Netflix Book Club

Oh no! Stephen got stuck in Chicago (probably from being all nostalgic for the city these past few weeks after watching Blues Brothers for Episode 24) this week so we are serving up a canned episode for y'all. Episode 27 was an early recording of Netflix Book Club (old theme song and everything!), so disregard the "movie" for next week at the end of the episode. I assure you next week we will bring you a discussion on The Exorcist. For now here's us chatting about In The Loop, a 2009 British comedy centering around the ridiculous bureaucratic environment of international politics. We recorded this about a year ago, but I bet we'd stick with our opinions. I remember this episode being a jokes vs. storyline argument (I think). Anyway, check out the movie and listen to the episode! Head over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com and leave us a comment. Next week! The Exorcist!

Unless you count Bloodsport, Episode 25 is our first children's movie. It's an animated film that's part political drama, part gender studies, and wholly coming of age. That might be a little grandiose. Needless to say there were very few things we agreed on with this movie. Even the animation technique was divisive (hit us up on Twitter and let us know if you're a ones or twos person). Click on over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com and leave us a comment - what makes a good kids movie? Next week is Dennis' pick which means tackling another classic. We'll be talking about The Exorcist. Steel yourselves.

Episode 24, as chosen by KC Arora, is The Grocer's Son. A film that "hits close to his heart" (these were his initial words). It's a quaint little indie film set in Provence, France. Our protagonist Antoine has returned home with a guest in tow to help out with the family business after his father has suffered a heart attack and can no longer fulfill his duties. Riveting, morally shaking stuff here. OK, SO IT'S A DUD. BUT IT'S NOT WITHOUT IT'S MERITS. Listen to the podcast to hear us discuss it's pitfalls as well as it's finer points. Drop by the main page to leave a comment;are we wrong? What should we watch? Catch us next week for our first animated film, The Boxtrolls.

Episode 24 puts to rest a major issue for two of our hosts, Dennis Rooney and KC Arora. We had never seen The Blues Brothers. To make matters worse, we're stand up comedians. KNOW YOUR HISTORY FOLKS. This concept started as a Saturday Night Live sketch, became this film, and still runs around today in various mediums. There's a ridiculous amount of cameos in this, both musical and otherwise. But is all this enough to get a stream it from the crew? Listen to the podcast and find out. Head on over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com, tell us what you think, whether it's what we thought too or we didn't think it at all. Tune in next week where we talk about the mysteriously unrated film The Grocer's Son.

Episode 23 as selected by Stephen is Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, an interesting flick based on the autobiographical memoir of game show creator/host/possible CIA assassin Chuck Barris. This marks the directorial debut of George Clooney, responsible for the excellent casting of Sam Rockwell as our lead Chuck. Sounds like the makings of a blockbuster, no? Listen to the podcast to see if Confessions gets that badge of honor, and if it doesn't, WHY THE HELL NOT? Swing over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com, leave us a comment! Which of us are way off base? Are we all wrong? We wanna hear it. Catch us next week where we return to talk about the comedy classic The Blues Brothers (it's streaming on Netflix, duh. Go watch.)

KC brings us episode 22 with his biblical pick, Darren Aronofsky's 2014 Noah. You know the story already: a man has a vision of a great flood sent from God to wipe the Earth clean, and he is to build an ark to protect the innocent (read as: animals). Super exciting stuff, right? Right? I mean Russel Crowe is in it and it's directed by the Pi/Black Swan/Requiem guy so it's gotta be good...right? Listen in and see how the boys weigh in, there are some surprising views on this one. Head over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com to leave us a comment/suggestion for a pick. Next week swings back Stephen's way with his pick Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Episode 21 is Dennis' pick - a documentary produced and directed by Mike Myers about a long time friend of his: Shep Gordon. The movie is called Supermensch - mensch being a yiddish term for someone of great and noble character. This dude-man has been a talent manager since the late 60's, he's worked with every celebrity you can think of, and everybody loves him. Why? How could anybody be so likable? Watch the movie to find out and listen to us talk about ol' Shep, whether there's more to his story, and why Mike Myers even made this movie. Oh, it's another blockbuster too. Hit up the main site at www.flixbookclub.com to leave us a comment or a suggestion. Tune in next week where we return to fiction (sorta?) by talking about Darren Aronofsky's Noah.

Are you happy with the car you drive? Is vehicular safety your number one concern in life? Do you love sales? Well then episode 20 is for you - Bulletproof Salesman, a documentary about a self admitted war profiteer in the business of selling armored vehicles. This documentary marks yet another blockbuster selection from our friend Stephen here at The Flix Book Club. It's only a little more than an hour long and stars maybe the most charming German fellow you've ever conducted a pseudo arms deal with: Fidelis Cloer. Check out the main page over at www.flixbookclub.com and leave us a comment - what'd you think? Is this dude horrible or just a cold German businessman? Tune in next week where we watch and discuss a documentary about a very different but equally notorious individual titled Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.

For episode 19 KC chose the 2014 reboot of the 1987 Robocop, which takes place in 2028. 867-5309. Holy Christ! This movie is packed with big names: Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, hell I'll even throw in Jay Baruchel and Abbie Cornish. Also some dude I've never heard of plays Robocop, which is fitting, as I'd never seen the original film (this is written by Dennis). Listen to the episode to hear our thoughts on why some films just need an R rating and what exactly "character development" entails. Shoot over to the main page at www.flixbookclub.com and leave us a comment! What'd you think? Got a recommendation? Check out Bulletproof Salesman streaming on Netflix to get a head start on next week's episode.

Listen up Flix folk: we have an irregular episode today because life is crazy sometimes. Like when you're Jewish but you hate Jewish people. We'll get to that in a minute though! OK, so if you watched the Robocop reboot don't worry; we'll be back next Wednesday to talk about it. But for now! Here's an early episode of The Flix Book Club with the original theme song and name! SOAK IT IN. The movie we talk about is called The Believer - one of Ryan Gosling's earliest films, it shows the story of a self-hating Jewish man coming to grips with who he is. Comments should be directed towards the main site www.flixbookclub.com, (complaints to flixbookclub@gmail.com) let us know what you thought, who you agree with, or whether you think it's #streamit quality or #dontstreamit rubbish. Next week we're back to our regularly scheduled programming to talk about Robocop (2014).