Notorious by Chance

In 1998 newly formed Dreamworks Animation released it's second film ever The Prince of Egypt. The film was lauded at the time but has since garnered a reputation for being one of the most underrated animated films ever. Today we're giving it its shine and talking about why this movie needs to be talked about more

Long ago the seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when Shyamalan attacked. The Last Airbender was an attempt to bring the magic of the animated series to the big screen. What resulted was one of the most maligned adaptations in movie history. What's wrong with it? What's right with it is the easier question

After years and years and YEARS of development The Dark Tower finally made it to the big screen. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely Not! The story considered by some to be Stephen King's magnum opus ended up being a rushed, confusing adaptation that didn't please critics or fans of the source material. What went wrong? Let's talk about it!

Movie March has officially begun here on Notorious by Chance and this year rather than looking at one franchise, we're looking at franchises that never were. Starting with The Mummy AKA The Dark Universe Part 1 of 1. This movie aimed to bring back the universal monsters in a big way but failed in an even bigger way. How? Let's talk about it.

This past January we lost one of the greatest to ever do it: David Lynch. For decades he captured the attention and imagination of film fans everywhere with his uniquely bizarre yet poignant films. To honor him we're gonna be looking at what many consider to be his crowning achievement: Mulhollad Drive. Released in 2001, this film is often regarded as not only Lynch's best, but as one of the best films of the 21st Century. What about it makes it so brilliant? Let's talk about it.

Something we like to do here on Notorious by Chance is highlight not just the best movies of the year but also the best performances of every year. Here are our Top 20 favorites of 2024

Today we're honoring a guy who has become a favorite of ours: Gerard Butler. It took a while, but the dude found his niche starting in throwback style action movies like the film we're talking about today: Den of Thieves. Released in 2018, the film didn't do particularly well on release but gained a following over time. Why? Let's discuss

When a weird voice in a cornfield tells you to build a baseball field, you listen, and hope it somehow works out. In 1989 America heard the famous words "If you build it, he will come," in Field of Dreams. We're looking at this movie as a tribute to the late great icon James Earl Jones, who stars in this alongside Kevin Costner. This is often cited as one of the great American cinematic tearjerkers. So what is it about this film that tugged on the heart strings of so many? Let's discuss

We're ending this year by sweeping the leg. It's odd to think of all the franchises to have 40 years' worth of longevity one of them is The Karate Kid is one of them. A massive hit in 1984 this film spawned 2 sequels, a spinoff, a remake, and TV show, and even an impending sequel in 2025. Often considered one of the most iconic films of the 1980's what made this movie a staple for so many? Let's wax on about it.

Every now and then we get to a period where people don't really know what to do with The Muppets (we're currently in one of those periods right now) resulting in some.......odd project choices. That's not to say they're bad, case in point 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol. This was the first Muppet movie to be made without the involvement of creator Jim Henson. Adapting the classic novel by Charles Dickens, this is many people's favorite version of A Christmas Carol. Where do we stand? Let's talk about it

PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN NOW!!!!! In 1996 America got another taste of the very rare family friendly Arnold Schwarzenegger with Jingle All the Way. The film which paired Arnold with the only star on his level at the time.........Sinbad..........no seriously..........has gained reputation for being a movie that is bad, but people seem to love anyway for a litany of strange reasons. And we're going to examine those reasons today!

Let's face facts: there aren't many big Thanksgiving movies. You have Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and then........ not much. Well Eli Roth took the opportunity to make a movie that can become a staple of the holiday, and in what many would consider a surprise he kind of did. Based on the fake trailer from the 2007 double feature Grindhouse, Thanksgiving came out to good reviews from both critics and audiences to the point where a sequel is currently in the works. So how did Roth do it? Let's talk about that

30 years ago the beloved series of novels by Anne Rice got it's very first adaptation with the 1994 film Interview with a Vampire. The gothic drama gave the world a different look at vampires with a mixture of established talent and rising stars. How does this movie stand up 30 years later? We're here to talk about that

We want to play a game..........20 years ago the world got it's first glimpse into the world of Saw. It's an understatement to say that this changed the genre for a while. For better or for worse? That's for you to decide. But it is still a massive achievement in it's own right. It's also fascinating to see, given where this franchise ended up, how the whole thing got started. Why? That's what we're here to talk about

One of our favorite staples of Scare Fest is Stephen King Time. This year we're looking at the 2013 version of Carrie! Trying to go toe to toe with the '76 original is a tall order, does this one pull it off?..........No, but it's a matter of HOW it doesn't pull it off that's interesting

It's hard to believe after all this time we haven't talked about one of our all-time favorite horror icons: Freddy Kruger, and considering this year marks the 40th anniversary of his debut we thought it was fitting to talk about the original Nightmare on Elm Street. A horror staple of the 80's what is it about this film that scared so many? Let's talk about it

One of the most celebrated trilogies of all time is Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" and strangely enough the most celebrated movie in that trilogy is the prequel. Although The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly was the last film released in the trilogy, chronologically it takes place before the first two. Often regarded as not just one of the great westerns but one of the greatest movies ever made, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly captivated audiences with its memorable characters and unfortunate score. How does it fare almost 70 years later? That's what we're here to discuss

After a long hiatus we're back and we're already breaking rules. 1999 is regarded as one of the greatest years, if not THE greatest year, of all time for movies. There are many movies we could've looked at from '99 that are considered modern classics, but we were handed David Fincher's Fight Club. An interesting psychological drama, that makes for an interesting conversation about how a movie's overall message can be misconstrued over time. We talk the original plus our own recasts, our Top 5 Most Anticipated for the rest of the year, and more right here on Notorious by Chance.

Sometimes a movie comes along that is so bad it transcends being a bad movie into something more, The Room is one of those movies. Released in 2003 as the passion project of director/writer/producer/star Tommy Wiseau, The Room gained a massive following as one of the biggest cult comedies of all time......and at no point is the movie trying to be funny (despite what Tommy may try to tell you). After an initial 2 week run in LA the film spawned several midnight screenings, a book about the making of the movie by one of the stars, and even a critically acclaimed movie based on that book. What's wrong with this movie?..........What's RIGHT with this movie is the real question

We already talked about the sequel in less than stellar regard (well one of us did), but the reason is because of how much we love the first film. 1990's Home Alone takes a story that should never have worked and manages to turn it into a modern Christmas Classic. Why is it we ignore the several leaps in logic you have to take in order to love this film? That's what we're going to discuss here today

In this long overdue episode we jump into the long overdue world of foreign cinema. It's funny as much as we've talked about our love and respect for foreign films we've never actually reviewed one. Well that stops now as we look at the 2008 Swedish Vampire Smash: Let the Right One In. In terms of contemporary Vampires this film is often regarded as one of the absolute best. How does this film translate to a universal audience? We discuss that here

Fitting It comes out to feed every 27 years because it took almost that long to get this episode out. After a long development process the feature film adaptation of Stephen King's iconic novel finally made it's way to the big screen. The film wasn't just big, it was HUGE bringing in great reviews and and incredible return at the box office. 6 years and one sequel later how does it compare to other King films? That's what we're here to discuss

Our examination of Eastwood's career end fittingly with a film that (at the time) signaled the end of his acting career. 2000 onward feels like the time where Clint Eastwood the actor took a backseat while Clint Eastwood the director stepped into the forefront, thematically that isn't more evident than it is with 2008's Gran Torino, a scaled down personal drama about an old man who finds a new calling in life. When you talk about Eastwood's directorial work this is often an example that gets cited, what is it about this film that brings Eastwood's acting career to a (then) close? We're here to talk about it.

With Pale Rider we talked about how Clint Eastwood was able to modernize certain western tropes for the modern era. That concept is something he perfects in 1992's Unforgiven. The 90's Western is often seen as the Eastwood's Magnum Opus, and it's hard to dispute that. It was released to rave reactions from audiences, lauded by critics, and got Eastwood his first Oscar for both Best Picture and Best Director. The film is often seen as the "end" of the Western Genre. Why is that? That's what we're here to find out

After a 70's period where Eastwood said "I've arrived" he followed that up with an even more prolific 80's. If we're being frank in this decade the misses do outnumber the hits but at the same time when he got it right, he got it RIGHT. One of his biggest hits involves him going back to the genre that made him great with 1985's Pale Rider. With this film Eastwood took classic Western motifs and updated them for a modern audience. How does he accomplish this? We find out

Any actor who gets big enough seems to try their hand at directing. Some do it really well, some not so much, but arguably the best to ever do it is the subject of our Direct-ember this year: Clint Eastwood. After spending nearly 2 decades in front of the camera he tried his hand at actually directing and that decision eventually led to him being arguably the greatest Actor/Director of all time. We'll be look at 4 generations of Eastwood films starring with his early era the 1970's. In 1971 Eastwood made his debut as the character Dirty Harry, and as a director with the thriller Play Misty For Me. This isn't the kind of film you would typically associate with Eastwood, but does a great job of showcasing his directorial skills. How exactly? That's what we're here to discuss.

In 1997 well known action director James Cameron decided to try his hand at a historical epic romance. We're not sure what the reaction was when this was announced but we know absolutely nobody is laughing at the results. Titanic is a landmark film when it comes to box office, setting several records including becoming the highest grossing film in history at the time, as well as being the first movie to ever cross $1 Billion (unadjusted for inflation). The film was also a critical darling raking in a record 14 Oscar Nominations and record 11 wins. Despite all this, one of these hosts holds a great amount of disdain for this film (pretty sure you know who), and he's not the only one plenty have criticized this film in the years since it's release. Is his malice warranted or is this film worthy of all the acclaim? That's what we're here to discuss

This week we got something special as for the first time since our first season we got a Copy-Cat Double Feature. This is where we look at 2 movies that had a similar premise that came out around the same time. Our first try at this had us looking at the Asteroid Movies of '98 (Armageddon and Deep Impact) this week we'll be looking at the Magic Movies of '06 The Prestige and The Illusionist. Both of these films came out in the same year and had similar subject matter, question is which did it better? That's what we're here to decide

Not long ago we lost an actor who we felt we took for granted for a long time, Alan Arkin. The man had a career that spanned over 70 years with a multitude of different types of performances whether it be lead, supporting, dramatic, comedic, whatever it was he could do it and do it well. So in honor of his life and career we're looking at a film that is often regarded as one of his best works 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. This is a landmark indie film of the 2000's and saw a great ensemble featuring both up and comers as well as established talents. What about this film captured the hearts of so many? We find out

Figures that as we have several high profile films underperforming at the box office our subject today is Box Office Bombs. 2008 was a summer known for ton of high profile hits like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and WALL-E, it's also known for having one of the biggest bombs in cinematic history Speed Racer. Based on the manga of the same name Speed Racer was directed by the Wachowskis and was released just one week after Iron Man. Given the poor reception by critics and audiences at the time the film failed to generate traction at the box office resulting in a massive loss for WB. However in recent years the film has gained a massive following with some calling it a "misunderstood masterpiece." This is the first time either of us has watched this movie in several years so how do we feel abut it? We discuss Speed Racer right here on a brand new Notorious by Chance

Somehow we've ended up with 3 movies in a row celebrating milestone anniversaries. 30 years ago this year Philadelphia was released in theaters, it was the follow-up to Jonathan Demme's Oscar Darling The Silence of the Lambs, and it helped the emergence of two actors who would become icons of the screen in Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. The film is also regarded as being a landmark of how LGBT characters were portrayed in movies, which is fitting for Pride Month. There's a lot to talk about in this film so tune in as we discuss the film AND cast our very own remake

If we had to describe this episode in one sentence we would say "it really ties the show together." The Big Lebowski came out in 1998 and overtime has achieved not just cult status but a genuine reputation. People have gravitated towards it's memorable lines, scenarios, and (let's be honest here) utter lack of anything resembling a plot. At the center is Jeff Bridges as Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, who has also become recognized as not just his most iconic character but one of the funniest protagonists in film history. So 25 years later is this film really a masterpiece or are we all blinded by nostalgia? That's what we're here to discuss.

The original Beauty and the Beast is considered to be a classic not just in the realm of animation but films in general. It was met with widespread critical acclaim and was even the first animated film to garner a nomination for Best Picture. Jumping on the craze that Alice and Wonderland started in 2010 Disney decided to remake Beauty and the Beast in live action. The film debuted in March of 2017 to incredible commercial results finishing as the second highest grossing film of the year. On the contrary critic and audience reception seemed to be pretty mixed. What side of the coin do we fall on? That's what we're here to discuss

50 years ago, just 4 years after their last collaboration, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill collaborated once again on the 1973 smash hit The Sting. The crime caper won over critics, and audiences alike and even went on to win several Oscars including Best Picture. Still regarded as one of the best films of the 70s what is it about The Sting that won over so many and how does it hold up 50 years later? That's what we're here to discuss.

It's fitting that we decided to start a new tradition of reviewing the Best Picture winner just as we got maybe the craziest Bets Picture winner.............ever? Everything Everywhere All At Once blew both critics and audiences away with it's originality, themes, direction, and acting. It won h=just about every major Academy Award it was nominated for which is even more impressive considering it came out in March. That means it had to maintain momentum and stay in the conversation of Best Movies of the Year for 9 straight months. So what is it about this film that makes it so special? We find out!

Closing out Movie March this year we got the 2022 hit that captivated audiences and critics alike Top Gun: Maverick. Coming out a mere 36 years after the first film Top Gun: Maverick was a pleasant surprise to anyone who saw it. The film was a box office juggernaut, becoming the highest grossing film of Cruise's career, a critical darling, being one of the best reviewed films of the year, and even got a Best Picture Nomination. This is considered to be one of the best examples of a Legacy Sequel so what is it about this film that won over so many? That's what we're here to discuss.

The foundational idea of legacy sequels are all about coming back to a property and saying "yeah I still got it." Sometimes it works, other times it REALLY doesn't. Case in point today's movie Blues Brothers 2000. A desperate attempt by Dan Akyroyd and Jon Landis to recapture the magic of the first Blues Brothers 2000 fails to realize what made the first movie special. What exactly goes wrong? That's what we're here to discuss

Movie March continues on! Next up on the docket is a movie that is widely regarded as one of the biggest disappointments in cinematic history. Nearly 20 years after the last Indiana Jones adventure Steven Spielberg and company decided to bring the character back to the big screen for a whole new audience. Despite a strong box office and surprisingly decent critical reviews (seriously look it up it's kind of insane how high the RT score is given how people talk about this movie) many fans absolutely detest this film claiming it to be the worst film in the series. Do we disagree with that statement? No we do not, but is there anything redeemable about this movie? That's what we're here to discuss

Welcome to another installment of Movie March. We usually theme these around a franchise but since they're the big thing right now the theme of this year's March is Legacy Sequels. Basically movies that came out way way WAY later than it's predecessor. Sometimes they go great, sometimes they go not great, here we have a movie that kinda does a bit of both. TRON: Legacy came out in 2010 that's 28 years after the original Tron. The film had a lot of hype in the buildup to it's release but was met with a "meh" response from critics and a "eh" response at the Box Office. It's become a cult film since but why was this not a bigger upon release? That's what were here to discuss

You wanna see us experience confusion in real time? Well look no further than this commentary. This was the first time either of us had seen Southland Tales, and boy does it show. Come watch along with us as we try to figure out what the hell is going on

Southland Tales came out in 2006 and was the ambitious second outing of Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly. The film had an absolutely insane cast of actors and plot that many found too confusing to follows. Following a disastrous screening at the Cannes Film Festival it got a pretty significant overhaul for it's.........which was also disastrous. This often cited as one of the biggest cinematic misfires in recent history. So what about this movie goes so wrong, and what was Kelly TRYING to do? That's what we're here to figure out

This is a topic we like to tackle every single year (the question of when is a different story but we always do at some point), it's our Top 20 Performances of the year 2022. Keep in mind while we each did see a lot we didn't see everything, like every year films release in different places at different times, so this is our Top 20 as of right now. We have a great year of content planned for you all and it starts right now!

Happy Holidays everybody! This Christmas we decided to throw it way back to the 1940's to talk about one of the all time classic Christmas films: It's A Wonderful Life. This film has been entertaining and moving people for nearly 80 years and today we're here to discuss what makes it such a classic. We're talking that as well as latest trailers like Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse, latest news like the Golden Globe nominations and the latest with DC, and more right here on Notorious by Chance 1:14 - The Wonderful World of Sports 17:37 - Trailer Talk 43:25 - NOTORIOUS News 1:15:20 - Golden Globe Nominations 1:33:44 - It's A Wonderful Life Review

This week marks our look into one of the biggest blockbusters of all time from the guy who practically invented the term. We're looking at E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. To say movie was a big hit would be an understatement, ET was a box office juggernaut having one of the longest theatrical runs in history. So why was this film such a monumental hit? We break all of that down, plus we talk latest trailers like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, latest news like Legendary partnering up with Sony, and more right here on Notorious by Chance. 1:23 - The Wonderful World of Sports 26:51 - Trailer Talk 53:19 - NOTORIOUS News 1:07:58 - E.T. Review

A year of podcasting wouldn't feel right if we didn't look at a Stephen King film, and one got one of the crowning achievements of trash to look at this week with 1996's Thinner. Very rarely do we look at a film where absolutely nothing goes right. What is ti about this film that makes it so maligned? We talk about that plus latest trailers like Elemental , latest news like the massive shake-up at Disney, and out Top 10 Elton John Songs right here on Notorious by Chance. 0:45 - The Wonderful World of Sports 26:14 - Trailer Talk 46:49 - NOTORIOUS News 1:34:30 - Thinner Review 2:11:23 - Our Top 10 Elton John Songs

This episode is late because it marks a special occasion, for the first time in our show's history we're gonna be looking at one of our all time favorite movies, like we're talking #1. So we needed to bring in some big guns, enter fellow Ghostbusters mega-fans Robert and Vanessa of Late to the Party. The original Ghostbusters went from being a movie that was thought to be unfilmable to a global phenomenon. Why? How? We're breaking all of that down right here. We talk the movie plus all the craziness in the world of sports, latest trailers like Avatar: The Way of Water, latest news like the latest actros to join the MCU, and more right here on Notorious by Chance 0:52 - The Wonderful World of Sports (Some audio issues, clears up around 12 minute mark) 28:46 - Trailer Talk 41:00 - NOTORIOUS News 1:05:00 - Ghostbusters Review with Late to the Party 2:18:55 - We Pitch our Ghostbusters Movies! Follow Late to the Party: https://www.youtube.com/c/LatetotheParty11/videos https://twitter.com/OfficiallyLTTP

We're kicking real old school with this week's film as we take a look at the oldest movie we've reviewed so far. The Wolfman came out off the back of the far less successful Werewolf of London and became a cultural touchstone for Universal. What is it about this film that makes it a horror classic? We find out! We talk the movie plus latest trailers like Creed 3 and Ant-Man 3, latest news like James Gunn taking over DC studios and more right here on Notorious by Chance. 1:46 - The Wonderful World of Sports 30:20 - Trailer Talk 55:04 - NOTORIOUS News 1:24:20 - The Wolfman

CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY LITTLE SISTER.............Once you see this movie that is literally all you'll be singing. Welcome to our 5th Annual SCARE FEST. This year's theme is The Monster Mash where every episode will be themed around a particular kind of monster this week's monster Vampires, the movie: 1987's The Lost Boys. This was Schumacher's biggest step into genre filmmaking, and The Lost Boys ended up garnering a whole franchise including 2 direct to DVD sequels, a comic series, and an upcoming TV reboot and movie remake. So what is it about this film that made it such a big hit? We find out! We're talking the movie plus latest in sports like the MLB playoffs, latest trailers like Emancipation and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, latest in news like all the stuff going on with Marvel and more here on Notorious by Chance! 1:00 - The Wonderful World of Sports 30:35 - Trailer Talk 47:29 - NOTORIOUS News 1:02:08 - The Lost Boys Review

And with this our Direc-tember this year has concluded, but we're going out with a bang as we talk about 1960's The Apartment. This is regarded as the last great Wilder film due to the fact that his efforts after this never really reached the success of his prior film. This movie was lauded at the time for it's performances and once again for Wilder's propensity to tackle subjects that were considered taboo. What do we have to say about it? tune in to find out! We talk the movie plus latest trailers like Spoiler Alert. latest news like Hugh Jackman making his return to Wolverine, and more right here on Notorious by Chance. 0:37 - The Wonderful World of Sports 29:56 - Trailer Talk 38:55 - NOTORIOUS News 1:08:06 - The Apartment Review

You know the phrase going on right now that "Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood"? Well this is one of if not THE film that started that. Sunset Boulevard came out n 1950 and once again cemented Wilder's case as one of the best directors working. This film garnered critical acclaim, 11 Oscar Nominations, and often cited as one of the greatest films of all time. So how relevant is it over 70 years later? That's what we're here to discuss today. We talk the movie plus latest in sports like Albert Pujols' historic career, latest trailers like Knock at the Cabin, latest news like Steve McQueen's new film and more here on Notorious by Chance. 0:30 - The Wonderful World of Sports 20:28 - Trailer Talk 27:48 - NOTORIOUS News 48:41 - Sunset Boulevard Review

Finally we are starting our Direc-tember Deep Dive on Billy Wilder, starting with the movie that put him on the map 1944's Double Indemnity. Often cited as one of the first real Film Noirs, Double Indemnity is considered not only as one of the best of that genre but as one of the best of that era. So what is it about this film that caught the attention of so many? We find out! We talk the movie plus latest trailers like Glass Onion, latest news like everything that got revealed at D23 and more right here om Notorious by Chance 0:30 - The Wonderful World of Sports 21:06 - Trailer Talk 32:05 - NOTORIOUS News 48:44 - D23 1:15:20 - Double Indemnity Review