Hellbent for Letterbox | Godless (2017)

Pax and I are joined by special guest Shawn Robare (Branded in the '80s, Cult Film Club) to talk about the Netflix mini-series Godless starring Michelle Dockery, Jeff Daniels, and Jack O'Connell.

And in "Whatchoo Been Westernin'?" we discuss the '80s cartoon Bravestarr and the movie Hostiles starring Christian Bale and Wes Studi.

Happy Birthday, Hellbent for Letterbox!

Pax and I celebrated the 2nd anniversary of Hellbent for Letterbox with a quick look over our shoulders at the last two years, then forward for a few hints of things to come. We also caught up with brief discussions of Hickok (2017) and Billy the Kid episodes of Tales from Wells Fargo and Death Valley Days.

Hellbent for Letterbox | Bite the Bullet (1975)

In the most recent Hellbent, Pax and I talk about what we assumed was Cannonball Run in the West. Will Bite the Bullet be another case of foiled expectations like Bandolero! and 100 Rifles?

I also give a quick review of the 2017 remake of The Beguiled by director Sofia Coppola; starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell.

Mystery Movie Night | Operation Kid Brother (1967), Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979), and Hudson Hawk (1993)

Mystery Movie Night has a brand-new, permanent co-host! Evan Hanson has been a guest on a lot of podcasts, including Nerd Lunch, Hellbent for Letterbox, and Starmageddon (Rest in Peace) and he was also a guest on Mystery Movie Night Episode 20. Since my brother Mark isn't able to join us most of the time, we've been thinking about re-adding a fifth member and we're thrilled that Evan was interested.

For his inaugural episode, we talked about James Bond, Joey Ramone, and Almond Joy. Lots of strong opinions on this one. I think it's especially funny.

Dragonfly Ripplet | The Films of Ed Wood

It's a podcast crossover! After discussing Tim Burton's Ed Wood on a recent episode of Mystery Movie Night, David and I decided to watch the three movies talked about in that film: Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Were they as fun as Burton made them look? Or as bad as their reputation? David tells all in this mini-episode of Dragonfly Ripple.

Thundarr Road | Attack of the Amazon Women

Thundarr Road is back as we follow Thundarr to South Dakota for some time at... the ocean? "Attack of the Amazon Women" has undersea warriors, a warhead, and a worrisome spider. We discuss it all.

Hellbent for Letterbox | Sunset (1988)

On the latest Hellbent, Pax and I take a detour from traditional Westerns and talk about Blake Edwards' murder mystery where Western movie star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis) and Western legend Wyatt Earp (James Garner) try to catch a killer in 1920s Hollywood. It also has Malcolm McDowell and Mariel Hemingway.

And as long as we're covering not-quite-Westerns, I also talk a little about Brett Haley's The Hero, starring Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Nick Offerman, Krysten Ritter, and Katharine Ross.

'Casting Off | Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Hey! 'Casting Off is back! One of the drawbacks to this one just being me and David is that I can put off doing it if things get busy. I'm gonna work on doing better this year and may bring in some guests to help me feel more accountable.

To kick off the new year, David and I discuss the Mike Mignola-designed, Disney-animated, dieselpunk masterpiece, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. And we also mention a couple of other Atlantis stories, including a Godzilla cartoon and the current Aquaman comics.

Greystoked | Tarzan's Revenge (1938)

On the latest episode of Greystoked, Noel and I are joined again by my son David to discuss Sol Lesser's second Tarzan movie, the much maligned Tarzan's Revenge. It has a reputation as one of the worst Tarzan movies, so among other things we talk about whether it deserves that notoriety.

Nerd Lunch's Last Jedi Drill-Down

Last Jedi was a Top 5 movie for me last year, so it's no secret that I loved it, but if you're in the mood to hear me gush at length, then Nerd Lunch's latest episode is for you.

OR... maybe you're in the mood to hear a variety of opinions on the movie. If that's the case, you should also listen. I loved it, Carlin hated it, and everyone else is somewhere in between. Jeeg has the perspective of someone outside of the hardcore Star Wars fandom, Pax comes at it with a heavy love of Luke Skywalker, and Kay brings knowledge of and passion for the Extended Universe. It's five friends having a heart-felt, but rational discussion about the most divisive movie of the year. It's almost like we've brought balance to the Force.

My 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018

It's fun to think about what's coming out and which movies I'm most interested in, then compare that at the end of the year to what I actually enjoyed.  Of my 20 Most Anticipated last year, 12 of them turned out to be Top 20 movies for me, so that's pretty cool. One of them (Hostiles) was pushed back to this year and another (Jumanji 2) I just haven't been able to schedule yet, so that leaves 6 that were disappointing in some way.

Of those, I've seen and was underwhelmed by three (The Beguiled, The Mummy, and Justice League) and thanks to trailers and reviews, completely lost interest in three others (Dark Tower, Ferdinand, and Pitch Perfect 3) before they hit theaters.

So here's what I'm most eager to see this year. As always, these aren't the movies that I'm predicting will be the best; just the ones that I most want to see. Tell me what you're looking forward to in the comments!

20. Tomb Raider



I'm a mark for treasure-hunter movies and have enjoyed even the Angelina Jolie movies on some level. The trailer for this one is visually impressive and Vikander is a talented actor, so I'm just hoping that the story is up to snuff.

19. Mary Magdalene



One of the most fascinating characters in the New Testament, even without the Dan Brown nonsense. It's about time someone made a movie about her.

18. Mary Poppins Returns



I enjoy the classic adaptation, but it's not holy ground and I'm glad to see that the rest of the book series will get some attention, too. Not that I've read the books. And these movies will see that I don't have to.

17. Mowgli



I don't really need a new Jungle Book adaptation, but I'm interested in almost anything Andy Serkis does. And it'll be interesting to see what he does to avoid comparisons with the Jon Favreau Disney remake.

16. Incredibles 2



I've cooled off on Brad Bird after Tomorrowland, but I've still loved 80% of his movies and am interested in what he's able to do with this. I'm especially curious how a new Incredibles movie compares to the modern landscape of superhero movies. The first one was released the same year as Spider-Man 2, when we were just starting to figure out that great superhero movies were possible. The bar has been raised a lot higher since then and I'm not 100% confident that Incredibles 2 can clear it.