Shane Talks

It's time to say good-bye, as this journey comes to an end. Shane and Jason look back over the evolution of the podcast and invite back multiple guests for some final interviews. Everyone contributes to the Shane Talks: Motion Picture Soundtrack Mix Tape. The guys say good bye to some friends and family they have lost over the years. There's a lot of nostalgia for a show that became all about nostalgia

It's the penultimate episode of Shane Talks. Since it's the 98th episode, Shane organizes a Class of 1998 Reunion, for the guys to go down memory lane from their senior year of high school. From the films that were released, to the shows that were on television, to the biggest albums released, to the pop culture events that happened. It's a collection of nostalgic stories.

There's one final thing to talk about, when it comes to the amazing movies of 1999, and that's what films were recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when the 72nd Oscars were held on March 26th, 2000. Shane takes a look at the nominees and discusses if he agrees with the winners.

Shane and Troy get together to test out a potential new short format for a podcast. Today, they discuss "Anora". From their differences on how they viewed the first act of the film, to the film's presence at the Oscars, and Sean Baker's speeches.

Shane has very passionate negative feelings about remakes in Hollywood, but after a text from Brandon Yotter and a Facebook Memory from 2020, Shane thinks its time to discuss remakes and reboots in depth. Brandon joins Shane and Jason to talk about these topics, as well as bad movies or franchises that actually deserve to be remade. Troy stops by to discuss his favorite films of 2024, and to give some thoughts on the upcoming Oscars.

With a run time that rivals "Inland Empire"... Shane Talks is back! It's time to bring in the Miller Brothers, so that Shane and Jason can discuss and debate a list of films that Shane thinks are terrible, but other people seem to enjoy. Troy joins Shane for a conversation about David Lynch, the legacy he has had on both of them, and their shared sadness over his passing.

1999 is over, and Shane admits that 2000 is an abysmal year compared to what we just went through. However, Shane is able to find a number of films that he feels like continued the amazing content we got in 1999. Shane addresses that small number of quality films that he loves from 2000 in this hangover episode.

1999 comes to a close with one final Oscar-hopeful film being released after Christmas and before the New Year. Denzel Washington plays a boxer wrongfully convicted of murder, and Shane examines why his previous opinion might have been wrong, but he still didn't care for the film, aside from Denzel's performance.

It's Christmas Day in 1999! Once you were done opening presents and eating food, Hollywood had three very solid and enjoyable options for you to choose from at the cinema. Matt Damon was a liar, Tom Cruise was a sexist, and Tim Allen was a fictional space captain.

It's the Wednesday before Christmas, and Shane takes a look at the two films released today. “Man on the Moon” is one of the rare biopics that Shane doesn't hate – while “Any Given Sunday” is an American Football film that Shane just despises all around, especially for how he sees himself represented in Willie Beamen.

There was an odd Tuesday release in December of 1999, when "Girl, Interrupted" hit theatres right before Christmas. Shane takes a looks at the amazing cast, then admits that he didn't watch the film until 2000, before he finally does a little self-reflection on how the lead character really reminds of him of one of his close friends.

Getting closer to Christmas in 1999, and it's time to get some family friendly films out into the cinemas. Robin Williams takes us on the 200 year journey of a robot becoming human, and Michael J. Fox voices a mouse in the middle of an all-star cast of voices and actors.

The Holiday Season is in full effect in 1999, and we've got a wide range of genres to discuss this weekend. From the arthouse to a bad comedy, from a western to a supernatural prison drama. There was a lot of options for the movie-goers this weekend, and Tobey Maguire went mainstream and arthouse in the same weekend.

Shane gets straight to the point in this holiday-hangover-arthouse entry. He avoids too many tangents, and gets straight to the point about two lesser known and barely remembered films from 1999. Shane breaks down all the parts of “The End of the Affair” that draws him to the film, and then he goes off on a tangent about how he never liked Woody Allen films, until he moved his plots to Europe.

It's Thanksgiving Weekend in 1999, and there were two films that were both released at the box office. First up is the clear favorite from the weekend, and one of the most rare kinds of films: A sequel that is better than the original. Then Arnold goes to war against The Devil.

Shane takes a look at the two films release on Jason Maier's 19th birthday in 1999. He takes a look at how both "Sleepy Hollow" and "The World is Not Enough" had terrible scripts, and while one of them was able to at least look visually brilliant, the other tried to use too much suspension of disbelief to make the film enjoyable. 

Shane breezes through discussing “Pokemon”, “The Messenger” and “Anywhere But Here” so that he can focus the majority of his time to telling stories about Kevin Smith's film “Dogma”, and how a super-secret screening of the film almost cost Shane his job at the time.

What if Spike Lee wrote “The Breakfast Club”?  Shane believes we would get something along the lines of “Light It Up”.  An eclectic collection of high school students find themselves in a situation that spirals out of control, while also being a great character study on teenagers.

Shane goes very far off-topic with his tangents this week, and doesn't stick to his traditional format, and instead uses this episode to pay tribute to Dave Maier, who recently passed away. Shane relates his love of films in 1999 with being Dave Maier's employee at General Cinemas Clearwater.

Happiness is... Dave Maier. As we celebrate Dave Maier's birthday, this month's episode would not be available in audio form. Please watch the video on either the Shane Talks YouTube Channel, or the GemInI Films YouTube Channel. On July 27th, 2024 in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, roughly 400 people came together to celebrate Dave Maier. This video captures many moments from that day. Through photos, videos and testimonials. Mixed in with this day, are additional commentaries, videos, and photos of Dave with co-workers, friends, and family.  This video is to celebrate a man who loved life, inspired people, and made everyone feel like they were a part of his family. New video episode will be around soon.

It's the perfect time of the year to release a Wes Craven film, right? Well, yes, but it's his only non-horror film he's ever directed, and Shane expresses how much he enjoys it. This is followed by a discussion about the unique brilliance of “Being John Malkovich”, before we end the episode with a long and angry rant about how much Shane hates the remake of “House on Haunted Hill”.

In the busiest weekend of 1999, Shane takes a look at the seven films that were all released. This weekend was all over the place with killer wives and killer bats, transphobia and bad gay jokes, as well as an insomniac Nic Cage on drugs, drunk young adults making poor choices, and finally, one amazingly well done film about friendships and relationships.

What a great weekend for Shane to praise all three films that were released. First up is the most Non-David Lynch film that David Lynch ever made, and it's an amazing character study on the power of human connections. Second is a great film that deals with the sensitive topic of divorce – so Shane tries to get through that conversation. Finally, Shane praises “Fight Club” for its importance to the men of Gen X.

Shane takes a look at two films that I had hopes would turn out better than they were. Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas completely lack any chemistry in “Random Hearts” and Mary Catherine Gallagher gets her own full-length feature film. Shane does manage to find some good things to discuss amidst these disappointments.

It's a big week in 1999, as four great films were all released on the same weekend. Shane starts with “Three Kings” before transitioning into “American Beauty”. Then he breaks down his love of “Mystery, Alaska” both in 1999 and present day – and how the movie hits him differently now than it originally did. Finally, we wrap up with another example how amazing 1999 was for teen romance, when Shane discusses “Drive Me Crazy”.

It's an October episode, and this year, the guys do a double feature of horror content. But first, the guys play catch up, as it's been a while since they hung out, and they have some films, television, and trailers to discuss with each. Once they get onto the horror topic, they start by selecting their favorite horror films by decade, before switching over to discussing the horror comedy genre.

This week, Shane admits to his refusal to re-watch “Jakob the Liar” before he discusses the other two films released this week.  Shane spends a lot of time explaining why despite “Double Jeopardy” being an enjoyable film, it's legally not accurate in any way.  Finally, Shane breaks down the somewhat bizarre film “Mumford” and why he likes it, despite its flaws.

There's two really solid options to talk about this week. There's a straight-forward 90s comedy from Martin Lawrence that really holds up for how fun it is. Followed by Shane re-visiting “For Love of the Game” and admitting how much better it is than he had previously given it credit for.

Shane starts by discussing the lesser-known film “Best Laid Plans” which has a great cast in a film that never reaches its full potential. Next, it's the religious-conspiracy-theory film “Stigmata”. Finally, Shane pours out his praise for “Stir of Echoes” – one of his favorite films of 1999 – and he pleads with everyone to go check it out. She wraps up by discussing Richard Matheson, and the other influential stories he's written that have been adapted in Hollywood.

Little bit of a rough patch here in 1999, as we enter into September.  We've got a stoner-coming-of-age comedy from the Farrelly Brothers, that just doesn't land as well as one would expect it to.  Shane discusses the things he likes about the film, as well as his disappointment.  We also have a ridiculously stupid wannabe action film, that actually has a great cast wasted on a terrible script.

Following Shane and Jason's hetero-date-night to see the band Creed together, Shane wanted to reflect on the bands that most influenced our generation in the 1990s. Troy joins in the conversation, and brings some amazing stories and insight in the way that only Troy can do.

It's the weekend that everyone dumped their crap in 1999. It's really difficult for Shane to find very many good things to say about the three offerings this weekend. Brendan Fraser's third film of 1999, John McTiernan's second film of 1999, and Johnny Depp's second film of 1999 all turned out to be major disasters. Shane put about as much effort into talking about this weekend, as the filmmakers did on making these films.

This Wednesday saw the release of the undercover-cop-thriller “In Too Deep” and Shane discusses the amazing performances in the film, and how it did a great job of showing the lines get blurred between the cop and the criminal he was portraying. 

Three movies to talk about this week, but Shane made the executive decision to skip re-watching the “Universal Soldier” sequel.  Instead, Shane watched another mobster-romantic-comedy along with Kevin Williamson's directorial debut.  A film that Shane was lucky enough to see the original ending to – before a last-minute reel change that resulted in the ending almost everyone else saw.

Shane gives Jason some time off, and invites Troy on to do an extended Troy Talks episode. The guys go on tangents about summer blockbusters, Glenn Powell, Richard Linklater, the "Before" Trilogy and the "X" Trilogy, and Troy discusses some of the best films he's seen so far this year. It's always entertaining when Troy gets the chance to talk.

The Summer of 1999 is starting to wrap up, and that's made apparent with the films that have been dumped into the middle of August.  We've got three moderate films to talk about this week, which take us from making a movie in Hollywood to a KISS concert in Detroit to a women's prison in Thailand.  There's a lot of big name stars to talk about in this collection of films.

These are the weekends Shane loves to talk about.  This one was huge in 1999, when there were four major studio releases for Shane to talk about.  From a heist-rom-com-remake to an early superhero film, to a flawless animated film about a space robot, to the world's introduction to M. Night Shyamalan.  It was one of the most memorable weekends in 1999.

Do you like “Dick”?  Do you want to talk about “Dick”?  Do you want Shane to talk about “Dick”? Do you remember when Mary Jane Watson made out with Deadpool? Shane is talking about the sex-light, stoner-comedy that pokes fun at Richard Nixon and Watergate, and is actually a very humorous film from 1999.

Shane and Jason get together to chat about some upcoming movies they are excited about, as well as the next Broadway Across America Indianapolis shows.  Then they transition into a spoiler-free discussion of the "Deadpool and Wolverine" film, and Shane makes Jason rank all of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine appearances.  The guys wrap up the show by reflecting on their recent trip to Boston and their past adventures in New England.

Shane takes a very quick look at the failed attempt of "Runaway Bride" to re-capture the lightning chemistry we saw in "Pretty Woman" with this mediocre romantic comedy put together with almost all of the same major players. While checking online scores, Shane realizes that maybe this film isn't as loved as he thought it was.

Just one release on this Wednesday in July of 1999. Shane tries to be brief when talking about the amazing cast, who just could not carry such a bad script. Despite the sub-par execution, Shane admits that he doesn't hate this film, which has a few memorable moments.

Shane refuses to talk about “Inspector Gadget”.  So, instead he goes on a tangent about the building of the standee for the film.  He then discusses his displeasure with the visual effects in “The Haunting”, before he wraps up the episode talking about how he is upset he didn't reach out to any of his friends when he learned “Drop Dead Gorgeous” wasn't on any streaming platform.

It was a big weekend at the box office, when we had a horror movie, a coming-of-age film, and an erotic mystery all released on the same day. Shane takes a look at the terrible film, "Lake Placid", the great buddy-comedy "The Wood", and Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut".

Shane and Jason are joined by Mark Buckwalter and Snow to draft there perfect cast of characters to make a summer blockbuster action film. After they draft their "teams" the guys pitch their films, and then wrap up the episode with some Marvel talk regarding their hopes and expectations for "Deadpool and Wolverine".

Easily the most controversial film of 1999, and easily on a Top List, Shane discusses the 25th Anniversary of "The Blair Witch Project". Starting with his easily access screening of the film months ahead of its release, to the hatred the film received, and finally: the legacy of the film - there is a lot to say for this low-budget, small, indie flick and what it was able to accomplish.

First up, Shane laments about his inability to find "Arlington Road" on a streaming service to re-visit the film, and see if he still enjoys it as much as he remembers. He does address the writer and director, and the projects they have worked on that he enjoys, and why he thinks that contributed to his enjoyment of that film. Then, Shane breaks down the definitive sex-comedy of the 1990s, and what he believes makes this film so enjoyable and relatable to anyone who saw it when it was released. The nostalgia pours out as Shane discusses this film, and what it meant to him in 1999.

As a spiritual sequel to the Shane Talks New York City episode, it's serendipitous that one day later, Shane is talking about Spike Lee's drama "Summer of Sam". Shane discusses his feelings on the various groups of people in one neighborhood as the fear of the Son of Sam Killer spreads throughout the community.

In the wake of Shane's birthday trip to New York City, he hasn't been able to get the city off his mind. So, Shane and Jason go down memory lane and talk about previous trips together, Jason's time dating his wife when she lived in the city, and then they take a look at the films and television series that take place in the Big Apple. During Troy Talks, Troy gives his perspective on the city, as well as his more arthouse take on the films that he loves from the city.

Shane begrudgingly talks about two films from 1999, that he knows other people enjoy - but he really didn't like either one. In an attempt at avoidance, Shane talks about Kevin Smith, Will Smith's previous summer blockbusters, the Razzies, and the soundtracks to these two films. "Wild Wild West" and "South Park" kicked off the holiday weekend with a Wednesday release in 1999.

Twenty-five years ago, one of the best comedies of our generation was released. Adam Sandler's amazing film about being childish and growing up, that was filled with pee jokes, a great soundtrack, and a lot of heart. Shane looks into how he appreciates Adam Sandler making films with his friends, and the great track record they had to end the 90s.

On this day, Disney swung into the summer cinemas with their kid's flick, "Tarzan" - and Shane discusses this prequel to the movie "Frozen" before he moves on to talk about the disappointing mystery-thriller "The General's Daughter". Finally, he discusses a German Arthouse film called "Run Lola Run" and his enjoyment for the storytelling.