Episode 125: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Do you want to be rich? Sure, we all do! But how about being crazy rich? And also Asian? Well, do we have a movie for you.  Do we? Of course we do.  Why else would you be here? This week’s entry in our “Isn’t It Romantic” series is our most current movie . . . although 2018 does feel like a long time ago.  But anyway! This week’s movie is one of the most successful romantic comedies of the last decade, adapted from the first in the successful book trilogy by Kevin Kwan.  Is the story original? Weeeellllll . . . but the cast is certainly distinctive and the locations are remarkable and the moral is uplifting: being rich is great.  For those of you who were wondering, it seems that having a crap-ton of money can be really nifty.  I’ll let you absorb this shock.  Once you have, give a listen to us: we’re not Asian, we’re not rich, but . . . well, one out of three ain’t bad! Hmm, actually it is pretty bad.  Well, please listen anyway.

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Episode 124: Harold and Maude (1971)

When you think of the screen couples whose sizzling hot chemistry lit up the screen and made movie audiences curiously sweaty, you think of Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in “Ghost”, Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger in “9 ½ Weeks”, and of course . . . Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in “Harold and Maude”? . . . Did I read that wrong? Yes, in this week’s episode of “Isn’t It Romantic” we’re tackling the romance between a suicide-obsessed twenty-something and a free-spirited septuagenarian . . . as so many love stories do.  We’ve got a movie here with a rather . . . unexpected romantic relationship, loads of groovy Cat Stevens music and arguably (well, argued by me) one of, if not the, coolest cars in cinema history.  Seriously, forget the Batmobile, forget Bond’s Astin Martin . . . I want a Jaguar hearse and I want it now! Anyone got one? I’ve got a slightly used pony to trade! Give a listen and find out what we think about this unlikely screen pairing.  And hey, if you want to sing out, sing out!

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Episode 123: Pat and Mike (1952)

Welcome to another episode of “Isn’t It Romantic”. Well? Isn’t it? ISN’T IT?! I’m waiting.  I can wait all day if necessary.  Thank you.  That wasn’t so hard was it? Wait, was that you or was it one of the Voices? Um, anyway, this week we’re traveling back to the era of black-and-white cinema with “Pat and Mike,” a movie that puts the focus squarely where it should be: on the rising star that was Chuck Connors.  Yes, the Rifleman himself has a prominent role in this picture, dominating the silver screen with his brilliant . . . umm . . . with his subtle . . . with his height.  Yes, he’s definitely the tallest person in this movie and we’re here to make sure everyone remembers this.  Ok, sure there’s some flash-in-the-pan pair of actors called Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in this movie, I think, and sure, I suppose some people might have watched the movie for their talent and chemistry but for true aficionados, the first hour and twenty minutes of this film is just an agonizing wait for the appearance of Mr. Connors and his mighty chin.  I suppose we should mention the stuff that comes before that in our discussion . . . give a listen and see if any of it lives up to the anticipation of Waiting for Chuck, as this movie should have been called.

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Episode 122: Notting Hill (1999)

Ah, “Notting Hill” . . . the sweet, coming-of-age story of a boy scout earning his merit badge in Knot-Tying-Specifically-Done-On-The-Side-Of-A-Hill, one of the rarest merit badges is all scoutdom.  Naturally, they had to drop the “K” in the American version of the film due to censorship and you’re not buying even a word of this, are you.  All right, fine, this end-of-the-nineties rom-com brings together the box office powerhouse that is Julia Roberts with Mickey Blue-eyes himself, Hugh Grant in a story of lovers from two different worlds (middle-class London and the third moon of Jupiter, I think), surrounded by quirky characters and starring a fabulous soundtrack.  Ok, maybe not “starring” but the soundtrack has some really good songs on it.  Can these two crazy kids struggle through the vicissitudes of fame, the fear of vulnerability, an adorably annoying Welshman, and Alec Baldwin so that love will conquer all? It’s a Hollywood romantic comedy: take a wild guess.  But it’s the journey not the destination, so give a listen as we go on our chatty journey, won’t you? Can we get you some tea? Perhaps a Chagall?

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Episode 121: It Happened One Night (1934)

Romantic comedies.  A staple (or at least a paperclip) of Hollywood movies since the Pre-Cambrian era.  This genre has survived world wars, Great Depressions, and bell-bottomed pants.  We love us some meet-cute, will-they-or-won’t-they, will she marry the rich snob or the snarky but hunky pipe welder type movies.  And it’s funny! In this, our latest series “Isn’t It Romantic,” we’re going to be looking at a whole bunch of these film mainstays and trying to figure out if they hold up, if we buy the romance and if we laugh at the comedy.  From the classics to the recents to the ones that some say almost killed the entire genre, we’re going to be looking at them.  With our eyes.  And then we’ll be talking about them.  With our mouths.  Oh, and we’ll be listening with our ears, too, don’t want you to think we’d forget that.  This week, we’re kicking things off (and badly bruising our toes) with one of the classics: Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night,” starring Claudette Colbert and some guy named Clark . . . something . . . some kind of roofing term . . . I want to say Cornice? Turret? Slate? Well, it’ll come to me and when it does we hope you’re there listening with your ears (or whatever orifice you prefer to listen with; we don’t judge).  Enjoy!

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Episode 120: The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Well, it’s been fun and we all had a good laugh but now we come to the end of our “Pixar Pix” with this week’s entry “The Good Dinosaur.” Oh man, remember Halloween 2015, when all the kids were dressing up as Arlo the Apatosaurus? Sigh….. good times.  So this movie is based on a fascinating premise: what if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What if the Extinction Asteroid had never hit the earth all those hundreds of years ago? (it was hundreds of years, right? Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was) Yes, what if dinosaurs had continued to evolve, developing high intelligence, consciousness, and self-awareness, while at the same time humans were doing the same? Wow.  Think of the fascinating intellectual, philosophical and moral issues that would arise! What kind of society would dinosaurs form? Would they develop their own brand of technology? How would they change physiologically? Well, finally we have a movie that answers all these . . . hah? Excuse me? Oh . . . I see.  So it’s basically just a sort of boy-and-his-dog, Fantastic Journey story but with dinosaurs.  Huh. Ok . . . that’s fine! This is Pixar, right? No doubt they’ll come up with some sort of unique, challenging perspective on this incredibly familiar, dare I say hackneyed, story concept.  Pixar wouldn’t let us down, would they? I mean, this came out the same year as “Inside Out”! Right? . . . . right? Well, give a listen and see how it all worked out.  They wouldn’t . . . right?

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Episode 119: The Incredibles (2004)

Holy campy tv catchphrase! It’s another episode of “Pixar Pix”! When last we left our Dyspeptic Duo, they were dangling above a vat of radioactive mayonnaise while Lord Doctor Baron von Naughtyguy was launching into hour three of his detailed description of his plan for world domination . . . or maybe they were just watching movies, I dunno, I wasn’t paying attention; I was just waiting for the post-credits sequence.  So, we’ve seen Pixar tackle monsters, self-aware toys, and sentient hell-mobiles but this week we discuss their take on a very tricky genre: superhero movies.  Keep in mind, mainstream superhero movies are a comparatively recent phenomenon, given that special effects have reached a level where the costumes don’t look as ridiculous and Spider-Man’s webs don’t just look like a fishing net thrown by an off-camera stagehand.  Some of these movies really work and some of them . . . really don’t.  So, what sort of take are we going to get from Pixar? Well, this is pre-Disney Pixar, so it’s a fairly daring take: it’s a movie about family.  Ok, this family happens to be made up entirely of super-powered beings, but it’s definitely a movie about family.  How well does it work? And how well does it hold up? Join us right now, same Max, Mike; Movies time, same Max, Mike; Movies channel!

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Episode 118: Monsters University (2013)

Ah, bright college days! Frisbee games on the quad, cramming for exams, trying to choose a major, learning how best to extract the last drop of mortal terror from children . . . truly, golden years.  All this can be found in this week’s example of “Pixar Pix,” “Monster’s University,” the sequel you didn’t know you wanted (but Disney did.  Disney knows your dreams. Disney knows your desires) to the highly enjoyable “Monsters, Inc.” Did you ever wonder how diminutive, one-eyed Mike became best chums with massive, hairy Sully? What do you mean, no? You definitely wondered that.  It says so right here on the Disney officially-approved Things You Wondered About document, which is of course a wrought-iron slab covered in mysterious hieroglyphics! Do not dispute the slab! You wanted this sequel, do you understand? Don’t give us any backtalk!

Anyway, so . . . monsters! They’re just like us. Seriously, according to this movie they’re just like us.  I mean, almost exactly like us, except that they’re monsters.  Join us as we join Mike and Sully as they enter Monsters U (interesting side-note: our own Bumpy the Wonder Pony was expelled from Monsters U after two days for being just too darn disturbing and horrible.  It’s true! He had to get his degree from the online University of Dark Phoenix!).  Give a listen as we discuss the sequel you WILL enjoy (or be subject to penalization by the Disney Corp.).

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Episode 117: Inside Out (2015)

Feelings.  Nothing more than feelings.  Trying to forget my feelings of love.  Or in the case of this week’s “Pixar Pix”, trying to forget my feelings of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger.  Yes, we’ve got all the feels this week with “Inside Out”. Previously, Pixar has taken us to Scotland, Mexico and to infinity and beyond, but now they’re taking us to one of the most challenging and complicated locations of all: inside the mind of a pre-teen human.  Aaahhh! What kind of fiends are these? The children! Won’t someone thing of the children?! Oh. . . I guess they kind of are, with this movie.  We’ve had anthropomorphic representations of cars, so of course the next obvious step is anthropomorphic representations of human core emotions.  Sure.  So obvious.  But you’ve got Lewis Black representing Anger and people, this is the kind of casting gold that is up there with Ian McKellan as Gandalf.  Seriously.  But come along with us as we laugh and cry our way through this movie.  Well, Mike cried.  Cried like a little schoolgirl.  I didn’t.  Not at all. Well, ok, I may have allowed one manly tear to course slowly across my cheek but that’s really BING BONG! NOOOOO! WHYYYYYY? WHYYYYY? [dissolves in choking sobs] just listen to the stupid podcast already where’s the ice cream dammit why Bing Bong why?

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Episode 116: Brave (2012)

Wurra wurra, we’ve got us yet another “Pixar Pix”! This time, Mike takes the high road and I take the low road and we got to Scotland before Pixar! Seriously, we did; we visited Scotland decades before this movie.  But here we have an ostensibly “Disney” Pixar movie, which gave us Pixar’s only entry into Disney’s “Princess” line (the characters, not the cruise ships.  Or maybe both?).  Set in ancient Scotland, this is clearly Pixar’s most Scottish movie.  Wow, is it ever Scottish.  It’s as Scottish as a really Scottish thing.  You don’t ever get a chance to forget that the characters are in Scotland.  Never mind the brogues that are so thick you ladle them over your cullen skink, but we’ve got caber tossing, thistles, mystic will-o-wisps, Shire horses and, of course, haggis.  Jings! So come along and meet Merida of the Gloriously Animated Hair (seriously, they were so proud of the animation for her hair in this movie . . .) and a host of other characters who were definitely in this movie and see if we rank this as one of Pixar’s best, worst, or something else.  Spoiler alert: we do rank it as the most Scottish.  Jings.

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