OSPs / Movie Events on Captain Marvel, Ant Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, & Black Panther.

+ 6 Episodes reviewing the first 18 films in the MCU. 3 spoiler reviews per ep leading up to Infinity War.

+ Previews of recent releases like Captain Marvel & a Ranking Episode of our favorites.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Series Review

Non-Spoiler Sections come first featuring our look behind-the-scenes to discuss the production profile, and all OSP movie reviews also discuss all the potential nominations via our Oscar Lens, usually done in non-spoilers. Then we have a dance music spoiler warning before we dive into the plot.

Every year, we review as many Oscar hopefuls & eventual nominees within this OSP series. So go back & enjoy our previous 2017 & 2018 episodes as well.

As for 2019/20, we've gotten off to a slower start with less awards worthy films than in previous years. But the movies we did get, boy, were they pretty terrific. Avengers: Endgame, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Toy Story 4, The Farewell, Luce, etc are just a few of our 2019 favorites in this ever growing list. If the schedule plays out as we project, we'll likely add to this playlist on a weekly basis.

2019/20 Oscar Sprint Profiles

***THIS IS A SPOILER FILLED EPISODE***
In our MCU Review 1, we discuss Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, & Iron Man 2 with full spoilers in play.  Although there may be foreshadowing, we avoid spoilers for future MCU films.


MCU Review Format - 2:50

Iron Man:
Specs - 4:55
Story Recap - 9:21
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 14:17
Yinsen Issues - 22:50
Screenwriting Going Against Convention - 24:10
The Oscars Lens on Iron Man - 26:35
Best Scene/Worst Scene - 28:35

The Incredible Hulk:
Specs - 31:27
Story Recap - 37:16
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 40:57
The Oscar Lens on The Incredible Hulk - 45:25
Worst Scenes/Best Scenes - 46:22

Iron Man 2:
Specs - 50:49
Story Recap - 53:26
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 55:24
Best Scene/Oscar Lens on Iron Man 2 - 1:01:42
Worst Scenes - 1:05:27

Episode Recap/Final Thoughts - 1:11:13

You wanted it, Mike needed it, and the other Mike is happily along for the ride.  We at MMO are continuing the diverse programming of the Oscar Off-Season by diving into a 6 Part Series on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  We’ll take the 18 films and review them in order, 3 films per episode in the lead up to The Avengers: Infinity War, premiering April 27th.  

Today’s episode covers Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2.  The format for each review includes a Specs segment that recaps the Box Office, Critical Reception, Awards, and a production note or two.  Then we zip through a plot summary and analyze the highs & lows from our usual best scene / worst scene segment before completing these reviews with an Oscar Lens, where we compare the elements of the MCU film with those nominated at that year’s Academy Awards.

Iron Man launches the Robert Downey Jr led franchise as well as it grounds the MCU with star power.  Showcasing one of the better executed origin stories in the superhero genre, the film also admits some weakness regarding the series wide villain problem and attempts to make up for it with trickery, and one might say, a scary tone of voice.  Did they succeed?  We also fight over the wigs AND bald caps in this film.

The Incredible Hulk begs questions about whether it’s a sequel or a reboot or a seboot or a requel.  All we really know is that it’s Edward Norton’s first & only turn as Bruce Banner, and sadly his last starring role as the protagonist in a big budget Hollywood film.  As we get into our review, that villain problem isn’t exactly solved in this film either.  But there are some fun moments & callbacks to Hulk lore, and we wonder if the box office failure might have been a blessing in disguise.

Iron Man 2 both manages to elevate it’s star and round out the ensemble.  We get more agency for Pepper Potts, more screen time for Nick Fury, a lot more Rhodie, and we’re introduced to Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow.  So this money making sequel had many highlights going for it.  But we also debate how and why it missed the high marks set by the original and how the MCU missed the great opportunities for other films that demanded their own stories.

Our MCU Review Part 2 will review the rest of Phase One including Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Marvel’s The Avengers.  So stay tuned.

Other programming will include another Hollywood News episode, some upcoming movie reviews of new releases about to hit theaters, a Netflix Quarterly with an overview of all the Netflix Original Movies released since we our last 2017 review of the streaming service, and we’ll get back to our retrospectives on former Oscar races.

As always, thanks for listening.  We’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  Do chat with us on social media, and if you can, please help us spread the word about our show with a few clicks, a positive review, or simply by telling some people to tune into MMO.

YouTube Page

MCU Review #1 - Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 - Ep 56 - Avengers: Infinity War Leadup

***This is a Spoiler Filled Episode***
We discuss the plots of Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers.  Although we may foreshadow things, we do steer clear of spoilers for future MCU films.

Thor
Specs - 3:16
Also Mike’s Super Long Plot Recap 1 - 7:18
Overall Film Impressions - 17:26
GoT in the MCU?? - 19:16
SHIELD Building + Bright Blue Squares - 20:20
Plot Issues- 21:17
Best Scenes - 22:58
Worst Scenes - 24:18
Oscar Lens of Thor - 26:46
Stan Lee Cameo/Post Credits Scene - 28:53

Captain America: The First Avenger
Specs - 29:42
Also Mike’s Super Long Plot Recap 2 - 33:59
Best Scene/Worst Scene - 49:31
Oscar Lens of Captain America - 53:06
Stan Lee Cameo/Post Credits Scene - 54:35

Marvel’s The Avengers
Specs - 55:23
Also Mike’s Super Long Plot Recap 3 - 59:04
Film Impressions - 1:09:47
Best Scenes - 1:14:02
Worst Scenes/Plot Issues - 1:15:25
Oscar Lens of The Avengers - 1:17:49

Overall Thoughts of These 3 Films - 1:21:26

Final Thoughts - 1:22:53


Our review of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues through the end of Phase One with films 3 through 6: Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers.  The ambitiousness of all 3 films impressed the hell out of us, but there are certainly strengths and weaknesses for us to react and to of course, overreact to in patented MMO fashion.

For some insane reason, we decided to flip jobs for this episode as Mike No 1 handled the specs including each of the film’s premiere & release, box office & critical reception, cast, crew, & production nuggets.  While Also Mike, the ever so long winded of the two of us was tasked with the plot summaries.  The result is a MUCH longer synopsis and breakdown of each plot.  So the bad news is that if you loved our breezy synopses of MCU 1, this is not that.  But the good news might be - you get a deeper dive into the plot, and Mike No 1 banters into it with a whole lot of wonderful nonsense, including multiple references to Taylor Swift lyrics, which also might be worth the price of admission (Wait, we’re a free podcast?  Mooving on.).

The second MCU trio unleashes the movie critics in both of us.  We gush over what we love, which is a whole helipad of a lot, and we snark like we’ve never snarked before over the plot holes and other lows, MOSTLY involved in the first two films.  Then we have a love fest over the culmination of the phase that was the box office triumph, The Avengers.  
It was another fun episode to record, & we hope our enthusiasm for the MCU comes across the WiFi as you listen.  Go back & listen to MCU 1 where we reviewed Iron Man 1 + 2 along with The Incredible Hulk, and stay tuned for our next installment in the MCU review series covering Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  

The next two weeks of programming will include the MCU part 3, another Hollywood Hot Takes, some movie reviews of current releases, our introduction of a fun new game we wanna play with all of you (just wait for that), and as long promised, our Netflix Quarterly covering the last 3+ months of Netflix Original programming on our favorite streaming service.

Chat with us on social media.  We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  As always, do please help us spread the word about our show.  We’re having way too much fun not to spread it around to more people.  So we hope the feeling’s mutual, and we thank you for all the clicks, likes, reviews, and referrals in advance.  When reality’s sucked, you’ve been watching movies with us, and we thank you for it.  It’s the Oscar Off-Season, and we’re having a blast with our spring programming.  Join us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

RF Music's YouTube

MCU Review #2 - Thor, Captain America, Marvel's The Avengers - - Ep 58 - Fun Films Turned Phenomena

***This is a Spoiler Filled Review***
It’s a full spoiler filled review for Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, & Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as a spoiler warning for the previous films in the MCU.

Iron Man 3
Specs - 2:28
Story Recap - 7:19
Where It Fits in the MCU - 10:02
Best Scenes - 15:55
Worst Scenes - 18:43
Oscar Lens - 23:28

Thor: The Dark World
Specs - 27:31
Story Recap - 31:18
Where It Fits in the MCU - 33:57
Best Scenes - 42:37
Worst Scenes - 44:06
Oscar Lens - 46:50

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Specs - 48:48
Story Recap - 54:59
Where It Fits in the MCU - 57:20
Best Scenes - 1:03:33
Worst Scenes - 1:10:28
Oscar Lens - 1:13:05

Closing Thoughts - 1:17:57


Avengers: Infinity War is a few weeks away, and we’re here to catch you up on all 18 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  This is our review of films 7 through 9, including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, & Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  You can go back to our first two MCU pods to hear our reviews of Phase One, but it’s time to genre hop into the Kevin Feige’s second phase of his favorite childhood stories with these three sequels.

The money really starts to pour into the bank accounts of the Walt Disney corporation as they are now teamed up with Marvel Studios, and our production profiles cover the stars of the Cast & Crew, each film’s box office & critical reception, their awards big & small, and a production nugget or two (because I can’t resist).  Then our review portion breaks down the plots of each film with brisk synopses from Mike No 1 (& yes, Also Mike hereby retires from this task), and we rant & rave about our best & worst scenes.  Then we discuss how the films coulda / shoulda fit into the Academy Awards of that year, if they could have been considered in the Big 7 categories that we like to cover most on this pod, or if they did or should have factored into the other 17 Oscars.

The highs and lows of Iron Man 3 is a roller coaster ride of film appreciation and criticism, where one of us Mike’s loves to hate a child, and the other Mike goes off on a tangent about John Wick and that cinematic universe involving gun-fu.  Thor: The Dark World shortens it’s prologue, but falls into some plot holes just the same.  Still, there are some strong performances and progress to be made with this film, especially when another infinity stone is uncovered from the planet earth.  Then we gush over the action spectacular that is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while also lamenting it’s continuation of the Hydra storyline.  We roar, and we rage throughout these 3 reviews.  You don’t wanna miss em.’  

Stay tuned for the next 3 MCU reviews, the fourth installment including Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Avengers: Age of Ultron is scheduled for the end of this week with the following two coming soon afterward.  We’ll mix in a few smaller pods including a review of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs.  Then we’ll review April’s mega-movie event, Avengers: Infinity War.  

Do please mix it up with us on social media.  We’re @MMandOscar on twitter.  Send us your #SeeBuySkip ‘s as we’ll be happy to include those on forthcoming episodes.  We’re also on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail.  Mikemikeandoscar.com is further down the road of development.  It is now out of development hell so to speak, and we hope to launch it in the foreseeable future.  Then of course, do please help us spread the word about MMO.  We sincerely appreciate all your listens, likes, and feedback.  We’re very pleased to have kept our audience growing past the Oscars.  So from the bottom of our movie loving hearts, we thank you.  When reality has sucked, you’ve been watching movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

NCM's YouTube page

MCU Review #3 - Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Ep 63

***This Episode is Spoiler Filled***
We break down Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man with full plot details & debate.

Guardians of the Galaxy:
Cast and Crew - 1:58
Box Office/Reception - 5:09
Plot Overview - 11:53
Where it Fits in the MCU - 13:45
Best Scenes - 22:06
Worst Scenes - 27:41
Oscar Lens - 29:59

Avengers: Age of Ultron:
Cast and Crew - 34:22
Box Office/Reception - 35:19
Plot Overview - 39:20
Where it Fits in the MCU - 42:25
Best Scenes - 50:56
Breaking Down the Finale - 57:01
Worst Scenes - 58:47
Oscar Lens - 1:03:42

The Best 3 MCU Movie Stretch? - 1:05:10
See, Buy, Skip - 1:05:33

Ant Man:
Cast and Crew - 1:06:56
Box Office/Reception - 1:08:27
Plot Overview - 1:11:50
Where it Fits in the MCU - 1:13:31
Best Scenes - 1:18:30
Worst Scenes - 1:22:33
Oscar Lens - 1:25:00

Final Thoughts/Social Medias - 1:26:34


So we felt like a lot of Sponge-Bob gif’s where we’re about to overflow with happiness during this recording.  Both of us reserve a special place in our hearts for the Guardians of the Galaxy, we’re huge fans of Joss Whedon, and from Evangeline Lilly to Edgar Wright’s screenplay, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Ant-Man.  As jam packed with content & criticism as we’ve ever been here on MMO, this is MCU Review No 4 for Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man.

Guardians of the Galaxy feels like another pay-off for Disney & Marvel’s strategy to make expertly crafted genre films out of their properties.  We love many moments big & small, we gush, we rave, & we turn into fanboys for much of this first review because if nothing else, these characters of Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot are a great hang.  

Avengers: Age of Ultron is also quite the movie, epic in his scale and humongous in its ambition, if not it’s casting.  We theorize about the blockbuster bias of the Academy with the strange snubbing of the film in all of the technical categories, there’s a seriously large plot to break down and fit into the MCU, and then we talk some story structure by review’s end.  It’s a substantive discussion that of course rants and raves and digresses as only we can.  

Be on the lookout for our See, Buy, Skip around this point in the pod.  As Mike1 hands AlsoMike a nearly impossible choice to decide between 3 of his MCU favorites.

Then, Ant-Man is a slow starter, but we come to praise it all the same.  The story production backstory might be more interesting than the first act, and we chronicle some of the Edgar Wright film that could have been.  Then we have rage for some of the movie’s failings before we’re won over by the charms of Disney, Marvel, Rudd, Lilly, Pena, and jokes about size.  There is catharsis in our review and break down of this plot.  How many movie critics can give you somma that??!!  

As always, we have too much fun, and there’s more on the way.  We have an ambitious recording & release schedule coming up over the next few weeks as we’ll cover the MCU and Avengers: Infinity War from Iron Man to Black Panther, from Phase 1 to 3, and from blockbuster popcorn to serious Oscar talk.  

MMO is all over social media.  We’re on Twitter (@MMandOscar), Instagram (@MikeMikeAndOscar), Facebook (Mike, Mike, and Oscar), Reddit (MikeMikeAndOscar), and Gmail (Mikemikeandoscar@gmail.com).  Get at us, chat with us, and if you can, please help us spread the word about our show.  But whatever you do, stick to the plan.  When reality sucks, watch movies with us.  Escape and take a break with two goofy idiots in their basement as we continue to have a ton of fun chatting up the movie world.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

NCM's YouTube

MCU Review #4 - Guardians 1, Avengers 2, and Ant Man's Debut - Ep 64

***This Episode is Spoiler Filled***
We break down Civil War, Dr. Strange, & Guardians 2 with full plot details.

Captain America: Civil War:
Cast and Crew - 1:40
Box Office/Reception - 2:45
Plot Overview - 7:23
Where it Fits in MCU - 10:12
Best Scenes - 22:09
Worst Scenes - 29:20
Oscar Lens - 33:42

Doctor Strange:
Cast and Crew - 37:47
Box Office/Reception - 38:35
Plot Overview - 41:30
Where it Fits in MCU - 43:56
Best Scenes - 48:36
Worst Scenes - 50:51
Oscar Lens - 54:38

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2:
Cast and Crew - 58:24
Box Office/Reception - 59:21
Plot Overview - 1:02:20
Where it Fits in MCU - 1:04:50
Best Scenes - 1:11:26
Worst Scenes - 1:18:22
Oscar Lens - 1:21:28

MCU See, Buy, Skips - 1:25:41
Social Media/Final Thoughts - 1:27:06


It’s Avengers week!!!  Our affinity for the Infinity War should be obvious at this point as this episode marks the 5th in our review of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Check out MCU 1 through 4, where we cover Iron Man through Ant Man, MCU films 1 through 12.  In this episode no. 5, we review the action spectacular that is Captain America: Civil War, the visual spectacular that is Doctor Strange, and the comic spectacular that is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.  Yes, there were a lot of spectaculars, and yes, I really enjoy that word.

Do stay tuned for our 6th episode of the series, which we’ll release later this week covering Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Black Panther.  For a fuller review of Black Panther, also check out episodes 42 & 43.  We’ll update you on the news surrounding this year’s biggest blockbuster and first Oscar contender as well as fully bridge the gap to The Infinity War.

Civil War was a magnificent achievement and somehow accomplished by a pair of comedy nerds.  But enough about our review, the Russo brothers are also pretty talented.  We gush about Marvel’s magic touch, compare it to those jabronies over at DC, and then we gush all the more.  We kinda liked this one.

Doctor Strange earns a more balanced and mixed review.  But there are plenty of moments to relish and visual effects to admire.  It’s one of the stronger origin stories to be sure, and we try to give it credit where it’s due.  As for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we’re often reduced to a Chris Farley Show from SNL like simplicity.  “You remember when….you remember that?...that was awesome.”  But we also have some quibbles with this movie too because we can’t silence our inner movie critic, which if we were schizophrenic, may have completely taken us both over at this stage in our podcasting lives.  Regardless, we hope it’s a fun listen.

It’s the Oscar off-season, and we’re having an absolute blast covering some different topics.  Check out our Netflix Quarterly episode (61) where we reviewed over 37 new titles from the streaming giant.  We invented a movie game called SeeBuySkip in ep. 59 and reviewed the movie event that was A Quiet Place (62).  We also did a mock award show for all of the Basketball Movies ever made in a two part mini-series (54 & 55).  But our Oscars clock keeps ticking.  We previewed next year’s show with an episode (53), gave you a history lesson on the winningest films (60), and we’ll have not one but two quick hitters on Best Original Song categories from 1997 and 2013 to be released over the next two weeks.  So stay tuned.

Feel free to contact us on social media.  We’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  Please help us spread the word about our show where & when you can, and of course, we thank you for listening.  When reality sucks, watch movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

MCU Review #5 - Civil War, Dr. Strange, Guardians Volume 2 - Legitimate Oscar Contenders - Ep 65

We discuss MCU implications, go at other critics, & play off our many previews.

***This Review of Captain Marvel has a Spoiler Section***
We also steer clear of Infinity War spoilers for the entirety of the episode.

What is an OSP? - 1:10

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:

Cast and Crew/Production Notes/Story Inception - 3:16
Specs - 7:15
Plot Premise/Expectations - 12:16
Production Values:
Sight - 14:26
Sound - 16:37
Performances - 17:54
Script Thoughts - 25:21
Oscars Lens - 29:30
Final Thoughts - 30:59

Spoiler Warning Dance Music - 32:54

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:

Worst Scenes - 34:26
(While Sneaking in a Best - 38:07)
(Back to Worsts: On the Nose-ness - 39:22)
(The Power is in You - 43:45)

Best Scenes - 45:41
(All Goose, All the Time - 52:03)
(Post Credit Scene 1 - 54:06)
(Post Credit Scene 2 - 56:04)
(Stan Lee Homage - 57:16)

Final Grades - 1:00:10

Social Media/Words of Wisdom - 1:02:45


After previewing Captain Marvel on 5 separate shows, we were thrilled to finally see the movie and kick off our 2019 film year, and yes, there’s certainly an Oscar Lens for this one. This episode is the first of our 2019/2020 Oscars Sprint Profiles.

This episode’s non-spoiler section goes a bit lighter on the production profile since we’ve talked about this film so many times previous. But we do update you on some key numbers before we get into our non-spoiler reviews of the production values, performances, & script. 

Then the spoiler warning dance music plays, and for the first time in awhile, we discuss the worst scenes first that somehow also make us talk about all our favorite & best scenes on top of those. So it’s a strange circular path for our plot breakdown in the spoiler section, but something we think fits well to this particular movie. We chat about the post credit scenes & cameos, and we dive into some of the ramifications Captain Marvel has on the series at large, but we do steer clear of Infinity War spoilers as well.

We’re only two weeks from the Oscars, but our coverage of the 2019 film year is already off to a strong start. Our interview with Awards Circuit’s Clayton Davis discussed how some of the fallout from the Academy Awards could affect this year & seasons to come as a way to set the stage. Then our two part, 100% Accurate Way Too Early Oscar Predictions series kicked things off with quick previews of all of the likely contending films before we debated our way through what to select as our predictions. So now we get back doing what we do best, review movies.

Fighting With My Family, Apollo 11, and Jordan Peele’s Us are all in our upcoming plans, and we’ll continue our usual programming slate of reviews, previews, & interviews throughout spring. Also be sure to tune in to our monday variety show, MMO Weekly, where we have a rotation of segments ranging from the rapid fire reviews of film, TV, youtube & streaming content in What We’re Watching to our audience interactions with our ongoing games of SixDegreesOfMMO, SeeBuySkip & our new Q&A with you called MMOasks. 

Finally, stay tuned for our many retrospectives. If they’re remaking something special, we’ll often review the original first. Then like we did with the entire MCU, 20 films before Captain Marvel here, we’ll just review the entire franchise. Halloween, Mission Impossible, & The Conjuring series retrospectives also fill our back catalog. Bottom Line… With 4+ new episodes a week, if you’re a movie lover, welcome home.

As always, let us know what you think. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

Captain Marvel Review - The 1st 2019/20 Oscar Sprint Profile! - Ep 173

Oldfellas, Rocky Road Revue, De-Aging Bull - just a few of our / your puns. We gripe about the length, we are a two man backlash to the anti-MCU talk & we make immature jokes about old people - BUT WE STILL LOVE THIS MOVIE! Enjoy our not quite as long as the movie review.

Other Movie Title Options - Top of Show
What is an OSP? - 5:05

NONSPOILER SECTION:
Production Profile (Cast/Crew/Specs) - 5:53
Plot Premise/Expectations - 8:00
Oscars Lens - 5:38
Production Values:
VFX - 15:44
Hair and Makeup/Cinematography - 21:14
Editing - 25:06
Sound - 26:03
Performances:
Robert DeNiro - 28:10
Joe Pesci - 32:20
Al Palcino - 34:16
Ensemble - 35:35
Script Thoughts - 38:32
How Many Noms? - 40:10
Watch or Not? - 45:41

SPOILER WARNING THEATER - 

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:
Differing From the Book + Movie Framing - 48:54
Lowlights/Worsts - 53:33
Food Porn - 59:39
Bests/Highlights - 1:01:20

FINAL GRADES - 1:15:53

Your Homework/PLEASE LEAVE US 5*’S - 1:18:00
What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 1:18:58


The Irishman brought out the best & worst of us. We made dozens of terrible puns, we screamed at one of our all time favorite filmmakers, we make sports analogies and we’re really, really trying not to make sports analogies on this show, and we’re predicting this movie to be nominated for awards we would be furious if it won! And yet, after all of the arguing & cursing at the things we hated about The Irishman, we still absolutely loved and have been utterly obsessed with The Irishman. That’s the power of a Scorsese film. That’s a testament to Zallian & this storytelling. That’s what great movies can do to us, folks. The Irishman was terrific despite its many flaws, and we talked about all of it!

As always, you get a non-spoiler review first, where we discuss the production values, performances, and script, and we look at it all through an Oscar Lens. We debate how many noms it’ll get, and we compare our guesses to those of our favorite Oscar pundits as well.

Then we have a spoiler warning breakdown, we re-enact a scene from the movie, and we dive headlong into this plot. This is where we compare the film to the book. This is also where we wonder why the film ended the way it did. We transition into some more worsts before gushing for like the next 14 hours at all of the bests, and if we’re honest, we could’ve gushed for 14 hours at all of those best scenes.

We lost our minds in this one, for good & for ill. But if you somehow enjoyed this episode, do please leave us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts. Just click on our show icon in your app, scroll down a few seconds, and please do click that fifth star.

What’d you think of The Irishman? & send us more of your best / worst puns. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

The Irishman OSP - All The Real Titles To This Ep Are In The First 5 Minutes - Ep 259

We reviewed Knives Out with Jon Gabrus! There’s Oscar speculation up top, a non-spoiler section that answers how Gabrus would play a red herring, if we really want a CLUE remake, & who’s the scene stealer of the film. Then we breakdown the plot & admit how fooled we all were.

NONSPOILER SECTION: 
Production Profile (Cast/Crew/Specs) - :49
Oscars Lens/Plot Premise - 3:27
INTRODUCING GUEST HOST JON GABRUS! - 4:42
Expectations - 6:28
Production Values:
Sight - 9:00
Sound - 14:22
Gabrus In a Whodunnit - 15:38
Performances - 17:32
(Gabrus As a Red Herring - 20:32)
Remakes. Original Properties, + Clue Talk - 21:46
Script Thoughts + Last Jedi Influences? - 25:41
Watch or Not? - 29:04

SPOILER WARNING DANCE PARTY - 32:07

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW: & btw, we also spoil Scream & Se7en here
Did You See The Ending Coming? - 33:30
More Bests/Highlights - 39:57
(The Perfect Thanksgiving Movie - 42:54)
The Role of Comedy in a Murder Movie - 45:40
Lowlights/Worsts - 52:55

FINAL GRADES - 56:45

Your Homework/PLEASE LEAVE US 5*’S - 1:02:10
What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 1:02:52


In one of the highlights of our podcasting lives, Jon Gabrus joined our show to review Knives Out. You know him from the High and Mighty podcast, you’ll see him in the upcoming Oscar contender, Bombshell, and we’ve been fans of his comedy, whether it’s on the airwaves, TV, or the big screen for years, & we can’t help but rip off a bunch of our favorites atop the show and during the outro.

To cite 2 more of his latest projects though, Gabrus now has 6 episodes of The Gino Lombardo Show on Stitcher Premium, and make sure you subscribe to The Action Boyz Podcast, where he reviews action movies with Ben Rodgers & Ryan Stanger.

So we were very lucky to have Jon Gabrus on MMO with us, and we went through all of the usual segments for an Oscars Sprint Profile movie review with him. There’s a non-spoiler section first followed by spoilers. But the draw to this episode is all the extra questions we got to ask Gabrus. What kind of character would he like to play in a whodunnit, & how would he prepare? How does Michael Shannon dress in real life? Do we really want a remake of CLUE? How much CGI is too much CGI? Who’s the scene stealer of the film? How should you watch this movie? And of course, that spoiler section focuses on how fooled we all were by Rian Johnson.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate us and all of Jon’s shows on Apple Podcasts. Do buy tickets to the upcoming High and Mighty live shows from Headgum, and you can hear more about those at the end of the episode. Also, please join us for our 3-4 new episodes per week. We do a weekly Oscar Race Checkpoint show to keep you up to date on all of the breaking news, noms, winners, losers, and speculation. Go into our back catalog to enjoy 23 other OSP movie reviews from 2019, and we also have a ton of rewatch series of Tarantino movies, The Joker Character Study, Pixar, The MCU, M:I, Conjuring & Halloween franchise reviews + tons of movie event episodes. We’re making awards season year round with our content. So do enjoy.

And do let us know what you thought of Knives Out. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

Knives Out Review ft. Jon Gabrus of...Um...Literally Everything! - 2019 OSP - Ep 260

Also Mike is joined by the foremost expert on Netflix Original Movies, Andrew from the NOMCAST. Should married people be scared of this? Should you watch it with your significant other? Could Marriage Story be nominated in ALL of the big 7 categories? We discuss.

INTRO/WHERE’S MIKE1/SHOW SETUP - Top of Show

NONSPOILER SECTION:
Expectations - 2:10
Roller Coaster Convo - 7:10
POV - 16:57
Performances/Production Values - 20:09
Oscars Lens - 26:05
(And How Awesome Has 2019 Been?! - 27:40)

SPOILER WARNING DANCE PARTY - 29:46

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:
Should You Watch This w/ An Significant Other? - 30:40
Surprisingly Musicly - 32:35
Bookending the Film - 36:10
NY vs LA Story Structure - 43:48
BTS Lawyering - 48:32
Best Scenes/Highlights - 49:21
Lowlights (Where Somehow More Bests Are Discussed) - 1:03:15

FINAL GRADES - 1:07:22

Your Homework/PLEASE LEAVE US 5*’S - 1:13:27
What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 1:14:43


Also Mike is joined by Andrew from the NOMCAST, AKA, the Netflix Original Movie podcast for this Oscar Sprint Profile of Marriage Story. Although this was a fusion between our two show formats, we still have a non-spoiler section first, building toward an Oscar Lens. Then we do the usual spoiler warning dance music before we break down the plot.

Since Andrew’s an expert on all things Netflix, we also discussed what a movie of this caliber could mean for the streaming service and compared what we know about next year’s Netflix Awards slate to what we have for your consideration this season. Andrew is also a married man. So Also Mike can’t help but act like the news team from Anchorman and ask, “what’s love like, Ron” (/ Andrew?) And then we sing “Afternoon Delight.” That all happens metaphorically of course. As in reality, Also Mike just pesters Andrew about whether or not one should watch this movie with their significant other.

If you’re waiting for Mike 1’s opinions on Marriage Story, on the lawyering involved, and what he thinks of its Oscar chances, do stay tuned. Hopefully he gets his voice back and we can resume our coverage of the Oscar Race this week.

Otherwise, do make sure you become a regular listener of the NOMCAST, which is available on Podbean, Google Play, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and just about everywhere you listen. Go back into his catalog for his reviews of other Oscar contenders like Dolemite Is My Name & The Irishman, and stay tuned for his coverage of The Two Popes. You can follow the NOMCAST on Facebook & at nomcastpod on Instagram and Twitter. 

As always, do let us know your thoughts Marriage Story. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

Marriage Story 2019 OSP w/ AlsoMike + NOMCAST Andrew! - Ep 261

Perhaps the pleasant surprise of the year for us, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women should be more of an Oscar contender. Did they release it too late in awards season? Can it still be a late breaking success? We discuss it all down in this Oscar Sprint Profile movie review.

AlsoMike’s Surrounded By Little Women - Top of Show
What Is This Episode? - 1:37

NONSPOILER SECTION:
Cast, Crew, Scores, Box Office - 2:27
Plot Premise/Expectations - 8:53
Production Values (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace Dresses and Hairstyles):
Costumes - 13:36
Makeup + Hair - 17:40
Set Design - 19:48
Cinematography/Editing - 22:08
Score - 23:11

Performances:
Florence Pugh - 24:28
Saoirse Ronan - 27:53
Rest of Cast - 31:09

Script Thoughts - 34:26
Finishing The Oscars Lens - 39:01
(And Do Christmas Releases, Hurt Oscars Chances?)

SPOILER WARNING DANCE PARTY - 44:32

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:
Starting at the Ending - 45:50
(Teddy Maybe Scummy/Amy + Laurie - 53:53)
Interpreting The Aunt March Lesson - 58:15
Lowlights/Worsts - 1:02:33
(Food Porn…Or Disappointment? - 1:09:18)
Laurie + Jo - 1:11:13
Little Things for Big Rewatchability - 1:14:11

FINAL GRADES - 1:18:20

Your Homework/PLEASE LEAVE US 5*’S - 1:19:42
What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 1:20:54



You get quite the comprehensive episode here. We compare this 2019 version of Little Women to three previous Oscar nominated adaptations, we do a character by character analysis, there are our personal connections to the story, and then of course, you still get all our usual OSP movie review segments. We have non-spoiler chats on the production values, performances, and script that all build up to our takes on how many Oscar nominations the film can get. Then we head into spoilers, where we break down the ending, a few worst scenes & a great many bests.

If you enjoyed this deep dive type of movie review, please click around our catalog for further discussions. We have 3 playlists of OSPs, reviewing all of the nominees and awards season contenders of the last 3 years. This particular year features 25 episodes covering 22 films, including 3 two parters on Us, Avengers: Endgame, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. We’ve also reviewed more potential Oscar nominees on our weekly awards season news show, O.R.C - AKA - Oscar Race Checkpoint. Then we completed series on the films of Tarantino, Pixar, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, + comprehensive series on the Halloween franchise, Conjuring films, Mission Impossibles, & most recently, The Joker Character Study. 

Looking ahead, we have an exciting programming schedule for the month of January. We’re booking guest hosts & guest spots for O.R.C.’s and after the nominations are announced, for our Oscar Category Overview Series, where we preview all of the major awards in preparation for the Academy’s big night. We also have at least one final OSP movie review on 1917, and of course, we’ll be previewing, predicting, and recapping all of the precursor award shows like the Globes, Critics Choice, SAG’s, BAFTA’s, Indie Spirits, etc...etc…

Please take a few seconds to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. If you’re a supporter of the indie podcast community, then you know what a huge help those ratings are for us.

Finally, and as always, we want to know your thoughts about Little Women and anything or everything we discussed in this episode. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thanks for listening.

Little Women 2019 OSP - New Year, New Marm - Ep 264

1917 is our final Oscars Sprint Profile movie review of the season, and as we speculate in this episode, it could also be the last to hear its name called on Oscars sunday. A non-spoiler review comes first with analysis of all 10 noms & then we dive into the plot in spoilers.

Mike1 is Losing Hope - Top of Show
Episode Format - 1:41

NONSPOILER REVIEW:
Production Profile - 2:34
(Covering Its Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay Noms)
Plot Premise/Expectations - 7:24
Production Values:
Cinematography Nom - 8:14
Production Design - 12:27
Makeup and Hairstyling - 15:46
Original Score - 16:43
VFX - 18:31
Sound Categories (x2) - 19:43
Performances - 21:25
Script Thoughts - 25:46
Oscars Lens - 27:07

SPOILER WARNING DANCE BREAK - 29:48

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:

The Few Nitpicky Lowlights - 31:00
Highlights/Bests - 38:25
(North by Northwest 1917 - 40:15)
(Everything Matters - 42:25)
(The Best 45 Minutes Stretch of 2019 - 44:34)
(Older Brother Blues - 48:04)

FINAL GRADE - 49:32

Your Homework/What Drugs Work Best Here? - 50:50
What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 51:43


We didn’t want to love this movie. In fact, I think we kinda dragged our feet to review it, fearing that our fandom for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood would receive a major hit, aaaannd WE WERE CORRECT. 1917 is a terrific film, and it is most deserving of the Oscar Sprint Profile movie review format here.

As always, we begin with a non-spoiler section. Though to be fair, we cannot help but quote some of the Andrew Scott scene from Act 1 of the film. So beware of that if you’re allergic to ALL spoilers. But we do otherwise remain spoiler free and analyze all 10 nominations the film received throughout our non-spoiler review. Then our House DJ plays his spoiler warning dance music, and we dive into the plot with a few worsts. But for the most part, we take the time to discuss a whole lot of best scenes. 

Now if you’ve enjoyed all our Oscars speculation, don’t fret. We have a ton of that here, even putting a creative over/under on how many wins the film may get. We compare the film’s chances to previous years, we harken back to what we know about the production of the film, and we gush about so many great movie moments pulled off by Sam Mendes, Roger Deakins, and company.

Make sure you go back to all our 2019/20 Oscar Sprint Profile movie reviews. We’ve now reviewed each of the major nominees with many of those episodes featuring guests like Jon Gabrus & Nick Mundy to only name a few. You can find the rest of our Oscar nom reviews in our weekly shows, MMOW & Oscar Race Checkpoint, and we encourage you to relive every big moment of this wild awards season and your movie year by clicking play on either of those playlists in our soundcloud feed. As always, we’ll be recapping & analyzing this weekend’s awards on our next Oscar Race Checkpoint covering SAG, PGA, and the ACE EDDIE’s.

Stay tuned for the rest of our big 7 category reviews. We just released Best Actress, and we’re planning guests for the following this week: Best Original & Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and Director. Then we’ll close out that series with the two actor categories & of course, Best Picture.

If you’re enjoying our show, please take a moment to leave us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts. We thank you for your support there, and don’t forget to submit your categories, noms, & winners for our upcoming MMO’s award show.

Let us know what you thought of 1917. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you might listen. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thanks for listening.

1917 Oscar Sprint Profile - The Best Picture Field Turns Into a War Zone - Ep 267

MMO is talk radio for movie fans with weekly news shows, reviews, previews, and special guests. We celebrate the Oscars by making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. If you love cinema, if you love showbiz, welcome home.