Movie Madness

James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 161: Lions & Hercules & Scarface, Oh My!

The Blu-rays keep coming, but another attempt is made to get Sergio Mims on the 4K train. Three major titles are discussed in the format with Erik Childress who makes the case not only to that but also why It’s A Wonderful Life is more than just “Capra-Corn.” Sergio goes to bat for other classics while also proclaiming his love for the latest Hercules film released on Blu-ray and leaving some time to go back and forth on new versions of some Disney classics.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 160: Werewolves, Pinheads & Alcoholics

Halloween may be over but there is still plenty of scary stuff to talk about from Clive Barker, John Landis and Blake Edwards. Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress to talk about the latest Blu-ray special editions from Arrow, Blue Underground, Warner Archive and Criterion which includes another tribute to Chaplin and a taste of one of Erik’s favorite film scores of all-time.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 159: Spooky, Ooky, AND I AM SWANN!

While not exclusively a show for Halloween, Erik Childress and Sergio Mims nevertheless check out a number of horror films. From Kubrick and Del Toro getting the 4K treatment to recent stuff from Ari Aster and Rob Zombie as well as some hammer horror and an underappreciated horror remake. They also express appreciation for The Addams Family movies and a genuine love for a film finally on Blu-ray featuring one of Peter O’Toole’s greatest performances.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 158: Dietrich and Keaton and Korngold, Oh My!

Sergio Mims returns to catch up on the latest and greatest in Blu-rays with Erik Childress. They dive into some recent stuff from Lionsgate; splitting on a Sundance favorite, discussing the downward spiral of The Walking Dead, Stallone in 4K and Sergio’s issues with John Wick. Erik goes over why the Elton John biopic was superior to the Queen one. They also go deep into the archive to talk Marlene Dietrich, a Mad Rabbi and the immortality of Buster Keaton. They may even be a little room left for some opera. Yes, opera.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 157: The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (Part 2)

Erik Childress wraps up this year’s Toronto Film Festival with Sergio Mims by sticking to the good, sometimes the great, stuff. It’s an episode involving Nazis, pimps, popes, moochers, murderers, gamblers and Mr. Rogers. Don’t forget Ladies on fire and those that play with fire. Noah Baumbach, Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, Pablo Larrain, Trey Edward Shults, the Safdies, and Bong Joon-Ho all factor into an episode with titles you are going to want to put on your radar for this fall and holiday. They also discuss an incident involving Ford v. Ferrari and how “bots” are getting into the movie hype game and can be as vicious as those that want to influence an election.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 156: The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (Part 1)

Erik Childress’ experiences at this year’s Toronto Film Festival is split into a two-parter. This episode focuses solely on the films that he was on the fence about, found less than appealing or are full-out disasters. No need to joke around as there is room for a lot of titles here. You would not want them all spoiled for you, especially when the second part is all the good stuff. But you will want to hear his thoughts on why Hustlers is not good and how Joker is one of the worst films of the year.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 155: My...Endless…Disney

The podcast only heard Sergio Mims’ thoughts on Avengers: Endgame in spirit when it first came out but Erik Childress has a lot more to say on the recent live-action remake of Aladdin that may surprise you. Adding to the Blu-ray discussion they agree on Godzilla: King of the Monsters; a film which may trigger a re-naming of the show. They get into the various sleazy aspects of new special editions of films by Gary Sherman, William Friedkin and Franco Zeffirelli but with many degrees of affection. Then finally discuss some new releases of classic Ealing comedies and the directorial debut of Bob Fosse.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 154: Right Back Where Putney Started

Erik Childress & Sergio Mims go into the archives for a number of new titles this episodes. There is some real nostalgia for Shout Factory’s Universal Horror Collections and an overlooked war film from Warner Archive. They dust off some titles from Mill Creek ranging from horror and sci-fi to one of the most epic westerns ever. They talk about Kathryn Bigelow’s first film, an appreciation for one of John Hughes’ films and jump to a film from this past summer that got unfairly ignored by audiences. Not to be outdone they also have titles from Brian DePalma, Oliver Stone and a special look at the latest commentary track by Sergio Mims on Robert Downey Sr.’s Putney Swope.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 153: The More Things Change…The More Things Need Carlin

Erik Childress delves back into the latest in Blu-rays with Sergio Mims starting with New Criterion titles that take us from anniversary titles that feel all too relevant today to an Oscar-winning film that makes for an interesting post-Tarantino palette cleanser. Going over to Warner Bros. they are charmed by a pair of very different action heroes and Erik tries to convince Sergio to head back to Lego Land. Then after trips to Flicker Alley and Twilight Time, they put a button on everything by discussing 40 years of the great George Carlin and how much they miss him today.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 152: Once Upon a Time…In 1969

The latest film from Quentin Tarantino is a hotbed of takes from his view of history to the treatment of his female characters. Erik Childress is joined by Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com to go deep into his view of a changing Hollywood and both the real and fictional people who inhabit his latest creation. Don’t be spoiled if you have not seen the film yet as they discuss the film’s various twists, key scenes and even offer a different perspective on its radical climax. Though both agree that this is a major work from one of our best filmmakers.

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