Legends Podcast #732; October Sky (1999)
Legends Podcast
Director Joe Johnston, who worked in design and VFX for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, is best known for effects-heavy family pics like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji. But in 1999, he tried his hand at the “based on a true story” inspirational biopic genre, based on the early life of NASA engineer Homer Hickam, as told in Hickam’s memoir Rocket Boys. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern, the film tells the story of a coal miner’s son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik in 1957 to take up rocketry with a group of friends...
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Legends Podcast #731; Omniloop (2024)
Legends Podcast
Wait, do that again. No that wasn’t quite right… In 2024, writer-director-editor Bernardo Britto — best known for his sharp, thought-provoking animated shorts like Yearbook, Hudson Geese, and Glove — takes a bold leap into live action with his very first feature film.Set in Miami and Starring Mary-Louise Parker as a woman facing a haunting deadline: she has only one week left to live. But when she uses mysterious pills from her youth that send her back five days in time, she’s plunged into an infinite loop — a desperate quest to unravel the mysteries of time...
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Legends Podcast #730; Better Man (2024)
Legends Podcast
One of last year’s most puzzling releases came in the form of a musical biopic chronicling the rise to fame of British pop star Robbie Williams. While following all the usual biopic tropes, this film made one rather noticeable swerve by portraying its star and subject as an anthropomorphic CGI chimpanzee. With Williams providing the narration and singing and Jonno Davies providing the voice and motion capture, the film, directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, never acknowledges this species-bending premise while playing it straight. Despite Robbie Williams’ mega-stardom in the...
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Legends Podcast #729; Twisters (2024)
Legends Podcast
We’re returning to The Suck Zone to kick off the summer movie season with a legacy sequel to the 1996 film Twister! Director Lee Isaac Chung updates the storm chasing disaster flick for 2024, with a new cast including Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos. When a tornado outbreak threatens Oklahoma, a traumatized scientist and a social media influencer join forces to literally change the weather. Coming to the big screen more than twenty years after the original, is this formula enough to blow away fair-weather fans of the franchise? Or does the forecast indicate another two...
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Legends Podcast #728; Wicked (2024)
Legends Podcast
We’re off to see the 2024 movie adaptation of Act One of the 2003 hit Broadway musical based on the 1995 bestselling book by Gregory Maguire, based on the 1939 film, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum. Telling the origin story of the witches of Oz, this Jon M. Chu-directed film saw Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande step into the roles made famous on stage by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum round out the cast of one of the biggest films of the past year. It brought in over $750 million worldwide, making it the...
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Legends Podcast #727; Jawbreaker (1999)
Legends Podcast
We’re heading back to high school for a Legend of ‘99 - that’s 25 years ago! When a prank goes wrong leaving the most popular girl in school dead in the trunk of a car, her clique will stop at nothing to cover up their crime. Starring Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer, this film written and directed by Darren Stein didn’t take a huge bite out of the box office, with many critics souring it at the time of release. However, as time passed, audiences have come to see it as a cult classic alongside similar films like Heathers and Mean Girls. There has even been...
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Legends Podcast #726; Megalopolis (2024)
Legends Podcast
Director Francis Ford Coppola is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century, the visionary force behind The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and dozens of other films. For decades, Coppola had sought to make a film drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the future of the United States by retelling the Catilinarian conspiracy in modern New York, but was unable to secure studio funding. After three decades of fits and starts, Coppola ultimately spent $120 million of his own money to make the film, drawn largely from the fortune he made in the...
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Legends Podcast #725; A Goofy Movie (1995)
Legends Podcast
We’re continuing our journey on the open road this month with a classic Disney movie released three decades ago. In this film, a father and son come to terms with the circle of life while realizing the importance of being prepared to face the challenges of a road trip. Far from meaning “no worries” for the son (who wants to feel the love tonight with his crush), the efforts of the father (who just can’t wait to be king of the road) to reconnect with his son lead to a veritable stampede of sight gags, one-liners, and comedies-of-error. No, it’s not The Lion King! Based on the Disney...
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Legends Podcast #724; Thelma & Louise (1991)
Legends Podcast
We’re heading out for a road trip with two ladies who are doing it for themselves! Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star as the titular leads in this 1991 road trip crime drama from director Ridley Scott. When a girls’ weekend getaway goes awry, a waitress and housewife must dodge the law and would-be lovers to make a true getaway. But when their luck runs out, they must take a leap of faith. Co-starring Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Brad Pitt, the film won multiple awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for writer Callie...
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Legends Podcast #723; The Accountant (2016)
Legends Podcast
It’s Tax Day, and we’re celebrating the fiscal cycle with a movie that gets physical. A film that puts the “internal” from “internal injuries” in the Internal Revenue Service. The flick that proves pocket protectors can be cool and no one will make fun of you for wearing them if you also carry a really big gun. Ben Affleck stars, the same year he donned the Bat-Mantle in Batman V Superman, alongside Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, Jean Smart, and Jeffrey Tambor. In the film, Affleck plays an autistic CPA who is also a master...
info_outlineIt’s Tax Day, and we’re celebrating the fiscal cycle with a movie that gets physical. A film that puts the “internal” from “internal injuries” in the Internal Revenue Service. The flick that proves pocket protectors can be cool and no one will make fun of you for wearing them if you also carry a really big gun. Ben Affleck stars, the same year he donned the Bat-Mantle in Batman V Superman, alongside Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, Jean Smart, and Jeffrey Tambor. In the film, Affleck plays an autistic CPA who is also a master assassin. Written by Ozark creator Bill Dubuque and directed by Gavin O’Connor, the film rightly drew criticism for “cripface” - casting a non-disabled actor to play a person with a disability - the film performed well at the box office and earned a sequel, which premiered last month at SXSW and goes wide later this month. But when the bill comes due, is The Accountant merely a paint-by-numbers affair, is it guilty of fraud, or does it add up to more than the sum of its parts?
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