CinemaJaw

Cons, scams, grifts and hustles. While no one likes to be the victim of such petty crimes, conversely no one can avoid a degre of admiration for the charisma, wit and nerves needed to pull them off. Perhaps that is why films about con artists are usually so popular. They combine the layers of intricacy involved with the scam itself, with the morally ambiguous character of the grifters themselves and the romance of life on the edge. We at CinemaJaw can't peel our eyes away from these movies, and submitted here for your approval are Matt and Ryan's top 5 in the genre. Matt will even teach you a classic con in this episode, so hold on to your tightey whities. Besides all that, we are joined by popular Chicago dubstep DJ, Kaos Kay (no relation) and Kaos will throw down in a trivia match NOT TO BE MISSED! I for an I: The Watch Reviewed This Episode: To Rome with Love, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom CinemaWAR: CATFIGHT! Who has the better career Ann Hathaway or Michelle Pfiffer  

Of all the episodes that had to be late. Normally it's not such a big deal, but you see, this one is time sensitive! Especially in light of recent violence at the movies, we implore you to support this project that you are about to hear about, which largely deals with gun violence and how youths are using skateboarding as a healthy alternative to it. Please... RIGHT NOW... go to the Skate Or Die Kisckstarter and donate. Help this highly worthy film reach its goal, and lets get this story told!! It's no secret on CinemaJaw that Documentary is one of our favorite genres. So then you should know that we have been saving it for a very special guest. Did we ever find one. Ryan Ferguson is a documentary filmmaker from sweet home Chicago, with a very special project in the works called Skate Or Die. The film is about skateboarding, yes, but more importantly it is about skateboarding in gang infested South West Chicago, where kids are besieged by imaginary turf boundaries and many ultimately give in to the pressure and allure of joining a gang. Some have managed to break the cycle and credit thier passion for skateboarding. You know what, just take a listen to it in the filmmakers own words and hear thier pitch. Again, we STRONGLY urge you to go on Kickstarter right now and help these guys reach their goal! and Follow them on Twitter too! Ryan joins us for the whole episode as we talk Docs and list our Top 5 of the past decade. Not to mention play trivia, CinemaWAR and all the usual JAWtastic stuff. I for an I: The Dark Knight Rises Reviewed This Episode: The Amazing Spider-man, Ted, Brave, Project X , Jeff Who Lives At Home, Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows CinemaWAR: Will Nolan's Batman run go down as the greatest comic book movie series ever?  

Happy 4th of July! Every Summer lately it seems that we movie-goers are treated (or subjected) to a glut of sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots. This summer is no different. So we here on CinemaJaw decided that it can't be all bad (can it?), and this week we are taking a look at our favorite reboots, both real and imaginary. Some series of film begin strong but fizzle out and are in need of a fresh start. On the flip side, many, MANY series are rebooted just for the sake of a cash grab or an script option that would otherwise expire. It's up to our boys in orange to sort through this mess and decide not only which ones are worth watching, but which ones Hollywood should make that they haven't. Joining us is Dynasty Podcasts creator,  Q101 alum, and current JBTV contributor: Jaime Black! Jaime is an experienced and storied radio personality and he knows a thing or two about about current movies and horror (thus a perfect expert in reboots). He will join the boys as they go round robin on the topic. Also ever present are our usual segments, I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia, and a whole lot more. So light the fuse on this CinemaJaw for the 4th of July and watch it streak across the sky in your mind and burst into a million colors on your eardrums. And the Home of the Brave! I for an I: The Amazing Spider-Man Reviewed This Episode: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, 21 Jump Street, Project Nim CinemaWAR: Which Spider-Man love interest is more interesting: Emma Stone or Kirsten Dunst?

We're on a mission from God. CinemaJaw likes to think of itself as a worldly podcast. We watch plenty of foreign film, and even stuff from L.A., yet there is something special about watching a movie (a really really cool movie) that was filmed right in your own backyard. Of course for us that  is Sweet Home Chicago. Chicago has been the scene for a number of very important films from the silent era straight up to last Summer, with no end in sight. Filmmakers are drawn to its beauty, grit, infrastructure and a host of other amenities that make this a great city to make a movie in. So this week on CinemaJaw we take a look at our Favorite Chicago Scenes. Mind you NOT just Chicago Movies as we discussed over 100 episodes ago with Kathy Byrne. The films we are talking about do not HAVE to be filmed completely in Chicago, though many are, they just have to use the city and it's character in a pivotal and memorable scene. We will need a tour guide on this mission. Someone who can navigate this bus through the many many famous landmarks of Chicago Scenes and give us some wisdom on the way... Who better than Patrick McDonald of the Chicago Film Tour? No one. He is the best. Patrick is also a writer at the wonderful movies blog HollywoodChicago.com and has had some amazing experience in the film industry. What a great guest. In addition to that we will make the usual stops on this tour, I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia, and a whole lot more. It's my kind of town! I for an I: Ted Reviewed This Episode: Madagascar 3, The Skin I live In, The Artist CinemaWAR: Is Adam Sandler's careers washed up?

Poster boys. This week on CinemaJaw the boys take on an art project. Before we see the trailer, and long before we see the film, we see the infamous Movie Poster! It is the first image and first impression that gets us riled up to see those popcorn killers. As you can guess, getting the movie poster right is absolutely critical and lots of time and money go into these works of art. Many poster are just recycled crap design, but this week on CinemaJaw we highlight the BEST OF THE BEST! So many of us take these "marketing materials" as ephemeral junk, to be discarded and replaced by the next, not respecting the connection they have not only to art and cinema but also history. Sadly many are lost. Enter this weeks guest: rescuer of history, and owner of one of the most valuable movie poster collections in the world, Mr. Dwight M. Cleveland. A man who has literally saved historical (and highly collectible) movie posters from the scrap heap. Dwight tells us all about his museum worthy collection, finding posters in strange places and his ultimate goal of finding a new and worthy home for his archive. In addition to that we have our placard gallery of segments: I for an I, Reviews, News, Trivia, CinemaWAR and a whole lot more. Matt K. & Ry The Movie Guy's poster picks are all readily available to view online, but Dwight's are understandably a little more esoteric. So As promised in the episode, here they are: (NOTE - These are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER! You will have to listen to the episode to find out which is Dwight's favorite!) Put this episode in a frame and display it with pride! Reviewed This Episode: Prometheus, Moonrise Kingdom, Coriolanus Special Thanks to: Eliaz Rodriguez of Wood Sugars for Guest Producing this episode!

A long time ago. In a galaxy far far away... In what is sure to be a trilogy of Special Episodes (read: 6 part), we once again return to that galaxy far far away and take a look at our beloved Star Wars. It bears repeating, after all this year marks the 35th anniversary of Episode 4 A New Hope, the first of what would be come a long lasting cultural phenomenon. Star Wars has touched so many of our lives. Whether you were on board from Luke's igloo on Tattoinee or grew up eating Jar Jar cereal doesn't really matter, there is one common thread that connects us, it surrounds us and penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together. That thread is the love of Luke, Leia, Han and Chewy. The love of Star Wars. Joining us once again aboard the Millennium Falcon of CinemaJaw is Star Wars expert, and Documentary Filmmaker Cris Macht. (Interestingly Chris shares a birthday, May 25,  with Star Wars and his last name, literally translated from German means Power, or... FORCE). You may remember Cris from our first Star Wars Special way back in episode 27. At that time he was touting his first film The Force Among Us. This time Cris is fresh off a successful Kickstarter campaign for his latest look at lightsaber lust, albeit a much more personal and emotional look, The Force Within Us. Chris is our co-pilot for the whole episode as we delve into the depths of this Sarlacc Pit. All our greatest bits are covered. I for an I, CinemaWAR and a whole lot more. So enjoy this amazing episode of CinemaJaw, and May The Force Be With You! I for an I: Prometheus Reviewed This Episode: MIB3, Haywire, Albert Nobbs, The Woman in Black CinemaWAR: Which is the cooler character, Han or Luke?

While you were sleeping... Movies often surprise us (as good stories are designed to do), but not in the way we discuss in this episode. Today on CinemaJaw we talk Sleepers & Creepers. These are films that may or may not have done well at the box office, but regardless were way better than we expected them to be. These are the films that creeped up on us, you know, while we were sleeping. Obviously, CinemaJaw needed a bit more that the usual dose of liquid courage to tackle this subject. So we called in the mix masters of "cinebriation", Clint and Jared of drinking/movies podcast Alcohollywood! (Coincidentally Matt and Ry were just guests on Alcohollywood, talking Big Lebowski). Together this fearsome foursome tackle the topic, and quaff some beverages. Pop it open! I for an I: MIB3 Reviewed This Episode: The Avengers, Pariah CinemaWAR: Is Will Smith past his prime, or does he still have some box office mojo?

Take me out to the ballgame... Bring out your peanuts and crackerjack, because this week on CinemaJaw we take you out to the ballgame! Of course we are talking about The Best Baseball Movies, one of our most requested topics. Sports movies in general can be very emotionally evocative, but none more so (in our opinion) than Baseball Movies. There is something about that magical diamond that harkens back to childhood and that special relationship we had with the sport. Weather it was collecting bubble gum cards, playing catch with your old man, or especially watching movies, baseball creeps into our lives and teaches us some important life lessons. Who better to umpire this CinemaJaw at-bat than a man who has lived among the ballhawks outside Wrigley field vying for homerun balls whacked out of that famous confines. A man who made a documentary  film about the many characters and friends he made and their experiences chasing balls and chasing dreams. I am speaking of Director Mike Diedrich, whos film Ballhawks (which you can rent now on YouTube) was recently added to the permanent film collection at Cooperstown. You'll hear about that, all about his film, about the ballhawks themselves, and of course Mike's Best Baseball Movie picks in this episode, the bases are loaded here! Plus we have the usual starting line up of slugger segments: I for an I, Trivia, CinemaWAR, Hollywood Headlines and much more! This episode is a grand slam! I for an I: Dark Shadows Reviewed This Episode: The Guard, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy CinemaWAR: Which is a better Director/Actor collaboration: De Nero/Scorsese or Burton/Depp?

Gonna bust some blocks like I'm Super Mario! The Summer Blockbuster Season is nearly here again, and boy is this one is stacked up to be a doozy! This 2012 season will see the culmination of the Marvel films of the past several Summers, Christopher Nolan's next entry in the Dark Knight franchise, and Ridley Scott's return to form with Prometheus, And that's only the tip of the iceberg! CinemaJaw will take a look at the most anticipated upcoming films this Summer, so get your checklists ready! Joining the Jaw for this episode is a genius filmmaker and comedian at large: Joe Avella. You may remember him form his last visit to CinemaJaw.  Joe, a prolific producer of short films, recently completed his first feature length film Master of Inventions, which we discuss along with other interesting tidbits in our interview. Avella was kind enough to join in for the whole episode including regular segments, I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia and a bunch of others. It's a jammed Jaw! LISTEN!: I for an I: The Avengers Reviewed This Episode: We Bought a Zoo, Carnage, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kung Fu Panda 2 CinemaWAR: Does Mel Gibson have a comeback in his future, or is he done?

#C2E2 Wow. Chicago's answer to the San Diego Comic Con, C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) continues to grow and grow, and this year we think it really hit its stride! CinemaJaw was there to promote, record, repeat and boy did we manage to get some pretty cool interviews! Including folks from independant animated films The Silver Circle and Aidan 5, not to mention the guys from The Thin Ice and Faded Pearl and even an interview with the filthyest podcast in Chicago: Doomed City. Topping off our interview list was a personal favorite of both Matt K. and Ry The Movie Guy: CinemaJaw was treated to some time with Noah Hathaway who is best known for his Battlestar Galactica, and Atreyu in Neverending Story roles. Noah joins us to talk about the past, his latest project with Mark Hamill, tattoos and behind the scenes romances on 80's sitcoms. Man that was cool! Plus we reached out to the JawHeads at C2E2 and asked: Which Summer Superhero Movie are you Most Excited About? The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, or Dark Knight Rises? The answer will shock you! Please enjoy our Special C2E2 episode of CinemaJaw, and thanks to all our cool guests! ...and now for some gratuitous Con pics.

I did it my way... And now... the end is near. And so I face... The Final Curtain. As you may have guessed by now, this week on CinemaJaw we are discussing the Best Endings in film. The ending is potentially the most important part of any good story. It is the final thought or feeling conveyed and can sum up what the film is about, or destroy what had been a great film up to then. Ry the Movie Guy likes to call it, the finish line. Does a film have that follow though to leave you quoting Keanu Reeves: "...Woah..."? We decided to find out which films have the best endings of all. Don't worry fans, we are NOT doing this episode because CinemaJaw is ending or anything like that, but now that we think of it... when we do say goodbye (a long, long... LONG time from now), perhaps we will revisit this. Our gracious guests on this episode are a couple of fine comedians here in Chicago, and fellow podcasters of the Somebody and Me Podcast: Pat and Rob. These guys were kind enough to have us on their awesome podcast, so it was high time to return the favor as best we can and have them on the Jaw!  The Somebody and Me guys join us for the whole episode and throw thier favorite endings into the mix. In addition to the above, all of your weekly fix of segments are here: I for an I, Trivia, Headlines and more! It's chock full of crunchy CinemaChunks. Yum! End of line... I for an I: The Three Stooges Reviewed This Episode: Mirror Mirror CinemaWAR: Is the Total Recall remake ok?

Smile... You're on Candid Camera! Throughout the years a particularly haunting genre of film has resurfaced time and time again, most recently with The Hunger Games... Dystopian Films. Usually a subgenre of Science Fiction, dystopian Films typically depict a demoralized, dehumanized and subjugated society. Obviously themes vary wildly from entry to entry, but we here at CinemaJaw find these movies to be some of the most thought-provoking, harrowing, and beautiful films out there. So this week we will all choose our top 5. And to fight this fight we need a hero (or a guest). A man with no fear, a revolutionary, a renascence man... But we got Jonathan Fin. Of course we kid. Jonathan is all those things listed above and more. He is a stand-up comedian, a filmmaker, a musician, a writer and a radio host. He truly is Chicago's own renascence man and one of the most creative spirits that we've had on the show! So with Jonathan's help we plunge into the dark void of dystopia. Pray we make it out alive... and not drunk. To protect us on our journey are the ever present and tried-and-true segments: I for and I, Hollywood Headlines, CinemaWAR, Reviews, Trivia and a whole lot more. This episode is your mandatory medication, and remember... CinemaJaw is watching you... I for an I: American Reunion Reviewed This Episode: The Hunger Games, The Muppets CinemaWAR: Is Titanic a good film? or over hyped?

Woooo! We have to admit it, we are a little out of our element when discussing the great John Woo. A beloved filmmaker from the East with legions of fans... two of which do not host this podcast. DON'T GET US WRONG! We do enjoy Mr. Woo's films and we respect his work, but we are no experts on the topic. Good thing we have an ace in the hole to help us. Enter Mr. Collin A. Bullock. Chicago Stand-up Comedian and Podcaster extraordinaire! Collin is a HUGE fan of the Woo! In fact, it was he that suggested the topic, and since we love to get out of our comfort zone here on CinemaJaw... we bit. As has become tradition on our "In Depth" episodes, we go round robin on Woo's Best, Worst, and Most Underrated films. As well as discussing the man in general. We also talk to Collin about his podcast, play some trivia, read some headlines and debate a CinemaWAR! Its jam packed with Wooey goodness! Take a listen, will ya? I for an I: Mirror Mirror, Wrath of the Titans Reviewed This Episode: 13 Assassins, Puss In Boots CinemaWAR: Is Jonah Hill an A-List actor or not?

I am Jack's movies podcast. Conflict, troth, engagement, scrap, scuffle, fistacuffs... fighting. In fact, no story is a good story without strife of some kind. It's the backbone of the three act structure. Conflict, resolution. Repeat if necessary. This week on CinemaJaw, in honor of our hockey loving guest and Chicago media personality, Pogo (Q101, Metromix TV), we explore the very best fight scenes in film. In our humble opinions. Don't like it? You want some of this?? The boys also throw down the usual power-play segments while other podcasts just simmer in the penalty box: I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia, Hollywood Headlines, Reviews and a whole lot more! Come get some! I for an I: Hunger Games Reviewed This Episode: Take Shelter, Waste Land CinemaWAR: Which is a better dystopian future film, The Matrix or Blade Runner?

Now Streamin on Egen.Tv Ok, Let's get this out of the way... For the next few episodes at least, and possibly permanently, we are now recording LIVE before CAMERAS on EGen.Tv. This is episode is our first one in the new(?) space and there will be some growing pains. That being said, we think this episode turned out just perfect. We would VERY MUCH like to get your feedback on these next several episodes. What do you like, what could we do different or better, etc. Please do that by contacting us at MattAndRy[at]CinemaJaw[dot]com. We also hope you like looking at our ugly mugs. You can now watch CinemaJaw LIVE every Tuesday night at 8:30pm Chicago time at THIS LINK! Log in for free and tell us how our hair looks! We will also have links to downloadable video episodes SOON! So in honor of our television debut, and 21 Jump Street coming up in theaters we decided we would take a look at The Best Movies Based on TV Shows. Who better to join us with all this new stuff going on than our go-to guy, Mr. Charles Klein! Its great to have Chuck on again as we forge ahead into new territory. Of course no CinemaJaw would be complete without CinemaWAR, I for an I, Hollywood Headlines, The CinemaJaw Movie Fact, and a whole lot of news and reviews! We even go Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, or some such nonsense. Its JAWTASTIC! I for an I: 21 Jump Street Reviewed This Episode: Undefeated, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Lorax, Tower Heist CinemaWAR: Is the Hunger Games Over Hyped, or Will it be the Next Big Franchise?