"Easily the best prequel, isn't it?"

Summary

In this episode of 'Trimming the Movie Fat', hosts Stephen Nicholson and Paul Mellon delve into 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith', discussing its release, reception, and the evolution of characters, particularly Anakin Skywalker. They explore the film's darker themes, the significance of the final duel, and how it connects to the original trilogy. The conversation also touches on the film's soundtrack and the overall impact of the prequel trilogy, culminating in their rankings of the films.

"I think it was a massive improvement on the previous two."

Chapters

01:06 Introduction to Revenge of the Sith

01:44 ROTS Media: Trailer / Interview / Original Review

04:52 Tale of the Tape: ROTS

09:08 Character Development and Performances

11:12 Anakin's Fall From Grace

17:18 The Worst Performer

21:01 Order 66 and Its Significance

22:12 Soundtrack and Musical Themes 24:20 Tying Up the Prequel Trilogy

29:11 Final Thoughts and Rankings

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

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Listen to our music podcast - https://anchor.fm/TTMF

"The dialogue is awful."

Summary

In this episode of 'Trimming the Movie Fat', host Stephen Nicholson and guest Paul Melon delve into 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'.

They discuss the film's box office performance, character development, the central romance between Anakin and Padmé, the significance of the clones, action sequences, special effects, and the soundtrack.

The conversation highlights the pacing issues and script problems, ultimately leading to their rankings of the film within the Star Wars franchise.

"This is amazing. I love it."

Chapters

00:46 Introduction to Attack of the Clones

05:38 Box Office and Reception

08:53 Character Performances and Romantic Subplot

14:42 The Clones and Their Significance

16:08 Pacing and Story Structure

19:34 Action Sequences and Special Effects

32:08 Soundtrack and Musical Highlights

38:06 Final Thoughts and Rankings

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

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"The Phantom Menace gets the Star Wars prequels off to a bumpy start."

Summary

In this episode of 'Trimming the Movie Fat', host Stephen and guest Paul Melon delve into the Star Wars prequel, 'The Phantom Menace' (1999).

They discuss the film's impact, character performances, the use of CGI, and the overall pacing and storytelling. The conversation highlights both nostalgic memories and critical perspectives on the film's shortcomings, particularly focusing on characters like Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker. The hosts also compare the soundtrack to the original trilogy and conclude with their rankings of the film within the Star Wars prequels.

"It was just average…(but) visually stunning."

Chapters

00:42 Introduction to Star Wars and the Podcast

01:56 The Phantom Menace Overview and Reception

08:48 First Viewings and Thoughts

11:50 Pacing Issues and Storytelling Challenges

18:45 Favourite Characters

26:32 Dialogue and The Role of CGI and Special Effects

34:22 Music and Soundtrack Comparisons

39:50 Final Thoughts and Rankings

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

Like what you heard? Why not buy us a coffee to show your appreciation - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trimmingthh

Listen to our music podcast - https://anchor.fm/TTMF

“And I thought my jokes were bad.” – Joker

Summary

Like 1989 before it, 2008 belonged to the Batman. The goodwill built up by Batman Begins (2005) and Heath Ledger’s sad, untimely death, made ‘The Dark Knight’ THE film to see that Summer. And it didn’t disappoint, becoming a critical and audience favourite, and the highest grossing movie of 2008.

Join podcast host Stephen as critiques the movie and shares what he enjoys about it. Look out too for movie facts, trivia, clips and box office information.

“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” – Alfred Pennyworth

Chapters

00:13 Christopher Nolan Interview

00:52 Introduction

01:23 The Dark Knight Trailer (2008)

03:47 Christian Bale Interview

04:39 Ebert & Roeper Review The Dark Knight (2008)

06:29 Overview of The Dark Knight

08:21 Critiquing The Dark Knight

13:32 Ranking The Dark Knight

13:41 Upcoming Episode (The Dark Knight Rises) and Audience Feedback

“How about a magic trick?”. - Joker

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

Like what you heard? Why not buy us a coffee to show your appreciation - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trimmingthh

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After 3 and a half years co-hosting at TTMF, Paul is hanging up his headphones for a new venture (coming 2025). Hear about it here and what Stephen’s exciting plans are for the future of the podcast.

Summary

Back in 2023, we rewatched the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy and dedicated an episode to it. Since then, after 30 years, we’ve got a new movie: ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’, which podcast host Stephen reckons is the best of the sequels.

So, strap yourself into the Fisher Price, LEGO looking police car, and get ready for some Axel F info, fun clips, and movie critique.

Chapters

00:09 Introduction

00:41 ‘BHC: AF’ trailer and Eddie Murphy interview

02:23 Tale of the Tape: ‘BHC: AF’

04:31 Critiquing the movie and clips

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

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“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” – Batman

Summary

Like Lazarus from the flames, the Dark Knight returned in glorious style with Christopher's Nolan's 'Batman Begins' (2005); a film very worthy of discussion.

Podcast hosts Stephen and Paul critique the movie, sharing that they enjoyed the more serious take on the Batman character, the focus on the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman, and highlighting the excellent cast. They also share their own experiences of seeing the movie back in 2005 and what it was like to watch the movie in 4DX last year.

Overall, they both enjoy the movie with Stephen rating it as one of his favourite films of all time.

“Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” – Thomas Wayne Chapters

00:00 David Goyer Interview

01:09 Introduction

01:45 Batman Begins Trailer (2005)

03:57 Christopher Nolan Interview

04:26 Ebert & Roeper Review Batman Begins (2005)

06:07 Overview of Batman Begins

07:43 Critiquing Batman Begins

15:15 Ranking Batman Begins

15:36 Batman Begins Toy Commercial (2005)

16:06 Upcoming Episode (The Dark Knight) and Audience Feedback

“Does it come in black?” – Bruce Wayne ** Due to a recording issue, please note that Stephen's audio in this episode is sourced from a secondary mic, thus the quality is not 100% **

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

Like what you heard? Why not buy us a coffee to show your appreciation - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trimmingthh

Listen to our music podcast - https://anchor.fm/TTMF

The original. The best. The one and only Sean Connery is back for one last adventure as Bond, James Bond, in Irvin Kershner’s 1983 movie ‘Never Say Never Again’.

It was Bond v Bond in 1983. NSNA v Octopussy. Sean Connery v Roger Moore. Kevin McClory v Cubby Broccoli. Who won at the box office? Listen/Watch to find out.

Is it the Best Bond movie in the world? No. Is it Connery’s finest hour? No. But it’s still 2 hours of solid Bond action and there’s much to discuss. So, provide your urine sample, open the suitcase, get out the caviar, and listen to Stephen and Paul critique the film.

Throw in some NSNA facts, film clips and archive interview clips, and, once again, you’re going to be in 00 heaven.

Come back next week for our look at Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’ (2005).

Chapters:

00:22 Introduction

01:02 NSNA trailer

02:23 Sean Connery interview

03:19 Siskel and Ebert review NSNA

04:27 Film facts

06:32 Discussing the movie

29:16 Ranking NSNA

29:44 Conclusion

Visit our webpage - Trimming The Movie Fat | Trimming The Musical (trimmingthemusicalfat.com)

Like what you heard? Why not buy us a coffee to show your appreciation - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trimmingthh

Listen to our music podcast - https://anchor.fm/TTMF