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PODCAST

Movie Madness

Movie Madness is a weekly podcast hosted by Chicago film critic Erik Childress presenting movie reviews, interviews, film festival coverage, DVDs, awards, box office and much more! erikthemovieman.substack.com

tv & film visual arts

All Episodes

01:30:06

Episode 454: Sand, Sandler and Swinton

Movie Madness ·

2024/03/02

Nobody wanted to open against Taylor Swift last fall and since nobody wanted to open against the sandworms, it’s a light week of reviews. Still five movies for Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy to talk about including an animated documentary about a missing pianist (They Shot the Piano Player) and the story of a burn victim seeking love and revenge (Silver Haze). Adam Sandler misses Carey Mulligan and talks to a giant spader (Spaceman). Former SNL writer Julio Torres makes his directorial debut as a

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44:21

Episode 453: Calling All Gangsters And Weekend Warriors

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/26

This week on the latest and greatest in physical media, Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to talk about a wealth of new titles in 4K. But also a film noir package dedicated to Edward G. Robinson, a restored version of the 1970s French giallo picture and a horror film about a necrophiliac doctor. That is mixed in with new upgrades for Stanley Kubrick’s first feature, a classic western with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and Steven Soderbergh’s all too-prescient thriller about a pandemic. Peter

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01:03:46

Episode 452: Somebody Take The Wheel, Please

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/23

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy take on seven new films this week. They include a bored millennial trying to solve a pharmacy robbery (Drugstore June) and Orlando Bloom taking on mob boss Andie MacDowell (Red Right Hand). Steve looks at one of this year’s Oscar nominees (IO Capitano) and U2 getting involved in the war in Sarajevo (Kiss the Future). An animator begins to get lost in her art and mind (Stopmotion) while Ethan Coen loses Joel and takes Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan on a

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01:20:24

Episode 451: Who Is Darkman And What Is That Tainted...

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/20

Keeping your physical media collection up to date? That is what Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski are here to do again this week. The latest and greatest in Blu-rays include a female-led martial arts double feature extravaganza as well as a double bill of films from the Civil Rights era. There’s a new film with Isabelle Huppert along and a collection of short parodies from Ernie Fosselius. Then new upgrades to 4K run the gamut from Australian psychic horror to a goofy underwater monster film

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01:27:41

Episode 450: Don’t Let Them Fool Ya

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/17

Eight reviews this week from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy run the gamut from good documentaries to surprisingly-not-so-bad to shockingly awful. Where do all of these films fit in? How do you feel about an action film from the director of Underwater with this name (Land of Bad) or the rookie secret service agent trying to save the President with this one (Air Force One Down)? Ewan McGregor takes a road trip with his addicted daughter (Bleeding Love) and Lily Sullivan stumbles upon an alien

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01:08:02

Episode 449: Wanna Have A Dance Party?

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/14

Peter Sobczynski again joins Erik Childress to tell you what’s available in physical media this week. You can stock up on your French auteurs, Eric Rohmer and Jean-Luc Godard. There are lions and Cagneys and Willy’s, oh my! They go through the good and mediocre in the pricey new 4K set from Sony and Peter offers his two cents on his choice for the best film of 2023. Plus nobody puts Kevin Bacon in the corner as both recall their experiences with the film that tried to stop him from dancing. 0:00 -

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01:12:13

Episode 448: It’s Pronounced Frankenshit

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/09

Seven new films get reviews from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy this week. They include a new mistaken identity rom-com with Camila Mendes (Upgraded) and another story of a novelist plunged into a murderous plot (Ghostwritten). A teenage girl comes of age in the time of Terry Schiavo (Suncoast) while a trio of friends discover the harsher realities of growing up while on vacation in an award-winner from Cannes (How To Have Sex). Also for the second week in a row there is a Wim Wenders film, this

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59:12

Episode 447: Altman, Wilder, Jewison and Boll

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/07

Getting you caught up on the latest and greatest (and sometimes not-so-great) in blu-rays, Peter Sobczynski and Erik Childress run the gamut this week. They include Billy Wilder doing Agatha Christie and George Segal doing Michael Crichton. A film from the late Norman Jewison and a reimagining of the late Adrienne Shelley’s final film. Plus in maybe the biggest swing, going over arguably Robert Altman’s finest film and then diving into the career of Uwe Boll. 0:00 - Intro 1:15 – Criterion (McCabe

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01:15:23

Episode 446: But If You Just Believe, There’s No Way...

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/04

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to the weekly beat of reviews with seven new titles this week. They include a new 3-D documentary from Wim Wenders (Anselm) and another with the master of giallo (Dario Argento Panico). Leah McKendrick writes, directs and freezes her eggs (Scrambled) plus you can learn all about the making of We Are The World (The Greatest Night In Pop). A pair of streamers serve up animation with an all-Asian cast (The Tiger’s Apprentice) and Charlie Kaufman adapts an

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02:10:23

Episode 445: The 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Movie Madness ·

2024/02/03

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy returned to Park City in-person for the first time since 2020 and they brought back a lot of reviews. 18 films are discussed on the show including the latest works from Steven Soderbergh, the Zellner Bros. and the makers of Saint Frances. Jesse Eisenberg delivers his sophomore Sundance effort and it resulted in one of the bigger deals of the fest, though Erik offers his thoughts on the biggest sale. There is praise for Saoirse Ronan, Andre Holland, Carol Kane and

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02:09:13

Episode 444: Hear The Lamentations For The Blu-Rays

Movie Madness ·

2024/01/31

Peter Sobczynski helps Erik Childress get caught up with a few weeks of Blu-ray releases. They include what may be John Sayles’ finest film along with one of the better Nicolas Cage movies that nearly got buried. There are movies with submarines and others with serial killers and stalkers plus a genuine animated gem you may have missed. One of the best film noirs musicals, post-Vietnam films are available this week along with the Marx Bros. and Rodney Dangerfield as an animated dog. (It’s not the

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02:20:46

Episode 443: WHY IS THIS NOT ON BLU-RAY?! (Chapter 9)

Movie Madness ·

2024/01/16

A tradition that has gone absent for too long on the podcast has been this show that began with Sergio Mims and Erik Childress on WHPK Radio Chicago and continued on here. Films that has still yet to get the upgrade treatment on physical media and every time a new one emerges you can hear Sergio screaming down “WE GOT ONE!” We are finally continuing what we started, Sergio, with Peter Sobczynski stepping in to offer his half of 20 titles that still remain dormant on DVD or no physical media

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02:16:04

Episode 442: One Word - Plastics

Movie Madness ·

2024/01/13

The first new reviews of 2024 are here, even as a few late 2023 titles sneak into the mix. 13 in all starting with Anthony Hopkins, this time not as C.S. Lewis (Freud’s Last Session) and Renny Harlin dialing up some action with Aaron Eckhart (The Bricklayer). An Elvis, a Spock and a monkey go on a strange journey (He Went That Way) while Kaley Cuoco goes on a familiar one as another domesticated assassin (Role Play). MST3K’s Jonah Ray tries to get ahead of his neighbor (Destroy All Neighbors) and

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01:34:27

Episode 441: We’ve Got A Long Way To Run

Movie Madness ·

2024/01/09

The first Blu-ray show of 2024 with Peter Sobczynski and Erik Childress has got a little of everything. From Bob Hope to Brigitte Bardot and Chuck Norris to Charles Bronson. The directorial debuts of Andrew Davis and the Coen Bros. gets an upgrade as do the trilogies of Satyajit Ray and Park Chan-Wook (at least the second part of his.) Plus does Eddie Murphy’s stand-up hold up and how much is there to remember about Varsity Blues? 0:00 - Intro 2:34 - Criterion (Blood Simple 4K, Apu Trilogy 4K)

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02:08:17

Episode 440: The Best Films of 2023

Movie Madness ·

2024/01/04

On our annual show, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy make their choices for the standout films of 2023. They are joined once again by Collin Souter of the Christmas Movies Actually podcast to unveil his list as well. Their top 20 is punctuated with a lot of titles you are going to want to remember as they have. What are the ten films that found a spot on all three of their full lists and the four that each made their top tens? Stick until the end to hear their choices in a number of specialty

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02:35:50

Episode 439: Battle Beyond The Ocean, The Skies And...

Movie Madness ·

2023/12/23

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy close out 2023 with 11 reviews of the season’s most anticipated films and award season hopefuls. Steve checks out the latest crime comedy from Francois Ozon (The Crime is Mine) while families can check out the latest animated work from Illumination (Migration). Jeffrey Wright is a professor tired of stereotypical depictions of black life in literature (American Fiction) and now there is a feature version of the musical version of Alice Walker’s novel (The Color

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02:12:01

Episode 438: Worlds of Pure Imagination…Mostly

Movie Madness ·

2023/12/16

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy play a little catchup this week after being off the previous. This week’s review show includes a pair of documentaries about classic bands (Immediate Family) and a legendary filmmaker (Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer). Erik checks in a wintry monster movie (A Creature Was Stirring) and Steve looks at a filmed stage musical (Waitress: The Musical) and another Dumas adaptation (The Three Musketeers: D’artagnan). It’s the end of the year so it must mean apocalyptic

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02:09:52

Episode 437: Do We Have To Spell It Out For You?

Movie Madness ·

2023/12/14

The last physical media show of 2023 is here just in time to get your last minute Christmas gifts. They include some wonderful stuff for families including one of the great short films of all time, the animation of Masaaki Yuasa and Shaun the Sheep plus one of the best versions of Pinocchio. One of Spike Lee’s early films gets the 4K upgrade as does films from Walter Hill, David Cronenberg and arguably the best of John Woo’s American resume. Peter Sobczynski and Erik Childress look at the end of

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01:58:23

Episode 436: Guns, Bullets, Trains, Boats and Surfers

Movie Madness ·

2023/12/06

Sony removed over 1,200 titles from their PlayStation store now gone from your library if you purchased them. That doesn’t happen with physical media and, as always, Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski have got you covered. You can get Terrence Malick in 4K and one of the crazier Christmas noirs you’ve ever seen. The Coreys and Stephen King are also in 4K not to mention upgrades for James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. Indiana Jones goes for one final ride and you can also discover the origins of

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01:17:15

Episode 435: ‘Tis the Season For Godzilla

Movie Madness ·

2023/12/02

Awards season is upon us and both Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are preparing their Chicago ballots. But is there anything amongst the seven new titles this week that will fit? There are a pair of documentaries from the legendary Frederick Wiseman (Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros) and about a tumultuous year in the life of award-winning musician Jon Baptiste (American Symphony). Steve has some words for an apocalyptic horror film (Everyone Will Burn) and Erik wishes that title applied to the

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