Take me out to the ballgame…

Bring out your peanuts and crackerjack, because this week on CinemaJaw we take you out to the ballgame! Of course we are talking about The Best Baseball Movies, one of our most requested topics. Sports movies in general can be very emotionally evocative, but none more so (in our opinion) than Baseball Movies. There is something about that magical diamond that harkens back to childhood and that special relationship we had with the sport. Weather it was collecting bubble gum cards, playing catch with your old man, or especially watching movies, baseball creeps into our lives and teaches us some important life lessons.

Who better to umpire this CinemaJaw at-bat than a man who has lived among the ballhawks outside Wrigley field, who desperately vying for homerun balls whacked out of that famous confines. A man who made a documentary  film about the many characters and friends he made and their experiences chasing balls and chasing dreams. I am speaking of Director Mike Diedrich, whos film Ballhawks (which you can rent now on YouTube) was recently added to the permanent film collection at Cooperstown. You’ll hear about that, all about his film, about the ballhawks themselves, and of course Mike’s Best Baseball Movie picks in this episode, the bases are loaded here!

Plus we have the usual starting line up of slugger segments: I for an I, Trivia, CinemaWAR, Hollywood Headlines and much more! This episode is a grand slam!

I for an I: Dark Shadows
Reviewed This Episode: The Guard, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy
CinemaWAR: Which is a better Director/Actor collaboration: De Nero/Scorsese or Burton/Depp?

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Gonna bust some blocks like I’m Super Mario!

The Summer Blockbuster Season is nearly here again, and boy is this one is stacked up to be a doozy! This 2012 season will see the culmination of the Marvel films of the past several Summers, Christopher Nolan’s next entry in the Dark Knight franchise, and Ridley Scott’s return to form with Prometheus, And that’s only the tip of the iceberg! CinemaJaw will take a look at the most anticipated upcoming films this Summer, so get your checklists ready!

Joining the Jaw for this episode is a genius filmmaker and comedian at large: Joe Avella. You may remember him form his last visit to CinemaJaw.  Joe, a prolific producer of short films, recently completed his first feature length film Master of Inventions, which we discuss along with other interesting tidbits in our interview. Avella was kind enough to join in for the whole episode including regular segments, I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia and a bunch of others. It’s a jammed Jaw! LISTEN!:

I for an I: The Avengers
Reviewed This Episode: We Bought a Zoo, Carnage, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kung Fu Panda 2
CinemaWAR: Does Mel Gibson have a comeback in his future, or is he done?

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#C2E2

Wow. Chicago’s answer to the San Diego Comic Con, C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) continues to grow and grow, and this year we think it really hit its stride! CinemaJaw was there to promote, record, repeat and boy did we manage to get some pretty cool interviews! Including folks from independant animated films The Silver Circle and Aidan 5, not to mention the guys from The Thin Ice and Faded Pearl and even an interview with the filthyest podcast in Chicago: Doomed City. Topping off our interview list was a personal favorite of both Matt K. and Ry The Movie Guy: CinemaJaw was treated to some time with Noah Hathaway who is best known for his Battlestar Galactica, and Atreyu in Neverending Story roles. Noah joins us to talk about the past, his latest project with Mark Hamill, tattoos and behind the scenes romances on 80’s sitcoms. Man that was cool!

Plus we reached out to the JawHeads at C2E2 and asked: Which Summer Superhero Movie are you Most Excited About? The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, or Dark Knight Rises? The answer will shock you!

Please enjoy our Special C2E2 episode of CinemaJaw, and thanks to all our cool guests! …and now for some gratuitous Con pics.

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I did it my way…

And now… the end is near. And so I face… The Final Curtain. As you may have guessed by now, this week on CinemaJaw we are discussing the Best Endings in film. The ending is potentially the most important part of any good story. It is the final thought or feeling conveyed and can sum up what the film is about, or destroy what had been a great film up to then. Ry the Movie Guy likes to call it, the finish line. Does a film have that follow though to leave you quoting Keanu Reeves: “…Woah…”? We decided to find out which films have the best endings of all. Don’t worry fans, we are NOT doing this episode because CinemaJaw is ending or anything like that, but now that we think of it… when we do say goodbye (a long, long… LONG time from now), perhaps we will revisit this.

Our gracious guests on this episode are a couple of fine comedians here in Chicago, and fellow podcasters of the Somebody and Me Podcast: Pat and Rob. These guys were kind enough to have us on their awesome podcast, so it was high time to return the favor as best we can and have them on the Jaw!  The Somebody and Me guys join us for the whole episode and throw thier favorite endings into the mix. In addition to the above, all of your weekly fix of segments are here: I for an I, Trivia, Headlines and more! It’s chock full of crunchy CinemaChunks. Yum!

End of line…

I for an I: The Three Stooges
Reviewed This Episode: Mirror Mirror
CinemaWAR: Is the Total Recall remake ok?

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Smile… You’re on Candid Camera!

Throughout the years a particularly haunting genre of film has resurfaced time and time again, most recently with The Hunger Games… Dystopian Films. Usually a subgenre of Science Fiction, dystopian Films typically depict a demoralized, dehumanized and subjugated society. Obviously themes vary wildly from entry to entry, but we here at CinemaJaw find these movies to be some of the most thought-provoking, harrowing, and beautiful films out there. So this week we will all choose our top 5. And to fight this fight we need a hero (or a guest). A man with no fear, a revolutionary, a renascence man… But we got Jonathan Fin.

Of course we kid. Jonathan is all those things listed above and more. He is a stand-up comedian, a filmmaker, a musician, a writer and a radio host. He truly is Chicago’s own renascence man and one of the most creative spirits that we’ve had on the show! So with Jonathan’s help we plunge into the dark void of dystopia. Pray we make it out alive… and not drunk.

To protect us on our journey are the ever present and tried-and-true segments: I for and I, Hollywood Headlines, CinemaWAR, Reviews, Trivia and a whole lot more. This episode is your mandatory medication, and remember… CinemaJaw is watching you…

I for an I: American Reunion
Reviewed This Episode: The Hunger Games, The Muppets
CinemaWAR: Is Titanic a good film? or over hyped?

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Woooo!

We have to admit it, we are a little out of our element when discussing the great John Woo. A beloved filmmaker from the East with legions of fans… two of which do not host this podcast. DON’T GET US WRONG! We do enjoy Mr. Woo’s films and we respect his work, but we are no experts on the topic. Good thing we have an ace in the hole to help us.

Enter Mr. Collin A. Bullock. Chicago Stand-up Comedian and Podcaster extraordinaire! Collin is a HUGE fan of the Woo! In fact, it was he that suggested the topic, and since we love to get out of our comfort zone here on CinemaJaw… we bit. As has become tradition on our “In Depth” episodes, we go round robin on Woo’s Best, Worst, and Most Underrated films. As well as discussing the man in general. We also talk to Collin about his podcast, play some trivia, read some headlines and debate a CinemaWAR! Its jam packed with Wooey goodness! Take a listen, will ya?

I for an I: Mirror Mirror, Wrath of the Titans
Reviewed This Episode: 13 Assassins, Puss In Boots
CinemaWAR: Is Jonah Hill an A-List actor or not?

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I am Jack’s movies podcast.

Conflict, troth, engagement, scrap, scuffle, fistacuffs… fighting. In fact, no story is a good story without strife of some kind. It’s the backbone of the three act structure. Conflict, resolution. Repeat if necessary. This week on CinemaJaw, in honor of our hockey loving guest and Chicago media personality, Pogo (Q101, Metromix TV), we explore the very best fight scenes in film. In our humble opinions. Don’t like it? You want some of this??

The boys also throw down the usual power-play segments while other podcasts just simmer in the penalty box: I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia, Hollywood Headlines, Reviews and a whole lot more! Come get some!

I for an I: Hunger Games
Reviewed This Episode: Take Shelter, Waste Land
CinemaWAR: Which is a better dystopian future film, The Matrix or Blade Runner?

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Now Streamin on Egen.Tv

Ok, Let’s get this out of the way… For the next few episodes at least, and possibly permanently, we are now recording LIVE before CAMERAS on EGen.Tv. This is episode is our first one in the new(?) space and there will be some growing pains. That being said, we think this episode turned out just perfect. We would VERY MUCH like to get your feedback on these next several episodes. What do you like, what could we do different or better, etc. Please do that by contacting us at MattAndRy[at]CinemaJaw[dot]com. We also hope you like looking at our ugly mugs. You can now watch CinemaJaw LIVE every Tuesday night at 8:30pm Chicago time at THIS LINK! Log in for free and tell us how our hair looks! We will also have links to downloadable video episodes SOON!

So in honor of our television debut, and 21 Jump Street coming up in theaters we decided we would take a look at The Best Movies Based on TV Shows. Who better to join us with all this new stuff going on than our go-to guy, Mr. Charles Klein! Its great to have Chuck on again as we forge ahead into new territory. Of course no CinemaJaw would be complete without CinemaWAR, I for an I, Hollywood Headlines, The CinemaJaw Movie Fact, and a whole lot of news and reviews! We even go Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, or some such nonsense. Its JAWTASTIC!

I for an I: 21 Jump Street
Reviewed This Episode: Undefeated, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Lorax, Tower Heist
CinemaWAR: Is the Hunger Games Over Hyped, or Will it be the Next Big Franchise?

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Streep.

Meryl Streep is clearly one of the most talented actors of our generation, and possibly of all time. Having just won what was probably the most talked about Oscar of this last season, Matt K and Ry The Movie Guy decided that it was time to tackle this overdue “In Depth” look at her amazing career. Specifically her Best, Worst and Most Underrated films. There is no doubt that Meryl is a national treasure and someone who we will be talking about, and being entertained by for many generations to come.

But, don’t worry. We’re not going all artsy fartsy on you. This episode also features CinemaWAR, I for an I, Trivia with front bar victims Danny and Vivki, and a whole lot more! Streep… Just had to say it one more time.

I for an I: John Carter
Reviewed This Episode: Pina, The Way,
CinemaWAR: What is the Better Mars Movie? Mars Attacks or Total Recal
Sponsor: Want to see unlimited movies at the theaters for one low price? You need MoviePass! Make sure to use promo code “CinemaJaw” for $15 off!

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He calls himself Deepthroat…

Since 2012 is an election year we decided to rock the political landscape. No we are not running for president…yet. We are talking about Political Movies. There is nothing quite as thrilling as the high drama of a good political film. Some of the best movies of all time fall into this category and it was high time that CinemaJaw go on the campaign trail and cover the best ones.

To join us on this noble mission we got none other than Inside The Squared Circle, and eGenTV host Frankie Rodriguez! Frankie joins us for the whole episode and we get down to some searius politickin’. Take a listen!

I for an I: The Lorax
Reviewed This Episode: Rampart, Dark Days, Sarah’s Key
CinemaWAR: Excited for the Spider-Man reboot? Or is it too soon?
Sponsor: Want to see unlimited movies at the theaters for one low price? You need MoviePass! Make sure to use promo code “CinemaJaw” for $15 off!

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