Deep in the heart of winter, the biggest news this week is (as you may have guessed) the Star Wars Episode VIII title reveal, The Last Jedi. Are they talking about Luke? Are they talking about Rey? Could this mean Luke dies and Rey takes over his mantle, or, as many internet supernerds have pointed out, could they be using the plural of the word — it’s Jedi either way you slice it. On today’s show, we’ll be taking on the mysteries and speculation of the biggest movie of 2017, before diving into a ton of other new topics from the week that was.
It’s mostly a week of repeats at the box office, as Hollywood carts out a host of indies on the heels of the Academy Award nominations. Nationwide releases for smaller-budget films include the already-in-theaters La La Land, which snagged a ridiculous 14 nominations, because musicals; Gold, an interesting adaptation of the true story of a billion dollar gold mine hoax starring Matthew McConaughey; and I Am Michael, a 2015 Sundance release that tells a very different true story about the bizarre path of Michael Glatze, who went from being a gay activist to a born-again Christian preacher who renounces homosexuality.
The only real action this week comes from the sixth (and presumably final) film in a long-running franchise, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. We’ll discuss the film a bit, courtesy of our own Rick Marshall’s review, to let you know if it’s worth taking one last ride in the zombie-ridden saddle.
There’s plenty else to discuss this week as well, including some odd choices for video games turning to movies — and vice versa. We’re speaking of the new Rampage project, which will see (of course) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reteam with his San Andreas crew for a film that is somehow based on the ’80s video game about monsters who knock down buildings, eat people, and sometimes turn back into naked humans. In addition, Mr. Francis Ford Coppola is going back to the well for his own oddity, turning the darkness that is Apocalypse Now into a semi-free world role-play video game. We’ll discuss these oddities, and even venture into a discussion about which movies we think would make the best video games.
In addition, we’ll be chatting about the second season of Amazon’s Nazi bizzaro-world series The Man in the High Castle, Oscar predictions, yet another Ring movie, and yet another Flash rewrite — is the film in as much trouble as it appears to be? All that and much more on today’s show, so follow us live at 2p.m. PT, or take our podcast on the road by following the links above!
