Molly Movie Club – Details, episodes & analysis

Today’s movie is Beetlejuice directed by Tim Burton.

Neither of us have any nostalgia for Beetlejuice, which is maybe why we both felt like the film is a huge mess. Nothing that is introduced ever seems to matter, and every attempt to explain anything makes the movie worse. There are probably two reasons this movie had any cultural staying power: Michael Keaton’s performance as Betelgeuse, and Tim Burton’s imaginative visual style.

For our next episode, we’re watching the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Molly Movie Club!

Today’s movie is Furiosa directed by George Miller.

Furiosa is another great action movie from George Miller. It’s fun to revisit the world of Mad Max and this movie certainly delivers on the worldbuilding, but Furiosa just isn’t able to recapture the storytelling magic of Fury Road.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Molly Movie Club!

Today’s movie is Gremlins directed by Joe Dante.

Gremlins is a mess. Nothing that gets introduced in the early part of the movie ever amounts to anything, and many plot elements and characters get completely dropped as though scenes were cut (maybe they were?). The only reason anyone remembers this movie at all is because of the gremlins themselves; the puppets and animatronics are incredibly well done.

Thanks for listening to this free episode of Molly Movie Club!

Our schedule for the rest of October is:

October 13th - Cabin in the Woods

October 20th - What We Do in the Shadows

October 27th - Shaun of the Dead

Today’s movie is John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.

The set up for Escape from New York is fantastic. The premise is over the top and exciting, and the character of Snake is so great that he was copied for the Metal Gear Solid games. The problem with this movie is that the premise is all it has. Once we drop into New York, things get boring. John Carpenter shows us that he is great at creating a believable-feeling world with a small budget, but when it comes to telling an interesting story in that world, Escape from New York falls short.

Thanks for joining us for Bleak Future month! Next month we switch gears to Horror Comedies! Our schedule is:

October 6th (free episode) - Gremlins

October 13th - Cabin in the Woods

October 20th - What We Do in the Shadows

October 27th - Shaun of the Dead

Today’s movie is Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

Children of Men is probably the most chilling of all the Bleak Future movies this month because it feels the closest to our reality. Incredible production design and an immersive filmmaking style make this world feel frighteningly believable. Cuarón uses long oners and a hand-held camera to make the viewer feel as though they are physically in the world of the film. (Casey recommends not watching Children of Men on a big screen if you get motion sickness…)

We’ll be back next week for the final movie in Bleak Future month, and it is a Casey and Anna pick! We’ve chosen Escape from New York directed by John Carpenter.

We hope to see you then!

Today’s episode is Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang.

Neither of us had ever seen this film before, and we went in a little bit nervous. A two and a half hour silent film from 1927? We assumed it would be significant in the context of its time, but pretty unwatchable by today’s standards. Oh boy, were we wrong. Metropolis is a work of genius that was far ahead of its time. The film doesn’t just hold up - it stands out as one of the most visually imaginative movies ever made.

Next week we watch Children of Men. We hope to see you there!

Today’s movie is Akira directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

Akira is one of the most visually impressive films ever made. The sheer effort required to complete this movie is hard to overstate. Every scene contains so much detail, and the shot framing and cinematography are also consistently excellent. Even though Akira features an interesting story that unfortunately falls short towards the end, the film is absolutely a masterpiece.

Thanks for listening! We’ll see you back here next week for Metropolis.

Today’s episode is Mad Max: Fury Road directed by George Miller.

When this movie came out nearly ten years ago it was a creative breath of fresh air in a world saturated with derivative Marvel movies. Miller created a lush, strange world that feels truly original. On top of that, Fury Road features some of the best action filmmaking in recent years.

Thanks for listening to this free episode of Molly Movie Club! If you enjoyed the podcast, please consider subscribing for access to all of our episodes.

Our schedule for the rest of September is:

September 8th - Akira

September 15th - Metropolis

September 22nd - Children of Men

September 29th - Casey & Anna pick, TBD

Today’s episode is Spotlight directed by Tom McCarthy.

Spotlight is one of those rare films where everything comes together so flawlessly that there’s basically nothing that could have been done better. This is the fourth time we’ve seen Spotlight, and it’s just as riveting as it was on the first viewing. It’s the perfect movie to close out our month of ensemble casts.

We’ll be back next month with… TBD! The poll is closing soon and our schedule will be posted Monday. If you haven’t voted yet, you still have a few more days to pick next month’s movie theme!

Today’s movie is Magnolia directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Magnolia has a tendency to wander into the kind of melodrama that can feel like it’s trying a bit too hard. Compared to PTA’s later work, the movie feels messy and unfocused, and there’s a confidence that he finds in his later films that feels like it’s missing from Magnolia. The other big problem with this film is that many of the scenes are just not interesting, which is especially noticeable after watching Pulp Fiction.

Thanks for joining us for another episode! Next week is the final week in our Ensemble Cast movie month, and we’ll be watching Spotlight.