German filmmaker Roland Emmerich's second ultra-jingoistic movie about American independence, "The Patriot," plays a lot like an unofficial remake to Gibson's 1995 masterpiece "Braveheart," but without the whole being a good movie thing.
Mel Gibson plays a hatchet-wielding maniac named Benjamin Martin who uses the death of his son and the Revolutionary War as excuses to savagely butcher his victims without facing consequences. He also enters into a sexual relationship with his recently deceased wife's sister (played by Joely Richardson) who is willing to look the other way at his evil behavior.
Heath Ledger plays Mel Gibson’s oldest son who enlists in the Continental Army against his father's wishes. Then, when gets wounded in the line of duty, he takes refuge at his family's plantation, which ends up leading to the death of his 15-year-old brother who oddly still plays with toys.
Join us as we discuss why the movie insists that slavery barely existed in South Carolina back then, the transformation of racist Donal Logue and the decision to gather up the entire town of people that they made us care about and then burn them alive.
Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.
This episode is sponsored by the City of Austin's proposed name change.
Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.
In this installment of our periodical "In Theaters" segment, we give you our immediate reaction to seeing a new movie on the big screen. This time, we travel back to Island Kalokairi to see what happened to our favorite love quadrangle in, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again."
**NOTE: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS**
Quick Facts
Release date: July 20, 2018
Runtime: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Starring: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Dominic Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth, Cher, Julie Walters, Jeremy Irvine, Andy Garcia, Josh Dylan, Hugh Skinner, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa Davies
Directed by: Ol Parker
Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.
Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.
Does Your Mother Know you're listening? Well, we're glad that you decided to Take a Chance on us this episode, you little Chiquititas. We don't Lay All Our Love on the 2008 smash hit "Mamma Mia!" Audiences lost and studios won as this movie made $615.7 million at the box office, but, as they say, The Winner Takes It All and the loser has to fall.
A lot of people think this movie is Honey, Honey, but we think it's vinegar, vinegar.
We thought this might be Our Last Summer after watching this drivel, but we were Super Troupers and powered through it without letting a single scene Slip Through Our Fingers.
When All Is Said and Done, not even underrated Meryl Streep could keep us from thinking that this was the cinematic equivalent of Waterloo.
Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.
This episode is sponsored by The Poor Person's Almanack.
Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.
Somehow the 1999 Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant flick "Notting Hill"—which is just the repeated gag of "Holy cow; she’s famous and talking to us!"—was extended into a 2-hour movie that made $364 million at the box office.
This movie also has side bits about how eccentric British people are in this quaint, and down-to-earth super affluent section of London that seems like it's millions of miles away from Hollywood, even though it’s not.
This movie was written by Richard Curtis, the man behind "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Love Actually," and it's difficult to differentiate the three, because he’s a hack who pumps out the same schmaltz at every turn.
Hugh Grant plays Will Thacker, a man whose entire personality consists of manufacturing excessive apologies into charm. He owns a failing travel bookstore, which he laments, even though he hates his inventory and all his customers, so what’s the mystery.
Julia Roberts plays a famous bad actress named Anna Scott (quite the stretch for her) who Hugh Grant falls in love with because she's famous. She's basically a robot in this movie who doesn't do much other than be captivated by this bumbling idiot.
Then there’s also a zany roommate, who's basically just a Welsh version of Kramer from "Seinfeld." Oh, and there are other characters who all just complain about their lives and are shown to be in awe of the sight of a famous person in their supposed distant squalor (even though, again, it's super rich London).
Join us as we rank the Baldwin brothers, whether or not the zany roommate is a figment of Hugh Grant's imagination and how this movie is so transparently trying to get credit for disabilities.
Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.
This episode is sponsored by Chuck Lorre's new TV show, "Fart," which premieres Thursdays this fall on CBS.
Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.
Happy Independence Day 2018, everybody! We're taking the week off for the holiday, so we decided to re-air one of our favorite episodes that originally dropped July 4, 2017. We hope you have good time re-listening to it, and we'll be back in your ears next week with a brand-new episode.
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ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:
If world events are making you feel less than celebratory, you can always take solace in the fact that there aren't currently any giant spaceships filled with genocidal aliens hovering over the world's major cities like in Roland Emmerich's 1996 megablockbuster, "Independence Day.”
Be warned that although "Independence Day" contains a large ensemble cast of mostly A-List actors, the unoriginal script and horrid directing produced some of the worst performances of their careers.
Jeff Goldblum plays David Levinson, a lowly, unambitious MIT-educated math genius, chess Grandmaster and cable television executive who can read binary and easily destroy an armada of alien ships with his 1995 Apple PowerBook 5300.
Will Smith plays Captain Steven Hiller, a gung-ho Marine who's in love with a stripper with a heart of gold and is capable of coldcocking an armor-clad alien with one punch. He can also inexplicably pilot any kind of vehicle, be it a helicopter or alien ship.
Bill Pullman plays President Thomas J. Whitmore, a former Desert Storm fighter pilot turned politician. Pullman’s Dirty Harryesque acting delivered the most hackneyed oration in the history of film, until it was overtaken by the 2009 release of James Cameron’s "Avatar."
Randy Quaid plays Russell Casse, a drunken Vietnam vet and father of three who reforms his ways just in time to sacrifice himself and save the world. The makers of this movie seem to believe that criminally irresponsible alcoholic parents are the height of comedy.
Judd Hirsch plays Julius Levinson, David’s Yiddish-accented father who serves as a chauffeur and hype man to his son throughout the film.
Brent Spiner plays Dr. Brackish Okun, an eccentric Area 51 scientist character. In reality, Spiner is just a pawn to get weirdo Trekkies like Jim to like the movie.
Gravelly-voiced Robert Loggia plays General William Grey, a tough old Marine who serves as the President's trusted military advisor throughout the film.
Famous crooner-turned-actor-turned-daytime talkshow host, Harry Connick Jr., plays Lieutenant Jimmy Wilder, a pilot in Will Smith's squadron who is fond of doing Jesse Jackson impressions and calling Will Smith "Big Daddy."
Harvey Fierstein has a brief cameo as Marty Gilbert, a co-worker of Jeff Goldblum who feels compelled to call his mother after learning of the alien arrival. Upon learning of the aliens' hostile intentions, he also decides to warn his brother and bookie, but decides to spitefully forego warning his lawyer.
Join us as we discuss our favorite Reddit news source, DonkeySemen69, and learn about Keating's love for watching horses get punched in the face.
Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.
Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.