The MacGuffin

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Allen and Brandi share their top 5 sidekicks.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes and YouTube. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

In honor of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Spencer and Greg discuss Idris Elba. Then they look at cinematic rivalries, before giving DVD picks of the week.

In the new film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, opening in Seattle this Friday, Gary Oldman plays George Smiley, a retired spy called back to try to discover a mole within his old organization. When Oldman was in Seattle recently, he had a chance to talk to me, along with Allie Hanley of Culture Mob and Jason Roestel of The Examiner. As expected, he was a delight. Below is the transcript of that interview. Warning: some spoilers ahead (but not about who the mole is).

In honor of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Spencer and Greg reflect on Gary Oldman’s career. Then they tackle kid-driven movies and give DVD picks of the week.

In honor of Twilight, Spencer and Greg tackle literary series adaptations. Then they talk dysfunctional families in movies and give DVD picks.

Another MacGuffin Film Podcast Top 5′s segment. Inspired by the film Colombiana, Brandi and Allen share their top 5 badass heroines.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes, and Zune. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

In the theater:

I said good-bye to my beloved Harry Potter franchise, declining to see the press screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and review it here, in favor of seeing the midnight show with my friends, one last time. I had absolutely loved Part 1, which I felt was the only film in the series not to be marred by distracting pacing problems. Besides that, the effects and the acting had only gotten better over the years, to the point where I saw little room for improvement in the film. Part 2 didn’t quite live up to Part 1 for me, but it was still a very satisfying ending to the adaptations. We got some lovely moments of glory for key supporting characters, including actually getting an adequate amount of Snape time. It also seemed like the filmmakers finally heard fans’ loud grumbling about the serious lack of Neville in previous films; we probably got more screentime for him here than in the previous three films combined. (And welcome it was. To get a little inside baseball for a moment: I will always believe that the biggest mistake made with the adaptations was how they jettisoned Neville’s family’s backstory and how it ties into the ideas of Voldemort and the prophecy. This parallel with Harry’s life is one of the most emotionally resonant parts of the novels for me, and easily worth expanding the length of film five to get the foundation in. Alas.)

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Brandi and Allen share their top 5 female villains.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes, and Zune. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

The Harry Potter series finally comes to a close. Some of us may know what will transpire in this film because we’ve read the book. But this is something different. After Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 there will be nothing left for us Potter fans. No new book to pore over, no new film to anticipate. It’s a sad feeling, but also a good one. It’s sad to know that we’ll never find out more about these characters we’ve grown to love. One the other hand, it’s a rare thing to feel so good about a long running series. The disappointing Sorcerer’s Stone aside, every one of these films has at the very least been a good way to spend two hours. Some of them have been very good films. While this finale doesn’t reach the heights of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my vote for best film and book of the series), it is a very good film and one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Spencer and John look at series finales in honor of Harry Potter, consider the importance of the release date, and give DVD picks of the week.