From the WHPK Files of the Bad Mutha Film Show, Sergio Mims and Erik Childress take a look at what the box office could look like this summer. Something that could change for the better after a positive Memorial Day Weekend. But while this conversation occurred before the holiday, Erik offered his perspective on the foolish lowballing of A Quiet Place Part II’s potential, even in a transitioning marketplace. Speaking of which, Sergio gets in his two cents about A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella, giving Erik a chance to go off again on the latter.

It’s a return to theaters for Memorial Day weekend as Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy review five new films that you can say at home too. They look at the horror of Funhouse and what happens when you remove Jim Carrey in Skull: The Mask. Potential horror turns into raunchy comedy as two high schoolers hit the road to ward off a potential pregnancy in Plan B. Emma Stone plays the infamous Disney villain as we discover why she may have a grudge against dalmatians in Cruella. Finally, the first movie delayed because of the pandemic arrives in theaters as John Krasinski asks us to close our mouths again in A Quiet Place Part II.

It’s Blu-ray time again with Erik Childress and Sergio Mims. They marvel at some new 4K releases by reminding how great Speed is and put up a defense for Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs as well. Sergio talks about one of the earlier variations of a Groundhog Day-esque scenarios and a great Criterion title to catch-up on before its remake. Erik talks up one of the best comedies of the year as well as one of the best anthology films in years. There is talk of Bob Hope, more Mel Brooks, the tempestuous relationship between Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno (in real-life and on screen), and then things get dirty with The Hot Spot and Mike Hammer. Finally, they can’t help but deliver a tribute to Jackie Chan with the release of one of his masterpieces.

This week’s movie review edition of the show features eight new films discussed by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They each handle a documentary including a new mid-career music tale (Pink: All I Know So Far) and the bizarre mystery of a stamp collection that passes between neighbors (The Penny Black). Steve minces no words of his love for Mads Mikkelsen (Riders of Justice) and Erik catches up on a SXSW title that could be an alternative to the Saw reboot (Sound of Violence). Two more mysteries are in need of solving, one starring Eric Bana (The Dry) and a horror film from the writer of You’re Next, The Guest and the Blair Witch reboot (Séance). They also look back on some true horror featuring interviews with some of the last surviving members of the Third Reich (Final Account) and, finally, Toni Collette hopes to turn an animal into a profit-making champion in the true tale of Dream Horse.

This week’s movie review edition of the podcast features Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at eight new titles this week. We have mysteries, killers and zombies up and down the show including more long-delayed films such as Timur Bekmambetov’s computer screen thriller, Profile, which premiered on the festival circuit in 2018 and Joe Wright’s The Woman in the Window which was first slated for release in October 2019. There is more terror from a young boy trying to survive an hour with The Djinn, Melanie Laurent running out of a crucial element in Oxygen and Chris Rock out to solve a new string of Jigsaw murders in Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Does The Killing of Two Lovers add to the body count or does Zack Snyder cover the spread in Vegas with his Army of the Dead?

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy open May 2021 with eight (mostly) new movie reviews. There’s a racially-charged Sundance drama that premiered in 2018 (Monster), the true story of an FBI informant played by Emilia Clarke who got too close to her handler that was made in 2019 (Above Suspicion) the same year when 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot premiered at the Austin Film Festival. They also look at a documentary about Sean Penn’s philanthropic efforts (Citizen Penn), Mena Suvari forced to find stolen diamonds at a storage facility (Locked In) and David Oyelowo’s directorial debut (The Water Man) that shares a lot with a 2016 film. Billy Crystal is also back in the director’s chair for the first time in 20 years (Here Today) and its been over 20 years since we first heard from director Guy Ritchie. Can his latest, Wrath of Man, cool the wrath Erik has carried for his resume?

Considering their lack of enthusiasm for the recent Godzilla vs. Kong, Sergio Mims and Erik Childress decided to list some of their favorite monster movies. This extended segment from their Bad Mutha Film Show on WHPK Radio in Chicago offers 20 alternatives to the weak titan sauce in theaters. They include from the world of Ray Harryhausen, inspirations for the current versus, not to mention remakes (and sequels) that outdo the originals. It’s a two-plus hour celebration of giants and tiny things you only want to mess with at the movies.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at another ten movies this week to close out April. Steve checks in on a documentary about Alan Ladd Jr. (Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies), Brian Tyree Henry is an introvert locked out of his apartment (The Outside Story) and the tale of an Syrian immigrant waiting for asylum in Scotland (Limbo) while Erik talks about a female arm-wrestling comedy (Golden Arm). The pair also discuss Anson Mount as an egocentric assassin (The Virtuoso), jerky teenagers in Dublin (Here Are The Young Men) and junkie Mila Kunis seeking help from mom Glenn Close (Four Good Days). There are also ghosts in the Hudson Valley with Amanda Seyfried (Things Heard & Seen) and more ghosts in a Brooklyn custody battle (Separation). Then finally they close out the month with the latest film in the Tom Clancy universe with Michael B. Jordan (Without Remorse).

Sergio Mims returns with another look at the latest and greatest in Blu-rays. Along with Erik Childress they catch up on Arrow’s release of Kevin Smith’s Mallrats and Sergio’s lingering love for sword-and-sandal films with Film Detective’s Hercules and the Captive Women. They look at a pair of overseas releases of Paramount thrillers Black Sunday and Breakdown and express their great love for the studio’s long-overdue release of Michael Ritchie’s The Bad News Bears. They still have enough time to talk up a number of Warner Archive titles including musicals Annie Get Your Gun and Broadway Melody of 1940, a trio of Tarzan titles and are then overjoyed to get one of their recent not-on-Blu-Ray titles released, the Bill Murray bank robbery comedy, Quick Change.

There are a couple of great battles in the films reviewed on this episode, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy leave no film behind this week before debating their merits. Ten films on the docket including films about pigs with no dialogue (Gunda), werewolves with some songwriting (Bloodthirsty) and Lovecraftian fish people who want to spawn with a couple (The Deep Ones). Ed Helms wants Patti Harrison to carry his baby (Together Together) and William Jackson Harper wants to know why Aya Cash won’t marry him (We Broke Up). A pair of documentaries explore the origins of a unique celebrity (Tiny Tim: King for a Day) and a beloved children’s program (Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street) while Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette and Daniel Dae Kim head to Mars with an uninvited guest (Stowaway). But if battles are what you are looking for get ready for The Mitchells vs. the Machines and the long-awaited “R”-rated adaptation of the video game, Mortal Kombat