We Just Saw A Movie

In our final episode recorded from New York City (for now, at least) we bring on our buddy and resident Star Wars nerd Pete Bladel to break down the trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. 

In the interest of full disclosure: I'm not sure (this is Mike by the way) I'm not sure if I correctly spelled "Semetary" the way Stephen King has it in the title of his original novel or how it's stylized for the 2019 film. I'm not going to check either because you know what? If they misspelled it for the novel, we can misspell it for a podcast.  In this episode, we talk about the latest Pet Semetary adaptation. We also start off with a nice debate over the name of the place where priests train to become priests. 

The most anticipated movie of 2019 is finally here - in this episode we break down Avengers: Endgame. This one has TONS of spoilers, so beware if you're trying to avoid that sort of thing. 

In this episode we review the strong second effort from Jordan Peele: Us. In this wide-ranging episode we also go on a tangent about horror in general and our own personal fears. 

In today's episode we're talking about the latest superhero movie to hit theaters - nope, not that one - the delightful Shazam. 

After an extended spring break, we had to make a comeback for the most anticipated film of 2019: Avengers: End Game. In today's episode, we review the trailer in advance of the movie hitting theaters on Thursday night. 

After a quick argument over the genre of the movie, we eventually work our way towards talking about Captive State. 

We're back! After a few weeks off, we've returned to review the latest in the MCU: Captain Marvel. 

It's a big sequel week here at We Just Saw A Movie. Check out this episode where we talk about How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. We also discuss another shushing experience for Mike. 

We all know Elizabeth loves Groundhog's Day movies, but what about movies about alternate dimensions? Only one way to find out: listen to this episode where we discuss Happy Death Day 2U, the sequel to Happy Death Day. 

We're back with a new episode where we talk about Isn't It Romantic. It's the parody of romantic comedies that pretty much turns into what it's parodying at the end. 

In our latest episode, it's a very, VERY special edition of Trailer Talk in which we cover Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. A film with a title that long and strange just demands a preview podcast about its trailer, and we're not one to shy away from giving the people what they want. 

In this episode we review Alita: Battle Angel, the new sci-fi franchise from Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron. Mike also goes on a rant against those Coke Freestyle machines that are popping up everywhere nowadays. 

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! In this episode we talk about the direct to Netflix feature The Perfect Romance. We tried to honor this day celebrating love in the best way we know how: watching and ridiculing a movie about cretins who make another dating app. Only they don't call it an app, they call it an algorithm. We're not sure the people who made this film actually understand what an algorithm is. 

We're back with a review of a movie Elizabeth's been anticipating for what seems like forever: What Men Want. How'd it stack up to her expectations? Hit that play button to find out! 

Mike referred to it to the box office attendant as "King Arthur Court Kid." Its actual name? The Kid Who Would Be King, and it's the movie we're reviewing in today's episode. 

In today's episode we're back to review Green Book. Does it live up to the Oscar-nominated hype? Smash that download button to find out. 

If you're a fan of this podcast and like hearing about big Hollywood movies you are going to see or have already seen...this ain't the episode for you.  If you like our reviews of Hallmark Christmas movies....pop a big bowl of popcorn and settle in, because you're going to like what we have to say with this one.  In this episode we review the Netflix movie Coffee Shop. I'd say more about the plot, but we break the whole thing down in the episode. 

In our latest episode we're talking about the film the world desperately needed at a time like this. That's right, it's Bumblee, the 28th Transformers movie. It actually wasn't that bad. 

Say whatever you want about Matthew McConaughey's new film Serenity. It was weird. It was bonkers. It featured a lot of gratuitous nudity. But it wasn't dull. In this episode, we review Serenity. WARNING: as with most of our episodes, we go into heavy-spoiler territory here. If you plan to see this movie, don't spoil it as it would be a lot less interesting if you know what's coming. So be forewarned, there are spoilers ahead. 

In today's episode, we're reviewing The Upside, the dramedy starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston. 

We're back for a very special edition of Trailer Talk. In this episode we're talking about the trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home. Since Spider-Man ate it in Infinity War, we're assuming this one takes place in some weird kind of purgatory. 

While we can't say we enjoyed the movie we watched for today's episode, we did enjoy the experience of seeing it. In this episode we talk about JLo in Second Act, a comedy with nary a laugh to be had. If you're a fan of those episodes where we spend the whole time dissecting a bad one, this is the episode for you. 

In our latest episode we review M. Night Shymalan's Glass, the finale of the Unbreakable-Split trilogy. We also register a quick complaint about some woman's flashing phone light from the crowd of the beautiful IMAX theater at Lincoln Center. 

In today's episode we're talking about the powerhouse triumvirate of Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone in The Favourite. 

In today's episode we review the Dick Cheney biopic, Vice. We talk about the film, some of the great performances, whether it's pronounced BIO-pic or BY-opic, and Mike gives Christian Bale a new business idea. 

In our latest episode of Trailer Talk, we're talking about the trailer for Alita: Battle Angel. Elizabeth has a somewhat controversial interpretation of the main character. 

Would you trust a maid who lets a random chimney sweep into your child's bedroom?  Everyone in this movie apparently did! We're back with a review of Mary Poppins Returns! 

It's our first episode of trailer talk of 2019! In this episode, we're joined once again by our buddy Kate to talk about the trailer for the Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart comedy, The Upside. 

We're back with our first episode of 2019!  After a month of nothing but the Hallmark Channel, a big budget superhero movie for dummies was almost a relief. In this episode we're joined by our buddy (and Jason Momoa superfan) Kate to review Aquaman. 

Merry Christmas! We close out this year's 25 Days of Christmas with the Hallmark Channel movie Mingle All the Way. We review the movie plus we sneak in a mini-review of The Polar Express. This is our last episode of 2018, but we close it out with a quick preview of what's to come in 2019 (rest assured we'll be back and better than ever!)  Here's the IMDB description for Mingle All the Way: ""Mingle All the Way" is a new networking app designed to pair busy professionals together for upcoming events, without long-term romance. Molly, founder of the app, is determined to prove to her family that it is a success. Therefore, she joins the app, and meets another busy professional, Jeff. When Molly and Jeff are matched, they are both horrified to realize they've already had not one, but two disastrous previous encounters. Nevertheless, they agree to stay matched for all their respective upcoming holiday engagements. As the pair gets closer, perhaps their business arrangement might turn into something more this holiday season." We hope every single one of you has a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holidays and/or a Happy New Year! 

We're back for our first episode as an officially married couple to review our next-to-last Christmas movie of 2018's 25 Days of Christmas, the Hallmark Channel's Merry Matrimony. We review the film plus talk about the wedding crasher we had at our wedding.  Here's the description of today's movie from IMDB: "An ad exec for a fashion magazine lands her dream assignment to organize the perfect Christmas wedding. Just one thing. The photographer she's been partnered with is her ex-boyfriend. She's got to bring her A game, while working through unresolved feelings." 

Another day, another Hallmark Channel movie about a woman falling in love with the prince of a fake country at Christmas. Here's the IMDB description of the movie we reviewed today, Christmas at the Palace: "Katie, a former professional ice skater (Patterson), is hired by the king of San Senova, Alexander, to help his daughter in a Christmas ice skating performance. As Katie spends time in the castle and with the king, she and Alex begin to develop feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. But will the tradition-loving people of San Senova allow their king to make a foreigner their queen?"

As our 25 Days of Christmas roll on, we've got our first Hallmark Channel movie where punctuation plays an important role in the title. Today we review "It's Christmas, Eve" starring LeeAnn Rimes. Here's the description from IMDB: "Interim school superintendent Eve Morgan finds herself in a tough spot when she is assigned to shut down a school's failing music program and must come to terms with her musical past." 

The horrors of shoe addiction are on full display in this Hallmark Channel Christmas movie called "A Shoe Addict's Christmas." Starring Candace Cameron Bure, the shoe addiction barely plays a role in the movie.  Here's the description from IMDB: "Noelle, a holiday hater who toils in a department store in which she is accidentally locked on Christmas Eve. There, she meets a woman who identifies herself as Noelle's guardian angel and introduces her to several "ghosts" of Christmases past, present, and future."

In the three years of doing our 25 Days of Christmas, we have our first Hallmark Channel sequel. In today's episode we review Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa. Here's the description from IMDB: "When Lisa (Wagner) takes a last-minute Christmas trip to her hometown of Evergreen, she finds that the historic general store has been closed. Using her skills as a professional retail designer, Lisa decides to keep local tradition alive and help the good people of Evergreen bring the store back to life. As Lisa charms a local contractor named Kevin (Deklin) into working with her, the pair find themselves facing one surprise after another as they restore the store to its former glory. When the staff at the Kringle Kitchen temporarily accept the store's beloved 'Mailbox to Santa' for safekeeping, the townspeople find and rally around a mysterious 25-year-old letter that never made it to the North Pole. As old traditions are made new again, Lisa finds herself falling for Kevin, the traditions, and the town of Evergreen." 

In today's episode we review Christmas in Love, another Hallmark Channel movie that explores two elements often ignored in these films: baking and love.  Here's the description from IMDB: "Ellie Hartman is an aspiring crafter working in her small town's bakery making famous Christmas Kringles. When the new, big-city CEO Nick Carlingson visits the bakery, he arrives filled with modernization ideas destined to lay off many employees. During his visit, Ellie is to teach Nick how to make a Kringle, and determined to show him it's the people who make the business a success, not machines. Nick meets more of the employees and townspeople, visits the food bank and begins to see all the kindness that is shared, and he begins to soften - though not convinced automation isn't better. Struggling with chasing her own entrepreneurial dreams, Ellie begins to fall for Nick but not before feeling betrayed when she inadvertently sees Nick's laptop filled with automation plans. When Nick finally tells the employees his future ideas for the company, Ellie must decide if she should trust him, but more importantly, whether to take a leap of faith in making her own dreams come true."

How long would it take to bake cookies for something known as a cookie crawl? A few hours, tops, right? Even not knowing what a cookie crawl is, that would be your guess wouldn't it?  FORGET THAT.  According to today's movie we reviewed from the Hallmark Channel, cookie crawl prep would take weeks on end. In today's episode we review Christmas Joy. Here's the description from IMDB: "She's a corporate market researcher, gunning for a promotion within her firm. Just as her company's CEO is taking notice, Joy finds out her Aunt Ruby has broken her ankle and will be undergoing surgery. Despite the less than opportune timing, Joy makes her way back home to Crystal Falls, NC to be with her Aunt. Stars seem to be aligned as Joy sees her former crush, Ben Andrews, while at the hospital. At first, Joy is focused solely on helping her Aunt heal; even taking over her position as chair of the local Cookie Crawl competition. Eventually, she begins to let Ben in and remembers there's no place like home for the holidays. The pair work together on the Cookie Crawl to make the event a success."

Today's episode finds us following the tradition of the "Road to.." movies of Hope and Crosby in the form of Michael Murray and Schram. We review the Hallmark Channel's "Road to Christmas."  The description, from IMDB: "A TV producer is producing a Christmas Special for the 5th year but she is then told to co-produce it with the host's son. Initially, she's not too happy about it but - Christmas brings friends and families together."

In the latest episode of our 25 Days of Christmas, we review Christmas at Pemberley Manor, another Hallmark Channel classic. Here's the description from IMDB: "Loosely based (editor's note: you ain't kiddin') on Pride and Prejudice, event planner Elizabeth Bennet is initially at odds with Mr. Darcy, the owner of Pemberley Manor, which she intends to be the venue of her next event, but soon finds herself irresistibly attracted to him."

We take a break from the mind-numbing monotony of the Hallmark Christmas movies to review The Grinch. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a green dog-like human who can't seem to meet a man who likes Christmas but has 25 days to find one who likes to bake cookies and decorate trees and OH MY GOD THIS ONE IS ALSO LIKE A HALLMARK MOVIE SOMEHOW!  Just kidding. It's just another adaptation of the Grinch, this time without the horrifying Jim Carrey prosthetics. 

This...was a weird one.  "A Bride for Christmas" is a 2012 Hallmark Christmas movie about a woman who leaves guys at the alter being courted by a guy who can't commit. Aside from the guy getting teased by his guy friends for an inability to commit (a conversation that's never happened in the history of guys hanging out), but one of the character jokingly says she's gay in the first ten minutes. That may not be odd for real life or even a normal movie, but in the Hallmark universe, this sort of thing is rare. They never say whether she was being honest or joking and this really bothered Elizabeth for some reason. She goes on an Internet crusade mid-episode to figure out whether or not the character was actually gay.  Do we ever get to the bottom of a single supporting character's sexual orientation? Tune into find out. 

There's something about being married at the holidays where you just feel like wishing you were never married, right? Wait, what do you mean that's not a common or healthy thing to wish for? Not according to today's Christmas movie, A Dream of Christmas.  Here's the description from IMDB: "When a restless young married woman is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, she soon discovers her new life isn't what she bargained for, and embarks on a quest to win her husband back."

Today's Christmas movie review is the 2017 Netflix movie You Can't Fight Christmas. Here's the IMDB description: "Christmas designer Leslie Major (Brely Evans) is the biggest fan of Christmas ever. She is like a tidal wave of Yuletide cheer. Her biggest job every year is decorating the lobby of the famed Chesterton Hotel. As she is on a ladder decorating the tree, she falls into the arms of Edmund James (Andra Fuller) - the grandson of the owner JJ James. Edmund is all business and thinks Christmas is superficial and frivolous. But there is something about him. Edmund and his business partner, Millicent (Persia White), have plans for the hotel including ending the Christmas tradition at The Chesterton. Leslie uses all her Christmas charms on him to love Christmas. - and love her." 

In the latest episode of our 25 Days of Christmas, we review the 2017 Netflix movie Christmas Inheritance. Here's the description from IMDB: "Before ambitious heiress Ellen Langford can inherit her father's gift business, she must deliver a special Christmas card to her dad's former partner in Snow Falls, the hometown she never knew. When a snowstorm strands her at the town inn, she's forced to work for her keep, and in the process, finds romance and discovers the true gift of Christmas."

In our three years of reviewing 25 Christmas movies throughout all of December, we have never seen one with an ending as messed up and shocking as "Christmas in the Heartland."  Here's the description from IMDB: "Kara and Jessie are two teenager girls from very different worlds, but with a little Christmas magic, they find they have much more in common than they ever imagined."

Our 25 Days of Christmas rolls on, this time with a review of a film...that barely has anything to do with Christmas. But it does feature lots of figure skating, a young Kevin Spacey lookalike, and a Mom of indeterminate age who may be younger than her daughter. It's called Falling For Christmas. Here's the IMDB description:  "An injured figure skater is sent to the mountains to recover from an injury. Once there, she meets an ex-hockey player and his young daughter and begins to realise that something is missing from her life."

If you've listened to any of our 25 Days of Christmas episodes before, you know how much we love bad Christmas movies featuring inns.  This one has a damn inn in the title.  In our latest we review "Snowed Inn Christmas." Here's the description from IMDB:  "Jenna Hudson (Bethany Joy Lenz) and Kevin Jenner (Andrew Walker) are polar opposites working for the same online publication in New York City. With both having nowhere they want to be for Christmas, they volunteer for a special writing assignment. After a snowstorm forces their plane to land in none other than Santa Claus, Indiana, the two are placed in a Christmas Wonderland and the focus of their story shifts to saving the historic town inn run by Carol and Christopher Winters. As the two overcome their differences, they also rediscover the magic of Christmas. But with the inn's fate in jeopardy and the return of someone from Jenna's past, Carol and Christopher lend a helping hand to bring Jenna and Kevin together."

When you think "Christmas," you obviously think: buff guys at shopping malls dancing inappropriately.  Or at least that's what this movie would have you think.  In the latest episode in our 2018 25 Days of Christmas, we review Desperately Seeking Santa. Here's the IMDB description:  "Jennifer, a young, ambitious executive running promotions at a failing Boston mall comes up with a genius promotional gimmick to save her workplace and position herself for advancement: hold a "Hunky Santa" contest to replace the old Mall Santa. David, a local man trying to save his family's pizzeria, ultimately wins the contest and sparks fly between him and Jennifer. However, complications ensue when it comes to light that the company Jennifer works for is the same one trying to run David's family out of business."

As our 25 Days of Christmas roll on, in today's episode we review "Finding Christmas," a 2013 Hallmark movie. Here's the description from IMDB: "Sean, a New York adman, swaps his swanky loft for an aspiring musician's North Carolina cottage after a proposal gone wrong leads him to find a holiday escape. Sparks fly when he meets single mother Ryan. On the other end of the swap, singer Owen is charmed by Sean's sassy assistant, Mia. As these singles open up their homes, they also unexpectedly open up their hearts for the romantic possibilities in store this Christmas." 

Now that Thanksgiving is over and you're onto your third plate of leftovers, it's time for that most special of holiday traditions... The We Just Saw A Movie 25 Days of Christmas!  It's our third annual edition of the 25 Days and we're back with more (mostly bad) Christmas movie reviews. We kick things off with the 2016 Hallmark movie Christmas on the Homestead. Here's the description from IMDB:  "Life is turned upside down for the handsome mayor of Homestead when a movie comes to shoot there in the middle of the Christmas season. And when the movie's leading lady starts falling for him, things get a whole lot more complicated."