Cinema To The Letter

57: 50 Shades of Evil Within Troubled Productions

Making films can be rough. Budgets inflate, personalities clash, directors are on meth. Movie magic doesn't come easy. That is exactly what Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani are dissecting this week on Double Edged Double Bill! This week, in honor of X-Men: Dark Phoenix shambling to theaters following a delays & reshoots, it's all about films with troubled productions. First up, our good feature The Evil Within, a horror film that took 15 years of production while being made by reclusive billionaire and meth addict Andrew Getty. Then, our bad feature is 50 Shades of Grey, the massively popular yet universally loathed erotic thriller which had author E.L. James hovering over the entire production. Together, our hosts ponder how to explain surreal nightmares, debate the investment of Dakota Johnson and pick the films for next week's episode on Samuel L. Jackson. So tune in now before this podcast goes even more over budget!
Listen to Thomas' guest spots on the podcasts We Forgive You and The Horror Returns. To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

56: Godzilla vs Ghidorah: All Kaiju Revenge Parade

With Godzilla: King of the Monsters stomping into theaters this week, Double Edged Double Bill is covering a bizarre kaiju two-fer. Adam Thomas, Thomas Mariani and returning guest Sam Brutuxan are here two discuss two films featuring the massive lizard. First up is the good feature Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, in which Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra tag team to defeat the titular tri-headed dragon while a princess from Venus is chased by assassins. Then the bad feature Godzilla's Revenge, in which a young boy dreams of hanging out with Godzilla and his son while he is kidnapped from his home unsupervised by his working parents. Fun for the whole family! Together, our trio worries about Godzilla's reproductive health, praises the most underrated kaiju Giant Condor and pick the films for next week's episode on Troubled Productions! So Go Go parade through Tokyo with us, won't you?
Buy a copy of Sam's book The Quietus Breaker: Brother Death on Amazon and read his blog Lounging Lizard. Also listen to Thomas talk about Brightburn and Superman: The Movie as a guest on The Horror Returns podcast. To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

55: Will Smith In Men In Focus

Witness Double Edged Double Bill going Big Willy Style over actor/rapper/blue boy enthusiast Will Smith! To celebrate the release of Disney's new Aladdin, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani are talking two films on the opposite sides of quality from Mr. Fourth of July himself. First, the bad feature Focus, in which Smith plays off his future Suicide Squad co-star Margot Robbie as a con artist. Remember it? Neither do our hosts! Then, our good feature of the original Men In Black, the film that solidified Smith as a bonafide star alongside his perfect straight man Tommy Lee Jones. Together, our duo are baffled by elaborate con games, divided over the effectiveness of Linda Fiorentino and excited to pick their choices for next week's episode about Godzilla films. So put on those airpods that you make look good and listen to us "Woooo" and "Haha Haha" about the Fresh Prince himself!
To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

54: Keanu Reeves Is Tai Chi Dracula

Double Edged Double Bill is doing an episode about Keanu Reeves in honor of John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum coming out? Whoa! Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani bring back returning guest & massive Keanu stan Heather Thomas on to talk two films in Mr. Reeves' extensive and varied filmography. First up is our good feature Man of Tai Chi in which Keanu took his first stab as a director while playing a Bond villain running an underground fighting ring in China. Then, our "bad" feature is Bram Stoker's Dracula, a film all three of our hosts really like... but will fully admit it's largest flaw is Keanu Reeves playing stoic Englishman Jonathan Harker. Together, our trio explains how to train a child to perform wire work choreography, ponder how much baby powder is in grey haired Keanu's 'do and pick our films for next week's topic all about Will Smith! So download our most triumphant episode and party on, dudes!
Listen to Keanu Believe It here. To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

53: Scott Pilgrim Vs. Chun-Li - The Legend of Video Game Cinema

Insert your coins and grab your controllers because Double Edged Double Bill is doing video game inspired films this week in honor of Detective Pikachu. Now, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani are both well aware of how bad most films adapted from video games are. Their bad feature Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li exemplifies that succinctly. So, the two of them opened up the qualifications to films with video game aesthetics, which fits perfectly for our good feature Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Together, our Player 1 & Player 2 puzzle over Chris Klein's massive nostrils, consider joining the Vegan Police and pick the films for next week's episode that's all about Keanu Reeves. So press start now to get in on all this combo breaking back & forth!
To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

52: Marvel Cinematic Universe Will Ragnarok Your Iron, Man

We're all still in the glow of Avengers Endgame blowing our minds (no spoilers here, so don't worry). Yet, there's another major finale to focus on: the end of the first year of Double Edged Double Bill! To celebrate 52 straight weeks of episodes, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani are returning to the subject of the very first episode with the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside special guest Ryan Corderman! The good feature for our trio is Thor Ragnarok, the third Thor film that radically reinvented the Thor character by making him fun. Then our "bad" feature is the highly divisive Iron Man 3, which even our hosts can't universally agree on. Together our Avengers assemble to marvel at how thicc Hulk is, hear as Adam becomes everything he hates and pick the films for next week's topic on video game inspired films! Tune in now before the episode turns to dust!
Listen to Thomas talk Batman Forever and the rest of Joel Schumacher's filmography on Zackman Forever. To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

51: Escape from Inside Llewyn Davis: A Redemption Song

By the very nature of Double Edged Double Bill's format - in which Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani each have two films & have one from those pairs selected as the good and bad portion of a double feature - many potential films from previous episodes are left by the wayside. Given they've passed the 50 episode mark, our duo has decided to give two previous losers of the draw a chance at the spotlight. First the good feature is Inside Llewyn Davis, Thomas' alternative choice from their Coen Brothers episode. Then the bad feature is Escape from L.A., Adam's alternative choice from their dystopian fiction episode. Quite a double bill, huh? Together, our duo will advise Justin Timberlake to come to terms with his new dorky dad phase, pitch a Wyatt Russell take over of the Snake Plissken franchise and pick their films for next week's topic on the Marvel Cinematic Universe! So tune your guitars and play along with their ballad of redemption, ya post apocalyptic folkies!
To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

50: Fantastic Mr. Monkeybone

Double Edged Double Bill turns the big 5-0 at 24 frames per second. Since the Laika title Missing Link came out recently, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani are joined by their returning animation enthusiast guest Scott Johnson to talk about two films featuring the artform of stop motion animation. First up is the good feature Fantastic Mr. Fox, where Wes Anderson brought his live action dollhouse aesthetic to a miniature landscape. Then, the bad feature is Monkeybone, in which Henry Selick's stop motion aesthetic was squandered on a lame fantasy comedy filled with crass humor and Brendan Fraser mugging. Together, our trio wonders how many corduroy jackets Mr. Anderson sacrificed, feels weird about heaping praise on Chris Kattan and picks the films for next week where our alternate choices from the last 50 episodes are given a chance at redemption! So get that cussin' cotton out of your ears and listen to the latest bout of chaos!
To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

49: Red Sonja Of Oz - Return to Fantasy

Double Edged Double Bill returns to the realm of fantasy films! Along with returning guest Caitlin Turner, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani take a look at two fantasy films from the magical year of 1985! First is our bad feature Red Sonja, where Bridget Nielsen makes her awkward debut and Arnold Schwarzenegger is... briefly there. Then, our good feature is Return to Oz, the weird quasi sequel to the classic musical that Disney has tried to bury for being too dark. Together, this trio will marvel at the early stunt work of Ernie Reyes Jr, shudder at the dead eyes of The Scarecrow and pick their films for next week's episode on stop motion animation! Quick, download the episode now before Princess Mombi's headless body gets you!
Listen to Adam's appearance on The Horror Returns talking the old and new Pet Sematary here! To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!

48: Spawn of the Ninja Turtles

Double Edged Double Bill has done episodes on Marvel and DC Comics adaptations, but what about the films based on comic books outside the big two? Given a new Hellboy movie is on the horizon along with several other comic book films this month, Adam Thomas and Thomas Mariani decided to do a double feature of independent comic book film adaptations with returning guest Torrey Depina! The good feature is 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the first cinematic adaptation of the anthropomorphic shelled beings. The bad is 1997's Spawn which brought Todd McFarlane's edgy demonic character to life... before killing it pretty instantaneously. Together, our trio contemplates the brunch habits of Casey Jones, declares that Spawn was the origin point of CGI hate and pick the films for next week's episode where we revisit the fantasy film genre! So grab that last slice of pizza and listen in on this radical discussion!
To stay up to date about the podcast, follow us on Twitter @DEDBpod, our Facebook page and send us feedback at doubleedgeddoublebill@gmail.com! If you like the show, please subscribe to or rate us on platforms like iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher!