The Movie Breakdown

It is another special episode this week, as we finally do something that I've wanted to do for over a year. We analyze all the major Hollywood movie studios and look at their success in the box office, the diversity of their slate of movies and how consistent they are at delivering creative and high-quality pictures. We will discuss big studios like Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, Paramount and Sony, but also look at newer to the game rivals like Lionsgate, STX and even Netflix (we forgot to make any mention of Amazon Studios). As always, we had a blast talking movies and it was a fun show. Thank you so much for listening to us and we really hope you love it as well. If you do, then please help us out by spreading the word about us on social media. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review).

It is a return to the movie reviews this week on The Movie Breakdown, and we've got five of them for you. The big one is the hotly anticipated horror sequel in It: Chapter 2, which is a follow-up to one of my favourite movies of 2017. We also have a horror-thriller based on children's game in Ready or Not, a feel-good drama about an obsessed Bruce Springsteen fan in Blinded by the Light, we have a Marlon Wayans comedy in Sextuplets and an animated sci-fi adventure comedy based off a TV series in Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. We had a great time discussing movies and we really hope you love the show too. If you do, then please helps us out by spreading the word about us on social media. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). The Movies' Four-Star Rating: It: Chapter 2 **½ (CS) Sextuplets ½* (CS) & * (SM) Ready or Not *** (CS) Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus ** (CS & SM) Blinded by the Light ** (CS)

For Ontario kids, it is time to return to school tomorrow, which spells the end of summer vacation. If you look at the new releases this past weekend at the cinemas, you can also see it is the end of the summer movie season. So, it is time to look back at the past four months and analyze what have we learned about the state of movies and the future of the summer blockbuster movie season. We discuss things like the box office dominance of Disney, emergence of mid-budget genre popcorn munchers and the value of brand names as draws. As always, we had a great time recording the show and hope you really love the episode. We want to thank you so much for listening to us and if you do enjoy the show, please help us out by spreading the word to other movie fans. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review).

The major movie studios are always looking for the next big blockbuster movie, but there is still a very healthy place for genre movies. This week we discuss the state of genre movies and how we see their future. We talk about things like how horror has risen to be the best genre to explore family issues, we look at the resurrection of the musical, what makes a good 18A movie and how comedy has changed in the last few years. For a bonus, at the end of the show, we discuss the big news of Spider-Man leaving the MCU. As always, we've had a great time recording the show and we really hope you love listening to it. If you loved it, then do us a huge favour by spreading the word to other movie fans. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review).

The latest episode of The Movie Breakdown is here to enhance your summer Monday with movie talk. We review two theatrical releases in the raunchy coming of age comedy in Good Boys and a horror picture based on a popular book series in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. We also have two Netflix Originals including the comedy about under-appreciated mothers in Otherhood and the political documentary The Edge of Democracy. We also pay tribute to an icon from the 1960s in Peter Fonda. Also, it is official, I won The Summer Box Office Challenge and so as my reward, I reveal the three movies that I am forcing Scott to watch. As always, we had a great time recording this show and we really hope you love it. If you do, please spread the word to other movie fans. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Otherhood *½ (CS) & ** (SM) Good Boys *** (CS) The Edge of Democracy ** (CS & SM) Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark *** (CS) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King $191 770 759 2. Hobbs and Shaw $60 038 950 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 $10 500 000 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold $17 431 588 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $449 706 263 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $41 082 018 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $541 413 053

The latest episode of The Movie Breakdown is here to make another summer day movie-talk-a-licious. Oh boy, do we talk movies. We have four movie reviews this week. We review the Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish starring crime drama based on a graphic novel, The Kitchen. Do you want more star vehicles? Well, how about the based on true events drama-thriller starring Chris Evans, The Red Sea Diving Resort. We also look at a horror comedy about a girls' volleyball team battling psychotic redneck hunters in Girls with Balls. We cap off the reviews with the documentary The Great Hack. Then we discuss how much control and input should an actor have in their character and movie. As always, we had a blast recording the show and we even go on a few rabbit trails with talk about lost Pokemon cards and |Ribfest. We really hope you love the show too. If you do, then please help us out by spreading the word on social media. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: The Kitchen ** (CS) The Red Sea Diving Resort ** (CS) & **½ (SM) Girls with Balls *½ (CS & SM) The Great Hack *** (CS & SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King $191 770 759 2. Hobbs and Shaw $60 038 950 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold $17 000 000 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $438 744 675 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $41 082 018 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $541 413 053

August has arrived and that means there is one big summer special effects extravaganza left and we are ready to review it this week. That is right, we're discussing the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham starring action spin-off to Fast and Furious in Hobbs & Shaw. A movie that is probably even a bigger deal to cinephiles is also being reviewed this week in Quentin Tarantino's latest. Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood. We also have two Netflix Originals in the thriller Secret Obsession and the quasi-documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. Then after that, we pay tribute to the career of cult movie star and one of the great actors who played memorable villains, Rutger Hauer. As always, we had a blast recording the show and we really hope you love it. If you do, please spread the word to other movie fans.  Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Secret Obsession *½ (CS) & ** (SM) Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood **** (CS) Rolling Thunder Review: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese **½ (CS) *** (SM) Hobbs & Shaw *** (CS) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King $191 770 759 2. Hobbs and Shaw $60 038 950 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $421 774 675 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $41 082 018 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $541 413 053

It is a special episode this week that we are calling The Breakdown of the Future of Movies. We predict some major changes that we believe will happen over the next year or two. We will discuss things like filmmakers having more creative control, a greater focus on movies for adults, streaming services beginning to become similar to cable and movie theatres becoming more affordable and community focused. As always, we had a blast recording the show and we really hope you love it. If you do, please help us out by spreading the word on social media, so we can attract more movie fans. The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King $191 770 759 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $361 735 725 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $41 082 018 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $541 413 053

It has been the summer of Disney when it comes to the big blockbusters and we review a huge one this week in the adaptation of animated classic in The Lion King. We also look at two Netflix originals in the buddy action flick starring Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo in Point Blank and then a Taiwanese sci-fi dystopian thriller meets crime noir in Cities of Last Things. We also talk about how modern film journalism has caused movies to be seen more as product than art, and we look at if it is harmful that Netflix is currently obsessed with creating as many original movies as possible. As always, we had a great time recording this show and we really hope you love it. If you do, then please help us out by spreading the word to other movie fans. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Point Blank ** (CS) & *** (SM) The Lion King **½ (CS) Cities of Last Things *** (CS & SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King $191 770 759 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $361 735 725 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $500 331 035

We are now deep into the summer movie season, which means we still have some big explosive tentpoles, but some mid-budget genre fare starts making its way out too. This week we review one of the biggest movies of the summer in the latest instalment of the adventures of our favourite neighbourhood superhero in Spider-Man Far from Home. You want some genre fun, then how about a young woman trying to save her father from a house being flooded by a hurricane, and oh yeah, it has ferocious alligators as well in the horror thriller, Crawl. It has been awhile since we reviewed an international picture, so we discuss a Spanish sci-fi thriller in Mirage. We also review a documentary about a little known but very influential music manager in The Black Godfather. After all that, we look at the career of talented actor Rip Torn. We had a great time recording the show and we really hope you love it. If you do enjoy it, then please help us out by spreading the word on social media. Also, please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or whatever podcatcher you use, as it will really helps us out in the rankings. As always, thank you so much for supporting and listening to us. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Spider-Man Far from Home *** (CS)  Mirage *½ (CS & SM) Crawl *** (CS) The Black Godfather *** (CS) & ***½ (SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $169 964 516 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home $92 579 212 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $500 331 035

Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian listeners, and for our American fans, happy almost Independence Day. We forgot to make those well-wishes on the show, but we did remember to serve up three movie reviews. The big one is the supernatural horror sequel, Annabelle Comes Home, which is the latest in the Conjure-verse. We also have a high concept romantic comedy about a failed singer who ends up being the only one who remembers the Beatles in Yesterday. We also discuss another Netflix original movie, and this one stars Anthony Anderson as a guy who mentors a troubled music prodigy in Beats. Then Scott catches up on tons of movies with several mini reviews and includes movies like Us and Captain Marvel. We also discuss if original movies can still be box office hits or if they need to have a recognizable brand. As always it was a pleasure recording the show and we really appreciate you listening to us. If you loved the show, then please help us out by spreading the word on social media. It will help us grow and be able to provide more episodes and content. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Annabelle Comes Home *** (CS)  Beats ** (CS) & **½ (SM) Yesterday *** (CS) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home $20 269 723 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $169 964 516 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $407 751 823

It is our 300th episode. We've been doing this since 2013 and have reviewed hundreds of movies. Today we will review four more. We got a huge one in the Pixar animated adventure and follow-up to a classic in Toy Story 4. We keep up the theme of talking toys with the more sinister Child's Play. Speaking of evil talking toys, we have the latest Adam Sandler movie in Murder Mystery. Finally, we look at a time travelling drama produced by Spike Lee with See You Yesterday. Then we celebrate our 300th episode by looking back at how we came up with this show, how it has evolved and share some of our favourite moments. As always, we had a great time recording the show and we really hope you love it. If you do, then please spread the word to other movie fans. We really want to thank you for listening to us for 300 episodes and hope you stay with us for 300 more. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Murder Mystery ** (CS) & **½ (SM) Toy Story 4 **** (CS) See You Yesterday ** (CS) & ***½ (SM) Child's Play *** (CS) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $149 695 243 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 $120 908 065 2. Spider-Man Far from Home 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) $14 094 594 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $407 751 823

This week we are deep in the sequel talk. We review two theatrical movies that are 'rebooted' sequels of once popular series. One of my favourite modern movie duos Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson team up again but this time in some suits for the latest adaptation of a sci-fi adventure series in Men in Black International. Then director Tim Story does a very comedic version of a long running action series in Shaft (which of course is a sequel to Shaft, which was also a sequel to a movie in the 1970s called Shaft). We keep up the sequel discussion with our topic where we look at why sequels to very popular movies can have drastically different results in the box office. We also have two Netflix originals in the sci-fi thriller I am Mother and the concert movie, Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce. As always, we had a great time recording the show and we really hope you love it. You can really help us out if you spread the word on social media, so more movie fans can find out about the show. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Men in Black International ** (CS)  I am Mother ** (CS) & *** (SM) Shaft * (CS) Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce *** (CS) & ***½ (SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International $30 035 838 6. Annabelle Comes Home 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft $8 901 419 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $149 695 243 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 2. Spider-Man Far from Home 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $272 749 164

This week on The Movie Breakdown we've got three movie reviews to kick off your Monday right. The big theatrical release is the musical biopic of Elton John called Rocketman and yes, I make some comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody. We also discuss the latest romcom from Netflix with the story about two best friends falling love in Always Be My Maybe. Then we review the children fighting aliens adventure in Rim of the World. We also are going to look at why some critics will change their opinion on a movie. From there, we discuss if actors should do their own stunts or not. As always, it was a great time recording the show and if you enjoyed it, please spread the word to other movie fans. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Always Be My Maybe *** (CS) & **** (SM) Rocketman **** (CS) Rim of the World *½ (CS & SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 $46 652 680 5. Men in Black International  6. Annabelle Comes Home 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $110 757 986 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 2. Spider-Man Far from Home 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix $32 828 348 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $272 749 164

We are just a few weeks away from our 300th episode. But we still have lots of movie goodness to discuss until then. We have a huge summer movie this week in the big monster mash sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. We also review three Netflix originals in the twisty thriller, The Perfection, a new romcom called Good Sam and a political documentary in Knock Down the House. After the movie reviews, we also discuss why big studios seem to only greenlight original ideas (e.g: non-franchise, based on other works) for horror and animated features. Plus as a special teaser, there is a movie we really disagree on and it leads to a pretty passionate debate, You'll have to listen to decide who you think was right. Despite the throwdown, we had an amazing time recording the show and we really hope you love it. If you do, then please spread the word on social media. Reminder that you can subscribe either to The Movie Breakdown feed (a subscription link is at the top right hand of this site) or on iTunes (if you enjoy the show, please help us by giving us a five star review). Four Star Movie Rating: Godzilla: King of the Monsters ** (CS) The Perfection *** (CS) & *½ (SM) Good Sam *½ (CS & SM) Knock Down the House *** (CS & SM) The Summer Box Office Challenge Draft Picks: Scott: 1. The Lion King 2. Hobbs and Shaw 3. Detective Pikachu - $54 365 242 4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 5. Men in Black International  6. Annabelle Comes Home 7. Angry Birds 2 8. Shaft 9. Dora and the Lost City of Gold 10. Long Shot - $9 740 064 Total: $64 105 306 Christopher: 1. Toy Story 4 2. Spider-Man Far from Home 3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters $47 776 293 4. Aladdin $91 500 929 5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix 6. Rocketman $25 725 722 7. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum: $56 818 067 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 9. Child's Play (replaced Artemis Fowl) 10. Ma $18 099 805 Total: $239 920 816