Defending Your Movie

Today's episode features a very special guest. Comic book writer/artist Tim Seeley comes on the show to discuss one of the forgotten DC Comics films Jonah Hex. We also discuss his new comic book launching this Wednesday called West of Sundown. One part wester, one part Dario Argento, this is a western and comic packed episode with one of the great comic creators! A link to the first issue is provided below. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. West of Sundown Issue 1- Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon:  Merch:  Cryptic Closet:  Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

It's been a little while since the last episode. I took a break due to the birth of my first child! The show is back and guest Seth Decker returns to take a look at the sequel to the Ridley Scott Alien prequel Prometheus. This time we are looking at Alien: Covenant and shining a light on what may be a flawed film, but still manages to succeed as a Sci-Fi epic. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon:  Merch:  Cryptic Closet:  Guest Twitter:  Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Well with this episode we have officially reached the last episode of the year. Director Denis Villeneuve os already known as a powerhouse director with movies like Dune and Arrival under his belt, but one of his earlier movies often feels overlooked. Generally loved by most who have seen it, Prisoners just doesn't seem like it reached the huge audience it deserved. Today I sit down with former guest Brandon Prosek as we look at one of Denis Villeneuve's hidden crime masterpieces Prisoners.  Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

The MCU at this point is so big that no ones list of their favorites looks the same. However I am willing to bet that in most people's list Thor: The Dark World is somewhere near the bottom. I personally never agreed with that opinion and for the first time I have two guests on the show who feel the same. Returning guest Seth Decker and Aerin Moriarty hop on the show to give a retrospective look on this maligned sequel and discuss how it may be perceived differently after Loki received his own Disney Plus series.  Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter:     Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Slasher movies have never really been my jam. They always felt predictable and repetitive so I mostly avoided them. There were some stands outs like Scream but for the most part its a blank space in my film history. Today's episode sets out to correct that as J.D. Martin convinced me to watch one of the more interesting films in one of the bigger slasher franchises. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. This was a major turning point for the Friday franchise and one of the many I had never seen from this franchise. J.D. puts the movie in a perspective that I can relate to as he tries to convince me that slashers can in fact be awesome. J.D. also has two podcasts of his own, Comics Quest and Fables and Reflections. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Comics Quest: Fables and Reflections:   Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Well it's the holiday season and everyone has Spider-Man on the brain! With Marvel looking to drop it's biggest Spider-Man movie yet this week, I decided to take a look back at the LAST time there was a third Spider-Man movie. The Sam Raimi, Toby Maguire starring Spider-Man 3. Before Andrew Garfield donned the mask, and before sequels weren't allowed to have numbers anymore, Spider-Man 3 was once the most expensive movie ever made with the most "meh" reception. So today I sit down with guest Trayvon Mack as we discuss Spider-Man 3's lackluster approval at the time, and how it may be perceived now. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Well it was inevitable that a Star Wars movie would show up at some point. Star Wars fandom is certainly one that can be all over the place, but every era has it's fans. However with this entry we step outside of the numbered films and take a look at what I consider to be the most under appreciated Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. While not a perfect film I think Solo is one that gets better every time I watch it. Returning guest Allen Kesinger brings his Star Wars love to the conversation as we determine if Solo is a good movie, or just a cash grab. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

The mid 2000s was an interesting time in film. I feel there was a lot of different things being attempted during that era a lot of the movies come out kind of hit and miss. Without A Paddle is a movie I didn't think much about when it came out. I watched it, I enjoyed it, I moved on. Today I sit down with guest Nic Woolfe as we revist this 2000s comedy with a stellar cast and see if it's better than we remember or just another forgotten film. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall  Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Paul Verhoeven is maybe the king of the cult classic, and Starship Troopers is perhaps the most self aware of his blockbusters. A movie that was misunderstood when it was released, it later gained a large cult following that was strong enough to spawn multiple sequels, video games, and even animated movies. Today I sit down with Victor Grubbs  as we discuss the one of the best cult classics of all time. Do you want to learn more? Then give it a listen! Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Guest Twitter: Cryptic Closet: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

So this was something that has been in the works four a couple years now. During the run of my previous podcast a friend of mine, and former guest Brandon Prosek, wrote and produced a play called How Does That Make You Feel? Shortly after the play wrapped we talked about doing a retrospective on the process and through circumstances just never got around to it. Well that day has finally come!  Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall How Does That Make You Feel Act 1:   How Does That Make You Feel Act 2: Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Well this is easily the closest we have ever covered a movie to it's release date but with the timing of the holiday and the very divisive response to this movie it was honestly begging to be talked about. On this special Halloween episode I dragged Chris Chipman away from one of his many other projects to talk about the newest entry in the slasher franchise, Halloween Kills. Halloween 2018 was a massive success and universally loved, but the reception for it's sequel seems to be all over the place so we dive in and try to figure out why that it is and discuss how we feel about the film. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Guest's Links: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Well it's the final bookend of Bond month for the release of No Time to Die. This week I once again sit down with Allen Kesinger to discuss Diamonds Are Forever, Connery's last offical Bond film for Eon Productions. Diamonds Are Forever is certainly a Bond movie with a split audience and while my intial viewing had me firmly landing on the "love it" side Allen's first viewing was more opposite that. Today we sit down and hash it out to see if Diamonds Are Forever is one to be remembered or forgotten. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: The FIlms of Steven Spielberg:   Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Today's episode features another returning guest. This week Aerin Moriarty comes back on the pod to talk about a mostly forgotten parody movie of the late 80s. This week we are talking The Pirate Movie. While it most certainly isn't Mel Brooks, The Pirate Movie is a film that seems to have a loving fan base, and Aerin shares that love. While serving as a comedic take on Pirates of Penzance, it's also a pretty forward thinking movie for it's time. Also there are Star Wars references. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Nostalgia has always been a driving force of the film industry. Over the last decade we saw a lot of movies harkening back tothe 80s but come the last few years we have seen a big resurgence of the 90s. 2017's Power Rangers always felt like the true start of 90s nostalgia for me, but maybe that's just because it was the first one that really spoke to me. When I first saw this movie in theaters I liked it, but with every viewing since I have come to absolutely love this film. This feeling is shared by todays guest Alberto Lara (Scrump) the host of the PWT Cast. Today we talk this seminal reboot of the classic 90s television show but we also dive into the Power Rangers franchise overall, as well as talk major genre films. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: PWTCAST: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

So personally, I am a massive James Bond fan, however about three years ago that wasn't the case. I was a more passive fan who hadn't even seen all of the movies. I decided to change that and marathon all of the movies in a row. While I was doing that I was blogging my experience with each film. Well former guest and friend of the show Allen Kesinger is also a massive Bond fan and was following the blogs closely and we ended up coming to an disagreement. We each like a movie that the other wasn't really fond of. Well the new Bond movie, No Time to Die, finally releases this month so I thought we would bookmark this month with dual Bond movies. We will watch and discuss the two movies that we couldn't agree on and re-evaluate them. This first episode covers the fifth movie of the franchise, Thunderball. This was one of my least favorite Bond movies, but will a re-watch change my mind? Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

If you're a fan of action movies and have never seen Shoot 'Em Up then I honestly don't know what you're doing with your life. Member of Montressor Media Jesse Fresco knows a indulgent action flick can be a good time so we sat down to talk about this low key but balls to the wall gun fight buffet staring Clive Owen. A simple premise executed in a wacky movie with a surprising amount of depth, Shoot 'Em Up is one of the most fun movies I've ever seen. Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

I have met very few people in my life that wouldn't agree that the film Tremors is a perfect movie. Kevin Bacon is now a huge star but to this day Tremors is still one of the movies people mention him for. However, does anyone think of the sequels fondly? Well my guest today Nick Almendarez is maybe the biggest Tremors fan I've ever known. He goes hard on every movie in the franchise. When I started this podcast I knew 100% that we would be covering probably all of these movies, so naturally we started with the most recent release on Netflix, Shrieker Island. Do these monster movies stand up as solid entertainment or do they belong in the bargain bin? Don't forget to use promo code DEFENDING at The Cryptic Closet for 21% off your order. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Cryptic Closet: Guest Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

Today's film defense is on a movie that has always been on my list of movies to watch. Unfortunately I just never got around to it until now. My guest today, Paresh Maharaj has a special love for this film that speaks to his career as a lawyer. We discuss how a movie full of morally corrupt characters can actually be an eye opening experience to life, career, and politics. Or sometimes it can just be plain funny. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Guest Twitter: Busted Limes Podcast: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

A year or two ago there seemed to be a couple film discussions cropping up on social media basically saying "X film wasn't as good as you remember from your childhood." One of these films was the Steven Spielberg Peter Pan adaptation Hook. A movie that serves as a quasi-sequel to the old Disney animated film, Hook has kind of taken on a new perspective in recent years. Was this film as good as we remember or is it just a bad movie that went over our heads as children? Today I am joined by Seth Decker to find out. Seth is another member of the Montressor Media group and co-founder and host of the Film Rescue show. We sit down to determine if Hook is one of Spielberg's best, worst, or something in between. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Montressor Meida Patreon: Montressor Website: Seth Decker Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge

This is the first episode to make the case that not all underrated films are considered bad. Some popular movies just come, leave an impact, and then fade away over time. As is the case with this weeks guest Aerin Moriarty. Pride & Prejudice was a big hit in it's day but it's not a movie you hear much about in 2021, but that doesn't mean the love for the film has faded amongst it's fans. Aerin comes on the show to discuss the points of the way movies advertising can affect it's target audience and how perceptions of a genre can lead to misconceptions of enjoyment. Aerin is also the host of the Palette Cleanser Podcast and part of the Montressor Media family of entertainment. Special thanks to: Seth Decker, Patrick Hall Patreon: Merch: Montressor Meida Patreon: Montressor Website: Aerin Moriarty Twitter: Music by: Kevin Aldridge