83 - Annie (2014)

It’s not just that the 2014 ANNIE remake provided the perfect showcase for Quvenzhané Wallis to take over America, but it’s also that it provided us with a warning of things to come. Jamie Foxx’s wealthy businessman runs for public office, uses social media to boost his numbers, and vows to “make this city great again”. He also wears fake hair. At any rate, it was too much for the general public. Listen to Alex and Julio rejoice with the remixed soundtrack, celebrate diversity and learn that “orphan” isn’t a PC word anymore!

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Road To The Livestream Part Two - London

Two men, one bathroom. That’s all you really need if the men are Jason Statham and Chris Evans and the filmmaker is some dude named Hunter Richards. Alex and Julio conclude their Livestream warm-up by discussing the barely known gem LONDON, a movie that accurately portrays how straight white men feel about hot women, drugs and genitalia. Tarantino who?

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Road To The Livestream Part One - The African Queen

A lonely sailor gets taken advantage of by a vengeful grief-stricken woman? Or is it that a confused grieving woman is preyed upon by a lecherous drunk? Doesn’t seem like anybody making THE AFRICAN QUEEN knew for sure, and it shows. Listen to Alex and Julio as they warm-up for their upcoming LIVESTREAM FOR THE CURE spot by trying to get this one down without editing and under an hour!

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Bonus! - Green Book

How do you make a racist violent white man look good? You pair him with an uptight pretentious unfriendly black man. And then you rake in the awards! Past guest Eddie Strait joins Alex and Julio to discuss the most recent Best Picture Oscar Winner, GREEN BOOK, and such conundrums as where Viggo Mortensen’s Italian accent came from, why comedians think fried chicken is funny, and how Mississippi feels about not being able to live down its racist past. It’s the unofficial finale to our Awards Arc and it gets HEATED during Real Talk!

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82 - Birdman

You know that awkward situation when you’re just making harmless small talk and suddenly the other person unloads years of emotional baggage on you? That’s what it’s like when you watch BIRDMAN and suddenly feel like you know waaaay too much about Michael Keaton. Listen to Alex and Julio discuss one more Best Picture Winner, one with gimmicks and pretension to spare!

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81 - Hudson Hawk

Legend says if you were quiet enough during the opening weekend of HUDSON HAWK, you could hear Bruce Willis’ soul shattering into a million bitter pieces. Poor Bruce gave his all in an offbeat super quirky adventure heist musical extravaganza and the world turned on him. Listen to Alex and Julio as they reckon with the fact that Willis’ passion project is not the punchline everyone proclaimed it was. What else have you been lying to us about, America?

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80 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Did Ben Stiller ego grow way out of hand, or did he finally evolve into the everyman we always knew he could be? Is his WALTER MITTY a love poem to himself, or an ode to all of us who aren’t major superstars? More importantly: is Kristen Wiig’s rendition of Ground Control to Major Tom more poignant than David Bowie’s? The Contrarians tackle all the angles in their eighth “Grey Area” episode, with Julio playing defense and Alex attacking! It’s a battle as spectacular as Ben Stiller’s imaginary action sequences!

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79 - The King's Speech

Must we mock England so relentlessly? Must we maliciously tell the embellished story of a conman who preyed on royalty and got away with it? Alex and Julio tackle yet another Best Picture Winner that got its Oscar by making fun of foreign customs, one that didn’t even bother to give Helena Bonham Carter anything to do besides looking dashing on some of the posters. Also: more recent Oscars chat in the Real Talk segment!

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78 - Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Science versus religion! Spock versus his own brother! Shatner versus God!!!! How on Earth is this movie considered the worst Star Trek movie ever made??? Listen to Alex and Julio as they marvel at the talents of William Shatner behind and in front of the camera, the charisma of Laurence Luckinbill as an intergalactic preacher, and the dark disturbing undertones of what this film does to Bones’ soul! Plus: row row row your boat!

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77 - Shakespeare in Love

On today’s episode: a movie that celebrates an artist’s worst tendencies. Adultery, procrastination, irresponsibility, self-centeredness, and an overall lack of a moral center. In other words, Academy Awards catnip! Listen to Alex and Julio as they examine SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and discuss Gwyneth Paltrow’s coming out party! Joseph Fiennes’ three minutes of fame! And John Madden’s confusingly successful transition from football to filmmaking!

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