ReelBlend

Why Solo Underperformed, Reviewing Kubrick's 2001 in 70mm, & #StarWarsBlend Can we use the "D" word -- disappointment -- when it comes to Solo: A Star Wars Story's box office? This becomes the first major topic of conversation on ReelBlend Episode 23, where co-hosts Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton do a Monday Morning Quarterback analysis of Ron Howard's Star Wars adventure. The movie did fine at the box office, earning an estimated $103 million over the Memorial Day four-day window. But in comparison to other Star Wars movies, and other Summer Blockbuster Tentpoles, it underperformed. The guys discuss why, give their own reviews of the film, and finally reveal their Top 3 Star Wars movies in our #StarWarsBlend segment. ReelBlend #23 wasn't ALL Star Wars talk, though. Jake and Kevin were able to see the 70mm restored print of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it blew their minds. Films fans are going to want to listen to that portion of ReelBlend, as the guys explain that the restored film print of this sci-fi masterpiece works like a time machine back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. If this movie is playing near you, get to it... now! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Guest Rob Liefeld (Deadpool Creator/Artist), Deadpool 2 SPOILERS & David Fincher's Best Film Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld joined the guys for a full hour. And if you like the Deadpool movies, Marvel Comics and the MCU, and basically superhero entertainment in general, this one is a CAN'T MISS! Rob Liefeld has been the driving (X)force behind Deadpool since the character's creation in 1990. Rob has endured X-Men: Origins -- Wolverine. He celebrated Tim Miller's proper Deadpool movie in 2016. And he happily pulls back the curtain to share all that he knows about Deadpool 2 in a spoiler-filled conversation with ReelBlend co-hosts Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton! It wasn't all Deadpool, all of the time. Yes, Rob Liefeld is a vast wealth of knowledge on all things comics, we also recruited him for this week's #Blend game. It happened to be the films of David Fincher, so listen in and see where the guys all fell on #FincherBlend! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Deadpool 2 Spoiler-free Reviews, Solo: A Star Wars Story Reactions & the Best Godfather Film This week Sean O'Connell (CinemaBlend), Kevin McCarthy (Fox 5 Washington DC) and Jake Hamilton (Fox 32 Chicago) give their SPOILER-FREE reviews of Deadpool 2 (Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin and Zazie Beetz), discuss the news of a possible Lando and/or Obi-Wan Star Wars spinoff, give their early impression of Solo: A Star Wars Story, debate which Godfather film is the best, and more. Follow the show on Twitter @ReelBlend Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Childish Gambino's New Music Video, Summer Movie Preview & John Williams Best Score This week's episode is mainly focused on the Summer Movie season, so ReelBlend hosts Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton break the slate down into various categories: Most Anticipated; Least Anticipated; Highest Grossing (not named Avengers: Infinity War); and Indie/Off-the-Radar. The guys kick off with a spirited discussion about the potential Avengers 4 title... and whether they care at all what it's going to be called. From there, conversation switches to Solo: A Star Wars Story -- which Jake and Kevin will see this week when doing the press junket in L.A. And then the guys weigh in on the new Childish Gambino video for "This is America," with Kevin nailing a particularly compelling interpretation of what he thinks Donald Glover is trying to say with the clip. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Avengers: Infinity War Spoiler Discussion w/ Guest Erik Davis (Fandango) To help us settle a few of these key issues with Infinity War, we called in some help. Erik Davis is the Managing Editor over at Fandango, and a long-time friend of the guys. He knows his stuff when it comes to movies, and especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So we asked him on ReelBlend, and he was an awesome guest. Listen to what he has to say. There were a lot of questions Jake Hamilton, Kevin McCarthy and Sean O'Connell wanted to address. What happened to the heroes? What will happen to those who are left? How does Thanos (Josh Brolin) know Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)? Why did Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) give up the Time Stone? After that, it was time for this week's #Blend, and man, was it a hard one. The guys chose Tom Cruise, and debated the seasoned A-Lister's BEST performance. Some of them landed on the same answer. The listeners, who played along using #CruiseBlend on social media, ended up with a totally different answer. That's how good Cruise is. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

SPOILER-FREE Avengers: Infinity War Reviews & Tarantino's Best Movie Avengers: Infinity War is upon us! The boys were all lucky enough to have seen the film earlier this week, and are here to get you hyped with their spoiler-free discussion of Marvel and perhaps cinema's most ambitious project to date. Sean O'Connell, Jake Hamilton, and Kevin McCarthy discuss the wonderfully surprising success of the films many plot points, and use of character, the humor, heartbreak, and even terror that makes for one heck of a superhero film. Before they get to the biggest movie of the year, they react to the Venom movies full trailer, news of Alden Ehrenreich signing a 3-picture deal as Han Solo. Sean O'Connell joins the show from CinemaCon in Las Vegas and shares details on several pieces of footage he saw from project including Solo, James Wan's Aquaman, Aladdin (starring Will Smith) and more. They also debate whether or not Die Hard with a Vengeance is better than Die Hard. As well as, Quentin Tarantino's best film. This one is a doozy. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Special Guest Brad Peyton (Rampage & San Andreas Director) & Juicy Infinity War Rumors As it turns out, The Rock + Large-Scale Chaos + Towering CGI Creatures = Box Office Success! Over the weekend, Brad Peyton's Rampage squeaked out a box office win over John Krasinski's terrifying A Quiet Place, becoming the number 1 movie in the U.S. and around the globe. So it thrills us to report that, as part of his victory lap, Peyton hopped on the ReelBlend podcast as a very special guest to discuss shooting Rampage, collaborating with The Rock on their third action adventure, advancing the art of motion-capture, and much more. In addition to our exclusive sit down with Peyton, ReelBlend co-hosts Kevin McCarthy, Jake Hamilton and Sean O'Connell are gearing up for the debut of Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War, which will hit theaters on April 27. Kevin is on his way out to the junket in L.A., and Sean and Jake are seeing it early next week. So this is the final episode that they can record before seeing the movie for themselves. Knowing that, they decided to pick three Marvel Rumors that they think actually WILL happen in Infinity War. Give a listen, then tell us in the comments if you agree or disagree. And finally, our game! This week was dedicated to the films of Wes Anderson, and in a rare feat, #WesBlend produced three different answers from the boys. AND, the people playing at home via social media had a different pick, as well. Four different Wes Anderson movies! Listen and see which ones we chose for #WesBlend. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Special Guest Zak Penn (Ready Player One & The Avengers Screenwriter) & Meryl Streep's Best Performance If you've listened to ReelBlend the past few weeks -- and if you haven't, what's wrong with you? -- then you know that we have been strong advocates for Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One. The blockbuster legend was an ideal choice to adapt Ernie Cline's best-selling page-turner, itself a story that's drenched in nostalgia for a pop-culture era that Spielberg helped to create and shape. So when we were given the opportunity to have Ready Player One screenwriter Zak Penn on the show, we jumped... and it led to one of the best movie-geek conversations in ReelBlend history Zak Penn's previous credits include The Avengers, X2: X-Men United, The Incredible Hulk and the classic college comedy PCU. The man knows geek culture. Hell, he has helped establish the type of geek culture that we're all now buying into. So it was a dream to have him on for ReelBlend, where he helped us break down the new Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer, discuss the film's decision to premiere at Cannes, and weigh in on the latest Unpopular Decision, which pits the Back to the Future trilogy against the original Star Wars trilogy. Kevin thinks BTTF is better than Star Wars (and Sean actually agrees with Kevin). Zak tells them both why they are so very wrong. From there, it's a deep dive into Ready Player One spoilers, so dig in if you already have seen Steven Spielberg's roller-coaster ride through the OASIS. We discuss so many fascinating topics, from the building of The Shining scene to the rumor that Spielberg once wanted Gene Wilder to play Halliday in the movie. This one's a must-listen! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Tom Hank's Best Performance & Sean's Unpopular Lord of the Rings Opinion Tom Hanks is an American treasure. Tom Hanks is a two-time Academy Award winner for Best Actor. Tom Hanks is freaking Woody, from the beloved Toy Story franchise! But what is Tom Hanks' BEST performance? This is the challenge laid down before the co-hosts of ReelBlend -- Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton. Which Hanks movie did they choose? On this week's episode, the guys also discuss Ready Player One's opening weekend box office, the news that Colin Trevorrow has been hired for Jurassic World 3, and the request by the Russo Brothers for Marvel fans to maintain spoiler silence on social media for Avengers: Infinity War. After, the boys introduce a new segment that likely will become a recurring deal: Unpopular Opinions. For those unaware, Jake, Kevin and Sean maintain a text chain where they're constantly talking in between podcast episodes. In that chain, the guys often state something that the other two wildly disagree with. So, we're bringing it to the show. Last week, it was a debate about the power of Netflix over a theatrical release model. This week, Sean admits that he hates the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You have to hear it. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ready Player One (spoiler-free) Reviews & Netflix vs Theatrical Release (Special Guest: Juan Fernández-Paris) Regular listeners know the familiar voices of co-hosts Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton. But this week, for the first time in ReelBlend history, the trio breaks ground by inviting a guest! Juan Fernández-Paris is the film critic for Wapa America. He's a longtime veteran of the junket circuit, where he has passed hours, days and years geeking out about movies with Sean, Jake and Kevin in cities around the world. And as an ardent supporter of this week's biggest release -- Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One -- we invited him on to provide his insights into Spielberg's latest, and to play along with Coen Brothers Blend! What is Coen Brothers Blend? Well, it's part of an ongoing game that we brought to ReelBlend where we pick a beloved director (or filmmaking team) and then debate their BEST movie. Not our favorite movie by them. Their BEST. And we try to convince the other guys that our opinion is right. We also ask YOU to participate by using a hashtag on social media. In the past, we have debated Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson and more. This week, it was #CoenBrosBlend, and your responses were all over the board. So were ours. But the best conversation from the week ends up being a heated debate inspired by an off-hand Spielberg comment, in which the legendary director says movie's that debut on Netflix shouldn't be eligible for an Academy Award. Spielberg is trying to protect and defend the theatrical experience, but it overlooks some hard truths about the current distribution models in Hollywood, and the ReelBlend guys get into a passionate debate about which side is right. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reelblend/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy