Are You Movie Mad? Is the podcast that asks the most difficult question one man has ever faced. Cinephile Andrew Jones is perpetually flabbergasted that Johnny Ellis uses the online moniker 'Movie_Mad' yet at any given moment seems not to understand any movie references. Join Andrew as he journeys through a collection of films to educate Johnny and ask if Johnny is Mad about the movie he watched or remains Movie Mad.
Halloween season is here, and Johnny’s dreams are coming true. Andrew is surgically attached to a microphone to watch the first of three movies Tom Six dared to dream about putting people arse to mouth in order to craft some sort of us-species insectoid. Erm… Good luck?
Commentary begins at 00:11:34
VIN DIESEL, BABY!
Andrew has watched this a bunch of times in lockdown because it’s the most recent Vin flick, Johnny never saw it. Will Guy Pearce’s ever-changing accents add to the experience, or the action scene definitely meant to be in London that looks nothing like anything ever? Will cinema ever matter again? What is pandemic brain cinema anyway?
It’s time to pitch the worst podcast in the world, a guaranteed flop, this show won’t last the night! It’s Mel Brooks’ masterpiece of comedy satire, and NOT the Broadway musical or film adaptation of the Broadway musical, despite Johnny’s best efforts. We’re going back to the source, taking a fine sip of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and pitching a Star Wars musical that’ll make big bucks for those behind the show, and nobody else.
It’s back to reality, oop there goes gravity, as Andrew and Johnny square up to Isolation August with a spin around 2000’s Julia Roberts Oscar winning performance as Erin Brockovich. Nobody’s going insane or depressed at home, so why wouldn’t a fun romp around big corporations killing and hiding the facts of killing innocent working class people be the kind of film we all enjoy? I’m rambling, one second, I’ll continue, it’s a podcast episode, go listen. End communication.
A light spry comedy with Robin Williams is just the tonic this world needs, so Andrew throws Johnny into the proverbial deep end with a Bobcat Goldthwait picture, and discusses the times he attempted to bring a second Williams/Goldthwait project to the forefront, because nostalgia and distraction are all we have left in this rotting world of ours.
How silly can you get? Well, for Andrew and Johnny this is about the lockdown limit of silly. Coming off discovering 2 different planned films were no longer available to watch, plan C has gone into action, and comedy, and spy thriller, and musical, and all genres to fit in Val Kilmer’s crooning teen-hearthrob-hero Cold War spoof movie.
It’s digital release day for Cats in the UK and Johnny is all fur-ious that he’s not watching it with Andrew, and Andrew wishes he could paws life for the 2 hours it takes to sit through Tom Hooper’s Cats. Come join the experience through heaven or hell or heavyside layer, no matter your thoughts on the musical, you can all understand what listening to a tortured soul sounds like.
Now on Sky Cinema, if you dare! Here’s the UK TV Broadcast-syncable version:
We’re all isolated across the globe, but for this week it’s a trip to the desolate Mojave, as Gore Verbinski’s Oscar-winning western animated adventure comes into view. Talking family movies, quarantine life and the career of the Pirates Of The Caribbean director, maybe some sanity will be found here.
Sitting on the shelf after a long time, we release an episode on Kenneth Lonergan’s much-delayed epic human drama, where Johnny has some sort of comprehensive understanding of humanity and the universe, and Andrew reminisces on the single-screen opening day in London.
Andrew announces a new mini-series in the Corona-infested world of action, family and turning enemies into friends.
Will he discover how the virus spread? What happened to John Cena? Why drop almost every letter in the titles for the 9th (or 10th) movie?
Begun, the adventure has.
Coming in to the 21st century and a vulgar auterist creation lambasted and weirdly lauded, Johnny finds himself questioning the franchise as a whole, and specifically the purpose of action cinema in an incomprehensible manner. Andrew, meanwhile, attempts to deconstruct, to find meaning, in the bayhem unleashed.
Johnny is about to head deep into the state as he examines the politically charged thriller that is Harold & Kumar’s second movie. Andrew, meanwhile, is looking for things to talk about that don’t involve the film in question. What a duo!
Andrew takes Johnny on a journey through the gross-out stoner landscape of the early 00s, and the duo explore burgers, cheetahs, character actors and the modern career of John Cho in the first of an out-there trilogy of episodes.
Johnny brings the ruckus with the made-for-TV Doctor Who movie of the mid-90s, and Andrew shows his complete lack of knowledge for the franchise. Will the screws be turned sonically or something?
Johnny is a huge Tarantino nerd. Andrew used to live in that world. They get together to discuss Quentin’s past works and watch his latest. Christoph Waltz announces what he loves most, and some big names stop by in a huge episode with a killer twist.
An abrupt 4-hour ending to Once Upon A Time In month, as Tarantino’s latest is out in the UK weeks after the US, so Andrew and Johnny watch another Sergio Leone film and wonder which Muppet would play which character. Because 4 hours is a long time.
Charles Bronson and Ice-T pop in to bring a little lethargic flavour to this week’s episode, as Andrew and Johnny start to wonder if bedtime stories begin with ‘Once Upon A Time’ for a reason.
Starting a look at Robert Rodriguez’s iconic franchise, Andrew and Johnny grab their guitar cases, head to Mexico and make plenty of Freddie Mercury jokes.
Andrew and Johnny watch Gus Van Sant’s Palme d’Or winning drama and discuss how lucky we are to live in a world where school shootings are entirely fictional.
Grimy 70s New York is back and on track as Andrew and Johnny discuss hostage-taking, perfect crimes and whatever the Joker movie is going to be. Tangents are fun, but keeping to train-like schedule is as shockingly good a time.
