Great Movies But You Only Need To Watch Once + Movie Review: The Suicide Squad (HBO MAX) + ANOTHER Ninja Turtles Reboot In the Works

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Movie Mike's Movie Podcast. I'm your host Movie Mike a k A. Mike Destro a k A. The guy who just loves movies and does an entire podcast about it. And today I'm talking about my top five great movies that I only watched once. So that's the question, what is a movie that you love, but for some reason or another, you only needed to watch it one time. Also going to give my spoiler free review of The Suicide Squad which came out in theaters and on HBO Max and I actually don't think I've been this excited to review a movie in a very long time, so we'll get to that. Also, got to talk about another Ninja Turtles reboot in the works. So appreciate everybody for being here, for being subscribed to the podcast. If you're listening on episode Release Stay, which is on Monday's special shout out to you guys. Without any further ado, let's get started. In a world where everyone and their mother has a podcast, one man stands to infiltrate the ears of listeners like never before in a movie podcast I made with so much movie knowledge. He's basically like a walking audio TV Who's Glasses from the Nashville Podcast Network Movie Movie Podcast. Alright, alright, alright, So how this episode idea came to my mind is I have a lot of streaming services now. I have Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount plus Apple Like, I have all the streaming services now, and I get really excited when a movie that I've seen in theaters is available on the streaming service that you know. It kind of takes a while now, but the other day I was scrolling through and Joker is available on HBO Max. And that's a movie that I loved when it came out, one of my favorite movies in the last five years. But for some reason, I've not been able to go back and rewatch that movie. I think all the build up to when that movie came out, and when I went to see it, it altered my entire view on movies unlike any other movie had done in a very long time. And it was almost so perfect, and I loved it so much that I didn't want to go back and ruin that and is passionate and sat him about, you know, suggesting that movie for other people who haven't seen it to go watch. I myself haven't been able to go rewatch that movie. I had a cute up on HBO Max the other night. I had some time and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna watch this movie now, and I couldn't hit play on it because I don't want to ruin what I thought that movie was to me and how it affected me. I don't really need to take that ride again. And there's some other kind of things with this one in particular that how it makes you feel and what happens in that movie kind of affects you in a way, and it kind of put me in a little bit dark of a mental state after I watched that movie, but which I enjoyed because when a movie can do that to me, I think that's a true power of filmmaking that it alters your view on things and when you leave the theater you feel a different own way. And that's what that movie did to me. And I think rewatching it would take a little bit away from that because I would start to dissect it a little more. Maybe I feel like Joaquin's Phoenix wasn't as strong as I felt it at that time, But I felt like that movie was perfect everything leading up to it, and me experiencing that movie in a movie theater. I only think that watching it again would take away from that, so it still stands up there is one of my favorite movies of the last five years, but I haven't brought myself to watch it again, so that is one of the ones at the top of my list. And that's what kind of inspired this whole kind of topic. And I asked to a bunch of people online, what is that movie for you? So that's one of my first ones. And that is also kind of the idea here that these are all really great movies without a doubt, but maybe they're too sad, or they're too depressing, or there could also be a twist that wanted to reveal you don't really need to watch it again. So I'll play that one at number five. And I also decided to pick movies that have only come out within the last five years because I think the main question I get from people that I just talked to, even friends of like, hey, what movies should I go watch right now? And I try to just suggest the most recent favorite movies of mine because I want to people experience new things and things that are happening now in film. Because I think the time is now how to get into movies and what's happening now. So all of these are within the last five years. Maybe you've seen him, maybe you haven't, but I would suggest checking these all out if you have it. At number four on my list from seventeen, I put Get Out and this is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. And I really loved what Jordan Peel did in this movie. And I'm really excited for his new movie called Nobody that's coming out, And I think he's kind of redefining what horror is because for the longest time, I felt horror was associated with there's a serial killer killing a bunch of people, or there's some kind of demonic for something just kind of scary, existential that can be controlled, and that was horror a lot, and a lot of those kind of movies are my favorite movies. But I think what Jordan Peel has been able to do is take the horror genre uh and mess with your mind a little bit, take you on a suspenseful ride or where you're trying to figure out exactly what is happening here, and create this kind of tension that I really haven't seen a director do in a very long time, and stylistically, I feel like he's really been able to show his voice in his movies, and I think that really comes out with get Out. And I was so excited to see this movie do so well get the nominations that it did, because it really put them on the map to become one of the best directors. Now he has two really great movies under his belt, but this one is just my favorite. And I saw this movie in theaters and it's one of those movies that just kind of resonates with you. And if somebody is wanting to see a scary movie out right now, I always recommend to them get Out. Like if you haven't seen get Out, start here and men decide whether you like Jordan Peel or not. At number three, I went with Parasite, which came out in and it was the movie that everybody was talking about when it was nominated and one the Oscar for Best Picture. And this kind of brings me to another point, is that a lot of the time, the movies that win for Best Picture or even just nominated for Best Picture are movies that you only need to watch one time. They're all really great novel movies, and sometimes some of my favorites, but for some reason or another they don't have a lot of rewatchability. There were other movies I almost put on this list, like A Marriage Story or The Irishman, which are all really great movies at the time they come out, but sometimes you just forget about these movies, no matter how good they are and how important they are to kind of remember historical moments in film and movie making. Some of the biggest movies of the year critically over time are just not the ones you want to sit down and watch with some friends on a Friday night. And I absolutely loved Parasite. I went to see it before there was really a lot of buzz about it because mainly I wanted to go see a movie in theaters with subtitles because I felt like that was the only kind of scenario for me that I would really pay attention to reading the subtitles and getting into it, because I'll admit, if a movie has subtitles, I'm a little less likely to see it, at least before Parasite, and this is the movie that kind of changed my whole mental approach to watching a movie with subtitles. It's really not a big deal. Like, don't let that stop you, because if a movie is really great enough and it has subtitles, you're gonna totally forget about it. You experience it in a whole different way, and you also get I think, a lot more of the story because you're paying attention to every single line, you see every written piece of dialogue, and you really know what's going on. There was nothing lost on me after seeing Parasite that I had to read throughout the movie because not only was the dialogue great, but visually looked amazing, and you're also just paying more attention to things like body language and the actors actually giving the performance. So I thought this one totally nailed it, and maybe in the same way of Joker. Even though it's on Hulu, I still can't bring myself to go back and rewatch this movie because I think I got everything out of it that I needed to at the time. I don't think there's anything I missed from it, but I don't need to see it again. At Number two is a movie called Midsummer, but it's spelled out Midsummer as another one in the horror genre that I will always recommend to people, and I actually only watched it for the first time in the last year or so. And the reason I think it's such a great horror movie and in the same way it is kind of a different horror movie, and that it's kind of messing with your mind, but also just some images that you are never really prepared to see in a movie. The movie is basically about this girl has this weird relationship with their boyfriend, has a pretty traumatizing past, and they decided to go on this trip to a country to visit this civilization that they later find out is basically a cult, and not just any cult but a pagan colt, and they're they're during this big Midsummer festival that they're having, trying to do this research project for their college class, and it goes from just being about these kids going on this trip to being a complete and total mind blown movie. And I think the reason I haven't been able to go rewatch this movie again, even though I just watched it in the last year or so, even five years, ten years down the line, I won't go back and rewatch this movie mainly because how much it messed with my brain while watching it, and I can only put myself through so much mental strain and see these kind of graphic images one time. I'm good with the one time. On this one, the entire movie kind of felt like when you have a really bad dream. And I'm talking about those bad dreams where you wake up in the middle of the night, maybe you're sweating a little bit, but you audibly wake up with a gasp, Like I have those dreams maybe once a month, and it's because I have the weirdest, most insane dream Sometimes I can almost feel like I experience pain in my dreams. It's that kind of a dream. So it's basically taking that and putting it to film, and that is what I feel this movie is, so I am not going to watch it again, not now, not ever. And at number one is another movie from which I probably need to make a whole other podcast about how is one of the most underrated years in film. I mean, just from this list there we three movies from but the other one I would add as my top movie that I only needed to see once is Uncut Gems. And first of all, if you haven't seen Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler, you're either going to love this movie or completely hated. That's the only other reviews I've heard from my friends and family, like they either went into this movie and completely loved it the way I did, or you completely hated it. And why I think that is it's because this movie is very, very stressful. I was literally and I don't use that word unless I mean it literally, on the edge of my seat watching this movie. I was stressed out. It felt like watching a car wreck unfold. And and the Safty Brothers basically took this concept of like always feeling like something was about to go wrong and made an entire movie out of it. Because while you're watching Adam Sandler, who's basically this really kind of not so great guy, doing all these things to put him further and further into a hole, you just feel worse and worse for him, and you know just something terrible is going to happen when all this stuff hits the fan. And even later when the movie was added to Netflix, I saw it sitting there and I couldn't bring myself to watch it, mainly because I think this one was a roller coaster that I only needed to go on one time, and only needed to feel those feelings one time. And I think that's okay. I just think that some of the best movies like this one takes you on all the twists and turns, you experience all the ups and downs, and after it's all over, you're kind of complete. I think this is the best example of a movie you only need to experience one time and one time only. And if you've seen this movie multiple times, I think there may be a problem with your brains, so we'll have to get you evaluated. But this is my top one that I only needed to see once. And I did ask this question on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and here's the top five that I gathered from everybody's responses. At number five was The Village and a bunch of other m Night Shamalan movies, and I think that's mainly due to the fact that once you know the twist in the movie, you're not gonna get anything else out of out of rewatching it. And number four an interesting one, Passion to the Christ, maybe because the images were a little bit too much or overall was just a hard watch, also a bit of a longer movie. So I've found that one probably the most interesting response that I saw again and again out of every movie that you guys suggested. At number three was Saving Private Ryan, okay, and then at number two was Titanic. I think this one greatly has to do with the running time on this movie, but I don't really agree with that one, mainly because if the movie comes on TV, I'll find myself watching it again and again. Maybe I won't sit down and like, all right, tonight, we're watching the Titanic. I guess that's not really a thing that most people would do, but I would still rewatch some scenes, maybe catch it from the middle and watch it till the end if it was on TV. So I wouldn't sit down to watch it, yeah, but probably would rewatch at some point in my life, like when I want to teach my future kids about history, I'll be like, all right, let's sit down and watch Leonardo DiCaprio in this real life story of Titanic. And then the number one from was A Star Is Born. I felt like one of the most overrated movies of the last five years, a movie that I was surprised as how big of a hit it was, and I think that was largely due because of the music that came from this movie. But I completely agree with this one. So there you go. Those are all great movies. If you haven't seen them at some point in your life, add them to your list and let me know what you think. You can shoot me an email movie Mike d at gmail dot com or just tweet me send me to d m at Mike Destro. I haven't been this excited to do a movie review in a very long time. I went to see The Suicide Squad in theaters on Friday night. I chose to see it on the big screen versus watching it at home on HBO Max, and I'm really happy I made that decision. But I don't think that's for everybody. I have a lot to dissect in this spoiler free review. But if you haven't seen the trailer for this yet, just to give you some context, here's just a little bit of the trailer. Your mission. It's pick a story, every trace of something known only as a project starfish, any questions. Starfish is a slang term for a butthole if there's any connection. No. So, the biggest question I've seen about The Suicide Squad is that didn't they just make this movie like four years ago? And yes, Suicide Squad came out in these Suicide Squad just came out in one, and there's some key differences here. It's not a remake of that movie. It's more a reimagining. A new director with James Gunn, a new story, a new mission. Everything else is pretty much different, aside from the fact that they brought back a few of the characters, like Margot Robbie is back as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis is in this one. The original Rick Flag is in this movie. So they took some of the characters, I would argue the best characters from Suicide Squad and put them into the Suicide Squad. The other may difference is that one was rated PG thirteen, and I think that was mainly because they were trying to keep that kind of Avengers vibe of it being friendly for the whole family, which I think ended up ultimately hurting the film with that PG thirteen rating, because they couldn't really go pull on, all right, here's a really gritty comic book movie. They still had to play that line of keeping getting into PG thirteen. And right around that time they had a big Marvel hit with Deadpool, which was a rated or comic book movie so they were kind of like, oh man, we kind of missed the mark there. This one is a rated R and a very hard are. I feel like this is almost if Quentin Tarantino were to make a superhero comic book movie. That is the kind of vibe this one had. It was extremely violent, Like within the opening scene of the movie, I felt my insights twisted a little bit of how violent it was. So if you're not really comfortable with a lot of blood, people getting their faces blown off, slicedop like those kind of images are in this movie. And what I liked about it is that it went for it. It was very unapologetically violent, which I feel now it's kind of a trend. I've seen it a little bit in like The Boys, which is a series on Amazon that in order to kind of make an impact with violence now you almost have to go over the top for it to kind of resonate. Otherwise we see violence on TV all the time, but to kind of give it a more cinematic quality, this movie took it a step further. So if you're uncomfortable with those kind of images, might not be the movie for you. I want to see it with my wife Kelsey and those are the only parts of the movie where she had to turn away. She ended up liking the movie, but she's not really into violence, is not really into horror, so those parts did make her turn away and not want to watch it. Other than that, I think she loved it. And one of the things that really kind of draws my eye to the big screen. While I was excited and happy that I went to see it in theaters versus watching it at home on streaming, is I really feel like there was little details that the director James Gunn put into this movie that really made it feel like a whole cohesive piece. And it's from like, you know, sometimes movies put text on the screen to kind of clarify what is happening in the story at that point, and it's easy enough to just put a simple fun up there and you know, kind of explained it that way, but James Gunn took it a step further and does these cool special effects where he's writing out letters and things that actually pertained to the story. It would just make it more visually appealing. Not only that, I really loved the color palette used in this movie. It kind of has like a vintage, old school feel to it. I feel like all the costume design and just the way the movie looks, it felt more like a film rather than just the superhero comic book movie. I think a lot of what the d C movies. The trouble I have is they kind of just look overproduced in a way. I feel like I'm watching sometimes like a music video for a metal band in the two thousand's when I see a DC movie, because it's just so many graphics and special effects that it really takes away from me wanting to watch it. I just feel like I'm just watching a big green screen with these actors. But in The Suicide Squad, I really felt like it had that movie maker feel to it, like it was shot on an old school camera in away. And then we get to the cast, which I think this really made the movie. Bringing back Margaret Robbie was the best choice. I think Harley Quinn is my favorite DC character. Viola Davis was great in this one. But but then they brought in new characters like John Cena as Peacemaker, which I thought was fantastic. And I think of all the movies I've seen John Cena, and he's usually kind of the comic relief or like in F nine, he's so just kind of ridiculous and over the top that I kind of questioned whether or not he was really a good actor, And in this one, I think his character plays perfect to who he is, and I really got to see him, you know, do a pretty good job at being a believable actor, and I think this role was perfect for him, So he was one of my favorite parts of it. A dressed Elba as blood Sport was really the lead I didn't know I needed. He kind of took the role that Will Smith had in Suicide Squad and really kind of carry the entire movie, being essentially the main character here of the entire Suicide Squad, and I just thought he was fantastic. And I don't really see him as an action star, but it was his ability to do the big action scenes but also have this comedic side to him that I thought he was perfect for. And speaking of his comedic side, I think this is one of the funniest comic book movies I've ever seen, maybe ever, And the reason I think is that a lot of the Marvel movies they played to a lot bigger audience. They're going for mass appeal to the max and the jokes in Avengers movies or any Marvel movie, I feel like they appealed to six year old and also six year old and some of the things in them. As much as I love Marvel, when you kind of look at him, I think like, is this really that funny or is it just kind of like a cheeky humor, Like the whole line and joke about Captain America's but being America's asked in that, Like, that's pretty funny, and we remember that from that movie, But I don't think that's laugh out loud while I'm watching the movie funny. It's just kind of a lighthearted moments that come from all the big action to Marvel movies, Unlike in this one. I felt like I found myself at several moments, maybe more than five, actually laughing out loud because of the writing in the movie, and in an age where I feel like we don't have a whole lot of comedies, for them to be able to make a comic book movie like this that has some actual, real comedic moments in it, I thought that was a big win for them, and I think some of the biggest comic relief came from my favorite character out of the entire movie, who is King Shark, voiced by Sylvester Saloon. And he's kind of, I would say, the groot of this movie. He only says a few words, but he's a big, dumb shark, and I found myself more emostly invested in his story throughout any other character in the movie. I don't know it's because I like identified with him the most of being this big, violent kind of being and kind of a little bit the outcast of the entire suicide squad, But there were just something emotionally that struck a chord with me about King Shark and his story in this movie that I felt like James Gunn totally really took these characters that you probably have no idea about and put them in this world that, Okay, I totally get it. There's a guy throwing polka dots and I totally invested in it. So I really loved that whole side of this. And if you're not familiar with James Gunn, who directed this, you've probably seen his work. He did Guarding into the Galaxy one and two he's been rehired to do three. He also did a movie I really love from back in the Day called Super From with Rain Wilson and Elliott Page. If you haven't seen that movie, I think that really kind of gives you a glimpse of the mind of James Gunn and the way he was also able to make this movie have some surprisingly heartfelt moments in the midst of all this chaos and ridiculousness. There's some moments you actually feel some emotional attachment to these characters. So on all levels, I think there was just a lot going on here, a lot more depths than your average comic book movie, and easily one of the best DC movies. I think if I had to rate the top five DC movies, it would be right up there and number five I'd probably put Harley Quinn number four. I'd go with Wonder Woman number three, Shazam at number two, I would put The Suicide Squad, and that's only because my favorite movie has been Joker, which is kind of in its own other little DC universe in a way, but that would be my top five. I would easily put this one on there, and if I had to rate it, I would give it four point five out of five. King Sharks uneasily. You must see this movie. If you're into comic book movies, if you're just into action movies, I think you should watch it. I personally love seeing it on the big screen, but if you have HBO Max, I want to watch it at home for free. I think it will totally translate over. So one of my favorite movies of the year, so I think it's a definite must see. Let's go over now and check out the movie headlines. One of my favorite stories and movie news in the past week is that Colin Jos and his brother Casey are writing a brand new teenage mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Yes, it's getting rebooted yet again. The plot details are still under wraps because they're still just in the early stages they're writing the movie, but it said it will refocus on the four Turtle brothers, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donna Tello, and Raphael. And also at the same time, Nickelodeon is working with an animated movie that SETH. Rogan is executive producing that will come out in three And I think Ninja Turtles is one of the biggest franchises that since the original movies, they haven't really known what to do with. You know, I kind of grew up with those movies in the nineties, and the Ninja Turtles were a little bit before my time because my brother who grew up in the eighties like they were the biggest thing there. And I think that's great while and I think that's one of the biggest reasons why I'm excited that Colin Jos and his brother are doing this, because over all the reimaginations and reworkings of Ninja Turtles, I think this is the first time that it's been worked on by somebody who was a fan of them in their early childhood days. They were so big now, and I think it's kind of harder for things to be like an overall culture phenomenon among kids. I think maybe now it's like Fortnite or maybe like what Minecraft was. I think that's what Ninja Turtles were in the eighties. So for somebody to grow up with them and now be working on a movie, I am really excited about that. I wasn't really the biggest fan of the Michael Bay movies. While I was excited to see him on the big screen again, I think those movies came and went and they really didn't give a new voice, a really bring anything new to the franchise. So I also just read Colin Joe's book, which is called A very Punchable Face and maybe in a little bit of like just being kind of all about him and into a story right now, So it could be another reason why I'm excited about that. I just think he has a really interest pass from you know, growing up being a writer, being with SNL for so long, now being married to one of the biggest movie stars ever, Scarlett Johanssen, and seeing where he's gonna go from kind of his departure from sn L and now kind of getting more into writing for movies. I think he's really funny, So excited for that one. Also in movie news, Brendan Fraser has been announced that he will be in the new Martin scorseseon movie called Killers of the Flower Moon, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro. I'm most excited about this one because we haven't really seen Brendan Frasier in a movie in a very long time. I know he's had a pretty interesting past that kind of led him to staying away from starring in big movies, kind of took him out of the spotlight. He felt like he was kind of blacklisted from the industry and really hasn't done a whole lot of movies, and he was kind of the biggest action star for a little while with movies like The Mummy. I feel like he was kind of the Chris Pratt of that time, and he's hasn't really been around sense, So I'm excited for him to have a big feature role here. I mean to go from being in that trilogy of the Mummy, but also doing comedies like George of the Jungle. He was in Looney Tunes, back in Action, also in Encino Man. I feel like he has quite the range. So seeing him in a Martin Scorsese movie, I will be watching that. I'm really excited. It's supposed to come out next year, so that's definitely a movie at the top of my list. And then finally, in movie news, the Suicide Squad has the best R rated opening during the pandemic, making twenty six point five million dollars at the box office, but that's also one of the lowest openings for the franchise. A couple of things going on here. It's one it's also available on HBO Max, and you have the ability and the decision to make of do you want to go watch it in theaters and experience there or we just want to watch it at home. That's kind of what we're seeing now. We're also seeing the country in a bit of a different situation right now with some things closing down again. Something's going back into being restrictions, so that could change somebody's decision to want to go to the movies. I want to see this on a Friday night, seven pm showing and the theater was relatively empty. I'm talking there was maybe one person on way the other side of us in the theater, maybe another couple or two a row back, and then maybe a couple in the front. I'd say it was like twenty people in this entire big theater, which is a little bit sad for me to see because I love experiencing movies like this in the theater. But I also saw James Gunn, who directed the movie, kind of expressed the way I've been feeling too is that he really doesn't care and this is coming from a director if people see his movie in theaters or at home. He was like, Jaws is one of my favorite movies of all time. But I've never seen that in the theaters. I've only seen that at home. And the way movies are really going to be able to last is for people to be able to see them at home, Like that's how they live. Like, yes, you can go experience it and have that feeling in the theater, but five years from now, you're gonna watch movies that came out a long time ago, and that's how they kind of carry on their legacy is through streaming services. I just thought that was a pretty interesting take to see the whole situation in a world where people are trying to keep movie theaters open, I'd say, just give us the option. So it was sad to see that I had kind of an underwhelming box office debut, and I feel it's also attributed to the original one just being pelted to death with really bad reviews. And I would also like to say that I don't see myself as a movie critic. I am a film enthusiast, and just like you, I pay my ticket to go see a movie, I pay for my streaming services at home. I'm just a guy who loves movies. Basically, if you went to a party, and there's a guy there who just happens to know a lot about movies and seems to be only talking about movies the entire time. We've all seen that person at a party like that is me. I don't have any affiliation with any movie studio. I don't feel the need to alter my reviews on any external thing. And I feel like sometimes movie critics are like that. They go into it, whether they have a kind of feeling about the to or the directors, just the franchise, and they want to take a movie down and give it a bad review. And I feel like DC and Suicide Squad in particular suffers from that. Like there was nothing inside of me that felt the need to say a bad thing about this movie. But yeah, it gets bad reviews. Even though it has one of the highest ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for all the DC movies, it's still not doing so well at the box office. And I think people just have that kind of mentality of the DC movies not being as great as Marvel and not giving them a chance. I just want to say, give him a chance. But all right, that's gonna do it for this week's episode. But before I hop out of here. Every single week I give a shout out to one of you guys listening, especially a shout out to anybody who listens when these episodes come out on Mondays. And last week I gave a not so great review that I got on Apple podcast, a one star review, so I did want to share a positive one in response to that with a positive five star review that I had just written, and it says, love the podcast so informative and interesting. Always enjoy listening to Mike and Kelsey talk about their own personal experiences. To keep up the good work. I would say their user name, but it just looks like they just typed on the keyboard. But if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, you can scroll down to wherever you're subscribed and just hit that five star rating. Write a quick little review what do you think about the podcast? But if you have any complaints, you can send them over to my Gmail movie my d a Gmail dot com. And I appear to be losing my voice, so before I completely blow it out, that's the episode for this week. Talk to you next week here on the podcast, and until then, later