defending your life

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy check in with six new movies this week. They include another slasher twist on a holiday classic (It’s a Wonderful Knife) and Jesse Eisenbeg either doing a riff on Fight Club or one of his own movies about toxic masculinity (Manodrome). A comedy legend gets a well-deserved tribute (Albert Brooks: Defending My Life) and Nicolas Cage haunts everyone in their sleep (Dream Scenario). Then see how the new David Fincher film stands up to the rest of his work (The Killer) and Steve gets his shot to weigh in on the latest from the MCU (The Marvels).

0:00 - Intro

1:24 - It's a Wonderful Knife

12:04 - Manodrome

25:25 - Albert Brooks: Defending My Life

38:17 - Dream Scenario

51:58 - The Killer

1:05:29 - The Marvels

1:23:25 – Preview of Next Week

1:24:39 - Outro

Erin and Paul review two films that depict the afterlife as a humdrum bureaucracy: Hirokazu Kore-Eda's 1998 fantasy AFTER LIFE, and Albert Brooks' 1991 comedy DEFENDING YOUR LIFE.

Perhaps there’s a voice in your head saying, “Maybe today is the day I push through the fog and finally try to do ______.” In this Pocket Sized Pep Talk Rob will inspire you to leave your area of comfort and push on to some those daunting tasks that might be holding you back.  A sense of deep satisfaction awaits if you do! 

Our premiere episode has Keri and Skipper exploring romance in the afterlife with three very different films - Defending Your Life, Heaven Can Wait, and Made In Heaven. Our very first Argument Segment showcases the evolution of Roger and Gene's verbal jousting through the years. We also debut our first Favorite Moment selection, and we welcome our first interview guest with Sneak Previews director Chuck Waggoner!

Jay and Ryan cover the Albert Brooks afterlife comedy, Defending Your Life, which also stars Meryl Streep and Rip Torn. 

For those of you unfamiliar with this awesome film, here's a quick synopsis: Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) isn't having a good week. For starters, he died after he got hit by a bus. Then he discovers that in the afterlife he must defend his actions on Earth in order to ascend to a higher plane of existence. While awaiting judgment, he falls in love with Julia (Meryl Streep), whose near-perfect life on Earth seemingly makes her a shoe-in for ascension. However, Daniel's actions in his lifetime might not be enough for him to move on.

Our recommendations discussed in this episode include the John Candy classic, "Summer Rental" and another Albert Brooks gem, "Lost in America."