The MacGuffin

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

This segment is also available on Stitcher and iTunes. 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.

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. Inspired by the films War Horse and Tintin, Allen and Edward share their top 5 underrated Steven Spielberg films.

This segment is also available on Stitcher and iTunes. 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.

Trying to figure out the Best Picture Oscars is based on looking at many things, including: what actors are in it, what director is making the film, whether it’s the kind of film the Academy has responded to in the past, and just plain old guesswork. Also, I am not saying these will be the best movies of the year, just the ones that could strike the Academy’s taste. Keeping that in mind, here are a list of seven more movies that I think have potential to be Best Picture contenders.

Dear Ms. Marshall,

Charm is a very hard thing to achieve. Charm is borderline undefinable, yet when someone is reaching for it and not getting there, everyone can tell, and the result is awkward and painful. As I write this, I’m watching, probably for the fiftieth time, your wonderful film Big (1988). Not only does the film itself exude charm, its very storyline relies on it. We have to understand how Elizabeth Perkins’s character, Susan, can’t help but be drawn to Tom Hanks’s Josh, both despite and because of his 13-year-old boy behavior. His sincerity is crucial, and the rest of the film has to balance around that. Tom Hanks’s brilliant performance would have been wasted without the sure mood that surrounds it. That came from you. The combination makes for a film that charms completely, and is one of the few films to come out of the 80s to feel somehow timeless.

Spencer and John discuss the tumultuous career of Michael Bay in honor of Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, look Tom Hank’s work behind the camera for Larry Crowne, and give their DVD picks of the week.

All Points Bulletin:
Be on the lookout for a small, bald, gold man.  He is 13 and 1/2 inches tall, weighs 8.5 lbs, sexual organs seem to be absent, tends to stand very still, constantly wielding a crusader’s sword, and is made of gold plated britannium on a black metal base.  He is wanted for a list of crimes against the art of film that spans over 83 years.  Consider him to be armed and dangerous.

Another MacGuffin Film Podcast Top 5′s segment. Inspired by the film Conviction, Brandi and Allen share their top 5 films based on a true story.

Those lovable characters from the smash hit films Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999) have returned to the Pixar forefront in the highly anticipated Toy Story 3.  Once again, we are reunited with the likes of the lanky cowboy, Woody (Tom Hanks), his intergalactic friend-in-need Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), as well as cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), Rex the nebbish T-Rex (Wallace Shawn), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles/Estelle Harris), and many others.  Coming in to the film, I have to admit I had my reservations: would the film live up to the standards that were set in the first two?  The first Toy Story was an instant classic growing up as a kid, and the second one just reinforced my admiration for the franchise.  “Part 3’s” have traditionally been terrible films, and with director John Lasseter not taking the helm this time, this installment had a lot of obstacles to overcome.  So did it?  Let’s find out.