The Movie Madness Podcast presents this bonus extension of the show with a dive into the 2024-25 awards season. A breakdown of the various groups with their victories and nominations in an effort to present an ongoing State-of-the-Race up until the final Oscar nominations on Jan. 17, 2025. Statistics, commentary and a running scoreboard are in store for you starting with announcements from the Gothams and the New York Film Critics. Strap in cause its going to be a ride.

Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski continue to add to your Christmas carts with a variety of great gift ideas for the movie lovers in your life. They talk about the Coen Bros. big Oscar winner and Fellini’s most beloved film now both in 4K. Peter goes to bat for Abel Ferrara’s vampire tale and a Henry James adaptation from this year. Erik talks the 10^th Anniversary of a Christopher Nolan film and offers some defense of Ron Howard’s collaboration with Geoge Lucas and Seth MacFarlane’s debut. A Martha Coolidge film that was part of the Why-Is-This-Not-On-Blu-Ray series finally gets its due and a controversial 1980s horror film gets an upgrade. Finally Peter shows love to a rockin’ high school movie as well the Cracking Collection of Wallace & Gromit.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have nine films to talk about this week. They include Kyle Mooney’s take on the computer glitch of 1999 (Y2K) and what happens when a supermoon infects the world (Werewolves). Ralph Fiennes completes Homer’s odyssey (The Return) while Nick Frost just wants to take his family on vacation to see a scary Swedish tradition (Get Away). There is the true story of one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles (Unstoppable) and the drug-fueled scribblings of William Burroughs through the eyes of Daniel Craig (Queer). Jude Law gruffly goes after white supremacists in the 1980s (The Order).The potential end of the world is told without words and through animated animals (Flow) while Amy Adams may be turning into an animal in a film that tries to use all the words to define motherhood (Nightbitch).

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be gone but the physical media buying season is in full effect for the movie lovers in your life. Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski go through the week’s offerings. Sure they include the infamous later films of Ed Wood have been unearthed along with a “Reefer Madness for the Sexual Revolution” plus a goofy Michael Crichton adaptation. But there are also  masterpieces from Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog plus a pair of beloved horror and sci-fi comedies. Not to mention an overlooked film from Sam Raimi and the great pre-South Park musical from Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

It’s Thanksgiving week and the pickings are slim on the movie front. But Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy may have something for you to watch with the family. Hint that it involves a pair of music documentaries focusing on the arrival of Liverpool’s finest to the States (Beatles ’64) to the soothing sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s (Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary). You can also hear about the latest from David Gordon Green as Ben Stiller attends to his ill-behaved nephews (Nutcrackers) and the new film from the Farrelly Bros. involving Jack Black answering a young boy’s Christmas call as Satan (Dear Santa). Finally, Disney turns one of their beloved films into a series and then back into a theatrical sequel (Moana 2).  

Just in time for Black Friday, Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski takes you through a swath of new physical media and collections. They include two of the best films in the careers of Peter Bogdanovich and Guillermo Del Toro (and yes the best from Rob Cohen too.) There’s a pair of underrated films from the great William Friedkin and martial arts collections from Stephen Chow and the Shaw Brothers. Go on the road with Hope and Crosby and take a journey with an underseen adventure story. Not to mention dancing, the Thin Man, a whole bunch of Looney Tunes and one of the most infamous box office tales ever.

It’s the week before Thanksgiving and there are some heavy-hitters in theaters and trio of new Netflix titles for those stay-at-home viewers. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy cover eight movies for you this week including a fascinating documentary on a woman who may have crafted the soundtrack to your life (The World According to Allee Willis) and another about a unique love affair involving music and mascots (Adrianne and the Castle). Sylvester Stallone tries to take Jason Patric’s armored car (Armor) while Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy show you who the true mother and father of IVF were (Joy). Denzel Washington’s family adapts August Wilson (The Piano Lesson) and Alan Menken returns to score an all-star cast in a nifty Netflix animated film (Spellbound). Finally, it may not be Barbenheimer but Ridley Scott returns to Rome with a new vengeance (Gladiator II) and the first act of a Broadway sensation finally makes it to the big screen (Wicked: Part One).

Christmas stockings should be filled with what is on the physical media slate this week. Erik Childress is joined by Peter Sobczynski to take you through everything including Barbra Streisand’s big Oscar win and one of the great adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. Great things come in threes including Clint Eastwood and the works of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker. They also come in twos with Buster Keaton and the works of Jim Henson. Though speaking of three, Warner Bros. has one of the 4K trifectas of the year with a Mel Brooks classic, one of Hitchcock’s most purely entertaining and James Cameron’s legendary breakthrough. Finally not to dampen the holiday mood but the film that may just be Sam Raimi’s finest achievement with the great Bill Paxton gets a new 4K upgrade as well.

Mid-November and kind of a mid-week for releases, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy do have five reviews for you including a pair of documentaries on two icons in the film and music world (Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes, Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley). They look at the latest from Andrea Arnold (Bird) and try to look at the new musical from Jacques Audiard apart from its controversies (Emilia Perez). Finally, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans team up to rescue Santa Claus from the Christmas Witch. Yes, really (Red One).

A lot of good stuff on the physical media beat for those starting to make their Christmas lists. Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to guide you through the lot which includes gangster and samurai classics from Criterion. There’s also a trio of 1980s puberty-starters and a reevaluation of the fourth Body Snatchers adaptation. You can also get new 4K releases of Steven Spielberg’s debut theatrical feature and one of Oliver Stone’s finest achievements.