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We've been debating Star Wars since the creation of Star Wars. Mikey explores the cultural and cinematic impact of a film series which quickly became the juggernaut of any film conversation.
We've been debating Star Wars since the creation of Star Wars. So how does George Lucas view Star Wars? What did he intend? Mikey jumps back in, exploring the context that helps shape and color our own views on the world's most influential film franchise.
Marvel Studios sets a perfect example for How to Make a Shared Universe. The MCU is a brilliant patchwork quilt for connecting tonally different characters to larger, shared themes. Watch to find out how Studio Head, Kevin Feige, makes this work!
Is Thor Ragnarok the perfect reboot? Mikey lays out why he sure thinks it is!
What does it take to make the perfect sequel? Mikey lays out his criteria for this thought provoking debate. What movie do YOU think is the prefect sequel? What criteria do you use?
Rian Johnson enters the Star Wars conversation with his 2017 film, The Last Jedi, becoming the second director ever to both write and direct a Star Wars movie. Rey and Kylo Ren continue their journey while questioning the galactic establishment as we know it.
Expectations were high - exceeding them for some, while disappointing for others. Still there is a lot to love about this movie, and it's place within the franchise.
We have a lot of friends and family who did not enjoy this movie, and that's OK. No one is rebuked; you are loved either way. But let's take a minute to have a friendly chat about Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Animation can do anything, and therefore teach us anything, from bold, formative concepts, to the nuanced philosophical ideas that exist between right and wrong.
Featuring references from Sword and the Stone (1963), Winnie the Pooh (1952), Dumbo (1941), Spirited Away (2002), and Grave of the Fireflies (1988). But that's not all...
What has animation taught YOU?
If you're a YouTuber and want to join in on this community collection, leave a comment below!
Jarhead is an all-star forgotten masterpiece, from 2005. For real, check out this list of winners: thoughtfully directed by Sam Mendes, filmed beautifully by Roger Deakins, using the screenplay by William Broyles Jr., based on the book by Anthony Swofford, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx. The list goes on.
These artist bring us up to speed with the struggles of today's soldier in the context of modern war, and the challenges to their mental well-being.
The film upset a lot of audiences by engendering an understandable frustration by denying the soldiers on screen what they are trained to do in war, and likewise, subverting our own expectations of what a war movie should be. Not ironically. That's half the point - better empathy for the lasting, real life effects of military service.
Inception (2010) is a spectacular, intellectually dense, sci-fi action heist film, written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
#tophno
What is the value of ambiguous endings? Often they are attached to media with complex messages intended to carry beyond the final frame, and into conversations.
Sometime a piece of art begs us to stop consider which is more important: the question or the answer? Can you remember the first movie that made you ask yourself this question?
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 zombie comedy written by Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright, and directed by Wright. Mikey dives deep into one of his personal favorites, and a journey almost four years in the making, comes to an end.
Mikey created a short film to share his story and struggles from 2017. Turning the camera on himself, he walks us through a deeply personal analysis of his journey, and examines how life-threatening challenges have shaped him and his work.
Blade Runner 2049 is a rare kind of sequel that is both brilliant on its own, while improving upon the original film.
Too often sequels are little more than weaponized nostalgia. However, Director, Denis Villeneuve, and (cool as hell) DP, Roger Deakins, bring their A++ game to Blade Runner 2049, engendering greater depth to the original Blade Runner (1982), while creating a meaningful follow-up - 35 years later - that raises the bar for both movies.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is not only the culmination of 18 movies, and a decade's worth of build-up, it also turned out to be one of the most talked about films of the last decade. Not all of it good.
While Infinity War has a lot of good moments with character's we've grown to love, there is also endless debate over the MCU's treatment of the film's protagonist, Thanos, and the arguable logic behind his goals. It left some audience members confused, hurt, and disappointed. Mikey explores why so many people had good reasons to feel this way.
The facts are these: Creative powerhouse, Bryan Fuller - known for Dead Like Me (2003), Wonderfalls (2004), Star Trek: Discovery (2017), American Gods (2017), and Hannibal (2013) - once created an endlessly charming, high-level, screwball conceptual murder procedural comedy, entitled Pushing Daisies (2007).
Find out why these engaging and affecting silly stories, told in silly ways, still manage to land, after the show's all too short life some nine years, two months, twelve hours, forty-four minutes, and twenty-nine seconds ago.
This episode originally premiered at Scoopfest 2018, in Las Vegas. Fans - that's you! - voted from a list of bad movies, and Mikey would make an episode about that particular garbage inferno.
You selected... Batman & Robin (1997), directed by Joel Schumacher, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Silverstone.
This movies might just be simultaneously worse, and significantly better, than you remember. There were so many omens...
Hold on to your broomsticks for Part 1 (of 3) of Mikey's look back across the Harry Potter movie franchise!
This documentary series reviews the stories and decisions being made behind the scenes. How time and again what could have exploded into a fiery ball of donkey-sauce resulted in one of the most beloved, and successful, film franchises in movie history.
Gather 'round with your wands and witch's hats, and let's all appreciate the monumental effort required to bring Harry Potter to life.
Now boarding at PLatform 9-3/4 for Part 2 (of 3) of Mikey's look back across the Harry Potter movie franchise!
This documentary series reviews the stories and decisions being made behind the scenes. How time and again what could have exploded into a fiery ball of donkey-sauce resulted in one of the most beloved, and successful, film franchises in movie history.
In this episode, everyone has to face the realities of growing up - characters, cast, filmmakers, and audience.
Gather 'round with your wands and witch's hats, and let's all appreciate the monumental effort required to bring Harry Potter to life.
Grab your butter-beer and broomsticks, it's time for Part 3 (of 3) of Mikey's look back across the Harry Potter movie franchise!
This documentary series reviews the stories and decisions being made behind the scenes. How time and again what could have exploded into a fiery ball of donkey-sauce resulted in one of the most beloved, and successful, film franchises in movie history.
In this episode, the journey's climatic conclusion. Magic is an entertaining metaphor for the human condition. Life is fraught with obstacles, and inevitable sorrows, but it's how we choose to react that makes all the difference. Remember to follow your dreams, even when life seems impossible!
Gather 'round with your wands and witch's hats, and let's all appreciate the monumental effort required to bring Harry Potter to life.
