Are You Movie Mad? Is the podcast that asks the most difficult question one man has ever faced. Cinephile Andrew Jones is perpetually flabbergasted that Johnny Ellis uses the online moniker 'Movie_Mad' yet at any given moment seems not to understand any movie references. Join Andrew as he journeys t…
Everybody Runs, some simply run their mouth. We dive into Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning before jumping to Spielberg and Cruise's first feature together, the sci-fi noir that has Tom Cruise calling Colin Farrell a twink. And other elements, but mainly that. THE FERRYMAN UPON THE PLAINS - Andrew's First Novel - Pre-Order Now! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferryman-Upon-Plains-Andrew-Jones-ebook/dp/B0F39C3WM4/
Well, we've run fast through the Frank Drebin cinematic experience before August's big legasequel, and whilst finding time to talk Thunderbolts* and Final Destination: Bloodlines, we also take a trip to the 1994 Academy Awards, the box office of OJ Summer and Neil Jordan's filmography. Everything the Police Squad franchise was meant to invoke.
At some point Andrew heard Johnny say “I never saw Tim Hill's 2007 live-action/animation hybrid Alvin And The Chipmunks” so this episode exists. Johnny discusses seeing Six and Drop, there's a deep-dive into the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and someone says “Alviiiin” like there's a paycheque waving offscreen.
Andrew's book The Ferryman Upon The Plains is now available to read, he gifts a brief snippet of his epic to listen to, he's bad at reading aloud, he's bad at doing most things, except writing, he's good at writing. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferryman-Upon-Plains-Andrew-Jones-ebook/dp/B0F39C3WM4/
It's Andrew's almost-birthday, we're a day early so May The 4th Be With You and us talking over the classic George Lucas film about tariffs and taxation falling into fascism, he's so smart! Games, comedy, trivia, gungans. We talk all about the franchise and tie it in to Andrew's new book The Ferryman Upon The Plains, a western saga about violence and generations of devastation through small acts. Order your copy now! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferryman-Upon-Plains-Andrew-Jones-ebook/dp/B0F39C3WM4/ Commentary begins from 5 seconds into the film at: 00:12:08
Spoilers For Sinners In This Episode! We're still running with the gimmick of Tom Cruise Films That Aren't Action Films During His Action Star Run theme, this time with Doug Liman's true-life drama about Barry Seale, pilot for the TWA, the CIA, the Cartel and the White House, but who is the most corrupt? (It's Reagan, it's always Reagan) Johnny has thoughts on the latest Doctor Who and thrusts it in, the two talk A Minecraft Movie now Andrew's witnessed it, Ryan Coogler's Sinners, The Amateur and Warfare too, just a hodgepodge of cinematic discussion around the other forgotten Tom Cruise film from The Summer Of The Dark Universe. THE FERRYMAN UPON THE PLAINS - Andrew's First Novel - Pre-Order Now! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferryman-Upon-Plains-Andrew-Jones-ebook/dp/B0F39C3WM4/
Remember 2007? When Hollywood wanted to state they didn't like what was happening, but also didn't want to upset the concept of democracy that led to here because America rah rah even if erm-ooh-eck? Well, of course not, nobody could remember, it was a rough time for art. So we're watching a series of actors-in-rooms-talking-tediously-about-not-much. Here's the carrot - Johnny watched A Minecraft Movie and Death Of A Unicorn, and the two discuss Jason Statham in A Working Man, plus The Naked Gun teaser chat and Andrew reminds you his first novel The Ferryman Upon The Plains is available to pre-order now at one bookstore, not a good one (amazon).
It's the other asteroid picture of 1998, and a host of actors cannot save Johnny's boredom. Andrew details a notable incident of deep impact that the doc Zoo was based around and the two talk Black Bag, The Last Breath, In The Lost Lands, The Alto Knights, Snow White and Kraven The Hunter. Plus Andrew finally saw Wicked, was he a convert?
It's the post-Oscar episode, a little late but as a movie show we HAVE to talk about it, that moment, of course, when… erm… Hey, Conan. Still prepping for August's reboot of The Naked Gun, we're driving into Washington D.C. of 1991 Bush-era first time around and contemplating David Zucker's pivot to clear Republican sensibilities, mocking his own brother's success with Ghost and what the hell a Scary Movie could be anymore. At least 2 people involved in this film were ignored from the In Memorium of this year's ceremony and only one killed their ex and her partner.
I Recorded My Podcast… Prove It! Johnny is a licensed driver and has taken to spending most of a week in the cinema, going Movie Mad. He brings with him thoughts on Captain America: Brave New World, The Monkey, Companion, Heart Eyes, A Complete Unknown, Flight Risk and Grand Theft Hamlet. All Andrew has to counter this is aunty Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and that really cannot compete. But Ryan Gosling, Anthony Hopkins and some nostalgia for early 00s middle-of-the-road adult-contemporary cinema takes hold, will Andrew recall his love for serious law drama? Will Johnny enjoy the non-courtroom-drama parts of this thriller? What contraptions is Anthony Hopkins drawing during the trial anyway? Is he Jigsaw? Prove it.
It's almost Galentine's Day and Valentine's Day, so it's the perfect time to hang out and watch a movie about love, loss, the power of friendship and Kevin Smith in a rare acting role that isn't a cameo or self-referential, besides the jerseys. Andrew weighs in on recent releases Wolf Man, September 5, A Complete Unknown and Presence, whilst Johnny remembers the time he went and tried to fish, did he catch? Did he release? Did he ever go again (Spoiler on that last one, no). Somehow this becomes a checklist of connections that prove Madame Web was right all along.
We're on the run with the sequel to 1993's The Fugitive and 2017's The Fugitive AYMM episode. Tommy Lee Jones takes centre stage after winning an Oscar for the role years prior, and what follows is forgettable and sluggish, so we're finding things to grab onto like, yup, more Cars-lore contemplation, as well as talking The Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger, A Real Pain and Jesse Eisenberg's directorial career in full. What IF he played Mark Wahlberg though?
EPISODE THREE HUNDRED! Wow! Woah! What? Wee! Yep, we made it. Finally. Here is a big extravaganza and Andrew is all-singing-all-dancing through Johnny's second-favourite film of 2024, a sequel to a film Andrew truly despised. Will Johnny convert Andrew to the Todd Phillips Joker sequel or will Andrew's brain melt trying to make it through the panned flop film? All will be revealed (as it is every episode).
We live in a post-Gavin & Stacey world and superfan Johnny wants to talk all about the show, whilst Andrew, who recently witnessed every episode, only brings suffering by turning the screws on Johnny and the audience, making us all witness the maligned horror comedy starring Matthew Horne and James Corden that wanted so much to be Shaun Of The Dead for the Gavin & Stacey fandom. Cue games galore, trivia of the BBC sitcom and conversations about the state of comedy and cinema in Britain so as to avoid the on-screen atrocities. The commentary syncs 5 seconds into the film and starts 20 mins 4 secs into the episode.
Happy New Year! Should old acquaintance be forgot then that'd be awkward indeed as Andrew holds Johnny's hand to the Leslie Nielsen franchise-starting comedy classic that leads to the upcoming Liam Neeson reboot in 2025. Fear not, though, before getting into the ZAZ weeds there's important talk on Luca Guadagnino's Queer and the contractually obligated Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim, and a good discussion about AI-centric 4K remastering that's plagued us all of late.
It's our final episode of the year, and it's a Hallmark Christmas Movie commentary. On Peacock, Hallmark, and little else, but don't worry if you can't watch along, we provide as much plot as we can find in this empty vessel whilst playing a lot of fun festive film games. Because this film starts so quickly, we roll in on 0 seconds into the film, no good sync point, no real point in the film… The commentary begins at: 00:15:48
It's our fa-la-la-la-la la-la la-last episode of the year and we're going back on the Griswold Family Vacation Train to finally have Johnny witness a good old family tradition of a movie, whether he wants to or not. But Johnny tells us about his journeys through Oz from Great And Powerful to Wicked Part One, and Andrew has finally, finally, seen Memoir Of A Snail and gets to talk a little sad-sack stop-motion before the festive spirit takes flight for good.
It's Christmastime, we're sitting in the world of Bryan Cranston comedy, and talking the problematic Franco brother. We're also dragging in Paddington In Peru, GladIIator, Red One, an Irish filum with Paul Reiser and the Steve Martin Pink Panther movies, which turn out to be relevant to the feature presentation. If you're looking for a slight dive into Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, then this episode is for you and you alone.
Andrew stocks up on snacks and takes Johnny through the suburbs with best friends Steve Carell Squirrel and Nick Nolte Bear. They read Netflix top 10s, 2006 video game award nominations and hide from the aftermath of something that happened 2 weeks ago that shall go undiscussed forever if you live in cinemaland instead.
Americans, get out of there whilst you still can, before the votes are counted on election night 2024. We're going on the holiday road with the Griswolds through Europe, and discussing our own brief encounters across the continent. We also have a shamelessly packed chat about recent films, including Heretic, Juror #2, The Wild Robot, Piece By Piece and the third Venom venom venom venom and Terrifier films.
Based on the mentions on another podcast, Andrew loads the final episode of Scare You Movie Mad 2024 with Stuart Gordon's HP Lovecraft adaptation from the mid-90s, and Johnny discusses post-birthday malaise and missing out on Lin-Manuel Miranda's new Warriors musical adaptation because time has been unkind. Anna Kendrick's directorial debut is discussed as well as the continual fallout of Joker: Folie A Deux.
Johnny's celebrating another birthday and we're sat together in different countries watching his beloved Johnny Cash in another movie, this time whilst singing and playing guitar he's also got a gun and is playing a New Jersey criminal, with accent reaching about the border of Tennessee.
Cronch cronch cronch, walking on dried leaves and bark, a ramble in the woods to start October's Scare You Movie Mad run, we're looking at the conceptual killer movie of 2024 about… walking. And sometimes a li'l murder for fun. Andrew eggs Johnny on to be more like the Johnny of the movie, and Johnny sings us his thoughts of new films including Joker: Folie A Deux, Megalopolis, The Substance and The Outrun. Andrew, though, slams down on some Salem's Lot for good measure. We're coming into Halloween month swingin'!
Ordinary Effing People! Andrew details John Lithgow's new London stage performance, Johnny takes a drive in a repossessed car and Alex Cox's punk-social-satire gets examined before a dive into the world of Letterboxd and Emilio Estevez's career take charge. What will be left come the end of the journey and who will They Live?
Vacation - All we ever wanted. Vacation - Had to get away. It's September and we're sitting around, reminiscing on holidays long past as we pack the car and take a first trip with the original Griswold family. On top of stops on the road we spend the time discussing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, spoilers galore, and Kneecap, as well as comparing the 1983 comedy with the 2015 reboot and run through the legacy of National Lampoon as a brand.
Straight from the bowels of DVD-only content comes the first attempt to lionise Road House as a modern classic, with Jake Busey and Will Patton and no Swayze. Will anyone have their throat ripped? Will animals (living or stuffed) attack baddies? Will this establish what the sequel to the Jake Gyllenhaal version should explore? Let's find out together.
From Gamer To Racer! Johnny was hyped for this film in 2023 and it became his big summer obsession. Now a year on, Andrew hasn't caught the game adaptation based on the true story yet, and it is prime time to turn life into content through the medium of podcasting. Will it be a pole position for this film, or will it spin out and not finish like Andrew's reaction to CHAPPiE?
Ending Eddie Murphy Month with a look at a Paramount action comedy that kinda doesn't exist but was big for a moment, Andrew and Johnny discuss Deadpool & Wolverine (spoiling things), Eddie Murphy's music career and Meet Dave/Twisters, because everything is intertwined now and cinema is definitely a dead art form.
Eddie Murphy Month rolls on and we give thoughts to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, discuss the recent situations of cinema, politics and the world, go down a Cameo rabbit hole, recall how films are made and find anything to talk about when broaching the subject of this entirely empty attempt at satire.
It is Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F release day and the start of our Eddie Murphy Month, we're playing not-the-hits but some of his others. Starting off with Steve Martin and Frank Oz's Hollywood satire, a film that Andrew holds dear to his understanding of the world and art, and Johnny brings his brain to many ‘what-if-this-film-got-Bowfingered' scenarios.
Last ep was for Johnny but this one's Andrew taking the bike and riding it hard. What if an NFL star did Point Break in a Commando violent explosive fest featuring a komodo dragon, Lance Henriksen, a January 6 riot and every possible vehicle becoming a fireball in a single touch? We also redo previous episodes on the Bad Boys franchise and talk Ride Or Die, Inside Out 2, The Pope's Exorcist and announce July's theme month!
It's June, and Johnny's taking the show into his personal love, Johnny Cash and the people around him. Holding off for months since dropping on Paramount+, Johnny finally gets to watch the documentary on June Carter Cash, with talking heads from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, whilst Andrew discusses a month-long movie he's started watching and discussions of similarly-titled movie Dune and Dune Part 2 occur, with requisite failed throat singing to boot.
Happy Towel Day! Yes, an episode long-in-gestation, since Johnny told Andrew there was a towel day and it was directly related to one of Andrew's core art loves. We go sweary talking Sam Rockwell, The Office, Garth Jennings' career, waking up early for a screening of this film and Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted (And subsequent commencement speech). Grab a towel, stick out your thumb and don't panic.
The sequel to a barely-seen 84 minute indie horror splatter picture was of course a film longer than Star Wars (Episode IV) and made a tidy $15m worldwide, but what is it about the film, Damien Leone's blank cheque and Art The Clown that gets audiences riled up and excited for more of his nasty, gory shenanigans? Andrew and Johnny probe the hard questions on the second half of an all-nighter recording that may have broken everything in both hosts' brains, not in the way Art usually handles gooey organs though.
It's (gonna be) May, and with that we're celebrating for some reason by clowning around with new horror ‘icon' Art The Clown who seems to go around with knives and a gun to do killings to people. That's as far as the lore allows us to go. Andrew recites half of Bart Simpson's Deep Deep Trouble off the top of the dome and Johnny prepares for a wild night of FrightFest-related film watching, because this ain't the end of our Terrifier coverage this month.
Johnny Knoxville and Brian Cox star in a film where the heart may be in the right place but the realisation definitely isn't, so naturally there's discussion of how it appeared on Disney+ when the Fox deal happened, and only when we plan an episode does it leave. Also long talk on the Joker: Folie a Deux trailer and a visit from Wallace Shawn to remind everyone that Rifkin's Festival happened.
Harper Lee's iconic book was turned to life with Gregory Peck's phenomenal portrayal of Atticus Finch as the cornerstone of the entire cultural behemoth. In this episode we discuss Galaxy Chocolate's US brand name, Foghorn Leghorn and Cut For Time SNL sketches. At some point the Sorkin adaptation, the book and the film come into conversation as well, but not before chifforobe talk.
It's time to not be nice. Doug Liman's remake of the Swayze classic and previous episode is here on the Primes and we're taking a trip to Florida with Jake Gyllenhaal in wild man mode, shirtless, angry, fighting and fussing. Will we dig deep into our feelings for CGI fighting? Will we praise Arturo Castro, Billy Magnussen and Jessica Williams? Will the swordfish shown at the start amount to anything? Some of those questions have positive responses, so grab a bottle, smash a table and remember the famous phrases of Elwood Dalton. “The hospital's 25 minutes away.”
Oh good lord we did a silly thing. Two guys who know little about Swift watch 3 hours (not the acoustic post-credits set) of songs, play games, talk Minnie Mouse as Poor Things and explore tge generation that follows. We had a sync failure so ignore the first countdown, commentary starts 5 seconds into the film, at 16 minutes into the episode exactly.
Andrew brings sadness and heaviness in the form of Sidney Lumet's final film to Johnny, but have no fear because there is still fun to be had. Two Aunt Mays in one film? You bet we're throwing out Madame Web chat, weirdly contemplate Ricky Stanicky and run through the strange trailers on the blu ray of the movie that do not set you up for the film ahead.
It's a Guy hangout when Johnny decides, nay insists, we cover Ritchie's intended start of a trilogy of London crime flicks and Andrew dons his best ‘East End Accent' to talk Tom Wilkinson giving it something hard, Mark Strong's voice, that late 00s colour grading nightmare and just where the proposed rest of the franchise actually went.
Happy Valentine's Day! This year we're celebrating with a bromance, both between Andrew and Johnny and Seth Rogen and… James Franco (No problems there, totally fine, all good, mmhmmm) with a stoner action flick that brought David Gordon Green and Danny McBride together, a movie that would lead to Universal spending $400m for Exorcist rights (and rites). We talk weed, Gary Cole at a film junket, Amber Heard, the TV show Sit Down, Shut Up and background artists.
WARNING This episode has two hosts sometimes coughing, the sickness is real! It's been nearer 2 years than not that we've given a regular episode, life has been wild and hectic and the pandemic run broke everything. Now we return to get the waters tested only to find it's actually oil down there, and we're watching Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-winning masterpiece about Daniel Day Lewis as a messy bitch who lives for the drama.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! What's scarier than the notion of another hour and forty minutes in Tom Six's ‘shocking' ‘button-pushing' mind? We're watching Eric Roberts in a prison-set Centipede movie, and finding anything to talk about whilst what technically counts as video synced to audio running over 70 minutes, and thus is a feature film, plays out. Not worth watching along with us, just listen and play trivia games like a normal podcast. Commentary begins at 00:07:43
First off, legally we can only watch the UK Cut version so there may be sync problems at times due to, ya know, the original cut being rejected over where we record. Johnny recalls his FrightFest experiences with this film and Laurence R. Harvey, while Andrew spends most of the time playing games because there's literally nothing in this film to discuss besides ‘Mike Leigh coulda made something with this'. Commentary begins at 00:11:44
Halloween season is here, and Johnny's dreams are coming true. Andrew is surgically attached to a microphone to watch the first of three movies Tom Six dared to dream about putting people arse to mouth in order to craft some sort of us-species insectoid. Erm… Good luck? Commentary begins at 00:11:34
Cage March ends with a second dose of Benjamin Franklin Gates, this time we're dealing with Dame Helen Mirren having to fall back in love with Jon Voight, just why is Ty Burrell here, and what's the deal with the upcoming series, is it going to be Gates-based? We're done, at least, with treasure protecting for the moment.
Christina Aguilera is still hanging around Nashville as her character Jade St. John, the pop star looking for country music legitimacy, but at the Bluebird that's only ever one story being told. This week sees the potential for a new liver transplant, a big charity gala, band auditions, a li'l bit of gay sex and a lot of Daphne Conrad without any of her family to help her perform. Only Andrew and Johnny can navigate waters as deep and soapy as these.
It's time to steal the Declaration Of Independence as Cage March rolls onto Bruckheimer Blockbuster Season. Johnny has fond but fleeting memories of the adventure movie, but Andrew staunchly fears it's not as good and fun as all the loud film twitter folk keep insisting it is. How will time tell us all?
Juliette has a baby name! And it's been 3 weeks. Avery and Scarlett and Gunner's band are doing an interview! And it's been 3 weeks. Deacon and Rayna are living together! And it's been 3 weeks. Jeff is being Layla's manager! And it's been 3 weeks. Maddie and Colton are dating and Andrew has the inside scoop! And it's been 3 weeks. Johnny and Andrew are taking the Bluebird to the London O2 for Country2Country this weekend! And it's been 3 years.
Pour one out for our thespian Nic Cage as he wins an Oscar bloating and stumbling to a decidedly devastating end, whilst Elisabeth Shue suffers so much throughout. Johnny takes his first stroll through, Andrew meanwhile faces up to watching a film he never wanted to return to. Heavy heavy stuff.