Crespodiso Spillover Episode – Sloppy Seconds

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS

MEME2016-08-02-03-27-19

In this week’s Crespodiso Spillover bonus episode, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn talk about:

– Sicario 2

– Lockout officially ripped off Escape From New York

– Why the Robocop remake sucked

– Jeff Bridges and John Turturro are pushing for more Big Lebowski movies

– Get Shorty the tv series

– No Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II

– Updates on the next two Avengers films
Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Bad Teacher’

bad_teacherThere are two types of crude humor usually employed in R-rated comedies these days. There’s the disgusting gross out humor, you know, the poopy-related stuff usually found in your typical Farrelly brothers film or any number of urine or toilet based Austin Powers gags. And then there’s the more sex-based crude humor, which involves jokes about oral sex and saying “tits” a lot, and the latter is where “Bad Teacher” traffics. What happens when you take a person pretty much unqualified to teach and put them in a room full of kids? Well, hilarity, for the most part.

In “Bad Teacher” we have Cameron Diaz going back to her comedy roots (lest we forget her star making roles in “The Mask” and “There’s Something About Mary“) and playing Elizabeth Halsey, a gold digger who took a teaching job only so she could skate by and focus on planning her wedding with her well off fiancé instead. But when the wedding falls through, she finds herself stuck in the school, struggling to get by and on the search for another wealthy guy to “take care of her.”Continue Reading …

Review: ‘A Better Life’

ABetterLife_PosterIt is said that there are seven basic types of stories, and all movies (and books and short films, etc.) are comprised of any mixture of these story types; basically, there’s nothing new under the sun, and we’ve seen it all before. When someone sets out to tell a strong yet simple tale, it is easy to recall all of the other similar stories we’ve already seen and heard. So what can be done to overcome this inherent problem in the millennia-old tradition of storytelling? How can a story set itself apart from the myriad of similar stories that have come before it?

How about with some confident direction and strong writing? Sounds easy enough right? But if it was easy, how come we don’t have more good movies? Movies like “A Better Life,” which tells the story of an illegal immigrant named Carlos (Demián Bichir, Che) who is raising a teenaged son all by himself in Los Angeles, and his story is one of struggle, that’s for sure. This guy just keeps his head down and works his landscaping job, but the incredibly long hours keep him from being able to do anything with his son Luis (José Julián), who is getting his life lessons from the local thugs and street gangs and is on the verge of joining up with them himself.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 8/1/16 – ‘The Big Short’

TheBigShort_MoviePosterAs heard in episode 186 of Cinema Crespodiso.

“The Big Short” was one of the surprise movies of 2015, an ensemble drama with streaks of dark comedy slashed throughout it, focusing on the lead up to the big financial meltdown of 2007 and 2008 triggered by the subprime loan market and investors betting against bad mortgages, brought to life by the director of “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and right when no one was looking, BAM, this thing came out with a wallop, making an impression by telling a complicated story in an entertaining and accessible fashion and also doing so with not only humor but a sense of righteous anger at those many people responsible for letting such a good thing turn into such a nightmarish shit show.

Of course, since we are talking about Adam McKay we should remember he also directed “The Other Guys,” a movie in which the ultimate villain was a “Too Big To Fail” bank that didn’t pay for its crimes while some fall guy took the blame, and then the final credits are used to make a presentation on the rising income and wealth inequality in America. So in hindsight the trajectory makes sense.Continue Reading …

#186 – Handsome Drew and the Lemonheads

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS

Episode186_handsomeDrewAndTheLemonheads

In episode 185, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review Jason Bourne.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is The Big Short.

Dr. Drew gives his two cents on seeing Suicide Squad.

Billy D reviews Black Mountainside.

The Crespodisco features two songs from the Jason Bourne original soundtrack.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Jason Bourne’

JasonBourne_MoviePoster“Jason Bourne” brings back Jason Bourne, the American anti-Bond, the 21st century of a spy movie hero, broken by the Powers That Be and constantly seeking answers in a dark and murky world of dubious morals and ethics, fighting not against foreign enemies but instead against the system that birthed him, dissatisfied with what he has become, with a need to blame someone and his aim always shifting to different targets until he finds what he’s looking for. Which of course leads to more questions. And then more searching. Almost as if…it will just go on forever? Meaninglessly?

When “The Bourne Ultimatum” ended back in 2007, it felt like a solid wrap up for the story of regular guy turned incredible super agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), as he got most of his answers he was looking for and then escaped the system with his life, his future unknown but at least free in a way of what these shady government programs made him. And yet almost ten years later Jason Bourne is back on movie screens, this time because “there’s a new program” that he apparently needs to be made aware of, and there is also a link to his father in these spy programs, and I am pretty sure in four movies this is the first time his parents are mentioned in any way, shape or form, so of course it feels contrived and kind of hacky.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 7/25/16 – ‘Eyes Wide Shut’

Eyes_Wide_Shut_posterAs heard in episode 185 of Cinema Crespodiso.

“Eyes Wide Shut” is the final masterpiece from history’s greatest filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick. High praise indeed, but well deserved. The 1990s saw a bit of a boom in sexual thrillers in mainstream cinema, but instead of going the trashy route like most movies of the time (see: “Basic Instinct,” “Sliver,” “Rising Sun,” “Striptease,” “Showgirls” and so on), Kubrick delivered a movie more interested in the psychological ramifications of a man confronted with cracks in his marriage and seeking out sexual solace in the dark underground of New York City, accidentally stumbling across a secret society that wants very much to remain secret, due to all the creepy shit they get into.

And being a 90s movie, “Eyes Wide Shut” retains those classic Kubrickian touches, the shot compositions and visual storytelling, but gets to feature a movie star couple in the form of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, together at the time in real life, hence bringing that real emotion into their roles, and it all works really well. Continue Reading …

#185 – The Notorious ADT

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS

Episode185_TheNotoriousADT

In episode 185, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn are joined by returning guest Amy Drew Thomspon from AmyDrewThompson.com.

Chris and Drew review Star Trek Beyond and Amy Drew reviews The Secret Life of Pets and Ghostbusters.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is Eyes Wide Shut.

Dr. Drew gives his two cents on being careful what you wish for.

Billy D reviews a Guns and Roses concert and Stranger Things on Netflix.

The Crespodisco features the main theme from Star Trek Beyond.
Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Star Trek Beyond’

star-trek-beyond-movie-poster“Star Trek Beyond” is the third Star Trek movie with this particular iteration of the original crew of the USS Enterprise (quite possibly one of the most famous fake vehicles ever), which started with the 2009 reboot “Star Trek,” a reimagining of these iconic characters as younger and less experiences, embarking on their first missions, tested immediately by evil space forces of various sorts, bringing them closer together as a crew, etc. etc., you know the drill. If you aren’t on board with these movies by now, this one is not likely to change your mind.

On the flip side, if you do like these movies, you’ll likely really dig this newest installment because it is simultaneously a fun movie while also having some big stakes and featuring a villain, despite being a bad guy, still makes some sense when he discusses his reasoning for his actions. There are jokes, action scenes, a bit of a plot twist, and it all looks pretty, which all comes together to make for a fine piece of summer entertainment.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 7/18/16 – ‘Best of Enemies’

best_of_enemies_ver2As heard in episode 184 of Cinema Crespodiso.

“Best Of Enemies” is a documentary about a two-week series of televised debated staged around the 1968 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and these debates were between two thought leaders of the era – National Review founder and right wing commentator and author William F. Buckley Jr., and left wing commentator and author of books and essays Gore Vidal. These two men had seemingly diametrically opposed ideologies as well as similar capacities for oration, and these debates quickly became must see television during a time before “must see television” was even a phrase people used, and also ended up having a much more significant impact on television news media than anyone could have ever anticipated.

And best of all, this documentary is super entertaining to watch thanks to great editing of all that 1968 footage and how they really developed and explained the political and cultural climate at the time, one that people will find seems quite similar to what we have going on right now.Continue Reading …