 is the subject of this week's podcast. Josh and Gabe are joined by friend of the show and soon-to-be co-star of the Amazon revival of The Tick, Griffin Newman. Josh, Gabe, and Griffin debate the important issues, like: how bad is this movie? No, really...how bad is this movie? Plus, Griffin talks a bit about working on the pilot for The Tick, and reveals one of the all-time great stories of working with a peer of Coppola. This is a long episode, so strap in and check it out now!

Hey, folks! We've got a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema available for your listening pleasure today, but there's a very important way for you to access it. Do you know the Oath of the Boy Scouts? What's their motto? Are you prepared to...be prepared? Yes, this week on the show, Gabe and Josh are talking about the Boy-Scout-centric 1966 live-action film Follow Me, Boys!, starring Fred MacMurray, Lillian Gish, Vera Miles, and a little boy who would grow into the big boy Kurt Russell. And for once, Gabe hasn't seen an old-school Disney live-action film before; was he sufficiently inspired by this would-be Goodbye, Mr. Chips? Were Gabe and Josh both ready to become Scoutmasters in real life? Or was this a colossal letdown? Only one way to find out: check out the show now! Scout's honor.

After last week's discussion of Chicken Little, Josh and Gabe are in the mood for a palate cleanser on this week's new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema. And there may be no better choice for palate cleanser--no more wildly different film, really--than the 1996 film from Danny Boyle, Trainspotting. (If you're wondering how on Earth that counts for this podcast: Miramax distributed Trainspotting, and guess who owned Miramax in 1996? Disney!) Josh and Gabe are joined by another Danny B., Danny Bowes of Film School Rejects, to discuss whether or not Trainspotting holds up 20 years after its U.S. release, whether or not its main character is nothing more than a cipher, and, of course, whether or not The Social Network is a better film than Steve Jobs. (One of your hosts thinks so. The other is crazy--er, thinks otherwise.) Check out the new show now!

It's time for a big, monumental episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, friends. Finally, after months of teasing, Gabe and Josh are talking about the 2005 film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Chicken Little. You remember this adaptation of Chicken Little, don't you? The adaptation from the director of The Emperor's New Groove? Disney's first fully computer animated feature film? Possibly the very worst movie that Disney's animation studio has made in nearly 80 years? Yes, it's true: this movie might be the pits for Disney, at least as Gabe and Josh see it. Is it the actual worst, though? And how many Earwolf references can Josh squeeze into the show to confound Gabe? Find out now!

Welcome to all human beans, near and far, to this scrum-diddly-umptious poddin' cast of Mousterpiece Cinema. OK, talking like a giant is kind of difficult for more than one sentence, so let's get back to human-style talk. On this episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh and Gabe talk about the newest movie from Walt Disney Pictures, a Steven Spielberg adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, with Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant himself. Josh and Gabe are joined by friend of the show Alex Dowd of The A.V. Club to discuss the film, its placement in Spielberg's career, and why on Earth it performed so weakly at the box office over the Fourth of July weekend. And they face an important question: is this Spielberg's weakest film in decades? It just might be! You'll have to listen to find out.

Hey, folks! It's time for Josh and Gabe to begin a sixth year of podcasting as the hosts of Mousterpiece Cinema, and they're starting with one of their punchiest, goofiest episodes yet. It starts with the longest housekeeping segment to date, centered around a very exciting development: Mousterpiece Cinema is now on ! Become a patron of the podcast and you might even get to tell us what to discuss on a future episode! The current episode is another patented entry of Mousterpiece Cinema After Dark--make sure to say that in your deepest voice possible--as your hosts talk about the 1996 drama Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Kyra Sedgwick, and Robert Duvall. Remember Phenomenon? A film that made more money than either Space Jam or Scream in 1996! It's true, but does the movie hold up as we approach its 20th anniversary? Or is it super-duper creepy? Find out now!

It's a banner day for Mousterpiece Cinema, friends. Why's that? This episode marks the fifth anniversary of the podcast! Back in June 2011, Josh sat down to record the first show solo, talking about Pixar's then-new sequel Cars 2. So it's only fitting that the best way to ring in five years of podcasting is Josh and Gabe sitting down to talk about Pixar's latest sequel: the monster hit Finding Dory, a follow-up to 2003's Finding Nemo. Has absence made our hearts grow fonder? Or was it an unwise decision for Pixar to take another sidekick and turn them into the lead character? Josh and Gabe are joined by friend of the show Monica Castillo of The New York Times to discuss our new lead character, the new world and characters of the sequel, the meta-narrative regarding director Andrew Stanton, how meta-narratives are NOT the same as fan theories, and more! Check it out, and remember to just keep listening, just keep listening, just keep listening, listening, listening...

San Francisco. A beautiful city, but with a criminal element as well, who are led to Alcatraz. Listen to the bell from the trolley--it's alerting them that prisoners are coming. "Prisoners coming. Prisoners coming. Coming, coming--" OK, not really. (Apologies to Eddie Izzard.) But though no prisoners are coming your way, there is a new Mousterpiece Cinema headed your way, and it's all about Alcatraz. Yes, this week, Gabe and Josh are talking about the 1996 action film The Rock, starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, and more. And your hosts are joined by return guest Mark Harris of New York Magazine to talk about all things The Rock and, of course, all things Michael Bay, AKA King of the Vulgar Auteurs, seeing as he directed the film. It's been 20 years, so does The Rock maintain its status as his best-ever film? Does that even mean it's...a good movie? Is Nicolas Cage hamming it up in this one? Find out now!

Hey, friends! We hope you're in a sporting mood, because we have a perfect summer movie to talk about on this episode of Mousterpiece Cinema. It's the 1976 comedy Gus, all about a Yugoslavian mule who plays on an NFL team! OK, fine, so maybe it's not the right time of year to talk about an NFL movie, but then, Gus is as much an accurate portrayal of NFL as it is of how to manage a supermarket in the 1970s. (If you've seen this movie, you will probably get that reference.) Gabe and Josh are joined by return guest Mark Pfeiffer of Reel Times to talk about Gus, Don Knotts, unending slapstick scenes, and, of course, our #openthedisneyvault hashtag this week, so check it out now!

Oh, frabjous day, dear friends. Callooh. Callay. Yes, there's only one reason for us to bust out the Lewis Carroll-ese, and that's because we are going back to Wonderland on this episode of Mousterpiece Cinema! Oooh, sorry, hang on, we're going to Underland, because that's what it's called in the live-action films from Walt Disney Pictures. And yes, that word is plural now, because the 2010 Alice in Wonderland now has a sequel: Alice Through the Looking Glass. It's got the whole gang back: Mia Wasikowska! Anne Hathaway! Alleged garbage fire Johnny Depp! (Were you wondering if we'd talk about Johnny Depp being an alleged piece of wife-beating trash? WONDER NO MORE.) So Gabe and Josh brought back Scott Meslow of GQ to talk about this sequel and its many, many problems. But maybe this movie's an improvement on its predecessor? Is it possible? Find out now!

Hey, folks! It's a banner day here at Mousterpiece Cinema HQ, as Gabe and Josh are celebrating their 250th episode today. And there's no better film to discuss than the 1948 package film Melody Time, featuring Donald Duck, Roy Rogers, the Andrews Sisters, and more. Don't take that as sarcasm, either: this really is an ideal movie to discuss for such a notable milestone episode, because it gives Josh and Gabe time once again to talk about the "Open the Disney Vault" hashtag and why a movie like Melody Time is unjustly ignored by the higher-ups at Disney. But whether or not it's ignored, is Melody Time an underrated package film? Is it #problematic? Could it be both? Check out the new show to find out!

This week on Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh and Gabe are ripping off yet another Band-Aid. Yes, because they talked about a gnome-centric movie earlier this year, it's time to head back to the forest to deal with some more gnomes. (Because, of course, there's no place like gnome.) OK, being fair, Josh and Gabe are actually just headed to the garden, because the movie of the week--Gnomeo and Juliet--is all about garden gnomes who might be re-enacting one of the most famous dramatic tales of all time for our pleasure. Well, that's the idea. But Josh and Gabe are both pretty...displeased with this one, even in spite of its stacked cast including Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, and Hulk Hogan. (That is not a typo.) Does the film have any redeeming value? Find out now!

Listeners, it's time to choose a side in the great battle of the year. Are you on the side of goodness and light? Or are you on the side of hatred and injustice? Are you Team Batman or Team Superman? Oh, wait, sorry, wrong comic-book movie. This week on Mousterpiece Cinema, we're talking about the big battle between Marvel superheroes, in the new film Captain America: Civil War. Josh and Gabe are joined by Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post to talk about all things Cap, from whether or not this is a decent Captain America movie or just The Avengers 2.5, to Bucky Barnes' utility as a character, to whether or not shaky-cam action needs to die in a fire. (Spoiler: yes. Yes, it does.) Put up your dukes, join a side, and check out the new episode!

Friends, your eyes do not deceive you. Nor do your ears! As you'll hear when you begin listening to the new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, the plan was for Josh and Gabe to talk about the new Disney-distributed IMAX documentary A Beautiful Planet on this week's show. But then, as it turned out, life got in the way (much to Josh's surprise) and so your hosts went to a backup plan. That Plan B is none other than An Extremely Goofy Movie, a title that may be a little misleading, at least to one of your hosts. And though the debate is strong in this episode, don't you worry: this is an extremely goofy episode of the podcast, with everything from a discussion of the College X Games to a recitation of an Oscar Wilde poem. Check out the new show now!

Hey, folks! If you were hoping we'd be discussing the Disneynature film Born in China this week on Mousterpiece Cinema, we're sorry to let you down. (It's hard to review movies that haven't opened yet and were inexplicably delayed for a year.) Instead, Josh and Gabe are going back to Hannibal, Missouri to talk about the 1995 film Tom and Huck, starring Brad Renfro and...JTT! Remember JTT? Sure you do, you're a 90s kid. Yes, Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Tom Sawyer here, but is it possible that his acting style is too...well, 1990s to work for an old-fashioned character? Does his haircut meet the smell test? And how sturdy are the female performers? Get ready for answers to these and many more questions on the new Mousterpiece Cinema!

Don't worry, folks, you're not having a flashback. We're not talking about the 1967 animated film The Jungle Book on this week's episode of Mousterpiece Cinema; instead, Josh and Gabe are talking about the live-action remake of the same name, featuring the voices of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, and more! And they're joined by friend of the show Genevieve Koski of The Next Picture Show to talk all things Kipling. Or, all things Disneyfied Kipling. Does this film improve upon its animated predecessor? Are its effects as impressive as promised? Is Gabe going to continue his streak of being super-negative? Find out now!

Hey, folks! On this week's episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh and Gabe are traveling to the African continent to explore a strange new society that may indeed hold a surprising link to the Jurassic period of Planet Earth. Just think: what if there were still dinosaurs walking among humanity? Wouldn't that be crazy? Wouldn't that change our perception of science? Wouldn't...you want to be the first person to reveal this discovery, damn the consequences? That's one of the lessons our lead characters learn in this week's film, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, which we discussed with guest Tom Nix. And guess what? This movie is...uh...well, put it this way, one of your hosts is convinced this might be one half of the worst double feature we've ever discussed on the podcast. And that's even including a crazy performance from "Downtown Abbey"'s own Julian Fellowes. ("Downtown Abbey," right? Not "Downton"?) Check out why this movie might be so bad now!

Hey, folks! This week on Mousterpiece Cinema, we have truly gone to the dogs. Forgive the obvious pun, but Josh and Gabe's discussion of the 1987 film Benji the Hunted will arguably go down as one of our oddest episodes. It's safe to say that Gabe has--spoiler alert--never hated a movie as much as this story of the famously scrappy dog surviving in the forest after a disaster at sea. And it's safe to say that Josh hasn't had quite as much joy as in going through Benji's history as the lead of a live-action kids' TV show with cheesy aliens in a long time either. So...yeah, this is a strange, strange episode. Check it out now!