Big Ben.

Ben Affleck has had a tumultuous career to say the least. Battles with girlfriends, alcohol, and poor acting choices. On the other hand, he burst onto the scene with a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and has been in some of the most successful movies of all time. With Ben, it truly is a mixed bag. At this point, fresh of a Best Picture Oscar win for Argo, his Directing talent can not be denied. That is why this week on CinemaJaw Matt K. and Ry The Movie Guy go In Depth on this Hollywood legend in the making. By taking a look at his Best, Worst and Most Underrated films we hope to get a clearer picture of Where Ben’s taking us.

Aside from Ben Affleck, we have some awesome segments: I for an I, CinemaWAR and the brand new MovieWed Game, and a whole lot more! Its Oscar Worthy!

Reviewed This Episode: Seven Psychopaths, Magic Mike, The Invisible War
I for an I: Oz the Great And Powerful
Jaw 101: James Franco

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Adventure? Heh. Excitement? Huf. a Jedi craves not these things…

Bust out your treasure maps and be on the look out for booby traps because this week on CinemaJaw we undertake an epic quest for adventure! Adventure Movies that is. Now Matt and Ry know how to buckle some swash, but these intrepid movie adventurers need to meet their proverbial Yoda.

Enter Matt Kelly and Joe Dejulius of hit web series Hank Frisco: Galaxy Defender. These Frisco boys certainly know a thing or two about adventure, having crafted a hilarious high quality DIY space adventure episodic that would give the Ice Pirates ship envy. With thier help, CinemaJaw deturmines the difference between Action and Adventure, and names thier top 5 of the genre.

Also ever present are the adventurous segments: I for an I, CinemaWAR and many many more.

Keep your whip and six-gun handy. Fortune and glory are near.

Reviewed This Episode: After Porn Ends, How to Survive a Plague, Paranorman
I for an I: Stoker
CinemaWAR: Is James Franco a quality actor, or a lucky pothead?
Trivia: Nicole Kidman Movie Trivia

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I’m Mad As Hell and I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore!

Journalism: A word synonymous with freedom, integrity, and celebrity gossip. Since the invention of the printing press we have used the written word to spread our messages and let them know the news. Journalism is as important a profession as any, and at it’s best the media is an important watchdog in our society. But we like the movies section. So, we are covering our Top 5 Journalism Movies!

We need a reporter to help us. One with gumption, moxie, one who runs the entire ChicagoNow blog network for the Chicago Tribune Media Group, one who’s a regular Chicago RedEye contributor since it’s inception, One who wrote the book “100 Things Cubs Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die“, one like the incomparable Jimmy Greenfield. So it’s a good thing that his schedule was open!

Jimmy joins this entire episode as we talk media, journalism, movies, chicago, Cubs/Sox, Bruce Willis and a whole lot more. Plus all the usual segments you’ve come to love: I for an I, CinemaWAR, Trivia, and a whole slew of reviews.

No Comment…

Also at the top of this episode is our interview with Ben Gleib and Angie Greenup of the Oscars Road Trip! Yes that is a REAL Oscar below! Special thanks to Angie and Ben for being gracious enough to let us hold Oscar and granting an interview. We think it turned out well!

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Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor.

Medicine and movies have gone hand in hand since the dawn of the medium. We all want to know what those people in white are thinking, the pressures they face, and the romances they pursue. From funny to gory, the Medical genre spans all. That’s why this week on CinemaJaw we grab the rib spreaders and go surgical on the best Medical Movies!

We are going to need a man with a steady hand, someone who’s scalpel like taste in film can dissect this patient. Welcome Nelson Carvajal,  an independent digital filmmaker, writer and content creator. He writes a great blog blog FREE CINEMA NOW , and his video essays for indieWIRE can be found here.  Nelson has been a considerable presence in the emerging new media independent moviemaking arena, sporting a filmography is mainly made up of niche experimental digital shorts.

His video work has been featured in the London Underground Film Festival, the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, the Fractured Lens Video Festival, the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival (CIMM Fest) and the 0110 International Digital Film Festival. In early 2012, Carvajal and fellow underground filmmaker Amir George collaborated on a video installation art show titled “Film Is Dead: Edges of the Digital Frame” which played for an entire month at the I Am Logan Square Art Gallery in Chicago.

Needless to say Nelson scrubs in with us this entire episode. In addition to the Medical Movies, we cover a ton! Trivia, CinemaWAR, J.J. Abrams and much more! So let us suture your wounded ears and give them a podcast worth listening too… STAT!

Reviewed This Episode: Amore, Compliance, Frankenweenie, Special When Lit, Chasing Ghosts, Game Over: Kaspirov and the Machine, Ecstasy of Order
CinemaWAR: Was JJ Abrams a good choice to direct the new Star Wars films?
Trivia: Steven Soderbergh Trivia

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A warning! We DO swear much more than usual in this episode. Be advised.

Profanity, it’s not called “Anti-fanity” for a reason. There are generally two schools of thought on the topic of profanity in media. The first school think that it is highly offensive, and even dangerous, and more that it demonstrates a lack of creativity. We’ve all heard that a potty mouth is a substitution for strong vocabulary skills, the first school touts that argument. In a nut shell, some people don’t like it. However the second school (which we attend here at CinemaJaw) believe that when used correctly profanity, verbal or otherwise, can be truly musical and add tremendously to a story worth telling. Not that it is always easy or fun to imbibe, but storytelling would be crippled without it. It’s not all sunshine and roses out there and it’s up to art to reflect that.

That’s why this week on CinemaJaw we take a look at our Top 5 favorite Profane Movies. These are the films with an F-Bomb count in the triple digits, or the ones that employ a visual or thematic profanity that flies in the face of wheat is generally acceptable in society. We will need an expert in profanity to help us swear up and down, enter the “Queen of Cussin’” herself, Nicole Knepper of the hit blog Mom’s Who Drink and Swear! Nicole and Profanity Consultant buddy Sal will help us buckle through the swash and crawl through a river of shit and come out clean on the other side.

In addition to profanity, you will find us covering some great topics, trivia games, CinemaWAR and a whole lot more. So why the @#$!%& not listen?

I for an I: Bullet to the Head
Reviewed This Episode: Gangster Squad, Game Change
CinemaWAR: Who has had the better career, Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Trivia: Jodie Foster movie trivia

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Subculture. sub·cul·ture noun \?s?b-?k?l-ch?r\1 a : a culture (as of bacteria) derived from another culture, b : an act or instance of producing a subculture, 2: an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society
Put on your scuba because this week on the Jaw we delve deep into those uncharted waters of subculture. Many films have shined a light on many, many subcultures. These heretofore little known subjects are always effected by the attention. Whether a positive or a negative, few (if any) emerge from the spotlights of Hollywood unchanged. Just as the quantum particle, the simple act of observation changes the nature of each subculture, and Hollywood’s and Indiewood’s attention to these walks of life are one of the most fascinating (sub)genre in film!  Many of us were exposed to our very favorite things and passions from films that expose a subculture. From Skateboarding and punk rock to video games and crossword puzzles, there is really only the limit of the human imagination here.

With so many choices, there is bound to be some noise, so CinemaJaw enlists the help of Chicago Filmmakers (in the midst of creating their own subculture film Vannin’) Nick Nummerdor and Andrew Morgan of Little Cabin Films. The Little Cabin guys tell us all about their upcoming projects, and offer up their own top 5 subculture movies list as well. Not only that, but they were kind enough to join us on all of our usual segments and a few unusual ones as well.

Certainly Podcast Listeners and Movie Buffs are their own subcultures, and we thank you for being a part of our little corner of them. VIVA LA JAW!

I for an I: Hansel & Gretel
Reviewed This Episode: Zero Dark Thirty, Total Recall
CinemaWAR: Which third installment will be better Iron Man 3 or Hangover 3?
Trivia: Fairy tale Movie Trivia

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Thanks for the memories!

Ah 2012, what a year for film. We saw sequels, prequels, reboots and even some originals of epic proportion grace the silver screen with their luminosity! Without naming names here, some of the best actors and directors were at the top of their game this past year, and stunning examples of cinema were produced. That is why this week on CinemaJaw we take a look back and choose our favorite films of 2012. Flying solo (as we like to say) we have our engineer Eliaz Rodriguez fill in the guest slot and offer up his opinions on the year and also participate as victim…er uh… CONTESTANT in trivia and judge of CinemaWAR.

But wait! …There’s More! We will also cover our favorite movie quotes, death scenes, and hidden gems of the year as well. How’s that for content?!

So goodbye 2012, we loved the flix. Looking forward to an even better year!

I for an I: Broken City
Reviewed This Episode: Zero Dark Thirty, Queen of Versailles, Django Unchained, This is 40
CinemaWAR: Who got the biggest Oscar Snub this year?

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Rot…

With the phenomenal movie year 2012 behind us we take a look forward at all the great movies coming out in 2013, boy are there some interesting ones! Yes, we will have a slew of remakes, reboots and sequels, but we will also be treated to some great fresh ideas from A-list directors and actors and we could not be more excited about it!

We are also excited to be joined in studio by none other than Dorian and Brant, the team behind the upcoming indie thriller Chicago Rot. The Rotters tell us all about their upcoming film, and what went into making it the love letter to the darker side of Chicago that it is. The Rot guys also brought their list of films of 2013 that get their blood pumps going and we all go round robin.

All that plus JawBox, Trivia, CinemaWAR, Reviews and a while lot more. So goodbye 2012… Hello 2013!

Happy New Year!

I for an I: A Haunted House
Reviewed This Episode: Les Miserables, Rust and Bone, Arbitrage, Premium Rush, Craigslist Joe
CinemaWAR: Who had the bigger break out year, Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Jennifer Lawrence?
Trivia: 2012 Movie Trivia

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Don’t open til Doomsday.

Doomsday, Armageddon, Ragnarok, Judgement Day, The  End. 12-21-12 has come and gone and the Mayans were wrong about the end of time. We here at CinemaJaw are rather pleased about that fact, because we now get to cover our favorite Doomsday movies (we were waiting… just in case)! The annihilation has been covered in films since the dawn of the medium, and the trend continues today. It seems that we are fascinated by what comes after, and a good Doomsday movie is second to none.

We are joined by Renascence Man, Mulit-media artist and comedian extraordinaire: Mr. Jonathan Fin. Jonathan has a whole slew of new projects up his sleeve to tell us about plus he is outfitted with his own top 5 Doomsday Movies.

Jonathan Fin

I for an I: Gangster Squad
Reviewed This Episode: Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, Savages, Thin Ice
CinemaWAR: Was 2012 the Year of the Avengers, or the Year of James Bond?

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Once upon a time…

Careers, like great stories, have a beginning, middle and end. This week on CinemaJaw we are taking a look at the beginning of some of our favorite directors careers as we cover the Best Directorial Debuts!  It was amazing to us how many fantastic movies are made by directors who nailed it right out of the gate. Seriously, there are too many to list in just a top 5 list!

To help us cover this fresh topic, we needed someone with a fresh perspective. Welcome Sam Long. Recent graduate of Tribecca Flashpoint Academy and a winner in the Indie Incubator Film Fest. Sam lends us a fantastic point of view as we delve into the firsts… Best Directorial Debuts.

Also returning are a few new segments: JawBox, CinemaFeud among others. Plus the usual suspects I for an I, Movie Reviews, Trivia and a whole lot more. It is brimming over with CinemaFresh Happiness! Listen:

I for an I: Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty
Reviewed This Episode: Ted, Lawless, Dark Shadows
CinemaWAR: Superman Man of Steel, good idea? Or Leave it Alone?

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