CinemATL Podcast

It's the end of an era for us at the CinemATL Podcast. It's our final episode! But what better way to go out than with a review of the huge blockbuster "Spider-Man: No Way Home?" We have both spoiler-free and spoiler-heavy reviews for you.

"Red Notice" is said to be Netflix's biggest movie ever - both in budget and in opening day viewers. But is it any good? Mike and Martin give their review of the Atlanta-lensed blockbuster.

Daylight Saving Time just ended last weekend and we had to move our clocks back one hour. In honor of the fact that we all just traveled back in time, we felt it would be fun to discuss our Top 3 Time Travel Movies.

Marvel's back at it again, with “Eternals” releasing on November 5 - their third feature this year. The CinemATL Podcast was lucky enough to see an advance screening. Where does this film rank in the MCU? We'll find out in our NON-SPOILER review.

With the release of “No Time To Die,” we thought this would be a good chance for us to discuss the new movie as well as the impact of one of the longest running franchises in movie history. Plus: we reveal our Top AND Bottom 3 James Bond films!

Now that October is here, it's time for something a little bit spooky. It's not a horror film, but 1998's neo-noir film "Dark City" certainly fits the bill. Is it better than the similarly themed "The Matrix?" One of us thinks so!

It's time for October Industry News, where we discuss what's shooting in Georgia and other notes about our Entertainment Industry. It's a packed episode, that includes a possible IATSE strike, a new studio in Savannah, upcoming shows, films and so much more.

It's that time of year again: Oktoberfest. And even though the big event in Germany is once again canceled due to Covid, we're still celebrating with our Top 3 Movies About Beer (or alcohol in general). Which films did we pick? Listen and find out!

Marvel's first Asian superhero comes to the big screen in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." What did we think about this new origin story? We let you know in our NON-SPOILER movie review!

Tackling a short film is no small task. There are many pitfalls that you can encounter, but we have 5 tips that may help you in creating your short: 1. Keep It Short 2. Know Your Audience 3. Showcase Your Ability 4. Hook Your Viewers 5. Limit Locations Get the details on these tips and more advice from CinemATL Podcast hosts Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman, people that have been through it. If you are interested in more filmmaking tips don't forget our First Time Filmmaker FAQ, available here: https://soundcloud.com/cinematl/technique-topic-first-time-filmmaker-faqs

It's time once again to discuss the shows, movies and online videos that we've been watching. Hopefully we'll clue you into some new favorites including "Reservation Dogs," "The Divide" and Dorktown's "History of the Atlanta Falcons."

We're back from a brief hiatus to review the big movie release, "The Suicide Squad." James Gunn's first foray into the DC Universe made its debut in theaters and on HBO Max. Is this remake/reboot/sequel worth your time? We'll let you know in our NON-SPOILER review.

The Sundance Audience Award winning film “Smoke Signals,” directed by Chris Eyre, burst on to the indie film scene in 1998. While it was well received, this groundbreaking movie about Native Americans, doesn't receive the recognition we think it deserves. We discuss the film, its impact on diversity in Hollywood, and why there aren't more like it.

What's shooting in Atlanta, and what's coming soon? We discuss some upcoming films and shows like Jungle Cruise, Respect, Walking Dead Season 11 and more. Plus, Georgia productions represent in this year's Emmy nominations!

With Black Widow coming out in theaters this week, we thought it'd be fun to discuss our favorite Marvel movies in the latest edition of Top 3. Plus, as an added bonus, stick around until the end, where Martin and Mike rank all 24 of the MCU Movies. Does our list match yours? Let us know in the comments!

“Black Widow” is the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After a nearly two-year delay, it's finally here. Scarlett Johansson is back in the title role as Natasha Romanoff in her first solo movie in the MCU. Does it live up to the gold standard that Marvel has set? We discuss the film without any major spoilers...

With Father's Day coming this weekend, we're discussing some of our favorite movies about Dear Ol' Dad in our latest Top 3. Which movies made the cut?

It's time for our June Industry News edition, where we discuss what's shooting in Georgia and more! We talk about the Loki series, the new Conjuring movie and upcoming films from Owen Wilson, Andy Garcia and Alec Baldwin.

We're back with a new episode! This week we take a look at the under-appreciated "Atomic Blonde," which hosts Michael D Friedman and Martin Kelley both had as our favorite film from 2017. We examine what makes this film so complete, and why it may not have received the love it deserved. About Atomic Blonde (2017): An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents. Directed by David Leitch and starring Charlize Theron as Lorraine and James McAvoy as Percival, along with Toby Jones, John Goodman, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan and Bill Skarsgard, Atomic Blonde is a stylistic thriller that is gorgeous, riveting and action packed.

This week we talk with Jordan Noel and Hudson Phillips, the team behind “This World Alone” which was just released this week on digital On Demand. We talk with them about how the film was made and much more. “This World Alone” is a post-apocalyptic drama / thriller about three women attempting to survive after a cataclysmic event leaves the Earth without technology or power. Jordan Noel is an artist and movie director who spends way more time parenting than he does making art or directing movies. He spent the lion’s share of his life in Georgia but now lives in Nashville because his wife really wanted to live there. Hudson Phillips is a screenwriter and indie film producer in Atlanta, GA. He's also the founder of ScriptBlast—an online productivity and accountability community to help struggling writers finish their screenplays and host of the ScriptBlast Screenwriting Podcast. Learn more about "This World Alone": https://www.thisworldalone.com/ Join ScriptBlast: http://www.scriptblast.com/

It’s our 100th episode! We started out as a monthly podcast way back in November of 2015. We experimented with a video podcast for a while, and took most of 2019 off. We returned last year in February in our weekly, audio only format and have been going non-stop since. And here we are at episode #100. To celebrate, we’re debuting the CinemATL 100, our 100 favorite movies of all time, in this very episode.

This week we’re sharing our favorite things we’re watching now. From TV to movies and even some YouTube videos, we share some stuff we think is worthy of your time, including: Mare of Easttown, The Mitchells vs. The Machines and The Hood Internet.

This week we discuss the big news around the Atlanta film & TV industry. We’ll talk about what’s coming out soon, what’s filming now and other interesting tidbits. Learn all about The Rock starring in "Black Adam," Chris Pratt's new film "The Tomorrow War," a live-action "Powerpuff Girls" and more!

The Oscars are coming this weekend and we thought it’d be fun to look at the major categories and pick our favorites - and guess the winners.

On the latest addition of Forgotten Films, we take a look back on Noah Baumbach's debut film, "Kicking and Screaming." (Not to be confused with the Will Ferrell movie of the same name!) Find out why we love this movie and how it inspired us. Let's go back to the 90s! Plus: we discuss the closing of the Arclight Cinerama Dome in LA. RIP.

Big budget popcorn movies are back in theaters. We share the good, the bad and the very ugly about "Godzilla vs. Kong." Come for the spectacle, stay for the...? Well, come for the spectacle anyway.

This week, we need to talk about a very serious topic: Deforestation. The Amazon rainforest is being eliminated at an astonishing rate-- No wait. APRIL FOOLS! We're celebrating April 1 with our Top 3 April Fool's Movies. These are films that feature foolish characters, funny jokes, or other lunacy. What are our picks? Don't be a fool, listen and find out! (Also, deforestation is no joke.)

Our big Movie Madness tournament on Instagram crowned a champion. We recap the whole tourney, talk about some surprising results and discuss some of our favorite matchups. Who won it all?

Want to know what's shooting in Atlanta and Georgia? We've got you covered in our latest "Industry News" segment. From Marvel's "She Hulk" and "Hawkeye" to DC's "Doom Patrol," as well as many non-superhero projects, there's a lot to cover. Check it out!

"Coming 2 America." the long awaited sequel to the classic 80s comedy is finally here, streaming on Amazon Prime Video. What did we think of the new Eddie Murphy comedy? Find out!

So you want to make your own short film (or feature), but don’t know where to begin? CinemATL's Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman both started making short films nearly twenty years ago. They’ve seen a lot of the common mistakes and pitfalls that first-time directors & producers make. We felt it would be a good idea to answer some Frequently Asked Questions for the first time filmmaker in this edition of the Technique Topic.

In this week’s episode, we’re taking a look back at Bill Murray’s forgotten comedic gem, “Quick Change,” from 1990. "Quick Change" is Bill Murray’s first, and to this point, only directorial feature. He co-directed the film with the screenwriter Howard Franklin. It’s a really clever tale of a man named Grimm, played by Murray, who robs a bank dressed in a clown costume. Together with his partners, Phillys, played by Geena Davis and Loomis, played by Randy Quaid, they find out pulling the heist is the easy part. The hard part is getting out of New York City. Through a series of mishaps, the trio are forced on a wild goose chase around the city as they struggle to make it to the airport for their get away flight.

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2021 is online from Feb 17-28! CinemATL spoke with AJFF Board VP Sari Earl and Jason Evans, the 2021 AJFF Film Evaluation Committee Co-Chair, to talk about the festival and so much more. Learn all about the 2021 festival and what makes the AJFF special, including drive-in events and a Donut Truck! Follow the AJFF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @atljewishfilm and visit the website at http://www.ajff.org/ for more.

This week, we talk with John Pruner, the host of the Bionic Frankenplot Podcast, which we were lucky enough to participate in. John is a local filmmaker who has worked on film, TV & commercials for over 20 years. We’ll find out more about his podcast and discuss other filmmaking topics. Listen to the Bionic Frankeplot Podcast here (or almost anywhere you find podcasts!): https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bionic-frankenplot-podcast/id1526059814 Our guest episode is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/theres-no-penalty-box-in-space-right/id1526059814?i=1000507498725 John Pruner is a homegrown filmmaker who never escaped the gravitational well of the metro Atlanta area. Working in arts and entertainment for over 20 years, he currently makes his money being a camera jockey for film, TV, and commercials. He also has been a producer, director and screen writer for various indie projects, is the host of the Bionic Frankenplot Podcast and producer of the upcoming multi-media arts collaboratory "The 2021 Project”.

Three Oscar-winning actors, Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, star in a dramatic homage to 1990s serial killer films in "The Little Things." Find out what Michael D Friedman and Martin Kelley thought about the new film, now in theaters and on HBO Max. If you have not seen the film yet, the first half of the review contains NO SPOILERS. If you want to stick around for a spoiler discussion, keep listening after the 15;40 second mark. Don't worry, we give ample warning before we begin!

The Plaza Theater will be playing host to the Sundance Film Festival this year, with screenings starting today (Jan 28) through Feb 3. Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman had a chance to chat with Chris Escobar, the executive director of the Atlanta Film Society and owner of the Plaza to discuss Sundance, the Atlanta Film Festival and running a movie theater during a pandemic.

The Sundance Film Festival is going virtual this year, and it's also coming to Atlanta from January 28 through February 3! To prep you for the film festival experience, we're sharing our Top 3 favorite films that premiered at Sundance. What are your favorites? Let us know!

In this edition of "Forgotten Films" we take a look at acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's "Not One Less" which premiered in the U.S. at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Hosts Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman discuss this award-winning Chinese film. "Set in the People's Republic of China during the 1990s, the film centers on a 13-year-old substitute teacher, Wei Minzhi, in the Chinese countryside. Called in to substitute for a village teacher for one month, Wei is told not to lose any students. When one of the boys takes off in search of work in the big city, she goes looking for him. The film addresses education reform in China, the economic gap between urban and rural populations, and the prevalence of bureaucracy and authority figures in everyday life. It is filmed in a neorealist/documentary style with non-professional actors who play characters with the same names and occupations as the actors have in real life, blurring the boundaries between drama and reality."

It's a new year and that means new industry news to discuss! Find out what's filming in Georgia, the Sundance Film Festival's Atlanta road trip, WB's release strategy and more!

It's time for our annual tradition: our Star Wars Special episode. In this double-size edition of the CinemATL Podcast, we first look at all the new Star Wars titles announced by Disney. We then dive head-first into our review of The Mandalorian season 2. What a great season it was! SPOILER WARNING: The review contains multiple spoilers about Season 2 of The Mandalorian. If you haven't seen the most recent season, feel free to stick around for the news section, but you'll probably want to bail once we start our Mandalorian discussion. We'll give you warning during the episode!

Who would you cast in a Christmas Movie? Who would you tap to direct? What about the score? We make our picks in our first ever edition of the "Fantasy Movie Draft." Hosts Michael D Friedman and Martin Kelley go back-and-forth to create their dream cast & crew, armed only with a Christmas theme and a randomly assigned genre. Which one is your favorite?

It's a holly jolly edition of the CinemATL Podcast as we reveal our Top 3 Christmas Movies. Is our list nice or naughty? You'll have to listen (and check it twice) to find out.

This week’s episode is our second “Indie Spotlight” edition, where we take a look at some locally produced projects that you might not have heard of. We’ve got a great lineup of Feature Films, Web Series, Short Films and even a Podcast to share with you. We encourage you to hunt these down and take a look... Feature Films: 1. Those Who Deserve to Die - https://www.amazon.com/Those-Who-Deserve-Alice-Lewis/dp/B08F6HMGQF/ 2. Cruiser - https://www.amazon.com/Cruiser-Shuler-Hensley/dp/B08GPL9SS4/ 3. Still Today - https://www.amazon.com/Still-Today-Jody-Thompson/dp/B08MC14PS4/ 4. The Devil to Pay - https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Pay-Danielle-Deadwyler/dp/B08HVPPYPX/ 5. Star Trek: First Frontier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAlGf5Wfe4g Web Series: 1. The Misadventures of Nick & Jermaine - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtz_EyZxQBGF7gOntIPzAGUzhPG3oSvVq 2. Pub.Lie.Size - https://www.publiesize.com/ 3. Beyond the Check: Worker Owner Edition - https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Check-Worker-Owner/dp/B08M4532YS/ 4. Half Brothers - http://www.uniquelensproductions.com/ 5. The Real Fake Memoirs of Meela McKinney - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdpwYMjm_ob1sB2BUvz-Vln8uiVgmgsZX Short Film: 1. Remembering Cubbird - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0VZtAFWmI0 Podcast: 1. Fine in Dandee - https://fineindandee.podbean.com/

The Big Movie Review is back and focusing on the new Netflix release, "The Trial of the Chicago 7." Find out what Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman thought about the Aaron Sorkin film.

Apparently, there was some sort of election last week that everybody is talking about. So, let's keep the conversation going with our Top 3 Political Films. Which ones got our vote?

With production ramping back up, we are finally able to talk about new movie & TV production news. Find out what's shooting now, what's coming out and what you should be watching!

Halloween is just around the corner, so what better time to talk about our favorite Halloween movies? The don't necessarily need to be scary to make our Top 3 lists. Hosts Martin Kelley and Michael D Friedman discuss and defend their picks.

Still stuck at home and think you've watched everything? Not so fast! It's time for the second edition of "What We're Watching Now." We're here to share some shows and movies that you might not have seen yet. Check out CinemATL's picks! Featuring... Star Trek: Lower Decks (CBS All Access) Giri/Haji (Netflix) Letterkenny (Hulu) The Vow (HBO) Irresistable (VOD) Song Exploder (Netflix) Cobra Kai (Netflix) Carnival Eats (Food Network) Earth to Ned (Disney+) The Go-Go's (Showtime) Other Music (Amazon Prime) The Comedy Store (Showtime) The Social Dilemma (Netflix) Bill & Ted Face the Music (VOD) Fargo (FX/Hulu) High Score (Netflix) Classic movies on Tubi, Pluto TV and Xumo

It's a special, super-sized edition of the CinemATL Podcast as we celebrate the 15 year anniversary of CinemATL. Hosts Michael D Friedman and Martin Kelley are joined by founder Eric Bomba-Ire and writer/editor Charles Judson to discuss the origins of the magazine that transformed into this podcast.

This week, we jump in the Wayback Machine to visit 2007's "Son of Rambow," which itself takes us back to the 1980s. Find out more about this heartfelt, whimsical film about growing up and the power of friendship. Oh, and Rambo.

Ruckus and Lane Skye are a husband and wife writing and directing team from Atlanta who are making quite a name for themselves this year. Recently "Becky," a film they co-wrote, was a hit at drive-in theaters across the country and was recently released on BluRay and digital. Meanwhile, their first feature film as directors, "The Devil to Pay" will be coming to Drive-Ins and VOD starting Oct. 2nd after an award winning run on the festival circuit. Martin and Mike had the opportunity to talk with them both about their new movie, their screenwriting process and more!