Ramblin: An Amblin Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

After donning the Mask, it is now time to continue THE LEGEND OF ZORRO with our episode on Martin Campbell’s 2005 sequel, once again starring those damn fine sexy leads Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. But, coming some seven years after the original, something seems to have been lost along the way: the juice. To find out why this Zorro doesn’t quite whip like he used to, we enlist the help of podcaster MJ Smith of Let’s Jaws For a Minute fame to see if this follow up was just a case of too little too late - or if it is a greater miscalculation of appeal than that. 

You can follow MJ on Twitter at @MJSmith891 and you can find his shows (Let’s Jaws For a Minute, Let’s Party with Marty and Reel Perspective) where you get this podcast. 

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

We finish the tub of Neopolitan Spielberg trilogy by saving the best (chocolate) for last: his 2005 adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS. Together with returning guest Harley Mumford (of the fabulous Fandomentals podcast), we talk through the various different interpretations of H.G. Wells’ 1897 classic—particularly Orson Welles’ (no relation) infamous 1938 broadcast and the 1953 movie—and chart how each acts as a response to its particular place and time. In this instance, we discuss Spielberg’s film as an explicit response to 9/11 (and its place as the final instalment of his Paranoid Sci-Fi Trilogy), the surprisingly dour tone for a summer blockbuster and what the changes to the source material say to the contemporary mindset. We also talk about Tom Cruise in deadbeat dad mode, draw some surprising connections with the Jurassic Park sequels and try to understand what the hell is going on with Robbie. Andy also talks about the musical. A lot. Brace yourselves.

You can follow Harley on Twitter at @HarleyMumford and his Fabdomentals Podcast at @FandomentalsPod. You can listen to Fandomentals wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Get ready for the first instalment in our two-part 90s review lollapalooza. We at Ramblin wanted to give the 90s the send off it deserved, and boy did we ramble. So much so that there’s just too much good stuff to pack into one episode - so let’s spread the joy and celebrate the most prolific decade of Amblin’s history so far in two epic parts, with categories both old and new, from best score, to best surprise, and the most 90s of the 90s. So, hold onto your butts and enjoy part one, and make sure to come back next week to hear what the listener’s voted for as the top five movies of decade.   

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

It’s time for us to close the book (well, almost) on the 1990s, the most fruitful span of time for Amblin so far. That the film that sees us do this is Neil Jordan’s deeply bizarre supernatural psychological thriller IN DREAMS feels wholly appropriate for such a far-reaching, uneven and frequently unwieldy decade. Together we figuratively go bobbing for apples in an attempt to make sense of this tangled mess of a movie, wading through the giallo-esque narrative, the questionable performances and the truly stunning visual work en route to a conclusion that makes less sense the more you think about it. 

TW: IN DREAMS deals with instances of child abduction/abuse and suicide and, though our discussion mainly focuses on the ludicrousness of the film’s register, these elements do still factor into the conversation. If this sounds like it might be upsetting, we recommend skipping this episode.

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Papa Spielberg returns with his blistering take on the WWII drama, 1998’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, so we enlist the help of Mike West (@Mike333West) to wade through this deeply influential, almost-Best Picture-winning movie. Together we talk about the revolutionary portrayal of the D-Day landings, the contributions of the extensive cast and the reactions of veterans themselves. We also wade into some of the film’s more complicated elements, such as its relationship to jingoism, the impossibility of avoiding glamourising war and accusations of a propagandist bent. There are no easy answers, as with everything in life, but we had a great time searching for them, all the same.

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

It’s time to enter the lair of the fox, as we welcome back guest and Ramblin artist Emily Tatham to discuss Martin Campbell’s THE MASK OF ZORRO. We get unapologetically lustful over what is one of the last great sexy blockbusters of recent memory, diving into the history of Zorro on screen, the sizzling star power of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and feeling absolutely whipped by Anthony Hopkins silver locks. So, don your masks and whistle for your noble steed as we become as one spirit in our love for one of Amblin’s most indisputably entertaining offerings.

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Big Action! Big Podcast! Small Soldiers! The Ramblin boys draw up battle plans to face Joe Dante’s final - at least for now - Amblin joint, the 1998 action-adventure SMALL SOLDIERS. We assemble an elite unit made up of returning guests Rhys Edwards and Dan Kelly to assist in taking down the Commando Elite and aiding the peaceful Gorgonites, as we cover the film’s production history, Burger King tie-ins, its anti-military industrial complex sentiments and the uncanny similarities to Avatar. Civilians, declare your allegiance and take on the mission - everything else is just a podcast. 

Read Jonathan Rosenbaum’s essay on the critical reception of Small Soldiers here: https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2022/03/at-war-with-cultural-violence-the-critical-reception-of-small-soldiers-tk/ 

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

No, that’s not swamp gas from a weather balloon trapped in a thermal pocket and reflecting the light from Venus—it’s Ramblin’s episode on Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1997 masterpiece MEN IN BLACK! To join us in dissecting this perfect blockbuster (as though it were an expired Arquillian ambassador) is self-professed ‘Queen of the Dead’ Anna Bogutskaya, critic/broadcaster extraordinaire and host of The Final Girls, Successionistas and Dead By Dawn podcasts. Together we work through that Smith and Jones chemistry, the killer Rick Baker designs, some exquisite ‘90s goo and a Vincent D’Onofrio performance that’s up there with the very best of Lon Chaney. Time to push the little red button.

You can follow Anna on her socials at @annabdemwnted. Her book UNLIKEABLE FEMALE CHARACTERS is out on 9 May in the US and 9 June in the UK. Find out where you can pre-order here: https://linktr.ee/annabdemented

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

We welcome you back once more to the Jurassic Park franchise as we make the journey to the dark and brooding shores of Isla Sorna for our episode on the 1997 sequel THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, once again directed by Steven Spielberg with a script by David Koepp, based on the novel by Michael Crichton. 

Similarly, as The Lost World brings back Ian Malcolm for the ride, we also welcome the return of a surviving guest from the first Jurassic Park incident, as Jurassic Outpost founder Jack De La Mare joins us to wade into the long grass to discuss the beast that is The Lost World. What’s that Ajay? DON’ T go into the long grass? But wh-ARRRGHHH!

You can follow Jurassic Outpost on Twitter @JurassicOutpost and find the work that Jack and the team do over at https://jurassicoutpost.com/.

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

You're travelling through another dimension - a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, Ramblin! That’s right, it’s time to step through that scary door into the twilight zone of 1996 thriller THE TRIGGER EFFECT, screenwriter David Koepp’s feature directorial debut and an altogether overlooked entry in the Amblin canon. 

Joining Andy and Josh on their journey is newly-minted three-timer Dan Kelly (@DeekingAround), self-proclaimed Koepp-head and general appreciator of this kind of conceptual, slimline blockbusting. Together they talk about the film’s conception, the cast of Amblin all-stars and tonal reference points that range from the understandable (Spielberg!) to the unexpected (Shyamalan?). Cock your shotgun (several times) and follow along!

Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.

Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.