The Projectors

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

We’ve already FORCED down the prequel trilogy in our chronological discussion of the Star Wars films this month and somewhere between “Revenge of the Sith” and “Rogue One” is our first discussion of a Star Wars movie from the current Disney era. This Ron Howard edition of a Star Wars movie was meant to be the chosen one in terms nostalgia baiting in ticket sales but this movie only made around $100 million over budget. The suit mutants in charge of the billion dollar franchise departments expected much more than that so we didn’t get a Jar Jar Binks movie in 2021. Maybe it was the subject? Everyone loves Han Solo but we also all know what Han Solo looks like. Alden Ehrenreich is only a year younger than Harrison Ford was when he played Han Solo in 1977. In terms of nostalgia, perhaps “SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY” from 2018 didn’t quite hit in a certain way. I mean, you can strip this down to a nice little futuristic Neo-noir “Space Gilda-esque” tale but the Star Wars thing has to Star Wars. Is it a strange outlier in the franchise canon or a slightly underrated romp? So weird that this is our first Ron Howard movie for the show. Imagine how excited Forrest Gump would have been to find out that Darth Maul has new legs.
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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

All May our theme is FORCED and we’re plowing through the Star Wars franchise in a chronological order one last time. We will declare the true canon and we will not be debating that so chill out, nerd. When we’re done then you can have all of it and continue hanging your emotional weight onto something that seems quite mediocre at least half the time. This episode, we wrap up the Prequel Trilogy and watch as things fall apart as they were destined to do in George Lucas’s last directed film “REVENGE OF THE SITH” from 2005. It was always going to be a downer but some of these Galaxy heroes looks like absolute chumps. The Jedi Council royally fucked this one. Baffling characterizations continue but the visual execution is something to behold and the thing we all chomped at the bit for, the Obi Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skuywalker fight, actually delivered. This sure was a fun one for the kids. Watching a dismembered man catch on fire. Screaming as his master walks away. There are definitely kid-coded aspects to Star Wars but George Lucas actually made the least kid-friendly film of the franchise in this final installment of the Anakin Skywalker trilogy. Be careful you don’t die of a broken heart like Padme. Seemed to me like she was just getting out of being a parent.
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Contact us here: MOVIEHUMPERS@gmail.com
Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

One last round of Star Wars. Just one more podcast/Youtube video discussion about all of the Star Wars movies in REAL chronological order is what the world needs right now. We’re calling this months theme, “FORCED”. The Star Wars nostalgia well has run pretty dry for us the last several years so we decided one more heartfelt examination and, seriously, we will probably never watch these movies ever again. Maybe if a child relative comes along and asks us to watch Star Wars with them then we may oblige but this hypothetical child relative could grow up to kill all of their friends and help turn the galaxy into a totalitarian nightmare so maybe we would have to stand our ground. That said, we’re 2/3rds through George Lucas’s prequel trilogy about the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker with the 2002 blockbuster “STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES”. All of those vague references of the past in the original trilogy are getting brought to life and now we know that the clones from “The Clone Wars” are actually an army of castrato Boba Fetts. The Trade Federation are still at it and they got the Hammer Horror Dracula calling the shots. Let’s not forget that this is, supposedly, a love story. It’s not as much of a charisma vacuum as the last film but the passion still seems dissonant. Maybe it’s all the Skywalker whining. They definitely upped the lightsaber game in this one for all the nerds who said their lives were over because of Jar Jar Binks. What’s funny is that those people will always buy the tickets. Every time. Let’s get into the clone zone.
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Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

And so it begins. We’re gonna FORCE it all down one more time. This isn’t just a casual viewing and discussion of Star Wars on a YouTube/podcast for the umpteenth time. Well, it kinda is but we’re likely never going to watch these movies ever again after this month. We have our personal place in Star Wars history. Our own generational emotional attachments. Taking it all in to this day, our personal excitement for the franchise has greatly waned. It’s probably just a natural feeling as we get older but the nostalgia dump is getting very unwieldy across several film franchises and we’re more than happy to let others get emotional about Star Wars after the month of May. So one more ride within a galaxy far far away all month long and we say it’s the final word on these movies. Empty your brain of all opinion and simply adopt our perspectives with no question. We’re going chronologically so we’re starting it off with the prequel trilogy and easily the strangest of all the Star Wars movies. We’re discussing George Lucas’s 1999 prequel to his massive sci-fi franchise called “STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE”. Even its apologist have to admit that the first foray into the story of a young Anakin Skywalker is absolutely weird and helping greatly with that feeling is the notorious alien sidekick “Jar Jar Binks”. Jar Jar isn’t the only bizarre choice for the movie but he’s definitely the hardest one to contend with. It almost seems like an Andy Kaufmanesque prank to observe this strangeness in such a major blockbuster film. We also got a messiah narrative, metachlorians, Jedi being fully complicit in slavery, pod racing and Darth Maul who you know is badass because he can get it at both ends of the lightsaber. We were chomping at the bit to watch the first Star Wars movie in 16 years. When it released, and the dust settled, many of us were more than a little confused. But it’s okay. Now we know that Jar Jar is the key to all of this.
Here’s the pretty good making of doc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da8s9m4zEpo
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Contact us here: MOVIEHUMPERS@gmail.com
Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Deep Space Fantasy - Movie Review 6 Pack

Next week is beginning a month chock full of THE FORCE as we discuss every Star Wars movie presented on small or silver screen in chronological order. We will be reflecting on one of the most successful space fantasy properties of all time, it’s ups and downs, our personal history with it and giving the final word of the Star Wars films before we likely never watch them ever again ever. We’re saying our personal goodbyes to a franchise that has drawn some of the most emotional responses in the history of epic blockbuster filmmaking. But all that is next week, for today we thought we would pave the way to iconic space fantasy with a special six pack movie review episode of other, prominent, space fantasy epics including some very recent flicks getting a lot of hype. Thus marking our first discussions of films that came out this year. We’re reviewing six different movies in this plus sized episode chock full of fun and some notorious directors.
 We’re discussing:
Avatar (2009) & Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) by James Cameron
Dune (2021) & Dune: Part Two (2024) by Denis Villeneuve
Rebel Moon Part One (2023) & Part Two (2024) by Zack Snyder
Shit gets vivd, spicy and slowed down in this special edition drop and you can hear our takes on the very recent DUNE PART TWO and REBEL MOON films.  Epic space fantasy explained in a fairly strict 10 minute timeframe a piece. Hell, every episode should be a 6-Pack episode they’re so damn fun…and long.  Perhaps our longest episode yet. Guess we’re all feeling a little epic, lately. I wanna try some of that spice.
 
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Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

The Idiots (1998)

We’re doing a double shot this week for our overarching, year long theme called “A DREARY YEAR OF LARS VON TRIER”. Doubling down because it may be a few months before we get back into good ‘ol Lars so what better way to lead into a May loaded with Space Fantasy than with a movie about a group of people in Denmark embarking on a social experiment by going out into everyday society and pretending to be mentally challenged? A quiet woman named Karen finds herself roped into this strange group. Karen questions the morality of behaving in such a way but Karen has also found a sense of joy and belonging with the group. Is this an anti-bourgeois act that transcends the quiet oppressions of a “civilized society” or is it all just one big goddamn joke? Lars von Trier’s contribution to the Dogme 95 manifesto, “THE IDIOTS” (or “IDIOTERNE” if you’re nasty) from 1998 is #2 in the Dogme series and though we keep saying this…this one has definitely gotta be Lars von Trier’s most light hearted film. We feel pretty confident about the claim this time. Lot’s of nudity and some fucking. Just reporting that for you Mr. Skin types out there.
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Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Breaking the Waves (1996)

It’s gonna be a rough year. It’s already pretty shitty. We’re just a few months in and we’re stumbling towards a Presidential election so it’s definitely going to get worse so we thought that for this dreary year we should discuss a dozen Lars von Trier movies before it’s all over. Like strange frosting on a sad cake, Lars just boosts the melancholy and vague sense of dread. He loves trilogies as well. We’ve finished the Europa trilogy and now it’s time for the “Golden Hearts Trilogy” which kicks off one of von Trier’s most acclaimed works. Small town Northern Britain sure sucks, especially if you’re under the thumb of a fundamentalist Calvinist sect that will send your cousin to hell for getting his ears pierced. Bess falls in love with an outsider and things just might be fine until her husband, Jan, becomes paralyzed. Poor Jan has some suggestions on how to keep their physical relationship alive that draws the ire of the religious and modern world but Bess, trained in her devotion, piously goes forward with God on her side. We’re talking about the 1996 film “BREAKING THE WAVES” starring Emily Watson in an amazing performance as well as Stellan Skarsgård & Katrin Cartlidge. This might be as upbeat as it gets for our year-long theme. Which is kind of fucked up to think about.
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Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Hamlet 2 (2008)

It’s time for our final entry in April’s theme of AWKWARD LAUGHTER 2: THE FLOP in which we reexamine box office comedy flops and their status in the film zeitgeist today. This final conversation is of a movie that is far from awful and pretty creative but also profoundly sad. Maybe that’s the reason the lip service around this movie is so minimal but it certainly rises above many other comedy films during this time. We’re talking about Andrew Fleming’s 2008 film about a drama teacher who has failed at all of his dreams and must put on one last, original, performance before this drama department at a Tucson high school shuts down for good. “Hamlet 2” didn’t seem like the vehicle to launch Steve Coogan into a boisterous Hollywood career but we still like the guy and his history of creative output. This fairly dark comedy also stars Joseph Julian Soria, Catherine Keener, Elisabeth Shue, David Arquette and more. Can Dana Marscz(?) finally transcend to the next level of his dream and get the respect of his very bitter wife? You can see his dick and balls for a second. 
 
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Contact us here: MOVIEHUMPERS@gmail.com
Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought
It’s time for our final entry in April’s theme of AWKWARD LAUGHTER 2: THE FLOP in which we reexamine box office comedy flops and their status in the film zeitgeist today. This final conversation is of a movie that is far from awful and pretty creative but also profoundly sad. Maybe that’s the reason the lip service around this movie is so minimal but it certainly rises above many other comedy films during this time. We’re talking about Andrew Fleming’s 2008 film about a drama teacher who has failed at all of his dreams and must put on one last, original, performance before this drama department at a Tucson high school shuts down for good. “Hamlet 2” didn’t seem like the vehicle to launch Steve Coogan into a boisterous Hollywood career but we still like the guy and his history of creative output. This fairly dark comedy also stars Joseph Julian Soria, Catherine Keener, Elisabeth Shue, David Arquette and more. Can Dana Marscz(?) finally transcend to the next level of his dream and get the respect of his very bitter wife? You can see his dick and balls for a second. 
Subscribe to us on YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJf3lkRI-BLUTsLI_ehOsg
Contact us here: MOVIEHUMPERS@gmail.com
Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

The Master of Disguise (2002)

We’re headed down the final stretch of our month’s theme of AWKWARD LAUGHTER 2: THE FLOP in which we reexamine some box office comedy disasters and see how they’ve held up over time. In the cases of “Ishtar” and “Freddy Got Fingered” we perhaps overlooked some quality filmmaking at the time. “Worst” label? We can honestly say that no movie we’ve discussed for the month belongs on any “worst” list…except maybe this one. We’ve never seen the comedic Dana Carvey family flick from 2002 called “The Master of Disguise” directed by Perry Andelin Blake up until we scheduled it for the show. It’s reputation of being terrible, and it’s strange urban lore surrounding 9/11, are most of what we’ve heard. We didn’t even know this was a kids movie. Or, at least, a movie for dumb kids. This might be for infants, actually. Another thing we didn’t know? The box office sales more than doubled the budget. It’s technically a “hit” but we just assumed it tanked like the other selections we’ve discussed this month. Critically, it ate shit but it didn’t seem to lose money. All these other flops we discussed dragged careers based on their box office and they all range from “not bad” to “actually great” but the worst fucking movie we’re discussing all month long actually made some profit. His name is Pistachio Disguisey for fucks sake. And that turtle scene. God help us.
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Check our past & current film ratings here: https://moviehumpers.wordpress.com
Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought

Run Ronnie Run! (2002)

For this month’s theme of AWKWARD LAUGHTER 2: THE FLOP we’re discussing some comedies that didn’t quite hit at the box office and it’s no surprise that some of our selections have tumultuous histories during production and post-production. Today’s discussion involves a bit of ego swinging in the editing room that left the creators involved with a bitter aftertaste. On top of that, studio executive shuffling led to this movie not even getting a theatrical release. Our “straight to VHS/DVD” discussion this month is a 2002 Troy Miller directed comedy that spun out of David Cross and Bob Odenkirk’s influential HBO sketch show “Mr. Show”. Bob and David don’t hold it in high regard in light of the fact that they were shut out of final edit. By some accounts they were relieved that “RUN RONNIE RUN!” didn’t lose more money in the theaters with a proper marketing budget. The rest of America got what they got and they probably got it out of a bargain bin at a Hollywood Video in 2004. It was right up the alley of our younger, drunker, stoner selves but could this “cult classic” have been something more? Pretty easy to find. Here’s a good link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03ldhD7k-c and here’s a little backstory on the fallout of the project from Bob Odenkirk in 2004: https://web.archive.org/web/20070607210342/http://www.bobanddavid.com/interviews.asp?artID=116
 
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Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7
Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249
Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought