Trimming The Movie Fat – Details, episodes & analysis

"The Phantom Menace gets the Star Wars prequels off to a bumpy start."

Summary

In this episode of 'Trimming the Movie Fat', host Stephen and guest Paul Melon delve into the Star Wars prequel, 'The Phantom Menace' (1999).

They discuss the film's impact, character performances, the use of CGI, and the overall pacing and storytelling. The conversation highlights both nostalgic memories and critical perspectives on the film's shortcomings, particularly focusing on characters like Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker. The hosts also compare the soundtrack to the original trilogy and conclude with their rankings of the film within the Star Wars prequels.

"It was just average…(but) visually stunning."

Chapters

00:42 Introduction to Star Wars and the Podcast

01:56 The Phantom Menace Overview and Reception

08:48 First Viewings and Thoughts

11:50 Pacing Issues and Storytelling Challenges

18:45 Favourite Characters

26:32 Dialogue and The Role of CGI and Special Effects

34:22 Music and Soundtrack Comparisons

39:50 Final Thoughts and Rankings

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“And I thought my jokes were bad.” – Joker

Summary

Like 1989 before it, 2008 belonged to the Batman. The goodwill built up by Batman Begins (2005) and Heath Ledger’s sad, untimely death, made ‘The Dark Knight’ THE film to see that Summer. And it didn’t disappoint, becoming a critical and audience favourite, and the highest grossing movie of 2008.

Join podcast host Stephen as critiques the movie and shares what he enjoys about it. Look out too for movie facts, trivia, clips and box office information.

“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” – Alfred Pennyworth

Chapters

00:13 Christopher Nolan Interview

00:52 Introduction

01:23 The Dark Knight Trailer (2008)

03:47 Christian Bale Interview

04:39 Ebert & Roeper Review The Dark Knight (2008)

06:29 Overview of The Dark Knight

08:21 Critiquing The Dark Knight

13:32 Ranking The Dark Knight

13:41 Upcoming Episode (The Dark Knight Rises) and Audience Feedback

“How about a magic trick?”. - Joker

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"It's one of those ones that I enjoyed at the time"

Summary

In this episode, Stephen and Paul discuss Val Kilmer’s sole outing as the Caped Crusader in 1995’s Batman Forever. They talk about the plot, box office performance, and ratings of the movie. They also share their personal experiences and opinions on the film, including the casting, music, set-design & introduction of Robin. Finally, they rank the film top, middle or lower tier Batman.

Come back next time for Batman & Robin.

"Loud, excessively busy, and often boring"

Chapters

00:57 Introduction

01:35 Batman Forever Trailer

03:54 Val Kilmer on Leno (1995)

05:18 Siskel & Ebert Review Batman Forever (1995)

06:56 Tale of the Tape: Batman Forever

08:55 McDonald’s Batman Forever Tie-In Advert (1995)

09:24 Critiquing The Movie

15:50 Ranking Batman Forever

16:32 Next Episode Preview & Close

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"With the exception of Mission to Moscow, this film is high in the running to become the worst movie in the franchise."

Summary

In this episode, Stephen and Paul review the Police Academy movie series. They discuss each film from Police Academy 4 to Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, highlighting the decline in quality with each installment. They share their thoughts on the plots, humor, and characters, and rank the movies from least favorite to favorite. They also discuss the critical and commercial reception of each film and share interesting facts about the franchise. Overall, they conclude that the first two films are the best and that the series should have ended as a trilogy.

"This feels like a slight return to form made in the style of earlier movies."

Chapters

00:51 Introduction and Overview

01:23 Discussing and Ranking Police Academy 4

11:36 Discussing and Ranking Police Academy 5

25:02 Discussing and Ranking Police Academy 6

35:02 Discussing and Ranking Police Academy: Mission to Moscow

43:06 Ranking All Seven Police Academy Movies

Come back next month for our ranking of The Omen movies.

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Summary In this episode, Stephen and Paul discuss Tim Burton's 1992 film Batman Returns. They talk about the plot, box office performance, and ratings of the movie. They also share their personal experiences and opinions on the film, including the casting, set design, and focus on the villains. Finally, they rank the film top, middle or lower tier Batman.

Come back next time for Batman Forever. Chapters 00:51 Introduction to Batman Returns

01:27 Batman Returns Trailer (1992)

03:35 Tim Burton Interview (1992)

05:14 Siskel & Ebert Review Batman Returns (1992)

07:22 Batman Returns: The Facts

09:22 Personal Experiences and Opinions

15:10 Michael Keaton Interview (1992) 15:38 Closing & Next Episode Preview

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Summary Tim Burton's Batman (1989) was a cultural phenomenon and a game-changing movie. The film's success was evident in its box office gross and critical reception.

It also had a profound effect on podcast host Stephen Nicholson. Join Stephen now as he shares his personal experiences with the movie; provides Batman information; picks his favourite scenes; and talks about the massive amount of movie tie-in merchandise.

Before concluding, Stephen ranks Batman and provides a preview of the next film (and podcast episode) in the series, Batman Returns (1992). Chapters 01:08 Introduction to Tim Burton's Batman 01:36 Batman (1989) Trailer 03:18 Michael Keaton Interview (1989) 04:12 Siskel and Ebert review Batman (1989) 04:51 Tale of the Tape: Batman (1989) 06:48 My Personal Experiences with Batman 12:24 Ranking and Audience Interaction 12:50 Conclusion and Preview of Batman Returns (1992)

Summary

In this episode of 'Trimming the Movie Fat,' hosts Stephen and Paul discuss the Police Academy franchise.

They rank the first three films and share their favourite scenes. They also discuss the outdated and controversial elements of the movies, such as stereotypes and sexism.

The hosts reminisce about their fond memories of watching the films as a family and share interesting facts about each movie like critical reception and box office performance.

Overall, they view the Police Academy films as light-hearted comedies that should be enjoyed for what they are. Chapters 01:30 Introduction 02:38 Favourite scenes and movies 13:54 Overview of the Police Academy Franchise 16:05 Police Academy (1984) 29:39 Police Academy Two: Their First Assignment

44:21 Police Academy Three: Back in Training 58:30 Conclusion

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Like Batman without Robin, Stephen is leaving behind co-host Paul as he travels to Gotham City to critique each of the Batman movies.

Summary

Batman the movie from 1966 is a campy and humorous take on the iconic superhero. It features Batman and Robin battling various villains in an over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek manner. The movie was a financial success, grossing nearly three times its budget. It received mixed ratings from critics and audiences. Despite its flaws, the movie is considered good fun and Stephen ranked it in the middle tier of Batman movies.

Chapters

00:00 Adam West on The Simpson’s 📺

01:05 Introduction to Batman the Movie (1966) 🎦

01:27 Batman: The Movie (1966) Trailer 🍿

03:49 Julie Newmar (Catwoman) Interview (1966) 🐈‍⬛

04:36 Plot and Reception 📝

06:00 Adam West (Batman) & Burt Ward (Robin) Return (1988) 📺

06:50 Specifics and Disguises 👕

08:50 Introduction of New Gadgets 🏍️

10:01 Batman and the Bomb 💣

11:13 Helicopter and Sidecar 🚁

12:01 The Dynamic Duo Order Burgers 🍔

12:36 Ranking and Conclusion 📈

12:58 Kerb Drill with Batman (1966) 🚙

13:57 Closing Remarks and Preview of Next Episode 👋🏻

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Summary In this episode, TTMF hosts Stephen and Paul discuss the Indiana Jones films, focusing on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and The Dial of Destiny (2023).

They provide interesting facts, review the movies, and discuss their rankings. They also discuss the use of CGI and the aging of the characters. Ultimately, they decide to remove the last two films from the franchise and preserve the legacy of the original trilogy. Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:22 Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

05:24 Review and Ratings

06:27 Discussion on the Film

13:46 Comparison to Original Trilogy

19:02 The Dial of Destiny

22:28 Box Office Performance

23:59 Ratings and Summary

27:15 Discussion on the Film

32:00 Twist and Ending

36:08 Ranking the Films

39:17 Removing Films from the Franchise

41:05 Next Episode Announcement

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We’re donning our fedora and picking up our whip to bring you another episode of Trimming The Movie Fat. 

And it’s the first episode of a two parter celebrating the legacy of the Indiana Jones franchise, starring Harrison Ford. In part one we celebrate the glory years of the world’s most famous archaeologist:

- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

- Temple of Doom (1984)

- The Last Crusade (1989)

Which movies will be lovingly preserved in a museum? Which will have their hearts ripped out from them? Listen now to find out.

We’ll also share info about each release, like box office grosses; critical and audience reception; and rank each movie in order of preference.

“Fortune and glory” beckons. It’s time to listen to Trimming The Movie Fat!

00:00 Harrison Ford speech (AFI Tribute to John Williams)

00:36 Opening credits

00:54 Introduction

01:59 Picking our favourite scenes

03:26 Picking our favourite Indy movie

04:35 Indiana Jones facts

06:48 Franchise overview

07:51 Franchise trailer

10:01 Raiders of the Lost Ark (discussion & clips)

33:49 Temple of Doom (discussion & clips)

55:20 The Last Crusade (discussion & clips)

75:36 Conclusion

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

Like what you heard? Why not buy us a coffee to show your appreciation - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trimmingthh

Listen to our music podcast - https://anchor.fm/TTMF