Flixwatcher: A Netflix Film Review Podcast

Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish (from the award-winning 90s TV programme The Adam and Joe Show) join Flixwatcher remotely to review Adam's choice, Bugsy Malone. Bugsy Malone is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film. The directorial debut of Alan Parker stars child actors playing adult roles with Scott Baio (Bugsy Malone), John Cassisi (Fat Sam), and Jodie Foster (Tallulah) in the lead roles. Except these prohibition-era gangsters use splurge guns instead of bullets and cars are powered by pedals. It’s no surprise Bugsy Malone ended up as an extremely popular school production - even Adam and Joe made their own version at school - so don’t go into Bugsy Malone expecting an acting tour de force, that said Jodie Foster is easily the star of the show. Scores  [supsystic-tables id=201] Bugsy Malone is best viewed as a child, possibly at school, sometime between 1976 and 1990 (probably!), not as an adult in 2020 or if you are Adam’s children. The recommend ability for Bugsy Malone was a mixed score and entirely depend

Jim Daly and Giles Paley-Phillips from Blank Podcast return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Jim’s choice Ghost. Ghost is a 1990 romantic thriller starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg (Oscar-winning Best Actress in this role), Tony Goldwyn, and Rick Aviles. Couple Sam (Swayze) and Molly (Moore) are renovating their Manhattan apartment when tragedy strikes with Sam being mugged and shot - as he is lying dying in the street his ghost leaves his body. Trapped between the afterlife and reality Sam turns detective with the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg) to track down his killer and discovers the fatal attack was not an accident. Ghost received very mixed reviews when released - an unusual mix of genres - romantic drama and dark thriller with some comedic moments from Jerry (Airplane!) Zucker was just a bit confusing. However, it was a HUGE box office success, helped by the now-infamous “Unchained Melody” pottery scene it was the highest-grossing film of 1990. Ghost has aged surprisingly

Simon Dunn (setisoppO podcast) and Iszi Lawrence (Terrible Lizards, The British Museum Member cast) join Flixwatcher remotely to review Simon’s choice Parenthood. Parenthood is a 1989 Ron Howard comedy ensemble film starring Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, and Joaquin Phoenix (in one of his earliest roles as Leaf). Martin plays Gill who is having a family crisis as his eldest son is having emotional problems and his wife Karen (Steenburgen) is expecting their fourth child. His older divorced sister Helen (Wiest) is having her own family problems with her children. Her younger son Garry (Phoenix) is withdrawn and secretive and her older daughter Julie (Plimpton) is dating Tod, presumed no good but turns out to be a dude while dealing with loneliness and lack of sex life. Their younger sister Susan is married to Nathan (Moranis) and is neglected as he is more interested in spending time with his precocious daughter. If that was

Kamil Dymek and Al Horner from Script Apart podcast return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Kamil’s choice Step Brothers. Step Brothers is a 2008 Adam McKay, Judd Apatow, Will Ferrel comedy starring Ferrel and John C. Reilly as middle-aged man-babies who still live at home and suddenly have to live together when their respective single parents become romantically involved. The supporting cast of Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, and Adam Scott really deserve much better than this. Step Brother's gross-out humor peaks with Brennan (Ferrel) rubs his balls on Dale’s (Reilly) drum kit. If that isn’t your thing then there is also a scene where the grown men are forced by children to lick dog shit. With a run time of 98 minutes, it is 98 minutes too long. This is a film that was clearly more fun to make than it is to watch. Even though it was made in 2008 the humor feels more dated than it should.     Scores  [supsystic-tables id=198] Definitely, a dude film that may still appeal to the 10-year-old

Amy and Harry from Mum and Mummer Podcast return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Amy’s choice Blindspotting. Blindspotting is a 2018 comedy-drama starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal as childhood best friends Colin and Miles. Colin is on the last three days of his probation, trying to stay on the straight and narrow. After hanging out with his pal Miles he witnesses a police shooting of a black civilian and doesn’t report it, he starts to experience hallucinations and nightmares as a result of his guilt. Miles, short-tempered and loud is growing increasingly frustrated by the gentrification of Oakland and starts using violence to express his anger. Blindspotting gives breath and depth to the odd couple/buddy film by exploring racial bias and social inequality. The performances are outstanding, Diggs’ Colin is both the everyman trying to get by and political poetry powerful. While Casal brings a vulnerability to the brash and privileged Miles. Blindspotting manages to be both uncomfortable and familiar -

Ben Travis (Empire Magazine) and James King (Radio 2) return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Ben’s choice Unfriended.   Unfriended is a 2014 video-meeting footage supernatural horror film (yes that is a genre!) told entirely through a screencast of a MacBook. High school student Laura Barns commits suicide following the abuse she receives after being filmed drunk and passing out at a party in a clip that went viral. One year on, Laura’s former best friend Blaire and her friends - Mitch, Jess, Ken, and Adam are chatting online when a mysterious user called "billie227" enters the chat and things begin to get weird and creepy. Unfriended is unlikely to become a cult film classic - despite being released in 2014 the use of Skype ages the film more than its years - and it will probably be eclipsed by the Zoom focussed Host that came out in 2020. Unfriended is ambitious in its attempt to bring together teen bullying revenge and supernatural horror together - over Skype. Where Unfriended falls down is when i

Ben Williams from Rokkwood Audio and Will Roe from The Times & Sunday Times Stories of Our Time podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Ben’s choice The Peanut Butter Falcon.   The Peanut Butter Falcon is a 2019 coming of age/odd-couple road movie starring Shia LaBeouf as Tyler (angry, on the run, misunderstood) and Zack Gottsagen as Zak an escapee from a care facility with Downs Syndrome, trying to follow his dreams) and Dakota Johnson as Eleanor as the care facility worker sent to being Zak home. Thrown into the paths of the unlikely friendship is John Hawkes Duncan who is chasing Tyler for money owned and revenge and Thomas Haden Church as Zak’s hero the wrestler The Salt Water Redneck. The Peanut Butter Falcon was the sleeper hit of 2019, it is impossible not to be caught with its Twainesque charm and laidback pace, helped by genuine chemistry between its two leads. The casting of Zack Gottsagen is a welcome move towards inclusivity in mainstream film and you’d be dead inside to not be moved by his o

Sound designers Luke Gentry and Ben Meechan from Sona (https://www.sona.co.uk/) join Flixwatcher remotely to review Luke’s choice A Quiet Place.   A Quiet Place is the directorial debut from John (Jim from The Office) Krasinski, starring Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe as the Abbott family. Set in the not too distant future, humans and animals have been nearly wiped out by sightless, stabbing, ruthless aliens with hypersensitive hearing where the smallest noises incur a deadly attack. Following a devastating tragedy, the Family is trying to survive and rebuild relationships. A Quiet Place manages to blend post-apocalyptic science fiction and horror while sensitively exploring father and daughter relationships and grief. The inclusion of American Sign Language (ASL) as a form of communication and casting Simmonds who is deaf was a welcome move to inclusivity.   Scores  [supsystic-tables id=192] A Quiet Place scores highly on recommendability and engagement but low on small screen.

Rachael and Faye from Her Dark Materials return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Rachael’s choice Kikis’ Delivery Service.   Kiki’s Delivery Service is a 1989 Studio Ghibli animated film, written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It tells the story of a young witch, Kiki, who moves to a new town to find herself and master her witchery. With her cat Jiji, she starts helping out at a bakery, using her flying skills to deliver special packages. Beware of watching Kiki’s Delivery Service on Netflix - the original subtitled version is much better than the sub-par subbed Disney version. The original version has some wonderful Japanese pop from Yumi Matsutoya and the voicing of Jiji affects the tone and actions so much that it changes the character completely. Kiki’s Delivery Service is rare for an animated children film in that the primary goal isn’t to meet a prince or boy and be married - it’s all about her finding herself and honing her skills so she can become the best version of herself. Tombo is me

Esther Lisk-Carew and Jass Thethi from Well Spoken Tokens return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Esther’s choice Clueless.   Clueless is the 1995 teen comedy from Amy Heckerling loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma. Set in Beverly Hills Cher (Alicia Silverstone) with her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash) are the popular girls at High School who give newcomer Tai (Britanny Murphy) a makeover and play matchmaker to her teachers to get perfect grades. It also stars Paul Rudd in his breakout role as Cher’s stepbrother Josh. From its grunge lite soundtrack (Radiohead, No Doubt) Calvin Klein references, and Cher’s entire wardrobe there is no escaping the 90s - and that isn’t a bad thing! Clueless reinvented the teen genre and led the way for films like 10 Things I Hate About You and to some extend Legally Blonde. The makeover trope in Clueless may begin superficial but at its heart is that actually being a good person is more important and it's okay to just be yourself. Scores  [supsystic-tables id=190]

Paul and Wayne from The Countdown: Movie and TV Reviews podcast return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Paul’s choice Children of Men.   Children of Men is the 2006 Alfonso Cuarón adaptation of the novel of the same name starring Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Pam Ferris, and Charlie Hunnam. Set in 2027 after two decades of infertility society is on the brink of collapse. The UK has become a police state and the Army rounds up asylum seekers and imprisons or executes them. A former activist turned civil servant Theo (Owen) is contacted by his ex-wife Julian (Moore) to arrange transit papers for a young refugee Kee (Ashitey). After they are ambushed early into their journey Theo discovers that Kee is pregnant and he must help her reach the Human Project ship. Children of Men is pretty dark and apart from drinking Carling the dystopian depiction of London is pretty spot on - given it is peak 2020 it doesn’t feel that fictional. Owen carries the film as the eve

Brothers Ben and Sam Townsend from Universally Speaking podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Ben’s choice, Watchmen. The Watchmen in question is the 2009 Zack Snyder film based on the DC Comics of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It stars Malin Åkerman (Silk Spectre II), Billy Crudup (Doctor Manhattan), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias), Carla Gugino (Silk Spectre), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), and Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II). Bringing Watchmen to the screen was never going to be an easy task, it was claimed to be unfilmable and took over ten years, and various directors to finally bring it to the big screen. The Snyder cut was never going to please everyone if it pleased anyone at all. Told through Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a-Changin the opening credits rattle through the forming of the costumed Minutemen of the 1940s through to the arrival of the Watchmen and their involvement in the Vietnam War and their apparent downfall after vigilantism is made

Thea Gilien and Matt Houlihan from The Podcast Review Show return to Flixwatcher remotely to review Thea’s choice Big Night.   Big Night is a 1996 comedy-drama co-directed by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci. It stars Tucci and Tony Shalhoub as two Italian immigrant brothers, Secondo and Primo. Minnie Driver, Alison Janney, and Isabella Rossellini co-star as their love interests. Their jointly owned restaurant is struggling, they are losing business to rival Italian ‘Pascal’s’ (Ian Holm) and losing customers as Primo refuses to “Americanize” their food to keep the customers happy. Pascal tells Secondo that Louis Prima will dine at their restaurant and this will save the business so he and Primo put their differences aside to cook and prepare the perfect feast for the ‘Big Night’ Big Night largely flew under the radar when it was released in 1996 but has since grown a loyal following, however, the opinion of Flixwatcher and guests was divided. Thea and Kobi were prepared to overlook the dodgy Italian accents

Wayne and Paul from the Countdown podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Wayne’s choice Out of Sight.   Out of Sight is the 1998 Steven Soderbergh comedy crime adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name starring George Clooney as sexy bank robber Jack Foley and Jennifer Lopez as sexy U.S Marshal Karen Sisco. Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Nancy Allen, Steve Zahn, Catherine Keener, and Albert Brooks co-star with cameos from Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson. During a prison break out Sisco ends up in the car boot (trunk for you Americans) with Foley. Unable to resist the charms of Clooney, Sisco follows him through his next caper under the guise of arresting him for his crimes while also spending a romantic evening with him. Out of Sight is a sexy cat and mouse film, despite being a (non-violent) bank robber it's hard not to fall for Foley/Clooney and enjoy the colorful supporting character's interactions. Is this the sexiest movie ever made? Quite possibly, Clooney and Lopez ha

Al Horner and Kamil Dymek from Script Apart podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Al’s choice The Truman Show.   The Truman Show is the 1998 comedy-drama that also falls into the science fiction and touches on deep psychological traumas. Pre-dating reality TV, The Truman Show stars Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) as the unsuspecting star in his own TV show that follows him 24-7. The supporting characters are his wife, Meryl (Laura Linney), his best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich), and his true love Sylvia (Natascha McElhone), Ed Harris exists as Christof the creator of The Truman Show on the outside controlling Truman’s narrative. We join Truman as he is experiencing a sort of mid-life crisis, unusual events happen that cause him to begin to question his reality - spotlights fall from the sky, single streams of rainfall on him and his estranged/presumed dead father reappears. He becomes increasingly more suspicious and reconnects with Sylvia and manages to escape from his home and cameras which leads to

Brian from New Zealand and Dan LeFebvre from Based on a True Story podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Brian’s choice Hereditary.   Hereditary is Ari Aster’s horror tragedy directorial debut starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro. After the death of her secretive and creepy mother, miniatures artist Annie (Collette) attends an open support group and tells the group about her mother's overbearing relationship with her equally creepy daughter Charlie (Shapiro). Her son Peter (Wolff) is reluctant to take his creepy sister to a party but gives in to his mother's pressure and while at the party Charlie suffers an allergic reaction. When driving at speed to take Charlie to the hospital in a freak turn of events Peter is responsible for decapitating Charlie. The death of Charlie sends Annie further into grief and leads her to Joan who sets up a seance to communicate with Charlie. Through further investigation of her mother's belongings and history, Annie reveals a history of sp

Harry and Amy from Mum and Mummer Podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Harry’s choice Burn After Reading.   Burn After Reading is the 2008 sex farce caper from the Coen Brothers starring John Malkovich, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton. McDormand and Pitt are dimwitted gym employees who stumble across a memoir from disgraced Malkovich. Mistaking it for top-secret documents they end up in a blackmail plot that goes wrong and at the same time, Clooney and Swinton are having an affair. Coming straight after the critical success of No Country for Old Men the reaction to this Coen effort was mixed, to say the least. It might be Harry’s favorite Coen caper, but it’s possibly Helen’s least favorite Coen film. On the positive, though it is only 96 minutes long.   Scores  [supsystic-tables id=183] Despite Helen’s low scores Burn After Reading still manages to score a very respectable 4.16 overall. What do you guys think? Have you seen  Burn After Reading? What did you think? Pl

Giles Paley-Phillips and Jim Daly from Blank Podcast join Flixwatcher remotely to review Giles’ choice The Big Lebowski.   The Big Lebowski is the 1998 comedy from the Coen Brothers starring Jeff Bridges as The Dude (Jeff Lebowski), John Goodman as unhinged Vietnam Vet Walter, Steve Buscemi as their bowling pal Donny who end up embroiled in a case of stolen rugs and mistaken identity with another Jeff Lebowski, his trophy wife Bunny (Tara Reid), his daughter Maude (an outstanding Julianne Moore) and three German nihilists (including Peter Stormare, Aimme Mann, and Flea) - narrated by Sam Elliot. The plot, loosely, is centered around a fake kidnapping of Bunny where The Dude ends up being the go-between for Jeff Lebowski and the German nihilists. A series of events leads to the ransom money being lost, some bowling, loads of weed and White Russians, a severed toe, nude painting, a marmot, and an erection doodle. Completely bonkers yet enduring, mainly in part to Bridges Dude, a man, who despite repeated beati

James King from Radio 2 and Ben Travis from Empire Magazine join Flixwatcher remotely to review James’s choice Twilight.   Twilight (2008) is the first film in the Twilight Saga series based on the romantic fantasy novels of the same name starring Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart, directed by Catherine Hardwick. Twilight focuses on the romantic relationship between Bella Swan (Stewart) and the mysterious Edward Cullen (Pattison) who as well as being incredibly handsome with great hair also a 104-year-old vampire. This first installment also sets the scene for the following films and introduces the history and rivalry between vampires and werewolves. When it was released in 2008 it was, to quote James King “The must-see movie of the year”, it also launched Pattison and Stewart into superstardom. Slated on its release by critics - many of them middle-aged men - not teenage girls who for many of them the story of a teenage girl falling in love with a sexy vampire was just the film they wanted to see. With a

Esther Lisk-Carew and Jass Thethi from Well Spoken Tokens join Flixwatcher remotely to review Jass’s choice BlacKkKlansman.   BlacKkKlansman is a 2018 Oscar-Winning (Best Adapted Screenplay) Spike Lee joint starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.   BlacKkKlansman is based on the 2014 memoir by Ron Stallworth. Set in 1970s Colorado Springs it tells the story of the first African-American detective in the police department who manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan chapter with the help of Flip (Driver) Zimmerman. Even though BlacKkKlansman is set in the 1970s a lot of the themes running through it are still very prevalent in today’s America. Lee using artistic license adds dry humour and moments of light relief whilst tackling the unpleasant and disturbing KKK.   Scores  [supsystic-tables id=180] Up there with Do The Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman is contemporary and Lee at his best. Unsurprisingly BlacKkKlansman scores very highly across all the categories - particularly in the reco