School is out, the temperatures are rising. If you’re like Mike, then soon you will find yourself in a movie theater near you watching the return of summer blockbuster season. Mike gives his Top 10 movies he is looking forward to this summer. In the spoiler-free movie review, Mike shares why he thinks Top Gun Maverick is better than the original movie.In the trailer park, Mike talks a look at the latest Mission Impossible installment from Tom Cruise. Mike also remembers Ray Liotta who passed away last week.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome back to Movie Mike's movie podcast. I
am your host Movie Mike, and my favorite time of
the year has finally arrived. So I want to share
with you my top ten most anticipated summer blockbuster movies.
I feel like it's gonna be a great summer if
you're like me and enjoy watching a movie on the
big screen and kicking it all off was Top Gun Maverick,
which came out over the weekend, so I have that
(00:21):
full spoiler free review coming up for you, and then
we'll keep that theme going in the trailer park and
talk about the new Mission Impossible movie that's kind of
riding the wave of Top Gun and Tom Cruise going
into next year. Shout out to the Monday Morning movie crew.
You guys, well you already know what this is. Let's
talk movies. In a world where everyone and their mother
(00:41):
has a podcast, one man stands to infiltrate the ears
of listeners like never before in a movie podcast. A
man with so much movie knowledge, he's basically like a
walking aud MTV with's glasses. From the Nashville Podcast Networks
Movie I've looked forward to the summer ever since I
(01:05):
was a kid. For multiple reasons, because it meant the
end of school, because growing up I always wanted to
go to the Warp Tour, which took place in the summer.
But my favorite thing out of all those things was
it meant that I could see all the movies I've
been looking forward to on the big screen. All the
big franchises came out in the summer, and in the
last ten years it's been heavily dominated by superhero movies.
(01:29):
I feel a little bit of a shift now because
only one superhero movie has made my top ten movies
this year. But I have selected the ten movies that
I feel deserved that big screen experience. And this is
the time of year where I just want to completely
turn my brain off and not think about anything else.
I want big explosions, I want bizarre plot lines, maybe
(01:50):
a horror movie thrown in there somebody know, you know,
frighten me in the summer. I'll take that. But what
I don't want to do is a whole lot of thinking.
I'll save that for the fall, whenever Oscar season rolled
around and I want to live in my fields a
little bit and see something, you know, a little bit
more novel. I'll save that for when it's cold out,
but when it's summer, I want to go into a
cold theater and watch something that's going to completely engulf
(02:13):
the entire screen and really make me escape reality. I
think that's why I love summer blockbusters so much, is
because they are such an escape. I'm not thinking about
my normal life when I go watch these type of movies,
and I think that's why these movies continue to do
so well. I think that's what we all look forward
to when we go to the movies. We just want
something that doesn't exist in our reality at all. And
(02:36):
I think that's why superhero movies have dominated the last decade,
because they don't really deal with real life problems. It's
all just big explosions and big fun. So that's what
I look forward to going into summer blockbuster season. Occasionally,
I will settle for a drama, if done well, if
there's a little bit more of an outside reason why
I want to go watch that, And that's actually what
I'm going to start here. At number ten, I put
(02:59):
Where the craw Dad's Thing, which is coming out on July,
and it is a book adaptation and the movie is
produced by Reese Witherspoon, who is really starting to dominate
as a movie producer. She is the executive producer on
Where the Crawdads Sing. She put this book in her
book club, I believe back in the last time she
(03:19):
started and produced in a movie that I really enjoyed
was Wild, which came out back And aside from that,
Daisy Edgar Jones is the star of this movie. It's
about a reclusive North Carolina woman who is accused of murder.
She's kind of an outsider who lives out in the marsh,
so the plot seems interesting to me. I haven't read
(03:39):
the book yet, but my wife read it, and it's
curious to see how the adaptation goes. But we are
both currently also enjoying Under the Banner of Heaven, which
Daisy Edgar Jones stars in. And maybe I'm just kind
of into a crime drama right now, a little bit
more than I was expecting to be. So that's why
I put this movie at number ten. Where The Crawdad
Thing comes out on July fift At number nine, coming
(04:02):
out on June eight on Netflix is Hustle, which stars
Adam Sandler. He plays this essentially like a struggling basketball
coach who thinks he has found the next great NBA player,
and he's trying to recruit players from overseas and bring
them to play in the United States, and he thinks
he's found this really great player from Spain and has
(04:24):
to convince everybody that this player has what it takes
to make it in the n b A. I really
love seeing Adam Sandler in more of a dramatic role.
I think that's where he really kind of flourishes and
his acting abilities, which we all kind of just think
of him as a comedic, you know, really zany, over
the top actor, but he has some really great dramatic
chops that I feel will be showcased in this movie.
(04:47):
And it's also about a subject that he's really passionate about.
I feel like Adam Sandler always finds a way to
work his passions into his movies. He works in a
way that he is able to do movies with all
of his friends in very exotic locations. So now I
feel like he has taken that passion of basketball, which
he is highly known for just going and playing random
(05:09):
pickup games in different cities and and basically every movie
he goes on he has to find a time to
play basketball. Well, now he has this movie about basketball,
so he gets to do all those things in one
I feel like he is such a smart business person
on side of being one of the most famous actors
of all time. So I'm really curious to see those
two things combine. Trailer looks pretty good, and that's coming
(05:32):
out on Netflix on June eighth. At number eight is
a movie called Bullet Train, which is coming out on
August five. It's an action comedy movie with a lot
of heavyweight actors from Brad Pitt to Bad Bunny to
Sandra Bullock and Joey King, and the movie is about
brad Pitt's character is hired to retrieve this briefcase from
(05:54):
this bullet train, and once he gets on board, he
finds out that there are five other assassins there who
are paid to do the exact same thing, and they
are now all trying to kill each other to be
the one to take home the briefcase. And this movie
has what I see to be everything I'm looking for
in a summer blockbuster movie. You have the fun, dumb action,
(06:14):
you have the comedic aspect of it, and then you
have a list stars like Brad Pitt. So I feel
like you can't get any better than that when you
want a movie that's gonna make you escape reality for
a little bit again. That movie is called Bullet Train,
coming out on August five at number seven. Another action
movie with no comedy, it's called The Gray Man, which
(06:35):
is coming out on Netflix on July fIF This movie
has now set the record as the most expensive film
in history, and by watching the trailer to this movie,
I can see why. But with Ryan Gosling being the
good guy in this movie Chris Evans being the bad guy,
it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
The movie is about Ryan Gosling's character. He is a
skilled c I, a assassin. He finds out some dark
(06:58):
secrets within the agency, so then he finds himself on
the run from a former colleague played by Chris Evans,
who is this well basically a psychopath. So the entire
movie is Ryan Gosling has a target on his head
and people want him dead trying to retrieve this bounty.
The movie also includes Billy, Bob Thornton and another Ottomas
(07:19):
in the cast. And the interesting about this movie and
some of the other movies on this list is that
it has that big summer blockbuster feel, but it's going
straight to Netflix. And when you have the Russo brothers
directing this movie, who have also done movies like Avengers
Endgame and Infinity War and Captain America, you know you're
gonna get those big special effects and that big cinematic field.
(07:42):
And it's kind of based on whatever viewing system you
have at home to be able to take that in,
which is interesting because I feel as excited about this
movie as I am about the other movies on this list.
But the reason I rank it a little bit lower
is knowing that I won't have that full big screen
experience or have the option to watch it that way
(08:04):
or have that same big sound. And part of the
thing that I love going to watch a movie in
theaters like that is experiencing and feeling that I don't
really get that same kind of thing at home. Yes,
it is a little bit more convenient, but there's something
about the rumble of a movie theater, even when you're
just walking down the hall and you hear another movie
like in Progress and you're like, oh man, they're at
(08:24):
a good part right now. Like that part of the
theater experience just really excites me and kind of makes
me feel like I'll miss a little bit by not
seeing this movie in theaters, But again we don't have
the option because it's coming out on Netflix. So that's
number seven, The Gray Man, which is coming out on July.
At number six, I gotta have my horror movie fix
in here. And the movie I've been looking forward to
(08:46):
a while is finally coming out on June. It's called
The Black Phone stars Ethan Hawk, and the movie follows
this young teenager who was abducted by a serial killer
and then once he's kidnapped, there is this disconnected phone
it allows him to communicate with the previous victims, which
just sounds utterly insane. And Ethan Hawk is such a
(09:06):
great actor that I really love him when he steps
into horror movies, and his character kind of gives me
Pennywise from It vibes. And there's just something that excites
me about a masked serial killer in a movie that
just is reminiscent of all my original favorite horror movies
like Halloween, Friday, The Thirteen, Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Chucky,
(09:28):
like all those classics. I feel like when there's a
mask involved, it just kind of heightens the level of
horror for me. And this movie just looks really creepy.
So I'm excited to have that feeling of maybe a
movie finally scaring me again in movie theaters. But that
is called The Black Phone comes out my birthday weekend
on June. I don't know why I had to get
(09:48):
that shameless birthday plug in there. Made it now to
the top five. At number five, I'm going with Jurassic
World Dominion, which comes out on June tenth. I really
enjoyed the Juras Sick World rebooted series here, and this
is the final one in this installment. So there's been
three of these movies now. And while these movies aren't
(10:09):
the most rewatchable, they don't have the same kind of
classic feel as the original Jurassic Park movies. But anytime
you put dinosaurs on the screen, you can almost fill
in all the other gaps that it just makes for
an entertaining movie. And I think as a kid, like
many other kids, I just had this fascination with dinosaurs.
(10:29):
There's something cool about seeing something that we've only seen
pictures of, we've never really experienced. There's obviously no real
life footage, but having Jurassic Park bring historic creatures to
life just creates a really fun movie. And what I'm
most excited about is the original o G cast from
Jurassic Park coming back in this movie. You have Sam Neil,
(10:51):
Laura Dern, and my favorite, the One and Only Jeff
Goldbloom who are back to help Chris Pratt's character in
this movie, and they're all just trying to save the dinosaurs. However,
I do feel like this movie will have a little
bit of a cheesy quality to it just by watching
the trailer. I don't know how I feel about dinosaurs
(11:11):
in the winter environment. I feel like they were just
trying to create a new setting to take the Jurassic
Park characters in. That felt a little bit different, That
felt a little bit new. I don't know if I
love that so much, so I can look past the
cheesy action in this to be able to relive a
little bit of my childhood. But that's coming out on
June tenth. So another movie just right around the corner
(11:33):
at number four, I am going with light Year, which
is coming out on June. It is the quote unquote
true story of Buzz Lightyear, who is the person in
the Toy Story world that would have inspired the Space
Ranger dolls. So if Andy from Toy Story it was
a real kid, this would be the movie that he
(11:53):
would have seen in theaters and made him want the
buzz Lightyear toy. So it's this totally fictionalize the world
within the Toy Story universe, but not a Toy Story movie.
When you have Chris Evans making another appearance on this list,
he's the voice a buzz light Year in this movie,
so it's all about his character and kind of his
(12:16):
origin story, which I think is interesting and I really
love the direction they are taking this character, which they
could have easily just made like a buzz Lightyear solo
kids movie and that would have been successful. But this
feels more like a love letter to sci fi film.
It has almost a Star Wars quality to it. The
(12:36):
soundtrack looks interesting and for a Pixar Disney movie, it
looks nothing like that type of animation. You don't really
have those same big like eye qualities, the same kind
of bubbly three D animation that we're all used to
with Pixar movies. It looks very sleek, very refined, and
a little bit more lifelike and realistic with you know,
(12:58):
still that little Pixar LM meant with like the cat
character in this and the buzz Lightyear suit, having the
same kind of specs of the toy, but just having
a more kind of realistic approach, which is the cool
step for Pixar movies to go. And I really like
this whole world they could create of you know, origin stories.
(13:18):
Maybe the next one we get is the Woody origin story.
This movie just looks like a big, fun adventure and
I think one that kids will like and that parents
will also enjoy or thirty year olds like me will
also be in the theater and lose their minds over
at Number three also coming out on June, and I
think this movie will easily dominate that weekend at the
(13:40):
box office. And it is Elvis, and I've been seeing
so many good things about this movie and it has
all the qualities that I love in a film set
back in the day. It's a biopic, Ya bos Lhrman
as the director, Austin Butler who plays Elvis, Tom Hanks
playing his manager, Colonel Parker, And with biopics, you always
(14:03):
have to wonder if they are going to do the
story justice if they are going to cover all of
the early aspects of icons lives. And the problem I
usually have with biopics is they tend to gloss over
some of the grittier details. Sometimes the pacing is off
and it goes from them just being young and not
(14:25):
famous to all of a sudden super famous. And I
get you have to fit a lot into a two
and a half hour movie, but I still feel like
you need that struggle in the beginning. You need all
those early qualities that I just want to learn through
the film. I don't want to have to have previous
outside knowledge to kind of fill in the gaps. I
(14:45):
want to experience that and see that character fleshed out
just like any other movie character. Just because we know
who Elvis is. We shouldn't have to learn or assume
things because of what we just know from history. And
why I think that this movie will get into the
darker side, or at least tell the whole story of
(15:06):
Elvis is that his family has come out saying that
it's a great representation of him. They're saying it's nothing
short of spectacular, and when it comes to the casting,
I feel like that is right on like Austin Butler
looks like a young Elvis. He really took this role seriously.
He said for two years, he didn't exist in the
(15:27):
world like he was Elvis. The entire time while filming
this movie, he lived and breathed Elvis, and he almost
kind of had like a weird emotional snapback once the
movie wrapped and he went back to being himself. So
if he truly was in the role, I feel like
that will greatly play out on the big screen and
(15:49):
will really kind of do this movie justice and do
elvis story justice. And I hope everything goes in this
movie and it's not just a fluffy biopic, which I
don't think we're gonna get its, specially with bos Lerman
directing this movie, who has also done movies like Mulan Rouge,
The Great Gatsby, and Romeo and Juliet. He has this
very stylistic approach that will be interesting to see how
(16:11):
it applies to Elvis. Again that it's coming out on June.
At number two coming out on July, I'm going with
a movie called Nope. It is from one of my
favorite new directors, Jordan Peel, who also did Get Out
and Us and I feel like he is what I
go to when I want a modern horror movie, which
(16:33):
is what I considered to be a little bit more
elevated horror. While I do enjoy the classic slasher films,
I like movies that take you a little bit more
on a psychological ride. His movies always have like a
message or overall lasting kind of like, oh man, that's
what he was trying to say in that movie. And
I also love that Jordan Peel doesn't really give a
(16:53):
whole lot of details about his movie, doesn't reveal a
whole lot in the trailer, and it leads this kind
of feeling of like mystery, And I like that going
into a movie, I don't want to know every single
thing after watching the trailer. I want there to be
an element of I have to go and see this
movie to figure out what it's all about, what is
happening in this movie. You give away an entire movie
(17:16):
in the trailer. It's probably not that great a movie,
and especially when it comes to a horror movie, you
don't want the best parts ruin for you. But what
I've learned about the plot, it's basically these caretakers at
this California Horse Ranch. There's some mysterious force coming from
the sky, and it looks like it's going to be
a movie about humans and aliens, and maybe by the
(17:38):
end of it you believe in aliens. And from the
times that I've recommended Jordan Peel's movies to other people,
I feel like you either love or hate them, especially
if you go into it wanting to be scared. I
don't think it will leave you with that. I think
they're more of a mind game. They're more of like
what is happening in this So if you enjoy movies
that kind of leave you with that feeling, I think
(17:58):
Nope will probably be that next one for you again.
That comes out on July twenty and at number one.
The thing I'm excited for every single summer is what
is going to be the big Marvel movie. Dr Strange
wasn't really it for me, But coming out on July
eight is Thore, Love and Thunder, And after seeing this
(18:18):
last trailer that just came out last week, I feel
like this may be one of the top ten Marvel
movies ever. And I feel like four is such an
underrated Marvel character, and I feel like Thour is such
an underrated Marvel character and his story has really just
kind of flourished in the last movie, and I feel
like this one is going to have it all. It's
(18:40):
going to have the comedy, it's going to have the action.
Christian Bale is the villain in this and looks utterly insane,
and just think of the level of actor that Christian
Bale is. You have Batman coming into the m c
U now playing a villain. I couldn't really asked for
anything more. On most the thing I'm anticipating the most
(19:01):
is seeing him as Gore, the god butcher. But then
you have Natalie Portman back. I feel like she kind
of got screwed out of being in the m c
U being in the early thor movies. Felt like if
this character would have been around for the Avengers movies,
that would have been amazing. But maybe now it's just
the right place at the right time and fitting perfectly
into this store installment. So that is the list. Take
(19:24):
your pick and do yourself a favor. Go see a
movie in theaters this summer. All right, let's get into
our movie review now. I'm talking about Top Gun. Maverick.
Was it worth the weight? And I posted my initial
thoughts online, and you would have thought I said the
most controversial thing ever. And all I'm gonna say is
(19:46):
Top Gun two was better than Top Gun one, and
I'll explain that. But before I get into my full
spoiler free review, here's just a little bit of the trailer.
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the request maadmore Kazanski a k e Iceman. He seems
to think that you have something left to offer the naming.
What that is, I can't imagine all th you respects her,
(20:10):
I just want to manage the expectations. So what you
have in Top Gun Maverick. It's Tom Cruise's character Maverick,
basically thirty years after the original film, and he is
back doing reckless things, pushing the limits being Maverick, and
he finds himself back at Top Gun, but this time,
instead of flying, he is the one teaching about a
(20:32):
dozen young pilots and they're going on this really dangerous
mission and basically he is the only one who can
get them to this level that they need to be
at their most elite. You have a lot of the
original cast back, which was cool to see, but now
Miles Teller is playing Anthony Edwards, who was Goose in
the original, and Meg Ryan's son, so there's this whole
(20:54):
dynamic of them to not getting along and Maverick having
to deal with these from his past all while trying
to train them. And I'll preface this review by saying,
if you listen to this podcast for any amount of time,
you know I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan. Just
over his career in the movies he's put out, I
really gravitate more towards eighties Tom Cruise and more of
(21:16):
his dramatic roles. But when it comes to what I
look for in an action star, I don't really lean
towards Tom Cruise movies. And it's just something about him
that I don't really like. And I asked a question
online of asking you guys what your favorite Tom Cruise
movies were, and hands down, Top Gun came in at
number one, So I found that interesting and just yeah,
(21:37):
first and foremost, I wasn't the biggest fan of Top
Gun one, but I was excited mainly to see how
the practical effects played into this movie. I do find
it so interesting how much Tom Cruise puts into making
it seem as realistic as possible in the process of
wanting to do his own stunts and having his co
stars do the same. And I have to say that
(21:58):
really paid off in the movie. And why I found
myself so much more invested in this one is when
you have action like this in the air, in these airplanes,
it's so much more detailed and you feel so much
more inside of that with this style of cinematography, and
they really kind of pushed the limits of making it
(22:20):
seems so realistic, almost to the point that you forget
how hard it would have been to do the same
kind of movie back in the eighties, and now just
having so many more advances in technology, it really makes
you feel like you're in it. And I really loved
how they capture that kind of anxiety inducing thrill of
(22:43):
a great summer blockbuster movie. So cinematography really lived up
to my expectations and made the action that much more entertaining.
Because when I watched Top Gun one, I just rewatched
it on Netflix a few weeks ago, it almost felt
like I was playing like an old big Deo game,
and the style of a movie back then was just
(23:03):
a little bit disjointed, and I didn't really feel like
it was that believable. So now everything in this new
one I really loved, and the pacing of this one
was just so much better that there were no real
lulls in the movie except for a couple of plot
points that I didn't love. I didn't really love the
romance story thrown in there. I felt like it would
have been a completely fine movie without kind of forcing
(23:26):
that in there. But when it came to the action,
when it came to all the new characters, which I
thought was a big part of it. They were able
to do something in a movie I haven't seen done
this well in a really long time, and it was
having a time to give all these side characters kind
of their own personality, because that was such a big
thing in the original Top Gun movie. You like hearing
(23:47):
all their call sign names, and in this movie you're
introduced to so many more people, and it really kind
of creates this camaraderie among the cast, and it really
allows us to feel more connected to the movie because
as at the core of it, yes, Maverick is the
main character and the one everybody's rooting for, but then
you have the other cast that you're like getting to
(24:07):
know and maybe you're more of a Hangman person, Maybe
you're more of a Phoenix person, maybe you're more of
a Bob guy. I just love that they were able
to create the supporting cast that I feel could set
itself up for a sequel to this movie. And like
I said, I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan, but
I was almost able to set that aside while watching
(24:29):
this movie. And I think the reason is because then
his other action movies like Mission Impossible or like that
Bad Mummy movie he made, it's a little bit more
reliant on him as an action star. He always likes to,
you know, run around and do things that you know
he probably can't really do, and it doesn't really feel
unbelievable to me. But while watching this movie, it's a
(24:51):
lot more of his mentality that's the driving force and
his skill while flying a plane, which just feels a
little bit more believable to me. And I just feel
like he really becomes Maverick in this role and really
feels like he just dominates the screen. And I kind
of realized, like that is why he is such a
big movie star. I found him charming, I found him
(25:13):
oddly the best looking I've ever seen Tom Cruise look
in a movie, and I just found overall like he
really enjoyed getting back into this character, and it didn't
really feel like lessened in any way. It really felt
like a continuation thirty years later. So do I think
fans of the original Top Gun will be happy with
this movie? Absolutely? I think if Top Gun was one
(25:35):
of your favorite movies or is your favorite Tom Cruise movie,
you're going to love this one. After I posted that
about this movie, a lot of people were jumping on
me saying like, how in the world could be better
than the original war that I was, you know, giving
it too much credit. And I would imagine if you
grew up in the eighties or just as a kid,
you watch Top Gun and loved it, it would be
(25:56):
hard to kind of take that down the level as
your aver A movie. So I get that. I was
obviously born after that movie came out, so I didn't
really know and it's heyday. I watched it later in
the nineties as a kid, so I don't really have
any early emotional attachment to this movie like some other
people do. So I just felt like everything that a
(26:18):
Top Gun movie could have been back in the eighties
really kind of made more sense making this movie now,
so that's why I enjoy it more. And I also
felt like seeing it in a full theater with a
lot of people added to that experience, and I give
credit to Tom Cruise for that, for making this a
wait to see this in theaters, because I really think
that experience heightened the whole thing. So that's how I
(26:40):
think it compares to the original. I think this is
one of the biggest blockbusters we've had in a very
long time that's not a superhero movie, which is also
exciting to see. It's the most like packed I've seen
the movie theater parking lot. We were in a smaller theater,
and even this one was packed. So I really feel
like this is getting people out there who maybe haven't
(27:01):
seen a movie in two, three or four years to
go back and have that kind of experience again. So
that part of it I really love. So not only
was this my favorite of the top gun movies, but
it's probably maybe top three of my favorite Tom Cruise movies. Now,
like I said, I don't really like action Tom Cruise.
(27:22):
I'm more into eighties drama Tom Cruise, so I leaned
towards him and the Outsiders. I leaned towards him in
rain Man Like those are my favorite Tom Cruise movies.
I also like Into the World stuff with Tom Cruise,
So Wore The World's The Edge of Tomorrow. Those are
probably my top five favorite Tom Cruise movies now. And
I would rank Top Gun Maverick over the original Top Gun,
(27:46):
and that's mainly because I don't feel like Tom Cruise
made the original Top Gun. There were other people in
that movie, like Meg Ryan, like Val Kilmer that were
had a bigger role. I would say in that Top
Gun movie, like this one is all Tom Cruise. He's
the main character. Everybody else is kind of supporting cast.
I felt like in the original Top Gun there were
(28:08):
several stars in that movie, although I will say Miles
Teller had a really strong performance and I was just
kind of giving him crab last week of not knowing
if he was a great actor or just kind of there,
And in this movie I saw a little bit more,
so I would say he was the other standout in
the cast. Also, John Ham plays a really good guy
(28:30):
that you don't really root for in the movie, and
I don't want to say too much about it. Even
though Tom Cruise has been out talking about how much
he fought for Val Kilmer to be a part of
this movie. I will say after watching Val Kilmer's documentary
on Amazon, it made his role in this movie that
much more emotional. To see him back as Iceman felt
(28:52):
really special just knowing his story. So I feel like
for the original fans of the movie, I think that
was just a really cool part to experience. I also
just think this is one of the best action movies
we've had in a very long time. It wasn't your
average just things blowing up movie. There's just something about
watching these type of planes like that in the air
(29:14):
and the almost anxiety inducing aerial acrobatics just all over
the place, and Maverick just kind of pushing those limits.
Like I don't know anything about flying, but after watching
this movie, it made me want to go and, you know,
learn how to fly, which I think is the direct
result after Top Gun one is everybody signing up for
(29:35):
the Navy so they could fly planes like this. So
it's one of the best action movies in a very
long time. My really my main criticism was back to
them kind of forcing a love story into this. There's
also just a little bit of cheese and this to
a Top Gun movie, And I think it's because it
tries to emulate that eighties style just a little bit
(29:56):
where you could be a little bit more cheesy. There's
just something about that mentality when you're trying to portray
these types of characters that lends itself towards that cheesiness.
So I almost felt like the acting was taken down
the level, like it was a little bit apparent in
some of these scenes that they were acting to me,
which was surprising for an actor like Tom Cruise. But
maybe it was just the writing in there. Again, I'm
(30:19):
not expecting something super deep, But if there was anything
that took me a little bit out of the experience
was when it tried to be a little bit more
dramatic and where it tried to be a little bit
more than surface level action. I don't feel like it
really flourished in that scene. I don't feel like it
really needed to explore that as much as it did,
although oddly it did get a little bit more emotional
(30:42):
than I was expecting. And this kind of leads me
to my next point is do you have to see
Top Gun one to watch Top Gun two? And enjoy it.
Not necessarily, they do remind you what happened in the
original one with all the characters. They kind of set
that stage again. But if you haven't seen the first one,
(31:03):
I don't feel like some of the emotional moments will
have the same effect on you, so you don't have to.
But it's on Netflix right now and you can go
watch that before you go see this in theaters and
it will take it up a level for you. And
I will stand by saying that Top Gun two was
better than Part one, but I do recognize what Top
(31:23):
Gun one set up. That movie needed to crawl for
this movie to be able to get up and run,
so it doesn't exist without part one. But I feel
the story here is better, the conflict is better, the
action is better, and somehow Maverick makes more sense in
this role. In this position, it's a little bit more
(31:44):
heroic and you kind of get more of a grasp
of how good of a pilot he is. So that's why, overall,
I just think it's a better movie, and it does
leave you wanting more. Like I was saying earlier, it
creates this entire new cast that you get to know,
and it doesn't really just focus on, you know, building
up Tom Cruise is Maverick, A lot of other people
(32:06):
have their little moments to shine, especially with Miles Teller,
So I could even see it at a point of
them making maybe another Top Gun movie with Tom Cruise,
but eventually you don't even need him anymore. If you
continue to flesh out these characters and put them in
more situations where they can exist on their own. I
(32:27):
think that's a possibility. To so am I dying for
another Top Gun movie? I wouldn't say. I almost think
the first one had such a lasting effect on pop
culture and this was such a great follow up. Why
not just go out on a high note, because I
really don't know how you get it any better than
this movie. You could probably make the exact same movie again,
(32:50):
and we would be cool with that. But I would say,
go out on a high note. Everybody seems to be
loving it, so why ruin that. If I had to
give this movie a rating, I would give it four
out of five helmets. Now it's time for the part
of the podcast where I break down a movie trailer
(33:12):
coming to you very soon in theaters or streaming online.
In a segment we call it's time to head down
to movie Mike, and this week we are keeping the
Tom Cruise steam alive and looking at the new Mission
Impossible movie, which I don't like the title. I'll say
(33:32):
that right off the top of it. It's called Mission Impossible,
Dead Reckoning Part one. It comes out on July Foe.
I think they're kind of writing off of the momentum
that Top Gun and the moment they are having right now.
And I say that because this is a trailer you
see right before watching Top Gun in theaters. So here
(33:52):
is just a little bit of the new Mission Impossible.
Your days of fighting for the so called greater good
are for This is our chance and control the truth,
the concepts of right and wrong. So I never got
(34:13):
two into the Mission Impossible movies after the original one.
I was like, Okay, that's enough for me. I know
people have really been loving the latest installments of this,
and I didn't really give these movies a chance. And
this is the seventh installment of all the Mission Impossible movies,
and the third in this series that they have going
on now, following Rogue Nation and Fallout, which I know
(34:33):
a lot of people have been enjoying. I haven't really
been able to get into again. I think that's my
personal thing of not really liking Tom Cruise movies. But
this one looks a little bit interesting to me, even
though I don't like the title. I don't like it
already setting itself up to have a sequel. While watching
this trailer, it looked like such great crazy stunt I
(34:55):
candy to me that I couldn't really look away. And
there's a moment in the trailer that kind of got me,
and I wasn't really considering watching it until I saw
Tom Cruise writing on a motorcycle flies off like the
edge of a cliff. Fike goes writing and he just
goes into a free fall, And in that moment, I
realized that that's all I really look for in a
good summer movie. And me denying myself of watching that
(35:18):
for any other reason of I just have him been
a fan of these movies, I was like, I gotta
give these a chance. They made so many of them,
there has to be something there. Because on the other hand,
I'll go and watch every single fast in the Furious movie,
which plots make no sense. It's all there for dumb
jokes and big you know, races and crashes, so this
(35:40):
one at least feels a little bit more refined. Overall,
I just feel it's not completely my brand of action.
I don't really like to see Tom Cruise just running
on screen, which I feel is a lot of what
the Mission Impossible movies are. Him running in the field,
him running on roofs, you know, jumping into bodies of water.
Like that's fine line. But I will give this movie
(36:01):
a chance again. That comes out on July Free and
then Dead Reckoning Part two comes out on June. So
it looks like we're about you have a lot of
Tom Cruise in the summer, whether we like it or not.
This makes edition of movie bar and I did want
(36:23):
to talk about this because ray Leota, as you probably saw,
passed away last week. And ray Leota is such a
great actor. You probably know him best as Henry Hill
and good Fellas, which is one of my favorite movies
of all time. When I sit down to make my
top ten movies, good Fellas is always hovering around like
(36:44):
the ten, eleven, twelve slot, and it changes over the
years because new movies come out. I shift things around,
but good Fellas has always been up there. There was
no movie I've ever seen that had me from the
opening scene one of the greatest openings to movie I
think ever, and when ray Leotis says this, I was like,
(37:04):
I'm all in. I don't really care what comes after that,
like I am in and ready for this movie. As
far back as I could remember, I always wanted to
be a gangster. That one line that's all you needed,
and that pretty much says what Good Fellas is going
to be about, and it was sad to see him pass.
He was also in movies like Field of Dreams. I
(37:26):
really loved him as George Young's father in Blow. Most
recently he was in Marriage Story on Netflix. And one
of my favorite eighties movies is Something Wild, which I've
talked about on this podcast before, and it was just
a movie I remember randomly stumbling upon when I was
a kid on like Saturday afternoons where they were just
ruined random midday matinee and I remember watching that movie
(37:51):
from beginning to end, and I was like, what is
this kind of action comedy movie with Jeff Daniels, who
I knew from Dumb and Dumber and Rayliota, who I
only knew from Good Fellas, but That's still one of
my favorite movies, and I just have that memory of
the first time watching it. So from that, and of
course Shootless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He also
had a really great role in Observing Report with Seth Rogan.
(38:14):
But again, I think it all comes back to Good
Fellas and him as Henry Hill, and that movie just
defined that whole gangster movie genre. It's really the gold
standard for any kind of movie like that. It had
the commercial success, it also had the critical success, and
it received six Oscar nominations and one win back in
(38:37):
which is well deserved. And Good Fellas is a movie
I've watched so many times I've probably lost count, and
it's it's my go to movie that if it's on TV,
I'll watch it at any place. So that's really how
I can't tell how many times I've watched it. I've
seen it edited, I've seen it unedited, and in every
version I love it. And the driving force in that
(38:58):
movie is ray Lyota from his acting and his performance
and how dominant he is as Henry Hill, but also
the narration and good Fellows, which I really haven't seen
done that well in a movie ever. Again, and how
well his voice over carries that entire movie, and how
(39:19):
iconic his voices in that, and how that line still
lives in my head of as far back as I
can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. Start
the movie. Let's go, let's get into this action, just
the masterpiece. And it was so sad the way he
passed away in his sleep while filming another movie. He
does have some movies that will come out now after
(39:39):
his passing. February three is a movie called Cocaine Bear
with Elizabeth Banks that he'll be in, and that'll be
the next time we get to see his work. So
really sad to see that passing, and in his honor,
you should probably go watch Good Fellows, especially if you've
never seen it. So that'll do it for this week's episode.
And I gotta get it in because I do it
(40:00):
every single week, and it's the listeners. Shout out. If
you send me an email movie Mike d at gmail
dot com, if you leave a review on Apple podcast
or Spotify, I go and read those and shout those
people out as well. But today I'm going over to
my Facebook page and I was just going through reading
some of the comments on my picture that I posted
(40:20):
outside of the theater in front of the Top Gun poster,
and I wanted to shout out Darcy, who left a
comment and said she watched Top Gun, loved it, saw
it last night along with the trailer starring Robert Duval,
Queen Latifa, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise Again, Tom Hanks, Minion,
Sandra Bullock, Adam Sandler, and Elvis. All their movies looked
(40:40):
so different and so good. I cannot wait. And Darcy,
I feel like you're me and you're excited for all
these movies. And I also kind of feel, maybe, Darcy,
you and I have this thing in common now is
I'm kind of going back to enjoying seeing a trailer
in theaters again. It was just cool seeing all the
different types of movies show Case, which you know, I
(41:00):
ran through the list in this episode, but there's just
so many different kind of movies coming out that no
matter what kind of movie fan you are, there's something
for you. And I think at the core of it,
that's what I love about movies, and they are this
shared experience. You can't really go somewhere and hop into
a TV series like that. It doesn't really have that
(41:21):
same kind of camaraderie aspect to it. So whether it's
watching a movie trailer like this or watching the entire
movie together, I think that's what I'm most excited to
see back. So shout out to Darcy for leaving that comment.
Thanks for everybody for listening to this week's episode. If
you saw a top Gun over the weekend as well,
let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear them,
(41:42):
especially if you are opposite of me and think the
original is better. So I will talk to you next
week here on the podcast. Until then, go out and
watch good movies and I'll talk to you later
Hello, and welcome back to Movie Mike's movie podcast. I
am your host Movie Mike, and my favorite time of
the year has finally arrived. So I want to share
with you my top ten most anticipated summer blockbuster movies.
I feel like it's gonna be a great summer if
you're like me and enjoy watching a movie on the
big screen and kicking it all off was Top Gun Maverick,
which came out over the weekend, so I have that
(00:21):
full spoiler free review coming up for you, and then
we'll keep that theme going in the trailer park and
talk about the new Mission Impossible movie that's kind of
riding the wave of Top Gun and Tom Cruise going
into next year. Shout out to the Monday Morning movie crew.
You guys, well you already know what this is. Let's
talk movies. In a world where everyone and their mother
(00:41):
has a podcast, one man stands to infiltrate the ears
of listeners like never before in a movie podcast. A
man with so much movie knowledge, he's basically like a
walking aud MTV with's glasses. From the Nashville Podcast Networks
Movie I've looked forward to the summer ever since I
(01:05):
was a kid. For multiple reasons, because it meant the
end of school, because growing up I always wanted to
go to the Warp Tour, which took place in the summer.
But my favorite thing out of all those things was
it meant that I could see all the movies I've
been looking forward to on the big screen. All the
big franchises came out in the summer, and in the
last ten years it's been heavily dominated by superhero movies.
(01:29):
I feel a little bit of a shift now because
only one superhero movie has made my top ten movies
this year. But I have selected the ten movies that
I feel deserved that big screen experience. And this is
the time of year where I just want to completely
turn my brain off and not think about anything else.
I want big explosions, I want bizarre plot lines, maybe
(01:50):
a horror movie thrown in there somebody know, you know,
frighten me in the summer. I'll take that. But what
I don't want to do is a whole lot of thinking.
I'll save that for the fall, whenever Oscar season rolled
around and I want to live in my fields a
little bit and see something, you know, a little bit
more novel. I'll save that for when it's cold out,
but when it's summer, I want to go into a
cold theater and watch something that's going to completely engulf
(02:13):
the entire screen and really make me escape reality. I
think that's why I love summer blockbusters so much, is
because they are such an escape. I'm not thinking about
my normal life when I go watch these type of movies,
and I think that's why these movies continue to do
so well. I think that's what we all look forward
to when we go to the movies. We just want
something that doesn't exist in our reality at all. And
(02:36):
I think that's why superhero movies have dominated the last decade,
because they don't really deal with real life problems. It's
all just big explosions and big fun. So that's what
I look forward to going into summer blockbuster season. Occasionally,
I will settle for a drama, if done well, if
there's a little bit more of an outside reason why
I want to go watch that, And that's actually what
I'm going to start here. At number ten, I put
(02:59):
Where the craw Dad's Thing, which is coming out on July,
and it is a book adaptation and the movie is
produced by Reese Witherspoon, who is really starting to dominate
as a movie producer. She is the executive producer on
Where the Crawdads Sing. She put this book in her
book club, I believe back in the last time she
(03:19):
started and produced in a movie that I really enjoyed
was Wild, which came out back And aside from that,
Daisy Edgar Jones is the star of this movie. It's
about a reclusive North Carolina woman who is accused of murder.
She's kind of an outsider who lives out in the marsh,
so the plot seems interesting to me. I haven't read
(03:39):
the book yet, but my wife read it, and it's
curious to see how the adaptation goes. But we are
both currently also enjoying Under the Banner of Heaven, which
Daisy Edgar Jones stars in. And maybe I'm just kind
of into a crime drama right now, a little bit
more than I was expecting to be. So that's why
I put this movie at number ten. Where The Crawdad
Thing comes out on July fift At number nine, coming
(04:02):
out on June eight on Netflix is Hustle, which stars
Adam Sandler. He plays this essentially like a struggling basketball
coach who thinks he has found the next great NBA player,
and he's trying to recruit players from overseas and bring
them to play in the United States, and he thinks
he's found this really great player from Spain and has
(04:24):
to convince everybody that this player has what it takes
to make it in the n b A. I really
love seeing Adam Sandler in more of a dramatic role.
I think that's where he really kind of flourishes and
his acting abilities, which we all kind of just think
of him as a comedic, you know, really zany, over
the top actor, but he has some really great dramatic
chops that I feel will be showcased in this movie.
(04:47):
And it's also about a subject that he's really passionate about.
I feel like Adam Sandler always finds a way to
work his passions into his movies. He works in a
way that he is able to do movies with all
of his friends in very exotic locations. So now I
feel like he has taken that passion of basketball, which
he is highly known for just going and playing random
(05:09):
pickup games in different cities and and basically every movie
he goes on he has to find a time to
play basketball. Well, now he has this movie about basketball,
so he gets to do all those things in one
I feel like he is such a smart business person
on side of being one of the most famous actors
of all time. So I'm really curious to see those
two things combine. Trailer looks pretty good, and that's coming
(05:32):
out on Netflix on June eighth. At number eight is
a movie called Bullet Train, which is coming out on
August five. It's an action comedy movie with a lot
of heavyweight actors from Brad Pitt to Bad Bunny to
Sandra Bullock and Joey King, and the movie is about
brad Pitt's character is hired to retrieve this briefcase from
(05:54):
this bullet train, and once he gets on board, he
finds out that there are five other assassins there who
are paid to do the exact same thing, and they
are now all trying to kill each other to be
the one to take home the briefcase. And this movie
has what I see to be everything I'm looking for
in a summer blockbuster movie. You have the fun, dumb action,
(06:14):
you have the comedic aspect of it, and then you
have a list stars like Brad Pitt. So I feel
like you can't get any better than that when you
want a movie that's gonna make you escape reality for
a little bit again. That movie is called Bullet Train,
coming out on August five at number seven. Another action
movie with no comedy, it's called The Gray Man, which
(06:35):
is coming out on Netflix on July fIF This movie
has now set the record as the most expensive film
in history, and by watching the trailer to this movie,
I can see why. But with Ryan Gosling being the
good guy in this movie Chris Evans being the bad guy,
it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
The movie is about Ryan Gosling's character. He is a
skilled c I, a assassin. He finds out some dark
(06:58):
secrets within the agency, so then he finds himself on
the run from a former colleague played by Chris Evans,
who is this well basically a psychopath. So the entire
movie is Ryan Gosling has a target on his head
and people want him dead trying to retrieve this bounty.
The movie also includes Billy, Bob Thornton and another Ottomas
(07:19):
in the cast. And the interesting about this movie and
some of the other movies on this list is that
it has that big summer blockbuster feel, but it's going
straight to Netflix. And when you have the Russo brothers
directing this movie, who have also done movies like Avengers
Endgame and Infinity War and Captain America, you know you're
gonna get those big special effects and that big cinematic field.
(07:42):
And it's kind of based on whatever viewing system you
have at home to be able to take that in,
which is interesting because I feel as excited about this
movie as I am about the other movies on this list.
But the reason I rank it a little bit lower
is knowing that I won't have that full big screen
experience or have the option to watch it that way
(08:04):
or have that same big sound. And part of the
thing that I love going to watch a movie in
theaters like that is experiencing and feeling that I don't
really get that same kind of thing at home. Yes,
it is a little bit more convenient, but there's something
about the rumble of a movie theater, even when you're
just walking down the hall and you hear another movie
like in Progress and you're like, oh man, they're at
(08:24):
a good part right now. Like that part of the
theater experience just really excites me and kind of makes
me feel like I'll miss a little bit by not
seeing this movie in theaters, But again we don't have
the option because it's coming out on Netflix. So that's
number seven, The Gray Man, which is coming out on July.
At number six, I gotta have my horror movie fix
in here. And the movie I've been looking forward to
(08:46):
a while is finally coming out on June. It's called
The Black Phone stars Ethan Hawk, and the movie follows
this young teenager who was abducted by a serial killer
and then once he's kidnapped, there is this disconnected phone
it allows him to communicate with the previous victims, which
just sounds utterly insane. And Ethan Hawk is such a
(09:06):
great actor that I really love him when he steps
into horror movies, and his character kind of gives me
Pennywise from It vibes. And there's just something that excites
me about a masked serial killer in a movie that
just is reminiscent of all my original favorite horror movies
like Halloween, Friday, The Thirteen, Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Chucky,
(09:28):
like all those classics. I feel like when there's a
mask involved, it just kind of heightens the level of
horror for me. And this movie just looks really creepy.
So I'm excited to have that feeling of maybe a
movie finally scaring me again in movie theaters. But that
is called The Black Phone comes out my birthday weekend
on June. I don't know why I had to get
(09:48):
that shameless birthday plug in there. Made it now to
the top five. At number five, I'm going with Jurassic
World Dominion, which comes out on June tenth. I really
enjoyed the Juras Sick World rebooted series here, and this
is the final one in this installment. So there's been
three of these movies now. And while these movies aren't
(10:09):
the most rewatchable, they don't have the same kind of
classic feel as the original Jurassic Park movies. But anytime
you put dinosaurs on the screen, you can almost fill
in all the other gaps that it just makes for
an entertaining movie. And I think as a kid, like
many other kids, I just had this fascination with dinosaurs.
(10:29):
There's something cool about seeing something that we've only seen
pictures of, we've never really experienced. There's obviously no real
life footage, but having Jurassic Park bring historic creatures to
life just creates a really fun movie. And what I'm
most excited about is the original o G cast from
Jurassic Park coming back in this movie. You have Sam Neil,
(10:51):
Laura Dern, and my favorite, the One and Only Jeff
Goldbloom who are back to help Chris Pratt's character in
this movie, and they're all just trying to save the dinosaurs. However,
I do feel like this movie will have a little
bit of a cheesy quality to it just by watching
the trailer. I don't know how I feel about dinosaurs
(11:11):
in the winter environment. I feel like they were just
trying to create a new setting to take the Jurassic
Park characters in. That felt a little bit different, That
felt a little bit new. I don't know if I
love that so much, so I can look past the
cheesy action in this to be able to relive a
little bit of my childhood. But that's coming out on
June tenth. So another movie just right around the corner
(11:33):
at number four, I am going with light Year, which
is coming out on June. It is the quote unquote
true story of Buzz Lightyear, who is the person in
the Toy Story world that would have inspired the Space
Ranger dolls. So if Andy from Toy Story it was
a real kid, this would be the movie that he
(11:53):
would have seen in theaters and made him want the
buzz Lightyear toy. So it's this totally fictionalize the world
within the Toy Story universe, but not a Toy Story movie.
When you have Chris Evans making another appearance on this list,
he's the voice a buzz light Year in this movie,
so it's all about his character and kind of his
(12:16):
origin story, which I think is interesting and I really
love the direction they are taking this character, which they
could have easily just made like a buzz Lightyear solo
kids movie and that would have been successful. But this
feels more like a love letter to sci fi film.
It has almost a Star Wars quality to it. The
(12:36):
soundtrack looks interesting and for a Pixar Disney movie, it
looks nothing like that type of animation. You don't really
have those same big like eye qualities, the same kind
of bubbly three D animation that we're all used to
with Pixar movies. It looks very sleek, very refined, and
a little bit more lifelike and realistic with you know,
(12:58):
still that little Pixar LM meant with like the cat
character in this and the buzz Lightyear suit, having the
same kind of specs of the toy, but just having
a more kind of realistic approach, which is the cool
step for Pixar movies to go. And I really like
this whole world they could create of you know, origin stories.
(13:18):
Maybe the next one we get is the Woody origin story.
This movie just looks like a big, fun adventure and
I think one that kids will like and that parents
will also enjoy or thirty year olds like me will
also be in the theater and lose their minds over
at Number three also coming out on June, and I
think this movie will easily dominate that weekend at the
(13:40):
box office. And it is Elvis, and I've been seeing
so many good things about this movie and it has
all the qualities that I love in a film set
back in the day. It's a biopic, Ya bos Lhrman
as the director, Austin Butler who plays Elvis, Tom Hanks
playing his manager, Colonel Parker, And with biopics, you always
(14:03):
have to wonder if they are going to do the
story justice if they are going to cover all of
the early aspects of icons lives. And the problem I
usually have with biopics is they tend to gloss over
some of the grittier details. Sometimes the pacing is off
and it goes from them just being young and not
(14:25):
famous to all of a sudden super famous. And I
get you have to fit a lot into a two
and a half hour movie, but I still feel like
you need that struggle in the beginning. You need all
those early qualities that I just want to learn through
the film. I don't want to have to have previous
outside knowledge to kind of fill in the gaps. I
(14:45):
want to experience that and see that character fleshed out
just like any other movie character. Just because we know
who Elvis is. We shouldn't have to learn or assume
things because of what we just know from history. And
why I think that this movie will get into the
darker side, or at least tell the whole story of
(15:06):
Elvis is that his family has come out saying that
it's a great representation of him. They're saying it's nothing
short of spectacular, and when it comes to the casting,
I feel like that is right on like Austin Butler
looks like a young Elvis. He really took this role seriously.
He said for two years, he didn't exist in the
(15:27):
world like he was Elvis. The entire time while filming
this movie, he lived and breathed Elvis, and he almost
kind of had like a weird emotional snapback once the
movie wrapped and he went back to being himself. So
if he truly was in the role, I feel like
that will greatly play out on the big screen and
(15:49):
will really kind of do this movie justice and do
elvis story justice. And I hope everything goes in this
movie and it's not just a fluffy biopic, which I
don't think we're gonna get its, specially with bos Lerman
directing this movie, who has also done movies like Mulan Rouge,
The Great Gatsby, and Romeo and Juliet. He has this
very stylistic approach that will be interesting to see how
(16:11):
it applies to Elvis. Again that it's coming out on June.
At number two coming out on July, I'm going with
a movie called Nope. It is from one of my
favorite new directors, Jordan Peel, who also did Get Out
and Us and I feel like he is what I
go to when I want a modern horror movie, which
(16:33):
is what I considered to be a little bit more
elevated horror. While I do enjoy the classic slasher films,
I like movies that take you a little bit more
on a psychological ride. His movies always have like a
message or overall lasting kind of like, oh man, that's
what he was trying to say in that movie. And
I also love that Jordan Peel doesn't really give a
(16:53):
whole lot of details about his movie, doesn't reveal a
whole lot in the trailer, and it leads this kind
of feeling of like mystery, And I like that going
into a movie, I don't want to know every single
thing after watching the trailer. I want there to be
an element of I have to go and see this
movie to figure out what it's all about, what is
happening in this movie. You give away an entire movie
(17:16):
in the trailer. It's probably not that great a movie,
and especially when it comes to a horror movie, you
don't want the best parts ruin for you. But what
I've learned about the plot, it's basically these caretakers at
this California Horse Ranch. There's some mysterious force coming from
the sky, and it looks like it's going to be
a movie about humans and aliens, and maybe by the
(17:38):
end of it you believe in aliens. And from the
times that I've recommended Jordan Peel's movies to other people,
I feel like you either love or hate them, especially
if you go into it wanting to be scared. I
don't think it will leave you with that. I think
they're more of a mind game. They're more of like
what is happening in this So if you enjoy movies
that kind of leave you with that feeling, I think
(17:58):
Nope will probably be that next one for you again.
That comes out on July twenty and at number one.
The thing I'm excited for every single summer is what
is going to be the big Marvel movie. Dr Strange
wasn't really it for me, But coming out on July
eight is Thore, Love and Thunder, And after seeing this
(18:18):
last trailer that just came out last week, I feel
like this may be one of the top ten Marvel
movies ever. And I feel like four is such an
underrated Marvel character, and I feel like Thour is such
an underrated Marvel character and his story has really just
kind of flourished in the last movie, and I feel
like this one is going to have it all. It's
(18:40):
going to have the comedy, it's going to have the action.
Christian Bale is the villain in this and looks utterly insane,
and just think of the level of actor that Christian
Bale is. You have Batman coming into the m c
U now playing a villain. I couldn't really asked for
anything more. On most the thing I'm anticipating the most
(19:01):
is seeing him as Gore, the god butcher. But then
you have Natalie Portman back. I feel like she kind
of got screwed out of being in the m c
U being in the early thor movies. Felt like if
this character would have been around for the Avengers movies,
that would have been amazing. But maybe now it's just
the right place at the right time and fitting perfectly
into this store installment. So that is the list. Take
(19:24):
your pick and do yourself a favor. Go see a
movie in theaters this summer. All right, let's get into
our movie review now. I'm talking about Top Gun. Maverick.
Was it worth the weight? And I posted my initial
thoughts online, and you would have thought I said the
most controversial thing ever. And all I'm gonna say is
(19:46):
Top Gun two was better than Top Gun one, and
I'll explain that. But before I get into my full
spoiler free review, here's just a little bit of the trailer.
You're not my first choice if you were here at
the request maadmore Kazanski a k e Iceman. He seems
to think that you have something left to offer the naming.
What that is, I can't imagine all th you respects her,
(20:10):
I just want to manage the expectations. So what you
have in Top Gun Maverick. It's Tom Cruise's character Maverick,
basically thirty years after the original film, and he is
back doing reckless things, pushing the limits being Maverick, and
he finds himself back at Top Gun, but this time,
instead of flying, he is the one teaching about a
(20:32):
dozen young pilots and they're going on this really dangerous
mission and basically he is the only one who can
get them to this level that they need to be
at their most elite. You have a lot of the
original cast back, which was cool to see, but now
Miles Teller is playing Anthony Edwards, who was Goose in
the original, and Meg Ryan's son, so there's this whole
(20:54):
dynamic of them to not getting along and Maverick having
to deal with these from his past all while trying
to train them. And I'll preface this review by saying,
if you listen to this podcast for any amount of time,
you know I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan. Just
over his career in the movies he's put out, I
really gravitate more towards eighties Tom Cruise and more of
(21:16):
his dramatic roles. But when it comes to what I
look for in an action star, I don't really lean
towards Tom Cruise movies. And it's just something about him
that I don't really like. And I asked a question
online of asking you guys what your favorite Tom Cruise
movies were, and hands down, Top Gun came in at
number one, So I found that interesting and just yeah,
(21:37):
first and foremost, I wasn't the biggest fan of Top
Gun one, but I was excited mainly to see how
the practical effects played into this movie. I do find
it so interesting how much Tom Cruise puts into making
it seem as realistic as possible in the process of
wanting to do his own stunts and having his co
stars do the same. And I have to say that
(21:58):
really paid off in the movie. And why I found
myself so much more invested in this one is when
you have action like this in the air, in these airplanes,
it's so much more detailed and you feel so much
more inside of that with this style of cinematography, and
they really kind of pushed the limits of making it
(22:20):
seems so realistic, almost to the point that you forget
how hard it would have been to do the same
kind of movie back in the eighties, and now just
having so many more advances in technology, it really makes
you feel like you're in it. And I really loved
how they capture that kind of anxiety inducing thrill of
(22:43):
a great summer blockbuster movie. So cinematography really lived up
to my expectations and made the action that much more entertaining.
Because when I watched Top Gun one, I just rewatched
it on Netflix a few weeks ago, it almost felt
like I was playing like an old big Deo game,
and the style of a movie back then was just
(23:03):
a little bit disjointed, and I didn't really feel like
it was that believable. So now everything in this new
one I really loved, and the pacing of this one
was just so much better that there were no real
lulls in the movie except for a couple of plot
points that I didn't love. I didn't really love the
romance story thrown in there. I felt like it would
have been a completely fine movie without kind of forcing
(23:26):
that in there. But when it came to the action,
when it came to all the new characters, which I
thought was a big part of it. They were able
to do something in a movie I haven't seen done
this well in a really long time, and it was
having a time to give all these side characters kind
of their own personality, because that was such a big
thing in the original Top Gun movie. You like hearing
(23:47):
all their call sign names, and in this movie you're
introduced to so many more people, and it really kind
of creates this camaraderie among the cast, and it really
allows us to feel more connected to the movie because
as at the core of it, yes, Maverick is the
main character and the one everybody's rooting for, but then
you have the other cast that you're like getting to
(24:07):
know and maybe you're more of a Hangman person, Maybe
you're more of a Phoenix person, maybe you're more of
a Bob guy. I just love that they were able
to create the supporting cast that I feel could set
itself up for a sequel to this movie. And like
I said, I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan, but
I was almost able to set that aside while watching
(24:29):
this movie. And I think the reason is because then
his other action movies like Mission Impossible or like that
Bad Mummy movie he made, it's a little bit more
reliant on him as an action star. He always likes to,
you know, run around and do things that you know
he probably can't really do, and it doesn't really feel
unbelievable to me. But while watching this movie, it's a
(24:51):
lot more of his mentality that's the driving force and
his skill while flying a plane, which just feels a
little bit more believable to me. And I just feel
like he really becomes Maverick in this role and really
feels like he just dominates the screen. And I kind
of realized, like that is why he is such a
big movie star. I found him charming, I found him
(25:13):
oddly the best looking I've ever seen Tom Cruise look
in a movie, and I just found overall like he
really enjoyed getting back into this character, and it didn't
really feel like lessened in any way. It really felt
like a continuation thirty years later. So do I think
fans of the original Top Gun will be happy with
this movie? Absolutely? I think if Top Gun was one
(25:35):
of your favorite movies or is your favorite Tom Cruise movie,
you're going to love this one. After I posted that
about this movie, a lot of people were jumping on
me saying like, how in the world could be better
than the original war that I was, you know, giving
it too much credit. And I would imagine if you
grew up in the eighties or just as a kid,
you watch Top Gun and loved it, it would be
(25:56):
hard to kind of take that down the level as
your aver A movie. So I get that. I was
obviously born after that movie came out, so I didn't
really know and it's heyday. I watched it later in
the nineties as a kid, so I don't really have
any early emotional attachment to this movie like some other
people do. So I just felt like everything that a
(26:18):
Top Gun movie could have been back in the eighties
really kind of made more sense making this movie now,
so that's why I enjoy it more. And I also
felt like seeing it in a full theater with a
lot of people added to that experience, and I give
credit to Tom Cruise for that, for making this a
wait to see this in theaters, because I really think
that experience heightened the whole thing. So that's how I
(26:40):
think it compares to the original. I think this is
one of the biggest blockbusters we've had in a very
long time that's not a superhero movie, which is also
exciting to see. It's the most like packed I've seen
the movie theater parking lot. We were in a smaller theater,
and even this one was packed. So I really feel
like this is getting people out there who maybe haven't
(27:01):
seen a movie in two, three or four years to
go back and have that kind of experience again. So
that part of it I really love. So not only
was this my favorite of the top gun movies, but
it's probably maybe top three of my favorite Tom Cruise movies. Now,
like I said, I don't really like action Tom Cruise.
(27:22):
I'm more into eighties drama Tom Cruise, so I leaned
towards him and the Outsiders. I leaned towards him in
rain Man Like those are my favorite Tom Cruise movies.
I also like Into the World stuff with Tom Cruise,
So Wore The World's The Edge of Tomorrow. Those are
probably my top five favorite Tom Cruise movies now. And
I would rank Top Gun Maverick over the original Top Gun,
(27:46):
and that's mainly because I don't feel like Tom Cruise
made the original Top Gun. There were other people in
that movie, like Meg Ryan, like Val Kilmer that were
had a bigger role. I would say in that Top
Gun movie, like this one is all Tom Cruise. He's
the main character. Everybody else is kind of supporting cast.
I felt like in the original Top Gun there were
(28:08):
several stars in that movie, although I will say Miles
Teller had a really strong performance and I was just
kind of giving him crab last week of not knowing
if he was a great actor or just kind of there,
And in this movie I saw a little bit more,
so I would say he was the other standout in
the cast. Also, John Ham plays a really good guy
(28:30):
that you don't really root for in the movie, and
I don't want to say too much about it. Even
though Tom Cruise has been out talking about how much
he fought for Val Kilmer to be a part of
this movie. I will say after watching Val Kilmer's documentary
on Amazon, it made his role in this movie that
much more emotional. To see him back as Iceman felt
(28:52):
really special just knowing his story. So I feel like
for the original fans of the movie, I think that
was just a really cool part to experience. I also
just think this is one of the best action movies
we've had in a very long time. It wasn't your
average just things blowing up movie. There's just something about
watching these type of planes like that in the air
(29:14):
and the almost anxiety inducing aerial acrobatics just all over
the place, and Maverick just kind of pushing those limits.
Like I don't know anything about flying, but after watching
this movie, it made me want to go and, you know,
learn how to fly, which I think is the direct
result after Top Gun one is everybody signing up for
(29:35):
the Navy so they could fly planes like this. So
it's one of the best action movies in a very
long time. My really my main criticism was back to
them kind of forcing a love story into this. There's
also just a little bit of cheese and this to
a Top Gun movie, And I think it's because it
tries to emulate that eighties style just a little bit
(29:56):
where you could be a little bit more cheesy. There's
just something about that mentality when you're trying to portray
these types of characters that lends itself towards that cheesiness.
So I almost felt like the acting was taken down
the level, like it was a little bit apparent in
some of these scenes that they were acting to me,
which was surprising for an actor like Tom Cruise. But
maybe it was just the writing in there. Again, I'm
(30:19):
not expecting something super deep, But if there was anything
that took me a little bit out of the experience
was when it tried to be a little bit more
dramatic and where it tried to be a little bit
more than surface level action. I don't feel like it
really flourished in that scene. I don't feel like it
really needed to explore that as much as it did,
although oddly it did get a little bit more emotional
(30:42):
than I was expecting. And this kind of leads me
to my next point is do you have to see
Top Gun one to watch Top Gun two? And enjoy it.
Not necessarily, they do remind you what happened in the
original one with all the characters. They kind of set
that stage again. But if you haven't seen the first one,
(31:03):
I don't feel like some of the emotional moments will
have the same effect on you, so you don't have to.
But it's on Netflix right now and you can go
watch that before you go see this in theaters and
it will take it up a level for you. And
I will stand by saying that Top Gun two was
better than Part one, but I do recognize what Top
(31:23):
Gun one set up. That movie needed to crawl for
this movie to be able to get up and run,
so it doesn't exist without part one. But I feel
the story here is better, the conflict is better, the
action is better, and somehow Maverick makes more sense in
this role. In this position, it's a little bit more
(31:44):
heroic and you kind of get more of a grasp
of how good of a pilot he is. So that's why, overall,
I just think it's a better movie, and it does
leave you wanting more. Like I was saying earlier, it
creates this entire new cast that you get to know,
and it doesn't really just focus on, you know, building
up Tom Cruise is Maverick, A lot of other people
(32:06):
have their little moments to shine, especially with Miles Teller,
So I could even see it at a point of
them making maybe another Top Gun movie with Tom Cruise,
but eventually you don't even need him anymore. If you
continue to flesh out these characters and put them in
more situations where they can exist on their own. I
(32:27):
think that's a possibility. To so am I dying for
another Top Gun movie? I wouldn't say. I almost think
the first one had such a lasting effect on pop
culture and this was such a great follow up. Why
not just go out on a high note, because I
really don't know how you get it any better than
this movie. You could probably make the exact same movie again,
(32:50):
and we would be cool with that. But I would say,
go out on a high note. Everybody seems to be
loving it, so why ruin that. If I had to
give this movie a rating, I would give it four
out of five helmets. Now it's time for the part
of the podcast where I break down a movie trailer
(33:12):
coming to you very soon in theaters or streaming online.
In a segment we call it's time to head down
to movie Mike, and this week we are keeping the
Tom Cruise steam alive and looking at the new Mission
Impossible movie, which I don't like the title. I'll say
(33:32):
that right off the top of it. It's called Mission Impossible,
Dead Reckoning Part one. It comes out on July Foe.
I think they're kind of writing off of the momentum
that Top Gun and the moment they are having right now.
And I say that because this is a trailer you
see right before watching Top Gun in theaters. So here
(33:52):
is just a little bit of the new Mission Impossible.
Your days of fighting for the so called greater good
are for This is our chance and control the truth,
the concepts of right and wrong. So I never got
(34:13):
two into the Mission Impossible movies after the original one.
I was like, Okay, that's enough for me. I know
people have really been loving the latest installments of this,
and I didn't really give these movies a chance. And
this is the seventh installment of all the Mission Impossible movies,
and the third in this series that they have going
on now, following Rogue Nation and Fallout, which I know
(34:33):
a lot of people have been enjoying. I haven't really
been able to get into again. I think that's my
personal thing of not really liking Tom Cruise movies. But
this one looks a little bit interesting to me, even
though I don't like the title. I don't like it
already setting itself up to have a sequel. While watching
this trailer, it looked like such great crazy stunt I
(34:55):
candy to me that I couldn't really look away. And
there's a moment in the trailer that kind of got me,
and I wasn't really considering watching it until I saw
Tom Cruise writing on a motorcycle flies off like the
edge of a cliff. Fike goes writing and he just
goes into a free fall, And in that moment, I
realized that that's all I really look for in a
good summer movie. And me denying myself of watching that
(35:18):
for any other reason of I just have him been
a fan of these movies, I was like, I gotta
give these a chance. They made so many of them,
there has to be something there. Because on the other hand,
I'll go and watch every single fast in the Furious movie,
which plots make no sense. It's all there for dumb
jokes and big you know, races and crashes, so this
(35:40):
one at least feels a little bit more refined. Overall,
I just feel it's not completely my brand of action.
I don't really like to see Tom Cruise just running
on screen, which I feel is a lot of what
the Mission Impossible movies are. Him running in the field,
him running on roofs, you know, jumping into bodies of water.
Like that's fine line. But I will give this movie
(36:01):
a chance again. That comes out on July Free and
then Dead Reckoning Part two comes out on June. So
it looks like we're about you have a lot of
Tom Cruise in the summer, whether we like it or not.
This makes edition of movie bar and I did want
(36:23):
to talk about this because ray Leota, as you probably saw,
passed away last week. And ray Leota is such a
great actor. You probably know him best as Henry Hill
and good Fellas, which is one of my favorite movies
of all time. When I sit down to make my
top ten movies, good Fellas is always hovering around like
(36:44):
the ten, eleven, twelve slot, and it changes over the
years because new movies come out. I shift things around,
but good Fellas has always been up there. There was
no movie I've ever seen that had me from the
opening scene one of the greatest openings to movie I
think ever, and when ray Leotis says this, I was like,
(37:04):
I'm all in. I don't really care what comes after that,
like I am in and ready for this movie. As
far back as I could remember, I always wanted to
be a gangster. That one line that's all you needed,
and that pretty much says what Good Fellas is going
to be about, and it was sad to see him pass.
He was also in movies like Field of Dreams. I
(37:26):
really loved him as George Young's father in Blow. Most
recently he was in Marriage Story on Netflix. And one
of my favorite eighties movies is Something Wild, which I've
talked about on this podcast before, and it was just
a movie I remember randomly stumbling upon when I was
a kid on like Saturday afternoons where they were just
ruined random midday matinee and I remember watching that movie
(37:51):
from beginning to end, and I was like, what is
this kind of action comedy movie with Jeff Daniels, who
I knew from Dumb and Dumber and Rayliota, who I
only knew from Good Fellas, but That's still one of
my favorite movies, and I just have that memory of
the first time watching it. So from that, and of
course Shootless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He also
had a really great role in Observing Report with Seth Rogan.
(38:14):
But again, I think it all comes back to Good
Fellas and him as Henry Hill, and that movie just
defined that whole gangster movie genre. It's really the gold
standard for any kind of movie like that. It had
the commercial success, it also had the critical success, and
it received six Oscar nominations and one win back in
(38:37):
which is well deserved. And Good Fellas is a movie
I've watched so many times I've probably lost count, and
it's it's my go to movie that if it's on TV,
I'll watch it at any place. So that's really how
I can't tell how many times I've watched it. I've
seen it edited, I've seen it unedited, and in every
version I love it. And the driving force in that
(38:58):
movie is ray Lyota from his acting and his performance
and how dominant he is as Henry Hill, but also
the narration and good Fellows, which I really haven't seen
done that well in a movie ever. Again, and how
well his voice over carries that entire movie, and how
(39:19):
iconic his voices in that, and how that line still
lives in my head of as far back as I
can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. Start
the movie. Let's go, let's get into this action, just
the masterpiece. And it was so sad the way he
passed away in his sleep while filming another movie. He
does have some movies that will come out now after
(39:39):
his passing. February three is a movie called Cocaine Bear
with Elizabeth Banks that he'll be in, and that'll be
the next time we get to see his work. So
really sad to see that passing, and in his honor,
you should probably go watch Good Fellows, especially if you've
never seen it. So that'll do it for this week's episode.
And I gotta get it in because I do it
(40:00):
every single week, and it's the listeners. Shout out. If
you send me an email movie Mike d at gmail
dot com, if you leave a review on Apple podcast
or Spotify, I go and read those and shout those
people out as well. But today I'm going over to
my Facebook page and I was just going through reading
some of the comments on my picture that I posted
(40:20):
outside of the theater in front of the Top Gun poster,
and I wanted to shout out Darcy, who left a
comment and said she watched Top Gun, loved it, saw
it last night along with the trailer starring Robert Duval,
Queen Latifa, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise Again, Tom Hanks, Minion,
Sandra Bullock, Adam Sandler, and Elvis. All their movies looked
(40:40):
so different and so good. I cannot wait. And Darcy,
I feel like you're me and you're excited for all
these movies. And I also kind of feel, maybe, Darcy,
you and I have this thing in common now is
I'm kind of going back to enjoying seeing a trailer
in theaters again. It was just cool seeing all the
different types of movies show Case, which you know, I
(41:00):
ran through the list in this episode, but there's just
so many different kind of movies coming out that no
matter what kind of movie fan you are, there's something
for you. And I think at the core of it,
that's what I love about movies, and they are this
shared experience. You can't really go somewhere and hop into
a TV series like that. It doesn't really have that
(41:21):
same kind of camaraderie aspect to it. So whether it's
watching a movie trailer like this or watching the entire
movie together, I think that's what I'm most excited to
see back. So shout out to Darcy for leaving that comment.
Thanks for everybody for listening to this week's episode. If
you saw a top Gun over the weekend as well,
let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear them,
(41:42):
especially if you are opposite of me and think the
original is better. So I will talk to you next
week here on the podcast. Until then, go out and
watch good movies and I'll talk to you later
Host
Mike D
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