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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

01:10:21

Episode 293: The Turning Red Notice Project

Movie Madness ·

2022/03/12

Six movie reviews this week from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy, mostly available on the streaming services. Three women on a photoshoot weekend for their instas encounter a stinky alien (The Seed). The Herzogs document the theory of leaving our dying planet for another (Last Exit: Space). A car breakdown turns into oddball terror (Ultrasound) and Zac Efron is left alone in an apocalyptic landscape guarding a precious metal (Gold). Finally, Pixar head exclusively again to Disney Plus in a young

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01:10:50

Episode 292: I Love Lucy And Yang

Movie Madness ·

2022/03/05

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy reviewed two of this week’s big movies during Sundance, so in case you missed them talk enthusiastically about Kogonada’s sci-fi meditation on life and connection (After Yang) or less so about Sebastian Stan as a human butcher in Fresh, you get another chance. But then they have five new films to talk about as well including two available on Netflix – an explorer survival tale (Against the Ice) and vacationing Leighton Meester trying to see if her missing girlfriend

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02:02:19

Episode 291: The Batman?

Movie Madness ·

2022/03/03

Comic book expert and host of the AintThisTheFun show on YouTube, Erik Laws, joins Erik Childress to go through Matt Reeves’ The Batman. There is a lot to unpack from the casting to how it distinguishes itself from the other versions of the character. They look at all the casting decisions, is anyone having any fun during this one and, of course, that score from Michael Giacchino. Do Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz bring something new to the Batman/Catwoman dynamic or are they treading over old

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02:22:14

Episode 290: What’s The Blu-Ray Rumpus?

Movie Madness ·

2022/03/02

Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress for another round in the latest and greatest in Blu-rays. Criterion has got the Coens and the Beatles. Paramount has Beavis & Butt-Head and Wayne & Garth. Universal has James Bond and Paul Schrader. Kino has another commentary with Sergio, they agree on a Burt Reynolds gem and whether a certain Billy Wilder classic now available in 4K is even amongst his strongest works. They are also particularly happy to see three of their choices from their Why Is This Not On

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02:00:20

Episode 289: Overcome With Cyrano And Batman

Movie Madness ·

2022/03/01

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back to their old ways, reviewing ten new movies on this week’s show including a little early preview. The rest include a tale of obesity and bullying (Butter) and a family hooks up on Zoom to grieve grandma (Family Squares). More pandemic cinema takes Naomi Watts on a jog of social terror (The Desperate Hour) and Havana Rose Liu ends up at the worst rest stop (No Exit). There is also the story about record label head Alan McGee (Creation Stories) and Andy Garcia

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01:24:14

Episode 288: Leatherface, Werewolves and The...

Movie Madness ·

2022/02/19

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with seven new movie reviews and if you thought murder was on the table last week, wait until you hear this. Boeing killed a bunch and you can learn all about it in a new Netflix documentary (Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.) The Unabomber killed a few and there is a new movie with Sharlto Copley as that lunatic (Ted K). When rich landowners kill off a group of gypsies they fight back with werewolves (The Cursed). Leatherface is back in a new film that

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02:00:19

Episode 287: Murder On The Everywhere

Movie Madness ·

2022/02/13

Movie reviews. Nine of them. We do it every week here on the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. It all starts with a little psychological horror (Alone With You) and emotional revenge (Catch the Fair One). Then it’s a whirlwind of grief from director Josephine Decker (The Sky is Everywhere) and the search for love from Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World). Liam Neeson plays another guy with special skills but does the movie have any (Blacklight)? Charlie Day and Jenny Slate are

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02:31:13

Episode 286: The 2022 Sundance Film Festival

Movie Madness ·

2022/02/10

The Movie Madness Podcast goes back to Sundance (virtually) with Erik Childress, Steve Prokopy and Sergio Mims going through what they saw on their weeklong trip through the at-home app for a second straight year. More than 20 titles are discussed including new films from Kogonada, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorehead and Cooper Raiff. There are debuts from Jesse Eisenberg and Tig Notaro, and even a remake of Ikiru will Bill Nighy. Not to mention a group of incredible performances from Emma Thompson,

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01:34:34

Episode 285: To The Moon With You Jackass

Movie Madness ·

2022/02/06

The weekly movie reviews return to the podcast with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy talking about eight new movies and the 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper’s 1980 film, Out of the Blue. Flash-forward to 1984 for the new documentary about David Lynch’s sci-fi adaptation (The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune) or back to post-Civil War for a little western horror (Ghosts of the Ozarks). Steve tells you where you can see baby animals (The Wolf and the Lion) or take a train for one of this year’s Best

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01:37:53

Episode 284: Remembering Poitier & Bogdanovich

Movie Madness ·

2022/01/31

Sergio Mims joins Erik Childress to take a look back on the careers of two men who became legends in their own time. Director Peter Bogdanovich came out of the gate with three films that established a legacy, but whose ego and crave of the spotlight began to take a toll. Though he continued working up until nearly his passing, his films never achieved the level of acclaim he did in the early ‘70s. Sidney Poitier, on the other hand, is one of the few to claim the title of trailblazer and it not be

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01:29:35

Episode 283: Cobra Kai’s Moment of Truth

Movie Madness ·

2022/01/14

On this special episode of the podcast, Erik Childress is joined by Morgan Gire to delve into season four of Netflix’s popular continuation of The Karate Kid saga. After a new high achieved by the third season, does the latest represent a turning point forward, backward or sideways for its characters? Erik & Morgan delve into the constant switching sides and whether this season does justice for its teenage characters? Did the creators write themselves into a corner when its protagonists finally

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01:53:01

Episode 282: The Best Films of 2021

Movie Madness ·

2022/01/13

One last look at the films of 2021 is the focus of this episode with Erik Childress, Steve Prokopy and Collin Souter unveiling their lists of the best 15 films of the year. There may not have been a lot of “fun” movies, they each manage to agree on one that makes their lists. There are also foreign films, documentaries and musicals of all kinds. Films of grief and mortality and the one that Erik thinks is just “fine.” Do not let the subject matter of the films throw you though, this is a lively

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01:19:29

Episode 281: 2022 Begins With A January Movie

Movie Madness ·

2022/01/12

Movie Madness begins 2022 with its weekly review show and a few holdovers from 2021 that are only beginning to open wider. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy catch up on the latest collaboration from Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), George Clooney directs Ben Affleck in a coming-of-age memoir (The Tender Bar) and Asghar Farhadi pushes everyone into another moral conundrum (A Hero). There is also a cat-and-mouse game between a blind girl and a group of thieves not called Wait Until

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03:16:33

Episode 280: WHY IS THIS NOT ON BLU-RAY? (Chapter 8)

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/28

The bi-annual series with Erik Childress and Sergio Mims closes out 2021 with a giant three-plus hour show dedicated to 20 films that have yet to find their way beyond DVD and, at least in one case, out of VHS if you can even find that. Ten choices each spanning a variety of eras include film noirs, comedies, television adaptations and even a television series. Blaxploitation and musicals, a satire of one era and a whole other era that many would rather forget but Sergio is here to remind you (and

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02:39:11

Episode 279: Back to the Matrix with Pizza

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/20

The last movie review edition of the podcast for 2021 is an epic one. Over two-and-a-half hours discussing 11 films including three that were chosen to be a part of this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival. They include Isabelle Fuhrmann trying to do for rowing what Whiplash did from drumming (The Novice), Olivia Colman having an introspective vacation in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut (The Lost Daughter) and the latest from the director of The Florida Project (Red Rocket). Science-fiction

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02:03:56

Episode 278: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/17

The final Marvel film of 2021 is about to become the biggest movie of the year. Erik Childress is joined by comic book expert, Erik Laws, to share their thoughts on the film. Spoilers are abound so be sure to listen after you have seen it. But when you do you will find out if they are as stoked as everyone else. They get into the previous Spider-Man films and discuss if this one hits the emotional beats it is clearly chasing. Are we allowed to be surprised anymore as so much has already been

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02:27:42

Episode 277: Blu-Rays For Your Christmas List

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/16

Erik Childress and Sergio Mims deliver one last Blu-ray show for 2021 with an impressive group of titles just in time to make your film lovers merry for Christmas. From Criterion they talk about one of the greatest films of all-time and one of their choices for the best film of 2020. Paramount delivers on a couple of Warren Beatty classics while also fulfilling another from the hosts’ Not-On-Blu-Ray lists. As does Warner Archive with a timely delivered mystery given the passing of one of its

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01:50:21

Episode 276: Spielberg, Chaplin, Lucy and a Couple...

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/13

Six new movies are covered on the weekly movie review edition of the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at a new documentary about a film legend (The Real Charlie Chaplin) and the week from hell of a TV legend (Being the Ricardos). A film dramatizes the debate over compensating student athletes (National Champions) but who will compensate us for the latest from Sandra Bullock (The Unforgivable) and Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up). Then if you missed the full show with Sergio Mims, Steve

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01:50:38

Episode 275: Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/09

The title of the episode almost says it all but it turns out both Erik Childress and Sergio Mims have a lot to say about Steven Spielberg’s remake of the Oscar-winning 1961 musical. Sergio, who also hosts a classical music show on WHPK Radio in Chicago, takes us through the choreographers, Leonard Bernstein and his thoughts both positive and negative on the original. Erik also shares his thoughts on how the 1961 film shaped his perspective on musicals at an early age and how the new film has managed

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01:38:36

Episode 274: C’mon C’mon And Listen For Adrienne And...

Movie Madness ·

2021/12/06

Movie theaters tend to slow down the week after Thanksgiving but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have seven movies you can see there or at home. They catch up on the latest from Mike Mills with Joaquin Phoenix (C’mon C’mon). Sci-fi takes some questionable turns in an apocalyptic “comedy” (Silent Night) and a kidnapping drama that is questionably referred to as “science fiction” (Encounter). Surprisingly there is no such label on the story of people who believe they are animals (Wolf). Erik

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