The MacGuffin

Two days into CinemaCon—the convention formerly known as ShoWest—the studio presentations have been full of action and surprises. CinemaCon is the yearly convention for the National Association of Theater Owners, but it has also become a platform for the major studios to showcase their upcoming lineups. I’m going to give a taste of the sights and sounds, but try to keep as much of the mystery box intact as possible.

It’s hard to be serious when writing a review for a film titled Big Ass Spider. I must admit, I’m not an expert on the kind of films that generally come out of the SyFy channel these days, but every now and then I’ve been known to watch a Sharktopus, so I was at least curious. I do love the cheese factor of those sorts of films, and this one had two other very strong elements that spoke to me when reading the SXSW film guide: I hated spiders as a kid and I’m a huge fan of Greg Grunberg.

Spencer is joined by Nick Ahlers (The MacGuffin, The Grapes of Rad), Ben Kendrick (Screen Rant), and Sara Fetters (MovieFreak).

Segments include: breaking down the news, Oscar predictions, and the return of ‘Film or Fiction.’ A special thanks to Brandon Jerwa for the fake plots.

Upcoming events:
-Secret Movie Night IV – 2/28 at 9pm at Grand Illusion Cinema: http://macguffin.eventbrite.com
-On Her Majesty’s Secret Service screening – 3/21 at 7:30pm at Grand Illusion Cinema

News:
-The future of Star Wars – http://bit.ly/W5Zrk1
-The return of Sam Mendes – http://bit.ly/12KABZH
-Overyhype in 2013 – http://bit.ly/151rYx1
-Has Hannibal Lector run his course? – http://bit.ly/12SxuPB
-3D or not to 3D? – http://bit.ly/UraRlS

Links:
http://twitter.com/AhlersAtYourBoy
http://www.MovieFreak.com
http://twitter.com/MovieFreakSara
http://www.ScreenRant.com
http://twitter.com/BenKendrick
http://twitter.com/ThatSpencer

This episode can be played online via the flash player below or it can be downloaded from here. It is also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Spencer is joined by Nick Ahlers (The MacGuffin, The Grapes of Rad).

Segments include: Review How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, Trailer Roundup, the News at 5 and a discussion about holiday traditions.

Spencer interviews actresses Maggie Grace and Mia Maestro from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes and YouTube. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here.

Spencer is joined by Brian Kirk & Jessica Aceti (MovieCat, FilmWise) and Nick Ahlers (The MacGuffin, The Grapes of Rad).

Segments include: This Day in Film History, Meeting Brian & Jessica, and the News at 5.

News at 5:
1. No Star Wars for JJ Abrams (http://bit.ly/X0YOhg)
2. Rebooting MacGyver (http://bit.ly/RUJcpn)
3. Planning for Anchorman 2 (http://bit.ly/ZmMPst)
4. The Hangover goes to college (http://bit.ly/RTZlNm)
5. Morgan Spurlock’s One Direction? (http://bit.ly/So3Uwk)

Links:
http://twitter.com/MovieCatGame
http://www.MovieCatGame.com
http://www.FilmWise.com
http://www.DreamworksDragonsLive.com
http://twitter.com/AhlersAtYourBoy

Spencer and Greg give their DVD rundown for October 16th, 2012. In this episode they discuss Moonrise Kingdom, Madagascar 3, Chernobyl Diaries, and Alcatraz.

Spencer and Greg give their DVD rundown for September 4th, 2012. In this episode they discuss Titanic, Fringe, Re-Animator, and Harry Potter.

Correction: Titanic comes out September 10th, not the 4th.

I’m in the minority, but I’m not opposed to remaking of Total Recall. While I enjoy the original film, I don’t think it is perfect, and I was willing to check out the remake to see if they can found something compelling to do with the material. Still, from the trailers, I thought that this was going to be a similar movie, just with more attractive people in it…not exactly what I have in mind as an adequate reason for a remake.

Spencer is joined by Aaron Mason (The Grapes of Rad) and Aaron Roden (The Air-Raid Podcast).

Topics include: the Batman curse, the risk of Dark Knight Rises spinoffs, the possibility of a third Hobbit movie, expectations for Vince Vaughn ‘action star,’ a look at Kevin Clash’s future, the problem with public apologies, the porn industries dispute over condoms, taking issue with more vampires, and hopes for JJ Abrams and Edgar Wright’s collaboration.

Links:
GrapesOfRad.com
twitter.com/GrapesOfRad
facebook.com/GrapesOfRad
Air-Raid.net
twitter.com/AirRaidnet
facebook.com/TheAirRaidPodcast