No Excuses

Mike and Jenny are joined by Gremlins superfan Matt Donato from /Film, We Got This Covered, Dread Central, and many other places to discuss Joe Dante's insane sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. They discuss Dante's disinterest in crafting a traditional sequel, their favorite Gremlins, the portrayal of Asian characters, and whether Gizmo is cute or evil. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33, @DoNatoBomb E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are joined by Battleship Pretension's David Bax to talk about Bob Fosse's highly autobiographical film All That Jazz. They discuss the many parallels to Fosse's actual life, how much the film admires and condemns its lead character, the electrifying performance sequences, and whether or not the film is a musical. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33, @daveypretension E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny arrive upon a formative film in Jenny's moviegoing life, Bong Joon-ho's The Host. They discuss Jenny's history with the film, Mike's emotional remove from the characters, the effectiveness of the satire and commentary, the World Cup, and Mike's recent Broadway trip. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny go back to the theater to discuss to recent releases of movies about families, Brad Bird's Incredibles 2 and Ari Aster's Hereditary. They discuss the comedic success of Jack-Jack, Bird's mastery of depicting superhero action, what they consider being scared, and a brief chat about the Pixar short Bao. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are joined by Julio Olivera from The Contrarians podcast to discuss one of Mike's favorite films of all time, Sidney Lumet's Network. They discuss Paddy Chayefsky's gorgeous use of dialogue, how the film predicted the 2018 media landscape, exploiting people with mental illnesses, who they'd cast in a modern remake, and whether or not Faye Dunaway is flatteringly dressed. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33, @Ovnio E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Jenny picks a film for Mike this week that he's been meaning to watch for a number of years, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Like Father, Like Son. They discuss treating your characters fairly, the nature vs. nurture debate, whether or not the time could have been spent more evenly between the two families, and, naturally, Chuck E. Cheese's. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Bond enthusiast Jonathan Barkan from DreadCentral.com joins Mike and Jenny to dive into a discussion on the 21st James Bond film Casino Royale. They discuss the strength of Bond and Vesper's romance, the mid-2000s cultural touchstones, the prettiness of Daniel Craig, the tactility of real stunts, and how this film fits into the Bond franchise. Leave us reviews on iTunes and check out Jonathan's writing at DreadCentral.com! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33, @JonathanBarkan E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny go to the cinema to discuss two new releases from the past month: Jason Reitman's Tully and Sebastián Lelio's Disobedience. They discuss two men making films about women, the horrors of parenthood, empathizing with restrained characters, the male gaze, and the overtness of passion. Leave us reviews on iTunes!   The Rundown: Tully Discussion - 8:21 Tully Spoilers - 15:02 Disobedience Discussion - 34:54   Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Jenny picks another well-regarded modern Asian film for Mike to watch this week with Jia Zhangke's triptych drama Mountains May Depart. They discuss the subversion of a basic love triangle setup, Oedipal complexes, aspect ratios, and how much they emotionally identify with the central character. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny finally get to dive into Mike's love of musicals with one of the best regarded of the form, Bob Fosse's 1972 adaptation of Cabaret. They discuss the many differences between the stage show and the film, the impact of using music as a reflection of the plot rather than propelling it, and the unfortunate familiarity of how 1931 Berlin compares to 2018 America. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are back to cover another Jenny choice, the 2015 French horror film Evolution. They discuss Mike's need for fleshed out characters, the need for questions to be answered, and Jenny finding a child impregnation horror film relaxing. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are back for Mike's first pick since their hiatus: James L. Brooks' Broadcast News. They discuss the brilliant casting of Holly Hunter, the anger behind the "nice guy," how little has changed in thirty years for relationships, and the absence of a tidy ending. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are back and ready to take over the world! They discuss that format change to the show, explore the trippy visuals of Satoshi Kon's 2006 anime Paprika, and whether or not Christopher Nolan ripped it off for Inception. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny announce they have to go on hiatus for a little while but not before Mike forces Jenny to watch Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 masterpiece The Last Picture Show. They discuss the incredibly stacked cast, Jenny being taken aback by the amount of sex in the movie, and how accurately the film depicts high school life in Texas. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny reach the end of the first season of "Six Feet Under." They discuss the resolutions to the many story threads, Mike's favorite and least favorite characters, whether or not there needed to be foreshadowing to Nate's surprise diagnosis, and what they look forward to in season two. Leave us iTunes reviews! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny reach the penultimate episode of season one of "Six Feet Under." They discuss Nate, Brenda, and David's trip to Las Vegas, Brenda reach the tipping point with her brother, Claire falling further into her caretaker phase of her relationship with Gabe, and Ruth taking flower arrangement classes. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny keep chugging along with season one of "Six Feet Under". They discuss the great guest performance of Illeana Douglas, David reconnecting with Keith, Ruth taking ecstasy, Claire consoling a grieving friend, Brenda learning some stuff about her brother, and learning in realtime about "The Cloverfield Paradox". Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny pass the halfway point to the first season of "Six Feet Under." They discuss David's off porn habits, Claire possibly making a new friend, Brenda continuing to hold secrets, Ruth in the beginnings of a love triangle, Nate getting high, and Rico taking a new job. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny arrive at the first episode of the series Mike truly thinks is great. They discuss the reveal of Brenda's past, Nate finding out some new things about his father, Claire and Ruth in some odd mother/daughter bonding, David and Keith arguing about David's coming out process, and whether or not the David-obsessed funeral frequenter is interesting. Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33 E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com

Mike and Jenny are closing the book on the cinematic year of 2017, with the help of UPROXX's Josh Kurp, by choosing their own nominees and winners for their personal film awards. How aligned are their tastes with the actual awards favorites? What films surprised and disappointed them this year? Is Jack Black award worthy for his performance in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? And what are they looking forward to in 2018? Leave us reviews on iTunes! Follow Us: @NoExcusesPod, @MikeShutt15, @JennyLeighx33, @JoshKurp E-Mail Us: noexcusespodcast@gmail.com