Analog Jones and the Temple of Film: VHS Podcast

Rampage Movie Review

Matt and Steve discuss a big/dumb/fun movie with the Rock, a giant Gorilla, a flying wolf and a massive dinosaur alligator smashing Chicago! 

Episode Timecodes:

05:05 Rampage Movie Details

10:39 Trailer & then Movie Breakdown

13:43 Spoiler discussion

33:00 Behind the Scenes

34:54 Nerd News

37:37 What Did You Watch?

42:19 Next Week

Rampage Details

Directed by Brad Peyton (Cats & Dogs 2, Journey 2 and San Andreas)

Produced by

• Brad Peyton
• Beau Flynn (Marley Sheltons wife) (San Andreas, Hercules and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, as well as critically acclaimed independent films like Requiem for a Dream and Tigerland)

Screenplay by

• Ryan Engle
• Carlton Cuse (Also wrote San Andreas and Executive Producer on Lost)
• Ryan J. Condal
• Adam Sztykiel (Wrote the Screenplay for Due Date and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip)

Story by Ryan Engle Based on Rampage by Midway Games (Warner Bros bought them in 2009)

Starring

• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Davis Okoye, a primatologist and head of an anti-poaching unit. (Did another video game movie “Doom”)
• Naomie Harris as Dr. Kate Caldwell, a discredited genetic engineer who teams up with Okoye. (Moneypenny from Bond)
• Malin Åkerman as Claire Wyden, the woman responsible for the infection and mutation of George, Ralph, and Lizzie with the mutagenic serum for Project: Rampage. (Played Silk Spectre II from Watchmen and Final Girls)
• Jake Lacy as Brett Wyden, Claire’s dimwitted brother and PR for the company (The Office and HBO’s Girls)
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Harvey Russell, a government agent who works for an agency called OGA, nicknamed the Cowboy (Negan on Walking Dead, The Comedian in Watchmen and Grey’s Anatomy)
• Joe Manganiello as Burke, the leader of a private military group (True Blood and Magic Mike films)

Edited by Bob Ducsay (same guy who did Star Wars the Last Jedi)

Production company

• New Line Cinema (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit Films, Rush Hour films, Austin Power films, TMNT, Dumb and Dumber, The Mask)

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (Merged with New Line in 2008)

Release date

• April 13, 2018 (United States)

Running time: 107 minutes

Budget $120 million

Super Mario Bros. the Movie (1993) VHS Movie Review

Matt and Steve discuss a super flop from 1993 and do we ever go long! There's just too much to talk about with this extreme 90's movie. 

Film Details

• Released on May 28, 1993 in the US, rated PG and had a runtime of 104 minutes
• Taglines:
  Anything is possible, You just gotta believe in it…
  A Bright, Clamorous Extravaganza!
  This Ain’t No Game, It’s a Live-Action Thrill Ride!
  This Ain’t No Game!
• Can Two Plumbers Save the World From Going Down the Drain?
• Directors: Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton (co creators and directors of Max Headroom (an AI host portrayed by Matt Frewer), they also did a lot of Music Videos)
• Writers: Everyone considering there was 7 flipping scripts. The main three on IMDB are Parker Bennett (Mystery Date, The Thief and the Cobbler), Terry Runte (Mystery Date, The Thief and the Cobbler) and Ed Solomon (Bell & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Men in Black).
• Cast:
  Bob Hoskins as Mario Mario (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mermaids)
  John Leguizamo as Luigi Mario (Spawn, Voice of Sid in Ice Age, Land of the Dead)
  Dennis Hopper as King Koopa (Hoosiers, Speed, Waterworld and TCM 2)
  Samantha Mathis as Princess Peach (Little Woman, Broken Arrow, American Psycho)
  Fisher Stevens as Iggy (The Burning, Short Circuit and Hackers)
  Richard Edson as Spike (Ferris Bueller’s Day off and Do the Right Thing)
  Fiona Shaw as Lena (My Left Foot: The Story of Christy, Harry Potter)
  Featuring Mojo Nixon as Toad and Lance Henriksen as the King
• Music by Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, Predator, The Avengers)
• Produced by Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, Fat Man and Little Boy, The Scarlet Letter)
• Art/Production Designer (Blade Runner, Demolition Man and Soldier (1998 Russell))
• Production Co: Hollywood Pictures (Disney owned) & Lightmotive (One False Move: Written by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Bill Paxton)
• Distributed by Buena Vista (Disney)

Movie Breakdown (Scenes to Highlight)

• The odd 8 bit prologue (That’s Dan Castellaneta or Homer Simpson)
• Intro of Mario & Luigi
• Her name is Daisey? Where is Princess Peach? Digging for Dinosaur bones under the Brooklyn Bridge? Whatever
• Dinner (I thought you had no money)
• Why is he called King Koopa, where the F*CK is Bowser!?!
• Thoughts on Dinohatten (How did they get this from a bright and colorful video game?)
• Old Lady gets tossed over a bridge, WTF?
• Why is Toad a protestor?
• Police Station and name reveal
• So Goomba’s are giant body/small head creatures? Not Mushroom minions?
• Electric Cars (Mad Max)
• Night Club Scene (Really needs a Iggy and Spike Rap)
• Why does Koopa keep the King alive? Just kill him...
• Lena is wearing what must be the tightest dress ever
• Why did he make Iggy and Spike smarter?
• Why is Koopa such a germ freak?
• Why can Daisy merge the worlds? She’s Royalty, that’s all I’m getting.
• Did Lena just stab Yoshi????!!!!!
• At least there’s a desert world like in Mario 3
• Finally their costumes!!!
• The elevator scene is so weird but I giggled
• Why is everyone so calm about Koopa and Goopas appearing out of nowhere and turning Scapelli into a chimp, with a Super Scope 6, then calling him a monkey.
• Finally that Bob-omb came into play
• So Mario and Luigi turn Koopa into a T-Rex but he can’t take it and he turns into slim? LAME, We get no giant dinosaur fight!
• Wait, why can’t Luigi stay with Daisy? You’re a broke plummer on Earth, F that, stay with the Princess and rule that place!
• Ha, they really thought this was going to be a franchise!?
• Post End Credits: The Super Koopa Cousins, Sure

Ready Player One and Pacific Rim: Uprising Movie Review

Matt and Steve discuss a movie so packed with nostalgia that it should have been called, “Remember that? The Movie!”. We also watched Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel made for China! Stay tuned to the end to hear more on Windy City Horrorama, What We Watched and What’s Next on the podcast.

Our Show Notes:

• 01:10 Ready Player One Trailer and Notes
• 14:10 Pacific Rim: Uprising Trailer and Notes
• 26:28 Nerd News: More on Windy City Horrorama Film Festival and What We Watched
• 33:05 What’s Next

Ready Player One (2018)
This movie is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 140 minutes and it was released March 29, 2018 in US theaters.

Storyline:
In the year 2045, the real world is a harsh place. The only time Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) truly feels alive is when he escapes to the OASIS, an immersive virtual universe where most of humanity spends their days. In the OASIS, you can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone-the only limits are your own imagination. The OASIS was created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance), who left his immense fortune and total control of the Oasis to the winner of a three-part contest he designed to find a worthy heir. When Wade conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends-aka the High Five-are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS.

Taglines:

• A better reality awaits.
• Break Free

Director: Steven Spielberg (Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Jaws)

Writers:

• Zak Penn (Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men 2)
• Ernest Cline (Wrote the Novel this movie is based on)

Cast:

• Tye Sheridan as Wade/Parzival (X-Men: Apocalypse, Joe, Mud)
• Olivia Cooke as Samantha/Art3mis (Ouija, The Signal, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)
• Ben Mendelsohn as Sorrento (The Dark Knight Rises, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)
• Lena Waithe as Helen/Aech (Master of None, The Chi, Dear White People)
• J. Miller as I-ROk (Silicon Valley, Cloverfield, Big Hero 6, Deadpool)

Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
This movie is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 111 minutes and it was released March 23, 2018 in US theaters.

Storyline:
Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.

Tagline: Rise up.

Director: Steven S. DeKnight (Produced Daredevil, Smallville and Angel) This is his feature-film directorial debut.

Writers:

• Emily Carmichael (screenplay)
• Kira Snyder (screenplay)
• Steven S. DeKnight (screenplay & story)
• S. Nowlin (screenplay & story)

Cast:

• John Boyega as Jake Pentecost (Star Wars 7 and 8, Attack the Block and Detroit)
• Scott Eastwood as Nate Lambert (Suicide Squad, The Fate of the Furious and The Longest Ride)
• Cailee Spaeny as Amara Namani (The Shoes)
• Burn Gorman as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (The Dark Knight Rises, Crimson Peak and Torchwood)
• Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses and The Lego Movie)
• Tian Jeng as Liwen Shao (Kong: Skull Island, The Great Wall and Special ID)
• Jin Zhang as Marshal Quan (The Grandmaster and The Expendables 2)
• Adria Arjona as Jules Reyes (Emerald City and True Detective)

The Littlest Angel's Easter (1998) and Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Never Give Up (2002) VHS Movie Review

Matt and Steve get weird for Easter by watching The Littlest Angel’s Easter (1998) and Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Never Give Up (2002). We bought these VHS for 25 cents apiece at a local resale shop and boy do we wish we would of saved our money.

The Littlest’s Angel’s Easter (1998)

Directed by: John Delaney

Cast: Naomi Judd

Produced by:
Don Schroeder (Executive Producer)
Chris Delaney (Producer)
Arnie Zipursky (Producer)

Animation Department: Yoosik Oum (Layout Artist)

Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Never Give Up (2002)

Episodes:
Jay Jay’s Butterfly Adventure
Snuffy’s Thanksgiving
Tracy’s Shooting Star

History:
Additional distribution was added with Tommy Nelson, the children's division of book publisher Thomas Nelson, although the series is not overtly "Christian". Voice actress Mary Kay Bergman provided the original voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin Evan. After her death, Debi Derryberry and Donna Cherry replaced her.

Leprechaun Origins (2014) Movie Review

Leprechaun Origins (2014) Movie Review

Film Details

The tagline for this movie was “A Horror Icon was Born” and this has a runtime around 90 minutes. This movie was released to select theaters on August 22, 2014, VOD on August 26, 2014 and DVD/Blu-ray on September 30, 2014.

Directed by Zach Lipovsky

Produced by Chris Foss and Michael Luisi

Written by Harris Wilkinson

Based on characters by Mark Jones

Starring

Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl as the Leprechaun

Stephanie Bennett as Sophie Roberts

Teach Grant as Sean McConville

Bruce Blain as Ian Joyce

Adam Boys as Francois

Andrew Dunbar as Ben

Melissa Roxburgh as Jeni

Brendan Fletcher as David, known for Freddy vs Jason and Rampage

Emilie Ullerup as Catherine

Garry Chalk as Hamish McConville

Mary Black as Mary

Gary Peterman as Irish Farmer

Trailers
The Collector’s Series

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3-D

The Quiet Ones

Leprechaun (1993)

Epix.com Promo

Movie Notes
-We get a couple running and dying in the woods, well this could be anything

-This Leprechaun make-up and mask sucks!

-This reminds me of Platinum Dunes remake of Nightmare on Elm Street

-Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun was so fun, this is just blah

-The Leprechaun has gold vision, like the predator, but gold….why?

-Why is everyone so shitty to David?

-The only good gore was Jeni’s death, AXE TO THE FACE!!!

-Finally, Ben is dead, spineless prick!

-Don’t watch this, it’s not worth your time

Nerd News

-Leprechaun is getting another movie! It's called Leprechaun's Return.

-Avengers Infinity War part 1 is crushing pre-sales that Black Panther just set

-Remember you can see Windy City Horrorama Film Festival right here at Davis Theater in Chicago on April 27-29^th, 2018

Time Stamps
0:49 Leprechaun Origins Trailer

2:35 Leprechaun Origins Film Details

8:12 Trailers and Promos

10:55 Leprechaun Notes

20:36 Nerd News

20:58 Leprechaun Returns Teaser Trailer

22:32 Avengers news and comic book movie burnout

27:13 Windy City Horroroma Film Festival Announcements

Leprechaun 2 & Final Mission (1994) VHS Movie Review

Leprechaun 2 & Final Mission (1994) VHS Movie Review
This week Matt and Steve breakdown a double promo tape of both Leprechaun 2 and Final Mission from Trimark Pictures. Trimark Pictures no longer exist after they merged with Lionsgate in 2000.

Leprechaun 2 Film Details
-Leprechaun 2 has a runtime of 85 minutes and was released on April 8, 1994. The tagline for this movie was “This time…luck has nothing to do with it”.
-Directed by Rodman Flender and he has directed Idle Hands (1999), Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (2011) and Roger Corman’s The Unborn (1991).
-Based on characters by Mark Jones and written by Turi Meyer and Al Septien which both went on to be writers and producers on Smallville by the WB and The CW.
-Starring Warwick Davis as the Leprechaun. Warwick Davis has played characters such as the Ewok Wicket from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Willow and Professor Filius Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter films.
-Leprechaun 2 had a budget of around 2 million dollars, grossed $2.3 million in the US Box office and grossed over $5 million worldwide.

Leprechaun 2 Box Art Breakdown
-Matt breaks down the VHS box and tells us about the Leprechaun’s hand flap that wraps around the VHS box art.
-He then describes the VHS box art and reads all the promo tapes advertising details.
-Next Matt reads the synopsis of the film on the back of the VHS box.

Leprechaun 2’s Trailers and Promos
-We start with a film called Trading Mom from 1994 starring Sissy Spacek and why we would never watch it.
-Next we mock the energy of the executive talking about Leprechaun and listen to more of the promo.

Leprechaun 2 Notes
-Movie starts in 1894, is this a prequel? Is this the same Leprechaun?
-What’s the story behind the 3 sneezes? Why does he choose 1000 years?
-Ripping the bums tooth out was gross and narly
-Uncle Morty is a blast, one of our favorite drunken con artist
-Wow, Clint Howard is in this?!?
-Uncle Morty tries to sell everyone his franchise
-Ian gets sliced and diced by a lawn mower when he tries to motor boat Bridget’s boobs which is clearly someone else’s boobs
-Morty and Cody go to a bar, that is filled with little people dressed as leprechaun’s for St. Patrick’s Day. Cody is given a piece of chocolate in a gold wrapper by a weird little person played by the famous Tony Cox of Bad Santa. Morty challenges the Leprechaun to a drinking contest and Morty cheats to win by drinking water. The Leprechaun bashes Morty in the head and gets away.
-The Leprechaun has to sober up at a coffee shop and takes time to kill a waiter by melting his face off after he ask him to pay. The waiter is played by Michael McDonald of Mad TV.
-Morty and Cody find a giant Iron safe and trap the Leprechaun in it. Morty ask for his wishes, then wishes for the Leprechaun’s gold and the Leprechaun tricks him by putting the pot of gold in Morty’s stomach. The Leprechaun then slices him open to get it out and kills Morty.
-The Leprechaun kills the security guard by running him down in a really cool looking Leprechaun custom go-kart that is covered in spikes. We find out Cody can’t be hurt because he has the Leprechaun’s gold coin.
-We talk about the Leprechaun’s tree lair and it’s magical appeal. Cody tricks the Leprechaun with the chocolate coin and kills him with an iron bar. The Leprechaun explodes in a wonderful 90’s animation explosion. Cody and Bridget survive!

 

Time stamps

1:22 Leprechaun 2 Film Details

5:27 Leprechaun 2 trailer

5:55 Leprechaun 2 Box Art Breakdown

11:53 Trading Mom trailer

14:40 Executive talking about Leprechaun 2

16:42 Leprechaun 2 Clip and Movie Notes

21:20 Leprechaun 2 Clip of the tooth scene

29:37 Leprechaun 2 Clip of the drinking contest

42:42 Final Mission Trailer

43:17 Final Mission Box Art Breakdown

49:32 Final Mission Movie Notes

55:46 What’s going in the Museum?

Death Wish (2018) Movie Review

Welcome to Analog Jones and the Temple of Film. We are breaking down the 2018 remake of Death Wish with special guest Alex Vazquez.

Directed by Eli Roth, Roth has directed such movies as Cabin Fever and Hostile.

Produced by Roger Birnhaum and he has produced many remakes as The Magnificent Seven, RoboCop and Footloose.

The Characters from this film were based on the original novel by Brian Garfield and the original film in 1974 by screenwriter Wendall Mayes.

The original screenplay was done by Joe Carnahan but he left the project in Feburary of 2013 because of creative differences.

Starring
Bruce Willis as Dr. Paul Kersey, he's a surgeon in this film, not an architect like the previous five films.

Vincent D'Onofrio as Frank Kersey, Paul's brother with a criminal record.

Dean Norris as Detective Kevin Raines, the main detective in his wife's murder case.

Kimberly Elise as Detective Leonore Jackson, Detective Kevin Raines partner throughout the film.

Mike Epps as Dr. Chris Salgado, a close friend to Dr. Paul Kersey and barely in the film.

Elisabeth Shue as Lucy Rose Kersey, the wife of Dr. Paul Kersey and the sacrificial lamb for this film.

Camila Morrone as Jordan Kersey, the daughter of Paul and Lucy Kersey, most of the film she's in a coma.

Movie Notes
-Bruce Willis is sleepwalking through this film
-The crown at the movie theater is white trash
-Mike Epps is his black friend, what a surprise
-Does anyone care that Lucy is dead?
-The conservative's wet dream begins
-Why isn't Vincent D'Onofrio is this film more?
-This movie does not choose a side

Behind the Scenes
-Sylvester Stallone wanted to originally do this remake in 2006 but it ended in 2009
-Joe Carnahan wrote the first script and had planned on directing it but left in 2013 because of creative differences. He had planned on having Liam Neeson and Frank Grillo star in his version.
-Gerarado Naranjo had been rumored to direct and wanted to cast Benicio Del Toro but this version never came to fruition
-Eli Roth came in March 2016 and got this movie rewritten and directed quickly
-Filming for this movie took place in Chicago, Illinois, Montreal and Quebec, Canada
-The original release of this movie was supposed to come out in November 22, 2017 but was pushed back to March 2, 2018 because of the mass shooting in Las Vegas in October 1, 2017

Overall we all gave this movie a pass. Wait for it on DVD/Blu-Ray or streaming.

 

 

 

War Room (1993) & Death Wish 5 (1994) VHS Movie Review

Listen as Matt & Steve, plus special guest Alex discuss TriMark's double tape of War Room and Death Wish 5: The Face of Death. We also learn more about Matt & Alex's Windy City Hororama! 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) Movie Review

Listen to Matt and Steve talk about Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The title is as long as the movie! It was directed by Luc Besson and it stars Dane DeHann, Cara Delevingne and Clive Owen. We also discuss Cloverfield Paradox and What Happen to Monday.

Storyline:
In the Century XXVIII, the space station Alpha is a city where beings from different planets live together exchanging their knowledge and culture. Peace is granted by a human force, including Major Valerian and his partner Sergeant Laureline. They are assigned by the Defence Minister to retrieve the last species of converter in a dangerous mission. They succeed and back to Alpha, unknown humanoids abduct Commander Arun Filitt expecting to steal the converter. They head to a forbidden area that is infected but Valerian and Laureline follow them and disclose a hidden secret about the race and the infected area.

Film Details:
This film is rated PG-13, has a run-time of 137 minutes and was released in the US on July 21, 2017.

Taglines:
-From the visionary director of The Fifth Element and Lucy
-A universe without boundaries needs heroes without limits.

Directed by: Luc Besson (Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional and Lucy)

Writing Credits:
Pierre Christin (based on the comic book series "Valerian and Laureline")
Jean-Claude Mezieres (based on the comic book series "Valerian and Laureline")
Luc Besson (screenplay)

Cast:
Dane DeHann as Major Valerian (Chronicle and The Amazing Spiderman)
Cara Delevingne as Sergeant Laureline (Suicide Squad)
Clive Owen as Commander Arun Filitt (Children of Men and Inside Man)
Rihanna as Bubble (Battleship and This Is The End)
Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp (Training Day, Purge and Sinister)

Box Office:
Budget: $177.2 Million
Opening Weekend in the US was $17 Million and total gross in the US was $40.4 Million. Cumulative worldwide gross was around $225.8 Million.

Lost in Space (1998) VHS Movie Review

Listen to Matt and Steve discuss New Line's Lost in Space from 1998 where one family goes off in space to save the world or something like that. I mean, they failed, they got lost, everyone is dead back on Earth. 

Directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson and Jared Harris.