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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

46:31

Episode 541: Not Shocked By The Monkey

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/21

It’s a light week for movies so Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy work with what they have with four titles that you may or may not want to work with. They include a new Chicago horror film from director Mickey Keating (Invader). Daisy Ridley is a window washer who goes from pane to McClane when eco-terrorists take over her building (Cleaner). Christoph Waltz is an aging hitman with a protégé (Old Guy). Finally, Osgood Perkins is back with a Stephen King adaptation where things do not go well for

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01:50:24

Episode 540: Lighten Up, Frances & Zuckerberg

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/17

It’s physical media time with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski guiding you through this week’s releases which includes a pair of late indie staples from the ‘80s now in 4K. There’s a pair of John Candy comedies from the same decade, Burt Reynolds directing a comedy about suicide and one about the life of Frances Farmer. Pick your poison in Richard Dreyfuss directing porn (within the movie) and the unspeakable horrors of Roger Corman mutant rapists. Keanu Reeves is a demon hunter and David

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01:32:20

Episode 539: Mad About The Boy And The Bear

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/14

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to regular reviewing duties this week and they put a nine-spot on the board. There are a pair of documentaries involving Sly Stone (Sly Lives) and the Zep (Becoming Led Zeppelin). The director of Saint Frances & Ghostlight shows the horror of being a doctor (Rounding) while a young woman involved in one night stands may have been literally ghosted (The Dead Thing). Paolo Sorrentino has another tale of beauty (Parthenope) while Miles Teller & Anya Taylor-Joy

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01:38:20

Episode 538: Captain America: Brave New World

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/13

The next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here and so is comic book expert Erik Laws to talk with Erik Childress on how it plays out. Does it follow through on some of the ideas raised by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier or is it merely just continuing a story most many have forgotten about? Laws fills in the blanks left by the treatment of Shira Haas’ Widow and the remnants of the Serpent Society. Is this a genuine new beginning for the Universe or does it continue the rut that has

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01:38:54

Episode 537: Nobody Wants To See Your Lear, Dude!

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/11

Erik Childress & Peter Sobczynski bring you this week’s physical media roundup which includes a great upgrade for the family involving a cat and a mouse. Horror fans get some 4K upgrades from four different decades. Film Noir gets several different takes including through the mind of Woody Allen. A legendary black filmmaker championed over the years by Sergio Mims gets his whole collection. There are early appearances by Sam Elliott, Sean Penn and John Cusack along with a reappraisal of a current

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01:36:02

Episode 536: The 2025 Sundance Film Festival

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/09

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return after more than a week in Park City plus virtual screenings for this year’s Sundance Film Festival and they are here to talk about 15 of their favorite films. They include a pair of body horror films about the terror of living happily ever after. There is also the horror of being a parent especially if you live next to the worst kind of Karen. Music plays a role in a lovely story about a washed-up folk singer and a lottery winner plus the heartbreaking tale

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02:18:43

Episode 535: My Eyes Are Up Here, Orca!

Movie Madness ·

2025/02/04

After some time off for Sundance, Movie Madness returns to get you caught up on the latest and greatest in Blu-rays. Erik Childress talks to Peter Sobczynski about a couple 4K upgrades from Criterion for Paul Thomas Anderson and Anthony Mann. There are rom-coms with Cary Grant and Clark Gable while Al Pacino tries to find love with possibly a serial killer. They’ve got a possessed authoritarian in the White House (from 1933) and a killer whale on the loose. Music documentaries for Joan Jett and

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01:46:20

Episode 534: Mom, Can I Get The New Delfonics Tape?

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/20

Some great titles in physical media this week and Erik Childress is joined by Peter Sobczynski to convince you to pick them up. They include a great modern con artist noir from Criterion and a lost film from Paul Bartel. The ‘70s bring us some sexploitation horror and Sherlock Holmes hunts Jack the Ripper while the ’80s gave us one of the most unique and divisive slasher films. Peter goes to bat for a pair of 4K upgrades from John Carpenter and Tarsem. Finally, there is a trio of new 4Ks from

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01:19:20

Episode 533: His Hair Was Not Perfect

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/17

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at eight new movies this week including a unique documentary that combines a video game with Shakespeare (Grand Theft Hamlet). Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut with a romantic weepie (Wish You Were Here) and a locksmith goes on a wild evening (Night Call). Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald play spies who go off the grid and are sucked back into duty (Alarum) while Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz play spies who go off the grid and are sucked back into duty

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25:01

Bonus Episode: Awards Madness 2024 (Part 5 –...

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/17

The final pieces are in place as BAFTA and the Producers/Writers Guilds have unveiled their nominations. That means its time to give it a whirl at what the final Oscar lists are going to look like. Just how much did the BAFTAs influence the acting categories. Did the Writer’s Guild really make a difference in predicting screenplays when half of them were disqualified? If the Producers Guild holds about an 80% predictability rate, which two films get left off? Erik Childress looks at no less than

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01:29:28

Episode 532: What’s In The Blu-Ray Box?

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/13

Physical media is still here in 2025! Like every other year. Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski are back to run through the new releases with you. They include a pair of upgraded Kurosawas and Richard Pryor examining his life. John Turturro directs a musical, William Shatner does a horror film in Esperanto and the pair share some fondness for John Frankenheimer’s final film. You will hear about the film that was literally like pulling teeth for Erik while two of Brad Pitt’s best films get

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01:46:05

Episode 531: Dammit Pantera, This Beer Is Warm!

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/10

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back to start 2025 with reviews…of a lot of 2024 movies. Albeit ones opening wider across the country now. But there are also some brand new releases including documentaries on a film that never was (George A. Romero’s Resident Evil) and the songwriter who never wins an Oscar (Diane Warren: Relentless). Then a family is trapped amidst a pole reversal (Survive) and Adrien Brody tries to build a life in America (The Brutalist). Robbie Williams gets the musical

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03:02:50

Episode 530: WHY IS THIS NOT ON BLU-RAY?! (Chapter 10)

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/09

An annual tradition that goes back to the days of WHPK Radio at the University of Chicago where Erik Childress joined Sergio Mims to discuss all things movies and certainly physical media, Erik is now joined by Peter Sobczynski for it to endure. Each of them has chosen ten films that to this day remain only on DVD (or not at all) that they believe deserve the upgrade. There are films about the circus, about priests and prostitution, love triangles and the dark side of Hollywood. There is politics

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29:58

Bonus Episode: Awards Madness 2024 (Part 4)

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/07

Oscar voting has begun and the week before the unveiling of the nominations is jam-packed with implications. Various guilds to impact the Best Picture race from Producers to Directors to Writers. All that on top of the Screen Actors Guild announcement and how the BAFTA shortlists put the best case scenarios forwards for many in the acting categories. Did the Golden Globes impact the races (or at least people’s viewing preferences)? The Best Actress could become a Thunderdome right up to the

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02:01:31

Episode 529: The Best Films Of 2024

Movie Madness ·

2025/01/03

What better way to kickoff 2025 than a look back at the some of the greatness of 2024. On this annual show, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy invite back Collin Souter so they can condense the entire year into the absolute best in their individual opinions. Only three films cracked all of their lists so there is a wide swath of analysis in a year that demanded it. Where is the common ground? What are the outliers? This is a great way to make your own lists on what to catch up on before we start

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01:33:37

Episode 528: The Circle Of Life Is A Lie

Movie Madness ·

2024/12/20

On the final show of 2024, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy check out eight new movies that include a Danish serial killer from 1919 (The Girl with the Needle) and Nicole Kidman as a CEO who enters into an affair with an intern (Babygirl). Tyler Perry tells the story of undelivered mail during wartime (The Six Triple Eight) and the Sega Genesis hero returns to battle Jim Carrey (Sonic the Hedgehog 3). Robert Eggers offers his take on the Dracula legend (Nosferatu) and James Mangold tells another

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39:39

Bonus Episode: Awards Madness 2024 (Part 3)

Movie Madness ·

2024/12/18

There will not be a lot of movement in the rankings through the end of the year. Not until we get into January when many of the major guilds and BAFTA add to the chorus of voices this awards season. So on this episode we look at why its unfortunate we have to consider the Critics Choice Association as one of those voices. For better or worse the numbers do factor in as many of the major races begin to take some shape. We will not be without surprises but Erik Childress offers some hope over worries

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02:22:51

Episode 527: Be The Master Of Your Blu-Ray Domain

Movie Madness ·

2024/12/16

One last physical media show for 2024 and still time to get those last-minute Christmas gifts. Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski take you through a bundle that includes two of the all-time masterpieces by John Ford and Francis Ford Coppola. Land is very much in the conversation from films by Ron Howard and Michael Winterbottom. There are aliens in the water, in the womb and something else aboard a submarine from WWII. We’ve got conspiracies, punks and missing thumbs plus the films of Steve De

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01:29:01

Episode 526: Carry On My Kraven Son

Movie Madness ·

2024/12/14

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy continue to wade into December’s offerings with nine new films on the slate. They include the directorial debut of Jack Huston (Day of the Fight) and Eva Green leading a team of female operatives against ISIS (Dirty Angels). The director of The Act of Killing does an apocalyptic musical (The End) while the daughter of a synthesizer inventor takes a joyous and complicated journey learning about her deceased father (Resynator). Paul Schrader takes his own trip through

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25:13

Bonus Episode: Awards Madness 2024 (Part 2)

Movie Madness ·

2024/12/11

We continue our march through awards season madness as we look at a fresh batch of nominations and announcements that have started to part the clouds a little on how its all playing out. Thanks to LA, Chicago and even lesser on-the-level groups like the Golden Globes and the National Board of Review (whose statistics can nevertheless not be entirely denied) Erik Childress runs you down the current depth charts on the Big 8 categories which can certainly change week-to-week.

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