Episode 278 - Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker

Writer J.J. Abrams (Gone Fishin’), who also directed this film, returns to close out the mega-opus Skywalker saga with Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Coming off the stinkbomb of The Last Jedi, Abrams had quite a hole to dig out of. Rather than claw his way towards the light, the filmmakers plumbed new depths. A posthumous turn from Carrie Fisher (It’s Christmas, Carol!) lends this whole affair a creepy vibe from which it never recovers. Overstuffed with fan service and an attempt to wrap up all the loose threads in the saga and to ret-con the most dumb portions of Rian Johnson’s (The Last Jedi) The Last Jedi, this bloated, exposition-heavy film splits the uprights by pleasing nearly no one. It has made a billion dollars already because this is the world in which we live.

Episode 103 - 10 Cloverfield Lane

A "spiritual successor" to 2008's Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane has burst into theaters out of a shroud of secrecy.  The three person cast was supposedly not even made aware of the final title of the film until the trailers and posters were released just weeks before the film hit the big screen.  A small, gripping, claustrophobic thriller, 10 Cloverfield Lane wrings every ounce of fear out of its talented cast and unique set up.  Between The Witch and this film, Mike is nearly ready to declare the movie calendar "dead zone" a thing of the past!  Check out the episode and sound off.

Episode 091 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has arrived.  It has been built up to nearly impossible expectations from legions of fans from around the world.  After rebooting and nearly destroying the Star Trek franchise, the bar was set extremely high for JJ Abrams and his crew.  How JJ Abrams pulled it off will be debated for years to come.

Listen to this episode to hear the guys discussed:

What they liked:

• The new cast and characters
• The commitment to physical sets, props, and a fully-realized universe

What they did not like:

• The plot is nearly a remake of Episode IV