Let us journey 200 hundred years into the future in 1997 sci-fi adventure film, The Fifth Element. When the "perfect being" (aka Milla Jovovich) arrives on Earth, only she can stop a talking evil planet from colliding with our planet!! Starring many famous faces such as Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Chris Rock, the film portrays its quite cheerful and colourful perception of the future with plenty of wacky humour. But does it hold up in 2023? Plus this week we review the latest trailers, including a first look at Scorsese&#39;s Killers of the Flower Moon releasing later this year. And we&#39;ll reveal our favourite trailers of all-time. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:49 - The Fifth Element Review 41:01 - News Chat 47:25 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 52:49 - Reading Your Comments

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#155 - The Fifth Element

Apocalypse Now is commonly regarded as one of the great films ever made. It is our feeling that such a bold claim cannot be confirmed until the almighty Cinema Effect podcast has watched it for review. Well we&#39;re happy to provide our stamp of approval, because Francis Ford Coppola&#39;s 1979 war picture is spectacular. A portrayal of the Vietnam war which is equally cruel, chaotic and absurd. By all accounts it was an absolute nightmare to make for everyone involved, suffering a famously hellish production. Thus the result is perhaps a miracle of filmmaking. Prepare for a discussion covering all of the haunting (and some hauntingly hilarious) scenes, characters, and imagery. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 0:56 - Apocalypse Now Review 58:14 - News Chat 01:01:22 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 01:04:45 - Reading Your Comments

#154 - Apocalypse Now

This is The Outfit, a 2022 film in which Mark Rylance plays a quiet and professional British bloke trying to run his suit business in 1950&#39;s Chicago. But he must do so while navigating a complicated situation with the mobsters who use his store as a hideout. With quite a few twists and turns, the story held our attention for its entire runtime. But the question of whether or not Rylance&#39;s performance is actually kind or creepy is hotly debated. Plus, we&#39;ll discuss the new trailer for the upcoming Dune: Part Two. And determine the best character costumes in movie history in this week&#39;s Question of the Show. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:25 - The Outfit Review 38:29 - News Chat 43:25 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 49:53 - Reading Your Comments

#153 - The Outfit

The Indiana Jones adventure rolls on, and this month we&#39;re reviewing perhaps the most unique and tonally dark film in the franchise, The Temple of Doom. Released in 1984, on paper this may seem like an expected sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Well first of all it&#39;s actually a prequel (who knew!). And the story happens to contain some pretty frightening stuff like torture, mind control, and slavery. What brings it all together is the fast paced sense of adventure brought by the characters, the cast, and of course Steven Spielberg behind the camera. Let&#39;s break it down with a special guest who happens to be one of the biggest fans of this movie on planet Earth. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:51 - Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom Review 44:55 - News Chat 54:18 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:05:43 - Reading Your Comments

#152 - Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

This week we&#39;re checking out an earlier film from an unknown filmmaker by the name of Quentin Tarantino. Jackie Brown stars Pam Grier as the titular character, a flight attendant caught in the middle of the criminal dealings of a weapon&#39;s dealer, and the ATF investigation aimed at taking him down. But when she spies an opportunity to take all of his money for herself, it&#39;s too perfect to refuse. The supporting cast is incredibly strong featuring names you both may and may not expect to partake in a Tarantino picture including Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Robert De Niro himself. It&#39;s certainly an entertaining movie featuring long conversations allowing the director&#39;s trademark dialogue to shine. And then after the review, we&#39;ll debate the best movies directed by friend of the show Quentin. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 2:37 - Jackie Brown Review 41:59 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 49:43 - Reading Your Comments

#151 - Jackie Brown

Another milestone has been reached! Welcome to the 150th edition of the Cinema Effect podcast. To mark the occasion we decided to once again meet up to record in-person, actually give YouTube viewers something to look at with some "high production" video content, and of course review a beloved film of the last decade. This is the first time we&#39;ve covered a film by Damien Chazelle on the show, but we are all big fans of his work. And Whiplash was one hell of a debut feature. Starring J.K. Simmons as the incredibly memorable music instructor Fletcher, we witness the shocking (and admittedly sometimes hilarious) abuse of his students, including Miles Teller&#39;s Andrew Neiman. Is Andrew able to overcome the torment and push himself to realise his dream of becoming one of the greatest drummers in history? Or will he fail into mediocrity? That is of course, if he should even be pursuing drumming in the first place. If you haven&#39;t seen this movie before, definitely do yourself a favour. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 2:49 - Whiplash Review 1:08:41 - News Chat 1:13:08 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:22:29 - Reading Your Comments

#150 - Whiplash

Who would want to watch a movie about the genesis of Facebook, some may ask? Well everyone should, because David Fincher&#39;s The Social Network is pretty damn good. A fast-paced and exciting retelling of events with compelling conflicts and often frantic dialogue makes a film you can&#39;t look away from for its entire two hour runtime. Let&#39;s review all the players involved in the story, and answer the most important question of all: Is Mark Zuckerberg really an asshole? Plus, we&#39;ll breakdown the biggest news out of Star Wars Celebration. And in line with this week&#39;s film topic, determine the worst social media platforms. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:09 - The Social Network Review 48:55 - News Chat 1:07:48 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:16:40 - Reading Your Comments

#149 - The Social Network

Set 100 years in the future, Ad Astra stars Brad Pitt as Roy McBride. An accomplished astronaut who must travel to Neptune to find his missing father (played by Tommy Lee Jones), conquer his daddy issues, and save humanity all at once. No small task. Considering the title translates to &#39;To The Stars&#39;, it&#39;s interesting how the film&#39;s story is in many ways critical of an obsession with exploration. We discuss the film&#39;s themes, including the importance of strong familial relationships and dangers of workaholism. And how Pitt&#39;s performance combines with stellar cinematography and sound to create an isolating atmosphere, and almost pessimistic portrayal of space. This brings to the forefront the question of if we would want to travel to Mars ourselves. And we make sure to also get your thoughts on the matter in this week&#39;s Question of the Show. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:42 - Ad Astra Review 55:42 - News Chat 1:00:06 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:09:10 - Reading Your Comments

#148 - Ad Astra

 A new franchise adventure begins! Each month we&#39;ll be reviewing every film in the Indiana Jones saga leading up to the release of the fifth (and hopefully final) entry later this year. So naturally, we kick things off where it all began with the world&#39;s introduction to the iconic character created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, in 1981&#39;s Raiders of the Lost Ark. As I&#39;m sure you are aware, Indiana Jones is a full-time college professor and qualified archaeologist. In his spare time, he just happens to enjoy punching Nazis and scouring dangerous caverns across the globe in search of treasure. And that&#39;s exactly what he does in service of finding the Lost Ark of the Covenant. On this rewatch, we found some of the film&#39;s many action scenes can feel a bit dated and silly in 2023. But there&#39;s no denying its influence on pop culture and light-hearted adventurous spirit. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:26 - Raiders Of The Lost Ark Review 50:42 - News Chat 53:59 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:02:16 - Reading Your Comments

#147 - Raiders Of The Lost Ark

We are excited to present our unabridged review for HBO&#39;s adaptation of The Last Of Us. The story of Joel and Ellie traversing a post apocalyptic U.S. is one that resonates with many millions of players after first experiencing Naughty Dog&#39;s original PlayStation game. It&#39;s pretty cool to see this narrative, with such strong characters and writing, reach a huge audience ten years later. And brought to life beautifully with a significant budget. But as fans of the game (and its sequel) we are here to breakdown the notable differences in this television version, some aspects which perhaps weren&#39;t quite as effective, as well as hypothesise the events to come in future seasons. This is the longest episode in Cinema Effect history. But there&#39;s arguably no better TV show to achieve such an honour. Prepare to endure and survive. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 1:06 - The Last Of Us: Season 1 Review 1:31:06 - Part II Spoilers Discussion 1:46:08 - Academy Awards Chat 1:53:10 - What We&#39;ve Been Watching 1:57:13 - Reading Your Comments

#146 - The Last Of Us: Season 1

Behold what is surely the longest and most thought provoking analysis of Cocaine Bear on the World Wide Web. In an effort to replicate the stupid chaotic nature of the film, we invited a couple of lucky Cinema Effect super fans on to the show for an episode I feel the need to apologise for in advance. And if you care to stick around past the review, you may enjoy our mostly underwhelming life stories involving wild animal encounters. Timestamps ;) 0:00 - Intro 2:13 - Cocaine Bear Review 52:20 - News Chat 55:30 - What We've Been Watching 1:10:44 - Reading Your Comments

#145 - Cocaine Bear

Obviously we here at Cinema Effect love the films of Denis Villeneuve. At this point we've reviewed the majority of the director's Hollywood productions on the show! So we now clearly have great expertise in analysing his work. This week his movie in question is Arrival, a modern look at what the sudden appearance of alien spacecraft on Earth may look like, along with the impact the event could have on the human race. To no one's surprise, the performances, cinematography, and score are all exceptional. But we'll also discuss the abstract function of time in the story, and debate which sequences in the film are strongest. That's just the main course before we roundup some other top alien invasions in cinema history.

#144 - Arrival

Netflix Animation presents The Sea Beast. An original animated feature set in a world where crews of hunters man pirate ships aimed at killing the wild and gargantuan creatures of the ocean. But of course, the moral implications of this are a bit dodgy. Even complete with a cute pet sidekick, this picture ticks all the boxes of a quality family movie. And who doesn’t want to listen to Karl Urban reprising his role as Billy Butcher in animated form?! Plus we bring you an uncut edition of Question of the Week, which may or may not go off the rails, as we discuss awkward cinema going experiences.

#143 - The Sea Beast

Believe it or not we have now completed our trilogy of Magic Mike reviews after taking a trip to the cinema for undoubtedly the most anticipated film release of the year, Magic Mike's Last Dance! Channing Tatum is back, and this time he gets an invite from Salma Hayek to assemble a crew of the best dancers in the world and put on a revolutionary stage production in London (no points for guessing it involved some shirtless dudes). And we're glad to report much like its predecessors, the third entry is a fun watch. Let's chat about the dance sequences, how the story concludes for Mike's character, and of course our memorable cinema going experience.

#142 - Magic Mike's Last Dance

Welcome to the lawless world of Lawless. The 2012 film takes place in prohibition era Virginia where three brothers run a bootlegging operation while avoiding the law, city gangs, and Guy Pearce's non-existent eyebrows. The problem is that it sounds significantly more interesting than it actually is. At least Tom Hardy was preparing for his role as Bane with his vocal performance, as well as beating up Shia LaBeouf on set. And of all weeks, Jayden wasn't available to discuss a film Nick Cave actually wrote. Let the slander begin!

#141 - Lawless

Join a crew of wannabe film critics review a different movie every week, and discuss other nonsense. Listen to new episodes every Monday.

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