Podcast appearances and mentions of Russell Crowe

EPISODE 104 -  “MEMORABLE MINUTES: JOHN DILEO ON ACTORS WHO MADE THE MOST OF LESS” - 9/08/25 Back by popular demand! This week we welcome author and friend of the podcast JOHN DILEO who will talk about his 2022 book THERE ARE NO SMALL PARTS: 100 OUTSTANDING FILM PERFORMANCES WITH SCREEN TIME OF 10 MINUTES OR LESS, a fun, insightful look at the incredible actors who made the most with the limited screen time they were given. From GLADYS GEORGE in “The Hard Way” (1943) to RUBY DEE in “American Gangster” (2007), we cover the gamut!  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: There Are No Small Parts: 100 Outstanding Film Performances With Screen Time of 10 Minutes or Less (2022), by John DiLeo; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned: Sharp Shooters (1938), starring Brian Donlevy & Lynn Bari; The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan, & Mary Beth Hughes; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), staring Jean Arthur & Gary Cooper; Blossoms In the Dust (1941), starring Greer Garson & Walter Pidgeon; My Favorite Wife (1940), starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Gail Patrick, & Randolph Scott; The Hard Way (1943), starring Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, & Jack Carson; Now, Voyager (1942), starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, & Gladys Cooper; Body & Soul (1947), starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, & Anne Revere; It's A Wonderful Life (1946), starring James Stewart & Donna Reed; Strangers on a Train (1951), starring Robert Walker, Farley Granger, & Ruth Roman; The Bishop's Wife (1947) starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, & David Niven; The Last Picture Show (1971), starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson & Cloris Leachman; American Gangster (2007), staring Denzel Washington, Lymari Nadal, & Russell Crowe; Network (1976), starring William Holden, Faye Dunaway, & Peter Finch; Stagecoach (1939), starling John Wayne & Claire Trevor; Gone With The Wind (1939), starring Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable; The Wizard of Oz (1939), starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack haley, & Bert Lahr; The Letter (1940), starring Bette Davis & Herbert Marshall; Mrs. Miniver (1942), starring Greer Garson & Walter Pidgeon; State Fair (1945), starring Jeanne Crain & Dana Andrews; The Birds (1963), starring Tippi Hedren & Rod Taylor; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, I take a look back at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Summer 2025. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book #1 in the Ghost Armor series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: FALLSERPENT50 The coupon code is valid through September 15, 2025 (please note the shorter expiration date). So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 267 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 5, 2025 and today I'm doing a review roundup of the movies and streaming shows I saw in Summer 2025. Before we do that, we will have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing and audiobook projects. First up, this week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book One in the Ghost Armor series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That is FALLSERPENT50. This coupon code will be valid through September 15th, 2025 (exactly one week). So if you need a new audiobook to listen to as we head into fall, we have got you covered. Now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I am pleased to report that the rough draft of Blade of Flames, which will be the first book in my new Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series is finished. The rough draft came at about 90,000 words long, which was what I was aiming for. Next up, I will be writing a short story set as sort of a bonus in that plot line called Thunder Hammer and that will be the backstory of one of the characters in Blade of Flames. And when Blade of Flames comes out (which will hopefully be later this September), newsletter subscribers will get a free ebook copy of Thunder Hammer. So this is an excellent time to subscribe to my newsletter. I am also 8,000 words into Cloak of Worlds. At long last, I am coming back to the Cloak Mage series after nearly a year's absence. Longtime listeners will know the reason was that I had five unfinished series and I wanted to spend the summer of 2025 finishing the unfinished ones and focusing up so I will only have three ongoing series at any given time. I'm hoping Blade of Flames will come out before the end of September and Cloak of Worlds before the end of October, and after that I will be able to return to the Rivah series at long last. In audiobook news, recording is finished on Shield of Power. That will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and hopefully once it gets through processing and quality assurance and everything, it should be showing up on the various audiobook stores before too much longer. Hollis McCarthy is about halfway through the recording of Ghost in the Siege, which was, as you know, the last book in the Ghost Armor series that just came out. And if all goes well, the audiobook should be coming out probably in October once everything is done with recording and quality assurance and all that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:02:34 Main Topic: Summer 2025 Movie/TV Roundup So without further ado, let's head into our main topic. The end of summer is nigh, which means this time for my summer movie review roundup. As is usual for the summer, I saw a lot of movies, so this will be one of the longer episodes. For some reason I ended up watching a bunch of westerns. As always, the movies are ranked from least favorite to most favorite. The grades of course are totally subjective and based on nothing more than my own opinions, impressions, and interpretations. Now on to the movies. First up is the Austin Powers trilogy, the three movies of which came out in 1997, 1999, and 2002. The Austin Powers movies came out just as the Internet really got going in terms of mass adoption, which is likewise why so many Austin Powers and Dr. Evil memes are embedded in online culture. Despite that, I had never really seen any of them all the way through. They've been on in the background on TBS or whatever quite a bit when I visited people, but I've never seen them all. But I happened upon a DVD of the trilogy for $0.25 (USD), so I decided for 25 cents I would give it a go. I would say the movies were funny, albeit not particularly good. Obviously the Austin Powers movies are a parody of the James Bond movies. The movies kind of watch like an extended series of Saturday Night Live skits, only loosely connected, like the skit is what if Dr. Evil had a son named Scott who wasn't impressed with him or another skit was what if a British agent from the ‘60s arrives in the ‘90s and experiences culture clash? What if Dr. Evil didn't understand the concept of inflation and demanded only a million dollars from the United Nations? What if Dr. Evil was actually Austin's brother and they went to school together at Spy Academy? Michael Caine was pretty great as Austin's father. Overall, funny but fairly incoherent. Overall grade: C- Next up is Horrible Bosses, a very dark and very raunchy comedy from about 14 years ago. It came out in 2011. Interestingly, this movie reflects what I think is one of the major crises of the contemporary era, frequent failures of leadership at all levels of society. In the movie Nick, Dale, and Kurt are lifelong friends living in LA and all three of them have truly horrible bosses in their place of employment, ranging from a sociopathic finance director, the company founder's cokehead son, and a boorish dentist with a tendency to sexual harassment. At the bar, they fantasize about killing their horrible bosses and then mutually decide to do something about it. Obviously, they'd all be prime suspects in the murder of their own bosses, but if they killed each other's bosses, that would allow them to establish airtight alibis. However, since Nick, Dale and Kurt are not as bright as they think they are, it all goes hilariously wrong very quickly. Bob Hope has a hilarious cameo. If the best “crude comedies” I've seen are Anchorman, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, and Dodgeball, and the worst one was MacGruber, I'd say Horrible Bosses lands about in the middle. Overall grade: C Next up is Cowboys and Aliens, which came out in 2011. Now I almost saw this in 2011 when it came out, but I was too busy to go to the theater in July of 2011, so I finally saw it here in 2025 and I would say this was almost a great movie, like the performances were great, the concept was great, the scenery was great, the special effects were great, and the story was packed full of really interesting ideas, but somehow they just didn't coalesce. I'm not entirely sure why. I think upon reflection, it was that the movie is just too overcrowded with too many characters and too many subplots. Anyway, Daniel Craig portrays a man who wakes up with no memory in the Old West, with a mysterious bracelet locked around his wrist. He makes his way to the town of Atonement, and promptly gets arrested because he is apparently a notorious outlaw (which he doesn't remember). While he is locked in jail, space aliens attack the town. The aliens, for unknown reasons, abduct many of the townspeople, and Daniel Craig's character, who is named Jake even if he doesn't remember it, must lead the town's effort to recover their abducted citizens. Harrison's Ford has an excellent performance as this awful cattle baron who nonetheless has virtues of courage and fortitude that you can't help but admire. An excellent performance. That said, the movie was just too packed, and I thought it would work better as a novel. After I watched the movie, it turned out that it was indeed based off a graphic novel. Novels and graphic novels allow for a far more complex story than a movie, and I don't think this movie quite managed to handle the transition from a graphic novel to a film. Overall grade: C Next up is Heads of State, which came out in 2025. This was kind of a stupid movie. However, the fundamental question of any movie, shouted to the audience by Russell Crow in Gladiator is, “are you not entertained?!?” I was thoroughly entertained watching this, so entertained I actually watched it twice. Not everything has to be Shakespeare or a profound meditation on the unresolvable conflicts inherent within human nature. Anyway, John Cena plays Will Derringer, newly elected President of the United States. Idris Elba plays Sam Clark, who has now been the UK Prime Minister for the last six years. Derringer was an action star who parleyed his celebrity into elected office (in the same way Arnold Schwarzenegger did), while Clarke is an army veteran who worked his way up through the UK's political system. Needless to say, the cheerful Derringer and the grim Clarke take an immediate dislike to each other. However, they'll have to team up when Air Force One is shot down, stranding them in eastern Europe. They'll have to make their way home while evading their enemies to unravel the conspiracy that threatens world peace. So half action thriller, half buddy road trip comedy. The premise really doesn't work if you think about it too much for more than thirty seconds, but the movie was funny and I enjoyed it. Jack Quaid really stole his scenes as a crazy but hyper-competent CIA officer. Overall grade: C+ Next up, Captain America: Brave New World, which came out in 2025 and I think this movie ended up on the good side of middling. You can definitely tell it went through a lot of reshoots and retooling, and I suspect the various film industry strikes hit it like a freight train. But we ended up with a reasonably solid superhero thriller. Sam Wilson is now Captain America. He's not superhuman the way Steve Rogers was and doesn't have magic powers or anything, so he kind of fights like the Mandalorian – a very capable fighter who relies on excellent armor. Meanwhile, in the grand American political tradition of failing upward, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who spent years persecuting The Hulk and whose meddling caused the Avengers to disband right before Thanos attacked, has now been elected President. To Wilson's surprise, Ross reaches out and wants him to restart the Avengers. But Ross (as we know) did a lot of shady black ops stuff for years, and one of his projects is coming back to haunt him. Wilson finds himself in the middle of a shadowy conspiracy, and it's up to him to figure out what's going on before it's too late. I was amused that lifelong government apparatchik Ross wanted to restart the Avengers, because when the Avengers had their biggest victory in Avengers: Endgame, they were essentially unsanctioned vigilantes bankrolled by a rogue tech billionaire. Overall grade: B- Next up is Ironheart, which came out in 2025. I'd say Ironheart was about 40% very weird and 60% quite good. It's sort of like the modern version of Dr. Faustus. The show got some flak on the Internet from the crossfire between the usual culture war people, but the key to understanding it is to realize that Riri Williams AKA Ironheart is in fact an antihero who's tottering on the edge of becoming a full-blown supervillain. Like Tony Stark, she's a once-in-a-generation scientific talent, but while she doesn't have Stark's alcohol problems, she's emotionally unstable, immature, ruthless, indifferent to collateral damage and consequences, and suffering from severe PTSD after her best friend and stepfather were killed in a drive-by shooting. This volatile mix gets her thrown out of MIT after her experiments cause too much destruction, and she has to go home to Chicago. To get the funds to keep working on her Iron Man armor, she turns to crime, and falls in with a gang of high-end thieves led by a mysterious figure named Hood. It turns out that Hood has actual magic powers, which both disturbs and fascinates Riri. However, Hood got his magic in a pact with a mysterious dark force. When a job goes bad, Riri gains the enmity of Hood and has to go on the run. It also turns out Hood's dark master has become very interested in Riri, which might be a lot more dangerous for everyone in the long run. Overall, I'd say this is about in the same vein as Agatha All Along, an interesting show constructed around a very morally questionable protagonist. Overall grade: B Next up is A Minecraft movie, which came out in 2024. I have to admit, I've never actually played Minecraft, so I know very little about the game and its ecosystem, only what I've generally absorbed by glancing at the news. That said, I think the movie held together quite well, and wasn't deserving of the general disdain it got in the press. (No doubt the $950 million box office compensated for any hurt feelings.) One of the many downsides of rapid technological change in the last fifty years is that the Boomers and Gen X and the Millennials and Gen Z and Gen Alpha have had such radically different formative experiences in childhood that it's harder to relate to each other. Growing up in the 1980s was a wildly different experience than growing up in the 2010s, and growing up in the 2010s was an even more wildly different experience than growing up in the 1960s. Smartphones and social media were dominant in 2020, barely starting in 2010, and implausible science fiction in 2000 and earlier, and so it was like the different generations grew up on different planets, because in some sense they actually did. (A five-year-old relative of mine just started school, and the descriptions of his school compared to what I remember of school really do sound like different planets entirely.) The Minecraft game and A Minecraft Movie might be one of those generation-locked experiences. Anyway, this has gotten very deep digression for what was essentially a portal-based LitRPG movie. A group of people experiencing various life difficulties in a rural Idaho town get sucked into the Minecraft world through a magic portal. There they must combine forces and learn to work together to master the Minecraft world to save it from an evil sorceress. As always, the fundamental question of any movie is the one that Russell Crowe's character shouted to the audience in Gladiator back in 2000. “Are you not entertained?” I admit I was entertained when watching A Minecraft Movie since it was funny and I recognized a lot of the video game mechanics, even though I've never actually played Minecraft. Like, Castlevania II had a night/day cycle the way Minecraft does, and Castlevania II was forty years ago. But that was another digression! I did enjoy A Minecraft Movie. It was kind of crazy, but it committed to the craziness and maintained a consistent creative vision, and I was entertained. Though I did think it was impressive how Jack Black's agent managed to insist that he sing several different times. Overall grade: B Next up is Back to School, which came out in 1986 and this is one of the better ‘80s comedies I've seen. Rodney Dangerfield plays Thornton Melon, who never went to college and is the wealthy owner of a chain of plus-sized clothing stores. His son Jason is attending Great Lakes University, and after Thornton's unfaithful gold-digging wife leaves him (Thornton is mostly relieved by this development), he decides to go visit his son. He quickly discovers that Jason is flailing at college, and decides to enroll to help out his son. Wacky adventures ensue! I quite enjoyed this. The fictional “Great Lakes University” was largely shot at UW-Madison in Wisconsin, which I found amusing because I spent a lot of time at UW-Madison several decades ago as a temporary IT employee. I liked seeing the characters walk past a place where I'd eat lunch outside when the day was nice, that kind of thing. Also, I'm very familiar with how the sausage gets made in higher ed. There's a scene where the dean is asking why Thornton is qualified to enter college, and then it cuts to the dean cheerfully overseeing the groundbreaking of the new Thornton Melon Hall which Thornton just donated, and I laughed so hard I almost hurt myself, because that is exactly how higher ed works. The movie had some pointless nudity, but it was only a few seconds and no doubt gets cut in network broadcasts. Overall grade: B Next up is Whiskey Galore, which came out in 1949 and this is a comedy set in Scotland during World War II. The villagers living on an isolated island have no whiskey due to wartime rationing. However, when a government ship carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey runs aground near the island, wacky hijinks ensue. I have to admit the first half of the movie was very slow and deliberate, gradually setting up all the pieces for later. Then, once the shipwreck happens, things pick up and the movie gets much funnier. Definitely worth watching both as a good comedy movie and an artifact of its time. A modicum of historical knowledge is required – if you don't know what the Home Guard is, you might have to do some Googling to understand the context of some of the scenes. Regrettably, the version I watched did not have captioning, so I had to pay really close attention to understand what the characters were saying, because some of the accents were very strong. Overall grade: B Next up is Happy Gilmore 2, which came out in 2025. This was dumb and overstuffed with celebrity cameos but thoroughly hilarious and I say this even though it uses one of my least favorite story tropes, namely “hero of previous movie is now a middle age loser.” However, the movie leads into it for comedy. When Happy Gilmore accidentally kills his wife with a line drive, he spirals into alcoholism and despair. But his five children still love him, and when his talented daughter needs tuition for school, Happy attempts to shake off his despair and go back to golf to win the money. But Happy soon stumbles onto a sinister conspiracy led by an evil CEO to transform the game of golf into his own personal profit center. Happy must team up with his old nemesis Shooter McGavin to save golf itself from the evil CEO. Amusingly, as I've said before, the best Adam Sandler movies are almost medieval. In medieval fables, it was common for a clever peasant to outwit pompous lords, corrupt priests, and greedy merchants. The best Adam Sandler protagonist remains an everyman who outwits the modern equivalent of pompous lords and corrupt priests, in this case an evil CEO. Overall grade: B+ Next up is Superman, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good and very funny at times. I think it caught the essential nature of Superman. Like, Superman should be a Lawful Good character. If he was a Dungeons and Dragons character, he would be a paladin. People on the Internet tend to take the characterization of superheroes seriously to perhaps an unhealthy degree, but it seems the best characterization of Superman is as an earnest, slightly dorky Boy Scout who goes around doing good deeds. The contrast of that good-hearted earnestness with his godlike abilities that would allow him to easily conquer and rule the world is what makes for an interesting character. I also appreciated how the movie dispensed with the overused trope of the Origin Story and just got down to business. In this movie, Lex Luthor is obsessed with destroying Superman and is willing to use both super-advanced technology and engineered geopolitical conflict to do it. Superman, because he's essentially a decent person, doesn't comprehend just how depraved Luthor is, and how far Luthor is willing to go out of petty spite. (Ironically, a billionaire willing to destroy the world out of petty spite is alas, quite realistic). Guy Gardener (“Jerkish Green Lantern”) and the extremely competent and the extremely exasperated Mr. Terrific definitely stole all their scenes. The director of the movie, James Gunn, was quite famously fired from Disney in 2018 for offensive jokes he had made on Twitter back when he was an edgy young filmmaker with an alcohol problem. I suppose Mr. Gunn can rest content knowing that Superman made more money than any Marvel movie released this year. Overall grade: A-   Next up is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which came out in 1988. This was a very strange movie, but nonetheless, one with an ambitious premise, strong performances, and a strong artistic vision. It's set in post WWII Los Angeles, and “toons” (basically cartoon characters) live and work alongside humans. Private eye Eddie Valiant hates toons since one of them killed his brother five years ago. However, he's hired by the head of a studio who's having trouble with one of his toon actors, Roger Rabbit. Roger's worried his wife Jessica is having an affair, and Valiant obtains pictures of Jessica playing patty cake (not a euphemism, they actually were playing patty cake) with another man. Roger has an emotional breakdown, and soon the other man winds up dead, and Roger insists he's innocent. Valiant and Roger find themselves sucked into a dangerous conspiracy overseen by a ruthless mastermind. This movie was such an interesting cultural artifact. It perfectly follows the structure of a ‘40s film noir movie, but with cartoons, and the dissonance between film noir and the cheerfulness of the toons was embraced and used as a frequently source of comedy. In fact, when the grim and dour Valiant uses the toons' comedy techniques as a tactical improvisation in a moment of mortal peril, it's both hilarious and awesome. Christopher Lloyd's performance as the villainous Judge Doom was amazing. (I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he's villainous, because his character is named Judge Doom and he's literally wearing a black hat.) Like, his performance perfectly captures something monstrous that is trying very hard to pretend to be human and not quite getting it right. And the amount of work it must have taken to make this movie staggers the mind. Nowadays, having live actors interact with cartoon characters is expensive, but not unduly so. It's a frequent technique. You see it all the time in commercials when a housewife is smiling at an animated roll of paper towels or something, and Marvel's essentially been doing it for years. But this was 1988! Computer animation was still a ways off. They had to shoot the movie on analog film, and then hand-draw all the animation and successfully match it to the live film. It wouldn't have worked without the performance of Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, who plays everything perfectly straight in the same way Michael Caine did in A Muppet Christmas Carol. So kind of a strange movie, but definitely worth watching. And it has both Disney and Warner Brothers animated characters in the same movie, which is something we will never, ever see again. Overall grade: A Next up is K-Pop Demon Hunters, which came out in 2025. Like Who framed Roger Rabbit?, this is a very strange movie, but nonetheless with a clear and focused artistic vision. It is a cultural artifact that provides a fascinating look into a world of which I have no knowledge or interest, namely K-pop bands and their dueling fandoms. Anyway, the plot is that for millennia, female Korean musicians have used the magic of their voices to keep the demons locked away in a demon world. The current incarnation is a three-woman K-Pop group called Huntrix, and they are on the verge of sealing away the demons forever. Naturally, the Demon King doesn't like this, so one of his cleverer minions comes up with a plan. They'll start a Demon K-Pop Boy Band! Disguised as humans, the demon K-Pop group will win away Huntrix's fans, allowing them to breach the barrier and devour the world. However, one of the Huntrix musicians is half-demon, and she starts falling for the lead demon in the boy band, who is handsome and of course has a dark and troubled past. Essentially a musical K-drama follows. I have to admit I know practically nothing about K-Pop groups and their dueling fandoms, other than the fact that they exist. However, this was an interesting movie to watch. The animation was excellent, it did have a focused vision, and there were some funny bits. Overall grade: A Next up is Clarkson's Farm Season Four, which came out in 2025. A long time ago in the ‘90s, I watched the episode of Frasier where Frasier and Niles attempt to open a restaurant and it all goes horribly (yet hilariously) wrong. At the time, I had no money, but I promised myself that I would never invest in a restaurant. Nothing I have seen or learned in the subsequent thirty years has ever changed that decision. Season 4 of Clarkson's Farm is basically Jeremy Clarkson, like Frasier and Niles, attempting to open a restaurant, specifically a British pub. On paper it's a good idea, since Clarkson can provide the pub with food produced from his own farm and other local farmers. However, it's an enormous logistical nightmare, and Clarkson must deal with miles of red tape, contractors, and a ballooning budget, all while trying to keep his farm from going under. An excellent and entertaining documentary into the difficulties of both the farming life and food service. I still don't want to own a restaurant! Overall grade: A Next up is Tombstone, which came out in 1993. The Western genre of fiction is interesting because it's limited to such a very specific period of time and geographical region. Like the “Wild West” period that characterizes the Western genre really only lasted as a historical period from about 1865 to roughly 1890. The Western genre was at its most popular in movies from the 1940s and the 1960s, and I wonder if it declined because cultural and demographic changes made it unpopular to romanticize the Old West the way someone like Walt Disney did at Disneyland with “Frontierland.” Of course, the genre lives on in different forms in grittier Western movies, neo-Westerns like Yellowstone and Longmire, and a lot of the genre's conventions apply really well to science fiction. Everyone talks about Firefly being the first Space Western, but The Mandalorian was much more successful and was basically a Western in space (albeit with occasional visits from Space Wizards). Anyway! After that long-winded introduction, let's talk about Tombstone. When Val Kilmer died earlier this year, the news articles mentioned Tombstone as among his best work, so I decided to give it a watch. The plot centers around Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russell, who has decided to give up his career in law enforcement and move to Tombstone, Arizona, a silver mining boomtown, in hopes of making his fortune. However, Tombstone is mostly controlled by the Cowboys outlaw gang, and Earp is inevitably drawn into conflict with them. With the help of his brothers and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer's character), Earp sets out to bring some law and order to Tombstone, whether the Cowboys like it or not. Holliday is in the process of dying from tuberculosis, which makes him a formidable fighter since he knows getting shot will be a less painful and protracted death than the one his illness will bring him. Kilmer plays him as a dissolute, scheming warrior-poet who nonetheless is a very loyal friend. Definitely a classic of the Western genre, and so worth watching. Overall grade: A Next up is Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the eighth Mission Impossible movie. Of the eight movies, I think the sixth one was the best one, but this one comes in at a close second. It continues on from Dead Reckoning. Ethan Hunt now possesses the key that will unlock the source code of the Entity, the malicious AI (think ChatGPT, but even more obviously evil) that is actively maneuvering the world's nuclear powers into destroying each other so the Entity can rule the remnants of humanity. Unfortunately, the Entity's source code is sitting in a wrecked Russian nuclear sub at the bottom of the Bering Sea. Even more unfortunately, the Entity knows that Hunt has the key and is trying to stop him, even as the Entity's former minion and Hunt's bitter enemy Gabriel seeks to seize control of the Entity for himself. A sense of apocalyptic doom hangs over the movie, which works well to build tension. Once again, the world is doomed, unless Ethan Hunt and his allies can save the day. The tension works extremely well during the movie's underwater sequence, and the final airborne duel between Hunt and Gabriel. I don't know if they're going to make any more Mission Impossible movies after this (they are insanely expensive), but if this is the end, it is a satisfying conclusion for the character of Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force. Overall grade: A Next up is Deep Cover, which came out in 2025. This is described as a comedy thriller, and I didn't know what to expect when I watched it, but I really enjoyed it. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kat, a struggling comedy improv teacher living in London. Her best students are Marlon (played by Orlando Bloom), a dedicated character actor who wants to portray gritty realism but keeps getting cast in tacky commercials, and Hugh (played by Nick Mohammed), an awkward IT worker with no social skills whatsoever. One day, the three of them are recruited by Detective Sergeant Billings (played by Sean Bean) of the Metropolitan Police. The Met wants to use improv comedians to do undercover work for minor busts with drug dealers. Since it plays 200 pounds a pop, the trio agrees. Of course, things rapidly spiral out of control, because Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are actually a lot better at improv than they think, and soon they find themselves negotiating with the chief criminals of the London underworld. What follows is a movie that is both very tense and very funny. Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are in way over their heads, and will have to do the best improv of their lives to escape a very grisly fate. Whether Sean Bean dies or not (as is tradition), you will just have to watch the movie and find out. Overall grade: A Next up is Puss in Boots: The Final Wish, which came out in 2022. I don't personally know much about the history of Disney as a corporation, and I don't much care, but I do have several relatives who are very interested in the history of the Disney corporation, and therefore I have picked up some by osmosis. Apparently Disney CEO Michael Eisner forcing out Jeffrey Katzenberg in the 1990s was a very serious mistake, because Katzenberg went on to co-found DreamWorks, which has been Disney's consistent rival for animation for the last thirty years. That's like “CIA Regime Change Blowback” levels of creating your own enemy. Anyway, historical ironies aside, Puss in Boots: The Final Wish was a funny and surprisingly thoughtful animated movie. Puss in Boots is a legendary outlaw and folk hero, but he has used up eight of his nine lives. An ominous bounty hunter who looks like a humanoid wolf begins pursuing him, and the Wolf is able to shrug off the best of Puss In Boots' attacks. Panicked, Puss hides in a retirement home for elderly cats, but then hears rumors of the magical Last Wish. Hoping to use it to get his lives back, Puss In Boots sets off on the quest. It was amusing how Little Jack Horner and Goldilocks and the Three Bears were rival criminal gangs seeking the Last Wish. Overall grade: A Next up is Chicken People, which came out in 2016. A good documentary film gives you a glimpse into an alien world that you would otherwise never visit. In this example, I have absolutely no interest in competitive chicken breeding and will only raise chickens in my backyard if society ever collapses to the level that it becomes necessary for survival. That said, this was a very interesting look into the work of competitive chicken breeding. Apparently, there is an official “American Standard of Perfection” for individual chicken breeds, and the winner of the yearly chicken competition gets the title “Super Grand Champion.” Not Grand Champion, Super Grand Champion! That looks impressive on a resume. It is interesting how chicken breeding is in some sense an elaborate Skinner Box – like you can deliberately set out to breed chickens with the desirable traits on the American Standard of Perfection, but until the chickens are hatched and grow up, you don't know how they're going to turn out, so you need to try again and again and again… Overall grade: A Next up is The Mask of Zoro, which came out in 1998. I saw this in the theatre when it came out 27 years ago, but that was 27 years ago, and I don't have much of a memory of it, save that I liked it. So when I had the chance to watch it again, I did! Anthony Hopkins plays Diego de la Vega, who has the secret identity of Zorro in the final days before Mexico breaks away from the Spanish Empire. With Mexico on the verge of getting its independence, Diego decides to hang up his sword and mask and focus on his beloved wife and daughter. Unfortunately, the military governor Don Montero realizes Diego is Zorro, so has him arrested, kills his wife, and steals his baby daughter to raise as his own. Twenty years later, a bandit named Alejandro loses his brother and best friends to a brutal cavalry commander. It turns out that Montero is returning to California from Spain, and plans to seize control of California as an independent republic (which, of course, will be ruled by him). In the chaos, Diego escapes from prison and encounters a drunken Alejandro, and stops him from a futile attack upon the cavalry commander. He then proposes a pact – Diego will train Alejandro as the next Zorro, and together they can take vengeance upon the men who wronged them. This was a good movie. It was good to see that my taste in movies 27 years ago wasn't terrible. It manages to cram an entire epic plot into only 2 hours and 20 minutes. In some ways it was like a throwback to a ‘40s movie but with modern (for the ‘90s) production values, and some very good swordfights. Overall grade: A Next up is Wick is Pain, which came out in 2025. I've seen all four John Wick movies and enjoyed them thoroughly, though I've never gotten around to any of the spinoffs. Wick is Pain is a documentary about how John Wick went from a doomed indie movie with a $6.5 million hole in its budget to one of the most popular action series of the last few decades. Apparently Keanu Reeves made an offhand joke about how “Wick is pain” and that became the mantra of the cast and crew, because making an action movie that intense really was a painful experience. Definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the John Wick movies or moviemaking in general. Overall grade: A The last movie I saw this summer was Game Night, which came out in 2016. It was a hilarious, if occasionally dark comedy action thriller. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play Max and Annie Davis, a married couple who are very competitive and enjoy playing games of all kinds. Jason has an unresolved conflict with his brother Brooks, and one night Brooks invites them over for game night, which Max resents. Halfway through the evening, Brooks is kidnapped, with Max and Annie assume is part of the game. However, Brooks really is involved in something shady. Hilarity ensues, and it's up to Max and Annie to rescue Brooks and stay alive in the process. This was really funny, though a bit dark in places. That said, Max and Annie have a loving and supportive marriage, so it was nice to see something like that portrayed on the screen. Though this also leads to some hilarity, like when Annie accidentally shoots Max in the arm. No spoilers, but the punchline to that particular sequence was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Overall grade: A So no A+ movie this time around, but I still saw a bunch of solid movies I enjoyed. One final note, I have to admit, I've really come to respect Adam Sandler as an entertainer, even if his movies and comedy are not always to my taste. He makes what he wants, makes a lot of money, ensures that his friends get paid, and then occasionally takes on a serious role in someone else's movie when he wants to flex some acting muscles. I am not surprised that nearly everyone who's in the original Happy Gilmore who was still alive wanted to come back for Happy Gilmore 2. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show enjoyable and perhaps a guide to some good movies to watch. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.  

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I spend like 25 minutes telling you how good The Insider is. Then I tell you about my labor day weekend, where most of the labor was “the work I put into trying to get laid, or meet a girlfriend.” I went to see my friends' stand up show at the Improv, and try to figure out if Catherine Keener was there. (I think she was. Was she? I think so. Yes.)

The Kelly Alexander Show welcomes Toronto-based DJ and producer MARTA talking about her new song “World of the Rave” and what it has been like performing at music festivals like Ile Soniq. We also touch upon how she got her career start, which artists have influenced her and why she dedicated herself to becoming a DJ during the pandemic. We then take a peek into our Vintage Vault from 2015 with renowned Canadian musician, author and actor Alan Doyle chatting about his memoir “Where I Belong,” his solo album “So Let's Go” and his friendship and working relationship with Australian actor Russell Crowe. Enjoy the conversation and thank you for listening!  

Send us a textIn this episode, we sit down with Andrew Knight - one of Australia's most celebrated writers and producers of film and television.Raised in Burwood, Melbourne, Andrew recalls a “boring” childhood in the 1950s, a time still shadowed by the war, where his love of storytelling first took shape through plays and characters. A scholarship to Melbourne University and later Monash set him on the path to writing.Andrew reflects on breaking into the industry, the early shows that gained attention, and the resilience needed to push through career lows. He also speaks about collaborating with actors like Russell Crowe and directors like Mel Gibson, describing Gibson as one of the best directors he's worked with.From suburban beginnings to the world stage, Andrew's story offers a candid look at the challenges and triumphs of a life in storytelling.If you'd like to share your story or provide feedback, please contact us via email at chrishanley@byronbayfn.com

We celebrate movie no. 400 on The Rewatchables by revisiting Ridley Scott's 2007 crime thriller, ‘American Gangster,' starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Ronak Nair, and Chia Hao Tat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week's episode, the RCAD crew talk about Jack's label change, technology, and bad apples. Foods that made us, smells, and pet hair. Matt discusses “It's a wonderful life, Jack brings up “Roadhouse,” and we discuss the alien franchise and Alien Earth. Russell Crowe films. Aging, E-bikes, and computers. Jacks spoils “Pleasure Ranch.” Lastly, Amazon Prime and the end of Upload.Please leave a review on iTunesBecome a Patron at JayandJack.comWrite us an email at RCADCast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram at RCADCast

On this week’s episode, the RCAD crew talk about Jack's label change, technology, and bad apples. Foods that made us, smells, and pet hair. Matt discusses “It's a wonderful life, Jack brings up “Roadhouse,” and we discuss the alien franchise and Alien Earth. Russell Crowe films. Aging, E-bikes, and computers. Jacks spoils “Pleasure Ranch.” Lastly, […]

On this week's episode, the RCAD crew talk about Jack's label change, technology, and bad apples. Foods that made us, smells, and pet hair. Matt discusses “It's a wonderful life, Jack brings up “Roadhouse,” and we discuss the alien franchise and Alien Earth. Russell Crowe films. Aging, E-bikes, and computers. Jacks spoils “Pleasure Ranch.” Lastly, Amazon Prime and the end of Upload.Please leave a review on iTunesBecome a Patron at JayandJack.comWrite us an email at RCADCast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram at RCADCast

An unedited version of Episode 214 with Billy Boyd with over 15 minutes of unheard chat! Billy Boyd is best known for playing Hobbit Pippin Took in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He went on to star opposite Russell Crowe in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, took a darker turn in the cult horror Seed of Chucky, and has appeared in hit television series including Grey's Anatomy and Outlander. Trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Boyd has also enjoyed an extensive stage career, from Shakespeare to modern plays, demonstrating his range as both a dramatic and comedic actor .Billy Boyd is our guest in episode 521 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast, get all episodes ad-free and a bonus episode every Wednesday of "My Time Capsule The Debrief', please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've almost run out of time for Aug-Heist: The Getaway, but not before we go on the run with one final film. This week, we're finally doing a proper prison break movie with a little-seen 2010 slow-burn thriller from director Paul Haggis, who won back-to-back Best Picture Oscars with Million Dollar Baby and Crash. Russell Crowe stars as a husband willing to go to any length to free his wrongly convicted wife from prison, even if that means breaking her out himself. Co-starring Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Lennie James, Brian Dennehy, Liam Neeson, the film adapts the 2008 French release Anything for Her (Pour Elle) and was filmed on location in Pittsburgh. But with a dead-on 50% Tomatometer score, what final verdict will our hosts hand down? The summer of The Getaway is almost over, so we'd better enjoy The Next Three Days!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com    You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com    You can write to Rum Daddy directly: rumdaddylegends@gmail.com    You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com    Aug-Heist: The Getaway Theme features beats produced by Anabolic Beatz https://www.anabolicbeats.com | Remixed with lyrics and vocals by Jonolobster   Normal Show Music:Danger Storm by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

There have been a number of big summer movies like "F1: The Movie," "Superman" and "Jurrassic World: Rebirth." But these popcorn movies are not likely destined for big awards. Studios like to hold back the Oscar contenders for the fall, so in this week's episode we dive into which movies to watch for this fall and into the winter. You can also review a full list of notable films below. August releases “Honey Don’t!” – Ethan Coen continues his Margaret Qualley-a-thon with this comedy about a private investigator who looks into a series of deaths tied to a church. Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans co-star. “Splitsville” – Divorce makes strange bedfellows, particularly when the ex discovers his best friends have an open marriage. Dakota Johnson, Kyle Marvin star. “Eden” – Looking for a better life, a group of people head to the Galapagos and realize what they’re up against. Jude Law and Ana de Armas star in this based-in-fact drama directed by Ron Howard. “Relay” – Payoffs between corporations brings a broker into the line of fire. Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthington star. “Hollywood Grit” – A private investigator has to find out what happened to his daughter. Tyrese, Max Martini star. “Lurker” – How strange is the world of stardom? A worker finds out as he gets closer to a music star. Alex Russell wrote and directed this drama starring Theodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe. “The Thursday Murder Club” – Friends in a retirement home solve mysteries. Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley are in the home. “The Roses” – An updated look at “War of the Roses” lets Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman square off. Jay Roach directs. “Caught Stealing” – Austin Butler gets the Darren Aronofsky treatment as a baseball player caught in the underbelly of New York City. Bad Bunny is along for the ride. “The Toxic Avenger”—When a janitor is the victim of a toxic accident, a new crimefighter emerges. Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige star. “Jaws” – The first summer blockbuster returns to the big screen after months on television. Now, you can see what audiences were scared of in 1975. “Love, Brooklyn” – Friends navigate the pitfalls of life in Brooklyn. September releases “Megadoc” – Mike Figgis looks at the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” “The Conjuring: Last Rites” – Those creepy paranormal investigators say they’re taking on one last case (sure) to settle their own lives. Patric Wilson and Vera Farmiga return. “The Threesome” – A threesome leads to problems, particularly since life’s not always fantasies. Zoey Deutch and Jonah Hauer-King star. “Twinless” – Two men bond in a support group. Dylan O’Brien, Lauren Graham and Arkira Chantaratananond star. “Hamilton” – Celebrating its “ten-cennial,” the Broadway hit brings its performance capture version (which ran on Disney+) to the big screen. Updates about the performers make this more than a night out. “The Baltimorons” – Sobriety leads to a dental emergency which leads to a romance with the dentist. Jay Duplass directs; Michael Strassner co-writes and stars. “The Long Walk” —You thought the Hunger Games were bad, how about this: Teenage boys compete in a walking contest. If they don’t keep up, they’re shot. Based on a Stephen King story, it’s one of the year’s most harrowing. “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” – Those Smell the Glove guys reunite after a 15-year hiatus for one last concert. Rob Reiner directs; the original actors return. “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” – The Crawleys face scandal, financial ruin and social disgrace. To get out of it, they look to a younger generation. Expect all but Maggie Smith to be back. “The History of Sound” – Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor embark on a World War I project that brings them close to their country and each other. “Code 3” – One last shift for a paramedic who has to train his replacement. What could go wrong? Rainn Wilson, Lil Rel Howery star. “Him” – What a guy won’t do to be a football star. Here, one goes to a compound where anything can happen. Tyriq Withers, Marlon Wayans and Julia Fox star. “American Sweatshop – Yup, it’s the world of social media. An insider discovers just how dark the world is (like we didn’t know). “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” – Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie bond in a unique journey (which, of course, says nothing but suggests there’s more to this than two big stars). “The Summer Book” – A girl and her grandmother become closer in Finland. Emily Matthews and Glenn Close star. (Could this be the one that finally wins Close an Oscar?) “Xeno” – Ready for another E.T.? This one finds a teenager relating to the alien. Josh Cooke, Lulu Wilson star. “Waltzing with Brando” – When Marlon Brando wants an ecologically perfect retreat in Tahiti, he calls on a Los Angeles architect. Tia Carrere, Richard Dreyfuss and Jon Heder star. “Eleanor the Great” – Scarlett Johansson directs June Squibb in this drama about a 94-year-old who has plenty of stories to tell. “One Battle After Another” – Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this dark comedy about a group of revolutionaries reuniting to save one of their group’s daughter. Paul Thomas Anderson directs; Benicio Del Toro (who starred in a Wes Anderson film earlier this year) and Sean Penn co-star. October releases “The Smashing Machine” – Dwayne Johnson tries his hand at mixed-martial arts as UFC champion Mark Kerr. The makeup may be a stretch, but Benny Safdie directs, Emily Blunt disappears in an unlikely role. “Tron: Ares” – Jared Leto gets to run the race. Jeff Bridges is here, too, but this is about a new program (Ares) that’s about to embark on a dangerous mission. “Roofman” – A robber evades authorities by hanging out in a toy store. Channing Tatum plays the thief, Peter Dinklage and Kirsten Dunst swirl around him. “Anemone” – Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of retirement for this film directed by his son, Ronan. The plot? Good question, but it will have that DD-L prestige. “Kiss of the Spider Woman” – Jennifer Lopez stars in the Tony winner fans have been asking for. The big question: Were they looking for Lopez to star in it? Bill Conden directs. “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You” – Rose Byrne gets the Oscar buzz as a woman trying to juggle multiple traumas, including a sick child and an absent husband. “Soul on Fire” – This is the story of a St. Louis native who survived burns which covered his body. Joel Courtney plays John O’Leary. William H. Macy and John Corbett co-star. “Good Fortune” – An angel meddles in the lives of a venture capitalist and a gig worker. Seth Rogen, Azizi Ansari and Keke Palmer star in this comedy written and directed by Ansari. Black Phone 2 – More trouble ensues when the phone rings. Sequel to a better-than-average horror film. “After the Hunt” – Julia Roberts plays a college professor who wonders what could happen when a student levels an accusation against a colleague. Ayo Edebiri co-stars. The Mastermind – A family man leads a double life in the 1970s. Josh O’Connor and Alana Haim star. “Pets on a Train” – Animated animals get caught up in a train heist. Hedda” – “Hedda Gabler” gets the big-screen treatment with Tessa Thompson in the title role. Blue Moon – The life of Lorenz Hart is told by Richard Linklater with Ethan Hawke as Hart. Andrew Scott plays Richard Rodgers. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” -- Bruce Springsteen gets the Bob Dylan treatment with Jeremy Allen White in the title role. This, however, only covers the creation of the “Nebraska” album. “Regretting You” – Family issues emerge after the death of a husband and father. Based on Colleen Hoover’s best-seller, it stars Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace. “The Watchers” – M. Night Shayamalan’s daughter Ishana makes her directorial debut with this thriller about an artist who gets trapped in an Irish forest. “Anniversary” – A good cast (Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Zoey Deutch) in a thriller directed by Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa. “Bugonia” – Emma Stone continues her run with Yorgos Lanthimos. The film is a remake of a South Korean effort about two men kidnapping an executive, convinced she’s an alien bent on destroying Earth. “Nouvelle Vague” – Richard Linklater has another entry this year. This one’s a look at Jean-Luc Godard and actress Jean Seberg. Guillaume Marbeck and Zoey Deutch start. November releases When We Pray – Jamie Foxx directs the story of brothers who become pastors at divergent churches. Predator: Badlands – While “Alien: Earth” takes over TV screens, the “other” scary creature takes on a remote planet. The Running Man” – Glen Powell steps into Arnold Schwarzenegger’s shoes as a contestant in a game show which features killers all around the world. Nuremberg – Set during the Nuremberg trials, a psychiatrist interviews Nazi prisoners to determine if they are fit to stand trial. Rami Malek and Russell Crowe square off. Peter Hujar’s Day – What was New York’s art world like in 1974? Rebecca Hall and Ben Whishaw play two who know. Ira Sachs directs. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” – The Four Horsemen get help from newbies hoping to use illusions to get away with big cash. Jay Kelly – It’s an ensemble film but it stars George Clooney as a George Clooney-level star who reflects on life with his manager (played by Adam Sandler). Noah Baumbach directs. Indecipherable – A boy, home alone, gets shaken by the things that go bump in the night. Wicked: For Good – At long last, we find out what happened to Glinda and Elphaba. Expect at least one new song and bigger roles for the men in their lives. No place like home? That’s included, too. Cynthia Orivo and Ariana Grande could double up on the Oscar nominations. Rental Family – Oscar winner Brendan Fraser plays an American actor who plays roles in other people’s lives. STZ – Zombies result when a trio of scientists launch a bio-attack on a bus filled with women. (No kidding.) Zootopia 2 – Residents of Zootopia return for more adventure and product placement. Judy and Nick are on the trail of a new resident, a snake. About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is now the editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa and Terry Lipshetz, a senior producer for Lee Enterprises based in Madison, Wisconsin. The show was named Best Podcast in the 2025 Iowa Better Newspaper Contest. Theme music Thunder City by Lunareh, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: FV694ULMCJQDG0IY

This week on Thumb War, we dive into Alien: Earth Episode 3, breaking down the mysterious bond between Marcy, Queen Wendy, and the Xenomorphs — plus all the chaos that came with the flashing lights, wild sound design, and that divisive Maggot Brain music cue. But first, in our Trailer Trash / Entertainment News segment, we cover: New details on Stranger Things 5 and the Duffer Brothers' upcoming projects The Burrows and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen Quentin Tarantino's “final” film plans, David Fincher stepping in for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2, and why Tarantino might never really retire Eddie Murphy stepping into the role of Inspector Clouseau in a new Pink Panther reboot The upcoming Highlander remake starring Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, and Dave Bautista First impressions of Netflix's Black Rabbit with Jude Law & Jason Bateman Then, we circle back for a full Alien: Earth Ep 3 recap & review — including what's working, what's frustrating, and where we think the story is headed. If you're into Alien franchise lore, sci-fi TV recaps, and offbeat entertainment takes, you're in the right place. Subscribe to our Patreon! http://bit.ly/44Mo8xU Send us an email! ThumbWarPod@gmail.com

So many stories, so little time! The gals go deep on a bunch of current pop culture going ons plus a few little surprises!

GET YOUR MVN MERCH HERE:https://multiverse-news-shop.fourthwall.com/Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universesAn original film beat out a sequel this weekend, with Zach Cregger's new horror film Weapons starting its box office run by bringing in $71.8 million globally, while Disney's Freakier Friday would have liked to switch places with it, opening to only $43.8 million globally. The Bob Odenkirk-led Nobody 2 will release next week and is expected to open to a modest $10 million domestically.Ryan Reynolds posted an image of the Avengers logo with a red anarchy symbol spray painted over it to his Instagram this morning, which fans are taking as a tease that he will appear in next year's Avengers: Doomsday. The rumors are that the next list of cast members in the film is also “ridiculously long” so it seems like Reynolds is getting the jump on the announcement.Peacock released our first extended look at The Paper, a new mockumentary series spun off from The Office, and made by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman. The trailer gives us a glimpse into several of the characters personalities and we see an old favorite, Oscar Martinez, who is NOT into being filmed again. The show is headlined by Domhnall Gleeson who plays an editor brought in to save a Toledo newspaper.Dave Bautista is in final negotiations to play the villain in Amazon MGM's remake of the 1980s cult classic Highlander. He will join Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in the action fantasy, which hails from Amazon MGM's United Artists banner and is slated to get a theatrical release.Netflix has given an early season three renewal to its live-action adaptation of One Piece. The renewal comes several months ahead of the season two premiere, which is slated for 2026.New Line is moving forward with a follow-up to its horror hit Final Destination: Bloodlines, hiring that movie's co-writer, Lori Evans Taylor, to pen the next installment.The Studio actress Chase Sui Wonders has been cast in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot series. She is believed to be playing a one off guest starring role as a vampire.Shrek 5 has been pushed back from its original Dec. 23, 2026 date to Wednesday, June 30, 2027.Noah Centineo is now attached to star in John Rambo, a Rambo prequel film from Sisu director Jalmari Helander. Currently, no studio is attached but Lionsgate is believed to be the front runner to land the project.Taylor Lautner will play himself in the self-aware new series Taylor Lautner: Werewolf Hunter, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. Max Minghella, known for his role in The Handmaid's Tale, may join the DCU's film Clayface, according to Variety. He would join Tom Rhys Harries Naomi Ackie.

What happens when two Academy Award winning actors square off in a futuristic, serial-killer, VR flick? Well, you get the 1995 gem “Virtuosity” – so join the St. Johns as they discuss the co-leads of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, the awkwardly low stakes for the movie, and if this movie would have been better with a different cast. Does this movie have naked martial arts? You bet your sweet digital ass it does!You can find us at the following:Email: belowfreezingpodcast@gmail.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/BelowFreezing32Facebook: @belowfreezingpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belowfreezingbadfilms/

This week, an old enemy of Desmond and Tom returns in their review of 2025's The Pope's Exorcist. Then, in case you were worried there wouldn't be another review of a movie where Russell Crowe plays an exorcist, Des goes solo on a review of The Exorcism from 2024! Songs included: "Bar-B-Q Pope" by Butthole Surfers, "The Exorcist" by The Hellacopters, "Blank Generation" by Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and "Throw Yourself to the Sword" by Die Spitz. Send feedback to: dreadmediapodcast@gmail.com. Follow @DevilDinosaurJr and @dreadmedia on Twitter! Join the Facebook group! Support the show at www.patreon.com/dreadmedia. Visit www.desmondreddick.com, www.stayscary.wordpress.com, www.dreadmedia.bandcamp.com, www.kccinephile.com, and www.dejasdomicileofdread.blogspot.com.

This week, an old enemy of Desmond and Tom returns in their review of 2025's The Pope's Exorcist. Then, in case you were worried there wouldn't be another review of a movie where Russell Crowe plays an exorcist, Des goes solo on a review of The Exorcism from 2024! Songs included: "Bar-B-Q Pope" by Butthole Surfers, "The Exorcist" by The Hellacopters, "Blank Generation" by Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and "Throw Yourself to the Sword" by Die Spitz. Send feedback to: dreadmediapodcast@gmail.com. Follow @DevilDinosaurJr and @dreadmedia on Twitter! Join the Facebook group! Support the show at www.patreon.com/dreadmedia. Visit www.desmondreddick.com, www.stayscary.wordpress.com, www.dreadmedia.bandcamp.com, www.kccinephile.com, and www.dejasdomicileofdread.blogspot.com.

In Episode 350 of the Monkey Nut Punch Podcast, we break down this week's biggest entertainment stories, new trailers, and fresh reviews. News Highlights: Starfleet Academy Season 2 reportedly canceled before Season 1 even airs — what's going on in the Trek universe? Netflix renews One Piece for Season 3 and drops a first-look at Season 2. MCU star Dave Bautista is set to play The Kurgan in the Highlander reboot alongside Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe. Gina Carano and Disney settle their legal dispute over her Mandalorian firing, with both sides open to working together again. Matt Smith joins Star Wars: Starfighter in a villain role — could he be the galaxy's next great baddie? Trailers: 007: Road to a Million Season 2 brings Bond-style adventure to reality TV. Mortal Kombat II trailer delivers brutal action and fan-favorite fighters. Reviews: Jurassic World Rebirth — is the dino franchise back on track? Naked Gun reboot — does it recapture the slapstick magic or fall flat? Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe! Check out more at www.mnp.ninja.

Note: This interview has been picked up by the public radio stations WGBH, in Boston, its affiliates WCAI and WNAN, and WCVE in Richmond, VA. It was originally broadcast in 2008. In some ways, the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson is the Russell Crowe of the academic world: charismatic, unconventional, and definitely controversial. He's also a big fan of the British Empire -- and wants the United States to follow in its footsteps. That means it's our job to form colonies in hot climates, for years on end. But are we up for this? While Niall would like that to be the case, he doesn't really think so, because, he says, we're an empire "in denial" ... Click here: to listen to a 4 minute excerpt. Click here: to listen to the entire interview (15:30 minutes). And to listen to this interview with Niall Ferguson on the WGBH Forum Network, click here!

We investigate Zack Snyder's 2013 Superman origin film Man of Steel, comparing it with the new 2025 Superman movie and reflecting on how its controversial approach continues to influence superhero films a decade later.• Krypton sequences featuring Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon stand as the film's strongest segments• Flashback structure feels disjointed and lacks clear purpose or emotional throughline• Kevin Costner's tornado death scene remains controversial and doesn't make logical sense• The massive destruction of Metropolis during the climactic battle set a precedent superhero films still react against• Henry Cavill never got the opportunity to show Superman's hopeful, optimistic side• General Zod provides a compelling villain with understandable motivations• The film's neck-snap ending needed more emotional aftermath to be effective• DC's rushed attempt to create a cinematic universe ultimately undermined what could have been a thoughtful trilogy• Animated Superman adaptations like "My Adventures with Superman" often capture the character better than live-actionLetterbox'd Synopsis: A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Rumors are beginning to swirl that Gladiator star Russell Crowe may be considering selling his stake in his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Graham, Gorden Tallis & Ben Dobbin are in to dissect all the action from round 21! We talk the Panthers incredible win, the insane finals race, plus Buzz Rothfield has some massive news on the Bunnies & Rugby 360!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Graham, Gorden Tallis & Ben Dobbin are in to dissect all the action from round 21! We talk the Panthers incredible win, the insane finals race, plus Buzz Rothfield has some massive news on the Bunnies & Rugby 360!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 3rd Pyramid Band: https://www.youtube.com/@3rdPyramidBand Rus Crow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tEz-Si5-VQ 00:00:00 – Tech Trouble & Show Preview Mike recaps Joe's latest computer meltdown, plugs the GiveSendGo for Joe's medical bills, and teases the main segments: Alex Jones “clips of the week” and expert survival tips for an alien invasion. 00:10:00 – Alex Jones Audio Montage The crew plays a chaotic Jones sound-mash-up—“Mr. Pepperoni,” “dumb-a-bust,” and other outbursts—then riffs on YouTube censorship and why the show struggles on the platform. 00:20:00 – Billionaire Bunkers & Sam Altman Conversation shifts to doomsday prepping among tech elites: Sam Altman's rumored bunker plans, Worldcoin's iris scans, and the growing “AI-armageddon” anxiety. 00:30:00 – Russell Crowe's 2027 Alien Prediction Russell Crowe's GQ clip sparks debate on a possible 2027 “contact” date, the Doomsday Clock, and society's fixation on existential threats. 00:40:00 – How to Survive an Alien Attack Step-by-step guide: stay calm, bunker up, kill the A/C to foil infrared, monitor short-wave, and aim for alien “eyes, gills or gonads” if it comes to blows. 00:50:00 – “My Neighbor Is an Alien” Homicide A Minnesota man fatally shoots a 70-year-old neighbor he thought was extraterrestrial—raising dark questions about paranoia, legality, and mental health. 01:00:00 – Kecksburg: Pennsylvania's Roswell Re-opened History Channel uses drone LIDAR to hunt fresh evidence at the 1965 Kecksburg crash site; locals recall acorn-shaped craft and intimidating men in black. 01:10:00 – The Vanishing Corpse Flight An 83-year-old dies mid-flight from Istanbul to Chicago—yet the body “disappears” before landing, leaving airlines and authorities baffled. 01:20:00 – Tsunami Hype: “Could Be Bigger…or Smaller” Cratchit lampoons sensational wave warnings after a Russian quake; real measurements show only minor surges, but headlines still scream doom. 01:30:00 – Another Jeffrey Epstein (Really) Runs for Mayor A perfectly innocent “Jeffrey Epstein” campaigns in Massachusetts—providing endless headline fodder and jokes about unfortunate name recognition. 01:40:00 – Turtles in the TSA Scanner Florida woman busted with two live turtles stuffed in her bra; hosts recap other reptile-smuggling capers (including the infamous “pants turtle”). 01:50:00 – Wallet Lost for 11 Years Found in Ford Engine Feel-good story: a mechanic discovers a coworker's wallet lodged in a Ford Edge after 150k miles—gift cards still honoured (inflation not included). 02:00:00 – Sign-off Shenanigans Recording ends with rapid-fire banter, “watch the skies” jokes, and the usual OBDM fare of plugs, laughter, and pepperoni callbacks.   Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research ▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Phone: 614-388-9109 ► Skype: ourbigdumbmouth ► Website: http://obdmpod.com ► Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/obdmpod ► Full Videos at Odysee: https://odysee.com/@obdm:0 ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/obdmpod ► Instagram: obdmpod ► Email: ourbigdumbmouth at gmail ► RSS: http://ourbigdumbmouth.libsyn.com/rss ► iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/our-big-dumb-mouth/id261189509?mt=2    

Let's go back to 1950s L.A.—actually no, let's not, it was a sucky time for women and minorities, so let's be starkly reminded of that as we revisit L.A. Confidential. Is Guy Pierce wearing slutty little glasses? How much noir is too much noir? Does winning an Oscar make up for the hell Kim Basinger's character goes through in this movie? And why did Kevin Spacey have to turn out to be such a creeper when he had so much talent? Join us as we tussle with these questions and dust off our film studies theorizing.

I sit down with comedian Jim Jefferies. We talk about reality shows, going out with Russell Crowe, couples therapy, his Dad, little league games, and much more!  Check out Jim's new Netflix special, Two Limb Policy, and The Snake finale on FOX both out on August 12th! Follow Jim IG: https://www.instagram.com/jimjefferies  YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JimJefferiesOfficial My new special “Lucky” is streaming now on Netflix! --------------------------------------------------- Sponsors: Monarch Money  Use code BERTCAST at https://monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at https://monarchmoney.com with code BERTCAST. Ridge Wallet - Upgrade your wallet today! Get 10% Off @Ridge with code BERTCAST at https://www.Ridge.com/BERTCAST #Ridgepod Hims - Start your free online visit today at https://Hims.com/BERTCAST. Cornbread Hemp - Just visit https://cornbreadhemp.com/BERTCAST and use promo code BERTCAST at checkout. Square - Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://www.square.com/go/bert! #squarepod Helix Sleep - Go to https://helixsleep.com/bert for 27% Off Sitewide. --------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video https://bit.ly/3DC1ICg  For all TOUR DATES: http://www.bertbertbert.com  For Fully Loaded: https://fullyloadedfestival.com   For Merch: https://store.bertbertbert.com  YouTube▶ http://www.YouTube.com/user/Akreischer  X▶ http://www.Twitter.com/bertkreischer   Facebook▶ http://www.Facebook.com/BertKreischer   Instagram▶ http://www.Instagram.com/bertkreischer   TikTok▶ http://www.TikTok.com/@bertkreischer  Text Me▶ https://my.community.com/bertkreischer  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This interview is with Jared Coon of Résonance Vineyard. In this interview, Jared speaks about transitioning from chemical engineering to wine studies at Washington State University after watching A Good Year with Russell Crowe. After his initial interest in the science and chemistry behind winemaking, a New Zealand Syrah in 2010 opened his eyes to a passion in wine itself.During school, Jared spent a semester abroad at Lincoln University, where he saw a more complete “grape to bottle” experience of winemaking. His first wine job after college was at 12th & Maple in Dundee, after which he returned to Australia for a harvest in the southern hemisphere.After an additional harvest in California, he set his sights on New Zealand. Here, he worked at two different wineries, extending his working visa to stay for several years, and meeting his future wife in the process. Once again, he added more hands-on experience to his rapidly increasing wine knowledge.In 2019, Jared and his wife moved back to the States to work in Oregon wineries and start a family. During this time, he worked for Willamette Cross Flow, Jackson Family Wines, Failla Oregon, and Yamhill Valley Vineyards before eventually finding a position at Résonance, where he currently works.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Résonance in Carlton on July 10, 2025.

In this episode of This Comic Cooks, Vactor and Shoff finally reach the end of the so-called Sony Spider-Verse—with Kraven the Hunter marking the franchise's final misstep. Was this movie really as bad as the internet says? Did Sony ever have a real plan for Spider-Man's villains without Spider-Man? And what does Kraven's failure mean for the future of Marvel's big-screen multiverse?We break down Aaron Taylor-Johnson's forgettable performance, Russell Crowe's baffling accent, and the wasted potential of iconic characters like Rhino and Chameleon. Plus, we talk about the contractual chaos between Sony and Marvel Studios, the lost opportunity of a Sinister Six movie, and what comes next—including Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Doomsday, and that Spider-Noir TV show. Subscribe and let's cook.Chapters:00:00 The End of the Sony Spider-Verse02:39 The Craven the Hunter Experience05:22 Sony's Spider-Man Rights and Future08:29 Character Portrayals and Casting Choices11:06 The Direction and Writing Issues13:59 Box Office Performance and Future Prospects16:44 Looking Ahead: The Future of the MCU

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 468 from March 2024 featuring writer and director Adam Cooper who talks about making his first feature starring Russell Crowe after a career writing studio features. I thought it would be fun to pair it with James and Sebastian from Monday because James also started his career writing studio features before becoming a director. After that we play another round of You're the expert, enjoy! Don't forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

This week we're saddling up with The Quick and the Dead (1995), Sam Raimi's spaghetti western by way of a Looney Tunes fever dream. Sharon Stone rides into town with a score to settle, Russell Crowe tries to outrun his past, and Gene Hackman chews the scenery like it's a steak he overcooked himself. Leonardo DiCaprio is all charm and babyface bravado, and every gunfight is a crash zoom carnival of smoke, sweat, and a ticking clock. It's duels at high noon, showdowns at sundown, and the kind of over-the-top visual flair that makes you wonder if the camera's going to start shooting bullets too. We're locking, loading, and going full Raimi on this one. Did you enjoy the episode? Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us for more retro movie discussions! Want even more? Get bonus content and connect with us directly by supporting the show on Patreon. For additional episodes and exclusive insights, head to www.30podcast.com. And if you love what you hear, leave us a glowing review on your favorite podcast app—especially Apple Podcasts. Your support keeps the show going!

Lethal Mullet Podcast: Episode #284: Virtuosity   On tonight's episode The Mullet heads to the virtual world with out South Sydney Rabbitohs founder Russell Crowe as he plays Sid, a virtual world killer brought into the real world in this classic 1995 Brett Leonard directed action thriller with a scifi edge led by Denzel Washington.  Find Lethal Mullet Podcast on: Apple / Stitcher / Spotify / Google Play / Podbean / IheartRadio / YouTube Contact: Site: fpnet.podbean.com Twitter: @fanpodnetwork Facebook & Instagram: Fandom Podcast Network Adam: @thelethalmullet (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram) Check out the Video Show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@fandompodcastnetwork FPN Master Feed: fpnet.podbean.com Catch the flagship show: Culture Clash, Blood of Kings, and the host of amazing podcasts covering all of Lethal Mullet Podcast  Tee public: Grab all kinds of LM merchandise @ teepublic.com #virtuosity #fandompodcastnetwork #lethalmulletpodcast #adamobrien #australia

There are small, medium, and big films ... and then there are HUGE ones. Those epic films. that are grandiose spectacles. Gladiator was made to be one of those larger-than-life films. The battles, the colosseum, and everything are huge.  Ridley Scott was the perfect director to bring this film to life, and Russell Crowe and Joaquim Phoenix are perfect foes battling it out. Gladiator is a lot of fun ... and there is a lot of heart and emotion to it as well. But does it still deserve to be recognized as the best of 2000? Does it still resonate after all these years?Listen to film critic Jack Ferdman's take on it as he analyzes everything about Gladiator, as well as many other films from that year, and hear which film he gives his Rewatch Oscar of 2000.Download, listen, and share ALL Rewatching  Oscar episodes.SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW Rewatching Oscar:Website: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comApple Podcasts/iTunesSpotifyGoogle PodcastsiHeart RadioPodchaserPodcast AddictTuneInAlexaAmazon Overcasts Podcast Addict Player FMRSS Feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1815964.rssWebsite: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comSocial Media Links: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, BlueSkyShare your thoughts and suggestions with us through:Facebook Messanger or email us atjack@rewatchingoscar.com or jackferdman@gmail.comMusic by TurpacShow Producer: Jack FerdmanPodcast Logo Design: Jack FerdmanMovie (audio) trailer courtesy of MovieClips Classic TrailersMovie (audio) clips courtesy of YouTubeSupport us by downloading, sharing, and giving us a 5-star Rating.  It helps our podcast continue to reach many people and make it available to share more episodes with everyone.Send us a text

We are continuing our journey through the various interpretations of Superman, with Zach Snyder's Man of Steel starring Henry Cavil, Amy Adams, and Laurence Fishburne. But first, we play our weekly game of Catch that Quotable. We celebrate Scarlett Johansson's milestone of being the highest paid female actress of all time. Then Marcus and Doug give a fly by review of Jurassic World: Rebirth. Finally, we dive into Man of Steel, released in 2013 directed by Zach Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, and Laurence Fishburne. Follow Us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/FilmsInBlackandWhiteRemember you can join our patty family, and help produce the show by going to Patreon.com/filmsinblackandwhitePlugs:Support the Mantra: Never Offended Always Humble - https://linktr.ee/MarcusJ.DestinThe LoveNerds - www.etsy.com/shop/thelovenerds

Ahoy, matey! Ready to join us on a cinematic voyage back to 1805 with the classic film Master and Commander? Man, do we have a lot to chat about. This 2003 flick, starring the legendary Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, takes us on an epic high-seas adventure filled with historical insights and mesmerizing cinematography that won awards. Dom takes the helm, sharing his love for the books that inspired the film and the thrilling naval battles that define the genre. He dives into why this movie, despite being a treasure of historical detail and character development, didn't exactly make waves at the box office. There's some serious Oscar banter, laughter over a funny French rivalry, and a nostalgic look at how epic sea battles are portrayed on the big screen. Join us as we dissect everything from the tension-filled drama on the open waters to personal anecdotes about discovering the original story by Patrick O'Brien. It's a chat filled with humour, passionate insights, and a touch of history, all in good spirits. So grab a comfy seat and let's set sail on this podcast journey together. 

One of the most obscure films we've covered, Proof of Life should have been a success. Russell Crowe had just starred in Gladiator and was at his peak. Meg Ryan was still America's sweetheart. And yet it completely bombed at the box office. Almost nobody remembers it now. Except us. Guest Garret Ohringer returns to negotiate to bring this film back to popularity. ___Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficialYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetterInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_officialTwitter: https://x.com/WWIBpodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wwibpodcastSubscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

Don't be shy, send me a message!Thomas Felix Creighton talks about the British perspective on 4th July – American Independence Day. This episode is perfect to listen to as you drive to a family barbeque on the day, giving you fun facts, and a unique perspective you can share!Why is there a triumphal arch close to where this episode was recorded in England, celebrating the American victory? Was 1776 the start of a new identity? What inspired the US constitution? Would slavery have ended sooner for the USA if the colonies had stayed with Britain?All these questions are answered, with the following books and films recommended (listen in order of mention in the episode):Books:Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens, by David MitchellA Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain by Marc MorrisCromwell, by Antonia FraiserOrigins of the American Revolution (2nd ed.) by John Chester MillerMovies: 1973's Robin Hood (Disney)1968's The Lion in Winter (with Timothy Dalton as Phillip II of France)2010's Robin Hood (the Russell Crowe one)1970's Cromwell Released on the first of July, to give you time to listen in advance of the celebratory day, when many will be busy with family, or in case you have a really long drive to get to that barbeque!   Message me anytime on Instagram, @FlemingNeverDies, or e-mail: AlbionNeverDies@gmail.comCheck out my https://www.youtube.com/britishcultureCheck out my Red Bubble shop (...and thank you to the listener in Germany who ordered an 'A is for Albion' mug recently!)Subscribe to my newsletter for update e-mails, random postcards, and stickers: https://youtube.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b3afdae99897eebbf8ca022c8&id=5165536616  Support the show

Send us a textJon Bernthal returns as The Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while DC and Sega collaborate on Sonic the Hedgehog crossover collectibles. Matt Reeves completes The Batman 2 script despite multiple delays, now scheduled for October 2027.• Jon Bernthal reprises his role as The Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and an upcoming 2026 Disney+ special• Sega partners with Warner Bros, Jack's Pacific and Funko for DC Comics crossover collectibles featuring Sonic characters as Justice League heroes• Matt Reeves finally completes The Batman 2 script after several delays, with release now set for October 2027• Dan Crothers of VeVe Digital Collectibles discusses how blockchain technology creates limited edition digital collectibles with AR capabilities• Russell Crowe joins Henry Cavill in the Highlander remake directed by John Wick's Chad Stahelski• FX developing "Very Young Frankenstein" series with Mel Brooks executive producing• Disney announces Lilo & Stitch sequel after the live-action remake approaches $1 billion at the box office• Doug Liman attached to direct Stephen King's The Stand as a feature film for Paramount• Character actor Jack Betts (Spider-Man, Spaghetti Westerns) passes away at 96• Legendary composer Lalo Schifrin (Mission: Impossible theme) dies at 93VeVe Collectibles - https://www.veve.me/Find us on social media at Blue Sky (@Multiversetom), Threads, Facebook, and Instagram (@MultiverseTonight). Support the show through our Patreon and Ko-Fi links at MultiverseTonight.com.Support the showThanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/

This week, we saddle up for another bumpy ride through the dystopian tech clown show. We kick off with the surveillance state's greatest hits: ICE raids sweeping L.A., a website literally called FuckLAPD.com that lets you ID cops by their mug shots, and a Norwegian tourist who learned the hard way that having a JD Vance chipmunk meme on your phone is now grounds for deportation. Pro tip: if you're traveling to the U.S., you might want to wrap your phone in lead and bury it in a cornfield.In the news, Big Balls has apparently rolled his way from Elon's Department of Government Efficiency to the Social Security Administration—because nothing says “government modernization” like a 19-year-old tech bro with a meme nickname. Meanwhile, Tesla robotaxis are hitting the roads (and maybe a few pedestrians) with human babysitters in tow, Waymo and Uber are turning Atlanta into Blade Runner Lite, and Texas wants a permit for your self-driving car. Over in AI hell, judges can't agree if training your chatbot on stolen books is fair use or just digital asbestos. YouTube, never one to miss a race to the bottom, is rolling out an AI Slop button so you can crank up the crap to 11.In Media Candy, Russell Crowe is beefing up his IMDb with Highlander, Henry Cavill is along for the ride, and Anthony Bourdain Day is apparently a thing (even though he'd have rolled his eyes at it). We also dig into everything from Minecraft movies to the sad demise of Blue Microphones at the hands of Logitech. Plus, Dave Bittner drops by to commiserate about malware, retro gaming handhelds, and why some Star Wars maps are basically porn for nerds. And yes—Windows is finally killing the Blue Screen of Death, proving even Microsoft can eventually learn to read the room.DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/703FOLLOW UPThe mad scramble to track ICE raids across L.A. County‘FuckLAPD.com' Lets Anyone Use Facial Recognition to Instantly Identify CopsEuropean tourist denied entry to US over JD Vance meme on his phone'My Bad:' Babyface Vance Meme Creator On Norwegian Tourist's DetainmentTravelling to the U.S.? Here's a guide to locking down phones and other devicesIN THE NEWSThe Tyranny of ‘Big Balls' Has Come to an End‘Big Balls' Is Now at the Social Security Administration‘Techno King' Elon Musk Doesn't Own a Computer, His Lawyers Tell CourtTesla's inaugural Robotaxi rides will have a human 'safety monitor' on boardTesla's first robotaxi rides are already running into a few bumpsWaymo and Uber launch robotaxi service in AtlantaTexas will require permits for self-driving cars starting in SeptemberWhat We Know So Far About the Supposed ‘Mother of All Data Breaches'Digital AsbestosThe Oversight Board calls Meta's uneven AI moderation 'incoherent and unjustifiable'Judge rules Anthropic's AI training on copyrighted materials is fair useMeta Wins Blockbuster AI Copyright Case—but There's a CatchJudge: Pirate libraries may have profited from Meta torrenting 80TB of booksTwo Courts Rule On Generative AI and Fair Use — One Gets It RightYouTube Will Add an AI Slop Button Thanks to Google's Veo 3AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans' top news sourceFirst images from the largest camera ever built reveal millions of galaxiesMEDIA CANDYRussell Crowe Lends His Russell Crowe-ness to ‘Highlander'Russell Crowe Arming Up Opposite Henry Cavill In Chad Stahelski's ‘Highlander' At Amazon MGM Studios & UAThe AmateurThe Accountant 2The Godfather of HarlemIn Vogue: The 90sA Minecraft MovieAnthony Bourdain didn't say that (but we wish he did)How to celebrate Bourdain Day, a thing Tony probably would have hatedQuote InvestigatorDoug Liman Will Attempt to Cram Stephen King's Epic Novel ‘The Stand' Into a Single MovieThe Dead ZoneThe Dead Zone on Amazon Prime Video‘The boys got sex. I got poetry': what Britpop was like for womenThe Story Behind the Song: The Bangle's Susanne Hoffs - Eternal FlameLess Than OneAPPS & DOODADSBrave keeps opening google appWindows is finally kicking the Blue Screen of Death to the curbPhilips Hue says US prices will go up in July because of tariffsiPhone Users Upset About Apple Promoting F1 Movie With Wallet App NotificationHDMI 2.2's full specs have been finalized, with better support for modern displaysTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingAndorI Can't Stop Staring at This Massive ‘Star Wars' Galaxy MapLucas Museum of Narrative ArtsRG35XX H, Anbernic Retro Handheld Gaming Console with 64GTF Card, Dual Joystick Design 3.5-inch HD Screen Lasts up to 8 Hours High-Capacity Battery for Better Experience (64G Black)DRAGON GRIP- The Martial Arts Sound Effects ToyReminds me of Weird Al poking fun of this in the “Fat” videoHow Logitech Killed A Great Microphone Company - The History of Blue MicrophonesHomemade Disneyland Star Tours Attraction (Full Ride Experience)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's episode kicks off with an engaging and lively discussion centered around the intriguing announcement that J. Michael Straczynski, the acclaimed writer and producer, is throwing his hat in the ring for a chance to become the showrunner of the iconic series Doctor Who. This revelation serves as a catalyst for the hosts to delve deeply into Straczynski's illustrious career, exploring his significant contributions across various entertainment mediums, including television, film, and comic books. The conversation highlights his groundbreaking work on shows such as Babylon 5, where he not only crafted compelling narratives but also pioneered the use of long-form storytelling in television. Additionally, his involvement in notable film projects and his influential comic book writing, particularly for titles like Spider-Man and Rising Stars, showcases his versatility and creativity as a storyteller. As the discussion progresses, the hosts seamlessly transition to a hot topic in the gaming world: the recent announcement from Xbox and AMD regarding the future of Xbox consoles. This segment brings to light exciting developments in gaming technology and the potential implications for gamers worldwide. Cody, one of the hosts, shares some tantalizing rumors about Xbox potentially forming partnerships with other game distribution platforms, specifically Steam and the Epic Game Store. This could signify a major shift in how games are accessed and purchased on Xbox consoles, possibly allowing players to enjoy a broader range of titles and exclusive deals that were previously unavailable. The episode wraps up with a roundup of the latest entertainment news, which includes the thrilling announcement that Russell Crowe will be joining Henry Cavill in the highly anticipated reboot of the classic film franchise Highlander. This casting choice raises questions about the direction of the reboot and the chemistry between the two seasoned actors, as they bring their unique talents to this beloved story of immortals and epic battles. The hosts discuss the potential for this film to resonate with both longtime fans of the original series and new audiences alike, setting the stage for a lively conclusion to an episode filled with insightful commentary and exciting developments across various entertainment sectors.Official Website: https://www.comesnaturallypodcast.comOfficial Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/comes-naturally-podcast/iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/kqkgackFacebook: http://tinyurl.com/myovgm8Tumblr: http://tinyurl.com/m7a6mg9Twitter: @ComesNaturalPodYouTube: http://tiny.cc/5snxpy

"That's reality for you. No saving, no resetting." For the next entry in our Virtual Insanity series, we're diving headfirst into the world of early virtual reality—and the filmmaker who helped bring it to the big screen. This week, we're going behind the scenes on VIRTUOSITY, the 1995 cyber thriller starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. In our last episode, we explored how THE LAWNMOWER MAN came to be—and how its unexpected success paved the way for VIRTUOSITY, a film already deep in development before Brett Leonard came aboard. This time, we're zeroing in on VIRTUOSITY itself: its chaotic production, its failure to replicate Leonard's earlier success, and how that shaped the trajectory of his career. We'll also dig into the film's surprisingly sharp take on Artificial Intelligence and consider where it fits within the broader legacy of cyberpunk fiction. Want to support the show? Subscribers of CinemaShock+ can enjoy an extended version of this episode, which includes bonus segments and additional content, plus get access to all episodes two days early, exclusive merchandise discounts, and more. Join now at cinemashock.net/plus. ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Andy Lancaster | asotirov | Benjamin Yates | Caverly | courtland ashley | curtcake5k | Elton Novara | Hunter D Mackenzie | Interzone78 | Jackson_Baker | Jvance325 | Lucy Lawson | MagicBloat | Nate Izod | Nathan Kelley | Robert Stinson Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy. This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop & Todd A. Davis. For episode archives, merch, show notes, and more, visit cinemashock.net

TP FOR YOUR BUNGHOLE! Beavis and Butthead are back again, but this time in Call of Duty! Sonic is opening the doors to guest racers, while Mario is saying arrivederci to anyone that's not from the mushroom kingdom. The Street Fighter movie starts casting, and Chicken Run is heading to consoles. Plus Elio bombs, and the Social Network is getting a sequel, so much for wanting more original ideas. The Buffy reboot moves closer to reality, and Raymond is staying in the past. Plus a review of Ironheart.

In this episode of The Jock and Nerd Podcast, the crew reacts to Jon Bernthal officially joining Spider-Man: Brand New Day as The Punisher and dives into major casting updates across the superhero world, including DC Studios' Clayface and the Highlander reboot starring Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe. They also discuss China's wild new initiative... The post JAN 594: Superman (1978) Review – Punisher Joins Spider-Man 4 Cast (06/25/25) appeared first on The Jock and Nerd Podcast.

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universesIt's a big week for Marvel news! First up, Jon Bernthal has joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as his take on The Punisher makes the transition from Marvel Television to the big screen. He joins newcomer Sadie Sink, alongside Zendaya and Jacob Batalon who were also confirmed to be returning as MJ and Ned, respectively. Elsewhere, on Wednesday Disney announced that Marvel Studios is scheduled to release an untitled film slated for December 15, 2028, which if holds true, would be the studio's fourth theatrical offering for that year. In Variety's article on said possible fourth 2028 Marvel Studios film, the writer suggested that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier has gone from being in talks, to officially tapped as the director for the upcoming X-Men film. Fresh details on the recently cast Clayface film from DC Studios co-head James Gunn said the film would be R-rated during his appearance on the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast. "It's just a great horror movie that is a great, smart, fun horror movie which is in a genre that I happen to love, which is body horror," he said; continuing with, "It's rated R… It's not anything now because the MPA has to watch it, but it's most likely rated R. It's pretty intense." In other DCU news, box office tracking for Superman via the National Research Group (NRG) has the film projected to open between $125 and  $145 million domestically, with more conservative estimates ranging between $90 and $125 million. The fledgling DCU certainly seems to be living up to its Gods and Monsters thematic moniker. It was a story of highs and lows at the box office this weekend, with the newcomers 28 Years Later and Pixar's Elio unable to dethrone Dreamworks' live action How To Train Your Dragon remake, which passed $358 million at the global box office in just two weeks. Although both new films bowed to the reigning champ, the narrative is far more devastating for Pixar and Elio; despite positive critical reviews, the celebrated animation studio's latest feature struggled to muster even a meager $35 million globally; a record low and troubling sign concerning the performance, or lack thereof, for original films at Pixar. Danny Boyles' legacy horror sequel 28 Years Later fared far better, debuting to $30 million both domestically and internationally, for a $60 million total haulMarvel Comics has announced Spider-Man '94, a four issue limited comic run that will close the cliffhanger left by Spider-Man The Animated Series from its final episode in 1998. The series is written by long-time Spidey veteran and a writer on the original animated series, J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Jim Towe. Russell Crowe is boarding at Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists' Highlander in the Ramirez mentor role made famous by Sean Connery in the original 1986 movie. He joins Henry Cavill who is playing the lead role. AMC has released a teaser trailer for season 3 of Walking Dead spin off Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and announced that the series will premiere on September 7. James Bobin, director of The Muppets, is in talks to helm Netflix's Dragon's Lair, based on the classic 1980s arcade game, per The Hollywood Reporter. Ryan Reynolds, originally set to star, but no longer, is producing alongside Roy Lee, Trevor Engelson, and game creators Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, and Jon Pomeroy.Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new trailer for ‘Weapons' written and directed by Zach Cregger which offers more eerie footage from the film.It's a big week for fans of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding franchise; Death Stranding 2: On the Beach releases this week on June 26, for the Playstation 5 exclusively. Kojima Productions also announced an animated feature film being written by Raised by Wolves‘ Aaron Guzikowski; this is in addition to the previously announced live action Death Stranding film adaptation in development.

"I'm a fifty terrabyte, self-evolving, neural network, double backflip off the high platform. I'm not a swan dive." For the next entry in our Virtual Insanity series, we're diving headfirst into the world of early virtual reality—and the filmmaker who helped bring it to the big screen. This week, we're going behind the scenes on VIRTUOSITY, the 1995 cyber thriller starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. But before we get there, we're rewinding to 1992's THE LAWNMOWER MAN —the first film to seriously tackle VR on screen and the movie that launched director Brett Leonard's Hollywood career. We'll explore how THE LAWNMOWER MAN came to be, why it sparked a legal battle with Stephen King, and how its unexpected success set the stage for VIRTUOSITY, a film that had already been in development long before Leonard came aboard. It's a double feature of tech-noir chaos, '90s visual effects, and the strange, glitchy dream of cyberspace. Want to support the show? Subscribers of CinemaShock+ can enjoy an extended version of this episode, which includes bonus segments and additional content, plus get access to all episodes two days early, exclusive merchandise discounts, and more. Join now at cinemashock.net/plus. ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Andy Lancaster | asotirov | Benjamin Yates | Caverly | courtland ashley | curtcake5k | Elton Novara | Hunter D Mackenzie | Interzone78 | Jackson_Baker | Jvance325 | Lucy Lawson | MagicBloat | Nate Izod | Nathan Kelley | Robert Stinson Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy. This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop & Todd A. Davis. For episode archives, merch, show notes, and more, visit cinemashock.net

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Hoy os ofrecemos un LODE puro y duro pero disfrazado de Extra-Órbita, dentro de nuestras Sesiones Golfas. La película nos encanta, aunque no sea de lo mejor de Ridley Scott, sí es un producto muy notable: AMERICAN GANGSTER. Con un duelo interpretativo de dos pesos pesados como son Denzel Whasington y Russell Crowe, adaptando la historia real del narcotraficante negro Frank Lucas que no parecería probable de no ser porque sabemos que ocurrió realmente. Así que tendremos que comparar la historia ficticia con la real, dar todos los datos de producción pertinentes y analizar cada trama como es debido. Monográfico típico de la casa con Manu Beltrán, Salva Vargas y Antonio Runa para nuestros queridísimos mecenas que, esperemos, os guste mucho. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

This week, Robert dives into a flood of biblical fever dreams, stone angels, and Russell Crowe's thousand-yard stare, while Ira tries to figure out why no one brought a second unicorn. Join Robert and Ira as they discuss NOAH and share their top 5 boat movies. Listen for free through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, or Google Podcast Music. So, if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a dude in some barren land with a hot wife and family and with these ugly ass monsters, and God asks you to build an ark and water spurts out of the ground and travels all over the land and trees and springing up all over the place which gives you the wood to start building an ark but it turns out the ugly ass monsters aren't evil, they're just pissed and they help with the construction of the ark and first the birds show up and then the snakes, and then a band of no-goodniks get in the way and there's a big brouhaha and the ugly ass monsters defend you, but then the other tribe gets super aggressive and goes for the ark with a vengeance and it's a huge battle royale, and the rains come and it's a big ass storm, but then your son is pissed at you because you allowed his girlfriend to die, so your son helps get the bad dude on your ark and then your son gets his girlfriend pregnant and now you're majorly pissed want to kill the baby and then your son is asked to kill you and he sets you up and the girl gives birth to twins and a humongous fight ensues and you lie and tell your wife it's a boy and then the storm stops and all is right with the world, then this podcast is for you!

We hop on Netflix to watch the final movie in the vaunted Sony Spider-Man Universe, Kraven the Hunter! Join us as we discuss...Can any Spider-Man villains carry a movie on there own?Like Madame Web, so bad it's good but in a different way!Being confused as to how many vials of magic Kraven juice are really out there!All these sexy actors but no romance at all???The X-Men TAS Podcast just opened a SECRET reddit group, join by clicking here! We are also on Twitch sometimes… click here to go to our page and follow and subscribe so you can join in on all the mysterious fun to be had! Also, make sure to subscribe to our podcast via Buzzsprout or iTunes and tell all your friends about it! Follow Willie Simpson on Bluesky and please join our Facebook Group! Last but not least, if you want to support the show, you can Buy Us a Coffee as well!

HDTGM all-star Jessica St. Clair helps the gang discuss the 2025 Spider-Man adjacent movie Kraven the Hunter starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, and the king of vague accents himself, Russell Crowe. LIVE from The Moody Theater in Austin, they go off on the Rhino's backpack, how Kraven is basically Dr. Dolittle with abs, Calypso's hot leather outfit, and if Russell Crowe gave off John Goodman vibes. Plus, June expresses her feelings on men in bathrobes and an audience member wonders if Tony Bennett was in this movie. Get tix for our May 9th Toronto show at hdtgm.comHave a correction or omission for Last Looks? Call 619-PAULASK to leave us a voicemail!Buy HDTGM merch at howdidthisgetmade.dashery.com/Order Paul's book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of TraumaJoin the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmShop our new hat collection at podswag.comPaul's Discord: discord.gg/paulscheerPaul's YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheerFollow Paul on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheerSubscribe to Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul and Rob Huebel: youtube.com/@enterthedarkwebListen to Unspooled with Paul and Amy Nicholson: unspooledpodcast.comListen to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael: thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcastInstagram: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & @junedianeTwitter: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & msjunediane Jason is not on social mediaEpisode transcripts available at how-did-this-get-made.simplecast.com/episodesGet access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm