jeromecusson

Pantheon Plus – Tournament Edition: Bloodsport

Jerome and Brian discuss the 1988 cult classic starring Jean Claude Van Damme and featuring a try hard performance from Forest Whitaker. The duo discusses why the movie is good and why it’s worth watching. Hint: It’s because of the action.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: MOVIES!

2020 changed the way we see movies. There are a lot of aspects to the year which are important, like the government abandoning Americans who can’t pay rent and are at risk for going hungry, but I don’t have the bandwidth to discuss that. What I do discuss is movies and television shows to keep my sanity. I like to rank all the movies I’ve seen in a given year. It’s something I’ve done the last two years, but it doesn’t seem nearly as interesting this year with so many other Oscar contenders coming out in 2021 and blockbusters being pushed to 2021 with very exceptions. I did decide to complete a top 50 but include television shows and movies as well. There were still some excellent films that came out in 2020, and I will honor 17 of them right here.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: Television Shows

It’s pretty wild to think about the year in television for 2020. There were a lot of concerns about the content pipeline drying up, and it ultimately never did. Most likely, this is capitalism at its worst, but there were also a number of projects completed or nearly completed before the pandemic started. This was a solid movie year under the circumstances but a spectacular year for television. I have 24 shows on this list, and they represent the gambit (pun not intended) of broadcast, cable, premium, and at least five different streaming services. One show even jumped from one streaming service to another.

Pantheon Plus – Tournament Edition: Enter the Dragon

John Saxon, friend and student of Bruce Lee, and co-star in 'Enter the Dragon' dies at 83 | South China Morning Post

Jerome and Brian examine Bruce Lee’s finest and most important work, Enter the Dragon. They examine his history, his unfortunate passing, and the greatness of this film.

Jerome’s Top 50 of 2020: Docuseries and Documentaries

Discussing 2020 as a terrible year is almost a cliché at this point. If it’s possible for opinions to be subjective, then saying 2020 was bad would be a truth. However, there were some excellent examples of visual media. Hopefully, these projects have served as a distraction to those who have needed it, but they should never make us forget the realities of what it means to be a citizen of the world. Many of these top 50 do so in subtle and not so subtle ways. Today, I’ll focus on some documentaries and docu series. Tomorrow will be television shows. Thursday I’ll end with movies.

The Superhero Pantheon: Watchmen (2019) & Wonder Woman 1984

Jerome and Brian come back to superheroes for an end of the year special as they discuss HBO’s huge Watchmen adaptation that takes its cues from the graphic novel and less so from the 2009 film. The duo discusses why this television series is worth assessing for the Pantheon.

Then the final 30 minutes are a discussion of Wonder Woman 1984. Find out their very spoiler filled thoughts on a mixed bag of a movie to say the least.

Jerome’s 100 Favorite Movies – The Podcast: Part II (50 – 1)

Jerome Cusson put together a list of 100 favorite movies. This podcast is a discussion of numbers 50-1. Enjoy a three hour discussion of some great moments in cinema. MOVIES!

Top 5 Takeaways from The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

If Mike Thomas can do these, then why can’t I, especially in this holiday season?

I’ve spent a lot of the last six months working through my list of 100* favorite movies of all-time, and this is a chance for me to stretch my writing muscles. Instead of focusing on the very best of cinema, let’s explore a mediocre Star Wars holiday special.

First, it’s worth nothing Life Day was an important part of the first holiday special, one that aired 42 years ago on CBS in front of over 40 million people. Audiences struggled through 15 minutes of unsubtitled wookie conversation, Harrison Ford looking like he had no interest in being there, and Bea Arthur** stealing the show by earnestly singing a song in the Mos Eisley Cantina. The people behind this special lowered the stakes quite a bit by making it a lego animated special.

Set around the first celebration of Life Day since whatever version of the empire versus rebel conflict has ended, Rey is training force sensitive Finn and once again is trying to find her way in the world and searches around for a mentor. The special takes us around the world of the franchise and shows other characters preparing to celebrate Life Day on the Millenium Falcon. They even paid Kelly Marie Tran to utter more dialogue here than she did in Rise of Skywalker! Without further adieu, here are my top five takeaways. Continue reading Top 5 Takeaways from The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

Jerome’s 100 Favorite Movies – The Podcast: Part I (100 – 51)

Jerome Cusson put together a list of 100 favorite movies. This podcast is a discussion of numbers 100-51.

Ben Phillips hosts and takes listeners through the list while Jerome explains why the movies are where they are. They naively thought they’d be able to get the full list in one podcast, but alas, there will be a part two next week.

Reel Bad – A Breaking Bad Podcast: Episode 11 (Better Call Saul Season 4)

Jerome and Kevin are back for the first of two episodes this month. They discuss the greatness of Better Call Saul, season four, a season that sees both Jimmy McGill and Mike Ehrmantraut break bad while Gus Fring tightens his grip on the New Mexico drug scene. Somehow this episode is less than two hours.