Director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) delivers a non-musical (!) biopic of Neil Armstrong in First Man. Played by Ryan Gosling (Murder by Numbers), Armstrong is, apparently, half-robot, half space hunk. Claire Foy (Season of the Witch) offers a portrayal of Janet Armstrong as Neil’s closed-off, half-robot wife. They are perfect for one another, although you may not know it from seeing this movie. The technical details and production values are stellar.
Director Denis Villeneuve takes a swing at continuing the sad, dirty, lonely, futuristic hell first brought to the screen by Ridley Scott more than 30 years ago in Blade Runner. Ryan Gosling stars and Harrison Ford returns for Blade Runner 2049.
Writer/Director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) works to re-introduce the movie musical to contemporary audiences by setting his La La Land in Los Angeles and starring a pair of gorgeous, young stars (Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling). Whether he succeeds is up for debate, as you'll hear in this week's episode of Spoiler Alert.
Writer/director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) returns to noir form with his latest buddy/crime comedy, The Nice Guys. Russell Crowe tries his hand at comedy and Ryan Gosling squeals like a small child. Matt Bomer and Kim Basinger round out the cast.
Michael Lewis' so-sad-it's-funny and impossible-to-adapt-to-film book The Big Short gets adapted for film by writer/director Adam McKay - previously best known as the director of Anchorman and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. McKay, now nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, assembles an impressive cast, keeps the pace fast, and breaks the fourth wall in an attempt to inform and infuriate the audience.
Listen to this episode to hear the guys discuss:
What they liked:
What they did not like: