A.I. Artificial Intelligence is every bit the overlong and fractured feeling movie we remember from 24 years ago, but even with some of those negative feelings re-confirmed, we find plenty to discuss, dissect, and even appreciate about Spielberg's tribute to his friend Stanley.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 121: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
(00:01:26) - Intro.
(00:02:50) - Our histories with this extremely divisive film.
(00:08:36) - The chunkiness of the movie's structure.
(00:16:19) - Does the movie ever fully commit to the rules of its own world?
(00:21:25) - Getting into the storied and crazy production history.
(00:36:19) - Who do we blame?
(00:39:46) - Our star-studded cast.
(00:48:52) - Break!
(00:49:15) - We're back, and it's time to get into this movie!
(00:54:30) - Some of our issues with the movie's world building.
(01:01:07) - Frozen child syndrome, and a brand new robot to sate your bottomless grief.
(01:09:17) - Maybe should have thought through this whole imprinting thing a
little more.
(01:15:32) - Martin comes home.
(01:25:21) - A tragic haircut, and a terrible pool party.
(01:35:30) - Leaving David by the side of the road.
(01:41:39) - Gigolo Joe makes his grand entrance.
(01:48:57) - The Flesh Fair comes calling.
(01:58:48) - Mass producing your dead son.
(02:03:39) - Rouge City and its myriad pornographic delights.
(02:11:20) - We're off to Manhattan. Man. Hattan. MAN. HATTAN.
(02:21:26) - David's underwater adventure begins.
(02:28:08) - TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER.
(02:39:38) - The extremely messed up implications of bringing back Monica.
(02:50:48) - Final thoughts.
(03:03:47) - Outro. 

On this week's Watchcast we slice open and dig around inside Repo Men, a sci-fi thriller that borders on competence at times, and never fails to find a way to disgust.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 120: Repo Men (2010)
(00:00:15) - Intro.
(00:01:38) - Less than two minutes in and we're already wishing Cronenberg made this instead.
(00:05:00) - Why does this movie, of all movies, loom so large in Vinny's memory?
(00:10:56) - Some cast talk, and getting into the production history.
(00:18:30) - What this movie does well, or at least what's mildly interesting about it.
(00:26:43) - Let's kick things off and yell about this bad narration and Artiforgs.
(00:35:56) - You owe it to yourself.
(00:39:33) - Remy and Jake's problematic friendship.
(00:42:46) - Break!
(00:43:10) - We're back, and Remy's home life sucks.
(00:48:46) - Getting so mad about your wife leaving that you have to go harvest some organs about it.
(00:53:55) - RZA!
(01:02:44) - Bloodshot eyes, empty chest cavity, can and will lose.
(01:05:21) - Not so easy to leave a guy dead in the street now, is it?
(01:12:20) - Not so sure about this whole lounge singer as sidekick thing.
(01:15:27) - Business picks up a bit.
(01:23:53) - The traumatic brain injury demarcation line.
(01:27:28) - OK the clean room scene is rad. And the Oldboy fight ain't bad either.
(01:29:40) - Erotic surgery!
(01:33:25) - Well, glad everything worked out.
(01:38:48) - Final thoughts.
(01:48:27) - Housekeeping for next week's movie: A.I.!
(01:52:25) - Outro. 

Buckle your seatbelts, and secure your airpods, as the Watchcast kicks off its month of Jude Law-flavored sci-fi with the rip-roaring (and entirely blue-screened) adventure of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow!

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 119: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
(00:00:48) - Intro.
(00:03:00) - Some words about our reason for the season: Jude Law
(00:05:00) - And some words on his co-star here, Gwyneth Paltrow.
(00:06:21) - Sky Captain was the harbinger of blockbuster filmmaking techniques to come.
(00:17:21) - Our first time filmmaker Kerry Conran and how he got this thing made.
(00:29:47) - Raising the dead digitally.
(00:36:36) - Vinny wants to know where Giovanni Ribisi went before we go to break.
(00:38:12) - Break!
(00:38:31) - We're back! And Alex has one more note about Conran before we jump in.
(00:39:30) - OK, now let's launch into the film proper.
(00:43:19) - The state of the world, and Totenkopf's plan.
(00:48:17) - Some directorial issues in this opening sequence, but we love the spirit of it.
(00:55:08) - Our dyspeptic pilot, and the ongoing issue of giant robot attacks.
(00:58:15) - The hunt for Totenkopf begins.
(01:01:07) - The robots assault the base.
(01:06:12) - To Nepal!
(01:16:05) - A threesome joke! And a man horribly scarred by nuclear experimentation.
(01:20:36) - Alex's least favorite dialogue of the movie.
(01:22:31) - Here comes Angelina Jolie.
(01:27:13) - Sure, Atlantis can just be here. Why not?
(01:29:00) - Dr. Totenkopf's Island of Dr. Moreau.
(01:33:49) - Totenkopf's lair, and our special guest actor!
(01:37:57) - The slightly limp final action sequence.
(01:40:48) - Lens cap.
(01:42:16) - Final thoughts.
(01:48:19) - Some notes on our film for next week: Repo Men!
(01:51:32) - Outro.

We're closing out 2024 for the Watchcast the only way we know how: with the most depressing movie we can fit into a theme. And this year it's with David Cronenberg's captivating Eastern Promises, featuring Viggo Mortensen like you've never seen him before.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 118: Eastern Promises (2007)
(00:00:35) - Intro.
(00:01:42) - Viggo appreciation right out of the gate.
(00:03:23) - Our last movie of 2024: David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises!
(00:07:20) - On the merits of putting on the accent.
(00:13:31) - A little bit of background on the movie and its accuracy.
(00:18:35) - Launching into the film, and its brutal opening.
(00:22:28) - The baby enters the picture.
(00:26:50) - Our first trip to Semyon's restaurant.
(00:31:12) - Some discussion about Nikolai's true nature, and some of the family dynamics at play.
(00:44:55) - The closest thing this movie has to a funny moment.
(00:49:40) - Break!
(00:50:02) - We're back, and things are developing.
(00:55:00) - There are dens of iniquity, and then there's this place.
(00:57:23) - Semyon comes calling.
(01:04:34) - The pretense of a deal.
(01:07:42) - Tying up loose ends.
(01:13:50) - Anna has had enough, and Nikolai and Kiril hash it out.
(01:19:39) - The set-up.
(01:23:06) - The bathhouse.
(01:29:32) - Nikolai's reveal.
(01:34:56) - A subtler ending than you might expect.
(01:40:48) - The sequel that never came together.
(01:43:27) - Final thoughts.
(01:44:54) - Our theme for January: Jude Law sci-fi!
(01:49:03) - Outro. 

Midway through our December to Dismember, we've got Shane Black's bank-breaking screenplay The Long Kiss Goodnight, a chance for America's Sweetheart Geena Davis to maybe redeem herself after Cutthroat Island.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 117: The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
(00:00:18) - Intro.
(00:01:33) - Does Geena Davis get her redemption arc with this one
(00:04:46) - Did the box office suffer from the stank of Cutthroat Island
(00:05:57) - Some Shane Black talk.
(00:10:13) - Talking Sam Jackson and Geena Davis' performances.
(00:15:18) - The rest of our cast, and some last thoughts before getting into the movie itself.
(00:21:05) - The slightly limp intro.
(00:25:55) - Enter Sam Jackson's Mitch Henessey. 
(00:27:53) - She's got some of that Fred Flintstone amnesia, apparently.
(00:30:16) - Mama's got a brand new murder bag, and Henessey just wants to be a dad.
(00:35:16) - All kinds of knife crime.
(00:40:37) - One-Eyed Jack comes calling.
(00:43:34) - Break!
(00:44:01) - We're back, and it's time for a little road trip.
(00:49:04) - Enter Brian Cox.
(00:52:12) - Giant guns in suitcases, and a shootout at the train station.
(01:03:04) - Amish water torture, followed by a night in Atlantic City.
(01:15:17) - Return to the suburbs.
(01:21:10) - Holding the phone company hostage, then off to ruin a false flag operation.
(01:29:31) - Timothy, you ARE the father!
(01:38:07) - This child has made a very poor choice, but now we have a race against time.
(01:46:52) - All good movies end with a Larry King segment.
(01:51:33) - Final thoughts.
(01:55:04) - Housekeeping for next week's movie, and our final film of 2024: Eastern Promises!
(01:58:00) - Outro.

The Watchcast returns from its slumber for a trio of vaguely Christmas-related, and not-so-vaguely violence-related films, and we're kicking things off with Tim Burton's other Batflick, Batman Returns!

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 116: Batman Returns (1992)
(00:00:19) - Intro.
(00:03:42) - Our topline feelings on this week's movie: Batman Returns!
(00:16:56) - Getting into the production history.
(00:33:49) - Some cast talk, including who COULD have played some of these characters.
(00:42:41) - Tim Burton vs. McDonald's.
(00:48:17) - A few remaining cast notes.
(00:52:30) - Break!
(00:52:50) - We're back, and it's time for a bird baby.
(00:55:49) - Flash forward to modern day Gotham...whenever that's supposed to be.
(01:02:41) - Clowns to the left of me, Penguins to the right, and stuck in the middle with Batman.
(01:05:20) - Meeting The Penguin.
(01:10:11) - Things go bad for Selina.
(01:18:22) - The Penguin makes his above-ground debut, and Bruce gets suspicious.
(01:24:38) - Catwoman's vigilante mission begins, and Bruce and Selina meet.
(01:31:22) - The mayoral campaign kicks off.
(01:33:48) - The circus mayhem resumes, and our three main characters finally meet.
(01:38:52) - An alliance is formed.
(01:41:48) - Framing Batman for Ice Princess murder.
(01:46:34) - The Batmobile is compromised, but Batman fixes everything like five minutes later.
(01:54:34) - Bruce and Selina discover each other's secrets.
(01:58:25) - Max is taken, and the children are in danger...briefly.
(02:02:39) - The penguin army isn't much better of a plan.
(02:06:45) - The final confrontation with Selina and Max, and the Penguin funeral.
(02:12:53) - A beautiful black cat for Christmas? What more could a man ask for?
(02:14:31) - Final thoughts.
(02:21:31) - Going over next week's movie: The Long Kiss Goodnight!
(02:23:58) - Outro.

We close out our November the only way we know how: with a bad movie. A bad Final Fantasy movie no less, in Spirits Within. Join us as we pick apart this troubled and expensive production, our own histories with Final Fantasy, and just what it is that happens to your soul when one of those phantom things eats it.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 115: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
(00:00:51) - Intro.
(00:03:46) - The brief, expensive, and unremarkable life of Square Pictures.
(00:05:43) - There's SOMETHING here. It's not enough of something, but there's SOMETHING.
(00:13:50) - The cartoon villainy of James Woods. And also the cartoon villainy of James Woods' character.
(00:18:32) - Getting into the production history.
(00:35:44) - The first digital actress (and Maxim model), Aki Ross.
(00:40:16) - The aftermath of the movie's failure.
(00:42:53) - Our star-studded cast.
(00:53:20) - Briefly touching on the decidedly not-Final-Fantasy-sounding soundtrack.
(00:55:35) - Break!
(00:55:55) - We're back, let's get into Aki's dreams!
(01:02:26) - What Aki's getting up to.
(01:09:11) - A good old fashioned spirtual science argument.
(01:13:49) - Epic prank, Neil.
(01:17:59) - Hein's mandate, and realizing what's going on with the dream.
(01:20:48) - Finding the seventh spirit.
(01:26:38) - Fascist idiot does a whoopsie and wipes out New York.
(01:35:24) - This last act is ROUGH.
(01:48:56) - Final (Fantasy) thoughts.
(01:54:49) - Outro.

We continue to dive ever deeper into the world of big budget failures with Waterworld, a sea-faring post-apocalyptic adventure so middle-of-the-road that only its astronomical budget could possibly be the source of its lasting cultural impact.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 114: Waterworld (1995)
(00:00:21) - Intro.
(00:02:10) - Our movie is Waterworld, let's get right into the budget talk.
(00:03:40) - The Costner factor.
(00:10:32) - Getting into the ridiculous production history of this thing.
(00:21:16) - Fishtar.
(00:26:07) - What is the Ulysses Cut?
(00:28:56) - Some of the finer points of this goofy apocalypse.
(00:33:37) - Drowning the Universal logo in Kevin Costner's recycled piss.
(00:37:26) - A long stretch at an atoll.
(00:45:37) - Gills? In this economy?
(00:51:02) - Break!
(00:51:20) - Escaping the atoll.
(01:01:51) - Boy does the mariner hate these women.
(01:07:03) - God, this other drifter character.
(01:13:20) - OK, the fishing bit isn't bad. The part where the kid can't swim? Less so.
(01:16:32) - Yes! Please! Show us Drylan...d'oh...
(01:22:21) - Enola is taken.
(01:26:10) - Some more context for how Costner gets that jetski, and scattered Smoker talk.
(01:29:43) - Deacon's speech, and the mariner Solid Snakes his way through the boat.
(01:37:39) - Deacon's dumb end.
(01:39:13) - Off to Dryland.
(01:45:47) - Final thoughts.
(01:49:23) - Closing out our month next week: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within!
(01:51:18) - Outro.

It's time again for our now-annual Turkey Month, and we're kicking off a November's worth of big budget turkeys with Cutthroat Island, the pirate movie that plundered Carolco of their last remaining doubloons, and sent Geena Davis' career as a swashbuckler off the side of a boat.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 113: Cutthroat Island (1995)
(00:00:18) - Intro.
(00:02:08) - Our first turkey for November: Cutthroat Island!
(00:07:37) - The Renny Harlin factor, and the initial (fairly different) pitch for this movie.
(00:12:06) - THEY KILLED CAROLCO!
(00:18:15) - The cast we got, and the cast we could have had.
(00:23:30) - Listing off some of the myriad curses that befell this production (and some debate about Davis' stunts).
(00:32:16) - Despite all the troubles, they pulled this one off at the box office, right?!? (No.)
(00:38:49) - Addressing any lingering questions before we get into the movie proper.
(00:43:58) - Break!
(00:44:24) - We're back, and here's what the hell is happening in this movie.
(00:54:21) - The introduction of William Shaw.
(00:59:28) - I saved a guy who speaks Latin, what did you ever do?
(01:02:26) - One of the few bright spots: the carriage chase.
(01:04:41) - These puzzles suck.
(01:06:11) - Time to dig up another uncle.
(01:12:43) - Gunshot wound? No problem!
(01:17:45) - An interminable mutiny before we finally get to Cutthroat Island.
(01:25:31) - Oh look, treasure.
(01:29:49) - Let's blow some stuff up for like 30 minutes.
(01:37:11) - We saved the treasure! (...and Shaw!)
(01:40:32) - Final thoughts.
(01:46:04) - Some talk about our film for next week: Waterworld!
(01:51:28) - Outro. 

We close out our October of terror with the ghastliest, most chill-inducing horror anthology of all: The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror! Talking Simpsons' Henry Gilbert joins us as we rank our favorite Simpsons Halloween shorts from the golden age of the show.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 112: The Best of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror
(00:00:28) - Intro.
(00:01:07) - For this week's Simpsons themed nonsense, we turn to Talking Simpsons' Henry Gilbert!
(00:03:00) - Our personal experiences with The Simpsons and where we jumped off (if we ever did).
(00:10:41) - How this week's episode is gonna work.
(00:12:21) - Leading us off is Henry's number five pick: Clown Without Pity!
(00:21:29) - And now, without further ado, here's Brad's number five: Terror at 5½ Feet!
(00:32:27) - On the subject of the recurring Kang and Kodos bit.
(00:34:31) - It's time for Alex's number five: The Shinning!
(00:46:50) - And now for Vinny's number five: Attack of the 50 ft. Eyesores!
(00:57:42) - Break!
(00:58:00) - We're back, and here's Brad's number four: Bart Simpson's Dracula!
(01:11:23) - We're up to Vinny's number four: Time and Punishment!
(01:24:01) - Brad's number three? Dial Z for Zombies!
(01:34:09) - Henry's number two: The Devil and Homer Simpson!
(01:52:01) - Alex's number two: Homer Cubed!
(02:09:17) - Rounding things out with Vinny's number two! Bad Dream House!
(02:17:05) - Talking a bit about some of the other early shorts.
(02:22:10) - Re-reading through our complete lists, and mentioning some later season shorts that we like.
(02:29:59) - Final thoughts.
(02:34:02) - Our plans for November.
(02:40:23) - Outro.

On this week's Watchcast we continue to barrel through our month of anthology horrors with the movie that spawned a shockingly successful found footage franchise in V/H/S!

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 111: V/H/S (2012)
(00:00:56) - Intro.
(00:02:47) - Our movie this week: the found footage horror anthology, V/H/S!
(00:05:57) - Boy, they have made a bunch of these things since 2012.
(00:08:30) - Some production history.
(00:16:24) - The set-up for all this grimy nonsense.
(00:26:04) - Our first full short: Amateur Night.
(00:32:49) - This girl...is not what she seems.
(00:38:20) - Rivers Cuomo is not getting out of this one alive.
(00:43:08) - Break!
(00:43:30) - We're back, and it's time for Second Honeymoon!
(00:52:14) - Moving on to Tuesday the 17th.
(01:00:08) - Eventually, the glitch comes for us all.
(01:06:06) - Next up, The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger.
(01:11:04) - Is this better than having your house be haunted? No. No it is not.
(01:19:25) - Our wrapper scumbags get got.
(01:21:32) - Our final short: 10/31/98.
(01:26:39) - If I pay $0 for a haunted house I better die.
(01:33:19) - You see what happens, Larry? You see what happens when you help a stranger in a witch house?
(01:35:58) - Final thoughts.
(01:43:01) - Our plans for next week's Treehouse of Horror spectacular.
(01:46:02) - Outro.