Hello From Obscurity

The year is 2014 and the world was going through a romcom deadzone. Was this genre too much for the average audience? Was romance too good for comedy? Was love dead during the 2010's??? This movie glimpses at the cynicism that may have been plaguing the millennials psyche, because it sure feeds into it! Chris Evans plays a screenwriter tasked to write a script for a romcom but he doesn't even believe in - wait for it- love. Ruh roh! However he meets Michelle Monaghan's character that's just as sardonic as he is. Oh boy! The two have a will-they-won't-they dalliance and we had to watch it. So join Wesley, Sam, Peter and Lily as we determine whether this flick has potential or if we should leave it in that friend-zone we call Obscurity.

Ambitious young radio producer Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) finds a charming rogue named Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Andy Griffith) in an Arkansas drunk tank and puts him on the air. Soon, Rhodes' local popularity gets him an appearance on television in Memphis, which he parlays into national network stardom that he uses to endorse a presidential candidate for personal gain. But the increasingly petulant star's ego, arrogance and womanizing threaten his rise to the top. The gang takes a crack at a classic that may have more to day about today than the creators could ever know.

Strap in folks, it's time for Peter's pick: Starring David Thewlis, Wentworth Miller, Katie Carr, and a whole bunch of CGI dinosaurs it's god damn Dinotopia! Based off the books, two boys wash up on a dinosaur filled island after the plane with their father in it goes down in a storm. Will these two be able to navigate their way through this mysterious new place and get back home, or are they cursed to forever remain in this lost world? Find out with us on this episode of Hello From Obscurity!

In a very special season 3 opener, the gang gets together all in person! We watched a film that may have traumatized Sam as a child and may traumatize us as adults. When their father goes off to war, a group of children that includes the mischievous Robert (Freddie Highmore) and Cyril (Jonathan Bailey) stay with their uncle, who has a greenhouse on his property. There, they discover "It," a creature they recognize from bedtime stories as being a sand fairy. "It" can grant wishes, but as the children and their cousin, Horace (Alexander Pownall), soon find out, the more outlandish their desire, the greater the chance for disaster to result. Welcome to season 3, we hope this is everything you WISHED for!

We've reviewed a lot of movie on this podcast, now it's time for the reviewers to be reviewed! It's our year end episode, join us as we judge ourselves for the holidays!

Hey you! Do you know about Selkies? The magical people who under the sea? No. Not mermaids. Selkies are people who transform into seals when the put on their seal coats. You don’t know about them? Well, this week’s film is centered around a supposed Selkie lady (Alicja Bachleda), dragged up from the waters in a net by local fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell). The film is Ondine! A small Irish indie movie which takes a look at topics of family, redemption, alcoholism and love. It features romance, small town Irish culture, the aforementioned “Selkies” and a Bourne-Identity-style action sequence??? Is this Neil Jordan directed romance worth dredging from the sea? Or does it belong within the Ocean of Obscurity?

The year is 2003, and somewhere in Nevada, 12 strangers end up trapped in a motel on a dark and stormy night. Among them: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Clea Duvall, and John C. McGinley. Elsewhere, a convicted murderer being transported to an appeal before a judge, one day before he is to be put to death. What do all these people have in common? They're all in the thriller called Identity! Come have your mind bended through twists and turns we guarantee you will not see coming, or maybe you will and we're just not very observant. Wesley, Peter, Lily and Sam have thought's and now you're gonna hear em.

The year is 2002, a blockbuster appears in theaters featuring a future world where medieval dragons have conquered and the remaining humanity must fight back with the meager resources they possess just to survive. This blockbuster is then promptly forgotten never to be heard from again. We may just be the only remaining humanity that remembers this film. We remember it stars that guy from American Psycho (Christian Bale) as a British Pyro. And stars that other guy from Lincoln Lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) as an actual axe-wielding American Psycho. Together they must hunt down the male dragon to ebb the population of dragons and save mankind. Is this movie worth the watch? Or should it be left to rot in the far reaches of Northumberland dystopia?

It is February of 2020 and after 8 long years director Benh Zeitlin, known for Beasts of the Southern Wild, is releasing his greatly anticipated next movie. What could go wrong? Uh oh. Looks like a little GLOBAL PANDEMIC has driven people inside away from theaters and this indie film is all but forgotten. But should it be? The Hello From Obscurity gang takes a closer look at this indie movie. A modern retelling of Peter Pan, but this time from Wendy's perspective. Is this reimagined fairy tale worth remembering? Or is it doomed to stay forever in Neverland?

The year is 2011, pop icon Madonna has released her film W.E. about the "Greatest Love Story of the 20th Century," between Wallace Simpson (Andrea Riseborough) and King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy). This honor may be debatable considering he was a disgraced king and she was a nazi-sympathizer. No matter. This film has another romance set in 1998 between a despondent housewife (Abbie Cornish) and a sexy security guard (Oscar Isaac). This movie features style, auctions, historical inaccuracies, gorgeous gowns and Oscar Isaac doing a sultry Russian accent. Is this film royally misunderstood? Or should it abdicate itself back to Obscurity?

The year is 2003, visionary film director Ang Lee has taken on a Big Green Task, adapt the Hulk for the big screen in the modern age. Can he, Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliot, and Nick Nolte take this metaphor wrapped in muscles and give a pre-marvel studios audience the action and emotion they're looking for? Or is it doomed to burn up in the gamma bomb of obscurity to our new Mark Ruffalo (or even Edward Norton) worldbreaker? Find out this time on Hello from Obscurity!

The year is 2014 and if you're living in South Korea, you are loving the new box office smash The Pirates at your local movie theater! However, if you were in America at the time, you've probably never heard of it. This movie features Pirates, Bandits, Imperial Generals, Emperors and a multitude of winding subplots. Will this action adventure be known outside South Korea? Or will this spectacle fated be only popular in within its country of origin?

The Year is 1998, an up and coming actor by the name of Ben Stiller is starring in a gritty dark comedy/drama about writer Jerry Stahl. Following his journey with drugs, working as a TV writer, and his green card marriage that leads to parenthood. Also featuring Elizabeth Hurly, Owen Wilson, Fred Willard, and Maria Bello is this biopic worth the trip down memory lane, or is it better left in the graveyard of old sitcoms? The gang dives deep in this episode of Hello From Obscurity.

The year is 2016, James Gunn has written script eerily similar to The Suicide Squad. An ordinary day at the office becomes a horrific quest for survival when 80 employees (John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona) at the Belko Corp. cross between Battle Royale and Office Space, The Belko Experiment attempts to show the heartlessness of corporate culture. Does it succeed or does falls short and recedes back into sea of oblivion?

The year is FRANCE and Anton Yelchin and Bérénice Marlohe (a french person) are FRENCH in New York City, Meaning of course: Anton is starting a relationship with a married mother of two without knowing of this fact. Will he continue pursuong thre relationship with this added FRENCH knowledge, or will he cut it off and thus cut the movie short? Wesley, Peter, Lily, and Sam explore this FRENCH question on this episode of Hello from Obscurity (in FRANCE)

Content Warning: Disturbing Imagery, Cults, Loss of Pregnancy, Murder, Body HorrorThe year is 2016 and a couple of very talented friends specializing in SFX decide to make a movie. A very, very, gory movie. And what's more: They've gone to the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo to help raise funds specifically for the effects, all of them to be practical. With a creepy hospital to shoot in, a cult to follow their characters, and as much blood and gore as you could possibly imagine will this team truly create something no one has seen before, or was it better left in their dark imaginations? Find out on this episode of Hello From Obscurity!

The year is 2017, a small distribution company named A24 starts to produce its own films. One of their first films ever produced is A Ghost Story. A movie featuring Mara Rooney, Ben Affleck and pie. Is this think-piece on the meaning on life and death worth sticking around to haunt us or will it go through that door of light into the realm we like to call Obscurity?

The year is 1985, forty-six years after MGM's classic film The Wizard of Oz, comes the the release of not-so-classic spiritual sequel, Return to Oz. Instead of the whimsy of the first one, we are introduced to the horrors of Oz. Instead of the wonder of Emerald City, we return to the hell-scape it has become. And instead of Dorothy's three delightful companions, we are introduced to a whole other set of weird puppet friends. However, just because it is different, the question "is it good?' is still yet to be answered. Come join us as we review Return to Oz.

The year is 2004, or is it 2034? In this sci fi action mystery loosely inspired by the works of Isaac Asimov, WIll Smith is a jaded detective with a major distrust of the ubiquitous robots that have been integrated into society. He is called to investigate an apparent suicide of the creator of all these bots, but was is truly a suicide, or was there more nefarious, more mechanical reasons behind it? Join us as we delve into this early 2000s hit (an oddity for us) and find out whether or not the future's looking bright and shiny, or if we have nothing but rust and darkness ahead of us.

The year is 2002, Pokemon is riding high at some of it's greatest hits continue to enthrall children around the world. They release their 5th movie in the series, set in a version of venice, featuring cat burglars, mysterious legends, strange new pokemon, and lengthy conversations about ice cream. Was this just another in a string of hits for Ash and the gang, or does one of the shortest movies the studio ever made fall short of expectations as well? Find out with Wesley, Peter, Lily, and Sam on this episode!