Shows
Movie MadnessEpisode 561: Death, Dogs And Tim Robinson Come For Us AllErik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to the review beat after a couple weeks off at the Chicago Critics Film Festival. Erik looks at a bunch of influencers terrorized by feral dogs (A Breed Apart) and the story that inspired a cult body horror film (The Darkside of Society). Steve looks at an influential moment for the hearing impaired (Deaf President Now) and The Weeknd’s self-indulgent vanity project (Hurry Up Tomorrow). They also offer thoughts on a pair of films chosen for their festival including the strange transformation of a woman in an arranged marriage (Sister Midnight) and Ti...2025-05-171h 07
Movie MadnessEpisode 555: I Want Your Blood And I Want Your Souls Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have eight movie reviews this week including revisiting one of their favorites from Sundance, a twisted alternate version of Cinderella (The Ugly Stepsister). Steve looks at another cabin-in-the-woods-horror (Call of the Void), a documentary about drummers (Count Me In) and Catherine Deneuve as Beradette Chirac (The President’s Wife). Erik looks at Severance’s Britt Lower as a lonely librarian (Darkest Miriam) and Steve checks out the four-year art project of a group of squatters (Secret Mall Apartment). Ang Lee’s landmark LBGTQ film gets a 21st century remake (The Wedding Banquet) and Ryan Coogle...2025-04-191h 21
Movie MadnessEpisode 551: With Friends Like These Who Needs A Ballad? Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have reviews of eight new movies this week. They revisit one of the best films they saw at Sundance this year (The Ballad of Wallis Island) while Erik handles this week’s latest video game adaptation (A Minecraft Movie). Public domain puts Steamboat Willie into horror (Screamboat) and how do they like dem apple on dat head (William Tell). Michael Shannon directs the aftermath of a school shooting (Eric Larue) and Paul Walter Hauser plays the infamous Press Your Luck champion (The Luckiest Man In America). The directors of Half Nelson and Captain Marvel ma...2025-04-051h 31
Movie MadnessEpisode 514: Here and There and The 2024 Chicago International Film Festival Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return for a little crossover show including new titles this week and a recap of films from this year’s Chicago International Film Festival; some of which you can see right now. Reviews this week include a documentary on a legendary composer (Music By John Williams), one of the best animated films of the year (Memoir of a Snail) and the immigrant experience told through a heated kitchen (La Cocina). There is also the latest film from Clint Eastwood that Warner Bros. is burying (Juror #2) and a Forrest Gump reunion from Robert Zemeckis (Here). Th...2024-11-022h 02
Movie MadnessEpisode 495: You CAN Go Home AgainErik Childress and Steve Prokopy have ten reviews this week including going back into the archive to check out a new version of an infamous epic (Caligula: The Ultimate Cut). Jean Reno gets a special visitor (My Penguin Friend) and a mother must protect her child from a creature and Devon Sawa (Consumed). Eliot Page is reluctant to return home after embracing his identity (Close to You) and Neil Marshall keeps making movies with Charlotte Kirk (Duchess). Elizabeth Banks has internet problems in Hollywood (Skincare) while Halle Berry montages Mark Wahlberg into being a secret agent (The Union). One...2024-08-171h 53
Movie MadnessEpisode 493: Bad Dads And Worse HusbandsAfter a three-week hiatus involving vacations and other commitments, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back on the weekly movie review stint. Naturally they begin with a film they reviewed at Sundance eight months ago but with good reason for reminder cause the title says it all (Good One). Steve looks at a film about Samuel Beckett (Dance First) and Erik handles a biopic of Milli Vanilli (Girl You Know It’s True). Matt Damon and Casey Affleck try to rob a corrupt politician (The Instigators) and Hunter Schafer tries to solve the weird goings-on at a secluded resort (Cu...2024-08-101h 27
Movie MadnessEpisode 486: Choose Your Warrior Of JusticeErik Childress and Steve Prokopy do not skimp this week serving up 11 new reviews for you. Erik looks at Paul Raci as a spiritual guru who may have achieved a new kind of grief transcendence (The Secret Art of Human Flight) while Emma Roberts does Legally Blonde Goes To NASA (Space Cadet). Steve has a film about the Eichmann trial (June Zero) and that of a different kind of bloodsucker (Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person) which also partially sums up his review of Despicable Me 4. They look at different sides of altruism in the true story of a...2024-07-061h 56
Movie MadnessEpisode 480: Movies With All The FeelsErik Childress and Steve Prokopy have no anxiety reviewing eight movies this week. Especially when one is a replay of a movie they raved about at Sundance and won the Audience Award at their Chicago Critics Film Festival this year (Ghostlight). But Steve also talks about Jude Law and Alicia Vikander in a story about Henry VIII (Firebrand) as well as Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham as a father and daughter revisiting Poland (Treasure). Erik checks out David Duchovny adapting his own novel (Reverse the Curse) and an animated version of a decades-old Japanese superhero (Ultraman Rising). They look...2024-06-151h 26
Movie MadnessEpisode 478: The Choice Is Not To Ride Or WatchOn this six-movie week, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy go back two years to revisit a Dakota Johnson comedy that debuted at Sundance in 2022 (Am I OK?). Erik goes back a couple of weeks to look at the true story of a Chinese immigrant turned eye surgeon (Sight). There are sharks in the Siene (Under Paris) and young women are getting whacked around a weed farm (Trim Season). The daughter of M. Night Shayamalan makes her feature directorial debut (The Watchers) and Martin Lawrence reteams with Will Smith for a fourth time (Bad Boys: Ride or Die). 2024-06-081h 10
Movie MadnessEpisode 476: Y’all Need To Grow Up Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy get back into their reviewing ways with 10 new films this week. They include documentaries about an infamous movie app (Moviepass, Moviecrash), a filmmaker and his unfinished projects (Flipside) and the career of a bonafide genius (Jim Henson: Idea Man). Steve looks at a story of a 19th century Jewish boy raised as a Catholic (Kidnapped) and Daisy Ridley as the first woman to swim the English Channel (Young Woman and the Sea). Apart from Flipside, there are three more films chosen as part of this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival. They include a ne...2024-06-012h 01
Movie MadnessEpisode 468: Game. Set. Match.Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at a half-dozen movies this week. If fashion design is your thing then Steve has a documentary for you (John Singer Sargent: Fashion and Swagger). He has also been telling Erik about this great big spider movie since last year. Does he share the sentiment? (Infested). Steve catches up a pandemic-era comedy from Sundance (Stress Positions) and the first film from the daughter of David Cronenberg (Humane). Erik reveals what was different about the latest kick-ass extravaganza when he saw it at Toronto (Boy Kills World) and both have a lot to say...2024-04-271h 13
Movie MadnessEpisode 466: This Is A Rebellion. We Rebel.Eight movie reviews this week from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy include both surprises and disappointments. Steve checks out a new crime film with Scoot McNairy and Kit Harington (Blood for Dust) and Erik goes to space briefly with the new IMAX short (Deep Sky). There are some lovely films to find including the latest and possibly last from Ken Loach (The Old Oak) and a tale of childhood set amidst the former Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago (We Grown Now). A pair of part twos are out there but who made out better, Steve (The Three Musketeers – Pa...2024-04-201h 15
Movie MadnessEpisode 464: Beasts, Spiders, Werewolves & Other MonstersAnother seven movies on the docket for Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy and a lot of variations on horror. Not so much with the third film from director Goran Stolevski that Steve suggests a look at (Housekeeping for Beginners). But Larry Fessenden crafts a werewolf metaphor for America (Blackout), there is a new giant spider film (Sting), Nicolas Cage’s sons, at least, fighting hairy snapping creatures (Arcadian) for a few minutes plus Lea Seydoux on the lookout from unimaginable dread for over a century (The Beast) and a new Woody Allen film (Coup de Chance). But the biggest di...2024-04-131h 28
Movie MadnessEpisode 462: Three Sixes And You’re Out!Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have eight reviews this week that range from one of the best surprises of the year thus far and a film that could be destined to give Tommy Wiseau’s The Room a run for its money. They begin with a pair of documentaries including the natural follow-up to Boys State (Girls State) and how the rise of memes and conspiracy theories came into modern fold (The Antisocial Network). Erik looks at a mystery thriller starring Elizabeth Hurley and directed by her son (Strictly Confidential). The co-star of Sing Street uses music to travel ba...2024-04-061h 23
Movie MadnessEpisode 452: Somebody Take The Wheel, Please Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy take on seven new films this week. They include a bored millennial trying to solve a pharmacy robbery (Drugstore June) and Orlando Bloom taking on mob boss Andie MacDowell (Red Right Hand). Steve looks at one of this year’s Oscar nominees (IO Capitano) and U2 getting involved in the war in Sarajevo (Kiss the Future). An animator begins to get lost in her art and mind (Stopmotion) while Ethan Coen loses Joel and takes Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan on a nutty road trip. Finally, Hilary Swank helps out the family of Reacher’s Al...2024-02-231h 03
Movie MadnessEpisode 445: The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy returned to Park City in-person for the first time since 2020 and they brought back a lot of reviews. 18 films are discussed on the show including the latest works from Steven Soderbergh, the Zellner Bros. and the makers of Saint Frances. Jesse Eisenberg delivers his sophomore Sundance effort and it resulted in one of the bigger deals of the fest, though Erik offers his thoughts on the biggest sale. There is praise for Saoirse Ronan, Andre Holland, Carol Kane and Jason Schwartzman and less so for a title that speaks for itself. Documentaries that make...2024-02-032h 10
Movie MadnessEpisode 439: Battle Beyond The Ocean, The Skies And The Biopics Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy close out 2023 with 11 reviews of the season’s most anticipated films and award season hopefuls. Steve checks out the latest crime comedy from Francois Ozon (The Crime is Mine) while families can check out the latest animated work from Illumination (Migration). Jeffrey Wright is a professor tired of stereotypical depictions of black life in literature (American Fiction) and now there is a feature version of the musical version of Alice Walker’s novel (The Color Purple). Sports play a central role in films from directors George Clooney (The Boys in the Boat), Sean Durkin (The...2023-12-232h 35
Movie MadnessEpisode 438: Worlds of Pure Imagination…Mostly Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy play a little catchup this week after being off the previous. This week’s review show includes a pair of documentaries about classic bands (Immediate Family) and a legendary filmmaker (Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer). Erik checks in a wintry monster movie (A Creature Was Stirring) and Steve looks at a filmed stage musical (Waitress: The Musical) and another Dumas adaptation (The Three Musketeers: D’artagnan). It’s the end of the year so it must mean apocalyptic disaster with a pair of films (Concrete Utopia, Leave the World Behind). Mark Wahlberg is another secret killer...2023-12-162h 12
Movie MadnessEpisode 435: ‘Tis the Season For Godzilla Awards season is upon us and both Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are preparing their Chicago ballots. But is there anything amongst the seven new titles this week that will fit? There are a pair of documentaries from the legendary Frederick Wiseman (Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros) and about a tumultuous year in the life of award-winning musician Jon Baptiste (American Symphony). Steve has some words for an apocalyptic horror film (Everyone Will Burn) and Erik wishes that title applied to the latest body-switch comedy with Jennifer Garner (Family Switch). Do family holiday comedies get any better when you add Ed...2023-12-021h 17
Movie MadnessEpisode 429: His Name Was…What Was His Name Again? Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy check in with six new movies this week. They include another slasher twist on a holiday classic (It’s a Wonderful Knife) and Jesse Eisenbeg either doing a riff on Fight Club or one of his own movies about toxic masculinity (Manodrome). A comedy legend gets a well-deserved tribute (Albert Brooks: Defending My Life) and Nicolas Cage haunts everyone in their sleep (Dream Scenario). Then see how the new David Fincher film stands up to the rest of his work (The Killer) and Steve gets his shot to weigh in on the latest from th...2023-11-111h 27
Movie MadnessEpisode 424: Flesh, Fall, Freelance and Freddy’s Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy close out October with seven reviews for you. Steve catches up on a film from Sundance (The Persian Version) while both look at the true story of a Bible thumper on the search for a lost civilization (The Mission). Emily Blunt and Chris Evans are on the selling side of the opioid crisis (Pain Hustlers) and Heather Graham is given the H.P. Lovecraft treatment (Suitable Flesh). The duo look at this year’s Palme d’Or winner (Anatomy of a Fall) as well as how this John Cena/Alison Brie action/comedy made it i...2023-10-311h 28
Movie MadnessEpisode 406: The Last Voyages of Dracula, Aliens and GA.I. Gadot After a week off, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return with seven new reviews including a documentary about the adaptations of the premier horror novelist (King on Screen) and a murder mystery set in the world of hairstyling (Medusa Deluxe). Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Elijofor try to have a baby without actually having one (The Pod Generation) and the President’s son hooks up with the Prince of Britain (Red, White and Royal Blue). Gal Gadot tries to carry a film about A.I. basically made by A.I. (Heart of Stone) and Ben Kingsley has a flying saucer cr...2023-08-121h 34
Movie MadnessEpisode 399: We Choose To Accept Some Of These Movies There’s one big movie hitting theaters this week but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have eight other titles to talk about. They include a look back at their biggest disagreement of the year from Sundance (Theater Camp) while Steve checks out a great cast goes looking for healing elsewhere (The Miracle Club). Then they look at a trio of documentaries from the treatment of the American Indian (Lakota Nation vs. United States) to black players and baseball (The League) and Alex Winter’s examination of the first of two deadly algorithms this week (The YouTube Effect). Next it i...2023-07-151h 51
Movie MadnessEpisode 395: J-Law, Wes & Indy: In This Economy? Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at seven new movies this week. They include a documentary on an artist from the 1980s (Make Me Famous) and Ike Barinholtz takes on political muckrucking in a faux documentary (Maximum Truth). The director of The Notebook takes to cults, revenge and extreme violence (God is a Bullet) while Shudder offers a film that can best be described as Straw Goblins (Unwelcome). Wes Anderson adds a little science-fiction into his pastels (Asteroid City). Jennifer Lawrence signs up to “date” the hell out of a college-bound kid (No Hard Feelings) and Steve gets to way...2023-06-241h 38
Movie MadnessEpisode 392: Elemental, Dear Hamm Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy take a light batch of movies into this weekend; a half-dozen titles of both high profile and varying quality. Disney Plus has a new documentary about the co-founder of Marvel (Stan Lee). Jon Hamm tries to solve a Fargo-like murder spree while wooing Tina Fey (Maggie Moore(s)). Chris Hemsworth is back to see if he can top the previous film’s “one-take” action extravaganza (Extraction 2). Tim Story tries to parody horror films (The Blackening) and Pixar gets its first movie into theaters since the pandemic (Elemental). Finally, Steve gets in his thoughts on the la...2023-06-161h 28
Movie MadnessEpisode 374: Plumbers, Pipes and Hot Air Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy cover another dozen films for you this week. Or at least 11 films and one powerful docuseries they revisit from Sundance (Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields). The films include a pair of crime capers (One Day as a Lion, The Innocent), an action film with one of the John Wick henchmen (The Fist of the Condor) and a documentary about the Child’s Play franchise (Living With Chucky). There is also a bizarro Cast Away Lifetime-esque romance (One True Loves), a bizarre comedy featuring Owen Wilson not as Bob Ross (Paint) and another faith-based film where Je...2023-04-082h 17
Movie MadnessEpisode 372: (Dis)Honor Among Gamers Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy discuss 13 movies this week. Well, Erik listens a lot as Steve saw a lot this week including a religious documentary (In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis), Bruce Willis in a virtual Possessor remake (Assassin), Thomas Haden Church looking for aliens (Acidman) and horror films based around sound (The Unheard) and as little sound as possible (Enys Men). Steve also tackles the bizarre Casablanca Records biopic (Spinning Gold) and the latest bizarro from Quentin Dupieux (Smoking Causes Coughing) while Erik did double duty on Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston (Murder Mystery 2). Two films from...2023-04-012h 02
Movie MadnessEpisode 368: SHAZAM!!! OK, Don’t Scream! Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to catch you up on two weeks of movies including Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche in a disaster film (Supercell) and a new animated film on Netflix (The Magician’s Elephant). One of the Farrelly Bros. reunited with Woody Harrelson coaching an intellectually-challenged basketball team (Champions) and Kiernan Shipka grows up with an intellectually-challenged parent (Wildflower). Adam Driver is stranded on a planet with dinosaurs (65) and Willem Dafoe is an art thief locked in a penthouse apartment (Inside). Kiera Knightley and Carrie Coon show us how to properly do investigative journalism into true cr...2023-03-181h 43
Movie MadnessEpisode 361: Small Men And Such Tiny Little Men The weekly movie edition goes lite this week as Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look over five new movies. They include one of the best horror films Steve saw at a film festival last year (Huesera: The Bone Woman) and a darkly comic thriller about proving one’s manliness that is one of the best films of the early year (The Integrity of Joseph Chambers). Steve looks at the second film from a quickly rising filmmaker (Of An Age) and the pair look at a detective yarn from an older master (Marlowe). Finally, the week would not be complete wi...2023-02-181h 04
Movie MadnessEpisode 358: Everybody’s Last Anniversary Dance Seven new movies and a modern classic release this week. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are here to tell you what to check out, if anything. They reflect a bit on James Cameron’s Titanic back in theaters for its 25th anniversary and then Erik tackles a new romcom with shades of a film in its 23rd anniversary (At Midnight). Steve looks at a pair of horror films about getting lost in the desert (The Outwaters) and getting lost in religion (Consecration). Then its back to “romcoms” including a long distance, split-screen one with Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher (Your P...2023-02-121h 33
Movie MadnessEpisode 356: Good Daddies And Bad MommiesErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with the weekly movie reviews and they certainly have a lot in common. Maybe not with Pamela Anderson who is the subject of a new Netflix documentary (Pamela, A Love Story). Haley Bennett and Sam Riley are the latest exes to end up with the same booking (She Is Love). Noemie Merlant begins to unravel as a new mother (Baby Ruby) while Michelle Monaghan will do anything for her zombie son (Blood). A man tries to get across town to meet his movie partner (The Blind Who Did Not Want To See...2023-02-061h 39
Movie MadnessEpisode 354: The 2023 Sundance Film FestivalErik Childress and Steve Prokopy once again experienced this year’s Sundance from the comfort of their domiciles, but that in no way affected their viewing numbers. In just a sampling of what they saw, they discuss over 25 films including documentaries about Michael J. Fox, Brooke Shields, freediving, our evolvement with the camera and the strange saga of a bootleg video store. They talk about some of their favorite midnight selections along with divisive tales of dating, bodybuilding and workplace relationships all featuring the festival’s theme of the year – man babies. Gael Garcia Bernal inspires as a luchador while...2023-01-312h 41
Movie MadnessEpisode 353: Missing You, DarlingSundance is on the horizon but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are still checking in with nine movies you can see right now; one of them from last year’s Sundance (When You Finish Saving The World) and another from ten years ago finally making its debut (Virtually Heroes). Steve catches up with Jafar Panahi’s latest (No Bears) and Erik watched a documentary about the Laemmle family business from home (Only In Theaters). There’s a string of horror films involving children including a party gone wrong (Kids vs. Aliens) and a trip to a cave gone even worse...2023-01-221h 26
Movie MadnessEpisode 351: A Man Called Otto & A Doll Called M3GANThe first batch of movie reviews for 2023 from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy arrives with quite the show. 14 reviews in all ranging from some late acclaimed 2022 catch-ups from the international scene (Broker, Saint Omer) and another mystery with Edgar Allan Poe as a participant (The Pale Blue Eye). Erik describes what could be the nuttiest plotline of the new year (The Devil Conspiracy) and Steve looks at a new horror film drawing both ecstatic praise and hatred (Skinamarink). Speaking of the Blair Witch, Joshua Leonard co-writes and co-stars in a comedy about baby mishandling (The Drop) and Gillian Jacobs...2023-01-152h 23
Movie MadnessEpisode 342: Peeling Back The LayersOn this holiday week edition, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at the films in theaters (if briefly) for Thanksgiving. One that you can catch on Shudder is Noan Segan’s Paper Moon-like vampire tale (Blood Relatives), then you can go to theaters if you choose to see Luca Guadagino’s tale of young love and cannibalism (Bones and All). If you don’t want to wait for Amazon Prime, check out this year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner (Nanny) and if you can’t wait a month for Netflix, get out to see the exclusive one-week release of Rian Jo...2022-11-271h 42
Movie MadnessEpisode 340: She Said To Call StutzErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back on the movie review beat with nine new titles this week. On the Disney Plus front Steve looks at a new doc on an animated icon (Mickey: The Story of a Mouse) and Erik checks out a sequel 15 years in the making (Disenchanted). Russell Crowe directs a film not about poker (Poker Face) and Frank Grillo stars in a film that is barely about a car (Lamborghini: The Man Behind The Legend). Steve looks at the new pandemic-era film from Andrew Bujalski (There There) and the pair have a lot to say...2022-11-211h 56
Movie MadnessEpisode 336: Friends, Trauma and Weird AlThe weekly movie reviews hit the dozen mark again with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They remind you of this year’s Sundance entry from indie sci-fi masters Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Something In The Dirt). Eva Green is either going nuts or has a very bad nanny (Nocebo) and Andrea Riseborough stars in a film that may get itself compared to Rocky Horror (Please Baby Please). The pair wade through a couple of thrillers that reset themselves including a noir wannabe (The Minute You Wake Up Dead) and Mel Gibson in a Phone Booth situation in a ra...2022-11-062h 16
Movie MadnessEpisode 332: The Horror Of Sadness (And Art The Clown)October continues with horror both real and imagined this week as Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy review eight new movies. They include a reminder of Andrea Riseborough’s stirring portrayal of the road to alcoholic recovery (To Leslie) and Mila Kunis’ far less stirring turn as a survivor of multiple traumas (Luckiest Girl Alive). Shawn Mendes is the voice of a singing croc (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) and Ruben Ostlund skewers the voices of the nouveau riche in his Palme d’or winning satire (Triangle of Sadness). Donald Sutherland and his iPhone grant revenge in a new Stephen King film that i...2022-10-102h 20
Movie MadnessEpisode 329: Home Is Where The Dead Bodies AreErik Childress and Steve Prokopy catch-up on two weeks-worth of movies. 13 movies to be precise and many of them have a lot in common. Justin Long is in two films where he should be staying away from a house, one where he is trying to get laid (House of Darkness) and another that he is trying to sell that Erik has some specific thoughts on (Barbarian). Not to mention the smart house that is trying to kill it’s inhabitants (Margaux). There is the true story of sisters who would not talk to anyone but each other (The Silent Tw...2022-09-202h 47
Movie MadnessEpisode 328: You Cannot Be Serious! Or Satirical Evidently.Theaters are facing a drought this autumn season and over Labor Day Weekend Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have seven movies to review. They include a reimagining from filmmaker Francois Ozon (Peter Von Kant) and a quest to bring Hitler’s remains to Stalin (Burial). The Umbrella Academy’s Tom Hopper and Kat Graham double-book a place in Verona (Love In The Villa) and Javier Bardem seeks an award for his company (The Good Boss). Two documentaries look at the happy friendships of genre filmmakers (The Horror Crowd) and the tortured psyche of a tennis great (McEnroe). Finally, Steve gets...2022-09-031h 17
Movie MadnessEpisode 326: The Way Of Water And StorytellingErik Childress and Steve Prokopy clear out August with reviews of nine new films starting with an assist from show regular Sergio Mims when they all reviewed the new John Boyega bank robbery tale (Breaking). It’s not Avatar but water plays a big part this week with a Dead Calm-like tale of lies on a boat (Into the Deep), more noir homage from Neil LaBute when a guy trying to stay out of trouble sees Diane Kruger in a lake (Out of the Blue) and the duo try to figure out if the new shark attack film is tr...2022-08-282h 07
Movie MadnessEpisode 325: Lions & Orphans & Glory Holes, Oh My!The summer season may be winding down but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy found 11 movies to talk about this week. They revisit their thoughts on the bizarre Alison Brie/Aubrey Plaza Italy film from SXSW (Spin Me Round). Steve checks out a couple of documentaries about Indigenous leaders trying to take back the Amazon rainforest (The Territory) and one on the career of musical artist, Courtney Barnett (Anonymous Club). Erik looks at a struggling married couple on a yacht to nowhere (Get Away If You Can) and a whole town that experiences the effects of drinking horny water (Love...2022-08-212h 02
Movie MadnessEpisode 322: Resurrection With A VengeanceThemes develop within this week’s movie reviews. Funny how that happens without even trying sometimes but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy wade through seven movies this week. It all begins with an emotionally unsettling film they have been championing since Sundance featuring another knockout performance by Rebecca Hall and a never creepier Tim Roth (Resurrection). Steve checks out Juliette Binoche as a trucker who gets involved in child trafficking (Paradise Highway) while Erik covers Angourie Rice as an overachieving high schooler trying to sabotage her competition (Honor Society). Zoey Deutsch is an underachieving photo editor who tries to ma...2022-07-311h 35
Movie MadnessEpisode 321: Gray Men – Little, Big & LegendaryErik Childress and Steve Prokopy have the weekly movie reviews for you. A light week of just five movies, but the streamers should be happy. Mostly. Whether or not you head out to theaters for the big one is up to you. But they check on a couple films from Shudder including some horror from the Netherlands (Moloch) and a documentary on cult performance metal artists (This is Gwar). Erik weighs in on Ethan Hawke’s six-part docuseries on the careers and marriage of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward on HBO MAX (The Last Movie Stars). The duo review th...2022-07-241h 09
Movie MadnessEpisode 319: Don’t Make Me Hear The Crawdads SingReal life trumps fiction this week on the movie review edition of the podcast. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy discuss seven new movies including revisiting two of the best documentaries from the festival circuit this year. One involves the continued struggles of gun control after another tragedy (Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down) and another chronicles the relationship of two volcano researchers up close and personal (Fire of Love). Steve looks at the horrors of healing with Alice Krige (She Will) and Erik finds another kind of horror in concealing a life-threatening diagnosis (Don’t Make Me Go). Lesley Manv...2022-07-171h 36
Movie MadnessEpisode 317: Broken Couples, Songwriters And A Sea BeastErik Childress and Steve Prokopy bring you the weekly movie reviews. Seven new films including a pair of music documentaries focused on a pair of Nick Cave albums (This Much I Know To Be True) and one of the most singular songs ever recorded – in many different ways (Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song). A couple goes off on a self-help retreat in the woods in a new horror film (The Summoned) and Claire Denis put another couple played by Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon through the ringer when a lusty ex is thrown into the equation (Both Si...2022-07-091h 28
Movie MadnessEpisode 311: First Loves, Basketball and Dino DroppingsErik Childress and Steve Prokopy have a half-dozen movie reviews this week that actually touch upon two franchises, an important documentary and even a couple of unexpected surprises. If you want to know more about the pre-Ghostbusters era of Ray Parker Jr. there is now a film about that (Who You Gonna Call?). Henry Czerny is a former priest is visited by a stranger with a connection to his past (The Righteous). A shy teen desperately seeks out his first kiss to finally get that dang electronic collar off his neck (Wyrm). There were two films at Sundance about...2022-06-111h 19
Movie MadnessEpisode 309: Long Live The Old FleshErik Childress and Steve Prokopy saw a lot of different movies this week. But that means you get 11 reviews from them even if its not a great lineup. Erik finds one big positive at the center of Sean Patrick Flanery’s directorial debut (Frank & Penelope) and Steve has a few non-negative things to say about the latest with Bruce Willis (White Elephant). There are fantastical narratives about the missing minutes of the Nixon tapes (18 ½) and the creation of a famous tower (Eiffel). Erik gets completely annoyed with the latest Blumhouse horror (Unhuman) and surprisingly unannoyed with the central character of...2022-06-041h 38
Movie MadnessEpisode 308: Hold Your Fire, Top GunErik Childress and Steve Prokopy return after a week off to catch-up on reviewing 12 new movies for you. They include a baseball documentary that premiered at SXSW this year (Facing Nolan), a new film written by Paul Schrader (There Are No Saints) and the great Haley Lu Richardson stars in a film about revisiting family trauma (Montana Story). They also revisit a Sundance comedy about two black friends trying not to get blamed when a white girl passes out in their house (Emergency) and one of the choices from the Chicago Critics Film Festival is a documentary about the...2022-05-292h 10
Movie MadnessEpisode 307: Burn It All Down, Firestarter!Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy will be at the Chicago Critics Film Festival this week, but they still managed to find time for ten new movie reviews. Well, one old one as they reviewed Ninja Thyberg’s powerful film about the porn industry at last year’s Sundance (Pleasure). This week did have a lot of other ickiness to it though including an erotic thriller no-show with Ashley Benson (Private Property) and the documentary about Dr. Religious Wacko who personally inseminated his patients (Our Father). Then maybe icky in a good way is at least one kids-who-can’t-control-their-own-powers film (The In...2022-05-151h 45
Movie MadnessEpisode 306: It’s All HappeningWhile Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy prepare for the upcoming Chicago Critics Film Festival, they got in a little time for a short show of reviews. This week the discussion steers to just four titles including a horror film involving an island and supernatural elements (Shepherd) and a documentary takes a shot at redemption for the man who clubbed Nancy Kerrigan’s knee (My Hero the Hitman). To go along with the discussion with Erik Laws on episode 305, Steve gets his chance to weigh in on Sam Raimi’s new Marvel film (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). But...2022-05-0855 min
Movie MadnessEpisode 303: I Don’t Recall…MemoryErik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at eight movies this week including a couple festival titles, some streaming and some new titles in theaters. Steve looks at people trying to put a cult behind them (The Aviary) and a gay romance during Communist Russia (Firebird). Erik looks at a documentary about an additional horror of the Michigan water crisis (Flint: Who Can You Trust?) and Barry Levinson’s film about Holocaust-era boxer Harry Haft (The Survivor). Then both of them see if there’s anything new about an age-old mystery (The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes). A youn...2022-04-301h 19
Movie MadnessEpisode 302: The Unbearable Weight of The NorthmanOne of the best movies of the year…2021…may just come around to one of the best movies of 2022 on this episode. At least according to one of the Movie Madness critics during the round of seven reviews on this episode. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy do indeed agree on Celine Sciamma’s tale of childhood grief (Petite Maman). The kids in that movie certainly have it better than the documentary of a ‘90s clothing giant (White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch) and even they may have it better than the one at the center of a Lena Hea...2022-04-241h 18
Movie MadnessEpisode 299: Everything Everywhere By The BayNo rest for Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy who take on nine new films this week. They include a trio of documentaries ranging from skateboarding (Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off) to SpaceX (Return to Space) to a bovine with her own movie (Cow). Steve looks at a comedy about wannabe high school metalheads (Metal Lords) and Erik looks at an unintentional comedy based on the life of Celine Dion (Aline). Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton are former CIA partners on a mole hunt (All the Old Knives) and a video game adaptation gets a sequel (Sonic the...2022-04-111h 54
Movie MadnessEpisode 294: X Marks The Spot In Deep WaterErik Childress and Steve Prokopy tackle seven new films this week. They include a couple from Sundance they have not talked about yet from the 2-part documentary on HBO MAX from Amy Berg about Evan Rachel Wood’s traumatic relationship with Marilyn Manson (Phoenix Rising) and Regina Hall in a ghost story about racial dynamics on a college campus (Master). Steve reviews about a Buddy Guy apprenticeship (The Torch) and Erik handles an odd hostage comic thriller with Jason Segel, Lily Collins and Jesse Plemons (Windfall). There is a better example of the singular setting chess game in a th...2022-03-201h 36
Movie MadnessEpisode 289: Overcome With Cyrano And BatmanErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back to their old ways, reviewing ten new movies on this week’s show including a little early preview. The rest include a tale of obesity and bullying (Butter) and a family hooks up on Zoom to grieve grandma (Family Squares). More pandemic cinema takes Naomi Watts on a jog of social terror (The Desperate Hour) and Havana Rose Liu ends up at the worst rest stop (No Exit). There is also the story about record label head Alan McGee (Creation Stories) and Andy Garcia looking for someone to write his biography (Big Go...2022-03-012h 00
Movie MadnessEpisode 285: To The Moon With You JackassThe weekly movie reviews return to the podcast with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy talking about eight new movies and the 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper’s 1980 film, Out of the Blue. Flash-forward to 1984 for the new documentary about David Lynch’s sci-fi adaptation (The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune) or back to post-Civil War for a little western horror (Ghosts of the Ozarks). Steve tells you where you can see baby animals (The Wolf and the Lion) or take a train for one of this year’s Best Foreign Language Film contenders (Compartment No. 6). Tim Roth takes an extended vacati...2022-02-061h 34
Movie MadnessEpisode 281: 2022 Begins With A January MovieMovie Madness begins 2022 with its weekly review show and a few holdovers from 2021 that are only beginning to open wider. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy catch up on the latest collaboration from Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), George Clooney directs Ben Affleck in a coming-of-age memoir (The Tender Bar) and Asghar Farhadi pushes everyone into another moral conundrum (A Hero). There is also a cat-and-mouse game between a blind girl and a group of thieves not called Wait Until Dark (See For Me). But as it is January there are also movies that belong in January such...2022-01-121h 19
Movie MadnessEpisode 279: Back to the Matrix with PizzaThe last movie review edition of the podcast for 2021 is an epic one. Over two-and-a-half hours discussing 11 films including three that were chosen to be a part of this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival. They include Isabelle Fuhrmann trying to do for rowing what Whiplash did from drumming (The Novice), Olivia Colman having an introspective vacation in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut (The Lost Daughter) and the latest from the director of The Florida Project (Red Rocket). Science-fiction is very present this week with Chloe Grace Moretz as a pregnant woman on the run from a robot uprising (Moth...2021-12-202h 39
Movie MadnessEpisode 276: Spielberg, Chaplin, Lucy and a Couple DisastersSix new movies are covered on the weekly movie review edition of the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at a new documentary about a film legend (The Real Charlie Chaplin) and the week from hell of a TV legend (Being the Ricardos). A film dramatizes the debate over compensating student athletes (National Champions) but who will compensate us for the latest from Sandra Bullock (The Unforgivable) and Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up). Then if you missed the full show with Sergio Mims, Steve gets his chance to talk about Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. 2021-12-131h 50
Movie MadnessEpisode 274: C’mon C’mon And Listen For Adrienne And BenedettaMovie theaters tend to slow down the week after Thanksgiving but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have seven movies you can see there or at home. They catch up on the latest from Mike Mills with Joaquin Phoenix (C’mon C’mon). Sci-fi takes some questionable turns in an apocalyptic “comedy” (Silent Night) and a kidnapping drama that is questionably referred to as “science fiction” (Encounter). Surprisingly there is no such label on the story of people who believe they are animals (Wolf). Erik reminds you of a Toronto fest documentary that is now available on HBO (Listening to Kenny G...2021-12-061h 38
Movie MadnessEpisode 271: The Power of Doth Protestin’ Too MuchThe weekly review edition of the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy never plans out a theme but sometimes they just appear. Post-Thanksgiving shopping is never quite as bad in this week’s horror film (Black Friday) and the same might be said for Abel Ferrara’s new work (Zeros and Ones). Why is Alanis Morrissette complaining about her documentary (Jagged) when a teacher has a more serious beef when her sex tape goes public (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn). Andrew Garfield is a wannabe composer facing 30 (tick…tick…Boom!) while Robert B. Weide was in his early 20...2021-11-211h 54
Movie MadnessEpisode 267: Everyone On The Verge Of A Nervous BreakdownEight new movies are after your attention on the weekly review episode with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy and it’s a pretty solid lineup with at least one big exception. Erik reminds you of Stanley Nelson’s terrific documentary on the infamous prison standoff (Attica) and Steve looks at a new breed of vampire film (Dead & Beautiful). There’s a voice inside Olivia Munn’s head and its not pleasant (Violet) and Jim Cummings faces the consequences of an anonymous Hollywood sexual encounter (The Beta Test). Which do you think is the better threesome of the week? Dwayne Johnson...2021-11-081h 51
Movie MadnessEpisode 264: Cowboys, Thieves and The Swingin’ SixtiesIt’s a light week on the weekly review show, but there is a still a half-dozen titles to discuss between Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They include Michael Shannon trying to bring a collegiate rowing team together (Heart of Champions) and hypnotherapy going wrong for Kate Siegel (Hypnotic). For those who wanted an Army of the Dead prequel sans the zombies, you got it (Army of Thieves), but you may want a different Netflix throwback instead with an all-star, guns-a-blazin’ western (The Harder They Fall). Finally on Halloween weekend you have your chosen between a horror film from the...2021-10-311h 24
Movie MadnessEpisode 262: By Will Alone, Dune Is Set In MotionYou want movie reviews? You get them here as Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy give you the standard they love to hit with ten reviews, including revisiting the emotional powerhouse from SXSW (Introducing, Selma Blair), another documentary about the January 6th insurrection (Four Hours at the Capitol) and even another about one of the legendary makeup artists (Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini). They catch up on some festival horror films they did not get to on the shows from Sundance & SXSW (Broadcast Signal Intrusion, Knocking) and another trying to blend vampires with Michael Mann (Night Teeth...2021-10-242h 03
Movie MadnessEpisode 261: The Last Duel But Not The Last HalloweenErik Childress and Steve Prokopy return for the weekly movie reviews with the lighter lineup but no less lively a discussion. They look at the various scenes of a writer’s marriage in Mia Hansen-Love’s Bergman Island and the history of a legendary band in Todd Haynes’ documentary, The Velvet Underground. Bobcat Goldthwait and Dana Gould go on with their comedy tour after a bad car accident in the documentary, Joy Ride. Ridley Scott began his career with The Duellists and now brings us the historical, if still timely, drama The Last Duel. And if its lively discussion you se...2021-10-171h 27
Movie MadnessEpisode 259: October Is Actually Some Time To DieErik Childress and Steve Prokopy continue to show why you can’t do this on the radio when they take the time to review another ten movies available this week including revisiting a film they disagreed on from Sundance this year (Mass). With Jason Reitman’s reboot just a month away, Erik takes a look at a documentary about the original (Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters). He also discusses Jason Sudeikis and Evangeline Lilly as a star-crossed couple thrust into a film noir plot (South of Heaven). Being October, there is plenty of horror and the guys split duties...2021-10-102h 13
Movie MadnessEpisode 256: Get Outta My Past, Get Into My CarErik Childress and Steve Prokopy hit the magic number again this week. Ten movie reviews for your curiosity including a trio of horror films to kick off October (Bingo Hell, Black As Night, No One Gets Out Alive). For lighter fare you can choose between Danielle McDonald wanting to become an opera singer (Falling for Figaro) or a pair of sisters trying to comically rescue their grandmother from a nursing home at the beginning of the pandemic (Stop and Go). Dan Stevens plays a robot trying to be the perfect companion in Germany’s official entry for the Oscars (I’...2021-10-042h 12
Movie MadnessEpisode 255: Mysteries, Suicides and SongsAnother eight movies are on the docket for Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy this week. They include documentaries about the young star of Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice (The Most Beautiful Boy in the World) and a non-binary black activist (My Name Is Pauli Murray). Ben Whishaw snaps, takes to the streets and goes on a crime spree (Surge) and Freida Pinto tries to solve a mystery happening under her own roof (Intrusion). Tom Skerritt goes off on a journey after a cancer diagnosis to potentially end his life (East of the Mountains) while Melissa McCarthy tries to go...2021-09-261h 51
Movie MadnessEpisode 254: Macho, Macho Men (And Tammy Faye)Eight new films are reviewed on the show by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They include two documentaries that take us out of this world (The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station) and out of the mind of singer St. Vincent (The Nowhere Inn). Steve discusses an immigration romance (Blue Bayou) and both look at Aubrey Plaza’s attempt to revive a publishing house with Michael Caine’s surly author (Best Sellers). Steve also has his eyes on a biopic of the infamous televangelists (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and then it’s Macho Man time with Nicolas Cage on the...2021-09-221h 52
Movie MadnessEpisode 253: It’s Time To Cut Out A Dozen ReviewsErik Childress and Steve Prokopy once again go the extra mile reviewing a total of 12 new films on the show. They go from Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales looking at each other on Zoom (Language Lessons) to Sydney Sweeney looking at everything else – and us right back (The Voyeurs). There’s another mountain climber documentary (The Alpinist) as well as the relationship of two icons at their peak (Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali). Stop if you seen Riz Ahmed as a rocker with a degenerative health defect (Mogul Mowgli) or a poisoned assassin protecting another child (Kate). A grou...2021-09-162h 23
Movie MadnessEpisode 252: What Is Influencer Cinema Worth?Getting you ten movie reviews a week is becoming a standard here on the show. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy deliver again with Shea Whigham as a social worker trying to protect single mother Olivia Munn (The Gateway) and Guy Pierce as a P.I. in the future looking for a missing person in a city of androids (Zone 414). Three neighborhoods you don’t want to move into include Gracie Gillam’s host from hell (Superhost), Taryn Manning’s super racist white lady (Karen) and Pat Healy’s unhinged father in a lockdown crisis (We Need To Do Something). “Influencer...2021-09-081h 57
Movie MadnessEpisode 249: Can The Candyman Can?The title suggests something equally sweet and horrible and art can be both. There is certainly a lot of art and artists on this week’s movie review episode. There are influencers and a photographer in the remake of She’s All That (He’s All That). The music and life of Guy Clark is featured in a new documentary (Without Getting Caught or Killed). There’s the story of a domino artist named Lily Hevesh (Lily Topples the World) and a guy who is good with numbers but bad with social interaction and fumigation (Mosquito State). But there is also...2021-08-312h 05
Movie MadnessEpisode 247: You Wish You Were Really Here…or There…or Not.The weekly movie review edition of the show is here with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy reviewing ten new films. They remind you of a ‘80s music documentary from SXSW (Under the Volcano) as well as docs about noted activists (Unapologetic, Not Going Quietly). Steve covers a dyslexia drama (Confetti) and the new film by Sean Penn starring his daughter (Flag Day) while Erik settles for Jason Momoa getting sweet revenge vs. Big Pharma (Sweet Girl). After that they tackle new horror films from Neill Blomkamp (Demonic) and David Bruckner (The Night House), a sci-fi noir from one of th...2021-08-241h 49
Movie MadnessEpisode 243: Dancing To A Different DrumErik Childress and Steve Prokopy return with reviews of seven new movies including three documentaries of various outrage including ISIS sex slaves (Sabaya), aerial journalism (Whirlybird) and the epidemic of wildfires (Bring Your Own Brigade). Udo Kier gets a chance to shine in a leading role (Swan Song) and two very different musicals from Leo Carax (Annette) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Vivo) delight and frustrate. Finally, if you missed out on The Suicide Squad episode with Erik Laws, Steve gets his opportunity to chime in on James Gunn’s anticipated reboot of the comic book. 3:26 – Sabaya 8:34 – Whirly...2021-08-111h 29
Movie MadnessEpisode 241: The Quest for Bigger And Better QuestsErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with this week’s movie review show. Not as many movies as last week but they have a lot to say nevertheless. From a documentary about legendary Second City master Del Close (For Madmen Only) to a twisting true tale of a hacker’s battle with the government (Enemies of the State), that is only the beginning. There is also a parkour-laden modern adaptation of Charles Dickens (Twist) as well as the first movie from the makers of The Djinn which they reviewed in Episode 227 (The Boy Behind the Door). But wait, ther...2021-08-032h 19
Movie MadnessEpisode 238: What’s Old Is Still OldEpisode 238: What’s Old Is Still Old Fondly we joke about not being able to do this on the radio like we used to, but find another show that offers up 13 movie reviews in a single episode. Cause that is what you get from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy here including documentaries ranging from sharks to Woodstock ’99 and Alvin Ailey to Val Kilmer. There are vampires on a plane (Blood Red Sky), giant flies in a trunk (Mandibles) and the end of our world played for laughs (How It Ends) and drama (Settlers). Megan Fox is hunting a se...2021-07-262h 39
Movie MadnessEpisode 237: Pigs & Roadrunners: A New LegacyThis week’s movie review episode with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy has it all. Sharks, pigs, roadrunners, gunfights, milkshakes and basketball. That would be selling it short though as the guys wade through eight films this week including documentaries featuring Eli Roth (Fin) and Anthony Bourdain (Roadrunner). They close the book on a Netflix trilogy (Fear Street Part 3 – 1666) and try to look past a bump in the road on a filmmaker they have appreciated (Die in a Gunfight). Karen Gillan leads a pack of armed female assassins in the John Wick-ish, Gunpowder Milkshake, while Nicolas Cage appears ready to g...2021-07-191h 55
Movie MadnessEpisode 235: You’ve Got To See This, SonIt may not be the epic review show they just did, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still talk about four films you will want to hear before deciding to check out. Steve talks about another whale documentary; the latest from “Cropsey” and “The Sons of Sam” director (The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52). They let you know if the second installment of Netflix’s horror trilogy is any better than last week’s edition (Fear Street Part 2 – 1978) but have just as much to say about Shudder’s latest horror film (Son) and maybe even more. Finally, Steve gets to weigh in on h...2021-07-091h 03
Movie MadnessEpisode 230: Shut Up, Cruella! I Mean, Be Quiet.It’s a return to theaters for Memorial Day weekend as Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy review five new films that you can say at home too. They look at the horror of Funhouse and what happens when you remove Jim Carrey in Skull: The Mask. Potential horror turns into raunchy comedy as two high schoolers hit the road to ward off a potential pregnancy in Plan B. Emma Stone plays the infamous Disney villain as we discover why she may have a grudge against dalmatians in Cruella. Finally, the first movie delayed because of the pandemic arrives in theaters as...2021-06-011h 15
Movie MadnessEpisode 228: Is That Justice?This week’s movie review edition of the show features eight new films discussed by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They each handle a documentary including a new mid-career music tale (Pink: All I Know So Far) and the bizarre mystery of a stamp collection that passes between neighbors (The Penny Black). Steve minces no words of his love for Mads Mikkelsen (Riders of Justice) and Erik catches up on a SXSW title that could be an alternative to the Saw reboot (Sound of Violence). Two more mysteries are in need of solving, one starring Eric Bana (The Dry) and a...2021-05-241h 30
Movie MadnessEpisode 227: The Quick Djinn and the DeadThis week’s movie review edition of the podcast features Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at eight new titles this week. We have mysteries, killers and zombies up and down the show including more long-delayed films such as Timur Bekmambetov’s computer screen thriller, Profile, which premiered on the festival circuit in 2018 and Joe Wright’s The Woman in the Window which was first slated for release in October 2019. There is more terror from a young boy trying to survive an hour with The Djinn, Melanie Laurent running out of a crucial element in Oxygen and Chris Rock out to sol...2021-05-161h 57
Movie MadnessEpisode 226: Guy Ritchie – Still Here TodayErik Childress and Steve Prokopy open May 2021 with eight (mostly) new movie reviews. There’s a racially-charged Sundance drama that premiered in 2018 (Monster), the true story of an FBI informant played by Emilia Clarke who got too close to her handler that was made in 2019 (Above Suspicion) the same year when 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot premiered at the Austin Film Festival. They also look at a documentary about Sean Penn’s philanthropic efforts (Citizen Penn), Mena Suvari forced to find stolen diamonds at a storage facility (Locked In) and David Oyelowo’s directorial debut (The Water Man) that sha...2021-05-081h 33
Movie MadnessEpisode 224: We End April Without RemorseErik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at another ten movies this week to close out April. Steve checks in on a documentary about Alan Ladd Jr. (Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies), Brian Tyree Henry is an introvert locked out of his apartment (The Outside Story) and the tale of an Syrian immigrant waiting for asylum in Scotland (Limbo) while Erik talks about a female arm-wrestling comedy (Golden Arm). The pair also discuss Anson Mount as an egocentric assassin (The Virtuoso), jerky teenagers in Dublin (Here Are The Young Men) and junkie Mila Kunis seeking help from mom Glenn Close...2021-05-021h 56
Movie MadnessEpisode 222: GET OVER HERE (and listen to our movie reviews, please!)There are a couple of great battles in the films reviewed on this episode, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy leave no film behind this week before debating their merits. Ten films on the docket including films about pigs with no dialogue (Gunda), werewolves with some songwriting (Bloodthirsty) and Lovecraftian fish people who want to spawn with a couple (The Deep Ones). Ed Helms wants Patti Harrison to carry his baby (Together Together) and William Jackson Harper wants to know why Aya Cash won’t marry him (We Broke Up). A pair of documentaries explore the origins of a unique ce...2021-04-252h 11
Movie MadnessEpisode 220: Join the Chosen Few, Barbara Crampton!We’re only halfway through April 2021 and the good movies are few and far between. But Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy may actually have a few recommendations for you this week and it arrives with horror in all its manifestations. There is a haunted house (The Banishing), backwoods farmers (Honeydew) and the woods themselves (In the Earth). But there are also toxic relationships (Monday, Slalom), shadow organizations (Trigger Point, The Rookies) and Ruby Rose running down jobs for a wheelchair-bound Morgan Freeman (Vanquish). But there is nothing horrible about the wonderful Barbara Crampton getting a chance to sink her teeth in...2021-04-171h 43
Movie MadnessEpisode 218: Blast Off, Falcone!Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at six movies on this week’s show. They review a story of the brutal military service of South Africa (Moffie), what a refugee will do to flee civil war (The Man Who Sold His Skin), a visual landscape brought to you by one of Terrence Malick’s cinematographers (Awaken) and how one survives the night shift at a haunted hospital (The Power). Most of their discussion this week is reserved for how Ben Falcone is failing Melissa McCarthy in their fifth collaboration (Thunder Force) and what happens when a filmmaker tries to mask the...2021-04-111h 06
Movie MadnessEpisode 217: The Unholy Terror Of Awful PeopleErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with this week’s movie reviews. Six films in a somewhat lackluster week, albeit a few recommendations. But which film(s) will it be? Can it be another corporate rise-and-fall documentary (WeWork: The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn)? Is Michelle Pfeiffer as a rich socialite the draw (French Exit) or is it Idris Elba as an urban cowboy (Concrete Cowboy)? Maybe its Jeffrey Dean Morgan fighting against Christian horror (Roe v Wade – sorry, The Unholy) or a young Jewish woman in a den of disappointment directed at her (Shiva Baby)? No, sure...2021-04-051h 20
Movie MadnessEpisode 214: The SXSW Film Festival (2021 Virtual Edition)The first fully virtual SXSW Film Festival is in the books and while they are already planning a return to an in-person event in 2022, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy run down over a dozen films that played this year. It was a remarkable year for female-centric stories including standouts by Barbara Crampton, Olivia Munn and Andrea Risborough. Documentaries introduced us to the world’s greatest domino toppler, those who mounted Alien as a stage production and many of the great women in stand-up comedy. Not everything was played for laughs as there were harrowing stories about Demi Lovato and Selma Bl...2021-03-272h 24
Movie MadnessEpisode 212: This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get! Happy?Come for the killer pants, stay for the most anticipated four-hour director’s cut miniseries chapter play of 2021. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy review seven new titles on the show this week including Chris Smith’s documentary about the college admissions scandal (Operation Varsity Blues), Benedict Cumberbatch as a reluctant spy (The Courier) and Johnny Depp trying to solve the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. (City of Lies). But that’s not all as we have those blue jeans that want to kill you (Slaxx), A psychological thriller about a young woman looking for her birth parents (Rose Plays...2021-03-211h 40
Movie MadnessEpisode 208: Woody Allen’s Less Blurry WorldOn this week’s movie review show, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy get into the ambition of the opioid takes with Andrew Jarecki’s Traffic-like, Crisis, as well as the Russo Brothers’ war-and-drug epic, Cherry, with Tom Holland. Lee Daniels takes another slap at ambition singing the blues with The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Another Billie has the beginning of her career examined in the documentary, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. Julie Delpy writes, directs and stars in the tragic family drama with a twist, My Zoe, and Jewish tradition collides with all-night horror in The Vigil. B...2021-03-012h 25
Movie MadnessEpisode 206: I Really Don’t Care, Do You?The latest from Netflix, Disney Plus and more are focused on this week’s movie review episode with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They look at the latest film from the director of First Girl I Loved (The Violent Heart), a new version of a Noel Coward play (Blithe Spirit), the adventures of a superhuman squirrel or at least the humans around it (Flora & Ulysses) and what happens when a woman falls in love with a carnival ride (Jumbo). Steve checks out films delving into the profitability of treatment centers (Body Brokers) and the rabbit hole of the dark web (Si...2021-02-211h 25
Movie MadnessEpisode 205: From Minari to Vista Del MarErik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back with reviews of the movies you don’t need a festival to see even if that’s where many of this week’s titles originated. They talk about one of the best from last year’s Sundance (Minari) and a trio from this year’s (Judas and the Black Messiah, Land, The World To Come). A remnant of the 2019 Toronto Film Festival is a horrific take on being a true believer (Saint Maud). There is another edition to the Groundhog Day Cinematic Universe (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things) and one to the Guantanamo...2021-02-161h 59
Movie MadnessEpisode 198: Friends, Brothers and Frank StalloneIt may be a limited week of reviews but there are still some choice titles to check out as well as a few to stay away from. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at the latest films from Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Agnieszka Holland (Spoor). Matthias Schoenaerts & Joel Kinnaman are cousins working within the Philadelphia mob (Brothers by Blood) and the bonds of fathers and sons are tested along the border in No Man’s Land. Frank Oz directs Derek DelGaudio’s one-man show (in & of Itself). Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson struggle through a cancer battle but are...2021-01-231h 25
Movie MadnessEpisode 197: Strap In And Lock Down For 2021The first official movie review show of 2021 arrives with ten films, including a few holdovers from the end of 2020, discussed by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They catch-up with Robert Rodriguez’s latest family film (We Can Be Heroes) and the bonkers WWII action horror film (Shadow in the Cloud) with Chloe Grace Moretz. Anthony Mackie is a more modern warrior with more sci-fi action (Outside the Wire), Liam Neeson tries to save an immigrant child from the drug cartels (The Marksman) and everyone tries to get saved from an active volcano (Skyfire). The government’s surveillance of a civil righ...2021-01-182h 01
Movie MadnessEpisode 188: Just Breathe, Emma, Or On Second Thought, Don’t!The movie reviews continue with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy and true to form they are reviewing another dozen new movies on this show. Included are documentaries covering the first wife of Johnny Cash (My Darling Vivian) and the women accused of a prominent North Korean murder (Assassins). Rachel Brosnahan is on the run in Julia Hart’s latest (I’m Your Woman) and everyone is in hiding in a COVID-23 thriller (Songbird). Jamie Dornan believes he is cursed to never be with Emily Blunt in John Patrick Shanley’s latest (Wild Mountain Thyme) and Joe Mangianello is a superh...2020-12-141h 58
Movie MadnessEpisode 186: Senses, Nomads and Santa ClausTwo more glorious hours with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy as they review another dozen movies for your consideration. They look at the latest in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series (Red, White and Blue). Senses are diminished in a pair of films (Sound of Metal, Another Round) and wish they could have been dulled with the melodramatic horror of matrimony preparation (All My Life; Love, Weddings and Other Disasters). There is traditional horror in a remake (Castle Freak) and personal horror for Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear). Steve looks at the latest work with Andrea Riseborough (Luxor) and Erik ch...2020-12-072h 05
Movie MadnessEpisode 185: Great Music, No Music And A Lack Of IntelligenceWe may not have a traditional holiday movie season post-Thanksgiving, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have reviews of ten new films you can see on streaming services. For families still venturing out into theaters they take a look at “The Croods: A New Age”. Another reluctant return to family is explored in Alan Ball’s “Uncle Frank” as well as the Bella Thorne starrer, “Girl.” We revisit a turning point in video games (“Insert Coin”), a period in the life, if not music (any music) of David Bowie (“Stardust”) and the entire life of another musician (“Zappa”). Steve delves into the corr...2020-11-281h 47
Movie MadnessEpisode 183: Run, Don’t Jiu JitsuBack-to-back movie review episodes. The last one had a dozen reviews. This one has a dozen reviews courtesy of Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy including Christmas offerings featuring Kurt Russell (“The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two”) and a galaxy far, far away (“The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special”). They look at five documentaries ranging from facial recognition tech (“Coded Bias”), the psychology of murder (“Crazy, Not Insane”), the making of a horror masterpiece (“Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist”) a healthcare mystery (“Collective”) and the one involving John F. Kennedy (“Truth is the Only Client”). They also talk about the beginning of Steve...2020-11-231h 57
Movie MadnessEpisode 182: Freaky Hillbillies & Fossil Lovin’Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back for over two hours of uninterrupted conversation on new movies being released in theaters and on streaming this week. They cover documentaries about meteors (“Fireball”), deep sea diving (“Dave Not Coming Back”), climate change activism (“I Am Greta”) and the mystery of a woman searching for her dead child (“Where She Lies”). They go from “Jungleland” to “Dreamland” to Never Never Land (“Come Away”). Things get a little “Freaky” with Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton and a lot with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan (“Ammonite”). Finally they listen to the grievances of “Echo Boomers” and those from Ron Howar...2020-11-162h 20