Movie Schmovie

Ronald’s ear infection led us to bump our chat about Undertone, Steve’s very audio-focused Required Viewing pick, to next week’s show, so we had room for a little trailer roundup and a discussion of the re-release plan for Endgame later this year. Then it’s on to Ronald’s thoughts about Michael, the divisive new biopic of the King of Pop, and a few other things the guys have seen lately.

The guys don’t have as much to cover in this episode, so you get bonus intro banter! Then it’s on to a little movie business news before jumping into the water with Ronald’s Required Viewing pick, Netflix’s new shark attack B-movie, Thrash.

This week, the guys sink their teeth into Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), then bounce from Project Hail Mary to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with their usual graceful lack of restraint. Along the way, they also check in on the final season of The Boys and Hulu’s two new comedies - Pizza Movie and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Moody vampires, outer space, superheroes, time travel, and pizza: just another totally normal episode!

Every now and then the episode title itself is such a thing of descriptive beauty, it’s a shame to elaborate in paragraph form. But indeed, this dose of Schmovie includes discussion of Luc Besson’s Dracula, this year’s Oscar ceremony, the second season of Jury Duty, and… MORE.

The guys sign up for duty with Night Patrol, a tale that dares to ask the question if being undead bloodsuckers actually makes corrupt, racist cops any worse; then they cover a bit of recent entertainment news before sharing brief thoughts about two new-ish releases: Scream 7 and Netflix’s War Machine. 

Ron, Steve, and John discuss Robert Townsend’s trailblazing indie classic, Hollywood Shuffle, break down the incident at the BAFTAs, and do an old-fashioned Schmovie round robin with some upcoming 2026 movie picks.

Before discussing Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the dark indie dramedy Twinless, the guys check out a batch of recent trailers and pay respects to a few freshly departed icons. Then it’s a round of everyone’s favorite game, “What Else Did You Watch?”, including quick thoughts on some great stuff in theaters now, like Crime 101, Marty Supreme, and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.

It’s a freeform episode, meaning the guys had Ron’s Required Viewing pick—last year’s psychological thriller The Dutchman—and not much else planned. So it’s time to cover a bit of industry news and whatever other topics come to mind, including a tribute to some of the folks who influenced your humble hosts to become the people they are today.

The guys drive around all night in a stolen car trying to unravel the picaresque adventures of Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, and Robert Downy Junior (before they became superheroes) in journeyman director Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys. Then they  discuss some recent releases, including Netflix crime thriller The Rip, and Sam Raimi’s return to madcap gore, Send Help.

Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the heartbreaking father-son crime drama Sovereign, puts the guys in a morbid mood, so maybe the rage zombies and psychopathic cults of director Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will perk things up! Also: other things!

Ron, Steve, and John indulge in a little obsessive list-making in order to share their respective top ten favorite films from last year. What a night for the movies! 

In this episode Ron, Steve, and John dance to the music of Sly and the Family Stone by digging into the star-studded, Questlove-directed documentary about the band (and the tumultuous arc of the genius behind it), Sly Lives! Then they chat about some other non-fiction films and series they’ve been watching.

The guys get the new year started off with a heavy dose of dark fantasy/sci-fi, tackling 1985’s creepy and magical Return to Oz, the first season of Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus, and the epic conclusion of Stranger Things.

Steve’s Required Viewing pick is the small-town horror/comedy Ick, which concerns a bunch of people whose quaint, sheltered world is infested with malevolent forces that have slowly grown in power over countless years (gee I wonder what that’s like), and the guys discuss that before moving on to Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Benoit Blanc murder mystery from Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig, with another all-star cast and a lot to say about the nature of belief, centered on a small, hyper-religious cult of personality that threatens to corrupt everyone it touches (gee I wonder what that’s like). The guys also take a moment to admire the amazing career of the irreplaceable Rob Reiner.

Ron, Steve, and John gracefully dive in slow motion with their guns blazing in the direction of John Woo’s 1992 bullet festival, Hard Boiled. Do the Schmovie guys have what it takes… to be a cop? Then they kick around a couple recent news items and dig in to other stuff they’ve seen. Kind of the usual format.

Ron, Steve, and John put on their tennis shoes and tiptoe around to live up to the title of this week’s Required Viewing pick, the cozy tech heist caper Sneakers. Then Ron and Steve make a quick trip to OZ for their thoughts on the hotly-anticipated (and oddly divisive) Wicked: For Good.

Ron, Steve, and John got to see an advance screening of Edgar Wright’s re-adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 novella, The Running Man! And in this special .5 episode, they meet up in John’s car for a post-movie conversation that touches on the strengths and weaknesses of the film, Glenn Powell’s star power, and how this take differs from the 1987 Schwarzenegger-led version.

After snacking on a couple recent news tidbits, the guys ride along with the beleaguered paramedic protagonists of Steve’s Required Viewing pick, Code 3. Then it’s an update on the third episode of Welcome to Derry and a few thoughts from John regarding Guillermo Del Toro’s passion project out on Netflix today—a very personal take on Frankenstein.

Ron’s Required Viewing pick is Good Boy, a new horror film that focuses on a dog’s point of view, starring a lovable canine actor who deserves all the treats. After that topic, it’s time to check back in on the supremely messed-up happenings in Stephen King’s Derry, Maine, followed by a brief rundown of other stuff the guys have watched.

The guys tunnel down to the underground city of Midian to check in on Clive Barker’s Director’s Cut of his dark fantasy epic from 1990, Nightbreed, and then follow the usual format of rattling off thoughts on whatever else they’ve watched, including Ron’s take on Tron: Ares and John’s spoiler-free look at the debut episode of HBO Max’s IT prequel series, Welcome to Derry.