2025

There are 32 posts published in 2025 (this is page 1 of 5).

The Pick: The Legend of Bagger Vance

Why did we choose to cover the 2000 flop, The Legend of Bagger Vance on this episode of The Pick? Well, you’ll just have to listen to find out. Mostly, we were just hoping that it was secretly a charming little magic-tinged film that transcended its problematic title character, but perhaps that was too tall of an order. Regardless, it still gave us plenty of reasons to use funny Southern accents and bask in the film’s folksiness. Also, we end up talking about the movie The Family Man far more than you’d expect. Continue reading →

Retrospecticus: Cheech and Chong at the Movies

Christmas has Santa Claus, the Fourth of July has Uncle Sam, and 420 has Cheech and Chong. Or at least it should. I can think of no better ambassadors of the almighty herb than comedy legends Cheech and Chong.

Formed in Vancouver, BC, in 1969 by Canadian comedian/musician Tommy Chong and L.A.-born Richard “Cheech” Marin (who had moved to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft), the duo began performing in clubs with their unique brand of free-love, counterculture, and cannabis-inspired comedy. Cheech often played the fast-talking, streetwise schemer, while Chong embodied the clueless, Zen-like hippie stoner.

Their self-titled album, released in 1971, peaked at #28 on the Billboard charts and was followed by six more successful albums throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. I’ve listened to a few of these, and while not everything holds up, their character-driven drug culture satire remains undeniably charming.

Some of their songs aren’t bad either. I mean, “Basketball Jones”? That’s as good as any earnest soul ballad from the 1970s. Which isn’t surprising, considering the song features musical backing from George Harrison, Carole King, Ronnie Spector, Billy Preston, Darlene Love, Michelle Phillips, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann, and Jim Keltner, to name a few. It was even good enough to be covered by Barry White and Chris Rock for the Space Jam soundtrack.

But I’ll always know Cheech and Chong best for their movies, even though, for years, the only ones I’d seen were Up in Smoke and a few scenes from Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie, pieced together from sporadic airings on Comedy Central. These laid-back, seemingly improvisational slapstick comedies are the ultimate stoner comfort food.

So what better way to celebrate 420 and over 50 years of Cheech and Chong than by revisiting their six theatrical releases from 1978 to 1984, along with their 1985 short-form video Get Out of My Room, their 2010 concert film Hey, Watch This!, and their 2013 straight-to-DVD animated film.

Cheech and Chong even have a new documentary, Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie, in limited release right now, which I’ll probably check out when it hits Peacock on April 25th.

So, without further ado, it’s time to turn on, tune in, and drop out into the list:

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The Pick: Flash Gordon

We’re not saviors of the universe, but we will save every one of us from subpar movie fandom. That’s right, The Pick is back with a look at the 1980 revival of the legendary comic book character, Flash Gordon. We get a bit into the history of this ancient franchise as well as the various attempts to bring him to the big screen, which ultimately resulted in this Dino De Laurentiis-backed production. However, we fail to get to the bottom of why Queen was involved with the film’s delicious soundtrack, but instead are content to merely appreciate this clash of theatrical rock music and over-the-top sci-fi. Continue reading →

The People’s Albums #8: No Fences

It seems the closer I get to concluding The People’s Albums — my journey through the 50 best-selling albums of all time — the farther away it feels. It’s pretty hilarious that in the intro to my last entry, the late ’90s flipside to this entry, Come On Over by Shania Twain, I expressed optimism over my then-current pace. Well, here we are a year-and-a-half later with no progress in between. But don’t worry! I’ll explain.

Album: No Fences
Artist: Garth Brooks
Release Date: August 27, 1990
Copies Sold in the U.S.: 18 million Continue reading →

Oscars Fortnight: Les Misérables

Les Misérables (2012)

85th Academy Awards (2013)
Nominations: 8
Wins: 3

Well, here we are with another Oscars Fortnight in the books. I thought doing these reviews after the Oscar ceremony this year would make the two-ish weeks feel a little less exciting, but that wasn’t really so. After all, the Oscars live on throughout the year, in newer, lesser movies trying to milk recent Oscar winners’ appearances or in the slow-building buzz of various film festivals over the Summer and Fall in anticipation of next Oscar season. It also leaves you with a renewed sense of needing to catch up with Oscar winners past and present. My final review this year is of a film that I had ample opportunity to see in theaters when it came out, since it was released at a time when I had little in my life going on outside of watching movies. And yet, something about Les Misérables just seemed very skippable, and after finally watching it, still mostly feels that way. Continue reading →

Oscars Fortnight: Deliverance

Deliverance (1972)

45th Academy Awards (1973)
Nominations: 3
Wins: 0

Two scenes from the 1972 thriller Deliverance have such an outsized cultural footprint that I hesitated for years to watch it. Despite everyone (especially John) insisting it was awesome, I’d already seen the iconic “Dueling Banjos” scene and heard about the infamous “squeal like a pig” moment, so I just filled in the blanks myself. I imagined an unpleasant horror film — a nightmarish descent into madness the likes of which I already kind of know I don’t have the stomach for. Boy, was I wrong… except about my preconceived notion that nature should be appreciated from afar. Deliverance did not inspire me to do any more up river rafting anytime soon.

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Oscars Fortnight: Chocolat

Chocolat (2000)

The 73rd Academy Awards (2001)
Nominations: 5
Wins: 0

There’s a strange allure to “bad” movies that get nominated for Best Picture. Now, Chocolat isn’t bad. In fact, I was on board for about forty minutes, but it’s far from the caliber you’d expect for the most prestigious award in all of cinema. The year 2000 alone had Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, and Traffic—all movies that are well-liked and still discussed today. Then there’s Chocolat.

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