210: Video Games, STAR WARS Teasers and THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS as Treatise on the State of the Franchise

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We’re back!

After a spring hiatus we return to you, our beloved WLM brethren, with a discussion about one of this podcast’s most enduring and beloved topics: The Freakin’ Fast and The Furious Franchise.

But, seeing as we’ve been off for almost a month we have a lot of catching up to do. So the first half of this podcast features a diverse swath of chit-chat, ranging from the great movie theaters of New York City, brief “We Like Podcasts” and “We Like Video Games” segments, and our inevitable reaction to the recently-premiered teaser for THE LAST JEDI.
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS talk begins in earnest at 00:43:30 and yes there will absolutely be spoilers.

It’s good to be back. We’ve missed you. You're like family and it's all about family, right?   

205: Our Unsolicited Oscar Predictions

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Happy Oscar Weekend, WLM faithfuls!
Seems like just yesterday we were patting ourselves on the back and handing out golden statues. But somehow it's the glorious time of year again when the world turns its attention toward the magical world of movies. This Sunday, those of us belonging to the 30% of the population who actually watch best picture nominees will tune in right alongside the 70% who can't even name a nominee to collectively pick apart the "Super Bowl of show business".
Join Oscar and I as we psych ourselves up for the 89th Academy Awards and go on record with our predictions in each category.
If you're like us and you love this weekend- we're just under 72 hours away from the big ceremony!
If you absolutely hate this self-congratulatory season- the nightmare is just over 72 hours from being over!

204: AFI #87 - 12 ANGRY MEN

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The first AFI challenge pod of 2017 arrives, bringing with it a polite genuflection before the alter of one of the greatest (nay, the greatest?) single room dramas ever committed to film.

The oft-referenced, oft-remade, oft-revered chatfest known as 12 ANGRY MEN gets the WLM treatment this week, just in time for Valentine's Day! Sit down next to someone you love to argue with, revisit this bonafide classic, then catch up on our knee-jerk reactions to the film.

"I don't believe I have to be loyal to one side or the other. I'm simply asking questions."

203: Oscar Nom Hot Pod

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We got up at 5am this morning, sat through the awkward, self-congratulatory, pre-taped nomination presentation, then immediately went on the record with our thoughts.
Our spirits were high, our opinions were fresh, our commentary was cutting and insightful! (At least that’s how it felt at 6am)
Listen in for a nice, tight, 45 minute breakdown of all things Oscar[s]!

Grain of Salt: Matt’s Top 10 Films of 2016

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2016 in cinema was 75% whimper and 25% bang.
But what a bang! And luckily said bang came late, all but erasing the bad taste that the first 8 months left lingering in our collective mouths.
If only the cinema of 2016 could also erase the bad taste left over from what was happening outside of the movie theater...
Que sera. Movies are magic but they can't solve ALL of our problems.

Let's leave our cares and worries about the state of the world behind for the moment and take a brief little hopscotch down the memory lane of the last 12 months, shall we? If nothing else, the films of 2016 proved that "television" may have the more attractive business models and profit margins, but movies have Herzog, Chazelle, Lanthimos, Verhoeven, and Villeneuve. So... for now at least... movies still win.

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202: The Top 10 of 2016 Lists (plus hot Globes talk)

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Our beloved Top 10 of the year podcast is here again and this time around we someone managed to bring it in for a landing shy of 90 minutes.
Maybe we're gettin' better at this, nearly 200 episodes in...
We start off with a brief Golden Globes breakdown before diggin' in for the good stuff: Our favorite films of 2016. Thanks for being with us. 

200: ROGUE ONE: A Star Wars Pod

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Our long-awaited ROGUE ONE podcast has landed and let’s just say there are some disturbances in the force. Our reactions may not be what you’d expect from such fervent STAR WARS sympathizers. But we manage to keep our reactions to a nice, tight 70 minutes.

Spoilers begin at 22 minutes. Be forewarned!

199: AFI #88 - BRINGING UP BABY

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It's screwball time y'all.
One of the most inimitable couples ever to grace the silver screen achieve bicker-banter critical mass in the Howard Hawks classic BRINGING UP BABY. And if rat-a-tat chatter isn't your thing there's an extraordinarily well-trained leopard (the title character, natch) who's sure to hold your interest for 100 minutes.
We take only minor issue with this slightly-dated farce but our conversation actually blossoms into a more in-depth discussion on the nature and fundamentals of cinematic comedy. So there's that!

198: A "Prestige" Pod featuring THE HANDMAIDEN, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, MOONLIGHT, and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

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There's an embarrassment of riches out there at the multiplexes these days (God bless the holiday/award season!). But "limited release" schedules often get in the way of our ability to stay current with everything that's generating "buzz" (curse you, Seattle and your big city/small market conundrum). That being said, we're endeavoring to catch up this week with in-depth dissections of 4 "prestige"
films that are currently in theaters and vying for your holiday movie-going buck:

00:15:04 - THE HANDMAIDEN
00:24:45 - NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
00:42:01 - MOONLIGHT
00:56:01 - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

We're confident in our reactions and we're proud of this pod. Hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed chattin'.

197: AFI #89 - THE SIXTH SENSE

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The first legitimate turkey on AFI's revised top 100 list materializes in the form of M. Night Shyamalan's "game-changer" psychological thriller THE SIXTH SENSE. The film that changed the way popular culture handles spoilers, foisted a catchphrase-whispering Haley Joel Osment upon the masses, and tried to sell us on one of Bruce Willis's least convincing hairpieces, gets the WLM treatment this week. We're tough... but fair!
Listen in. We're more critical this time around but it makes for some incisive pod. Truly!

196: FANTASTIC BEASTS brings the wizarding world stateside and ARRIVAL proves to be an unexpected sci-fi tearjerker

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We've waited long enough for the "prestige season" to save us from a criminally underwhelming 2016 cinematic slate. The arrival of ARRIVAL signals that good things are to [finally] come. We gush over that instant classic science fiction game-changer, wax affectionate (if briefly) about the charming Marvel slam-dunk DOCTOR STRANGE, and perform a deliberate, simultaneous shrug in response to the newest film in the extended "Potterverse"- FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. It's good to be back. Let's settle in for this holiday season rollercoaster that is sure to give us much to discuss.

195: Discussing INFERNO and the cinematic legacy of Dan Brown

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After an extended foray into AFI territory during the dregs of the early fall movie season we return to you now with a real, honest to goodness review of something that's actually, legitimately currently in movie theaters!
The bad news is that we chose to hitch our wagon to a supremely mediocre star. The good news is that our reaction to the movie INFERNO and our reflection on Dan Brown's cinematic trilogy as a whole lays the groundwork for a rousing discussion and dissection. We even find the time to talk Halloween, holidays, and the complicated politics of "facebook birthday wishes". Good stuff. Good pod.

194: AFI #90 - SWING TIME

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SWING TIME is a film of modest narrative ambitions but vast musical and choreographic pleasures. On this week's episode we take the sour with the sweet as we break down the film's charm, substance, and shortcomings. This is a nice, tight convo with very little filibustering. We're proud of this one. Thanks for listening.