Booyah! Welcome back to another totally tubular episode of “In Ancient Times: the 90’s” here at Max, Mike; Movies. Wait . . . tubular is from the 80’s, right? Oh, who knows. It’s not like anyone from that era is alive today. Whatever. Totally. This week we’re tackling Mike’s choice of an early Richard Linklater ode to the 1970’s (because that’s what we were into in the 90’s: Richard Linklater and the 70’s. Don’t dispute me) “Dazed and Confused,” the movie that single-handedly took a handful of river clay and crafted it into the chiseled creature that is Matthew McConaughey. Yes, he’s not actually in much of the movie, but by MC’s hammer, he’s what you remember. The plot? It’s the last day of school in 1976 in a small town in Texas. Yes, that’s pretty much it. But is the plot the reason to watch the movie? Is it the characters? The feeling of a small football-based town in Texas? The brief appearances by a painfully young Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Parker Posey? The blink-and-you’ll-miss-her cameo by Renee Zellweger (playing the immortal role of “Girl in Blue Truck”)? Or is it the fabulous 70’s wardrobe? Give a listen and see if you think we’re all wrong or if we’re . . . all right, all right, all right!
Whew! We conquered episode 100, now we go forward . . . to the past! Welcome to a new series on “Max, Mike; Movies” where we check out films of a surprisingly innovative and influential decade, back in the dim and distant misty times: the 1990’s, in a series we’re calling “In Ancient Times: the 90’s” (we were going to do the 1890s but there’s only so much you can say about a film showing Thomas Edison’s assistant sneezing). The 90’s were, in our opinion, one of the last decades of truly experimental, daring films, before studios began focus-grouping the hell out of everything and basically just trying to establish easy-to-replicate cash-pooping formulas. This is not to say there isn’t still innovation out there, but it’s harder to get such movies made. This week we’re starting off with Max’s pick of a cinematic achievement that chronicles one of the greatest maritime tragedies of the 20th century. Of course, I’m talking about Boaty McBoatface. I don’t think any of us will ever lose the scars from that . . . wait, hang on, that’s not right. No, we’ll be yammering about the movie that made James Cameron the king of the world, a quiet, small-scale little period piece called “Titanic.” Sit back and let us paint you like one of our French girls!
Great jumping midi-chlorians! We’ve made it all the way to episode 100 of Max, Mike; Movies! Who’d have believed it? Seems like only yesterday we were at episode 34. They said we’d never make it; they said that we were mad! Mad, I tell you! They said we had to wear pants to the grocery store! Well, who’s wearing pants now, huh? Huh?
As this is an extra special, super-deluxe, chocolate-fudgy episode, we had to do something epic, something massive, something spanning decades, yet so simple and enjoyable that no one could ever, ever disagree about it or have conflicting opinions that would fill countless internet forums, web sites, or endless blogs. You guessed it, we chose “Star Wars”! (I lobbied for “Twilight” but Mike wouldn’t stop crying and biting himself when I suggested it). But which of the eleven official Star Wars movies could we discuss? How could we choose just one? Well . . . we couldn’t! So, we’re doing ALL OF THEM! That’s right, we’re talking about Star Wars, episodes 1 through 9, as well as “Solo” and “Rogue One.” Man, we must be really good to fit a complete analysis of the entire Skywalker Saga into one hour! Uh . . . well, we’re not actually that good. This is one of our longest podcasts ever. I mean EVER. Like, almost 3 hours long (hey, the movies got progressively longer as they went on, so we’re just honoring them. Yeah, that’s it). You’ll need plenty of roast Porg sandwiches and a big thermos of blue milk for this. We’ll be trying to discuss as much about all the movies, in context, as we can. Please note, we’re not going to try to cover the tv shows, animated series, novels, comic books, fanfics, neckties, tattoos, or stained-glass windows. We’re only Bothans, after all, and many of us died to bring you this podcast. Well, not really.
Now, a podcast of this magnitude needs more than just additional time; Mike and I like us some Star Wars-ing, but we’re not experts on the subject, so we found one of the most knowledgeable, reasonable, and well-dressed Star Wars enthusiasts we know: our special guest, Dr. Tyler Hutchinson. Dr. Hutchinson knows more about Star Wars than Calvin Coolidge put together, and he has very kindly agreed to lend his perspective, his knowledge of the Star Wars Universe, and his elegant vocal stylings to this episode. Don’t get used to it; next week it’s back to the dull screechings of Max and Mike. So, don’t go forming any Tyler fan clubs . . . unless we get a piece of the merchandising rights.
And for those of you who don’t want to deal with one huge, choking mass of our ponderous pontificating, Mike has neatly divided this podcast into three downloadable, easy to digest, bite-sized files that you can find here below, on our website. So, stock up on kyber crystals, light up a death stick, and give a listen to find out if these are the droids you’re looking for!
Episode 100 – Part 1Episode 100 – Part 2Episode 100 – Part 3
Sushi. Cold fish. That’s what my ex-partner used to call me before he ran off with Bumpy the Wonder Pony. Now it’s just me, alone, hunting podcasts and wondering . . . am I a podcast as well? Welcome to this week’s episode of “Max, Mike; Movies” and the last in our brief series “A Few of Our Favorite Things,” leading up to next week’s super-spectacular 100th episode! This week we’re hooking up the old Voight-Kampff testing equipment and chatting about one of Mike’s most-watched, most-beloved movies, Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” a cheerful, upbeat romp about a wacky razor delivery boy trying to make it in the big city . . . you’re not buying any of this, are you. Set in the distant future of . . . last year, I think, we follow the adventures of hard-boiled former cop Rick Deckard as he is called out of retirement to hunt down a group of renegade replicants, aka humanoid androids, now outlawed on Earth. Deckard has to face opponents who are almost indistinguishable from ordinary humans, and who are smarter and stronger than ordinary humans. Why, that’s just like our listeners, who are also more charming and better dressed than ordinary humans! “Blade Runner” has been released in no fewer than four cuts (maybe five) and Mike has chosen what he believes to be the best one (all I know is that it’s the one without the annoying voice-over narration, which puts it streets ahead of the theatrical release). Come listen to our annoying voice-over narration, won’t you?
