Dragon at the Movies

Episode 88 - Braveheart

Dragon on the couch: The Dragon watched 10 (HBO), a 70s "raunchy" comedy featuring Bo Derek in cornrows, which she thought was ok but is very of its time. She saw After Yang (Hulu), a new A24 quiet, hard sci-fi movie that she enjoyed. The Dragon ventured out to the theatre to see The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Theatres), the Nic Cage movie where he plays Nic Cage, which she thought was just alright and wanted something more meta out of it. Finally, she watched Green Room (Showtime), the 2015 intense thriller starring Anton Yelchin that she highly, highly recommends.

Berto on the Bed: Berto went out to the theatre to see The Northman (theater), which he very successfully pitched to the Dragon as a thicc boi epic. At home he watched Choose or Die (Netflix), a horror movie based on an early video game that he thought was ok. Berto then watched The Hallow (Shudder), a woods-based horror movie that again, he felt was ok but did not stick the landing. He watched Triangle (Shudder), a decent psychological horror movie that he felt was almost good. Berto also saw two Joe Bob Briggs episodes, Spookies (Shudder) a movie so bad it's good, and Castle Freak (Shudder), a movie that was mashed together and makes no sense. Lastly, Berto and the Dragon both highly recommend the Japanese show Old Enough (Netflix), which has incredibly wholesome mini 10-15 minute episodes where small children run errands.

 

This week's deep dive is the 1995 epic Braveheart, currently streaming on Prime.

Episode 87 - Shiva Baby

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched the miniseries The Dropout (Hulu) about Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal. She enjoyed it a lot, especially the acting and highly recommends it. Next, she watched Caligula (not streaming), a highly sexualized film about the ancient Roman emperor. She hated it and found it to be extremely boring. She went to the theatre and saw Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Theaters), the next instalment in the Harry Potter universe. She didn’t have much interest in the film and found it to be boring. Finally, in her Joe Bob Briggs segment, the Dragon watched Frankenhooker (shudder), which she describes as “exactly what it sounds like”, and she found it fun and enjoyable.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched The Censor (Hulu), a horror film about a British film censor in the 1980’s, Berto found it to be a decent horror film. Next, he watched the sitcom Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell (HBO), about Hell being run in a corporate structure. Berto found the first season to be meh, but found the next 3 to be very funny. Next, he watched Morbius (Theater), a superhero film about a vampire. Berto found it to be really bad, stupid, and highly suggests people skip it altogether. Next, Berto watched The Empty Man (HBO), a horror film about a cult. He thought it was good and enjoyed it. Finally, Berto watched The Watchmen (Hulu), the movie based on the comic classic. He said visually it was brilliant, but the movie would have been better suited as a miniseries, and with a director who understood the original text.

 

In this week’s deep dive we watched the 2020 comedy Shiva Baby, currently streaming on HBO Max.

Episode 86 - The Last Dragon

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon starts this week in Joe Bob Briggs corner with Gator Bait (Shudder), a 70’s revenge slasher that she really enjoyed and found to be fun. Next, she watched Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie (rent), a nice documentary about two best friends with down syndrome making a movie. She loved it and thought it was uplifting. The Dragon also watched Hands on a Hard Body (rent), a documentary about an endurance competition for a truck in Texas. She thought it was a lot of fun and filled with very colorful characters. Finally, The Dragon watched Darkman (rent), a 90’s superhero film made by Sam Rami that she thought was a typical Sam Rami fun movie and more enjoyable than she expected.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto went to the theater to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once (Theater), a film so complex he couldn’t explain it. He absolutely loved it and thought it was such a great experience. Next, Berto saw Titane (Hulu), a film he thought was good and interesting, but ultimately felt like two films without a through line. Next, he watched Riders of Justice (Hulu), a Danish revenge film starring Mads Mikkelsen. Berto and the Dragon both loved it and thought it was one of last year’s best films. Next, Berto watched Infinity Chamber (Prime), a sci/fi thriller which Berto thought was a good 40 minute idea, but was a bit boring as it was stretched out.

 

This week’s deep dive is the 1985 martial arts film The Last Dragon, currently streaming on HBO Max.

Episode 85 - Fargo

Dragon on the Couch: The Dragon went to the theatre this week and saw the newest A24 film Everything Everywhere All At Once (Theatres) and absolutely loved it. She then took a hard left turn and watched the The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs episode on Ice Cream Man (Shudder), which she thinks is a fun 90s B-movie slasher starring Clint Howard. She then ventured out to Spectacle Theatre once again and saw the 1989 Robert Englund film Phantom of the Opera (Pluto TV), which she thought was ok but much too long. Finally, she saw A Woman's Torment, a 70s rated X slasher she thought was good if you are into very specific niche horror. She watched it along with a podcast called Twitch of the Death Nerve, which she recommends.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched the show Murderville (Netflix), which has a fun premise of a show that is completely scripted for all but one actor, who needs to figure things out as they go. Both Berto and The Dragon really enjoyed the show. Next, Berto watched the movie Stone Cold (YouTube), the platonic ideal of a 90s action movie that he really enjoyed, mostly for the mullet. Staying in the action genre, he watched The Losers (HBO), a DC movie with a great cast that he liked. Berto saw the Mike Flanagan film Hush (Netflix), which he thought was pretty good. And finally, he saw Johan Hex (HBO), another movie based on a comic that he cautioned is very, very bad.

 

This week's deep dive was the 1996 Coen brothers' classic Fargo, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Episode 84 - A Hero

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon decided to have an 80’s week, she started watching Silver Bullet (Paramount +), a Stephen King adapted horror film. She felt it was a fun watch. Next, the Dragon watched Angel (Shudder), a film about a high school student who is also a prostitute as a serial killer is on the loose. She felt it was a really good movie and suggests people watch it, especially as seen in the Last Drive In episode. Next, the Dragon watched The Gate (Tubi), about a group of children who discover a hole in their backyard that unleashes demonic creatures. She really enjoyed this movie and was surprised the effects held up. Finally, the Dragon watched Crimewave (Tubi), an early Sam Rami crime horror film she also really enjoyed.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched Ascension (Paramount +), a documentary about work life in China. Berto thought it was interesting, but was hoping for more about the day to day life of the people in China. Next, Berto watched Book of Eli (HBO), a post-apocalyptic film starring Denzel Washington. He thought it was ok, but the two main actors were very good in it. Finally, Berto talked about finishing Hannibal (Hulu), the TV series about Hannibal Lector and his work with the FBI prior to the books/films. Berto thought the first season was amazing and then it became an artistic series that he found boring and frustrating.

 

This week’s deep dive is the 2021 Iranian drama A Hero, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Episode 83 - Heathers

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched Annette (Prime), a musical with an opening sequence she loved but which she did not enjoy after that. Next, the Dragon watched Rawhead Rex (Shudder), an Irish film from the 80’s that she enjoyed as a fun, dumb monster movie. Finally, the Dragon went to the theater to watch X (theaters), which Berto happened to have also watched. They both thought it was fine and a decent throwback to the slashers of the late 70’s, but were expecting a little more from the killers.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Tubi), which he thought was better than the 2^nd film, but was still very bad. Next Berto watched Sweatshop (Tubi), a film he said was a throwback to mid-80’s slashers. He didn’t think it was good, but appreciated what they were trying to achieve. Next, Berto watched Bliss (Shudder), a movie that compares a woman becoming a vampire to drug addiction, he felt it was a decent film. Next, Berto watched Kill Chain (Prime) an anthology crime film about a series of kills, which he thought was decent. Next, Berto watched Shattered (Tubi), a movie about a man who is in an accident and has amnesia, and as the movie progresses, it gets increasingly crazier. Berto thought it was a crazy movie and was so bad it was good. Finally, he watched The Tinder Swindler (Netflix), a documentary about a con artist on Tinder which he thought was good and well made.

 

This week's deep dive is the 1989 dark comedy Heathers, currently steaming on Amazon Prime.

Episode 82 - Meander

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched The Last Duel (HBO), which she didn’t expect to enjoy, but wound up loving it, especially in how it tells the story. Next, the Dragon watched Lamb (Rent), an A24 film that both Berto and her agreed had nothing to say, but they enjoyed. The Dragon watched Turning Red (Disney +), a new Pixar film about a girl who turns into a red panda; the Dragon really enjoyed it and felt it was a great depiction of a girl going through puberty. Next, she watched the Spanish film Parallel Mothers (Rent), about two women who gave birth in the same room, which she enjoyed but felt it was a little like a soap opera. Finally, the Dragon watched Tiny Tim: King for a Day (Kanopy), a documentary about a little known musician that she enjoyed.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched In the Line of Fire (Netflix), which he described as a good action-thriller/dad movie. Next, he watched Pig (Hulu) and felt it was slow and weird, but he really enjoyed it. Next, Berto watched The Dark Knight (HBO/Netflix), he thought it was great and he really enjoyed how the Nolan Batman films have deep themes. Next, Berto watched the French horror film Inside (Shudder), which he enjoyed but acknowledges it’s cartoonish in its blood and gore. Berto watched The Adam Project (Netflix), which he thought was a good action film and he enjoyed Ryan Reynolds doing his typical comedic action movie role. Berto also watched Eli (Netflix), which started as a ghost horror film, but has a few twists that he thought were good and unexpected. Finally Berto watched Starship Troopers 2: Hero of The Federation (HBO), which he found to be bad and trite and had nothing to do with the original movie.

 

This week’s deep dive was the 2020 sci-fi film Meander, currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Episode 81- Blood Simple

**Spoiler warning for The Batman around the 26 minute mark. 

 

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched Red Rocket (Rent), a dramedy about a man returning to his hometown which she really enjoyed, as she does with all of the films A24 seems to put out. She also watched the 2022 Oscar nominated animated shorts (Theaters) which she generally enjoyed. Next, she watched Flee (Hulu), an animated documentary about an Afghan refugee that she really enjoyed and highly recommends. She also watched C’mom C’mom (Rent), a drama about a man spending time with his nephew which she really liked despite it not being a film she would have normally chosen. Lastly, she watched The Batman (Theaters) which Berto also watched and they both agree had aspects they really liked but also that was entirely too long.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched The French Dispatch (HBO), which he describes as being very visually exciting but had very bad and boring stories. Next, Berto watched Free Guy (HBO), a comedy about a sentient video game character that he thought was very enjoyable. Berto also watched The Power Of The Dog (Netflix), a western which he found to be too slow paced and boring. Finally, in his lightning round, Berto watched House of 9 (Prime) which he found boring, Dancin’ It’s On! (Prime) which he thought was awful, but couldn’t look away, and The Night Watchmen (Hulu), a horror-comedy he thought was funny and well done.

 

In this week’s deep dive we watched the 1984 crime thriller Blood Simple, currently streaming on HBO. 

Episode 80 - Double Team

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched Ascension (Paramount +) an unnarrated documentary about life in China, which she found very interesting and enjoyed. Next, she watched Werewolves Within (Showtime) a comedy/horror film she thought was very good and highly recommends. Next, the Dragon watched Belle (Theaters), a modern day anime take on Beauty and The Beast featuring a dragon, she thought it was fine, just not a genre she enjoys. She also saw Kimi (HBO), a movie that reminded her of Rear Window that she thought was okay. Next, the Dragon saw About Endlessness (Hulu), a Swedish drama/arty indie movie she genuinely enjoyed. Finally, The Dragon watched Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City (Rent), a film she agreed with Berto about being ok and easily forgettable.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched Uncharted (Theaters), which he described as Indian Jones without caring about the characters; he thought it was very boring and bad. Next, he watched the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Netflix), he thought it was very boring with no real idea of what it was doing. Next, Berto watched Peacemaker (HBO), which he thought was a lot of fun and very well written. He also watched the first season of Hannibal (Hulu) which he thought was good and interesting. Next, Berto watched Stealth (Hulu), a bad 2000’s action film filled with tropes that was bad. Finally, Berto watched Escape Room (2017) (Tubi), which he thought was bad, but found it interesting that escape rooms seem to be a common theme in horror films.

 

In this week’s deep dive we watched the 1997 action film Double Team, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Episode 79 - Palm Springs

Dragon on The Couch: The Dragon watched Nine Days (Starz/Rent), which she went in not knowing anything about and really enjoyed. She next watched The Tinder Swindler (Netflix), which she felt was good, but she is burnt out of con artist true crime documentaries. Next, The Dragon watched The Worst Person in The World (Theaters), a Norwegian film that she loved. The Dragon then watched The Sparks Brothers (Netflix), an Edgar Wright documentary about a (sort of) little known band that has been extremely influential. Next, the Dragon watched Spencer (Hulu), a movie about Princess Diana which the Dragon just found boring. She watched The Eyes of Tammy Faye (HBO), a film that she really enjoyed and thought the acting was great, and felt it had a very sympathetic portrayal of Tammy Faye. Finally, The Dragon watched The Night House (Rent) a film she really enjoyed, but not as much as Berto did.

 

Berto on the Bed: Berto watched Transformers: Age of Extinction (Paramount +), a film he really hated but that had small set pieces he enjoyed, however it went on far too long and had mindlessly bad action scenes. Next he watched Transformers: The Last Knight (Paramount +), a film which he found slightly better than the previous one, but was still too long with really bad action scenes. Next, Berto watched Moonfall (Theater), a movie he thought was really bad, until the last 30 minutes, when it goes utterly insane and made him excited for what they attempted. Next, he watched Munich: Edge of War (Netflix) which he found to be a very good “dad movie” about the Munich accords in 1938. Berto also watched Mars Attacks (Netflix), a movie he had seen when it came out and hated, but now was able to enjoy what it was trying to make fun of. Finally, Berto watched Killing Me Softly (Tubi) which he said was a bad 90’s sexy thriller, boring, and the ending made zero sense.

 

This week's deep dive was the 2020 rom-com Palm Springs, currently streaming on Hulu.