https://tubitv.com/movies/100027256/hang-em-high

• Comparing / Contrasting with "Big Country"
• An early example of a morally complex western
• The depth added to the 'villains' and economy of dialog in developing them
• Questioning whether ends justify means
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'How to Steal a Million' (1966)

https://www.philo.com/player/player/recording/UmVjb3JkaW5nOjYwODU0ODg5OTkwMzI4ODEzMw

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Starting with the best... Gregory Peck's "James McKay"
• The slow-burn western
• If a film like this really needs a shootout at the end.
• Ryan helps Justin understand that fight scene
• We beef about the supporting characters
• Need a longer movie or better use of screen time?
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Hang 'Em High' (1968)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Brilliant confined environment adaptation
• Not even nominated for best picture? What?!?!
• A remake starring Who?
• Seeking good things in bad ways
• Unexpected turns that lead to better endings
• Referencing Prometheus in connection with Walter
• The metaphorical use of the physical body of a deceased father
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Big Country' (1958)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Intentionally funny or accidentally funny... hmmm
• It's the Wicked Witch of the West! Margaret Hamilton, ladies and gentlemen
• Why are characters surprised by things they already know
• The special relationship kid has with ghosts
• The questions posed by owning a "murder-bed"
• The better story about the kid and his ghosts
• A prime example of gimmick-led filmmaking
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'A Raisin in the Sun' (1961)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• "you can't even tell he's Chinese" is not a great way to start your objection to racism
• apparently the solution to racism is "just be white"
• would Sam's 'friends' even speak a word for him if he didn't have gobs of money
• "with friends like these", as the saying goes...
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: '13 Ghosts' (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Justin's sweet-spot of wierdness
• In a cast of oddballs, Jack Nicholson, stands out above them all - with only one scene
• Teasing the potential that the musical would bring out
• Roger Corman tells a story - a first!
• Protecting the integrity of your main character with accidental murder
• comparing at-length the musical version to the original
• did not see that ending coming
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The White Reindeer' (1952)

We apologize for the mis-airing of the episode. Was supposed to release this a few weeks ago, but it got lost in the order sometime during editing. In any case, here it is!

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://tubitv.com/movies/100054685/tarzan-the-fearless

• The look that says "Pepper-Spray Me"
• Should a hero be able to understand the difference between 'person' and 'thing'
• Why Mary? What happened to Jane?
• Everybody irrationally wants Mary.
• The sexism that almost obscures the racism
• The impossible task of making a movie by chopping up a serial
• Dude, you're no "Johnny Weissmuller"
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Son of the Gods' (1930)

https://tubitv.com/movies/100045295/son-of-the-gods

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The Marx Bros. as 'living cartoons'
• a multi-talented act
• masterful set-piece comedy
• integrating just enough story to connect the bits
• timing, timing, timing
• the natural human-ness of the Marx Brothers
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Tarzan the Fearless' (1933)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• how this film's portrayal of infidelity could have been handled better
• the problems of cutting a romantic drama down to just over an hour of film time
• important scenes left out as 'implied' scenes
• the competition for worst-spouse award is neck-and-neck
• looking at the 'groomer' aspect
• hellllooo substitute family!
• a remake with Willie Nelson? Wut?
• how it should have ended
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'A Night at the Opera' (1935)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Not the culturally inspired horror one might expect
• Superimposing stock Hollywood horror structures onto Lap culture
• What was the lesson supposed to be here exactly?
• What if there was "X" except "X" is incredibly evil?
• Unclear what curse does psychologically
• But the costumes were good...
• We experience technical difficulties...
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Intermezzo' (1939)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The narrator as the 'voice of the book'
• Second-person POV For the WIN!
• "You're gonna like me" - energy
• Reservations? Don't worry. Robert Morse will get you past those.
• Why haven't we seen more of this guy?!?
• The romance getting a bit shorted
• Chef's kiss - breaking the fourth wall
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Little Shop of Horrors' (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Snow White and the Seven Profs
• Simple storytelling cause-and-effect courtesy Billy Wilder
• Making the oddness of an arrangement - work
• Quirkiness saves the day!
• Barbara Stanwyck shows her chops
• Gary Cooper vs. Cary Grant
• The nexus of all film connections makes another appearance
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying' (1967)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The perils of adapting a radio play to film length
• Mixing genres - awkwardly
• Fulfilling promises in the most boring way possible
• Acting to a phone - like acting to green screen or puppets
• All the things we thought would happen, but didn't
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Little Shop of Horrors' (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Beware of movies with "Amazing" in the title
• Rich, bored white-guy problems of the Great Depression - Intrigued yet?
• "Brewster's Millions" done wrong
• Mr. Loophole
• In the end, everyone gets the mammon they want. Yay?
• Somehow "Talladega Nights" comes up
• "You mean I get to be rich and marry Carey Grant? - Lemmie think about it..."
• Soft-peddling the difficulties of finding work - again - during the Depression
• Wipes, wipes, and more wipes...
• The "Beyond Christmas" conspiracy theory continues to manifest itself
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Sorry Wrong Number' (1948)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• When the world ends and you're just waiting for your turn in it
• Details without perspective
• What if... the end of the movie led into Mad Max?
• The irony of Australia becoming the most habitable place on Earth.
• A film set in Australia bereft of Aussie accents.
• Some of our favorite cold war films
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Amazing Adventure' (1936)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• When the tropics were populated by buff Nordic looking wayfarers
• "Hey, wanna be in a movie?"
• Turning familiar wildlife into a 'dragon god'
• Cheap worldbuilding
• How men apparently are more prone to Neanderthal-speak
• An unexpected connection with actual talent (but not on-screen)
• Justin gets reflective on the thin divide between the offensive and the funny
• How are these guys the 'ape-men'?
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'On the Beach' (1959)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Matthau and Lemon: Born for these roles
• How does a guy get an apartment that big in NYC on a sportscaster's income?
• Comedic timing and body language
• The focus on the central friendship
• An expected setup Justin didn't expect
• The ill-fated (and late) sequel
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Wild Women of Wongo' (1959)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Ranking our top eight films...
• And our bottom five - most hated!
• The biggest gaps between expectation and reality
• Favorite actors / actresses from this year
• And More!

What do you think? What's your best and worst from the last year of Movie Bones reviews? Did we leave out anything noteworthy? Tell us! And let us know what films you think we should cover in season three!

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Heavy existentialism
• A quick comparison to Wrath of Kahn
• Critiquing various takes on death, religious or not
• Ryan's fascination with the weirdness of the Crusades
• Knight Block trying to have faith without undergoing death
• Even if you win the game... what then?
• Funny, tragic existential humor - death cuts down a tree
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Odd Couple' (1968)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The necessity of Tevye's character to the play's working so well
• What is "Tradition"?
• Talking to God
• The fallout of being a people 'set apart' and what it means for those inside and outside
• The lines we can't cross, and what they really mean in practice
• The three marriages - hitting a little close to home for Ryan
• The difficulties (real and imagined) and obstacles presented by inter-faith marriages.
• Who is the Fiddler?
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'The Seventh Seal' (1957)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• No surprises here
• Giving respect 'for culture "from arm's length"
• Main character: Blank Slate
• Batise
• The source material
• Sun Dance centerpiece
• Can't be happy, can we?
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1971)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Kurosawa's oversized (and justified) influence on cinema

- Counter-cultural, thematically-filled, action film

- Dealing with issues of cultural mistrust

- Some of our favorite characters

- "Putting together the team"

- Toshiro Mifune MVP - Again!

- The original 'Avengers'?

- The suggestion of deeper stories within the story - compactness

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'A Man Called Horse' (1970)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Early revenge flick?

- Lon Chaney Sr. vs. Jr.

- Silent films, acting broadly and transition from theater styles

- Chaney Sr. admiration

- Clown-coding villainy 

- Murder by kitty

- Super fast romantic development

- Based on a play (again!)

- ...which is even darker than the movie

- Justin gets hyped about seeing Cheney's Phantom...

- ...and has to register his gripes about the story anyway

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Seven Samurai' (1954)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Offering Pete as tribute to end the cold war

- Deflating tail-chasing rumors and paranoia

- An island full of 'Facebook People' and imagining how this would play out in the internet age

- A few unusual twists

- Slapstick filler

- Romance now, defect later

- The necessity of characters who keep their heads and talk sense

- Mixing genres, padded comedies and questionable accolades

- The fine line between action-thriller and comedy

- Bringing it home by the end

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'He Who Gets Slapped' (1924)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Placing Bette Davis' role in her cannon of work

- Figuring out the 'messy' character of Sheridan and his relationship with Maggie

- How that holds up the slapstick elements

- The real-life story behind all this craziness

- One of the weirdest tributes to a real-life person

- Real-life inspirations for the rest of the cast

- Orson Welles almost directing it

- Stretching the (time) limits of the premise

- Throwaway love-interest Maguffin

- Callback to "Beyond Christmas"

- Knocking down the high-fallutin' a peg or two

- Wrestling with some of the choices with Maggie's character

- Reminders of Jack Nicholson, "As Good As It Gets"

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'The Russians Are Coming' (1966)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'Judgment at Nuremberg' (1961) and talk about...

- not being able to avoid drawing parallels to current events

- the way the film addresses complexity of one morally compromised nation attempting to bring charges against officials of another morally compromised nation

- arguing the omnipresence of sin for the cause of avoiding responsibility

- Judge Haywood: the observer character

- The impulse to forget and the choice not to look

- "There is no war in Ba Sing Se"

- How amoral monsters draw into complicity those who aren't naturally moral monsters

- how choosing the 'lesser evil' ends up driving you to evil

- speaking out about the current state America and the world

- *"It came to that the first time..."*

- Not letting evil pass through us for the fear of losing lesser things

- Some great cinematography tricks for a courtroom drama

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'The Man Who Came to Dinner' (1942)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://tubitv.com/movies/100014481/under-the-yum-yum-tree

- Dean Jones does Jimmy Stewart?

- Sexual revolution and 60's cinema

- Unusual, plot specific apartment layouts

- Was 'not-looking' not an option?

- Making your heroine complicit in obvious traps to the point of stupidity

- Hogan as prototypical Quagmire

- Could use more torture for Hogan, honestly

- How is this guy not in jail already?

- Making you wonder what happened, in the creepiest way possible

- Ending on the high note

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Judgment at Nuremberg' (1961)

https://tubitv.com/movies/100006404/judgment-at-nuremberg

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Abuse: the Movie

- Trying to understand the rationale for Shakespeare writing it this way

- Controversial even in Shakespeare's time.

- With some small changes, could be a horror story

- The horror of psychological manipulation

- Connection to "10 Things I Hate About You"

- Compared to other Shakespeare romantic comedies that work (More understanding)

- Peter York's first film

- A good adaptation of a bad story

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Under the Yum-Yum Tree' (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Can a sci-fi film be less concerned with explaining what the rules are?

- "Is he dead?"

- Fiction's best detective is not Batman, but random nameless small-town sheriff.

- Ridiculously overpowered villain foiled by easily foil-able plot.

- Brain dude doesn't need to possess a human to threaten Earth, but it's fun, so...

- Why our note-taking system should probably incorporate a sarcasm tag

- Why the *dog*?

- Missed potential: Alien-possession couples-therapy

- Even 'good' alien brains are sexist, because 50's

- Is Mystery Mountain *really* that rarely visited?

- Neat concept, but...

- Everybody's wooden - except Steve. And Steve makes up for everyone else

- The women-preparing-food trope

- Does the FBI accept alien possession" as the reason why you're not really a threat any more?

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'The Taming of the Shrew' (1967)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://tubitv.com/movies/100045809/the-thin-man

- a 'light' noir piece

- Nick and Nora: a couple for the ages

- the smartest guy in the room, sans arrogance

- A *relationship* for the ages

- the amazing popular streak of "The Thin Man" series

- The real-life platonic relationship between the leads

- One-take directors, like Ed Wood, but actually good

- When the couple steals the show from the genre

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'The Brain from Planet Arous' (1957)

https://archive.org/details/brain-from-planet-arous-1957

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://tubitv.com/movies/100011055/scrooge-black-white-version

- Should they have just gone full camp/comedy with this?

- What this version *does* have that others could do better with

- Dickins' own thoughts on "A Christmas Carol"

- We list all the "Christmas Carols" we can think of, and where this one ranks.

- Rating the three ghosts

- Not standing out among its peers.

- Our biggest complaints with the original story.

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'The Thin Man' (1934)

https://tubitv.com/movies/100045809/the-thin-man

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Our personal histories and/or prejudices around police procedurals

- The way the setup teases the audience before the crime happens

- Good cop banter

- A somewhat 'ordinary' killer (i.e., not just a crazy serial killer)

- More interest in the chase than the whodunnit

- Making the unglamorous parts of procedure interesting

- The limitations procedurals place on us critics

- When the most relatable thing about any of your characters is them just wanting to go home

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Scrooge' (1951)

- Our favorite "Christmas Carol"s

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Can this really classify as a Christmas movie?

- The insane pre-existing living arrangement between the characters

- Unexpectedly swapping out your main and supporting characters.

- Everything is tangential

- The litany of bad relationship tropes

- The weird daily routines of rich people (in this movie)

- Some truly bonkers theology

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Jigsaw' (1962)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Marlon Brando, the GOAT, except for Chris Reeve

- Screenplay that allows itself the room to explore deep relationships

- The depth of the female leads, and Val's mysterious nature

- The character of Carol, what she represents

- Racism and the othering of 'outsiders' in opposition to genuine love

- The layers of symbolism and metaphors

- Connection to the Orpheus myth in the title of the original play

- Ryan talking himself up a rating or two

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: 'Beyond Christmas' (1940)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- The uncredited star: The visuals.

- Accelerated level-up frontiersman 101

- When the movie won't let a guy have a good thing, 'cuz *vengeance*.

- Yeah, but is he 'legendary'?

- 

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "The Fugitive Kind" (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Gee, that theme music sounds familiar.

- The 'controversial' book its based on

- Getting the film made to fit into conformity with the Hayes code

- One of the changes works out better

- The kernel of truth in the depiction of "small-towns hiding dark secrets"

- Exposing wounds to sunlight - so to speak, and the lessons that we learn from that

- Ann Sheridan's Randy Monaghan

- Dr. Tower's double tragedy and theme overcoming melodrama

- The ending that soars

- Having hope for the future

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- *Wanting* to be noir without understanding it.

- (Re)-cycling of plot elements taking priority over character development.

- Red-Herrings galore!

- Nothing much changes, except the man she's with.

- Foghorn accuracy.

- Next week's film: "King's Row" (1942)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Revealing the juvenile nature lurking under the violence of fascist authoritarianism

- Chaplin's passion project: "Hitler must be laughed at"

- Machismo: the ultimate hot air balloon

- Comedic value vs. dramatic value

- Resisting fascism without incurring hatred

- The lesson of false hopes and wanting the bad thing to be over before it actually is

- The effect seeing the final speech had on our expectations

- The comedic "Great Dictator" vs. the dramatic one

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "Dangerous Crossing" (1953)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- A movie crudely spliced together from spare parts at visible seems? That tracks.

- That stubborn habit of mislabeling the character named "Frankenstein"

- What exactly was the need for NASA to make android "Frank" look human...

- and burying the lede of just *having made a functional android*

- Two casts doing different movies, sewn together badly

- Taking random left-turns into "Roman Holiday"

- How much stock footage is too much stock footage?

- When you're an actor who thinks they're in a better movie than they are.

- Dr. Nadir being the best character in the film.

- Odds and ends. Some trivia.

- More hot Vespa-riding action.

- Next week's film: "The Great Dictator" (1940)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- Don't make opening credits like they used to, or at all, really...

- How it holds up compared to the rest of the franchise

- Clouseau as a neat party trick side-character

- Justin goes deep on the Stradivarius joke

- "Flanderization" of long-running characters

- David Niven makes the film work - as much as Clouseau

- One weak link in cast

- Almost dropping the landing

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster" (1965)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- The magical mink coat that destroys everything good

- Exploring inter-generational differences through relationships? Nah.

- Screenwriter to women: "See the problem isn't his lying, it's that you have standards..."

- Why didn't Toni and Stephanie just team up with each other against Julian?

- Ryan takes a swing at fixing it...

- and then Justin takes a try at it.

- Ingrid Bergman "spontaneously" creating an awkward 60's dance move like... please, no.

- Remakes and trivia

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "The Pink Panther" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- "Call me Ishmael" ... if you can find me.

- Bringing to mind SpongeBob and Muppet Treasure Island

- Tackling translation of theme and Shakespearian-like drama from source material

- "*From hell's heart...*" Who does it better?

- Animating diorama miniatures and other SFX that just *work*.  

- A kind of authenticity it's hard to know how to feel about

- Orson Welles' one-scene sermon, and that pulpit!

- Justin's possible familial connection to the setting

- Our Verdict  

- Next week's film: "Cactus Flower" (1969)

https://archive.org/details/cactus-flower.-1969.720p.-blu-ray.x-26-odnoklassniki-7512606050872-hls-1952

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://archive.org/details/the-ladykillers-1955_202310

- Alec Guinness playing Alistair Sim, playing Professor Marcus

- The undoing of evil with innocence

- Twisting hardened criminals to play music for your old-ladies social club

- The humor in old-people perpetrating violence

- Getting the right cast

- Bringing back a small line from the middle, as the cherry on top at the end

- The heroic Mrs. Wilberforce

- The pleasing sound (effect) of villains being disposed of

- A little bit about that Coen brothers remake

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "Moby Dick" (1956)

https://tubitv.com/movies/300453/moby-dick

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- A few comparisons to two modern iconic fictional characters

- The Flat-Arc character done well

- Propaganda - not always a bad thing!

- How being the victim of war brings clarity

- The 'idiot foil' for the hero.

- That speech!

- Justin implants an idea into Ryan's brain

- Our Verdicts

- Next week's film: "The Ladykillers" (1955)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- When an adaptation betrays its source faithfully.

- Zero thematic translation achievement unlocked!

- Van Helsing having a random stroke with no connection to plot or character. Wut?

- The most life-like portrayal being the one undead guy.

- Justin getting educated on the differences between the novel and screen versions of the story.

- What atmosphere? The problem of brightly lighting your gothic horror movie.

- One slim moment of unintentional humor

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "Pimpernel Smith" (1941)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- The drama of these fickle gods: where is it?

- The motives of Greek/Roman gods

- Distinguishing between fulfilling the purposes of mythmaking & the purpose of storytelling/filmmaking.

- When sticking to the story-as-told hurts more than helps

- Why give Herc the boot? This alteration was the one worth making?

- Adventure: Go do the thing. We did the thing!

- A few B-Movie moments

- Harryhausen just keeps nailing his part.

- The real geographical locations in the story

- Just how much netting is standard-issue on a Greek sailing vessel?

- Verdicts

- Next week's film: "Count Dracula" (1970)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- The awkward conversations we've all had

- Chance conversations and the origins of Movie Bones

- Assessing our experiences with Hitchcock films overall

- "We don't talk about Bruno"

- Hitchcock's mid-film rug-pulling

- Holding the mirror up to the audience

- Thought experiment: How upset is Guy over his wife's murder?

- Where are our moral boundaries?

- Technical prowess, SFX and Cinematography

- Verdict

- Next week's film: "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- "Kitchen Sink" dramas

- Playing with perception of time

- Male disillusionment. Are we ready for a resurgence of films in this niche?

- Self-knowledge as precursor to success or failure in relationships

- A film / TV show connection Justin did *not* see coming

- The great Richard Harris 

- Our verdict

- Next week's film: "Strangers on a Train" (1951)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

- That very British sense of humor

- Why doesn't anyone tag this guy as a suspect?

- Louis, the force of fate / destiny.

- Where there's room for more character growth

- Whether or not 8 versions of Alec Guinness is truly enough

- Weather happens on Movie Bones!

- Our Verdict

- Next week's film: "This Sporting Life" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The connections to Star Wars...

• Toshiro Mifune as Obi Wan - what could have been...

• The intensity he brings to all his roles...

• The potential polarizing effect of the "bickering observers" framing device...

• Something that never happens in these movies that happens this time, and we love it!

• The little bit of thematic 'oomph' that elevates...

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The epic... running time...

• Justin waxing poetic on 'the spirit of the west'

• Just what 'good' means in the context of this film

• The visual storytelling

• The changing of westerns in the 60's and the continuing influence of spaghetti westerns

• The film as an anti-war statement

• Giving appreciation for Wallach's "Ugly".

• Ranking the "Dollars" trillogy, and comparisons to Yojimbo

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "The Hidden Fortress" (1958)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Just how many genres can you jam into a film?

• Hitchcock's attitude towards filmmaking

• Teasing the audience with almost-meaningful moments

• Some really impressive practical effects

• Being remembered for visuals and effects over story...

• ...with the inevitable comparison to Jim Cameron's 'Avatar' 

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• autophobia and scopaesthesia

• the horror and unease of dealing with the concept of dying

• whether the film should've explained more about itself

• did the low-budget production help or hurt?

• the 'dangerous youth' genre and horror-heroine tropes

• an unusual marketing tie-in

• the history of the creepy Salt-Air Palace and the use of liminal space

• we get deeper into what scares us

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Foreign Correspondant" (1940)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Blending "Misery" with "Sunset Boulevard"

• track record of forgotten child stars

• needless undermining twists

• Betty Davis' stand-out performance

• Creative decisions and pet-peeves that made us go 'hmm'.

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Carnival of Souls" (1962)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• breadcrumb trials in the script... they go where?!?

• waiting patiently for the reveal when plot and characters stand still

• the reality of advancing fascism vs. how its treated here

• filling in the blanks the script leaves open with our own ideas

• reporters who seem to be resistant to the idea of reporting

• what could have been...

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" (1962)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Some under-the-radar sililarities between Terry and Johnny Friendly

• How struggle can sometimes end up as entitlement

• Some neat bits of social psychology and morality around group dynamics

• Fr. Pete: How to give a sermon in a movie and make it good

• The value of 'not ratting on yourself'

• When *not* to dial your film's score up to eleven

• Seeing a classic quote show up in-context for the first time

• Ryan's unexpected comparison to a completely different film

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Keeper of the Flame" (1942)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Melodrama - what is it?

• Everyone is horrible (almost)

• Skeevy older men marrying WAY below their age

• The film's view of women in general

• Dropping dramatic 'bombs' every five minutes

• Can you commit to a plot direction...

• ... and if you can't, can that be funny?

• A moment of pure absurdity...

• ...with some notable runners-up for that title

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "On the Waterfront" (1954)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Why is this guy here?

• Weird architecture choice

• Someone criticize your taste in wine? Install a vat of acid in your basement!

• Cheesy haunted-house tour guide characters

• Scooby Doo, but with less plot and more guns

• Making one unrelated woman suffer because: revenge

• The more you think about it, the more plot holes appear

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "The Strange Woman" (1946)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The way corporate culture uses people

• Paralleling that use with direct insinuations of prostitution

• The subtlety of the screenplay

• Waking up someone who's OD'd on sleeping pills

• Forerunner of movies highlighting a predatory Wall Street mentality

• Clarifying Baxter's motivations

• Justin's notes on the acting

• Hope is contagious

• Capturing time and place: 1960's New York

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "House on Haunted Hill" (1959)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• "Teddy's" mental state

• A twist that caught us off guard

• Two really awesome leading lady roles

• Nice complementary antagonisim

• Justin learns about "Criminal Minds" and psychopaths

• Wanting more of a good thing

• An alternate-universe version of this concept

• Justin's nostalgia for dark-light 

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "The Apartment" (1955)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The optimism of a long speech changing a vote

• A recent real-life example of a record-breaking, traditional filibuster 

• Levels of patriotism vs. propaganda

• That state whose name we do not speak...

• Justin's problems with the stakes, and the public expectations in 1939

• What a remake could look like, and why we could use one

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Cast a Dark Shadow" (1955)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Karloff title / poster curse striking again

• when the story you don't expect is still good

• Jekyll and Hyde as a grounded, real-life metaphor for addiction

• Irrational behavior ensuring main character is pushed to limit

• Underutilized string characters

• Two horror icons from two different generations meeting on screen

• The similarities with Karloff's "The Body Snatcher"

• Was "Pain and the Knife" a real bias against the idea of anesthesia?

• Our Verdict

• Next week's film: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• the second movie Ryan's seen that flushed itself from memory

• when improv can't make up for the apparent lack of script

• playing with ideas of how this could have worked

• a theory as to how the movie found its way to Tubi

• our verdict

• Next week's film: "Corridors of Blood" (1958)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Ryan gives his review right at the beginning.

• The most sincere pumpkin patch of bad movies

• Filmmakers actually thinking this would go into wide distribution

• When test footage becomes the footage

• Recounting the myriad random glorious moments that got us

• Tor Johnson speaks!

• "Stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"

• What could have been...

• Our verdict

• Next week's movie: "Viva Max" (1969)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The optimism of a long speech changing a vote

• A recent real-life example of a record-breaking, traditional fillibuster 

• Levels of patriotism vs. propaganda

• That state whose name we do not speak...

• Justin's problems with the stakes, and the public expectations in 1939

• What a remake could look like, and why we could use one

• Our Verdict

• Next Week's Film: "Cast a Dark Shadow" (1955)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Brando's acting chops - ON FIRE!  And the rest of the cast too!

• The density and complexity of characters - love and hate

• Superficial appearances of normality being disrupted by introducing a wild card

• How can fictional characters feel *this* real?

• That ending.

• Our verdict

• Next week's movie: "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Driving while mutating = Fun

• Was sunscreen never an option?

• Open question: does a man keep his mind after turning into a Sun Demon?

• ACTING!!!

• Glorious ineptitudes

• But the makeup was decent!

• How to trigger your easily-avoidable mutation

• Attention to detail: they made a splat!

• Our verdict

• Next week's film: "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Justin's conflicted feelings about Cary Grant

• the film as a predicessor to James Bond

• love or hate: convoluted villain plan number 8,057

• Ryan's affinity for world-vs-protagonist stories

• Justin's issues on sexually motivated credulity

• Our Verdict

• Next week's film: "The Hideous Sun Demon" (1958)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• A surprise Spongebob reference...

• ...that triggers disjointed feelings in Ryan

• where the motivations for the characters are

• spoiling plot elements with your opening credits

• the awards and attention it's gotten

• our verdict

• Next week's film: "North By Northwest" (1959)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/movies/6750e5fa2678a50014fc883a

• challenging social expectations of the time

• ambiguous vs. unresolved endings

• waitng too long to break down a main character

• a script that lets the audience use its intuition ...

• ... that sometimes leaves spaces too big to fill

• a cinematographer whose name stands out - to Justin

• Our Verdict

• Next week's film: "The Third Man" (1949)

https://tubitv.com/movies/465493/the-third-man

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Ranking our best and worst experiences of the year

• Revealing our favorite actors and actresses (not including Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman)

• Springing some surprise awards categories on each other

• Rating the films we covered that never got a rating

• Orson Wells and trippy art films

• Wells' capturing the stylized dream / nightmare experience on film

• Franz Kafka and the philosophy of existentialism and absurdism

• How much Kafka's experiences shaped his worldview

• Our verdict?

• Next week's film: "The L-Shaped Room" (1962)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ Romantic screwball comedy mystery film is quite the venn diagram.

⦁ Is this the Cary Grant film that breaks Justin's streak of negative reactions?

⦁ Social distrust of institutions starting to creep into popular films.

⦁ Ryan waxes eloquent about Audrey Hepburn... Again :-)

⦁ Successfully using misdirection in your thriller

⦁ The icing on top: Dialogue that pops.

⦁ Some interesting trivia on the unusual copyright situation with the film

⦁ Our Verdict

⦁ Next Week's Film: "The Trial" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Absence of change in characters
• How setting sets this rom-com apart
• An unusual connection to a popular cartoon
• Our individual expectations with rom-coms
• Convoluted romantic complications: flaw or feature?
• Our Verdict.
• Next week's film: "Charade" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Hobson's Choice: not just a movie title!
• Is Maggie a Mary Sue?
• The film as social satire/commentary
• Crossing the bridge of inevitability
• Some Charles Laughton trivia.
• Our Verdict.
• Next week's film: "It Happened One Night" (1934)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ Unexpected ending for a movie based on a Victor Hugo novel

⦁ Gwenelplaine as inspiration for Joker

⦁ A romantic picture that launches a horror franchise.

⦁ The legacy of German Expresionism

⦁ Tim Burton and Batman

⦁ Our Verdict

⦁ Next Week's Film: "Hobson's Choice" (1954)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ Themes of death and the all-consuming nature of fame.

⦁ The disproportionate way Hollywood treats women.

⦁ The complicit way one takes on the attributes of an unhealthy system and the price of breaking with it.

⦁ Is Joe the real antagonist?

⦁ Next week's film: "The Man Who Laughs" (1928)

⦁ Our Verdict.

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ Shakespearian psychology and the Shadow Self

⦁ Setting the mood: what can be created by doing simple things really well, like make up, good lighting and sound design.

⦁ Shakespear's story as an examination of free-will.

⦁ Steady pacing and lingering shots.

⦁ One particular jaw-dropping special effect.

⦁ Our rating

⦁ Next week's film: "Sunset Boulevard" (1950)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ How Queen Bee keeps her victims close. No really. How?

⦁ Why are these people here?

⦁ The problem of un-earned trust.

⦁ Joan Craword = Norma Desmond?

⦁ Our Verdict

⦁ Next week's film: "Throne of Blood" (1957)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ When writers create character problems that are obviously convoluted

⦁ Checkhov's recording device

⦁ Missed opportunties in main-character growth

⦁ Undercutting the strength of main-character, with "sudden" loss of intelligence

⦁ A thriller that thinks its a tragedy

⦁ Our Verdict

⦁ Next week's film: "Queen Bee" (1955)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

⦁ Whether the movie understands how time passes.

⦁ The density of the hero's brain matter.

⦁ When you can avoid a convoluted twelve-step plan with a simple question.

⦁ Obligatory recycled mad-scientist tropes

⦁ Like "The Body Snatcher", but also not.

⦁ A very memorable "welcome to my home" moment.

⦁ Our Verdict

⦁ Next week's film: "Sudden Fear" (1952)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The "epic comedy" genre, and other films that fit into that box.
• Dangerous stunt-work you won't find in movies any more.
• What it takes to (mostly) succeed at keeping track of so many plot strands.
• Ethel Merman: The exception that proves the rule on annoying mother-in-law characters.
• Our personal favorite characters.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Black Sleep" (1956)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Getting fooled by our expectations.
• Why doesn't anyone remember the two *other* destinations Dante writes about?
• Apart from Jim, what exactly are the motivations here?
• The one scene where the movie's budget really is on-screen.
• Did the devil just dive into a pool to save someone's life?!?!
• When a character "needs" to die to show they've changed, and what happens when they don't.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Is Walter actually a "good" kind of Gary Stu character?
• Danny Kaye is key to all this. No, really. He is.
• Boris Karloff reminding us yet again how much we miss him.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Dante's Inferno" (1935)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• When the weather is more important to the plot than the characters.
• Is this just a Hallmark movie ahead of its time?
• Misused supporting characters.
• "Reasons" you might be with the wrong person, according to movie.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• How much we need stories like this right now...
• Making the story-within-the-story work...
• The necessity of seeing "Life as it should be"
• The film as a statement on the communal aspects of art
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "I Know Where I'm Going" (1945)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The history of the Rat Pack, and what it stood for
• How it's just as interesting as watching Frank and the guys hang out on a Saturday
• Ways that the 2001 remake improved on this film
• Starting your heist movie when it's already half-over
• Weird rat-pack slang and ending on a cool image
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Man of La Mancha" (1972)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Delaying your main character's entrance behind needless layers of setup and supporting characters talking.
• How Peter Ustinov makes the movie, and what any kid born after 1973 remembers him for most
• The trippy 60's take on a heist film.
• Some alternative ways we'd like to have seen it all play out.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Ocean's 11" (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Not taking full advantage of your premise.
• Not taking full advantage of your characters.
• If you're going to commit murder, try not blurting out details that only the murderer would know in front of the cops.
• Cribbing from "The Wizard of Oz" to end your noir film.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Topkapi" (1964)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• The delicate line between making your hero a victim of circumstance, and portraying him as a creep.
• The miraculous forgiving properties of egg-salad sandwiches
• Inadvertently choosing another Roger Corman film
• The effect of careless writing - in a Corman film? Who knew?
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Woman in the Window" (1944)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Choosing our favorite bits of cheese...
• Similarities between the hero and Lloyd Bridges' "Airplaine!" character
• The need for more genre parodies...
• How Star Trek technobabble ain't got nothing on this movie...
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Fast and the Furious" (1954)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Leisurely paced slice-of-life films...
• Some really under-the-radar reverse psychology...
• The value in good communication in marriage...
• Maintaining mutual expectations in relationships...
• The role of art criticism in culture, at its best...
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "War Between the Planets" (1966)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• More ambiguous settings from Corman...
• That TWIST ending!
• How many directors on a film are too many?
• The insane behind-the-scenes weirdness that explains most of the on-screen weirdness.
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" (1960)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• An insanely young Jack Nicholson
• The confusing time period/setting
• Is it improvised, or is it scripted? Who can tell?
• Roger Corman: the B movie legend that launched a generation of filmmakers and stars
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Terror" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• Andy Griffith got range!
• The psychology of a demagogue
• A subversive film from the 1950's?!!?
• The strength of the supporting cast
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Raven" (1963)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

This week, Ryan and Justin survive Movie Bones' first musical: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954) and live to talk about...

• the disturbing origins and inspiration for the story
• athletic dancing, skilled singing and choreography
• an alternative ancient myth that could have been better used as inspiration
• trivializing gravely criminal behavior with a slap on the wrist
• our Verdict
• next week's film: "A Face in the Crowd" (1957)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• cliches in the conspiracy sub-genre, and in this movie
• Hitchcock's struggles with character depth
• the film world's oddest dying/last words
• deep thoughts on conspiracies both real and imagined
• our Verdict
• next week's film: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)

*warning* Next week's film callously uses the Roman legend of the abduction and rape of the Sabine women as a major plot element in a way that can be seen as trivializing the gravity of such offenses.

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

• speculations about Sanjuro's past
• whether Sanjuro qualifies as a "Gary Stu" character
• one particularly bloody special effect
• the richness of the supporting cast
• our Verdict
• next week's film: "The 39 Steps" (1935)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

Ryan and I sort it all out this week as we watch "The Mask of Zorro" (1940) and discuss...

• Can a Zorro film get away with only one real swordfight?
• An actor even more typecast than Basil Rathbone
• Justin's pet peeves with a certain brand of acting
• What the 'sexy lamp' test is, and whether it applies here
• Next week's film: "Sanjuro" (1962)

• A psych film where the institution isn't evil?!?
• Examining social and cultural effects the 50's had on the '60's
• Portraying mental illness in film
• Some neat casting connections to very different films
• Next week's film: "The Mark of Zorro" (1940)

Join the discussion on our Facebook page!

• Popular Kaiju film tropes and overcoming them
• The cultural self-awareness of the film
• Puppet Godzilla
• Examining the transitional periods in a culture's history through film
• What Godzilla can teach us today
• Next week's film: "David and Lisa" (1962)

• Really bad colorizing
• The 60's trend of mainstream Italian films with American leads
• How much explanation a movie really needs to sell its concept
• Why a story gets remade so frequently and why it always feels off
• Spoiler stuff - lots of it!
• Our verdict
• Next week's film: "Gojira" (1954)

• Actors that build their career exclusively on one franchise
• Why there are 28 of these things
• The comic strip itself
• The perils of a non-sequitur universe
• Dagwood as humanity's dumping ground
• Consequence-free bad behavior in the portrayal of marriage (Not Satire!)
• Ryan spontaneously creating a new rating
• Our verdict
• Next week's film: "The Last Man on Earth" (1964)

• The great Ingrid Bergman
• Bucking the sniveling villain/overbearing mother trope
• Hitchcock - great at building tension. Relationships? Not so much..
• Needlessly putting your heroine in danger...
• Our rating
• Next week's film: "Blondie" (1938)

• The confined setting, and how it helps the story
• The powerful human need to conform
• A parallel to "The Dark Night"
• An unexpected main character
• Our rating
• Next week's film: "Notorious" (1946)

• Ambitions: when they're reasonable, and when they're not
• A culture that becomes the real villain
• The privilege of the powerful
• How self-centered environments make unwilling accomplices
• Next week's film: "12 Angry Men" (1957)

Join the discussion on our Facebook page!

• Who exactly is this Bodyguard guarding?
• Sanjuro's ambiguous motives
• The controversy between this film and "A Fistful of Dollars"
• Kurosawa's influences, and the influence his film still has today
• Next week's film: "Of Mice and Men" (1939)

• Whether a psychological thriller plays well as a gruesome fairy tale
• Robert Mitchum's effectively creepy Harry Powell
• How one aspect of the film made Ryan think of a Charlie Brown special
• Potential issues with the portrayal of women
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Yojimbo" (1961)

• The moment when Alec Guinness starts to look more like Obi Wan
• The chemistry between Guinness and Ives
• The (lack) of wisdom of recruiting spies in the men's room
• Capturing the moment before the course of (real) history changes
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Night of the Hunter" (1959)

• A fake Mississippi town that's also a real Mississippi town
• The "heat" that cools off when filming extends to winter
• When personal pride turns a social climate toxic
• Forcing your flawed characters to make difficult choices
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Our Man in Havana" (1960)

• What sets Father Brown apart from other film detectives
• How Star Trek's evil goatees kind of spoil older films
• Transatlantic mislabeling changes expectation
• Undercutting your protagonist with Deus ex Machina
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

• What happens when you have opportunities for all kinds of challenges for your characters, but don't pick any of them
• Mid-movie spontaneous anachronistic wardrobe changes
• Hiding your best actor/performance until long after you stop caring
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Detective" (1954)

• Does the "white savior" trope critics hang on it really apply, or is there a more nuanced take available?
• Ideas of courage vs. heroism
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "Mysterious Island" (1961)

Join in the discussion on the Movie Bones Facebook Page!

• Face-palm inducing Italian stereotypes
• The habit of giving a women meaningful positions only to immediately undermine them
• How this film reminds one of "Airplane!" (1980)
• Hard Sci-fi vs. whatever this is
• "But the special effects were decent..."
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)

• How plot demands can bring on mood swings...
• When stupidity is compelling, and when it's just.... stupid
• How it could've worked better
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "20 Million Miles to Earth" (1957)

• The cartoon propaganda boom
• Propaganda as a national "Mary Sue" story
• Changing the end of the novel and how it changes the meaning
• The necessity for skeptics (but not necessarily cynics) in society, and the bigger need for hope
• Our Verdict
• Next week's film: "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946)

• The strength of Lucille Ball's performance and character
• The somewhat skeezy 'business' of paid dancers.
• Undermining your lead character
• Blending genres vs. switching them altogether
• Boris Karloff never phoning in a performance - even in bit roles
• Our verdict.
• Next week's film: "Animal Farm" (1954)

  • “Fortune & Glory” films are pure gold. They're movies to go back to again and again. These are the films would find a great home in your physical movie library, if you've still got one - they're that good.

  • “Trust Me” films are imperfect gems that still offer a really good time. Buy a digital copy to stream if you want to make sure you always have access to it.

  • “Belongs in a Museum”: If you think of museums as places you pay to get in to see things you wouldn’t necessarily want to bring home with you, then you’ve got a good feel for this category.  If you can’t find these movies for free on sites like Tubi, you might still consider renting them off one of the paid platforms when the mood strikes. 

  • “Bad Dates”, happen when ‘free’ is the only price you’d be willing to pay to experience it, and only because at least one person showed up to make a good film. It could be the special effects were ahead of their time, the stunning cinematography, or some other aspect. But generally speaking, these are once-and-done films. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve gotten everything out of it you’ll ever get.

  • “Don’t Look At It”. Movies so bad they’ll melt your face off, whether from boredom or some really horrible sensibilities, and nobody doing ‘their best’ could make it worth enduring again. If you've taken the chance to watch it along side Ryan and me, we make no apologies, because part of what makes this podcast journey unique is the off chance that your head may explode!

  • “Nuke the Fridge”; A category reserved for films that manage to be fun because they’re bad in entertaining ways. You know the kind. This is kind of a ‘modifier’ category, that’ll often be applied alongside one of the other ratings.

• They way this film gets longer when more footage is re-discovered.
• The blending of gothic, art-deco, and bauhaus visual styles
• The importance of finding the right music to back your silent film
• How the film reflects the time and place it was made
• Nazis...
• Next week's film: "Lured" (1947)

• Recognizing a young "Obi-Wan Kenobi"
• How the movie is like an episode of Power Puff Girls and Breaking Bad
• The way the film acts as a record of London's still-visible damage from WWII
• Alec Guinness' comedic range as an actor
• Next week's film: "Metropolis" (1927)

• "Blind School"; is that what it's really called?
• Alan Arkin's standout performance as the psychopathic Rote
• The problem when con-artist characters act out their con... badly.
• Some "what-if"s surrounding the supporting characters
• Next week's film: "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951)

• The cultural origins of noir film
• Justin's take on cynicism within noir, and the need for hope
• How Sam Spade is like Indiana Jones and Batman
• McGuffins!
• Next week's film: "Wait Until Dark" (1967)

• Karloff's magnetic screen presence...
• Subtlety in horror...
• An unusual thematic parallel with Jurassic Park...
• The inevitability of the characters' fates...
• Next week's film: "The Maltese Falcon" (1941)

• When it's not sad to have the couple fail at ending up together.
• Hepburn & Peck's special comedic qualities
• The art of not actually naming the kingdom your princess is from.
• What sets this rom-com apart from later ones.
• Next week's film: The Body Snatcher with Boris Karloff. Link to film on Tubi

Link to movie on Tubi

• Where we would go to set ourselves up as kings?
• The actors who almost played Danny and Peachy.
• A comparison to a Dreamworks animated film.
• Just how good of a king was Danny?.
• Next week's film: Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck & Audrey Hepburn. *Free version no longer streaming as of air date, but you can still find it for rent.*

Listen in as Justin and Ryan fill the gaps in their movie watching experience as they dig through films made before they were born, as they become available for free on various streaming platforms.

It's an adventure in discovery. We'll cover well-remembered classics, obscure titles, and the occasional rare oddity.

Each week, we'll take one film, break down our reactions, and issue a final verdict before announcing the next week's title.

If that sounds like an adventure you want to be a part of, follow us on your favorite podcast platform!

P.S. There is a "Movie Bones" rating system coming, but we didn't discover it 'till episode 8!