Matt's Movie Lodgecast

This week on the Lodgecast we go to the virtual arthouse cinema and see the recent French film Deerskin. This odd 77-minute movie is written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, AKA Mr. Oizo when he is being a French electronic musician. It stars Jean Dujardin who you might recognize from The Artist (2011) and Adele Haenel who you might recognize from Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019). Our main character in Deerskin acquires a deerskin coat and a video camera as he heads into a small town in the mountains and strange mischief ensues. This comedy horror film is interpreted in various ways by each Lodge member in this heated take from the Lodgecast!

The #1 Movie in America for the last five weeks has been the indie horror movie The Wretched! Grossing over $800,000 at 75 drive-in movie theaters, we just had to check out what all the buzz was about. We headed again to the Mission Tiki Drive In Theatre for a double feature. After yawning through the first feature which was an indie thriller called Arkansas, we stuck around for The Wretched and it sucked us right in! The movie stars a kid named Ben who slowly realizes his neighbor is possessed by a witch. It is directed by the Pierce Brothers and was shot near Northport, Michigan. See the #1 movie in America at your local Drive In!

See a side of Al Capone you ain't never seen before! Tom Hardy stars as a dying, crazed Capone in the final year of his life. As neurosyphilis and dementia rot his brain, we get to witness Al Capone smoke cigars and eat carrots and shit himself three times! This is a special movie, folks - with a disgusting performance by Tom Hardy as he roams around his Florida estate muttering paranoid phrases and coughing and grunting like Frankenstein. Tom's performance is supported by Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden, Noel Fisher, Kyle MacLachlan, and Matt Dillon in supporting roles. Josh Trank directs. We definitely got Tranked!

This week we cover the brand new documentary Spaceship Earth which explores the creation of a self-engineered replica of Earth's ecosystem, called Biosphere 2. We don't often cover documentaries, but we certainly picked the right one to discuss with Spaceship Earth. The documentary spans decades, covering the scientific hippie cult of Synergists who would eventually pull their resources together to create the Biosphere 2 in 1991. All the footage is there...from amazing 16mm footage of the cult in the '60s and '70s to great video footage of the biospherians in the '80s and '90s. It is highly recommended viewing to all Lodge members as we creatively process how we are going to thrive into the 21st century. #loveandlight

We virtually travel to the seas of Ireland for this VOD release set on a boat with a crew subjected to a horrific parasitic infection. We had heard that the film had some parallels to the our ongoing coronavirus pandemic and we were not disappointed. Things get pretty real abroad the fishing vessel as crew members worry if they're infected and if they should go ashore and spread the virus. Sound like too much body horror for these times? Let us explain it to you before you dive in! The crew features actors Connie Nielsen, Hermione Corfield, Dougray Scott, Olwen Fouere, Jack Hickey, Ardalan Esmaili, and Elie Bouakaze. It was directed by Neasa Hardiman.

We summon the depths of the VOD market for this horror film about heavy metal music and Satanic cult killings. It sounded like a good time, but did this low budget film summon any Salad Dragons? It does feature a twist that we will spoil for you in this Hawt Take! The all-star cast includes Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth, Logan Miller, Austin Swift, and Johnny Knoxville as Pastor John Henry Butler. American film auteur Marc Meyers directs.

Eighteen years after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jay and Silent Bob have rebooted with their new movie called Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. This is the eighth film in the View Askewniverse if anyone is counting. We joined forces in the virtual world to discuss this recent release that we watched on Amazon Prime. Jason Mewes and a silent Kevin Smith take a road trip adventure to Chronic-Con and encounter a ton of cameos along the way including Brian O'Halloran, Jason Lee, Justin Long, Shannon Elizabeth, Rosario Dawson, Val Kilmer, Melissa Benoist, Craig Robinson, Tommy Chong, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Harley Quinn Smith. We discuss our relationship with writer/director Kevin Smith before we engage in lively debate over his latest comedy film.

The closing down of movie theaters couldn't keep us from the big screen! The Lodgemaster had the brilliant idea of going to the Mission Tiki Drive In Theatre to see Vin Diesel's Bloodshot! Maintaining social distancing, we took three cars and drove 45 minutes east of Los Angeles to Montclair, CA to bask in the glory of Vin Diesel. Part of the Valiant Comics Shared Cinematic Universe, this superhero film got short changed at the box office due to the pandemic. Seeing it at the Drive In Theatre was a wonderful experience that we'd love to share with you in this Lodgecast Hawt Take! Diesel is joined by Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, and Guy Pearce. David S.F. Wilson directs this technologically advanced, action packed romp.

Well we had tickets to see The Hunt in theaters on Sunday, March 15th, but that didn't happen! Instead we were forced to watch this controversial movie on video-on-demand. If you can remember back to August of 2019, this movie's release was delayed in the wake of the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings. President Trump got the movie abruptly cancelled when he tweeted on August 9th, 2019 at 11:44 AM: "Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves “Elite,” but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!" Finally the movie The Hunt got released into theaters on the weekend the coronavirus chaos erupted, and then the movie was quickly released digitally one week later. Was this movie racist at the high

In what will be our last theatrical outing for a very long time, the Lodgecast witnessed The Way Back on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Little did we know when we entered the AMC Burbank 6 theater to witness this sports drama, that in one week AMC theaters would be closed worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic. Actor Ben Affleck shows us The Way Back from alcoholism in this realistic performance that mirrored the actor's own struggles with booze. Directed by Gavin O'Connor, this movie is an inspiration to us all as Affleck plays basketball coach Jack Cunningham. While AMC Theaters are currently closed and the future of the AMC A-List is doubtful, fear not Lodgecast listeners! We've got some spicy Video-on-Demand Lodgecasts coming your way throughout the coronavirus quarantine. In the meantime we're hoping that we can all find the way back!

Writer/director Leigh Whannell returns with his bold new take on The Invisible Man. Last time we saw director Whannell's skills on display was in Episode 12 of the Lodgecast where we witnessed his movie Upgrade (2018). We had to see what this director was up to next, so on Super Tuesday we ascended to the AMC Burbank 16 IMAX movie theater and watched this unique blend of science fiction and horror. Actress Elisabeth Moss dominates the film and shows off her acting versatility, while actress Storm Reid of A Wrinkle in Time (2018) plays a supporting role which delighted us all. We'll let you know how this new film compares to the great 1933 film The Invisible Man directed by James Whale and released by Universal Pictures.

Orion Pictures presents Gretel & Hansel based on the "Hansel and Gretel" story by the Brothers Grimm. This film is directed by Oz Perkins who is the son of actor Anthony Perkins. Oz Perkins shows us some visual talent in this grim fairy tale that somehow got a PG-13 rating. Sophia Lillis is Gretel, Sam Leakey is Hansel, and Alice Krige is The Witch. We'll report back what we witnessed in the dark woods!

"Ride Together. Die Together." That's the tagline for Bad Boys for Life (2020) and also our motto as we piled into The Edge to record our Lodgecast. We even brought a notorious guest who's officially known as The Lodge's Resident Bad Boy. But with the stakes this high and passions burning hot this episode turned into a contentious affair with a very dark and controversial twist. After this dark twist, we continued on to discuss Will Smith & Martin Lawrence and their return to their roles of Mike Lowrey & Marcus Burnett in the Bad Boys franchise after almost 20 years. These Miami detectives are joined by Joey Pants and a whole new gang of fresh faces known as AMMO. The movie was a smash hit at the box office but was it a smash hit in our heart of hearts? Most of us will let you know. But there's a new Bad Boy in town!

We don't often Lodgecast family movies, but we just had to see what Jim Carrey was up to in the hit film Sonic the Hedgehog! When last we left Jim, he was in a dark place in our Lodgecast Episode No. 8 where we discussed the Polish downer movie he starred in called Dark Crimes (2018). Would America's funnyman ever return to the big screen with that classic Jim sparkle? We shall let you know with our reporting on Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). We'll also give you the low down on the look of Sonic's design which caused quite a stir in the massive online Sonic fandom community. Also in this 'cast, one Lodgecaster gets very heated up about having to see this family movie. In this film, Ben Schwartz is the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey is Doctor Robotnik, and James Marsden is the lead guy.

The Lodgecast would be remiss not to cover the horror movie The Lodge. We hoped for a classic movie that shared our namesake. We’ll tell you what we got! Directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala follow up their creepy Austrian horror film Goodnight Mommy with another bleak vision in The Lodge. It stars Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone, and Richard Armitage. One particular Lodger gets quite heated. Not in the film The Lodge, but in the actual Lodgecast! Tune in for the hawtest of Hawt Takes as we set fire to the wintry Lodge on the Lodgecast!

Tyler Perry wrote, directed, and produced his first Neflix movie! We heeded the call and watched this movie on Netflix opening night. It's a Tyler Perry thriller which follows our lead character Grace as she falls from a dangerous new love affair, but fights back in the movie's shocking conclusion. Once again Tyler Perry proves to be the fastest director around shooting this 2-hour movie in just five days! He brings along a great cast including Crystal Fox, Phylicia Rashad, Bresha Webb, Cicely Tyson, and Tyler Perry himself. If you've never seen a Tyler Perry movie, then this is a great place to start!

CinemaScore is a market research firm that polls audience members on the most recent theatrical releases and asks them to give the film a letter grade. In their 20 year history only 21 films have received an average of an "F" rating and the horror movie The Turning is one of those infamous films. We gotta start the movie year at the bottom and this is pretty damn close. The Lodgemistress joined us to gaze upon her doppelgänger actress Mackenzie Davis who gets spooked over and over again. Actor Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) proves to be as annoying as ever. Director Floria Sigismondi attempts to set the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James in they year 1994 for some reason. Hear the Lodgecast describe the film's weird ending that forced audiences to give this film an "F"!

It was time to Do the Dolittle! We swore that if Dolittle dropped below 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, we were gonna see it and it now sits at 15%. So five Lodgers hit up the Studio Movie Grill in Glendale for a screening of Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. John Dolittle. RDJ is surrounded by an all star cast of CG animals voiced by Emma Thompson, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard, and Rami Malek as Chee-Chee! Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) directed this movie for some reason. Stay tuned for a Salad Dragon scene that literally involved a dragon and a green leafy vegetable!

Celebrate Hollywood and the movies as the Lodgecast presents our Oscar Extravaganza & 2019 Film Favorites! Host Brother Bischke leads a hard-charging examination of the Academy Award nominations as five prestigious Lodge members lay down their picks for what should win and what will win in twenty Oscar categories in a little over 20 minutes! Then it's on to the very serious business of picking our 2019 movie favorites as we all count down from #10 to #1 of our very favorite films of 2019. Some Lodgecast movies make the cut of our best films, but there are a few surprises. Have a listen and let us know what you think!

Have you heard of the movie Underwater? It is a movie that was shot in 2017 and finally released into theaters in 2020. It is the last film to be released under the name 20th Century Fox which is now the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios. It might be the last film starring actor T.J. Miller. It also stars Kristen Stewart and Vincent Cassel. The entire film takes place underwater. An underwater creature attacks the crew of an underwater station. Tune in for more interesting facts about the film Underwater on our podcast episode!