Matt's Movie Lodgecast

Ready or Nawt for the Ready or Not Hawt Take? We discuss the spoiler trailer of this movie and a giant movie theater pretzel before we dig into this acclaimed black comedy horror movie. A young lady marries into a rich family who play a murderous game of hide-and-seek the night of the wedding. A very hawt debate ensues over Andie MacDowell's performance! We'll spoil everything about this movie in this hawt take.

An unnamed Lodge member confessed to the Lodgemaster that he had never seen The Matrix! So when the 20th anniversary screenings popped up at AMC Dolby Cinema we knew we had to go. Six of us embarked on the journey and most of us hadn't seen it in 20 years. And we were red pilled so hard! Whoa! We'll give you the lowdown on the philosophy of the Matrix, as well as if Keanu Reeves’ performance holds up.

Apocalypse When? Apocalypse Now! The Lodgecast does their first review of an older movie to see if it stands the test of time. This screening was on August 15, 2019, 40 years to the day after Apocalypse Now was released on August 15, 1979. We scored tickets a little late for this one and were forced to sit in the second row of the AMC CityWalk IMAX which strained our necks and melted our faces off! How does this new 3-Hour Final Cut rank against the original cut and the Redux? Enter the heart of Francis Ford Coppola's darkness with us as we re-explore this epic vision of the Vietnam War.

It's the dog days of summer and not much good is coming out at AMC Theatres before Oscar season starts heating up. So we decided to see Crawl (2019) directed by Alexandre Aja and starring Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper. A hurricane hits Florida and a father and daughter get trapped in a crawlspace with alligators. Not much more to it, but we mostly had fun!

Where'd You Go, Bernadette has finally arrived in theaters. The Richard Linklater film starring Cate Blanchett was set for release on May 11, 2018, but it was pushed back four times until it was dumped into theaters on August 16, 2019. We knew something was amiss with this one from seeing the trailers ever since we began the Lodgecast last year. Oh boy were we correct. Where'd we go for this one? The AMC Sunset 5 was the setting, but Linklater took us to the ends of earth and the edge of our sanity in this two-hour adaptation of the bestselling novel. Besides Cate Blanchett, the movie also features Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, and the always delightful Laurence Fishburne. Listen to our podcast episode and find out where Bernadette went!

Another billion dollar grossing Disney remake has hit the multiplexes. Director Jon Favreau sets out to create a photorealistic computer animated remake of the beloved 1994 film The Lion King. There's maybe a reason that people like anthropomorphic characters instead of photorealistic animals... because anthropomorphic animals can express emotion! These dead-eyed lions and hyenas and warthogs drain all the magic out of this beloved classic. But they look so damn real! Did we feel the love (tonight), or did we skewer this hunk of lion meat? Listen and find out! Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, Beyonce, and James Earl Jones lend their voices to the Disney IP machine.

The Lodgecast continues the pursuit of finding a good horror remake. We try out Child's Play(2019) based on the horror classic Child's Play(1988). This technological update on Chucky does away with the supernatural element and it also does away with the concept of a logical script. Lodgemaster takes on the role of hothead in this hawt take as his anger at this ridiculous remake slowly boils over. Not even the soothing voice of Mark Hamill can save this misguided reboot.

The most anticipated movie of the year is finally here! Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In...Hollywood has been released, and a large group of Lodgers went to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to see it opening weekend on glorious 70mm film. We were transported to 1969 Los Angeles for 2 hours and 45 minutes! After this epic comedy-drama many, Lodgers fled into the night, but five of us remained to give our first impressions of what we experienced. The star-studded movie features Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Luke Perry, Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Clu Gulager, and so many others. We share our praises and our qualms about this unique motion picture!

The Poison Rose is now the 5th straight John Travolta movie to receive 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. After seeing Trading Paint (2019) earlier this year we promised ourselves we would only see the next Travolta movie if got 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Well it did. Even with co-stars Morgan Freeman, Famke Janssen, and Brendan Fraser, the movie couldn’t get a single positive review. It features a breakout performance from Travolta’s daughter Ella Bleu Travolta. The film doesn’t have a plot summary on Wikipedia and I can’t remember what it was about but listen to our podcast if you want to learn about the continuing adventures of John Travolta and The Poison Rose!

From the mind of Ari Aster comes Midsommar. Last year Ari brought us Hereditary, and without taking a breath he went into production on Midsommar which he delivered to us on July 3rd of this year. The promise of Swedish cultists had us licking our lips for this folk horror epic. Four members of our movie cult experienced the 147 minute motion picture starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Will Poulter. We micro-dosed magic mushrooms a few hours before seeing the movie. Just kidding. Probably don't see this movie on mushrooms. Either way we had some pretty nice things to say about Midsommar.

Glenn Danzig showed the L.A. premiere of his debut film Verotika at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, and five Lodgers were there to witness it. The venue was sold out and packed with Danzig super fans adorned in black. Verotika mashed up violent and erotic imagery like never before as the crowd howled with laughter during this low budget horror anthology film, featuring three tales of increasing perplexity. The strange editing and camera zooms left us tickled and confused. Danzig’s appreciative Q&A after the movie deepened the mystery. In this podcast review, we try to unravel what Glenn might’ve been up to with the help of the Lodge’s resident Danzig expert. Whatever it was, Danzig served us up a night that we’ll never forget!

You ain't never had a friend like Will Smith as a motion-captured genie! The Disney IP machine is at it again with Guy Ritchie's Aladdin. While we were all big fans Aladdin (1992), the only reason we came out for this live action edition was Will Smith. And Will Smith does deliver, adding a hip hop homage to Robin Williams' ultimate voiceover performance. The music in this film is incredible with hits like "Prince Ali", "A Whole New World", and the new Princess Jasmine tune "Speechless". We'll give you the low down on what you probably missed in this Disney children's film. Next up: The Lion King!

Master of the Macabre Brian De Palma is back with a new direct-to-video film called Domino. The movie was produced at a low cost by Saban Films (the masterminds behind Dark Crimes and Speed Kills). At age 78, De Palma wants to go out with a bang as he tackles ISIS in Europe killing people on the red carpet of a film festival. That really happens in the movie Domino, along with some other unbelievable Salad Dragons scored to the strings of maestro Pino Donaggio. The film stars some Game of Thrones actors. Is it better than Tony Scott's Domino (2005)? We'll let you know!

Director Dexter Fletcher is back! After ghost-directing last year's smash hit Bohemian Rhapsody, Dexter Fletcher has officially directed this year's smash hit Rocketman! And it's all about one of the greatest rock musicians ever, Sir Elton John. The film combines two genres that are troublesome to some Lodgers: the music biopic and the contemporary musical. All this adds up to some groans and eye rolls, but we are definitely in the minority! Critics and audiences love this movie! Did we like Taron Egerton singing Elton John? Are the musical numbers magical or aggressive? And how about that "too hot for Russia" sex scene? We'll give you our very hawt and spicy take on Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman!

Don't make me drink alone! The Lodgecast reaches its 50th episode with a special MA-di Gras Celebration at the AMC DINE-IN Marina 6 in Marina Del Rey. We drink, we eat, and we take in the pleasures of Octavia Spencer as Ma! This highly anticipated psychological horror movie had us buzzing since we first saw the trailer and while our reaction is a little mixed there's still some fun to be had. Tune in to our evaluation of a lonely middle-aged woman terrorizing teenagers!

The Lodgecast Boyzzz rejoin with the Sinisisters, as we head to beautiful Santa Monica to experience the spiritual sequel to last year's Eighth Grade. This year we talk 12th grade and our senior year of high school before we head into Olivia Wilde's delightful coming-of-age comedy Booksmart starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever. Does the film live up to its universal critical acclaim? Is it better than Superbad (2007)? All this and more will be explored in our Lodgecast analysis of Booksmart.

We venture way outside of our demographic comfort zone for a little pom-pom cheerleader love from some senior citizens including Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Pam Grier, and Rhea Perlman. Life is too short and being elderly is too depressing, so break out your cheerleader uniforms and bust a move! As the poster promised, one of the old ladies in this movie does the splits! Nice to see Diane Keaton again after not seeing a movie of hers for decades. It's never too late to chase a dream!

Join us as we re-enter the John Wick Cinematic Universe and travel deep inside the Parabellum. Actually Parabellum means a type of semiautomatic pistol or machine gun. Keanu Reeves is back kicking butt and taking no names until the plot kicks in and we have to wander aimlessly in the desert until the next action sequence. The audience is there for Keanu, but the movie also has Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Anjelica Huston, and some others. While it's no Replicas (2019), John Wick: Chapter 3 has its moments and we talk about them in this hawt take!

Do you like pain? Do you enjoy suffering? Then watch the new film Loqueesha on Amazon Prime. The Lodgecast called for an emergency VOD screening after viewing the trailer in disbelief. But we were not prepared for what writer/director/producer Jeremy Saville had cooked up. Arguably the most painful movie we have watched on this podcast, Loqueesha is sure to unite all races and genders in universal hatred for this movie. We report back to you our experience so you never have to watch it. The Loqueesha Line has been crossed! Ouch!

Four Lodgers entered the AMC Century City 15 as skeptics about the movie The Intruder, which we expected was going to be a ho-hum home invasion thriller. But we left the theater as true believers in the power of Dennis Quaid! Pumped full of human growth hormone and grinning like a true psychopath, Dennis Quaid carries the movie with hilarious bravado as he encroaches upon the lives of the couple that buy his house played by Michael Ealy and Meagan Good. The movie is Tyler Perryesque in its ridiculous plotting and editing, but Dennis Quaid deserves some kind of reward for his efforts. A fun night at the movies!