Podcasters Alex Mattis and Julio Olivera battle popular opinion by praising the movies you hate and trashing the movies you love.
So how true is this true story exactly? And did Alex & Julio experience it differently because one is a sports fan and the other one isn’t? (guess who’s who) Listen as The Contrarians level with each other about the points MONEYBALL makes, the ones it doesn’t, and whether this is Jonah Hill’s best performance.
Read MoreHow many times is Brad Pitt going to fail at portraying a Regular Joe before he realizes it’s just not within his reach anymore? He’s Hollywood MegaStar Brad Pitt! And even if you could get past that bit of fake news in MONEYBALL, you’d still have to deal with Serious Actor Jonah Hill (successfully) grabbing for an Academy Awards nomination. All this while poor Phillip Seymour Hoffman is ignored on the sidelines, and the plot does its best to suck the fun out of sports. Listen to Alex & Julio give this acclaimed Miller/Zaillian/Sorkin collaboration The Contrarians Treatment!
Read MoreBoy, you thought we were positive in Contrarians Corner? Wait until you hear Alex during Real Talk. Sit back and enjoy the most enthusiastic discussion about Semi-Pro that’s been had… probably since the movie was pitched to studio execs. But can we figure out why it didn’t succeed in the way other Will Ferrell comedies did around that time?
Read MoreIt turns out that basketball isn’t really appreciated in America. How else would you explain SEMI-PRO’s rotten standing among critics? The Will Ferrell vehicle is a perfect celebration of American can-do attitude, loaded with comedic all-stars at the top of their game, and yet… it’s somehow seen as a lesser Ferrell film. Well, Alex & Julio won’t stand for it! Listen to The Contrarians go to bat (or shoot a hoop) for Jackie, Monix, Clarence, and the rest of the gang!
Read MoreYou heard us pretend to be unimpressed by PAN’S LABYRINTH, but how do we really feel about Guillermo Del Toro’s first Oscars darling? Listen to Alex & Julio discuss the film’s ambiguous ending, whether Captain Vidal was just too much, and why we were somehow spared an American remake.
Read MoreWhen it comes to Guillermo Del Toro’s career, it’s peaks and valleys. And there’s no higher peak than his over the top “adult fairy tale” PAN’S LABYRINTH. Listen to Alex & Julio as they poke holes all throughout the movie’s flimsy plot, from Captain Vidal’s inconsistent street-smarts to the ludicrous waste of the most powerful piece of chalk in the universe. You can thank patron Chas Fisher for this one!
Read MoreOur fifteenth Gray Area Episode also happens to be our 150th episode - which is kind of a big deal. So we needed to tackle an appropriately epic movie for the latest Contrarians battle. Doesn’t get any more epic than CAN’T HARDLY WAIT, a bonafide Ethan Embry vehicle, and you know how we feel about Ethan Embry on this show. Alex will be attacking, Julio will be defending, and they’ll both discuss what’s really going on in this classic teen comedy! Did America peak in 1998?
Read MoreThe Muppathon has reached its international finale! MUPPETS MOST WANTED may be fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but there’s a reason there hasn’t been a Muppet movie in the seven years since it landed in theaters, isn’t there? Listen to Alex & Julio as they wonder what hurt the final Muppet film the most: Ricky Gervais’ reputation or the lack of Jason Segel’s star power? Also, can anyone untangle the contradictory mess that is Muppets Continuity? And why does the franchise suddenly hate Rizzo?
Read MoreThere’s no middle ground with movies about Irish people, it’d seem. You either get mushy sentimental claptrap like Sing Street, or the filthiest, most offensive depiction of Irishmen you can think of, like THE GUARD. Listen to Alex & Julio as they discuss the horrors found in Martin McDonagh’s feature film debut: Racism! Debauchery! Generic uses of Mark Strong and Ser Davos Seaworth! And cheap attempts at making Brendan Gleeson sympathetic by giving him an ailing mother!
Read MoreLet’s be real: the noir genre has been dead for decades. One of the main reasons why is that audiences refuse to embrace any imaginative reinventions of the old hard-boiled detective stories - regardless of their quality. Such was the fate of Brian Henson’s wonderfully subversive THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS, which committed the deadly sin of having puppets be sexual and deeply flawed in puritan America. Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to rescue Henson’s misunderstood masterpiece from obscurity in the latest installment of The Muppathon!
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