Let's Jaws For a Minute

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Rob Wallis to discuss Tremors and nothing else out of the ordinary. Just a couple of pals getting together to talk about the excellent Fred Ward/Kevin Bacon vehicle Tremors. They talk about the efficient storytelling and sense of place, and not Mr. Blobby ever.

This week, Sarah and MJ head to Maine to discuss the giant crocodile film Lake Placid. They talk about what makes a good creature feature, why Lake Placid falls flat despite having most of the ingredients of a good creature feature, and Oliver Platt's raw magnetism, as well as Ebert's review and some of the most memorable lines they've seen in this season!

This week, Sarah and MJ tackle a film that takes broad and abstract inspiration from Jaws: Basic Instinct. They wax poetic about erotic thrillers, Jerry Goldsmith, and their favorite topic, replacing one of the lead actors with Roy Scheider.

What would a season all about the films that were inspired by Jaws be without at least one shark movie? And what would an episode about a terrible shark movie be without our resident shark boi, Dr. Jack Cooper. Dr. Jack Cooper joins us to talk about The Last Shark, a 1981 Italian film that bears so many similarities to Jaws it was successfully barred from release in the United States by Universal. The movie's bad, but the goofs and gags are good!

The Jaws inspired films season makes a stop in St. Louis? Chicago? to spend time with Alligator. Sarah and MJ had a B L A S T with this movie and talk about what makes it so great, who one of the antagonists may have inspired, and crack the Bong Joon-Ho code to see Alligator's influence on many of his films.

"Inspired by" season continues with a stop on the Nostromo! Sarah and MJ are joined by their illustrious graphic designer, Alex Jenkins to talk about all things Xenomorph. They discuss the biomechanics of the alien, the lengths directors will go to get a reaction out of their casts, and improve the chestburster scene with their own sound effects.

Jaws-piration season rolls on as we catch up with 1978's Piranha, directed by Joe Dante and produced by the legendary Roger Corman. Sarah and MJ discuss lil guys, weird British ladies, why Dick Miller is always a good casting choice, and collecting physical media.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we're back! This episode kicks off 2025 and a brand new season chock full of movies that were inspired by Jaws. We begin things with the very sane and normal film, Orca: The Killer Whale starring Richard Harris as a man who enters into a rivalry with an orca and the orca reacts in a very normal way.

Scheider season comes to a not so thrilling conclusion as Sarah and MJ reluctantly talk about a 90's Scheider film that features one of the worst scripts they have seen on the show as well as some truly terrible performances, but their loss is your gain listening to them cope each other through this mess of a film!

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by three-peat guest, Cordelia Keston for a far ranging chat about one of the wildest movies we have ever covered on the show, Naked Lunch. They talk about the Beat Generation, the jaw-dropping real life events depicted in the film, and stare into the void of what it means to be a creative. Oh, and they talk about a shirtless Roy Scheider, of course.

The Scheider express pulls into 52 Pick-Up station this week as Sarah and MJ discuss this overlooked expoloitation gem co-starring Ann Margaret and John Glover. They talk about the value of "just entertaining" movies, when low brow meets talented performers, and the history of The Cannon Group

Scheider season travels to the one that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism: SPACE! This episode features Adam Moffett of The Bond We Share talking about 2010: The Year We Make Contact. We discuss its validity as a legacy sequel, whether it works as a companion to 2001, how great the cast is, and Roy Scheider's intensely likeable energy.

It's showtime, folks! This week, we make our last stop in the 1970's era of Roy Scheider's career to talk about his Oscar nominated turn in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. Sarah and MJ are joined by Randy Burrows of the Uncut Gems podcast to talk about legacy, commerce, art, and reckoning with your mortality. You know, all the light stuff.

The time has come for Sarah and MJ to talk about the movie they have talked about the second most on this show besides Jaws, Sorcerer! Johnny 2 Trucks joins the hosts once again to talk about this overlooked gem of a film.

Roy Scheider seasons chugs to its next stop, Marathon Man! Sarah and MJ are joined by returning guest (and Sarah's husband), Martin Buddery to talk about the *other* 1976 political thriller starring Dustin Hoffman. Sarah shares a hot take, discusses a shirtless Roy Scheider in front of her husband, and MJ springs a Patreon subscriber challenge on Sarah at the last minute.

The man, the boat, the legend, Nick "Johnny FourBoats" Mear joins Sarah and MJ this week to talk about a quasi-sequel to The French Connection, The Seven-Ups. They talk about Roy Scheider's undeniable swagger, what he has in common with a certain modern day actor, and lament a time when interesting faces could be on full display in movies

Scheider season continues with the film that earned Roy an Academy Award nomination! Sarah and MJ are joined by Rob Wallis to talk about the Scheider spiciness scale, the importance of not editing films to make them appear more "modern" and Sarah's future as a detective solving chicken crimes

It's beginning to look a lot like Scheider around the LJFAM studios as Sarah and MJ kick off a season focusing on the films of Roy Scheider with 1971's Klute. They discuss how great 70's movies are, the wonderful building of tension that was created by Hitchcock and perfected by Alan J. Pakula, and heap some praise on Roy Scheider's brief, but substantial role!

It's the final episode of monster movie season! On this episode, Sarah and MJ are joined by the host of Fandomentals, Harley Mumford, to discuss Cloverfield. They talk about the viral marketing campaign and larger ideas surroudning *what* Cloverfield is and then talk about the brilliance of the film being found footage and its cynisism towards the Iraq war.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined once again by Rob Daniel to discuss Bong Joon-ho's brilliant The Host. They talk about how wathcing the film feels...different in 2024, what context it came out in in 2006, and try to stay on topic talking about only ONE Bong Joon-ho film.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Nick Mear of the NickFlix Podcast to talk about the 1999 cinematic masterpiece, The Mummy. They talk about the film's surprising staying power considering it was released in what many consider to be a stacked year for movies, the joys of watching a movie that is pure "fun" and of course, how incredibly attractive the cast is!

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Sarah's husband, Martin Buddery, to talk about David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly. They talk about the effects, what insect they would like to be gene spliced with, and the efficient way the script gives viewers believable reasons for Seth Brundle's gruesome transformation!

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Andy Gaudion of the Ramblin' Amblin podcast to talk about the 1982 classic, John Carpenter's The Thing. They talk about the 2011 prequel, the iconic effects, how cool Kurt Russell always is, and the deeper themes hiding just below the surface of this wintry monster movie.

Monster Movie Season makes a stop in Sarah's backyard as Sarah and MJ discuss An American Werewolf in London. They talk about what makes this film work, why it shouldn't, the incredible effects, and take a detour to discuss their love of music videos!

This week on LJFAM, monster movie season keeps on trucking to the 1954 classic, Creature From the Black Lagoon. Sarah and MJ talk about the film's unspoken influence on basically every film that followed it, the unjust accredidation of the Gill Man's design, and whether style over substance is, in fact, a bad thing.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Christopher P. Hood to talk about everyone's favorite ancient radioactive lizard, Godzilla (1954). They discuss the timing of the film's release in the midst of a revolutionary year for the country of Japan, the status of Godzilla as a folk hero, and MJ tries to reign in his nostalgia for the Godzilla franchise.

It's the second episode of monster movie season, and Sarah and MJ contend with the king of all monster movies, King Kong! They talk about its influence and staying power 91 years after the fact, how exhilirating the second act is, and whether or not its technical merit make up for some of the content in the film that is more "of its time."

It's the official beginning to Monster Movie Season! On this episode, Sarah and MJ kick off the new season with one of the all-time great monster movies: James Whale's Frankenstein (1931). They discuss its differences from the book, how the film set the template for the monster movie, and the way it was chopped to bits by the implementation fo the Hays Code.

On this very special episode of LJFAM, Sarah and MJ are joined by Zach Sharpe of Stern Pinball to talk about everything Jaws Pinball. They talk about taking the theme and integrating it into a pinball format, how new players should approach the machine, and ways in which you can find a Jaws pinball machine near you!

For the season finale of their shark films season, Sarah and MJ are joined by Rob Daniel of the movie Robcast to talk about Johannes Roberts' 47 Meters Down. They talk about effective jump scares, real time thrillers, the ways in which Mandy Moore's fans are willing to watch her perish on screen, and of course, devolve into puns.

Joining Sarah and MJ this week is friend of the show and creator of the podcast theme song, Harley Mumford from the Fandomentals podcast. Together they discuss whether 2016's The Shallows really is the best thing shark movie since Jaws, disagree on the film's ending, and take a deep dive into the illustrious acting career of Sully the Seagull.

This week Sarah and MJ are joined by returning guest Chris Hood, to talk about 2016's USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. They discuss the other films that do this type of thing better, the many, MANY Jaws connections in the movie, and MJ learns a fun new British phrase.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Alex Jenkins, designer of their incredible artwork for both shows, to talk about one of the all-time great dumb shark movies, Sharknado. They discuss the surrealistic appeal of films like this, what it means to "understand the assignment," and Alex teaches Sarah and MJ about octopi and snake reproductive systems.

This week, Sarah and MJ go guestless to talk about another Australian shark film, Bait (2012)! They talk about the logistics of an underground car park that is not flooded, whether or not sharks have good hearing, and MJ educates Sarah about a popular American grocery chain!

Sarah and MJ Started a new podcast! It's all about Martin Scorsese! It has an absolute belter of a theme song! Listen to the introductory episode here and make sure to subscribe to the Let's Party With Marty feed on your podcatcher of choice to stay up to date with all things LPWM!

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Johnny Fo-er...Nick Mear of the NickFlix Podcast to talk about Shark Ni-er...Open Water. Once again, they discuss the ethics of telling true stories with fictionalized endings, whether the film would have benefitted from being a found footage movie, and then spiral as they realize A Star is Born came out 5 years ago. Also, Sarah and MJ have a big big big announcement at the end of this episode you won't want to miss!

On this uh, spicy, episode, Sarah and MJ are joined by Rob Wallis of The Movie Robcast to talk about a shark film grounded in realism, The Reef. They discuss the film's use of real shark footage, the palpable romantic chemistry between two of the leads, the ethics of making a film inspired by a true story without actually telling that story, and also say a lot of things that required bleeping.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Adam Moffett, co-host of The Bond We Share to talk about one of the five Will Smith films Adam has seen. They talk about the one joke that worked for each of them, the unpleasant aesthetics of the film, and eventually devolve into talking about Adam's current project of watching every Scorsese film. Also, MJ makes a joke too spicy to air.

On this very special episode of LJFAM, Sarah and MJ are once again joined by their resident shark boy, Jack Cooper to discuss the double feature of The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench starring Jason Statham. They talk about the scientific accuracy (or lack thereof) of the film, how big budget schlock should always be an option, and breakdown the myriad Jaws and Spielberg references found across both films!

Our hats are like shark's fins and we are officially BACK. In the first official episode of LJFAM for 2023, Sarah and MJ are joined by Josh Glenn of the Ramblin' Amblin podcast to talk about the 1999 shark thriller Deep Blue Sea. They talk about how it shapes up as a successor to Jaws, why Samuel L. Jackson should not be trusted around animals, and delve deep into LL Cool J's not-so-smash hit, Deepest Bluest.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd we're back. After a 7 month hiatus, Sarah and MJ triumphantly return to the podcasting throne to provide an update on where they've been. And more importantly, where they're going. This episode has it all! Life updates, a call for guests, a wild story involving Barack Obama, and Sarah educating MJ about some very UK specific naming conventions.

Joining Sarah for this special interview episode is actor, writer, director, producer, AND best-selling author, Greg Sestero! You may know him best from the 2003 cult classic "The Room," but Greg has been involved in a lot of cool projects since then — including writing his memoir, "The Disaster Artist" which was adapted into the 2017 Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning movie. We talk about horror influences, the longevity of practical effects over CGI, plus his upcoming sci-fi/horror movie, "Forbidden Sky." You can follow Greg on Twitter/Instagram: @GregSestero And we'll be adding the link for the "Forbidden Sky" Kickstarter when it is live!

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by one of MJ's co-hosts on Reel Perspective, Missy Lonsinger! They close out Spielberg Season 1 with a beloved childhood favorite of many, Hook! They discuss whether or not it is a film that is looked at favorably because of nostalgia blinders, the Oscars it was and was not nominated for, cinematographer Dean Cundey's background shooting horror films, and Sarah and MJ come clean about their dislike of the film for the whole internet to hear.

In this episode, Sarah had to bow out of recording at the last minute due to unforseen circumstances. Fortunately, MJ is not flying solo and has returing guest Katie Doe to talk about the final Indiana Jones film of the inagural Spielberg season, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They talk about the layer of polish that the franchise has by this point, the chemistry between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, Spielberg's eye for camera movement and blocking, as well as John Williams' excellent score, and whether or not Indiana Jones should be recast!

On this very special bonus episode of LJFAM, Sarah is joined by Jamie Benning of Filmumentaries to discuss his Kickstarter campaign for a documentary about the life and career of Jaws production designer, Joe Alves. They discuss Jamie's career and what led him to want to make the film, as well as what he and his crew need to make the Kickstarter campaign a success and fulfill their vision for the film. You can donate to the Not Your Average Joe Kickstarter until 19 December 2022 here

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Andy Gaudion of Ramblin' Amblin to talk about Spielberg's second forray into historical drama, Empire of the Sun. They discuss his growth between The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun, how he took a deeply personal story and made it his own, the influence of David Lean on the sweeping nature of the story, and how child Christian Bale looks like a compressed version of adult Christian Bale.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Russ Bailey to talk about The Color Purple. The film was a blindspot for all three of them and Spielberg's first foray into making a historical drama. They discuss the phenomenal performances in the film, the wonderful cinematography, score, and art design, as well as a glaring "flaw" that didn't make the film sit quite right with them. Also, Sarah and MJ talk about bizarre movies that made them cry.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Cameron Harrison to talk about Indiana Jones' second adventure, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They talk about the similarities the film has with James Bond movies, the much darker tone of the sequel, how attractive Harrison Ford is in the movie, the film's messier nature, and what, if anything, all this has to do with 1941.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Kip Mooney to talk about one of Spielberg's most successful and beloved films. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. They discuss how Spielberg masterfully balances whimsy, horror, and grief as well as whether or not E.T. is cute, the merits of having a real puppet on set, the way the film is told like an adult drama from a child's POV, and whether or not one of Spielberg's famous buddies makes a cameo appearance.

This week, Sarah and MJ are joined by Chris Payne to talk about the first installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark. They discuss the classic influences of the film, the masterful filmmaking on display, how Spielberg was able to right the ship of his career following the disastorus 1941, and how Indiana Jones should have been America's answer to James Bond.

In this episode, Sarah and MJ are joined by Rob Daniel to talk about what is widely considered Spielberg's worst film, 1941. They talk about *what* kind of movie they suspect it was trying to be, what elements do work, what elements don't work, and a slew of other movies that accomplish its same goals in much more successful ways. Also, conspiracy theories about Bambi's mom.