At the Movies in the Noughties – Details, episodes & analysis

"Time to explain evolution to the monkeys." Welcome back to AT THE MOVIES IN THE 90s... wait a minute... Yup this was a sneaky backdoor pilot idea A. J. Black over on his podcast, and we're sharing it as a bonus. Will Devon ever cover these damn dirty apes? He aims to talk every 00s movie from chimpan-a to chimpan-z. A. J. Black is joined by recurring guest, podcaster Rob Turnbull, to discuss Tim Burton's 2001 remake of the Planet of the Apes, with a ramble through the entire history of the franchise to date... Host / Editor A. J. Black https://linktr.ee/ajblackwriter Guest Rob Turnbull twitter.com/Forducks Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/atthemoviesinthe90s Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title music: 'I Am Changing' by Isaac Elliott (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Look at what they make you give." The inaugural episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing). Devon Elson starts in the year 2002 to comment on the obvious real world events that would shape the decade, but also unravels the long history of director Doug Liman getting his dream project made, gritty spy thriller The Bourne Identity. His special guest remembers this film well, it's Mark McManus, one half of the team behind At the Movies in the 90s. Together they tackle whether it stands outside the shadow of its decade, its own sequels, and 007, while appreciating all the strengths that influenced spy movies in the last 20+ years. Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Mark McManus bsky.app/profile/steelbookbluray.com Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"We just rolled up a snowball and tossed it into hell. Now lets see what chance it has." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson is left spinning in slow motion after the hotly anticipated sequel to Mission: Impossible (1996). Bigger and cooler than ever, Tom Cruise elected John Woo to helm a bombastic, operatic adventure that proved "difficult" was not such a walk in the park for the megastar in Mission: Impossible II. His special guest is fresh into the decade, it's Craig McKenzie! Runner of kneelbeforeblog.co.uk and host of podcasts Kneel Before Pod and We Are Starfleet: A Star Trek Podcast! Together they have just 20 hours to figure out how exactly things got out of control with this sequel on cruise control. Why is so much of it a tourist advertisement for Australia? Why does it focus so heavily on the 'Bond girl' romance over actual spycraft? Will Tom Cruise ever acknowledge this entry in the later sequels? Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Craig McKenzie twitter.com/nemesis4909 Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Always know if the juice is worth the squeeze." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson gets scandalous in the realm of boner comedies. After the frathouse antics of American Pie, surprisingly a 2004 film about a teen who learns his new neigbour is in adult entertainment is the sweet coming-of-age romance The Girl Next Door. His special guest has only talked to the very stars in it, Kat Hughes! RT-Approved Critic & host of Movies with Mummy, All of Us are Lost, and Savage Garden. Bylines in THN, Second Sight, Arrow, Film Stories, & Dread Central! Together they discover the genuine emotional depth found in a comedy about pornography, debate the nuances of 2000s romance stories compared to films now and before, and answer whether the juice is worth the squeeze. Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Kat Hughes bsky.app/profile/kathughes.bsky.social Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"But remember the risk of cheating the plan... you don't even want to f*** with that MacDaddy." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson has a premonition he's about to enjoy the start of a franchise that still has great films coming out right now. What started as a pitch to The X-Files became a blockbuster shocker as a teen prevents him and his classmates from boarding a doomed plane, only to find Death is still after them in James Wong's 2000 horror Final Destination. His special guest this week saw it in the cinemas 25 years ago! It's Adrian Smith, a media teacher, lecturer, commentary starrer, and podcaster for Wild, Wild Podcast also on the Film Stories network. They've avoided major disaster but will they pick up all the clues in order to fully discuss this inventive splatter thriller? The realness of the deaths are compared to sequels, Clear's strange psychic abilities are acknowledged, the potential counter forces of Death in the supernatural realm are considered, and perhaps the design for this podcast was always to keep reminding us of that tragedy... Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Adrian Smith twitter.com/retroramblings Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Welcome to Old Navy." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson had the pick of all the decade and went with this. Eddie Murphy plays a tiny alien who visits Earth inside a spaceship shaped like Eddie Murphy... Him and his crew need to recover a special orb that will drain our oceans for their survival, but Elizabeth Banks and her child show them the complexities and heart worth saving. There's also some jokes because it's meant to be a comedy, it's the 2008 Meet Dave. His special guest this week is Rob Turnbull! Co-host of You Have Been Watching: A British Sitcom Podcast, and the brand new DCU focused Podcast 52, Rob is also an ardent fan of all things Eddie Murphy and watched every one of his '00s films at the movies, he never said he loves all of them. Together they run through the filmography of Eddie and whether Meet Dave is especially great or terrible in comparison to his output, consider just how hard he was working in this and the myriad of ways the script lets him down, contemplate on whether these high-concept fantasy movies are an attempt to elevate him from the expectations of a black comedian, and even question if a Meet Dave remake is worth it... Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Rob Turnbull twitter.com/Forducks Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson doesn't need to pretend to be dying to get a guest on to discuss this incredible movie. The tragicomedy follows three fantastical child prodegies of the Tenenbaum family who all suffer from midlife crisises just as their absent father Royal announces his cancer in an effort to make up for lost time. Hiding behind the pastel artefice are powerfully complex emotions which paved the way for Wes Anderson's career, it's the 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums. His special guest this week is Violet Hammond! Co-host of Movieversaries and Three Circles, and relentless guest on many more podcasts, she also grew up in New York and knows the film like the back of her hand. Together they cover the emotional highs and lows of this family, debate blame and acceptance of their quirks, explore the bevy of takes and readings of Wes' writings, consider the fantasy NYC compared to the realities of 2001, and of course pay tribute to the incredible Gene Hackman by finding the real heart behind the mythic gossip surrounding his performance. Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Violet Hammond bsky.app/profile/violeth310.bsky.social Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I'm here because I was in the comic book.." On this episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE NOUGHTIES (or 00s if you're into the whole brevity thing), Devon Elson learns a little french and a lot about friendship when a struggling band from Riverdale makes it big. The sisterhood bond Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Valorie (Rosario Dawson), and Melody (Tara Reid) is put to the test when their new agents Wyatt (Alan Cumming) and Fiona (Parker Posey) are using their music to subliminally sell products to teenagers. All this and more in Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan's 2001 Josie and The Pussycats! His special guest this week is Ashley Thomas! A writer at Fangirlish, and consummate podcaster with Podcast-616, We Are Starfleet, and Gene-ology: A Mission Log Look into Gene Roddenberry’s Works, she also has her personal passion of music all thanks to this very fun movie. Together they laugh along with the litany of great meta and silly jokes and wonder why critics couldn't find this funny, praise the particular outstanding pairing of Cumming and Posey, bop their heads to the genuinely decent music to appreciate the real artists behind the fictional band, and move swiftly past the negative release reviews and into the more current reappraisal still in effect today! Host / Editor Devon Elson twitter.com/absolutetravist Guest Ashley Thomas bsky.app/profile/thenerdyblogger.bsky.social Executive Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: twitter.com/atthenoughties Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title and opening music: 'Just For Fun' by April Moon (c) epidemicsound.com 'Midside Notes' by Martin Landström (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices